In 2015, according to the most recent stats compiled by the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, 400 teenage girls under the age of 18 underwent labiaplasty, a type of cosmetic surgery designed to reshape or tighten the vaginal “lips,” to give what is at least intended to be a sleeker, more aesthetically appealing look to their genitalia.
That number represented a sharp spike in teens receiving the controversial procedure, up from just 222 the previous year. And in fact, labiaplasty among all age groups of women has been on a steady upswing. In 2011, a total of 2,124 labiaplasties were performed, according to The American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery.
By 2018, that number had risen by a factor of six, to 12,756.
Why the sudden increase in women voluntarily putting their labia under the knife? To the media, the answer was obvious: porn.
Citing “experts” at Kings College London, The Guardian newspaper reported that “the so-called ‘pornification’ of modern culture may be driving up surgery rates to unprecedented levels as both men and women have increased exposure to pornographic imagery via the internet.”
In a 2015 blog post, gynecologist Jen Gunter, author of The Vagina Bible, also wrote that "porn could impact what you think is ‘normal.’”
According to Gunter, because “some adult performers in more popular films have very small labia minora,” women who view porn may be influenced to reshape their own labia to match what they see on the screen.
And in August of this year, the anti-porn activist group Fight the New Drug declared in typically unequivocal fashion that porn was “inspiring teens” to undergo the risky and uncomfortable cosmetic surgery.
But according to a new study led by medical researchers at Stanford University, the supposed direct link between porn and the rise in labiaplasty procedures is largely nonsense. While finding that a small number of women were influenced by viewing porn to seek cosmetic labial surgery, “relative to other motivating factors its role is minor.”
The study found that just 11 percent of women seeking labiaplasties said that the appearance of porn performers’ labia was a factor in their decision. Among a control group of women who had not yet sought the procedure, a mere one percent said that they would be influenced by porn to do so.
The results dovetail with a 2014 study in Australia, which found that while viewing porn may be a factor in “openness” to labiaplasty, “it was not a predictor of genital satisfaction, casting doubt on a linear framework that positions pornography as the main driver for female genital cosmetic surgery.”
Finally, as sex journalist Lux Alptraum pointed out in an article last year for the site Refinery 29, the belief that porn presents an “ideal” image of how labia should look is itself based on a false premise.
“I can say with great certainty there’s no one specific style of labia that’s heavily featured in porn,” wrote Alptraum, explaining that her work has required her to view large volumes of porn. “Frankly, hardcore porn is often a bevy of labial diversity.”
So if porn isn’t driving women to labiaplasty, what is? According to Dr. Heather Furnas, an author of the Stanford study who has performed the procedure for the past 20 years, most women who obtain labiaplasties are seeking relief from “years of pain, irritation, and physically uncomfortable intercourse.”
“Many of her patients are more focused on being able to ride a bike without pain, or get through a day without having to carefully position their labia lest they experience excruciating chafing,” than they are with the aesthetic apperance of their genitals, according to an Insider.com report.
Photo By AnonMoos / Wikimedia Commons Public Domain
