Editing Vagina (section)

===Influence on modification===
{{See also|Genital modification and mutilation}}
Societal views, influenced by tradition, a lack of knowledge on anatomy, or [[sexism]], can significantly impact a person's decision to alter their own or another person's genitalia.<ref name="Cardozo"/><ref name="Knox">{{cite book|vauthors=Knox D, Schacht C|title=Choices in Relationships: Introduction to Marriage and the Family|publisher=[[Cengage Learning]]|isbn=978-0-495-09185-1|year=2007|pages=60–61|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Q3XD0VEYGSUC&pg=PA60|access-date=January 4, 2018|archive-date=July 3, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190703211453/https://books.google.com/books?id=Q3XD0VEYGSUC&pg=PA60|url-status=live}}</ref> Women may want to alter their genitalia (vagina or vulva) because they believe that its appearance, such as the length of the labia minora covering the vaginal opening, is not normal, or because they desire a smaller vaginal opening or tighter vagina. Women may want to remain youthful in appearance and sexual function. These views are often influenced by the media,<ref name="Cardozo"/><ref name="Banyard">{{cite book|vauthors=Banyard K|title=The Equality Illusion: The Truth about Women and Men Today|publisher=[[Faber & Faber]]|isbn=978-0-571-25866-6|year=2010|page=[https://archive.org/details/equalityillusion0000bany/page/41 41]|url=https://archive.org/details/equalityillusion0000bany|url-access=registration}}</ref> including [[pornography]],<ref name="Banyard"/> and women can have low self-esteem as a result.<ref name="Cardozo"/> They may be embarrassed to be naked in front of a sexual partner and may insist on having sex with the lights off.<ref name="Cardozo"/> When modification surgery is performed purely for cosmetic reasons, it is often viewed poorly,<ref name="Cardozo"/> and some doctors have compared such surgeries to [[female genital mutilation]] (FGM).<ref name="Banyard"/>

Female genital mutilation, also known as female circumcision or female genital cutting, is genital modification with no health benefits.<ref name="Crooks"/><ref name="WHO, FGM">{{cite web |title=Female genital mutilation |website=Media centre |publisher=[[World Health Organization]] |access-date=August 22, 2012 |url=https://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs241/en/index.html |archive-date=July 2, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110702174226/http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs241/en/index.html |url-status=live }}</ref> The most severe form is Type III FGM, which is [[infibulation]] and involves removing all or part of the [[labia]] and the vagina being closed up. A small hole is left for the passage of urine and menstrual blood, and the vagina is opened up for sexual intercourse and childbirth.<ref name="WHO, FGM"/>

Significant controversy surrounds female genital mutilation,<ref name="Crooks">{{cite book |vauthors=Crooks R, Baur K |title=Our Sexuality |publisher=[[Cengage Learning]] |year=2010 |pages=55–56 |isbn=978-0-495-81294-4 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MpRnPtmdRVwC&pg=PA55 |access-date=October 27, 2015 |archive-date=May 6, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160506170738/https://books.google.com/books?id=MpRnPtmdRVwC&pg=PA55 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="WHO, FGM"/> with the [[World Health Organization]] (WHO) and other health organizations campaigning against the procedures on behalf of [[human rights]], stating that it is "a violation of the human rights of girls and women" and "reflects deep-rooted inequality between the sexes".<ref name="WHO, FGM"/> Female genital mutilation has existed at one point or another in almost all human civilizations,<ref name="Momoh" /> most commonly to exert control over the sexual behavior, including masturbation, of girls and women.<ref name="WHO, FGM"/><ref name="Momoh">{{cite book |vauthors=[[Comfort Momoh|Momoh C]] |chapter=Female Genital Mutation |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dVjIP0RfVAMC&pg=PA5 |title=Female Genital Mutilation |veditors=Momoh C |pages=5–12 |publisher=Radcliffe Publishing |year=2005 |isbn=978-1-85775-693-7 |access-date=October 27, 2015 |archive-date=June 13, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130613210634/http://books.google.com/books?id=dVjIP0RfVAMC&pg=PA5 |url-status=live }}</ref> It is carried out in several countries, especially in [[Africa]], and to a lesser extent in other parts of the [[Middle East]] and [[Southeast Asia]], on girls from a few days old to mid-adolescent, often to reduce sexual desire in an effort to preserve vaginal virginity.<ref name="Crooks"/><ref name="WHO, FGM"/><ref name="Momoh"/> [[Comfort Momoh]] stated it may be that female genital mutilation was "practiced in ancient Egypt as a sign of distinction among the aristocracy"; there are reports that traces of infibulation are on Egyptian mummies.<ref name="Momoh" />

Custom and tradition are the most frequently cited reasons for the practice of female genital mutilation. Some cultures believe that female genital mutilation is part of a girl's initiation into adulthood and that not performing it can disrupt social and political cohesion.<ref name="WHO, FGM"/><ref name="Momoh"/> In these societies, a girl is often not considered an adult unless she has undergone the procedure.<ref name="WHO, FGM"/>