In Pursuit of the Designer Vagina
Designer vagina — how many of you have not heard of this rather sensational label on a woman’s genitals?
What shocked you more: the label itself or that women and girls, purportedly as young as nine, had expressed keen interest in having the inner and outer folds of their vagina being surgically altered?
Is the designer-vagina trend being driven by sexualized media and easy access to online pornography?
Trending — pursuit of labiaplasty despite being ‘untenable’
On September 2007, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) issued a strong advice against female genital cosmetic surgery (FGCS), commonly known, albeit misleading, as designer vagina. ACOG stated that there was no evidence to support the safety and efficacy of such cosmetic procedures, thus making it “untenable”. In the same year, a similar statement was also issued by the UK Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (RCOG).
This advice coming from well-respected organizations was met, seemingly, with no enthusiasm.
In the UK, The Guardian reported on the result of a study, released in 2009, by the British Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology. It found an increase of almost 70% in the number of women having FGCS on the NHS, from 669…
