Sex.co.nz

Have you ever wondered why the chicks in porn look so different to women in real life?

Obviously, plastic surgery has a lot to do with it. Most porn stars will have had a boob job and at least one facial enhancement, such as a nose job or lip filler for a bigger pout.

But there’s one place where porn diverges even more sharply from reality: the view from between a woman’s legs.

Most men with even a modicum of sexual experience understand that a real woman’s vulva bears little resemblance to what they seen on screen or in the pages of their favorite men’s magazine. (The vulva is the external part of a woman’s genitals, including the labia – the flaps on either side of the vagina – and the clitoral hood.)

Many magazines airbrush the vulva so that it looks like no more than a pink slit in the soft expanse of skin. This leads to a lot of confusion among women, who wonder why their own genitals look nothing like what they see in magazines.

Sex education manuals recommend a simple exercise to improve body confidence: squat over a mirror and look at your private parts. But for many women, this simple exercise can be the cause of shock and shame.

A real vulva isn’t always a pretty sight. The labia can hang down up to several centimeters from the body, the color can range from a pleasing pink to a murky purple, and dark hairs can sprout thickly around the area, creating a dark and wrinkly effect.

In contrast, look at the vulva of your favorite porn star. Chances are, she’s hairless, with a smooth slit between her legs that flushes pink when she’s aroused. No black hairs, no wrinkly labia.

No wonder modern women are calling their plastic surgeons. In an era where body modification is the norm, women believe that they can have it all: a toned tummy, perky boobs, a bright white smile, and a “designer vagina.”

So how much will a designer vagina cost?

It all depends on what a woman wants. Does she want her labia shortened (labiaplasty)? Does she want her vagina to feel tighter (vaginoplasty, also known as vaginal rejuvenation)? Does she want her G-spot enlarged or her hymen restored?

All these services and more are available, for a cost ranging from a few thousand dollars all the way up to just over $10,000.

The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists are warning women away from these procedures, saying that, for the average woman, the procedures are expensive, unnecessary, and often dangerous. They can cause scarring, nerve damage, and loss of sensitivity.

Still, a number of clinics offer the procedures, including the Auckland Plastic and Cosmetic Surgical Centre and South Island Plastic Surgery, to name just a few. Plastic surgeons claim that these procedures can enhance a woman’s sexual satisfaction and make her feel more confident about herself.

Certainly, for women with abnormal features, such medical procedures can restore them to a sense of normality. But most women don’t actually know what is “normal” when it comes to the female genitals. As mentioned before, most nude images of women’s genitalia are airbrushed. Aside from the rare celebrity who forgoes panties (can anyone forget those unpleasant close-ups of Britney Spear’s v-jay?), genitals remain covered up and out of sight.

The consensus seems to be that, unless there’s a problem, it’s best to not tinker with what God has given us. Some women have valid medical concerns when it comes to their genital appearance and functioning, and it’s only right that they have medical options available to correct them.

But if it’s simply a matter of wanting a “better looking” vagina, then perhaps the problem is with our perceptions of beauty. A natural vagina is a beautiful thing, wouldn’t you agree?