Reply to Should mutilating children be a protected form of culture?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]

Ha! Missed one. It's from this story: [url]http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/18/world/europe/18iht-letter18.html[/url], and of course, it's about circumcision.

To me, the parallels between the two are interesting, particularly the linked story's quote about thinking something is barbaric. I doubt anyone in China now would think footbinding was anything but barbaric now, but 200 years ago, it was low-class to have regular feet, and ladies had to have bound feet (or else they were only suitable for fieldwork like their non-foot-bound sisters).

PP has an interesting point about ear piercing. (Not car seats, though, sorry - that's not a physical mutilation). Why is it we draw the line at some permanent mutilations to our children without their consent (ear piercing, circumcision) but not others (tatoos, face piercing, foot binding, female genital mutilation)?

Is it really just culture and dominant ideology that makes some forms of this ok, and others illegal or taboo? Will people in a thousand years think ear piercing and circumcision are barbaric and pity those who thought they were ok?[/quote]

Are you crazy?  I was born with foot problems.  You have no idea what it is like to have mobility issues.  To cripple a child for the rest of her life is hardly comparable to circumcision or ear piercing.  And if you think it's not crippling, go read Snow Flower and the Secret Fan (one of my fave books ever)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snow_Flower_and_the_Secret_Fan

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