General Debate Forum - Female Circumcision

Debate Forums > General Debate Forum > Female Circumcision

TOPICS DOCTOR QUESTIONS

What is circumcision?

A definition of the medical practice of infant male circumcision....

Q: Female Circumcision

asked by: Georgia59 on October 12th, 2007

Especially eHealthy

Is it ok?? Now before you make a rash judgment- think about it.

We judge harshly the people who practice female circumcision in what we consider "third world" countries. Some circumstances are terrible, but female circumcision can range from simply removing some of the clitoral hood to completely changing the genitals or removing the clit. They do this because it is considered more culturally appealing to have the genitals a certain way.

We, here in America, practice male circumcision, which in my opinion is pretty much the same thing.

We, here in America, also practice labiaplasty and vaginoplasty (on healthy normal genitals), which is surgical reconstruction of the genitals for what reason? Because it is considered more culturally appealing to have the genitals a certain way.

The rates of complications from female circumcision, from what american doctors can tell, are about the same as the rates of complications from most other plastic surgery.

Who are we to judge?

Replies(8)

meblonde01

replied on October 12th, 2007

Extremely eHealthy

I know a woman in america that had it done. She had very little feeling, and it was effecting her sex life with her Husband. So that is what they did to her. And she loved it.. So maybe we are missing out on somthing?

Georgia59

replied on October 12th, 2007

Especially eHealthy

Interesting meblonde- I'll bring it up to my gyno- j/k

However, I would like to make it clear that I am talking about surgeries done for strictly cosmetic reasons.

Anne123

replied on October 12th, 2007

Experienced User

Cosmetic surgery on an non-consenting individual is a violation of that individual's human rights. That includes both male and female circumcision.

If an individual decides for themselves that they would like to have cosmetic surgery done on their own genitals, that is their decision. No-one has the right to make that decision for another individual.

Tylanas

replied on October 12th, 2007

Especially eHealthy

I don't approve of male circumcision and I certainly don't approve of female circumcision Evil or Very Mad

If a grown, fully sexually developed woman decides to do it, then it's her choice to mutilate her body and I have no problem with that. But it should never be done to a baby, child, or adolescent by his OR her parents for purely cosmetic reasons.

Georgia59

replied on October 12th, 2007

Especially eHealthy

So how should American doctors deal with parents who may want to do this to their children (most likely immigrants) because their girls need to be "marriage material" (no comments please embarrassed)

Meaning- what if it really will mean a lonely future for the girl, and the parents might just resort to trying to do it themselves? Should doctors agree to do for safety reasons?

young Girl

replied on October 12th, 2007

Especially eHealthy

i think its wrong
for anyone
males or females
for god sakes leave the human body alone

kaiteo

replied on October 12th, 2007

Extremely eHealthy

I honestly don't have an opinion on this. Some people choose for the male child to be circumcised for hygenic reasons, and some practice it for religious reasons. I really don't look at it as mutilation, personally, but I can see why it is viewed that way.

Tylanas

replied on October 12th, 2007

Especially eHealthy

Georgia59 wrote:

If the parents threatened to do it themselves and/or were extremely religious about it, then if I were a doctor I would perform it myself, in order to reduce the risk of infection etc. If it were just removing the clitoral hood that is. I would very harshly chastize any parent for wanting the clitoris removed no matter how religious they are, but if they insisted, at least I could use painkillers on the poor child. Same for full genital mutilation. I would NOT encourage it, but if the parents said "Fine, we'll go do it" then I'd do it myself in the clean hospital. Unless I could some how get it qualified as child abuse... but that's a tricky situation and goes into cultural ethics.

Basically, I'd prefer to have a physician do it for safety reasons, but culturally I'd prefer the parents to open their eyes > Sad

Learn About Us

Get Help

Join In

Do More

We comply with the HONcode standard for trustworthy health
information:
verify here.

The site is not a replacement for professional medical opinion, examination, diagnosis or treatment. Always seek the advice of your medical doctor or other qualified health professional before starting any new treatment or making any changes to existing treatment. Do not delay seeking or disregard medical advice based on information written by any author on this site. No health questions and information on eHealth Forum is regulated or evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration and therefore the information should not be used to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease without the supervision of a medical doctor. Posts made to these forums express the views and opinions of the author, and not the administrators, moderators, or editorial staff and hence eHealth Forum and its principals will accept no liabilities or responsibilities for the statements made. Schizophrenia health sitemap.
This page was last updated on January 1, 2009.
© 2008 eForums, Inc