Female genital mutilation (FGM)

Making sense of female genital alteration practices

2008 Virginia Braun
Department of Psychology, The University of Auckland

Around the globe, girls and women routinely undergo a range of genital alteration procedures. Some procedures, such as some intersex surgery or labial reduction, are performed once with permanent effects; others, such as pubic hair removal or vaginal drying, need to be done repeatedly, as their effects are only temporary. Some are done without choice, or against the person's will; others are 'freely' chosen. Some practices are agonised over; others are so mundane and routine they are barely questioned. Some, such as 'traditional' genital cutting ([FGC] also known as female genital mutilation (FGM)), are illegal and legislated against in many countries; others, such as genital cosmetic surgery, are available to all who can pay up front or qualify for finance. What unites all these procedures is an understanding of the way women's genitalia should be, if girls and women are to be appropriately gendered and sexually desirable. My focus in this article is exploring understandings of women's genitalia, and how they inform and enable alteration practices, through an examination of the specific practice of female genital cosmetic surgery in the west.... Read More