Girls as young as nine are reportedly seeking surgery on their private parts because of insecurities stemming from adult content such as pornography, according to leading doctors.
Naomi Crouch is a gynaecology specialist and she told the BBC about the worrying trend.
She said: “Girls will sometimes come out with comments like, ‘I just hate it, I just want it removed,’ and for a girl to feel that way about any part of her body – especially a part that’s intimate – is very upsetting.”
The doctor also said she was worried that GPs are referring young girls for unneeded labiaplasty – an operation where the lips of the vagina are shortened or reshaped.
She said she is yet to see a young girl who needs the operation.
Paquita de Zulueta, a GP for more than 30 years, told the BBC that it is only in the past few years young women have been coming to her with concerns about the shape of their privates.
She said: “I’m seeing young girls around 11, 12, 13 thinking there’s something wrong with their vulva – that they’re the wrong shape, the wrong size, and really expressing almost disgust.”
Ms de Zulueta said it is the fault of pornography and social media.
She explained: “There isn’t enough education and it should start really quite young, explaining that there is a range and that – just as we all look different in our faces – we all look different down there, and that’s OK.”
The doctor thinks labiaplasty should only be performed on girls who have a medical abnormality.
In 2015-16, more than 200 girls under 18 had labiaplasty on the NHS, and over 150 of the girls were under 15.
“I find it very hard to believe there are 150 girls with a medical abnormality which means they needed an operation on their labia,” she said.
The majority are performed by private surgeons on women over the age of 18.
Despite the industry being criticised for fueling insecurities, plastic surgeon Miles Berry defended the surgery.
He told the BBC: “It can change people fundamentally, the feelings they have about themselves, their confidence and self-esteem.
“I have seen patients aged between 16 and 21 who have never had a boyfriend because they are so concerned about this.”
