Labia Pulling is a process whereby a girl gently pulls her inner labia outwards (away from her body) by applying force on them .  

This is a very controversial process with many women arguing for and against labia pulling.  Lady Nokie is pro labia pulling and she explains her reasons in a letter written to us.  

Enjoy 

Dear Women, 

I'm sure every woman can relate to this topic. You might have been told or heard other women or girls talking about it; but now the question is do we really understand and see the value of these. Is it just cultural norms that we believe in or blindly follow?

To me it all depends on where you are from. Most ladies who have Aunties or Grandmothers or sisters and even during girl talks, will know what I'm talking about. Having mentioned these people also depends if they knew or understood this and willing to tell you about it.

We are told it is important for a woman to have them (their labia pulled) and that is what defines a woman and uniquely differentiates her from a man. We still have women who were never satisfied with the explanation or didn't understand why they were told to *pull* them, but did as they were told. Honestly, some have seen the benefits of having them but to some the Labia has not been of any use.

How important are the vagina lips? Ladies am going to tell you what I do understand and know and what I found in my Labia research . Above all to correct some of the teaching that people have had which are so untrue.

Culturally; it is important for the young women to have them. It is our culture and do we need to follow it? ....Yes! It is what defines us or mark us as a Tribe or unique Society- - so to speak; and Ladies I don’t believe in what others say that now that we are living in different times; that is Modern World; we have to stop throwing away culture and truly speaking I have never seen other people trying to copy our culture but we copy other cultures. Why? All because we are not proud of who we really are and out background!

Are they of any use to the man one marries? Ladies the answer to this depends on who you marry and if that person knows about them and how to use them. It all depends on how one touches you and to some women they get stimulated through them.

Now the question is..... are they really necessary?..... To be honest with you it now depends on you and personally I think it is better to have them as you don’t know who you will marry later in life. Better to have them than nothing and the other reason being that if you have them at least you can always educate the man in your life about them. It's better to be equipped with an answer when he asks you than to be clueless. I have come across young women who have been asking about them and the reason being that their man have asked them why they do not have them.

When does one start pulling them and can one teach her daughter?- Ladies it is advisable to do so! The earlier the better. The reason being that she is still tender. However, that depends on the parent if she thinks her daughter is ready to learn about sex life and all that comes with it including puberty. Keep in mind that girls are reaching puberty much earlier than years ago. Years ago the age when the girls were taught was 11 to 12 years.

One thing I really don’t approve of is when elders start to scare the young people about it giving them all those reasons which are so untrue. It is wrong to say if you don't have them be warned that you will never be married or you will never have children. Teach them but do not scare them. When we say they will never marry or have kids it is like we are saying their happiness depends on the labia. Let me say there are women who are happily married without the labia and have kids. Please stop making it sound as if it’s a deformation to have none cause it is not.

I once asked my granny long ago when she was still alive about the labia and the reason they pulled them. Well the answer was the same for man and for yourself, but what struck me was the other reason. These reasons ladies are not proven but when you really think, they do make sense. Remember that everything that have become cultural it all started as a habit and became a norm to the people.

Part of the Labia "vaginal Lips" culture was that if a woman was getting married and did not have them; the lobola cows that were paid as the Bride-price had to be without horns. The 'hornless' cows were a sign that the Bride to be was "not a complete" woman because the labia were missing. This was embarrassing to both the parents of the woman getting married and the Bride-to-be herself! The name of those cows without horns was also used to label the woman; that is; *ingudule* (hornless cow)!!!

Apparently long time ago they were used for the following reasons and that was before the pads and all... You were to pull them long so as to use them to cover yourself during menstruation and another good reason was for the purpose of vaginal adjustment. Where your man put them within the vaginal entry so as to tighten the entry. if that was true then it was of good cause.

Ladies I will be lying to you if I say it is not necessary not to follow some of our cultural practices because it does affect some of you; especially when it comes to pleasing those men who know about them and if you are to marry that black African man of our culture. The chances of you being asked about that is high. Please don't run away or ignore it and is so unfortunate that some ladies now after years want to know about them and is a shame cause they get asked about the labia by the man they marry. At the same time I would love if it was a choice.

While I like to call them an Accessory; I love the part they play as my partners Sex Toy during lovemaking especially Oral Sex! Geees! You just don't know the sensation I get from them. So I encourage you children to pull them and let's keep this culture going!

Love Always,

Lady Nokie