Editor’s Note:
Vulvas. They’ve been painted, prayed to, pixelated, politicized—and now, finally, praised. This is the story of the vulva’s journey: from sacred temple to censored screen, from prehistoric goddess-worship to feminist art bombshell. If the penis had its Renaissance, then the vulva is overdue for her own Enlightenment—with glitter, incense, and just the right amount of divine smut.
So what happens when erotica meets sacred art? Magic. Not the kind with wands and pentagrams (though we’re not judging), but the kind that restores the vulva to her rightful place—as symbol, icon, pleasure center, and power source. A site of deep knowing and delicious sin. The original oracle.
In a culture that still flinches at labia and fetishizes Barbie-pink anatomy, honoring the real vulva—in all her folds, funk, and ferocity—is radical. And sexy. And holy. So light your candles, open your chakras, and prepare to worship at the altar of erotic empowerment. Because behind every sacred image is a scandalous truth—and behind every scandalous truth is a vulva ready for her close-up.
Fig.1 A stylized vulva, also known as Mandorla (Almond nut), Vesica piscis, the Vessel of the Fish or The Yoni
Fig.2 All she needs is love, Yoni Vulva Artprint - Pussy Art by Holy Maria Digitial on Etsy
Fig.3 Artwork by Mari Klimova (@junemarysya) on Instagram
Fig.4 Attrib. P. Eysel, Erotic watercolor of Laying Woman, 1920 (Bidsquare)
Fig.5 Black And White Erotic Art Reveals,The Temptation of The Pussy Poster Wall Art (via ubuy)
Viva la Vulva, Indeed
The vulva has always had a PR problem. Too powerful for polite society, too sacred for Sunday service, and far too erotic for Instagram’s Community Guidelines, she’s been banished to the margins—veiled, vilified, and Photoshopped into oblivion.
But baby, she’s back. And this time, she’s loud, proud, and dripping in symbolism.
The vulva—that wild rose of mysticism and mischief—has been feared, worshipped, hidden, kissed, cursed, censored, and glorified. She is the forbidden altar and the divine portal, a site of pleasure and prophecy, of blasphemy and beatitude. In art history, religion, mythology, and feminist revolt, the vulva has emerged as both sacred icon and erotic enigma—a symbol of life, lust, and liberation.
Once etched into cave walls and carved into voluptuous goddess figurines, the vulva now pulses through feminist performance art and radical erotica. From yonic mandalas to Georgia O’Keeffe’s floral provocations, from prehistoric Venus figurines to contemporary queer rituals, this is the vulva reimagined—as sacred, defiant, and deliciously taboo.
It’s not just anatomy. It’s alchemy. It’s not just porn—it’s a prophecy.
Fig.6 Alma Lopez, Our Lady or 'La Virgen de las Panochas', vulva visualised by Las Sucias, embodiment of sexual pleasure within Chicana, Mexicana Queer Feminist Community
Fig.7 Book of Psalter and Prayer of Bonne de Luxembourg (1345)
Fig.8 Book of Hours. England and the Netherlands. 1410, Mandorla Christian imagery
Fig.9 Clay Figure in the Form of a Vagina, Assumed to Have Been Made as a Votive Offering
Fig.10 Bill Brandt, Nude, South Kensington , London,1979, Vintage Silver gelatin print, Grob Gallery Genève, (Credit photo Artsy.Net)
From Prehistoric Power to Platonic Pet Peeves
Before patriarchy buried her under millennia of shame, the vulva was divine. Prehistoric peoples etched vulvas into stone, molded them into goddesses, and wore them on amulets like yonic VIP passes to the great beyond. Take the Venus of Willendorf—all hips and sacred curves—not a shameful figure but a fertility icon, the Beyoncé of the Upper Paleolithic.
Then came the Greeks. Sure, they gave us Aphrodite with her clamshell grand entrance—but also philosophers who claimed women were just inside-out men. (Thanks, Aristotle. Freud took notes.)
Continue reading in Premium and continue your "vulva" journey, including more on the hysteria of medieval Churches on the theme, vulva’s comeback tour in the 20th century, its evolvement from passive to active symbolism in the 21st century, the Vagina Museum, a glossary of the glorious lips, many exciting "vulva art" examples by artists like Francois Boucher, Nobuyoshi Araki, Hans Bellmer and Jamie McCartney, and MUCH more...!!
Click HERE for mesmerizing vagina close-up designs as portrayed in Japanese shunga
Let us know what you think about the above "Vulva Art Trip" in the comment box below...!!
