A new type of labiaplasty cuts off the entire labia minora.
Plastic surgery is now considered a part of every day life. To many people, there is nothing wrong with changing “negative” parts of themselves, but when is it too much?
The recent surgery to push the idea of plastic surgery to the thin moral line is labiaplasty. Labiaplasty is a form of vaginal rejuvenation that removes parts of the labia minor (inner lips of the vulva).
The first recorded vaginal rejuvenation was in 1984, but the surgery was not popular until the late 90s. At this point, the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery finds the vaginal rejuvenation industry to be worth around $6.8 million in 2009.
“The surgery is relatively unregulated and frequently botched, as indicated by the staggering number of clinics that advertise discreet revisions of bungled previous surgeries.”
Kirsten O’Reagan of Guernica did an investigation to find the truth about labiaplasty. Throughout her time with Dr. Ronald Blatt, she found how patronizing and, in a way, vagina hating he was.
Blatt calls his most popular procedure “The Barbie.” “The Barbie” takes the entire labia minora out so that the only visible area is the outer labia, which causes the vagina to look smooth and Barbie-like.
Blatt describes to O’Reagan how “The Barbie” came to be:
“But I kept getting patients who wanted almost all of it off. They would come in and say, I want a ‘Barbie.’ So I developed a procedure that would give them this comfortable, athletic, petite look, safely.”
In addition to his work with “The Barbie,” Blatt also works with Hymenoplasty. Hymenoplasty restores the hymen. The main cause of this is to reinstate the idea of virginity for women. The reason for most people to have this done is for religious reasons.
Hymenoplasty is also sometimes considered hymen reconstruction. This time is also used to describe forms of infibulation, which is considered female genital mutilation and is generally illegal in most countries. After this surgery, further surgery must be had in order to have penetration be possible.
These types of surgery are quickly becoming more popular in multiple countries. Certain reasons can be understood for having this surgery, including having a better attitude of your vagina and perhaps wanting to have the hymen reconstructed after rape. But a good question is, why is this type of surgery becoming more popular?
