Brooke Shields has revealed something very personal, very surprising and very unfortunate.
In the new memoir — Brooke Shields Is Not Allowed to Get Old: Thoughts on Aging as a Woman, which goes on sale January 14) — the actress/model recounts experiencing an unexpected trauma that came at the hands of medical professionals.
Specifically, Shields says she was forced to undergo an unwanted and unnecessary vaginal rejuvenation procedure at some point in the recent past.
“I would be lying if I said I wasn’t embarrassed to share this extremely intimate information,” Shields wrote in an excerpt published by Us Weekly.
“But, if we are to change the way we approach and talk about women’s health, we have to bring uncomfortable but very real issues into the forefront.”
The star began to explain how she had to undergo labia reduction surgery when she was in her 40s due to discomfort, rubbing and bleeding.
However, during a post-op checkup with her surgeon, she said she discovered Too While she was under the knife, a vaginal rejuvenation procedure was performed without her consent.
In the book, Shields apologized to readers who might find the story “too graphic or just TMI, as some generations still say”, but said her intentions were pure.
“Shame is no longer an option,” she writes.
Nor are they remaining silent on such violations.
Regarding the surgeon and what he somehow chose to do with her, Shields says:
“He informed me that he has given a little bonus. It felt like an attack – so strange, like some kind of rape.
Shields recalled that the doctor “proudly explained to me that, you know, she had inserted a little tweezer,” telling the aforementioned tabloid that she was “blown away” by this reasoning.
“There’s no indication whatsoever that it needs to be tightened or shortened or strengthened or shortened,” Shields said of this body part, adding that both she and her gynecologist Were angry.
Shields, now 59, didn’t tell her husband Chris Henchy about what happened “for a very long time.”
But now she’s going public with her story as a way to raise awareness about women’s autonomy over their personal health.
This is not the first time that a celebrity has been vocal on the topic of ageing; Or the topic of how women are viewed in society.
“Isn’t it interesting that we also have to say, OK, if you’re going to age, you have to do it gracefully,” she told Allure last year. “Sorry, but you’re okay.”