「伝統」という名の「暴力」 : セクシュアリティにおける脱構築とは 女性性器切除をめぐって

Violence named tradition : deconstructing sexuality over female genital mutilation

Creators Ishida Yoriko

Female Genital Mutilation, called FGM, is a custom, which has been practiced among some ethnic groups in Africa and Arab. FGM varies in type from Sunnna, which means removal of the tip of the clitoris, to Pharaonic, which means scraping away of the entire genital part. lt is said that in the latter case the remaining sides are stitched together. Needless to say, FGM is cruel custom, I suppose. The issue of FGM has generated heated public debate in Europe and the United States. ln particular, Alice Walker, who is a black woman novelist, has strongly condemned the practice of FGM in a field of literature. She confronts FGM in her novel Possessing the Secret of Joy. I think her assertion should be praised, but the issue includes more complicated element, that is, FGM is practiced in the Third World, and First and Third Worlds exist as radically separate worlds. Some people criticize her attitude, because it is colonialistic. ln short, the current controversy surrounding FGM is inextricably linked to other debates that concern the nature of human rights. ln this paper, I attempt to address the issue of FGM by offering global thinking.

[ISSN]0387-9232

[NCID]AN00031668