Peer-reviewed article
The relationship between dominant Western discourse and personal narratives of female genital cutting: exploring storytelling among Swedish-Somali girls and women.
Palm C, Elmerstig E, Holmström C, Essén B ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-haiku-4-5-20251001This study examines how Swedish-Somali girls and women who have experienced female genital cutting (FGC) narrate and understand their experiences. The research explores how participants navigate between Western anti-FGC narratives and their own personal meanings of the practice in a migration context where FGC is stigmatized. The study involved 21 focus groups and interviews with 53 participants and found that people engage in continuous identity work to reconcile their experiences with dominant Western discourse about FGC.
Key points
- Participants navigate storytelling in relation to a dominant Western narrative ('the standard tale') about FGC that contrasts with traditional understandings of the practice
- Navigation occurs both internally through identity work and externally in social interactions with service providers and others
- Migration to countries where FGC is stigmatized provides women with new frames for understanding their experiences
- Global eradication campaigns and stigmatization in host countries can lead to reformulation of previous experiences
- The study highlights tensions between personal narratives and dominant Western anti-FGC discourse in post-migration settings
Limitations
This is a qualitative study focused on storytelling and narrative analysis rather than health or behavioural outcomes, so it cannot measure the effects of FGC on physical or psychological well-being or assess intervention effectiveness. The findings are specific to Swedish-Somali populations and may not generalize to other contexts or diaspora communities.
Abstract
Introduction A dominant narrative, referred to as "the standard tale," prevails in popular representations about female genital cutting (FGC) that often contrast with how cut women traditionally narrate their FGC experience as meaningful in contexts where FGC is customary. However, scholarship has increasingly highlighted how global eradication campaigns and migration to countries where FGC is stigmatized provide women with new frames of understanding which may lead to a reformulation of previous experiences. This article subjects the storytelling itself to analysis and explores how participants narrate and make sense of their FGC experience in a post-migration setting where FGC is stigmatized. Methods Semi-structured focus groups (9) and individual interviews (12) with Swedish-Somali girls and women (53) were conducted. Results The article highlights how the participants navigate their storying in relation to "the standard tale" of FGC in their efforts to make sense of their experiences. Navigation was conducted both at an intrapersonal level through continuous identity work, and in relation to the social context in interpersonal encounters, i.e., with service providers and others, among whom the standard tale has become a truth. Discussion The article places the analysis within broader discussions about anti-FGC work and considers the implications in relation to efforts to end FGC.