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?