Compulsory removal of the clitoris is the only modification I can think of that nearly everyone both in the body modification community and the general public want to put a stop to, and with good reason. It's not just that it is risky and normally done in a non-sterile setting without anesthesia, because lets remember nearly all truly tribal modifications and rites of passage are done in a similar setting (and there aren't many campaigns to end chest scarification.) It's not even that genitals are being altered without consent of the individual (few people are vocally anti infant male circumcision.) No, it's that forcing a girl to have her clitoris removed robs her of normal sexual pleasure and is symbolic of second class citizenship.
At A Glance Author Uberkitty IAM Uberkitty When N/A Many western countries have outlawed FGM out of concern that immigrates may attempt to continue this tradition after relocating. My home country, America, is one of these nations and in some states the FGM laws have been written so broadly that a consenting adult women cannot legally elect to get any heavy genital modification.
I've wanted my inner labia removed for some time now and at the age of 20 I decided to get my clitoral hood split. I already had it pierced vertically but I didn't want it anymore. While the piercing had improved my sex life and was generally wonderful it often twisted in uncomfortable ways or would get caught on clothing. It seemed to me a hood split would give me the same benefit without any of the downfalls.
Being that I wanted to have a professional do it I began looking for, and contacting, heavy modification artists. Time after time the same scenario played out. I would find an artist and grow to know them. They would tell me first about the tongue splits they had done, then they would show me portfolio pictures of male genital beading while telling me about the high quality of the implant material. They would tell me of subincisions and bisections and all sorts of things. Then I would mention I was interested in getting my hood split in the immediate future and that I also wanted my labia removed sometime later. Almost every time they would then explain that they didn't do thing like that because of the legal risks. After all we live in a world where just last year a Georgia bill would have outlawed female genital piercing as a part of FGM legislation. We live in a world where body modification artists have to be on the look out for police stings or else they could be prosecuted. It's sad to say the fear of being imprisoned for something as benign as a hood split is justified. I only managed to find only one artist willing to do it under the condition I not give out their name to anyone. Unfortunately this artist lived a few thousand miles away from me.
I hate the idea that the law considers me, an adult women, voluntarily seeking out a professional so that I may safely obtain a simple genital modification to increase my sexual pleasure to be just as immoral and terrible as an 8 year old being held down against her will while someone uses a dirty and dull tool to cut off her clitoris on the hope that it will diminish her sexual pleasure and keep her from cheating on her future husband. I so hated this idea that I decided I would go ahead and split my own hood.
My hood split occurred on the floor in my room. I was all alone, though I had a phone just incase something went wrong. The procedure was simple and the healing was quick. I can't help but find it odd that the laws established to protect girls from being mutilated has, as a side effect, forced me out of a sterile environment with a professional and into getting a procedure done at home by myself.
Given I wasn't able to get a professional to do the hood split I wonder if I will be able to find one to do the labia removal. But then again the incredible simplicity of doing the hood split myself makes it amazingly tempting to just do the labia removal alone at home as well, something I never would have considered before doing this. I've basically stopped looking for an artist. These laws that try to stop the mutilation of young girls tend to end up so board they also try to protect me from myself. Ironically they do just the opposite. It's because of these laws I am more willing to take risks and do my own heavy modifications. It's not the smart thing to do: at home procedures tend to be wildly more dangerous than those done by a trained professional but of course I wasn't confident before this experience that I would be able to do a heavy modification by myself so easily.