Rise Of The ‘Designer Vagina’: Woman Opting For Labiaplasty ‘To Look Good’ In Yoga Pants

As yoga pants become a staple of female attire in the United States, it seems many are going to extreme measures to ensure they have a “sleek” appearance when wearing the tight pants. Plastic surgeons say they have seen a 49 percent increase in the number of women requesting labiaplasty, an operation performed on the labia of a woman’s genitals. The procedure decreases the size of the labia, making the crotch area appear “sleeker” in yoga pants and swimsuits. The plastic surgeons note that the new “designer vagina” trend is on the rise due to clothing with tight crotch areas as well as the prevalence of pornography.

The Daily Mail reports that women across the United States are seeking the help of plastic surgeons to “look good” in their yoga pants. However, butt lifts and liposuction aren’t what patients are after. Instead, women are coming to the cosmetic surgeons with complaints about how their vagina looks in tight clothing. The concern has caused a 49 percent increase in the number of women seeking a labiaplasty surgery, with many noting they want a “sleeker” appearance when wearing clothing with a tight crotch region. The requests have led to a trend of “designer vaginas,” in which doctors reduce the size of a woman’s labia by removing some of the skin.

In fact, the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery confirms the findings by noting a “significant” increase in the number of “tissue removal and restructuring operations” performed on the vagina at the request of the cosmetic patient. The organization recorded a 49 percent increase in the number of these procedures between 2013 and 2014, and plastic surgeons say they are not seeing a decrease in requests for a “designer vagina.”

Plastic surgeon Jennifer Walden says that procedures on the labia are some of the “most popular cosmetic procedures in women.” Walden accounts the increase in the designer vagina trend on tighter fitting clothing and the trend of having a completely bare vaginal area. Walden notes that as the Brazilian and Hollywood waxes — the complete removal of hair from the genitals — increase in popularity among women, it is causing patients to notice things about their vagina they wouldn’t have before. In addition to the trend of a full wax, Walden also noted that the proliferation of pornography and scantily-clad women is causing women to judge their genitals.

“For better or worse, a rise in online images, both pornographic and those of women wearing very little, has made women aware of areas they may not have noticed before.”

Though the procedure is mostly cosmetic, Walden claims that for some women with enlarged labia, it can be life-changing.

“It is one of the fastest rising procedures, in terms of popularity. It can prove life-changing for so many patients.”

Aside from just “looking good” in yoga pants, some patients with particularly large labia can also see benefits in the bedroom. Walden says that some women experience discomfort during sex or while wearing tight clothing due to an enlarged labia. For these women, the plastic surgeon says the procedure can bring comfort.

Though the “designer vagina” procedure is on the rise, not everyone is in agreement on the benefits. Cosmopolitan writer Catriona Harvey-Jenner notes that the “designer vagina” trend is causing young women to scrutinize their vaginas. In fact, she notes that anyone who wants to scrutinize someone else’s vagina probably should have never been given the opportunity to see it in the first place.

“The fact is, we were born how we were born. Our vaginas were never meant to look like the Mona Lisa. They’re just… vaginas. And any man, woman or other who has something to say about how they don’t ‘measure up’ probably shouldn’t have been given the privilege to look at them in the first place.”

What do you think about the “designer vagina” trend? Did you know that women were going under the knife to ensure a “sleeker” appearance when wearing yoga pants and other tight clothing?

[Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images]