In Speculative Fiction Story 'Cut,' Genital Mutilation Becomes a Fad
18.05.12
Collects fiction published as both Hobb and Lindholm, including “Cut,” a finalist for the Nebula Award .
The teen in the story, Patsy, is smart and articulate, and knows exactly what she’s doing. She argues that circumcision is an ancient tradition, will serve as a bonding experience for her and her friends, is fashionable among celebrities, and will decrease her sex drive in a beneficial way. The story does what science fiction does best — it makes us question our beliefs by presenting a hypothetical scenario that seems all too real.
“There’s this whole hazy area of, who owns the body and at what point does that ownership of a body kick in?” Hobb says. “It’s not an area in which I have any answers; I just have a tremendous number of questions, and when I have a question about something, one of the things I do is I sit down and I toss the question up in the air with some other factors, and usually what comes out is a short story.”
Source: Wired News