Migrant Women As the Future of the Netherlands: Hymenoplasty Consultations and the Reshaping of Sexual Values in Dutch Medical Institutions

The ever evolving Dutch integration policy, formulated to address people of migrant background in the Netherlands, has gradually taken women as its focal point. Migrant women are simultaneously considered to be the most vulnerable group among the newcomers while at the same time being the key to the full integration of migrants to Dutch society. In light with the Dutch sexual revolution in the 1960s that made sexuality an integral aspect of societal life in the Netherlands, a full integration often entails individual migrant to adopt Dutch ideals, including that of sexuality.

This expectation is observable during medical consultations of hymenoplasty. Hymenoplasty is a surgery to alter the hymen membrane, frequently requested by migrant women who desire to be a virgin again before marriage. Women considering this surgery are often juggling two sets of sexual norms: one of abstinence, coming from their countries of origin and another of exploration, largely accepted among Dutch society. The ways the doctors, who are almost exclusively of “native” Dutch origin, deal with these women during hymenoplasty consultations provide a productive window to observe how migrant women are evaluated, understood, and eventually shaped based on Dutch sexual ideals in the medical institutions.

This paper will ultimately explore the Dutch physicians’ competing beliefs in how best to “help” the patients to be the type of women the Dutch society expects; women who would then be able to transfer certain ideals, particularly in relation to sexuality, to the future generation of Dutch young people.