In the bitter throes of a divorce proceeding, filed for by his wife, a confidant of mine in a bit of pique over a wife's email gone where it shouldn't have, revealed, “Why she asked her lover whether he prefers her bare or au natural?
My next birthday will be my 84th. so that bit of information was pretty much beyond the ken of the experience of my many past years. Professionally speaking now, as a retired physician, women patients, unless they had their nether regions shaved for upcoming surgery always appeared before me, as the wife so delicately put it, au natural.
Well, as I realize when I hear my son playing his preferred music many things are changed and are changing in our society from what my past experienced.
Despite being retired I still read published medical articles of interest to me that I encountered in my daily reading sessions.
Thus it was that in my medical article scanning I encountered an article entitled “GYNECOLOGISTS ALARMED AT PLASTIC SURGERY TREND"(http://www.medscape.com/...)
Having myself, years ago, performed surgery on a young lady, to normalize the size of her very enlarged clitoris...I read on to see what the current nip & tuck surgical climate was in reference to female’s privates. Was this article going to reveal some new age surgery?
In scanning thru the article I learned that,
“Trained as a gynecologist and reconstructive surgeon,a Dr. John Miklos calls himself a "medical tailor," specializing in surgery to reshape a woman's genitalia.”
WOW!, I reacted because other than in financial matters I consider my self to be quite liberal and while taken aback a bit by the “bare or au natural” incident mentioned above I was quickly perceiving as I read further that ladies genitalia had indeed come into a new era of surgical experience.
I reflected, at that point in my reading, that
women going back a long time and other than for sex, giving birth and menstruation did also give attention to their genital area.
That had to do with the matter of their perception of cleanliness. Indeed, in that regard years ago women used an enema like apparatus & warm water for post menstrual douching. That was something that the world of commerce was quick to latch onto in developing a product which they quickly and successfully ,via advertising, convinced many women that they must use in order to help them to be clean & fresh.
As written in a “Mother Jones” article, (http://www.motherjones.com/...) “Douching was cheap, accessible, and WIDELY ADVERTISED (Note below at *1) as a feminine hygiene product; however, as Andrea Tone wrote in her book "Devices and Desires: A History of Contraceptives in America", it was also the most common form of birth control from 1940 until 1960” and she pointed out that, “The most popular brand of douche was Lysol—an antiseptic soap whose pre-1953 formula contained cresol, a phenol compound reported in some cases to cause inflammation, burning, and even death. By 1911 doctors had recorded 193 Lysol poisonings and five deaths from uterine irrigation. Despite reports to the contrary, Lysol was AGGRESSIVELY MARKETED to women AS SAFE AND GENTLE.
Once cresol was replaced with ortho-hydroxydiphenyl in the formula, Lysol was pushed as a germicide good for cleaning toilet bowls and treating ringworm, and Lehn & Fink's, the company that made the disinfectant, CONTINUED TO MARKET IT as a safeguard for women's "dainty feminine allure."
Commercialization of products for female feminine needs has then proceeded at a dizzying pace.
I will not try to detail the numerous products sold to women for their “NEED” for liquids, sprays, suppositories wipes and powders and also menstrual vaginal pads & inserts which fill such a large part of TV advertising these days.
Rather, here I segue back to the article that I was reading & mentioned early on in this Diary and I choose to quote liberally from it starting with: women “may be unstoppable if they have the notion that they need a younger-looking or more perfect or more desirable vulva," said Harriet Lerner, a psychologist specializing in women's issues.”
So, from that I thought to consider that in our current modern age, female genital cleanliness has been conquered by product innovation and advertising and women and surgeons now seem to be moving on.
“More than 2,140 U.S. women underwent "vaginal rejuvenation" last year, according to the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery.
The International Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons put the U.S. total at nearly 5,200 in 2010.
“In practices across the country, doctors say more women, from teenagers to those in their late 70s, want to discuss the procedures, which can cost between $2,500 and $12,000 and are usually not covered by insurance.”
“Critics say the trend is the latest service aimed at women pursuing an impossible ideal of physical perfection, hyped by Internet pornography and advertising by surgeons who may not explain all the risks, such as infections, scarring, pain and the loss of the very sensations some patients seek to enhance.”
So, I (dollparty) wonder to myself why do women undergo such surgery?
Again back to my reading, “The article indicates in that regard, "One side was longer than the other side and it was something that bothered me," said Kari, a 36-year-old labiaplasty patient of Beverly Hills, California, plastic surgeon Dr. Fardad Forouzanpour. Also, “One patient, who did not want to use her name, said she had surgery because she hated the look of her labia, even though her husband had no problem with her appearance.” Further: Other women perceive a need for “procedures include creating a new hymen for "revirgination" and "G-spot amplification," which involves injecting the area in the front wall of the vagina with collagen or another filler to enhance sexual gratification.
"They see these porn stars who have things done, and they look so nice and clean-cut," said Dr. Forouzanpour. Other surgeons say many patients have been influenced by images of the waxed, buffed or surgically altered genitals of porn actresses.
Now, while “Female genital cosmetic surgery is a small segment of the U.S. plastic surgery market, it is growing, with thousands of women estimated to undergo such procedures every year. That growth comes despite a warning from the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) in a 2007 notice to member physicians strongly questioned the medical validity and safety of female genital cosmetic surgery.
" Dr. Cheryl Iglesia, a Washington, D.C., gynecologist and former ACOG committee member, wrote in an editorial published in the June issue of Obstetrics and Gynecology. "Women are being misled or are confused about what is normal." Also ACOG not only points to the risks of genital surgery but also emphasizes that female sexual response is driven by psychological factors rather than genital appearance.
And yet, “Dr. Miklos, the “ Medical Tailor “ mentioned above, (*1)seeks clients by running a website called botchedlabia.com, where women who have already experienced complications can get advice on revisions” and obviously he accesses further cases for genital surgery by resorting to this online form of commercialization to try to firm up a feminine “need” for genital surgical revision.
“By all measures, Dr. Miklos has thrived on his expertise. Along with partner Dr. Robert Moore, he now has practices in Atlanta, Georgia and Beverly Hills.”
Dr. Iglesia however points out that he perceives an ethical question : “How much are you playing on women's insecurities?" he says. "Women are getting very much duped into thinking there is a standard look for the vulva."
He says he tries to stay away from procedures with more dubious outcomes. For example, surgery claiming to enhance the "G-spot," which may play a role in sexual arousal, raises red flags as no controlled studies have been done, or are likely to be done, to show whether it has any value.”
“ People ask for it, but I don't want someone to pay $1,000 and have high hopes," Dr. Miklos said and, "People get upset when there is no response."
In conclusion, this old gent, while finding the above related data being somewhat off putting to him personally in contrast even to just “bare or au natural”, will not judge on women’s perceived genital needs. After all, as my hair line continues to recede I must admit that I do on occasion glance at “The Bosley Hair Restoration” ads.
However, given such frequent TV advertising I also seek to conjecture as to just how in the world will the likes of Debbie Boone, speaking for the
surgical reconstruction practice "Life Style Lift", ever manage the graphics on TV if that practice chooses to expand into the field of female genital surgical reconstruction?
