More Teens Asking For 'Designer Vaginas'

Doctors have issued guidelines on how to deal with young girls’ requests for labiaplasty. Photo: ThinkStock

Forget cosmetic surgery for breasts, lips or noses. The latest trend among US teenagers is for labiaplasty – or genital cosmetic surgery.

Gynaecologists are reportedly receiving so many requests for labiaplasty – which is often marketed to adults as "vaginal rejuvenation" and involves trimming and shaping the labia – that the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ACOG) has issued new guidelines for dealing with requests from teens.

According to the ACOG, the number of teenage girls undergoing labiaplasty has doubled in the past year in the US alone. About 400 girls had genital cosmetic surgery in 2015, compared to 222 in 2014.

According to the New York Times, doctors are “sort of baffled” as to what’s driving demand, says Dr Julie Strickland of the A.C.O.G.’s committee on adolescent health care.

However, the numbers are also climbing in the UK, where there has been a five-fold increase in the number of young girls opting labiaplasty. There has also been a global rise in demand for labiaplasty among adults, leading some to blame the ubiquity of porn and the rise in Brazilian waxes.

Experts have stressed that vaginas do not have a uniform appearance and that it is important that young girls do not feel self-conscious about the shape of their genitals.

Some doctors are directing concerned women to view the book ‘petals’. We suggest taking a look at ‘The Great Wall of Vagina’. (Yes, really)