Women who look at pictures of the vagina of all shapes and sizes have a more positive view of their own vulva. This is apparent from research by the AMC. Many women worry about whether their external genitalia look 'normal'. Previous research has shown that what women consider normal and desirable is strongly influenced by digitally or surgically altered vulva images from the worlds of media, pornography and fashion.
The desire of many women to conform to this "norm" may explain the increase in vulvar surgeries, usually to reduce the size of the inner labia. Worldwide, 95 thousand labia reductions were performed in 2015, a sharp increase compared to previous years. The Dutch Society for Plastic Surgery also confirms that the demand for this procedure is increasing strongly.
Researchers from the AMC investigated whether showing photos that show a wide variation in the shape and size of labia, improves genital self-image. 43 female students (average age 23) were shown a series of photos of natural vulvas or a series of photos about art, nature, and architecture. Before and after seeing the photos, the women were asked how satisfied they were with the appearance of their own vulva. The women who were shown the vulva photos started to think more positively about their own genitalia. This effect was still measurable after two weeks. It did not matter whether women had a negative or positive genital self-image beforehand. The women who looked at the neutral pictures showed no change in genital self-image.
