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From: ellen@reed.UUCP (Ellen Eades)
Newsgroups: net.women
Subject: Re: Re: Clitor(id)ectomy
Message-ID: <1105@reed.UUCP>
Date: Mon, 18-Mar-85 19:34:21 EST
Article-I.D.: reed.1105
Posted: Mon Mar 18 19:34:21 1985
Date-Received: Fri, 22-Mar-85 03:08:42 EST
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> >ethan@utastro.UUCP (Ethan Vishniac) 
> >At this point I think we do need references, or some knowledgeable netters.
> >I think that there are various degrees of clitorectomy practiced.  Perhaps
> >some of them, like male circumcision, do not affect sexual function.  Radical
> >clitorectomy surely must.

> I'm not an expert on the forms of clitoridectomy practiced, but I'm sure that
> if the operation involved only removing the clitoral hood, it would increase
> sexual pleasure in exactly the same manner as circumcision is supposed to.
>                                        --Jamie.

Mary Daly in Gyn/Ecology describes three types of clitoridectomy
now being practiced in Saudi Arabia, Yemen, many North African
nations, and some of the other Middle Eastern countries:

1) a removal of the clitoris alone;
2) removal of the clitoris and labia
3) infibulation or clitoridectomy combined with a re-sewing of
the incision to decrease the size of the girl's vagina and
increase male sexual pleasure.  

I doubt that the practitioners of clitoridectomy would be
interested in removal solely of the clitoral hood, since (at
least among the African nations) the clitoris is removed because
contact with it is supposed to render the male possibly impotent
and/or contribute to stillbirths.

(Incidentally, as a woman, I doubt that removal of the clitoral
hood would increase sexual pleasure.  I suspect that it would
cause over-sensitivity and great pain).

		-- Ellen