Exactly Who are the Barbarians?
Female Genital Mutilation as Pictured in the West

by Phyllis Chesler
Pajamas Media
January 20, 2008

http://www.phyllis-chesler.com/262/barbarians-female-genital-mutilation

Excerpt:

The Grey Lady editors just slipped it right in there–the magazine spread was so big (eight pages,with eight huge color photos), and so unbelievable, that I actually missed it. I am talking about the Sunday New York Times magazine article about female genital mutilation in Indonesia.

Not until Dr. Andrew Bostom called it to my attention, did I stop, look, and let the headline sink in: "A Cutting Tradition." I probably thought it was a rather long article about a recipe–not for a lifetime of agony, but for another way to cut and prepare a meal. Something Asian, maybe Fusion. The women's faces were Asian faces.

But, the article is essentially a National Geographic-style photo essay subtitled: "Inside a female circumcision ceremony for young Muslim girls." The photos are by Stephanie Sinclair, the brief text is by Sara Corbett.

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