Several societies place large burdens upon their women whether it is their looks, mothering skills, or other special cases. A special case that is widely known across the world is a practice that done in China several years ago. In China they had a custom where they broke girl’s feet, and tied them down so that their feet would remain unnaturally small. This practice led to the mutilation of thousands of girl’s feet, but if they did not get their feet broken they would not be able to get married. To my knowledge this practice no longer occurs in the twenty-first century, but another practice similar to it does. This practice is called female circumcision and is widely known in the United States as female genital mutilation (FGM). Female circumcision is a practice that is conducted in Ethiopia and Africa; it can have extremely harmful side effects which have led to it being banned in the United States. Anyone found practicing FGM in the United States could face a sentence of five years in prison. FGM is viewed as abuse in the United States even if the female wishes to be circumcised. However, despite the United States obvious views of female circumcision as immoral; some societies view female circumcision as a part of their culture which is why it still occurs today.
Female circumcision is viewed as a disgusting and barbaric act by a majority of people in first world countries. The United States has even gone as far as to get an international law made to ban female circumcision because of the harmful physical and psychological problems associated with it. In the “Female Genital Cutting Fact Sheet” created and reviewed by Caroline Banquet-Walsh, Sandra Jordan, and Francesca Moneta I discovered that female genital mutilation is an e...
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...male circumcision the same way we are educated on what can be caused by plastic surgery. If these societies are educated they will be able to make informed decisions that will benefit everyone in their society and give everyone the same rights. In addition, if the society is informed of the harmful side effects of FGM they might not decide to stop the practice but they might change the way they decide to practice it.
Works Cited
Mudege, Netsayi Noris, et al. "The Determinants of Female Circumcision Among Adolescents From Communities That Practice Female Circumcision In Two Nairobi Informal Settlements." Health Sociology Review 21.2 (2012): 242-250. Academic Search Premier. Web. 31 Mar.2014.
Bacquet-Walsh, Caroline, Sandra Jordan, and Francesca Moneti. "Female Genital Cutting Fact Sheet." womenshealth.gov. Womenshealth.gov, 15 Dec. 2009. Web. 31 Mar. 2014.
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.
In Althaus’ article, she provides in-depth information about female circumcision; a highly controversial cultural ritual that is practiced in at least 28 countries
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
When parents first discover they are having a baby, there are so many aspects to consider. Who is going to be their doctor, which hospital are they going to deliver at, what are they going to name the baby, and what color should they paint the nursery. Parents that are expecting a male newborn have to decide if they want their baby to be circumcised. For many families, this is an easy decision based on their cultural or religious beliefs. However, for others the right option is not as clear. Over the years, the topic of circumcision has been debated and views have swayed for and against the procedure. Ultimately, the parents must evaluate all the pros and cons and make the decision that aligns best with their thoughts and beliefs. The parent’s decision about the procedure will be influenced by various factors. It is vital that they are educated on the accurate information surrounding the advantages and disadvantages of the circumcision. This paper will evaluate both sides of this controversial issue.
Freedom of choice is a desire for most, but as we are young we depend on the decision of our parents. With this dependent nature of a child the freedom of choice is limited, for males this can lead to a life long consequence. Male circumcision is the surgical removal of the foreskin; the skin covering the head of the penis. Circumcision is practiced for religious purposes in Jewish and Muslim communities. Normally, the boy’s age varies from 4 to 11 years old. In the United States, this procedure is also done but without a religious purpose. The boys in this case are commonly newborn. This practice became popular after medical groups claimed that there were many health benefits that came with circumcision. Though it has been proven otherwise, it is still a common practice in the U.S. fueled by ignorance. Circumcision is an unnecessary surgery that leads to psychological problems, issues with sexual activities and lasting physical damage.
Certainly, in the United States (and much of the Western world), female circumcision is illegal; however, male circumcision is utterly legal. In fact, in 2007, the Center for Disease Control reported that almost eighty percent of men in the United States were circumcised (Morris): legally, zero percent were females. Yet, several nations, where the culture is absolutely polar from the West, have prohibited male circumcision (Evans). The predominant factor, of course. The ideologies of culture make the laws, including morals; thus, these laws represent each region’s civilization, morals, and culture. Again, doctors must conform—this time to the law, not the parent. So, any decision doctors make, regarding circumcision, is due to cultural restrictions and their own
Female genital circumcision (FGC) is a cultural ritual that is performed to the vast majority of women within the countries of Sudan, Kenya, Mali, Benin, Togo, and parts of the Middle East. Female genital circumcision also termed as female genital mutilation is used based upon a person’s beliefs. This ritual has been highly controversial for many years especially in the western society, due to the health risks that women may have to go through. Doctor Gruenbaum, and anthropologist who studied FGC in Sudan, has researched this topic and believes that outsiders need to have an open mind about diverse cultures. I believe that this procedure should not be illegal; however, education about the risks of the procedure should be enforced in the countries where this takes place, in order to create a safer environment for the ritual to be performed in. The goal of this essay is to know what Female Genital Circumcision is and different types of FGC and why this is performed and why it is important for outsiders to not have ethnocentric views when dealing with this. This essay also deals with why it should be medicalized instead of enforcing laws to ban this years long tradition in all African countries. When challenging female genital circumcision, we are also challenging the people who perform this procedure, their culture, values and beliefs.
Unlike male circumcisions which were practice for religious purposes, female circumcision is done for social convention and is practiced as a way to prepare girls for marriage, as well as conform to societal norms of femininity. Female circumcisions are often motivated by what would be considered proper female behavior and as a way to promote virginity as well as cause pain during intercourse to uphold these beliefs. Much like male circumcision these societal beliefs about sex and purity, have affected these cultures in their convictions that circumcision must be performed to be pure and free of
"Did you know that 125 million women have experienced female genital mutilation worldwide, and 3 million girls estimate at risk of the procedure each year"? (Facts to End FGM). Female genital mutilation is a procedure for females that implicates partial or total removal of the female genital organs. This procedure intentionally alters or causes injury to the female that can have short and long-term health risks with no benefits. In recent years, the practice of female genital mutilation has been increasingly in the news, generating a complex debate about cultural norms and the worth of sexual functioning (Nussbaum 13). Female genital mutilation is known in terms such as female circumcision and female genital cutting. Female circumcision is the action or traditional practices of cutting off the clitoris and sometimes the labia of girls or young women. FGM contemplates as a dull violation of human rights for women and girls. There are four types of FGM operations. The first type is excision or removal of the clitoral hood, that is either with or without removal of parts or all of the clitoris. The second type is the removal of the clitoris together with parts or all the labia minora. The third type is the removal of or all the external genitalia. The fourth type is a variety of procedures that includes, scraping or cutting of the vagina and surrounding tissues. "The World Health Organization estimates that overall, in today's world between 85 and 115 million women have had such operations" (Nussbaum 13).
Woman who live in the United States are not typically circumcised, however some woman live out if the social normality in the United States and have for reasons such as religion been circumcised. Woman all over the United States are affected by the practice of female circumcision even though it is illegal; being circumcised is illegal because there are no medical benefits as a woman. In many cases children of immigrant parents will come to the United States circumcised, this can be difficult for children developing in an environment in which female circumcision is not practiced or widely accepted. The effects of female circumcision and it’s physical, psychological and social effects on women who live in the United States can be impactful to
Female genital mutilation (also known as female circumcision) is the cutting of female clitoral hood and removing clitoris. Following the cutting of female genital organ, there are many short-term and long-term health risk problems, and even death due to some complicated infections. The reasons for performing female genital mutilation are connected with socio-cultural beliefs, attitudes, values and customs, transition of girls into womanhood, tradition and cultural heritage, the fear of not having access to resources and opportunities as a young woman, perception to reduce sexual desire of females; hence, will sustain premarital virginity, and maintain marital fidelity. Actions have taken at international, national and regional levels since the past many years and have begun to bear fruits, but the practice is still undergoing in many countries in the world and highly prevalent in Africa. To continue and motivate further reduction in changing the society’s attitudes towards female genital mutilation in the countries where the prevalence has remained stable so it’s therefor...
Many of us never heard of Female Genital Mutilation until the story of Kauziya Kasinga, a woman from West Africa. Her father did not believe in polygamy, forced marriage, or "female circumcision". He died when she was 17 and the father's sister inherited the home, banished the mother, ended Fauziya's schooling, and arranged a marriage as a fourth wife to a man she had never met. The aunt scheduled her for the circumcision and she ran with 3,000 dollars that one of her aunts had saved.
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...
Many question whether female circumcision (FGM, genital cutting, etc.) is a form of abuse, is it a humane and morally acceptable practice and how can we fix this horrendous practice? These assumptive thoughts are typically made through the eyes of outsiders, female circumcision is many things and must be looked at through such a lens. Despite, all of this female circumcision is still framed very commonly between these three views, female circumcision is abuse, is a result of patriarchal societies, and is a cultural and religious practice.