Female Circumcision
Female circumcision , which is a prominent thematic concern in “Against the pleasure Principle”, in Somalia, is a ritual through which girls gain admission into womanhood. For Rahma, it occurred when she was four years old. Rahma was circumcised alongside her nine-year old sister. Rahma stood to her guns to be circumcised as she was envious of the preferential treatment her older sister due to the upcoming circumcision. The process is traumatic and distressing, which prompts a girl to scream, as it entails mutilating part of the genitalia. In some cases, such as Dahabo, a girl passes out in the course of the process. Saida Hersi describes both the immediate and long term consequences of Female circumcision using the experiences of Hawa, Dahabo, and Rahma. “Against the Pleasure Principle” argues that there is no correlation whatsoever between circumcision and sexual pleasure.
Patriarchate Justification of Female Circumcision
Patriarchal cultures such as the Somalian culture uphold female virginity (which is a symbol of virtue and untaintedness). Female circumcision is a strategy of ensuring that the men, in Somali, will marry virgin women. However, women do not have a say on the virginity of men.
Cultural Loss
Cultural loss occurs when some Somali women, who have the opportunity to go to the USA, come back changed. They lose they culture and embrace the foreign ways , and this bothers most Somali parents. Rahma observes that the girls, who have given up their culture, dress differently ,speak in foreign languages and treat the other Somalians patronizingly. These are some of the unSomali-like behaviors, in the Somalian context, which make Rahma to conclude that her mother does not want her to be lost like the other girl hence reins in one her so that she does not relocate to the United States.
