what is all the hoopla about female genital mutilation? I mean its wrong and ruthless and needs to stop
…but for years, decades, centuries, male genitalia has been mutilated as well, yes yes yes…religion says so
but just like a little girl has no choice, neither does a little boy…where is the outrage on that and why is not even close to being as big of a topic in the press.
Re: More gender bias
Well, the reasons for male circumcision and female genital mutilation are very different. Male circumcision is performed for cleanliness reasons. Female genital mutilation is done purely to prevent women from getting sexually aroused or fornication, making it impossible for her to get pregnant. While male circumcisions prevents diseases, female genital mutilation causes infections and diseases.
Re: More gender bias
Q1- is it mutilation? Y/N
Q2- does the person being mutilated have a say? Y/N
Q3- does society expect and/or demand that this be done? Y/N
Re: More gender bias
- Yes
- No
- Yes
Now if I ask you, do you wish you weren’t circumcised, what would you say? I have a feeling you would say you are glad your parents had you circumcised. If I ask a circumcised woman, do you wish you weren’t circumcised, I am positive the answer will be the opposite. Is circumcision in either sex necessary? Absolutely not! But do men benefit from early circumcision? Certainly. Do women benefit from early circumcision? No…
Re: More gender bias
My answer is that I would have liked to make that decision myself.
the amount of nerve damage is substantial, so not its not all ‘benefit’..
while it can help prevent infection … if your hygiene is lacking in general
there are enough studies on its negatives as well.
look around and you may find think tanks which will talk about medical benefits of what girls go through too..but I dont want to go to that tangent except to just say that just because a group thinks it has its benefits for guys, does not make it right and should not discount its negative impact.
is it necessary? no
is it mutilation? yes
why different rules..??
Oh yaar it’s ok that it happened when I had no choice. I don’t think that I can accept a situation where my pants are down and the other party has a knife in hands
Re: More gender bias
but it happened… What I want to know is what the male population has to say about it now. I would like to know whether they would have wanted it regardless and if they would want the same for their children. Wesay bhi, you technically have no memory of it when you grow older. No harm is really done. It is like cutting the umbilical cord. You don’t remember it. It is different with girls because they constantly have to deal with hygienic and other health issues as they grow into adulthood CAUSED by early genital mutilation. Also, there are different types of female circumcisions. It is literally torture and nothing else for women.
give me one source where it says women are benefited by female genital mutilation.
Re: More gender bias
Thanks for the mental image!
Re: More gender bias
It’s like my 7 year old who was very sad the other night:
S: Mom, I’m really upset that you didn’t check with me before you named me.
Me: But you were a baby, you couldn’t talk then.
S: You could have waited.
Me: Then what would have I called you?
S: You could have called me baby, doll, sweetie, etc or given me a temporary name until I was old enough to choose my own name.
Me: Hmmm, that’s a great thought. I’m sorry about that I didn’t think of it. Now tell me, what would you have liked your name to be?
S: Chloe.
But yes, It’s kinda silly we do things to our kids without checking with them because they are little people…like getting their ears pierced. What if they don’t want it when they grow up…there would be a hole in their ear if left unadorned, and then we have circumcision. 
Re: More gender bias
Are you sure you’re grateful to TLK for the mental image or do you wish we had a sarcasm font to make your point 
?
Re: More gender bias
Nahi my sarcasm shines through anyway on its own merit. 
Re: More gender bias
Doesn’t FGM often cause lifelong problems and pain for females?
It’s also obviously about trying to control female sexuality (I know there’s a type which supposedly makes women more sensitive.. but isn’t the norm.. The vast majority of cases lead to pain and misery)
It’s going to take the discussion at a tangent but here you go. I am not interested in debating or supporting this viewpoint. I am rather curious about how the nerve damage to males seems to be ignored completely.
Re: More gender bias
Ignoring the effects, X2 is right, the lack of choice is the heart of the issue. Male circumcision usually has no downsides, and from what I’ve read, may even be slightly beneficial (I could be wrong though). Many people actually view circumcision in the same light as female genital mutilation.
I would counter that for male circumcision at least, the outcome is usually neutral, and parents influence everything about a child’s life until they are old enough to be independent. If you want to start with circumcision then why not fight for children to be entirely free from parental influence until they are old enough to think. Religion, politics, social biases, are all inherited from parents. People who argue from a “lack of choice” perspective are on shaky ground in my opinion.
There has been discussion around the cons of male circumcision but it does not get the press hoopla. Germany made some news as it tried to ban it, Sweden had similar debate at a government level.
Not having memory does not make it right. There are tons of things a child can be subjected to that it will not remember as a grown up.
The question is, whether there is no harm really done, and there is no harm of any sort to the individual. There is enough data to suggest that it does have harm. You can read it yourself.
1- because it is mutilation
2- there are downsides to each and every male who goes through it.
The interesting thing is that one gets media attention as a barbaric practice with physical impact later in life and all kinds of rights groups get into sloganeering … Which is okay by me, I support abolishing it. The other one, even when countries try to ban them rights group are up in arms about it impacting their religious freedom.
…also is it really ‘required’ in Islam? I may have missed it but I see no mention of it in Quran.
PS: yes now I am trolling the religion patrol as well 
^It’s a sunnat, not fard, and Quran does not talk about sunnats
Re: More gender bias
No it is not the same. The main objective of FGM is to control women and limit their sexual enjoyment. Its purely patriarchal and sadistic. There are not one and the same.
And choice is irrelevant as FGM happens as late as the teen years. So definitely not the same.
Re: More gender bias
Its a Sunnah. That’s enough material for us to believe that all Muslim men must get circumcised. If its about choice, you, as a parent advocate choice, then by all means wait for the son to grow up enough and make that choice. Majority people get it done on an infant coz its easier to handle any discomfort or pain at that age.
As far as female GM is concerned, its a crime and should be reported. No two thoughts about it.
About the damage to the nerves, if you go to a quack then yes its a huge issue , I dont think it should affect a person if circumcision is done the right amount. I guess its more to do with pros then cons .