In this respect they present an approximation to the genitals of the anthropoid apes, among whom the orang-outang alone shows any tendency to formation of the labia majora.
The labial appendages of the Hottentot female have been celebrated for many years.

Blumenbach and others of the earlier travelers found that the apron-like appearance of the genitals of the Hottentot women was due to abnormal hypertrophy of the labia and nymphae.

According to John Knott, the French traveler, Le Vaillant, said that the more coquettish among the Hottentot girls are excited by extreme vanity to practice artificial elongation of the nympha and labia.

They are said to pull and rub these parts, and even to stretch them by hanging weights to them.

Some of them are said to spend several hours a day at this process, which is considered one of the important parts of the toilet of the Hottentot belle, this malformation being an attraction for the male members of the race.