Brooke Shields Received a Vaginal Rejuvenation Without Consent

Actress Brooke Shields is doing the rounds to promote her upcoming memoir, Brooke Shields Is Not Allowed to Get Old: Thoughts on Aging as a Woman, and in a story with Us Weekly, she revealed one particularly haunting tale from the book.

In her 40s, Shields underwent a labia-reduction surgery, recommended by her gynecologist to aid in the discomfort that the length had caused, only to wake up from the procedure with a whole other surgery under her belt. In a post-op follow-up with the Beverly Hills surgeon, he revealed that he “threw in a little bonus.” While under, he had performed a vaginal rejuvenation surgery, or vaginoplasty, on her without her consent.

“It felt like such an invasion — such a bizarre, rape of some kind,” she said. “Nothing pointed toward this need to be tighter or smaller or firmer or younger, especially there.”

Aside from the anger Shields felt at receiving an unwanted procedure, she explained that she also felt shame about the whole situation. While her gynecologist was aware (and equally enraged), Shields even kept the incident from her husband for a while. In her memoir, she starts with an apology to readers who might find this whole story “too TMI.”

“I’d be lying if I said I’m not embarrassed to share this very intimate information,” she writes. “But, if we are to change the way we approach and talk about women’s health, then we need to bring up the uncomfortable but very real issues. Shame is no longer an option.”

In the end, Shields decided not to take legal action, saying “I thought, I don’t want anybody else telling me what I have to do.” Instead, sharing her experience can hopefully help more women to discuss these surgeries, which are often considered taboo (though they really are not), and to continue advocating for themselves, especially when it comes to our health.