Black Witch

I was just perusing my social media and I came across this:

This was me:

Alright, here’s why you shouldn’t be turning your punami into a humidifier. Actually, no, let’s start from the basics: what is vaginal steaming? Well, according to website naturalnews.com, penned by Lisa S. Lawless, Ph.D:

“For those not familiar with what vaginal steaming is, think of it like a medicinal, herbal, steam facial for the vagina.

Typically, they are done a day or two after a woman has had her period in order to detox and heal any imbalances in the vagina, cervix and uterus. Vaginal steaming has also been known to ease anxiety in women as well as tackle several other health issues-

• Irregular and painful periods
• Vaginal cysts
• Infertility
• Bladder and yeast infections
• Hemorrhoids
• Uterine fibroids
• Scarring from childbirth, hysterectomies and laparoscopies”

You don’t have to go far in this entry to find the Orientalism in the article:

“Vaginal steaming in Chinese medicine is used to relieve stagnation and coldness in the body, and in Eastern medicine in general it is used to dilate the blood vessels, increase blood circulation, provide oxygenation and relax the pelvic floor muscles. Other ways it improves health depends on the herbs that are used and the healing properties each herb brings to the table. The most commonly used herbs for vaginal steaming are mugwort, basil, calendula, oregano, marshmallow root, wormwood and rosemary.”

Ah, there it is! And notice, those are primarily Western herbs you see that are being used with a Chinese (funny, there’s no ethnic pinpoint because China’s a pretty big nation with a pretty extensive history and various groups, can’t lump them all together) method…that eventually switches to “Korean” later. Because somehow that’s not a recipe for disaster. This is why stealing cultural ideas is bad, women’s health addition. Especially if it didn’t come from the Far East…more like “Los Angeles in 2010” and as a bastardization of moxibustion, which is an authentic healing method.

Alright, we got the basics, now let’s get back to why you shouldn’t be turning your punami into a humidifier.

The vagina is self-cleaning
Doctors (smart ones) would usually tell women to not shove, spurt or steam anything up main street for cleaning purposes because the vaginal canal is actually self cleaning. Douching is bad. Very bad. Like, “there’s a reason why it’s an insult” bad. The vagina naturally regulates itself and pushes out any bad bacteria, germs, dead cells, etc etc. What douching of any sort does is forces all that back in. It’s like the natural fluids in the vagina are showing bad elements the door, and the human it’s connected to just wants to shove everyone back in the house. Which causes infections.
Actually, let me let a real doctor talk, Mary Jane Minkin, M.D., clinical professor of ob-gyn at Yale School of Medicine. She was interviewed by Women’s Health magazine and this is what she had to say:

1. It Burns

“My first concern is that someone would burn themselves because steam is hot,” says Minkin. “And I certainly wouldn’t want someone to get a burn in their vagina.” Fun fact: Your hoo­ha sits right next to the bladder and rectum, so a bad burn could damage the lining between the two of them and cause a lot of issues. “That would be a worst­case scenario,” says Minkin”

Remember, if you’re getting worked done on the vaginal region by steaming it, it is most likely not being done by a someone with a medicinal background. And with so many how-to home guides floating around on the internet, it’s a recipe for trouble. During steaming, the whole area (the vulva) is getting steamed, the major and minor labias, the urethral entrance, the vaginal opening. That means the herbal concoction is going to affect everywhere. Then there’s the rectum, as the doctor has mentioned. Basically, these are sensitive parts that you do not want to damage through poor research and misguided health suggestions.

2. It Can Mess With Your Vagina’s Good Bacteria

Just like regular douching, trying to “cleanse” your vag with steam can be drying and disrupt the natural bacteria that lives up in there, says Minkin. And since the vagina is a self ­cleaning machine, you don’t need to take any action to keep it that way, she says. However, one thing you could do to boost your vagina’s natural cleaning abilities is to eat more yogurt, which contains the good bacteria that keep your vag fresh yeast infection ­free.

The doctor also wonders in the article if the steam can even go up that far. The vaginal canal isn’t Route 66 but it’s not a cavernous hall, either. Either way, steaming could mess with your body’s natural ability to keep and maintain its own defenses because it’s a super delicate ecosystem down there. I mean, if you’re not wearing the right underoos and if you under enough stress, then you may risk getting a yeast infection. It already has an ability to get rid of the germs that grow in and around the body, the vagina. There’s no need to modify that.

3. It Won’t Balance Any Hormones

First off, Minkin says, there are no hormones produced by the uterus or the vagina. “The hormone factory is in the ovaries, and there’s no reason why steam would affect the hormones produced there,” she says. And again, it’s hard to say if the steam even makes it that far.

Welp, usually I would add something here but there you have it. And no, you can directly inject steam into your vaginal canal (please don’t do that) and still, it probably won’t even slip past the cervix, at best.

Frankly, steam cleaning is great for drapes and clothing. Steamers are great for when you’re suffering from head colds. Saunas are nice. Herbal saunas are nice. Steam can be used to power machines. These are all nice things. Steam treatments on the body can be great, up the vaginal canal is not one of them.

Basically, don’t do it.

And it’s almost a week away from the Black Witch live stream, June 9th. I think I should update the time to 7 PM EST if I haven’t already. The reason for this livestream is because Black Witch will be in its sixth year, it’s the Black Witch 6^th Anniversary. W00t. The livestream will be via the Black Witch Fan Page on Facebook, so get in on that.