A few weeks ago, Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion came out with the music video WAP (Wet Ass Pussy). Some people think its too vulgar and as expected, Republicans are all uptight about it. I think Cardi B has brought to light something that is REALLY important but taboo to discuss. Your pussy NEEDS to be wet. So I thank Cardi B for disrupting the culturally prude, misogynistic and patriarchal existence that we are subjected to.
I mean if I asked my religious Muslim mother, “Is it important to have a wet ass pussy?”, she would first say, “What is this?” I would clarify and say, lubricated vagina, and she would say, “Of course it is necessary”. Growing up, it was haram for my sisters and I to date or watch Beverly Hills 90210 (but we figured out how). Yet talking about kegels, cramps and/or the consistency of our period blood with my mom and dad was an accepted norm.
So normal that when I got my period, at age 11, my mother (a pediatric pathologist at the time) took me down to the basement to look at vaginas under her microscope. Ok, so they were (nasty) vaginas with STIs and she was trying to make a point. Without saying a word her eyes threatened, “THIS IS WHAT HAPPENS IF YOU HAVE SEX (BEFORE MARRIAGE)”. We never discussed morals or anything, she just showed me that sh*&. I still laugh when I realize that my mother provided me with the most effective sex ed. lesson.
While thinking about this, I reached out to my older sister, Naz, aka Dr. Nazema Siddiqui, Urogynecologist and Associate Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Duke Medical School to discuss the mechanics and importance of WAP.
Is WAP healthy?
First, I want to make clear that anything I say is through the lens of the majority of my patients. They are predominantly gender conforming and in heterosexual relationships. My opinions in no way mean to exclude anyone, it is just the framework that I see most often.
Ok. Is WAP healthy?
Of course a lubricated vagina is healthy! It is generally appreciated by both women and men that lubrication aids in comfort whenever anything is inserted into the vagina (whether it is a finger, penis, sex toy, or a speculum for a medical exam). Often, if a woman is becoming sexually aroused, lubrication will happen naturally. If there is not enough natural lubrication, then some women may add a lubricant when they are intimate. There are tons of personal lubricants out there including coconut oil, K-Y jelly, Astroglide, Slippery Stuff (which has a paraben-free option), or natural aloe derived products (see a company called Desert Harvest), just to name a few.
The opposite of a lubricated vagina is vaginal dryness, which can result in pain during sexual activity, or even general discomfort when not sexually active. The skin cells that line the interior canal of the vagina are used to being moist; if these skin cells are too dry, there can be discomfort, tearing or bleeding.
Is it necessary for a vagina to be wet?
If the vagina is not lubricated, it will hurt to insert something into it. Therefore a lubricated vagina is one of the keys to enjoying comfortable sex. Furthermore, if years go by without baseline lubrication then the vaginal skin can tear or bleed more easily.
Is a DAP (dry ass pussy) healthy?
If you don’t have baseline lubrication, then this could signal a medical condition called vaginal atrophy, which happens because of lower amounts of the estrogen hormone. There are different ways to replenish baseline lubrication and therefore I would talk to your doctor if you feel like this is happening.
If you don’t have enough additional lubrication during sexual activity, this could be because you are not physically aroused or need more time to become aroused. Women with vaginal atrophy often struggle with not being able to create additional lubrication of their own, even if they feel aroused.
So you can be sexually aroused and have a dry vagina?
As a doctor, I think of lubrication in two ways.
First, there is the general moist environment (baseline lubrication) that we should all have. If baseline lubrication is not there, this is called vaginal dryness or vaginal atrophy. Vaginal dryness is problematic because it causes pain and allows the vaginal skin to tear or bleed more easily. If baseline vaginal dryness goes on for a long time, women can have discomfort, burning, or itchiness in the vagina with regular day to day activities.
Some women get mild, temporary forms of vaginal dryness after childbirth. Other women develop long-term vaginal dryness around menopause. After menopause, when hormones drop permanently, these more severe forms are called “genitourinary syndrome of menopause” where there is dryness, burning, and pain with sex. Aside from personal lubricants, there are multiple medications available to treat genitourinary syndrome of menopause because this condition is uncomfortable.
Second and separate from the baseline lubrication that I just mentioned, additional lubrication is produced with sexual arousal. If women do not produce additional lubrication during sex it may be because they are not physically aroused or need more time to become aroused. For many women approaching menopause or after menopause, they produce less lubrication with sexual stimulation than when they were younger.
How do our bodies create WAP?
Generally the uterus and cervix secrete mucus that coats the interior of the vagina and contributes to baseline lubrication. When we become sexually aroused, there is a huge increase in blood flow to the genital area. This increase in blood flow allows the genital organs to swell, allows the clitoris or penis to get hard, and also allows for certain glands around the vaginal opening to secrete additional lubrication.
Does WAP have anything to do with squirting?
The glands that lubricate the vagina during sexual arousal are called the Bartholin’s and Skene’s glands. The Skene’s glands are right next to the opening of the urethra (where pee comes out). Some people think that these glands can “squirt” fluid, kind of like a female version of ejaculation. Whether squirting truly happens or whether this is a myth that has been propagated by the porn industry is debatable because squirting has never been studied or proven in the medical/anatomic sense.
Is it possible to get too wet?
It is normal to have fluctuations in baseline moisture at different times of the month. Natural baseline lubrication is usually clear or slightly milky in color, doesn’t itch, and doesn’t smell bad. However if the baseline moisture is itchy, has an odor or an unusual color, we call this “vaginal discharge”, which can happen due to an imbalance in normal bacteria or in the setting of vaginal infections. Generally when people talk about “getting wet” they are talking about the additional lubrication that happens with sexual arousal and not the general baseline moisture. In this sense, no – I don’t think it is possible to get “too wet”.
What would you say to those who are criticized or shamed for getting too wet?
First of all, I think of the thousands and thousands of women who suffer from vaginal dryness and would love to be able to “get wet” when they are in the moment with their partners. So for the women who have the ability to get wet/lubricated at the right time, I hope that they revel in it and celebrate it while it lasts – because it may change as they get older. I suspect that those who are doing the criticizing are using this trope as a way to take away power from other women. Sex and female sexuality are very powerful forces. By criticizing something that is special and sexual about women’s bodies, it makes a woman question her sexuality and is a way to try to take away a bit of her power.
Are there emotional issues that prevent WAP?
Sometimes we desire a close connection with a partner and yet get distracted or can’t focus on what is happening during sexual stimulation. In this way, our emotional state can interfere with the process of “getting wet”.
One thing to keep in mind is that the female sexual response cycle may be different during different phases of her life. During adolescence or as a young woman when hormones are raging, women may first feel aroused or feel some desire and “get wet” all at the same time, even before any sexual stimulation has started.
At other times in relationships, sexual stimulation happens first, which then turns on desire and arousal, which creates the opportunity for more sexual stimulation and then more desire/arousal, in a series of “positive feedback” loops until the arousal becomes more intense and wetness occurs. In this latter scenario it takes a bit more time for a woman to “get wet” and she may need to be patient with herself. If women have had painful sexual experiences, then this could inhibit the process of “getting wet”, even if the painful experience was long ago.
Dr. Jen Gunter recently said that lubricated vaginas are so key for healthy sex that she wished she could write a prescription for WAP. Thoughts?
Totally agree!
P.S. Don’t forget, your clit is 8 inches!
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