Medical statements politicized : The case of procedures involving the clitoris

Abstract

We tend to view medical statements as empirically objective, while in reality they are politically determined: - Statements about sexual sensitivity after clitoris cutting vary in history with time-bound theories about female sexuality and also political agendas. - Prevalent inconsistencies become clear comparing medical statements about maintained or lost ability to enjoy sex after current surgeries involving the clitoris: compare for instance operations in intersexed persons and ‘designer vaginas’ in western medical settings vs. female circumcision in Africa. We need to be aware of how these authoritative statements are politically positioned and tinted by implicit ideas about morality and ethnicity