Abstract
Female Genital Mutilation in the United States: Elective and Non-Elective ProceduresUsing feminist theory and my background in Women's Studies, I am outlining occurrences of female genital mutilation and cliterectomy as both elective and non-elective procedures. There has been only one tried case in the United States of a father from Ethiopia who was convicted in Georgia of performing FGM on his two year old daughter with a pair of scissors. I am taking Samantha's advice and I have begun to research instances of FGM as an elective procedure for intersexed persons to make them male or female and when the procedure is done on hermaphrodite children when they are born, with the parents and doctors deciding what sex they think the child should be. In my paper I am using my background to also outline how society handles and influences FGM.
Abstract
Female Genital Mutilation in the United States: Elective and Non-Elective ProceduresUsing feminist theory and my background in Women's Studies, I am outlining occurrences of female genital mutilation and cliterectomy as both elective and non-elective procedures. There has been only one tried case in the United States of a father from Ethiopia who was convicted in Georgia of performing FGM on his two year old daughter with a pair of scissors. I am taking Samantha's advice and I have begun to research instances of FGM as an elective procedure for intersexed persons to make them male or female and when the procedure is done on hermaphrodite children when they are born, with the parents and doctors deciding what sex they think the child should be. In my paper I am using my background to also outline how society handles and influences FGM.
Working Bibliography
Boyle, Elizabeth Heger. Female Genital Cutting: Cultural Conflict in the Global Community. Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 2002.
Chavkin, Wendy, and Ellen Chesler, eds. Where Human Rights Begin: Health, Sexuality, and Women in the New Millennium. New Jersey: Rutgers University Press, 2005.
Guinn, David E. Faith on Trial: Communities of Faith, the First Amendment, and the Theory of Deep Diversity. Maryland: Lexington Books, 2002.
James, Stanlie M., and Claire C. Robertson, eds. Genital Cutting and Transnational Sisterhood: Disputing U.S. Polemics. Chicago: University of Illinois Press, 2002.
LY- Tall, Aoua Bocar. “Female Genital Mutilation and Its Migration from Africa to North America.” Out of the Ivory Tower: Feminist Research for Social Change. Eds. Andrea Martinez and Meryn Stuart. Toronto: Sumach Press, 2003. 119- 130.
Rahman, Anika, and Nahid Toubia. Female Genital Mutilation: A guide to Laws and Policies Worldwide. New York: Zed Books, 2000.
Sands, Kathleen M. God Forbid: Religion and Sex in American Public Life. New York: Oxford University Press, 2000.
Skaine, Rosemarie. Female Genital Mutilation: Legal, Cultural and Medical Issues. Jefferson: McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers, 2005.
Walker, Alice, and Pratibha Parmar. Warrior Marks: Female Genital Mutilation and the Sexual Blinding of Women. San Diego: Harcourt Brace & Company, 1993.
These are my book sources... I have many more article and periodical articles but they are in this weird format and I'm having trouble with the getting them in proper MLA. I'm sorry about that but I am pleased because I am finding far more sources on my subject than I though I would.
www.idsseniorseminar.blogspot.com/
topic
I am thinking about doing a paper that investigates instances of genital mutilation and female circumcision in the United States. I would want to focus on laws and legislation within the United States that would or would not allow this practice, cross-cultural differences that would support this act, and some different feminist perspectives on the topic, as they apply. I will try to research the occurences of this practice in the United States, as well as I can, considering the procedure has to be done by underground doctors and my not be done by choice. There are websites and different resources that show that there are some women in the US that desire to get this procedure done so I might delve into what would drive women to do that to themselves, from a feminist perspective. I will also try to look at the movement against this practice in the United States and our views in society on the topic and how that relates to cultural relativism.
Women's Studies
I started off my college career in Watauga College, which is how I know many of you fine people and was also how I was first introduced to women’s studies. I really enjoyed the Interdisciplinary approach that I was “experiencing” in my Watauga classes and through these classes I was able to find interest in learning about women’s rights and gender issues throughout history into today. I was actually so involved in women’s studies classes that I finished my required amount of classes my junior year so I decided to pursue a minor in political science. My main focus of interest is international women’s issues and politics so taking political science classes has helped to broaden my approach to my major.
I am currently working on applications for the Americorps and the Peace Corps. My ultimate dream job would be to travel and work for a branch of the UN focusing on the advancement of women’s rights or work for an international women’s organization. More than likely I will end up working with NPO’s. Now I just need to figure out how I can feasibly apply this major into the real world to something other than volunteer and intern positions because, as we all know, people are beating down the door for women’s studies majors. ;)
