not able to see vaginal opening?

[justforapicture.livejournal.com]

a quick statement, then a question

i've been looking at my vagina more, taking pictures of it so i can see what it acutally looks like down there, and i worry about small things that im sure are fine, but i wish that more young girls were encouraged to look at their vaginas so that they KNOW when something is different, if you know what i mean. at almost 20, i feel wrong for taking pictures of my vulva to see what things look like and dont think i could ever tell anyone, but i just think its because ive been raised to think that vagina=personal, and sometimes even YOU shouldnt explore it.

so with taking pictures, ive realized i cant see an opening. i have sex fine, but whenever i spread my outer labia, i still cannot see any opening, is that normal? i saw this picture:
NOT SAFE FOR WORK: http://www.the-clitoris.com/n_html/hymen.htm

is it ok NOT to see your vaginal opening, even when spreading your legs?

Comments

[atalanta0jess.livejournal.com]

Yup, totally normal! The vag is more like a collapsed tube than a hole - it tend to be closed unless there is something in it to open it up. :)

[atalanta0jess.livejournal.com]

P.S. if you look at the vulvas in the NSFW Everyday bodies Project (http://community.livejournal.com/vaginapagina/9358497.html), you'll see that probably most of them look like there is no opening too. :)

[queensugar.livejournal.com]

Absolutely it's normal!

In fact, I'd recommend going back to The-Clitoris.com and checking out this page: Locating Your Vagina. (http://www.the-clitoris.com/n_html/locating_the_vagina.htm) Shortly down that page, you'll see the big headline: "But there's no hole!" to quote from it:

The following four images demonstrate what a young women is more likely to see when she examines her vulva in hopes of locating her vagina. The same vulva is shown in each image, but its appearance changes significantly depending on how and if the labia are spread apart. In none of these images is the vaginal orifice obvious to the observer; there is no hole or opening. The irregular shape of the tissues does a good job of concealing the vaginal orifice.

I can assure you that you are quite normal. :) Some people are able to easily see the vaginal entrance simply by spreading their legs (and that's normal too), but for I suspect most people with vaginas, the nature of the vaginal and vulvar tissues means that it is not visible as an "opening" unless you are specifically pulling it open.