illustration of a douching apparatus from an 1882 medical handbook
As a newly minted teenager, I was helping my mother go through some of my recently deceased great-grandmother’s things. I held a mysterious object in my hands and studied it curiously, puzzling over its unfamiliar form, pastel color scheme, and floral pattern. Finally, I gave up: “What is this?” I exclaimed. My mom, instantly uncomfortable, muttered her answer through clenched teeth: “It’s a douche bag,” she replied.
I remember being rather scandalized, but also a bit amused to be holding a piece of ancient misogynist history in my hands. Even as a junior high student, I knew that douching was marketed toward women with the message that their vaginas were “dirty” and in need of “cleansing” — scientifically invalidated ideas to which we surely no longer adhered. It seemed fitting that we were sorting through the belongings of a person born in the 19th century, dividing them into the useful and useless. Surely the douche bag belonged in the latter category.
Just because douching products are available in drugstores doesn’t mean they’re safe or effective.
Little did I know, more than 20 years ago, that douching hasn’t exactly been relegated to a historical footnote. Overall, nearly 25 percent of American women 15 to 44 years old douche regularly — which is down from nearly a third in 2002. Douching rates may vary by ethnic group: CDC data from 2005 found that 59 percent of non-Hispanic black women, 36 percent of Latinas, and 27 percent of white women douche. Socioeconomic status and education level can also be a factor.
For those of you who don’t know, vaginal douching is the practice of flushing the vagina with a liquid, which is administered through a nozzle that is inserted into the vagina. Some people believe that douching cleanses or deodorizes the vagina, or can prevent pregnancy or infections. Some might think their partners expect them to douche, or that douching will “tighten” or “rejuvenate” their vaginas. Continue reading