Apparently some women are shelling out $1,850 every four months for a shot of collagen to the G-spot. This is what you get when you cross labiaplasty with the myth of the vaginal-only orgasm. Scary.
From the G-Shot official website:
The G-Shot® is a painless office procedure performed in your doctor’s office under local anesthesia. The actual injection usually takes less than 8 seconds and the total office visit time is usually less than 30 minutes. A specially designed speculum is used to assist in the deliver a specified amount of human engineered collagen directly into the G-Spot after local anesthesia. The G-Shot® augments (enlarges) the G-Spot. This results in a G-Spot about the size of a quarter in width, and one fourth of an inch in height (meaning the projection into the vagina). Note that results do vary.
There's a very long list of potential side effects. Doesn't it seem safer (and more economical) to invest in a few high-quality sex toys? Or maybe go out and find a new partner? Because after reading the testimonials, it becomes very apparent that this "enhancement" is just as much about making sex better -- and easier -- for your (male) partner: “My man is so excited about my G-Shot he can’t wait until I get home from work� and "After the G-Shot® it is simple to direct your partner to your amplified pleasure center.� The quotes seem to imply that women were stressed out and feeling like they were failing their partners by not coming fast enough. (“My G-Spot is always present and ready for action at a moments notice.�)
And this quote from the article is sadly revealing: "The main thing is it gives me a boost of self esteem," Sherrill said. Self esteem? As in, she's finally able to orgasm vaginally, just like she always thought she should? Somebody needs to get this lady some Betty Dodson literature, stat.
"I think getting addicted to the $1,800 every four months just to be able to function sexually is problematic. There are a lot of ways to get pleasure. Women really don't need a shot to be able to do it," [Dr. Bryna] Barsky-Ex said.
Exactly. I wonder how many of the women who sign up for this have a positive outlook on their bodies and their sexuality, a box full of sex toys at home, and partner who's really interested in making sure they have pleasurable sex. My guess is not very many.
Via Nerve. Also check out Dodson's ruminations on the G-spot.
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This just makes me sad. I hate how it's always women who go under the knife and alter their bodies to please men. You've never heard of men who will surgically enlarge themselves to make things better for their wives.
I don't think this is all about the vagina-only orgasm, though. Some women may have an easier time with that method, and some might want it both ways. Are we really supposed to get wound up over the fact that women also want pleasure from sex, too?
Off-topic but,
you might want to go to Althouse and see her picture with her breasts exposed. I mean it seems like her blog is all about her breasts and cleavage.
Just thought you might want to know.
Women's bodies are built to produce sexual pleasure without medical intervention, thank you very much. We don't need $6K worth of collagen shots annually, we need a culture which supports our sexual agency and our bodies AS IS and partners who are genuinely interested in getting us off however we like to get off.
This is so effing depressing. I can't believe we live in a world where this exists.
"Doesn't it seem safer (and more economical) to invest in a few high-quality sex toys"
You forgot about hood piercings. Or, even better convince your guy to go for the Prince Albert.
I don't even understand how this is supposed to work. Wouldn't putting a layer of collagen over something sensitive make it less sensitive? Is anyone actually concerned about the minute elevation changes in their internal geography? I seriously doubt the testimonials came from actual customers.
The radio station that I listen to in LA had the female sidekick go in and get one of these shots (I think she actually got two) and then she "tested" it out a few days later and she said it made sex a bit faster but overall the sensation wasn't that much different, or something to that effect. I wasn't impressed when I listened to it and like most people here it made me very sad to see that women were promoting bodily augmentation in order to please men.
Some could argue that women like to have orgasms too but as it was pointed out, you don't need to shell out nearly 2 grand to get off. There are sex toys and other things that help with that but I think Ann was right when she brought up that these women have been raised to believe that the vaginal orgasm is the only "real" orgasm and if they don't get off that way then there's something wrong.
We live in a time where we have to have instant gratification no matter what and now it's spilled over into sex. Don't want to cook? Go to McDonald's. Can't wait to get home to watch the game? Get the scores sent to your phone. Can't orgasm in under 20 minutes? Get your vagina fixed.
What worries me is whether or not this will set a president for either all women or women of a younger generation. Much like everyone expects women to have little to no hair on their groin I'm wondering will this lead to an era where men expect women to get these shots so they don't have to worry about ever trying to please their partner otherwise.
And that all of this shit keeps targeting women's insecurities upsets me. It really won't ever end.
Yes, Jaclyn. Yes, yes, and yes.
How can you inject a myth? (kidding)
one of the things that i thought was most disturbing about the testimonial section on the website was that so many of them mentioned that they're aroused all the time with the g-shot.
now, call me crazy, but as much as i love to get off, i wouldn't want to be aroused all the time. i mean, i've got shit to do.
it seems like the goal is to turn women with normal sex drives (normal as in sometimes you want to, sometimes you don't) into mindless sex-bots who just wanna do it all day long. every man's dream, yes?
i almost threw up on my keyboard just reading that website.
Gross, just gross. Those testimonials are terrible. Not one of them seems like a legit reason to do this to me. And there is no way I would risk any of those complications. The article said this was for women who already have a healthy sex life; why risk losing that?
Every time I read something about a woman getting something done to her vag to "improve" on it, I just want to scream. It makes me wonder if any of them realize that playing with their clit is perfectly normal and awesome during sex. Nevermind giving direction. Sex can't be good until the other person knows how to rock you, and that calls for direction. More women need to be sending their lover left [no, your OTHER left] and less time convincing themselves that an invasive procedure is worth their sex life being marginally better.
I really think things like this are promoted because men want to "normalize" women's sexuality. Think about it, almost all men have orgasms the same way, rhythmic stimulation of the penis. They usually have a preference as to who's doing the stimulating and how, but the machinary basically works the same across the whole gender.
Women, on the other hand, are far trickier. Some of us have vaginal orgasms, some have clitoral orgasms, some have both. Some need more agressive stimulation, some need a light touch, there's a variety of ways for us to get to the same goal and what works for one woman might not work for another. Instead of men, I don't know, sitting down and learning their partner's preferences, isn't it easier for them to tell us that there's something wrong and to inject ourselves so it's not their problem? Rather than seeing the beauty in the variety of female sexuality, they'd rather have a quick fix that makes the button easier to find so they can get back to concentrating on their own orgasm.
Genny--
That's the myth about male sexuality, but the truth is, most men don't really know their own bodies at all. Men, also, have several types of orgasm, and you could make the same argument--that, rather than loading up on vaigra, if a man would just lie down in the bathtub and learn his own anatomy a little better, he would be able to plese himself, erection or no.
Not to say that Viagra is on the same level as this, either in terms of invasiveness or in terms of cost, but still..
In the end, if we learned about our bodies, we wouldn't have to alter them.
I love my g-spot. I love my g-spot so much that I would never, ever do anything to fuck with it. How insane. I don't understand this, and it makes me alternately depressed and furious.
This is just an example of patriarchal innovation.
Instead of completely denying sex, they just now are making women constantly aroused, so they can't do anything else. I mean, there are limits to how much you can be aroused and seriously concentrating on your work.
I've been reading feministing for a while now without ever posting, but this grossed me out and pissed me off enough to warrant signing up. I can't believe this. Just reading it made me nauseous and depressed.
I can't imagine being so disconnected from my vagina that I would:
a) feel the need to augment it with an implant, and
b) actually let someone insert needles in my g-spot.
Let alone feeling so disconnected from my relationship with my sex partner that I'd rather get a shot in the hoo-hoo than teach them how to get me off.
What the heck is wrong with the world, that professionals seem to meet so little resistance in pathologizing women's bodies and marketing 'quick fixes' to 'cure' them, with what appears to be no accountability or responsibility for accurate and comprehensive information? In my world of medical ethics, any doctor offering this procedure should be required to check in with their patient, ensuring that it is the most reasonable measure for the situation (Question one: "Do you masturbate?", Two: "So, do you talk to your partner about what you want sexually?") Imagine how many times a gal could get off in four months if she invested the $1800 in sex toys! Or skipped the cash, and just started mastrubating and communicating with her sex partner!
There was a time when I thought it possible to work towards a world where kids grow up learning about their bodies and how they work, and adults are knowledgeable and comfortable understanding their bodies, and their partner's bodies. It's demoralizing to me that that vision seems to get less and less attainable every day - some kind of fantastical feminist utopia. I'm not giving up hope, but wacky business like this sure isn't making it any easier.
like Robin, I've been reading for a while but never actually posted until now.
Goodness. ok, I grew up in a somewhat sexually repressed environment. Sex was evil unless safely within the confines of marriage, and masturbation... well, that just encourages promiscuous thoughts and activities and should be discouraged at all costs! I had next to no sex-education besides what I looked up for myself, which was done covertly, lest someone assume I had "promiscuous" thoughts.
no seriously.
So I've developed some opinions about the benefits of education and getting to know yourself intimately.
It's important. so enormously important, I'm not sure I know how to put it into words.
Because without it... things like the G-shot get created and encouraged! The testimonies are just frightening... it's one thing to feel sexy. But it's another thing entirely to base that feeling on the gratification of your partner's insecurities.
On a slightly different note,
I keep hearing this vaginal/clit orgasm debate. One side says the vaginal orgasm is the only "true" orgasm. The other side says the vaginal orgasm is a myth. (thank-you to Genny for acknowledging both!)
Umm... I definitely have a strong preference for clitoral stimulation, but I have had vaginal orgasms. They are most certainly possible, though I'd hazard to say they're no more exciting than the clitoral kind.
lu lu, I don't think anyone who is up to date thinks that vaginal orgasms are the only "true" orgasms. I believe that clitoral orgasms have been recognized as very real orgasms for some time now, and in fact THEY tend to be regarded as the only "true" orgasms much more often than vaginal ones do [well, okay, at least in more educated circles].
There is a debate over whether or not vaginal orgasms exist, though. I expected it to crop up here, actually, and I'm pretty surprised that it hasn't.
Kaching. Add one to the list of things you must have but don't need. Think of all the things that get pushed that you must have to be a proper sexually attractive female, their opinion via the marketing and pop culture not mine.
Based on per month costs:
brazilian wax $75
underarm wax $25
Leg wax $35
colored contacts no prescription $41.50
spray on tan $15
fake nails $40
Gspot inj $450
That is $756 a month to maintain that barbie doll sexbot image. Not including clothes, haircuts etc.
Notice none of the things I listed above have an actual health or medical need?
They do not seem to be marketing this to solve an actual medical problem but as an injectible sex toy.
Uhm OUCH! Ftw?
I'd rather spend that money on a Magic Wand & then use the rest for therapy.
it sounds to me somewhat like vagina circumcision, anothe barbaric practice.
"I keep hearing this vaginal/clit orgasm debate. One side says the vaginal orgasm is the only "true" orgasm. The other side says the vaginal orgasm is a myth."
I think that sometimes what we think are vaginal orgasms are actually clitoral. Anatomically, the clit has internal "legs" that wrap around the vagina, so you can get off clitorally from internal stimulation. Some women can also get off from their G-Spot, but I don't think it really matter whether you're getting off from your clit or your g, as long as you're happy.
I also don't think that women are any more complicated than men to get off, it's just our society the male way is standard and normal and everywhere, and women aren't men. Also, since the most direct way of getting women off (clitoral stimulation) doesn't get men off, there's pressure on us to find other ways that will get him off. It's funny, because men's version of the G-Spot is in their ass (their prostate) but most (straight) men would never consider getting penetrated during sex, yet expect us to get off that way. Damn double standards.
Someone should attempt to market this shot for men's prostates, so they can enjoy pegging (slang for strap-on anal sex) from their girlfriends. I'd love to see peoples reactions to that.
squeezed in amongst a host of nausea-inducing physical side effects, i noticed this one: relationship problems. um, i think you already have those if you and the man in your life think a quarterly shot in the vagina will magically boost your sex life.
that being said, i'm aroused enough of the time as is. keep your needles away from my vagina, thank you very much.
I'm so afraid of needles that if anyone were to put one in my vagina, I'd be too freaked out to have sex for at least a month.
And that, of course, is beyond the absolutely unbelievable levels of sick, twisted, and wrong found in this whole concept.
Being a guy, I wont even touch that whole orgasm point. I will say however, Im with anyone who thinks this is a result of the whole male/penis centred view of sex. Its like some blokes think anything that doesnt involve his tommy tiddler will instantly become a chore in sex, regardless of his partners wants.
Personally, I find that whole concept totally boring, and I loathe the idea of ever leaving a partner unsatisfied. This is whole problem is most likely because too many guys willingness to please is only directed towards themselves. Though I in NO way speak from experience when it comes to sex, because I imagine my lack of looks and charm more than see to my failure in that department.
Still, its ridiculous that a woman (or the couple) would pay such money for something to help them enjoy sex more (supposedly, I mean it only gets worse when you hear that there are some possible nasty effects that come with it). Again, I wouldnt know myself, but it seems others know of much better ways to improve their sex without spending any -or at least not a stupid amount- of money.
Still, its probably better left said by those who know what they are talking about.
Phlegmatic, seems to me as a woman's partner, you "know what [you're] talking about" in terms of the impact of this shot (and the mindset behind it) on sexual relationships and our cultural construction of "successful" sexuality. Don't count yourself out of the conversation :).
Anatomically, the clit has internal "legs" that wrap around the vagina, so you can get off clitorally from internal stimulation.
Since I haven't yet had partnered sex, I only have my own externally-stimulated orgasms to go by. But even I can tell there's a whole internal structure behind what we think of as the clitoris, which is engaged in complex and varied ways when I'm aroused. I like getting away from the clitoral/vaginal dichotomy and just paying attention to what my own body responds to.
It's so infuriating and sad that Cara and others have been challenged on the "correctness" of their sexual responses, just like our mothers' generation was challenged on the "correctness" of theirs . . . just more proof, I guess, that feminist work still has to be done!
the description of the procedure on the website is scary for many reasons:
"You will be positioned on the examination table as if you are “getting a PAP smear� and the doctor will do a pelvic exam and measurement of the G-Spot based upon your direction. He will transfer this measurement to a ruler and then a special speculum."
They used the "he or she" fudging in an earlier paragraph, but check out the male doctor probing your vagina, looking for your G-spot based on "your direction"--i guess that means you're giving him the direction you should have been giving your partner? Am I the only one who doesn't want to be telling a male doctor how to find my G-spot as he probes for it, for a procedure with no medical value?
and--fistula? permanent numbness????!!
the description of the procedure on the website is scary for many reasons:
"You will be positioned on the examination table as if you are “getting a PAP smear� and the doctor will do a pelvic exam and measurement of the G-Spot based upon your direction. He will transfer this measurement to a ruler and then a special speculum."
They used the "he or she" fudging in an earlier paragraph, but check out the male doctor probing your vagina, looking for your G-spot based on "your direction"--i guess that means you're giving him the direction you should have been giving your partner? Am I the only one who doesn't want to be telling a male doctor how to find my G-spot as he probes for it, for a procedure with no medical value?
and--fistula? permanent numbness????!!
Am I the only one who doesn't want to be telling a male doctor how to find my G-spot as he probes for it, for a procedure with no medical value?
*shudder* That sounds like a nightmare.
God, are you all such prudes? It takes a twisted mind to take a procedure designed to increase female pleasure and to turn it into a tool of the patriarchy. Some women enjoy having sex. If they have the money, what is the big deal. Buy a toy, get your hood pierced, get a g-shot. Who are any of you to dictate how far a woman is allowed to go for her own pleasure before she has simply became a male's sexbot? I don't understand what your version of male sexuality where an enlarged g-spot would get the male off more than the female. What is wrong with sex just being easy? Don't trust the advertisements about being sexually excited all day, but it seems like anything that makes sex more pleasurable is good for man or woman. Debate the surgery, not its value.