Women Punished For Genital Mutilation

[Book O'Dead]

Can it get any more perverse than that? Women who mutilate others are imprisoned.

What do you think?

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/07/20/9-ivorian-women-sentenced-over-genital-mutilation_n_1690481.html

[Yuppie Grinder]

Despite the illegitimacy of their government, it's for the best that deeply anti-social, barbaric activities like this are suppressed.

[Zostrianos]

Something as profoundly evil as genital mutilation should be cracked down on hard.

[individualist]

Fully justified, circumcision is a violation.

[Zostrianos]

I'm not familiar with the origins of it, but in practice it's an attempt to render a woman unable to experience sexual pleasure. What surprises me is that women themselves commit this abomination on other women.

[Book O'Dead]

I'm not familiar with the origins of it, but in practice it's an attempt to render a woman unable to experience sexual pleasure. What surprises me is that women themselves commit this abomination on other women.

As far as you know, is that one of the results of ritual male circumcision? If not, why?

[Lynx]

Perhaps the women are forced to carry on this tradition. If so, the real culprits are not being punished.

[Yuppie Grinder]

I'm not familiar with the origins of it, but in practice it's an attempt to render a woman unable to experience sexual pleasure. What surprises me is that women themselves commit this abomination on other women.

While male circumcision is not anywhere near brutal as female circumcision (clitoris mutilation), it's often performed by men onto male infants. I don't know why the fact that women are performing it is surprising.

[Yuppie Grinder]

Perhaps the women are forced to carry on this tradition. If so, the real culprits are not being punished.

They're probably not forced. What's more likely is that they're socialized into thinking clitoris mutilation is natural, healthy, and ordinary.

[homegrown terror]

i've said it before and i'll say it again "tradition for the sake of tradition" is at best pointless and pedantic, and at worst it's a disgusting evil. this shit ranks pretty high up there in the "worst" category.

you know it's a good thing happening when even an anarchist will cheer for someone being imprisoned by the state.

[Zostrianos]

As far as you know, is that one of the results of ritual male circumcision? If not, why?

No, because in male circumcision only the foreskin is removed. In women it's the clitoris, which seems to indicate that it is meant to curtail female sexuality.

[Yuppie Grinder]

No, because in male circumcision only the foreskin is removed. In women it's the clitoris, which seems to indicate that it is meant to curtail female sexuality.

Male circumcision is meant to curtail sexuality, discourage masturbation, all the same stuff. Do you not know that male circumcision destroys much of the sensory in the penis?

[Os Cangaceiros]

it seems like there's been a lot of discussion about circumcision on this site lately...

[Hiero]

Male circumcision is meant to curtail sexuality, discourage masturbation, all the same stuff. Do you not know that male circumcision destroys much of the sensory in the penis?

Removing the clitoris would be equivalent to removing the head of the penis. So male circumsions destroys some of the sensory in the penis, removing the clitoris...well removes the clitoris.

[Jimmie Higgins]

Male circumcision is meant to curtail sexuality, discourage masturbation, all the same stuff. Do you not know that male circumcision destroys much of the sensory in the penis?

That's inconclusive because other studies say that there's no real loss. At any rate, even if there is, I would need to see some evidence that it was used to control sexual behaviors because every historical example I've ever read about from Egypt to today seemed to focus more on health reasons whereas female genital mutilation has almost always, to my knowledge, been about sexual control.

As for the original article: why wouldn't women be the ones doing this? Even oppressive customs rely on people internalizing the custom as normal, natural, or even beneficial.

[Yuppie Grinder]

Removing the clitoris would be equivalent to removing the head of the penis. So male circumsions destroys some of the sensory in the penis, removing the clitoris...well removes the clitoris.

I'm not saying that male circumcision is as brutal as female circumcision. That's not the point I'm trying to make. I'm saying that male circumcision is often done to curtail sexuality.
Also, not that it matters, but the removal of the clitoris is not the only form of female circumcision, although it is the most common. Sometimes they just remove the clitoral hood, other times they remove the entire clitoris plus the labia.

[Luís Henrique]

Fully justified, circumcision is a violation.

Genital mutilation is not circumcision, only defenders of such abhorrent practice call it "circumcision" in order to legitimate it.

Luís Henrique

[Luís Henrique]

it seems like there's been a lot of discussion about circumcision on this site lately...

We could ask Dr. Sigmund what he thinks about that. That is, if only he was not dead.

Luís Henrique

[¿Que?]

To elaborate on Amadeo's point, FGM has been used to curtail sexuality as has MGM, albeit probably at different times in history.

In the late 1800's Dr. John Harvey Kellog suggested MGM in order to curtail masturbation.

Further, those who would argue that in spite of this, that at least men can enjoy sexual pleasure in spite of MGM as opposed to women who underwent FGM, particularly clitoridectomies, should consider that studies have been conducted which suggest that women are still capable of enjoying sex and having orgasms in spite of having has their clitoris removed.

Just thought I should clarify that point.