saquigley@watdaisy.UUCP (Sophie Quigley) (01/03/84)
Yes, not to mention clitoridectomies, which are often labeled "male circumci- sion", to make them look harmless and which used to be performed in america as late as the 1940's to "cure" female masturbation. I recommend a very good book "for her own good, 150 years of the expert's advice to women" by Ehrenreich and another woman whose name escapes me right now which deals partly with the topic of "sexist surgery". It is considered by "authorities" to be one of those rabbid feminist books, and as I am not an "expert" on any of the topics mentioned in the book, I do not know how accurate it is historically, but it IS very interesting!
pking@denelcor.UUCP (Paul King) (01/04/84)
A minor correction: clitoidectomies ("FEmale circumcisions")
were commonly done to cure "hysteria" (a well-known "exclusively
feminine" ailment).
P. King (...hao!denelcor!pking)ariels@orca.UUCP (Ariel Shattan) (01/05/84)
Clitorectomies are still practiced in Africa among many tribes. As a maturity ritual, adolecent girls are held down while thier clitorises are scraped off with a sharp stone. The wound is then crudely stiched. Many girls die of infection. The process is done because since these tribes practice polygyny (one husband, many wives), and it is impossible for a man to satisfy all those women, this way, the woman won't be sexually interested, and therefore won't stray. When educated women in these countries try to get these rituals stopped, they are accused of having no respect for tribal tradition. In western countries, not as many useless surgeries are being performed as befor, as the medical community becomes more concious of women's sexuality and as women become more assertive about what happens to their bodies. Not very long ago, hysterectomies were performed for every reason from "psychological health" to birth control (after all, if you've already had six kids, and you're Catholic, so you can't practice birth control, it could seem like a blessing to not ever have to worry about being pregnant again). Ariel (more fuel for the fire) Shattan decvax!tektronix!tekecs!ariels