Sexuality Issues in the Movement to Abolish Female Genital Cutting in Sudan

Abstract

Ethnographic research in seven rural Sudanese communities in 2004 demonstrates the deep association between infibulation and expectations for successful male sexual response, reinforced by aesthetic values about the preferred body form for females. In contrast, women conceive of the uninfibulated body as lacking in both propriety and beauty, as well as making a woman less able to please a husband sexually. Female sexual response has only recently begun to be discussed in the context of change efforts to end female genital cutting.

The perfectionism of Nussbaum's adaptive preferences

“…What if we are trying to decide whether or not the preference of a woman to have her genitals cut is adaptive? It is not too difficult to imagine that the woman in question genuinely finds uncut female genetalia ugly (Gruenbaum 2006). It is here, when individuals are committed in considered ways to values that conflict with those on the list, that problems of secondary recognition respect really arise.…”

“Cutting for love”: genital incisions to enhance sexual desirability and commitment in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa

“…(FGD with rural men age [19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30] "…If the umuthi is on me then I don't see that.…”

“…You see, girls are witches." (FGD with rural men age [18][19][20][21][22] Almost all women in the survey reported nondisclosure of genital incisions (94.4%). When asked what their partner would do if he found out, 37.7% said he would be angry while 32.3% believed discovery would result in violence or abandonment.…”

“…(FGD with rural men age [19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30] Discussion Genital incisions were reported by about one in 30 women in KwaZulu-Natal, though at much higher levels in some population sub-groups, such as women belonging to Zionist Churches. This may relate to the fact that sorcery is a central concern of these churches, which generally promote traditional forms of healing over western biomedicine.…”

“…This is certainly true of female genital cutting/ mutilation in many parts of the world, whichdespite diverse cultural meanings -is generally seen as necessary to make a woman fully female and feminine, and conform to cultural notions of propriety and beauty. 21 All these practices are arguably historical precedents for the newer forms of female genital surgery (such as 'labiaplasty'), performed in modern biomedical contexts largely for cosmetic purposes. 22,23 It is uncertain, however, whether similar motivations underlie the practice of genital incisions in South Africa today, such as the genital izingcabo reported in the sex worker study, reports of which we also encountered during research in KwaZulu-Natal on vaginal practices more broadly.…”