Thread by @ENDFGM_Network

♀️ In Europe, girls & women are constantly exposed to images of what our patriarchal society considers a perfect female body.

This goes beyond thigh gaps or big breasts, and includes standards on how a “desirable” #vagina should look like. (1/7)

To live up to these expectations, some women & girls undergo operations, including of cosmetic genital surgery.

Some examples to achieve this #BarbieLook?
Continue to read our thread! 👇 (2/7)

1⃣ Vaginoplasty➡️an operation that aims to “correct” the vulva’s appearance and makes it "flawless".

2⃣ Labiaplasty➡️an operation to reduce the length of the labias. 2015/2016: In 🇬🇧, more than 200 girls under 18 had labiaplasty. More than 150 were under 15.
(3/7)

3⃣ Vaginal rejuvenation➡️corrective treatments to “fix” the effects of time or child-birth.

❗️Europe is 1 of the leading markets for this kind of genital operations 👉tinyurl.com/yxn4ophb (4/7)

These operations
👉Are generally performed for non-medical reasons
👉Are influenced by societal pressure on female bodies in patriarchal societies
👉Can lead to complications
👉In some European countries are accessible to minors (5/7)

An argument some put forward is that these operations are similar to what WHO considers FGM 👇

"Who is to decide, and on what grounds, what is to be categorized as FGM, and what is to be categorized as plastic genital surgery?" - Sara Johnsdotter ➡️ tinyurl.com/y6hlqfwj (6/7)

❓ Although informed consent of women & girls plays a role, can we genuinely say that their decision to undergo these cosmetic non-medical operations is made free from social pressure? #endFGMmyths (7/7)