Infibulation is the surgical modification or mutilation of the genitals in males and females, particularly the foreskin

Foreskin

In male human anatomy, the foreskin is a generally retractable double-layered fold of skin and mucous membrane that covers the glans penis and protects the urinary meatus when the penis is not erect...

, labia minora

Labia minora

The labia minora , also known as the inner labia, inner lips, or nymphae, are two flaps of skin on either side of the human vaginal opening, situated between the labia majora...

 and labia majora

Labia majora

The labia majora are two prominent longitudinal cutaneous folds that extend downward and backward from the mons pubis to the perineum and form the lateral boundaries of the pudendal cleft, which contains the labia minora, interlabial sulci, clitoral hood, clitoral glans, frenulum clitoridis, the...

. This can range from suturing to complete removal, with each done for different reasons.

Female

Female infibulation, known as Type III female genital mutilation (FGM)—and in some African countries as "pharaonic circumcision"—is the removal of the labia minora (inner lips) and labia majora (outer lips). When the labial tissue heals, it forms a wall of skin and flesh across the vagina

Vagina

The vagina is a fibromuscular tubular tract leading from the uterus to the exterior of the body in female placental mammals and marsupials, or to the cloaca in female birds, monotremes, and some reptiles. Female insects and other invertebrates also have a vagina, which is the terminal part of the...

 and the rest of the pubic area. By inserting a twig or similar before the wound heals, a small hole is created for the passage of urine and menstrual blood

Menstruation

Menstruation is the shedding of the uterine lining . It occurs on a regular basis in sexually reproductive-age females of certain mammal species. This article focuses on human menstruation.-Overview:...

. The procedure is usually accompanied by the removal of the clitoris

Clitoris

The clitoris is a sexual organ that is present only in female mammals. In humans, the visible button-like portion is located near the anterior junction of the labia minora, above the opening of the urethra and vagina. Unlike the penis, which is homologous to the clitoris, the clitoris does not...

. The legs are bound together for two to four weeks to allow the labia to heal into a barrier. The procedure is usually carried out on young girls before the onset of puberty

Puberty

Puberty is the process of physical changes by which a child's body matures into an adult body capable of reproduction, as initiated by hormonal signals from the brain to the gonads; the ovaries in a girl, the testes in a boy...

.

Infibulation is a procedure conducted in several African countries, and in the Middle East and Southeast Asia. It is used by practitioners to render women sexually inactive, unlikely to engage in intercourse, and the visibly intact barrier of infibulation assures a husband he has married a virgin. The barrier produced by infibulation is usually penetrated at the time of a girl's marriage by the forcible action of the penis of her husband, or by cutting the connected tissue with a knife. The procedure frequently results in organ damage, urinary incontinence, obstetric fistula

Obstetric fistula

Obstetric fistula is a severe medical condition in which a fistula develops between either the rectum and vagina or between the bladder and vagina after severe or failed childbirth, when adequate medical care is not available.-Symptoms and signs:The resulting disorders typically include...

, and death.

Male

Historically, infibulation also referred to suturing the foreskin. In ancient Greece

Ancient Greece

Ancient Greece is a civilization belonging to a period of Greek history that lasted from the Archaic period of the 8th to 6th centuries BC to the end of antiquity. Immediately following this period was the beginning of the Early Middle Ages and the Byzantine era. Included in Ancient Greece is the...

, athletes, singers and other public performers infibulated themselves by using a clasp or string to close the foreskin and draw the penis over to one side, in a practice known as kynodesmē

Kynodesme

A kynodesme was a thin leather strip worn by some athletes in Ancient Greece to restrain the penis such as to prevent the exposure of the glans. It was tied tightly around the akroposthion, the part of the foreskin that extended beyond the glans...

 (literally "dog tie"). This was seen as a sign of restraint and abstinence, but was also related to concerns of modesty; in artistic representations, it was seen as obscene and offensive to show a long penis and the penis' head in particular.

Many examples of kynodesmē are depicted on vases, almost exclusively confined to symposiasts

Symposium

In ancient Greece, the symposium was a drinking party. Literary works that describe or take place at a symposium include two Socratic dialogues, Plato's Symposium and Xenophon's Symposium, as well as a number of Greek poems such as the elegies of Theognis of Megara...

 and komasts

Komos

The Komos was a ritualistic drunken procession performed by revelers in ancient Greece, whose participants were known as komasts. Its precise nature has been difficult to reconstruct from the diverse literary sources and evidence derived from vase painting....

, who are as a general rule older (or at least mature) men. Tying up the penis with a string was a way of avoiding what was seen as the shameful and dishonorable spectacle of an exposed penis, something that was only portrayed in depictions of those without repute, such as slaves and barbarians. It therefore conveyed the moral worth and modesty of the subject. Infibulation was performed on slaves in ancient Rome

Ancient Rome

Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....

 to ensure chastity, as well as voluntarily in some cultures. Without removing tissue, it was intended to prevent sexual intercourse

Sexual intercourse

Sexual intercourse, also known as copulation or coitus, commonly refers to the act in which a male's penis enters a female's vagina for the purposes of sexual pleasure or reproduction. The entities may be of opposite sexes, or they may be hermaphroditic, as is the case with snails...

, but not masturbation

Masturbation

Masturbation refers to sexual stimulation of a person's own genitals, usually to the point of orgasm. The stimulation can be performed manually, by use of objects or tools, or by some combination of these methods. Masturbation is a common form of autoeroticism...

.

Male infibulation is now usually performed as genital modification, but it can also refer to self-torture, such as piercing one's nipples, labia, clitoris, scrotum or penis with sharp objects for pleasure. In an extreme example, Albert Fish

Albert Fish

Hamilton Howard "Albert" Fish was an American serial killer. He was also known as the Gray Man, the Werewolf of Wysteria, the Brooklyn Vampire, the Moon Maniac and The Boogey Man. A child rapist and cannibal, he boasted that he "had children in every state," and at one time put the figure at...

derived sexual gratification by jabbing sewing needles into his penis and scrotum. After execution, his autopsy revealed nearly two dozen needles in his pelvic region.

Further reading

• Ali, Ayaan Hirsi. "Infidel". Free Press, 2007. ISBN 978-0-7432-8968-9