Female Circumcision Analysis

For class today, we read two brief articles on genital mutilation. In class, we also watched V-Day: Until the Violence Stops. Female genital mutilation is the removal of some or all of the external female genitalia. It is performed with a blade with or without anesthesia. I have been aware of the idea of male circumcision before, but I had honestly never thought about female circumcision before the reading. It shocked me to learn that certain cultures did not want women to have sexual desires. As a teenager growing up I did not know enough about my own body, I could only imagine what it was like to not understand your own body and not understand why your community would want you to have a FGM procedure done. Leyla Hussein explained that she

Gibeau, Anne M. 1998. "Female Genital Mutilation: When a Cultural Practice Generates Clinical and Ethical Dilemmas." Journal of Obstetric, Gynecologic & Neonatal Nursing 27 (1): 85-91.

Female genital mutilation, also known as female circumcision, is a practice that involves the removal of part or all of the female external genitalia. It occurs throughout the world, but most commonly in Africa where they say that it is a tradition and social custom to keep a young girl pure and a married woman faithful. But to some Westerners, the practice is viewed as being primitive and barbaric. We react with disgust and find it nearly incomprehensible that female genital mutilation can occur in the world today

Female circumcision has been a cultural tradition practiced in different parts of the world for many years in order to secure virginity until marriage. In Africa female genital mutilation tradition is a part of the Muslim culture and parts of the Middle East, for the women to be desirable by her husband. (JPEG) Consequently, girls the ages of 4 through 14 are to endure the severe pains of female circumcision in order to not betray their culture and family beliefs. (Ali, 2016) In the US, the estimated number of females between 15 and 49, who are either at risk of genital mutilation or who have already undergone a procedure, has reached more than 500,000, triple the amount reported in the 1990 national census. (Female genital mutilation in the US tripled in 25 years, 2015) This controversial practice performed on females lead advocates to believe that this is a form of female genital mutilation that must come to an end. (Ali, 2016)

Before today, I had not put a lot of thought into the issue of male circumcision; I did already know that male circumcision was important to some religions because I myself was religious and have seen it mentioned in the Bible. However, I assumed that most male infants in the United States were circumcised for one reason or another; I also did not know males would get circumcised after infancy too, like in the video. Today, through reading the article about the position of the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and the Centers for Disease Control's (CDC) fact sheet, I would agree that male circumcision is beneficial for infant males.

How do you end a tradition that a culture has had around for centuries? Every culture has a different and original tradition. What happens though when the tradition is a horrible and painful one? Female Circumcision is a procedure that is a tradition to many cultures. The purpose of this procedure is to make women stay faithful to their husbands and not become promiscuous, as they get older. This procedure is not safe and has many side effects. Female Circumcision is a shocking procedure that cause women pain and suffering for the rest of their lives.

The first news publication that we will be analyzing is an article titled “Anatomy of Female Genital Mutilation” written by Michelle Roberts (2014) of BBC News. This article begins to inform the readers about what female genital mutilation is exactly. According to Roberts (2014) female genital mutilation is defined as, “any procedure that harms the female genital organs for non-medical purposes”. The article continues to inform its readers that among the stages of female genital mutilation, the most severe one includes when a woman’s clitoris is removed, then her genitals are stitched together so that the female does not have or enjoy sex. As girls, grow up to bear children, during labor and delivery, she is again unstitched

The term “mutilation” meaning “to cut up or alter radically so as to make imperfect” (Meriam Webster) suggests that the act is purposefully ruining the female intimate body parts in an attempt to make it unfunctional. Many human rights arguments are made against the process, which ignore the cultural background by viewing it from the outside. Western feminists outline the practice in a way which suggests uncivilized actions (Korieh, 2005).Medically, female circumcision poses many long term problems. In regards to infibulation, such as that performed in Somalia and Sudan, the clitoris and labia minora is removed and the labia majora being stitched closed. A reed is often needed to create an opening for mistral blood and urine to flow. Upon healing, the scar tissue complicates intercourse and childbirth. During childbirth, the scar is often recut to allow passage of the fetus. To make matters worse, these excisions are often performed without anesthetics and are

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), female genital mutilation consist of a non-medical procedures involving partial or total removal of the external female genitalia or other injury to the female genital organs (Lauren V, 2011).Typically girls from two weeks old, through fourteen years old, are affected by this procedure. The mutilations are conducted under non-sterile conditions; by using razors, knifes, scissors etc.; and without any anesthesia.

Female Genital Mutilation is a practice in which external portions of female genitalia are removed for non-medical, cultural reasons. In many countries and cultures, young girls are forced to go through this procedure before getting married, based on the belief that the practice will keep them pure and virgins. This practice, set in place by a patriarchal hegemonic system, controls and decides the lives of any girls in a lot of places. Often times, these lives are ended because the practice is non-medical, not safe, and definitely not even done the right way.

On the two stories from the reading 25 and 26, we can find two sides connections, as I find a different situation between male circumcision and female genital cutting. These two topics show a different relation just on the fact that male circumcision is a procedure for a safety matter in or a protection against STDs and HIV, but referring to (Darby, 273) I quote this line “Laumann found that circumcised men had more STDs, and the United States reports an HIV incidence six-time grater than Japan”. This line clarifies that that circumcision is not a safe practice to avoid any STDs but this actions that families make to their kids at a younger age is just for the matter of safety knowing that is not going to protect them from any type of sexually

Part A: Explain, from the perspective of a girl in a culture who participates in this ritual, one reason why they would agree to participate in female circumcision. So in essence, I want you to be culturally relativistic and use what you have learned this week to explain why young women still do this. Use what you’ve learned in the lecture, film, or readings.

Female Genital Cutting to be mutilation need to be consider because it's a big major concern to me. female circumcision and children can be die cause of infection or permanent health problems as well as severe pain and bleeding, can affect all part of the genitals, difficult

The cultural practice of female circumcision could endanger their daughter’s future quality of life. The parents knew that it was against the law in Britain, they choose to leave the country and have the procedure done.

In certain societies and culture, Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) is a rite of passage and the young girls are aware of the procedure (Nawal, 2008, pp. 135-139). Furthermore, the societies and cultures who partake in this procedure as a rite of passage, religious reasons, so the girls will not be promiscuous before they get married, so the men’s penis does not fall off, and men in certain societies would prefer their wife to be circumcised (Mascia-Lees 2010, pp. 159). Even though certain societies and cultures have their reasoning for performing Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), FGM can cause medical, psychological, and pyscho-sexual consequences (Reyners, 2004, pp. 242-251). According to Reyners (2004) most of the girls and women who had Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) type three conducted, they tend to experience heavily affected reproductive and urological functioning. Furthermore, according to Reyners (2004) also recommended if any woman is pregnant and has had any form of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) done, they should be monitored for their safety as well as the infants.