Episode Information

“Showing the vulva scares off bears and lions, makes wheat grow higher, calms storm tides and demons fear it. The devil runs away. The vulva is omnipotent.” This powerful image of the female genitals is unfortunately not anchored in our imagination. While nudity seems no longer taboo, the presentation of the female genitals continues to irritate and various bans have been imposed on it. Decades of retouching in the media, anti-pornography campaigns and aniconic bans have lead to a public image of the vulva that is far from reality. A concept of ”ideal beauty that is invisibility” prevails. The film begins in a dermatological surgery in Cologne. Bella Joy has her labia plumped up with hyaluronan and is very pleased with the result … Directors Claudia Richarz and Ulrike Zimmermann present their comprehensive and non-sensationalistic research into the history of the female anatomy from the 16th to the 21st century – from the risqué and at times the sad to the comical aspects – thereby celebrating the diversity of the female body. A film about representation and modification of t he female genital, about anatomical errors, censorship, mutilation through Photoshop as well as laser scalpels and not least about the beauty and uniqueness of the female sensual pleasure organ.