Cornell doctor scars children in the name of science

http://jezebel.com/5565895/cornell-surgeon-used-vibrator-to-stimulate-6+year+olds

http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/fetishes-i-dont-get/201006/can-you-hear-us-now

http://www.thehastingscenter.org/Bioethicsforum/Post.aspx?id=4730&blogid=140

http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2010/06/16/female-genital-mutilation-at-cornell-university

Finally, do we really think this is like what happened in the Tuskegee Syphilis Study? Yup. A population gets marked as being not normal sexually, and then ends up as research fodder with sub-standard ethics oversight, without anyone even telling them they're research fodder. The docs publish years of follow-up studies in medical journals, and their colleagues, including the medical journal editors, don't stop and say, "Wait, what now? What are you doing?" And the only way these girls are going to get protected is if the press finally gets involved. - from Psychology Today


Even worse than just abusing your children yourself is deliberately allowing someone else to do so. I speak from my own personal experience, as well as the experience of working at a hotline for cases of abuse.

Pretending girls will grow up psychologically damaged by big labia or clitorises is so offensive I don't even know where to begin with that one. Letting someone mutilate your child and subject them to what amounts to insane follow up exams because you worried they were physically unsightly or might turn out gay is just about the worst thing I've heard. (And let me tell you, I have heard some horrifying, awful stories.)

I can't even begin to describe how sick to my stomach this news makes me feel.

One Inch by rm

consent

How awful that I found myself in front of a mirror today wondering just how abnormal I must be.

I am an adult and at least somewhat more in charge of things and capable of refusing consent. The children experimented on by the Cornell doctor aren't able to give or refuse their consent. Ostensibly one would hope their parents would be looking out for them, but there's probably a lot of fear and ignorance and horrible stuff there as well. Who knows what lead these people into this office in the first place.

When I was a teenager I was commanded by various adults in my life, including my parents, to take antidepressants. During this, I did not receive any counseling/therapy or any medical supervision about how they affected me. No one ever asked me if this is what I wanted or what I needed, and no one was listening to anything about the psychopath tormenting me. I am quite sure the medications I was forced to take were a significant factor in my suicide attempt a few months later. (Ultimate kicker - I overdosed on a combination of antidepressants and pain medication.) Even after my suicide attempt, my parents would insist on me taking other medications. I soon exercised the only control I could at the time and refused to take any more pills.

Being made to take antidepressants, even ones that make you want to die, is not really the same as being surgically altered. But I don't think I've ever been able to completely trust my parents since that happened. I wonder if the children involved in this Cornell business will grow up with similar feelings.

and now for something completely different

I have an eggplant. I really want to attempt to make moussaka. However I have never made this dish before. But I should try anyway, right? It is essentially a fancy casserole. I love moussaka.

So I'm reading recipes and trying to figure out what I need to get from the store. If you have made moussaka/have a favorite recipe/have advice, it is welcome.