被禁止的性行為與性暴力

性暴力: 性器官毀損: 藉口 2

人種學、神話學和古代史學者就性器官毀損的起初含義做了推測，並且已經逐漸總結出一些富有迷惑力的理論。例如：在一些史前宗教裏，只有神才被賦予既擁有女人的能力也擁有男人的能力，而且它們並不想人類與之競爭。因而，作為凡人的男性必需獻祭出他們的“女性”元氣（element），這種元氣蟄居於陰莖包皮裏；而作為凡人的女性必須切除她們的“男性”元氣，這種元氣位於陰蒂之內。不過，這些林林總總的迷惑人的推測出來的理論，超出了本教程的篇幅限度。在此，我們將全神貫注于討論一些現代有實用價值的論爭要點。

（1）傳統習俗的藉口

大多數為性器官毀損習俗辯護的婦女提出了傳統習俗的藉口。違反這個傳統可能會使她們被社會唾棄。這種手術是進入部落生活的象徵，並且它通常伴有精心策劃的儀式和典禮。簡而言之，它是一個女孩將來得到人們承認準備做妻子和母親角色的部分條件。一個拒絕這種儀式的女孩因此也會拒絕這種角色——在一些社會等同於自毀社會交往的舉動。不管怎樣，不僅女孩本身，而且女孩的父母都感到了遵從這種習俗規則的壓力。

只有幫助這個部落改革它們的傳統習俗才能夠解除這種壓力。

Prohibited Sexual Behavior and Sexual Violence

Sexual Violence: Mutilation of Female Sex Organs: Justifications 2

Scholars of ethnology, mythology, and ancient history have speculated about the original meaning of sexual mutilations and have developed some intriguing theories. For example: In some prehistoric religions, only the gods were allowed to possess both female and male powers, and they did not want human beings to compete with them. Thus, mortal males needed to sacrifice their “female” element which resided in their penile foreskin, and females had to excise their “male” element residing in the clitoris. These and other fascinating speculations, however, go beyond the scope of this course. Here, we concentrate on a few practical modern arguments.

Tradition
Most women who defend the practice of sexual mutilation point to the role of tradition. Violating this tradition would make them social outcasts. The operation is a symbol of initiation into the community, and it is usually accompanied by elaborate rituals and ceremonies. In short, it is an established part of a girl’s preparation for her future role as a wife and mother. A girl rejecting the initiation would thereby also reject this role -  an act that would amount to social suicide in some societies. In any case, the pressure to conform is felt not only by the girls themselves, but also by their parents.
This pressure can be lifted only by helping the entire community to reform its traditions.