A Few Recent Comments...

"Loved listening to your view tonight. I have shared that view for some time.  I once had a vivid dream of wanting it done - much like what you have articulated tonight on insight. Growing up in the west and in the antipodes,  I had no one to share that emotion or understand that it might have significance to me. Watching your show tonight made me feel not so strange after all having those feelings about circumcision.  I did a paper in my 2nd year on initiation, circumcision and FGM and had quite strong feelings about the demonising of "southern" initiation, and where adult women are making informed decisions, and the western media and western medical world not being clearer about the degrees and differences between the different types of female circumcision. 

I do not see the difference between "western plastic surgery" on these parts of the body and any other parts of the female body, and what initiation is. In some cases initiation is not a severe or invasive as the practices western women put themselves through to be 'beautiful and accepted' in their 'culture"   Its all "culture" to me, and driven for different aethetic social and emotional meanings.   I thought the audience and the audience experts were predominantly ethnocentric and neo-colonial in their outlook. They definately did not view plastic surgery on women (performed largely on caucasian australian women) for reasons such as aesthetics, & 'cultural beauty norms' of Australia and the West, as "cultural".   Yet these desires are driven for the EXACT same reasons and purposes that initiation is driven (i believe). I found it very interesting that the 'academic" could not link the two, and insisted on his terms of reference to as Australia often refers to itself, and ways, in the media as having a "culture". LOL amusing but alsoi very hypocritical.  Thank you for your story." -- LL

"I totally agree with your point of view about genital altering on women when a girl, who understands and accepts the whole issue, agrees to it.  I live in germany and I have a friend from sudan who got circumcised and she seems to be very happy with it. No health problems have ever shown up with the alteration of her genitals and I must say that it really looks beautiful. my parents know about her state and they first felt angry about it. She told them that it is tradition and that it isn't bad at all if a girl is prepared in a serious way.  Right now I think about having it done too, because it seems just right."  -- KL

"Hey How are you ? am from kono sierra leone , i watch insight program on SBS last night , i admire u a lots the way u proud off u culture , I wish we can have many off you , I disagree with the fula guy, what he was saying is totally not true, as for yourself u know how we do things there , may be he want impress the people , am a fulla things never been don like that to my sisters or member of my family, I personally proud off you , Good Bless , I lived in Brisbane QLD." -- AB