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I didn't expect my first blog post to be a critique peice however apparently I needed to be fired up about something to get over my writer's block. I feel very compelled to dispell myths and misinformation about vaginal steaming. When you happen upon such a game changer, sex life improver, health booster, (etc) you share it with your sister, your best friend, your girl gang, anybody who will listen to you really. Vaginal steaming has completely changed the trajectory of my life, I have and am continually benefitting from it's healing properties.
Q: So what's the problem? A: The problem is your Google search comes back with mostly negative results on the topic, and a mention of Gwyneth Paltrow.
I personally find this laughable, and a great example of #fakenews. Leave it to the internet to fear monger and repeat baseless, study free drivel from health care professionals who know nothing of the short or long term benefits of vaginal steaming.
I rarely go on Facebook as it is such a negative space for me (I guess I was feeling masochistic) and saw a recent post by LiveScience about a woman who received second degree burns as a result of an at home vaginal steam gone wrong. Of course the first thing I did was roll my eyes, then cringe. I proceeded to read the comments, hate all the comments (repeat), and was instantly reminded why I loathe the FB. I then got a bit moody about who posted the article, a favourite author of mine who I very much admire for his Witchcraft and Wizardry- so like, ya, I was disappointed in my own personal Dumbledore and his spewage of bunk journalism. Naturally I had to comment, a quick, positive position on the plethora of health benefits of v steaming before I got the hell out of there. It then hit me that a woman wrote the article, and I felt extra down.
The article was pretty easy to tear apart for mediocrity, please allow me:
-typical mention of a serious vaginal health issue in which steaming was promoted and misused
- typical mention of Gwyneth Paltrow being the mainstream advocate for steaming
- typical mention of vaginal steaming not being backed by science
- typical mention of vagina's being self cleaning, pH levels and possible disruption etc.
I say "typical" because this is truly how most mainstream media articles flow in regard to vaginal steaming, they all read the same. Often in fact with the same quotes by the same health care professionals repeated (from 2015 no less). Yawn.
Anything you do in life which requires a heat source should be done mindfully and with caution, sometimes you need a professional to aid you (✨cue a vaginal steaming facilitator). Women across the globe since the dawn of time have been sitting over steam. This we know through cultural practice handed down by women to their daughters through the generations, and oral tradition in some instances. What I'm trying to say is, Gwen is not the founding mother of steam.
Vaginal steaming isn't backed by science because no one has ever studied it. Simple. This however is changing and the results so far are in great favour of steam (see http://fourthtrimestervaginalsteamstudy.com/).
And finally, while it is true that vaginas are self cleaning, they are not self healing. As women we know that in this life filled with crap chemicals in our laundry detergent to even the bubble bath we checked (and double checked) to make sure it was irritant free STUFF HAPPENS down there (and that's without diving down the rabbit hole that is yeast, BV, UTI's and all the other lovely infection we may be prone to).
When a woman steams she is completely in control of the what, the why and the expected outcome of the self care ritual. It is powerful medicine muted only through industrialization, but experiencing a grand reawakening. While it is also true that these are tricky times of deciphering what is real and useful versus what might harm - a woman steaming is a woman taking her health back into her own hands, not needing a prescription or over the counter, short term remedy. Steaming doesn't make big pharma any moolah, it takes back our feminine bodies from the patriarchy, who run the gynecological health care system. Vaginal steaming reminds us what it means to be a woman and our cyclical nature. It encourages a mind body connection that is easily forgotten in this crazy life. Steaming is self care. Steam heals.
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