Natalie Bennett

Natalie Bennett
               The part of the 'review' I found most interesting was the section at the end of page eight where it began talking about the sociocultural pressures that may be leading to the increase in popularity of this surgery. The first reason was the cloud of negativity that surrounds the concept of women's reproductive parts. Next was the 'medicalization of sexuality' which has a lot to do with the movie Orgasm Inc. that I started watching the other day. One other reason that seems crucial to this is that cosmetic surgery as a whole has become very popular and almost normal. Another big reason was the popularization of porn and the more common viewing of female genitalia.
               In terms of the second article, just that first quote raises enough questions in itself. Before even reading anything else I'm already thinking about what the difference really is, you know? It's scary, especially because this is getting been more popular. A woman is genitally mutilated due to hatred towards women (speaking absolutely generally) and we just read in the last article that one of the biggest justifications for the surgery is negativity toward that part of a women. Yes, in this case the women have requested it- but why? That's the scariest part.
               I loved the video! It was great and super interesting. The part I liked best was when you pointed out that most women who look into these procedures do so after a comment from a male significant other. Even though the advocates of it portray it as this tool in women's empowerment and as something to make them feel better about themselves, it's not. Why do they feel bad in the first place?? It's like the idea of the product creating the market. Like in the movie, Orgasm Inc., the idea of female sex drugs is creating and perpetuating the idea that women even have a sex problem in the first place. The availability of these procedures is creating the idea that there is something inherently wrong with the female reproductive system and that these are the only ways to achieve perfection.

Sarah Wills

In the first article, Female Genital Cosmetic Surgery: A Critical Review of Current Knowledge and Contemporary Debates Braun outlines the growing trend of FGCS. Braun discusses the pros and cons of female genitalia surgery. Women now have the ability to surgically enhance the aesthetics of their genitalia. This is a fairly recently trend, as the first FGCS was dated in 1984. Braun said that the reason why women sought out vaginal cosmetic surgery is “because of perceptions of abnormality”. The two main reasons that women pursue this surgery is either aesthetics or functionality, but it is nearly impossible to distinguish between the two motives.  Women can feel pressure from their partners to alter their genitalia, therefore, it is not an autonomic decision to proceed with the surgery. Since it is nearly impossible to remove any sort of outside influence regarding FGCS, problems with genital mutilation arise. Another point that the article brings up is the debate over whether or not it is moral and ethical for doctors to preform such surgeries. Some doctors feel that the line is blurred between female genital mutilation (FGM) and FGCS. Braun states that FGCS technically violates laws around and fits within (legal)definitions of FGM” but it has not been questioned by law yet. However, the justification  for the surgery is that it is ultimately the woman’s decision as to whether or not she wants her genitalia altered.

This ties into the other article, The Women are Doing it For Themselves: The Rhetoric of Choice and Agency Around Female Genital Cosmetic Surgery. This article discusses how women have the right to choose whether or not they want FGCS as well as the reasons behind their decisions. Braun states that women are liberated by having the choice over whether or not they want to cosmetically alter their genitalia. However, are women now pressured to make sure that even their vaginas are attractive? FGCS is considered as a form of conformity. Braun describes it as “the pressures towards norms are so great as to make choice impossible. Cosmetic surgery is a tool for the defining and policing of normality (Jones 2008), or for removing diversity and difference among women”. Genitalia, a seemingly private part of the body, that is not seen by many, is now subject for scrutiny.

            Professor Jafar’s TED talks perfectly highlights the problem with FGCS: social construction. Who decides what the desirable female genitalia should look like? Why should vaginas be “neat”, “contained”, or “tight”? Society created this norm for what female genitalia should look like therefore women develop insecurities about their own vaginas. Just as Professor Jafar said, “It ain’t nothing till I call them”. A loose, unkempt vagina isn’t looked down upon until society tells you that it is wrong. The veil is just another example of a social construction. Non-Muslim people view veils as oppressive and unfair because they do not know the meaning behind it. Just as Professor Jafar stated, women have taken the veil on and off as a sign protest. 

TJ Brady

Female Genital Cosmetic Surgery is a practice that has been growing in popularity recently.  People get procedures done in order to improve the look and function of a vagina.   The causes behind the growth of these procedures is discussed in Female Genital Cosmetic Surgery: A Critical Review of Current Knowledge and Contemporary Debates, Professor Jafar’s video, and The Women are doing it for themselves.  

            In Female Genital Cosmetic Surgery: A Critical Review of Current Knowledge and Contemporary Debates,  Genital Cosmetic Surgery is described.  Genital Surgery wasn’t and isn’t always Cosmetic.  It can occur for medical reasons just like any other cosmetic surgery.  But like those surgeries, Genital Surgery is growing because of the Cosmetic appeal to certain women.  The appeal of the surgeries is shown in the marketing.  In marketing, women’s sexuality will be played on which results in older women trying to get their sexuality back by tightening their vagina, or just making a prettier vagina.  In the marketing, the fact that all women have different vagina’s and that they shouldn’t all look the same isn’t addressed.  And the fact that these procedures are surgeries,  and that “every medical intervention has a complication and failure rate” (1398).  I think the point of this article is to show us that Genital Cosmetic Surgery is  just like any other Cosmetic Surgery.  It is occurring because women feel embarrassed, or that they don’t compete with the ideal women, and make up for it during surgery.  

            Professor Jafar’s Ted X talk discusses numerous aspects of sociology, which we have discussed this year.  It discusses weight issues, clothing issues, and other issues associated with women worldwide.  The part of her talk that discusses Female Genital Cosmetic Surgery addresses why women do this to themselves.  Some reasons Professor Jafar gave were to be considered more beautiful, cleaner, and less masculine.  These show the pressure on women, and how they are transforming into more and more cosmetic surgeries each and every day.  The part of the talk that really caught my attention was that FGCS might grow in 15-20 years to be just as socially acceptable as breast implants.  This would result in teenage girls getting FGCS surgery as a graduation present, which to me sounds utterly ridiculous.  It’s scary to think that this is where we are going as a culture. 

In The Women are Doing it for Themselves article, the reason’s behind women choosing surgery is analyzed.  Women feel like they have the ability to do these surgeries, and that this right should we accepted and not scrutinized.  Although I am all for women having the ability to do what they want with their bodies, just cause you can do something doesn’t mean you should do it.  Women are saying that since they have the option to do the surgery, that they are empowered because of it.  I disagree with this and think that they are suffering because of the pressure they are put under to have the surgery, and to have the perfect vagina. 

            These articles and video shed light on the factors behind FGCS, and made me feel that it is sad how far this surgery has come, and how far it probably will go to becoming completely socially acceptable in the Western World.  

Charlotte Sargent           

Female Genital Cosmetic Surgery

The articles “Female Genital Cosmetic Surgery” and “The Women Are Doing It For Themselves,” and Professor Jafar’s Ted Talk Video describe female genital cosmetic surgery such as the reasons for why women get genital surgery and the surgeries that take place. Why has it come to the point where women now feel the need to alter their vaginas in a variety of ways? Some of the surgeries that women undergo are labia minora reduction, vaginal tightening, clitoral hood reductions, or “G-spot amplification.” Genital cosmetic surgery is becoming a fairly common practice, due to society creating this ideal type of vagina through the media, causing women to feel that they can and should change their vagina to make it perfect.

            In the article “Female Genital Cosmetic Surgery” by Virginia Braun, she talks a lot about why women get these surgeries and how women’s genitalia surgery was intended to resolve “problems” of a sexual or psychological nature.  Some women claim to get FGCS because of aesthetic concerns such as the dislike of a specific aspect of the vulva, mainly the visibility of labia minora, or their shape color, or asymmetry. Functional concerns include the vagina being loose during intercourse or discomfort from the labia when exercising or during intercourse. Certain techniques for labiaplasty have been said to provide “inadequate cosmetic and functional results” (Braun, 1398). An issue with FGCS is that doctors are advocating the surgery, and they do not clearly call attention to the fact that while they can change the appearance, there may be damage to the functionality. “No adequate studies have been published assessing the long-term satisfaction, safety, and complication rates for these procedures” (Braun, 1398). Women who get these surgeries have very little understanding of “female genitalia diversity.” They don’t have information about the risks that come with undergoing this type of surgery; they are just concerned with having the ideal vagina. “Protuberance of these genital structures beyond the labia majora is often considered to be aesthetically and socially inconvenient” (Braun, 1399). Psychological concerns are the most important reason for women to have the reduction of their labia minora. The media also advertises that there will be “increases in sexual pleasure and psychological well being” (Braun, 1399). Women are constantly told that there are ways to alter themselves and it has now spread to their genitalia, causing them to believe that even though women’s genitalia is diverse, there are ways that they can fix it through surgery.

            The article, “The Women Are Doing it For Themselves,” Braun discusses women’s health and choice. Relating to cosmetic surgery, there is a “social imperative of ‘what can be done should be done’” (Braun, 236).  Meaning that if you can change yourself in someway to become “ideal” or beautiful then you should do it, otherwise you are making the decision to be “ugly.” Women are pressured by society to look the best they can and that there is always some way that you can make yourself look better. Cosmetic surgery is seen as women making choices about their lives but women’s desires to achieve “normality” is through surgery. It appears that that getting surgery is a choice when in reality it is an instance of conformity. “The pressures towards norms are so great as to make choice impossible. Cosmetic surgery is a tool for the defining and policing of normality,” which therefore causes the diversity and difference among women to disappear. Braun also discusses how before women get genital cosmetic surgery it must be certain that it is their choice; they should not be swayed y the influence of another person or cultures influence. “Although she may be ‘swayed’ by culture’s influence on her aesthetic preference and desires, she is positioned beyond culture, the agent of her individual choices” (Braun, 238). In the end it comes down to the women’s choice of why she wants the surgery, but in reality her reasons for having genital surgery are due to what society perceives as desirable. Doctors say that they insist that women want the operation done for themselves, not because their partner wants them to do it. Shifts in bodily practices such as the removal of pubic hair have influence women’s genital concerns due to the fact that their vaginas are much more visible. Bodily practices are becoming more and more prominent and soon enough, getting genital surgery will become the norm.

            In professor Jafar’s Ted Talk video she talks about the variety of surgeries that women can undergo in order to enhance sexual intercourse, or to have the “ideal” vagina that they desire. Professor Jafar talks about the female genital mutilation and how it is seen as foreign or dangerous, yet it is not much different than female genital cosmetic surgery, in fact they overlap. The causes for FGM are cultural identities of femininity, being clean, being beautiful, being non-masculine (getting rid of manly parts); these are the ideals of femininity. The causes for FGCS are the desire to have a clean look, aesthetically pleasing; to get rid of any parts that are too loose or over pigmented, and it helps women feel better about themselves. Professor Jafar talked about how some believe that women are entitled to these procedures, that they are no different than erectile dysfunction medicine. Hearing this was shocking to me because I feel that having FGCS is a much bigger decision to surgically remove or change a part of your genital area than it is to take medicine to prevent erectile dysfunction. I never knew that FGCS was becoming so popular and common and it is crazy that women feel the need to get these surgeries to feel better about themselves. Society is causing women to be insecure about every aspect and part of their body and as the years have gone by it has gotten worse and worse.  

Gracie Hall

         In the first, more overarching article: “Female Genital Cosmetic Surgery: A Critical Review of Current Knowledge and Contemporary Debates”, Virginia Braun frames FGCS (Female Gentile Cosmetic Surgery) as “the latest chapter in the surgical victimization of women in our culture’’ but also covers another argument that promotes a stance we heard in Edmonds’ ‘The Poor Have The Right To Be Beautiful’; she claims it can be seen as liberation for individual women and that “women’s genitalia and sexual problems are getting the attention they deserve.”

         Braun begins by laying out the history and facts of FGCS. Although FGCS came into public discourse in the early 2000’s, the facts and statistics surrounding the procedure have been deemed untrustworthy. Different sources promote different tellings, and important issues of safety and effectiveness are masked. Instead, most accounts tell of poor self-esteem or unsatisfactory sex lives being restored. Statistics also show that functionality is one of the driving forces behind FGCS, however, Braun claims that instead, like other cosmetic surgeries the intentions are primarily aesthetic.

            An argument that reveals itself early on is one we saw in Edmonds’ article a few weeks before. Braun claims “women seek surgery to address psychological concerns” and that “psychology provides a moral justification for cosmetic surgery, rendering it acceptable.” Braun notes that the cause of this psychological concern is coming from the narrow representation of a vulvul ideal, and that our language concerning female genitals places normal variatons as pathological. Braun also states that these concerns are produced by commercial pressures that result in a culturally circumscribed “free choice”. She elaborates on this further in her other article, ‘The Women Are Doing This For Themselves”. Here, the main argument is that choice is constructed and deployed, and instructs readers to ask if women every really have personal agency when it comes to questions of bodily modifications, specifically FGCS. Western ‘choice’, Braun claims, is ‘deeply embedded within a consumer discourse’, and is really not so much free choice as it is conformity.

            Braun and Jafar both compared FGCS to FGM (Female Gentile Mutilation). Jafar’s list of particular procedures and corresponding list of influences drew a somewhat shocking similarity. What really separated them was the interpretation of a different culture and the supposed “cultural vacuum” of the west. Jafar also noted that FGCS has a more extensive list of procedures than FGM, such as depigmentation and the addition and removal of fat (alluding to a future with a ‘Labial Mass Index’).

            Braun also compared FGCS to FGM, claiming it was only our “double standard of morality” and notion of choice that separated the two procedures. Braun, however, spends the entirety of the article examining our supposed ‘free choice’. She states, “‘We’ are culturally free, agentic and empowered; ‘they’ are culturally oppressed, duped and victimized, unable to step beyond culture into autonomy and agency.” The argument claims that because women in the west are informed, they are able to make free choices; what knowledge, however, is fueling these choices? Braun claims that the choice to have FGCS is being made for a variety of reasons: western ideology of personal transformation, mainstream pornographic culture, and the possibility/availability of advertising. Jafar states that it is the men behind the women and our idea that this procedure is a mark of modernity (like Glenn’s argument in ‘Yearning for Lightness’). Both Braun and Jafar make note of the cultural context that fuels FGCS and other procedures.

            In “Female Genital Cosmetic Surgery: A Critical Review of Current Knowledge and Contemporary Debates” Braun furthers this argument about cultural context, citing the interference between culture and medicine. She claims “surgeons bring culturally influenced personal values and preferences to the work they do” and that “media coverage of new surgical interventions ‘seduces more individuals to place their bodies under the surgeon’s knife.”’ She compares this argument to that of breast augmentation, which is similarly represented; Jafar stated that like breast implants FGCS is “here to stay” and may become a high school graduation gift in the future. Like any other cosmetic surgery it is framed as individually liberating but socially disempowering. The idea of choice and social construction put this whole argument, and really our whole course in context; Braun ends her article with a statement that really sum up our study this semester, by provocatively saying that “the body is always socioculturally produced and mediated, and so is the mind.”

Lily Cannon

Lily Cannon

In the article “Female Genital Cosmetic Surgery: A Critical Review of Current Knowledge and Contemporary Debates” Braun explains female genital cosmetic surgery (FGCS) in detail. Her aim is to highlight the ramifications of surgical practices mainly FGCS and the scientific knowledge that comes along with it. FGCS is increasing in Western countries and it is because of the media just like any other topic similar enhancing surgeries. Sure it is okay to get FGCS when it is needed for medical health reasons but this is not the main reason women are getting these surgeries, they feel insecure about their genital area, have prior poor sex life and want to fix that. Braun states “cosmetic labiaplasty patient age ranges from early teens (requests as young as 10) through to the 50s or 60s, with the 20s and 30s predominating. Vaginal tightening appears to be performed on older (postpartum) women: one report of 53 cases lists the mean age as 46 compared with a report of 55 labiaplasty cases from the same clinic, where the median age was in the 30s” (p1394). This statement did not surprise me at, knowing the affects that media play on an individual it doesn’t shock me that a women would want to have a “pretty” vagina. Braun also tells readers that “can, and do go wrong, with often devastating effects for the patient, it serves to remind us that ‘every medical intervention has a complication and failure rate.’ Such stories are a sobering counterpoint to glorified advertising claims and media coverage” (p1398). I believe that this article in a sense is looking down upon FGCS and like plastic surgery if you want to adjust your body to make yourself more confident then I don’t see why that would be a bad thing. It’s the individuals’ decision, even with the extreme cases in which people may even want to remove their clitoris. Although I believe in these surgeries I don’t agree with how it started, the medias influence.

            In Braun’s other article, ‘The Women Are Doing it for Themselves’ The Rhetoric of Choice and Agency around Female Genital ‘Cosmetic Surgery’, she discusses choices, not just choices dealing with FGCS but all surgeries in general.  In once section the article she discusses choices in female genital cosmetic surgery. Surveys show there are “very high levels of support for the premise that FGCS is a choice: 84.3 per cent of the 133 respondents agreed/strongly agreed that ‘if a woman doesn’t like the way her vulva looks, she should feel free to undergo surgery to change it’. Similarly, 82.8 per cent of the small group with female sexual partners agreed/strongly agreed that ‘if a female partner wants surgery, it is her choice and I would be supportive.’ No one strongly disagreed” (p237). This quote surprised me because I would have never thought that people thought this way about FGCS. The want for a certain types of vagina is due to the media, mainly the porn industry. This idea is presented in Braun’s part in the article of “Contexts of Choice”, asking, “Have you ever wondered how your vaginal appearance compares to that of other women? What physical attributes makes your vagina pretty or ugly? How the perfect feminine vagina is really supposed to look like and how close your vagina relates to a highly feminine vagina?” (p241).

            Watching Professor Jafar’s Ted Talk video brought up some interesting points. She has many open-ended questions that aren’t just about FGCS but more general and relate to other matters. She starts off bringing up veiled women which was discussed last class and she states the fact the “less clothing equals more progress and more clothing equals less progress” this quote is very much true. Towards the middle Professor Jafar talks about FGCS and how it is the most rapid growing idea within western countries. People think that FGCS is “barbaric, backwards, and insane”. Is that true? The causes of FGCS that Professor Jafar found to say a few were that it gives a “clean” look, helps women’s self-esteem, and it is more empowering for woman. Are these just excuses to cover up the real reason because they are embarrassed to say that the media has influenced them that much to go through FGCS? In todays society people are watching what they eat more than ever because of the change in norm compared to years ago when people were being forced to eat like Professor Jafar brought up. This is similar to FGCS, years ago I don’t think anyone would ever think of getting there clitoris tightened or other “insane” surgeries to make a women feel better about themselves.  If FGCS is growing rapidly throughout the world what will be next?