Women will take to the streets of New York next week in what could be the start of a global protest movement against controversial cosmetic surgery operations for female genitals including “Laser vaginal Rejuvenation”, “Designer vaginoplasty” and “Cosmetic Labiaplasty”.
In response to an expanding g-nital cosmetic surgery industry in the US, a small group call the New View campaign will hold their first protest outside a surgery in New York on Monday, calling for more research into potential harms, which may include scarring, chronic pain, loss of sensation, and reduced er-tic pleasure.
While the operations are promoted with such claims as restoring that youthful “look and feel” and “enhancement of s-xual gratification“, according to the protestors straight-talking language the procedures can involve “partial or full amputation of, or injecting fat into, the labia”, and “cutting the muscles in and around the v-gina, stitching them back together and burning off the excess skin.”
Campaign spokesperson Dr Leonore Tiefer says these procedures would be labelled “female g-nital mutilation in other parts of the world”. Tiefer, a psychologist with a position at New York University told Crikey the cosmetic surgery industry is capitalising on women’s insecurities, and the growth of this new “body surveillance” could lead to more depression and s-xual problems.
While some of the newer laser based procedures are rare in Australia, the operation called labiaplasty — enlargement or reduction of the labia — is offered by many Australian cosmetic surgeons and advertised as costing up to $4,500.
Sydney cosmetic surgeon, Dr Colin Moore indicated to Crikey there was in his view, an important distinction between some of the newer laser-based procedures and older established operations such as labiaplasty and vaginoplasty, that he says have been listed on Medicare for a long time.
Moore says these procedures are done mostly for medical reasons, such as recurrent urinary infections and prolapse, though he noted labiaplasty was growing in popularity until the recent economic downturn.
Dr Leonore Tiefer sees a direct link between the growing popularity of Brazilian waxing and the trend towards cosmetic surgery of the genitals. “Once the message is communicated that your genitals are unacceptable, and you better work on them, it’s very hard to feel that you’ve done enough work,” she said.
The American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology recently said the safety and effectiveness of new cosmetic genital procedures like “vaginal rejuvenation” and “designer vaginoplasty” had “not been documented.”
The college statement suggested any concern women have about their appearance may be alleviated by “a frank discussion of the wide range of normal genitalia and reassurance that the appearance of the external genitalia varies significantly from woman to woman”.
Woh there Charmaine, it is off topic but I’ll still call you on it, whats with the elective surgery bashing?? and more specifically damning hysterectomies!?!
Firstly, anyone in this country is and should be free to do as they please to their own bodies. If it is unhealthy or in not in their best interest they should be offered optional council from professionals. The wonders of elective surgery is there thanks to our amazing surgeons and scientists and anyone should be free to use it if they can pay for it.
Secondly, I seriously doubt that the vast majority of the 30,000 women you mentioned go through this operation for their partner’s benefit nor for any vanity or cosmetic reason. You must be one of the lucky women who does not have periods causing you to have to curl up in agony for days every month. Many of these women see a hysterectomy as freedom from these pains without the toxins of constant medication, so they can function in society and enjoy life like everyone else. I do think that our medicare should support these women.
On topic though, as we’ve seen from that brilliant forum, education and love is what is needed, not damnation.
I’d really like to comment on this story…but I don’t want to make a real vagina of myself in front of the women
I know
Lucrative careers for surgeons who perform genital mutilations? What about the 30,000+ Australian women who undergo major surgery each year to have their non cancerous womb surgically amputated, their healthy, normal ovaries castrated, their undiseased cervix cut out and their vagina shortened and sewn into a blind ended pouch? This is the billion $$ elective hysterectomy and female castration industry which is fully subsided by Medicare and private medical insurance. It’s now considered a normal rite of passage for women in their 30s and 40s, who don’t have cancer or any other serious life threatening condition, to have their undiseased female sexual organs needlessly amputated and mutilated in order to supposedly “cure” common and non life threatening menstrual disorders. Again, women being made to feel as if they are naturally defective by design because they have periods! Get rid of those messy and unsexy periods girls. You know what a turn off they are to the guys. The gynos will tell you that you don’t need a uterus and your ovaries. And after the very organs which define you as a woman have been cut out and you’ve been sewn up again, you’ll still have a truncated, desensitised vaginal cavity where your man can conveniently insert his penis. Sweet!
Charmaine: as a woman who has been diagnosed with endometriosis, your comments are as desensitized as that of male doctors, who tell women with my condition to, ‘toughen up – it happens to everyone.”
While I don’t know if I would undergo an elective hysterectomy – that the choice is there is incredibly important – not to mention that Medicare would subsidise a condition that is at times debilitating – ahh – is that not what it is there for? Or, is part of being female suffering through excessive bleeding, blinding pain and the possibiity of developing cysts?
Also – to say that a womb and a uterus define a woman? So, – women are now solely defined by their ability to bear children? Great – so for women who a) choose not to, b) can’t – are not women any more?
I’m suprised that someone who obviously believes that they are championing women’s rights could be so denigrating to women.
Thanks for the link Dess, that blog debate is fascinating and (unlike just about every other internet debate I’ve ever seen) it’s great that guys have written in trying to calm down the hysterical chicks with labia paranoia rather than just contribute to the Penthouse-driven anti-labia prejudice.