The fact that there are differences between male and female genital mutilation is usually used as a trump card by those arguing for the different treatment of males and females. The argument used is “you cannot compare apples and pears” and that is supposed to be the end of the matter.
Let us leave aside the fact that certain types of FGM have a damaging effect on the birth process, which is the essence of the trump card. No one is arguing that as long as you do not adversely affect the birth process all other forms of FGM are permissible.
Everyone would, hopefully, agree that the female genitals should be protected. If we look at the functions of the external female genitals that are protected we might come up with a list like this; the mechanical comfort of loose skin to aid intercourse, the mucosal function of lubrication and protection from infection, also the function in the case of the clitoris to initiate a deeper level of sexual arousal.
Some of the functions of the male foreskin that have been identified can easily be seen as parallels to the functions found in the external female genitalia.
The mechanical comfort of loose skin to aid intercourse, the mucosal function of lubrication and protection from infection, also the function in the case of the ridged band to initiate a deeper level of sexual arousal.
Anatomical studies have shown that the foreskin is not spare skin and is in fact a specialised structure richly supplied with nerves that provide sensation during sexual intercourse and masturbation. The Sorrells study [3] from 2006 showed that the foreskin has the most sensitive locations on the penis. Those areas are removed by the act of circumcision. Cold and Taylor in their anatomical study “The Prepuce” [15] analyse the foreskin at a cellular level revealing a complex structure of nerves and blood vessels. They say in the discussion section at the end of their paper that “Excision of normal, erogenous genital tissue from healthy male or female children cannot be condoned, as the histology confirms that the external genitalia are specialized sensory tissues.”
To excise tissue that will develop into 15 square inches, or 90 square centimeters, of healthy erogenous tissue is bound to have consequences. The nerves and blood vessels severed during genital cutting do not join up across the scar line. The lifelong after effects of circumcision are poorly studied, it seems that no one wants to know what happens to the large number of men and intersex children whose sex lives are probably impaired by genital modification. It is the proponents of the practice of cutting children’s genitals who have to prove that their activities are as harmless as they claim. The fact that men who have been cut as children for the most part think they are normal is just not valid evidence. This organisation is contacted from time to time by men who have known what sex with a foreskin was like before being circumcised for a minor problem. Their correspondence is often graphic leaving little doubt that their is a major difference between the normal state and the circumcised state.