title: Hymen Restoration: "My" Discomfort, "Their" Culture, and Women's Missing Voice.
abstract: The discourse among medical and scientific communities on hymen restoration is largely missing the voice of women affected. This article calls for a more nuanced reflection on women's real life experiences and the complexities inherent in the negotiation process about the surgery going beyond "ideologies" and the extremes of rape and threats to life. By taking the clinical experience of a woman who requests restoration surgery before her arranged marriage, this article illuminates the grey zone beyond these extremes and explores an individual woman's options for making her own choices.
authors.affiliation: University Hospital Basel, Klingelbeigstr. 23, 40JA Basel, Switzerland. Sylvie.Schuster@usb.ch.
authors.forename: Sylvie
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Schuster
mesh_terms: D018912:Arabs; D003075:Coitus; D005260:Female; D013509:Gynecologic Surgical Procedures / Q000941:ethics*; D006801:Humans; D006924:Hymen / Q000601:surgery*; D007514:Islam; D026684:Personal Autonomy; D010820:Physicians / Q000941:ethics*; D019651:Plastic Surgery Procedures / Q000941:ethics*; D012017:Referral and Consultation / Q000941:ethics*; D063507:Sexism; D012746:Sexual Abstinence; D012945:Social Values