I wanted to jump off from Leah's post about the Vaginal Mint, Linger, to discuss a different "addition" to women's natural bodies: genital cosmetic surgery.

From the Los Angeles Times:

Since the dawn of its days as a medical specialty, plastic surgery has been marching inexorably down women's bodies, straightening, slimming, tucking as it goes, restoring the appearance of youth to features sagging with age and smoothing those marked by eccentricity.

Plastic surgery's southward expansion has now entered territory long thought sacred. Today, the vagina and its neighbors -- the labia majora, the labia minora, the clitoral hood -- are the latest bit of feminine real estate considered to be blighted by age or otherwise in need of renovation, beautification and rejuvenation.

These surgeries focus on "improving" female genitalia including the reconstruction of hymens, vaginal tightening (or "rejuvenation"), re-shaping the labia majora and minora to look more like the "straight slit" standard for the pornography industry.

There is a You Tube video featuring Dr. Rey, the plastic surgeon from the hit show Dr. 90210 discussing genital cosmetic surgery. I did not post it here because it showed real "before and after" pictures of people who had the surgery. Even more importantly, I did not post it here because I think it could have been very damaging to some people's self-esteem. He basically go through a photo album of "before and after" pictures critiquing women's genitalia as ugly and abnormal. Dr. Rey even goes as far as comparing some women's genitalia to elphants and making a comment that despite what a woman thinks her partner will notice it during sex or people at the beach may even notice while she is in a bathing suit.  Wow.

Although I respect everyone's right to choose cosmetic surgery if they believe its right for them or medically necessary, I find the whole underlying theme of genital cosmetic surgery quite distasteful. This is surgery is basically advocating the medicalization of porn-star genitalia and the support of such a skewed norm. Any OB/GYN would be able to tell you that there is considerable diversity within the normal range of human vagina anatomy. Furthermore, I believe that reconstructing hymens and reconstructing female genitalia to increase male pleasure is quite amoral and even disgusting. I wish that we could work against these oppressive models that make women ashamed of their natural bodies rather than trying to fix them to fit unreasonable beauty standards.*

I tend to agree with Simone Davis in her article, Loose Lips Sink Ships, where she discusses the issue of cosmetic genital surgey as a feminist issue. I also really appreciated the part of the article where she points out some of the benefits of unique vaginas:

Dan Savage, syndicated sex advice columnist, responded to one reader concerned about the aesthetic effect of her long labia minora, by suggesting the work of Dr. Stubbs. He received many letters of protest, providing paeans to the appeal of prominent labia and/or suggesting that he advise self-admiration,n ot surgery.The enthusiastic adjectivest hese
letter writers employed ("lavish,"" luscious,"" extravagant") coupled with their emphasis on erotic pleasure, can remind us that perhaps "beauty"r esults from a harmony between form and function, and one key genital function is pleasure.

Most importantly, from a medical perspective, I agree with the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology (the official professional organization for American OB/GYN physicians)  in their statement advising against Cosmetic Genital surgery:

"Many women don't realize that the appearance of external genitals varies significantly from woman to woman. As ob-gyns, we know this to be the case from years of experience," said Abbey B. Berenson, MD, a member of ACOG's Committee on Gynecologic Practice. An honest discussion about the wide variation in the appearance of normal genitalia could reassure women who are insecure about the look of their own genitalia, said Dr. Berenson.

Very few cosmetic vaginal procedures are medically indicated nor are there published studies that assess the safety, complication rates, and long-term satisfaction for any of these unproven surgical procedures. "It is imperative that studies on these procedures be conducted and published in peer-reviewed publications so that the evidence and clinical outcomes can be reviewed," said Dr. Berenson. "Until that time, the absence of data supporting the safety and efficacy of these procedures makes their recommendation untenable."

ACOG also is concerned with the ethical issues associated with the marketing and national franchising of cosmetic vaginal procedures. A business model that controls the dissemination of scientific knowledge is troubling, according to the new committee opinion. "When a new surgical procedure or a variation of an established surgical procedure is developed, physicians typically do not attempt to keep it proprietary or restrict who can perform the procedure," said Dr. Berenson.

So after reading all of this - what do you think about genital cosmetic surgery?

READ MORE:
1. "Designer Vaginas" by Salon.com
2. "Intimate Makeover" by the Los Angeles Times
3. "Loose Lips Sink Ships" by Simone Weil Davis in the Journal Feminist Studies Number 28 Issue 1 from Spring 2002

*I also wanted to acknowledge that although I did not mention it here, I fully realize that pornography can also lead to unattainable standards of male beauty as well. I am not sure what types of male genital cosmetic surgeries are out there but I know that there is a very large market for penis enlargement pills and creams as well as those improving male sexual performance. I hope to be able to address these themes in a future post.