Labia: everything you wanted to know but were afraid to ask
If you’ve ever wondered if your labia are normal, you’re not alone. This question somehow torments absolutely every woman. Due to a lack of visual information and a huge number of limiting beliefs, in the pursuit of mythical false standards, women torment themselves with pejorative thoughts and painful procedures. About whether there are reference labia and whether you can somehow influence those that you have already been awarded by nature.
Large and small
The labia majora are relatively large fleshy folds of tissue that surround and protect other external genitalia. In a sense, they can be compared to the scrotum of men.
The labia minora are located directly inside the labia majora and surround the opening of the vagina and the opening of the urethra.
Together, the labia majora and labia minora form a kind of double safety cushion for our most hidden and vulnerable parts of the body.
However, protection is not the only function that the labia perform. Due to the abundance of blood vessels, during sexual stimulation, the labia minora swell and become more sensitive. In some women, their sensitivity can even be compared to the clitoris.
Reference labia
Labia can be of a variety of shapes, colors, sizes, and textures. In some women, they are tiny and dense; in others, they are long and soft. Plump, thin, wrinkled, dark, light-there can be countless variations and almost all combinations of these truly unique body parts are the norm with rare exceptions . Mary Jane Minkin, a clinical Professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Yale University school of medicine who has been practicing for more than 35 years, says she has never seen a labia that she could call “abnormal”in her life.
As practice shows, most women are more concerned about the appearance of their small labia than large ones. And all because small lips are very diverse in their manifestation and sometimes go beyond the big ones, which some women find not quite aesthetic. It happens that one of the small labia is much longer than the other and hangs beyond the large ones, which is also the norm.
According to Dr. Minkin, most often the length of the labia minora varies from 2, 5 to 5 cm, but these figures are not a reference indicator. If your lips are shorter or longer, this does not mean an anomaly at all. The only factor to focus on is whether your labia cause discomfort, such as getting stuck in your underwear or being a serious obstacle during penetration sex.
Despite the fact that many women believe that the ideal labia minora should be pink, symmetrical, smooth and not protrude beyond the labia majora, experts say that there is no standard in this matter and there can not be.
And so that women can see this, the Australian community of obstetricians and gynaecologists has opened an online library of labia that contains true, unretouched photos of these body parts.
There is no limit to perfection
We are all used to the fact that the era of social networks dictates their own standards of beauty, and as it may seem, but they have begun to extend to women’s labia.
If earlier the labia minora were safely hidden under pubic hair, then with the advent of fashion for intimate haircuts and Brazilian hair removal, they began to attract the attention of their hosts, who, due to lack of information and erroneous ideas about “how everything should be there”, began to cultivate complexes and destroy self-esteem.
In addition, in the age of the Internet and the availability of pornographic materials, men have become more aware of the diversity of female genitals. So some men due to lack of a sense of tact or inexperience may themselves unwittingly give an assessment of the female labia, thereby injuring a woman and nurturing complexes in her.
Experts in the field of female genitalia do not advise women to fill their heads with the standards of intimate beauty in the porn industry and compare their genitals with the genitals of adult movie artists. As a rule, “stars” with thin small labia are specially selected for such films. Only this is not done for reasons of beauty, but to ensure an optimal visual effect and a good angle.
Measure it 7 times
If you are not happy with your full lips – this is quite normal. We don’t always accept our facial features or individual body parts. However, it is very important to understand why the appearance of the petals of your “rose” does not cause you special love and acceptance. Is your lack of self-acceptance a desire to meet beauty standards, or has your partner’s casual remark about your genitals robbed you of self-confidence? What makes you shy of your labia minora? Do you really want these changes, or are you driven to want them, whether by people or circumstances?
These questions should be asked before you start studying the issue of surgery and intimate plastic surgery.
To date, according to the American society of plastic surgeons, there are not many medical indications for this operation. From a medical point of view, this may be appropriate for women whose labia minora are so long that they twist or cling to clothing, causing physical discomfort and pain during daily activity and sexual life.
Another indication for surgical intervention is the elimination of violations of the structure of the labia after their damage during childbirth, injuries, and congenital deformities.
However, despite the recommendations of doctors, recently a rapidly growing number of women who choose this operation solely for aesthetic reasons.
