Our preconceptions need a rejuvenation
By Rachel Braeuer
Photos by Mark Burnham
Your responses to Lana Friesen’s “Who needs feminism” article got me thinking about feminism in Canada, so thanks for that. I disagree that we “need” feminism in Canada less than elsewhere in the world, because social issues are relative to the culture they’re happening in. More importantly though, the fact that the Highway of Tears exists here is proof enough on its own that all is not quiet on the Western front. But I tried to write that article and failed miserably, so that’s not what this is. No, I was reminded of something different than all of that. Something that really exemplifies the us/them divide: vaginas.
There’s been a growing movement of Western paternalism in regards to the practice of removing some or all of girls’ external genitalia, aka female genital mutilation (FGM) or female circumcision, depending on how politically charged you like your phrases. It is usually done shortly before a girl gets married or around the age she would be considered marriageable, thereby confirming her virginity and worth. With the removal of one or more pleasure centres, sex becomes a painful ordeal, thus a woman is less likely to be unfaithful, like a built-in chastity belt. It also often makes vaginal birth more difficult and can lead to complications like fistulas, or potentially death, as these procedures are generally not done under sterile conditions. Urban myths have sprung up around this practice wherein clitorises are granted the power to kill men and babies. Girls often opt to have the procedure and women may be shunned if they refuse. This is, obviously, a human rights issue that people like Sylvia Tamale are working to change.
My issue here isn’t whether this is OK or not. I am decidedly against it; I think every woman deserves to have a bean to flick. My issue here is with the West’s outrage over this. More pointedly: where the fuck do we get off of our high horses, judging these people while sitting on our rejuvenated vaginas and bleached assholes? I’ve been told before I’m stupid for not seeing the difference. I do see the difference; I just don’t think it’s that huge of a difference. No, no one is forcing anyone into getting these surgeries. Yes, they’re done in a relatively safe hospital setting by an accredited medical professional. And that’s where the differences end for me. These procedures still have risks, like a lack of sensation in the “rejuvenated” regions, and the impossibility of vaginal birth. Basically, the same risks that female genital mutilation/female circumcision pose in the long term, less the bit about intentionally painful sex.
Proponents state that rejuvenation restores function. Unless you’ve experienced some kind of trauma or weren’t born with fully functional female genitalia, that point is effectively moot. If function is defined as sexual pleasure and a potential birth canal, rejuvenation places this functionality at more risk than just leaving your genitals alone does. If you’re getting these procedures done, you’re either so disgusted by your own body that it causes you real psychological stress and sexual dysfunction, or you’re so worried about what someone else might think about your genitals that you’re willing to let someone shave them off like lunch meat or sew them up like a Thanksgiving turkey’s ass in the hopes of getting/maintaining some. Unless you’re a crotch-model, the “youth” or “aesthetic” of your labia and vagina have absolutely no bearing on functionality.
To clarify, I’m not saying that such plastic surgeries should be disallowed, I just think the psychological reasons and social implications of their normalization should be examined before we start pointing fingers at others and considering our culture fixed or just fine. Relatively speaking, we lead safe and entitled lives in Canada, but in this assumption of privilege we lose sight of the fact that we still have some weird, backwards and/or fucked up ideas of normal. Dissenting voices remind us that the only difference between “us” and “them” is the doctor’s degrees on the overpriced wall, their scrubs and gloves, and the exorbitant amount we paid to be spread eagle with a knife between our legs.
