Tough Times for Vulvaes

Our Vaginas, Ourselves – New York Times
Daphne Merkin explores the raft of surgical procedures now on the market for “sprucing up” the collective genitalia of the modern woman. It should be noted that “upper-middle-class professional Americans” are not usually included among the categories of women for whom Female Genital Cutting is considered a problem. Merkin’s money quote:

So step right up, ladies. Your labia may not be up to snuff – they may extrude too much or lack youthful plumpness – but a quick nip/tuck or strategic injection of fat from Dr. 90210 and his colleagues will take care of that. And thanks to the wonders of hymenoplasty, you can get to be a virgin – or at least like a virgin – all over again. From where I sit, life looks to be one long Madonna-esque self-invention tour, and there’s nothing to be done but to grin, tighten your Kegel muscles and bear it.

PS Sorry about the double plural in the title — it makes the rhyme work…

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