This thesis investigates the contested and cultural meanings of female genital cutting (FGC) among the Tukuloor women of Senegal, West Africa. The thesis shows that the cultural interpretations of FGC from a local perspective in Senegal apply a complex set of rationale and explanations rather different from those from Western discourses and assumptions that circulate about the practice. Dominant Western perceptions of female genital cutting and African women are juxtaposed with African women's perceptions of themselves, their bodies and the multiple meanings of FGC in the cultural context of rural Senegal.