Vulva activism (also termed as vulvactivism) is the promotion of a raised awareness of the appearance of female genitalia and the breaking of taboos surrounding the vulva, as carried out by feminist movements and advocacy groups. Other names for this advocacy movement are labia pride, labia liberation, vulvaversity, viva la vulva, pussy positivity and similar. It is supported by several independent feminist groups and based on diverse channels of communication such as cyberfeminism, protest marches and advocating boycotts against physicians and clinics that make use of deceptive advertising.

While the men's penis often serves as a symbol of virility and prowess, the vulva is associated with contradictory and often negative evaluations and meanings in western society. It is strongly sexualized as the object of erotic desire, but it is also often regarded as ugly, disgusting and unclean: something to be ashamed of and hide. Unveiling or talking about the vulva are considered obscene, offensive and taboo in most situations. The term vulva shaming is sometimes used for these phenomena. There are many stigmatizations and myths concerning the vulva. Many girls and women are insecure about the appearance of their genitals, but do not dare to bring up the topic with family and friends.

The anthropologist Carlos Sulkin depicts this connection as a culturally associative network, whereby the tabooing of the vulva and problematic ideals of beauty are closely linked. There is a cultural norm in Western societies to keep the vulva covered and concealed in public, to hide it and avoid it as a topic. In this context, unrealistic ideas of perfection and normativity thrive:

Take the term "vulva". It means whatever it means to each one of us because of the association we make between it and other terms, concepts, images, and narratives for or about genitals, the body, sex, sexuality, beauty, pleasure, modesty, and so on, as well as with our personal experiences with and memories of genitals. We pick up such terms, make these associations, and come to believe in the accounts of the world within which our understandings of vulvas make sense, in part, because these terms and associations are bandied about by people around us, from our childhoods onward. We pick them up as we pick up language. We share so many associations with our consociates that we seem to be able to understand what others mean, understand, and intend when they speak or act in a certain way regarding vulvas.
For instance, in much of the English-speaking world, with few exceptions, we sense that vulvas and their surroundings should be kept from the sight of others in everyday life, and we dress and comport ourselves and speak in ways that take this for granted. As children, we picked this up and thereafter reproduced these associations and sense. [...]
It is also a world in which the looks of vulvas are very much on the horizon of concern, with some women endowed with pretty slits while others have "ghastly" protruding bits.

— Carlos Sulkin, University of Regina

Many cultures, however, also have the opposite tendency to identify the vulva with powerful, mythical forces. This valuation of the vulva is found for both ancient European and non-European cultures. In these mythologies, for example, the belief prevails that disaster can be averted through the self-determined uncovering of the vulva, referred to as Anasyrma. This practice was used both in religious rituals, but was practiced in the context of secular festivals. Public exposure of the vulva became an act of empowerment.

Anasyrma has inspired modern feminist activists and has been incorporated in art projects and workshops such as Raising the Skirt and Anasyrma Army. The taboos and shame that affect the vulva in Western society are to be conquered and women are to find a relaxed way of dealing with the vulva again.

The campaigns are intended to educate, empower and raise critical awareness about natural genital variation. Activists and supporters encourage women (and also men) to develop more positive attitudes towards the vulva and to accept anatomical variations as they are. Campaigners believe that the vulva should be seen as a normal part of the body that does not need to be hidden and made taboo, and that women should embrace that part of their body and stop being ashamed of their vulva.