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What we talk about, when we talk about the cunt, easily becomes a drab account on mucous membranes. Vulva 3.0 is anything but. Adorned with both scientific knowledge and mythology, the film lets the pussy out of the bag. It's a fresh breeze amidst the hypersexual imagery of every muff photoshopped into a Barbie slit. The film sees the beaver as a source of pleasure and sexual self-esteem, bypassing reproduction and sexual health almost altogether. Not shying away from difficult issues, it also takes on genital mutilation – the knife marks of both shamans and plastic surgeons. The gash comes in many guises, but Richarz's and Zimmermann's documentary steers clear from euphemisms and avoids the embarrassing pitfalls of sex education. So just lean back in your seat, raise a glass to the diversity of female bodies, and enjoy the slippery slope down the most wondrous of all human cavities, the cunt.
Text: Sanni Myllyaho / Translation: Tapio Reinekoski
(DocPoint)
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Vulva 3.0 is a documentary about not only vaginas of various shapes and the surgical modification thereof (i.e. labiaplasty), but more generally about women’s relationships to their own bodies, influenced by the demand for perfect shapes according to the standards of the pornography industry. It is a shame that the film, which is divided into several blocks that are not thematically clearly defined (this division rather serves a rhythmic function), strictly adheres to the most commonplace form of exposition (various expert talking heads). Only female circumcision is discussed at length in the last third, which leads to a slowing of the film’s brisk pace. Instead of a build-up, the longest scene, involving the surgical alteration of a vagina, comes at the end and we see almost nothing from it. A confrontation of different opinions in front of the camera would be appropriate, but this happens only indirectly by combining shots with contradictory meanings. In its attempt to discuss the subject from a psychological, aesthetic, mythological and medical point of view, the film does not delve deeply enough in any direction. Due to its pioneering nature, however, it can be forgiven for this, as well as for its lack of focus (due to the overly ambitious scope) and prioritising of the voice of those who reject interference with the natural state of the body. From the perspective of more than just gender studies, this is a rather important documentary, as it attempts to remove the taboo from female genitalia, eliminate preconceived notions of what a “normal” vagina should look like, and give a measure of equality to the penis and vagina.
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