Reproduction of Power: A Critical Discourse Analysis on Female Circumcision

Abstract

There is an adverse reaction to the practice of female circumcision in the West. This study investigates the adverse reaction to reveal the public discourse on female circumcision as one that is gendered. Using a critical discourse analysis, the study examines the body of Western discourses to explore the reproduction of system of gender hierarchy in the discourse. Guided by a theoretical analysis of the ‘private’/’public' divide through which feminine and masculine power is enforced, the study exposes ways in which similar power relation is sustained in the body of Western discourses on female circumcision. The study applies a textual analysis inquiring the language use of the Fran Hosken report and policy statements originating from the United States, United Kingdome, and international organizations. Using various themes that emerged during the textual analysis, the study deconstructs the body of Western discourses on female circumcision and presents the construction of femininity and masculinity. The findings suggest the discursive application of control and power grounded in rationality, science, knowledge and ways of being.