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Cultures, religions, and societies hold many views on genital modification and when specific types of alterations may be performed.
Reasons include self-actualization, societal obligation, natural law, consent, ethnic identity development, divine commandment, and as a rite of passage.[1] Genital modifications,are widespread in many different human societies.[1] The term genital enhancement is often used for genital modifications that improve the recipient's quality of life in result in positive health outcomes, while "genital mutilation" is used for instances that drastically diminish the recipient's quality of life and result in adverse health outcomes.[2]
Modern Western cultures often place a greater emphasis individualist notions of consent and autonomy over perceived notions ofcommunitarian obligations, natural law, or divine commandments, which have more influence in non-Western societies.[3]
Specific instances
editGender-affirming healthcare
editModern liberal philosophers predominantly hold positive reviews of gender-affirming healthcare when it is performed on consenting adults who are sufficiently autonomous to consent. In contrast, Catholicism classifies gender-affirming healthcare as a form of genital mutilation.[4] Evangelical Protestants[5] and the Eastern Orthodox Church[6] also tend to hold negative viewpoints.
Intersex genital modification
editThe Intersex Society of North America objects to elective surgeries performed on people without their informed consent on grounds that such surgeries subject patients to unnecessary harm and risk.[7]
Circumcision
editSome religions, such as Judaism and Islam, see circumcision as either a mandatory or recommended practice. Others, such as Sikhism, prohibit any form of genital modification outside of exceptional circumstances, holding negative views of its routine application. The circumcision of minors has been the subject of controversies in Germany and several regions of Europe.[3][8][9]
Emasculation
editIn modern-day South Asia, some members of hijra communities reportedly undergo emasculation. It is called nirwaan and seen as a rite of passage.[10] It was part of the eunuch-making of the Chinese court, and it was widespread in the Arab slave trade. A castrated slave was worth more, and this offset the losses from death.[11]
Vulvoplasty and vaginoplasty
editSimone Weil Davis argues 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. 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".[12]
References
edit- ^ a b Johnsdotter, Sara; Essén, Birgitta (2010-05-01). "Genitals and ethnicity: the politics of genital modifications". Reproductive health matters. 18 (35): 29–37. doi:10.1016/s0968-8080(10)35495-4. ISSN 1460-9576. PMID 20541081.
- ^ Danino, Michel Alain; Trouilloud, Pierre; Benkhadra, Mehdi; Danino, Arthur; Laurent, Romain (2024-02-01). "Cosmetic male genital surgery: a narrative review". Annals of Translational Medicine. 12 (1): 11. doi:10.21037/atm-23-351. ISSN 2305-5839. PMC 10777246. PMID 38304911.
- ^ a b Munzer, Stephen. "Secularization, Anti-Minority Sentiment, and Cultural Norms" (PDF). Penn Carey Law: Legal Scholarship Repository. 37:2.
- ^ Winfield, Nicole (2024-04-08). "Vatican blasts gender-affirming surgery, surrogacy and gender theory as violations of human dignity". AP News. Retrieved 2024-11-10.
- ^ Earls, Aaron (2021-03-16). "U.S. Protestant pastors see gender change as immoral". Lifeway Newsroom. Retrieved 2024-11-10.
- ^ Staff. "Stances of Faiths on LGBTQ+ Issues: Eastern Orthodox Church". HRC. Retrieved 2024-11-10.
While transgender issues do not yet have formal treatment by a council of bishops, gender reassignment is condemned as an affront to God's design for each individual. Numerous clergy members have repeatedly confirmed this in sermons and publications.
- ^ "What's ISNA's position on surgery?". Intersex Society of North America.
- ^ Hammel, Andrew (2012-09-30). "Why the Circumcision Judgment looks so weird to American Eyes". Verfassungsblog. doi:10.17176/20171117-145046. ISSN 2366-7044.
The generally positive reaction to the decision among Germany's socially conservative legal culture shows a lasting undercurrent of suspicion against customs and beliefs that have "non-European" roots – and of the parents who wish to pass them on to their children.
- ^ Hammer, Joshua (2013-01-07). "Anti-Semitism and Germany's Movement Against Circumcision". The Atlantic. Retrieved 2024-11-10.
- ^ Nanda, S. "Hijras: An Alternative Sex and Gender Role in India (in Herdt, G. (1996) Third Sex, Third Gender: Beyond Sexual Dimorphism in Culture and History. Zone Books.)
- ^ Murray Gordon (1989). Slavery in the Arab World. Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN 978-0-941533-30-0.
- ^ Davis, Simone Weil. "Designer Vaginas." Women's Voices, Feminist Visions. Ed. Susan Shaw and Janet Lee. New York: McGraw Hill (2012): 270–77.