A cut too far

Today's Independent on Sunday includes an article by Claudia Pritchard criticising the labiaplasty trend, and highlighting a new form of female cutting - the so-called 'Toronto Trim' - which excises the clitoral hood as well as the labia.

It's good to see criticism of the pressure on women to get their vulvas reduced but the article falls short of the analysis I'd like to see in the media. As with so many articles about male circumcision the author's critique is weakened by the fact that she doesn't seem to have considered what the tissue is or does... It would be easy for a surgeon to counter her position by claiming that labiaplasty is no different from a nose job...

The reality is our genitals are not like our noses. I've got a roman nose but its size and shape does not affect my ability to smell. My labial form gives me huge pleasure, including direct stimulation, indirect clitoral pressure, and of course the vicarious pleasure of watching a man treat them as his toy...or even his lost foreskin.








 

Erotic Awards Finals

I'm proud to be among an amazing collection of artists, writers, campaigners and entertainers who have been nominated for an Erotic Award. Click here to find out more

I particularly love the idea of the Great Wall of Vagina - a collection of plastercasts on show in Brighton to illustrate the beauty and diversity of the female genitalia. I also love this strapline, "It's not vulgar, it's vulva!

Thank Goodness for Lippy Mothers

My mother is a lippy woman - in both senses - and I would not be writing this today if it hadn't been for her great attitude. So I'd like to say thank you mum, for making me feel pleased with what I've got; especially my hottentot apron.

Surgeons like to tell us that long labia can result from hormonal changes, or physical damage done through childbirth, cycling, or excessive masturbation*. This plants the idea of a disease requiring treatment. Although clearly hormonal changes or stress to the tissue (including manual stretching) can substantially increase labia minora size, I haven't seen any research showing that this is the reason why most lippy girls are lippy. We just are.

When my mother first washed me as a tiny newborn baby she saw prominent lips just like hers. When my sister arrived a few years later she was cuter, blonder; less skinny; but down there just the same.

How lucky to have a mother who isn't worried about being like everyone else! Far from thinking there was something wrong with us and we needed to be reduced, when she changed the nappies of friends' daughters' she considered they were missing something: "....it looked just like a little bottom!".

Thanks mum, and here's your flower for Mothers' Day, from a National Collection of simply beautiful rhododendrons. Lots of love L xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

*No I don't know what excessive masturbation is either. I've often wondered.

X-rated Flowers

This close-up of a petunia bud is one of Nex Ninek's striking natural world images on Flickr (used with permission of the photographer). Check them out

All flowers are wonderful things (with the possible exception of those drooping dyed lilies you get at the local garage). So I think that whether you're a petunia or a penstemon, a daisy or a dahlia, you should be proud.


And whatever you do, stay away from Morticia Addams and her scissors.