4: Reproductive Health Dilemmas: Female & Male Circumcision Flashcards
differing opinions female vs male circumcision
female = critiques exist
male = public opinion remains largely indifferent
difference CANNOT be explained by the natural attributes/ effects = virtually IDENTICAL
attitudes reflect historically and culturally specific understandings of the human body and human sexuality
procedures are spoken of in generalized and oppositional terms
- Little attention to the diversity of procedures & related medical harms, associated with different regions or cultures
male vs female
- location of sexuality
- sexuality perceptions
- power associated with __
Medicalized MC
= intact sexuality
- sexuality = located in phallus
- Male power is also sexualized- pleasing, lasting longer
- sexuality + power associated with “culture” (outside/political)
Non-medicalized FC
= mutilation & removal of sexuality
- sexuality = located in clitoris
- ANY violation of these parts = violation of sexuality
- sexuality +power associated with ”nature” (inside/faith)
reaction of students = outrage
Castration = only MC similar to FGM
All forms of FGM = mutilation
Some students see how some types MC could be equated with FGM
- did not explain it as sexual, but biological
dominant gendered cutting discourse:
- always SEPARATE sexuality from Male Circumcision
- always LINK sexuality with FGM
key arguments against women mutilation
- alters the physical integrity of women and is a form of violence against them
= claim to be concerned about health, specifically concerned about sexual health - informed consent
- violation of human rights, too young to consent
**can be used to argue MC too….
18th century history
Female body considered to be male bodies inverted
thought female orgasm = reproduction
Studies about ovulation in dogs occurs independent of intercourse
- proof orgasm served no reproductive purpose & clitoris was unnecessary
Female pleasure deemed largely irrelevant and medicalized as ‘hysteria’
Victorian Era
Strong connections between this circumcision &:
- hygiene
- mental health
- moral sanitation
Key impetus = masturbation
- linked with physical health problems & being morally unclean
- circumcision was preventative
J.H. Kellogg
- surgery without anesthesia to have a mental connection of masturbation and pain
early 20th century (Freud)
1930s: some international recognition about risks of female circumcision
- not considered huge issue
1940s: Freud
Immature female sexuality = associated with clitoris
- Educational and social erasure of female pleasure and the clit
Mature female sexuality = associated with vagina
- maintained comparison to penis
1970s - Hite Report
“Second wave” feminism- reclaim female sexuality vs. patriarchy
The Hite Report:
- funded by the National Study of Female Sexuality
- Concluded that 70% of women do not have orgasmsthrough intercourse, but can via clitoral stimulation
- believes that society must understand the cultural/ personal construction of sexual experience to make the research relevant to sexual behavior outside the laboratory
“clitoris = female equivalent of the penis”
- male physiology is the norm, females understood in relation to it
- problematic for women-identifying folks who don’t have a clitoris/vaginal orgasms
later 20th century
1971: USA Academy of Paediatrics stopped endorsing routine male circumcision
- beginning of more research on male circumcision
1980s: the rise of anti-circumcision movement regarding MC
- often labelled “extremists”
1990s: global investment in the issue
Mainly for women, but also men’s activist groups too
Women need talk to heat up, men have blowtorches
Men: boundless and ‘easy’ sex
- MC is far less likely to impact their sexuality ad they are ‘animals’
- don’t mind loss of sexual sensation if it makes guys last longer
- greater female enjoyment (cosmetics)
Women: delicate, ‘complex’, dependent upon male performance
- **female circumcision is also to increase partner’s pleasure but reduces hers
common genital cutting assumptions
- male body provides basis for understanding female body
- men are ruled by their penises, women are sexually passive
- human sexuality is reducible to anatomy
Male circumcision against the acquisition of HIV
(ethicality, universality)
Male circumcision was not common or customary among most/all of the male participants
- Luo ethnic group
the positive effect of male circumcision was 60% protective against HIV
- foreskin tissue
trials were stopped bc it was unethical to not offer control group uncircumcision
extensive training, post-op instructions, education, STI testing
- unlikely in standard testing
-specifically Lup group, may vary
Circumcision can make men feel ‘invincible’ against HIV = high risk behaviour (no condoms, multiple partners)
Freud & neuroses
intimidated by his father, who threatened to cut off his penis if he didn’t stop masturbating as a boy
fear of castration by his father = “nucleus of all neuroses”
- assigned the defining role in human personality to the penis
Male Castration : the dominant narrative - Freud
Male babies assume everyone has a penis
Seeing his mom’s “castrated” state, assumes as done by dad - terrified of the same fate
To save his own penis:
- he is passive yet resentful to dad
- bonds with mom
THIS = fate of all mankind, why civilized life causes so much psychic anxiety
Female Castration: the dominant narrative - Freud
girls sexually desire the mother = fantasy during masturbation
When she realizes she can’t be a man, she envies the penis
- self-loathing
Her wish to have a penis is satisfied by loving those who have one
- First father, then husband
Vaginal sex is not about love or pleasure, but capturing a penis
