The
latest 'must-have' in the world of plastic surgery is the
'designer vagina'. As if we didn't have enough to worry
about (bikini-line waxes, highlights, Botox injections),
it seems we're now meant to be worrying about our vaginas
not being pretty enough. Labia-envy is apparently rife,
if you believe the ads in many women’s magazines. And
like those who head for the hairdresser clutching pictures
of Jennifer Aniston, many women are now taking copies of
Playboy to their plastic surgeons, saying: 'I want one like
that'.
Vaginal
plastic surgery has been around for 30 years. Women were
often 'tightened' after childbirth after being given episiotomies,
and surgery was also offered to women who either suffer
incontinence after childbirth, or to those with serious
abnormalities. Vaginal reconstruction has now taken on a
new light thanks to plastic surgeons like Dr. David Matlock,
who runs the Laser Vaginal Rejuvenation Centre in Los Angeles.
Dr. Matlock's ads spend much of their time, urging women
to consider the aesthetics of their vaginas as well as the
function. His first ad in the LA Weekly three years ago,
featured a woman writhing in orgasmic ecstasy, claiming
'You Won't Believe How Good Sex Can Be!' Ever since, women
from all over the world have streamed through his clinic.
It
seems that just as many men believe that bigger is better,
many women are now under the impression that symmetrical
shaped labia will make you a better, more desirable lover.
The plastic surgeries available for women include; adding
fat to small, dried out labia to give them a more rounded
and youthful appearance, vaginal tightening, wrinkle removal
of the labia, clitoral repositioning, or pubic liposuction
of oversized lips and hymen reconstruction. Bigger, smaller,
Armani or Gucci, the possibilities are endless. There are
a lot of plastic surgeons getting very rich from the perceived
notion that smaller, bigger or whatever the current trend
is better. Which begs the question, who decides what makes
a perfect vagina anyway?
Unlike
men, it's hard for women to determine what the "normal'
vulva looks like, partly because they are tucked away beneath
our legs and partly because many of us are taught to hide
these bits of our body and have nothing to really compare
them with. Often treated as dirty, private, and not to be
shown, it's hardly surprising that many women only have
pornographic images of vulva's to compare their own to.
Part of the problem is that more often than not, these images
have been airbrushed, or digitally altered in some other
way, so they provide a false sense of the perfect. It's
easy to erase a few stray pubic hairs, create symmetrical
inner and out lips and tighten up the vaginal entrance when
your using a graphics program, but when it comes to working
on real women we are entering the realms of a whole new
ball game.
If
you do decide to get yourself a 'Designer Vagina' or any
other type of plastic surgery, there are some things you
should be aware of and procedures you should go through
when deciding which surgeon to choose. Here are some questions
you should ask:
