Today, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists delivered a clear message to women: Don't nip, tuck or tighten your vagina. Just leave it alone!
The ACOG, a well-respected group of doctors, announced today that it officially opposes "designer vagina" surgeries like labiaplasty, "vaginal rejuvenation," G-spot injections and "revirginization." The ACOG says there are too many risks -- like scarring, infection and loss of sensitivity -- and no proven benefits. In fact, they're recommending a ban on these procedures. "Patients who are anxious or insecure about their genital appearance may be further traumatized by undergoing an unproven surgical procedure with obvious risks," the group said.
Sex therapist Gail Wyatt, a clinical psychologist at the University of California, Los Angeles, told Bloomberg that patients undergo procedures like vaginal tightening without realizing that there are much safer alternatives. Wyatt also says that women with vagina anxiety should be shown photos displaying normal vaginal variety as an antidote to the nipped and tucked private parts in porn.
But, as Bloomberg notes:
Surgery can be medically necessary to repair muscle damage from childbirth, or to reduce the size of the labia in women who have discomfort caused by unusually long flaps of skin, doctors say. The procedures can also be needed to repair damaged tissue after rape, or to reconstruct the vagina after women have suffered genital mutilation.
I'm unclear on how comprehensive a ban the ACOG is calling for -- it couldn't be calling for a ban in the situations mentioned above, could it? Regardless, as much as I'm thrilled that a well-respected medical group is speaking out against the "designer vagina" trend, the idea of a ban, even in cases where the procedures are medically unnecessary, seems potentially problematic. Plenty of cosmetic surgeries carry risks, so it would be interesting to see the risks of these procedures weighed against other mainstream cosmetic surgeries.
As sad as it seems for a woman to nip, tuck and augment her way to a fully porno-fied body, I'd have to see some compelling evidence about the risks of these procedures to want to stop her from making that decision for herself.
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