Saturday, October 31, 2009

Circumcision in Africa/ Dance and Music of Africa/ Forced to Eat for Beauty

Circumcision in Africa
Every year, in many African countries such as South Africa and Nigeria, many males  get circumcised. Here in America we have the choice if we wanna circumcise our sons, but in Africa it is part of a ritual and is required. Unlike American males, African males are circumcised from the age 15 to age 25. Young Abakwetha (male initiates) are hospitalized or die from circumcision wounds undergone during traditional initiation rites. In some cases males can contract HIV/AIDS and infections just by undergoing this procedure.
Should males in Africa go through this procedure as a ritual despite the risk? Or should they be able to say no and not put their life in danger?

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Dance and Music of Africa




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African Dance? Everyone Looks And Asks Why Do They Dance Like The Way They Do. Do Yu Know Almost Every Dance That We Do Now A Days Is Originated From African Dancing. They Dance For A Celebration. When They Are Happy For Something Like Making More Money Then They Did Or Anything That Might Make A Difference In Their Life They Really Get Up And Dance.
They Also Teach Social Patterns And Values And Helps People Work, Mature, Praise Or Criticize Members Of The Community While Celebrating Festivals And Funerals, Competing, Reciting History, Proverbs And Poetry; And To Encounter Gods. They Are Very Spiritual In There Praise.


Here’s An Example.
Video:






[Bamako is the capital and largest city of Mali, and currently estimated to be the fastest growing city in Africa. Bamako is the nation's administrative center as well as a circle. Bamako is the 7th largest West African urban center after Lagos, Abidjan, Kano, Ibadan, Dakar and Accra. The name Bamako comes from the Bambara word meaning "crocodile river".]
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Forced To Eat For Beauty






In different parts of Africa women and young girls are forced to eat food for beauty. In Mauritania a desert oasis, bigger women there are seen as beautiful, which means the bigger you are the most likely you are to get married. Although force feeding is frowned upon in the United States. In Mauritania they force feed females so they can become overweight when they get older. Since force feeding is such a hard thing to do they take breaks from feeding the girls. Force feeding causes people to throw up so when the girls throw up they make them eat more afterwards. What if in the United States bigger women were seen as beautiful to everyone? What would you do and how would you react if you were forced to eat for beauty? Compare Africa's force feeding to the United States's eating disorders like bulimia and anorexia.

11 comments:

  1. Answer is: No. Males should be able to chose FREELY. And a court has upheld their constitional rights.

    In Africa, the Xhosa tribe elders have apologized to a young man for his forced circumcision and no longer say those not circumcised will be forced out of the tribe. This was a out of court settlement the young man brought suit against the elders and his father. This young man chose to more safely get circumcised in a hospital but this didn't satisfy custom so his father, uncles and religious elders (12 men) by force cut more skin off his penis and by custom made him eat his penile skin. He won his supreme court case against his father who still refuses any apology and says he would do over again.

    Getting circumcised age 15-25 means they can appreciate and realize the loss of their foreskin. It means too they will still feel more sensation than the typical US male. Infant circumcision requires the foreskin to be torn away from the glans because they are fused together the same as the nail is to the finger. (torture) This creates immediate scarring of these surfaces from the cut to include the glans tip. This scarring has been measured as a loss of touch sensitivity in the Sorrells preliminary touch sensitivity test of the adult male compared to foreskin restored males.

    It has been estimated over 30% of African HIV infections were caused by circumcision ritual and medically using the same needles for mass vaccinations.

    (Note: China has spread HIV to over a couple of hundred thousand people (30%) through blood selling schemes. China has about 620,000 HIV cases.

    Could the question be whether one would want 1/2 to 3/4 of their genitals cut off OR eat and grow fat?

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  2. I believe every male should have the right to say no. Anything that has the ability to endanger someone's life is an act that should be considered optional. If a male wants to undergo the procedure, then he should be allowed. But if he wants to say no, there should be nothing stopping him.

    I love to dance. I also take African dance lessons and its an unforgettable experience. Dancing brings people together and pushes people to access their full potential. You learn skills for life and values like determination and how to push yourself to the limit. I can get the gist of about any dance if I try and its thanks to my African dance classes.

    Why would someone force someone-else to eat? What benefit does it bring? I think its highly unnecesary. Let people eat when and how ever much they want. I value their view of big women looking beautiful and I think America has something to learn from them there. But its too much to force people to eat. If its to the point of throwing up, I think it should be banned unless its for medical reasons.

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  3. I think males should be able to choose what to do wit there bodies. The the boy is 15 to 25 they are old enough to make descions for themselves.

    If every women in the US was forced to eat and be big it would be crazy. Obesited is already a major problem in the US. Women would be dieing because of problems due to their over eating.

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  4. This Is So Right, I Think That Males And Females Shouldnt Be Told What Should Happen With There Body's For One. But Over Weight Is A Big Problems In Childrens For Then Adults.

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  5. Circumcision: Males should have the right to say no. It’s their body; they should be able to do what they want to do. If they want to live and not risk getting an STD like disease than the people who made up that ritual should stop it. The parents don’t want to see their sons die at an early age or even in the hospital for a stupid reason.

    Dance and Music of Africa: Africa has a lot of good dances that are apart of their different religions/spirituals. They use dance to celebrate things good or bad that happens in their country.

    Eating for Beauty: That’s just ridiculous, I couldn’t be forced to eat anything if I didn’t want to. I eat a lot and still as skinny as ever and if I gained weight I would be alright as long as I don’t become overweight. Being than big can cause heart disease to occur at a younger age and they’re at a higher risk for type 2 diabetes. I understand that in Africa, the bigger you are the more attractive you are to men because they like big women but if you’re skinny the thought wouldn’t go into their head to date you. But most of their men are skinny and aren’t forced to eat so neither should the women, if you want to eat then you eat if you don’t then you don’t.

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  6. I think all females are beautiful in some type of way, but most females that are big is some times a bad thing because when you are obesited you are harming your self and you are also killing your self. The bigger you are the least you can breath. but in the U.S. most male like females that are kind of fit or who take care of them self.

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  7. Well..first off, I think that men should choose whether or not they want to be circumcised. It's their bodies and their life style that they want to live. I also think that even though it is their ritual/culture to circumcise males, that they should try to think of other ways of teaching males how to restrain from sex until they are married. There are many other ways to spread the idea of abstinence. Lessons taught maybe in school or at the home can be the first step. I think that each and every person should have a say in what they do and do not want done to their body, because it's their body.

    I love African Music. Their Music has a soft flow and meaning to it, unlike a lot of other music. I think that the chanting and the drumming is so cool. I especially love when the children sing. I admire how every African song has a background, a value, a lesson, a meaning, and a story behind it. The songs sometimes are also about predictions of the ancestors on the future. I think that African Music and Dance is one of the most influential musical bases.

    I think that forcing someone to eat is inhumane. I also think that if someone doesn't want to eat, then they should not be forced to do so. Forcing someone to eat is like forcing someone to move out of a mansion into a card board box. Who would want to do it? Now, of course in the U.S. there are many women and young girls who force themselves to eat, either to gain weight or to lose weight. Neither of the two are healthy. Overeating can lead to heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, high sugar, clogged arteries and can put a lot of stress on the lungs by overworking them from exhaustion, coming from a lack of exercise. Also, eating just to lose weight, related in Bulimia, can lead to dehydration, heart failure, poor circulation, pneumonia, and your body will began to feed off the only available sugars and proteins in your body, the ones you need. I think all women no matter their shape or size are beautiful. I also think that if heavy set women were seen as beautiful, then there would be a lot more heavy set women and many females would over eat just to be one. Also, I think that there would be even more Americans with health problems. I frown upon force feeding, because it is inhumane, in my eyes.

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  8. I think they should be able to decide for themselves if they want to get circumcised or not. That’s their tradition and I don’t blame them, but that should be personal to everyone. But i guess they like it because they keep on doing it...

    As for their dance, I think it’s a really cool and unique way of dancing. They really know how to perform and even though they are in hard situations they still dance and be happy...

    Now! Forced to eat that’s too much. I don’t care if its tradition culture or whatever I think that’s abusive and dangerous. People should be proud the way they are because that’s how god made you. I don’t see why people worry about being fat, skinny, or in shape you should be happy the way you are.

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  9. My, my what a world we live in! I always enjoy learning interesting facts about all parts of the world on your company page. Keep up the good work everyone!

    Mrs. Gerbino

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  10. I think that men should not have circumcision if it will cost them their life. they should choose whether or not if they want it. I also think people should not forced other to eat just for beauty. They should believe in themselves that their are beautiful. They should like themselves the way they are.

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  11. this is so unhealthy, independently of beautiful or not beautiful, being obese gets you all kinds of diseases

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