Labiaplasty

A young woman (15) was brought for a doctor’s appointment by her mum (and then a second time by her dad) because she really wanted a labiaplasty.  She felt her labia minora (inner lips) were too long and she had a camel toe when wearing tight jeans.  HER MUM was in agreement and went on to explain that all girls should be able to wear fashion.  The patient herself said she has taken to wearing pads so that the jeans don’t give her a camel toe, she told me she was in a sexual relationship and her boyfriend ‘didn’t mind’, which I took to mean he didn’t have an opinion, indeed why should he, he is having sex.

It seems like a really simple request, reduction of the labia minora.  However this led to a whole basket of questions in my mind when reflecting on this young woman’s request.  Why? Why have we attached such a layer of perfection to our female bodies that we need to change our genitalia?  Seriously when have you ever heard of a man or woman turning down sex because the genatalia had the ‘wrong look’ and if they did would you really want to shag them?

I examined the woman and her labia were completely normal.  Both she and her mum had made up their minds that they weren’t, from that point onward it really did not matter what I said she wanted a referral to the health service.  I ended up sending one to Gynaecology and I was very refreshed by the reply.  

The Gynaecology consultant wrote back saying that she has received increasing numbers of these referrals and they do not offer this procedure under the health service as it is not necessary.  They also signpost people to look at an artwork called The Great Wall of Vagina by Jamie McCartney.

Jamie started in 2006 and has casted over 400 women from age 18 to 76, he did this as his response to the surge in labiaplasty operations.

I find this artwork a great source of information and conversation.  What I still cannot reconcile is why women would choose to operate on their perfectly normal genitalia, why women hold each other to impossible and imagined standards, why one woman would feel superior to another or one would feel less than another because of the shape of their genitalia? Why we would surgically change our genitalia based on what we believe men want and perhaps most fundamentally, why as women, we still feel the need to appeal to all men or be more attractive, than the woman standing next to us, to men and that this is expressed in cosmetic surgery!

If women truly want to seek independence, autonomy and equality surely we must first start with living our lives for ourselves not in a competition with other women to be the most physically attractive.

(BTW 4 across, 3 down- ouch! I am not that brave)