Shame on Australia

Montana

November 6, 2010

Labi,
This makes me so angry and sad.....how can we stop that massacre ?
From an Australian newspaper this morning:

Women opt for genital surgery

Jill Stark

November 7, 2010
THE number of Australian women having vaginal ''rejuvenation'' surgery has tripled in the past decade, with doctors warning pornography may be driving women to have unnecessary genital makeovers in a bid to look more desirable.
An analysis of Medicare figures reveals almost 1400 women made claims for labioplasty operations last financial year, a jump from 454 in 2000-01.
The controversial surgery, which reduces the size and appearance of the labia, can help women who have gynaecological problems after childbirth, sexual difficulties or congenital defects.
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But gynaecologists and surgeons say women are increasingly going under the knife for non-medical purposes, believing that a surgical ''trim'' will help them look more ''normal''.
While some Medicare claims are legitimate because the surgery is medically necessary, most experts say that even when the operation is performed for aesthetic reasons, a claim can be justified if the patient has required the removal of excessive tissue.
Women are also increasingly asking gynaecologists about ''G-spot amplification'', a procedure popular in the US, in which collagen is injected into a sensitive area of the vaginal wall, supposedly to make it easier to find and to enhance sexual arousal.
Ted Weaver, president of the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, said reducing the size of the labia could cost up to $10,000 and carried risks of scarring and loss of sexual feeling.
''There's a lot of normal skin that's being removed from a highly erogenous area just because the woman's under some odd belief that it's going to improve her sexual function or make her look more attractive or more like a porn star,'' Dr Weaver said.
He said there was no evidence to justify the G-spot procedure. ''We think that they prey on women's fears and sense of inadequacy,'' he said.
Jane Paterson, a plastic surgeon who specialises in labioplasties, believes the operation can be life-changing. She carries out more than 80 labioplasties a year at her Richmond clinic, up from just five in 2005.
''The problem is the inner labia are too big. They cause discomfort walking and chafing, and in certain clothing, and activities like riding a bike You look at these women and you can see that it's legitimate to operate on them because they do have excessive amounts of soft tissue there,'' Dr Paterson said.
''I haven't had anyone who's been 100 per cent normal and I've thought, this is just ridiculous. They've all had a reason.''
While it was difficult to determine what ''normal'' labia should look like, Dr Paterson said most women had significant ''hang-over'' in the region.
''You can't imagine the distress these women are in. If their expectations are realistic they're usually satisfied with the outcome because this is something that's preyed on their mind for a long time.''
Labioplasties are carried out by gynaecologists and cosmetic and plastic surgeons, some of whom appear to be exploiting the Medicare system to provide the procedure for non-medical purposes, according to Dr Weaver.
Chief executive of the Australian Society of Plastic Surgeons Gaye Phillips said they should only be done for reconstructive reasons. But on many of its members' websites the procedure is advertised for cosmetic purposes.
''Some women are just unhappy with their look and with bikinis being tighter and smaller these days they just feel they don't fit the shape of fashion any more,'' Ms Phillips said. ''The women are comparing themselves with pornography, which is much more available with the internet. The [woman] says, 'I want to look more like that.' ''
with MICHAEL BACHELARD

Dear Montana,

Thanks for the info. I looked around a bit and found what seems like the original article.

Shame on Jane Paterson, the sinister plastic surgeon quoted in the article, for encouraging women to have their labia amputated. "You look at these women and you can see that it's legitimate to operate on them because they do have excessive amounts of soft tissue there." The thought she may actually believe her own nonsense makes me cringe. For those who are interested, here is a photo of the dreadful little critter.

It is encouraging that there are also prominent voices who fight against the practice. As stated in the article, Ted Weaver is one of them. As president of the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RANZCOG) he has also been an active opponent of Female Genital Mutilation.

Replies

Tuff

November 9, 2010

I'm glad that some people, in response to the article in its original location, were able to address the fallacy that this surgery is driven by the pornography industry. The newspaper was irresponsible to repeat that fib, particularly by positioning it at the top of the article as though its been empirically substantiated. Pornography (like other forms of mass media) thrives from showing people something new and different - hardly a homogenised corpus of eroticism. It's the bodies that regulate pornography that demand that it conforms to their standards of decency. See Helen Vnuk's 2003 book, 'Snatched: Sex & Censorship in Australia' (Vintage: Sydney), for an expose of Australian gynephobia.

I understand that gynecologists may not be experts in pornography but I think it would be responsible to consult an expert in pornography to comment upon whether there is any sort of link, and what its nature may be. Still, I expect too much from an increasingly tabloidised mass media.

In terms of 'stopping the massacre', I don't think that we'll really make any headway if we don't also address male genital mutilation - circumcision. Although women may balk that they are made to feel that any protrusion is a anomaly that requires surgery, throughout a lot of the world, any foreskin is treated with similar disdain.

It might seem like I'm drawing a long bow by conflating male circumcision with labiaplasty but I contend that they have the same cultural origin.

Take, for example, the episode of Penn & Teller : Bullshit on circumcision (back when the show still had some topics they were willing and able to meaningfully and entertainingly explore). They get a vox pop from (US) women on the street and they more or unanimously agree that uncut cocks are a bit weird and gross. Nevermind that there may have been a host of unaired opinions that said they were fine, I think anyone who finds something in its natural state to be weird or gross is probably well thought of as, "culturally deformed."

I've got no compunction in regards to adults who want to get their body surgically sculpted (although I do express some skepticism about the extent to which this surgery will facilitate the desired sense of well being). However, I think it's absolutely abhorrent that we have any tolerance for the circumcision of children, of either gender. Honestly, I think it's probably less harmful to fellate your infant son than it is to circumcise him. That may seem like a disgusting thing to say but I do think it's worth asking why we're (culturally, not personally) indifferent to the pain of circumcision, yet so concerned about other forms of genital fiddling.

Haydn Walters, Tasmanian president of the Australian Medical Association, believes that circumcision should not be practiced except for medical or religious reasons. Sure, I can see why it's perfectly ethical to permit the procedure if it saves the child from harm (and not a potential harm or 'reducing the risk'). However, 'religious reasons' sure aren't sufficient for me. Again, would it be acceptable for me to fellate my infant son for 'religious reasons'? Circumcising or fellating my son for religious reasons is simply me exercising my religious beliefs, upon a being with no capacity to appreciate or object to my reasoning. In that sense, it's no different to animal sacrifice -> Barbarism.

Do not sacrifice yourself or your loved ones upon the altar of conformity.

vimeo.com/9924049 (sorry if the link has already been posted)

lovemylabia

November 11, 2010

As an Australian women, this article has angered me. No form of surgery should be performed on womens labia until they have first undergone therapy to help them accept themselves as the beautiful, powerful, and completely normal woman they are....I'm sure they would not go through with such a surgery. I believe this website should be shown to them as part of their therapy too :)

I cannot thank Labi enough for honouring the female form as nature intened, and education is the key for helping woman accept themselves. I am aware of the porn industry air brushing womans genitals in porn magazines,to make them meet the industries criteria...I wonder how many woman are aware of this???....especially women who prefer not to look at any form of porn.

Well, I would never have surgery, I love my labia it's sexy and makes me feel ultra feminine. You only have to look around in nature to see the different shapes, colours and sizes of flowers to know we woman are beautiful as we are, no matter what size or shape...I love daisies just as much as a big beautiful rose :)

purple and frilly

November 16, 2010

Holy toledo, Batman. Turned my stomach to see a clit and labia in the surgeon's hand (see the vimeo). As a side note, many years ago a friend of mine almost died in a breast augmentation procedure because of the general anaesthetic. She was a single mother at the time; although she is happy with the results (she was AAA), she always says she would never take the risk again.

NakedNewf

November 22, 2010

Speaking from the perspective of a long time nudist, I find that society today is too much hung up on aesthetics, instead of accepting themselves the way they are. It's probably not so much the pornography industry as it is the fashion industry that is causing all of this. Just look at all of the fashion magazines, for both men and women, that you'll find on any magazine rack. Also, take into account all the attention paid to movie stars and the like, which is directly connected to fashion as well. This so called "ideal" body image is pushed in our faces everyday.

We need to step back from all of this and do a reality check, because it is basically nuts to pursue this "ideal" body to a point where an individual goes to the extreme of having parts of his/her body altered, irreversibly, just to achieve the "ideal".
Mutilation of the genitals is one of those extremes that is totally unnecessary and it can be quite dangerous too! Labioplasty and circumcision are quite similar because they both remove sensitive tissue, rife with nerve endings, from the body. Doing that, just for aesthetic reasons (or religious reasons), is wrong, wrong, wrong!

And from a nudist's point of view, if those panties are rubbing and chafing your genitals, then just don't wear them. Nude and natural is the healthy way to be and the way we're supposed to be.

NakedNewf

November 28, 2010

Just a further note regarding the porn industry. I think the old-school porn of the 70's and 80's (Hustler, Club, Cheri, Genesis, etc.) showed pussies the way they really are and supposed to be, with hair and natural looking labia. No airbrushing and no PhotoShop. We need to go back to old-school, I think. Or am I just an old fart for thinking like that?

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