Snow is melting...flowers waking up

We should really meat up soon :(

YEs, Let us Finally commence a dialogue on female circumcision....

My view on the subject was shaken after reading a few articles on the subject last semester. One article, entitled "Ngaitana: I Will Circumcise Myself", I believe, discusses popular reaction to the ban on female circumcision implemented in 1956 Kenya. It sheds light, it seems, on just how engrained cultural practices become into the psyche of its practicioners, and how it is nearly impossible to address one practice without reconsidering the entire stucture within which it exists. What struck me was how women actively revolted against the ban and insisted on carrying out the practice, not exactly the actions of a repressed women being mutilated against their will, as many human rights groups would suggest. On the other hand, women reasoned that to be an uncircumcised woman would drastically damage their marriageability and overall status in society. But who installed this currency of forced and painful chastity? It is useful to note that circumcision is not just a traditional practice that has had undoubtedly painful reprecussions, it is also a very powerful cultural currency.

Also see the article on elective vaginal "rejuventation" surgery---and its growing popularity among American women (New York Times)--sorry, I lost the link....
This article is intersting, read it and tell me what you think.....

Let's talk about Female Circumcision

Worldwide some 80,000,000 to 100,000,000 women have received circumcision, which was first recorded more than 4,000 years ago in Egypt, which is why it is often referred to as a "Pharaonic" tradition.
"Female Circumcision" or "Female Genital Mutilation" as it is called by many westerners remains a very hot topic for anthropologists, feminists, and sociologists. The ritual is an ancient practice that (among other things) symbolizes a girl’s initiation into the adult world. The ritual is seen as a natural and integral part of the societies in which it is practiced. Almost all groups circumcising females also circumcise males as it is regarded as essential to their socialization. However, it becomes obvious that the male circumcision, a removal of the foreskin of the penis, is quite different from what is involved in female circumcision.
Female circumcisions can vary in range. It could vary from a cut in the pupuce, covering the clitoris, to the complete "smoothing out" or removal of all visible parts of the clitoris and most if not all of the labia. Surgeries such as complete clitoridectomies or infibulations (surgical modifications and the suturing of the labia) are seldom seen. The ritual is primarily conducted in Chad, Somalia, and Sudan. In these cases, de-circumcisions (opening of the sutures) are necessary before childbirth.
Although the option is open to them. Many women reject the idea of doctor performed circumcision, for the process is not simply an operation. It is a transition in which the girl learns many things about her new role as a woman. These are traditions that must be transmitted by other female family members as well as women from the village. There is usually a specialist in the village who performs the rituals, such as in Sierra Leone.
The sowe, as she is called, is revered and deferred to, and is chiefly responsible for the socialization of girls into a new age set. It is the sowe’s role to complete the ritual properly, this involves both the operation as well as several other initiation rites. The tool she uses for the operation, a penknife, is considered to be a divine gift.
The rite of female circumcision can be performed at birth or at puberty. In some groups it is done right before marriage. In Rivers state, Nigeria it is done in the 7th month of the woman’s first pregnancy
After the girl has completed the rite she is welcomed into her community proudly. She is often given gifts and has more power in her family. She becomes a more attractive bride to men, for completing the ceremony, but also because surgeries like infibulation ensures her chastity. In some cultures such as the Kono and the Okiek, in Kenya, the ritual is believed to endow the woman supernatural powers, and grants female authority over her elders as well as over men.
Despite Western objection to this practice. There is no real evidence of mortality rates, and complications are usually very rare.
Some claim that the practice is inhumane and has the potential to cause many problems (i.e. an inability to pass urine normally, pain during sex, infection, and hemorrhaging).

Prevalence of Female Circumcision
80%-98%: Mali, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Sudan
50%: Egypt, Kenya, Ethiopia
43%: Cote D’Ivoire, the Gambia
30% :Ghana

The ritual is practiced throughout Western and Sub-Saharan Africa, some parts of Asia, the Middle East as well as in indigenous Central and South American cultures. It has also been practiced by Jews and Christians in places where it is customary.
Condemned by some African Women’s groups, as well as several other global organizations, the legitamacy of the ritual is strongly contested. Some organizations push for a more relative view of their practice. Many groups vehemently object to the western viewpoint that their practices are somehow cruel and primitive. Some tribal groups strongly resent the ‘western opinions’ about their practice, one group- The Masai are particularly insulted by outside interference. In some places, uncircumcized genitals are considered ugly.
The issue has clearly challenged how we view cultural practices, and is challenging to both feminism and relativism. It can be seen as a sign of sexual control over females, ensuring marital chastity. It can also be seen as a sacred rite, in which something profound is happening for their culture, where the girl is made into a woman.
Personally, it is my opinion that the activities of these people are no one's business but their own. As a feminist, the thought of such a procedure alarms me, however, isn't feminism a western idea in the first place? You cannot approach another culture and place a value on their activities.

What do you think?
- Jupiterstop

References Cited:

Shweder, Richard, A.
2000. What about "FGM" and why understanding culture matters in the first place.
Modern World in an Anthropological Perspective. Article 25. 144-152.

Sillah, Memuna, M.
August, 1996. Bundu Trap. Modern World in an Anthropological Perspective. Article 26. 138-144

Caribbean

What follows is an essay that I wrote for a class on the culture and peoples of the Caribbean.
Looking at it now, I see a few problems with it, send me yours. I'm really interested now in becoming a better writer. I'm also feeling my shortcomings in theory and analyses......

Posted by CEB

What is the problem with Caribbean history? Discuss why many people in the Caribbean find their region's history troubling. How has this history led to distinct views on the meaning of "race" in the Caribbean? How has it shaped attitudes toward religion and toward political life?

The problem with Caribbean history is that it is rife with bloodshed and violence. Each country in the region possesses their own variation on that history, but they are united under the themes of colonialism, slavery and genocide. Columbus, a man who in most European countries and the United States is still revered as a hero, retains a very different reputation in the Caribbean. In the Dominican Republic some still believe that uttering his name will invite bad luck (Kurlansky 1993:3). One can imagine the feelings of alienation suffered by a region that still have ingrained within their societal structure sentiments of their colonial past, when the rest of the world appears to live in denial of the wicked truth of European colonization. Only relatively recently, when colonies gained independence, were they able to teach their own history and not that of their colonizing country. But which history? Slaves were brought from all over Africa, each with their own cultures, their own practices and traditions. The mixing of many cultures in the Caribbean has produced what can be described as a sort of pieced together culture in which many groups joined to produce a separate entity, "…the creation and construction of culture out of fragmented, violent and disjunct pasts". (Mintz 1996:302)
The emotional repercussions of slavery still have a place in the minds of young Caribbeans today. As one elderly man in Gmelch's The Parish Behind God's Back put it, "They amazed to hear we once worked for a penny a day. But they embarrassed too. They don't like to hear how bad thing's was—about the chiggers and lice." (2001:120)
While "racial" distinction is no doubt still a social reality, people seem to distinguish each other more on the basis of language, religion and class (Beriss: Class Notes). Generally, formerly Spanish colonies have had different views on race than formerly French, British or Dutch colonies. The Dominican Republic has long valued their "mulattos", while Cuba, having the highest population of whites in the region, actively emphasizes the "blackness" of their culture. In Haiti, however, race is distinguished more by language rather than skin color. History has obviously had a heavy hand in creating social structure throughout the Caribbean, politics and religion being part of that structure. In general, religious practices brought to the Caribbean by slaves were banned and eventually they were rigorously converted to Western religions. African slaves cleverly managed to retain some of their practices and it is the meshing of traditional African with Christian rites that has produced a similarly fragmented religious picture throughout the region. In the political realm, the Caribbean still seems to be struggling with racial inequalities, varying throughout the region. Kurlansky cites a prevailing attitude about the relation of skin color to political prowess: " The notion still lingers in many Caribbean minds that an elected representative is someone who gets you money and because the lighter the skin, the closer the person is thought to be to the money, poor blacks want to be represented by light-skinned people (1993:44). Even the ideals of democracy of freedom have been relatively trying issues, their meanings being called into question throughout the islands.

References

Gmelch, George and Sharon Bohn Gmelch. 2001 The Parish Behind Gods Back: The Changing Culture of Rural Barbados. Long Grove, Illinois: Waveland Press

Henke, Holger. 2001 Freedom Ossified: Political Culture and the Public Use of History in Jamaica. Identities. 8(3): 413-440

Hoetink, H. 1985. "Race and Color in the Caribbean. Mintz, Sidney and Sally Price, eds. Caribbean Contours. Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press. Pp55-84

Kurlansky, Mark. 1993 A Continent of Islands: Searching for the Caribbean Destiny. New York: Addison-Wesley

Mintz, Sidney. 1996. Enduring Substance, Trying Theories: The Caribbean Region as Oikoumene. Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute 2(2): 289-311

Keeping the Mason Jar open

WELCOME TO ANTHROMERGENCE!
KEEPING THE MASON JAR OPEN

This blog was created to broaden, refine, and express current ideas of cultural anthropology. Leaving no topic taboo, Anthromergence addresses random topics associated with modern anthropology. Any comments or suggestions regarding our work is welcome!
-jupiterstop