Global InformationLabiaplasty information
| Labiaplasty | |
|---|---|
 Result of labiaplasty (top, left-before then right-after) in combination with clitoral hood reduction (bottom) |
Labiaplasty (also known as labioplasty, labia minora reduction, and labial reduction) is a plastic surgery procedure for creating or altering the labia minora (inner labia) and the labia majora (outer labia), the folds of skin of the human vulva. It is a type of vulvoplasty. There are two main categories of women seeking cosmetic genital surgery: those with conditions such as intersex, and those with no underlying condition who experience physical discomfort or wish to alter the appearance of their vulvas because they believe they do not fall within a normal range.[1]
The size, colour, and shape of labia vary significantly, and may change as a result of childbirth, aging, and other events.[1] Conditions addressed by labiaplasty include congenital defects and abnormalities such as vaginal atresia (absent vaginal passage), Müllerian agenesis (malformed uterus and fallopian tubes), intersex conditions (male and female sexual characteristics in a person); and tearing and stretching of the labia minora caused by childbirth, accident, and age. In a male-to-female sexual reassignment vaginoplasty for the creation of a neovagina, labiaplasty creates labia where once there were none.
A 2008 study reported that 32 percent of women who underwent the procedure did so to correct a functional impairment; 31 percent to correct a functional impairment and for aesthetic reasons; and 37 percent for aesthetic reasons alone.[2] According to a 2011 review, overall patient satisfaction is in the 90–95 percent range.[3] Risks include permanent scarring, infections, bleeding, irritation, and nerve damage leading to increased or decreased sensitivity. A change in requirements of publicly funded Australian plastic surgery requiring women to be told about natural variation in labias led to a 28% reduction in the number of surgeries performed.[4] Unlike public hospitals, cosmetic surgeons in private practice are not required to follow these rules, and critics say that "unscrupulous" providers are charging to perform the procedure on women who would not want it if they had more information.[4]
Images of vulvae are absent from the popular media[5][6] and advertising[7][8]: 19 and do not appear in some anatomy textbooks,[9] while community opposition to sex education[10][11] limits the access that young women have to information about natural variation in labias.[12] Many women have limited knowledge of vulval anatomy, and are unable to say what a "normal" vulva looks like.[13]: 6 [14][15][16] At the same time, many pornographic images of women's genitals are digitally manipulated, changing the size and shape of the labia to fit with the censorship standards in different countries.[12][17][18][19] Medical researchers have raised concerns about the procedure and its increasing prevalence rates, with some speculating that exposure to pornography images on the Internet may lead to body image dissatisfaction in some women.[20] Although it is also suggested that evidence for this is lacking,[20] the National Health Service stated that some women bring along advert or pornographic images to illustrate their desired genital appearance.[21][22]
- ^ a b Lloyd, Jillian; Crouch, Naomi S.; Minto, Catherine L.; Liao, Lih-Mei; Creighton, Sarah M. (May 2005). "Female genital appearance: "normality" unfolds". BJOG: An International Journal of Obstetrics & Gynaecology. 112 (5): 643–646. CiteSeerX 10.1.1.585.1427. doi:10.1111/j.1471-0528.2004.00517.x. PMID 15842291. S2CID 17818072. Pdf.
- ^ Miklos, John R.; Moore, Robert D. (June 2008). "Labiaplasty of the labia minora: patients' indications for pursuing surgery". Journal of Sexual Medicine. 5 (6): 1492–1495. CiteSeerX 10.1.1.486.7970. doi:10.1111/j.1743-6109.2008.00813.x. PMID 18355172.
- ^ Goodman, Michael P. (June 2011). "Female genital cosmetic and plastic surgery: a review". Journal of Sexual Medicine. 8 (6): 1813–1825. doi:10.1111/j.1743-6109.2011.02254.x. PMID 21492397.
- ^ a b "Women being 'upsold' into labiaplasty by cosmetic clinics, say health experts". The Sydney Morning Herald. 29 August 2015.
- ^ "Honi Soit publishes vagina cover". Daily Life. Archived from the original on 23 March 2019. Retrieved 30 August 2015.
- ^ "That's my vagina on honi soit (NSFW)". BIRDEE. 10 July 2017. Archived from the original on 2 March 2016. Retrieved 30 August 2015.
- ^ Liao, L-M; Michala, L; Creighton, SM (January 2010). "Labial surgery for well women: a review of the literature". BJOG: An International Journal of Obstetrics & Gynaecology. 117 (1): 20–25. doi:10.1111/j.1471-0528.2009.02426.x. PMID 19906048. S2CID 45078961.
- ^ "Women and Genital Cosmetic Surgery" (PDF). Women's Health Issues Paper. Women's Health Victoria. February 2013. ISSN 1837-4417. Archived from the original (PDF) on 12 March 2018. Retrieved 30 August 2015.
- ^ Andrikopoulou, M.; Michala, L.; Creighton, S.M.; Liao, L-M. (October 2013). "The normal vulva in medical textbooks". Journal of Obstetrics & Gynaecology. 33 (7): 648–650. doi:10.3109/01443615.2013.807782. PMID 24127945. S2CID 20545099.
- ^ Gilbert Herdt (1 June 2009). Moral panics, sex panics: fear and the fight over sexual rights. NYU Press. ISBN 978-0-8147-3723-1.
- ^ Irvine, Janice M. (September 2006). "Emotional scripts of sex panics". Sexuality Research and Social Policy. 3 (3): 82–94. doi:10.1525/srsp.2006.3.3.82. S2CID 144221306.
- ^ a b Marriner, Katy (2013). The Vagina Diaries - a study guide (PDF). Australian Teachers of Media - ATOM. ISBN 978-1-74295-374-8.
{{cite book}}:|work=ignored (help)[permanent dead link] - ^ Cite error: The named reference
racgpwas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Schober, Justine M.; Alguacil, Nieves Martin; Cooper, R. Scott; Pfaff, Donald W.; Meyer-Bahlburg, Heino F.L. (April 2015). "Self-assessment of anatomy, sexual sensitivity, and function of the labia and vagina". Clinical Anatomy. 28 (3): 355–362. doi:10.1002/ca.22503. PMID 25683213. S2CID 2202201.
- ^ Schober, Justine M.; Meyer-Bahlburg, Heino F.L.; Ransley, Philip G. (September 2004). "Self-assessment of genital anatomy, sexual sensitivity and function in women: implications for genitoplasty". BJU International. 94 (4): 589–94. doi:10.1111/j.1464-410X.2004.05006.x. PMID 15329118. S2CID 24224064.
- ^ Howarth, Calida. "Neat, discreet and unseen – young women's views on vulval anatomy" (PDF).
- ^ The Labiaplasty Fad? - Sex. Hungry Beast. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 15 April 2010. Archived from the original on 21 December 2021.
- ^ "Labiaplasty and Censorship - is there a link?". Mamamia. 25 November 2010.
- ^ "Blame it on the Brazilian". BIRDEE. 10 July 2017. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 30 August 2015.
- ^ a b Davis, Rowenna (27 February 2011). "Labiaplasty surgery increase blamed on pornography". The Observer. Guardian Media Group.
- See also: Navarro, Mireya (28 November 2004). "The most private of makeovers". The New York Times.
- ^ Liao, Lih Mei; Creighton, Sarah M. (26 May 2007). "Requests for cosmetic genitoplasty: how should healthcare providers respond?". The British Medical Journal. 334 (7603): 1090–1092. doi:10.1136/bmj.39206.422269.BE. PMC 1877941. PMID 17525451.
- ^ Banyard K (2010). The Equality Illusion: The Truth about Women and Men Today. Faber & Faber. p. 41. ISBN 978-0571258666.