A question for my followers and anyone sympathetic to this blog’s cause
Do you view male child circumcision as an issue of gender equality?
Female privilege is not being expected to be circumcised, and less sexually desirable if you aren’t.
more like ur not looking at the right cultures
Male privilege is not knowing that in many cultures females are circumcised and it’s a LOT worse for them than it is for men.
Do you really think that being ignorant of the genital practices of other cultures is in any way a gendered privilege? I mean, are males living in the United States (the context of the original post) any less ignorant of the female genital cutting happening abroad?
Not to mention the fact that female genital cutting is completely and utterly prohibited in this country. Way to derail.
A second much-used argument to separate FGM from [non-therapeutic circumcision] is that FGM comes from a theory of female oppression, of which FGM is an expression. Since there is no such theory of oppression at play in NTC, this would make FGM morally more reprehensible than NTC.
This argument can be refuted in two ways. Firstly, the historical background of NTC is extremely complex, and is in any case rooted in the desire to control male sexuality. Thus NTC was deployed in the past to combat excessive onanism, and it was also
used to ‘brand’ slaves. So the background to NTC is not as unambiguous as is often thought.
There is another reason why the argument does not hold. The reason why FGM is condemned is not because it comes forth from a theory of female oppression but because it is harmful to them and represents a violation of their physical integrity. FGM would also be condemned if it were done out of aesthetic considerations or as a way of ‘venerating’ women. Even if women were to want FGM themselves at a later age, doctors would probably not be permitted to meet their request.
In Loudon Wainwright III’s song “Men,” he says that men are treated as if they were expendable, fodder for wars and drowning ships. Women, in general, stay out of direct combat and join the children on the lifeboats.
It is true that our culture expects men to sacrifice, fight, protect. We are not in the habit of reflecting upon where men — and boys — need help, concern, change. Our cultural blinders allow us to inflict upon men what would be considered atrocities if they were inflicted upon women. Nowhere is this more clearly evident than in the practice of circumcision.
Abolish the ‘unkind cut’ by Julie Van Orden, in today’s issue of the Salt Lake Tribute
![pianycist:
legalizeforeskin:
fyeahpdp:
Privilege Denying Dude: [Picture: Background: 8 piece pie style color split with red and teal alternating. Foreground: White guy with glasses and light shadow wearing a sweat shirt over a button down and short black hair. Has a smug, arrogant facial expression and crossed arms. Top text: “I like women.” Bottom text: “It’s just that I hate how feminists abuse, exploit and demean us poor, oppressed men.”]
How many times have you seen a self-proclaimed Tumblr feminist ignore/reject/erase/deride the struggle for male genital integrity? Talk about privilege denial…
Actually, never.
(By the way, nonconsentual genital surgery happens to more infants than those that are male-assigned, and often for reasons of controlling that person’s adult sexuality rather than the supposed “health” justification of circumcision.)
Then you had to have missed deepwithfuture’s vitriolic rant, or this haphazard dismissal, or the following reduction of the debate to a question of public health. Or this nonsense… And how many times have you seen/heard the erasing precept that non-therapeutic circumcision and female genital cutting are nothing alike?
To be fair, there are some (many?) feminists who take a strong stand for male bodily integrity. But when you have a community that, on one hand claims to advocate for equality, and on the other commonly dismisses legit male issues like circumcision, then this kind of pdp macro starts being problematic.
As far as the inter-sex issue that you bring up, I am certainly aware of it, although not as closely as I would like. I tend to view male circumcision largely as a way to control adult sexuality, and the purported health reasons as revisionist and incidental, so I’m not sure if your addendum was intended to diminish my position. It does expand the conversion.
You and I have actually had a brief back and forth on this topic a few months ago via krona’s posts. I was using a different account at the time, and sent in a response to you via krona’s ask, that unfortunately didn’t get published. I don’t remember your exact position, but it seems that you view circumcision as ethically problematic. Where exactly is our disagreement?
Also, sorry about taking my sweet time to respond. I try to keep my reblogs fresh, but don’t always succeed.](http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lmgh1hqVj01qgy0fio1_500.png)
Privilege Denying Dude:
[Picture: Background: 8 piece pie style color split with red and teal alternating. Foreground: White guy with glasses and light shadow wearing a sweat shirt over a button down and short black hair. Has a smug, arrogant facial expression and crossed arms.
Top text: “I like women.” Bottom text: “It’s just that I hate how feminists abuse, exploit and demean us poor, oppressed men.”]How many times have you seen a self-proclaimed Tumblr feminist ignore/reject/erase/deride the struggle for male genital integrity? Talk about privilege denial…
Actually, never.
(By the way, nonconsentual genital surgery happens to more infants than those that are male-assigned, and often for reasons of controlling that person’s adult sexuality rather than the supposed “health” justification of circumcision.)
Then you had to have missed deepwithfuture’s vitriolic rant, or this haphazard dismissal, or the following reduction of the debate to a question of public health. Or this nonsense… And how many times have you seen/heard the erasing precept that non-therapeutic circumcision and female genital cutting are nothing alike?
To be fair, there are some (many?) feminists who take a strong stand for male bodily integrity. But when you have a community that, on one hand claims to advocate for equality, and on the other commonly dismisses legit male issues like circumcision, then this kind of pdp macro starts being problematic.
As far as the inter-sex issue that you bring up, I am certainly aware of it, although not as closely as I would like. I tend to view male circumcision largely as a way to control adult sexuality, and the purported health reasons as revisionist and incidental, so I’m not sure if your addendum was intended to diminish my position. It does expand the conversion.
You and I have actually had a brief back and forth on this topic a few months ago via krona’s posts. I was using a different account at the time, and sent in a response to you via krona’s ask, that unfortunately didn’t get published. I don’t remember your exact position, but it seems that you view circumcision as ethically problematic. Where exactly is our disagreement?
Also, sorry about taking my sweet time to respond. I try to keep my reblogs fresh, but don’t always succeed.
NotAskingForPermission: Masculinity's Consequence
“From an early age, boys are fitted with emotional straight-jackets tailored by a restricted code of behavior that falsely defines masculinity. In the context of “stop crying,” “stop those emotions,” and “don’t be a sissy,” we define what it means to “Be a Man!” Adherence to this “boy code” leaves…
I find it difficult to think about the topics of sexuality and sexual violence without my primary thought being that, for so many men, THIS is their first experience in socialization.
(Source: epharoe)
![The statement in the caption holds true in many places of world, particularly those where gender equality is considered an important value.
[Source - Feminists for Genital Integrity]](http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lkhzaukphQ1qgmf9xo1_400.png)
The statement in the caption holds true in many places of world, particularly those where gender equality is considered an important value.
[Source - Feminists for Genital Integrity]
LOL the natural state of the penis is gross.
OHWAIT NO IT’S NOT.
Did all women finally get together and elect a spokesperson?
lol she got OWNED on this facebook status as all other women but the ‘I AM PROUD OF CIRCUMCISING MY SON’ mom were like ummm stop speaking for all of us. and the proud circumciser mom got owned because it turns out there’s nothing to be proud of in getting your baby’s foreskin cut off without his consent. lol ownage happened.
asdfghjkl
First of all, no. They’re not gross. How are they gross? They’re not.
Secondly, injuring a fucking baby without their consent is FUCKED THE FUCK UP.
Shaming the natural state of someone’s body is FUCKED UP AS WELL.
WHY DO PEOPLE FEEL COMPELLED TO POST THINGS LIKE THIS ON FACEBOOK?
lol only 12 year old girls or otherwise immature people would find a natural penis gross…
i found them gross for a long time. it’s actually really common. go to facebook and go to Salon magazine’s page, like them, and view the thread on their circumcision story.
http://www.facebook.com/salon/posts/181649605218753?notif_t=like#!/salon/posts/181649605218753?notif_t=like or go here and like them. and see how unpopular anti-circumcision is.
Imagine, for a second, what would happen if the situation were reversed and commenters were asked to weigh in on the status of a given part of female genitalia. How much less tolerable would this comment be as coming from a man?
What kind of slurs would be directed at this individual, let alone accusations of sexism and male control of female sexuality (which would be well-directed, I might add)?
All that’s being asked for within the proposed SF legislation, and by people across America in general, is that male bodies be given the same kind of protection and respect that’s afforded to female bodies, and that individuals be given the freedom to decide for themselves which parts of their genital anatomy is retained to adulthood.
