When accommodationism leads to moderated inhumanity

This is so absolutely ridiculous that I scarcely even know how to begin, so I’ll cut straight to the chase: in an effort to appease patriarchal misogynistic religionists and traditionalist bigots, the American Academy of Pediatrics is actually offering a compromise on female genital mutilation – ie. clitoredectomy, or slicing off a girl’s clitoris – and is advocating for doctors to perform a so-called “ritual nick”, or the “pricking or minor incisions of girls' clitorises”. You gotta read it to believe it.

NEW YORK, May 5 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- International human rights organization Equality Now is stunned by a new policy statement issued by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), which essentially promotes female genital mutilation (FGM) and advocates for "federal and state laws [to] enable pediatricians to reach out to families by offering a 'ritual nick'," such as pricking or minor incisions of girls' clitorises. The Policy Statement "Ritual Genital Cutting of Female Minors", issued by the AAP on April 26, 2010, is a significant set-back to the Academy's own prior statements on the issue of FGM and is antithetical to decades of noteworthy advancement across Africa and around the world in combating this human rights violation against women and girls. It is ironic that the AAP issued its statement the very same day that Congressman Joseph Crowley (D-NY) and Congresswoman Mary Bono Mack (R-CA) announced the introduction of new bipartisan legislation, The Girls Protection Act (H.R. 5137), to close the loophole in the federal law prohibiting FGM by making it illegal to transport a minor girl living in the U.S. out of the country for the purpose of FGM.

This is a perfect, clear-as-day illustration of the perils of accommodationism and where trying to appease the irrational and revolting beliefs of religionist bigots can lead. Any and all forms of FGM are absolutely deplorable and ought to be dealt with as harshly as any other form of pointless, unwanted and cruel bodily mutilation. I’m usually the first to advocate for compromises between two clashing groups or beliefs, but when it comes to such unambiguously loathsome acts as chopping off part of girls’ genitalia in adherence to the misogynistic oppression of femininity rampant in such humanely and morally retarded cultures that allow and even encourage these sorts of vile acts, any and all chances of compromise are dead on the spot.

It’s bad enough that sick fucks actually do these horrible things to helpless little girls and essentially destroy their chances at experiencing sexual pleasure later on (because who wants useless little females to have that?). But when actual medical organizations start bending over backwards and sacrificing their own principles and morals to appease to what amounts to no more than a tiny fringe of cultural misogynists, the line hasn’t just been crossed, it’s been burned with the tears of innocent little girls who have to suffer through such astoundingly vile acts of hate and tyranny.

“Shame on the American Association of Pediatrics” is nowhere near appropriately intense for such an unbelievably ass-backwards judgment.

If you’re interested in joining the fight against these horrendous tradition, start by visiting the website of Equality Now, an organization with one of the most simultaneously dreadful and crucial missions you’ll ever come across.

(via Pharyngula)