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.