Just going home from Women's TUC. Had an amazing time with awesome debates and offers of alibis in case the police came to arrest me. (long story, might blog on it separately)
So I'm at Paddington station in reflective mood.
One of the things we debated this morning was Female Genital Mutilation (FGM)
Moving, horrifying.
It reminded me of a tweet I read on my way to London what now feels like an age ago asking why the uproar about FGM when forced male circumcision seems to be accepted.
Well now, I have a couple of issues with this.
Firstly, this is WHAT ABOUT TEH MENZ??
Secondly, there isn't a general acceptance that it is ok. Certainly isn't in my book. I have tattoos and piercings and have had numerous medical procedures. But here is the thing. None of that has ever taken place without my consent.
A baby cannot consent to circumcision. Therefore, if there is no medical reason to do it, it is wrong.
I think the tweet meant to ask why aren't there big visible campaigns against forced circumcision?
I'm gonna answer that one.
Well, it never killed anyone in childbirth.
It never killed women of toxic shock by preventing them from having free flowing periods.
It isn't done with unsterilized scissors and razors.
Boys aren't spirited away out of the country to be mutilated.
It doesn't happen as a way of subjugating men and treating them as chattel that only has value if they are marriageable.
It doesn't happen to provide sexual pleasure for women.
It doesn't lead to death threats if it isn't performed.
It doesn't affect family honour.
It isn't a crime.
So yeah, what about teh menz?
Tell you what, you start a campaign against non medical circumcision and I'll support it. I'll sign petitions, I'll attend demos. Ill be fully on board.
Two conditions though.
Firstly, YOU have to do this. I know that you're used to women doing stuff for you, but this is your thing. Set it up and I'll join you and so will my sisters.
Secondly, you have to join me and my sisters in our fight against FGM and not ask stupid fucking questions like 'what about teh menz?'
While you decide, I'll be here at Paddington station looking at women of colour and wondering how many of them have been mutilated for patriarchy.
So I'm at Paddington station in reflective mood.
One of the things we debated this morning was Female Genital Mutilation (FGM)
Moving, horrifying.
It reminded me of a tweet I read on my way to London what now feels like an age ago asking why the uproar about FGM when forced male circumcision seems to be accepted.
Well now, I have a couple of issues with this.
Firstly, this is WHAT ABOUT TEH MENZ??
Secondly, there isn't a general acceptance that it is ok. Certainly isn't in my book. I have tattoos and piercings and have had numerous medical procedures. But here is the thing. None of that has ever taken place without my consent.
A baby cannot consent to circumcision. Therefore, if there is no medical reason to do it, it is wrong.
I think the tweet meant to ask why aren't there big visible campaigns against forced circumcision?
I'm gonna answer that one.
Well, it never killed anyone in childbirth.
It never killed women of toxic shock by preventing them from having free flowing periods.
It isn't done with unsterilized scissors and razors.
Boys aren't spirited away out of the country to be mutilated.
It doesn't happen as a way of subjugating men and treating them as chattel that only has value if they are marriageable.
It doesn't happen to provide sexual pleasure for women.
It doesn't lead to death threats if it isn't performed.
It doesn't affect family honour.
It isn't a crime.
So yeah, what about teh menz?
Tell you what, you start a campaign against non medical circumcision and I'll support it. I'll sign petitions, I'll attend demos. Ill be fully on board.
Two conditions though.
Firstly, YOU have to do this. I know that you're used to women doing stuff for you, but this is your thing. Set it up and I'll join you and so will my sisters.
Secondly, you have to join me and my sisters in our fight against FGM and not ask stupid fucking questions like 'what about teh menz?'
While you decide, I'll be here at Paddington station looking at women of colour and wondering how many of them have been mutilated for patriarchy.
I agree on all points. I've been circumcised and there is simply.no comparison. Having seen some pictures, I'll go add far as to say FGM is castration - and worse than me castration. Following an accident I had to have my testicles removed so I can speak with some authority here. With hormone treatment, I am a functional healthy man. The only noticeable result is purely cosmetic - an empty sack, which I hardly pay attention to nowadays.
ReplyDeleteFGM is comparable to castration as practised by Arab slavers up until the early 20th century.
Thanks for your comments :D
ReplyDeleteThis is why we can't have nice things. FGM and MGM are the same ethical trespass done for the same reasons, there is no point arguing degrees of abuse. You are also astonishingly ignorant of the subject for someone looking for excuses to be dismissive. So let's look at your resaons why aren't there big visible campaigns against forced circumcision.(or calling it what it is, male genital mutilation)
ReplyDelete"Well, it never killed anyone in childbirth."
Un-apologetically gynocentric reason there, but a good reason why no one cares even when the males are infants. This also ignore the infant deaths and STDs this un-anaesthetised procedure produces every year.
"It never killed women of toxic shock by preventing them from having free flowing periods."
It didn't kill a woman so people don't care. It only causes erectile dysfunction, shame, death and disease for men, no biggy.
"It isn't done with unsterilized scissors and razors."
Says who? If FGM is performed under those circumstances the same community will perform MGM the same way. (Aboriginals still do this btw...)
"Boys aren't spirited away out of the country to be mutilated."
So what? They don't have to because it's legal everywhere. Most FGM victims aren't flown anywhere for their big day either since it's perfectly legal where they are.
"It doesn't happen as a way of subjugating men and treating them as chattel that only has value if they are marriageable."
No, it's only done as a way of preventing masturbation and submitting to the will of powerful religious institutions.
"It doesn't happen to provide sexual pleasure for women."
And neither does male circ, no point being made here...
"It doesn't lead to death threats if it isn't performed."
How would you know? It's hospital routine for men so it's not like you have any idea what would happen if a community doctor refused to perform MGM.
"It doesn't affect family honour."
In honor based societies it does, if you are able to have you son circed before the age of 8 but do not you are breaking Islamic law openly. Honor killings are not exclusively against women. Not all honor based societies look favorably on FGM either.
"It isn't a crime."
Isn't that the point of opposing it? FGM on minors wasn't a crime in the US until 1996 and still isn't crime where it's mainly practiced. The Stalinist regime wasn't breaking any laws throwing millions into the gulag system either.
Why bother with the FGM vs Forced Male Circumcision dichotomy? Everywhere FGM is performed MGM is too for the same quack medical and ritual reasons. If you are going to complain about one and ignore the other why should we take you seriously?
Taken as a whole, Forced Female Circumcision(sounds a lot nicer now eh?) statistically has not impacted fertility or resulted in an unacceptable level of deaths in relation to male circ infections and shock deaths. Many women claim MGM hasn't removed pleasure from sex and is a sacred rite of passage. Billions of people are fine with it and live with it as naturally as MGM, you've probably talked to a cut woman without ever realizing it. Unless you argue genital mutilation is wrong period FGM apologists will continue draw from MGM as justification, since MGM is no big deal...
Well done on completely missing the point. I am against both. Set up the campaign and I will join you.
ReplyDeleteThat's great but you are also missing the point. Intactivists already exist but garner far less sympathy from the public, in much the same way a society practicing FGM collectively shrugs at foreign feminists.
Delete"Secondly, there isn't a general acceptance that it is ok. Certainly isn't in my book."
Regardless of what you might think male circumcision is normal and accepted by western society and endorsed by the UN despite faulty scientific claims of HIV resistance. That is why it's so sad.
I also find many feminists act in an obscurantist fashion around MGM(it's healthy yo), much of it in fear it will take away attention from FGM. If feminism didn't claim to be about equality no one would bring up MGM when articles or discussions are had about forced genital cutting. Your blog entry seems mad that people bring it up at all. Get used it sister.
Hey tell you what, if you shut up and follow my brothers on this and never ask any irrational woman questions like "what about the wimminz?", we'll come and support your FGM thingo or whatever.
Until then, the Patriarchy won't be on board with stopping needless human suffering until it's politically expedient.