A woman who desperately sought “designer vagina” surgery at the young age of 14 is now speaking out against the practice, warning of the excruciating pain and lifelong consequences she has endured. Campaigners are calling for labiaplasty, the procedure that alters the appearance of the vaginal opening, to be treated as a form of female genital mutilation (FGM) in the UK.
Riley Smith*, now 26, recounts how the procedure was presented to her as a “fix” for her perceived insecurities about the size of her labia. Influenced by her friends’ insensitive comments, she underwent the surgery at 22, only to be left in agonizing pain. Smith now experiences irritation, dryness, and recurring infections due to the removed tissue, and says she can no longer sit comfortably or engage in sex without excruciating discomfort.
Charities like The Vavengers are fighting to have labiaplasty criminalized, arguing that it is impossible to truly consent to “that much bodily harm.” The World Health Organization defines FGM as “all procedures that involve partial or total removal of the external female genitalia, or other injury to the female genital organs for non-medical reasons.” While FGM is illegal in the UK, plastic surgeons can legally perform labiaplasty on anyone over 18 who consents.
Sema Gornall, the CEO of The Vavengers, believes labiaplasty has become “normalized” on social media, with over 7,000 TikTok posts about the procedure since 2024. She argues that the practice, like FGM, is rooted in patriarchal beauty standards and the desire to conform to rigid norms.
Dr. Kate Goldie Townsend, a lecturer at the University of Exeter, warns that the risks of labiaplasty mirror those of FGM, including “bleeding, infection, reduction in sexual function due to the removal of nerve endings, chafing, scarring, and psychological distress due to regret.” While the procedure may provide a “socio-cultural increase in confidence” by aligning with patriarchal beauty standards, Townsend says many women express regret and some private clinics are capitalizing on women’s bodily anxieties.
Payzee Mahmood, an ambassador for The Vavengers who underwent FGM, emphasizes that labiaplasty is “decorated and masked in this idea that women are choosing to have a designer vagina, that this is a sense of empowerment and freedom, but actually, this all goes back to patriarchy, because this is done for men in the same way that FGM is done for men.”
The UK government currently has no plans to ban private labiaplasty surgery for adults, which can cost around £4,000. Campaigners are determined to change this, arguing that the practice must be recognized as a form of genital mutilation that can have devastating and lifelong consequences for women and girls.
*Name has been changed to protect the individual’s privacy.