July 15, 2012 - Circumsized Baby

[CaliforniaMama]

When a girl is taken — usually by her mother — to a free circumcision event held each spring in Bandung, Indonesia, she is handed over to a small group of women who, swiftly and yet with apparent affection, cut off a small piece of her genitals.

Circumcisions take place in a prayer center or an emptied-out elementary-school classroom where desks are pushed together and covered with sheets and a pillow to serve as makeshift beds.

It takes several minutes to remove a small amount of skin or the clitoral hood, with very little blood. Sometimes, the citoris itself is removed, but that is not the common procedure. Afterward, she is given a small gift of fruit or clothing, and a cup of milk. In 2003, a study was done in Indonesia, showing that 96% of daughters were circumcised.

Laura Guarenti, an obstetrician and WHO’s medical officer for child and maternal health in Jakarta, says, “The fact is there is absolutely no medical value in circumcising girls.”

From the New York Times

[Ibby]

Child abuse.

[footfootfoot]

I thought it said customized baby. I expected gold rimmed wheels and or a fur fedora.

[Gravdigr]

Day ain't no way dat baby's eyes don't be 'shopped.

[Aliantha]

How wide do you think your eyes would be if someone held you down and another person cut a perfectly good piece of your flesh off your body?

[ZenGum]

I think the eyes are real.

This procedure, pointless and stupid thought it may be, is small change compared to the radical "female circumcisions" practiced in some parts of Africa. These range from complete clitorectomy to infibulation, where the labia are cut off and the vagina sewn shut. On the wedding night, the groom uses a knife to gain access.

W.
T.
F????

The most amazing thing, to me, is that the social pressure to maintain this, and the actual operation, is mostly done by women.

I'm against that.

[DanaC]

Not just women, Zen. In the school playgrounds, little girls who haven't had that done to them are teased and called dirty by those who have.

[Sundae]

And maybe the women want the little girls to be just like Mummy.
In the way non-religious men want their sons to look just like Daddy, so have them circumcised too.

I'm glad my niece and partner believe that God didn't put that extra piece of skin there just to keep doctors employed. They'll keep their foreskins unless there is a medical necessity to have them removed. Factory settings all the way in this family.

Just last month in London a Ghanaian boy bled to death following his circumcision by a Rabbi. He told the worried mother to rub Vaseline on the wound.

[Clodfobble]

Originally Posted by ZenGum

The most amazing thing, to me, is that the social pressure to maintain this, and the actual operation, is mostly done by women.

I'm against that.

In this country, most male circumcisions are performed by male doctors, and most women say they leave the decision on whether to circumcise their sons up to their husbands.

Originally Posted by DanaC

In the school playgrounds, little girls who haven't had that done to them are teased and called dirty by those who have.

As young as playgrounds, no. But yes, in this country there is definitely an association with uncircumcised penises being unclean, among teenage and 20-something girls.


I'm not saying it's right, I'm just saying the whole mindset is not as foreign as you might believe.

[Aliantha]

I don't think it's a very big deal over here. None of my boys are circumcised, and my daughter definitely wont be. I've never heard of anyone giving the boys a hard time cause they have all of their penis intact. I only know of one of my cousins who's had her sons circumcised and it's been her decision to do so because she just 'feels that it's cleaner'. I've raised my objections to the practice with her, but in the end, it's not illegal, and she has it done in the hospital etc, so the risk is pretty minimal.

My older boys have had more issues surrounding racism through their school life, than what their penis looks like.

[DanaC]

Originally Posted by Clodfobble

As young as playgrounds, no. But yes, in this country there is definitely an association with uncircumcised penises being unclean, among teenage and 20-something girls.

I dont think there's any social pressure to circumcise males here.

[classicman]

My older boys have had more issues surrounding racism through their school life, than what their penis looks like.

One wold hope so, they do wear clothes to school down there, right?

[Wombat]

Originally Posted by Ibby

Child abuse.

Yes.

[Aliantha]

Originally Posted by classicman

One wold hope so, they do wear clothes to school down there, right?

Yeah, but they have showers after footy and stuff. They don't do that with their clothes on, and being boys, they usually don't bother shutting the door.

I'm pretty sure most teenage boys are pretty happy to get their dangly bits out as much as possible anyway aren't they?

[classicman]

Not that I'm aware of, nor that I really have any idea. I grew up in a different generation.
Then again, maybe it was just me.