kwlalonde@watrose.UUCP (Madeleine Clin) (12/28/83)
One thing that occurs to me. Whenever men have hormone or even cancer problems, a great fuss is made to preserve their virility. That's great. But why does the medical profession (mainly male) feel it's okay to remove breasts, uteri and even ovaries at first sign of trouble?. Think too of all the drugs and devices on the market to help men maintain virility, but there isn't a lot to `help' women get off when with a man. At best we hope he has cared enough to read The Joy of Sex or some other manual that goes well with our feelings. - Madeleine Clin
caf@cdi.UUCP (caf) (01/04/84)
Perhaps it is the men who are getting the sexist surgery; the decisions re the womens' surgery seem based on survival rather than reproduction/vanity. -- Chuck Forsberg WA7KGX CDI Portland OR (503)-646-1599 cdi!caf
heretyk@abnjh.UUCP (S. Heretyk) (01/06/84)
Let's have equal time, michael (for you in net.women). Since you made some tasteless remarks about mother's who have their sons circumcised I'd like to hear some about fathers. Shelley Heretyk
kwlalonde@watrose.UUCP (Ken Lalonde) (01/13/84)
To those who brought up the circumcision controversy: While I think that circumcision of any kind is wrong, except for religious purposes, and even then I have doubts, I don't feel circumcision comes under sexist surgery. It is not a procedure done to degrade men. It is usually performed on non-consenting babies and that's a whole other kettle of fish. As to survival: NO, women are not in general having these operations to save lives, many women past menopause are told that the time has come for their hysterectomies and to book the date now. No mention is made of the risk (about 3 deaths per 500 hysterectomies) that goes with it. There is also absolutely NO proof that a lumpectomy is less effective in breast cancer than a radical mastectomy. A radical mastectomy can leave the woman weaker, delaying recovery. In such a case, women are used as guinea pigs. Another, non-surgical example: the very fashionable (for M.D.s) pre-menstrual syndrome. Yes, in some women there is a hormone imbalance, but the idea should be to identify the cause, instead of blasting away with progestin. And creator help the women whose problems are not caused by hormones - no one is looking at alternatives (it doesn't pay). Just like menstrual pain, there are now drugs to help, but no one knows *why* our bodies are so out of kilter... - Madeleine Clin