Body, Migration, Re/constructive Surgeries

Bringing together an international range of case studies and interviews with individuals who have had genital re/construction, this book explores the socio-cultural meanings of clitoral re/construction following female genital cutting (FGC), hymen reconstruction, trans and intersex bodily interventions; and cosmetic surgery.

Gabriele Griffin is Professor of Gender Research at Uppsala University, Sweden. Malin Jordal is a Researcher at Centre for Gender Research, Uppsala University, Sweden.

Introduction Gabriele Griffin and Malin Jordal Part 1: Understanding female genital cutting and genital reconstructive surgery 1. Psychosexual health after female genital mutilation/cutting and clitoral reconstruction: what does the evidence say? Jasmine Abdulcadir 2. An analytic review of the literature on female genital circumcision/mutilation/cutting (FGC): the Möbius strip of body and society for women with FGC Gillian Einstein, Danielle Jacobson and Ju Eun Justina Lee 3. Multidisciplinary care for women affected by female genital mutilation/cutting: findings from Belgium Els Leye 4. Resistance to reconstruction: the cultural weight of virginity, virility and male sexual pleasure R. Elise B. Johansen Part 2: Routes to reconstruction: desiring surgery 5. The meaning of clitoral reconstruction (CR) and female genital cutting among immigrant women asking for CR surgery in Sweden Malin Jordal 6. The need for clitoral reconstruction: engaged bodies and committed medicine Michela Villani 7. Circumcising the mind, reconstructing the body: contextualizing genital reconstructive surgery in Burkina Faso Margaret Nyarango and Gabriele Griffin 8. 'If you can afford it, you can do it': deliberations of people in Burkina Faso on clitoral reconstruction after female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C) Elena Jirovsky Part 3: (Re)constructive surgery: dilemmas and negotiations 9. Hymen reconstruction surgery in Jordan: sexual politics and the economy of virginity Ebtihal Mahadeen 10. Hymen reconstruction as pragmatic empowerment? Results of a qualitative study from Tunisia Verina Wild, Hinda Poulin, Christopher W. McDougall, Andrea Stöckl and Nikola Biller-Andorno 11. Vagina dialogues: theorizing the 'designer vagina' Ruth Holliday 12. Routes to gender-affirming surgery: navigation and negotiation in times of biomedicalization Iwo Nord 13. What constitutes an in/significant organ? The vicissitudes of juridical and medical decision-making regarding genital surgery for intersex and trans people in Sweden Erika Alm Part 4: Thinking otherwise: affect, ethics and different futures 14. Facing uneasiness in feminist research: the case of female genital cutting Kathy Davis 15. Beyond comparision: 'African' female genital cutting and 'western' body modifications Carolyn Pedwell 16. Before the cut: rethinking genital identity Margrit Shildrick and Marie-Louise Holm