Not at all. (1) The reasons for male genital mutilation and female genital mutilation may differ. And (2) female genital mutilation can be more severe than, less severe than, or equally as severe as male genital mutilation, depending on what form of female genital mutilation is involved.The Hen wrote:So if you support circumcision, you must also be in favour of female general mutilation.
(1) Reasons for Genital Mutilation
The World Health Organization defines "female genital mutilation" as:
It also states that female genital mutilation "has no health benefits, and it harms girls and women in many ways ...."... all procedures that involve partial or total removal of the external female genitalia, or other injury to the female genital organs for non-medical reasons.
Although whether male genital mutilation has health benefits is debated, the National Institutes of Health recently stated:
In any event, as the NIH pointed out, male genital mutilation is often performed for non-medical reasons: "Ciurcumcision [sic] is often performed in healthy boys for cultural or religious reasons."There is no compelling medical rationale for the procedure in healthy boys, although some boys have a medical condition requiring circumcision.
If male genital mutilation is performed because the boy has "a medical condition requiring circumcision," then it is not analogous to female genital mutilation, which "has no health benefits ...." In those circumstances, one can quite consistently support such circumcisions while opposing female genital mutilation.
If, however, male genital mutilation is "performed in [a] healthy boy[] for cultural or religious reasons," then the medical-benefits rationale for male genital mutilation evaporates. But male genital mutilation is not (and self-evidently cannot be) the same as female genital mutilation. Which brings us to ...
(2) Severity of Genital Mutilation
As an initial matter, one might well doubt whether relative severity is even a proper consideration. After all, if one encountered a society in which the left fingers of boys and the left arms of female girls were removed in infancy, one might find oneself hard pressed to support the removal of the boys' fingers on the ground that it is less severe than the removal of the girls' arms.Be that as it may, some forms of female genital mutilation are obviously more severe than male genital mutilation. But other forms of female genital mutilation are obviously less severe than male genital mutilation. And still other forms of female genital mutilation may be as severe as male genital mutilation.
Male genital mutilation is one procedure, defined as "the surgical removal of the foreskin of the penis."
Female genital mutilation, however, can be any of a host of things. According to the WHO:
It seems to me obvious that (a) "partial or total removal of the clitoris"; (b) "partial or total removal of the clitoris and the labia minora, with or without excision of the labia majora"; (c) "narrowing of the vaginal opening through the creation of a covering seal ... formed by cutting and repositioning the inner, or outer, labia, with or without removal of the clitoris"; and (d) "cauterizing the genital area" are more severe than male genital mutilation.Female genital mutilation is classified into four major types.
1.Clitoridectomy: partial or total removal of the clitoris (a small, sensitive and erectile part of the female genitals) and, in very rare cases, only the prepuce (the fold of skin surrounding the clitoris).
2.Excision: partial or total removal of the clitoris and the labia minora, with or without excision of the labia majora (the labia are "the lips" that surround the vagina).
3.Infibulation: narrowing of the vaginal opening through the creation of a covering seal. The seal is formed by cutting and repositioning the inner, or outer, labia, with or without removal of the clitoris.
4.Other: all other harmful procedures to the female genitalia for non-medical purposes, e.g. pricking, piercing, incising, scraping and cauterizing the genital area.
It seems to me obvious that "pricking ... the genital area" is nowhere near as severe as male genital mutilation, because it involves no serious or permanent injury, let alone the removal of erogenous tissue. It also seems to me that "piercing ... the genital area" is nowhere near as severe as male genital mutilation. Again, it does not involve the removal of any erogenous tissue. And if it involves "permanent injury," then so does ear-piercing. Also, as WebMD points out:
The closest call, it seems to me, is "partial or total removal of ... only the prepuce (the fold of skin surrounding the clitoris)." The procedures -- removal of the skin surrounding the clitoris and removing the skin surrounding the glans penis -- are directly analogous. But there may be features which make one more or less severe than the other.One of the most common types of female genital piercing is known as the vertical clitoral hood or VCH. This is a vertical piercing that's done through the skin that lies above the glans -- the rounded head -- of the clitoris. This results in direct stimulation of the clitoris during sexual intercourse. The VCH is popular partly because the direction of the piercing conforms to the natural shape of the woman's body. ...
Other common female piercings include:
Horizontal clitoral hood or HCH. This is basically the same as a VCH, only the piercing goes in a horizontal direction in the skin above the clitoris.
Triangle. This piercing is the same as the HCH only it's below the clitoris rather than above it. It also provides direct stimulation to the clitoris but on the underside.
Labia piercings. Either the inner or the outer labia -- the lips of the vagina -- can be pierced. Often with labia piercings, there are multiple piercings. That's because the thickness of the tissue can support multiple pieces of jewelry.
(As to "incising [and] scraping ... the genital area, I suppose that the relative severity depends on a host of factors, including the particular genital area(s) involved, the dimensions of the incision(s), whether any tissue is permanently damaged or removed, etc.)
Supporting Male Genital Mutilation While Opposing Female Genital Mutilation Can Be Consistent Or Inconsistent Positions
In sum, whether supporting male genital mutilation while opposing female genital mutilation is a consistent pair of positions depends on a host of things. Ignoring those things renders an argument facile rather than sound.
Now THAT's the way to promote use of public transportation!
