Elongated labia

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closeup of enlarged labia, standing

Elongated labia (also known as Sinus pudoris or macronympha[1] and albeit nonmedically, as khoikhoi apron or hottentot apron) is a feature of certain Khoisan groups, whose female members develop relatively elongated labia minora, hanging up to four inches outside their vulva when they are standing in an upright position. The "apron" moniker was apparently gained from the tendency of early European descriptions to misidentify the pair of labia as a single, wide organ, which they called, in French, a tablier, or "apron".[2]

This trait was first noted as far back as the 17th century, but became extensively documented in the last part of the 18th and the 19th century.[3]• It was Sarah Baartman’s 19th century case, that brought the elongated labia back out for discussion. For many years, the identification of Baartman was questioned because she demonstrated this feature. In the Gender and Science Reader, an elongated labia minora was said to be portrayed by a “Negro.” So it is because of this trait that Baartman was considered to be part of the inferior race, being that the superior race (whites), had a "normal" sized labia. [4]

Labia may also be shaped by intentional labia stretching, usually done by an aunt on girls beginning at the age of four or five, a practice formally falling into the category of Type IV female genital mutilation.[5] In 2008 The World Health Organisation reclassified the practice as a body modification due to a perceived lack of harm and a reported positive perception of women's sexuality by those who practice it.[6]

  • closeup of enlarged labia, spread

  • Khoisan women with pendulous labia visible

See also

References

  1. ↑ Potgieter, D.J., ed. (1970). Standard Encyclopaedia of Southern Africa 1. NASOU. p. 460. Retrieved July 7, 2012. 
  2. ↑ ‘The Female Hottentot, with natural Apron.’ A medical myth.
  3. ↑ Baker, John R. (1974). "The ‘Hottentot Venus’". Oxford University Press. Retrieved 2006-06-26. 
  4. ↑ The Gender and Science Reader ed. Muriel Lederman and Ingrid Bartsch. New York, Routledge, 2001.
  5. ↑ "Campaign Against Female Genital Mutilation". 
  6. ↑ health and beauty: vaginal practices: Indonesia (Yogyakarta), Mozambique (Tete), South Africa (KwaZulu-Natal), and Thailand (Chonburi)
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