often influenced by the media, including pornography, and women can have low self-esteem as a result. They may be embarrassed to be naked in front of a sexual partner and may insist on having sex with the lights off. When modification surgery is performed purely for cosmetic reasons, it is often viewed poorly, and some doctors have compared such surgeries to female genital mutilation (FGM). Female genital mutilation, also known as female circumcision or female genital cutting, is genital modification with no health benefits. The most severe form is Type III FGM, which is infibulation and involves removing all or part of the labia and the vagina being closed up. A small hole is left for the passage of urine and menstrual blood, and the vagina is opened up for sexual intercourse and childbirth. Significant controversy surrounds female genital mutilation, with the World Health Organization (WHO) and other health organizations campaigning against the procedures on behalf of human rights, stating that it is "a violation of the human rights of girls and women" and "reflects deep-rooted inequality between the sexes". Female genital mutilation has existed at one point or another in almost all human civilizations, most commonly to exert control over the sexual behavior, including masturbation, of girls and women. It is carried out in several countries, especially in Africa, and to a lesser extent in other parts of the Middle East and Southeast Asia, on girls from a few days old to mid-adolescent, often to reduce sexual desire in an effort to preserve vaginal virginity. Comfort Momoh stated it may be that female genital mutilation was "practiced in ancient Egypt as a sign of distinction among the aristocracy"; there are reports that traces of infibulation are on Egyptian mummies. Custom and tradition are the most frequently cited reasons for the practice of female genital mutilation. Some cultures believe that female genital mutilation is part of a girl's initiation into adulthood and that not performing it can disrupt social and political cohesion. In these societies, a girl is often not considered an adult unless she has undergone the procedure. Other animals The vagina is a structure of animals in which the female is internally fertilized, rather than by traumatic insemination used by some invertebrates. The shape of the vagina varies among different animals. In placental mammals and marsupials, the vagina leads from the uterus to the exterior of the female