Although sometimes it seems weird, I have no problem with people who choose to do body piercing or have tattoos cut on their skin as long as it is not totally harmful. A lot of people choose to have all types of things done to their bodies for reasons best known to themselves.
Some of these body modifications are very painful but people still do them over and over. They choose to put sticks, bones and metals in their earlobes and even in their nostrils. In fact, people have been doing weird and painful things to their bodies for more than 5,000 years.
There are many different reasons why people choose to do all these painful things to themselves. Some people do it for religious or spiritual reasons, while others simply do it for self-expression. Interestingly, some do it for sexual pleasure.
Some women opt to have a clitoral hood piercing to stimulate the clitoris during sex. Piercings that penetrate the clitoris are said to be much more risky. Anyone that wants to have this must be examined by a professional piercer to see if she is suited for a clitoral piercing.
The procedure itself is very painful because it goes through the nerves, the same nerves responsible for sexual response. Sometimes a woman may even loose her ability to achieve orgasm. Despite these odds, many women still go for it.
The most common part that is pierced for sexual pleasure is the tongue. The small metal or ring that is on the tip of the tongue will add pleasure during oral sex. People who have their nipples pierced find it highly arousing to have their nipples toyed with during sex.
Men also have a penis piercing. A ring or a curved barbell enters the penis near the ridge on the underside of the penis that connects the shaft to the head and exits through the urethra at the tip of the penis. This is basically a piece of metal running through the underside of the head of the penis. (See photos here).
Having this kind of piercing increases a risk of infection and a risk for sexually transmitted diseases, especially during the healing process. One has to wait for four months without sexual contact. Another disadvantage for this type of penis piercing is that there is little room for the ring when a man is using a condom.
People who do all the above do this out of their own conviction and free will. No one coerces them into doing it. They are all adults and are fully aware of the consequences and other disadvantages they may face in society. For example, if one has 24 metals rings pierced on his or her face, that person can not easily get a job. He has disadvantaged himself or herself from being formally employed.
However, there is one evil thing that is being forced on some girls, especially in Africa. Many girls are being forced to undergo Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) which is sometimes called Female Circumcision.
According to the World Health Organisation, Female genital mutilation includes procedures that intentionally alter or cause injury to the female genital organs for non-medical reasons. The procedure has no health benefits for girls or women. It can cause severe bleeding and problems urinating, and later cysts, infections, infertility as well as complications in childbirth.
More than 125 million girls and women alive today have been cut in the 29 countries in Africa and Middle East where this practice is concentrated. FGM is mostly carried out on young girls sometimes between infancy and age 15.
There are four types of female genital mutilation.
Clitoridectomy: This is a partial or total removal of the clitoris and in some cases only the prepuce (the fold of skin surrounding the clitoris).
Excision: This a partial or total removal of the clitoris and the labia minora, with or without excision of the labia majora (the labia are "the lips" that surround the vagina.
Infibulation: Narrowing of the vaginal opening through the creation of a covering seal. The seal is formed by cutting and repositioning the inner, or outer, labia, with or without removal of the clitoris.
Other: All other harmful procedures to the female genitalia for non-medical purposes, e.g. pricking, piercing, incising, scrapping and cauterizing the genital area. [see photos here].
Just reading the above makes me cringe with fear and I can only imagine what goes on in the minds of the girls waiting to undergo this procedure. Unlike people who choose to go for body piercing on their own, these young girls seem to have no choice. They are forced to undergo the painful and somewhat humiliating procedure in the name of culture, religion and social factors within families and communities.
Some societies believe FGM is a necessary part of raising a girl properly and a way to prepare her for adulthood and marriage. It is said that FGM reduces a woman's libido and therefore it helps her resist illicit sexual acts. Girls fear to have sex when the vaginal opening is covered or narrowed because of the pain of opening it. They also fear that they will be found out when elders check them.
These girls are also told that girls are "clean" and "beautiful" after removal of body parts that are considered "male" or "unclean". This is also often used by promoters of Male Circumcision who believe that a circumcised man is "cleaner" than a man who is not circumcised.
There have been many reports of girls running away from being mutilated with the recent one being the 643 girls who escaped and gathered at one rescue centre in Tanzania.
These girls managed to escape the harmful culture and sought shelter at the Termination of Female Genital Mutilation Centre. This Centre has since 2008 been providing alternative womanhood-education, thus saving many girls from being mutilated each year.
In 2008, at least 300 girls in south western Kenya fled from home and sought refuge in churches in a bid to escape forced female genital mutilation. This simply shows that many of the girls, if not all, who undergo FGM do not want to be subjected to this practice. They need someone bold enough to stand up and help stop FGM.
Female genital mutilation is not very common in Zambia. Zambia recorded 0.9% cases in a survey conducted in 2005. The most common abuse that young girls endure in Zambia is when they are taught that "dry sex is the best sex. Girls and women attempt to dry out their vagina in an effort to provide more pleasurable sex to men. This is achieved by using certain herbs and ingredients that reportedly reduce vaginal fluids and increase friction during intercourse.
About two-thirds of Zambian women have used "dry sex" traditional medicines. Although there is no mutilation involved here, I still think this is the type of thinking that gives birth to ideas like female genital mutilation.
Image courtesy of gameanna freedigitalphotos.net
Some women opt to have a clitoral hood piercing to stimulate the clitoris during sex. Piercings that penetrate the clitoris are said to be much more risky. Anyone that wants to have this must be examined by a professional piercer to see if she is suited for a clitoral piercing.
The procedure itself is very painful because it goes through the nerves, the same nerves responsible for sexual response. Sometimes a woman may even loose her ability to achieve orgasm. Despite these odds, many women still go for it.
The most common part that is pierced for sexual pleasure is the tongue. The small metal or ring that is on the tip of the tongue will add pleasure during oral sex. People who have their nipples pierced find it highly arousing to have their nipples toyed with during sex.
Men also have a penis piercing. A ring or a curved barbell enters the penis near the ridge on the underside of the penis that connects the shaft to the head and exits through the urethra at the tip of the penis. This is basically a piece of metal running through the underside of the head of the penis. (See photos here).
Having this kind of piercing increases a risk of infection and a risk for sexually transmitted diseases, especially during the healing process. One has to wait for four months without sexual contact. Another disadvantage for this type of penis piercing is that there is little room for the ring when a man is using a condom.
People who do all the above do this out of their own conviction and free will. No one coerces them into doing it. They are all adults and are fully aware of the consequences and other disadvantages they may face in society. For example, if one has 24 metals rings pierced on his or her face, that person can not easily get a job. He has disadvantaged himself or herself from being formally employed.
However, there is one evil thing that is being forced on some girls, especially in Africa. Many girls are being forced to undergo Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) which is sometimes called Female Circumcision.
According to the World Health Organisation, Female genital mutilation includes procedures that intentionally alter or cause injury to the female genital organs for non-medical reasons. The procedure has no health benefits for girls or women. It can cause severe bleeding and problems urinating, and later cysts, infections, infertility as well as complications in childbirth.
More than 125 million girls and women alive today have been cut in the 29 countries in Africa and Middle East where this practice is concentrated. FGM is mostly carried out on young girls sometimes between infancy and age 15.
There are four types of female genital mutilation.
Clitoridectomy: This is a partial or total removal of the clitoris and in some cases only the prepuce (the fold of skin surrounding the clitoris).
Excision: This a partial or total removal of the clitoris and the labia minora, with or without excision of the labia majora (the labia are "the lips" that surround the vagina.
Infibulation: Narrowing of the vaginal opening through the creation of a covering seal. The seal is formed by cutting and repositioning the inner, or outer, labia, with or without removal of the clitoris.
Other: All other harmful procedures to the female genitalia for non-medical purposes, e.g. pricking, piercing, incising, scrapping and cauterizing the genital area. [see photos here].
Just reading the above makes me cringe with fear and I can only imagine what goes on in the minds of the girls waiting to undergo this procedure. Unlike people who choose to go for body piercing on their own, these young girls seem to have no choice. They are forced to undergo the painful and somewhat humiliating procedure in the name of culture, religion and social factors within families and communities.
Some societies believe FGM is a necessary part of raising a girl properly and a way to prepare her for adulthood and marriage. It is said that FGM reduces a woman's libido and therefore it helps her resist illicit sexual acts. Girls fear to have sex when the vaginal opening is covered or narrowed because of the pain of opening it. They also fear that they will be found out when elders check them.
These girls are also told that girls are "clean" and "beautiful" after removal of body parts that are considered "male" or "unclean". This is also often used by promoters of Male Circumcision who believe that a circumcised man is "cleaner" than a man who is not circumcised.
There have been many reports of girls running away from being mutilated with the recent one being the 643 girls who escaped and gathered at one rescue centre in Tanzania.
These girls managed to escape the harmful culture and sought shelter at the Termination of Female Genital Mutilation Centre. This Centre has since 2008 been providing alternative womanhood-education, thus saving many girls from being mutilated each year.
In 2008, at least 300 girls in south western Kenya fled from home and sought refuge in churches in a bid to escape forced female genital mutilation. This simply shows that many of the girls, if not all, who undergo FGM do not want to be subjected to this practice. They need someone bold enough to stand up and help stop FGM.
Female genital mutilation is not very common in Zambia. Zambia recorded 0.9% cases in a survey conducted in 2005. The most common abuse that young girls endure in Zambia is when they are taught that "dry sex is the best sex. Girls and women attempt to dry out their vagina in an effort to provide more pleasurable sex to men. This is achieved by using certain herbs and ingredients that reportedly reduce vaginal fluids and increase friction during intercourse.
About two-thirds of Zambian women have used "dry sex" traditional medicines. Although there is no mutilation involved here, I still think this is the type of thinking that gives birth to ideas like female genital mutilation.
Image courtesy of gameanna freedigitalphotos.net
