2 Elongation of the labia minora and Use of Vaginal Products to Enhance Eroticism: Can These Practices be Considered FGM? By Brigitte Bagnol & Esmeralda Mariano Published: Bagnol, Brigitte and Esmeralda Mariano. 2008. Elongation of the Labia Minora and Use of Vaginal Products to Enhance Eroticism: Can these Practices be Considered FGM? In: The special issue of the Finnish Journal of Ethnicity and Migration FJEM Vol. 3, No. 2/2008: 42-53) “Female Genital Cutting in the Past and Today” (http://www.etmu.fi/fjem/pdf/FJEM_2_2008.pdf). Abstract Both the elongation of the vaginal labia minora (Southern Africa) and practices aiming at tightening the vagina (Central and Southern Africa) are under scrutiny due to the need to find possible reasons for the spread of HIV/AIDS in the region. These practices show multivalent resonance between body, society, eroticism and health. They are a “women’s secret” and express an area of power that women have been developing and protecting despite many forms of oppression over generations (Tamale 2005). Resembling the practice of elongating labia minora to close the vaginal orifice, considered “open” following childbirth and frequent coitus, the majority of women use a variety of substances in order to close up, contract, or reduce the vaginal canal. These practices are related to notions of femininity, womanhood, eroticism, pleasure and health. They are an expression of female strategic power. A joint statement by WHO, UNICEF and UNFPA (1997) has defined these practices as Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) of Type IV. Although their categorization as FGM has raised many concerns, the new definition of FGM (OHCHR et al 2008) maintains this classification. The article discusses the appropriateness of considering these practices as FGM and stresses the need to rethink discourses on sexuality. It raises the issue of developing a clear definition on genital mutilation. The article is part of a WHO multi-country research project on Gender, Sexuality and Vaginal Practices and is based on ethnographic data gathered during 2005 in the Tete Province in Mozambique. It studies local notions of femininity that include beauty, sexuality, pleasure, well-being, health, reproduction, fertility and pain. Introduction Women, in different periods of their lives and with various motivations and purposes, carry out interventions on their genital organs. These may include incisions, elongation, ablation of the labia minora and majora or clitoris; the stitching up of the labia majora or minora, the ritual breaking of the hymen; and incisions in the vaginal and perineal area. Some women modify the diameter of the vagina, its temperature, lubrication, humidity and consistency through steam baths, smokes and application or ingestion of various preparations. References to vaginal practices can be found in studies of various countries of the Asian, African and American continents. Daily or regular hygiene methods to wash the vagina, eliminate secretions, semen or odours, using various products via topical or internal application are the most widespread of these and may be observed in various countries and on different continents (Joesoef et al 1996; Ombolo 1990: 149-50; Preston-Whyte 2003; Utomo 2003). Reasons for the various practices include, but are not limited to, the control of women’s sexuality and the sexual satisfaction of one or both partners. They are also connected to personal hygiene, health and well-being, socialisation of the woman’s body and fertility (Brown and Brown 2000; Van de Wijgert et al 2000). These practices are the result of a