Depilated pudenda are ubiquitous on those Web sites designed for the exclusive use of men. It seems as though the girls are taking note, however. Labiaplasties are becoming more popular and many "attributed [them] to the growth in Brazilian waxing to remove all pubic hair", reports Tamara McLean in The Australian (story subsequently removed).

The operation, to reduce the inner vaginal lips, costs $10,000 in Australia.

Dr Colin Moore says it used to be professionals who wanted to tidy up their pink bits. Nowadays, "the typical patient was a successful, unmarried young woman in her 20s or early 30s who simply didn't like what she had".

Dr Moore said that the trend was not due to women copying what they saw online, rather it was "more likely just a general reflection of the cultural and attitude changes in the last 20 years".

Jerry Saltz, art critic for the Village Voice, says that "visibility is power". It is "consistent with lowered waistlines and bared midriffs, which may be surrogates and pointers for the pudenda below".