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Female Genital Cutting: A Harmless Practice?
Author(s) -
Mackie Gerry
Publication year - 2003
Publication title -
medical anthropology quarterly
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.855
H-Index - 55
eISSN - 1548-1387
pISSN - 0745-5194
DOI - 10.1525/maq.2003.17.2.135
Subject(s) - harm , female circumcision , pleasure , harm reduction , critical appraisal , sex organ , psychology , criminology , social psychology , medicine , gynecology , biology , alternative medicine , nursing , public health , pathology , psychotherapist , genetics
A recent article in Medical Anthropology Quarterly (Obermeyer 1999) argues that the "facts " about the "harmful effects " of female genital cutting (FGC) are "not sufficiently supported by the evidence" (p. 79). The article suggests three further hypotheses, among others: (1) FGC may be of minimal harm because the more educated continue the practice just as much as the less educated; (2) FGC may be of minimal harm because it is so widespread and persistent; (3) FGC may be of minimal harm because the supposed link between the clitoris and female sexual pleasure is a social construction rather than a physiological reality. I challenge these hypotheses. I say that by appropriate standards of evaluation, FGC is harmful. Finally, I submit that most FGC is a proper matter of concern because it is the irreversible reduction of a human capacity in the absence of meaningful consent, [female genital cutting, harm evaluation, critical epidemiology, harmful traditional practices]