We are fashioned not by our genes, but by our environment - by the family and socio-historic conditions in which we evolve.
Michel OnfrayRead
How strange that excision – female circumcision, with several languages using the same term for both kinds of mutilation – of little girls should revolt the westerner but excite no disapproval when it is performed on little boys. Consensus on the point seems absolute. But ask your interlocutor to think about the validity of this surgical procedure, which consists of removing a healthy part of a nonconsenting child’s body on nonmedical grounds – the legal definition of… mutilation.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote highlights the hypocrisy surrounding the societal perceptions of bodily mutilation based on gender.
Michel Onfray's quote critically examines the double standards in the discussion of bodily procedures that are considered mutilation. While female circumcision is widely condemned in Western societies, male circumcision often lacks the same scrutiny despite both practices involving the removal of healthy tissue from nonconsenting children. Onfray urges a reconsideration of the societal norms that allow for such disparities in moral outrage and legal definitions of harm.
Themes
MutilationCircumcisionDouble StandardsGenderHypocrisyConsent
In practice
Example use cases
In a debate on bodily autonomy and ethics, this quote can serve as a powerful point against gender-based double standards.
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