Helpful, knowledgeable, shareable

GINA is the starter kit for anyone with vaginismus

Open GINA for the first time and you’ll know it’s okay to talk vaginismus. (Cue a halved papaya and a click through labelled ‘What the hell is going on?’) Far from dodgy forums and uninspiring medical PDFs, GINA is an app – created by people who’ve experienced vaginismus and are living happily enough to tell the tale.

The product is simple: chatty buttons which take the user through vaginismus-relevant information. We’ve got a definition of the vaginismus, a ‘brain-body balance’ section, and various approaches to treatment amongst other featured topics. The app doesn’t go into specialist detail on treatment, but that’s because GINA is no doctor. What it does do, is go a step further than medical info online in terms of lived experience – or in less buzzwordy terms, empathy.

Thoughtful sections like ‘Helpful Conversations’ tackle the realities of dealing with vaginismus day-to-day and show the nuance that’s needed: one explanation for your friend, one explanation for your partner, one explanation for your doctor. On top of all the inconveniences from having vaginismus, we also often have to be expert communicators too. It’s great that GINA prepares people for what to expect. This comes through in the treatment section too, where I learnt a few bits about what might happen in an appointment with a PFP (Pelvic Floor Physio).

The plus-side of dipping into a non-medical source is being able to explore new ideas and opinions. GINA takes us through some pretty heavy topics with humour and relatable anecdotes, and touches on some of the cultural context surrounding vaginismus. Personally, I think this is super important, as attitudes towards sex, relationships, and gender have a huge part to play in why lots of people a) have vaginismus in the first place b) have had to suffer with it for so long.

The app’s more of a read-and-digest kind of experience rather than an interactive one, but we’re linked to a website, blog, and social where you can keep up with whatever the team may have planned next. The simple format is a good base for new knowledge and tips to continue being added to.

All in all, GINA is a neatly-packaged source of useful info. Read it, refer back to it, and then send it on to that friend/cousin/colleague who confided in you last week. At the moment, as they put it, they’re wondering what the hell’s going on.

- Natalie Hart, The Vaginismus Network