Research Catalog

Title

Making the mark : gender, identity, and genital cutting / Miroslava Prazak.

Author

Prazak, Miroslava

Publication

Athens, Ohio : Ohio University Press, [2016]

Items in the Library & Off-site

Holdings

Details

Description

xix, 311 pages : illustrations, map; 23 cm

Summary

Why do female genital cutting practices persist? How does circumcision affect the rights of girls in a culture where initiation forms the linchpin of the ritual cycle at the core of defining gender, identity, and social and political status? In Making the Mark, Miroslava Prazak follows the practice of genital cutting through the lives and activities of community members in a rural Kenyan farming society as they decide whether or not to participate in the tradition. In an ethnography twenty years in the making, Prazak weaves multiple Kuria perspectives-those of girls, boys, family members, circumcisers, political and religious leaders-into a riveting account. Though many books have been published on the topic of genital cutting, this is one of the few ethnographies to give voice to evolving perspectives of practitioners, especially through a period of intense anticutting campaigning on the part of international NGOs, local activists, and donor organizations. Prazak also examines the cultural challenges that complicate the human-rights anti-FGM stance. Making the Mark examines the influences that shape and change female genital cutting over time, presenting a rich mosaic of the voices contributing to the debate over this life-altering ritual.

Series Statement

Ohio University research in international studies, Africa series ; no. 93

Uniform Title

Research in international studies. Africa series ; no. 93.

Alternative Title

Gender, identity, and genital cutting

Subject

• Female genital mutilation > Kenya
• Circumcision > Kenya
• Kuria (African people) > Rites and ceremonies
• Kuria (African people) > Social life and customs

Bibliography (note)

• Includes bibliographical references (pages 251-286) and index

Contents

Introduction -- Trouble with witchcraft -- Boys lead -- Girls follow -- Something different -- Consoling, feasting, and coming out -- Talk, talk, talk -- Where do we go from here? -- Epilogue -- Appendix : Bwirege circumcision sets.

Call Number

Sc D 16-417

ISBN

• 9780896803091 (hc : alk. paper)
• 0896803090 (hc : alk. paper)
• 9780896803107 (pb : alk. paper)
• 0896803104 (pb : alk. paper)

LCCN

2016024889

OCLC

• 950445946
• 950445946

Author

Prazak, Miroslava, author.

Title

Making the mark : gender, identity, and genital cutting / Miroslava Prazak.

Publisher

Athens, Ohio : Ohio University Press, [2016]

Type of Content

text

Type of Medium

unmediated

Type of Carrier

volume

Series

Ohio University research in international studies, Africa series ; no. 93

Research in international studies. Africa series ; no. 93.

Bibliography

Includes bibliographical references (pages 251-286) and index

Research Call Number

Sc D 16-417