[Kobi]

Originally Posted by Toughy

a link to US laws:

http://reproductiverights.org/sites/...fgmlawsusa.pdf

What is interesting to me is that it is legal (under federal law) for a woman over 18 to have this done. This practice is cultural and not religious.

And then there is the other big can of worms about male genital circumcision/mutilation. This originated as a religious practice and became the norm (a non-religious practice) in the US. It is automatically done to all baby boys before they go home.....parents are not asked unless something has changed in hospitals. It is now being justified as necessary for health reasons.

I worked maternal-child health for many years. Never did I see a circumcision performed without written consent from a parent. To do so would have been a risk management nightmare and a breach of medical ethics.

Originally Posted by Toughy

I quoted the whole post for clarity. I should have said 'certainly many/most radical feminists think so'. What I think of when I say 'radical feminist' is the anti-porn, no penetrative sex, no adornment (make-up etc), no males over 5 yrs old, separatist lesbian kind of femininst.

So what do you think about the questions I asked? Is porn inherently sexist?

The original quote of "radical feminist" was disturbing. Trying to tone it down by adding "many/most" didnt make it easier to swallow.

As others have addressed, both forms are generalizations which negatively sterotype a group with misperceptions of what a radical feminist stands for.

I, too, consider myself to be a radical feminist. I am not against porn per se. I am against the sexual exploitation of women within a patriarchal society. In such a society, with the unequal power between the sexes, females are socialized to be objectified for the pleasure of the members of the partiarchy in many different ways. Doesnt seem to matter if that objectification is in the form of the sexual abuse of children, the sexualization of breastfeeding, sexual harrassment in the workplace, cat calls walking down the street, or even in porn.

It is difficult to sort out if behavior is really consensual or if it is adhering to expectations. That is a troublesome dilemma.