Female Genital Mutilation

I know a great deal more about it than I wish I did, Carrie.

What do I think about it? I think it is a horrific and absolutely barbaric practice which is sadly promulgated by some of the women themselves, as well as by the men, of course, in the cultures which it afflicts - because women want to see daughters well-married and because, I guess, it becomes seen as desirable as things like bound feet and corsets so tightly laced that they deform the body.

I guess human stupidityand cruelty is endless, sadly.

my mother lives in a state where genital mutilation is still practicated.
some of her collegues work with children who went trough this horrible thing.
I respect other's counties culture but still I think this is a kind of ignorance that should be erased.

tceskina,
I agree. I was shocked when I found out this still goes on; a barbaric infringement of human rights it definately is, however you look at it. Which country are we referring to? I would be interested to know where this happens.

I can see where you are coming from dlowan, I have never thought of it as in step with corsets and bound feet. I suppose it is really, the children's feet are bound when young, and too deformed by adulthood to be full size and functional. Do you think it is still a societal requirement which needs to be lost? How could this be done...will it 'go out of fashion?'

Its just so horrible

Carrie

carrie and tsceskina- Welcome to A2K! I get a little sickened when I think of what some cultures do to girls. I found a good link with lots of information, and many resources on the subject:

http://www.fgmnetwork.org/

By the way tsceskina- Where does your mother live? Is the mutilitation an accepted practive there, or is it done covertly?

Thanks for the link and the welcome phoenix..I am really enjoying this site already.

I'll have a look at the site...I had a really good book once, called 'Power and Sex', don't know who by, but that has loads of really good stuff in, not just about fgm..you should take a look if you're interested..

Carrie

The poll seems t be proving me wrong...more people are aware of it than I first thought!

carrie- I had known about female genital mutiliation in a vague sort of way. I think that I had once seen a documentary on TV (probably on Public TV) about it.

The funny thing, what really brought it home to me was an episode of "Law & Order" that dealt with just that subject. So with all the nonsense on television, there is some valuable stuff!

Indeed there is...sifting through the crap can reveal some real gems of information...

I saw on TV that in some civilisations they perform rites of passage too, like sharpening the young boys teeth into points when they are 13, and piercing the girls noses with wood. Its so hard to look at things in a detached way as to these people these are perfectly respected and natural things to do.

There is such a human rights difference across the continents... to what extent is the West right?

Carrie

I think that we CANNOT look at FGM in a disinterested way, and figure that it is simply another cultural practice. It is a way that patriarchial societies keep women down, and subservient. It is a way of objectifying women, having men use women for their own pleasure, with no concern for the needs and desires of the women themselves. I think that the practice is an abomination!

You know what bothers me is that these whiny man-children who feel 'incomplete' without their foreskins because some quack therapist convinced them they were not 'whole men' seem to get more press than the truly barbaric act of FGM. Male circumcision is in no way the same thing as female, and this mutilation should get more attention. Out of sight, out of mind is not the right solution here.

cavfancier- The answer is really very simple. Even in this day and age, in a supposedly sophisticated society, the problems of women are never taken as seriously as those of men.

I will have more to say about this, but I have to run now! (Betcha didn't know that you opened a can of worms with me! )

Glad I did, cuz I suspect I will agree with you!

I by no means meant disinterested, just detached in the sense of studying their individual cultures and psyches of these cultures and sub-cultures, and individuals...rather than judging them on primarily western psychological models...education is necessary.

I agree it is definately an abomination, a patriarchal instilled vile practice, a disrespectful, dangerous and spirit crushing display of cruelty...

I am 100% with you that it should not be viewed as just another cultural tradition...no way!!

carrie

It needs to be gone and respect for these women needs to be instilled...thats the only way it will stop!

Ignorance is among a number of reasons for the practice including superstition, hygiene (it helps women in nomadic cultures who rarely get a chance to bathe), proving a woman's virginity when she's married, reducing promiscuity & sexual drive (helps some Muslim men keep up with the demands of more than one wife, though FGM is of course not practiced only by Muslims), cultural identity, a sort of rite of passage that gives you a sense of belonging to your tribe, supposedly more beautiful appearance, and so on. It's generally seen as a way of ensuring that a woman is clean, chaste & ready for marriage. Uncut women are associated with promiscuity & lack of social respectability. Deadening the woman's sexual pleasure is a way of guaranteeing her virginity and fidelity.


It's done in over 25 countries in Africa. It occasionally happens in Western countries as well, with families who refuse to give up their culture or what have you. In Djibouti where I lived not too long ago about 98% of women are still excised, though it's been illegal there since 1995 (the US outlawed it in '96). Djibouti also has one of the highest percentage of infibulations, which is the most disgustingly extreme form it. The method it's done in is really scary too. The midwife who performs it will generally use just about any sharp, dirty instrument available such as razor blades, scissors, pieces of glass or even burning, and infections & HIV are a common result. The long-term physical, sexual, and psychological damage resulting from it all is incredibly sad.

Through a link on the page Phoenix listed I found the following:

That Freud just didn't get women, did he?

I voted a bit ago (that I know about it in detail).

Freud also thought cocaine might be a good psychoanalytical tool...think he was the tool in the end.

Just because something is part of a cultural practice does not make it right or appropriate. In India for instance, a widow would commit "suttee" which entailed immolating herself on her husband's funeral pyre.

When I checked the spelling of the word, this is what I got:





Are we starting to see a pattern in these barbaric practices? I don't ever remember hearing about widowers throwing themselves on their wives' funeral pyre!