Breast Ironing In Africa
[url=http://drvitelli.typepad.com/providentia/2007/05/activists_seek_.html]A coalition of activists is seeking to end breast ironing in Cameroon. [/url].
This is fantastic. Thank-you for posting this. It's awesome to hear about this from the point of view of feminists on the ground there.
Oh fir *&($#^^ *&$*#7 #U$I#@! sake! The shit you learn about when you're not expecting it!
I have read more than a few things about Africa and this is the first time I have ever heard of anything as goofy as this!
I know we're supposed to try to be respectful of all cultures and religions, but this is right down there with Sharia law, genital mutilation, child abuse, etc.
There obviously is such a culture of fear there over rape, etc., it says something about those societies--and this isn't some recent phenomenon, either.
As a father who raised two girls, who are both quite healthy and appealing, I find it barely imaginable that parents could be driven to do this to their own daughters, submit them to such pain and humiliation and open them up to all sorts of health problems and risks all to make them less attractive. Talk about diminishing the person.
Coalition to stop it. I'm there. I’ll be signing up.
PS: when the *(&( do we get a chance to read about some good news around here?
Excellent idea, Michelle came up with. Hence I withdraw.. !
[ 02 June 2007: Message edited by: bohajal ]
Okay boys, how about taking it outside and maybe letting the women on babble discuss this for a little while. I don't want to watch this thread descend into a pissing contest between two men, thanks.
That said, I also find the cultural superiority thing pretty annoying. There is just as much of a rape culture here as there is there. I was hoping, with my post, that we could steer this in the direction of supporting feminists on the ground there, rather than cursing the whole society.
Perhaps some babble feminist women could speak thoughtfully to this.
quote:
Perhaps some babble feminist women could speak thoughtfully to this.
You are of course correct Michelle. This is the feminist forum, after all, and probably everyone here knows more about that than me.
Besides, it will obviously spare me from telling a certain bigoted arrogant guilt-by-association fascist/apologist for various religious cults etc. to fuck right off.
He deserves to get head-ironed.
State capitalism again eh?. Ged atta there!
[ 03 June 2007: Message edited by: Tommy_Paine ]
quote:
Originally posted by Steppenwolf Allende:
[b]You are of course correct Michelle. This is the feminist forum, after all, and probably everyone here knows more about that than me.Besides, it will obviously spare me from telling a certain bigoted arrogant guilt-by-association fascist/apologist for various religious cults etc. to fuck right off.
He deserves to get head-ironed.[/b]
Okay, you know what? This pisses me off so much. This is so disrespectful. You were just asked to end the pissing match and to not pull this shit here, and then what do you do? You acknowledge that I'm correct and then you continue where you left off. Just can't resist getting in that last nasty jab, huh?
JUST STOP IT. I'm serious, I just want people here to act like adults and control themselves instead of starting a flame war, or continuing one once called on it. Is that really so frigging difficult?