The Female Center: From Sacred Hymns to Self-Image - Dr. de Boer

Following her highly successful lecture on menopause and sexuality, Dr. Marjolein de Boer returns to present "A Conversation about the Vagina and Vulva: Beyond the Ideal."

Vaginas and Vulvas. Half of humanity has them. They have been sung about in hymns, sculpted in art, airbrushed in porn, cut and reshaped by the beauty industry. They bring life into the world, transport us to orgasmic heights, and define sex on a birth certificate.

And yet we rarely talk about female genitalia. In this talk, Dr. Boer will explore how vaginas and vulvas have been represented across time:

from sacred life-giving entities, to fragmented objects in pornography and medical discourse, to icons of feminist empowerment. Based on an interview study, she will also provide insights into what people perceive as an ‘ideal vagina and vulva’. How does it look, taste, feel, and smell? And how does this ideal(ized) picture shape the ways people relate to their own female genitalia or to those of others?

Dr. Marjolein de Boer is a philosopher and sociologist and specializes in empirical phenomenology. Her research revolves around the question how women experience and make sense of themselves and their bodies.

In the past, she has researched breast cancer, infertility, chronic fatigue syndrome, menopause, and everyday health activism.

Currently, she works on a research project about women’s genital self-image.

In 2022, she co-founded the European research network WOMAHN (Women’s Marginalized Health Network).

For more information, see: www.womahn.net

Marjolein is an assistant professor at Tilburg University, Department of Culture Studies.

For more information visit: www.marjoleindeboer.net. Field of Study: Empirical Philosophy & Health Humanities (Ph.D.) Thematic Focus: Embodiment, Menopause, & Feminist Social Science Recognition Nexus: NWO-VENI Grant / Marie Skłodowska-Curie Fellowship Academic Affiliate: Assistant Professor, Tilburg University Core Methodology: Qualitative Critical Phenomenology (QCP)

Doors open at 19:00 – Arrive early, grab a seat, and settle in.

Talk starts at 19:30 and runs until around 21:00.

Price includes light drinks.

Stick around afterward—good conversations don’t have closing times.