Ethics and Relativism

Considering the fact that Relativism forsakes "the search for an ethical theory" (Mosser, 2010, p. 50), and states more accurately that "we should recognize that there are no universal or general ethical standards, that one's ethical view is relative to one's culture, society, tradition, religion, worldview, or even one's own individual values" (Mosser, 2010, p. 50), and In light of the fact that Relativists see things in accordance to culture, genders, religion, and so on; they appear "to allow that we can simply "agree to disagree" (Mosser, 2010, p. 51). The moral concepts of beauty and virginity might be difficult moral questions to accept by the relativist's as well as problematic in giving justification to.

When it comes to Virginity various cultures regard the virginity of a woman before she is married in their own way. Within the modern western society we do not hold that much importance on this concept; in fact we consider sex before marriage to be salubrious in regards to sexual-identity. On the contrary, there are a lot of cultures which place a very important value in the virginity of their women, such as Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Djibouti, Egypt, Ethiopia, Gambia, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Liberia, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Sudan, Tanzania" (Brunner, 2007, para. 4); "In Egypt, the health ministry banned FGM in 2007 despite pressure from some (though not all) Islamic groups"("Female genital mutilation," 6 December 2011, table 3.1). When it comes to Islamic women, according to Sheikh Yussuf al Badri of Al-Azhar Islamic University, in Cairo "that it is the reason they are virtuous unlike western women who run off to their sexual appetite in any place, with any man" (Meestermailman, 2008, expression: 57-1:05). The Female Circumcision or Female genital mutilation (FGM) is the removal of all or part of the female genitalia (labia majora and labia minor and clitoris) and prevents the female from experiencing the pleasures associated with sexual intercourse. The girls and women and not offered no anesthetic and it is done in a very unsanitary and inhumane manner, using razors or other sharpened stones or knives, being forcefully held down by their Mothers and other members of their society and cut by the village elder or their Mothers. Some believe your first born will not survive if you are not circumcised. It had to die because you have not linked yourself to the ancestors. You have to shed blood to link yourself with the ancestors or you cannot get blessings from the ancestors" (ncksub, 2009, figure 3:14-3:27). When you talk to a girl or woman from any of these cultures that practice Female circumcision they will tell you that it is their cultural and a social aspects that they will do to their daughters in order for them to remain a virgin and be acceptable to a husband regardless of the risks of death at the time of the circumcision or during birth when they have to be cut in order to do so. When it becomes time for these girls to undergo their circumcision they are not to show any signs of cowardice, such as crying out or bating of their eyelids, or shaking of their legs or hands, and must withstand the pain in order for them not to be labeled cowards. A myth in their society is that "They believe that if you do not get circumcised your clitoris will continue to grow very long. It will sweep the ground" (ncksub, 2009, figure 4:01-4:07). Hey believe that if they do not do this they are forever considered unclean and not a mature adult, even if they themselves have children and that if they are not circumcised they are too sexual. In order for a woman to be respected within their community they must be cut. The physical torture begins between infancy and age 15, and occasionally on adult women" and has long term medical complications such as Frequent vaginal infections, complications during child birth and pain during intercourse from their husbands have to cut them in order to have sex, if they do not die from the initial shock or excess bleeding. The denigration of these women needs to stop and as a spokesperson for the ending of these practices, international model Waris Dirie, who was circumcised at the age of four, wrote an autobiographical book in 1998 entitled Desert Flower to let the world know about this "horrific experience that she would not wish for any child" (Dirie, W., expression 2:46-2:50) Any attempts that have been taken to eradicate this tradition of mutilation has failed, because it serves an economic purpose within the African society as well as a traditional role.

Looking at Beauty and the way in which we view this aspect of a person's persona there are many out takes on this. Women and men alike are judged on their aesthetics. However women in general are and have always