Breaking the Silence (and the Taboo) with “Lady Parts”
- Bonnie Gross
- Jan 23
- 3 min read
Written by Bonnie Gross, Writer and Executive Producer of Lady Parts
I’m sitting at a doctor’s office, in agonizing, chronic pain, with my mom and dad. The pain is in my vulva and vagina. The doctor is a vulvar specialist. A nerve ending problem. Pain. Knife stabbing pain to the touch. If it was on my shoulder we could fix it in a day, but you know what they say? Location, location, location.
Meanwhile my mom and dad watched intently as the doctor used his fist and hand to show how vaginismus and pelvic floor tightening means that nothing can go in. It hit me, quite literally, at that moment. If I ever wrote a film, it would have to be about vaginas and family.
After years of unexplained pain, countless appointments, thousands of dollars, and too many dismissive “it’s all in your head,” diagnoses, I finally found a doctor who not only believed my pain but properly diagnosed me with neuroproliferative vestibulodynia (try saying that 5 times fast) and pelvic floor dysfunction. After some other trail treatments, I was told I needed a vulvar vestibulectomy; another word I could barely pronounce, let alone imagine explaining to my friends and family. What followed was a period of my own healing journey that was equal parts absurd, awkward, and heartwarming.
My parents found themselves helping me through recovery in ways I never thought possible. It was the way parents should all be acting when their child says they are in pain, no matter where it’s located on their body. I knew that this story was bigger than just a film about vaginas, it was story that needed to be told.
And that’s where Lady Parts was born.
Lady Parts is a dramedy based on my true, lived experience being a young woman whose sex life became a family affair when she was forced to move back home and undergo surgery for chronic vulvovaginal pain. The film is heartfelt, honest, and yes, at times, downright funny.
More than anything, the film is about the journey to reclaim your voice when your body and your symptoms have been misunderstood.
Director Nancy Boyd and I both drew from our cringe-worthy experiences navigating vulvovaginal & pelvic pain and the medical system. We wanted to make the film I wished I could've watched while I was recovering; something that would have made me feel seen, heard, and less alone.
We live in a world where we’re taught to whisper about women’s health. We use euphemisms (such as Lady Parts), we downplay our pain, and we internalize shame that keeps us silent, even when we’re in the exam room.
Lady Parts is my way of flipping that script. By laughing together about something we’ve been told to hide, we take away its power. We remind ourselves that conversations about our bodies are normal, necessary, and can even be joyful.
Over the last year, I have received hundreds of messages from people; many of whom I’ve never met, saying how the film helped them feel understood for the first time. Some were recovering from pelvic pain. Others had stories about medical dismissal, infertility, chronic illness, or the simple exhaustion of not being believed.
It affirms what I have always known. Talking about it, finding community, and shining a light into the shadow’s changes everything.
In 2026, Lady Parts is hitting the road! We’re bringing the film and its message to cities across the country, partnering with local organizations to host screenings, panels, and community conversations about women’s sexual health and self-advocacy.
We call it the Lady Parts Road Show.
Sunday March 1, 2026 at 5:30pm
The Fallser Club, Philadelphia, PA 19129
Saturday March 28, 2026 at 1pm
Bryn Mawr Film Institute, Bryn Mawr, PA
Thursday April 9, 2026 at 7pm
Somerville Theatre, 55 Davis Square, Somerville, MA 02144
Monday April 13, 2026 at 7pm
Flint Street Theatre, New Haven, CT
Wednesday May 6, 2026 at 6:30pm
The Town School, Lenox Hill, New York, NY
Sunday May 17, 2026 at 6:00pm
Patagonia Theatre, Alexandria, VA
Saturday June 13, 2026 at 3pm
The Bug Theatre, 3654 Navajo St, Denver, CO 80211
(See full details and tickets at ladypartsfilm.com)
Every screening, every laugh, every awkward conversation brings us one step closer to normalizing conversations around women’s health and dismantling the culture of silence that has kept too many of us suffering in silence and isolation.
When I was 22, I could have never imagined that something born from my pain could turn into laughter, healing, and community. But that’s the power of stories being told.
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