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Topics: Mental Health, Women's Health, Health, Beauty, NHS
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Madison Burgess
Topics: Mental Health, Women's Health, Health, Beauty, NHS
A doctor has issued a worrying warning about an increasingly popular surgical procedure - a labiaplasty, or as it's also known, the 'Barbie vagina'.
As per the NHS website, a labiaplasty is surgery to reduce the size of the labia minora, the flaps of skin either side of the vaginal opening.
More and more women are going under the knife because they don't like the look of their labia, and as reported by Uncloseted Media, there has been a whopping 250% increase in people opting for the procedure within the last decade.
While you can get a labiaplasty on the NHS in rare circumstances like to amend abnormal vaginal lip shapes or to repair post-childbirth tears and remove cancerous tissues, more women are going private and opting for the surgery to increase sexual confidence put to bed any insecurities.
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However, the Uncloseted investigation has revealed that teens are googling 'genital surgery' from the age of 14 and 1 in 4 young people feel embarrassed by their labia.
The term 'Barbie vagina' came from Dr. Red Alinsod in 2005, who came up with it after he noticed a rise in patients wanting their vulva to resemble a Barbie doll's crotch - aka, smooth, flat, no hair, and no labia showing, with only a slit remaining.
Of course, we know that labias come in all different shapes and sizes and it doesn't mean there's anything wrong with them at all - however, a lack of diversity shown in the media and limited education on the topic has reportedly led to the worrying rise.
Offering his thoughts in the article, Dr. Ronald Blatt, a labiaplasty surgeon at the Manhattan Center for Gynecology has revealed quite a big factor to keep in mind regarding this procedure.
He explained: "People will come to me sometimes if they got it done at another place and ask, ‘Doc, can you fix it?’”
However, he added: "But the trim method cuts off everything. There’s nothing left to fix.”
The doctor also outlined that 'about 80%' of his patients get the surgery for cosmetic reasons.
On top of the results being irreversible, labiaplasty surgeries can also permanently damage nerve endings in the vulva.
Sex educator Elizabeth Wood told the publication that some people can experience less sexual pleasure after going under the knife as surgeons may not save the nerves.
She said: “Many vulva owners report numbness, lack of sensation, and inability to climax."
Psychologist and sexologist, Laura Lee, told Body and Soul that many women struggle with an unrealistic standard when it comes to their vulva and how it looks.
She told the publication: “Many women learn early on that their genitalia are something to hide, often framed as dirty, unattractive or shameful. Rarely are they told that vulvas are normal, healthy and diverse.
Adding: "Vulvas are increasingly portrayed as small, symmetrical and hairless, which creates an unrealistic standard and erases the natural variation that’s actually very common."
On top of this, a WHV report sadly found that nearly half of women who considered a labiaplasty said that porn or social media shaped their choice.