Yeah, I woke up one morning with a breast the size of Texas. It was so hot it felt like a heating pad and it was giving my new red toenail polish a run for it's money.

I can remember seeing those in my National Geographics I collected obsessively as a teen and wondering what in the world those were!

Dear God, I finally have a relaxing as hell weekend and then things have to go and get all heated and nasty in the FGM thread. I went outside to read in the shade on the swing for a while and when I finished my book I made the mistake of checking the thread again after I promised myself to just.effing.ignore.it.

Dude, I don't know what I said that made you go nuts on me. But perhaps when one is accusing others of not realizing how they're being perceived one should check themselves first.

Yes. Yes that's exactly what I said. Brava for your innate interpretation of my response to someone virtually yelling at me. Which was to say that I have adult daughters who plan to take an activist approach. So. Yeah. I'm duly impressed.

Interesting. Because I have two daughters who WILL. One is pre-law and is studying for International Humanitarian Law with a focus on women's rights. The other is pre-med with intentions of becoming a pediatrician and working for Doctor's Without Borders.

To say that it's between them and theirs is so wholly ignorant I don't even know where to start.

That is not true at all. That is obviously an image of a woman's clitoris being removed after already having had the lips removed.

Absolutely. But one is very much so not the other. And if you're not able to see that...

I was going to send you a personal message and apologize further but it takes me back to the homepage. I really am sorry and it was thoughtless on my part. I should have known better as I have my own triggers. I'm glad you're better.

Sorry - I didn't think about. I just get so upset over this. I have a personal friend who had this done to her as a child and I can tell you that she has never gotten over it. Period. Not physically and not emotionally.

I have a close friend on whom this was forced as a child. She's never gotten over it physically nor emotionally. So to those on this thread who think this is NBD I think perhaps a better understanding of exactly what is taking place needs to happen. Because I, like you, get woozy just thinking about what sort of…

Yes. Because having some foreskin removed is exactly the same thing has having your lips and clitoris cut off. It can also lead to a man being infertile, having chronic pain or inability to urinate or menstruate properly.

My very first thought when I saw that picture was 'how the HELL do they get that makeup to stay on?!'.

I wish I knew the answer. In my job I see the results of a lack of healthcare and they are not pretty at all. In fact they are downright depressing. In my heart I know that the only way for insurance to work is for everyone to have it and for us to spread the costs out.

Right. I always thought it was pretty grody. I mean, there's just not enough bleach for that kind of mess.

Yes. Driving around my town over the last month are a new crop of bumper stickers. They say 'Don't Re-Nig in 2012" and "If I would have known this I would have picked my own cotton!", which comes paired on the same sticker with a rebel flag.

My daughter is a freshman and was pysched to tell me she joined the "Erotic Film Appreciation Club" (AKA - The Porn Club) where they screened classic porn films and then discussed them after. It was put on by the college. I thought it was kind of awesome and so did she. Instead of juvenile or crude remarks what…

That it was. I imagine it falling off of the back of a truck and some wide eyed granny finding it thinking it's someone's dinner plates. I imagine she was in for either a very big shock or a very fun evening ;)

Haha I've always loved that word 'fapping'!