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Letter
to 20/20 This is a letter
that I wrote to 20/20 following an episode on circumcision. I wrote it in a way to 'highlight' the double
standard that our society has when it comes to male and female circumcision. If you were to
replace all of the 'female' pronouns in this letter, you will see that I am
really talking about circumcision without ever saying it. This was my goal. I did not want them to just toss my letter
into a pile of 'con' circumcision letters.
I wanted them to actually READ IT.
For the record. A few weeks
after I sent this letter (which went to 5-7 people at 20/20) I received a
letter from them thanking me for my interest in their show that that they
will TRY to air more shows on troubles of WOMEN!!! _____________________________________________________________________________ Dear Producers, I would like to
bring to your attention an atrocity (a type of sexual/child abuse) which is
befalling many (if not most) infant girls born in the I am a 33 year old
mother of a 5 year old little boy. In
1992 when he was born, his father and I had not given much thought to a
procedure which was performed on myself when an infant and which is routinely
performed on infant girls to this day, sometimes without the parents
consent. I am now very grateful that
our first child was a boy, for we were not faced with having to make a
decision regarding this type of procedure which is viewed by some as
sexual/child abuse. We are now
expecting our second child and have researched this topic extensively and
hope that you might consider running a show dispelling the myths and
uncovering the true brutality of what is routinely being done to our infant
girls. The procedure or rather
sexual/child abuse to which I am referring is quite ancient, very politicized
and part of the cultural heritage of a segment in the It was roughly a
year and a half ago when I became conscientiously aware of not only the
sexual abuse which occurred when I was a little girl but also how this abuse
amounts to a violation of my basic Human Rights/Civil Rights as protected
under the United States Constitution.
Ever since this time I have been trying to cope with the inner pain
and the damage done to my body, without my consent, by joining (and
participating) in various women's support groups. Through one such group I have been able to
repair at least a portion of the damage done to my body, yet I will never be
able to fully repair what was done to me (and most females in this country)
when we were little girls. My husband
has been very supportive and has helped me cope with the realization that a
portion of my womanhood was stolen from me.
In some sense, I fell as though I am victim of rape, and so do many
other women who have been similarly abused. I do harbor some ill
will towards my parents for allowing this abuse to occur to me, for it
occurred when I could not object and it was incumbent upon them to protect
their newborn and innocent baby girl from any kind of needless pain. I do understand however that times change
and as new information becomes available it is not only possible but
necessary to rethink age old traditions.
For instance, when I (and other women my age) were subjected to this
abuse it was thought that it would prevent us from participating in a very
natural activity (yet viewed during that time as morally wrong). At that time, and even today, this abuse
was rationalized as a preventive measure of some medical aliments afflicting
that particular portion of a women's body in adulthood. Yet it is now known that these aliments are
quite rare, much rarer than similar conditions effecting some portions of a
man's body later in life, namely cancer, yet little boys are not subjected to
the removal of the potentially afflicted tissue. It would make more sense that adult women
to be given the choice to undergo such a violation of their bodies because
they would have consented to it, thereby eliminating any question/concerns
for Civil Rights issues. I would like to
close with what I view as the most outrageous 'reason' for continuing to
allow this type of sexual abuse to occur in this country. It has been reported that some women who
consent to this abuse as an adult do not experience any ill effects. This may very well be true, however it is
scientifically impossible to compare the experiences of a adult women who has
recently undergone such a procedure to those experiences of adult women
having undergone the same procedure 20-30 years previous. The women who consent to such a procedure
may have their own agenda, for once the procedure is performed there is no
way to 'un-do it', and it might be quite difficult to admit, on a conscious
level, to having made a mistake by consenting to it. Therefore the comments
from these women can not be taken as 'unbiased'. Alternatively, it would be better to seek
out the comments of adult women of whom have attempted to repair the damage
done to their bodies as little girls for they would be able to provide a
unique perspective on what benefits they have experienced from repairing the
damage. I am such a women. I have partially repaired the damage done
to me as an infant girl and am very happy for doing so. I am now able to experience a normal life
(the way in which nature intended) and so is my husband. For the abuse to which I refer not only
effects the women in a relationship, but also the man, as it deals with the
most private parts of a women's body.
I have also conversed with many women of whom have repaired or of whom
are currently attempting to repair the damage done the their own bodies. Not a single women has ever expressed a
disappointment with repairing this damage.
Quite the contrary, all have expressed a feeling of wholeness, a
feeling of renewed womanhood and feeling of control over their bodies (and
destiny) which is completely protected for the men in the Return to
"Why do we restore?" |
