Brooke Shields’s Nonconsensual Vaginal Rejuvenation Is More Common Than It Should Be

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Beyond physical distress, the emotional toll can be just as devastating. Kimberly says that the powerlessness she felt when her no was repeatedly ignored mirrored the trauma she’d experienced when she was raped. “My very real PTSD symptoms kicked in,” she recalls. “It was coming back to me. I was so scared.”

Dr. Peprah-Wilson agrees that a nonconsensual experience like this can understandably trigger fear, helplessness, and panic—reminiscent of what survivors often grapple with after sexual assault. “One of the most traumatic elements of sexual abuse is the unexpectedness,” Dr. Peprah-Wilson explains. “The fact that you lost control in a situation, only to wake up from a procedure to realize somebody altered your body—it’s terrifying, especially when it involves intimate, sexual body parts.”

Other possible mental health consequences, according to both Dr. Peprah-Wilson and Shelton, include feelings of shame and low self-esteem—both of which Amanda says she struggled with following her own breast augmentation. She didn’t feel like herself, covering her chest with a turtleneck even in the sweltering, summer months. Added to that distress was the fact that much of her trauma was minimized. “People would say, ‘I’d love to have bigger boobs.’” Amanda recalls. But these types of responses, sometimes meant to be optimistic, are the kinds that often keep emotional pain buried, Dr. Peprah-Wilson says—and important conversations like these overlooked.

How to advocate for yourself during medical visits

Dr. Tang puts it bluntly: “It’s the doctor’s responsibility to make sure that they’re getting informed consent, that they are not doing procedures to a patient without their approval.” After all, as Shields makes clear in her memoir, “I could have asked all the right questions and explained exactly what I wanted, and unless I’d known to say, ‘Please do not “tighten me up,” even if you think you’re doing me a favor,’ I couldn’t have gotten ahead of this.”

In the event that your trust is betrayed by a medical professional, taking legal action might sound like a potential next step. However, it’s not always the most straightforward. For many reasons it can be a stressful process—Shields herself said that she never took action against her doctor, “in part because I had started to question myself, to wonder if he was right, that I should feel lucky.”

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But for some, like Amanda, focusing on a few small yet empowering steps can be a way to restore some semblance of control in such vulnerable medical settings. Little things, like preparing a list of your biggest fears, researching alternative options, and flagging medical terms you don’t fully understand, can gently build your confidence. Dr. Rahman and Dr. Tang also suggest bringing along a trusted friend, family member, or “witness”—someone who can make it easier to speak up if you’re shy about saying, “What are the odds of [scary complication] happening?” or “Um, that doesn’t really sound like something I’m interested in.”

Understandably, though, if you’ve endured a situation where you believe your body and boundaries were violated by a system designed to protect you, regaining trust and a sense of safety can feel near-impossible. Still, it’s never too late to start unpacking these experiences—whether that involves leaning on your support system or seeking a professional’s help.

Conversations like these, Dr. Tang says, aren’t just powerful for those who’ve been through it; they also serve as “an important learning point for all healthcare providers to reflect on how we treat patients and make sure we’re being as clear as possible.” Because at the end of the day, stories like these shouldn’t be lessons learned—they should never happen at all.

If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, you can call the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 800-656-HOPE (4673). More resources are available online from the National Sexual Violence Resource Center.

Related:

https://www.self.com/story/brooke-shields-vaginal-rejuvenation, GO TO SAUBIO DIGITAL FOR MORE ANSWERS AND INFORMATION ON ANY TOPIC



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