'Breast ironing' to stunt girls' growth widespread

[Gan]

YAOUNDE, Cameroon (Reuters) -- Worried that her daughters' budding breasts would expose them to the risk of sexual harassment and even rape, their mother Philomene Moungang started 'ironing' the girls' bosoms with a heated stone.

Rest of the story...
http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/africa/07/07/cameroon.breastironing.reut/index.html
_________________________________________________

WTF??!?!?!

I thought we were in the 21st century already. People that do this, and other mutilations on the body (clitoral circumcisim) to children, FOR WHATEVER THE REASON, need to have some basic education and common sense :club: into them.

[Aaysia]

Fucking ow...

[Latrinsorm]

Eh, I think this might be a little bit of cultural bias. Her intent doesn't seem to be malicious, though her reasoning is a little off. I don't see how this is much different from hacking off someone's foreskin with a sharp rock. The problem isn't the concept of the process, the problem is that the process leads to severe medical and psychological issues.

[Hulkein]

Not a surprise, the people in that area are fucking crazy. You know your culture is shit when you have to resort to that to protect your kids from being raped.

[Augie]

Wow...that's just...wow. I agree with Latrinsorm regarding the cultural differences. I do think that these mother's in their hearts and minds feel as if this is the right thing to do, or it's something they have been taught from birth.

One mother in the article herself said she did it because her mother did it to her when she was young.

Hopefully there are enough humanitarians who will work towards educating these people that these practices will have extreme repercussions.

[Gan]

Eh, I think this might be a little bit of cultural bias. Her intent doesn't seem to be malicious, though her reasoning is a little off. I don't see how this is much different from hacking off someone's foreskin with a sharp rock. The problem isn't the concept of the process, the problem is that the process leads to severe medical and psychological issues.

There are health justifications why male circumcision is still practiced.

I can not think of any for breast ironing or clitoral circumcision.

[Miss X]

I think research has shown that male circumcision is unnecessary. We don't practice it in the UK now. It's widely socially acceptable though, whereas female circumcision and this breast ironing is obviously not.

I'd have to ask though, how a mother could put any child through that kind of pain.

[StrayRogue]

At least she isn't cutting them off.

[CrystalTears]

You may as well if you're going to iron them! OMFG OW!

[Gan]

I think research has shown that male circumcision is unnecessary. We don't practice it in the UK now. It's widely socially acceptable though, whereas female circumcision and this breast ironing is obviously not.

I'd have to ask though, how a mother could put any child through that kind of pain.

There seems to be quite a disparity in if the procedure for male circumcision is beneficial or not.



Neonatal circumcision has been studied using cost-benefit analyses (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medical_analysis_of_circumcision#Costs_and_Benefit s). Largely these have computed the average net lifetime health and financial results of circumcision. The complications morbidity (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morbidity) is compared to the potential gain in expected longevity, and the medical costs of circumcision are compared to the expected reduction in lifetime health costs. In the words of the BMA, “There is significant disagreement about whether circumcision is overall a beneficial, neutral or harmful procedure. At present, the medical literature on the health, including sexual health, implications of circumcision is contradictory, and often subject to claims of bias in research.”[31] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Circumcision#_note-BMAGuide) Biases notwithstanding, some studies decided that circumcision has a net benefit,[37] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Circumcision#_note-27) some decided that it has a net decrement,[38] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Circumcision#_note-28) and others decided that the benefits and risks balance each other out and that other factors must be taken into consideration.[39] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Circumcision#_note-29),[40] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Circumcision#_note-30).
SOURCE: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Circumcision#Medical_aspects

From a guys standpoint: anytime you remove skin down there, you're cheating yourself out of usable material in the long run.

From a girls standpoint: uncircumcised means that cleanliness underneath the foreskin can be a factor, especially with regards to the destination of said foreskin...

You really cant get into aesthetics, because its just a silly looking apparatus to begin with.

One must also factor religious connotations into male circumcision, which adds a huge varible into the mix.

Either way, putting a child who is rationally cognizant of the pain and trauma associated with the procedure is just cruel and inhuman, regardless of culture.

[DeV]

You may as well if you're going to iron them! OMFG OW!Word. I also agree with Augies last sentence.

I'm sure those husbands in Africa don't intend to be malicious when their wives are undergoing extremely painful clitoral circumcisions, but it is just as destructive, invasive and sometimes fatal nonetheless.

[Latrinsorm]

In retrospect, male circumcision isn't a great comparison because really we don't lose that much from the procedure. Maybe because it's commonplace, but I think someone would have to be pretty nutty to consider a lack of foreskin a deformity. From the sound of it, breast ironing is a lot more deleterious.

[Leetahkin]

There are health justifications why male circumcision is still practiced.

I can not think of any for breast ironing or clitoral circumcision.

It's been a while, but I think the female gets the circumcision in their teens, and they lose all sensitivity in that region.
I can't remember if it's because the female isn't supposed to enjoy sex... or something.
Much different than doing a male circumcision at birth.
This whole thread makes me wince at the thought of people doing all this stuff.

[ElanthianSiren]

The size of the breasts has no bearing on the amount of milk produced, so women don't lose much of anything being flat either.

My father was really sick when he was a child (he was an RH baby back when they first learned how to transfer the entire body's blood to the right tissue type). He got an infection, and his back went gangreinous. He couldn't be circumcised until he was six, and to this day, he's bitter about what was done and not having a say in it, so one could argue that the psychological pain of circumcision is just as much an issue. Also, every few years a woman comes out who was raised female but was male and is the product of a circumcision gone wrong. Any surgery presents a mishap danger.

The bacteria argument is a toss up also. As soon as someone comes out with evidence saying being uncircumcised presents a bacterial danger to a partner or a man, another person comes out with a study to reject that claim and state that being uncircumcised protects men from HIV disease, some cancers, etc. It really is about aesthetics and your culture, IMO. Anteaters ftl. I simply don't like how they look.

-M

[Hulkein]

Most girls I've talked to think an uncircumcised wang is gross, and they like to look at something that looks good when limp, too.

I'm personally glad I got one before I could remember it, that's all I know.

[Asha]

It's been a while, but I think the female gets the circumcision in their teens, and they lose all sensitivity in that region.
I can't remember if it's because the female isn't supposed to enjoy sex... or something.
You were too young to protest, you poor thing.

[StrayRogue]

That perception is generally reversed in the UK.

[DeV]

You were too young to protest, you poor thing.:rofl:

[Asha]

Man or woman, cut or uncut : Wash it, it's perfect. Don't and it's too fucking disgusting to think about.

[Leetahkin]

You were too young to protest, you poor thing.

:lol:
Okay, you made me laugh while being bombarded with work. :up:

[Stanley Burrell]

When implemented on the wanged species...

This just might be the cure for man-boobies.

Can I get a witness?

[Mighty Nikkisaurus]

The size of the breasts has no bearing on the amount of milk produced, so women don't lose much of anything being flat either.

My father was really sick when he was a child (he was an RH baby back when they first learned how to transfer the entire body's blood to the right tissue type). He got an infection, and his back went gangreinous. He couldn't be circumcised until he was six, and to this day, he's bitter about what was done and not having a say in it, so one could argue that the psychological pain of circumcision is just as much an issue. Also, every few years a woman comes out who was raised female but was male and is the product of a circumcision gone wrong. Any surgery presents a mishap danger.

The bacteria argument is a toss up also. As soon as someone comes out with evidence saying being uncircumcised presents a bacterial danger to a partner or a man, another person comes out with a study to reject that claim and state that being uncircumcised protects men from HIV disease, some cancers, etc. It really is about aesthetics and your culture, IMO. Anteaters ftl. I simply don't like how they look.

-M

The size of the breasts has no bearing on milk production, this is true, but by applying heat to the breasts in an attempt to flatten them, you damage the breast tissue and create much scar tissue (hence the problems with cysts and cancer). The way I see it, the problem with Breast Ironing isn't so much that girls don't want to be flat chested, but that it's extremely painful and it fucks up their breasts natural functioning, like when they have children. Flat women can nurse their babies-- ironed women can't produce the milk because they're so damaged.

As for circumcision, it's a thing in my family to opt for a no-cut when a baby boy is born. We've had no infections in any of the men, including some who had less-than-perfect hygenics. And yeah, I agree, it comes down to aesthetics and social preferences. Personally, as a woman, I find when it's un-cut it's more attractive (when hard and when flaccid) and more sensitive (makes certain acts more enjoyable because you get more of a reaction). Of course I know women on the opposite end of the spectrum too, but most women won't reject a man based on his penis being circumsized or not. And I'm sure for every girl that finds the uncut man "gross and weird", there's another that finds it sexy and appealing.

[Olanan]

Man, that has to suck.

[Wezas]

I'm all for ironing wrinkled boobies.

[radamanthys]

Starch or no?

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