Designer Vaginas by Simone Weil Davis is a reading that opened my eyes to "the newest trend in surgically enhanced body beautification: Female Genital Cosmetic Surgery". This was a reading that was not only interesting, but enlightening.
It appears that women are no longer just injecting Botox, getting liposuction or turning to silicon to acquire a more perfect body. These newer surgeries now also allow them to tighten vaginal muscles, trim or plump their labia and make cosmetic changes to their most intimate body parts in what some pundits have referred to as the 'making of designer vaginas'.
There are a variety of reasons listed for women wanting this type of cosmetic surgery. Some women claim it's for a more aesthetically pleasing look [as compared to those found in pornographic publications]; some say they want the ability to exercise without discomfort; while others are simply looking for higher levels of sexual gratification [perhaps another response to media hype].
However, the question remains, do women decide to have these procedures for their own benefit for do they choose to do it to please men? Soraya Mire, a Somali filmmaker, quoted in Designer Vaginas, believes that ...'in America, women pay money to go to a doctor who cuts them up so they can create or sustain an image men want. Men are the mirror.' Mire continues, 'consent to genital surgery does not okay it so much as it marks the degrading depths of women's oppression.'
Bearing that in mind, this is one more far-reaching example of how we strive to be perfect to please men; and, that is due to the fact that we are not taught to recognize the value and importance of our own selves.
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