Nationalisme sexuel : le cas de l’excision et de la chirurgie esthétique génitale dans les discours d’experts en Suisse

Abstract

This article examines the frames that are mobilized within contemporary Swiss expert discourses to demarcate female circumcision from female genital cosmetic surgery, focusing on labiaplasty. The analysis is based on interviews conducted with experts who have in-depth knowledge of the practices of genital modification in Switzerland. The results suggest that female circumcision and labiaplasty act as an “inverted mirror” to each other: whereas labiaplasty is described in positive terms, female circumcision is depicted as its negative mirror. I argue that the debate in Switzerland on “female genital mutilation” thus reproduces the allegory of “Us versus Them” following the rhetoric of sexual nationalism.