TikTok and the obsession with having a 'clean vagina'

Behind the many videos on TikTok on how to ‘clean your vagina’, there is a hidden message linked to the patriarchal system that directly affects women and their sexuality.

Concern about the cleanliness, appearance and odour of the vagina has created a feminine hygiene industry worth more than 20 billion euros. On TikTok, thousands of users share tips and tricks for good vaginal hygiene. The hashtag #femininehygieneproducts has 31.3 million views on TikTok and #femininehygiene has 1.4 billion. However, among these relatively innocent videos, the idea of the “clean girl aesthetic” appears. A concept related to sexual purity and virginity.

Vaginas are self-cleaning machines and do not need internal washing or odour removal sprays. In fact, some ‘cleansing’ products and treatments can be more harmful than beneficial. “Excessive vaginal ‘cleansing’ can not only cause infections due to altered pH, but can also remove healthy bacteria from inside our bodies,” explains social educator Debbie Bere. “Vulvas should be washed with lukewarm water and, if so, a mild soap applied to the outside and never to the inside.

On TikTok, different users share and promote products and remedies to eliminate odour and apparently “tighten” the vagina. One user has a page called “Tips for clean girls that I wish I had known sooner”. Another user provides her followers with tips on how to make their “vagina virgin again”. This kind of advice is an indicative part of the “revirginisation” culture. Ideas about cleanliness and virginity only exist because men see women as property.

@gyno_girls #stitch with @Disbitch42 hope this helps!! #womenshealth #gynogirls #obgyn #yeastinfection #bv #femininehygiene #femininehygieneproducts ♬ original sound – Gyno_girls