The ‘husband stitch’ is an extra stitch added in the repair process after giving birth naturally through the vagina. The entire premise of the procedure is to tighten the vaginal opening after birth, for the enjoyment of men, as it will supposedly increase male sexual pleasure.
The procedure itself is not recognised as legitimate medical practise, and as such there have been no empirical studies that tell us how many women have received this procedure, or how these women reacted. However, the anecdotal and individual medical evidence is staggering, as gynaecologists lament over shoddy stitches and women whisper words of warning to expected mothers.
Most women are completely unaware that the procedure has even taken place. Sarah Harkins remembers her family doctor only addressing her husband, as she lay there a passive component in her own medical wellbeing, as he added an unnecessary extra stitch into her body.
For others, it can cause extreme pain, particularly during sex. During a pap smear, Angela Sandford became aware that the reason for her ‘excruciatingly painful’ sex was due to a husband stitching that she was completely unaware had been performed a whole five years prior.
Performing a procedure, often without consent (that is unnecessary to begin with), for the sole purpose of ensuring someone else’s sexual pleasure is a grossly corrupt and dangerous form of medical practise you would hope belonged to the middle ages. So why have we seen it happen time and time again, across the globe?
Misogyny.
There are a multitude of misogynistic stereotypes at play when a doctor decides to perform a ‘husband stitch’ on someone. Most obviously, there is the assumption that a woman belongs to, and is in service of a man, as her bodily autonomy is overlooked for something as insignificant as male sexual pleasure.
However, there are smaller, more nuanced assumptions that are made when a medical decision like this takes place: that women are passive actors in the way their bodies are treated, that all child-carrying people are cis-gender and heterosexual, that a woman’s body’s main purpose is to satisfy male sexual cravings, and that women will not question people of traditional authority (in this case, doctors and husbands).
Even the name, ‘husband stitch’, highlights the ways in which the objectification of the female body intersects with, and hinders, safe medical practise.
The practise of ‘husband stitching’ is a barbaric and corrupt practise that belongs to an age long ago. But, unfortunately, thanks to patriarchal expectations and good ol’ misogyny, the practise remains, both as a physical and damaging procedure, and as a whispered myth passed from one woman to another as frightened words of warning.
If you have been affected by anything in this article, please follow these links for support:
@Abdnsurvivors on Instagram offers a safe space for victims of rape and sexual assault.
Rape Crisis Scotland: 08088 01 03 02 / https://www.rapecrisisscotland.org.uk/
Black women’s Rape Action Project & Women Against Rape: https://womenagainstrape.net/
Victim support Scotland: 0800 160 1985 / https://victimsupport.scot/
Scottish Women’s Aid: 0800 027 1234 / https://womensaid.scot/