Awareness, The Hard Way

BEAUTY, HEALTH & WELL-BEING, SURGERY
Gabrielle Vaughn | VenusBlogs Editor at Large
Photo: Ethan Miller, Getty Images

My Medical Choice, by Angelina Jolie

MY MOTHER fought cancer for almost a decade and died at 56. She held out long enough to meet the first of her grandchildren and to hold them in her arms. But my other children will never have the chance to know her and experience how loving and gracious she was.

We often speak of “Mommy’s mommy,” and I find myself trying to explain the illness that took her away from us. They have asked if the same could happen to me. I have always told them not to worry, but the truth is I carry a “faulty” gene, BRCA1, which sharply increases my risk of developing breast cancer and ovarian cancer.

My doctors estimated that I had an 87 percent risk of breast cancer and a 50 percent risk of ovarian cancer, although the risk is different in the case of each woman.

Only a fraction of breast cancers result from an inherited gene mutation. Those with a defect in BRCA1 have a 65 percent risk of getting it, on average.

Once I knew that this was my reality, I decided to be proactive and to minimize the risk as much I could. I made a decision to have a preventive double mastectomy. I started with the breasts, as my risk of breast cancer is higher than my risk of ovarian cancer, and the surgery is more complex. Read more

A Good Mind for Cosmetic Surgery

HEALTH, SURGERY
Dori Hartley | VenusBlogs Managing Editor

All over the world, women are opting for cosmetic surgery to help improve the appearance of their faces, breasts, tummies, legs, arms and even vaginas. Sometimes the decision to surgically alter one’s body comes from an honest desire to change — whether it’s for self-confidence or vanity. But this desire comes in degrees, and the urge to modify one’s looks should be made with a healthy mindset.

If one thinks she can improve her marriage by getting a tummy tuck, or a breast augmentation — what happens if, after a few rolls-in-the-hay, the marriage disintegrates anyway? Does the woman get more surgery thinking that perhaps the first go-round wasn’t enough? How far will some women go and what determines a realistic cut-off point? Read more

Vaginal Surgery Charts

SURGERY
Gabrielle Vaughn | Venus Blogs Editor at Large

The Economist surveys plastic surgery around the globe:

Non-invasive treatments to plump out wrinkles, smooth lines and remove hair account for more than half of all procedures: over 3m of these are for botox alone. America is home to more cosmetic enhancement than anywhere else, but accounting for population reveals a different story. On that measure, more primping and preening goes on in South Korea, Greece and Italy, as the chart below shows. The most popular invasive (ie, surgical) operation is fat removal, or lipoplasty, reflecting a growing problem for a fattening world. Breast augmentation, the second biggest surgical procedure, is most commonly performed in America and Brazil. Buttock implants are also a Brazilian specialty, as is vaginal rejuvenation.

See the chart here, on The Dish

Sometimes Sexy is Just for Me

AESTHETICS, SEX, SURGERY
Gabrielle Vaughn | Venus Blogs Editor at Large

Ever notice how much emphasis is placed on telling people how great our sex lives are? For some reason, we really feel this burning need to prove to others that, by having sex (and lots of it), we are valid, worthy, normal human beings. And, of course, one of the reasons we tell people is because this is what is expected of us; we’re all supposed to give the impression that we’re bouncing off the walls each night. According to the mass consciousness, sex is what makes a relationship ‘real’, and if you’re not having steady mind-boggling sex, then society gets to deem you a sad, lonely person who lives in a dream world of frustrated misery.

But here’s the thing: I don’t swing from the chandeliers nightly (weekly, or monthly) and I’m still relatively happy. I don’t really need sex. I suppose somewhere along the line I got bored with it, bit of a ‘been-there-done-that-a-thousand-zillion-times’ kind of thing. I just feel there’s a possibility that I’ve had enough sex in my life. Could this change? Who knows, stranger things have happened. All I know is that right now, I’m good. Read more

A Whole New World

HEALTH, SURGERY
Gabrielle Vaughn | VenusBlogs Editor at Large

“Ha-ha-ha, ho-ho-ho, and a couple of tra-la-las – that’s how we laugh the day away in the merry old Land of Oz…”

Remember that scene in the Wizard of Oz, when – upon arriving at the gates of the Emerald City – Dorothy, Toto, the Scarecrow, Tin Man and Cowardly Lion are swiftly ushered into a gloriously green world filled with multicolored ponies and eccentric spa technicians who lay them out on individual and specialized tables where they are then primped, groomed and gussied up to the nines? Well, that’s kind of how I envision the world of Vaginal Rejuvenation. Read more

Don’t Cramp My Style

HEALTH, SURGERY
Gabrielle Vaughn | VenusBlogs Editor at Large

Many women’s lives are compromised on a monthly basis due to a common condition: excessively heavy menstruation. While most women can fully accept the natural occurrences that come with with their monthly period, there are others who quite simply suffer through them. This kind of suffering not only cramps one’s style, it makes living a normal life outright impossible. It’s not just the bleeding — it’s the anemia that comes with the blood loss, the overwhelming fatigue and the irritability and moodiness that come as a result.

But this irritability is not just hormonal — it’s because having heavy periods is a sincere drag. Nobody wants to be the person who “can’t do, can’t go, can’t get up, can’t work” etc… and, unfortunately, heavy periods can become such a burden that, for the women who suffer them, the experience of “can’t do” becomes the unwanted norm.

One effective treatment for heavy periods is an endometrial ablation procedure, using GYNECARE THERMACHOICE. Read more

Read My Lips

AESTHETICS, HEALTH, SEX, SURGERY
Gabrielle Vaughn | VenusBlogs Editor at Large

Be honest with yourself: How many times in a day do you say the word, ‘Labiaplasty’? My guess would be that, unless you’re a gynecological surgeon — or a vagina blogger like myself — you probably don’t say it much, if you’ve even said it once.

Weird thing is, many women are very aware of labiaplasty — and this was a thing I didn’t know until I told a friend of mine that I was going to blog on the subject. Her reaction: “Oh yes, that’s that procedure where they surgically reduce the size of the vaginal lips (the labia), right?”

Yes. That’s exactly what they do. Not only that — they change the appearance of the lips as well; kind of like a facelift or — a lip job, seriously. And if you’ve ever looked at a vagina, basically it’s the lips that do the greeting, which is why women who are conscious of their ‘nether’ appearance may be interested in a little nip tuck. Read more

Labia Begone! – A Labiaplasty Tale

AESTHETICS, SURGERY, V TALK
Gabrielle Vaughn | VenusBlogs Editor at Large

I read this article by “Anonymous” over at The Frisky, this morning.

I first heard the word “labiaplasty” three years ago. Immediately, my interest was piqued. My unruly butterfly wings — otherwise known as my labia — interfered with my sexual activities. Riding a bike for more than 15 minutes? Painful. Camel toe? Obvious. Intercourse? Lube did little to relieve all that smooshing, pulling, stretching, especially when condoms were involved.

Anonymous then proceeds to tell a long, woeful and somewhat comedic tale about the downfalls of having “too much stuff”. She reads up on labiaplasty and decides that enough is enough. She elects to have labia surgery and lo and behold: Labia Begone! Success! She writes: Read more

Don’t Judge a V by Its Cover

SEX, SURGERY, V TALK
Gabrielle Vaughn | VenusBlogs Editor at Large

It was early morning and the store hadn’t opened its doors yet. I stood by my register and neatened the counter in preparation for the day’s events. The other cosmetics salesgirls gathered to my right, sipping their coffees and checking their make-up.

Tess, the display girl, worked the mannequins. Her work was sublime, yet her personal style always seemed to ruffle the prim and proper feathers of my co-workers. Being that Tess was contracted as an “artiste of the floor,” she was not bound by the same dress code, as were the sales associates. Her arms revealed flamboyant tattoos, her lips, eyebrows and ears were dramatically pierced, and her hair was bright blue. Read more

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