Adventures in Vulva Cloning

The “pussy cloning” party I recently hosted was not something I’d ever expected to do – but I’m so glad I did. It all started, like many things, with a twist of serendipity. I taught my class, Mapping the Vulva at SheBop a couple months ago, and a blogger from clone-a-willy was in the audience to write about the class. I knew she was there, but never got to talk to her. A little while later I found the write-up, and it was fantastic.

As I read the article I realized that the company could help me address an issue I’d been struggling with – how to make my vulva class as useful as possible to students, especially when I’m doing it without a live demo.

You see, sometimes when I do the class, I have someone up on a massage table and I demo the touch techniques I’ve discussed. [The live demo version of the class is coming up on August 21st!] But at many venues, this isn’t possible. So I demo on a fleshlight, and sometimes a vulva puppet. This does pretty well, and I still get great feedback on the demo portion of the class, but I’m always looking for ways to improve.

Another point that I stress in my classes, is the wide variety of forms that genital anatomy can take. I show pictures to illustrate my point, but again, there’s always room for improvement.

So I wrote to the clone-a-willy folks and asked if they’d send me some kits to use for making teaching models. That way I’d be able to show a range of anatomy to my students, and show demos on different body types.

The clone-a-willy folks responded immediately and enthusiastically, and before I knew it I had a box on my doorstep, which contained 6 complete kits and 6 extra bags of molding powder.

Next up was the rather odd task of going through the mental rolodex of my friends and partners, and trying to figure out who to ask about cloning. I wanted to be sure to find folks who had bodies you don’t see as much of in the mainstream – such as people with larger inner labia, or a larger clitoris.

It turns out I have a pretty great group of friends, and everyone I talked to was enthusiastic about the idea, and several people suggested other folks that might be a good fit. What was born from these conversations, was the #PussyParty

Although the cloning certainly didn’t have to be a group activity, it seemed a lot more fun to do it that way. So I set a date, sent some invites, and planned snacks. I also told the internet to follow along. Because why not. The evening started with a just a couple of friends and we had a while to chat. Later, more people showed up. Soon I had six guests in my small living room, all ready for an adventure.

We talked for another hour at least before any cloning started. And we read the directions, and reviews online too. Finally, I made the first attempt. Despite the strange feeling of the casting material on my genitals, the mold didn’t take. The casting power had clearly set before it ever touched me. As the night went on, it was a comedy of errors. The next several attempts were the same, with no impressions being made.

But it turned out, that didn’t matter much. We had a room full of women talking and sharing about their bodies, and having a marvelous time. We got to hear about one woman who’d had a labiaplasty as a teenager, we got to hear about one woman’s sensitive clitoris, and another woman’s difficulty reaching orgasm.

The clone-a-pussy activity was facilitating conversations about bodies and sexuality that rarely happen, and that was the real value of the night. But, we were also a very determined bunch. I was amazed by how committed everyone was to the task at hand. So many of my own hostessing anxieties were quelled by seeing what a good time people where having. We spent a good three hours just working on making molds. That extra casting powder came in very handy as each of the 7 of us tried a cast, and then two people made second attempts.

Between each attempt, we all brainstormed what had worked and what hadn’t, and formed a plan for the next try. It was like the best science project that had ever happened (if only I could have taken this to my high school science fair!)

We tried varrying the temprature of the water and varrying the mixing time. We tried several different positions. Ultimately, we came up with two casts that we decided were worthy of silicone.

The silicone had it’s own challenges – because the mold presses flush against the body, there isn’t any extra space for the silicone and so the finished product is pretty thin (I also wish there was a bit more silicone in each kit – for one I had to use the silicone from two kits.) I also used duct tape to build a lip around one of the molds, to try for a sturdier result.

 

The two finished products are a lot of fun, but they’re almost beside the point. What I’m most excited about is how this tool facilitated a long evening of exploration, silliness, and body positivity. I hope everyone decides to host their own #PussyParty

Want your own clone-a-pussy or clone-a-willy kit? You can buy them at SheVibe.