The media has been making young girls feel self-conscious about their bodies for decades.
From cellulite to body-rolls to thigh gaps, women and young girls are constantly bombarded with images of what the mainstream media says their bodies should look like.
Unfortunately, these unattainable standards don’t just stop at flat stomachs and perfectly preened body hair.
They’ve somehow managed to creep into our genitals.
Labiaplasties, or ‘designer vaginas,’ have been taking the cosmetic surgery industry by storm for the past few years. Women who are unhappy with the appearance of their vulvas can opt to have excessive tissue removed from their labia, or just have it reshaped altogether.
While the surgery can be helpful for those who experience discomfort due to the size of their labia, it is most commonly associated with women who think that their vulva is ‘ugly,’ or needs to look more presentable.
And now, girls as young as nine years old are reportedly requesting labiaplasties – because of pornography.
Gynaecology expert Dr. Naomi Crouch told the BBC this week that young girls were becoming increasingly self-conscious about their vaginas and vulvas because of the pornographic content available to them online.
“Girls will sometimes come out with comments like, ‘I just hate it, I just want it removed,’ and for a girl to feel that way about any part of her body – especially a part that’s intimate – is very upsetting.”
Dr. Crouch also said that she was worried that an increasing number of GPs in the UK were referring girls who have requested the surgery.
The NHS only offer labiaplasties in exceptional cases now.
Dr. Crouch agrees with this approach, stating that girls should only be getting labiaplasties if they have a medical abnormality.
But even so, the demand for labiaplasties has risen enormously in recent years.
A study authored by Dr. Magdalena Simonis of the University of Melbourne in 2016 found that 54% of female patients were asking their GPs about vulva related cosmetic surgery, even though there had been no recorded increase in genital abnormalities.
Dr. Simonis also attributed this rise in interest to online pornography – as well as the popularity of Brazilian waxing.
Doctors and gynaecology experts are becoming increasingly worried about this growing trend.
