Hands Off Clitoridectomy Yael Tamy Analysis

The article, “Hands Off Clitoridectomy” by Yael Tamir, discusses the controversial topic of clitoridectomy, and all the arguments within the subject while opening up a new way of perceiving it by comparing it to our own society and practices. She suggest that indeed the practice of clioridectomy is a gruesome and gutwrenching, but there is more to the subject than just the moral issues of it. She address the political and social aspects of performing and living with the procedure and addresses them with passive but firm arguments. Her main point of the article is that our society needs to stop judging and creating prejudices aimed at other cultures or societies when in fact we could be bettering our own society rather than critiquing others. Tamir discusses the question, “when is the body improved and when is it mutilated?” No matter what way you look at it, it is a subjective answer. In our culture parents spend …show more content…
We live in a society where the ideal women is portrayed as thin and delicate with large breast and a narrow waist. This portrayal of women commonly leads to eating disorders and a lifetime of self improvement which internally lead to feelings of failure and disgust. Perhaps we are not as assuring to our own women as we are to others.
In similarity to Tamir's arguments, James Rachels “The Challenge of Cultural Relativism” discusses the different cultural moral codes that vary across different societies. While acknowledging Cultural relativism which is the theory of a non existing moral truthness, he states that it is inherently false. His article states that there is a moral standard and it is necessary for self improvement. When looked at, Rachel's article exercises almost the same beliefs and should be considered when