Auntie Heather on Cosmetic Surgery Our policy at Scarleteen is to do our best to be supportive of whatever elective choices people make about their bodies so long as they do not interfere with health and well-being. But just know that genital cosmetic surgery like labiaplasty, which is not recommended by most gynecologists, does pose real risks, including the same risks of other surgeries as well as risks of reduced or changed sexual sensation or comfort. It also costs big money, and studies have shown that when self-esteem is the underlying problem, surgery rarely fixes that problem. While some people have labial surgery due to real pain and discomfort from labia substantially longer than average, most labial surgeries are done for 100% cosmetic reasons. So, my personal advice to you is to work on your esteem first, and use big money you can save up for something that is more likely to support your esteem and the quality of your life, be it education, travel, publishing your own work, a big charity give, a place of your own or realizing some other dream that's about who you are and what you can do rather than about what you look like. Some folks have had concerns from the get-go, but then taken a few steps further by seeing some labia in porn or overhearing or reading people discussing labia who often are totally uninformed (gee, thanks, Internet!), then a whole bunch of steps further by cosmetic surgeons who found ways to make seriously large cash off of this. Priapism is when there’s an erection, but there’s zero sexual arousal,” Garrison says. “Usually the erections last 4 or more hours and can become painful.”

For instance, there’s a correlation between body mass index (BMI) and labial majora size. The researchers also found a connection between vaginal delivery and labial majora length.But if you have a clitoris and you’re reading this, it’s possible that you’ve gotten a clitoral erection when you were aroused and didn’t really notice.

Celebrities were among the first to let their other set of lips show in revealing swimwear, and the fad slowly but steadily spread to the typical college student, RN, and neighborhood grocer, who may now be seen wearing a one-piece that leaves nothing but one’s clitoris to the imagination. And, to be honest, I have mixed feelings about it. Even though no one asked for it, I’m going to give it to you nonetheless.As Garrison explains, “really anything that makes you hornier can make the erection stronger or more pleasurable.” These are typically signs of infection, such as vaginitis, bacterial vaginosis, chlamydia, or gonorrhea. Smell

The Royal College of Surgeons has more information and advice about what to do if things go wrong with cosmetic surgery More information Your vaginal area is distinct in more ways than just labia appearance. Your clitoris, pubic hair, and smell all add to your vulva’s uniqueness. Clitoris glans

What to do if you have problems

emilyQuite frankly a women's labia is the most beautiful thing on the planet, a women's vulva is just a garden of delight and should never be defiled by being covered by panties. There isn’t a ton of data available on labial measurements, but a study from 2018 has so far been the largest and most comprehensive look into external genitalia length.

Unless you have had or do have diverse sex partners with vulvas, work in direct reproductive health, or have friends who are very open to letting you look up-close-and-personal at their vulvas, you're not going to be able to see many labia, and you're going to have to take those of us who have at our word. What those who don't have those opportunities usually have as a basis of comparison is what male partners report (which isn't very reliable), or what we can see in pornography or art, which provide some representation, but are both limited in really showing what's real for real people in real life. (As a photographer myself I can tell you that I'd be unlikely to shoot a vulva in harsh lighting not because there's something inherently ugly about all our ingrown hairs, bumps and other texture, but simply because harsh lighting on people and bodies often just isn't particularly artistic to me or doesn't suit my own aesthetics.) But because there are more places where genitals are being seen more publicly than ever, it also makes sense that can result in worrying more -- rather than less -- about what your own look like. a b c d Moore, Keith L.; Agur, Anne M. R.; Dalley II, Arthur F. (2010). Essential Clinical Anatomy, Fourth Edition. p.268. ISBN 9781609131128. PGAD is a condition that can result in folks being aroused and having a clitoral erection even when there isn’t any physical, visual, aural, or other sexual stimulation happening. The Shibue, for those who don’t know, is a small piece of fabric that fits snuggly over your ladybits and is held in place by washable and reusable silicone gel strips.But for the most part, for nearly all people, your labia ARE normal, however much they vary. Beauty -- as ever -- remains in the eye of the beholder. When it all comes down to it, it's up to you (or anyone else you know getting up in arms about their labia) to put or dismiss value in the reality of what our bodies look like and how much they vary. It's up to you to take a look at a piece like this and accept the information or not, and then to decide how much energy you're really willing to waste -- and it is a waste -- in worrying about something you just don't have to be worried about, and where your stress and anxiety is what the real problem is, rather than our body. Just like a lot of people have the false idea that the advent of sex or sexual activity will cause a woman's hips to widen or breasts to grow because it's common for that activity to start during puberty -- in other words, those things happening at the same time is coincidental -- it's also not likely sexual activity alone will cause radical color changes in the labia. You probably weren't examining your genitals quite as often or as much before you were sexually active: it's pretty normal when people become sexually active to do a lot more looking down there. While sexual activity is one thing of many that, over a substantial period of time (read: your life), can cause some changes in genital appearance or texture, it's just one thing of many, including puberty, age, hormonal changes, pregnancy and childbirth, and general health. This really isn't stuff we -- if we are people invested in sound body image for everyone, an accurate idea of what's real for bodies and, I'd say, some modicum of self-respect -- want to go along with, because it is an exploitation and a manufactured panic enabled knowingly at our expense for someone else's gain. It's stuff we should, in my mind, be pretty pissed off about and want to protest and resist. Having a labiaplasty is a big decision that you should think about carefully. It can be expensive and carries a number of risks.