Rising demand for 'designer vaginas': A sexual revolution in sex-shy India?

Conversations around sex have largely been a hush-hush affair for ages. People want to talk about it, but none are willing to be open about their sexuality and what goes on between the sheets. Apart from sex life of an individual or a couple, sexual health and hygiene are key aspects of daily life that suffer from lack of information and guidance due to the reluctance to talk about sex.

The situation is worse when it comes to discussing women’s sexuality, their desires and sexual satisfaction in a relationship. What women want is a question that has rarely been asked and is never addressed adequately. Globally debated issues like female orgasms are unheard of outside urban spaces, as there is still a lack of awareness regarding important subjects like menstruation.

The dawn of a sexual revolution?

One thing that substantiates the claims of India embracing a sexual revolution is that rising number of women are undergoing series of procedures called designer vaginas. Dr Sejal Desai told the Deccan Chronicle that the term covers vaginal tightening, solving orgasm issues, labiaplasty, clitoral unhooding as well as procedures to remove wrinkles and change the skin tone of the vagina to match that of the body. Women can choose out of these options to have their vagina ‘designed’ as per their desire.

An obstetrician and gynaecologist since 2001, Dr Sejal Desai, was the first to bring Aesthetic Vaginal Surgery to India after she completed her training in Los Angeles, US in 2012.

Desai says that sexually active women have been visiting her Mumbai clinic for vaginal tightening to tackle issues related to marriage, lack of desire and post delivery intimacy issues. She also mentioned that young women are now bold enough when it comes to dealing with their sex life.

Another change that Desai has witnessed over the years is that women are prioritising their sexual pleasure and this has led to improved communication among couples. She added that young women who visit her are also opening up to their parents about the services they are seeking.

It also came to light that "designer vagina" procedures aren’t simply associated with visual aspects, but are equally effective when it comes to the functional aspects.

The 'Barbie Doll' look

Labiaplasty involves scraping a part of the labia which are the folds of skin surrounding the vagina. Desai said that “the most popular among young women is the ‘Barbie Doll Labiaplasty’, where the labia is scraped enough to make the vagina look like that of a newborn”.

Sexual satisfaction matters

Apart from the aesthetics, other surgeries include clitoral unhooding, where the tissue covering the clitoris is removed in order to increase sensitivity leading to higher sexual pleasure, along with giving the area a better look and reducing the time taken for climaxing. Fillers for the G-spot are another way of enhancing sexual pleasure through a process called “G-spot enhancement”.

Women taking the initiative

While many are accompanied by their mother or spouse, in most cases women have been the ones to talk openly and take the initiative when it comes to discussing issues and raising sexual awareness. Those approaching Desai for hymen repair or youth restoration include young women who want to enhance their vagina ahead of their wedding and also married women who want to undergo the surgery for their partner on anniversaries.

Women are also giving gift cards for youth restoration and collagen remodeling to their friends on birthdays and anniversaries. Desai said that she has clients from all age groups across cities. Women from small towns are also contacting her now.

A large number of women from Gujarat are opting for designer vaginas at Dr Sejal Desai’s clinic and women from other states like Kerala are inquiring about the services she offers. Apart from this NRIs and foreign nationals also visit her clinic in India, as the service is more cost-effective in India as compared to Europe and US.

A different tale

However, a rising number of women visiting Desai from Arab countries paint a different story. As the husbands of these women have more than one wife, vaginal tightening as well as labiaplasty offer these women a chance to stay ahead of other women in their husband’s life. Several middle-eastern women have also been opting for botox injections in their vagina.

Winds of change

The fact that couples are taking their sex life more seriously makes it evident that large number of women want the length and width of the vagina changed according to their partner’s size for maximum pleasure.

Awareness among young women and couples is rising thanks to access to information on the internet. But there still is a lack of awareness among gynaecologists in India, since vaginal aesthetics as a subject hasn't made it to the medical syllabus in our country.