Armpit or Vagina? A fun game for all the family.
Of late, my entertainment and social channels have been somewhat bombarded by a bizarre media frenzy surrounding the phenomenon of the "armpit vagina": yet another indictment on a society that feels compulsively obliged to comment upon the female body. Apparently, if skin touches skin, however far from one's nether regions it may be, it immediately resembles a vagina and ought to be demonised at all costs. God forbid a svelte, healthy, attractive female figure should play host to an armpit that looks like an armpit, without having to be reminded that she is unavoidably and negatively defined by what may be found between her legs.
Most media outlets have had their say, following an interview that the The Times conducted with Rebecca Corbin Murray, stylist to the stars. The madness all stems from actress Jennifer Lawrence jokingly describing her own "armpit fat" or "armpit vaginas"; a seemingly flippant comment that has arisen, three years after the fact, to haunt any woman who exposes some skin. Whilst I do not intend to add more fuel to the ridiculous fire, I, of course, agree that we, the human race, ought to stop scrutinising the female body and redress the impossible standards enforced on women in particular. It’s also a crying sexist shame that the association between one’s armpit and a vagina demands that both be hairless and lacking in any visible anatomy. But that's beside the point...
Rather than dignify the discussion with any further outraged response, I would like us all to take a moment to remember that this bodily similarity has been a Snapchat game long before it was tainted by the sexist culture of celebrity and the ubiquitous uproar that surrounds the female body. Sending a photo to friends of one's elbow, zoomed in and lasting mere seconds, can cause a momentary shock factor. "Is that what I think it is? Or did I just jump to a conclusion based on the sexualisation of just about everything these days?"
Like the more risqué 'Cock or Ball', a game of 'Elbow or Vagina' is playful, suggestive, and ought to remind us that a vagina, or anything resembling one, really ought not to be that shocking. With such optional expansion packages as 'Armpit or Vagina’, 'Back of the Knee or Vagina' and even 'Hypermobile Wrist or Vagina', I'm surprised the game isn't more popular!
In fact, here are just a few examples of how I, for one, embrace my "armpit vaginas", my head, shoulders, knees, toes, and any part of me that may or may not be mistaken for any other part:
So, this party season, wear your strapless dresses with pride; flaunt those armpits, folds and all; and let's try to stop allowing the widespread bastardisation of the vagina to rule our lives. Don't be shy, flash those joints!
Title image of Jennifer Lawrence at the SAG Awards, 2014 sourced via E!News
