Mark Lyndon

The clitoral hood is the exact equivalent of the foreskin, and both are called the “prepuce”. Cutting off a clitoral hood *is* illegal in the USA, and has been since 1997. In fact, just making an incision without removing any tissue is illegal.

I agree that removing the clitoris is considerably worse than regular male circumcision, but many forms of female circumcision do not remove the clitoris, and most forms of Type I female circumcision do less damage than standard male circumcision.

The more you find out about female circumcision, the less difference you will find with male circumcision. For instance:
1) Male circumcision amongst Christians in the USA became popular in the 19th century to stifle male sexuality. Christians didn’t circumcise anywhere until then.
2) The USA is almost the only country where Christians circumcise (the Philippines is the other, where the practice was introduced by Americans).
3) Clitoridectomy used to be performed in the USA on “wayward” girls.
4) Almost every country which practises male circumcision also practises some form of female circumcision.