If we agree that what one
culture sees as strange is another's norm -- i.e. that the "norm is a
spectrum that varies from culture to culture" -- where do we draw the line
between 'normal' and 'perverse'?
On which side, for instance, does (tribal) genital mutilation fall? The purpose of the practice, though
certainly cultural, is subjugation. Sensation is for men only. Women are baby
factories. The mutilation is done
to all girls in the tribe. If a
guy cuts his penis in half, there may well be a 'culture' that regards his
mutilation as admirable, but it is not something everyone in his culture is
forced to undergo. And while I
might consider his choice strange (and probably an expression of some mental
illness), he has the right to do that to himself if he chooses. But a girl who's mutilated by force,
against her will, without even anesthesia, has no choice. Is this perverse?
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