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Female genital mutilation
Female genital mutilation
Female genital mutilation
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Literature Review
The act of deviance is any behavior that essentially violates a societal norm and permits great condemnation from a large number of the society (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt). According to Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, deviance is multifaceted due to the variation of norms amongst a society. For the most part, what one group may deem customary, another may ruminate deviant. In light of a more specific topic under the complexity of deviance, the act of female genital mutilation allows for a very informative cultural norm of a few societies that may create opposing views for societies who prohibit such asks.
Female genital mutilation, which is also known as cutting, includes an umbrella of procedures involving fractional or total
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al). The World Health Organization has approximated about 140 million females are victims of such practices and estimates that each year, about 3 million girls are “subjected to, or at risk of being subjected to, this harmful traditional practice” (Kaplan et. al). As stated in a CNN news article some girls undergo (FGM) during infancy, while others in their teens (Smith-Spark). Smith-Spark also notes that the extent of harm imposed by FGM varies amongst …show more content…
What a society deems a normal natural way of life, other cultures may view it as a violation of ones natural born rights. Some societies’ view the female anatomy differently than others. In retrospect, the role of deviance as it relates to female genital mutilation is one that includes the ideology of several African countries and hundreds of years of a practice from which their society believe that females will be better protected and better suited for marriage. In the American society, quite the contrary is focused on. The necessity for a bride to be sealed and purified is not held to such standards as FGM societies. A bride can essentially become remarried as many times even though she is not a virgin. There is certainly a variation in the American society of what a bride should be and how purified she should be, but the underlining difference is that FGM is not tolerated in thee American society. FGM is certainly seen as
I argue that female genital mutilation (FGM) should not be covered under the universal code of ethics when dealing with cultural tolerance, parents should not be able to make harmful decisions for their children, and doctors are under no obligation to perform such rituals to conform to the beliefs and traditions of their patients such as in cases of
In the Maasai society, genital cutting is a rite of passage from childhood to adulthood, and both men and women go through the process of circumcision. As society ages, opinions on cultural norms change. This is true for the Maasai society, where the views on female circumcision have and are changing. Female circumcision is classified into three categories, and defined by the World Health Organization, Type I is the removal of the foreskin on the vagina, Type II is the removal of the clitoris, and Type III is the removal of all external genitalia with the stitching or narrowing of the vaginal opening (“New Study”). Traditionally in the Maasai society, women underwent Type II or Type III circumcision. Written in 1988, “The Initiation of a Maasai Warrior,” by Tepilit Ole Saitoi, and is an autobiographical story of Saitoti’s circumcision in his initiation to a warrior. Though his story mainly focuses on the male circumcision part of the Maasai society, women’s circumcision and other basic traditions are discussed. Throughout the short story, the topic of circumcision and the rite of passage, both long- standing traditions in the Maasai society, are central themes.
It examines questions about cultural practices and why some/all people accept them and whom that might be benefitting or harming (ibid). In other words, it examines the behaviors, consequences, social factors, and above all the power structures in play. In Althaus’ article, she postulates that one reason that female circumcision is used is to increase the sexual pleasure of men (Althaus, 131). Here we can see the strong presence of a patriarchal society. Recall the purpose here is not to actually criticize this practice but rather seek the underlying interests or motivations of implementing it. The strong presence of a patriarchy indicates that women in a way are indeed used as means to serve the interests of men both sexually and also by providing a child. This brings about the winners (men) and the oppressed
Female genital mutilation is mostly practiced in Islamic and African cultures, claiming young girls as t...
Many feminists in the Western Culture have this ethnocentric idea that female circumcision is “female mutilation” portraying it as a “barbaric tradition” and “violence against women” (“Yes to Female Circumcision?”). According to Fuambai Ahmadu, a Sierra Leonean-American anthropologist, female circumcision is an initiation that symbolizes matriarchal power. The practice is “synonymous with women’s power, their political, economic, reproductive, and ritual spheres of influence” (Ahmadu, pg. 14). By having no regards to the cultures and traditions of these small-scale societies, we are invalidating their beliefs and presenting ethnocentric
Female genital mutilation (FGM) is an ancient traditional non-therapeutic surgical procedure that involves total or partial removal of the external parts of female genitalia. This paper aimed to define and classify FGM, identifies the prevalence, describes reasons for performing the practice, and concentrates on the problems associated to this practice with regard to women’s health, religious beliefs, and socio-cultural, behavioral and moral consequences. Researches and survey reports that the global actions have been taken to reduce or abolish the prevalence of the practice will be assessed.
Deviance is defined as actions or behaviors that violate socials norms. In turn the concept of deviance is dependent on the social observation and perception. “By it’s very nature, the constructionism through which people define and interpret actions or appearances is always “social.” ”(Henry, 2009 , p. 6) One’s perception of a situation may be completely different from another depending on cultural and social factors. The way someone talks, walks, dresses, and holds themselves are all factors that attribute to how someone perceives another. In some cases what is socially or normally acceptable to one person is deviant in another’s eyes. For this reason there is a lot of gray area involving the topic of deviance because actions and behaviors are so diversely interpreted.
Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) has had different definitions in the ‘Scientific World’ and the world of those who embrace the act. According to the definition of the World Health Organization (WHO), Female Genital Mutilation is the act of removing the external parts of the female genitalia, partially or totally for non-medical reasons (WHO) whereas the practitioners see it as the cutting of “extra skin tags” of the female’s reproductive organ. Various reasons have been put forward to support it, ranging from social, cultural and religious reasons, mainly in the so called Islamic communities. FGM is a violation of the rights of the girl child, causes health implications and drastically disempowers the sexuality of women.
When an individual breaks the societal rules of conduct, they are said to be involved in deviant behaviors. However, due to the dynamism of the societies, what may be regarded as a deviant act in one society could be regarded as normal within another society. This brings out the issue that deviance may be viewed as relative to both time and location with regard to the differences in societies. Out of this understanding, deviance is viewed as the violation of social norms out of any acts, thoughts, or attitudes that the particular society regards as violation of its values or rules (Long Russ). A deviant conduct is against the definitions of the good and bad conduct as agreed upon by members of a social system. Such behaviors are in a negated direction and bear enough magnitude to surpass the acceptance and accommodation limit of the particular community.
Known as a practice that began to gain momentum over two thousand years ago, female genital mutilation is a controversial procedure that is regarded by some as a right of passage and an essentiality to one’s culture; however, others have designated female genital mutilation as a practice that violates one’s basic human rights, has no medical benefits, and causes reproductive complications that can be detrimental the livelihood of the mother and child (“Female Genital Mutilation”). In many cultures, Female Genital Mutilation serves as a way to ensure that a woman’s virginity is kept until she is married (“Historical and Cultural”). In modern times, female genital mutilation has emerged as a conflict of morality. In this paper I will be presenting
The fourth edition of Constructions of Deviance is a compilation of peer edited articles from multiple authors, addressing social-psychological concepts surrounding deviance. The book is di-vided into ten sections, each section of articles discuss a selected issue related to deviance. It starts with how to define it, established social theories, studying deviance, stigma association, individual verses organizational deviance, and the differences between a deviant act and deviant personality. Deviance is anything that violates a society’s established norms at a given time, both informal and codified. Penalties for violations of such norms range from being considered odd or strange to social condemnation, and even fines or prison.
Deviance, in sociology, is the behaviors that contradict society’s norms, such as laws or widespread mannerisms and traditions in cultures. Every society develops their own system and expectations as to which the members of the society pursue or are expected to pursue. Deviance can be described as a rebellion to such norms. There is a large spectrum of deviance that members of a society can fall under; examples of such are petty crimes and misdemeanors to extreme acts of deviance approximating homicides and acts of violence to people. Although deviance can be dependent on place and time since not every culture shares the same norms, there are 5 universally acknowledged types
Deviance is a socially constructed idea that takes many shapes and forms throughout human history. It can be defined in many different ways, can be applied to many different settings and numerous types of bodies. Throughout the course, the social construct of deviance presents itself in multiple readings. For instance, in the article written by Jennifer Morgan, deviance is socially constructed by European males and applied onto African female bodies.
In Searching for “Voices”: Feminism, Anthropology, and the Global Debates over Female Genital Operations, Walley discusses the social issues concerning female genital operations as perceived by “westerners”, as well as discusses her ethnographic account of female circumcision. Her main purpose of doing this was to lay the groundwork for “a more productive feminist and anthropological debate” capable of going beyond the binary terms in which female circumcisions are usually discussed. Since female circumcisions are known by a variety of names, such as female genital mutilation and female genital torture, and with her understanding of the negative connotation often associated with those varieties of names, Walley makes the decision to adopt the term female genital operations instead. In 1988, Walley went in the village of KiKhome, in western Kenya as an English teacher and immersed herself in the lives of the people living around the village to better understand the practice of female genital operations as an outsider. One day, some of her students invited her to assist at a female genital operation ceremony. She found out that the participants see circumcision as a rite of passage into adulthood. However, she truly wanted to know the participants’ personal views on the topic rather than the imposed views of their parents and their culture. The four women she interviewed told her that “their custom was good,” and it was something that a person needs to accept with her whole being not to feel the pain. Nevertheless, some of the women told her that they would not want their daughters to undergo circumcision, and that they themselves regretted having done the procedure. Walley finally gave up “searching for real voices,” because what t...
The leaders of many communities are educated so they can spread the word and make changes to existing laws that favor FGM. Of course they face many challenges and struggles to terminate a cultural and a religious ritualistic practice that has existed for decades. Above, we have examined and analyzed many different media sources by comparing and contrasting. These sources present accurate and reliable information for the reader on female genital mutilation. The practice of female genital mutilation, unlike conditions such as Diabetes type 2 or Cancer, depends on the society in which it occurs.