I'm actually on a gap year (its a pretty common thing in the UK) and it's a steryotype for posh kids to go away and 'help' third world countries. But gap years can be a great way to get experience provided you do the right thing. I'm doing volunteer horticulture work at a government run tourist attraction, and I have…

The death rate for girls with FGM is significantly higher than that for circumsized boys in first world countries. As JennaB84 mentions above, the most severe forms of FGM remove all of the external genetalia and sew up the opening almost completely. The female equivalent to the typical male circumcision is the…

Actually, almost all of the "acute damage" in the 1 in 500 factoid was for bleeding. http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/130/3/…

A. Circumcision did not start as a societal attempt to diminish sexual pleasure! Circumcision started- as far as people can tell- as a hygienic measure (not much soap & water in the desert), a religious ritual/ test of bravery, and in Judaism, a prerequisite for being READY for sex. I mean, I don't think any of these…

How prevalent is male death from circumcision? And what percentage of circumcised men lose the ability to experience any sexual pleasure? How many boys have their entire penis removed instead of just the foreskin? How many boys are circumcised with the express purpose of making them an acceptable match for marriage?…

Fuck cultural sensitivities. The only reason foot binding was so quickly and effectively banned in china is that Mao not only banned it, it was swiftly and vigorously enforced without any regard to cultural sensitivities. Harmful cultural practices have to be eradicated and the only way to do it is to remove tha taboo…

Cultural relativism does not = moral relativism.

How can someone legitimately defend this practice?

Or the people hijacking the thread to discuss male circumcision.

Cue the cultural relativists showing up swinging out of the woodwork. :)

agreed. The title definitely has a bias in its framing, as does the writing commentary by the non-artist. It sets up a certain, well-worn narrative about women receiving plastic surgery — that they're ashamed, that they're disquieted, etc. I don't feel like this article really did the project its true justice. I'm not…

Fairly positive Jez covered this a while back when it first came out. I've definitely seen all of these photos before, quite a while ago.

Did you really expect anything else?
They also support small government, but they want it in every bedroom in the land and in every uterus.

Now wouldn't that be a plot twist? The Palin sigil would be the crosshairs of a rifle scope, and Seyhra ('cause obvs she'd need a spelling change from plain old Sarah) would take out the Starks, Baratheons, and Lannisters by shooting them all from a helicopter.

I loathe her politics, but I greatly admire her willingness to exploit her base.

I'll say the same thing I said about her failed reality show: Good. Keep. Her. Busy.

Sam Jackson Five, I've come to suspect that there are many layers to you as a Jezebel commenter and I mean that as a *total* compliment. Thanks for the laugh, by the way. :=)

Derp Dynasty.

you clicked on a link about a robotic arse, that was your warning.