Genital Self-Image and Considerations of Elective Genital Surgery

Nicole K. Smith, Scott Butler, Brandon Wagner, Erika Collazo, Lucia Caltabiano, Debby Herbenick

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

19 Scopus citations

Abstract

The present study explores how genital self-image may be related to considerations of surgically altering one's genitals and documents the wanted genital changes among young adults. Evidence of a nontrivial proportion of respondents (98 of 1,110) had seriously considered elective genital surgery. Regression models indicate that, for both men and women, identifying as heterosexual and reporting lower composite genital self-image scores results in higher odds of considering genital surgery. Additionally for men, feeling unsatisfied with penis size increased the odds. Clinical and educational efforts to normalize and celebrate genital variation may influence considerations for genital modification in young adults.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)169-184
Number of pages16
JournalJournal of Sex and Marital Therapy
Volume43
Issue number2
DOIs
StatePublished - Feb 17 2017

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