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From: johansen@agrigene.UUCP
Newsgroups: net.med,net.women
Subject: Re: The worst (historical) surgical procedure
Message-ID: <294@agrigene.UUCP>
Date: Mon, 24-Feb-86 13:43:18 EST
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Posted: Mon Feb 24 13:43:18 1986
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> > > >...parts of the world.  But that's nothing compared to what they do in
> > > >certain tribes of Africa: they sew together the labia major, leaving
> > > >only a tiny hole
> > > >sort of a surgical chasitity belt.
> > 
> > But can we really afford to throw stones?  In our own enlightned
> > culture we surgically tighten up vaginas as a matter of routine.
> > (Not to mention surgical breast enlargement/reduction.)  I can imagine
> > that those tribes might find such procedures of our's quite barbaric!
> > 
> 
> 	Oh, come on, now...
> 
> 	I would think a reasonable person would have to consider ELECTIVE
> surgery to be somewhat less "barbaric" than holding a little girl down
> and hacking off bits with an unsterilized piece of broken glass (and no
> anaesthesia to boot). 
> 
Sounds only slightly more barbaric than holding down a little boy 
and 'hacking off bits' of his penis with a sterile blade (and no
anaesthesia to boot).
    How can we really judge one cultures traditions to be barbaric when
our own are not much better.