closeup of enlarged labia, standing

Elongated labia (also known as Sinus pudoris and albeit nonmedically, as khoikhoi apron or hottentot apron) is an apparently genetic feature of certain Khoisan groups, whose females develop relatively elongated labia minora, hanging up to four inches outside their vulva when they are in an upright position. Khoisan (increasingly commonly spelled Khoesan or Khoe-San) is the name for two major Ethnic groups of Southern Africa. The labia minora (singular labium minus) or nymphae are two longitudinal Cutaneous folds on the human Vulva. The vulva (from Latin, vulva, plural vulvae or vulvas; see etymology) is the region of the external genital organs The "apron" moniker was apparently gained from the tendency of early European descriptions to misidentify the pair of labia as a single, wide organ, which they called, in French, a tablier, or "apron". "Hottentot" is an acquired name for the Khoisan peoples, now seen as derogatory.

This trait was first noted as far back as the 17th century, but became extensively documented in the last part of the 18th and the 19th century. ^[1]

Labia may be shaped by intentional pulling, usually done by an aunt on girls beginning at the age of four or five, a practice that has been characterized as a form of female genital mutilation. Female genital cutting (FGC also known as female genital mutilation (FGM female circumcision or female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C refers to ^[2] Alternatively, labiaplasty may be used to reduce the appearance of elongated labia. Labiaplasty (sometimes spelled labioplasty and sometimes referred to as labia minor reduction or labial reduction) is Plastic surgery of the

closeup of enlarged labia, spread

Khoisan women with pendulous labia visible

See also

• Steatopygia

References