<< So I suppose that explains female circumcision being so common and
> accepted among the patriarchal, patrilineal Europeans, and unknown in
> matrilineal cultures like the Africans?
David, I'm not an African. I haven't the foggiest idea where they got that
daft idea from.>>
There are a number of reasons, all of them religious or mythological in nature. The usual reasons cited by cultures practicing this particular form of mutilation are that it helps women control their otherwise insatiable sexual appetite, it ensures women remain faithful to their husbands, or that it increases the number of children they can bear (the clitoris being seen as a 'male' organ). In some areas, these original reasons have been superceded by a general belief that it either makes women more attractive to men or that it is important for their health.
The great majority of female circumcisions are performed in Moslem families, although other cultures are involved and it may well predate Islam (there are certainly many Moslem countries where it is not practiced at all). To the best of my knowledge, it is only *ever* practiced in patriarchal cultures, which is hardly surprising.
For the full gory facts, see www.nocirc.org/symposia/. If there are sites on the web presenting a different POV, I couldn't find them.
Trotsky
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