Berkeley Undergraduate Journal

This research paper seeks to investigate and understand the incidence of “Female Genital Mutilation” (“FGM”) in the United States within non-immigrant communities. Until now, “FGM” studies have only focused on Africa, a few bordering countries, and the migrant ethnic populations from these areas. The World Health Organization makes universalized statements of medical, psychological, and social consequences for a wide range of practices performed by diverse peoples. Type IV “FGM” includes any injury whatsoever to the female genitalia for non-medical reasons. What happens when the Western eye factors out the ethnic-other? What happens when we turn the gaze back to ourselves? This 58-page excerpt is from an 84-page UC Berkeley honors thesis. This ethnography of 12 women utilizes a structured interview method. I hope to enrich and add further dimension to conversations, which are often reductive.  The concepts and issues of female genital alteration are complex and how these are shaped through discursive battles over language—framing, naming, and claiming—reveal processes of power. I conclude with approaches of how we may embrace emotionally charged and mutually exclusive ideals, such as respecting diverse cultures and protecting vulnerable individuals.