Is the Fitness Craze Leading to a New Plastic Surgery Craze?

by April Maguire

Cosmetic enhancement has been growing in popularity for years. In fact, the practice is now enjoying an unprecedented level of acceptance, with over 15 million procedures performed last year in the United States alone. Recently, however, a surprising new trend has emerged as a growing number of women are looking to improve the appearance of perhaps the most delicate area on their bodies – their vaginas – and many of them aren’t doing it for the reason that you may think.

The Rise of the Labiaplasty

For many people, the idea of a woman going under the knife to alter the look of her vagina may seem like an exercise in vanity run amok, but the growing popularity of the operation seems to offer proof that it’s not just a simple matter of aesthetics. Believe it or not, the operation to improve the vagina’s appearance, known as a labiaplasty, has become one of the most popular cosmetic procedures for women in the United States. Granted, the operation hasn’t quite reached the popularity of breast augmentations or liposuction, but according to some surgeons, labiaplasties are now the fourth or fifth most common procedures performed on women.

A Surprising Motivation

You might assume that a majority of women undergo labiaplasties for the sake of their sex lives, and some women who have had the procedure performed do admit that intimacy with their partners played a factor. With the rise of pornography on the internet, a lot of women say that they feel pressure for their vaginas to stack up favorably against the ideals presented by adult entertainers. But aesthetics aren’t the only reason that women get labiaplasties, and many of them have more practical goals in mind: namely, that it will make it easier to exercise.

In the last couple of decades, interest in physical fitness has grown exponentially, and many women claim that the size and shape of their labia present problems when working out. For starters, oversized labia can chafe against workout clothes, causing painful irritation and limiting the amount of time that women can exercise. Additionally, women with larger labia sometimes feel that their private areas are on display during certain workout regimens, such as yoga. During a labiaplasty, the surgeon makes the labia smaller and more compact, virtually eliminating physical and psychological discomfort during exercise.

Although the practice of improving the vagina’s appearance may seem odd at first, the procedure’s popularity is a testament to just how far cosmetic enhancement has come in recent years. Only a couple of decades ago, women looking to reduce the size of their labia had almost no recourse. But nowadays, if you’re unhappy with virtually any part of your body, odds are that plastic surgery can offer a solution.

If you or someone you know would like more information about plastic surgery, please feel free to schedule a consultation or contact one of our representatives today!