Labor Pains: Are Moms Really Lining Up To Have Labiaplasties?

Mommies getting makeovers post-child birth is nothing new.

The subject of many day-time talk shows and evening specials, women who are exhausted from childrearing are made over with makeup and better fashion options, dragged before audiences, and everyone remarks on how “pretty” they actually are. “Mommy makeovers” saw another interpretation once cosmetic surgery saw an uptick in women looking to “repair” what was changed by childbirth.

And while mommy makeover packages of tummy tucks, face lifts, and breast augmentations are inevitably a personal decision, I can’t get behind them as wonderful Mother’s Day gift or an anniversary present for a weary mom. Focusing on mother’s stretch marks instead of their contributions to their families seems like yet another way to stress mothers out. And with rampid momism reminding mothers that they not only need to be at their children’s beck and call but also with the stomach of 20-year-old, this attempt to “rejuvenate” themselves reads like just another way to guilt them.

Labiaplasties, which differ from vaginal rejuvenation, seem like the newest practice that’s being casually tacked onto mommy makeovers. Sadly, I can envision a bunch of 14-year-old girls perhaps lamenting the shape of their vaginas in a classic adolescent anxiety about appearances. But just like they hated their nose in the seventh grade or thought their legs weren’t long enough to wear short skirts, such sentiments do fade with age.

That’s why it’s laughable to me that this procedure is being marketed to adult women — mothers no less. Inciting women’s self-consciousness in the appearance of their nether regions sounds like something befit for a middle school locker room — particularly when you’re confronted with a pack of mean girls from the swim team. Adult women who raise families, juggle careers, and make decisions on behalf of their kids would seem immune to this type of high school taunting about their bodies.

But given how present mothers are on Facebook, judging photos, posting inane statuses and backhanded comments to other mothers, perhaps I’m wrong.

(photo: artnet.com)

Similar Posts