I was reading this article about douching and how it’s not good for you (probably not safe for work–multiple uses of p* word, no pictures.), and I started wondering. I’ve always thought of douching as a white girl thing. All the commercials (mom and daughter on a beach, etc) highlight white women–and all the articles that talk about why douching is bad for you are written by white women and highlight the experience of douching white women.

Do Latinas douche? And if they do, why are they doing it? And why do only white girls get access to the knowledge that douching is actually quite horrible for you?

Turns out, I’m not the only one who had these questions. Researchers conducted studies and found that douching is a regular part of a big population of Latina’s lives. Specifically, immigrant Latinas.

Of course, I can’t read the results of the entire essay without paying for it (damn you academic websites!), so some of my questions are going unanswered. Like: How did the researchers define “Latina” (were blatinas a part of the make up?)? And is there a certain era that saw an increasing in douching Latinas? What was it? And what mitigated the increase? And how many generations does the practice linger once women have immigrated? Does the move to the U.S. increase usage or does the practice gradually die away?

But for now, it’s just good to know that a harmful practice that Latinas participate in can be confronted. Latinas, if you’re douching, please be aware that douching can often cause problems with your system (yeast infections, etc). It also *does not* stop pregnancy. You’ll need a condoms or birth control for that. And finally, douching actually increases your chances of catching an STD.

Remember: The truth, simply, is that the vagina is the original self-cleaning oven. It needs no help. Then get yourself some condoms and/or birth control. Love your body before all else.