by MIA FREEDMAN
Something really interesting happened behind the scenes here at Mamamia yesterday that we thought you might like to hear about – and help us understand.
Late in the afternoon, a distressing story broke about a Sydney sheik who had been arrested along with a retired nurse for the female genital mutilation of two little girls aged 6 and 7. The girls’ parents were also arrested.
We knew it was something we wanted to post about and – as we usually do – we immediately began preparing the post. This meant looking for an image to accompany the story. This image would appear on the front of the site next to the headline, on Facebook and inside the post itself.
There’s an art to choosing the right image to illustrate the story you are trying to tell. The Internet is a visual medium and the idea is to compliment the words and help tell the story. You don’t always have the option (or the desire) to use images of the actual people or events mentioned in a post – for a variety of reasons.
These might include wanting to protect the privacy of those involved or simply not having access to those photos. In that case, as with other forms of media, we use ‘stock’ shots, licensed images taken by professional photographers and posed by models.
Sometimes, this process is easy and the best image is obvious.
Other times, it’s more difficult and so it was with this story. As you can imagine.
Doing a Google search for ‘female genital mutilation’ was not an option. Well, technically it was but we weren’t going to find any images suitable for publication that way.
So we went to the image library we use for ‘stock’ photos and did a safe search there under a variety of terms including circumcision and child crying.
The main image we chose was this one, of a little girl crying.
Obviously this little girl had not just been a victim of female genital mutilation – and we made that clear – pointing out that it was an illustrative stock image. But we still felt it illustrated the story accurately.
From almost the second we published the post, the backlash was fierce. Commenters here and on Facebook were distressed by the image and begged us to change it.
Now, there are hundreds of thousands of women who read Mamamia and we aren’t holding out for universal popularity when it comes to our image choice. On this occasion though, we felt that people’s distress was really genuine and debate over the photo had the potential to take away from the truly important thing – the story of what happened to these little girls.
Obviously that was never our intention.
After some intense internal discussion in the office, we chose to remove it and replaced the image with this photo of a baby lying on a bed, crying:
Still, people reacted angrily. Perhaps not so violently but still – many readers were upset by the photograph.
So we changed it a final time – to an Amnesty International image of a flower being sewn up (which you can see here on the original post).
But we were left feeling a bit confused about the voracity of the response.
Yes, the reality of female genital mutilation is horrific and disturbing and appalling. But should we sanitise that with a de-personalised shot of a flower, which we ended up with? It is a shocking story and yes, the image disarms you a little and makes you uncomfortable – but so does what is described in the writing.
We’re not disagreeing with those who asked us to take it down, we’re just interested to better understand the reaction.
How would you have illustrated the story?
Comments
165 Comments so far
This site gives a clear definition of the different types of FGM that are routinely practiced. Be warned though, it does have some graphic images towards the end.
http://freethoughtblogs.com/taslima/2012/06/07/is-female-genital-mutilation-only-practiced-in-africa-no/
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I hope that those who took the time to complain about the images also took the time to try and do something about this barbaric practice.
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I get where you’re coming from, but there is a slight difference in the time, effort and logistics involved!! How can they make a difference in the 30 seconds it takes to flick a complaint email to MM?
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Mia, this is the picture that outrages me.
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/nation/sydney-protesters-call-for-beheadings/story-e6frg6nf-1226474756501
What sort of place is our country going to be when our children are our age?
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Whilst I feel some distress at seeing a child cry (in real life or a photo) I think the issue needs media attention. I was interested the image of a crying baby caused more outrage than the issue of female (or male for that point) genital mutilation. It is horrific, barbaric and outrageous in my opinion. I feel for women all over the world who are victims and survivors of this practice. And surprise surprise it is happening in Australia too. The law needs to come down hard on this quickly before more women suffer.
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I cant add anything to the comments about this horrific practice, however this absolute disregard for Australian law also makes my blood boil
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I have no issue with any of the images used, and think the hysteria perpetuated by photos was ridiculous, especially considering the subject is so important and terrible. However, it constantly baffles me how people who endorse routine male circumcision baulk in horror at female circumcision. Both are unnecessary acts of genital mutilation usually performed on children who are too young to understand or consent, and with very few rare exceptions, executed for religious/social reasons alone. Please spare me the arguments about pre-emptive routine circumcision being for “health reasons”, ie reducing the risk of HIV transmission. There is a far greater chance that female babies will develop breast cancer one day, but we don’t pre-emptively remove their breast tissue at birth. There was a time when we didn’t know better but now we do, so why not move with the times and stop this perverse biblical obsession with the cleanliness and “look” of our babies genitalia. I wish we would remove the “female” out of FGM and call ALL routine circumcision what it is – genital mutilation.
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I have conmented on here before about thks but think it is worth repeating. i carry a gene that means i have a higher than average chance of getting breasf or ovarian cancer and yes. I plan to pre-emptively remove my breast tissue, as do many women. It is highly imflammatory to compare male and female circumcision!
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I can’t imagine being in that situation but I suspect I would make the same choice as you if I were faced with it. I don’t think your decision is controversial at all. Wishing you well with your health.
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I ave no real idea why it caused outrage. I’m sick of things being sugar coated.
The ABC is wondering if we should allow controlled FGM.
This is the test. Do we roll over to the demands of minority groups and allow them to dictate our laws or do we finally say enough is enough?
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After caring for children in a major metro hospital that have come in with injuries sustained uring FGM, I am glad to have someone finally accountable for the horrifying image burnt on my brain on little girls mutilated. The sort of problems these girls were coming in with were never seen (with the exception of urinary tract infections) in girls who had not undergone FGM. The images that Mamamia used are really not important here; what matters is that little girls’ in our country now are having their genitals mutilated without their onsent and without generally any anaesthetic. I have three girls now and could not imagine allowing them to undergo such abuse, but then I grew up as a Causcasian woman with rights and the capacity to argue back to male relatives, so I know I will never understand the cultural/ religious issues for mothers who allow this.
I believe Amnesty International has info on their website for those wishing to help in palpable ways. Please continue to have stories like this, these types of issues are so important to bring to light.
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I am wondering if you reported these children’s parents to the police for this child abuse you witnessed?
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Totally agree they are completely different, you only have to read Waris Dirie (author of desert flower) describe her clitoris, labia minora and majority of the labia majora being cut off with a broken razor blade and stitched back up, leaving only a scar where the genitals once belonged to understand that this practice is like NOTHING else. No torture that man can invent would be as painful during and after this practice. It should NOT happen to any woman in any country. I accidentally snipped my 5 month old daughters finger recently while cutting her finger nails, and it caused me as much physical pain as her. I can’t even begin to understand how women (mothers, sisters, nurses, doctors, gypsy women) do this to each other….. If the photo works to drive more community outrage that this is happening to girls the world over (even in Australia!) I think it needs to be used. If it makes you uncomfortable to see an image of a baby or a girl crying imagine the cruelty of the actual process.
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I think the story itself is so disturbing, that to see a photo of a child or baby crying along with it makes it almost unbearable to think about. If we don’t see the picture, we can think “oh what an awful story”, without really illustrating it in our head. That being said, I would not ask to remove the picture.
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Sooooooo while we all ‘comment’ over whether the pics are offensive or appropriate or otherwise, FGM is happening RIGHT NOW!
Can someone please tell me how I can stop it? How WE can stop it? What can I do to help??
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I have been trying to work out how to help too. One of the key things is to talk about the problem and bring it to the attention of everyone, so that it is not a hidden crime. Another thing is to donate to the various charities like Desert Flower or Voices of Hope or Global Alliance against Female Genital Mutilation.
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I think people are far too sensitive these days. I don’t find the image disturbing in anyway, it’s a child captured mid cry. It’s a fact of life, as is the picture of a baby crying. Children cry, they have tantrums, they get distressed but it’s not the end of the world and we need to be supporting our children’s strengths rather than getting upset over it. Now a real photo of mutilated grnital
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I was the 1st to comment on this picture & asked it to be removed. I feel sad that people think by asking for the picture to be removed I don’t care about the story. THIS IS NOT TRUE!!
I feel so angry and disgusted by the people involved in this inhumane act that if I ever met them myself I would find it had to refrain myself from getting involved.
Maybe it’s because I am female, maybe it is because I am a Mum, maybe it’s because I have a daughter, maybe because I was so moved by the nations support of R U OK DAY? Or maybe it’s just because I care. Make your own judgment.
Personally the reason I asked for it to be removed is because yes, it was confronting to relate that picture with that headline but also I thought it was in poor taste for not only taking the easy option of using a “white” baby to convey the message instead of someone like a Sheik or the people involved but also the I felt the image detracted from the importance of the story. Don’t you think the poor innocent girls involved deserve an image that has not been used on every baby website, facebook page advertising everything from toddler tantrums to sleep training etc etc? I do. That’s why I spoke out and used my voice.
I thank Mamamia for listening & taking the time to respond to this issue. I am glad people in your office felt the same regarding the pictures used. I am sorry if by being offended by the picture it implied I didn’t care.
Maybe Mamamia could use the passion of the readers to do something about this horrible horrible situation. Just a thought xx
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Mamamia you really cant win. I have no idea why the photos have caused such an uproar. I thought the photo was hard to look at, but I had just clicked on an article about FGM, so that was to be expected.
As someone that has run a website for a decade, photos are really important. They break up the writing, which can look overwhelming to a reader and turn them off reading an article with an important message. This is not my opinion, it is common practice in presentations, websites, newspapers etc. So there really does need to be a photo. I have no idea what readers expected you to put in as a photo – obviously anything accurate or relevant would not be appropriate.
The only thing I can think of is that the issue itself invokes a response, and an emotive one at that. So maybe as people are reading this article, they feel angry, sad, impotent, and their reaction with the article itself is muddied with the look and feel of the photos. If I was to be completely honest the sewn up flower was probably just as provocative to me anyway – it is a very clear visual representation of the practice of FGM, which probably provokes more of a reaction in me than the little girl screaming, (which is sort of what I’d expect to see).
One of my sister’s best friends was killed in a car accident her final year of high school. The paper printed a picture of the paramedics trying to revive her. The image of a girl I know dying as paramedics desperately tried to save her young life is burnt on my brain. That was inappropriate. The pictures in this article were completely acceptable.
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The thing to remember here is the poor girls do not only feel pain at the time they are disfigured, but also persistently as every time they have intercourse, or any other genital exam they feel immense pain.
as I was typing this my lovely man wandered over to see what i was doing. I explained what FGM is and he was shocked and felt sickened as he did not realise how bad it was. we need to keep educating everyone. Its not acceptable in any country to torture, its against human rights.
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MM, it seems that every time FGM comes up, it’s hideousness is always diminished by certain people claiming that it’s the same as male circumcision. Would it be possible for you to find some links to images (marked as distressing, obviously), so that people get a better idea of what is actually involved. This could include diagrams. Or could you include information about the range of FGM practices (e.g. infibulation vs clitoral scarring – different ends of the spectrum) and statistics about where these practices are occurring?
Surely once people realise what exactly it means that 96% of girls in Sudan have been infibulated, they’ll stop comparing it with male circumcision? I think it’s hard to get your head around unless you’ve really researched the issue – I couldn’t really imagine what infibulation looked like until I saw it.
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I think this is a great idea Alice. Education is the key here. I thnk if everyone really understood what FGM was and how it impacts women for a life time they would NEVER compare it to anything. It is nothing short of barbaric.
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I do see what youre saying about the extent of the mutilation being longer-reaching over time, but does the fact that the male child is hurt for a shorter period of time, still make that hurt acceptable? (I am replying as someone who currently has to evaluate whether to circumcise my soon to be born son).
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My view is that whether or not male circumcision is justifiable is up to the parents – BUT that it is so completely different in every way (in terms of how the operation is done, what age, by whom, in what medical conditions, using what tools, it’s long term effect, it’s purpose, etc etc) to FGM that the two just plain shouldn’t be compared.
To me this discussion of male circumcision is like reading an article on rape, then the comments arguing that having obligation sex with your partner when you don’t feel like it is the same thing. Sure, both are harmful and both are when you don’t want it, but they are fundamentally different in their circumstances and effects.
Male circumcision (regardless of whether you endorse it or not) and FGM are separate issues with separate harms, and it diminishes the seriousness and horror of FGM not to give it it’s own space.
Male circumcision is practiced for medical as well as cultural and religious reasons and usually has no long lasting effects. It may be that for a Western mother the possible medical benefits don’t justify hurting her son even in the short term – and that’s totally reasonable. But to say that the operation that son might undergo in a hospital when he’s too young to remember it is like what occurs in FGM is just incredibly offensive and ignorant. That’s not having a go at you, that’s just my view on the difference between the two
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Is it really so hard to work out? The story is irrelevant – as abhorrent as the story was, it wouldn’t matter if it was a story about teething. The child in the picture is obviously in pain. What person with a compassionate bone in their body wants to see a child in pain, let alone take a photo of it?
I was not one of the ones that complained but I have seen the picture before as someones facebook profile picture. It makes me feel physically sick that someone stood by and watched a child in pain, or possibly even worse staged the shot, for the sake of an commercial image.
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Do you mean emotional pain? The child was not in any physical pain, she’d just had a lollypop taken off her. It was an artists project (still a bit of a dodgy thing to do in my opinion).
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“Is it really so hard to work out?”
Yes, even after your explanation I still don’t understand what there is to be upset about. Like the other anon said, the child in the picture looks like someone took away their lollipop and you find THIS horrifying while FGM is taking place in the world?
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I remember when I was in hospital with my (now 20 year old) son being in the same area when an infant male was circumcised. He looked very much like that infant baby. I think gwnital mutilation on either sex is, to put it midly, unexplainable.
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People suggesting that those who complained about the photo rather than being upset over the content of the article, you do realize the two arent mutually exclusive?
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Spot on. Thanks Anon
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The reason I complained was that I felt the picture cheapened the article by sensationalizing it. When choosing a photo you wanted some sort of ‘shock value’ to accompany what is obviously a shocking topic. But why then use a ‘stock photo’? This made it seem as though whoever chose the picture was purely going for a reaction from us. And if that’s the case, use a photo that is accurate, don’t use some stock photo of a child crying. I felt it cheapened the article, which was why I complained, nothing to do with race.
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Genital mutilation is now in your face, but I don’t understand the response achieved through using an image of a child in pain. That is what happens: hiding from it won’t change that.
Cultural practices can be cruel. We are desensitized to male genital mutilation in this country, and I do wonder if the story run about genital mutilation focused on the male, would their have been such a response.
These women who condone the practice don’t help the practice continue with their own children because they are mean spirited, or evil, they generally believe they are doing the right thing by their child as per their cultural indoctrination. As do mothers in this country who chase down a doctor who still practices circumcision.
I am in no way advocating for the practice, but lets not make this a issue that becomes focused on race or religion. Let us focus on this horrific practice as a human rights issue, where it belongs, and educate, educate, educate to stop the practice.
No-one has the right to alter another human beings body without consent: human right.
Genital mutilation is a human rights issue. We need to remove the notions of religion and cultural practice to see the act for what it is.
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As a Social inquiry student studying communications I am disappointed to find out that people are so disarmed about the picture. I’m more disappointed that they aren’t outraged and appalled at the behaviour of the adults in this story. How disgusting to think that they can remove a disarming photo and the problem will go away. I’m ashamed to be a part of a culture where personal discomfort is more of an issue than the cruel and harsh practice of fgm. Grow up. Take a good hard look at yourselves. And thank your lucky golden stars that you weren’t born into that hideousness. How dare you think that a picture like that being removed will make it all better and all go away. Maybe instead of removing a picture on a website, you use energy on doing something for the children you do care about.
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Whoa, chill out. Firstly, you suggest that rather than removing a picture, they do something for children they care about. Well, would publishing an article on FGM on a website read by hundreds of thousands of adults to educate them and spread awareness count as spending energy doing something to help?
Secondly, not for a second were they suggesting that taking down the photo would fix the issue of FGM. Removing the photo just made the article less repugnant for those who were distressed by the image and who may have otherwise not read the article. It’s always necessary to moderate the images – even though the images won’t fix or worsen the issue at hand. They didn’t change the content of the article, and they didn’t try to sanitise the reality of FGM – which would be in opposition to the whole point of the article. Rather, they were trying to not repulse people to the point that they were disturbed or wouldn’t read the article.
I think you might have missed the whole point of this piece – which is a shame, considering your field of study. Maybe before putting your energy into slamming MM (who are actually drawing attention to important issues in a practical, active way), you should consider putting it into doing something for the children you care about.
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Do you really want to understand MamaMia? I can explain. I think you’ve made a mistake. Ive read back through both articles and cant find a single comment or complaint let alone furore about the image of the little white girl screaming. There are, however, a few comments from people upset about the picture of the other little girl (as mentioned in comments below) who appeared to be undergoing the procedure. That is distressing to view whether or not you agree that it should accompanny the article.
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Hey Kirsten,
You won’t find a lot of comments on the posts because it wasn’t up for long enough. Most of the backlash came in the Facebook comments section in the few minutes after we published.
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True but it wasn’t THAT photo it was the other one that people on facebook got upset about. Granted a few also complained about the following picture ( the one above) but I think you are being misleading that the photo above caused the upset. By and large it didn’t.
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Reading all the comments here, I agree that it’s the story and the issue which should be focused on…. However, as the mother of two little girls the pic of the child being held down undergoing some unknown kind of upset was actually gut wrenching for me. I am sickened by this practice (FMG) and the original picture made me feel like I had almost witnessed it happening. I know it’s slightly precious but in Australia we are not faced with this stuff regularly and so it truly is shocking and very hard to handle. That doesn’t mean we don’t care or won’t do whatever we can to stop it- it simply means it is so painful we just can’t stand it. God help me if I am ever in a room with anyone who agrees with this or has ever been a part of it. I may end up in jail myself. And to think its all because men are afraid their daughters or prospective betrothed women may be led astray by their fleshly natural GOD GIVEN desires in the same way THEY are!? It’s evil, hypocritical, and what’s a word which means the most stupid, dumb and pathetic idiot in the universe? Whatever that word is – that’s what people who do this are. Wait, I just remembered I’m supposed to have compassion… I will try, I really will… They are just ‘fearful and misguided’…
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Mamamia lovelies I am with you on this. But perhaps thats because I’ve researched this abhorrent practice and have known about it for decades. The photos you have used were perfectly fine and if I am being honest here, I think political correctness in this country has gone way too far when a crying stock image of a little girl is more offensive than a story about female genital mutilation.
I even heard some people say on your Facebook that FGM is no big deal because it is no different to male circumcision. To that I say “google for real photos of FGM” and then let us know if you still feel the same way.
This is an important issue, I’m glad you’ve brought it to light and I hope you continue to campaign for these girls until all Australian’s are as appalled as you and I.
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I was more angry about the auto summary of the story that stated two kids where victims of FGM. They were not goats they were GIRLS. Totally inappropriate to use slang especially as this is female issue. Worse it’s an issue of abuse frequently perpetrated by women to other women and girls. to use the expression ‘kids’ about a serious issue was wrong.
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Really?! I didn’t get that at all. In fact it didn’t even register as I was reading it that “kids” could be offensive.
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I saw all three pics, and thought none were particularly appropriate. Why not simply show the pic of the 2 people charged? Shame those who did this horrific act? Couldn’t be more appropriate or factual
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I don’t understand what the issue was with either of the pictures. A child or baby crying is something every parent has seen. The reason for the crying is irrelevant. The image is just a photo of a child crying.
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I would have used the picture you used yesterday of the woman smiling as the little girl screamed in pain……….a writer yesterday hadn’t interpreted it that way; she thought the woman was comforting the little girl – if so, what a disgraceful act of delusion, self indulgence and cruelty.
Any other woman would have swept up the little girl at the first opportunity and carried her to safety.
The sewn-up rose image is okay I guess but seriously – what do you have to do to wake people up ?…..Otherwise this subject will just fade into “last week’s outrage”.
What I want you to realise is that over this weekend there are dear little girls in this country (and all over the world), who are blissfully unaware of the horror that’s about to visit them…………..there are monsters that resemble people they know and trust who are preparing their razor blades & knives for this ritual of agony…
If any of you pray – you should start now.
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The image of the little girl screaming while women stood around should of stayed up to show this is real, this is happening, this is the agony little girls suffer. That photo showed exactly why this abhorrent act should be banned in every country.
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The first image SHOULD have got to us, female genital mutilation is child abuse and we should all be protesting loudly about it. Just as Oprah insisted on showing confronting material to get us to wake up to pedophilia, we need confronting material to get us to think about other abhorrences like FGM. I think you did ok with the first pic MM, people upset about it should do something about FGM, not waste energy bagging MM.
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I was not disturbed by these two images, but of the one of a child on her back being held down by a woman and the child screaming in pain and in obvious distress. I continued reading the article as I think it is important that we know about these atrocities, however I had to hold a hand up to the computer screen to cover the photo as I found it too disturbing. Even though the image was so horrific, I understand why it was used to illustrate FGM and it helps to drive home the message of what these poor girls undergo. I just cannot believe that this is still occurring in 2012 and especially in Australia.
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I see all three images as stock images and in no way connect them with the story. They’re just the little thumbnails next to the title so there’s no empty hole. If an image of what happens in the article were to appear it would be a different story. Can’t actually believe this has been made into a story itself or that people were that offended.
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Hi Mia,
Thank you for addressing this. I haven’t read all the comments on the second article you posted on FGM. The conversation I was involved in on Facebook was on your first article:
http://www.mamamia.com.au/health-wellbeing/female-genital-mutilation/
And this was the photo (posted on Facebook next to the link to the story) that upset a lot of people, myself included:
http://www.mamamia.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/Screen-shot-2012-09-10-at-8.59.08-AM.png
The image of the little (Caucasian) girl crying doesn’t upset me (at least not on the same level). It’s actually a stock image I’ve seen used before. The image in the original article horrified me and others on Facebook, I imagine because it looks like it could be an image of FGM actually being performed. Of course, you can’t tell what is really happening in the photo, but it just GOT to me.
I actually don’t have a problem with the two above images being used, because it’s so obvious they’re stock photos that have nothing to do with FGM.
A lot of people on Facebook disagreed with me, saying the photo should have shock value, as it’s an important issue that needs attention. I agree, it is an important issue. One that I care about. My only protest is that I felt assaulted by it appearing in my newsfeed on Facebook. I had no choice about whether or not I saw it.
You asked for opinions and this is mine. I don’t think you need to “sanitise” the article by using a safe photo like a flower. But as I said above, there is just something about that particular photo.
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I’m if the same opinion. The photo on my Facebook feed with the girl screaming and the older woman watching upset me a lot more than any of the others. The photo in this article while not pleasant l
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Totally agree. That was the one that upset me the most too.
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Even the flower photo made me feel sick. I couldnt bring myself to open the story.
Not because of the photograph itself but because of the context.
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The photo should shock, it is a shocking story.
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The little white girls are distressed, but probably not because they are going through FGM.
Now, here’s an uncomfortable question:
Would be be as challenged by the picture if it was a photo of a little African or Arab or Hindi little girl in equal distress???
You tell me…
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Um yes actually. That would distress me too.
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I would, yes.
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Wouldn’t have changed my emotional reaction in the slightest. And I don’t paticularly like it being insinuated that it would have. A crying little girl is a crying little girl in my book.
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If that photo had been accompanied by an article headed ” lollies double in price at Woolies!” there would have been no problem. It’s all about the context. And the context of FGM is worth getting upset about.
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Did anyone expect to read an article about FGM and not get upset?
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I only saw the flower picture.
Having said that, I coudlnt care less what the pictures are. I very rarely notice them/give them a second thought.
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ok. so I said this on all the pictures you used last night…..
Its not the picture itself. The story alone is sickening to the core…it is the most evil disgusting thing another human can do and is right there with child abuse & this is regardless of any ethnicity,colour,race….whatever. Those that make this about race….please.
The picture was confronting NOT for any other reason then that it did NOT match the story at hand and like i said…as a mother, to see a child upset at any one time is confronting and upsetting and yes both the little girl and the baby crying were probably fine afterwards but this is exactly the reason it should not of been used for this article….the fact you placed these pictures with that story was just off putting and indeed sensationalist, your implying that they had been through this barbaric procedure and THAT is why they are crying. The key word is IMPLYING. It wasnt a factual picture and i am sure you could of done more research. The picture that accompanied the Australian article on this was simply a police crime scene tape. This would of garnered my interest in the STORY not the picture. And I am well aware that there could be pictures on this subject that are far more shocking and i am glad you didnt use those either because the story was distressing enough. My point is that you do not need to use sensationalist pictures or shock value.
As to comments about those that complained “have nothing better to do” …..how boring and generalised is your comment. The one comment on this that actually had me nodding in whole hearted agreeance and is exactly what my long winded comment is trying to say is August.
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I would not call it a “sensationalist” picture. Merely a representation of the horror that these little girls endure. In fact, the picture probably does not do the story justice – the reality is surely much worse.
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Yet your post on male circumcision just showed a banana with the top lopped off. No risk of any emotive reaction in that I guess, no sense of the pain or issues for the poor boys that get this done.
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Im choosing to respond before reading any comments. I read the story and saw the second photo. I’m very used to the fact that you post pictures with your posts and that many times they are not directly linked to the topic/people you are writing about. It didn’t bother me.
The bottom line for me is that we should be horrified by the fact that this is happening. Happening in our country and in others. If people are uncomfortable at looking at a photo imagine the hell the poor girls are going through actually experience the procedure. Feeling a little bit of emotional discomfort about such a horrendous practice is not a bad thing, especially if it makes you think and hopefully act.
Keep reporting on this MM, we can’t stop talking about this issue, it is way too important.
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I can see why those images were very distressing – especially for a mother. I’m one of those who can’t bear to hear kids crying, I want to run over and give them a cuddle. Same with these, they get me quite worked up. But then, have 8wk old baby so hormones are going nuts in this regard.
Question – were the photos chosen for the purpose of getting everyone het-up or just to “accurately reflect the story”? The story didn’t talk about the distress, is what these pics show. Only you guys will know the real answer.
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I think as humans living comfortably in the first world we have forgotten how truly beastly people can be. I didn’t catch yesterdays post but this first image is distressing and that is exactly the image needed to convey the horror of FGM.
As a white woman I know I am one of the few here who has seen first hand the results. Many years ago at a global camp of a humanitarian organistion I became friends with a Somali woman. Long story but basically she showed a few of us what a mutilation actually looked like and what her physical life had become. No photo or description can ever describe what I saw and it is seared into my brain forever. Imagine the worst and then go further.
If an image of a crying little girl who will never have to face what I saw can wake us up out of our apathetic stupor then I say bring it on. And my friend? Well she was killed in a bombing a few months after she went home.
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Oh my God! I’ve got thick skin but even thinking about what you just wrote is making me feel sick so I can imagine how you felt seeing it, and more to the point, how the woman who had to live with it felt. This issue is beyond disturbing.
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It is Jess and I am sorry if I sound preachy but it was a defining moment of my life. Just reading about FGM now sends me into a spin, I guess this is why I spend time raising money for girls education in the developing world. So that they will have the wherewithal to say no to this barbaric practice and as they become mothers, they will say no too.
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HI I would like to help you raise money, do you have a website?
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Very, very powerful comment.
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No, the image shouldn’t have been sugar coated … what’s really happening is not a flower being sewn up, it’s a child being made to scream in pain and horror.
How will the reality of the situation ever be made obvious if the subliminal message is just that somebody’s doing art and craft with a few flowers?
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I spent yesterday googling information on FGM for some research of my own (coincidental timing) and some of the images that came up made me feel SICK to my stomach. But instead of shutting the screen down I thought however bad this is to look at imagine how much worse it must be to go through.
It’s a barbaric practice that needs to be clamped down on a lot harder.
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Gosh it’s a tough one….
I definitely find the image of the little girl crying upsetting.
I also find the topic of FGM incredibly upsetting.
So yeah, it’s definitely a fitting image…..
Will it make readers uncomfortable!? Possibly… but I mean that is the point in a way, as it heightens the message of the article.
Choosing images is a REALLY hard thing to do. I remember once I was working on a pitch for a MASSIVE job, back in my Architecture days, and one of the juniors and I stayed in the office until 4am trying to choose the most appropriate picture for the cover of our proposal. We had started looking for the pic at 3pm the day before!
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Before I knew about the story this image was accompanying, I just thought “bratty kid having a tantrum”.
Interesting how context can change your understanding.
I agree this is a very difficult story to illustrate, and I know because I have had to source images for online news stories in a previous job.
I think I would have gone for a sort of “scales of justice” type image, as it involved charges.
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I think people need to be a little less precious sometimes. It’s just a photo.
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For those who complained about the “distressing” photo of a toddler crying, maybe next time MM could use a photo of the disgusting tools used to circumsize little girls overseas….now THAT’S distressing!
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If they did, that sort of photo would be relevant. I’d be okay with it
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