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Cutting Consent ! Discussions conducted by Americans about Africa and its people often highlight

the differences between us and them. The differences are critiqued and evaluated through the muddy lens of Western cultural bias. African cultures are rendered primitive, irrational, and inferior to Western thought. Bias makes it easy to pass judgements on things that are perceived as other. This is unfortunate, because by devaluing the culture perceived as other, we exclude African voices, and thereby lose crucial insight that is essential to any ethnographic discussion of value. To discuss any culture fairly, it is necessary to avoid this imperialism of thought at all costs. The fundamental base for any ethnographic discussion is to understand culture, society, and tradition in context. Female circumcision as performed in Sierra Leone by the Bondo society inspires extreme reactions from many Americans. The term used most frequently to describe the ritual is female genital mutilation or FGM. Using this term is a strong indicator of Western bias; mutilation is hardly a neutral term. I choose to use circumcision for two reasons: the rst is an attempt to nd an impartial term that is relevant to those individuals within the culture I address, and the second, is to draw attention to how this custom is similar to one of our own practices. Routine female circumcision in Sierra Leone and routine male circumcision in the United States are more or less the same practice held by equivalent beliefs in their respected countries. First I will explain the practice ofcircumcision in Bondo culture and respond to Western critique. Additionally, I will argue that by critically reviewing the discussion in addition to the practice, we might be able to advocate for progress in both

countries. Non-consensual circumcision is a violation of human rights; it is essential to our humanity that every individual has the right to determine what happens to his or her body. My hope is that by facilitating a multicultural discussion on the practice of circumcision in both cultures, we will become better equipped to dissolve such practices while maintaining the vital forces of cultural traditions. ! To understand the institution of circumcision in Sierra Leone, it is necessary to

understand the culture of the Bondo society. The ritual is associated with cultural identity, sense of pride, coming of age, and feeling of community. Both girls and boys go through an initiation process that involves circumcision, where the clitoris or the foreskin is removed. The clitoris is believed to be a male element present in females and the foreskin is believed to be a female element in males. By removing these parts, a woman becomes feminized and a male becomes masculinized which marks a persons adult sexual status. ! Opponents of female circumcision often state repression of feminine sexuality as

a problem. But for women in the Bondo tradition, this practice is synonymous with womens power in their economic, reproductive, and ritual spheres of inuence. Thus female sexuality is not necessarily oppressed; rather, it is argued that within this culture, the practice is believed to enhance feminine sexuality. In both male and female initiations, it is learned that sexual pleasure is a natural capacity and right for all women. Bondo elders believe and teach that by removing parts of the outside genitals, greater orgasms can be met through vaginal intercourse and stimulation of the g-spot. RFC is also supposed to be more aesthetically pleasing just as RMC is. Both men and women

are taught to value their sexual skill and experience and it is part of the initiation to learn the complexities of sex, particularly focusing on learning erotic songs and dances, cooking and feeding, feigned submission, and aural (more than oral) in an effort to heighten desire and anticipation. Men are also taught skills on how to hit the spot and emphasis is put upon body movement and rhythm during intercourse. In fact, LightfootKlein, even though she disagreed with the practice, published in her ve-year research that 94% of the women reported sexual satisfaction and orgasm, some as many as three or four times a week, even though they had been circumcised. Comparing that to women in the United States, only 62% say they are satised with the frequency/ consistency of orgasm according to the Kinsey Institute.

Another oft-touted American concern health complications associated with RFC,

often stating that these surgeries happen in unsafe and unsanitary conditions, using primitive means. Carla Obermeyer states, On the basis of the vast literature on the harmful effects of genital surgeries, one might have anticipated nding a wealth of studies that documents considerable increases in mortality and morbidity. This review could nd no incontrovertible evidence on mortality, and the rate of medical complications suggests that they are the exception rather than the rule. Other studies such as the one by Linda Morison et al. at the UKs Medical Research Council Laboratories have stated that the complications often associated with female circumcision (infertility, painful sex, vulval tumors, incontinence, and menstrual problems) exist in about 10% of both women who had had the surgery as well as those that did not.

When I have personally compared female circumcision as it exists in Africa to male circumcision in the United States in discussion classes, I have encountered immediate hostile disagreement. I interpret this as a reaction to being socialized in a xenophobic culture that purposely seeks to constantly reinforce a gender binary, asserting that the male altercation in our own country is mild and harmless while the female altercation in places like Sierra Leone is a horric act of cruelty that must be punishable by law. By doing this, we reinforce traditional constructions of female bodies need protection and male bodies do not.

RMC operates under the illusion that is is healthy and hygienic. In truth, it is

highly disputed if there are any real health benets.In fact the American Academy of Pediatrics has issued this statement: Existing scientic evidence demonstrates potential medical benets of newborn male circumcision; however, these data are not sufcient to recommend routine neonatal circumcision. ...the procedure is not essential to the childs current well-being, parents should determine what is in the best interest of the child. As long as the male child is taught how to clean his uncircumcised penis properly and uses safe sex practices, it is unlikely to be a health risk. However, RMC is highly unpredictable and success is dependent on many uncontrollable variables such as skill of surgeon, individual conguration of blood vessels and nerve networks, as well as the guessed length of penis at maturity. The more tissue extracted in infancy, the greater the negative effect on sexual capacity can be, sometimes rendering in painful erections if too much foreskin is lost.

Circumcision is a procedure that causes nerve damage. The amount of tissue

that is taken varies according to different procedures, but the more tissue removed, the more nerve endings lost. For women who have been circumcised, there is a loss of clitoral orgasm due to its absence, but ethnographic evidence suggests that women are able to achieve vaginal orgasm through the g-spot and the use of synchronized rhythm during coitus. For men, circumcision reduces sensitivity since the densest concentration of blood vessels and nerves are found in the foreskin itself though orgasm is still possible. The cultural impact of routine circumcision of infant boys is that there are generations of male children who grew up unaware of what it feels like to be whole and capable of feeling all of the sensations they are naturally predisposed to have. ! The reasons for female and male circumcision are closely tied to culture, tradition

and religion. The Bundo society holds traditional value to the process. The people assert that this is what has been done for hundreds of years, and the tradition will continue because its perpetuation is meant to uphold feminine power and community. Likewise, male circumcision is rooted in the Old Testament and Jewish belief it was more hygienic and more aesthetic. Aesthetics are nothing more than cultural norms; if its normal to have a circumcised penis, then aesthetically, circumcised penises are more pleasing, just as the Bundo culture believes circumcision in women to be more aesthetic. But the practices have similar implications for both men and women and most importantly, circumcision is still performed non-consensually to both males and females. ! I do not supportcircumcision of either sex as the practice exists in most cultures

today. However, I do not take issue with the procedure itself if it involves choice. If done

voluntarily, properly, carefully, and within supportive contexts, it appears to have little harm. I take extreme offense to forced circumcision regardless of the victims sex. No matter how steeped in tradition, cultures must respect the need for all individuals to have basic human rights. This includes the need for an individual to fully consent to any surgery that is performed on him or her without the risk of intense cultural backlash, should they choose not to partake. For the women, I dream of a cultural space wherein they can choose to safely undergo the procedure, as well as an equally viable space available for those women who wish to refrain from the tradition without social sanction. Additionally, if a woman chooses to undergo circumcision, the degree to which she is circumcised should be her personal choice. It is also a human rights violation that in America infant boys are systematically circumcised without consent. It should be at the discretion of adult men to opt for or against their own circumcision. This is not a choice that parents should feel culturally bound to make for their male children. Health professionals should be frank with parents that circumcision is a decision to cut parts of a childs body off and parents should reect on whether this is a decision they want to make for their child. Circumcision must be viewed as an individual choice, comparable to getting a tattoo, piercing, or cosmetic surgery. It should not be an unconscious, nonconsensual ritual. Everyone should have choices about what happens to their bodies.

When critiquing another culture, we must remain cautious, bracket our own

biases, and attempt to understand the culture as it exists. It can be challenging, but it is essential to refrain from using our own denitions and norms as a lens through which to criticize the sexuality of another culture especially when our own cultural understanding of sexuality isnt entirely unproblematic. Instead, we must always advocate for human

rights when they are not present, and a persons right to their body is an essential human right. We must make the effort to never cut consent out of the circumcision discussion.

Works Cited: Andersen, Peter C. "Proverbs in Krio." <<http://www.sierra-leone.org/KrioProverbs.html>> Web. 19 Sept. 2010 Anonymous.Women March in Support of Genital Circumcision. The Jacksonville Free Press: vol 21 no 49. 9. April 2008. Web. 16 Sept. 2010. Bell, Kirsten.Genital Cutting and Western Discourses on Sexuality.Medical Anthropology Quarterly 19.2. 2005: 125-148. Women's Studies International. Web. 18 Sept. 2010. Darby, Robert, and J Steven Svoboda.A rose by any other name? Rethinking the similarities and differences between male and female genital cutting. Medical Anthropology Quarterly 21.3. 2007: 301-323. Women's Studies International. Web. 18 Sept. 2010. The Kinsely Institute. "Frequently Asked Questions." <<http://www.iub.edu/~kinsey/ resources/FAQ.html.>> July 15, 2010. Web. 19 Sept. 2010. Lansana, Fofana.Sierra Leone: Female Circumcision is a Hot Issue in Election Campaign.Global Information Network. 19 April 2005. Web. 14 Sept 2010. Shweder, Richard A.Disputing the Myth of Sexual Disfunction of Circumcised Women.(Interview with Fuambai S. Ahmadu.) Anthropology Today: vol 25 no6. 14-17. Dec 2009. Web. 16 Sept. 2010.