Why is female circumcision abhorred but male circumcision praised?

1. 77

   Oztinatoposted 10 years ago

   Why is female circumcision abhorred but male circumcision praised?
   
   I am not in favour of either.
   Clitectomy is not circumcision and does not refer to my question.

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2. 76

   jlparkposted 10 years ago

   I'm not sure why it's different. Particularly when both are usually done for cultural reasons.
   
   I think that it is abhorred on females, because it is likely to be performed non-consentually, and basically makes them into a 'baby making' machine, leaving them with no enjoyment, prone to huge infections and even death.
   
   Also - male circumcision is usually performed before the child remembers - as a baby, with pain relief etc. If it is performed as a right of passage for a male child growing into an adult - it is usually (note: USUALLY) with consent.
   
   Female circumcision is usually not consentual (they are held down by elders), done when they are older enough to remember (somewhere after the age of about 7), and USUALLY involves clitectomy. Because in the cultures that perform it - is it about reducing the sensation of the clitoris as it can become enlarged and annoying the man (see this link: http://islamqa.info/en/45528 - medical benefits of female circumcision)
   
   So when you say "Clictectomy is not circumcision" - its actually where it starts - Clitectomy is Type 1, it just gets worse from there.
   This is from WHO:
   1 - Clitoridectomy: partial or total removal of the clitoris (a small, sensitive and erectile part of the female genitals) and, in very rare cases, only the prepuce (the fold of skin surrounding the clitoris).
   2 - Excision: partial or total removal of the clitoris and the labia minora, with or without excision of the labia majora (the labia are "the lips" that surround the vagina).
   3 - Infibulation: narrowing of the vaginal opening through the creation of a covering seal. The seal is formed by cutting and repositioning the inner, or outer, labia, with or without removal of the clitoris.
   4 - Other: all other harmful procedures to the female genitalia for non-medical purposes, e.g. pricking, piercing, incising, scraping and cauterizing the genital area.
   ( http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs241/en/ )
   
   But, I don't believe in forcing someone to have either, nor stopping someone who WANTS it done - however, female is usually illegal (at least it is in NZ, we are actually helping women 'fix' their infibulation FGM)
   
   Interesting questions today Oz

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   1. 77

      Oztinatoposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      Male circumcision often results in permanent damage or worse but the UN doesnt ban it or comment on it.
      Many avid opponents of "benign" female circumcision INSIST on male circumcision with the same vigour!

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   2. 76

      jlparkposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      That I do understand, and I also understand that it is not always done in a Drs office - but can be done like Female Circ - out the back, with a sharp rock. I think it's the inability to enjoy sex that most people find abhorrent with FGM.

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   3. 77

      Oztinatoposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      I am not talking about FGM. Thats a totally different question.
      To put it another way why isnt male cicumcision seen as mutilation?

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   4. 76

      jlparkposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      I agree re: male - yes, it should be. But what exactly do you mean then with female circ? As when googled "female circ" - FGM is what comes up. It is also exactly what is described in the "medical benefits of female circ" link. FGM is female circ.

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   5. 77

      Oztinatoposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      Female circumcusion is the snipping off of excessive inner labia for so called medical reasons same as the excuse for male circumcusion.

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   6. 82

      junksellerposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      Technically female circumcision is analogous to male circumcision and is removal of the prepuce which covers the glans in the male and the clitoris in the female. Male circumcision rarely has complications. Your information is bad.

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   7. 77

      Oztinatoposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      jnksllr
      you prove my point as you are suggesting male circumcision is OK but female is not.
      I have to reiterate I am against both.

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3. 82

   junksellerposted 10 years ago

   People abhor female genital mutilation, but it sounds like that is not what you are talking about. Being that female/male circumcision are equivalent, I don't know why anyone would abhor one over the other. The particular circumstances might be abhorrent (ie. without consent, at an older age, without proper medical procedures/facilities, reasons for the removal, etc.) but physically, it is the same piece of skin being removed.

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   1. 77

      Oztinatoposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      There are Freudian explanations regarding this which are too complex to explain here.

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   2. 82

      junksellerposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      So who exactly abhors female circumcision? I honestly don't know anyone or any group who does.

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   3. 77

      Oztinatoposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      junkseller
      apparently the UN as well as most of the internet and public in the entire planet.

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   4. 82

      junksellerposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      The dislike is for female genital manipulation, which is a much more severe set of procedures than is circumcision.

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   5. 77

      Oztinatoposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      Jnkslr
      FGM aside medical circmsn is identical. Many people who are against Female Crcmcsn are all for male. eg in Africa.

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