January 10, 2025
"It felt like such an invasion — such a bizarre, rape of some kind. Nothing pointed toward this need to be tighter or smaller or firmer or younger, especially there."
Said Brooke Shields, quoted in "Brooke Shields Received a Vaginal Rejuvenation Without Consent" (NY Magazine).
The revelation comes on the occasion of a new memoir — called "Brooke Shields Is Not Allowed to Get Old: Thoughts on Aging as a Woman." Shields is 59 years old, and the surgery happened when she was in her 40s and sought labia reduction surgery. We're told that afterwards the surgeon told her he "threw in a little bonus." Shields chose not to sue at the time and is choosing to work through what she calls "shame" by writing about it.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Posts
39 comments:
I don’t know what any of this is but I have questions. If you sought surgery in that area, then how much was the extra work not related to that surgery such that it wasn’t consented. If that is too personal, then if it is a shameful subject, who would have known if Shields didn’t include it in her memoirs. Does she want to lead a crusade to have Doctors not perform surgery that is not requested nor required? If so, I think there would be better avenues for doing this that don’t lead us to speculate on Shields’s vagina.
"I'm not getting enough attention...I KNOW HOW TO FIX THAT!"
Hollywood seems like such a normal place. Has the Fire of Hell burned it down yet?
I'd rather talk about Jimmy Carter's ziploc bags, tbh. Thanks for sharing.
""You're a woman who's been getting nothing but dirty breaks. Well, we can clean and tighten your brakes, but you'll have to stay in the garage all night." Groucho Marx, in Monkey Business.
the surgeon told her he "threw in a little bonus." Really creepy. That could mean a lot of things.
"... she was in her 40s and sought labia reduction surgery. "
That's a thing? Like, why? I mean, do they get in the way, or something? When?
Larissa's Trout explained all this to me a few years ago...
Seriously, I mean he's down there anyway????? Just saying...
What do they do with the excised labia? Do they just throw it into a dumpster or is there a market for used celebrity labia?
I’m ah…long on the shaming backfiring with more women seeking the bogo…
I can't understand even wanting to alter lovely lovely labia. Besides, there's old grannies in Mogadishu with razor blades who will do the job for free if you really want that.
There's that old joke about her, receiving flowers the next day from that fellow down in the burn unit, with the new ears.
I have no idea what any of this means.
Yes, for many women, a large labia minora can cause discomfort while exercising, riding a bicycle, or even just sitting.
I had a friend who went in for a colonoscopy in the 1990s. While he was under, the doctor decided to scope his esophagus as well.
When he told me, I asked him if this was discussed before the procedure, and he told me that the doctor hadn't even come to speak with him before the procedure. I told him he should sue, but he just shrugged it off.
Who wouldn't want to throw Brooke Shields a little bonus?
"...for many women, a large labia minora can cause discomfort while exercising, riding a bicycle, or even just sitting".
You should try having balls! Those things get in the way all the time. I'm not planning to cut them off though.
Well.... I hope he did the esophagus first.
I'm with Kate.
My wife used to work Endoscopy. I think it would depend on ones relationship to the endocrinologist. Where they a direct patient or a referral for the exam. If the former, then the doctor might have something while doing the lower (colonoscopy) that suggested they might look for a root cause in the upper (gastroscopy). In that case, it really is doing a favor and perhaps billable. If indirect from a referral, then I think the endocrinologist doing the procedure should have checked with the referring doctor.
Also, the tubes that go into the body are different for an upper than a lower. Camera might be the same, but it is sterilized. Usually for efficiency, they have many of them, so the sterilization won’t slow down getting the next procedure done. At my wife’s hospital, endoscopy was a major profit center, because one doctor could do a procedure in about 30 min so nearly a dozen in one morning. Then the nurses could do the sterilization in the afternoon when the doctor left to document and do rounds.
The spirit of the age.
Well, shame ain't what it used to be. That's for sure.
Could she have heard that last word wrong, maybe it ended in er not us?
No joke: they use donated labia (I assumed post-mortem, but...) to rebuild mouths for burn patients, specifically lips. Saw it in Reader's Digest many moons ago.
Reminds me of Mildred (Babe) Didrikson Zaharias, who went barnstorming with the House of David baseball team, a religious sect famous for their long beards. When a woman called out "Hey Babe, where's your whiskers?" Babe replied "I'm sitting on them, sister, same as you."
Vaginal rejuvenation surgery (AKA Vaginoplasty): It's all about improving the muscle tone of the pelvic floor which many women find has weakened after childbirth along with age and lack of proper exercise.
"Vaginal rejuvenation surgery can positively affect the pelvic floor by improving muscle tone and function. However, it also carries risks like pelvic floor dysfunction or scarring. A thorough consultation with a qualified surgeon and post-operative care, including pelvic floor therapy, are essential for optimal outcomes." perplexity
Considering the potential negative side effects this procedure does seem like something a responsible surgeon would discuss with the patient in advance. Her surgeon sounds like a bit of a jerk.
The trend of labiaplasty is probably a byproduct of pornography and its reach into the general culture thanks to social media -- where some idealized norm of genital appearance has become popular and perhaps expected.
Because this topic is rarely discussed or because of social pressure to conform to an ideal, many women can be unaware of the plethora of labial variations. There is an insecurity about appearing different.
It's kind of taboo and also kind of brave to talk about this publicly.
pictures
Brooke Shields: "Gwyneth, people aren't paying me enough attention. What do I do?"
Gwyneth Paltrow: "Publish a memoir and call it This Memoir Smells Like My Vagina"
I decided to read the Cleveland Clinic’s explanation of the surgical procedure. If you want to read it, you have the information to find it. I can understand the difference but not enough for it to suggest rape nor any reason for her to feel shamed by it. The only reason anyone might inquire is because that area would need to recover and that might include ice packs in that area. Acquaintances might notice the packs, but then they’d be there because of the consented surgery. I do think the doctor was doing a favor, if unethical in not discussing it previously, because the surgery helps with the problems suggested in comments below as to why one would get the labia reduction. It simply is more comprehensive and doing it then prevented having to go through more surgery in the region. I suspect the conversations were not quite as Shields explained.
Howard stern once had a porn actress on his TV show perhaps 20 years ago discussing her labiectomy. Sha had the excess bits cast in a luciete cube that she was auctioning.
The funny part for mere was that they had the camera zoom on the cube but blurred the ladybits
Why were they blurring 2 detached bits of skin?
I
It seems to me that in this age of rampant body dysmorpia, a plastic surgeon would do well not to go messing with parts the patient hasn't specifically asked to have altered. I will admit that the pelvic floor is not a visible part and he might believe that ANY woman would want things
"tightened up down there" (I am gathering that the surgeon was in fact a man, who might be excused for wanting any woman to be "tightened up down there"), but shouldn't that be up to her? And maybe she might not consider it a "favor" that her surgeon assessed the situation and decided she SHOULD have things tightened up, even though she hadn't complained of incontinence or anything? Who is he to make that call?
Ah a celebrity problem that I'd rather not read about.
My partner met her several times at functions in Las Vegas. She was rather crude, rude, and entitled. That was when she was still with Andre Agassi. It was the usual “Do you know who I am?” from Shields, and a similar retort from my partner. Then was something like “oh, you’re the one who got famous for being photographed nude at 11”. Partner is rarely rude, but that time, it was deserved. 2nd time, Shields was her best friend - apparently because they were seated in front of her. But didn’t remember having been so rude the previous time. Partner described Shields as being “horse faced”. Women can be catty. Each to their own - partner looks French, and Shields looks British. And so do I.
Thanks for sharing.
When women make partner, they can get fiesty.
Despite Shields' feigned ignorance of the benefits (that she herself listed), the surgeon likely thought it generous to donate a procedure so high in demand in those..err..circles.
Despite Shields' feigned ignorance of the benefits (that she herself listed), the surgeon likely thought it generous to donate a procedure so high in demand in those..err..circles.
Making a big nothing the size of a little nothing.
Post a Comment