These aren’t anything new but their latest form is a range referred to as “vaginal moisturising melts”, which claim to make your vaginal smell and taste better.
OUTIE VAG SERIES
One series of videos in particular feature vaginal suppositories. It’s not just misinformation about the anatomy that is accessible on TikTok, you can find recommendations for many unmedicated products too. Food pH is neutralised in the stomach and would have no bearing on the vaginal microbiome.” The balance is controlled locally in the vagina itself. Lastly, many doctors have debunked this theory that food impacts the vagina, Dr Staci Tanouye, MD tells me: “the vagina’s pH is pretty tightly regulated by the normal vaginal microbiome - a balance of different types of bacteria, lactobacilli, low levels of yeast, etc. It is actually a high pH level that would be likely to cause an ‘off’ smell as this provides the perfect environment for unhealthy bacteria to cause infection. The acidic nature of vaginal discharge can ‘bleach’ underwear, but this is normal. For context, a healthy vaginal pH level is between 3.8 and 4.5. pH is a measurement of how acidic or alkaline a substance is the scale runs from 0 to 14 and anything less than 7 is considered acidic. This video that has thousands of comments is riddled with inaccuracies. One video that urges users to ‘lay off the flaming hot Cheetos and bacon’ suggests that vaginas with high pH balance and discharge that ‘bleaches’ underwear must smell. However, for every relatable video that promotes body diversity, there’s a dozen that keep dangerous myths alive. It’s clear to see TikTok is facilitating a way to normalise natural bodily functions we’ve been taught to be embarrassed or ashamed about. It amassed millions of likes and thousands of affirming comments with messages from grateful teenagers like: “I literally cried my eyes and wanted to get surgery when I was a teenager because of the hate for outies”. Another video that went viral this year is user video on the differences between an ‘innie’ and ‘outie’ labia.