"If a boy baby has a normal circumcision, after the wound heals, he will still have feeling in his penis, and he will be able to urinate normally and perform other normal functions of his gender. The same cannot be said of a girl who has a clitoridectomy and whose labia are cut away, or who has most of her vagina sewn shut. "

Actually, there is a lot of evidence that the removal of the foreskin significantly changes males sexual response and sensitivity in the penis (due to constant exposure of the glans, which actually undergoes a 'callousing' or 'scarrification' process in circumcised males). The truth of the matter is, um, impeneterable, since the context is so subjective... However, it might be one of the causes of the contemporary sexual dysfunction rate among men.

Also, in some cultures, the genital modification of females ends at a 'sewing shut' of the labia minora or partial modification of the minora. It is reasonable to believe that such women could go on to have a healthy sex life (but, in cultures which inflict that level of violence on women, I doubt there is such a thing as a 'healthy' sex life) once the 'ties' are removed.

Clitoridectomy without removing the clitoris (IE, just the alteration of the clitoral hood) is actually a very simmilar process to removing the foreskin, as in both males and females this is the bit of flesh which guards major nerve bundles.

Obviously, any removal of the clitoris or the very nasty 'pharaonic circumcisions', or infibulation, or excision or etc...Yeah, I agree, I can't see the woman possibly ever having any positive sensations from sex.

But its important to remember that FGC can be as mild as the removal of the hymen, or as dramatic as the removal of every external feature of the viaginal area. Obviously, male circumcision is not as mild as the former, but certainly not as drastic as the latter.

Yeti