This week I wasn't exposed to hardly any media. My topic of this post was a thought I had from watching television from last week. Top Model is probably one of the most popular shows on television. Each season they usually have a contestant that appeals to a more sensitive audience. For example, they have had people with lupus, mild blindness, emotional problems, and autism. This season the problem is female circumcisions. I feel that this is a positive thing because it makes people aware of social, physical, and emotional problems that we have in the world.
We hear about the problems in Africa that deal with the butchering of young women in a ceremonious way but now we have a face to associate it with. I personally felt sad for her situation and was mad at myself for not thinking about problems like this in the world.
On the other hand, I feel as though these contestants are meant to draw in those that aren't appealed by the fashion and glamour aspects of the show. They are to draw in the people who hate what the show stands for but want to root for the underdog. This is both a negative and positive because it highlights important issues but it may be for the wrong reasons.
Thursday, February 28, 2008
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2 comments:
Interesting observations! Nice work.
When I heard about this, I looked up female circumcision and found out that there are like 4 different types that they do. The first time being the less harmful, and the last being the most harmful.
But alot of the reasonings that they do circumcisions is religious and basically "old wives tales" type stuff. One reason I read was because they believed that when a baby is born if it touches the womans clitoris during birth, it will die. So thats why in some cultures they will completely cut off the womans clitoris.
Or another reason was because they wanted to clearly distinguish male and females babies and the clitoris on a women resembled the penis of a man too closely, so they would remove it.
And in some cultures they completely sew the womans vagina shut to prevent the girl from engaging in sexual intercouse. Thats like the Type 4 female circumcision.
And I agree that this is terrible. I couldn't imagine having to go through something like that. BUT...Its a different culture, a different place, its what they know, what they've been taught to do, and not everyone believes that it should be done, but its a practice that will probably continue to be re-inforced just because its a learned behavior amongst those people. We have gender roles and practices in America but they just aren't that strict and because we are a "free" country we can rebel and rage against the machine with "success" But in countries like Africa, you try to rebel, and they'd kill you, no questions, no answers, no nothing.
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