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Essays on women circumcision
Essays on women circumcision
Should female circumcision be abolished(debate
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It's the year 423 BCE, and the orders have just been sent out -- Every female is to be circumcised. Rumor has it that the newest Pharaoh is not very well-endowed and wants the females in his land to be circumcised to enhance his sexual pleasure (qtd. in Gruenbaum 43).
Although such an account seems amusing, female circumcision and its effects are real. It is thought that female circumcision has been around for at least twenty centuries (Gruenbaum 193). Despite its age, female circumcision is only recently being discussed and debated in the United States. In fact, the matter itself had not really been looked at nationally until 1975, "when the Australian delegation at the first U.N. conference on woman in Mexico City proposed a motion condemning it" (Greer 64). Since that time, opposition to female circumcision has been included as a part of American Human Rights Policy (Mackie 999). The U.S. agency for International Development is also assisting the "African organizations working to eradicate it" (qtd. in Mackie 999). Now the world knows about female circumcision and wants to do something about it, but change will not come suddenly due to its long tradition.
Female Circumcision is the cutting or removing of female genitalia. According to msn.com, female circumcision is "the practice of circumcision of adolescent women in some cultures that generally involves the surgical removal of the clitoris or the sewing up of the vaginal opening." There are many different names for this practice. Some refer to it as "female genital mutilation," and others call it "female genital cutting." Often times, the women who practice female circumcision are extremely offended by such terms; therefore the simplest, least offensive way to refer t...
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...on: Caring for patients and child protection." BMA. 2001. 3 Nov 2003.
Greer, Germaine. "Why Genital Cutting Goes On." Newsweek International. (1999): 64.
Gruenbaum, Ellen. The Female Circumcision Controversy. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2001.
Mackie, Gerry. "Ending Footbinding and Infibulation: A Convention Account." American Sociological Review. 61 (1996): 999-1017.
Nour, Nawal. "Female Circumcision and Genital Mutilation: A Practical and Sensitive Approach." Contemporary OB/GYN. 45 (2001): 50-55.
Pulsipher, Abigail. Interview. Personal Interview. 1 Nov 2001.
Walker, Alice, Pratibha Parmar. Warrior Marks: Female Genital Mutilation and the Sexual Blinding of Woman. New York: Harcourt Brace & Company, 1993.
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...
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.
Cheng, Ah. The King of Trees. Trans. Bonnie S. McDougall. New York: New Directions, 2010. Print.
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 cutting is often termed as female genital circumcision or female genital mutilation. This includes partial or complete removal of external female genitalia for non-medical reasons (WHO). Woman who undergo this procedure generally range from the ages five to fifteen years old. This process is known to have no actual health benefits however; it is practiced la...
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
What is female circumcision? The female genital mutilation term covers three main varieties of genital mutilation (2). There is the "sunna circumcision"; this consists of removal of the prepuce and/or the tip of the clitoris. Ironically, sunna in Arabic means "tradition". This is done because it is believed that the clitoris is a very dangerous part of the female anatomy. In our culture, Freud stated in his book, Sexuality and the Psychology of Love, that the "elimination of clitoral sexuality is a necessary precondition for the development of femininity. In 1979, the "Love Surgery" was performed on women in the United Sates. Dr. James Burt, the "Love Surgeon", introduced "clitoral relocation" (sunna circumcision) to the medical field. He believed and acted upon the idea that excision does not prevent sexual pleasure, but enhances it. Dr. Burt practiced in Ohio for almost ten years before he was exposed after which he gave up his license.
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...
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.
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
Press, H. Y. (2016, May 02). 5 things to know about a gap year, when students take time off. Retrieved November 15, 2017, from
But do kids really belong in college after twelve years of schooling? “The National Association for College Admission counseling has suggested that the practice of taking a gap year is on the rise.” (collegeparents.org) A gap year, is when students take a year off college. What the student decides to do in this case, is completely up to them. This topic is debatable for me. I think that students will slack off if they get that one year off. The gap year is just like a summer vacation, only extended. Students struggle to get back into the habit of going to high school, so I believe they would do the same even if the situation was going to college. A year off may be a good thing for some, just as it probably would have been for Linda’s son. However, I do believe that taking so much time off would be a huge problem for most of
The answer is no; many gap year programs offer a college credit. The take-a-break-first concept got a “high-profile boost when Princeton University began its own "bridge year" program last fall. Twenty Princeton freshmen spent nine months this past year not in class but instead working in one of several overseas service programs” (Grose). So even colleges are on board for this gap year program. However some people think that trying to go back to college after a break will be difficult, but they did it in high school after fall or summer break. Parents also have the concern that you will finish college much later than your peers. The average time to receive a degree is about six years, so even with taking a gap year, the students will still be around the same age as their peers. Some people may also realize that a gap year is not for them, and that is okay. It is recommended to do your research before making any kind of