Atheist Quote by Christopher Hitchens
“I can't find the compulsory mutilation of the genitals of children a subject for humor... It's designed to repress sexual pleasure... The full excision, not just the snip but the full mandatory covenant is fantastically painful, leads to trauma, leads to the dulling of the sexual relationship. And can be, in itself life-threatening at that moment. We have records, I can show them to you, of hundreds and hundreds and hundreds in the United States of boy babies who died or had life-threatening infections as a result of this disgusting practice.”
About This Quote
Source Speech: Interview on reproductive rights, 2005
The quote condemns forced genital mutilation of children, describing its severe physical and psychological harm and potential lethality.
In simple terms: Forced genital cutting harms children physically and emotionally, can be deadly.
Key Takeaway
Recognize and oppose harmful practices.
Themes
human rights
bodily autonomy
child welfare
Mood
ouaged
determined
advocacy
Type
activist
political
When to use this quote
- parental decisions
- medical policy
- legal reform
- public health advocacy
Key Concepts
medical ethics
trauma
gender violence
Questions to Reflect On
- How can societies balance cultural traditions with child protection?
- What policies effectively prevent such harms?
A Different Perspective
The quote may overlook cultural contexts where the practice is traditional.
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![“It's [Los Angeles] mostly full of nonsense and delusion and egomania. They think they'll be young and beautiful forever, even though most of them aren't even young and beautiful now.” quote by Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/a86/christopher-hitchens-117_beautiful_it-s-los-angeles-mostly-full-of-nonsense_10462.jpg)
![“[Religion] attacks us in our deepest integrity - the core of our self-respect. Religion says that we would not know right from wrong, we would not know an evil, wicked act from a decent human act without divine permission, without divine authority or without, even worse, either the fear of a…” quote by Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/ab6/christopher-hitchens-117_action_religion-attacks-us-in-our-deepest-integ_23299.jpg)
