{} Very Private Make Over {}

WHO classification of female genital mutilation

I. Excision of prepuce
and part or all of clitoris
II. Excision of prepuce and clitoris together
with partial or total excision of labia minora
III. Infibulation and
excision of part or all of external genitalia
IV. Pricking, piercing,
incision, stretching, scraping or other harming procedures on clitoris and/or
labia

In the last couple of years, more and more western women succumbed to the newest craze of having designer vagina. It can be a labiaplasty (changing the look of the labia to be more sculpted), a vaginaplasty (tightening vagina) or injecting collagen on the G-spot to make it more bouncy. Some did hymen reconstruction too, a practice that used to be done by some women from conservative background (Asian, Moslem) to re-virginized.

There are women who have legitimate reason to undergo labiaplasty. Their labia are causing them trouble on daily life. It hurts when biking for example. Some women feel that their vagina are too loose after giving birth(s), so they want it tighten up so the experience of love making becoming better, which actually doesn’t only depend on the tightness of one vagina but also on lubrication, blood flows, nerves, and also peace of mind. Remember, the biggest sexual organ is your brain.

However, a growing number of women opted for designer vagina mostly because they want to look good down there. So it looks more like what they saw from porn movies. Some said it is good for their self-esteem. They want to look "normal".

What is normal?

Female genital comes in all colors, shapes and sizes. Just take a look at this site. (Warning: it's explicit and not something you want to see at the office) Those are pictures of normal genitals.

I have trouble wrapping my brain around the idea that women want to undergo surgery which is most of the time unnecessary, not to mention risky for the sake of "fitting in" into the image that is projected to them by the (porn) media.

There are no peer-reviewed studies on the long term outcomes of these procedures to date. The risks involved in these surgeries are: pain from scarring by lasers used on the vaginal wall, decreased lubrication or incontinence, asymmetrical appearance, infection, bleeding, and psychological trauma. A tighter vagina doesn’t mean a better sex experience; some could even be very painful if it is too tight. There's such a thing as too much of a good thing! Just as with any surgeries, these procedures could damaged your nerves, which means you could probably loss the sensation or becoming hypersensitive down there. Definitely not the effect you are looking for after paying between $1500 and $8000 to have it done!

I also have trouble understanding how come women in the West who mostly, if not all, are against FGM in the developing countries, can put their selves into a FGM procedure voluntarily. Yes, I see these surgeries as FGM based on WHO classification. How could they condemned women in developing countries who were also trying to "fit in" to an image projected to them by their culture, while subjecting themselves to the same thing. It's the pot calling the kettle black!

There are other ways to increase one self-esteem, to have better body image. Do your homework. Do kegel exercise!

"[B]ad things are happening to women's vagina's everywhere"
Eve Ensler- The Vagina Monologues

{} Cutting it {}

I found the subject of circumcision interesting, especially female circumcision. I've never heard of it before I came to Europe. I guess I was oblivious to what happen under my nose.
Turns out, there are also female circumcision (type I or type IV) in Indonesia, albeit it is not as drastic as in Africa, just as the NYTimes reported it several weeks ago.

WHO classification of female genital mutilation

I. Excision of prepuce and part or all of clitoris
II. Excision of prepuce and clitoris together with partial or total excision of labia minora
III. Infibulation and excision of part or all of external genitalia
IV. Pricking, piercing, incision, stretching, scraping or other harming procedures on clitoris and/or labia

If you read Ayaan Hirsi Ali's account, you would have thought that female circumcision is part of Islamic culture. But from what I can gather so far, this practice goes back even before christianity.

I wont go into long discussion on the Islamic teaching, I just know that there are several school of thoughts regarding this matter. The Shi'ite has never practiced this procedure, it is even outlawed by all leading Shi'ite Marjas. However, the Shafi'i school (predominant in East Africa & South East Asia) rules that clitoridectomy is mandatory. If you look at the primary source of Islamic teaching, namely Quran & Hadeeth, one can find nothing on female circumcision in the Quran. However there's one weak hadeeth mentioning of cutting only the prepuce and not the clitoris. Most of the scholars view this hadeeth doesnt require anyone to perform or to undergo a circumcision, while some Pro-FGM view it as to do the procedure but not so far as to threaten health.

In Indonesia, the Ministry of Health has issued a decree forbidding medical personnel to practice female circumcision, but in the practice it is mostly done by traditional circumcisers and birth attendants who has little knowledge of modern medicine. How do they do it? Some do it ritualistic- rubbing tumeric on the genital or prick the clitoris with a needle or scalpel, others do what is known as type I, cutting prepuce and with of without part of clitoris.

I asked several doctors on their experiences on this matter, all of them did it ritualistically. So I wonder why did the MoH issued that decree? I found it safer for the girls to have it done by medical personels than by traditional circumcisers who can go as far as FGM type I. Dont get me wrong, I am against such a thing as FGM, but I agree with Dr. Guarenti of WHO, if we judge this practice harshly, they will be isolated, and if we banned it all together, it will only be done underground. It makes it more difficult to change it. Meanwhile, we need to educate people, men and women that female circumcision has no medical merit what so ever, even can lead into health and probably sexual problems in the future and that practice is better be stop as soon as possible.

Bob's House

I think PepsiCo created the first deaf-focused advertisement ever for its Super Bowl ads based on a joke from the deaf community. And it's very funny. For once they include hearing world into the deaf world. Kudos for PepsiCo!!



FYI, the door bell at the deaf person's house is using light in the US. They get discount in their electricity bills because they use a lot of applications with lights, they also get free TDD (special phone that looks a bit like typewriter where you type and read your conversation). If only Indonesian government gave such care of its deaf community.