Elizabeth Heger Boyle is an associate professor of sociology and law at the University of Minnesota.

Brilliant and richly informative... This book deserves to become a standard text in courses on cultural globalization and the cultural politics of gender. -- Richard A. Shweder Amici 2003 Boyle uses qualitative and quantitative data at the international, national, and individual levels to demonstrate the complexities and conflict around changing institutionalized cultural practices such as female genital cutting. In doing so, Boyle provides both an in-depth understanding of anti-female genital cutting efforts, and a unique multilevel approach to evaluating global cultural conflict. -- Kammi Schmeer Social Forces Challenging and insightful. It raises many important questions in the perspectives of the international system, governments, and individuals. -- Evelyne Accad H-Gender-MidEast, H-Net Reviews 2004 Boyle has provided the reader with smart, complex, and sophisticated arguments about the contradictions and politics of global culture. I highly recommend it. -- Stanlie M. James African Studies Review 2004 A strong sociological analysis of institutional interaction around a controversial issue. -- Zachary Androus International Journal of Human Rights 2005 A helpful and balanced synthesis of the laws, policies and literature regarding a highly controversial topic, as well as insight into international institutional dynamics. -- Christine J. Walley Modern African Studies 2005

• Contents:PrefaceONE IntroductionTWO Understanding Female Genital CuttingTHREE The Evolution of Debates over Female Genital CuttingFOUR International MobilizationFIVE The Diffusion of National Policies against Female Genital CuttingSIX Variation in the Meanings of National PoliciesSEVEN Individual Response: A Clash of Alternative Meaning SystemsEIGHT Individual Frame Resonance: Explanations for Opposing Female Genital CuttingNINE ConclusionNotesReferencesIndex

Elizabeth Heger Boyle is an associate professor of sociology and law at the University of Minnesota.

Brilliant and richly informative... This book deserves to become a standard text in courses on cultural globalization and the cultural politics of gender. -- Richard A. Shweder Amici 2003 Boyle uses qualitative and quantitative data at the international, national, and individual levels to demonstrate the complexities and conflict around changing institutionalized cultural practices such as female genital cutting. In doing so, Boyle provides both an in-depth understanding of anti-female genital cutting efforts, and a unique multilevel approach to evaluating global cultural conflict. -- Kammi Schmeer Social Forces Challenging and insightful. It raises many important questions in the perspectives of the international system, governments, and individuals. -- Evelyne Accad H-Gender-MidEast, H-Net Reviews 2004 Boyle has provided the reader with smart, complex, and sophisticated arguments about the contradictions and politics of global culture. I highly recommend it. -- Stanlie M. James African Studies Review 2004 A strong sociological analysis of institutional interaction around a controversial issue. -- Zachary Androus International Journal of Human Rights 2005 A helpful and balanced synthesis of the laws, policies and literature regarding a highly controversial topic, as well as insight into international institutional dynamics. -- Christine J. Walley Modern African Studies 2005

• Contents:PrefaceONE IntroductionTWO Understanding Female Genital CuttingTHREE The Evolution of Debates over Female Genital CuttingFOUR International MobilizationFIVE The Diffusion of National Policies against Female Genital CuttingSIX Variation in the Meanings of National PoliciesSEVEN Individual Response: A Clash of Alternative Meaning SystemsEIGHT Individual Frame Resonance: Explanations for Opposing Female Genital CuttingNINE ConclusionNotesReferencesIndex