Nature Quickie: Colors & Smells

with entrepreneur & outdoorswoman Alexandra Gabrielle

Sex Outside Nature Quickies are short, 5-minute dives into a specific, practical topic about our bodies and the outdoors. This one features a conversation about something that is totally natural but many folks cringe to talk about: vaginal discharge. Entrepreneur and outdoorswoman Alexandra Gabrielle joins us to share information and tips around vaginal discharge, because developing comfort and awareness around this topic is important for literally everyone (whether you’re the smeller, or the smell-ee, or just want to know more about the human body).

Mentioned in this Bonus Content:

Additional Resources:

photo by Cliff Boot / Unsplash

photo by Cliff Boot / Unsplash

Hosted by Laura Borichevsky.
Cover artwork by Hailey Hirst.
Music by Calica licensed via MusicBed.

TRANSCRIPT

Note: This transcript was lightly edited and created using a transcription service. As such it may contain spelling errors.

Laura Borichevsky - Narration:

You’re listening to a Sex Outside Nature Quickie-- a short 5-minute dive into a specific, practical topic about our bodies and the outdoors. I’m Laura Borichevsky.

Alexandra Gabrielle:

“Yeah, my vagina smells like that. If you have a problem with that, you can leave now, like this is my vagina smell” and being more comfortable and secure with yourself because it's bodies. It’s an organism that you're kind of getting close to, so it's going to smell. [ laughter ]

Laura Borichevsky - Narration:

That’s Alexandra Gabrielle. She’s a self-described entrepreneur, which means that there seems to be a never-ending flow of ideas coming from her mind about projects, businesses, and opportunities doing the things she loves-- which often involves hiking, road tripping, floating rivers, and exploring canyons in the Southwestern United States.

Alexandra Gabrielle:

We’re just kind of not talk about it. It's a “private part”. So it's private. We don't talk about it.

Laura Borichevsky - Narration:

So when Alexandra mentioned that something she wanted to talk about with the Sex Outside community stemmed from vaginal discharge and our collective discomfort with it-- I was hooked. Because if you have a vagina-- and honestly, even if you don’t-- you’ve probably dealt with discharge at some point, and definitely bodily odor coming from your reproductive organs. Vaginal discharge is NATURAL. And while in the short time we have for this quickie Alex and I will cover some of the basics around navigating the colors and smells we might find coming from vaginas specifically-- developing comfort and awareness around this topic is important for literally everyone (whether you’re the smeller, or the smell-ee, or just want to know more about the human body).

So, let’s start with color. Vaginal discharge, which comes from glands inside the cervix, doesn’t always look like one thing-- even over the course of one week or one day. Discharge might be clear or white, or could be some various shade of gray, yellowish green, pink, red, tan, or brown. 

And yes-- this is something you can likely see in your underwear. Which means you have the opportunity to observe exactly what’s going on inside by seeing what shows up on the outside.

Alexandra Gabrielle:

Different colors means different things are going on in your body. It can mean a heavier flow. It can mean an infection; it doesn't necessarily mean you need to go get antibiotics for it, but your body's cleaning something out of your system. And it can just be something simple, like a pH balance being off. But that can be a long-term issue if it goes untreated. There's a reason that that's happening and you need to figure out the reason.

Laura Borichevsky - Narration:

As Alexandra said: vaginal discharge is something to keep an eye on, but it’s not inherently a warning sign. Not at all. It might be an indicator that, well-- everything is operating in a healthy way. In addition to menstruation or the body shedding bacteria, you also might get vaginal discharge from sexual arousal or see a change in discharge in the weeks leading up to a period, whether you bleed or not.

But that said, there are ways that vaginal discharge can be a symptom of something more serious-- like a more advanced bacterial infection, an STI-- or sexually transmitted infection-- or even something more serious that needs medical attention.

So keeping an eye on discharge is an important way to stay in tune with what’s going on. And I know-- a lot of us have been taught, both overtly and subconsciously that

Alexandra Gabrielle:

It's a “private part”. So it's private. We don't talk about it.

Laura Borichevsky - Narration:

which means that a lot of us would rather try to unsee or cover up our own discharge. We even see this approach to censoring vaginal discharge in some more progressive companies that create menstruation products through their fabric choices.

Alexandra Gabrielle:

Period panties are really becoming popular right now. And it's great. But when you have something that's got a black lining, it doesn't really give you a good idea. And most of the time you can still see it when you're going to the bathroom. But those things might seem really great. But if you're noticing they can odor, put a pad in too, so you can see the color of your discharge, because that means a lot about your health.

Laura Borichevsky - Narration:

Something else you can do to keep in touch with your health in this way? Talk to someone you trust about it, and make it a part of normalized conversation.

Alexandra Gabrielle:

Nobody wants to be like, “Oh, what was your vaginal discharge like today?” And I get that. It's weird, but have those conversations with your close friends, like whoever you're talking about, like your sexual partners or something like that ask about their discharge. Like, it seems weird to have a conversation, but if you're having a certain amount of discharge or if you're having a lot of clotting, nobody really talks about clots. Like that's not something I really was told about when I was in school learning about sex ed is that, yeah, when you start your period, you might start clotting when to like, that should be a concern for you. And when it can just be a normal occurrence.

And knowing what's different for you versus different, the next person is going to help you because for you, you're like, “Oh great! My vagina smells so sweet all of a sudden.” And you're like, if it normally hasn't smelled sweet, that might be something going on, good thing or bad thing. But you should probably find out what that thing is.

Laura Borichevsky - Narration:

Thanks for the segue, Alex-- smell is *also* something that’s all tied up in the discomfort around vaginal discharge talk. But just like color-- smells can change over time and are heavily influenced by standard human body processes like menstruation, sweat, urine, bacteria and pH levels, and hormones. While smell can be a sign of illness, dehydration, infections, or the presence of a medication, most times our smells aren’t a sign that something is wrong, even if you happen to be someone who doesn’t enjoy your own scent very much.

That said, something that makes folks seemingly *extra* self-conscious about smell is what we think other people will think about it-- especially those we want to be intimate with. Alex has a refreshing take on this, too: don’t shy away from conversations about it.

Alexandra Gabrielle:

It's something that I've been so self-conscious of in the past. But again, having those conversations with people and sexual partners were like, “Yeah, I don't really care. Like everybody’s shit smells weird sometimes. Like, it's fine. But I noticed a difference.” Don't feel afraid to tell your partner, if you notice a smell, because they're gonna be able to smell things a lot better, depending on closer getting to everything. So tell somebody if that's happening. Because if, again, if this is somebody you've been with for a long time, especially, they're going to notice that it's different comment on it. Like don't feel weird or uncomfortable with it. It's bodies. Like it's just a, it's an organism that you're kind of getting close to. So it's going to smell. You don't complain about your boogers or ear wax smelling weird. So like, if your booger’s green one day, you're not going to be upset about it. But if your vaginal fluid’s different, look at it as the same thing. It's fine. If it's different, it just means you need to get something checked out.

Laura Borichevsky - Narration:

I’m sure that some of you listening are cringing right now at the thought of having these kinds of conversations with potential sex partners, even long-term ones. But before you dismiss it-- let’s dig in: where does that hesitancy, fear, shame, and embarrassment come from anyway? What stories have we been told about our bodies?

Alexandra Gabrielle:

‘Cause you can’t have any smells like it shouldn't smell like anything at all, [ laughter ] except for watermelon, like melon smelling stuff. And a lot of times we're doing stuff for the other person that's like totally ridiculous. And they're not even thinking of being more honest and be like, “yeah, my vagina smells like that. If you have a problem with that, you can leave now, like this is my vagina smell” and being more comfortable and secure with yourself because it's helped me a lot.

Laura Borichevsky - Narration:

So if you do have someone in your life comment on your body odor (and their intention is to be helpful, not shaming) Alexandra challenges you to take it as a data point, and not a personal judgement.

Alexandra Gabrielle:

I'm not going to get offended by that. But I'm like, “Oh, that's weird that they're saying that because I've showered more recently than I have been normally” that normally I'm like, well, I'll take a shower here and there when I need it. And I was like, “I just showered today. And you're telling me I stink”. Like, don't take it as an insult. Take it as like, “okay, somebody is telling you something is off with your body” and taking it that way. Instead of being insulted all the time about things, because that's our general response to just like, “Oh no, there's something wrong. I'm just going to put perfume on me, get melon scented, Vagisil. And that's going to make it all better.” [ laughter ]

Laura Borichevsky - Narration:

And if *you* find yourself in a position where you need to tell someone that they smell different than they usually do-- Alexandra has some tips on how to deliver the message thoughtfully.

Alexandra Gabrielle:

Frame it in a nice way. Don't ever tell anybody that their pussy stinks. Cause that's that's really mean. But tell them that, “Hey, there's a different odor here. Like your vagina smells different than it has been,” because that's what you should be trying to point out is a difference. Not shaming somebody for what it actually smells like.

Laura Borichevsky - Narration:

And-- speaking of what a vagina *actually* smells like… even if you aren’t a fan of your own scent, don’t sweat it. Because it’s highly likely that someone else out there is.

Alexandra Gabrielle:

Everybody has different things that they like. The hormones in your body, the chemistry in your head may make you like something more than somebody else's and all the time it's like pheromones are in there. Like, you may think this smells bad to somebody else, but when they're, when they're in that situation, trying to get something, then like, they love it more than you think. And just like be relaxed about it. And even if they don't love it, get over it. That's what it smells like. But tell me if it doesn't smell like that. [ laughter ]

Laura Borichevsky - Narration:

Whoo-- that one was a little longer than normal today but thanks for sticking with us for all the details. And an especially big thanks so much to Alexandra Gabrielle for joining us for this Sex Outside Nature Quickie. For more information to continue your research, tap the links in our profile and check out our resources. If you liked hearing from Alexandra, you’ll hear her again in a full episode of Sex Outside, coming later this spring. In the meantime, you can find her incredible photography and desert adventures on Instagram @alexandra_abroad, and follow along with us @sexoutsidepod for more action between episodes. Music is by Calica. I’m Laura Borichevsky. Thanks for joining us. Until next time!

QuickieLaura BorichevskyMenstruation, Hygiene, Smells, VaginasComment