LONDON — More young women are seeking cosmetic surgery to make their vaginas match pornographic images, according to a new study released today.
Researchers at London's Elizabeth Garret Anderson Hospital said that the number of labial reduction procedures in the nation has likely increased fivefold in the past 10 years.
Researchers looked at 33 women seeking the operation, whose average age was 23, and found that they all had normal-sized labia, but 40 percent of those still pursued the operation, mostly because they wanted to make their labia smaller to improve its appearance.
Other reasons included reducing discomfort, improving confidence and wanting to rachet up their sex lives.
The rise in women seeking the operation is being driven by pornographic images of women on the Internet and TV programs about cosmetic surgery, the study says.
"It is surprising that all of the study participants had normal sized labia minora and despite this nearly half were still keen to pursue surgery as an option," said lead author Sarah Creighton.
The study is published in the Aug. 24 issue of BJOG: An International Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology.
