... reactance against the forces of colonialism. This explains why the origins of writing on excision can be traced to colonial cultural anthropology. Cultural anthropology is the first context in which female autobiography emerged in Kenya. This chapter examines these anthropological preludes to female self...

... explores how the Kenyan female excised body functioned discursively before Kenya's women writers began to write about excision (and the lack thereof) and therefore about their own self-representation. It focuses on three Kenyan women who thought it wise to revive the issue of excision for their own ends...