Bree+and+Malia

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Abstract: This article discusses the practice of breast ironing in Cameroon, Africa. Young girls' mothers typical press hot stones against their daughters' chests in order to make them less likely to have sex at an early age or get raped. Attempts to inform the people through sex education have been introduced. Teen pregnancies (from both rape and consensual sex) are common in Cameroon, and affect the lives of several young girls everyday. HIV and maternity morality are both complications that arise from these pregnancies, as well as unsafe abortion conditions. Pregnancies cause several young girls to drop out of school.

Discussion Questions: How does the process of breast ironing demean these young girls? What could be alternative options in preventing pregnancy and rape? How are these mothers that practice breast burning affecting their daughters? How can this article be connected to femininity and masculinity? What can you say about the society in which these young girls live in?

Malia's Response: This article was very disturbing to me. The idea of mothers hurting their daughters for their own good is a testimony of how twisted the society they live in truly is. Because rape and teenage pregnancies are so common in Cameroon, mothers believe that they are truly helping their girls through breast ironing. As the article states, "No breast- no sex- no problems." The fact that women accept the blame of getting raped is also sad. It is not a girl's fault to have breasts, it is how we are built. Just because a young girl has breasts doesn't mean that any man can force himself upon her. This reminds me of the "slut-walk" feminism article some classmates discovered, from which we concluded that women should be able to present their appearance as they please, without the fear of being raped. The difficulty of obtaining abortions adds to the troubles, because the mothers of Cameroon want their daughter's to have as little distractions as possible in order to focus on school, and pregnancies are a major factor of why girls drop out. I think that measures should be taken in order to change the attitude that self-mutulation will help girls in the long run.

Bre's Response: After reading this article I was shocked and disgusted. It is understandable that any mother does not want their daughters having sex at a young age or worse, getting raped, but not at this expense. No girl deserves to have their breast burned off by their own mother. This is de-womanizing them and mentally confusing these Cameroonian girls. These mothers believe that once their daughters develop breasts, men can force them to have sex with them. While it may be true that men will become more sexually intrigued with girls that have breasts, the mothers should find alternative ways to protect their daughters. This article upsets me because it is so unfair how girls are looked at in such vulgar ways when we begin to develop. It is also upsetting how these mothers that participate in the breast ironing think they are helping their daughters in the long run, when they are really hurting them. These girls will always be self conscious of their distorted cheats and will have problems for the rest of their life especially when it comes time to breast feed. I feel something needs to be done to protect the young girls of Cameroon from this horrible practice.