Dr. Ruth, Hello! I am wondering what a normal size of the labia is. I have read the vagina comes in all shapes and sizes, but how common is it to have large labia that are noticeable on a woman? (The inner lips protrude from the outside lips of the vagina.) It feels abnormal sometimes, but is it really?

How common is it to look like Julia Roberts or Nicole Kidman? Most women aren’t that pretty but there’s certainly nothing wrong with looking as pretty as they do, is there? My point is, don’t worry about your vagina looking different than what you imagine is the norm. There are great differences in the appearances of vaginas, but because yours looks different than what you expected isn’t a negative thing. It’s just the way your vagina looks. If your inner lips protrude more, so what? Now if your vagina was constructed so that it made intercourse difficult, then I might say you have a reason to be concerned, but if your vagina is just of a variety that is a little less common, my advice is not to give it a second thought. One other piece of advice I could give you is that there are some books aimed at women to show them the wide variety of vaginal shapes. I suggest you look at one and that might give you more confidence in your own vagina.