Question: I am 16 and was at a party that had porn magazines and when I came home I started looking at myself in the mirror and noticed that my vaginal area - inner and outer labia is very, very dark-black when compared to the girls in the magazines. Is this normal.

Answer: Yes, you are perfectly normal. Many women have brown to black colored labia. Please look at the information and photos on the page about Clitoral and Labial Size in the Anatomy section to see other women with genitals like yours.

Note: Parents should be aware that just because you do not allow your children to see adult magazines, videos, and websites, that does not mean they do not have access to them outside the home. Especially in today's society, "adult entertainment" is often times readily available to teens and even young children. What we commonly call porn is not a good source of information about sexuality for adults let alone children and teens. As in this case, without parental input, they can be missing leading and cause your child distress. Do not leave your child's sexual education to others or chance. The chances of your child stumbling across a website such as this one when in pursuit of sexual knowledge as not as good as you may hope. Open communication about sex and reproduction is essential so if a situation like the one described above occurs to your child, they can come to you for guidance.