I wanted an example of a good thesis as I prepare to undertake my first in anthropology and was advised to read ‘Melting Snowflakes – Are Labia the Great Equaliser’ by Lindy McDougall. While it has nothing to do with my focus and I find it suffers from the repetitive tendency of all anthropological work, it’s an engaging work that makes its point clearly.
While Westerners condemn Female Genital Cutting (FGC – an umbrella term that covers a number of alterations) in African and other societies, there is a growing trend in Australia (and more so in the US) for women to choose Female Genital Cosmetic Surgery (FGCS). FGC, according to those that have undergone it, makes a woman feel better about herself, socially more acceptable and enjoy sex more. FGCS is generally presented as empowering women by giving them a ‘clean slit’ which somehow makes them feel better about themselves, improves their chance of catching a man and enhances their sexual satisfaction. Lindy’s point is that FGC and FGCS are essentially the same operations performed for essentially the same reasons, so how can we condemn one and condone the other?
Among the arguments and quotations she put forward for each case, Lindy quotes men as saying that every woman is different and some of the mystique is taken away if they’re all made to the same ‘clean slit’ specifications. I wonder that she never discussed the connection with pedophilia. To me, a ‘clean slit’ has as little erotic value as a pre-pubescent girl. Aren’t we a hypocritical society if we condemn pedophilia while encouraging women to imitate children in the effort to catch a man? Or is the lust for children so innate that women feel the need to sacrifice themselves to assuage men’s appetites?
This is actually very simple:
We should condemn any physical mutilation, genital or not, that is forced upon someone, especially minors. (note that I would include circumcision in that lot).
cosmetic surgery is different as long as it is initiated by and performed on a sane adult. People can do whatever they want on their bodies but they should be the only one having the right to do so.
I haven’t really detailed this here, but it’s never that simple. Lindy shows that society creates an ideal that affects the choices we make so that ‘choice’ is a problematic word.
I totally agree with you that ‘forced’ alterations should be condemned, especially when the recipient is too young to know what’s happening.
Our perceptions and choices are shaped by the society we live in. That’s part and parcel of being the social animals we are.
If a woman “chooses” to have FGCS due to an ideal set by a society, I’d argue that it’s still a choice. Therefore, she has the right to do it. If anything, I would suggest that an informed choice through education should be required. Beyond that, it’s her decision.
I don’t think it’s right for the author to claim that FGC and FGCS are essentially the same. Cosmetically, they are (excuse the pun). There are enough important differences to make it a separate issue.
Having never read the book, I’m not aware of the author’s arguments. The “society shapes choices” one you outlined, doesn’t convince me though.
The author has contacted me separately regarding my paraphrasing of her thesis, saying that calling the two forms of surgery ‘essentially the same’ is incorrect. I stand by my reading that they may differ in the proportion of cases affecting the various parts (as do the tools and conditions) but they are ‘essentially’ the same in that they appear to include many of the same operations.
What do you understand the argument ‘society shapes choices’ to be? It’s not clear what you’re contesting. Is it that women in both cases feel that the operations make them more acceptable to society and therefore improve their chances of finding a mate? Or that they feel that the operation increases sexual satisfaction? Or that women even care what society tells them? The point is that it’s not as clear-cut as you would like to think.
I recently came across an article on rites of passage that discusses various forms of genital ‘surgery’. I was particularly interested in the note at the bottom that describes movements by African women to protect their right to perform these activities.