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Hilde Atalanta (born c. 1990s) is a visual artist from The Netherlands. Atalanta uses they/them pronouns. Their work focuses on the intersections of gender and sexuality, particularly in the form of the vulva. Atalanta is most known for their Instagram, @the.vulva.gallery, where they explore the anatomical differences in vulvas by painting both original work and renditions of contributors’ vulvas. The account has over 700 000 followers. In 2019, Atalanta published a compilation book that includes portraits from their Instagram and having discussions and images about vulva differences. They currently live and work out of Amsterdam.

Background

Atalanta is based in Amsterdam and has studied clinical psychology. They are a queer and non-binary artist. Atalanta uses they/them pronouns. While studying clinical psychology in 2015, Atalanta was shocked to learn about the steady increase in people undergoing labiaplasty. They then searched for vulvae pictures online but could not find a diverse source. Atalanta then decided to create The Vulva Gallery to provide a reference with vulvas of varied appearance and provide an encyclopedia of vulvas to provide education, positivity, and acceptance amongst people with vulvas.

The Vulva Gallery

The Vulva Gallery (@the.vulva.gallery) is an Instagram account created by Atalanta to address the lack of representation of images and artwork of different vulvas available to view on the internet. Atalanta commented, “I soon realized there wasn’t much imagery online that shows the diversity of vulvas”. Atalanta found it worrisome that the only images they could find of vulvas were on websites dedicated to labiaplasty. They said, “In my opinion, labiaplasty because of cosmetic reasons isn’t a good development”. “I think by educating young people, we can solve a part of this insecurity and thereby we might be able to lower the amount of labiaplasties that are performed. This would be an amazing improvement”. Atalanta’s assessments are backed up by independent research. In a 2014 study by Moran and Lee, the authors performed a peer-reviewed report investigating what women’s perceptions of normal female genitalia entails. In this study, the authors performed an experiment with 97 women aged 18-30. They asked them to rate images of surgically modified vulvas and unmodified vulvas on a four-point scale from ‘strongly agree’ to ‘strongly disagree’ to questions such as if the vulva ‘looks normal’. The results found that all participants rated the images of modified vulvas as more likely to be society’s ideal. Atalanta comments, “I hope that The Vulva Gallery can contribute to the way people view the broad range of vulvas, and that they are perfect just the way they are. Because diversity is beautiful”.

You're Welcome Club

Outside of The Vulva Gallery, Atalanta has another venture on Instagram titled You’re Welcome Club (@yourewelcomeclub). You’re Welcome Club is devoted to body and gender diversity and inclusivity. Topics include eczema, hirsutism, stretch marks, ability, and obesity. Drawings featured on the Instagram include positive representations of non-binary bodies, trans bodies, and men and women’s bodies from what Atalanta refers to as an inclusive and welcoming lens.

Other Works

Atalanta has a personal Instagram account (@hildeatalanta) where they post other ventures, including personal artwork and other commissions outside of The Vulva Gallery and You’re Welcome Club. These include book covers and collaborations with companies such as Netflix and Adobe.

In addition, they have posted activism related to gender diversity and trans rights, and posts about Black Lives Matter and ending racism.

Impact

Atalanta has received numerous positive reviews for their website. They say, “Over the past five years, I've received several emails from people who canceled their [labiaplasty] surgeries who said, ‘Oh my God, I’m normal. I didn’t realize that. Their stories are very powerful and sometimes very painful to read—stories about pleasure but also about #MeToo. Learning more about these experiences from around the world has made me very aware of the lack of sexual health education that is inclusive and diverse. And it motivated me to continue with this project, to expand it, and to really fight for equal learning opportunities. I’m honored to be part of this project and to create and share those stories”.

Atalanta also blames poor sexual education for the lack of representation and diversity in anatomical pictures of vulvas. They say, “I think that The Vulva Gallery, and other similar projects, are very much needed since sex education worldwide is often of low quality or doesn’t exist at all”. “It’s very important to talk with kids about body diversity [and] about how we can all look different. I hope we continue normalizing conversations about this topic”.

Future

Atalanta continues to accept personal submissions for The Vulva Gallery, in addition to accepting commissions for individual work. On The Vulva Gallery, Atalanta is active with their followers and holds frequent question and answer periods, as well as accepting ideas from their followers for future works.

Selected Publications

Atalanta has been featured in numerous global publications including Netflix, Instagram, Adobe, Bloomsbury, Die Zeit, HuffPost, Teen Vogue, Cosmopolitan, ELLE, i-D VICE, Now This, Folha de S. Paulo, SELF, Glamour, Women’s Health, Broadly, Morgenbladet, Svenska Dagbladet, Metro, ZDF, BBC, and Vogue Italia.