Female Genital Mutilation

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Recommended: the issue of genital mutilation in woman at point zero

Imagine this! Being either a young girl or a woman forcefully bound against your will while elders perform a procedure called Female Genital Mutilation (FGM). The young girls and women who are forced to have this procedure done not only loses their rights to sexual pleasure but their rights are sliced, chopped, punctured, and finally burnt away. Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) otherwise known as Female Genital Circumcision (FGC) is also a controversial topic in Western societies. This paper will examine the history of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), hegemonic perspective on Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), health consequences of having this procedure done, how Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) affects women’s sexual function, and women who have gotten genital reconstruction done on their vagina.
It is hard to determine the direct origins of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM). Some researchers believes Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) originated in either ancient Egypt, Ethiopia, or Greece during the fifth century BC (Nawal, 2008, pp. 135-139). However, presently, Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) is performed on millions of young girls and women (Rahman, 2006). Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) occurs in Africa, Europe, Australia, Canada, and in the United States (Mascia-Lees 2010, pp. 66-68). Furthermore, there are four types of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) procedure. Type 1 hood of skin that sits over the clitoris (prepuce) is removed, type 2 the entire clitoris is removed, type 3 the external genitals are partly or totally removed and the wound stitched together, and type 4 is other practices including piercing, cauterizing, scraping or using corrosive substances designed to scar and narrow the vagina (anonymous 2014).
According t...

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...ts and African Resistance: Female Circumcision in a Broader Comparative Perspective. Global Jurist Frontiers, 4(2), 1-23.

Mascia-Lees, F. (2010). Gender & Difference in a Globalizing World. Long Grove: Waveland Press, Inc.

Mashua, Lucy. "A Survivor’s Battle Against Female Genital Mutilation." FrontPage Magazine 25 Nov. 2009: 1-3. Print.

Nawal, N. (2008). Female Genital Cutting: A Persisting Practice. Women's Health in Developing World, 1(3), 135-139.

Rahman, A., & Toubia, N. (2006). Female Genital Muitlation: A Guide to Laws and Policies Worldwide (2 ed.). New York: Center for Reproductive Rights.

Reyners, M. (2004). Health consequences of female genital mutilation. Reviews in Gynaecological Practice, 4(4), 242-251.

Smith, C. (2011). Who Defines "Mutilation"? Challenging Imperialism in the Discourse of Female Genital Cutting. Feminist Formations, 23(1), 25-46.

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