Women come in all shapes and sizes. They’re not made of plastic like Barbie dolls, or photoshopped to perfection like Kim Kardashian. They’re living, breathing, real people. Some are tall, some are short, some are slim, and some are thick. There are ladies with innies, and ladies with outies — and I’m not only talking about belly-buttons. Half of women have labia minora (inner lips) that protrude their labia majora (outer lips), and vice versa, but there is no right or wrong when it comes to a labia’s size.

All labia are equally beautiful and unique, like butterfly wings: complete with different lengths, textures, and shapes. Variety happens because nature is very creative and turns genes on and off like an artist picks paint colours. Speaking of colour, vulvas come in spectacular shades. Not only do they sit pretty, they act as gate keepers to our buried treasure by keeping us healthy and protected from infection. And luckily for us, their magic powers don’t end there.

Here are 5 reasons you should love your own set of labia, and not care, at all, what they look like:

1. Your labia minora are a part of you, and you should love and accept your body, and yourself, as you are.

Loving yourself means doing so inside and out. You shouldn’t feel insecure over something that is a part of what makes you, well… you. At the end of the day, as long as whatever you’re working with down there isn’t causing you pain, it is perfectly normal, but if you ever happen to feel down about your body, keep this quote in mind:

“Look at nature. Look at flowers. We never walk into our garden and say ‘Oh wouldn’t that flower be so much more pretty if it were taller? Or red instead of pink?’ No, we don’t. Because nature was created perfect as it is. And so are we. We are part of nature, we are how we’re meant to be, we are perfect just as we are.”

In this way, we should all strive to follow the example set by flowers, and be confident in our bodies — perhaps that is why painter Georgia O’Keeffe’s depiction of them are often linked to the vulva aesthetic.

2. Labia minora contribute to sexual pleasure.

The labia minora don’t solely shield women from infection, they also protect us from boring sex since they account for a huge portion of sexual gratification. The inner lips have thousands of nerve endings that offer pleasurable stimulation for you during intercourse as the penis sweeps in and out during sex.

The glands on the labia act like a built-in ribbed condom for men, and add to your own orgasm build up. The lips also promote orgasms since women can come from labial massage alone (even without touching the clitoris)!

This post was originally appeared on Ravishly and was republished here with full permission.