11 10 240 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Robert Darby Subject The topic of the resource Circumcision history Description An account of the resource Archive of the work published by Robert Darby Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Robert Darby Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived circinfo.org historyofcircumcsion.org Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Text Any textual data included in the document <div class="intro" id="intro"> <h1>Detroit, Michigan</h1> A Federal judge in Detroit, Michigan, has ruled that the Federal United States law criminalising any form of female genital mutilation (FGM) is unconstitutional. The case arose when Federal law enforcement officials prosecuted members of an Islamic sect, the Dawoodi Bohra, for performing ritual cutting on the genitals of young girls. The defendants did not deny that the cutting took place, but contended that it was allowable under the principle of religious freedom, and further that the law prohibiting it was not constitutionally valid. It is significant that the judge did not make any ruling on the principal claims of the defendants, that the cutting was not mutilation but a harmless nick or scraping, and that it was required by their religion and permitted as an instance of religious freedom. The judgement was strictly on the constitutional and jurisdictional grounds that the US Constitution did not give Congress the power to legislate on this matter (essentially an instance of criminal assault) and thus that the law was ultra vires. The law was based on the power of Congress to regulate interstate commerce; but as the judge remarked, "There is nothing economic or commercial about FGM, As despicable as this practice may be, it is essentially a criminal assault" - and thus a matter for State law. According to media reports, 27 of the US states have passed laws criminalising FGM. This does not necessarily mean that the practice is legal in the other 23, as instances could still be prosecuted under normal laws of assault, wounding, bodily harm etc, as occurred in Australia with the <a href="https://www.darboninstitute.org/gaol_sentence_increased_for_fgm_doctor" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Graeme Reeves ("butcher of Bega") case</a>. As the judge pointed out in his ruling, "counsel for the government argued ... that FGM is criminal sexual conduct because it involves unlawful touching and penetration. If that is correct, then FGM could already be prosecuted in every state under existing criminal sexual conduct statutes, to say nothing of battery or child abuse statutes." Because the charges have been dismissed on jurisdictional (technical legal) grounds, the substantive issues remain in contention: we may expect to see a great deal more debate as to whether the principle of freedom of religion extends to practices that inflict harm on the bodies of children, and whether general principles of human rights and bioethics apply to boys as much as to girls. When the FGM law was presented to Congress in 1996, the proposer (Senator Reid) was emphatic that the fundamental objection to FGM was that it was a violation of a girls' human rights: “I want everyone within the sound of my voice to understand that what I am going to talk about here today does not deal with religion and it does not deal with sex. It deals with violation of a person’s human rights. It deals with degradation of women and young girls. It deals with the most inhumane thing a person can imagine.” Critics have since pointed out that these observations are equally applicable to circumcision of boys and that there were also grounds for finding the FGM law unconstitutional in the basis that it denied equal treatment to males. Indeed the judge raised this very issue in rejecting the prosecution's contention that the law was valid because it sought to give effect to Article 24 of the International Covenant of Civil and Political Rights, ratified in 1992, and thus having the force of law within the USA. As he points out, the object of that article was to give certain rights to all children, irrespective of sex or other characteristics; it could not, therefore, be a basis for giving protections or privileges to girls only. The judge did not spell this out, but he left the implication that if the law had protected girls and boys equally it might have been valid. The relevant paragraphs are on pp 5-6: The treaty on which the government relies in the present case is the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (“ICCPR”), which the Senate ratified in 1992. Specifically, the government points to two provisions of this treaty: Article 3, which calls on the signatories to “ensure the equal right of men and women to the enjoyment of all civil and political rights set forth in the present Covenant”; and Article 24, which states that “[e]very child shall have, without any discrimination as to race, colour, sex, language, religion, national or social origin, property or birth, the right to such measures of protection as are required by his status as a minor, on the part of his family, society and the State.” The government argues that Congress, by enacting the FGM statute, acted reasonably to carry out these two treaty obligations. The Court rejects the government’s argument for two reasons. First, there is no rational relationship between the FGM statute and Article 3, which obligates member states “to ensure the equal right of men and women to the enjoyment of all civil and political rights set forth in the present Covenant.” This article seeks to ensure equal civil and political rights (e.g., the freedom of expression, the right to participate in elections, and protections for defendants in criminal proceedings) for men and women, while the FGM statute seeks to protect girls aged seventeen and younger from a particular form of physical abuse. There is simply no rational relationship between Article 3 and the FGM statute. The latter does not effectuate the purposes of the former in any way. The relationship between the FGM statute and Article 24 is arguably closer. As noted, that article states that “[e]very child shall have, without any discrimination as to race, colour, sex, language, religion, national or social origin, property or birth, the right to such measures of protection as are required by his status as a minor, on the part of his family, society and the State.” Still, the relationship between the FGM statute and Article 24 is tenuous. Article 24 is an anti-discrimination provision, which calls for the protection of minors without regard to their race, color, sex, or other characteristics. As laudable as the prohibition of a particular type of abuse of girls may be, it does not logically further the goal of protecting children on a non-discriminatory basis. <a href="https://www.scribd.com/document/393706333/Judge-dismisses-several-charges-in-FGM-case" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Full text of court ruling</a> <h2>Press report from Detroit Free Press</h2> In a major blow to the government, a federal judge in Detroit has declared America's female genital mutilation law as unconstitutional, thereby dismissing the key charges against two Michigan doctors and six others accused of subjecting at least nine minor girls to the cutting procedure in the nation's first FGM case. The historic case involves minor girls from Michigan, Illinois and Minnesota, including some who cried, screamed and bled during the procedure and one who was given Valium ground in liquid Tylenol to keep her calm, court records show. The judge's ruling also removed three mothers from the case, including two Minnesota women whom prosecutors said tricked their 7 -year-old daughters into thinking they were coming to Metro Detroit for a girls' weekend, but instead had their genitals cut at a Livonia clinic as part of a religious procedure. U.S. District Judge Bernard Friedman concluded that "as despicable as this practice may be," Congress did not have the authority to pass the 22-year-old federal law that criminalizes female genital mutilation, and that it's a matter for the state's to regulate. FGM is banned worldwide and has been outlawed in more than 30- countries, though the U.S. statute had never been tested before this case. "As laudable as the prohibition of a particular type of abuse of girls may be ... federalism concerns deprive Congress of the power to enact this statute," Friedman wrote in his 28-page opinion, noting: "Congress overstepped its bounds by legislating to prohibit FGM ... FGM is a 'local criminal activity' which, in keeping with longstanding tradition and our federal system of government, is for the states to regulate, not Congress." Currently, 27 states have laws that criminalize female genital mutilation, including Michigan, whose FGM law is stiffer than the federal statute, punishable by up to 15 years in prison. Michigan's FGM law was passed last year in the wake of the historic case and applies to both doctors who conduct the procedure, and parents who transport a child to have it done. Gina Balaya, spokesperson for the U.S. Attorneys office, said in a statement: "We are reviewing the judge’s opinion and will make a determination whether or not to appeal at some point in the future." Friedman's ruling stems from a request by Dr. Jumana Nagarwala and her co-defendants to dismiss the genital mutilation charges, claiming the law they are being prosecuted under is unconstitutional. More specifically, the defendants have argued that “Congress lacked authority to enact" the genital mutilation statute, "thus the female genital mutilation charges must be dismissed.” They also argue that they didn't actually practice genital mutilation, but rather engaged in a benign religious ritual that involves only a scraping of the genitals. "Oh my God, we won!," declared Shannon Smith, Nagarwala's lawyer, who expects the government to appeal. "But we are confident we will win even if appealed." Smith has maintained all along that her client did not engage in FGM, but rather performed a benign religious procedure that involved nicking, not cutting. "Dr. Nagarwala is just a wonderful human being. She was always known as a doctor with an excellent reputation," Smith said. "The whole community was shocked when this happened. She's always been known to be a stellar doctor, mother, person." For FGM survivor and social activist Mariya Taher, who heads a campaign out of Cambridge, Mass. to ban genital cutting worldwide, Friedman's ruling was a punch to the gut. "Oh my God, this is crazy," said Taher, stressing she fears the ruling will put more young women in harms way. "Unfortunately, this is going to embolden those who believe that this must be continued ... they’ll feel that this is permission, that it’s okay to do this." Taher, who at 7 was subjected to the same type of religious cutting procedure that's at issue in the Michigan case, said she doesn't expect laws alone to end FGM. But they are needed, she stressed. "This is a violation of one person’a human rights. It's a form of gender violence … This is cultural violence," 35-year-old Taher said. The statute at issue states: "Whoever knowingly circumcises, excises or infibulates the whole or any part of the labia majora or labia minora or clitoris of another person" under the age of 18 shall be fined or imprisoned for up to five years, or both. Prosecutors argue Nagarwala, the lead defendant, did exactly that when she cut the genitals of two 7-year-old Minnesota girls who were tricked into the procedure in 2017 by their mothers and cried and bled afterward. They said Nagarwala did this with the help of Dr. Fakhuruddin Attar, who is accused of letting Nagarwala use his Livonia clinic after hours to carry out the procedures; and his wife, Farida Attar, who is accused of assisting Nagarwala in the examination room during the procedures and holding the girls' hands. Prosecutors allege that Nagarwala may have subjected up to 100 girls to the procedure over a 12-year period, though they have cited nine victims in the case: two 7-year-old girls from Minnesota; four Michigan girls ages 8-12, including one who was given Valium ground up in liquid Tylenol during her procedure; and three Illinois girls. Nagarwala, meanwhile, is still facing a conspiracy charge and an obstruction count that could send her to prison for 20 years, along with the Attars. If convicted of conspiracy, Nagarwala faces up to 30 years in prison. Nagarwala has long maintained that she committed no crime and that she was charged under a law that slid through Congress without proper vetting. “The law was never debated on the floor of either chamber of Congress nor was there ever any legislative hearing addressing the justification or need for the federal law. Instead, all that exists is the criminal statute itself,” defense lawyers have argued in court documents, claiming the driving force behind the legislation was one lawmaker's belief that the prohibited conduct was 'repulsive and cruel.' " But the Constitution demands more than that, the defense has argued, claiming Congress could not have passed a female genital mutilation ban under the Commerce Clause because "notably, here, the activity being regulated has absolutely no effect on interstate commerce." The judge agreed. "There is nothing commercial or economic about FGM," Friedman writes. "As despicable as this practice may be, it is essentially a criminal assault ... FGM is not part of a larger market and it has no demonstrated efect on interstate commerce. The commerce Clause does not permit Congress to regulate a crime of this nature." The prosecution disagrees, arguing genital mutilation is an illegal, secretive and dangerous health care service that involves interstate commerce on a number of fronts: text messages are used to arrange the procedure; parents drive their children across state lines to get the procedure; and the doctor uses medical tools in state-licensed clinics to perform the surgeries. In defending the statute, prosecutors also have noted that FGM is condemned worldwide -- it's illegal in more than 30 countries. And they've cited the legislative history of the law, along with U.S. Senator Harry Reid's comments in pushing for a genital mutilation ban. “I want everyone within the sound of my voice to understand that what I am going to talk about here today does not deal with religion and it does not deal with sex. It deals with violation of a person’s human rights. It deals with degradation of women and young girls. It deals with the most inhumane thing a person can imagine,” Reid stated in 1994. On September 30, 1996, the female genital mutilation law was signed, with Reid stressing: “There is no medical reason for this procedure ... It is used as a method to keep girls chaste and to ensure their virginity until marriage, and to ensure that after marriage they do not engage in extramarital sex.” The female genital mutilation statute carries a maximum punishment of five years in prison. The defendants, meanwhile, also face up to 20 years in prison on obstruction of justice charges, if convicted. The most serious charge against Nagarwala — conspiracy to transport a minor "with intent to engage in criminal sexual conduct" — carries a maximum life sentence. Four mothers also have been charged, accused of subjecting their daughters to the unlawful procedure. The defendants are all members of a small Indian Muslim sect known as the Dawoodi Bohra, which has a mosque in Farmington Hills. The sect practices female circumcision and believes it is a religious rite of passage that involves only a minor "nick." The case is set to go to trial in April 2019. Tresa Baldas. <a href="https://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/detroit/2018/11/20/female-genital-mutilation-michigan/1991712002/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Judge dismisses female genital mutilation charges in historic case</a>. Detroit Free Press 20 November 2018. <h2>Further information</h2> <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qc2-NB9nWt0" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Brian Earp analysis the background and implications of the ruling on Youtube talk</a> Brian Earp. <a href="http://quillette.com/2017/08/15/female-genital-mutilation-health-benefits-problem-medicalizing-morality/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Does Female Genital Mutilation have health benefits? The problem with medicalizing morality</a>. Quilllette, 15 August 2017. Robert Darby. <a href="https://quillette.com/2016/03/03/female-genital-cutting-harm-human-rights-and-the-possibility-of-a-sex-neutral-approach/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Female genital cutting: harm, human rights and the possibility of a sex-neutral approach</a>. Quillette, 3 March 2016. </div> Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource US law against FGM ruled to be unconstitutional darby Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Robert Darby Subject The topic of the resource Circumcision history Description An account of the resource Archive of the work published by Robert Darby Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Robert Darby Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived circinfo.org historyofcircumcsion.org Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Text Any textual data included in the document <div class="intro" id="intro"> <h3>Circumcision of females: Cultural and medical rationales</h3> <h4>Introduction</h4> Like its male counterpart, circumcision of females has two histories. First it is a ritual or customary practice among tribal societies (mostly in Africa) and some Islamic communities. Secondly it is a medical intervention, justified by Victorian (and, in the USA, some twentieth century) doctors in exactly the same way as they rationalised circumcision of boys: to deter masturbation, to treat obscure nervous disorders such as hysteria, neurasthenia and epilepsy, and thereby to promote health. <h4>MGM and FGM</h4> Given the similarities between the male and female genitals, the nature of the surgery and the justifications offered, it is surprising that male and female circumcision enjoy such strikingly different reputations, at least in Anglophone societies: the first, a mild and harmless adjustment which should be tolerated, if not actively promoted; the second, a cruel abomination which must be stopped by law, no matter how culturally significant to its practitioners. If you call circumcision of boys male genital mutilation, you are accused of emotionalism; if you fail to call circumcision of women or girls female genital mutilation you are accused of trivialising the offence. While the United Nations, Amnesty International and other international agencies spend millions on programs to eradicate FGM, they have never uttered a word against circumcision of boys. It might be thought that the reason for this double standard lies in the greater physical severity of female circumcision, but this is to confuse cause with effect. On the contrary, it is the tolerant or positive attitude towards male circumcision and the rarity of female circumcision in western societies which promote the illusion that the operation is necessarily more sexually disabling, and without benefit to health, when performed on girls or women. It is, of course, also true that the term female circumcision is vague, referring to any one or more of a number of surgical procedures. These have been defined by the World Health Organisation as follows: Female Genital Mutilation comprises all procedures that involve partial or total removal of female external genitalia and/or injury to the female genital organs for cultural or any other non-therapeutic reason. Classification Type 1: Excision of the prepuce with or without excision of part or all of the clitoris Type 2: Excision of the clitoris together with partial or total excision of the labia minora Type 3: Excision of part or all of the external genitalia and stitching/narrowing of the vaginal opening (infibulation) Type 4: Unclassified (but may include): <ul> <li>pricking, piercing or incision of the clitoris and/or labia;</li> <li>stretching of the clitoris and/or labia;</li> <li>cauterization by burning of the clitoris and surrounding tissue;</li> <li>introcision;</li> <li>scraping (angurya cuts) or cutting (gishri cuts) of the vagina or surrounding tissue;</li> <li>introduction of corrosive substances or herbs into the vagina;</li> <li>any other procedure that falls under the definition of female genital mutilation given above.</li> </ul> Source: Female Genital Mutilation: Report of a WHO Technical Working Group, Geneva, July 1995. (World Health Organization: Geneva, 1996) Revised classification This classification has been modified since 1996 but still retains the basic division into four types, as set out in a WHO "Fact Sheet" of May 2008: Female genital mutilation is classified into four major types: <ul> <li>Clitoridectomy: partial or total removal of the clitoris (a small, sensitive and erectile part of the female genitals) and, rarely, the prepuce (the fold of skin surrounding the clitoris) as well.</li> <li>Excision: partial or total removal of the clitoris and the labia minora, with or without excision of the labia majora (the labia are "the lips" that surround the vagina).</li> <li>Infibulation: narrowing of the vaginal opening through the creation of a covering seal. The seal is formed by cutting and repositioning the inner, and sometimes outer, labia, with or without removal of the clitoris.</li> <li>Other: all other harmful procedures to the female genitalia for non-medical purposes, e.g. pricking, piercing, incising, scraping and cauterizing the genital area.</li> </ul> <a href="http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs241/en/print.html" rel="noopener" target="_blank">See WHO Fact Sheet 241, May 2008</a> The severity of female circumcision depends on which of these operations are performed (as well as how roughly), and it is true that the most extreme forms (involving the amputation of the external genitalia, with or without infibulation) are significantly worse than even the most radical foreskin amputation. But it should be remembered that the most extreme forms of FGM are rare, and that male circumcision in general is far more common on a world scale than female: about 13 million boys, compared with two million girls annually. [1] On top of this, it should be appreciated that the effects of male circumcision are also highly unpredictable, depending on how much penile tissue is removed, on the skill of the surgeon, on the precise configuration of penile blood vessels and nerve networks, and on the eventual size attained by the penis at puberty and maturity. The more tissue excised, the greater the damage to the penis, the greater the effect on sexual functioning and capability; the same quantity of tissue lost will be worse in cases where the penis is programmed to grow larger in maturity, or where the location of blood vessels and nerves (always variable) means that important connections are severed. Because the slack tissue is needed to accommodate the enlarged penis when tumescent, a really severe circumcision will make erections painful or even impossible. [2] <a href="https://www.historyofcircumcision.com/templates/pages/fgm_and_circumcision_problems_of_definition.html">Further discussion of this issue here.</a> <a href="http://www.circinfo.org/FGMclassification.html">Inconsistencies in classification of female genital mutilation and male circumcision</a> Given the respective numbers of victims involved and the fact that some circumcisions are worse than some instances of FGM, there is no justification for perpetuating the gender discrimination which has characterised discussion of these issues. Indeed, a female victim of circumcision during a "holy war" by Islamic extremists in Indonesia recently commented afterwards that what was done to the men was worse than what the women suffered: "I know the men suffered more than us women. The circumcision hurt them more that it did to us because their scars could not heal fast. Several of the men I knew got serious infections after suffering from severe bleeding." (<a href="https://www.historyofcircumcision.com/templates/pages/islamic_extremism.html">See Christina's story</a>.) To compare female and male circumcision is not to trivialize the enormity of the first, as some feminists seem to fear, but to recognise that the physical and moral similarities between the two are very real. (<a href="https://www.historyofcircumcision.com/templates/pages/fgm_and_the_united_nations.html">See the insightful analysis by R. Charli Carpenter</a>.) Since many of them come from countries where male circumcision is tolerated or even the norm, such as the USA, campaigners against FGM are inclined to stress how much worse it is than male circumcision, and in the process they tend to excuse or even affirm the latter. Although they do not realise it, in this manoeuvre they are treading directly in the footsteps of the opponents of Isaac Baker Brown, the mid-Victorian exponent of clitoridectomy as a cure for masturbation and nervous complaints. They could not disagree with Brown that masturbation was an evil that had to be stamped out; indeed, the man who brought him down actually wrote: "If the habit [masturbation] could be overcome, if the mind could be restored to its purity by any mutilation of the person, one would feel that no penalty would be too great to pay for such a boon." Nor did they question the emerging consensus that circumcision of boys was desirable for reasons of health and morality. They thus found it necessary to quarantine the case against clitoridectomy from the case for circumcision, playing up the harm of the former while minimising the impact of the latter; the result was a double standard on genital alteration that has endured to this day. (<a href="https://www.historyofcircumcision.com/templates/pages/clitoridectomy_and_medical_ethics.html">See the editorial, Clitoridectomy and medical ethics</a>.) <h4>Anthropological accounts</h4> Unlike male circumcision, which was familiar from Jewish practice, female circumcision was an exotic custom about which Europeans knew very little until the explorations of the eighteenth century. Because the phenomenon was first studied by sceptical anthropologists and naturalists who had little regard for religion, there was no attempt to explain female circumcision in religious terms as a divine command or a ritual requirement; on the contrary, from the very first, explanations for such a bizarre and horrific mutilation were sought in materialist terms, particularly in relation to some possible advantage to human health in peculiar physical environments. The most popular explanation was that the hot climate of Egypt and Africa caused the labia and clitoris to grow to an inordinate length, thus necessitating their reduction or removal in order to permit intercourse. While the French traveller C.S. Sonnini explained male circumcision in Egypt purely as an initiation into the Mahometan religion, he accounted for the female operation in terms of the hypertrophy of the parts allegedly common in hot regions, and the consequent need to avoid both reproductive difficulties and the disgust of the husband. [3] The great French naturalist Georges-Louis de Buffon, in his Natural History, also offered the climatic explanation for male circumcision among the Jews and Arabs: in the heat of the desert the foreskin grew so long that it hindered procreation. [4] Rumours about the "Hottentot apron", the supposedly hypertrophic labia found among "Hottentot" women, fed these speculations, which were further stimulated by the public exhibition of one unfortunate native in London and Paris in 1810. [5] Variants of these stories filtered through the nineteenth century medical world and often turned up as "well known facts" in journal articles. Other explanations for female circumcision stressed protection against disease or parasites, and one reported by John Davenport cited the necessity to prevent the accumulation of secretions and smegma: Cleanliness has rendered it necessary. In some climates the nymphae, from their great length, become inconvenient, for in the vicinity of the clitoris of women is collected an acrid and stimulating humour called smegma (from its resemblance to soap), and this secretion is partly covered by the nymphae. This white saponaceous and almost foetid substance is one of the most powerful stimuli of the sexual organ. Thus, such persons as observe great cleanliness are generally less given to venery than those who are negligent in this respect. In cold or even temperate regions this secretion becomes less abundant, and, as it is consequently less active in its effects, the sexual organs are more quiescent than in southern regions. [6] Similar comments were made by Dr Kellogg in the 1880s. In some countries females are also circumcised by removal of the nymphae [i.e. the labia]. The object is the same as that of circumcision in the male. The same evils result from inattention to personal cleanliness, and the same measure of prevention, daily cleansing, is necessitated by a similar secretion. Local cleanliness is neglected by both sexes. Daily washing should begin with infancy, and continue through life, and will prevent much disease. [7] It is an interesting comment on changed attitude to both cleanliness and sexuality that in the late twentieth century the smell of smegma was regarded not as a stimulant, but as a sexual turn-off, at least by such luminaries as <a href="https://www.historyofcircumcision.com/templates/pages/dr_fishbeins_fantasies_1960s.html">Morris Fishbein</a> and <a href="http://www.circinfo.org/quote.html#37" rel="noopener" target="_blank">David Reuben</a> - who seem, however, to be so obsessed with imaginary male smells that they have completely forgotten that uncircumcised women also produce smegma. Off course, the mere existence of smegma in males has been the basis of most justifications for routine circumcision, from Lallemand and William Acton to <a href="http://www.circumstitions.com/Langerhans.html" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Gerald Weiss</a> and <a href="http://www.circumstitions.com/Morris.html" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Brian Morris</a>. There is now a vast literature and constant controversy over the history and current practice of female genital cutting (which now seems to be the preferred term). What most anthropological sources agree on is that the cultural significance of female circumcision is usually the same as for male: it represents the transition from girlhood to womanhood, and the entry into a new set of adult rights and responsibilities, the most important of which relate to sexual relations, marriage and child-bearing. There is also wide agreement that circumcision was introduced to males first and only later extended to females, often in an attenuated form. [8] As the Encyclopaedia of Religion and Ethics put in 1910, female circumcision "evolved much later than male circumcision", of which it was "but a pale shadow"; Ernest Crawley (in The mystic rose, p. 138, 309) "is doubtless right in tracing it to the same origin as the analogous operation in the male". [9] It is a striking fact that while there are cultures which practise male but not female circumcision (most notably the Jewish), there are no societies which practise female but not male circumcision. <h4>The medical or health case</h4> Although the health advantages of or medical justifications for clitoridectomy were similar to those offered for male circumcision (cleanliness, deterrence of masturbation, control of nervous diseases) the practice remained rare in Britain and never became a routine precaution. Doctors generally held that women's lower sex drive meant they were less given to self abuse than males, and thus that drastic surgery was rarely necessary. There are occasional reports of masturbating girls being subjected to involuntary clitoridectomy, but it was only in the late 1850s that a few doctors started to apply to women the theories of nervous disease which already legitimised circumcision in boys. Britain The most famous of these was the prominent London obstetrician, Isaac Baker Brown, who specialised in the surgical treatment of disorders such as epilepsy, catalepsy and hysteria induced by "irritation of the pudic nerve" (that is, masturbation). Although he attracted considerable interest at first, his procedures fell rapidly into disfavour, and he was expelled from the London Obstetrical Society in 1867. While his critics condemned clitoridectomy as a "questionable, compromising, unpublishable mutilation" which would ruin the women's sex lives, leave them permanently maimed and cast an indelible slur on their honour, Brown defended himself by claiming that masturbation caused hysteria, epilepsy, mania, insanity and death, and argued that clitoridectomy was no more mutilating than male circumcision, as proved by the subsequent pregnancy of several of his patients. As he wrote in reply to his attackers: Clitoridectomy is neither more nor less than circumcision of the female; and as certainly as that no man who has been circumcised has been injured in his natural functions, so it is equally certain that no woman who has undergone the operation ... has lost one particle of the natural function of her organs. [10] His critics did not dissent from the proposition that masturbation could provoke the ills he mentioned, but they insisted that the practice was so rare in women that radical interventions of this kind were not necessary. Brown's disgrace put a stop to clitoridectomy in Britain, and there are no reliable reports of its performance after the 1860s. Looking back on the controversy, his principal antagonist, Charles West, commented that "all right-minded men" were compelled to reject both the operation and its leading proponent, but that "happily we need not now dwell further on the subject, for all practitioners are agreed that the only indication for removal of the clitoris is furnished by the disease of the organ itself". It was a long time before doctors reached the same conclusion about the foreskin. Since the debate had been fought largely on the question as to whether the clitoris was the functional equivalent of the foreskin, and thus whether clitoridectomy was the female version of circumcision (as Brown insisted and his opponents denied), the effect of the negative decision on these points was to clear the way for circumcision of boys at the same time as it protected the genitals of women. The outcome has been the tenacious double standard on genital mutilation which still dominates discussion of this subject. Female circumcision in the USA Clitoridectomy and other circumcision-like operation on girls and women had a longer career in United States, where doctors deplored Baker Brown's disgrace and The Medical Record defended him with the question "What now will be the chance for recovery for the poor epileptic female with a clitoris?" [11] There was also a vigorous attempt to apply the theories of Lewis Sayre - that many nervous diseases were caused by a tight or non-retractable foreskin - to women, and a number of doctors urged that girls also should have their clitoral hoods excised if there was any suspicion of adhesions of the accumulation of "secretions". In 1892 another defender of Brown (he was "almost on the right track"), Dr Robert Morris, went so far as to suggest that, since 80 per cent of American women suffered from preputial adhesions, all schoolgirls should be inspected to ensure that proper separation between prepuce and clitoris had occurred. He was apparently confident that most of the girls would require surgery, and added: "The separation of adhesive prepuces in young unmarried women should be done by female physicians anyway, and such physicians can be abundantly occupied with this sort of work". [12] It was a valiant effort to expand the market for medical services, and he must have been disappointed that his suggestions were not more widely taken up. Even so, articles on the virtues of female circumcision continued to appear sporadically in American medical journals until the 1960s, and there are regular reports of girls or women being subjected to various procedures, particularly the shortening of their labia or clitoris when parents or a husband judged them "too long". As with circumcision of boys, the medical case for female circumcision has always contained a strong element of cultural or aesthetic preference. <h4>NOTES</h4> 1. George C. Denniston, Frederick Hodges and Marylin Milos (eds), Understanding circumcision: A multi-disciplinary approach to a multi-dimensional problem (London and New York: Kluwer Academic and Plenum Press, 2001), Introduction, p. v 2. As nineteenth century circumcisers such as <a href="https://www.historyofcircumcision.com/templates/pages/treating_masturbation_1895.html">Dr Spratling realised</a>. See also <a href="http://www.circinfo.org/account.html" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Shane Peterson's account</a> of his own terrible experiences. 3. C.S. Sonnini, Travels in upper and lower Egypt, trans. Henry Hunter (3 vols, London: John Stockdale, 1799), Vol. 2, pp. 29-33 4. Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon, Barr's Buffon: Buffon's natural history, Containing a theory of the earth, a general history of man, of the brute creation, and of vegetables, minerals etc, trans. from the French (10 vols, London, 1797), Vol. 4, p. 25 5. The "Hottentots" were actually the Khoikhoi people of what are now Cape Province and Namibia, South Africa. They were a nomadic, pastoral people, related to the San, or Bushmen. See Stephen Jay Gould, "The Hottentot Venus", in The flamingo's smile: Reflections in natural history (Penguin 1986) 6. John Davenport, "Circumcision", in Aphrodisiacs and love stimulants, with other chapters on the secrets of Venus, edited by Alan Hull Watson (New York: Lyle Stuart, 1966), p. 189. John Davenport (1789-1877) was an unsuccessful businessman and amateur scholar of erotic subjects. Publication of his books, originally entitled Aphrodisiacs and anti-aphrodisiacs and Curiositates eroticae physiologiae, or Tabooed subjects freely treated, was financed by Henry Spencer Ashbee. See Ian Gibson, The erotomaniac: The secret life of Henry Spencer Ashbee (New York: Da Capo Press, 2001), pp. 24 and 54. 7. J.H. Kellogg, Plain facts for young and old: Embracing the natural history of hygiene and organic life, 2nd edition, Burlington (Iowa), 1888, facsimile reprint (New York: Arno, 1974), pp. 106-7 8. In his study of circumcision rituals among the Kuguru people of central Tanzania, T.O. Beidelman notes the mildness of contemporary female circumcision practices (usually no more than a nick on part of the vulva) compared with the severity of the procedure on boys - amputation of the entire foreskin. His impression was that the female version used to be more radical. See The cool knife: Imagery of gender, sexuality and moral education in Kuguru initiation ritual (Washington: Smithsonian Institution, 1997), p. 167 9. Encyclopaedia of Religion and Ethics, ed. James Hastings (Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark, 1910), Vol. 3, p. 669 10. "Replies to the remarks of the Council", Medical Times and Gazette, 13 April 1867, p. 391 11. "Clitoridectomy" (Editorial), Medical Record, Vol 2, 1867, p. 71; cited in Frederick Hodges, "A short history of the institutionalization of involuntary sexual mutilation in the United States", in George C. Denniston and Marilyn Milos (eds), Sexual mutilations: A human tragedy (New York: Plenum Press, 1997), p. 21 12. Robert T. Morris MD, "Is evolution trying to do away with the clitoris?", Transactions of the American Association of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, Vol. 5, 1892, pp. 288, 293 <h4>FURTHER READING</h4> Anthropology Bettina Shell-Duncan and Ylva Hernlund (eds.), Female "Circumcision" in Africa: Culture, Controversy, and Change (Boulder, Colorado: Lynne Rienner Publishers, 2000) Ellen Gruenbaum, The Female Circumcision Controversy: An Anthropological Perspective (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2001) <a href="http://www.arclaw.org/Shell-Duncan.htm" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Both reviewed briefly by ARCLaw</a> <a href="http://www.circinfo.org/fgm_reviews.html" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Reviews of recent books on female genital cutting</a> Hanny Lightfoot-Klein Secret wounds Prisoners of ritual: An odyssey into female genital circumcision in Africa A woman's odyssey into Africa <a href="http://www.lightfoot-klein.com/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">All available directly from her website</a> FGM in Islam Sami A. Aldeeb Abu-Sahlieh, "Jehovah, his cousin Allah and sexual mutilations", in George C. Denniston and Marilyn Milos (eds), Sexual mutilations: A human tragedy, New York, Plenum Press, 1997 <a href="http://www.nocirc.org/symposia/fourth/aldeeb.html" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Available online from Nocirc USA</a> Dr Sami Aldeeb, "To mutilate in the name of Allah or Jehovah: The legitimation of male and female circumcision", Medicine and Law, Vol 13, No 7-8, 1994, pp. 575-622 <a href="http://www.cirp.org/library/cultural/aldeeb1/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Available from CIRP</a> <a href="http://www.fgmnetwork.org/authors/samialdeeb/index.html">Also available at FGM Network</a> <a href="https://www.historyofcircumcision.com/templates/pages/islamic_extremism.html" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Christina's story of fundamentalist Islam in Aceh, Indonesia</a> On Baker Brown J.B. Fleming, "Clitoridectomy: The disastrous downfall of Isaac Baker Brown FRCS (1867)", Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology of the British Empire, Vol. 67, 1960, pp. 1017-34 Ornella Moscucci, "Clitoridectomy, circumcision and the politics of sexual pleasure in mid-Victorian Britain", in Andrew H. Miller and James Eli Adams (eds), Sexualities in Victorian Britain (Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1996) Elizabeth A. Sheehan, "Victorian clitoridectomy: Isaac Baker Brown and his harmless operation", in Roger N. Lancaster and Micaela di Leonardo (eds), The gender/sexuality reader: Culture, history, political economy (London: Routledge, 1997) Robert Darby and J. Steven Svoboda, A rose by any other name: Rethinking the differences/similarities between male and female genital cutting, Medical Anthropology Quarterly, Vol. 21, September 2007 Kirsten Bell, Genital Cutting and Western Discourses on Sexuality. Medical Anthropology Quarterly 19(2) 2005 :125â€“148 Robert Darby and J. Steven Svoboda, "A rose by any other name: Symmetry and asymmetry in male and female genital cutting", in Chantal Zabus (ed.), Fearful Symmetries: Essays and Testimonies around Excision and Circumcision (Amsterdam and New York: Rodopi, 2009) </div> Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Circumcision of females darby Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Robert Darby Subject The topic of the resource Circumcision history Description An account of the resource Archive of the work published by Robert Darby Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Robert Darby Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived circinfo.org historyofcircumcsion.org Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Text Any textual data included in the document <div class="intro" id="intro"> <h3>Genital cutting in cultural discourse</h3> Ylva Hernlund and Bettina Shell-Duncan (eds). Transcultural Bodies: Female Genital Cutting in Global Context. Piscataway, NJ: Rutgers University Press, 2007. 373 pp. ISBN 13 978-0813540269. $34.95 (paper) Ylva Hernlund and Bettina Shell-Duncan, the editorial team from the University of Washington that produced the excellent book Female “Circumcision” in Africa: Culture, Controversy, and Change (Lynne Rienner publishing, 2000) have done it again. Transcultural Bodies marginally even surpasses their earlier compilation in originality, quality and page-turning interest. The book will come as a profound shock to those in the grip of the common Anglophone assumption that female genital cutting is so horrible and injurious that it cannot possibly be compared with male circumcision, that harmless surgical intervention on baby boys that has nearly as many marvelous health benefits as the philosopher’s stone. On the contrary, the contributors to this book argue forcefully that male and female genital cutting have very similar cultural rationales and physiological outcomes. The leading article by the two editors, surveying female genital cutting (FGC) as it relates to culture and rights, starts us off with a bang. In a far-ranging article they update us on important events and scholarship during the seven years since their first book and provide overviews each of the essays in this volume. They remark that “the debate between universalism and relativism in the field of human rights has long been premised on a fixed conception of both culture and rights.” In fact, as the authors show, both culture and human rights are continuously evolving and undergoing redefinition. The editors also contest the popular notion that human rights is a Western construct imposed by First World countries on the rest of the world, arguing that human rights has relevance and robustness to all humanity. They further argue that “a human rights culture” has become a central aspect of global culture and that cultural relativism should not be taken too far or allowed to become an excuse for abuse. But neither should human rights be allowed to privilege one culture over another, and the editors question whether FGC is best approached as a human rights issue. Support for this doubt may be found in the fact that the vilification of a practice that can follow its labeling as a human rights violation can impede or halt scholarly inquiry, as Carla Makhlouf Obermeyer shows when identifying the scarcity of medically objective inquiry into its side effects. Double standards on FGC and MGC Hernlund and Shell-Duncan draw attention to the irony and double standards inherent in the fact that a simple prick to the clitoris is probably illegal under US law while “much more invasive procedures” on males are entirely legal and socially accepted. They devote a full page to a judicious survey of the critics of American circumcision practices, singling out the much-published pediatrician Dr. Robert Van Howe repeatedly – though regrettably getting his name wrong. Next they examine the greatly expanded interest since their last book in “designer vaginas,” cosmetic operations that women in the developed world women are having performed, usually because they want their genitals to look like those of desired models in pornography and or in the belief that the alteration will enhance the sexual experience. The authors analyze in depth the consequent ironies and double standards. Toward the end of the article, male circumcision is mentioned again, when it is noted that in 1975, after the American Academy of Pediatrics issued a statement that there were “no health benefits whatsoever” in routine infant circumcision, there were no moves to outlaw the practice. Instead, “deep-seated religious, aesthetic, and cultural norms” were allowed to influence the decision to take “an educational approach” instead. Following the editors’ introduction, Janice Boddy contributes a perceptive analysis of the FGC controversy in cultural perspective. “Much popular writing on female circumcision is polemical, preachy, advocacy driven, and endlessly self-referential,” she writes. “It is the appeal to social evolutionary thought in all its arrogant certainty that is the most troubling feature of FGM texts.” By this she refers to the common conviction that eventually those unsophisticated Africans will overcome their dark, ignorant ways and adopt enlightened Western approaches. According to this bromide, “African women are mired in culture; ‘we’ hold the light of truth.” Boddy wonders why there is “no outrage remotely parallel to that which leads some women to insist that circumcised women are entirely alienated from the essence of the female personality? Is it because these excisions are performed on boys, and only girls and women figure as victims in our cultural lexicon?” Next L. Amede Obiora contributes a vibrant analysis of Ousmane Sembene’s film about FGC Moolaade. She argues that “Women give in to [FGC] presumably to gain something else for their lives, and there are substantial trade-offs.” Fascinatingly, she later observes that “the commonplace reification of culture as the prime site and source of gender oppression exhausts its usefulness at some point, and the denigration of culture implicit in such representations becomes all the more wrongheaded insofar as it obscures the attributes of culture that can catalyze desirable change.” The Norwegian anthropologist Aud Talle follows with a study of “the anthropology of a difficult issue” in which she reaches heights of poetic eloquence in describing the plight of Somali émigré women in London. “In the streets of London they are not ‘in the world’ with a perfect body as they were on the savannah in Somalia. Now they wander forward as ‘lacks’—mutilated souls in mutilated bodies. They are signs of a story they have not written themselves; in fact, their bodies have become sites of a worldwide discourse on morality.” Sara Johnsdotter examines attitudes to FGC held by Somali men and women now living in Sweden. The threat of action by Somali authorities, combined with social disapproval of FGC (as opposed to its endorsement in Somalia) and journalistic sensationalism, lead to virtually all Somalis living in Sweden opposing FGC. Johnsdotter notes that “an implicit and sometimes explicit moral discourse [is] attached to the issue of female circumcision,” rendering reasoned discussion very difficult, since “Almost anything about the horrifying consequences of these practices can be alleged in the public discourse without evidence to support it.” She remarks that a symbolic pricking to satisfy Somali cultural requirements removes no tissue and “is far less invasive than what is done to male infants at Swedish hospitals during male circumcision.” Thus, “In a strictly medical sense there is no reasonable motive to forbid pricking of girls’ genitalia while permitting male circumcision. The reason for allowing … male circumcision at hospitals while forbidding female symbolic sunnah circumcision is purely ideological.” Australian legislation against female circumcision Juliet Rogers follows with a trenchant critique of Australian legislation against FGC. Women are described as “mutilated” and “represented as objects to be managed.” In the passing of anti-FGC legislation in Victoria, “the authority of law [was represented] as essential to protect Australia from ‘barbarous practices’ and simultaneously constructed ‘others’ as barbaric and as ‘mutilated’ social agents who were not entitled to the rights of citizenship.” Like the other authors in this volume, Rogers points to feminism’s focus on the clitoris as problematic, and suggests that it is “the representation of the clitoris as a singularly universally understood and experienced entity that is precisely the problem.” An ironic aspect of the double standard in Australia is that while the Commonwealth health insurance scheme, Medicare, provides a rebate for circumcision of boys, it is specifically prohibited from covering any cutting procedures on the female genitals, no matter how old the owner. It has been pointed out that this restriction may breach the Sex Discrimination Act, which provides that each gender must receive equal treatment in the provision of Commonwealth benefits and services. Charles Piot checks in with a brief yet perceptive analysis of the Kasinga case, in which the United States granted political asylum to a Togolese woman on account of her alleged fear of FGC. Corinne A. Kratz next provides an in-depth review of both Kasinga and the other precedent-setting US asylum case based on fear of FGC, Abankwah. She demonstrates that both cases involved substantial fraud by immigrants whose main aim was to secure permanent residency in the USA! Kasinga was actually from a Togolese group that does not circumcise females, while the very name of “Abankwah”, as well as nearly everything else she said about herself, turned out to be fabricated. Nevertheless, in accordance with legal principles, her award of asylum still stands as good law and a precedent in the USA. Kratz wonders whether “political lobbying and media outrage short-circuit judicious reasoning?” Kratz’s analysis gives substance to the editors’ discussion of the sexist bias inherent in the fact that fear of circumcision is a ground for seeking asylum only by women; the assumption seems to be that males are expected to take what’s coming to them without complaint. Michelle C. Johnson contributes an interesting case study of the interactions of culture, religion and FGC among the Mandinga people of Guinea-Bissau and Mandinga immigrants living in Portugal. She shows that Mandinga women affirm what they see as “the fusion of ethnicity and Islam by inscribing it onto their bodies.” Mansura Dopico provides us with a study of the sexual experiences of the infibulated women of rural Eritrea and in Australia, demonstrating the great variety and unpredictability of their sexual responsiveness. Johnson argues that, contrary to common belief, “there is some evidence that removal of the clitoris cannot inhibit either arousal or orgasm.” And that “the relationship between FGC and lack of sexual satisfaction had been grossly exaggerated.” R. Elise B. Johansen writes about Somalis and infibulation in Norway. Her chapter relates to broader topics than FGC (such as the Somali construction of female virginity and the contrast between the Western tendency to fake orgasm and the Somali tendency to hide female sexual pleasure), and it is all the more fascinating for the breadth of her approach. She makes intriguing counterpositions of Western and Somali views on sexual matters and comments that “The practice of genital cutting itself suggests that inborn genital differences are not considered sufficient to constitute proper men and women.” Next comes the irrepressible iconoclast Fuambai Ahmadu, who told the story of her own circumcision during a visit from the US to her childhood home in Sierra Leone in the editors’ earlier collection. Her unusual status as an African-born, Western-educated academic on the topic of FGC who voluntarily returned to her homeland to be circumcised gives her a uniquely authoritative perspective on the huge cultural prejudices that constitute beams in the eye of the West. She suggests that “the potential psychosocial damage of negative FGM campaigns on teenage girls and women could be far worse than any impact of the physical act of cutting the clitoris.” She refuses to accept her definition by enlightened others as “mutilated,” forthrightly affirming that “I have not experienced any change, either elimination or reduction, in sexual response following my own initiation.” Male and female circumcision compared The best essay in the collection is left for last. Henrietta L. Moore contributes a magisterial and far-reaching meditation on culture, difference and power, gender and agency, drawing together all the other authors in an integration that transcends the FGC issue and embraces topics of concern to all humanity — culture, justice, gender, and understanding difference. “The West, it turns out, has culture just like everyone else,” she reports. “The very idea of a rooted, native culture was the product of a traveling, comparative Western gaze.” It is so obvious and yet so rarely mentioned that Africans in circumcising cultures “may have both positive and negative feelings toward female genital operations” – just like Americans with respect to male circumcision. Moore writes that “a curious resonance is established between Western discourses of liberated female sexuality and the relationship of the clitoris to sexual pleasure and agency and more ‘local’ male discourses about the importance of removing the clitoris in order to bring sexuality under the woman’s control as a means to ensure successful, socially reproductive sex.” She observes that the political asylum cases discussed in earlier chapters “relied to a significant extent on reifying and ossifying culture … What characterizes the globalized world is everyone thinks they know about culture and about the difference that cultural difference makes.” In fact, however, new “forms of hybridization, cosmopolitan consciousness, and emerging secularism … are everywhere accompanied by new forms of cultural fundamentalism, nationalism, and religious intolerance.” Regrettably, well over a score of typographical, grammatical and reference errors not present in Shell-Duncan’s and Hernlund’s earlier volume mar this production. I also spotted one substantive error that should have been caught and corrected by fact the checkers, concerning the organization of the (now renamed) Immigration and Naturalization Service. Such imperfections do not undermine the validity of the authors’ conclusions, though they do indicate a degree of laxness, or perhaps haste, that should have been avoided. Transcultural Bodies makes an important contribution to critical thinking about genital cutting, human rights, anthropology, feminism and culture, offering a broad-ranging plurality of perspectives and topics that is all too rare these days, yet remaining focused on the unifying topic of female genital cutting. It is so well-done that it transcends its seemingly narrow subject matter and (as Moore suggests) offers a broad and stimulating perspective on our increasingly globalised world. Reviewed by J. Steven Svoboda, Attorneys for the Rights of the Child, San Francisco <h3>One American woman's experience of genital mutilation</h3> Patricia Robinett. The Rape of Innocence: One Woman's Story of Female Genital Mutilation in the U.S.A. Eugene, Oregon: Aesculapius Press, 2006. 112 pages. $20.00. Available from Amazon or <a href="http://www.aesculapiuspress.com./" rel="noopener" target="_blank">direct from the publisher</a> Patricia Robinett has written a truly remarkable account of her personal story. The author was a victim of genital surgeries performed on her when she was a girl. She describes the events fairly objectively though not without passion, and of course strong anger particularly at her mother who arranged the procedure. Patricia proves herself that rarest of writers who can write a memoir as her first book and maintain a focus and an objectivity that is genuinely admirable. She writes movingly, stunningly, about events arising from her own incredible experiences while leading the reader through her emotional roller coaster ride rather than, as is more common and much easier, essentially strapping the reader into the car and leaving them to handle the rough ride themselves. More impressively, Patricia simultaneously manages to achieve a paradoxical distance and perspective that places her life events in a larger societal context relating to the paradox that is genital cutting in the US. Some of us know that the nineteenth century craze for medicalized male circumcision was accompanied by a passion for the corresponding female procedure. Medical justifications were virtually identical, the general idea being that moral hygiene and personal hygiene mirrored each other and that both could be advanced by reducing the incentive, ie., the pleasure produced by youthful masturbation. Female circumcision appears never to have numerically matched the cutting of boys. The practice gradually died out in the 1950's. Articles advocating female circumcision were published in medical journals and popular magazines (including Cosmopolitan) even into the 1970's in the US. As the author states on the back cover of her book, Blue Cross Blue Shield paid for clitoridectomies until 1977. Ever since medicalized circumcision first developed one and a half centuries ago, we have lived in a profoundly wounded culture, which in turn has found an almost limitless number of ways to harm individual boys and girls. Patricia's story is a horribly sad one. It is bad enough that her labia were cut in a misguided attempt to prevent urinary tract infections (UTIs) but as she relates, she was forced to undergo a second genital cutting. Chillingly, "it appears it was not necessarily [performed] for medical purposes." According to the author, she and her mother never bonded and a sort of power struggle was partly to blame for her repeat surgeries. Sadly, though of course completey understandably, the author is a bit fixated on seemingly trivial childhood events such as her kindergarten sweetheart (whose name she won't tell us), her strict principal who may have been the one who recommended the clitoridectomy to her mother, etc. I dare say any of us who endured what the author did might have learned to survive through similar psychological defense mechanisms. In her twenties, Patricia took an important step in her path of self-discovery and recovery when she started volunteering as a counselor at an institution called White Bird. She describes White Bird as "a surreal environment where all the Ph.D.s wore plaid, flannel shirts and were paid minimum wage, including the CEO." In one pivotal session, a previously suicidal client of Patricia's turned over to her all the razor blades the client had previously used to cut herself. In the author's words, "The unspoken message was clear. 'I don't need to cut myself any longer.'" As she gained maturity and perspective from her work and from her path of healing, "My world view became less judgmental. I saw that there are no good guys, there are no bad guysâ€”there is only fear and love." The author does make one basic mistake when she incorrectly states that a reduction in UTIs from two in a hundred boys to one in a hundred boys would be a 100% reduction in UTIs whereas of course it is actually a 50% reduction. Nevertheless her point remains valid: relative percentage reductions can be high even when the actual overall reduction is small. Luckily, the author was able to find some poor redemptive value in relating her story to others and moving on, transforming the pain and working to protect others from it. This short book is an essential one for anyone interested in genital mutilations, or indeed for anyone who cares about humanity, love, and survival. Fair disclosure: Although I do not believe this affected my opinion of her book, Patricia is a friend of mine. Reviewed by J. Steven Svoboda, Attorneys for the Rights of the Child, San Francisco <h2>Female Circumcision: Multicultural Perspectives</h2> Female Circumcision: Multicultural Perspectives. Edited by Rogaia Mustafa Abusharaf. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2006. 287 pp. $19.95. Long-time Sudanese-American activist against female genital mutilation (here referred to as female genital cutting – FGC) Rogaia Mustafa Abusharaf has edited Female Circumcision: Multicultural Perspectives. For better and for worse, this book exemplifies the strengths and weaknesses of edited volumes. Some contributions (those at the beginning and end of the book) are highly engaging and enlightening, while several of the middle chapters add little to the existing literature or to our understanding. Things start off very promisingly indeed. Following a well-written (if somewhat pro forma) overview of the chapters to come written by the editor, Egyptian-American anthropologist Fadwa El Guindi provides us with a fascinating and laudably free-thinking overview of FGC among Nubians in Egypt. El Guindi’s title, “Had This Been Your Face, Would You Leave It As Is?” suggests that her mission is to re-examine practices in a manner as free from cultural biases as possible. Her extensive experience as an activist is evident. “Over forty years ago … [Charles] Callender and I argued for the significance of the notion of the cultural equivalence of male and female circumcision. I argue now that this cultural equivalence extends analytically as a structural equivalence: that is, the two gendered rituals play equivalent roles in the transition of male and female children to adulthood … mark[ing] a transitional phase between birth and marriage.” El Guindi trenchantly notes that “Americans who express concern about female circumcision in other places do not campaign against [nose jobs, facelifts, and breast enlargement] with equal fervor, despite the known health risks involved.” Subsequently she expands on the analogy. “The phenomenon deceptively called ‘breast enhancement’ could well be called ‘breast mutilation.’ Culturally, it amounts to substituting men’s sex pleasure in women’s breasts for their maternal function.” Accordingly, she points out that “Cross-cultural discussions about these matters should employ a single standard, not apply different standards to boys and girls or to Americans and Arabs or Africans.” Cruelty of male circumcision El Guindi finds lack of choice and absence of ritual to be the two most pungent problems with male circumcision (male genital cutting – MGC): Choice is not brought up in relation to men who undergo very severe circumcision in various parts of the world, or the male babies in America who are operated on involuntarily. I find the cruelty of American male infant circumcision to lie in two dimensions: the absence of choice, and the absence of ritual. … Why do not activist feminists care about men’s circumcision? Their agenda is narrowly focused on women in Africa and the Middle East, who can be presented as inferior, less advanced, or more oppressed than Western women. … Most interventionist debate … assumes that women in non-Western societies are childlike and helpless, passive victims of their men, who must be saved by Western missionaries and feminists. This stance is arrogant and ethnocentric. El Guindi’s conclusion is highly sympathetic to current efforts to bring discussion of male circumcision within a regular ethical framework: “In considering circumcision, we must include male and female forms in the same discussion.” In the chapter following this extremely promising start, the Swiss-Palestinian academic Sami A. Aldeeb Abu-Sahlieh criticises “a tendency to exaggerate the harmful sexual effects of female circumcision and to underestimate those of male circumcision.” In the end, he finds that it comes down to human rights. “The right to physical integrity is a principle. We must accept or reject genital cutting in totality. If we accept this principle, we must refrain from cutting of children’s genitals regardless of their sex, their religion, or their culture.” I found Aldeeb’s contribution to include a rather more detailed review of religious doctrine than necessary, and yet one cannot help but welcome the perspective of the author of the excellent book Male and Female Circumcision Among Jews, Christians, and Muslims: Religious, Medical, Social and Legal Debate (Shangri-La Publications, 2001). Double standards rule Following this stellar beginning, the quality of the chapters in the succeeding section on African programs to eradicate FGC declines sharply. Asha Mohamud, Samson Radeny, and Karen Ringheim address “Community-Based Efforts to End FGC in Kenya,” and in the process reveal that have never met a male foreskin they liked, and are probably the record holders (no mean feat!) for the number of times they blithely assert the incomparability of MGC and FGC. Methinks they protest too much! Moreover, reading between the lines, it is evident that they are twisting their respondents’ words to make them conform sufficiently with their sexist shibboleths. The degree to which the three authors are weighted down with dogma is ironic, given that the two principal programs they are reviewing (Maendeleo Ya Wanawake Organization – MYWO – and Program for Appropriate Technology in Health – PATH) have helped reduce FGC while remaining culturally sensitive by retaining a balanced perspective that permits ceremonial, non-mutilating rituals to continue. I also wonder why these three musketeers mention but fail to respond to “critics [who] questioned the priority given to eradicating FGM I light of other prevalent health problems, such as malaria.” Most alarmingly, the authors assume that men (apparently by themselves) are forcing FGC upon girls to control their sexuality, whereas it is typically the mothers and grandmothers who are the primary continuers of the practice – as Havelock Ellis noticed over a century ago in his pioneering studies of sexual practices (Studies in the Psychology of Sex). Amal Abdel Hadi tells a happier tale about Deir El Barsha, a Christian village in Egypt, which discontinued FGC in 1992 as a natural outgrowth of development efforts that promoted women’s participation and equality. The next two chapters, respectively by Nafissatou J. Diop with Ian Askew, and Hamid El Bashir, are more conventional and do little to advance the ongoing dialogue about reconciling opposition to FGC with concerns about cultural imperialism. Shahira Ahmed’s review of the work of Sudan’s Babiker Badri Scientific Association for Women’s Studies and the Eradication of Female Circumcision is even worse, uncritically parroting the attempts by Muslim clerics to justify their opposition to FGC yet simultaneous support for MGC. The next chapters improve greatly. Raqiya D. Abdalla, who nearly thirty years ago published the groundbreaking book on FGC, Sisters in Affliction, concludes the section on African anti-FGC programs by providing us with several heart-rending first-person accounts by women who survived infibulations. Female circumcision in Canada The final section, on debates in immigrant-receiving societies, is more even-handed and engaging. Audrey Macklin discusses attempts to use the criminal law to combat FGC in Canada, showing the potentially counterproductive outcomes of overly paternalistic approaches. Intriguingly, she observes that the argument for outlawing MGC was actually stronger than it was for the action the Canadian government took in explicitly criminalizing FGC when that practice had already been pronounced illegal under existing laws against assault: From a purely doctrinal perspective, it would have made more sense to create an exemption from the law of assault for male circumcision, a common cultural and religious practice in North America. ... The fact that no one seriously fears criminal prosecution for circumcising a male child speaks to the power of dominant cultural norms to supersede the letter of the law and determine what the law is “really” about. After lengthy investigation, Macklin discovered, to her astonishment, that the primary impetus to criminalize FGC in Canada “emanated from women in immigrant communities who inserted themselves directly into the legislative process.” Macklin contradicts herself on at least one point, stating on p. 216 that no one has ever been charged in Canada with an FGC-related offense, and then asserting four pages later that a Sudanese couple was charged in 2002 for performing genital cutting on their daughter. Charles Piot checks in with a brief yet perceptive, provocative and brave analysis of the Kasinga case in the United States, in which political asylum was granted to a Togolese woman based on her alleged fear of FGC. I could not help but notice that this appears to be an earlier version of his similar article in Bettina Shell-Duncan and Ylva Hernlund’s superlative collection Transcultural Bodies: Female Genital Cutting in Global Context (2007). Nevertheless, Piot is so good at what he does that I enjoyed rereading his even-handed review of this woman’s fraud-filled story and of the systemic biases and crude anti-African prejudice (among the court and the public alike) that contributed to her eventual victory. The unfailingly brilliant Nigerian-American scholar L. Amede Obiora concludes the book with an afterword ostensibly reviewing and integrating the contributions to this volume. Much as I enjoy Obiora’s writing and her commitment to a mode of FGC scholarship that is free from groupthink and committed to balancing culture and rights, I was disappointed by her failure to even mention Sami Aldeeb’s contribution to Female Circumcision. Despite the efforts of several contributors to grapple with MGC, and the double standards that necessarily get raised when analysis of it is quarantined from FGC, Obiora focuses exclusively on FGC. Female Circumcision: Multicultural Perspectives ends up as bit of a mixed bag, but a reasonably-priced book whose opening and concluding chapters amply repay the reader’s attention and financial outlay. Reviewed by J. Steven Svoboda, Attorneys for the Rights of the Child, San Francisco </div> Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Book reviews on FGC darby Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Robert Darby Subject The topic of the resource Circumcision history Description An account of the resource Archive of the work published by Robert Darby Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Robert Darby Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived circinfo.org historyofcircumcsion.org Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Text Any textual data included in the document <div class="intro" id="intro"> <h4>The UN Approach to Harmful Traditional Practices: Conceptual Problems</h4> The following article by R. Charli Carpenter was published in the International Feminist Journal of Politics in 2004. Abstract This essay responds to Winter, Thompson and Jeffreys' critique of the UN approach to harmful traditional practices. By questioning why these authors address only a limited set of harmful practices in the West, in particular missing the problem of infant male circumcision, I argue their critique is less radical than it appears. Indeed, the article reproduces what I see as the most problematic and gendered assumptions in the UN's approach: namely, the conceptualization of harmful practices solely in terms of women's victimization and men's benefit. Keywords: boys, children, circumcision, culture, feminism, gender, harmful practices, infants, women This essay responds to Winter, Thompson and Jeffreys' article 'The UN Approach to Harmful Traditional Practices: Some Conceptual Problems' (2002). They argue that in emphasizing only those practices affecting women and children in non-western countries, the UN obfuscates harmful traditional practices (HTPs) to which western women and children are exposed. This is an important argument. However, the authors do not go far enough in critiquing the UN approach to HTPs. Indeed, three of the thorniest conceptual issues are not analyzed at all, but are instead reproduced within the text of the article. First, the authors accept the assumption that only practices performed 'for male benefit' are harmful. Second, they seem to treat only women as victims of 'culture'. Third, although the UN claims to address abuses against 'women and children', only certain abuses against children (those that fit the two above assumptions) seem to be included. Together, these blinders explain why the authors' list of harmful western practices affecting children excludes what is perhaps the most obvious one of all: the genital mutilation of infant boys, euphemistically known as 'infant male circumcision'. Infant Male Circumcision in the United States [1] In the USA, 3,000 male infants are circumcised each day (AAP 1999: 686), generally without anesthetic, having given no consent, risking surgical complication or death and as the medical community has now admitted, receiving no verifiable medical benefits (AMA 2000). [2] The practice involves strapping down an infant boy, tearing the foreskin from his glans, and then either slicing or burning the foreskin off, leaving the glans (normally an internal organ) exposed (Fleiss 1997: 6). The UN Fact Sheet describes cultural practices as 'reflecting values and beliefs held by members of a community for periods often spanning generations' (UN Fact Sheet: 2). Ellsworth (1999) demonstrates that culture alone accounts for the practice in the USA. Contrary to popular belief, there are no convincing hygienic or medical indications for mutilating infants' penises (AAP 1999: 686). The practice in the USA originated in the Victorian era as a means of punishing boys who masturbated (Fleiss 1997: 1). The routinization of circumcision took place alongside the pathologization and medicalization of childbirth within the US medical establishment (Rooks 1998). Today, with circumcision rates declining in western countries, parental decisions regarding circumcision remain based on tradition, the key consideration being whether the father was circumcised (Brown and Brown 1987). Is circumcision a harmful practice? First, even when successful, it is acutely traumatic for babies (Anand 1987: 1325). Circumcision cuts off 'more than 3 feet of veins, arteries and capillaries, 240 feet of nerves, and . . . 20,000 nerve endings' (Fleiss 1997: 5). Negative side effects of successful circumcisions include disfiguration and desensitization (Klauber and Boyle 1974); effects on the neonate's brain development (Goldman 1997: 110); and a higher risk for STDs (Donovan et al. 1994). Moreover, 1 in 476 routine circumcisions in the USA is likely to result in complications (Christakis et al. 2000: 246), including uncontrollable bleeding, infections and in extreme cases, removal of the entire penis (Fleiss 1997: 7). It is estimated that between 1 in 24,000 and 1 in 500,000 baby boys will die from complications related to the procedure (Thompson 1990: 9). Even if there were no side effects and anesthesia were always used, allowing parents to consent to the permanent mutilation of their children promotes the property status of children, which is in itself harmful both to children and to society (Somerville 2000). It also violates the universal right to bodily integrity. As Bhimji (2000) argues, legitimizing the violation of a human right is harmful, not only to the person whose rights are violated, but also to the promotion of a culture of human rights generally. How could an analysis of 'harmful traditional practices against women and children' in the West miss such an obvious case as infant male circumcision? The authors adopted the UN's conceptual definition of HTPs (p. 78), therefore only certain practices with certain victims were consistent with their analysis. First, Winter et al. uncritically accept the UN claim that the relevant practices are those that have 'been performed for male benefit' (UN Fact Sheet: 2). This emphasis on beneficiaries rather than perpetrators is a useful way of glossing over the fact that many of the practices in the UN Fact Sheet are perpetrated directly by women on other women or small children of both sexes (see pp. 81 and 88). It is, however, not a meaningful criterion analytically because some women also benefit from such practices. [3] Moreover, this formulation excludes altogether those harmful practices justified solely as benefiting women. This may partly explain why infant male circumcision is not addressed either at the UN, or by the authors. Two of the most common reasons given for circumcising boys are that circumcision protects women against STDs, and that female partners prefer circumcised men sexually (Lightfoot-Klein 1996). Second, the assumption appears to be that only women can be victims of HTPs: 'the concept has been developed as a way of naming and combating some of the most blatant forms of male domination of women' (p. 72). In short, practices that otherwise fit the description, but affect males, do not count. I suspect the exclusion of harm to males from the definition of 'cultural practices' is linked to the association of 'women' with 'culture', which has often been used to justify lack of attention to human rights abuses of women (Peterson 1990). By designating cultural practices as 'harmful' the UN rightly denies the validity of this stance, but it simultaneously reproduces the assumption that it is women, not men, who are victims of culture. Indeed, patriarchy-legitimating abuses to which men and boys are typically subjected, including sex-selective massacre, conscription, sexual violence in prisons, gay-bashing and socialization into hegemonic masculinities do not appear to be considered 'cultural' practices (and some may not even be considered 'harmful'). While it may be countered that the UN's objective with HTPs (and the authors') is precisely not to (again) focus on adult men, the exclusion of male infants from attention is more surprising given the UN's apparently sex-inclusive focus on 'children' as well as 'women'. Here, it is analytically important to distinguish cases where children as such are harmed from cases where girls and boys experience harm differently. Winter et al. cite some examples of the former, such as infanticide (p. 82) and the medicalization of childbirth with its increase in child mortality rates (p. 85). However, other forms of abuse are sex-related: for example, although both boys and girls are raped and beaten, girls are more vulnerable to sexual abuse, and boys to physical abuse (including mutilation) in the West. According to the UN's approach, harmful practices 'against women and children' seem to include cases where children of both sexes are injured, but only girl children seem to be emphasized as victims of sex-related abuse. For example, Winter et al. describe 'male sexual abuse of female children' in much detail (pp. 83â€“4) but ignore the issue of child-beating, much of which is perpetrated by mothers on sons. Given this conceptualization of HTPs it becomes less surprising that infant male circumcision is on neither the UN's radar screen nor the authors', but it is hardly less problematic. That the UN criteria explicitly exclude practices such as infant male circumcision speaks not only to the UN's cultural bias, but also to the utter inadequacy of its focus to counter some of the most prevalent human rights abuses in western culture. If the only harmful traditional practices on the UN agenda are those done to women for the benefit of men then any practices affecting males (including children) or ostensibly done for women's benefit will be neglected. The authors are silent on this matter: despite their claims of addressing 'conceptual problems', their analysis is primarily substantive. At the conceptual level, they reproduce instead of question the most fundamental problems of all. R. Charli Carpenter Department of Politics and IR Drake University <h3>NOTES</h3> 1. This argument should not be construed as a comparison of infant male circumcision to the more extreme forms of FGM. I agree with many other feminists that these practices are not comparable in scope or severity. Infant male circumcision can and should be condemned on its own lack of merit. 2. The Circumcision Information and Resource Pages on the Web include a compilation of statements on circumcision by the medical establishment in industrialized countries around the world. <a href="http://www.cirp.org/library/statements" rel="noopener" target="_blank">See http://www.cirp.org/library/statements</a> 3 For example, FGM has persisted in places over the objection of some men partly because it benefits the older women and the female cutters (Gruenbaum 2001). <h4>REFERENCES</h4> American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP). 1999. 'Circumcision Policy Statement', Pediatrics 103 (3): 686â€“93. American Medical Association (AMA). 2000. 'Report 10 of the Council on Scientific Affairs: Neonatal Circumcision.' <a href="http://www.ama-assn.org/ama/pub/article/2036%C3%83%C2%A2%C3%A2%E2%80%9A%C2%AC" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Online at http://www.ama-assn.org/ama/pub/article/2036â€“2511.html</a> Anand, K. 1987. 'Pain and Its Effects on the Human Neonate and Fetus', New England Journal of Medicine 317: 1321â€“9. Bhimji, M. D. 2000. 'Infant Male Circumcision: A Violation of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.' <a href="http://www.longwoods.com/hl/pdf/circum.pdf" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Online at http://www.longwoods.com/hl/pdf/circum.pdf</a> Brown, M. S. and Brown, C. A. 1987. 'Circumcision Decision: Prominence of Social Concerns', Pediatrics 80 (2): 215â€“19. Christakis, D., Harvey, E., Zerr, D. M., Feudtner, C., Wright, J. and Connell, F. 2000. 'A Trade-off Analysis of Routine Newborn Circumcision', Pediatrics 105 (1) Supplement: 246â€“9. Donovan, B., Bassett, I. and Bodsworth, N. J. 1994. 'Male Circumcision and Common Sexually Transmissible Diseases in a Developed Nation Setting', Genitourinary Medicine 70: 317â€“20. Ellsworth, K. 1999. 'Universal Human Rights in Discourse and Practice: The Culture of Circumcision in U.S. Foreign Policy.' Paper presented at the Western Political Science Association Annual Conference, Seattle, WA (March). Fleiss, P. 1997. 'The Case against Circumcision', Mothering 85 (Winter). <a href="http://www.mothering.com/10-0-0/html/10%C3%83%C2%A2%C3%A2%E2%80%9A%C2%AC" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Online at http://www.mothering.com/10-0-0/html/10â€“1-0/10â€“1-circumcision85.shtml</a> Goldman, R. 1997. Circumcision: The Hidden Trauma. Boston, MA: Vanguard Publications. Gruenbaum, E. 2001. The Female Circumcision Controversy: An Anthropological Perspective. Philadelphia, PA: University of Pennsylvania Press. Klauber, G. and Boyle, J. 1974. 'Prenuptial Skin-Bringing Complications of Circumcision', Urology 3: 722â€“3. Lightfoot-Klein, H. 1996. 'Similarities in Attitudes and Misconceptions toward Infant Male Circumcision in North American and Ritual Female Genital Mutilation in Africa.' The Fourth International Symposium on Sexual Mutilations: Global Perspectives on Male and Female Genital Mutilation: Circumcision, Ethics, and Human Rights, Lausanne, Switzerland. <a href="http://www.fgmnetwork.org/intro/mgmfgm.html" rel="noopener" target="_blank">See also http://www.fgmnetwork.org/intro/mgmfgm.html</a> Peterson, V. S. 1990. 'Whose Rights? A Critique of the ''Givens'' in Human Rights Discourse', Alternatives 15 (3): 303â€“44. Rooks, J. 1998. Midwifery and Childbirth in America. Philadelphia, PA: Temple University Press. Somerville, M. 2000. '<a href="http://www.intact.ca/canary.htm" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Altering Baby Boys' Bodies: The Ethics of Infant Male Circumcision</a>', in Margaret Somerville The Ethical Canary: Science, Society and the Human Spirit, pp. 202â€“19. Toronto: Viking. Thompson, R. S. 1990. 'Routine Circumcision in the Newborn: An Opposing View', Journal of Family Practice 31 (2): 189â€“96. <a href="http://www.cirp.org/library/disease/UTI/thompson/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Available at http://www.cirp.org/library/disease/UTI/thompson/.</a> United Nations. Fact Sheet No. 23, Harmful Traditions Practices Affecting the Health of Women and Children. <a href="http://www.unhchr.ch/html/menu6/2/fs23.htm" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Available at http://www.unhchr.ch/html/menu6/2/fs23.htm</a> Winter, B., Thompson, D. and Jeffreys, S. 2002. 'The UN Approach to Harmful Practices: Some Conceptual Problems', International Feminist Journal of Politics 4 (1): 72â€“95. Source: R. Charli Carpenter, "A Response to Bronwyn Winter, Denise Thompson and Sheila Jeffreys, 'The UN Approach to Harmful Traditional Practices: Some Conceptual Problems': Some Other Conceptual Problems", in International Feminist Journal of Politics, Vol. 6, No. 2, June 2004, 308â€“313 (ISSN 1461â€“6742 print/ISSN 1468â€“4470 online Â© 2004 Taylor & Francis Ltd; website: <a href="http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals" rel="noopener" target="_blank">http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals</a> </div> Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource FGM and the United Nations darby Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Robert Darby Subject The topic of the resource Circumcision history Description An account of the resource Archive of the work published by Robert Darby Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Robert Darby Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived circinfo.org historyofcircumcsion.org Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Text Any textual data included in the document <div class="intro" id="intro"> <h3>Aceh 2001: Christina's story</h3> The following report from Aceh, Indonesia, was published in the Sydney Morning Herald in January 2001. <h4>Christians mutilated in "holy war"</h4> Victims tell harrowing tales of forced circumcision in the growing holy war in Indonesia's Maluku islands. Lindsay Murdoch reports. In December, Christina Sagat and other Christians from her village on the island of Kesui, part of the Indonesian Maluku group, were forced to convert to Islam. The conversion included forced circumcision, a mutilation inflicted on hundreds in the isolated island group by extremists of a jihad (Islamic holy war) movement. She shakes with fear but is determined not to cry as she tells her story. Her wounds have healed but this 32-year-old woman is left with the deep pain of unresolved sorrow and humiliation. There is also the pain of betrayal - how could her neighbours, with whom she had lived in harmony, turn on her and lead her to a cruel ordeal? "I feel sad, I feel like I'm no longer 'complete', both as a person and a woman," she said, speaking amid the ruins of Ambon City, the epicentre of the Maluku tragedy. This is her story. I was born and raised in Karlomin, a Catholic village in Kesui island. The island itself is actually dominated by Muslims. Kesui is a very beautiful place, it has a white sandy beach. I lived with my parents and seven brothers and sisters, in-laws, nieces and nephews. I used to help my parents take care of our small plantations. Catholics, Protestants and Muslims used to live peacefully before those local followers of jihad came to the island. In the past, we could hang out and visit friends and families from different religions. If, for example, the Christians were constructing a new church, the Muslims would automatically help, and vice versa. At first, we did not believe it when we heard about the bloody conflict in Ambon and rumours that the Muslims would attack Christian villages in Kesui. We said it was impossible that our own friends and neighbours would attack us. As the situation in Ambon got worse, religious and customary leaders in Kesui met and agreed to stay away from the conflict. About late October, people from nearby islands who had joined the jihad visited Muslim villages often. But the Christians at that time did not see that as a problem. We realised the visits of jihad people were the likely seed of the disaster in the island when my uncle was attacked by Muslim youths in the neighbouring Muslim village. My uncle, as usual, went to buy cigarette papers in that village. But on his way out of the village the mob surrounded him and attacked him. He suffered severe spear and machete wounds all over his body. He was bleeding but managed to get back to our village. But still (before he died) he told us not to take revenge. So we buried him and did exactly what he asked us. But on the next day, another Christian youth was attacked. We heard that the attacker went back to his Muslim village and told his friends that the Christians were ready to attack them. After the second murder, some of the Christians started to believe the rumours about the possible war between Muslims and Christians on the island and fled to the mountains or nearby islands. But many others, including my family, stayed behind. My father was one of the village's cultural leaders so he had to stay to protect the village. In the third week of November, we eventually decided to flee after learning that Muslim mobs were marching toward our village. We packed some clothes, food and valuables and rushed to the mountains. We were very scared. We regretted the fact that we had not made the decision to save our lives earlier. There were about 260 people from my village who stayed on the mountain. But, on the fourth day ... some of our Muslim neighbours found us and told us to follow their religion for our own sake. They said they could not protect us from the jihad people if we were not Muslims. It's very hard to us, but we finally decided to follow the Muslims to their village and do whatever they told us to do in order to save our lives. We're fully aware that refusing to do so would only get us all killed. The Muslim representatives told us to go straight to a mosque in Kampung Baru village so that when the jihad arrived they would think that we had already become Muslims. When we reached the village, the crowd of people and local jihad followers were already waiting for us; they made a barricade along the path to the mosque. I felt like we were just a group of hopeless sheep being led to a slaughterhouse. There we realised that all that the Muslim representatives had told us was completely lies. They had cheated us. They acted as if they cared about our lives, but the truth was they only wanted us to convert to Islam, nothing more. When we all entered the mosque, the habib (Islamic preacher) asked us whether we really wanted to be Muslims. I felt miserable. The habib then told us to say the Al Fatiha prayer (chanted when a person adopts Islam) three times. I did not remember any of the words at all because I did not say it. I just opened my mouth but in my heart I said my own Catholic prayers. The Muslim crowd inside and outside the mosque yelled and waved their machetes, spears. We all cried. I felt mixed up, scared. I told my mum, who sat beside me, "Why do we have to go through all of of this? It is not a self- willing act, it's coercion. I can't do this. But what else can I do. We would only be killed if we refused it, wouldn't we?" Meanwhile, the crowd in the mosque searched our bags, they took out the Bibles, Rosary necklaces and small statues of Mary, which were torn and broken to pieces and burnt outside the mosque. Some of the Muslims shed tears. But I'm sure that's tears of joy because they could finally make us convert to Islam. Some of the people said "Why on earth did you not follow us earlier?" We, especially the men, were told to perform Muslim prayers at the mosque. But I tried to avoid it. I didn't want to do that, did not know the prayers and did not give a damn. The Muslims did not stop their acts there; they continued with the forced circumcisions. All of us, men and women, old and young, even infants and pregnant women, were circumcised under threat. At least 100 females were circumcised. The team went to the houses where we stayed in turn. They came to the house where I stayed on December 4. I asked the Muslim family about who would perform it, whether I would be given anaesthetic, etc. They told me female priests would do the circumcision using a kitchen knife and no anaesthetic was necessary. I said to myself, "What? What kind of circumcision is this? How come they do not bother about the sanitary and health factors of it?" So I tried to avoid them. I pretended not to hear them calling my name. I stayed in my room. I was very, very scared. My body's shaking. I could imagine myself being circumcised. But I realised there was nothing I could do to stop them from doing it because they would certainly kill me and my family if I refused. So I reluctantly came out of my room and entered another room. They told me to undress and sit on a chair which was covered with white cloth. "Open your legs," they said. I saw under the chair a coconut shell filled with water and a kitchen knife. I said. "Oh My God, what would happen to me?" I was so scared, upset too. But I did not dare to resist them, I didn't want to be killed. At first the woman soaked her fingers in the water and then inserted them into my vagina as she looked for the clitoris. After she found it, she pulled it out, took out the kitchen knife and cut it. That hurt very much. I shed tears. They left just like that without giving me any medication. I was lucky, I had some money and went to the store immediately to get antibiotics. I know the men suffered more than us women. The circumcision hurt them more that it did to us because their scars could not heal fast. Several of the men I knew got serious infections after suffering from severe bleeding. My scar healed quite fast, but the sad, humiliated feeling stayed until today. My niece, Cecilia, who at that time was eight months pregnant, was also circumcised. How could they do that to her? I heard she cried. But she did not talk about it a lot, maybe she just wanted to bury it. My mother, who is in her 70s, was also circumcised. Teenagers and even infants were also circumcised. Children were told to soak themselves in the salt water, on the beach, to help healing their scars. I don't understand these people. I don't think the original Ambon Muslim female adults were circumcised. But they insisted we be circumcised. (On December 15, a ship arrived under government supervision to take Christians to the relative safety of Ambon, a move resisted by jihad leaders.) I did not want to miss the chance, so I came over to the houses where my mother and father stayed and asked them to go to the beach to board the ship. But when we got to the beach, we saw most of the people who had boarded the ship had returned to the beach. Then I learnt that jihad leaders were protesting at the way the government team did its job. I guess they just did not want us to leave the island and return to our original religion. We were scared because it was obvious that the government team was helpless. I decided then to get off the island. I told my mum I would leave. I said, "Mother, if I could board that ship, I would not go down here again." My mum was very sad, "You're leaving, don't you love me any more?" I told her: "I will go, but I will find a way to get you and Dad out of the island." The ship left with only 41 people, including me. There were about 100 people, including my brothers and their families and some Christian leaders, who had boarded the ship but then returned to the beach under the Muslims' threat. The Muslims told them that their families who were still on the island would surely be killed if they left. We arrived in Ambon at night after almost three days on the ship. I now stay at the refugee camp at the Stella Maria Church in the Benteng district. I work as a housemaid with a local Christian family. I don't know what I will do with my future. I guess the first thing to do is to find a way to get my parents off the island. But I don't know how. Sometimes when I'm alone I cry if I remember what happened to me there. What makes me sad the most is my uncle who was bleeding and dying of the stabs and wounds but still had a good heart, asking us not to take revenge for him. As for the circumcision, the scar is completely healed. But somehow, I feel sad, I feel like I'm no longer "complete" both as a person and a woman. This week Christina Sagat was rebaptised at a Catholic Church in Ambon City, along with dozens of other Christians from Kesui who were forced to convert to Islam. She told her story to Christiani Tumelap, assistant to the Herald correspondent in Jakarta. Sydney Morning Herald, Saturday, 27 January, 2001 <h4>NOTES</h4> 1. It is not clear from this narrative just what the "circumcision" of the women entailed, though it would appear that it consisted of a cut to the clitoris, wthout excision of any tissue. It is apparent in the case of the men and boys, however, that their entire foreskins were amputated, and Christina actually says that the males were subjected to a more serious operation: "I know the men suffered more than us women. The circumcision hurt them more that it did to us because their scars could not heal fast. Several of the men I knew got serious infections after suffering from severe bleeding." 2. Islam recommends circumcision for both males and females (as a custom or meritorious action), but mandates or requires it for neither. There is no mention of circumcision in the Koran. <a href="http://www.circinfo.org/ethics.html#thetruthaboutislamic" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Further information.</a> </div> Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Islamic extremism darby Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Robert Darby Subject The topic of the resource Circumcision history Description An account of the resource Archive of the work published by Robert Darby Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Robert Darby Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived circinfo.org historyofcircumcsion.org Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Text Any textual data included in the document <div class="intro" id="intro"> <h3>Dr Morris descants on the evils of preputial adhesions</h3> About eighty per cent of all Aryan American women have adhesions which bind together the glans of the clitoris and its prepuce, in part or wholly, and which cause little or much disturbance. The condition very evidently represents a degenerative process that goes with higher civilization. It dates back to the embryonic life of the individual, and consists anatomically in a failure of the genital eminence to develop its epithelial surfaces perfectly enough for complete cleavage between the opposed surfaces of the prepuce and the glans of the clitoris. ... Preputial adhesions in women are similar in character to those which occur less frequently in men, and the resulting disturbances are alike in both sexes, but greater in degree in women because of the more impressionable nervous system of the gentler sex. <div>* * * * * * *</div> Baker Brown was very near the subject of clitoris adhesions when he published his work On the curability of various forms of insanity, epilepsy, catalepsy and hysteria, but his method consisted, not in separation of adhesions, but in bodily removal of the offending clitoris; and he found so many cures resulting from the treatment that he was led astray, as many pioneers are, and amputated the clitoris so often that he was expelled from the London Obstetrical Society in 1867. If he had observed the role that clitoris adhesions play, he would not have fallen into disrepute, because his work, where useless, would certainly have been harmless. It is strange that the subject has been overlooked by so many sharp-eyed gynecologists; but the clitoris is small, and they were after larger game. I doubt if there is a man in this audience who knows if there is a large hole in his left-hand trouser pocket. ... [A review of the literature shows that little has been written on this subject.] Dr Merrill Ricketts, in his noteworthy paper on Circumcision, says, referring to preputial adhesions: "Hystero-epilepsy is a result found in boys and girls alike. No girl or boy should be allowed to become one month old without a thorough examination of the genitals having been made. In many of these cases in girls, or even in women, adhesions, growths, or malformations are the source of the irritation, and should receive immediate and radical attention." Dr N.C. Jones, of Brooklyn, in one of his osteotomy reports, states incidentally that all the patients with bow-legs and knock-knees had preputial adhesions â€“ a coincidence in sings of degeneration probably, and not a relation of cause and effect. Remondino, in his History of Circumcision, says: "The idea of masturbation or of irritation of the genitals ending in reflex neurosis is always, as a rule, associated with the male, and that it has not been associated with the female has deprived her of the same benefit that the prosecution of the study in this regard has been to the male sex." Dr M.F. Price, in a paper read before the American Medical Association in 1874, incidentally refers to the case of a young girl, illy developed [sic], who had neither walked nor talked, and who, on examination by Dr L.A. Sayre, was found to have preputial adhesions with retained secretion. This, Dr Sayre thought, accounted for the child's condition. The above quotations and references are all that I could find upon the subject through the aid of the two great bibliographies, and yet there are thousands upon thousands of women in this country who are suffering from reflex neuroses that are directly and solely dependent upon preputial adhesions. It has now been determined that many of the schoolboys who are known to be bright and yet who cannot study have errors of refraction or heterophoria, and that they are repulsed by print without knowing why. The boy who finally becomes the expert baseball-pitcher might become an Alexander von Humboldt if his eyes were only properly cared for. As a parallel we can now learn that the girl who becomes irritable, disagreeable and hysterical may become charming, interesting and possessed of all feminine graces when her prepuce is forcibly peeled away from the glans of the clitoris, and we have made a distinct step forward in civilization when this fact is generally appreciated by the profession. The importance of preputial adhesions in the female will be doubted by some observers and overestimated by others, just as is the case with heterophoria; but those of us who try to take an intermediate position will know that while some patients are strong enough to withstand one or both of these conditions for a lifetime, there are countless numbers who sink beneath the load that seats itself so insidiously that the patient herself does not realize what she is carrying until neurasthenia untunes her resisting power. <div>* * * * * * *</div> <h4>Summary</h4> 1. The prepuce and the glans clitoridis are bound together by adhesions, partly or completely, in about eighty per cent of all Aryan American women. 2. Preputial adhesions are rare among Negresses, and seem to occur in only a few of the individuals possessing a large admixture of white blood. 3. Highly developed domesticated animals do not present examples of the degeneration, so far as the author's observation has gone. 4. When preputial adhesions are extensive, the glans clitoridis and the imprisoned mucous glands remain undeveloped, but they may develop later when the physician has separated adhesions. 5. The failure of the embryonic genital eminence to properly develop the prepuce and the glans clitoridis for perfect cleavage undoubtedly means that nature is trying to abolish the clitoris as civilization advances. 6. The degenerative process represented by preputial adhesions is characteristic of the civilized type of homo sapiens, in which we find decaying teeth, early falling hair, and imperfect mammae and eye muscles. 7. Preputial adhesions which involve small portions of the glans clitoridis are of interest simply as anatomical curiosities. 8. Preputial adhesions involving a large part or the whole of the glans clitoridis may cause profound disturbance, and they are among the most pronounced of the peripheral irritators. They cause desire for masturbation which leads to neurasthenia, and they are responsible for grave reflex neuroses. 9. Preputial adhesions for a very common factor in invalidism in young women. 10. The clitoris is a little electric button which, pressed by adhesions, rings up the whole nervous system. <h4>Discussion</h4> Dr A.H. Corder A few years ago Dr Sayre advanced view similar to those Dr Morris has propounded, and reported a number of cases, but his experience was confined principally to boys with adherent and inflamed foreskins. He specified early the class of cases in which benefit from circumcision could be expected, and surgeons who select their cases according to Dr Sayre's views are not often disappointed in the results following operative procedures. That a constant state of genital excitement produced by any cause in the male or female may produce structural changes in the [spinal] cord and other remote organs is, in my mind, a settled fact. We all know that a stone in the bladder can produce pain in the glans penis; also that an irritation applied to the periphery may and often is manifested in remote organs â€“ a prolonged reflex irritation will produce structural changes in the organs involved; especially is this true of the genito-urinary organs. I have in more than once instance relieved reflex nervous symptoms and thwarted permanent injury to remote organs by an early circumcision. I see no reason why the same truths should not be applied to the female sexual organs. Dr Morris (closing the discussion) For the sake of brevity I presented this subject in abstract, but my paper when examined in full in the Transactions will answer all the points brought out in the discussion. ... I think Baker Brown was almost on the right track. If he had separated adhesions instead of amputating the clitoris he would not have been expelled from the London Obstetrical Society. He found such profound relief resulting from removing the clitoris that he tried to cure all kinds of reflex neuroses by doing it. Robert T. Morris MD, "Is evolution trying to do away with the clitoris?", Transactions of the American Association of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, Vol. 5, 1892, pp. 288-302 </div> Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Abolishing the clitoris (1892) darby Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Robert Darby Subject The topic of the resource Circumcision history Description An account of the resource Archive of the work published by Robert Darby Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Robert Darby Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived circinfo.org historyofcircumcsion.org Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Text Any textual data included in the document <div class="intro" id="intro"> <h4>"I for one have circumcised as many girls as boys,</h4> <h4>and always with happy results." (1898)</h4> After reading Dr Pratt's article in the March Journal of Orificial Surgery I thought of a case which might be of some interest, bearing out the thought advanced, and as well showing how little those who are blind can see; or are any so hopelessly blind as those who absolutely refuse to see. On February 15 1897 a young couple, bright, intelligent appearing people, came into my office with their only living child, a little girl of two years. She was large for her age, with an abundance of light golden hair, fair smooth skin, blue eyes, and a child who had never appeared to notice anything, could not sit alone, or help herself in the least, could not speak a word. Aggravated case of strabismus of one year's standing. Every few moments she would grind her teeth, of which she had her full complement, squint her eyes, straighten out and utter a cry, not unlike the familiar one of an epileptic. Parents had taken he to every doctor in town, as well as before the Missouri State Medical Society, where after careful examination they pronounced her about hopeless, but advised to do nothing and that at maturity she would probably improve. The parents were not satisfied, as that was the advice given to them with an older child, and it died at two and one-half, with symptoms identical to this one. Next they took her to an oculist to see if he could relieve the strabismus. He examined the eyes carefully and pronounced them perfect. Told the parents the trouble was of deeper origin, he did not know where, and advised bringing her to me, which they did as before stated. The family history was nil, save mother had history of brain fever one year before marriage. Both parents very nervous. No other history of any severe illness for generations. I had the child stripped and immediately saw that the body was covered with hair, as completely as if she were a fully developed woman instead of a two-year-old child. Knowing such a growth of hair came at puberty, and puberty meant an activity of the sexual system, I examined the clitoris, or where it ought to have been, but it was so neatly sealed in by a hypertrophied hood that I could not find a trace of it. I told the parents I believed we had the key to the situation, and although it might not entirely cure her, still we had a good foundation upon which to build hope of a cure. As it was the first ray of hope they had ever received, they said by all means try. We immediately administered chloroform and began to unearth the most completely bound-down clitoris I have ever seen. The hood where it was amputated was just one-half inch in thickness. From that day the child began to improve; and now fifteen months later, with no medicine whatever save possibly zinc phosphate and passiflora, she can walk, talk some, sleeps and eats well, eyes nearly straight, but little grinding of her teeth. Is still very nervous, but infinitely improved, and according to her mother's statement of May 19th, she is getting better, stronger and in every way improving every day. Some of the blind doctors have opened their eyes and are anxious to know what has brought about such a change. Only the circumcision of a girl, and as many little girls would be benefited by such treatment as boys. And I for one have circumcised as many girls as boys, and always with happy results. T. Scott McFarland, "Circumcision of girls", Journal of Orificial Surgery, Vol. 7, July 1898, pp. 31-33 <h2>Necessity for female circumcision, 1915</h2> <h4>"Female circumcision just as necessary as male"</h4> AJCM Editorial note: We have had several inquiries from readers regarding this operation, especially as to the method of performing it. In the most interesting paper which follows, Doctor Dawson answers all our correspondents' questions. Also, he shows that intervention of this kind is imperatively required in many conditions not understood. <div>* * * * * * * *</div> Baker Brown, [1] nearly half a century ago, recognizing the disastrous reflexes and nervous disturbances, often caused by the clitoris, boldly amputated the offending organ with excellent results in some cases, while in others great disaster followed and the work fell into disrepute. Naturally surgical attention to the clitoris sank into oblivion. Within the last two decades this much abused and neglected organ has received some consideration, and now it is much better understood and the proper surgery applied when required. A large number of physicians fail to realize the importance of the proper condition of the foreskin in the male; that in order to avoid the dangers of convulsions, eczema, paralysis, constipation, tuberculosis, locomotor ataxia, rheumatism, idiocy, insanity, lust and all its consequences, the prepuce must be completely loosened; if too long, amputated; if too tight, slit open. The same category of diseases having their origin in nerve-waste, caused by a pathological foreskin in the male, may be duplicated in the female. A much larger number of physicians are seemingly ignorant of the fact that females have an organ anatomically corresponding to the penis in the male. They are both erectile; each consists of a glans, a body and two crura; the glans in each is partly covered by a prepuce with a frenum attached below; each has corpora cavernosa, separated by an incomplete septum; each is supplied by nerve filaments from the pudic nerve and hypogastric plexus; each produces a cheesy substance (smegma), which hardens under an adherent prepuce. The clitoris is more richly supplied with nerve filaments than any other organ in the body in proportion to its size. The same category of diseases having their origin in nerve-waste, caused by a pathological foreskin in the male, may be duplicated in the female, from practically the same cause, and in addition, other diseases peculiar to females. Chorea, chlorosis, hysteria, and various nervous disturbances, nearly always have their origin in a faulty condition of the hood of the clitoris. The neglect of the clitoris is fraught with such disastrous results that the sin of omission, its neglect, which is almost universal, is painful to contemplate. Importance of the Sympathetic Nerve In the study of the waste and repair of the sympathetic nerve and the law of reflexes, we delve into a mine rich with precious, practical gems of truth; we harvest in a field rich with the golden grain of valuable knowledge. This study would readily show why a neglected clitoris is prolific of so much mischief. Doctors are not easily educated out of well-worn ruts. The sympathetic nerve concerns itself with the life of the viscera; it presides over the visceral economy. The sympathetic system performs the vital functions which are independent of mind and present to us the idea of life. It dominates absorption, secretion, sensation, nutrition, peristalsis and functions of the sexual organs. Pathology in tissues supplied by the sympathetic nerves is manifested by disordered function; in tissues supplied by the cerebrospinal nerves, by pain. Pathological conditions, flashing out the most disastrous reflexes, are usually subconscious. Doctors are not easily educated out of well-worn ruts. Because there is no pain, no gross pathology in the clitoris, it is ignored by many otherwise careful diagnosticians. The Causes and Consequences of Genital Alteration The blood stream is that which does all bodily repair, heals all diseases, removes all pathologic conditions, includes growth and sustains life. It is of such vast importance that its circulation is dominated by the vasomotor system, a combination of both sympathetic and cerebrospinal nerves. An increased supply of blood to any organ invites function. The blood supply to any organ may be increased by either one of two methods, external irritation or internal emotions. A cinder in the eye will summon an increased flow of blood to the lacrimal glands, and tears come into the eyes; a message of sorrow or joy, that sweeps over the deep vibrant chords of the soul, will produce the same result. There is no exception to this rule, even the sexual organs being included. Internal emotions may elicit a desire to functionate in these organs; so may external irritation. Masturbation in a child under the age of puberty is not provoked by internal emotions. It is downright cruelty to punish a little child for masturbating. It would be as reasonable to punish one for crying with a grain of sand in the eye, or for being fidgety with ants under his clothing. Many neuroses and even psychoses have their origin in pathological conditions of the hood of the clitoris. Girls have been sadly neglected; therefore, I make a plea in their behalf. Reflexes travel along the line of least resistance. Irritation in the sexual organs, therefore, may reach the mental or moral faculties, resulting in imbecility, sexual perversion or moral degeneracy. Many neuroses and even psychoses have their origin in pathological conditions of the hood of the clitoris. The girls have been sadly neglected; therefore, I make a plea in their behalf. I feel an impulse to cry out against the shameful neglect of the clitoris and hood. A Hooded Clitoris as a Factor in Marasmus Some two months ago, a child two and a half years old, was brought to me from Ottawa, Kansas. It presented a bad case of marasmus, malnutrition, anemia. There was little development; the lower limbs hanging almost as useless as strings. The child made no effort at vocal articulation. The clitoris was completely snowed under with an adherent hood. The adhesions were broken up and circumcision performed. The mother was instructed to retract the hood each day, in order to prevent adhesions reforming. This was neglected to some extent. The child was bought back, since I began this article. While the hood had adhered to the clitoris again, yet the improvement in the baby's condition is very gratifying. Her muscles have filled out; her thighs enlarged; she can bear her weight on the limbs and use them in taking a few steps; she speaks plainly several words; a slight pinkish tint has flushed the previously chalky white skin, and there is a marvellous improvement in her general appearance. Under a general anesthetic the adhesions were again broken up. This child will recover. Other Cases Relieved by Circumcision A few months ago a little babe, three or four weeks old, had colic each time after taking the bottle. Examination revealed a hooded clitoris. The indicated work promptly and permanently cured her. In a few hours after circumcision the red, angry boils on her face had perceptively paled. Her kidneys began to act normally, and she was transformed from a cross, peevish, discontented child into a state of perpetual sunshine. A girl baby, two years of age, had been troubled all her life with furunculosis, anuria, and malnutrition. She had been treated by different doctors for different diseases, but with no benefit. The clitoris was completely buried beneath an adherent hood. In a few hours after circumcision the red, angry boils on her face had perceptively paled; in thirty-six hours they were dried up. Her kidneys began to act normally, and she was transformed from a cross, peevish, discontented child into a state of perpetual sunshine. A girl sixteen years of age, well developed but neurotic, had been troubled with nocturnal enuresis from babyhood. Circumcision, with some other indicated orificial work, at once stopped this embarrassing condition. Another, Sarah C., seven years old; a bright, beautiful child, well-nourished, a masturbator. She was brought to me to have this evil habit corrected. Examination showed she needed circumcision, to relieve constant external irritation, which was exciting the sexual passion. A widow of forty-six came into my office, heavily veiled and requested a private interview. She handed me a copy of the Journal of Orificial Surgery, with a request that I read page 83. On this page was an article giving the symptoms of nymphomania caused by a hooded clitoris. With deep mortification, she said she had been bound in chains by this demon since she was a little girl, and that I was the first person to whom she had ever mentioned it. She requested permission to remain veiled, while I circumcised her under local anesthesia. She afterward expressed her heartfelt gratitude for her release. A girl of ten, following an injury to the hip, presented all the characteristic symptoms of hip-joint disease, tenderness, heat, swelling, pain in the knee with soreness in the hip-joint in pressing upon the knee, also, from pressing against the trochanter; slight elongation of the limb, with a tendency to throw the knee across the other limb. This case was presented to a doctor, who was an orificialist, [2] as well as a general surgeon. He found the clitoris in a very irritable condition and its hood firmly adherent. Following the needed attention to the clitoris, a few weeks in bed, without even using extension upon the limb, restored the limb to a perfectly normal state. How to Circumcise the Female Since beginning this paper, a surgeon of considerable prominence, with twenty years' experience, at the head of a reputable hospital, casually dropped into my office. I mentioned the subject, with my usual enthusiasm, when he asked what I meant by circumcision; was it amputating the clitoris? Another physician, with an experience of more than a score of years, acknowledged to me that he never saw a clitoris to recognize it. This reminds me that my paper would be incomplete without a description of the technic. Before undertaking this work it is needful that one should have a clear conception of a normal clitoris and hood. Only two days ago a physician brought a lady to me for circumcision. Everything ready, I started to do the work, when a normal clitoris smilingly said, "Keep off the grass, please." In a normal clitoris and hood the point of the glans is exposed and the complete retraction of the hood is easily accomplished. There is no smegma or irritable condition found between them. No tension of the hood is found upon stretching the parts laterally with the thumbs. If the hood is so long as to cover the glans completely, it should be partly amputated; if adhesions exist, they should be thoroughly loosened; where smegma is found, it should be removed. Circumcision is performed by cutting a V-shaped piece from the hood over the center of the clitoris. If very redundant, it will require a large piece; if tight, only a slit will be necessary. Grasp the hood in the center with Pratt's plug forceps or a pointed hemostat; lift it up from the clitoris and, with scissors, cut each side of the forceps, the cuts meeting above the point of the forceps, taking out a V from the hood. With a No. 0 or No. 1 plain catgut suture, take a stitch in the point of the V, uniting the under mucous membrane to the outer skin, just as in circumcision in the male. Usually an additional stitch will be required on either side to join the skin and mucous membrane. When strong adhesions have been broken up, it will be necessary to slide the hood up each day to prevent their reforming. What is preferable is to put a drop of flexible collodion on the clitoris, holding the hood up until it dries. It will then require no further attention. This work can be done with local anesthesia. Cleanse the parts thoroughly and place a piece of cotton, saturated with a 10-percent solution of cocaine, over the hood and clitoris. After a few minutes you can inject a 4-percent solution of the cocaine with a hypodermic syringe in a fold of the hood pinched up between the thumb and finger. Massage for a moment and proceed with the work. Abbott's anesthaine will answer well, and in many ways is preferable to cocaine. Benjamin E. Dawson AM, MD, "Circumcision in the Female: Its Necessity and How to Perform It", American Journal of Clinical Medicine, Vol. 22, No. 6, June 1915, pp. 520-523 <h4>NOTES</h4> 1. Isaac Baker Brown, the English obstetrician who was expelled from the Obstetrical Society in 1867 for his advocacy and practice of clitoridectomy as a cure for nervous maladies in females. 2. The Orificial Surgical Society was founded in 1890 by E.H. Pratt, a surgeon at the Cook County Hospital in Chicago. The organization was largely concerned with orifices below the waist, and provided training for surgery of the prepuce, clitoris and rectum, the latter organ being given special emphasis. It was obsessed with the idea that most diseases were caused by tightness of the preputial or anal sphincters. For further information, see Edward Wallerstein, Circumcision: An American Health Fallacy (New York, 1980), p. 38 </div> Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Circumcision of girls (c.1900) darby Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Robert Darby Subject The topic of the resource Circumcision history Description An account of the resource Archive of the work published by Robert Darby Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Robert Darby Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived circinfo.org historyofcircumcsion.org Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Text Any textual data included in the document <div class="intro" id="intro"> Belle Eskridge MD thinks that an early circumcision improves girls just as much as boys. <h3>Why not circumcise the girl as well?</h3> Social custom has drawn a veil so darkly over the external genitalia of the virgin, both in Europe and America, that a very scientific study of these organs by the male surgeon on the living subject has been obstructed by it. Ignorance, as well as superstition exaggerated by prudery, handed down from ancient times, promulgated and encouraged by man for his own selfish gratification, forbade any interference, lest it be used as an excuse to cheat him of what he assumed to be his inalienable rights. To remove this prejudice would be as hard as to remove the AD from the history of Christianity. Greater opportunity for the study of children in numbers is being extended to the profession by appointments in schools for public health work and institutions for the care of children. In these institutions each individual child may be controlled and studied. Fortunately, here is a field in which neither the travelling quack, the ebullient druggist or the officious neighbour can interfere with investigation. It has been my privilege for 27 years daily to examine and study the female, and I have been requested to bring my findings to you. I need not remind you that the male and female genital organs are developed from one and the same origin, the Wolffian bodies, and that no sex distinction can be determined until the seventh week of fetal life. Our anatomies describe the clitoris as being developed from the genital eminence, which in the male becomes the penis, the clitoris being an erectile structure which is the morphologic homologue of the penis. The glans clitoris, like the glans penis, is covered by a very sensitive membrane that the genital fold bounds latterly [sic: laterally?] The genital furrow on the under surface of the genital ridge becomes in the female the labiae minorae. The upper margin unites to form the prepuce in the female and the covering of the scrotum in the male. Both are remarkable for the complete absence of adipose tissue. Both have projecting from the free surface a number of small, highly sensitive papillae. In the retroglandular sulcus of both the clitoris and the penis are found numerous small glands that secrete a sebaceous material. This is found as frequently under the adherent prepuce of the girl as under the adherent prepuce of the boy. Clitoris, like the penis, is richly supplied with nerve filaments. Each have the same arterial and venous blood supply. The lymphatic system is the same. [1] The blood supply may be increased in any organ by two processes â€“ internal emotion and external irritation. The sexual organs have a rich blood supply. We know that an increased blood supply invites function, an excess of which invites increased reflex phenomena. As we understand reflexes in this day, they travel along the line of least resistance. Is it reasonable to believe that an irritation produced by an adherent prepuce, that can reach the mental or moral faculties of the boy, resulting in physical discomfort or sexual perversion, and mental or moral degeneracy, would not have the same effect upon the girl? [2] In Egypt all girls of true Egyptian origin are circumcised. It is an Egyptian custom, practised as a ritual event even on Mohammedan girls of Fellah (that is, of true Egyptian) origin. Circumcision of the male child has been practised as a religious custom or ritual by Jews since the early ages. Putting it under the cloak of religion is the only way they felt sure of its perpetuation. Circumcision of boys is universally practised by the Mohammedans, although it is not mentioned in the Koran. [3] At this time circumcision is considered by the profession to be a beneficial procedure for the welfare of the man-child, ignoring the fact that the girl child has an organ anatomically corresponding to that of the boy. This is strange, when we reflect that the girl may have all the diseases, originating in nerve irritation caused by an adherent prepuce, that a boy can have, with some added that is [sic] peculiar to the female. Over half a century ago, the reflex nervous disturbance caused by irritation of the adherent prepuce of the female was recognised, and the removal of the clitoris, with some of the surrounding structures, advised â€“ a few going so far as to trace and dissect out a large part of the nerve supply. [4] So radical a procedure failed to have the support of the conservative surgeons, and rightly the operation fell into disrepute. Would it not have been as reasonable to recommend the removal of the male organ for a like condition. In the last few years attention has been directed again to the clitoris as a cause of reflex irritation. I fear many of us have had our minds so centred on the internal female organs that we have neglected to some extent to study the external. There being no evidence of pathologic change in the organ itself, it has been overlooked as a disturbing factor by an otherwise capable diagnostician. We are learning more and more to go behind results and deal with the primary cause of reflex irritation. The multiplicity of complaints in the female is such as to tax our best efforts to correct them and give relief. Observers have long ago learned that a great many symptoms arise from some underlying cause, often obscure and not easy to determine by even the most competent clinician. The home in Houston with which I am connected averages about 140 children under thirteen years of age, boys and girls. There are some splendid normal children in the home, but most of them are problem children. The home is under a trained worker of great experience, one who is efficient and a good observer. Of the large number of girls whom I have circumcised, and the boys circumcised by the other members of staff, there is as much improvement in the girls as in the boys. The superintendent says that the girls show even a greater improvement than the boys. Some of them are quite changed in character. The improvement in health and general appearance of the girl is surprising. I have examined the genitalia of over 250 girls in this home. Less than a dozen were normal, and by this I mean a clitoris with a prepuce short enough to expose the glans clitoris with no smegma in evidence. The glans should be free from adhesions. When the prepuce is stretched latterly [sic]. These girls are wholesome, normal girls of better mental balance, judging from observation alone and not from the Benit test. [Digression: The hymen] It may interest you to know that of this number of girls which I have examined, I have not found two with the hymen correspondingly alike; in two the hymen was entirely absent; in some very irregular and tense; in others very smooth and tense; in some very narrow, only a line; in some narrow and relaxed; in a few, wide and very dilatable, when allowed to fall into place it entirely filled the opening; one covered the opening but contained three perforations; another was divided by a narrow strip of mucous membrane; one was imperforate; there were a few with pinpoint openings; some were oval; some crescentic, and others were quite round in contour. This part of the human body does not conform to an exact rule any more than the hands or feet or any other part of the body. The anatomical artists draw on their artistic imagination in producing the picture of the so-called normal hymen of our text book. It was a crime against the womanhood of the world to draw an anatomic myth and set it up as a standard by which the chastity of our young women should be judged. It will be a good day for humanity when some of our profession, as well as the laity, get the truth about this more clearly. Howard A. Kelly, in his Medical Gynecology, makes a statement that he cannot substantiate: "If a well oiled finger can be readily introduced into the vagina without eliciting a cry, the conclusion may be drawn that some penetrating body has entered the same channel." I am sure that there is not a surgeon here but will agree with me when I say that this is not a fair statement founded on facts. I insist that it is an unjust and unfair statement and should never have appeared on the pages of any text book. [Masturbation] Among this number I found one hypertrophied clitoris. I do not agree with the men who say this condition is caused by masturbation. We have both girls and boys who have masturbated. I am sure masturbation in a child before puberty is not due to an internal emotion, but to external irritation or outside influences. There were two baby girls in the home under one year who were masturbators; one rubbed the vulva almost continually. She could not remain quiet even while taking her food, but would turn over on her abdomen and keep in motion while nursing her bottle. At the request of Dr N.N. Allen I circumcised her and removed a piece of smegma as large as a grain of wheat. She soon began to improve and discontinued the habit; and while she is an abnormal child, there is general improvement since I circumcised her eighteen months ago. The other baby received the same attention and was relieved. Several of the larger girls who had this habit for a long time showed the effects in various ways I cannot go into here. I will give you one of the many cases met with in handling these girls. Case report The superintendent reported to me that one of the caretakers had found a girl of nine years with a large wash rag packed tightly in the vagina and in the act of masturbation. One year after circumcision she has not been found masturbating. She is far below normal, yet she is more biddable and easier to handle than before the operation. [5] I was surprised to find the hymen of this girl very elastic and filling the opening so symmetrically that observation alone would lead one to believe that it had never been interfered with, yet I could introduce two fingers without making undue tension, showing that the dilatation had been gradual, extending over several years. Circumcision will relieve one of the greatest causes of masturbation. Yet it is well to remember that the human family are all creatures of habit, and that care must be exercised over the child that has contracted the habit, for it will relapse for weeks or even months, but with less and less frequency as time goes on, until finally the habit is discontinued. Children should never be whipped for this habit, for it only stamps the habit more firmly on the subconscious mind. It is about as sensible to whip a child for rubbing the eye that has a cinder in it, or to insist upon a child sitting with ants and bugs crawling under the clothing, as to whip a child for the habit of masturbation caused from external irritation. [Circumcision procedure] The operation of circumcision of the girl is a very simple surgical procedure. The prepuce can invariably be separated from the glans by the thumb and index finger covered with gauze, placed directly opposite on each side of the clitoris, with gently steady pressure outward from the glans. If a little irregular point still remains adherent, it can easily be stripped back with gauze. No cutting instrument will be required up to this point. When the glans is entirely free, seize the prepuce at the median line with a small forceps and lift it up free of the glans clitoris; then with a sharp pair of scissors, remove a V-shaped piece, extending upward large enough to uncover the glans well back. The skin and mucous membrane are then united as in the operation on the male. I cover the united edges of the hood, but not the glans, with compound tincture of benzoin about the consistency of cream. The nurse is instructed to keep it clean and pushed back twice a day until healed. [6] I hope you will not infer from this paper that I believe or recommend circumcision of the female as a cure-all, but I do insist that it will give as good results to the girl as to the boy, and that the female genital organs should receive as careful attention at birth as those of the male child. Belle C. Eskridge, "Why not circumcise the girl as well as the boy?", Texas State Journal of Medicine, Vol. 14, May 1918, pp. 17-19 <h4>NOTES</h4> In this article, Dr Eskridge defines circumcision of girls as meaning the removal of the clitoral hood or prepuce. 1. Eskridge does not seem to have caught up with research showing that there are no glands under the foreskin, but it is interesting that she acknowledges that girls produce smegma just as abundantly as boys. She refers to the similar innervation of the penis and clitoris, without showing awareness of other research suggesting that the nerves detecting fine touch are concentrated in the foreskin (and where else but the skin would you expect to find them?) 2. Reference is to the Victorian theory of reflex neurosis, particularly associated in the USA with Lewis Sayre. It was rather out of date by 1918, but is interesting to see it hanging on tenaciously in institutional settings. 3. It is not clear why the customary practices of a backward country like Egypt should have been be a model for the go-ahead United States. 4. A reference to the London obstetrician Isaac Baker Brown, disgraced in 1867. 5. It will be noted that Eskridge praises circumcision for its impact on the girl's behaviour â€“ she becomes easier to manage â€“ not because it makes any improvement in her health. 6. As with boys, the supposed ease and simplicity of the operation is presented as a positive reason for performing it. </div> Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Girls as well as. boys: Texas (1918) darby Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Robert Darby Subject The topic of the resource Circumcision history Description An account of the resource Archive of the work published by Robert Darby Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Robert Darby Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived circinfo.org historyofcircumcsion.org Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Text Any textual data included in the document <div class="intro" id="intro"> By the 1950s advocacy of female circumcison (meaning excision of the clitoral hood) had become a rather fringe preoccupation, but the the idea was not entirely dead. The big difference was that the procedure was now recommended as a simple hygiene measure, and even as a means of enhancing sexual pleasure, not for cooling the libido or curing nervous problems. <h3>If the male needs circumcision for hygiene, why not the female?</h3> The infant clitoris is hidden, covered by the prepuce. The midline raphe may not open sufficiently in later life. A variety of symptoms can develop, attributable to accumulation and contamination of smegma. In these instances, the simple expedient of probing and cleansing can be rewarding. <div>* * * * * *</div> When we were interns, 33 years ago, the staffroom conversation one day came around to the clitoris of the female infant. As I remember, the sum total of knowledge of the subject among those present was zero. I became curious. In the nursery I learned something I had not learned from school or from books, namely that the infant clitoris is hidden. The prepuce covers it at birth. The midline raphe invariably is intact. If the male needs circumcision for cleanliness and hygiene, why not the female? When does the raphe open? Throughout the years, in practice, I found that it may remain intact even into multiparous life. Also I have found that when the raphe does not open, smegma accumulation can cause trouble. Moreover, if the raphe opens only a pinpoint, bacteria can enter to cause contamination of the debris. This, then, can cause symptoms. If, at about two years of age, a little girl has not opened the raphe by exercises like riding kiddy-bikes, or by self-examination, or if the raphe has not opened spontaneously, there usually is found an area of irritation. This is especially so if a very small opening is present. Then come the symptoms of irritation, scratching, irritability, masturbation, frequency and urgency. In adults, the same conditions exist, with associated smegmaliths that may cause dyspareunia and frigidity. If the male needs circumcision for cleanliness and hygiene, why not the female? I have operated on perhaps 40 patients who needed this attention. Illustrative Cases A youngster was suspected of having epilepsy. At about two years of age, she was brought to my office with the mother and was left alone while I examined the mother. I noticed the child masturbating by rubbing back and forth in a sitting position. She finally toppled over in hyperventilation. The disorder disappeared with the simple expedient of female circumcision and the cleansing away of irritants. Adult women with three or four children have been seen whose chief complaint was dyspareunia. Examination revealed a rosary-like group of nodules under the prepuce of a hidden clitoris. Female circumcision was done. Smegmaliths were cleansed away. Very thankful patients were the reward. For the first time in their lives, sex ambition became normally satisfied. Most of the patients have been children 2 to 10 years old who complained of signs and symptoms that suggested cystitis. Urine analyses were usually negative. The mothers complained about the irritability of the children, their unusual habits and sometimes their bedwetting. When examination revealed the presence of a hidden or partially hidden clitoris, it was a simple procedure for the doctor to effect return to normality. The same reasons that apply for the circumcision of males are generally valid when considered for the female. The Technique The procedure is easy. However, it is so distressing to the patient that general anesthesia should be used to avoid making an enemy for life. A blunt probe is inserted into the raphe and swung around the head of the clitoris. There is usually no bleeding, or at least very little. The area is then cleansed of contaminant debris or of smegma that occasionally is formed into stones of various sizes. The raphe normally should be open in early childhood. It is seldom that the prepuce will overgrow again once it has been opened. The mother should be carefully instructed about teaching the child hygienic habits. The signs and symptoms caused by contaminated smegma, retained smegma or smegmaliths usually clear up when the cause is removed. The same reasons that apply for the circumcision of males are generally valid when considered for the female. C.F. McDonald, MD, "Circumcision of the female", GP, Vol. 18 No. 3, September 1958, pp. 98-99 <a href="http://www.noharmm.org/circumfemale.htm" rel="noopener" target="_blank">A version with illustrations available here</a> <h3>New reasons for circumcision, 1959:</h3> <h4>And a new technique, with a specially invented clamp</h4> Redundancy or phimosis of the female prepuce can prevent proper enjoyment of sexual relations; yet some modern physicians overlook indications for circumcision. Indications for, and relative contraindications against, use of this procedure are presented, and a new technique is described. Properly carried out, circumcision should bring improvement to 85 to 90 per cent of cases - with resulting cure of psychosomatic illness and prevention of divorces. <div>* * * * * *</div> Circumcision of the female is not a new subject. Early writings testify that this problem was known and discussed by physicians of the Roman Empire. Bryk in 1935 compiled a comprehensive book on the history and practice of male and female circumcision. The 265 references abstracted in his text cover the circumcision of the female from the ancient Egyptian era (approximately 1500 B.C.) to the present day. The value of this procedure in improving function has been accepted by various cultures for the past 3,500 years. Although this subject is not new, there are indications for its use that are being overlooked by some modern physicians. Indications for Circumcision In general terms, the main indications for circumcision are: (1) functional need - lack of ability to have a climax or ability to have one only with considerable difficulty, (2) an anatomic or mechanical factor that needs correction. When does this problem present itself and become our concern and responsibility as physicians? It is advisable to investigate sexual compatibility if unexplained symptoms of a psychosomatic type are elicited or if the problem of divorce is present. If there is no shyness or embarrassment on the doctor's part and his attitude is correct, the patient is seldom embarrassed. Often a patient appreciates being questioned on this subject because she had thought this might be her problem. If a patient is not sure that she has ever experienced a climax, it is probable that she has not. Patients with psychosomatic illness and marital problems make up a good portion of all types of medical practice. If these problems are based on abnormal anatomy, and it is corrected, these patients are often permanently cured. This cure is explained by the common origin of the primitive urges and of the subconscious, from which psychosomatic illnesses develop. Failure to elicit proper history and to examine patients carefully is illustrated by the following case. Mrs. B. G., age 34, had five divorces before coming to my office as a patient. She was found to have a rather severe redundancy and phimosis, and had never experienced a climax. After being circumcised, she remarried the last man she had divorced and has had no further sexual problem. She stated that she "wasted four perfectly good husbands." While having the five marriages and divorces, she had a great number of psychosomatic symptoms and illnesses. During this time she had been examined and treated by a number of physicians. None of them had told her of the severe phimosis and redundancy or suggested its correction. She has had no recurrence of psychosomatic illness since the circumcision five years ago. No tranquilizers, injections or other treatments were used. A difficult phase of the problem is presented when the wife of a recurrent ulcer patient states, "What difference does it make that I do not enjoy sex life if I do not refuse my husband"? In the earlier years of married life this form of prostitution is possibly not too harmful. A number of problems will probably develop in time however, because this practice is contrary to our instincts. If a man is legally married to a woman but not "mated" with her, one of four complications will probably develop: (1) a divorce, (2) another woman, (3) excessive use of alcohol or (4) suppression of normal urges with psychosomatic illness. Two Common Abnormalities The two common problems that make the highly sensitive area of the clitoris unable to be stimulated are phimosis and redundancy. Sebaceous glands about the clitoris attempt to prevent adhesions of the prepuce to it. This sometimes fails and the clitoris is tightly adherent to the prepuce. This defect is recorded as 1 plus or 25 per cent of the normal surface adherent, to 4 plus or complete coverage. A prepuce for the protection of the clitoris is normal and useful, but if it is excessive and extends past the eminence of clitoris it can prevent contact and is harmful. This excess is also classified from 1 to 4 plus. The greatest amount of redundant prepuce I have observed extended approximately one inch past the clitoris so that it is classified 4 plus. Thus, a 1 plus would represent approximately one-fourth inch of redundant tissue. Figure 5 represents a 3 plus redundancy. In general, the greater the degree of phimosis or redundancy, the greater the probability of satisfactory result by its correction. A 3 or 4 plus phimosis or 3 or 4 plus redundancy could be the anatomic indication. A combination of a 2 plus redundancy and 2 plus phimosis, could be an indication as well. Two rather unusual conditions which could be indications are the hard fibrotic prepuce and the type in which the prepuce is stretched tightly across the glans. Routine circumcision because of a functional problem alone, without the proper anatomic indications, will probably be of no benefit and might be harmful. Additional Indications The following situations would indicate the need for circumcision although less phimosis or redundancy is present. 1. If the patient is quite adipose, a circumcision could be indicated although she has less anatomic defect. Obstruction by the adjacent tissues adds to her problem. This operation may help cure her adiposity by relieving psychosomatic factors. 2. If the husband is unusually awkward or difficult to educate, one should at times make the clitoris easier to find. 3. If the clitoris is quite small and is difficult to contact, a circumcision might help by making it more accessible. Relative Contraindications On the other hand, there are relative contraindications that make one more cautious and more selective in deciding to operate, for example: 1. Frigidity from psychologic causes, such as fear of pregnancy, early adverse training and experiences. 2. Incorrect attitude of patient or husband concerning desire to be helped, factors of abnormal jealousy, excessive psychoneurosis. Percentage of Favorable Results What percentage of favorable results can be expected when the previous indications are followed? To determine this percentage, a questionnaire (Figure 1) was sent to women whom I had circumcised within the past 15 years. One hundred twelve questionnaires were completed and returned. (Figure 2) gives the results obtained. A greater proportion of poor results occurred in early cases, giving evidence that my indications have improved. If cases are carefully selected, one should expect 85 to 90 per cent to show satisfactory improvement. This percentage could not be expected without adequate instructions to both the patient and her husband. When the anatomic problem is borderline, this instruction should be given before performing a circumcision in order to avoid unnecessary surgery. FIGURE 1, Questionnaire Sent To Patients Patient's Number ___________ This questionnaire will be used as the statistical basis for a medical report. Your name will not be used. Kindly check in blanks and mail in enclosed envelope. Surgery: Circumcision done on _____________ 1. Could you have an orgasm prior to surgery: If your answer is yes: (a) Were you improved? If your answer is no: (b) Are you able to have an orgasm now? The woman should be taught to develop voluntary control of the vaginal constrictor muscles. The judicious use of testosterone or stenedial to increase the sensitivity and size of the clitoris might be indicated. Advice concerning the male and female "libido curve" (Kinsey report) often helps to relieve a common worry of young wives. The interest and cooperation of the patient might be stimulated by a few words expressing the fact that it is a privilege (not a duty) to enjoy one of the greatest physical pleasures. FIGURE 2, Questionnaires Received: 112 (a) 73 had never experienced an orgasm: 9 Not Successful (12.4%) 64 Successful (87.6%) (b) 39 had experienced an orgasm with difficulty: 5 Not Improved (12.5%) 34 Improved (87.5%) The husband must be instructed in female anatomy, proper body position, trituration, to develop desire, and such psychologic considerations as patience, atmosphere, kindness, affection, foreplay and other pointers suggested by his personality. Instrument for Female Circumcision <a href="http://www.noharmm.org/femcirctech.htm" rel="noopener" target="_blank">For illustrations, click here.</a> <a href="http://www.noharmm.org/instruments.htm" rel="noopener" target="_blank">To compare instruments used on boys, click here.</a> Note adjustment screw on tip of handle to adjust the pressure applied by the jaws. After the surgeon clamps the instrument, it remains in place without effort. The instrument is seven inches long. Technique of Circumcision It seems that such a relatively minor procedure should not require much detailed description. However, the fear of scar tissue formation, bleeding and the lack of a descriptive technique in the usual surgery texts, might prevent some physicians from attempting it. A few lines will be devoted to my previous technique, then a more simplified technique will be described. Allow two weeks before the next menstrual period. Give 3/4 gr. seconal one-half hour prior to surgery. Trilene inhalation makes the injection of 2 per cent Xylocaine or Nesacaine less painful. Most of the injection for adequate anesthesia can be made from one point, starting at the mid-line, about one inch anterior to the edge of the prepuce. The first injection is made three-eighths inch deep, to each side of the clitoris (Figure 5). Without removing the needle from the skin, the anesthetic is then injected subcutaneously to the base of the lateral attachment of the prepuce. The needle is then removed and injections are directed cephalad, as close as possible to the sides of the clitoris (Figure 6). This latter injection reduces the discomfort of separating the phimosis. The clitoris itself is not injected. The prepuce is then freed with a blunt probe. More Trilene is occasionally needed at this time, but the rest of the surgery should be painless. The operative area is resterilized. In the past, two long mosquito forceps were used to help perform the circumcision. They maintained the proper relationship of the internal and external skin layers and controlled the bleeding prior to suturing. Because the procedure was technically difficult and time consuming, I developed a clamp to be used for the procedure (Figures 3 and 4). Clamp for Procedure This instrument is seen with jaws open Figure 4 and closed in Figure 3. It is simply a "vice-grip" pliers with strong, specially designed jaws for this procedure. After opening, the lower triangular plate or jaw (which is not perforated), is placed under the prepuce and the jaws are partially closed. A tooth thumb forceps is then used to reach through the hole in the upper jaw and pull the desired amount of prepuce into the clamp (Figure 7). The adjusting screw on the handle of the pliers can be turned to adjust for the various thicknesses of prepuce before the pliers are clamped. The cam action not only exerts adequate pressure to compress the tissues at the narrow lower edge of the upper jaw, but also sets itself so that no more force is needed by the operator. After a lapse of five minutes, the surgeon uses a scalpel to excise the prepuce within the upper jaw, being careful to stay close to the inner wall of the clamp (Figure 8). After the triangular piece of excised prepuce is removed, only the lower blade can be seen (Figure 9). The jaws are then opened and the clamp removed. On a thin prepuce, sutures are not necessary (Figure 10). When there is a doubt whether they are needed, however, the edge is reinforced with a few 5-0 plain catgut sutures on an atraumatic needle. This technique is extremely simple, accurate and bloodless. It has given excellent results because of the reduced healing time and absence of sear tissue. Postoperative Treatment To prevent recurrence of the phimosis until the raw surfaces are healed, a special preparation is applied to these surfaces after surgery. This is a wax containing Benzocaine 5 per cent and Terramycin 3 per cent. This preparation is heated to the melting point in its containing tube before being used. The patient is seen every two or three days for the purpose of keeping the adhesions free. Empirin and codeine, or Percodan, is given for postoperative discomfort. If the surgery is done on Friday morning, the patient can return to work on Monday. Complete recovery requires approximately ten to 14 days. W.G. Rathmann MD, "Female Circumcision: Indications and a New Technique", GP, Vol. 20, No. 3, September 1959, pp. 115-120 Biographical note W. G. Rathmann MD has a varied medical background. After completing internships and residency training at U.S. Marine hospitals in Chicago, Seattle and Fort Stanton, N.M., he owned and operated a hospital in Carazozo, N.M., for three years. Since 1938 be has been in general practice in Inglewood, Calif. A member of the senior surgical staff of Centinella Hospital, Inglewood, Dr. Rathmann is also on the staff of five other hospitals in the southern Los Angeles area. A graduate of the University of Nebraska, Academy Member Rathmann has a special interest in psychosomatic diseases. </div> Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Female circumcision in the 1950s darby Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Robert Darby Subject The topic of the resource Circumcision history Description An account of the resource Archive of the work published by Robert Darby Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Robert Darby Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived circinfo.org historyofcircumcsion.org Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Text Any textual data included in the document <div class="intro" id="intro"> <h2>Female genital mutilation happening in Australia</h2> by Emily Bourke for AM Health authorities in Australia say they are concerned about the growing number of women who have undergone some form of genital mutilation. Female circumcision is illegal in Australia, but experts say there is evidence that it is being practised here. More and more migrant women are also seeking help after having the procedure in their home countries. Across Africa, the Middle East and parts of Asia, female genital mutilation is practised on about three million girls and women each year. The centuries-old custom has been outlawed in Australia since the 1990s. But that has not stopped it happening here, according to Dr Ted Weaver from the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists. "There is some evidence to suggest that it does happen in certain parts of Australia," he said. "It's hard to gauge the actual numbers because it's prohibited by legislation and it's something that is performed in an underground way. "But certainly there have been reports of children being taken to hospital after having the procedure done with complications from that procedure." Melbourne's Royal Women's Hospital says it is seeing between 600 and 700 women each year who have experienced it in some form. Somali-born Zeinab Mohamud, from the hospital's Family and Reproductive Rights Education Program, says much of her work involves untangling some outdated cultural traditions and religious misconceptions. "Some questions that we ask the women is 'why were you doing it?' and they will tell you, 'because of my religion'," she said. "We bring imams or priests to convince them that there is nothing from both books that says you have to do circumcision to girls. So why are you doing it?" Ms Mohamud is optimistic the practice will end, but she fears migrant communities or individual women will be demonised. "Some people when they hear they say, 'how can that happen?' It's when something is cultural and the people have been doing it for so long, it's not easy to either eliminate it or to say, 'you have got a bad culture'," she said. "You have to work with them, listen to them. You have to know where they are coming from in order to help them." Dr Ted Weaver agrees and he says ordering people against the practice would be inappropriate. "If we try and dictate and pontificate about this and not provide culturally appropriate care, we'll further disenfranchise those women," he said. "Any progress will be incremental. I don't think that it's something that will stop overnight. "But I think all we can do is advocate against it, speak out, try to educate women, try to empower women, certainly in this country, and we should do our best for international organisations that are also espousing the same message." <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/02/06/2812147.htm?section=justin" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Posted Sat Feb 6, 2010 11:15am AEDT</a> <h3>Comment</h3> The ABC's report was in recognition of the United Nations' declaration of 6 February as International Day Against Female Genital Mutilation, but the UN's position has been condemned as sexist, misandrist (men-hating) and hypocritical by the <a href="http://www.icgi.org/">International Coalition for Genital Integrity</a>, which asks why the UN is concerned only with women and ignores the much larger number of boys and young men who are forced to submit to various forms of genital cutting. ICGI writes: The United Nations says that female circumcision is now widely recognized as a violation of human rights. And so, the UN has declared February 6th as the “<a href="http://www.unifemuk.org/news-international-day-against-female-genital-mutilation.php">International Day Against FEMALE Genital Mutilation.</a>” Instead, it should be declaring an “International Day Against HUMAN Genital Mutilation.” We say the UN is sexist and misandrist. The UN is also hypocritical. In 1989 the UN issued its <a href="http://www2.ohchr.org/english/law/crc.htm">Convention on the Rights of the Child</a>, which “proclaimed and agreed that everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth therein, without distinction of any kind, such as … sex.” Ironically, by declaring an International Day Against Female Genital Mutilation, the UN has also circumcised their Convention on the Rights of the Child. The World Health Organization says female circumcision can cause severe bleeding, urinary and reproductive tract infections, and even death. All of these are also true for male circumcision. </div> Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Female genital mutilation in Australia darby