Breast Ironing

I’ve read about this practice before, in which young girls’ budding breasts are “ironed” with hot stones or other objects to try to stunt their growth. Much like female circumcision, the practice is considered traditional and for the girls’ “own good.” Mutilation of feminine body parts is especially pervasive in Africa, where mothers feel compelled to prepare their daughters for a virginal marriage and protect them from “the risk of sexual harassment and even rape.”

There’s nothing I can say about this practice that would be especially new or insightful. It’s completely appalling, brutal, perpetuates the victimization of women, and provides an excuse to avoid addressing the cultural mores and double-standards that charge women with the responsibility for their own mistreatment.

The reason I’m mentioning it at all is because the two people who emailed me a link to this story within minutes of one another were Mr. Shakes and Angelos, both of them rightfully horrified. And I was reminded of sitting in a class over a decade ago, discussing female genital mutilation, and arguing with every man in the class but one (who was gay), all of whom were anthropology majors and supposed liberals, that it was bad. They were making all sorts of convoluted arguments that essentially boiled down to “boys will be boys,” and in places where women are dependent on marriage for survival, they just have to do whatever it takes to make sure they’re marryable. I don’t believe most liberal men today would make that argument, nor sit silently as another man made it.

I’ve far too much opportunity, unfortunately, to talk about how little things have changed, but not so long ago, I was hard-pressed to find men who even knew about things like breast ironing or female circumcision, no less were pissed that they were happening. Part of it is due to the media, who pay more attention to these issues, and part of it is just that there are more men who give a shit. And yeah, I realize there’s probably someone questioning whether it’s worth a pat on the back if a guy can get angry about such an extreme example of the victimization of women, but if they’d been in that classroom with me years ago, they’d understand why it’s worth a mention.