Academic

A ?Pelvic Spa?

By Caitlin Borgmann

This was in the “Fashion & Style” section of last Thursday’s New York Times: A Spa for Those Women Concerned About ?Pelvic Fitness?, by Natasha Singer:

THESE are the generations of cosmetic medicine:

First came the ?medical spa,? or medi spa, offering dermatology services in a retail setting. The medi spa begat the dental spa, bringing tooth bleaching to storefronts nationwide. The dental spa begat the podiatry spa.

And now comes the first medi spa in Manhattan wholly dedicated to strengthening and grooming a woman?s genital area. Phit ? short for pelvic health integrated techniques ? is to open this month on East 58th Street….

With the ubiquity of pornography, the pelvis had already become a marketable area for modification, ranging from the Brazilian bikini wax to genital surgery referred to as vaginal ?rejuvenation.? Doctors have even coined a term for such genital ?beautification?: cosmetogynecology or cosmogynecology.

The advent of the pelvic spa, however, takes body fixation to a new level, furthering the idea that there is no female body part that cannot be tightened, plumped, trimmed or pruned.

-Caitlin Borgmann

Full post as published by Feminist Law Professors on July 07, 2008 (boomark / email).