Catherine Blackledge
I’m Dr Catherine Blackledge, a best-selling non-fiction author and sex and fertility education advocate.
Explore my website to find out more about me and my books Raising the Skirt: the Unsung Power of the Vagina (originally published in the UK as The Story of V) and The Man Who Saw the Future: a biography of William Lilly, the 17th-century astrologer who changed the course of the English Civil War.
Sign my petition at www.change.org/SayVerenda to add the almost forgotten word verenda to the dictionary as the positive, respectful word for the vagina; it means the parts inspiring awe, respect and reverence – what a wonderful word for our womanhood.
Unless otherwise noted, the vagina images on the website are by permission of the wondrous Iwona Demko www.iwonademko.art.pl
Images of Catherine Blackledge by Christopher Gunson www.christophergunson.com
I’m fascinated by topics considered taboo by society. To receive my blogs and news in a regular newsletter, sign up here with your email address.
My latest books
Raising the Skirt: the Unsung Power of the Vagina
The vagina is the ultimate symbol of female power. Sexual power, creative power and the power to prevent harm. But for too long the true extent of vaginal power has been ignored.
With over 100,000 copies sold, Raising the Skirt reveals this revolutionary view and celebrates the act of anasyrma. Raise the skirt: reclaim your power.
The Man Who Saw the Future: a biography of William Lilly
17th-century astrologer William Lilly enthrals a civil war-torn England with his uncannily accurate forecasts of who will win key battles and when Charles I will die.
But when Lilly’s visions of the future threaten public order, the Establishment tries to silence him. Can his astonishing gift help him best those in power and save his life?
My blog
Let’s add ‘verenda’ to the dictionary as the positive, respectful word for the vagina
Every girl should grow up feeling confident and proud of what she has between her legs. I believe a vital first step to achieving that is having a word for a girl’s or woman’s genitals that we’re happy and comfortable using. And that’s the problem. Did you know: despite there being over a million words […]
‘Vagina is not a rude word’: Raising the Skirt in the news
Raising the Skirt: the Unsung Power of the Vagina is in the national press. Check out my interview with Guardian journalist Alison Flood at http://bit.ly/2PqxgRN An extract from the article is published here. Twenty years ago, Catherine Blackledge’s history of the vagina The Story of V broke boundaries. As it is reissued, she talks about […]
Being born with a vagina does not mean you are worth less
This International Women’s Day 2020, I’m thrilled to announce my book celebrating the power and beauty of the vagina and ‘raising the skirt’ stories – Raising the Skirt: the Unsung Power of the Vagina – is now available for a new generation of women. Here’s why being born with a vagina does not mean you […]