Raunch culture and the growth of the 'designer vagina' Nov 22, 2009
More than 1200 Australian women a year are said to undergo a procedure known as labioplasty, which trims and reshapes the labia minora ... Women's magazines ''present a social norm that women's genitalia should be invisible 00004000 and that there should be a smooth curve between the thighs with no protruding labia ... People need to know, he says, that there are as many different labial shapes as there are nose sizes. (Sydney Morning Herald -- Opinion)
Boom in cosmetic labial surgery Nov 21, 2009
The issue was her inner labia ... Now in her mid-30s, Anna [not her real name], from London, recently had a procedure known as labiaplasty, which involves cutting back the inner labia ... There are no industry-wide figures, but there are clear signs that labiaplasties in Britain's private health sector are increasing. (Sydney Morning Herald -- World)
Study: 'Designer Vagina' Surgery on Rise, May Be Unsafe Nov 12, 2009
No studies have looked at the long-term safety of labiaplasty, an operation to make the labia smaller, experts said ... Here in the U.S., female genital cosmetic surgery is one of the fastest-growing types of cosmetic surgery, with one of the most common procedures being labiaplasty, according to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons. (Fox News)
New warning on 'perfect vaginas' Nov 11, 2009
Researchers from University College London reviewed all the existing studies on cosmetic labial surgery - which generally involves reducing the amount of tissue that protrudes from the vagina - and found there had been little work to document any longer-term side effects ... Advertisements promote labial surgery as easy answers to women's insecurities about their genital appearances - insecurities that are fuelled by the very advertisements that prescribe a homogenised, pre-pubescent genital... (BBC News -- Health)
Africa: A Ritual Of Danger Oct 31, 2009
" The Somalian woman who gave this account was describing a rite undergone by more than 80 million African women. Female circumcision -- the mutilation of the external genital organs -- is a centuries-old rite of passage, intended to ensure that young women become desirable wives. It frequently causes life- threatening blood loss and infection. It can also lead to painful intercourse, infertility and difficult childbirth. While often erroneously linked to Islamic scripture, it is not mandated by... (Time.com)
Semenya's status no clearer despite media leak Sep 12, 2009
"Various conditions can lead to a baby being born with female genitalia (labia, clitoris, vagina) and internal male sex anatomy (including testes).". For people with Androgen insensitivity syndrome and 5-alpha reductase Deficiency "the baby has testes inside, even though she's clearly a girl," Dreger wrote. (MSNBC -- Sports)
Oh boy, that first cut is a divisive one Sep 8, 2009
"Laws protect girls from [having their clitoris or entire labia excised]," he said recently, but parents are free to "go around willy-nilly chopping up bits of their sons". Before I go further I should say that I come from a Jewish background although I did not circumcise either of my sons. (Sydney Morning Herald -- Opinion)
Semenya's Race and Sex Struggle Aug 26, 2009
People have large, protruding clitorises; scrotums divided such that they look like labia; inactive hormone receptors and on and on. Anywhere from 1 in 1,500 to 1 in 2,000 births require specialists to assign a childs sex. (Slate)
Complex sexual identities Aug 25, 2009
For example, the clitoris may be enlarged so that it looks like a small penis or a female's labia may be fused, resembling a scrotum. There are also chromosomal and hormonal variations and conditions which medics will test for. (BBC News -- Africa)
Gender Games: Could the Women's 800-meter World Champ Be a Man? Aug 21, 2009
A post-mortem on Stephens' body in 1980 revealed that she had "ambiguous genitalia." The post-mortem didn't go into specifics, but those genitalia could have been a small penis that was mistaken for an enlarged clitoris, or a small scrotum that resembled labia. Ritchie notes that female athletes who in the past have been suspected of being men may have suffered from Androgen Insensitivity Syndrome (AIS), a condition in which a person who is genetically male that is, their 23rd chromosome pair is... (Time.com)
Supplies for a Post-Partum Mother Aug 19, 2009
Applied to torn labia or perineum it helps promote rapid healing. Nori the sheets of seaweed used for making sushi is another unlikely ingredient for postpartum healing. (Suite101.com)
READ EXCERPT: 'Ask Dr. Marie,' by Marie Savard Aug 5, 2009
All menopausal women experience a thinning of the tissues of the vulva including the vagina, urethra, and the labia that can lead to problems. Almost half develop a more advanced version commonly called atrophic vaginitis (discussed later in this chapter). (ABC News)
Bucket Of Spitzer May 28, 2009
"I apply a kind of Freudian theory to it," she says, "and show the genital element, of having the mouth become like a labia, like an orifice. The mouth is a sensual place.". Finley, who's fascinated with public confessions (of which there have been no short supply in the past few years), envisions a meeting of Spitzer's people to craft the perfect apology. (New York Post -- Entertainment)
Female Genital Cosmetic Surgery (FC... Apr 20, 2009
Women cannot readily compare clitorises, vulvas, and labia because women's genitals are more hidden owing to the way our bodies are designed. By media and plastic surgeons' accounts, porn is the major driving force in shaping men's preferences and influencing women's self-concept of their own desirability. (Suite101.com)
Circumcision helps prevent 2 STDs Mar 27, 2009
The labia on the female genetalia are the equivalent to foreskin, perhaps women should have it removed for that time in the future when they have unprotected sex with an AIDS infected man ... The foreskin of the penis contains the same kinds of skin cells supposedly "more susceptible" to various STDs as can be found in a woman's ******** and labia minora. (Atlanta Journal-Constitution)
The vagina dialogue Mar 14, 2009
" The only difficult part was inventing new names for the components of female genitalia such as "pearl trunk" for the clitoris, and "lady fingers" for labia. "I thought, 'Right, I've got to think about what it looks like, what I can compare it to. When it comes to the vagina, we're not at all open yet. (Sydney Morning Herald -- Entertainment)
Enhancing genitals is now a trend Mar 8, 2009
Cosmetic surgery to alter the labia is the third most sought-after operation after facial and breast augmentation surgeries, the authors, psychologist Ada Borkenhagen and gynaecologist Heribert Kentenich, said ... More precisely, the vulva should be completely covered by the labia ... Thus, the most common cosmetic surgery among women seeking genital enhancement is the reduction of the labia - the folds of female external genitalia. (India Times, India)
* [PAPERBACK: US] Who better than Joan Rivers to dish out plastic surgery advice? Mar 1, 2009
Its that after reading how a micro-cannula is put into the fatty area of the labia majora in order to perform a vulva lipoplasty, or how you shave a dorsal hump (by scraping the excess cartilage on the septum with a scalpel and then using a chisel and a mallet to hammer away the nasal bone), I found myself having strange and violent thoughts. But first things first. (Taipei Times, Taiwan -- World Business)
