Islam’s Hatred of the Clitoris

FrontPage Magazine ^ | Jamie Glazov

[VinnyTex]

Islam’s Hatred of the Clitoris

FrontPageMagazine.com | October 19, 2001

Editor’s Note: The following article contains graphic descriptions of female genital mutilation, which some sensitive readers may wish to avoid.

IF YOU HATE WOMEN, and you hate their sexuality, and you are terrified that you cannot control it, the most effective thing you can do is to mutilate female sexual pleasure. This can be done by a sexual lobotomy, which will destroy an essential and sacred part of a woman’s natural makeup. In achieving this feat on all women, you will become able to ruthlessly dominate them.

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That’s what female circumcision is all about.

It’s about obliterating the clitoris, or the entire outer vagina. It is the barbarity that exists where misogyny festers most: in the Muslim and African world.

The Muslims are the principal religious group that practice female circumcision. In Egypt, for instance, 97 percent of women are circumcised. Their clitorises are amputated. In countries like Sudan, meanwhile, the women-haters are not so kind: all the women’s external genital organs are completely removed. In a savagery called infibulation, the clitoris, the two major outer lips (labia majora) and the two minor inner lips (labia minora) are amputated.

Nawal El Saadawi has documented these horrifying realities in The Hidden Face of Eve: Women in the Arab World. She demonstrates how the violence of female circumcision is performed on girls anywhere from the ages of one month to puberty. Usually, it is done around the age of seven or eight. Anesthetics are never used. The child is pinned down by several women, while one of them attacks.

After infibulation, the small outer opening of the vagina is the only portion left intact. A tiny piece of wood or reed is inserted to allow urine and menstrual blood to seep out. Extra narrowing of the opening is carried out with stitches, which remain until marriage. The victim’s legs are often bound together from hip to ankle and she is immobile for about a month or two.

This violence has to occur because, in much of the Islamic world, the female’s genital area is considered dirty and unacceptable. For example, in Egypt the uncircumcised girl is called nigsa (unclean). Thus, it has to be made "clean."

Many of the victims lose their lives during this torture – which is often inflicted with broken glass. Many other victims are afflicted with acute and chronic infections for the rest of their lives.

With serious and disabling lifelong consequences, the mutilation robs women of their equilibrium. It deprives them from enjoying the fullness of their sexuality and the completeness of their lives. In terms of sexual pleasure, for instance, we know that approximately 75 percent of women cannot achieve orgasm without clitoral stimulation. In other words, the possibility of orgasm has been obliterated for tens of millions of women in the Muslim world. So what does it mean if the psychic, mental and physical health of women cannot be complete if they do not experience sexual pleasure?

The terror of the circumcision itself tracks its traumatized victims down like a nightmare. Most, if not all, of these poor women end up suffering from serious sexual and/or mental distortions. The mutilation of their sexual being becomes the epicenter where sex and violence meet constantly in their lives – with them as victims.

Wedding night is often quite eventful. In some parts of the Arab and African world, the husband assaults the wife after the wedding. In Somalia, for instance, the groom beats the bride with a leather whip. After this romantic apex, he cuts the sealed vagina with a sharp scalpel or razor in order to have intercourse. He then has prolonged repeated intercourse with her for a week – to prevent the scarring from closing the vaginal opening again. During this time the wife must lie still and not move. Meanwhile, the husband takes the bloody sharp object, which represents the virginity of his wife, and makes rounds around the community – showing it off for approval. Scholars such as Raphael Patai and Vincent Crapanzano have documented these phenomena.

After this honeymoon period, the woman is now, for the first time in her life, actually recognized as a person – because she has become the extension of her husband. Her status might even improve if she has a child (a boy). She will be humiliated and shamed, however, if she has a non-child (a girl).

And if a little innocent girl enters this world, it will only be a short time before her genitals share the same fate as that of her mother’s. When the torturers and soul-destroyers begin to slice, who will hear her cries?

Jamie Glazov holds a Ph.D. in History with a specialty in Soviet Studies. He is the author of 15 Tips on How to be a Good Leftist.. His father, Yuri Glazov, was a Soviet dissident during the Brezhnev era, who signed the Letter of Twelve, denouncing Soviet human rights abuses. His mother, Marina Glazov, also participated in the dissident movement in the Soviet Union, actively typing and circulating Samizdat - the underground political literature. To avoid imprisonment, Yuri Glazov took his family out of the USSR in 1972 and settled in Canada in 1975, when Jamie was 9. Today Jamie battles socialism from his high-tech warroom in Toronto. He writes the Dr. Progressive advice column for angst-ridden leftists at EnterStageRight.com. E-mail him at jglazov@home.com.

[glory]

So does Christianity and Jews hate male sexuality since they practice circumcision>>

Hmmm, well not all Christians do practice it, nor it is "required". My son is not circed.

But the biggest difference I can see is that the equivalent of female circumcision as practice in these countries would be like cutting the male penis completely off. I dare say a folding back or removing of the foreskin under anesthetic(becoming commen place nowadays) on a newborn is quite a cry different than taking all female sexual parts off with a sharp piece of glass at the age of 8 with no anesthetic. And the consequences of the two practices are quite different. Men can go on even with thier foreskin removed to a rich sexual life and comfort with doing basic things like intercourse and urinating, female mutilation victims are not so lucky. And I say this as someone who does not and will not circ my own sons, but I can differentiate the two. The problem is the terms, they are not even equivalent imo.

[glory]

Standard hospital practice, doncha know>>

Don't want to get in the circ debate thing, but it is not "standard practice". A parent has to give thier approval for this. I was asked by my OB several weeks prior to the birth of my son and we opted no. Hospital staff asked again once he was born and again we opted no.
They can not just wisk your son away and perform circumcision without a parents' permission.

[glory]

Uncut dudes get diseases>>

Hmm, bit of an overgeneralization don't you think? My adult male brother is uncirced and has not had problems with infections and the like. I asked him personally since we considered not circing our son(and we didn't).

[glory]

zoyd, on this point I agree with you. We are religious btw(Christians) and we did not circ our son(and won't any future sons). I think in the US, most adult men just don't have any examples of uncirced men to reference about real life uncut. My adult brother was not circed so I had a point of reference to ask. We are content with this decision(and yes, read all the research out there and can't find anything OVERWHELMINGLY compelling to circ a male child)

[glory]

*spit* LOL...Where's my roll of paper towels...my poor computer!

[glory]

What is the description of the afterlife promised to devout female Muslims (fidels?)?"

Perhaps to actually regain thier sexuality!

[ChadGore]

bttt

[glory]

Circumcision is no longer SOP in hospitals. Parents are asked whether they want the procedure or not. FTR, my husband and I chose not have our son circumcised. We left him exactly as God made him.>>

Yup exactly! I was asked twice, once at my obs office, and once at the hospital.

[A. Pole]

Hmmm, well not all Christians do practice it, nor it is "required". My son is not circed.

Christians should not circumcise. The external rite of circumcision mandated by the Law of Moses is to be replaced by the internal circumcision of the heart.

Behold, I Paul say unto you, that if ye be circumcised, Christ shall profit you nothing.
(Gal:5:2)

In whom also ye are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ
(Col:2:11)

[SauronOfMordor]

Why would a grandmother and the other old crones of the neighbourhood want to cut a jagged bloody hole where her grandaughters' external genitalia used to be? I'd say it's because having the same done to them has driven them insane. I'd say because theirs were cut off when they were children, and the thinking is what was good enough for them is now good enough for their daughters and granddaughters. Not just their genitals got mutilated, but their sanity as well.

The older women would be unable to stand the idea of other women being able to enjoy intercourse and have orgasms

Envy is one of the strongest human emotions, and has been responsible for much horror in other contexts. It is the fundamental underpinning of Marxism and Communism

[freebilly]

Good point. Male circumcision is based on health. Uncut dudes get diseases. The Jews had it right with pork

The Jews circumsize pork?

[glory]

Well, not exactly. I don't get my knickers in a twist, but I do generally think that circumcision is VERY optional and certainly not necessary AND I DO have a son! I'll give it right back at you. What I find is that people who don't consider leaving thier sons intact and even argue vehemently FOR circumcision usually don't know anyone who was left intact so they have no point of reference for something different than what they already know OR, like an earlier poster whose wife was a nurse, they see the worst of intact men--the ones who don't care for thier penis properly and think that's the way it is for all the uncircumcised.

[glory]

Somali men and women told The Seattle Times their daughters would be shamed, dishonored and unmarriageable if they were not cut, an act they believe shows their purity.

Maybe they won't be honored or marriagable to the nuts in this community, but I'm sure once these ladies are left intact, they will have many American suitors who will cherish them. It seems to me it would be a blessing if these families rejected these girls so they could be adoptable and accepted into a Christian family and community to be cherished just as they are!

[glory]

You just contradicted yourself. Either your son remembers the pain or not. The fact is he WON'T if circumcision is performed shortly after birth. If he waits until he is grown up it will be very painful and he will remember. And he won't be too happy with you either.>>

And why pray tell would he need a circumcision later on unless there were problems? The chances of problems really are VERY miniscule(I'm sure you will find lot's of info if you do a web search to back up that assessment). And why would he be unhappy with ME(I'm injected myself here since I am the mother of an INTACT son) if he does need this procedure later? Would he be mad at me for not getting his appendix out shortly after birth too and he needed that procedure later on? How about his tonsils? Any son who would be unhappy at me because he didn't get the procedure as a baby and needed it now is not right in the head(pardon the pun) and I consider right up there with the guys on the nocirc webpage who are mad at thier mothers for having them cut! I think you are grasping for straws here.
Can we keep this out of the emotional what if area?

[glory]

You just contradicted yourself. Either your son remembers the pain or not. The fact is he WON'T if circumcision is performed shortly after birth. If he waits until he is grown up it will be very painful and he will remember. And he won't be too happy with you either.>>

And why pray tell would he need a circumcision later on unless there were problems? The chances of problems really are VERY miniscule(I'm sure you will find lot's of info if you do a web search to back up that assessment). And why would he be unhappy with ME(I'm injected myself here since I am the mother of an INTACT son) if he does need this procedure later? Would he be mad at me for not getting his appendix out shortly after birth too and he needed that procedure later on? How about his tonsils? Any son who would be unhappy at me because he didn't get the procedure as a baby and needed it now is not right in the head(pardon the pun) and I consider right up there with the guys on the nocirc webpage who are mad at thier mothers for having them cut! I think you are grasping for straws here.
Can we keep this out of the emotional what if area?

[glory]

Ban spanking? That is painful too... And probably a lot more painful than circumcision.
>>

Umm, what do you spank your children with that you can assert this? I think once again, this is not a reasonable argument on your part.

[glory]

The ironic thing is that by avoiding circumcision soon after birth a lot of people are condemning their sons to suffer a hell of a lot of pain later in life when they do decide to get circumcised>> SIGH Let's change a word in your post above shall we. ...a lot of pain later in life IF they do decide to get circumcised(which btw does not usually happen unless there are adhesions or constant infections which is only a little more likely than the circed mail) Your assertation that men will get circumcised eventually is so laughable when I think of my adult brother who as far as I know is STILL an intact male. Trying to put a guilt trip on people is not going to work my friend. In general I've found MOST of the people who choose to keep thier sons intact in the US are better read on the subject and as someone who scrutinized the evidence, I could not find compelling evidence to have it done to my son, nor could I find a compelling number of intact men knocking thier urologists(?) door down to perform the procedure for them in adulthood.

[glory]

ditto to most of this post:-)

[glory]

Oh good grief, most intact men do NOT, I repeat do NOT, need to get circumcised as adults either.

[PJ-Comix]

BWAHAHAHAHAHA!!!! So you consider circumcised men "unintact?" Hey, I cut my fingernails the other day. I must now hide my head in shame for I am now not intact.