Comments on: Comparing Circumcisions

By: Elaine Vigneault

Elaine Vigneault — Wed, 04 Jul 2007 05:51:47 +0000

For what it’s worth, my thoughts on FGM and male circumcision belong in the same class of opinions that my thoughts on “corrective surgeries” for intersex babies and breast implants for teen girls: unnecessary, potentially harmful surgeries done in order to satisfy gender social norms make me want to puke,

By: Elaine Vigneault

Elaine Vigneault — Wed, 04 Jul 2007 05:40:36 +0000

Zuzu,

I’m not saying the the haters wouldn’t have crashed the party. I’m saying the discussion would have differed. Take responsibility for publishing anti-feminist thought when it’s on your own fucking blog.

Bloggers direct the discussions in their comments sections. You can choose to publish the crap or you can refrain from publishing it. It’s your choice.

By: Elaine Vigneault

Elaine Vigneault — Wed, 04 Jul 2007 05:37:46 +0000

Soph,
I meant that Amanda is deliberately controversial. She sparks the discussion.

If you have strong opinions on a particular subject matter and someone tells you not to discuss it, doesn’t that sort of make you want to?

So when Amanda says “don’t talk about male circumcision” I want to talk about it. And that doesn’t mean I think FGM and circumcision are the same thing or that we shouldn’t be trying to stop FGM. It just means I think male circumcision is fucked up and those of you who keep acting like it’s not a fucked up social norm that ought to be ended are deluding yourselves.

By: respect

respect — Tue, 03 Jul 2007 01:06:10 +0000

There is a semantical problem with comparing FGM to male circumcision: Male circumcision refers to a fairly narrow class of surgeries, while FGM refers to such a wide spectrum that one end of the spectrum is vastly different from the other end.

At one end of the FGM spectrum is the horror we are most familiar with, vaginas sewn mostly shut, clitori cut down or removed, unsanitary conditions, etc.

At the other end of the FGM spectrum is the Harborview procedure:

“It would be a small cut to the prepuce, the hood above the
clitoris, with no tissue excised, and this would be conducted
under local anesthetic for children old enough to understand the procedure and give consent in combination with informed consent of the parents,” said Harborview spokeswoman Tina Mankowski.

Separate from the problem with semantics is the cultural bias which leads people to view performing what genuinely is analogous surgery as alternatively a horror or acceptable based merely on genital configuration.

No matter what a persons genitals look like, they belong to that person alone, and nobody should cut them in the absence of a genuine medical indication.

By: Rhus

Rhus — Mon, 02 Jul 2007 22:46:26 +0000

Mandolin, I’ll answer you here, following Jill's indication.

By: Mandolin

Mandolin — Mon, 02 Jul 2007 20:50:58 +0000

” I had assumed we all agree that the ban is a good thing, but do we really?”

No, not really. I’ve read some material suggesting the previous all-but-ban in Egypt was damaging to women’s health. I don’t know why this one wouldn’t be, too.

By: Rhus

Rhus — Mon, 02 Jul 2007 15:37:48 +0000

Thanks, Jill! I'll follow your advice myself. I leave here an article which compares both procedures and calls them both circumcision. I've only had a look, but it seems to do a thorough analysis of the religious question. Here's another comparison by the same author. I'm not saying I agree with what he writes, but it's worth a reading. And now I'll go to the previous thread.

By: Feministe » Recapin’ Your Ass

Feministe » Recapin’ Your Ass — Mon, 02 Jul 2007 14:45:29 +0000

[...] e for the weird kids? Jill: Resegregation is the new black Jill: Friday Random Ten Jill: Comparing Circumcisions Saturday June 30th One Brown Woman: Six ques [...]

By: Jill

Jill — Mon, 02 Jul 2007 14:12:31 +0000

(I’ll take the chance: I respectfully beg Jill to open a new thread about male circumcision, maybe even male circumcision restricted to the United States! I promise I’ll participate and express my opposition to the practice! Please let nobody else answer to this. I’ve had enough.)

Done.

By: bluefish A

bluefish A — Mon, 02 Jul 2007 13:34:47 +0000

we women should know by now that it is always, forever and amen, all about men.
talk about abortion-men chime in on how someone else’s pregnancy affects them.
talk about domnestic violence- men chime in on how their girlfriends yelled at them this one time.
talk about FGM- men chime in on how they feel about their circumcisions.
talk about rape- men insist that the victim should have been doing something differently.
but for some reason women are the ones who bear the brunt of the whole selfish/narcissistic stereotyping. i really don’t get it.