AnyBook4Less.com | Order from a Major Online Bookstore |
![]() |
Home |  Store List |  FAQ |  Contact Us |   | ||
Ultimate Book Price Comparison Engine Save Your Time And Money |
![]() |
Title: The Female Circumcision Controversy: An Anthropological Perspective by Ellen Gruenbaum ISBN: 0-8122-1746-2 Publisher: Johns Hopkins University Press Pub. Date: 01 December, 2000 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $24.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 5 (3 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: An excellent introduction to female circumcision
Comment: In "The Female Circumcision Controversy," Ellen Gruenbaum provides readers with a highly informative anthropological perspective on female circumcision that is not weighed down with anthropological jargon, making it highly accessible to the "average" reader. She takes on a cultural relativistic point of view, exploring female circumcision through the context of the different cultures in which it is practiced, highlighting how it can be affected by patriarchy, ritual, marriage, mortality, ethnicity, sexuality, and economic development. An important point that Gruenbaum stresses is that while female circumcision has been practiced by many cultural and ethnic groups, the practices themselves vary (i.e. what is removed in surgery, at what age circumcision occurs, etc.) and this point makes it hard to generalize and blame only one factor for female circumcision. She includes her experiences in the Sudan and at the end of the book discusses how female circumcision practices are changing and the how we in the international community can get involved.
Gruenbaum does not condone female circumcision but she believes that many anti-circumcision advocates have taken the wrong approach to fighting the harmful practice. She stresses the need for discussion (not one-sided lecturing) and the fact that other problems such as economic insecurity and education need to be addressed so women will not feel as compelled to continue female circumcision. While a lot needs to be done to ensure that women's rights are not infringed upon, Gruenbaum gives the reader hope by showing many cases of progress.
This book is a gem! It has also made me rethink some things that I thought were "normal" in my culture.
Rating: 5
Summary: Anthropology
Comment: I had to read this book for an anthropology class in my freshman year at college. It's a real eye-opener. I had no idea before this book that FGM was practiced anywhere outside of Africa. The description of what can be done was enough to make me mildly uncomfortable (inserting a straw during the healing process to make an extremely small hole for urination and menstruation?) but I could not put the book down. I have a drastically different perspective of this practice now that I understand more of it's cultural significance, rather than seeing it as a cruelty carried out to keep women in a totally inferior state.
Rating: 5
Summary: FGM from the scientific point of view
Comment: An anthropological viewpoint is vital to understanding FGM or female circumcision. Surprise, it isn't just an Islamic rite (some Christians in Africa adhere to this age old tradition) Surprise, it isn't mandated in the Koran. Surprise, strong village tradition makes it hard for parents to say no to the practice or even to marry off their daughters. Surprise, some women agree to have it done. It's important to have a researcher do the field work so that we can understand the origins, cultural background and practice of FGM for better understanding.
![]() |
Title: Prisoners of Ritual: An Odyssey into Female Genital Circumcision in Africa by Hanny Lightfoot-Klein ISBN: 091839368X Publisher: Harrington Park Press Pub. Date: 01 September, 1989 List Price(USD): $19.95 |
![]() |
Title: Female Genital Mutilation : A Practical Guide to Worldwide Laws & Policies by Anika Rahman, Nahid Toubia ISBN: 1856497739 Publisher: Zed Books Pub. Date: 30 September, 2000 List Price(USD): $25.00 |
![]() |
Title: Warrior Marks: Female Genital Mutilation and the Sexual Blinding of Women by Alice Walker, Pratibha Parmar, Vicki Austin-Smith ISBN: 0156002140 Publisher: Harvest Books Pub. Date: 28 February, 1996 List Price(USD): $15.00 |
![]() |
Title: Female "Circumcision" in Africa: Culture, Controversy, and Change by Bettina Shell-Duncan, Ylva Hernlund ISBN: 1555879950 Publisher: Lynne Rienner Pub Pub. Date: 01 January, 2001 List Price(USD): $22.50 |
![]() |
Title: Desert Flower : The Extraordinary Journey Of A Desert Nomad by Waris Dirie, Cathleen Miller ISBN: 0688172377 Publisher: Perennial Pub. Date: 06 October, 1999 List Price(USD): $14.00 |
Thank you for visiting www.AnyBook4Less.com and enjoy your savings!
Copyright� 2001-2021 Send your comments