Photo Credit: "One Heart" by mlobster on Photobucket
“No one wants to read about female genital mutilation. You don't seek out an article about the brutal practice of butchering girls' private parts for a relaxed lunchtime read, or mention the issue during cocktail conversations. (Unless you're me, in which case you have already discovered it's a big no-no.) Over the years, we've repeatedly written about the topic anyway, because it matters. This may not pay off in page views, but it just did in actual impact. A piece written for Salon by longtime contributor Lynn Harris has inspired Reps. Joseph Crowley and Mary Bono Mack to introduce legislation to combat the practice,” Tracy Clark-Flory in “Saving Girls From Being Cut” on salon.com
Being political hasn’t “paid off in page views” for me either—but sometimes I have to stand up, especially in recognizing others who have done so. Seek out the article, “Our daughters should not be cut” by Lynn Harris. You may be surprised to learn that some girls, American citizens, are "circumcised" in this country and, more frequently, taken to their parents' native countries to have the procedure performed "on vacation." Read about the heroes, including Hillary Clinton who gave a landmark speech citing an estimated 70 million worldwide victims of FGM (Female Genital Mutilation). Another hero—Dr. Betty Dodson, working with Clitoraid, a nonprofit humanitarian organization, helping women restore their ability to enjoy sex by offering reconstructive surgery free of charge.
Clitoraid has its critics--some objecting to the rather flip slogan "Adopt a Clitoris", some to the group's connection to a religious cult believing in extraterrestrials, others, academics, who insist that Western women should be more "respectful" of other cultures. (I do not respect any culture that butchers girls' genitals.) Betty will continue to provide education on masturbation and solicit gifts of vibrators for the patients. She can take the critical heat. Read her post, "Answering critics of Clitoraid."
In March, at Betty's request, the San Francisco sex toy company Good Vibrations sent a big box of bath and body treats and vibrators to new patients undergoing reconstructive surgery. One midnight the head of patient care got a call from an ecstatic 33-year-old woman who had her first orgasm using the Magic Touch Bullet Mini Vibrator. Dr. Carol Queen, GV’s staff Sexologist, says “No form of physical therapy for a woman with this type of nerve damage is likely to be as successful as vibrator use.”
Good Vibrations was founded on the principle that pleasure is a birthright.
I believe passionately in that principle: sexual pleasure is our birthright.
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