Essay On Male And Female Circumcision

A hot button issue in our society over the years has been the topic of male and female circumcision. This issue has been portrayed in both ethical and political paradigms. “It is estimated that about 30% of males are circumcised worldwide for religious, cultural, and health reasons, most of whom live in major parts of the Middle East, Central Asia, West Africa and Israel, as well as in the United States of America, Canada, Australia and New Zealand,” according to Demuth (1). Male circumcision is the medical process of the removal of the foreskin that covers the head of the penis. In continuation, the article “Prevalence of Female Genital Cutting among Egyptian Girls,” estimates that between “100 and 130 million girls and women now alive in at least 28 African countries and the Middle East have been subjected to female circumcision or female genital mutilation (FGM)” stated by Tag-Eldin (3). The female genital mutilation is a bit different than a male’s circumcision, generally consisting of three types. “Type 1 is the removal of the clitoris, Type 2 is the removal of the clitoris and the labia minora, and Type 3 is the removal of all parts of the external genitalia, which includes: the clitoris, the labia minora/majora, and then sewing the rest of the tissues,” according to Pauls (4). The origin of circumcision is currently unknown, but according to the article “Circumcision”, there is a theory that in Ancient Egypt, Egyptians men were circumcised and eliminated all of their body hair for probably hygienic reasons. In addition, in the “Book of the Dead” it describes the sun god, Ra, to have circumcised himself (40). This suggests that it may have also been for religious reasons.
Circumcision is a topic that may be familiar in asso...

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...rtain culture or religion believes. These beliefs may be such that removing pleasure from a female’s body is to prevent temptation, or that circumcising a male’s penis is to follow a religious belief as is the case in Judaism. In both of these practices a human part of the body is removed. The person undergoing the circumcision, unfortunately, usually has no voice on this process; it is totally up to their parents to make a decision for them and in the end it is the child who is really affected because he or she may not be “normal” according to where he or she lives. This issue has been an ethical and political target over the years due to the fact of the consequences of a female genital mutilation could bring at giving birth. Some people will argue that both a male’s and female’s circumcision are moral, while others will argue that both are wrong, even mutilating.