OMG. FGM.

This week in the UK, The NHS passed legislation stating that any woman discovered to have a genital piercing, either in the vulva or the clitoris will need to be reported as a victim of FGM (female Genital Mutilation) and that the individual or establishment responsible for the procedure can be prosecuted for performing it. Wait, I’m sorry…what? This does not sit well with me. A western woman making the choice to pierce her clitoris to increase sexual pleasure or to ornament her body is not a victim. 

I firmly believe you should be able to do whatever you want to your own body. Brand it, tattoo it, pierce it. Or not, it’s your choice. That is the core difference between opting to embellish your own body and FGM. FGM takes the choice away from the woman whose body is being mutilated. If we start including ornamentation under the mutilation umbrella, it’s a slippery slope. What about lazer hair removal or tattoos on or near the genitals? Again, these are elective cosmetic treatments that women are choosing for themselves and what the NHS is saying, without actually saying it, with its body policing, is that women can’t be trusted with that choice. 

I’m a feminist, so I believe totally in equality between the sexes. This is why I’m no fan of circumcision, despite being Jewish. If a child is too young to consent, then the procedure should not be carried out. It’s an unnecessary, painful tradition which damages the genitals and is performed without permission. I consider circumcision MGM (Male Genital Mutilation.) So why aren’t Brit Milahs being busted? And using the same logic as it's applying to women, why aren't Prince Albert and testicular piercings being scrutinized by the NHS? What’s the difference? Why can men be trusted to make choices about their bodies in this way, but women can’t?  

Something is very wrong here. The NHS is essentially equating a woman getting her clitoris hacked off with no anesthesia in the kitchen of someone’s house to a putting a pretty little ring though your labia, and that’s a dangerous comparison. It trivializes the trauma experienced by real victims of FGM by equating it to the act of electing to walk into a sterile tattoo parlor and pierce one’s vulva, which in no way irreparably damages the sex organs. Also, and most importantly, it implies that victims of FGM have some say in their procedure, and most do not.   

More than 120 million women worldwide are victims of FGM and I refuse to include Lady Gaga and Janet Jackson in those statistics. Get your shit together, NHS, surely you have better things to do than look for victims where there aren't any. It's my vulva and my choice.