WASHINGTON AND LEE RACE AND ETHNIC ANCESTRY LAW JOURNAL

In this article, the author argues that the continued practice of female genital cutting (FGC) in Africa is a mode of expressing identity and cultural difference. She notes that African women are deeply suspicious of Western interference in African culture. The author then examines various justifications for FGC and finds that the internal rationale for the practice is linked to suppressing women's sexuality or depicting women's sexuality as monstrous or dirty.