Is it Normal to Have a Hanging Labia?

Many women worry that their labia aren't normal or typical, but most of the time, they shouldn't. Both inner and outer labia come in all shapes, sizes and colors--there is a great deal of benign variation from woman to woman. Also, a woman's labia are often a little bigger or longer on one side than the other, and that's normal too.

Inner Labia and Outer Labia

• Women actually have two sets of labia--the inner labia, or labia minora, and the outer labia, or labia majora. "Inner" and "outer" refer to how close the labia are to the center of the body; many women have inner labia that hang lower than the outer labia.

Average Size

• The average length of the inner labia varies from 3/4 of an inch long to two inches long, measured from the clitoral hood to the vaginal entrance. Longer and shorter labia are not "abnormal," just unusual.

Coloration

• Inner labia may be found in a variety of colors, from pink to red to purple to brown. All these variations are normal, and the color may change over the course of a woman's life, just as the size and shape of the inner labia may change over time.

Are Labia Ever Too Long?

• On extremely rare occasions, a woman may have inner labia that are so long that they cause persistent, continuous discomfort when sitting, riding a bike, or performing other routine everyday activities. Occasional discomfort is normal, however (just as a man sometimes has to adjust his testicles for comfort).

Quote

• Betty Dodson is a pioneering women's sexuality educator. She told Scarleteen: "After 30 some years of viewing women's sex organs in my workshops and private practice as a sex coach, I've shown thousands of women the beauty of their divine vulvas. MORE women have extended labia than those with small hidden ones. I love my dangles and would never part with them."