Some people become intensely invested in ideas that when those ideas or certain aspects of those ideas are challenged, they lose all touch with reality. They may even think that the other person is making arguments they are not. Changing what was said around and seeing something completely different. This is usually a trait I find with Young Earth Creationist, but not always.
Perhaps such peoples reactions are some kind of form of cognitive bias. Something that acts as a mental self-defense mechanism that lets them hold on to certain ideas in the face of evidence that says they are wrong.
After scouring Twitter I came across a discussion that at a person, Mighty V (@TheMightyV24) was having on the topic of female circumcision. This conversation was spread out among many different tweets with another persons she was arguing with. This is because Twitter doesn’t let you put everything you need to say into one tweet so you points get spread out all over the place.
This conversation she was having happened to have been on the topic of female circumcision (Female Genital Mutilation, FGM). as an intact of us who fights against both male and female genital mutilation found myself reading the conversation. And like most people, she argues from the perspective of the worst and rarest form of female circumcision.
No not everything she said was wrong, but there were two very particular things she was arguing for that she demonstrated a great deal of ignorance on. One was STDs and FGM, the other, which is damaging to those of us who actually are trying to fight against FGM. Which is that FGM, takes away their ability to experience sexual pleasure. Which is ultimately what this blog post is about.
Anyway – I chimed in and used scientific studies to back up what I said. And what I got in response was not a counter-argument, instead. Instead, it was handwaved away with it turneing emotional.
Not just from her, but from other people who were part of her original conversation. With one such person (@The_Lock_God) who completely embarrassed himself multiple time. Instead of giving illogical, rational well-thought-out arguments and backing it up what hecsays by evidence, he tried to create strawman fallacy and attack it and made in true claims he apparently thought would help helped.
Like how I supposedly believed the earth was 2000 years old. So, after finding himself repeatedly being corrected, and him unable to actually present a counter-argument to anything I said, let alone him creating his own individual argument, he decided to go straight into personal attacks. Attacking me as a father even.
I guess this is what we can expect from people who find themselves unable to compete in the field of intellectual ideas. When they feel so embarrassed and upset with the results of how the conversation is not in their favor. They want others to be just as emotional as they are. Thus, they attempt to get the other person just aa emotional as are.
Anyway – With that being said, I want to get back on track with the point I’m making with this post. Which is how her claiming and parroting the myth that, FGM causes women to lose their ability to experience pleasure from sex and how it’s actually counterproductive.
Now, this idea that it removes a woman’s ability to experience sexual pleasure seems to prevail for two reasons. The first being to help make it illegal in western countries by appealing to people’s emotions. And our natural instinct to defend girls and women.
The other, although very much my opinion is more devious, stemming from sexism. Where our society attempts to justify why we are willing to mutilate boys while protecting only our girls. If we view it as somehow being akin to castration (making FGM look as bad as the worst form MGM), while MGM as just removing extra unwanted skin. It makes it easier for us just to do it to boys and not two girls.
Ironically, the whole idea that it removes sexual pleasures in boys, was quite literally one of the primary driving forces as to why male genital mutilation became so prevalent in the United States. People thought they can prevent their children from playing with themselves, having sex outside of marriage or from being homosexuals. So they did it for that reason.
The idea you can keep them pure, and prevent them from masturbating by removing or reducing boys ability to feel pleasure. Is the same excuse used today to justify mutilating girls. This is part of why FGM continue. Because, not only are the people over they’re falling for this lie, but people over here, people such Mighty V continue parroting this lie as if true. and they look at us a smart authorities that know about this stuff.
So now we give them a reason to do it because if they believe us as well, that it reduces their pleasure. Then they have a method to keep their daughters pure.
However, if we teach the truth that it does not reduce pleasure then we can remove at least one of the justifications for it being done. All we are left with are some of the traditional reasons we still try and use as justification over here to do it to boys. Culture, tradition, religion, hygiene, etc.. and one less excuse could actually help one more young girl stay intact.
In the end, it does not remove a woman’s ability to enjoy sex.Studies have shownthat women actually still enjoy sex despite enduring FGM. Not only that but their actual women who actually sought out to have their genitals mutilated with the idea of enhancing their pleasure. And afterwards, swear by it. There are even websites for people who talk about doing it to enhance pleasure and sites that try to educate people, if not encourage people to do it.
Of course, the version of circumcision that these women seek is not usualy the equivalent of the most extreme version of FGM we find in places such as Kenya. It’s more along the line of the most common form of FGM that is done. Usually, it’s a hoodectomy or a little trim of other parts.
Sometimes women just aren’t happy with their looks in that area and do it voluntarily to get the looks they want and don’t complain about a loss of pleasure. instead talk about the enjoyment, not so much because of the physical pleasure, but because they feel more confident as a result of the new look.
It’s also even done for medical reasons. Woman suffering from Phimosis. Yes like boys, girl/women also suffer from this condition. Although, hypocritically, we don’t immediately put girls under the knife at the first sign of Phimosis.
Many of these women who are suffering from Phimosis have problems enjoying sex, so they seek to voluntarily undergo a procedure that some people like Mighty V think removes sexual pleasure, just so they can experience sexual pleasure that Might V thinks they can’t have.
So we know that this idea, this claim that some people have that FGM removes women’s abilities to experience sexual pleasures is false. And again some women voluntarily do it believing that it will actually enhance their pleasure. While others suffering from some kind of medical condition go under the knife and get circumcised just so they can enjoy sex.
However, as long as people perpetrate this lie, we are justifying the reasoning behind these people who seek to have it done to their girls. Accepting that they can and do feel pleasure actually removes one of the reasons behind it making it harder for these parents to justify forcing it upon their girls.
So lets stop perpetrating this myth, this lie they can feel pleasure.
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