female circumcision during a short trip to Africa . As far as Hosken was concerned , FGM was a terrible , barbaric , misogynist act of sexual subjugation inflicted on African women by African men . Hosken , like many western activist today , assumed it was the duty of white civilization to end this crime against defenseless African women .
Since Hosken , anti-FGM campaigners and activists of all racial persuasions have effectively utilized mainstream media to continue this terrifying reproduction of images of African girls and women being coerced , literally kicking and screaming , dragged into unsanitary environments and butchered by old ladies wielding dirty razor blades or rusty knives . As Islamophobia became a prevalent force in Europe and America , FGM was then tied to Islamic extremism – just one more example of Muslim repression of women around the world . While this miscreation called FGM made way for convenient gender-based asylum claims for our circumcised sisters who ended up as migrants in western countries in the late 80s , 90s and thereafter , most of us do not define ourselves by white women ’ s hand held mirrors to our vaginas .
The mainstream media and anti-FGM activists they work with rarely make any distinction between the various types of genital surgeries ; all FGM is portrayed as the most extreme form , Type III infibulation performed on underage girls . This media misrepresentation of female genital surgeries among African and other non-western women explains in part why most women in western countries and around the world who are “ intact ” imagine a huge difference between so-called FGM victims and themselves . Without seeing any actual images of these procedures or understanding the context in which they are performed , women from cultures that do not practice female circumcision automatically assume the most horrendous effects of mutilation . After all , the common definition of “ mutilation ” means “ disfigured ” or “ dysfunctional ”. To complete this image of FGM as a violent crime against women , the mainstream media mostly invite as guests or experts those affected women who identify themselves as mutilated or survivors of FGM and express defiance for a practice that they say disfigured and sexually robbed them of womanhood .
So , let us grab our own mirrors and have a look at some actual pictures . In a recent study entitled Sexual Anatomy and Function in Women With and Without Mutilation , gynecologist Jasmine Abdulcadir and her colleagues juxtaposed a picture of an uncircumcised vulva of a white female patient with a circumcised vulva of a black ( presumably African ) female patient . The uncircumcised vulva in picture A represents more or less the average appearance of uncut women as far as my own observation of countless pictures in medical texts , magazines and online . The black patient ’ s circumcised vulva picture B fits the definition of WHO Type II or excision and more or less resembles the procedure I underwent as well as those of other women I observed in hospital examination rooms during my five years of fieldwork in West Africa ( unfortunately , more pictures of healthy circumcised vulva are almost impossible to obtain online ). Most of the students in my lectures express surprise that there seems to be little difference aesthetically ( pigmentation aside ) from the two photos – a typical uncut vulva and a typical excised vulva .
Still holding on to our mirror , let ’ s turn now to white female genital cosmetic surgeries and see whether these are inherently different from our African or Muslim women ’ s traditional procedures . In presenting these easily accessible internet pictures of “ labiaplasty ” and female circumcision , I wish to highlight the following :
1 . FGCS including labiaplasty , involves partial or total removal of external female genitalia , which means these procedures fall under WHO FGM definition and classifications
2 . We do not need to be board certified plastic surgeons to see that “ labiaplasty ” clearly involves a whole lot more extensive cutting and reshaping than its medical definition implies
3 . In some cases , the reshaped external female genitalia are identical with different types of WHO FGM / C . There are clear pre- and postop differences in size , shape and contour of the inner and outer labia as well as the structure of the external clitoral foreskin and glans that resemble Types I , II and III .
Examples of Pre- and Post-Op “ Labiaplasty ” Procedures
The after photo shows the before and after vulva following what is advertised as “ labiaplasty ” ( my guess is that in this case “ labiaplasty ” includes dramatic clitoral hood reduction and possibly clitoral glans reduction procedures as well ). The after photo is very close to or identical with WHO Type II procedures ( see picture B above ).
8 SiA And The Shabaka Stone Winter Special Edition 2017