Reflections from a Retreat in The Adirondacks: Foundational Conversations

Between May 13th and 17th, Sahiyo, Equality Now, and The U.S. End FGM/C Network hosted a convening of FGM/C survivors, advocates, policy experts, and LGBTQIA+ allies at a retreat center in the Adirondack Mountains. Participants gathered to hold conversations centered on building shared understanding and strategic messaging around bodily autonomy, female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C), gender-affirming care, intersex movements, and harmful conflations in public discourse and policymaking. This reflection is part of a series of reflections from participants who attended the convening: 

By Anonymous

This past May, I had the opportunity and privilege to attend a conference in the Adirondacks hosted by Sahiyo, Equality Now, and The US Network to End FGM/C. The conference was organised to foster cross-movement collaboration and solidarity, in order to address with urgency the increasing and outright harmful conflation between female genital cutting (FGC) and gender affirming care (GAC) in US policy and discourse.

Attending the conference was of personal importance to me. Like too many young children, I underwent FGC when I was 7 years old, with no consent and no explanation. I didn’t know I was a survivor of FGC until 13 years later when I came by a customs and rituals booklet forwarded on WhatsApp, which informed me my complexion had been improved and would endear me much to my future husband. As disappointing as that would be to anyone, as a queer trans man, the realisation of what had been done came with a particularly sharp sting. In the future, however, as compromising as it may be to my complexion, I may consensually and with full knowledge of myself and body seek gender affirming treatments should my health and well-being need it. 

And so, in my bones, I know that FGC and GAC are not the same, and that efforts to conflate them spread misinformation and stigma, weaken survivor-driven efforts to confront FGC as gender based violence, and endanger the health of trans youth. This is why the convening and the effort to build shared language and strategy amongst FGC survivors, Trans, Intersex, and Non-binary community members, advocates, policy experts, and allies felt important at this time.

Our discussions and reflections were centred around the right to bodily autonomy and to live with dignity. I think our ability to have those conversations in a meaningful way came from knowing all too well what it feels like to have your bodily autonomy encroached upon and taken away, and the anger and grief that that leaves behind. What will stay with me is the grace, courage, and openness with which everyone shared their stories, and the trust and compassion with which we maintained and shared that space for each other and with each other.

I’m grateful for the experience and to everyone who shared their knowledge and deepened my understanding of what’s at stake and what can be done. And I’m hopeful that a strong foundation has been laid for future cross-movement solidarity.