SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA — Men always have been preoccupied with their sexual equipment. Now, though, an Australian researcher is convinced women are equally concerned about how what’s “down there” measures up to an elusive ideal.According to University of Sydney PhD candidate Frances D’Arcy-Tehan, the growing popularity of vaginal reconstructive surgery indicates there’s a link between genital attractiveness, self esteem and sexual function. She has begun a study of the issue not only in hopes of ending the silence surrounding women’s genital anxiety — particularly among therapy professionals who treat the larger issue of body image dysphoria — but also to encourage sex-education reforms.

“The genital image issue has been bubbling around feminist dialogue for a while and has increased recently, I’ve noticed, especially around the issue of cosmetic intimate surgery,” she told the Sydney Star Observer. “It’s a no-brainer really, that the more comfort one has with their body and their genitals, the more comfort they’re going to have in the bedroom, but what this document will hopefully do is increase the dialogue around the issue.

“There is anecdotal evidence to suggest that women, who are under incredible pressure to look a certain way, are presenting to plastic surgeons and saying ‘I want my vagina to look like this,’” she continued. “I want to raise some awareness about that and hopefully extend the range of body image issues so that it’s not just about tummies and bums.”

D’Arcy-Tehan expressed a particular interest in gaining input from the lesbian community to see how her theories play out across a broad range of sexual identities and orientations.

“It will be interesting to see what the perceptions are from the lesbian community, and particularly whether any differences in their porn industry will have an effect,” D’Arcy-Tehan told the Star Observer. “What I would expect is that there might be a wider variety in the type of genitalia people are seeing, so there might be a greater sense of comfort, but that still remains to be seen.”

The study is expected to continue until June 2009 before data is examined and conclusions are reached. Women interested in participating may visit http://tinyurl.com/3kmeme.