Cunny, pussy, fanny, muffin, cunt, flower, minge…there must be as many names for the female genitalia, the clitoris and the vulva as there are women in the world; all these words for something which, in reality, differs hugely from woman to woman. Just like your ears are as unique as your fingerprint, you will never find one pussy the same as another. Doesn’t that just take your breath away?
And yet, even though nothing has changed, the aesthetic diversity of the female vulva now seems to pose a problem. Having already attacked our thighs, our hips, our faces and our boobs, cosmetic surgery is now turning on the vadge: this is the boom of labiaplasty. According to the British Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, 2008 saw a 70% increase in the number of labiaplasties in the UK compared to the previous year (taking the total up to 1,118 in the NHS alone).
So, let’s take a look at the practical side of the procedure: labiaplasty involves shortening the patient’s inner labia so that the outer labia completely cover them, in a more aesthetic way.
The question that everyone is asking themselves is, “In the name of a hairy fanny, WHY are these women putting themselves through so much grief?” The answer is simple: they don’t like their private parts. From the 20-year-old girl ridiculed by some inconsiderate guy, right up to the mum who has never been able to talk about intimate stuff, the reasons go on and on. In this documentary, English journalist Lisa Rogers tries to understand what motivates certain women to irrevocably alter their anatomies.
Labioplasty then, is a surgical operation which can leave permanent scars, cause infections, bleeding and irritations, but more seriously, it can completely alter the patient’s sensitivity. In fact, the labia contain a very large number of nerve endings, which are essential for arousal and the triggering of an orgasm.
The stupidest thing about this issue is that all of this frantic vulval pruning was supposedly sparked off by pornography. According to Australian journalist Kirsten Drysdale, the problem comes from the abundance of soft-porn images showing vulvas which have been standardized by censorship. In fact, with a view to not being classed as pornography, the media gloss naked images of female models, in order to achieve discrete genital detail. It is thought that women all over the world are bring confronted more and more with this sort of imagery and are therefore comparing themselves to these photoshop-ed pictures, which are a long way from the reality of genital diversity.
This phenomenon is becoming more and more significant and some feminist groups have latched onto the subject. On 10th December last year, the group UK Feminista and the artists of The Muffia organised a march through London to warn against this surgical trend often coined the designer vagina.
What is the point of having a more aesthetically pleasing pussy if it loses its primary function as a tool for pleasure? So ladies, unless you take narcissistic pleasure in looking at your fouf in front of the mirror, just let your vajayjay do its job. And leave your lips in peace.
NB: article initially published in French on Sexpress, sexblog of newspapers L’Express website.
Photo : Muff March Harley Street (Alan Denney)
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