Latest news with #labiaplasty
Daily Mail
30-05-2025
- General
- Daily Mail
I was on an international flight from Australia when I asked a doctor a question that changed my life forever
An alarming number of women across Australia are going under the knife in pursuit of the 'perfect' vulva, and experts say they're being sold a dangerous lie. It was on a long-haul flight to Colombia that Australian writer Ellie Sedgwick found herself face to face with the dark reality of the growing labiaplasty trend. Seated next to a man in scrubs, she asked him what he did for work, only to discover he was a gynaecologist who specialised in the surgery. Ms Sedgwick recalled the moment he proudly scrolled through dozens of before and after photos of women's genitals on his phone. 'I do up to ten a day,' he told her. Sedgwick says she had considered the surgery herself, having booked three consultations before backing out. The doctor however, tried to change her mind. 'Then he invited me to watch one in action. He claimed [having the surgery] would "improve my pleasure",' she recalled. The writer and photographer has created a photobook 'Flip Through My Flaps' to highlight the reality of women's bodies and fight against pressure from social media to be 'perfect' Ms Sedgwick was shocked by how candidly the doctor spoke about the subject, but said it was sadly not surprising. The unusual encounter only confirmed what she had already suspected, that a silent epidemic was taking place. One where women and girls are being told that their natural bodies are 'wrong', often before they even understand what's normal. Comfortable In My Skin, a women's health initiative founded by Ms Sedgwick, recently surveyed over 1,900 Australian women. She says the findings are nothing short of disturbing, but that the blame doesn't fall on women but the pressure coming from every direction. 'Porn, advertising, Instagram filters, even misinformed doctors, they all feed the same message: you're not normal,' she said. According to the survey, 65 per cent of women said social media fuels their anxiety about their bodies, while half said they worry about the size or shape of their labia. Even more troubling is where women are turning for answers. 'The education system is failing them,' Sedgwick said. 'Three-quarters of women leave medical appointments with more questions than answers. So where do they go? TikTok. Google.' She does admit however, that there is nothing wrong with going under the knife, but it should come from a place of knowledge and confidence, not shame. 'If you've chosen labiaplasty for yourself, that's your right,' she said. 'But most women aren't making these decisions fully informed. 'They're in the dark, no real education about vulva diversity, no trusted language to challenge the shame, and nowhere to ask the real questions without embarrassment.' In response to the pressure of social media, Ms Sedgwick published a photobook called Flip Through My Flaps: An Exploration of the Vulva. The project hopes to highlight what real vulvas look like. 'We need to show women the truth before they're talked into surgery,' she said. 'Because we're not broken. But there's a billion-dollar industry making money by convincing us we are.' As the number of women undergoing a labiaplasty rises, Ms Sedgwick said it's time to stop impossible beauty standards from dictating self-worth. 'We need to stop slicing off parts of ourselves just to fit someone else's idea of pretty,' she says.
News.com.au
24-05-2025
- Health
- News.com.au
‘Wish I had never done this': Melbourne woman sues gyno over labia surgery
EXCLUSIVE A Melbourne woman who was allegedly left with 'deformed' and 'numb' after labia surgery is suing her gynaecologist who performed the surgery and has called on Australian lawmakers to ban the procedure. Janelle Nicol, 33, told Victoria's Medical Panel she underwent a labioplasty in May 2022 after her ex-boyfriend allegedly told her that her vagina was 'ugly' at age 29. Ms Nicol, who is a store manager at Telstra, told the panel she was left disfigured, unable to orgasm, and suffered serious mental health issues as a result of the procedure performed by Fitzroy gynecologist Dr Marcia Bonazzi. Speaking to about her ordeal, Ms Nicol said she is speaking out in an effort to save others from getting the surgery. 'My goal is to spread awareness, I wish I had never done this to myself and looking back, I wish she had referred me to a psychologist,' Ms Nicol said. The Victorian Medical Panel ruled the results of the surgery had met the 'significant injury threshold' required for compensation, with Ms Nicol now lodging medical negligence proceedings in Victoria's Supreme Court. Ms Nicol said she first found Dr Bonazzi after googling doctors in her area who performed the procedure. She told the panel that when she first checked the site, she claims her clitoral area had also been cut. 'She said when she first looked at her genitalia, a couple of weeks after the surgery, her vulva was exposed; the bilateral surgical scars extended above the clitoris, which she had not anticipated; her clitoris was hidden beneath overlying skin, making the clitoris appear protuberant ('like a small penis') and the sensation in her genital area was reduced,' the panel decision stated. 'She said she felt distressed about the appearance and numbness of her genitalia, but she thought these issues would improve as her recovery from the surgery continued, however, the appearance of her genitalia did not change.' The panel heard how Ms Nicol had been left with a 'scarring' and 'disfigurement' as well as 'nerve damage, including to the dorsal nerve of the clitoris'. The medical panel ruled that Ms Nicol had suffered from 'clitoral and vulval deformity and dysfunction' following the bilateral labioplasty surgery. In her defence filed to Victoria's Supreme Court, Dr Bonazzi said she acted in a manner 'widely accepted in Australia' by a 'significant number of respected practitioners in the field' and was therefore not negligent. Dr Bonazzi did not respond to comment from The next hearing is currently set down for May 29. Ms Nicol said she was coming forward with her story in an effort to stop 'just one' woman undergoing similar surgery. 'From that day, I've been furious,' she said. '[Labia surgery] should be illegal. There is absolutely no reason that I should have done this. There's nothing wrong with a vagina.' In July last year, Women's Health Victoria released a report based on a survey of over 1,000 individuals about the rise in labiaplasty. The report stated that almost a quarter – 23 per cent – of respondents aged to 18 to 24 said they felt anxious, unhappy or embarrassed about how their labia look, while 35 per cent said they associated it with negative words like 'weird', 'disgusting' or 'ugly'.
Daily Mail
19-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE Secret Lives of Mormon Wives star reveals how she REALLY feels about getting a 'designer vagina'
The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives star Jessi Ngatikaura is 'happy' she was able to broadcast her labiaplasty on season one of the hit Hulu series. While some may shy away from announcing plans to undergo such an intimate cosmetic procedure - which involves shortening or reshaping the vaginal lips - that was not the case for Jessi, who even allowed cameras to roll as she underwent the surgery before proudly showing off the results of her 'mommy makeover' with friends. Now Jessi, 32, is thrilled her own experience resonated with so many other women and mothers insecure about the appearance of their private parts. 'I never knew that I needed or wanted this surgery, I didn't even know the word for it, and now I know that this is a thing,' she told at the season two premiere of The Secret Wives of Mormon Wives. 'So just the fact that I could help women or moms who are struggling with that insecurity, and it does cause a lot of physical discomfort, so I was really happy to share that, and I'm an open book, so I'm happy that people related.' A mom of two, Jessi said on season one that she was unable to wear yoga pants due to her drooping 'meat curtains.' Labiaplasty - which has been called a 'designer vagina' surgery - is a surgical procedure to reduce the size of the labia minora – the flaps of skin either side of the vaginal opening. It involves cutting away unwanted tissue with a scalpel of laser in a procedure that takes about one to two hours. Cameras captured the moment Jessi underwent both the labiaplasty and breast reduction at once, followed by her recovery period. 'So I just want to be small with an implant. And then yeah, whatever you think down there,' Jessi - who previously had three breast augmentations - told her surgeon. Not only that, but Jessi announced her surgery to friends by hosting a paint night where the girls drew their own vaginas. 'The reason we're gonna do this is because on Monday, I'm getting a labiaplasty. And they are cutting it all off, tightening it back up, getting a mommy makeover,' she told her pals. In a confessional, she admitted that things changed after she welcomed her two children, daughters Jovi and Peyton, with husband Jordan Ngatikaura. 'A labiaplasty basically takes the inside of your vagina, the material that's a little more sensitive, and tucks it up inside. Pregnancy kind of pushes it out and mine decided to stay there. Now, after having two kids, even though physically I feel like I look back to normal, there are things that will never be the same,' she said. At that time, Jessi was experiencing discomfort 'down there.' 'Can't wear yoga pants right now,' she explained to her stunned costars 'My meat curtains, they just hang low.' 'So they're basically cutting off that extra meat and making it so my lips are just nice and perfect again.' 'Extra meat - I'm gonna make a sandwich with that!' she said with a laugh. After the surgery, Jessi discussed what was expected during the recovery time, which included bleeding and instructions to not have sex for four to six weeks. 'I was brutal the first night,' Jessi said of the the night after the surgery. 'I felt like I had a blowtorch up there! But then after I had my painkillers it's been way better.' She then showed off the actual results to her shocked friends. 'Spread it open!' they shouted as Jessi pulled down her shorts in front of them. 'It's swollen... They said that right now it should look like hotdog buns, which it does, but once it's not swollen it's gonna be tight,' she explained. 'Before, all of this stuff was hanging down at least that much,' she said. Season two of The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives star premieres on May 15 on Hulu.
