Negative messages about women's body come from everywhere. As we've seen, our mothers tell us our body is dirty and then society denies our vulvas even exist. On TV (and in porn) women are portrayed as having a smooth line in bathing suits and skimpy outfits, there is nothing else "down there."
The medical industry does nothing to refute these claims. In fact they capitalize on them. Plastic surgeons have a long history with exploiting or even creating medical disorders to promote surgeries. When there was some question as to the safety of breast implants, doctors invented a disease called "micromastia" claiming that many women suffered from it and that implants were the cure. Suddenly a ton of women who simply had small breasts now had a medical disease. (Sound familiar? Remember when BMI suddenly made everyone obese?)
Labiaplasty is a relatively new surgery in which the inner labia are cut down. Again, doctors use the concept of "normal" to justify the surgery saying that inner labia that extend past the outer are "not necessary." Furthermore, since female genitals are described as an absence, long inner lips can be seen as being masculine. Anything that juts out or is bumpy is somehow wrong (unless it's breasts or butts.) There are other types of genital surgery including sewing up of the hymen and other "vaginal rejuvenation." Labiaplasty is the fastest-growing plastic surgery in the US today. This means that while other plastic surgeries are currently being performed more frequently, the number of labiaplasties is steadily rising.
As with any genital surgery, there are many risks. The labia are very sensitive to pleasure, in fact the legs of the clitoris are located underneath the labia minora. Cutting them off can cause a loss of pleasure, painful intercourse, among other problems. The really unfortunate part is that the surgery does nothing to correct the real problem and many women continue to be dissatisfied after the surgery. One study found that two of the 16 women they talked with had a second surgery to further "correct the problem." The real problem is body image, and no surgery in the world can correct that.
As a side note, Female genital mutilation is often talked about as being such a horrible, barbaric procedure. (For those who don't know, it is practiced in Africa among other places and involves cutting all the external genitalia off of young girls.) There are charitable organizations here in the US that try to go into Africa and stop the procedure. While I do agree that it shouldn't be done, I think we need to take a hard look at what we do here in the United States.
Some would argue that the girls in Africa have no choice and that women here have a choice. But if we are constantly being manipulated by our parents, teachers, doctors, the media and society as a whole then what kind of choice is that? It is the same as being told that lap-band surgery is a choice. If we do not have all the information, it is no choice at all.
Up Next: Know Your Vulva: What Can We Do?
Labiaplasty is a beneficial procedure from an aesthetic point of view, although it’s not a necessity. And yes, ample information should be considered before trying this sensitive procedure. One of the keys is to encourage women to avoid being affected by rumors and hearsays.
ReplyDeleteJennifer West