labial reshaping?

[merchimerch]

I've know about the rise in cosmetic vaginal surgery for a while, and every time I see an article on it I feel sad. Here's the most recent:
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/health/features/article4211836.ece

I find this an interesting trend from the society that got SO up in arms about vaginal cutting/excision in non-Western countries (which is, admittedly, a very different thing and serves a very different purpose). But really, why are we so concerned about knives cutting others' vaginas, but we're all to happy to cut into our own for the sake of beauty?

I'm disturbed by this trend.

I'm disturbed by the need for some women to trim their labia minora to porn-star petiteness. I wish there was a way for us to appreciate vaginal diversity as much as I wish our culture was more tolerant of diversity (instead of just giving it *lip service*).

I'm disturbed that waxing is now considered standard and that so many women either sculpt their pubic hair into odd shapes or remove it completely. The option currently seems to be between post-modern pubic hair coiffures or the pre-adolescent none-at-all approach.

Neither are acceptable to me, and now I'm afraid that vaginal cosmetic surgery is going to become some kind of accepted norm as our current treatment of pubic hair has.

It scares me that this surgery is tauted as empowering for women to enjoy better sex, since they will no longer feel ashamed of the appearance of their loose canals and flabby lips. This doesn't fall far from the "your parts are dirty" rhetoric of decades past, with the subtle difference being that now a woman with "offensive" labia can purchase herself acceptable parts.

I like the originality of my girl parts -- I don't want them to look like porn parts. How can we nudge the culture a bit more toward appreciation of women and their sexual parts, rather than homogenization and control?

Comments

[nonseqmenagerie.livejournal.com]

I agree with most of your points, but this paragraph is kind of frustrating to read for me.

I'm disturbed that waxing is now considered standard and that so many women either sculpt their pubic hair into odd shapes or remove it completely. The option currently seems to be between post-modern pubic hair coiffures or the pre-adolescent none-at-all approach.

I'm concerned that many women feel that they have to wax or shave to have their vulvas considered beautiful, and I get downright pissed if people insist on their partners shaving and/or waxing without consideration for their feelings and preference. But I'm also rather tired of being told (or having it implied) that because I shave, I'm obviously being influenced by these negative factors and that my shaven vulva is obviously pre-adolescent. I shave, or don't shave, depending on what I feel like at any given moment. I enjoy the feel of my skin when my vulva is shaved, and I happen to think that my vulva is pretty, and shaving lets me and my partner(s) see the coloration there better. It has advantages if I'm in the mood to play with wax, as well. And there's sometimes I nice anticipation generated if I'm shaving for a specific purpose.

I don't demand my partners shave or wax or grow - my general philosophy is if they're letting me have access to the fun bits, they get to choose how they like the fun bits. I have no actual preference to other people's hairstyles (or lack thereof). As a muffin enthusiast, I'm just as happy to feel hair as I am just the bare skin, so it's really up to my partner. If they try shaving or waxing, I'll comment that it feels nice, but I will also comment on the niceness of the fur.

So yes, there needs to be more things like the Everyday Vulvas project, and they should get out there so people are more aware of the differences and that these differences are, in fact, normal and not bad. I think being body-positive is a very good thing. But it should include all types of vulvas, smooth or not, I'd say.

[sps.livejournal.com]

If you'll excuse me (once again) running off in a random direction, I notice also that the country that uses its "war on drugs" as an excuse to, well, intervene on other people's territory, is the same one where the juice bars all seem to be pushing cocktails of dubious herbal extracts with claims of all kinds of dramatic cognitive effects. Asking people about this, they say, "ah, but these ones are natural" (as, I gather, cannabis and opium are somehow not?).

And of course, while you can no longer spank children, you can evidently pierce them to your heart's content.

Disrespect for logic, disrespect for the body, somehow it's part of a pattern where the crazy left and the crazy right come together. Maybe it's just as simple as the politics of power: that it benefits the few if the many lose all faith in themselves, physically, mentally and morally, and just go where they are led.

Or maybe I'm just becoming a paranoid old coot. I hope so!

In any case, I couldn't agree more, variation is good!

[mehitabelmmoss.livejournal.com]

I have never encountered this pressure to wax personally - maybe it is my age or who I generally hang with. But I see it rampant in the younger lesbian community - some of the advice journals here have frequent questions on shaving, waxing, etc. Many have been asked by gfs or are getting ready for their 1st experience with a woman and are worried that their hair will turn someone off.
Luckily most of the advice is to do what you want or to just keep trim enough to keep detangled. But it is amazing to me how many women are going for the pre-pub 'look'.

[iyindo.livejournal.com]

I am mortified by the thought of labial re-shaping... absolutely mortified.

[groblek.livejournal.com]

Wow, I'm disturbed by that one.