We are fashioned not by our genes, but by our environment - by the family and socio-historic conditions in which we evolve.
Michel OnfrayRead
How strange that excision – female circumcision, with several languages using the same term for both kinds of mutilation – of little girls should revolt the westerner but excite no disapproval when it is performed on little boys. Consensus on the point seems absolute. But ask your interlocutor to think about the validity of this surgical procedure, which consists of removing a healthy part of a nonconsenting child’s body on nonmedical grounds – the legal definition of… mutilation.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote highlights the hypocrisy surrounding the societal perceptions of bodily mutilation based on gender.
Michel Onfray's quote critically examines the double standards in the discussion of bodily procedures that are considered mutilation. While female circumcision is widely condemned in Western societies, male circumcision often lacks the same scrutiny despite both practices involving the removal of healthy tissue from nonconsenting children. Onfray urges a reconsideration of the societal norms that allow for such disparities in moral outrage and legal definitions of harm.
Themes
MutilationCircumcisionDouble StandardsGenderHypocrisyConsent
In practice
Example use cases
In a debate on bodily autonomy and ethics, this quote can serve as a powerful point against gender-based double standards.
More from Michel Onfray
All quotes →Similar quotes
Accepting the reality of our sinfulness means accepting our authentic self. Judas could not face his shadow; Peter could. The latter befriended the impostor within; the former raged against him.
Brennan ManningRead
So you cannot, as a Christian, walk away from Africa.
BonoRead
Man must evolve for all human conflict a method which rejects revenge, aggression and retaliation. The foundation of such a method is love.
Martin Luther King, Jr.Read
It is said that scattered through Despair's domain are a multitude of tiny windows, hanging in the void. Each window looks out onto a different scene, being, in our world, a mirror. Sometimes you will look into a mirror and feel the eyes of Despair upon you, feel her hook catch and snag on your heart.
Neil GaimanRead
Your God person puts an apple tree in the middle of a garden and says, do what you like, guys, oh, but don't eat the apple. Surprise surprise, they eat it and he leaps out from behind a bush shouting "Gotcha". It wouldn't have made any difference if they hadn't eaten it.' 'Why not?' 'Because if you're dealing with somebody who has the sort of mentality which likes leaving hats on the pavement with bricks under them you know perfectly well they won't give up. They'll get you in the end.
Douglas AdamsRead
We are slow to believe that which if believed would hurt our feelings.
OvidRead