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The Sodal Construction of Female Orgasm: a Cross-Cultural Study

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The Sodal Construction of Female Orgasm: a Cross-Cultural Study The sodal construction of female orgasm: a cross-cultural study Alissa Levine Department of Sodology, McGill University, Montreal December 2001 A dissertation submitted to the Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research in partial fulfiUment of the requirements of the degree of Doctor of Philosophy © Alissa Levine 2001 • National Ubrary Bibliothèque nationale of Canada du Canada Acquisitions and Acquisitions et Bibliographie SelViœs selVices bibliographiques 395 Wellington Street 395, rue Wellington Ottawa ON KM ON4 Ottawa ON K1A ON4 canada Canada Our fils NoIre rétéJfmce The author bas granted a non­ L'auteur a accordé une licence non exclusive licence allowmg the exclusive permettant à la National Librmy ofCanada to Bibliothèque nationale du Canada de reproduce, loan, distribute or sen reproduire, prêter, distribuer ou copies ofthis thesis inmicroform, vendre des copies de cette thèse sous paper or electromc formats. la forme de microfiche/film, de reproduction sur papier ou sur format électromque. The author retains ownership ofthe L'auteur conserve la propriété du copyright in this thesis. Neither the droit d'auteur qui protège cette thèse. thesis nor substantial extracts frOID it Ni la thèse ni des extraits substantiels may be printed or otherwise de celle-ci ne doiven.t être imprimés reproduœd without the author's ou autrement reproduits sans son pemnSSlOn. autorisation. 0-612-78715-X Canada For Julia, of course Abstract This study presents cross-cultural research into women's sexuality, and orgasm in particular. Qualitative interviews of women who have undergone excision of the clitoris and women who have not form the core of my data. My analysis indicates that female orgasm in diverse societies is problematized and controlled, causing me to postulate nurnerous similarities between women despite cultural and physical differences. One of the most significant findings is that similar attitudes toward the clitoris rnight be invoked to explain both its rernoval, ln excising societies, and clitoral-vaginal theoretical bifurcations in non-excising ones. The originality of my theoretical approach is to examme vanous types of social constructionism. 1 dernonstrate its pertinence to an understanding of the literaI construction of the body through social practices or social imperatives which deterrnine physical reality. My Llse of the term constructionism as anti-essentialism also enables me to identify cornmon components of drive theory in diverse cultures, and to demonstrate their lack of correlation with sexual behavior. Finally, constructionism is a crucial element to my analysis of subjective beliefs concerning female orgasm. Interpretation of physiological response supports a belief in clitoral-vaginal opposition in defiance of the interdependence of these two organs, thereby reflecting the constructionist insistence upon reality as socially defined. ID The originality of this research lies in Hs comparative perspective and resulting emphasis on similarities in culturally diverse groups. Female sexuality and orgasm are filtered through social existence. A physiological response can thus be denied or substantiated by social means. • iv Résumé Dans cette étude, il est question de recherches interculturelles sur la sexualité et, plus particulièrement, l'orgasme de la femme. Les données proviennent principalement d'entrevues qualitatives auprès de femmes ayant subi l'excision du clitoris ainsi qu'auprès de femmes n'ayant subi aucune intervention. L'analyse de ces données indique que l'orgasme de la femme, dans diverses sociétés, est perçu comme étant problématique et qu'il est par conséquent contrôlé; cela m'amène à postuler de nombreuses similitudes entre femmes en dépit de leurs différences culturelles et physiques. Découverte particulièrement significative: on peut invoquer des attitudes anti­ clitoridiennes pour tenir compte à la fois de l'enlèvement du clitoris, en sociétés excisantes, tout comme de la bifurcation théorique entre clitoris et vagin en sociétés non-excisantes. Mon approche théorique se distingue par un examen de diverses formes de construction sociale. L'approche implique la construction littérale du corps à travers des pratiques ou des impératifs sociaux qui déterminent la réalité physique, bien entendu. Mais la construction sociale sous-entend aussi une approche anti­ essentialiste, me permettant d'identifier les éléments de la théorie des pulsions sexuelles que partagent de multiples sociétés, et de démontrer à quel point ces éléments ne correspondent pas au comportement sexuel. Enfin, la théorie de la construction sociale s'avère indispensable à l'étude des croyances concernant l'orgasme • féminin. L'interprétation d'une réponse foncièrement physiologique v soutient une opposition entre clitoris et vagin qui obscurcit l'interdépendance des deux organes, insistant plutôt sur la définition subjective de la réalité. Je fais preuve d'originalité en menant cette étude comparative qui met l'accent sur les similitudes entre des groupes qui sont culturellement divers. La sexualité et l'orgasme de la femme sont aperçus à travers un filtre social. Il est ainsi possible de nier l'existence d'une réponse physiologique, tout comme il est possible de la réifer par des moyens SOCIaux. vi Acknowledgments 1 want first of aIl to thank Suzanne Staggenborg, my dissertation supervisor, for her insightful readings and critique. She constantly emphasized the need for an articulation of the interconnections between the data and underlying theory. In struggling to answer her questions, 1 developed and strengthened my argument immensely. 1 also want to thank my other readers, in particular Prue Rains, who read several chapters and made extremely helpful suggestions on them; and Martine Lévesque, whose enthusiastic reading of the final draft was a source of inestimable encouragement in the last months of the project. 1 was able to devote myself to the interview and research process thanks to fellowships from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, a McGill Major fellowship, and through my work as a research assistant on a study at the Université de Montréal funded by Health Canada (PNRDS R0005900): Traditional Practices Affecting the Physical and Mental Health of Women: Excision and infibulation--the current situation and perspectives for the future. 1 am grateful to the principal researcher of the Université de Montréal study, Bilkis Vissandjée, for bringing me on board and supporting my research interests. My subsequent analysis of the interviews was in large part possible thanks to the work of fellow vu assistants Lretitia Aït'Hachimi and Mireille Kantiebo, who collaborated in the Traditional Practices study. The work of numerous interviewers and collaborators provided me with a wealth of data for my thesis. 1 am also grateful to the many women who participated in the interviews, whose interests and concerns helped shape this thesis. Finally, 1 must express my heartfelt appreciation to everyone who supported me on a more personal level. My family and friends encouraged me to pursue my studies. And numerous caregivers have made it possible for me to reach my goal since the birth of my daughter, Julia, last year. 1 want to thank those in the Thifault clan who helped care for Julia, especially Marraine Michèle. Dominique, your love and support have pulled me through. Thank­ you. Vlll TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT Hi RÉsUMÉ v ACKNOWLEDGMENTS vii Chapter 1: Introduction 1 1.0 Social Constructionism 5 2.0 M ethodology 9 3.0 Organization of the Chapters 1 4 Chapter 2: Gender into Sex 1 9 1.0 Definitions 21 1.1 Sex into gender, or sexed gender 2 1 1.2 Gender into Sex, or gendered sex 23 2.0 Problems with the separate spheres approach: sex as beyond the scope of social critique 2 7 3.0 Gendered sex and genital representation 3 1 3.1 Excision 3 1 3.2 A shift away from excision as natural completion 3 6 3.3 Becoming female 37 3.4 Transsexuality 4 1 4.0 Gendered sexual response: the masculine clitoris 45 4.1 Excision and sexual response 45 4.2 The intact and sexual response 48 Conclusion 5 1 Chapter 3: Virginities 55 1.0 Virginity as a Prerequisite for Marriage 56 1.1 Comparing excised with infibulated women on marriageability 57 2.0 New conjugal concerns 6 1 3.0 Honor and virginity 62 3.1 On a new perception of excision as shameful 6 3 4.0 Constructions of Virginity 64 4.1 On bodily signs of sexual abstinence and activity 67 4.2 Hymen reconstruction 72 4.3 Virginity in the West 7 4 4.4 PerpetuaI Virginity 77 4.5 Renewal of the infibulation, or reinfibulation 7 8 4.6 Analogous procedures among infibulating and intact women 81 4.7 Episiotomy repau and vaginal tightness 85 Conclusion 8 7 Chapter 4: Sexual Activity and Sexual Control 91 1.0 The Sex Drive 92 1.1 Sexual activity or intercourse among the excised 93 1.2 Sexual intercourse stemming from sensitivity 94 1.3 The Problem of Desire 96 1.4 Sensitivity and Desire 97 1.5 Sexual activity due to lack of control 101 1.6 Control through excision 102 1.7 Incidence of sexual intercourse despite excision 104 1.8 Why do Canadian women have sex? 106 1.9 Sex despite lack of orgasm or pleasure within a monogamous relationship 107 1.10 Sex to keep/please the man 108 1.11 Sex despite pain 109 1.12 Sex despite lack of orgasm or pleasure within a casual relationship 110 1.13 Control of the Canadian-born 113 1.14 Against drive theory 115 2.0 Contextual considerations 116 2.1 Sexual intercourse as prostitution 116 2.2 Relational and recreational sex 120 2.3 Love and Sex 125 Conclusion 127 Chapter 5: The Social Construction of Clitoral Orgasm 1 3 1 1.0 Popular discourse on the clitoris 133 1.1 The nameless organ, or the clitoris as taboo 1 3 6 2.0 Medical (mis}understandings 143 2.1 Continuing controversy about the role of the clitoris ln the medical literature 147 3.
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