by Tamara Kovacs
A little over a year ago, I had my most painful experience. After much thought and research, I decided to have the hood of my clitoris pierced. The entire process was quick, but those few seconds were extremely intense and painful. This is the closest I could relate to females that undergo circumcision in other countries. I am not trying to say that the pain is similar, or that the environments are at all similar. I was pierced in a completely safe, sanitary setting with sterile equipment by a trained professional. The piercing was also my choice and was over in seconds. Women in some areas of Africa and Asia are forced into being circumcised, often at an extremely young age. These circumcisions are performed in unclean and unsafe conditions, and the people performing the procedures are not professionals. Many in the United States will refer to female genital piercings as genital mutilation. I disagree. I believe that in order for something to be considered mutilation, it must be done against the person’s consent, in dangerous conditions, and/or by untrained people. In my opinion, if adult women in the United States want to be circumcised, for whatever reason, by a medical professional or trained body modification specialist, they should be allowed to do so. However, female circumcision that is not a choice and that is performed under dangerous conditions which jeopardize a woman’s health should not continue.
Female circumcision is the practice of removing part of, or the entire clitoris, and possibly removing the labia minora and sewing the labia majora together. This is often practiced in areas in Africa and sometimes in Asia as well. It is not commonly practiced in the United States or other higher developed countries. Young girls are often circumcised in unsanitary, unsterile, and unsafe environments. No anesthetics are used during a female circumcision, and it is not uncommon for a female to die after her circumcision. If not immediately due to blood loss, or infection, than she will eventually die of other forms of infection or related health problems. There are several forms of female circumcision, clitoridectomies and infibulations. In clitoridectomies, the women’s clitoris is removed and sometimes her labia minora are removed as well. Infibulations are more complicated. Along with removing the clitoris and labia minora, the labia majora are also stitched together, leaving a hole so small that menstrual blood and urine often cannot pass through.
Why do men and women in other societies continue this practice? In many of these cultures, people believe that circumcision prevents women from wanting to have sex with other men. Many women believe that circumcision is necessary if they wish to marry. I disagree with the way that these societies treat their women. Just because a woman has anatomically correct vulva, a clitoris, and a vagina does not mean that she will have sex with other men. It just means that she will be able to enjoy the sex she has with her husband. It also means that she will have a higher life expectancy and fewer medical problems, and can produce more children. It makes me sad to read and hear about young girls being forced to go through these dangerous and painful procedures. Procedures that are being done often by the women in their own family, and without anesthetics or medications.
The United States has banned female circumcision on minors, even with the consent of a parent. I think this was a good idea because there have been cases were women from other cultures move here, and want to have their daughters circumcised. Although it would be safer to have the procedure in the United States, I am worried that legalizing female circumcision, even with the consent of a parent, would cause this to become another issue for the U.S. to worry about. Even though I do disagree with the way female circumcisions are being done in poorer, less educated societies, I do not think it is our job to make them stop. Just because the United States disagrees with another culture, we should not try to change it. How would we feel if another culture invaded our country and made us change our customs? This is their way of life. I think we should just help these societies find safer ways to perform the circumcisions. If they took medical classes, had sterile equipment and a sterile environments, as well as medications and anesthetics, then I think everyone would be happier.
I also think that women who are over the age of 18, both in other cultures where female circumcision is common and in the United States, should be allowed to have female circumcision performed on themselves in a safe environment if it is something that they really want to do. I view this circumstance as a body modification. I know people that have bifurcated tongues, surgically removed parts of their ears, removed their navels, split their penis in half like a hot dog bun, and even people that have implanted beads into their genitals. I believe that in the U.S. female circumcision is just an extreme form of body modification, and although I would never pursue having my clitoris or vulva removed, I would not make another female feel bad about herself if it is a procedure that she wanted to have done as long as she was of age to consent.
Tamara Kovacs is a sociology major with a concentration in social diversity at East Carolina University.