Improved
6112 HealthChanged
3786 LivesSaved
3568 Lives0 lives impacted in the last 24 hrs Learn More
A clitoridectomy is the surgical removal of a woman’s clitoris, and sometimes her labia as well. Many modern women would be surprised to learn that this was a common method of managing women’s “mental disorders” from the year 1860 to 1937 in America.* At that time, medical professionals believed that mood disorders in women were caused by excessively sexual feelings. The quickest solution to this problem was to remove the clitoris and thus prevent masturbation and sexual enjoyment.
We can look back at this time period in a distant state of awe and horror, but we must also realize that clitoridectomies are still a common rite of passage in at least 28 African countries. They also take place in a small number of indigenous ethnic groups in Asia, and were common in Egypt until outlawed several years ago. These procedures are inflicted on young women between the age of four and 12, and are intended to ensure chastity, cleanliness, fertility, and beauty.
Westerners often prefer the more relatable term “female circumcision” to describe this procedure, but in fact, the two have very little in common. Removal of penile foreskin does not present nearly as many health problems as removal of the clitoris, and circumcision also does not interfere with sexual function or enjoyment later in life. Clitoridectomies often have severe immediate complications, including tetanus, infection, extreme pain, hemorrhaging, shock, and death. For this reason, the term “female genital cutting” has been adopted as a medically and culturally accurate way of describing the practice.
The most drastic form of female genital cutting is infibulation, which is common in Sudan, Ethiopia, Mali, Somalia, and northern Nigeria. In this procedure, the clitoris and labia minora are removed, and the labia majora are sewn together. A small hole is created for the elimination of urine and menstrual blood, and also for sexual intercourse when the time comes. A pregnant woman will need to have this area cut open and then sewed back together after giving birth.
It is difficult to step outside of ourselves to understand a world where being a woman doesn’t just mean that you’re gawked at and paid less money; rather, it means that you are vulnerable to a host of culturally-sanctioned violent acts that may cause severe damage. Hopefully we can take a step away from seeing these women as the “other,” and understand that 100 years ago, we were in exactly the same boat. And back then, we really could have used some help.
* Statistics and definitions used in this article are from “Unmasking Tradition” by Sudanese anthropologist Rogaia Abusharaf.
-----------------
Shaina Gaul is a feminist and freelance writer living in Iowa. View more of her writing at http://www.couchSpud.net.
Add a Comment13 Comments
^^ Where did you get the impression that removing the clitoral hood is equivalent to removing penile foreskin in terms of the risk of pain, disfigurement, and health problems? ^^
It's a simple fact. The clitoral hood and the male foreskin are homologous and completely indistinguishable in the womb until three months gestation. They are similarly innervated, they both protect the mucosa, and they both afford a frictionless gliding mode of stimulation.
^^ can you illustrate the ways in which American males experience negative long-term side effects of circumcision? ^^
Just Google "circumcision damage" to see images of all-too-common horrid cosmetic and functional outcomes which don't manifest until puberty and so are never counted among the supposedly infrequent complications of infant circumcision. Aside from that, hundreds die and thousands require corrective surgery every year.
>> Are males able to achieve orgasm after circumcision? <<
Usually, and so usually are women whose hood is the only thing excised. Don't compare only the worst FGC to the average MGM.
^^ How often are circumcisions performed past the age of four? ^^
Too often, especially among Muslims, who comprise about 3/4 of the circumcised males on earth.
^^ this article has immediately been perceived as a threat to the forum of male sexual health ^^
Are you condoning the non-consensual mutilation of my male genitals? That's a threat indeed.
^^ This is a website geared toward female health and empowerment ^^
Male circumcision harms a straight female's sex life. It eliminates the slinky rolling sleeve of slack skin which otherwise makes lube for sex utterly obsolete. The foreskin includes about about half of his sensual pleasure-receptive nerve endings and lack of foreskin allows the numbing of the male's mucosa which forces him to engage in more forceful (uncomfortable for her) sexual interaction in order to feel anything. And empowerment is an important issue for women who will be mothers. They need to be armed with the info to effectively fight off medical profiteers who would offer destructive cosmetic surgey for their newborns.
Over 200,000 men are enduring a tedious multi-year process of non-surgical foreskin restoration to regain a measure of their stolen pleasure. I wish there were similar techniques to help cut women.
Google Soraye Mire or Ayan Hirsi-Ali, FGC victims and authors who agree we must protect boys too.
Search at YouTube for "functions of the foreskin" to learn more about the penis in 20 minutes than US doctors are required to know before graduating med school.
-Ron Low
November 3, 2009 - 10:41pmThis Comment
Where did you get the impression that removing the clitoral hood is equivalent to removing penile foreskin in terms of the risk of pain, disfigurement, and health problems? Can you illustrate the ways in which American males experience negative long-term side effects of circumcision? Are males able to achieve orgasm after circumcision? How often are circumcisions performed past the age of four?
I agree with you that circumcision should not be considered trivial in terms of global sexual freedom/oppression, but I find it interesting that mere hours after its publication, this article has immediately been perceived as a threat to the forum of male sexual health. This is a website geared toward female health and empowerment, which means that its writers and staff should not feel obligated to integrate the male viewpoint into each and every article, in each and every sentence. But of course, I'm forgetting that we wouldn't live in America unless we could expect our readers to immediately respond with a "dear God, what about the men?!" mentality. (Please see http://blog.iblamethepatriarchy.com/patriarchy-blaming-the-twisty-way/dear-god-what-about-the-men/ for more information.)
November 3, 2009 - 8:12pmThis Comment
It's illegal even to make an incision on a girl's genitals in the USA, even if no tissue is removed. Why don't boys get the same protection?
Some forms of female circumcision do less damage than the usual form of male circumcision. Sometime there's just an incision with nothing actually removed. One form just removes the clitoral hood (the female foreskin), so it's the exact equivalent of cutting off a boy's foreskin. In some countries, female circumcision is performed by doctors in operating theatres with pain relief. Conversely, male circumcision is often performed as a tribal practice. When circumstances are similar, so are outcomes, and 56 boys have died of circumcision in just one province of South Africa so far this year.
Don't get me wrong. I'm totally against female circumcision, and I probably spend a lot more time and money trying to stop it than most people. If people are serious about stopping female circumcision though, they also have to be against male circumcision. Even if you see a fundamental difference, the people that cut girls don't (and they get furious if you call it "mutilation"). There are intelligent, educated, articulate women who will passionately defend it, and as well as using the exact same reasons that are used to defend male circumcision in the US, they will also point to male circumcision itself (as well as labiaplasty and breast operations), as evidence of western hypocrisy regarding female circumcision. The sooner boys are protected from genital mutilation in the west, the sooner those peoples that practice FGM will interpret western objections as something more than cultural imperialism.
November 3, 2009 - 7:35pmThis Comment