Topic
Infibulation
About: Infibulation is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 240 publications have been published within this topic receiving 5020 citations.
Papers published on a yearly basis
1 / 2
Papers
Abstract: This paper explores the close similarities between Chinese footbinding and female genital mutilation and categorizes each custom as universal where practiced persistent practiced by those opposed to it a way to control sexual access to females considered necessary for proper marriage and family honor sanctioned by tradition an ethnic marker spread by contagious diffusion exaggerated over time related to status supported and transmitted by women performed on young girls generally not initiation rites believed to promote health and fertility considered aesthetically pleasing considered an enhancement to male pleasure during intercourse and related to female slavery. After noting these characteristics the paper defends these assertions by tracing the history of female footbinding in China and defining and tracing the history of female genital mutilation in Africa. The authors conclusion that each practice is a self-enforcing convention (as defined by Shelling in 1960 and Lewis in 1969) is presented through a discussion of the convention hypothesis and game theory illustrated through coordination problems. This theory illustrates how people can be stuck in an inferior equilibrium which is maintained by what people believe about each other (daughters will be forced to undergo genital mutilation if people believe this is necessary to attract a husband). Such a convention is self-enforcing and in these cases the enforcement is derived by a desire for paternity confidence by a history of imperial female slavery and by belief traps. The mechanism necessary to allow escape from an inferior convention is then covered and it is recommended that efforts to end female genital mutilation adopt the successful tactics which eradicated footbinding in China in one generation. Quick convention change can be achieved by an education campaign by use of adverse international public opinion and by forming associations of parents who pledge not to submit their daughters to genital mutilation and not to let their sons marry mutilated women.
775 citations
TL;DR: It is shown that female circumcision is associated with some health consequences but that no statistically significant associations are documented for a number of health conditions, and the available evidence does not support the hypotheses that circumcision destroys sexual function or precludes enjoyment of sexual relations.
Abstract: This systematic review of published sources between 1997 and 2005 shows that female circumcision is associated with some health consequences but that no statistically significant associations are documented for a number of health conditions. This is in part a result of the difficulty of designing studies on the more extensive operations (infibulation). The findings of the analysis can be summarized as follows: statistically higher risks are documented for some but not all types of infections; the evidence regarding urinary symptoms is inconclusive; the evidence on obstetric and gynecological complications is mixed: increased risks have been reported for some complications of labour and delivery but not others, and for some symptoms such as abdominal pain and discharge, but not others such as infertility or increased mortality of mother or infant. Concerning sexuality, most of the existing studies suffer from conceptual and methodological shortcomings, and the available evidence does not support the hypotheses that circumcision destroys sexual function or precludes enjoyment of sexual relations. This review highlights the difficulties of research on the health and sexuality consequences of FGC, underscores the importance of distinguishing between more and less extensive operations, and emphasizes the need to go beyond simple inventories of physical harm or frequencies of sexual acts.
249 citations
1 Sep 2004
TL;DR: This comparative report summarizes data on FGC from Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) implemented between 1989 and 2002 to make more accessible the basic information on the distribution and practice of FGC and to encourage country-specific analysis of DHS data onFGC.
Abstract: Female genital cutting (FGC) also known as female circumcision or female genital mutilation (FGM) is a common practice in many societies in the northern half of sub-Saharan Africa as well as in Egypt and Yemen. Nearly universal in a few countries it is practiced by various groups in at least 25 African countries in Yemen and in immigrant populations in Europe and North America. The cutting varies from a symbolic nicking of the clitoris to excision of tissue and partial closure of the vaginal area (infibulation). The ritual aspects vary from the straightforward cutting of an infant in the household context to complex rituals involving the cutting of groups of adolescent girls held in seclusion for weeks or months. In a few societies the procedure is routinely carried out when a girl is a few weeks or a few months old (e.g. Eritrea Yemen); in most it occurs later in childhood or in adolescence. This comparative report summarizes data on FGC from Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) implemented between 1989 and 2002. It is intended to make more accessible the basic information on the distribution and practice of FGC and to encourage country-specific analysis of DHS data on FGC. The report describes the types of DHS data available on FGC outlines some overall patterns in the data identifies important changes over time and comments on the questionnaires used from 1989 to 2002. By the end of 2002 there were a total of 20 DHS surveys that included questions on the circumcision status of women. The surveys covered 15 countries in Africa plus Yemen. (excerpt)
184 citations
TL;DR: The reliability of reported form of FGM is low and there is considerable under-reporting of the extent, and the WHO classification fails to relate the defined forms to the severity of the operation.
Abstract: Objective To assess the reliability of self reported form of female genital mutilation (FGM) and to compare the extent of cutting verified by clinical examination with the corresponding World Health Organization classification.
Design Cross sectional study.
Settings One paediatric hospital and one gynaecological outpatient clinic in Khartoum, Sudan, 2003-4.
Participants 255 girls aged 4-9 and 282 women aged 17-35.
Main outcome measures The women's reports of FGMthe actual anatomical extent of the mutilation, and the corresponding types according to the WHO classification.
Results All girls and women reported to have undergone FGM had this verified by genital inspection. None of those who said they had not undergone FGM were found to have it. Many said to have undergone “sunna circumcision” (excision of prepuce and part or all of clitoris, equivalent to WHO type I) had a form of FGM extending beyond the clitoris (10/23 (43%) girls and 20/35 (57%) women). Of those who said they had undergone this form, nine girls (39%) and 19 women (54%) actually had WHO type III (infibulation and excision of part or all of external genitalia). The anatomical extent of forms classified as WHO type III varies widely. In 12/32 girls (38%) and 27/245 women (11%) classified as having WHO type III, the labia majora were not involved. Thus there is a substantial overlap, in an anatomical sense, between WHO types II and III.
Conclusion The reliability of reported form of FGM is low. There is considerable under-reporting of the extent. The WHO classification fails to relate the defined forms to the severity of the operation. It is important to be aware of these aspects in the conduct and interpretation of epidemiological and clinical studies. WHO should revise its classification.
156 citations
TL;DR: The findings of this study indicate that sexual desire, pleasure, and orgasm are experienced by the majority of women who have been subjected to this extreme sexual mutilation, in spite of their also being culturally bound to hide these experiences.
Abstract: In a study conducted over a 5‐year period, the author interviewed over 300 Sudanese women and 100 Sudanese men on the sexual experience of circumcised and infibulated women. Sudanese circumcision involves excision of the clitoris, the labia minora and the inner layers of the labia majora, and fusion or infibulation of the bilateral wound. The findings of this study indicate that sexual desire, pleasure, and orgasm are experienced by the majority of women who have been subjected to this extreme sexual mutilation, in spite of their also being culturally bound to hide these experiences. These findings also seriously question the importance of the clitoris as an organ that must be stimulated in order to produce female orgasm, as is often maintained in Western sexological literature.
139 citations
Related Topics (5)
Performance Metrics
| Year | Papers |
|---|---|
| 2021 | 5 |
| 2020 | 11 |
| 2019 | 4 |
| 2018 | 8 |
| 2017 | 9 |
| 2016 | 7 |