Le sexe des femmes migrantes. Excisées au Sud, réparées au Nord

Abstract

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Clitoral reconstruction: challenges and new directions

“…There are many studies which cite the central role of gender, identity and a feeling of stigma perceived or experienced by women with FGM/C, which can result in them seeking CR [31,35,37,38,65]. This reason/justification is more often given by young women who were born (or arrived when very young) in Northern countries [65][66][67][68]. Clitoral reconstruction has been widely interpreted as a social practice rooted in a desire for equality [38,39], articulated by Black women of sub-Saharan descent living in the Global North.…”

“…It is therefore an embodied representation which manifests through various social interactions and discursive practices. CR [51,52,66] is seeking to repair that figure, this embodied representation of the "mutilated woman," whether she is real or imaginary.…”

Clitoral reconstruction: Understanding changing gendered health care needs in a globalized Europe

“…But in some French studies FGC-affected women saw their excision as causing a sexual ‘handicap’ (Andro et al, 2009, 2014; Villani, 2012) and wanted CR in order to become ‘normal’ and ‘equal’ to the host population in terms of sexual capability (Villani, 2015). Sexuality is a complex construct, affected by physical, social and cultural influences (De Schrijver et al, 2016; Parker, 2009).…”

“…CR has two components: aesthetic and sensational. The aesthetic aspect suggests that the visual dimension of damaging a woman’s genitals through cutting may produce stigmatization as the woman may not feel ‘at ease’ with her genitalia, but rather ‘mutilated’ (Villani, 2015). This argument can be compared to that in favour of breast reconstructive surgery after breast cancer, or plastic reconstructive surgery after burns.…”

“…In all these cases the visual and aesthetic aspect of the surgery is considered important for the patient’s well-being. CR may thus enable the women who undergo it to look and feel ‘normal’/uncut/like other (non-cut) women, as Villani (2012, 2015) suggests. Though we might ask where the idea of ‘normal’ comes from, and what ‘normality’ here means.…”