Horrifying, isn’t it? This procedure is female circumcision, or Female Genital Mutilation (FGM). There are four types. Type 1 is the removal of the clitoris and surrounding tissue. Type 2 is excision of the inner labia and clitoral tissue. Type 3 is the most prevalent in Somalia and the most extreme. Not only is the labia and clitoral tissue cut and removed, the outer lips are sewn shut with only a small hole left for urine and menstrual fluid. Type 4 is everything else; branding, piercing, cutting, stretching, vaginal cutting, etc. Though, most of the world is making great strides to prevent it from happening, it is estimated that over 125 million women between 18 and 49 still had this done to them. In Africa and Asia it is still very prevalent. In Somalia, over 97.8% of women between 15 and 49 have had their genitals cut and sewn.…
Female genital mutilation is the term used for operations or removal of all or just part of the external parts of female genitilia.This practice has for a long time come under increasingly intense international scrutiny from the news media, feminist and human rights organizations. The main reasons for continuation of FGM are firstly, as a rite of passage from girlhood to womanhood; a circumcised woman is considered mature, obedient and aware of her role in the family and society.Secondly, FGM is perpetuated as a means of reducing sexual desire of girls and women, thereby curbing sexual activity before and ensuring fidelity within marriage.…
Sir Gawain took the Green Knight’s challenge as this part of the chivalry code of honor of all knights. He asked to take the challenge himself as King Arthur was being mocked by the Green Knight. Gawain does his moral duty by standing up for his uncle King Arthur and showing him his loyalty by saying that his life would be less missed. Gawain took the challenge to uphold his ideals of how a real knight should act. At that moment, Gawain didn’t realize that by accepting the Green Knight's challenge he has been tested for his knightly honor and that his chivalric code would be further tested in along his journey to meet with the green knight, though , in the end of his journey he realized that he could not always live up to such high ideals since he was human…
It has been estimated that approximately 125 million females have undergone female genital cutting. The purpose of this procedure is to ensure that young girls will not grow up and have the desire and enjoyment of sex. The term used in the text is to “purify” the women. This procedure is usually done at a very young age. In many religions, genital cutting is the step towards a girl becoming a woman.…
Lack of understanding of female circumcision (in a social context) has led to it’s becoming a subject of much controversy and debate in political, academic and religious fields, mainly by Westerners and Europeans.…
In order to take a stance on circumcision, one must know some things about circumcisions. A circumcision is a procedure done to male patients. The doctor conducting the procedure first numbs the penis. Then the doctor grabs the prepuce (foreskin) and tears the synechia apart. The prepuce is held and a vertical slit is cut into the bottoms side of it. A device is laid over the prepuce, and the excess skin is cut off using a scalpel or surgical scissors. This procedure removes about one third of the penile skin, takes ten or so minutes to complete, and is often not felt, with the exception of the initial numbing, by the baby boy. Circumcisions are helpful in improving the quality of hygiene, prevention of some diseases, and his sexual partner’s health.…
There were three categories that physicians would place their patients in. One was those who were treatable, contestable and not treatable. Contestable patients who survived their illnesses were attempted on to doing surgical procedures. There were many tools like drills, scales, spoons, knives and hooks. In another article, The Old Egyptian Medical Papyri, it states, “This needle is mounted on a handle containing a spool of thread, so that the needle can be used repeatedly without rethreading or leaving the operator’s hands” (Singer 1952, 1201). In some cases, circumcision was done on males. Anthropologists do not know yet, if female circumcision was practiced back then. Since the Egyptians mummified their dead, they still did not have that much knowledge of the internal organs. They had some knowledge about how some of the organs themselves worked. For example, they knew that the body had a pulse and that the blood ran through the body with each pulse. Yet, mummifiers were low ranking members in the Egyptian community while physicians were highly ranked. They did not work with each other or worked in the same circle as mummifiers. Therefore, their knowledge did not mix with each other’s…
The author claims that circumcision serves as an economic aspect in our society. Through survey’s, the author found that circumcision…
In the United States, this practice is seen as abhorrent and is strongly fought against in feminist movements. However, in African populations, females choose to have this operation and are proud of this change. It is a sign of womanhood and respect of their culture, not a disgraceful mutilation (Khazan, 2015). Understandably, domestic feminists fight against involuntary FGC, but it’s important to recognize that this topic is not as important in African feminist movements, and in many domestic cases, they incorporate African statistics to show the prominence of this operation…
Circumcision Controversy Flares by MSNBC author Victoria Clayton. Leto’s midwife’s bumper sticker reads, “100 percent of babies oppose circumcision” (Class Reader, Pg 117), and this is absolutely true. Less than half of infant boys that undergo this procedure receive analgesia (Our Sexuality Pg. 126). The other infant boys either are too small to receive any analgesia or their parents opt not to allow it. Complications from the surgery include bleeding, infection, cutting the foreskin too short or too long, and improper healing. The pain associated with circumcision could have long-lasting negative effects on future infant behavior as well as health risks such as hemorrhage, infections, mutilation, shock, and psychological trauma. The American Academy of Pediatrics changed their stance on the debate from a neutral one to a moderate opposition. If the AAP has an opposition to a procedure that many young boys have to endure, why are we still doing this to the nations baby…
The procedure of circumcision has been around for thousands of years, indeed the earliest known Egyptian mummies-who lived around 1300 B.C-were circumcised, and there are documented engravings and pictures that show it was commonplace even before that (Dunsmuir et al, 1999). In modern times however, circumcision is still common in many countries, even in countries where there is no religious belief that requires it. It is often carried out shortly after birth with the mother and father being the ones who ultimately give consent for the surgeon to carry out the procedure. This has led to the discussion of the ethics of neonatal circumcision and whether it is immoral to make this decision for the child.…
As the world becomes globalized, countries are trailing behind their cultures and their identity, for them to be cohesive with the Western ideal. The alteration in clothing style, religious beliefs, family roles are few of the examples of the impacts of which Westernization has had on developing countries. With that said, a medical practice common in developing countries such as Uganda, Sudan and Iraq, is female circumcision (Keilburger, 2013). Often linked this practice to Islamic teachings, it is incorrect as in this religion, merely male circumcision is encouraged, proving the fact that this practice roots to generations of cultural beliefs (Keilburger, 2013). “The communities where FGM is practiced explains Dr. Shaw, place high value on virginity, so the custom is seen as protection for young girls from premarital sex”. (Keilburger, 2013: 1) Adding on, developed nations across the world including Canada do not allow for such treatment to be performed on women as it is believed here to be inhumane and child abuse (Keilburger, 2013). Despite scarce records of such mutilation to occur to Canadian women in secrecy, there are laws preventing physicians, doctors and…
Female genital mutilation is recognized internationally as a violation of the human rights of girls and women. It reflects deep-rooted inequality between…
Available treatments are used with the three most common circumcision surgical techniques: the Morgen clamp, the Gomco clamp, and the Plastibell method. Recent research suggests that the Morgen clamp is associated with a less painful procedure when compared with the other two (Leef, 2006; Yawman et al., 2006). Preferred by trainees, the Morgen clamp is also faster to use than the Plastibell (Yawman et al., 2006) and include local and topical pain relief methods, oral sucrose and oral acetaminophen. Dorsal penile nerve block (DPNB), which involves injecting anesthetic at the base of the penis, and subcutaneous ring block are the two most commonly used local anesthetics. Topically applied anesthetic creams include EMLA, a water-based cream that includes lidocaine and prilocaine. Although DPNB, ring block, and EMLA do not eliminate circumcision pain, all three are more effective than placebo or no treatment (Leef, 2006; Yawman…
This article explains how 30 percent of men have had the circumcision procedure. Also most circumcisions are performed for mainly cultural or religious reasons only, but still few are performed just for medical purposes. The…