The rise in women seeking a perfect vagina

[+Frank B. Subscriber²]

The rise in women seeking a perfect vagina

A research charity has launched an animated film hoping it will encourage debate about the surge of women seeking "designer vaginas".

The film called Centrefold, funded by the Wellcome Trust, features three women discussing how labiaplasty - the surgical reduction of the inner labia - has affected them.

Last year more than 2000 labiaplasties were carried out on the NHS, and in the last five years there has been a fivefold increase.

Experts believe the total number is likely to be much higher when considering the unregulated private sector, where the surgery costs upwards of ?3,000.

Despite the increase in labiaplasty there are no universal NHS guidelines on the size and shape of normal female genitalia.

Researchers say there is little known about the long term effects and are concerned women are not receiving enough psychological support before opting for surgery.

Anxiety dreams

Jessie said she used to spend hours flicking through magazines looking for women with a similar labia to hers. She did not find any.

She said it was "another piece of evidence that there was something wrong with me" and made her feel like a "complete freak".

She experienced recurring dreams where she would imagine her labia as a scarf that would wrap itself around her neck. "There would be people standing around laughing and pointing."

"Shortly after the operation I would dream that they would grow back and I'd wake up in a bit of a panic."

A year on, her dreams no longer occur. She said she feels "really silly talking about it", but it was significant enough to cause her daily anxiety.

Emma also thought her genital area was abnormal. She said before her surgery her labia was "very long, dark, stretchy. It looked disgusting - shrivelled up".

"It was the only thing in my life that made me feel depressed. I was very excited about having labiaplasty. I thought it was going to be the end of all my problems. I thought it was going to look lovely, like a little designer vagina."

Though it is now smaller, Emma is still unhappy with her labia's appearance.

Women seeking labiaplasty need more opportunity to discuss their concerns, said Dr Lih-Mei Liao, a consultant clinical psychologist at University College London Hospitals.

"Worries about the labia are quintessentially psychological. When a woman says she is worried about her labia, surgeons may hear the word 'labia' and operate, I hear the word 'worry'.

"It's difficult when surgery is being advertised as a straight forward solution. It makes it hard for these women to engage psychologically with what's going on."

She added that psychologists "simply aren't being accessed as surgery is being presented as the obvious solution".

Jessie imagined her labia as a scarf around her neck - pictured here in a still from the film Centrefold

Grooming trends

The British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons is calling for mandatory psychological screening before cosmetic surgery. It said a recent report found that routine psychological checks were carried out in less than 35% of clinics.

Dr Liao believes that a woman's anxiety or dissatisfaction with certain areas of her life may manifest itself as body image concerns.

"Surgery may have its place, but it needs to be seen as an extreme solution," she added.

Consultant gynaecologist Dr Sarah Creighton said her clinic sees girls as young as 11 years old seeking surgery.

She found that although a small percentage of women do have abnormal labia, in the majority of cases those with concerns had what she would consider a normal sized labia.

The trend for more extreme pubic grooming leaves the labia more exposed - something which has contributed to more women seeking surgery, said Dr Creighton.

"What we should be doing... is looking at alternatives to surgery so that women have other options, rather than resorting to an operation about which we know very little," she said.

Source: BBC News

[myxomatosis]

"Decline of the Western World"...

[xdot.tk]

******* are weird. They resemble an alien life form but for some reason, I'm strongly attracted to them.

[kopsarchidis]

"Decline of the Western World"...

+1 Mate!

[mps69]

Men have been trying to create the perfect one for years. Unfortunately every time they do, it grows a head with a mouth that just won?t stop nagging. :pinch:

[The King of GnG]

WTF.... Well, my experience says me that I don't need the "perfect vagina", I just need a nice girl that is willing to share hers with me and is moderately free from mental disorders contrariwise to the ones on topic....

[Mystic Mungis]

As long as it doesn't look like last nights kebab then it will do :p

[Liana]

These comments make me sad. Part of the reason this is happening is because we are all guilty of placing value in beauty and teaching that to girls and women throughout their lives. We do it every time we tell our daughters, "Aww, you look so pretty." Our whole lives we are taught that being pretty is a good thing -- something to strive for. Sadly, it's part of the reason we have rises in cosmetic surgeries like breast augmentation and labia reduction; there can be a lot of pressure on women to make themselves look better, whatever that means to them.

Not only that, but how many of you have ever made fun of someone who you thought was physically unattractive? No one wants to be made fun of or looked down upon. Most people don't want to be seen as unattractive, especially when we as a society put so much emphasis and value on it.

[n_K]

Sorry what, the NHS pays for this ****?

What a ****ing joke.

First we pay to have the PIP implants removed from private places because they didn't want to do something without getting paid, now this?

If it's not harmful to you or threatening to your life, surgery shouldn't be offered.

[Farstrider]

I like em long and flappy! :woot: :laugh:

Seriously, the human race needs to take a good, long, hard look at itself! Excuse any innuendo, intentional or not!

[bandit_liberty_rumble]

I like em long and flappy! :woot: :laugh:

Seriously. What's wrong with that?

[Farstrider]

Seriously. What's wrong with that?

Absolutely nothing!

[Roger H. Veteran]

I'm curious as to what women here think about this. I don't think most guys cares what it looks like so I dunno why women go thru the trouble of trying to fix what isn't broken.

K.I.S.S. !!

If you are that bored or have money to spend, how about taking some lap/pole dancing classes and learn otherways to drive your bf wild that he'll never leave! :p

[ZakO]

They get this on the NHS? :rolleyes:

I had a chest deformity which in addition to looking horrible (visible at all times through t-shirts) caused problems breathing while doing physical activity. I had to pay ?5000 for corrective surgery because the NHS wouldn't cover it, yet fat people too lazy to lose weight and people who don't like the shape of their ###### get a free ride?

[+InsaneNutter MVC]

Jessie said she used to spend hours flicking through magazines looking for women with a similar labia to hers. She did not find any.

She said it was "another piece of evidence that there was something wrong with me" and made her feel like a "complete freak".

Personally i think women like that are stupid and need to stop reading magazines, either that are go to confidence classes or something...

Just like women who refuse to leave the house without makeup on... its mad. Maybe been a guy i dont get it? I know some who wont leave the house without make up on... cant honestly say it makes that much difference on the person with it on or off to be honest.

[mps69]

K.I.S.S. !!

In this case make sure it's French :p

[whitebread]

Jessie imagined her labia as a scarf around her neck - pictured here in a still from the film Centrefold

A scarf? Really? LOL

As for the article... I will never understand why some women are so obsessed with an area of their body that nobody gives a **** about. I mean, if a guy (or girl) thinks a girl is hot, I highly doubt they'll care what their ###### looks like. :s

[ANON86364]

I can't even finish reading this article. It's just pathetic how some women are so obsessed with "normal".

She said it was "another piece of evidence that there was something wrong with me" and made her feel like a "complete freak".

Because it's so terrible to be satisfied with your own damn body, right?

The whole scarf thing is just obnoxious. At that point, you clearly have confidence issues and should seek therapy.

[Buttus]

as Borat would say, 'Like sleeve of wizard.'

[DocM]

A lot of this tracks back to porn where the females have ben having this kind of surgery for years. Real-world women see that, look at themselves and it's off to the races - no different than what happens when they see what Madison Ave. portrays as 'perfect' on the cover of women's magazines or in Hollyweird movies.

Sad :(

[-T- Member]

Am I the only one that doesn't think they're that great visually?

[bjoswald]

I never realized it was that hard to take care of your own. I mean, all you have to do is wash it, keep it trimmed and don't **** every phallic-shaped object for a 5-mile radius and you're good ... right?

Now this is a hot ****:

[Digitalfox]

My girlfriend vagina, looks normal to me, so can a woman with a defect one explain what exactly needs to be fixed? :woot:

I'm sure a lot of members here would love to help fix those vaginas with defect!!! :laugh:

Seriously, if a woman can be penetrated and have an orgasm, what's the big deal?

[DocM]

There isn't a rational 'big deal', but when it comes to women's body image issues there is little rationality involved

[Charisma Veteran]

I don't even... who spends enough time staring at and studying their genitalia, and then spends hours trying to find someone else's whose looks the same... seriously? Everybody's is different, and if it works, who cares? No guy is going to give a crap--in fact, don't plenty of you relish in building a mental library over the years of different colours, shapes, etc of breasts and lady bits? :laugh:

She needed therapy, not surgery.