Author:
Palm Camilla,Elmerstig Eva,Holmström Charlotta,Essén Birgitta
Abstract
IntroductionA dominant narrative, referred to as “the standard tale,” prevails in popular representations about female genital cutting (FGC) that often contrast with how cut women traditionally narrate their FGC experience as meaningful in contexts where FGC is customary. However, scholarship has increasingly highlighted how global eradication campaigns and migration to countries where FGC is stigmatized provide women with new frames of understanding which may lead to a reformulation of previous experiences. This article subjects the storytelling itself to analysis and explores how participants narrate and make sense of their FGC experience in a post-migration setting where FGC is stigmatized.MethodsSemi-structured focus groups (9) and individual interviews (12) with Swedish-Somali girls and women (53) were conducted.ResultsThe article highlights how the participants navigate their storying in relation to "the standard tale" of FGC in their efforts to make sense of their experiences. Navigation was conducted both at an intrapersonal level through continuous identity work, and in relation to the social context in interpersonal encounters, i.e., with service providers and others, among whom the standard tale has become a truth.DiscussionThe article places the analysis within broader discussions about anti-FGC work and considers the implications in relation to efforts to end FGC.
Reference77 articles.
1. “Psychosexual health after female genital mutilation/cutting and clitoral reconstruction: what does the evidence say?,”;Abdulcadir,2019
2. “Revisiting feminist discourses on infibulation: responses from Sudanese feminists,”;Abusharaf,2000
3. Virtuous cuts: female genital circumcision in an African ontology;Abusharaf;Diff. J. Fem. Cult. Stud.,2001
4. “Ain't I a woman too?': Challenging myths of sexual dysfunction in circumcised women,”;Ahmadu;Transcultural Bodies: Female Genital Cutting in Global Context,2007
5. The Cultural Politics of Emotion
Cited by
3 articles.
订阅此论文施引文献
订阅此论文施引文献,注册后可以免费订阅5篇论文的施引文献,订阅后可以查看论文全部施引文献