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An Exploration of Psychosocial Factors Associated with Female Genital Self-Image

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Abstract

Negative genital self-perceptions or female genital self-image (FGSI) is a prevalent concern for women. This is a significant problem in and of itself but also because it is associated with a variety of negative outcomes including less frequent sexual behavior, more negative cognitive-affective sexual responses, and poorer decision-making about genital health. This study examined the extent to which various psychosocial factors are associated with more negative FGSI. Two hundred cisgender women with diverse ages and relationship statuses completed an online survey that included measures of sexual health education (quality of school-based sexual health education (SHE), female genital knowledge), pornography use, sexual experiences (positive and negative partner genital feedback, frequency of sexual activity), and cognitive-affect appraisals (body image, sexual comfort). Social desirability, cognitive-affective appraisals, sexual experiences, and SHE were associated with FGSI at the bivariate level. The results of a multiple regression analysis indicated that only sexual comfort, body image, and positive genital feedback contributed uniquely to the prediction of FGSI. The results are interpreted in terms of the importance of the psychosocial context for understanding women’s genital self-perceptions as well as their implications for prevention and intervention strategies aimed at addressing the problem.

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Notes

  1. A preliminary analysis showed that FGSI was not significantly associated with participants’ demographic characteristics including their age, sexual identity, relationship status, and sexual experience. Therefore, only social desirable responding was included as a control variable.

  2. We also examined Negative Genital Feedback as a dichotomous variable (i.e., received any negative genital feedback versus received no negative genital feedback) because of the low prevalence rate of these experiences. The results remained the same.

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Acknowledgements

This study was conducted in partial fulfillment of the first author’s Ph.D. requirements under the supervision of the second author. We thank the women who participated in this study as well as Sarah Vannier, Kaitlyn Goldsmith, Lyndsay Crump, Brenda Lee, Charlene Belu, and the University of New Brunswick Human Sexuality Research Group for their assistance with measure development; Lucia O’Sullivan and Ryan Hamilton for their assistance as supervisory committee members; and W. Q. Elaine Perunovic, Grace Getty, Edith Snook, and Rebecca Cobb for their time and effort as members of the examination board.

Funding

No external funding was received for this study.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, University of New Brunswick, P. O. Box 4400, Fredericton, NB, E3B 5A3, Canada

    Miranda C. Fudge & E. Sandra Byers

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  1. Miranda C. Fudge
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  2. E. Sandra Byers
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to E. Sandra Byers.

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Conflict of interest

Dr. Miranda Fudge declares that she has no conflicts of interest. Dr. E. Sandra Byers declares that she has no conflicts of interest.

Ethical Approval

All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards. Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants in the study.

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Appendix

Appendix

Female Genital Knowledge Scale

Instructions: Most people don’t know as much as they would like to about women’s genitals. Please indicate whether each statement is true, false, or choose the “I don’t know” option.

  1. 1.

    The appearance of women’s genitals varies greatly from one woman to another. (T)

  2. 2.

    Many people are aroused by the smell of a woman’s genitals. (T)

  3. 3.

    The vagina is highly elastic and expandable. (T)

  4. 4.

    If a woman cannot reach orgasm, the cause is usually physical/biological. (F)

  5. 5.

    All women are born with a hymen (i.e., a thin membrane that covers the vaginal entrance). (F)

  6. 6.

    Many women report needing some form of clitoral stimulation to experience orgasm. (T)

  7. 7.

    The smell/taste of women’s genitals varies greatly from one woman to another. (T)

  8. 8.

    The most sexually sensitive organ for women is the clitoris. (T)

  9. 9.

    The term vagina refers to a woman’s external genitals (the parts that you can see from the outside). (F)

  10. 10.

    Some women emit fluid during orgasm, often referred to as female ejaculation. (T)

  11. 11.

    If a woman does not have a hymen, it shows that she has engaged in sexual intercourse. (F)

  12. 12.

    The nerve supply of the vagina is mostly to the lower one-third, near the opening. (T)

  13. 13.

    Women can do exercises to tighten the muscles around the vaginal opening. (T)

  14. 14.

    The uterus produces the woman’s eggs. (F)

  15. 15.

    The clitoris is a main focus of sexual arousal in women. (T)

  16. 16.

    In women, urine passes out through the vaginal opening. (F)

  17. 17.

    A woman may have a series of orgasms in the space of a few minutes. (T)

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Fudge, M.C., Byers, E.S. An Exploration of Psychosocial Factors Associated with Female Genital Self-Image. Gend. Issues 37, 153–172 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12147-019-09242-2

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