In Egypt, it’s become associated with Islam. Mostly, it’s an ancient practice going back before Islam and Christianity. It’s horrible and highly unfortunate that it’s been adopted by Muslims in some areas, because otherwise it could have died out or been stamped out.

I remember when my parents decided my two sisters were ripe for the cutting. I remember a gruesome looking woman (perhaps that’s retroactive superimposing on my part but oh well) coming to the door of our home in Abu Dhabi.

It’s not worse, but it’s creepy and bizarre that while female circumcision is both outlawed and universally condemned in the U.S, male circumcision is considered NBD and to some, routine.

I definitely agree that it is ultimately for men and that the mutilation is the outcome of a repressive religious patriarchy. It’s still disappointing when you see a female nurse arrested for carrying it out. No question female empowerment and education is what is required, but it seems pretty simplistic to break it…

Crazy pills here too. It’s like blaming an abstraction (religion) is so much worse in these people’s minds than actually blaming the people, so they defend the abstraction to the bitter end. I don’t make any distinctions between the two. The religion IS what people DO. For fuck’s sake.

It’s actually quite often women doing it to other women. Not that the men are supportive of it, just they are hardly solely responsible for it.

Except the mutilation is almost always performed by women. Horrifying.

From why I've read about FGM, it is commonly the women who pressure young girls to undergo the procedure, noth as a sign of belonging to the community and, of course, to be deemed more marriageable.

Really, we’re going to compare which is “worse” when we’re talking about genital mutilation? Does it even matter?

Yes, I believe that, too. I was responding to the response that it wasn’t religion. I believe it IS religion that’s causing this shitty fucking mutilation.

Those same men chop off bits of baby boy’s dicks as well. I say let’s be truly about equality and stop genital mutilation of both sexes. It’s so completely unnecessary.

This is horrible, as is the continued circumcision of boys. Both should be stopped so that everyone can grow up as nature intended. And I mean this sincerely. Stop chopping bits off of baby’s bits. It’s gross and unnecessary, no matter the gender.

Nothing to do with religion? Get fucking serious, please. My god.

I definitely do NOT want to minimize FGM; it’s terrible and atrocious and should not be happening. Just to say two things:

“No fireworks” isn’t really a trigger warning. That’s a request. It’s nice of the people in your neighborhood to honor that. I doubt some people in my neighborhood would. “July 4th is today” should be acting as the trigger warning in that situation.

People: you can’t go reading an interview with John Waters and then complain that you’re offended. THAT’S HIS WHOLE SHTICK. Fucking deal or don’t read.

I agree. I think it speaks to the larger issue of college student infantilization. I work at a college and it’s gotten worse- college students are not treated as adults and you have to be incredibly careful to not say anything controversial. I think the whole “trigger warning” thing is really about a much larger…