Ugly Genitals

How fascinating that in the post modern world we live in, we now have the concept of "ugly genitals" emerging as a social construct. Read = (Peter L. Berger and Thomas Luckmann with their book The Social Construction of Reality which is based on a combination of Alfred Schutz' Sociology of Knowledge and Durkheim's concept of institution, developed a theory that aims at answering the question of how subjective meaning becomes a social fact. "The social construction of reality".)

Now we have cultures presenting subjective meaning as fact when it comes to the attractiveness of genitals. Look at whats happened to the social construction of what constitutes attractiveness in the female genitals.  In Western cultures, now for a vagina to be considered attractive it must be hairless, waxed, shaven, the Brazilian.  Who decided this?  But worse how did we buy into this.  Unintended consequences = Labia size?  Someone socially constructed that large labia are unattractive and small labia attractive.  The consequence of this is that now women are having labiaplasty (labia reduction) done in order to make their vaginas attractive according to this new social construction as if it is a fact??. Who said??  In FGM cultures an uncircumcised vagina is considered ugly, and a mutilated vagina attractive?

Male genitals.  In genital cutting cultures the circumcised penis is considered attractive and the foreskin is considered ugly extra skin.  In intact cultures the natural genitals are considered attractive and the circumcised penis is considered ugly, scarred and dried out.

Genitals are just genitals, their purpose is to provide pleasure which ultimately ensures we reproduce our species, to ensure our survival.  The most important aspects of the genitals is the physical feeling and pleasure they provide, and the ability to procreate.  Along with the hormonal drive that creates the urge for sex, genitals help create new life, ensuring the human race survives.  How they look is really of minor importance, and only a modern phenomenon.  Is a persons, integrity, personality, commitment, love, intelligence, and facial features (also socially constructed ) not much more important than genital appearance.  If we were to rate in order of importance the most valued aspects of a human being, where does genital attractiveness rate (remembering it is a social construct) among the human attributes?  Not that highly surely?

How has this come about?  Is it an increasing narcissism among modern humans?  Is it the digital photography age, and manipulation of photos to change the way the human body looks (Study found editors digitally reduce labia size).  Is it the culture wars around circumcision and all forms of genital cutting done on children that leads to social constructs to justify ancient tribal customs?  Is it an obsession with the superficial?  Is it an idealisation of the human form?

What do we do about it?  Well it always starts with education, awareness and knowledge, that depending on the culture we live in, that culture is socially constructing concepts about genital attractiveness, and we need to be careful about buying into it.  To challenge these social constructions.  To argue that nature created humans with a large variability in our human features, and encouraging acceptance of how we are made/look as the most valued ideal.

What are your thoughts on this subject I'd like to read what other people think?