Genital modification and mutilation
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Genital modifications are forms of
.Reasons
Body modification
Many types of genital modification are performed at the behest of the individual, for personal, sexual, aesthetic or cultural reasons.
Similarly, pearling involves surgical insertion of small, inert spheres under the skin along the shaft of the penis for the purpose of providing sexual stimulation to the walls of the vagina. Similar to tattooing, genital scarification is primarily done for aesthetic reasons by adding cosmetic scars to the skin. The genital decoration by scars is an ancient tradition in many cultures, both for men and women.[3] The Hanabira-style (Japanese for petal) is a special form of scarification originating in Japan; it involves the decoration of the mons pubis.[4][5]
Intersex
Intersex children and children with ambiguous genitalia may be subjected to surgeries to "normalize" the appearance of their genitalia.
These surgeries are usually performed for cosmetic benefit rather than for therapeutic reasons.
Sex-reassignment surgery
People who are
Some of the surgical procedures are
In some cases, a child's gender may be reassigned due to
As treatment
If the genitals become diseased, as in the case of cancer, sometimes the diseased areas are surgically removed. Females may undergo
During childbirth, an episiotomy (cutting part of the tissue between the vagina and the anus) is sometimes performed to increase the amount of space through which the baby may emerge.
Hymenotomy is the surgical perforation of an imperforate hymen. It may be performed to allow menstruation to occur. An adult individual may opt for increasing the size of her hymenal opening, or removal of the hymen altogether, to facilitate sexual penetration of her vagina.[12][13]
Self-inflicted
A person may engage in self-inflicted genital injury or mutilation such as
As sexual violence
Genital mutilation is common in some situations of war or armed conflict, with perpetrators using violence against the genitals of men, women, and non-binary people.[14] These different forms of sexual violence can terrorize targeted individuals and communities, prevent individuals from reproducing, and cause tremendous pain and psychological anguish for victims.
Female
Female genital mutilation
It is practised in several parts of the world, but the practice is concentrated more heavily in Africa, parts of the Middle East, and some other parts of Asia. Over 125 million women and girls have experienced FGM in the 29 countries in which it is concentrated.
FGM is considered a form of violence against women by the Declaration on the Elimination of Violence Against Women, which was adopted by the United Nations in 1993; it states: "Article Two: Violence against women shall be understood to encompass, but not be limited to, the following: (a) Physical, sexual and psychological violence occurring in the family, including ... female genital mutilation ...".[20] However, because of its importance in traditional life, it continues to be practised in many societies.[21]
Hymenorrhaphy
Hymenorrhaphy refers to the practice of thickening the hymen, or, in some cases, implanting a capsule of red liquid within the newly created vaginal tissue. This new hymen is created to cause physical resistance, blood, or the appearance of blood, at the time that the individual's new husband inserts his penis into her vagina. This is done in cultures where a high value is placed on female
Labia stretching
Labia stretching is the act of elongating the labia minora through manual manipulation (pulling) or physical equipment (such as weights).[22][23] It is a familial cultural practice in Rwanda,[22] common in Sub-Saharan Africa,[24] and a body modification practice elsewhere.[23] It is performed for sexual enhancement of both partners, aesthetics, symmetry and gratification.[22][23]
Vulvoplasty and vaginoplasty
Some women undergo vaginoplasty or vulvoplasty procedures to alter the shape of their
In the article Designer Vaginas by Simone Weil Davis, she talks about the modification of woman's vagina and the outside influences women are pressured with, which can cause them to feel shame towards their labia minora. She states that the media, such as pornography, creates an unhealthy view of what a "good looking vagina" is and how women feel that their privates are inferior and are therefore pressured to act upon that mindset. These insecurities are forced upon women by their partners and other women as well.[31] Also leading to a surge of these types of procedures is increased interest in non-surgical genital alterations, such as Brazilian waxing, that make the vulva more visible to judgment. The incentive to participate in vulvo- and vaginoplasty may also come about in an effort to manage women's physical attributes and their sexual behavior, treating their vagina as something needing to be managed or controlled and ultimately deemed "acceptable".[32]
Clitoral hood reduction
Clitoral hood reduction is a form of hoodplasty. When performed with the consent of the adult individual, it can be considered an elective plastic surgery procedure for reducing the size and the area of the clitoral hood (prepuce) in order to further expose the glans of the clitoris; the therapeutic goal is thought to improve the sexual functioning of the woman, and the aesthetic appeal of her vulva. The reduction of the clitoral prepuce tissues usually is a sub-ordinate surgery within a labiaplasty procedure for reducing the labia minora; and occasionally within a vaginoplasty procedure. When these procedures are performed on individuals without their consent, they are considered a form of female genital mutilation.
Male
Castration
Castration in the genital modification and mutilation context is the removal of the
The removal of one testicle (sometimes referred to as unilateral castration) is usually done in the modern world only for medical reasons.
Circumcision
Circumcision is the removal of foreskin.[33] Around half of all circumcisions worldwide are performed for reasons of preventive healthcare; half for religious or cultural reasons.[34][35]
Circumcision involves either a conventional "cut and stitch"
Support for circumcision is often centered on medical benefits, while opposition is often centered on human rights (particularly the bodily integrity of the infant when circumcision is performed in the neonatal period) and the potentially harmful side effects of the procedure.[39] Major medical organizations hold variant perspectives on the prophylactic efficacy of the elective circumcision of minors in developed nations. The World Health Organization,[40] UNAIDS,[40] and American medical organizations[41] hold that its prophylactic health benefits outweigh risks in these situations, while European medical organizations generally hold the belief that in these situations its medical benefits do not outweigh the risks.[42]
Foreskin restoration
Foreskin restoration is the partial recreation of the foreskin after its removal by circumcision.
Surgical restoration involves grafting skin taken from the scrotum onto a portion of the penile shaft. Nonsurgical methods involve tissue expansion by stretching the penile skin forward over the glans penis with the aid of tension. Nonsurgical restoration is the preferred method as it is less costly and typically yields better results than surgical restoration. A foreskin restoration device may be of help to men pursuing nonsurgical foreskin restoration. While restoration cannot recreate the nerves or tissues lost to circumcision, it can recreate the appearance and some of the function of a natural foreskin. The existence of men performing foreskin restoration strongly supports the argument that circumcision is genital mutilation and intrinsically violates autonomy when performed without consent.
Infibulation
Infibulation literally means "to close with a clasp or a pin". The word is used to include suturing of the foreskin over the head of the penis.
Early Greek infibulation consisted of tying the most distal portion of the foreskin with kynodesme to conceal the glans. The kynodesme was also used by the Etruscans and Romans (ligatura praeputii), but the Romans preferred to apply a gold, silver, or bronze ring (annulus), a metal clasp (fibula) or pin.[43]
In modern times, male infibulation may be performed for personal preferences or as part of BDSM.
Emasculation
Emasculation is the removal of both the penis and the testicles, the external male sex organs. It differs from castration, which is the removal of the testicles only, although the terms are sometimes used interchangeably.
Due to the high risk of death from bleeding and infection, it was often considered a punishment equivalent to a
In modern-day South Asia, some members of hijra communities reportedly undergo emasculation. It is called nirwaan and seen as a rite of passage.[45]
Pearling
Pearling or genital beading is a form of body modification, the practice of permanently inserting small beads made of various materials beneath the skin of the genitals—of the labia, or of the shaft or foreskin of the penis. As well as being an aesthetic practice, this is usually intended to enhance the sexual pleasure of the receptive partner(s) during vaginal or anal intercourse.
Penectomy
Penectomy involves the partial or total amputation of penis. Sometimes, the removal of the entire penis was done in conjunction with castration, or incorrectly referred to as castration. Removing the penis was often performed on
In the ulwaluko circumcision ceremony, which is performed by spear, accidental penectomy is a serious risk.[52]
Penis removal for purposes of assault or revenge is overwhelmingly a female-on-male crime,[citation needed] particularly in Thailand.[citation needed] In the United States In 1907 Bertha Boronda sliced off her husband's penis with a straight razor.[53] Lorena Bobbit infamously removed her husband's penis in 1993. In some circumstances it may be possible to reattach the penis.[citation needed]
Penile subincision
Penile subincision is a form of genital modification involves a
Penile superincision
A rectal slit (also known as superincision) is an incision made along the upper length of the foreskin with the intention to expose the glans penis without removing skin or tissue.
The practice appears to have occurred in Ancient Egypt, though not commonly:
A few examples of
Old Kingdom ... statuary present some adult males—usually priests, functionaries, or low-status workers—as having undergone a vertical slit on the dorsal aspect of the prepuce, although no flesh has been removed.[55]
It may be performed as a part of traditional customs, such as those in the
References
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- The New York Times, New York, US, Published May 12, 2004
- ^ ISNA's Amicus Brief on Intersex Genital Surgery The Intersex Society of North America, Dated February 7, 1998
- ^ Karen S Vogt, MD, Michael J Bourgeois, MD, Arlan L Rosenbloom, MD, Mary L Windle, PharmD, George. P Chrousos, MD, FAAP, MACP, MACE, FRCP, Merrily P M Poth, MD, Stephen Kemp, MD, PhD Microphallus: Epidemiology Medscape, Updated August 3, 2011
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- ^ UNICEF 2013 Archived 2015-04-05 at the Wayback Machine, p. 22: "More than 125 million girls and women alive today have been cut in the 29 countries in Africa and the Middle East where FGM/C is concentrated.
UNICEF 2013 Archived 2015-04-05 at the Wayback Machine, p. 121, n. 62: "This estimate [125 million] is derived from weighted averages of FGM/C prevalence among girls aged 0 to 14 and girls and women aged 15 to 49, using the most recently available DHS, MICS and SHHS data (1997–2012) for the 29 countries where FGM/C is concentrated. The number of girls and women who have been cut was calculated using 2011 demographic figures produced by the UN Population Division ... The number of cut women aged 50 and older is based on FGM/C prevalence in women aged 45 to 49."
- ^ P. Stanley Yoder, Shane Khan, "Numbers of women circumcised in Africa: The Production of a Total", USAID, DHS Working Papers, No. 39, March 2008, pp. 13–14: "Infibulation is practiced largely in countries located in northeastern Africa: Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Somalia, and Sudan. Survey data are available for Sudan, Eritrea, Ethiopia and Djibouti. Sudan alone accounts for about 3.5 million of the women. ... [T]he estimate of the total number of women infibulated in [Djibouti, Somalia, Eritrea, northern Sudan, Ethiopia, Guinea, Mali, Burkina Faso, Senegal, Chad, Nigeria, Cameroon and Tanzania, for women 15–49 years old] comes to 8,245,449, or just over eight million women." Also see Appendix B, Table 2 ("Types of FGC"), p. 19.
UNICEF 2013 Archived 2015-04-05 at the Wayback Machine, p. 182, identifies "sewn closed" as most common in Djibouti, Eritrea, Somalia for 15–49 age group (survey in 2000 for Sudan was not included), and for daughters, Djibouti, Eritrea, Niger and Somalia. UNICEF statistical profiles on FGM, showing type of FGM: Djibouti Archived 2014-10-30 at the Wayback Machine (December 2013), Eritrea Archived 2014-10-30 at the Wayback Machine (July 2014), Somalia Archived October 30, 2014, at the Wayback Machine (December 2013).
Gerry Mackie, "Ending Footbinding and Infibulation: A Convention Account" Archived 2019-07-20 at the Wayback Machine, American Sociological Review, 61(6), December 1996 (pp. 999–1017), p. 1002: "Infibulation, the harshest practice, occurs contiguously in Egyptian Nubia, the Sudan, Eritrea, Djibouti and Somalia, also known as Islamic Northeast Africa."
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It seems likely that in the near future revised recommendations, taking a more positive attitude to circumcision, are likely in many English-speaking countries. What of the future? Current medical advice and public health projects now underway seem to point to a worldwide increase in circumcision rates in the first half of the twenty-first century.
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There are significant benefits in performing male circumcision in early infancy, and programmes that promote early infant male circumcision are likely to have lower morbidity rates and lower costs than programmes targeting adolescent boys and men.
- ^ General Staff. "2023 Neonatal Male Circumcision Policy Statement". American Medical Association. Retrieved October 20, 2023.
Our AMA: (a) encourages training programs for pediatricians, obstetricians, and family physicians to incorporate information on the use of local pain control techniques for neonatal circumcision; (b) supports that evaluation of current evidence indicates that the health benefits of newborn male circumcision outweigh the risks and that the procedure's benefits justify access to this procedure for families who choose it.
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- S2CID 29580193. Retrieved 2018-02-06. Hodges draws a strong distinction between the kynodesme and infibulation " Tethering the akroposthion with the kynodesme is frequently confused with preputial infibulation, which had different objectives and was achieved by surgically piercing the prepuce and using the holes so created for the insertion of a metal clasp (fibula) in order to fasten the prepuce shut."