I agree that both approaches are super important to moving the conversation on vaginismus forward and bringing it out into the open. Like Sks823 said, the great thing about vaginismus appearing in mainstream media is that it gives you a way to talk to people who don’t deal with the issue about it and stealthily teaches them about it. Making a vaginismus story a part of a larger work is effective because it reaches a wider audience who may have no awareness of the condition and can perhaps recognize it in things they’ve heard their friends, family members, or partners say.
Doctor training is obviously crucial in directly assisting patients – I and other women could probably have shaved years off the time it took to get a diagnosis if gynecologists, nurses, and other medical personnel were more well-versed in the condition and could identify it (or even just suggest it as a possibility) early on in experiencing symptoms rather than dismissing pain and anxiety as someone “just needing to relax.”
I hope vaginismus gains traction both in mainstream media and discussion and in medical schools – whatever we can do to help with that I’m sure so many of us would love to help with. Please let us know if there are other things we can do to raise awareness!
