This just in:
Female genital cosmetic surgery: what do women think about it?
Two researchers from the University of Melbourne and ANU are about to find out.
The project is called Vulvatalk and the researchers are currently recruiting participants through social network giant, Facebook. This is the first major research project to actively seek out Australian women’s opinions on female genital cosmetic surgery.
Bethany Jones and Camille Nuka were interested in finding out if the news stories about the rise in labiaplasty procedures in Western nations were true. They wanted to know what percentage of the female population have had, or would consider having the procedure done, and the reasons why. So they decided to go directly to the source: to ask women themselves how they feel about their bodies.
The two have combined their professional expertise in the fields of gender studies and psychology to develop a survey that solicits women’s thoughts on how their genitals look, and how important maintenance is to them – from waxing, shaving and vajazzling to tightening and neatening. While the researchers are particularly interested in Australian women, the survey will also be available to women living outside Australia.
The survey went live on Wednesday 25 July 2012. Nurka and Jones are recruiting through Facebook and are very pleased with the response so far – women, it seems, are eager to talk openly about that most controversial body part: the vagina.
Nurka and Jones expect that their findings will provide an understanding of the conditions behind the desire for genital cosmetic surgery, which will assist future policy direction in women’s health.All survey responses are anonymous.
If you would like to participate in the survey, please visit www.facebook.com/vulvatalk and follow the link.
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