Jezebel 
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New York, 3:24 PM
Sun Dec 6
22 posts in the last 24 hours
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11/11/09
I vividly remember the woman who wanted labioplasty because she didn't look like the women in the porn her husband watched. They took her to an artist who was making a wall of plastercast vaginas, and her face when she realised she was perfectly normal was incredible.
#tips
11/11/09
That sonic boom you just heard was the sound of my knees snapping together. #vaginalplasticsurgery
11/11/09
In other words, their comparison to FGM (which, by the way, comprises a single sentence with no direct support or analysis), was likely used to draw attention to what they see as a dangerous elective surgery whose consequences have not been studied adequately.
However, there are no scientifically valid conclusions drawn in this literature review about medical outcomes of these surgeries, and there is definitely no real comparison made to FGM.
However, hopefully, the authors' wishes will come true, and someone will do a well-controlled clinical study to actual ask the questions that this article raises. #vaginalplasticsurgery
11/11/09
11/11/09
Seeing this image made me think of Wanda Sykes' routine and imagine her saying: "Sorry, it's in the shop right now."
But seriously - most elective surgery, to me, falls into the realm of vanity body-modification, like tattooing, scarification, piercings, or implants, to name a few. If someone wants to do that, research it and consider it carefully. Consider the real reasons behind wanting to do it; It's just possible that finding out why one wants to make a change like this is money much-better-spent. #vaginalplasticsurgery
11/11/09
Didn't Jenna Jameson have plastic surgery on her labia? And wasn't she horribly depressed by the results? #vaginalplasticsurgery
11/11/09
Not that I support getting labioplasties but if there's a pattern of vaginal tearing and such, these women should not be giving birth... period.
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Also, nature gave me very very tiny labia minora and hardly any pubic hair. Does this make me look pre-pubescent? Do you get more labia with puberty? Because I certainly didn't. So confused. And honestly a little bit hurt. I don't make fun of people with large labia so I don't appreciate my ladybits being called prepubescent when I am a 22-year-old woman.
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It reminds me of an ep of Sex and the City where Samantha is complaining about how small her boyfriend's penis is and he finally says, "Did you ever consider that maybe your vagina is just too big?!"
Um, no. #vaginalplasticsurgery
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11/11/09
Hearing this acquaintance make comments in public about the abnormality of my naked body was one of the worst moments of my life, I still cringe so hard just thinking about it.
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NO. WAY. #vaginalplasticsurgery
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11/11/09
I feel this is so wrong. We live in a time when we are much more closed about what passes for an acceptable body. We are stuck with a total hypocrisy which is the complete opposite of openness.
(with little pockets of true openness where people can see past all the crap thrown at us, but those have nothing to do with mainstream ideals)
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Good question. This, I think, is something that plagues most women. I mean, usually it's not even "hate FGM, also feel self-conscious about my non-designer vagina," it can be as mind-bending as "Hate plastic surgery, want plastic surgery," or "Hate pornography, consume pornography," "hate fat-hating culture, hate my fat ass, hate photoshopped images, desperately desire to look like cover model," etc. That's really the rub of the incredible, pervasive job marketing has done to our society (by which I mean US culture, because that's where I live).
I definitely still struggle with vast amounts of internalized patriarchal settings. But I also rail, hard, against the patriarchy. Since I came to terms with it, my own internalized patriarchal desires and impulses have just become one more thing I hate about the patriarchy. I hate that I live in a culture that says I must be pretty. I also hate that I'll never be pretty enough. I hate myself for wanting to be pretty almost as much as I hate myself for being ugly. It's really just a system designed to make you hate yourself no matter what ideological stance you take. #vaginalplasticsurgery
11/11/09
11/11/09
I think it's the same thing with this. We hear over and over how unperfect regular people are, and that it's disgusting. And therefore, we are disgusting, too. I'm not sure where you come from, but where I come from, it's a huge taboo to be arrogant. You are not supposed to talk up your achievements. Instead, no matter how important what you've done is, you play it down like it's not that big of a deal, you were only part of a bigger movement and they deserve all the credit. That translates to our own feelings about ourselves. If we think we're good enough as-is, we are arrogant, rude and self-absorbed, perhaps even delusional. Most people don't want to be seen as those things (especially women feel pressure to be polite and nice), and try to balance how they really feel with how they "should" feel. "Should" feel wins out, because we aren't allowed to be arrogant (read: satisfied with ourselves). We are pressured to improve, edit, work on problems, better ourselves, fight the clock, etc. It's constant. And when you say "no" to all that, there is insurmountable pressure to join back in.
I do not wear makeup, nor skirts and heels. A lot of that has to do with my gender identity issues, but there is always some jackass who likes to inform me I'd be "so much prettier if [I'd] just do something with [myself]". My mom does the same thing. Actually, most people, if pressed, feel that way. We watch shows like What Not to Wear and other makeover shows, with people who look like us, yet their husbands, wives, friends and family think they are not attractive enough. We place ourselves there. Maybe they will love me more if I look the right way. We don't think that way verbatim. It's muddled up in so many thoughts - well, I have fat thighs, so maybe this cut of jean will make them look slimmer. I have this part of my body that I find attractive, so I play it up (usually eyes, and I think that's because there is so little you can do to change them). It's nip, tuck, pick apart and emphasize to "look our best" so we are professional, look happy, well cared for, "radiant" and any other host of very desirable qualities. We want to look happy, and therefore be happy.
That's why we can hate ourselves so much, and hate what we are pressured to do. #vaginalplasticsurgery
11/11/09
All this tells you is just how insidious patriarchal beauty ideals are. It's not a comment on your lack of brains or strength - not at all. #vaginalplasticsurgery
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