Interview on intimate surgery and labiaplasty in Life!
by Dr. med. Bettina von Seefried
The title "Cut in the Crotch" is too lurid and too simple for me. Reasons for intimate surgery and especially for labiaplasty (labiaplasty or also labiaplasty) - as my consultation shows - has many facets. In the article I try to explain these. Journalist Sandra Teuber adds numerous trends to the article, such as PYPTOOS, VAJAZZLING or VAJACIAL, which were also new to me.
For more information on labiaplasty, see the article in Life! for download as PDF: Schnitt im Schritt.
— The questions of the article with my answers as an excerpt —
Ms von Seefried, every year in Switzerland alone, several thousand women have their genital area altered both visually and functionally with surgical help. Do you also feel the trend in your practice?
Yes, the requests are increasing among women of all ages. Some raise the issue during routine check-ups, others come to the consultation specifically for this purpose.
With what wishes do the women come to you?
Most of these patients are dissatisfied with their labia. In many women, these are asymmetrical, or the inner labia are significantly larger than the outer ones. This makes them visible and perceived as unaesthetic. In some cases, it is also responsible for physical complaints. In such cases, I am asked to get things back into shape.
In what form?
There is no benchmark for this. We do not know any standards at this point like we do for nose or breast surgery. Rather, it is about compensating for physical deviations. I have never had a patient come to me with a picture template.
Why does what used to be simply accepted as normal bother us today?
On the one hand, we have a longer sex life, and even at an older age than before, we still change sexual partners. On the other hand, we live in a more sexualised world that increasingly affects relatively young women. The trend towards intimate shaving also plays a big role. You see more and compare more. This can lead to insecurities or even a kind of peer pressure. It is common for a patient whose friends have already had genital surgery to ask: "What do you think, is that necessary for me too?" Then it sometimes helps to hold a mirror and explain to the patient what is healthy and normal and what is not.
How relevant is healthy and normal when the trend towards the designer vagina is based on false normative ideas according to which the female genital suddenly has to look as perfect and youthful as possible because protruding labia are associated with age and flabbiness?
completely to give them a so-called Barbie or Youth look. As a responsible doctor and gynaecologist, I would never get involved in something like that. The extreme removal of tissue is risky and no longer has anything to do with the mystique of the organ and its actual function. I think it's great that we live in a time that allows us to change our bodies so that we can subjectively perceive them as more beautiful. However, if the beauty deviates completely from the natural or from what is medically useful, I reject it.
Some consider even minor corrections in this area to be unacceptable and incomprehensible.
Some women are afraid that the possibility could lead to standardisation. In reality, the need came first. Why is it allowed to correct a wrong tooth position or a crooked nose, but not conspicuous physical deviations in the genital area? Firstly, this operation is very uncomplicated and low-risk. And secondly, most of my patients are really suffering. For affected women, every walk in a bikini is a gauntlet run. The labia can also become trapped, rub against clothing, interfere with exercise or sex. And very often the aesthetic flaw - just as with unevenly sized breasts - objectively weakens self-confidence, so that the woman cannot or can no longer engage in sexuality without tension.
So in the end it's about better sex?
First and foremost, it's about self-esteem. If a woman has never been able to give herself properly because she always had this complex in the back of her mind, she can develop a completely different self-confidence after the operation. She feels more attractive and thus gains a different approach to sexuality, which ultimately also benefits the partner.
How often is a man behind a woman's desire for surgery?
I have never experienced that before. Experience shows that it is really a need for women. No woman takes such a step without a valid reason. And many of those who come to my practice with a corresponding request have informed themselves very well about the topic beforehand. Not to mention, I don't think a man judges a woman's attractiveness based on the size of her labia either. On the contrary, when men were present at the preliminary discussion of such operations, they always said almost apologetically: "Well, she wouldn't have to do that because of me."
(Article originally appeared in Life! in March 2017)
For more information on labiaplasty, see the article in Life! for download as PDF: Schnitt im Schritt.
— The questions of the article with my answers as an excerpt —
Ms von Seefried, every year in Switzerland alone, several thousand women have their genital area altered both visually and functionally with surgical help. Do you also feel the trend in your practice?
Yes, the requests are increasing among women of all ages. Some raise the issue during routine check-ups, others come to the consultation specifically for this purpose.
With what wishes do the women come to you?
Most of these patients are dissatisfied with their labia. In many women, these are asymmetrical, or the inner labia are significantly larger than the outer ones. This makes them visible and perceived as unaesthetic. In some cases, it is also responsible for physical complaints. In such cases, I am asked to get things back into shape.
In what form?
There is no benchmark for this. We do not know any standards at this point like we do for nose or breast surgery. Rather, it is about compensating for physical deviations. I have never had a patient come to me with a picture template.
Why does what used to be simply accepted as normal bother us today?
On the one hand, we have a longer sex life, and even at an older age than before, we still change sexual partners. On the other hand, we live in a more sexualised world that increasingly affects relatively young women. The trend towards intimate shaving also plays a big role. You see more and compare more. This can lead to insecurities or even a kind of peer pressure. It is common for a patient whose friends have already had genital surgery to ask: "What do you think, is that necessary for me too?" Then it sometimes helps to hold a mirror and explain to the patient what is healthy and normal and what is not.
How relevant is healthy and normal when the trend towards the designer vagina is based on false normative ideas according to which the female genital suddenly has to look as perfect and youthful as possible because protruding labia are associated with age and flabbiness?
completely to give them a so-called Barbie or Youth look. As a responsible doctor and gynaecologist, I would never get involved in something like that. The extreme removal of tissue is risky and no longer has anything to do with the mystique of the organ and its actual function. I think it's great that we live in a time that allows us to change our bodies so that we can subjectively perceive them as more beautiful. However, if the beauty deviates completely from the natural or from what is medically useful, I reject it.
Some consider even minor corrections in this area to be unacceptable and incomprehensible.
Some women are afraid that the possibility could lead to standardisation. In reality, the need came first. Why is it allowed to correct a wrong tooth position or a crooked nose, but not conspicuous physical deviations in the genital area? Firstly, this operation is very uncomplicated and low-risk. And secondly, most of my patients are really suffering. For affected women, every walk in a bikini is a gauntlet run. The labia can also become trapped, rub against clothing, interfere with exercise or sex. And very often the aesthetic flaw - just as with unevenly sized breasts - objectively weakens self-confidence, so that the woman cannot or can no longer engage in sexuality without tension.
So in the end it's about better sex?
First and foremost, it's about self-esteem. If a woman has never been able to give herself properly because she always had this complex in the back of her mind, she can develop a completely different self-confidence after the operation. She feels more attractive and thus gains a different approach to sexuality, which ultimately also benefits the partner.
How often is a man behind a woman's desire for surgery?
I have never experienced that before. Experience shows that it is really a need for women. No woman takes such a step without a valid reason. And many of those who come to my practice with a corresponding request have informed themselves very well about the topic beforehand. Not to mention, I don't think a man judges a woman's attractiveness based on the size of her labia either. On the contrary, when men were present at the preliminary discussion of such operations, they always said almost apologetically: "Well, she wouldn't have to do that because of me."
(Article originally appeared in Life! in March 2017)