The Intactivism Pages

Time 2021-10-12 11:08:03

Web Name: The Intactivism Pages

WebSite: http://www.circumstitions.com

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description:The case against infant genital cutting and for genital autonomy for all sexes, viewed from many angles.

TheIntactivism Pages

The struggle for genitalautonomy
and against the involuntary genital modification
of childrenof any sex:

MaleGenital Cutting
Female Genital Cutting
Involuntary Sex Reassignment
GenitalAutonomy for All!

This site differs from others opposed togenital mutilation: its focus is on intactnessrather than on genital cutting.It is intended to counteract the mindset that the foreskin is an"extra" "flap of skin" -

- and that male genital cutting is the norm, andthe corresponding mindsets that lead to the cutting of girls andintersex people.

Links to the most useful pages, if they are not in thelist below, are at Background.

Theissue: BasicsNewsBackgroundBlogs,Essays,VideosActionThis site: PolicyContentsFAQSitemapNew HereContactTheForeskinGenitalCutting

Anatomy| [BritShalomis now offsite] | Celebrities| Christianity | Galleries |Links| Restoration | Sex

Disease| HIV(the RCTs) | Memes | Movies | TV

Appearance
Structure
Function
Care
For Parents Sons
Human Rights
- law
Intactivism
Background
- chronology
- quotations
- references

Housekeeping
- links
- feedback

Pictures
Methods
Excuses
- circumstitions
- disease
- religion
Downsides
- death
- resentment
- regret
The World
Representation
- literature
Perpetrators
Rebuttals

- AAP, CDC

FEMALE CUTTING
Intersex
Other parallels

TheForeskin

APPEARANCE

A Gallery ofIntactMenand their Penises A Galleryof Intact Men and their Penises in Art. Countriesthat celebratethe (intact) penis. The "lusciousbeauty" of the intact male.

For intact (young US) men who worry about being"different," aGallery of Intact Celebrities(with their clothes on): a page each of intact historical personages, US filmstars former and current, US TV stars former and current, US sporting heroes, US musicians, non-UScelebrities (musicians, actors, sportsmen and others), and leaders.

A Gallery of Very-Probably-Intactmen.

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STRUCTURE

A Glossaryofwords relating to Intactivism and normal anatomy. Some of the main onesare illustrated.

Diagrams of maleandfemale anatomy at eight weeks gestation and at birthillustrate the similarity of structure.

Not "just a flap of skin": anon-eroticanimation ofhow a foreskinworks.A more stylised animation to demonstrate its size. A remarkableillustration of itsactual size.

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FUNCTION
Functions of theForeskin(22 of them)An enlightening online video:

The Prepuce

aimed at doctors andusesmedicallanguage but very clear about the use and value of the foreskin.

Sexuality
The sexuality pagecorrects the fairly popular fallacy that there is nodifference in sexual function between intact and circumcised men.The foreskin itselfgives pleasure.A musicalillustration. Reports by womenabout what a revelation intact men were to them.Condoms and the intactman.Tantric sex.Popularmyth: "Americanwomen prefer circumcised." (Williamsons' survey of women inIowa)

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CARE

Careof the Intact Penis

There's verylittleto it!

alsoavailable in PDF format

aresponse to the AAP's "Care of theUncircumcised Penis"

Paraphimosis,one of the few real threats.

Paraphimosis

PDF format leaflet

Frenulumbreve "tight banjo string"—can be readilytreated.

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FOR PARENTS (TO-BE) AND SONS

"It's a Boy!"

A short summary forparentsandparents-to-be of the case forintactness in simple language.
Also available as a PDF format leaflet.

written to answer theAAP's brochure for parents which doesn't even acknowledgethat the foreskin is part of the penis!

A historicdocumentary video
circa 1982 (Howlittle has changed!)featuring IntactivistpioneersEdward Wallerstein and RosemaryRomberg - includesaMogenTMclamp genital cutting
(Parental Guidance Recommended)

Mothers (and mothers-to-be)
Sheila Kitzinger's NewPregnancy Childbirth. A thought-experiment. How to raise the subject witha circumcised husband.

Fathers
A circumcised fatherwith anintactson - a telling rejoinder to "a boy should look like hisfather" A cartoonA 2500-year-old fable by Æsop

Refusal
Circumcision is sometimes pushed onparents, and even committed contrary to their wishes. Toprevent this, a firmly-worded

CircumcisionRefusal Form
and a sheet of genital cuttingrefusalstickers in PDF format
Intact boys

"Whyismine different?"

A short story for intactboysandtheir parents aboutwhat intactness is, and why intact boys should, if anything, be glad tobe "different" from their friends.(alsoavailable in PDF format)
Intact teens"Something They Haven't"
A story and QA for intact teenagers about peer pressure andbeing intact.
(alsoavailable in PDF format)
Foreskin restoration: a growing movement
Vorhaut-Restoration: ausführlicheInformationen auf Deutsch An artificial foreskin.

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HUMAN RIGHTS

Genital integrity is first andforemost a human rightsissue.

Ethics

Medicalorganisationshave very little to say about the ethicsof genital cutting.There is more here.
The British Medical Associationhas issued ethical guidelinesthatrule out infant genital cutting based on parental preference alone.
An important book, "The EthicalCanary", includes a chapter on theethics of male genital cutting.
Two ethicists defend male genital cutting and attack their criticsusing flawedarguments. Here is arebuttal.The Chair of theAAPBioethics Committee shows that parental consent is inadequatefor unnecessary surgery.

Law
The legal case against infantmale genital cutting is growing. This section also contraststheprotection afforded cats, dogsand a baby's headagainst similar procedures.

A shocking parallel.Parental guidance recommended.

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THE CAMPAIGN FOR GENITAL INTEGRITY:INTACTIVISM

ReasonsNottoCircumcise (at least 32)The Lost List-- whatis lost to male genital cutting (18)A chapterfrom a1980 classic, Wallerstein's Circumcision: an American healthfallacy.SCHMUCK
Interview with Dan Strandjord, who dailypickettedthe University ofChicago Hospital for 10 years to protest its high male genital cuttingrate.Five shortvideos from Genital Integrity Awareness Week 2009 on YouTube
-- and over 100 other interviews about male genital cutting

Bruce Springsteen "sings" at Superbowl
"Born Intact"
Another great rewrite from TLCTugger.

An award-winning children's rightsdocumentary
"WhoseBody, Whose Rights?"
is available online.

The only male genitalcutting-relatedvideoto exploreimportant issues not addressed in other programs, and so far the onlyone that can both be purchased as a DVD and viewed online.LINKSto other Intactivist sites

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BACKGROUNDScientific referencesA Chronologyof the Foreskin and Circumcision

Propaganda

Short Answerson CircumcisionSome relevant quotationsThecase for intactness in two minutesAn epic ballad, TheRape of the Cock as apresentation,
aspart of a podcast, Circumcision--a"cure" in search of a disease, a presentation to the NewZealand Skeptics, September 26, 2009, (Open Doc Presentationfile--opensin Powerpointand LibreOffice; 4.7MB)Podcast(audio) of the presentation
On Youtube (NSFW):multimedia--animations,sound files and a logo

Campaign resources
Readymade T-shirts and bumperstickers from The IntactivismShop
Also mugs, buttons, fridge-magnets, tote bags, and other gear.

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HOUSEKEEPING

Feedbackfrom readers

Comments about this sitearewelcome. Please use email.
(No e-cards,thank you.Hostilemessagesmay bedisplayed unedited. Link exchange considered only for sites related togenital cutting.)

FrequentlyAsked Questions

Miscellaneous
Types of male genital cutting articles; male genital cutting inShakespeare; infectionvs. inflammation; diabetes; other "useless" organs, the appendix andJacobsen's organ; whether babies remember being circumcised; permanentretraction; male genital cutting and royalty.

To peoplewhothink thesubject is beneath discussion.

Have you changed your mind about male genital cutting?
We'dlove to hear about it!

Genital CuttingWHAT IT IS
Picturesat a Circumcision

Nobody should consent to genitally cutting a baby whohas not seen it.

Videos
Unfortunately YouTube has removed many of these videos, apparently on the ironical grounds that they show violenceA nurse cuts her first baby, with a Gomco clamp.
Very painful to watch.A 4'21" video ofacircumcision (by PlastibellTM)
with insufficient anaesthetic: the doctor can hardly make himself heardover the shrieking baby. Disturbing.An 8 minute video of a Gomco circumcision
uploaded by Dr Kevin Windisch "for health professionals".
He has to raise his voice and still can't be heard over the baby,
to whom he repeatedly apologises. Disturbing.A6'30"video of a circumcision
(by GomcoTMclamp,with sound, not for the squeamish)A3-minute videoof a circumcision
(by GomcoTMclamp) with instructions—again, not for the squeamish.
(The sound-track does notincludethe baby.)A 12-minute video of acircumcision (by GomcoTMclamp) - not for the squeamish - the baby is quieterinthis one, but what the doctor says may give you pause.
(Requires minimal registrationtoview—just an email address.)A 5'45" minute videoof a circumcision
(by MogenTMclamp)
Not for the squeamish.
(Also uses the sameregistration asabove video.)A 6 minute video of acircumcision
(by Dr Milton Sales using a PlastibellTMwith dorsal penile nerve block.)A 4'21" video of acircumcision
(by Dr Aladdin Altarteer using a PlastibellTMwith dorsal penile nerve block. The baby'sshrieking is nonethelessdisturbing.)A 2 minute video of acircumcision (by WinkelmanTMclamp) from Razi Hospital, Jenin, Palestine. Disturbing.A 2'15" minute videoof a circumcision by Accu-circTMfrom the makers (click on "Live Demonstration"). Not for thesqueamish—even though the baby's shrieks have been replaced bymonotonous piano music.Tenclose-upvideos of Brit Milah with a barzel. (NSFW) They areindeed quick, though some may have been edited.
The mohel does not wear gloves.Videooftribal Male Gential Cutting (quite comparable toFGC)
apparently in Uganda
involving peeling and deliberate degloving
VERY disturbing (1'09")Lasercircumcision ofa six-year-old in Indonesia posted by his father
(23:47 NSFW)Much screaming.Stills
Stillpictures of a PlastibellTMcircumcision
(clinical, from a scientific paper)
Warning, very graphic.

Still pictures of a sleeve procedure
(clinical, from a scientific paper)
Warning, very graphic.

Close-upstill photos of aninfant circumcision.12-pagephoto story of a a GomcoTMprocedure
(no close-ups, offsite, from the Saturday Evening Post)


METHODS

A survey of historical and present-day cutting andcrushinginstruments, and what can go wrong using each of them.

EXCUSES

Lists of

Circumstitions (bad reasons forcutting, the genesis ofthese pages):the choicest,sorted by category, andthefulllist, more than 600 with sources, references and commentsFallaciesused to promote cuttingBad analogiesused tojustify genital cutting. and tovilify the foreskinThe Sand Myth--thatdesert sand causes infection under the foreskinThe source of "backwhen we ran naked through brambles..." still quoted today.Racismas an excuse

Hygiene
Who dares to be in favour of dirt? Factsabout bacteria.

Disease
Circumcision is said to prevent or cure...

Phimosis(non-retractable foreskin)."A Field Guide for theModern [Intact] Male"an artistic version of how one young man successfully eased his(unusually tight--phimotic) foreskin backHypospadias(urinary opening beneath the penis)HIV Therecentclaims, based on Random ControlledTests. One scientificrebuttal. Scepticism from Britain's Terrence Higgins Trust.
Circumcision is novaccine.DR DEANEDELL
debunks the "cutting prevents HIV" claims(off-
site)

Points to Consider
by David Gisselquist
challenging assumptions aboutHIV/AIDStransmission is nowonline.A section challengesthe cutting trials.

Urinary TractInfections.Research that suggests cuttingmay cause urinary problems.SexuallyTransmittedDiseases Rebuttal to ahigh-profile study.Cancer, penilein the man himself andCervicalin his partner. A recent, widely-publicised study claimingprotectionagainst both HumanPapilloma Virus in men and cervical cancer in their partners.Prostatecancer

Religion

Sikhism:
Almost alone in celebrating thenatural body.

Christianity:
Genital cutting has no place. NewTestamentquotations and church policies.

Christianityand Circumcision

PDF format

An essay on Jesus'circumcision. A commentary on Mantegna'spainting "The Circumcision".

Islam:
The Qu'ran does not mention cutting. Thispage challenges assumptions.

Judaism:
A very small proportion of male cutting worldwide, but pre-eminent inthe public consciousness of it. An essay looks atthe casefor Brit without Milah.

Brit Without Milah

PDF format

A listofRabbis and others who will perform it. A Jewish father'sletter to his intact son.

Motivation to cut
The psychology ofcutting; Circumcision as a memeplex;Prejudice against intact men;The grimdetermination of some people to cut;Circumsurdities--absurdclaims for male genital cutting; Circumfetishism, the sexualisationof genital cutting.

Money
Evidence thatdoctorspromote cutting out of greed. The declining rate of Medicaid cover.The real cost ofcutting. A cost-utilityanalysis of cutting—it's a loser.

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DOWNSIDES

Complications
Risks and damage,up toand includingloss of the penisand death.The autopsy reports on a Canadian baby who died of blood lossanother when his urethra wasblocked by a PlastiBellTM
Short of death, bleeding leads to many near-death crises.

Pain

The pain of malegenital cuttinghas long-term effectsand is only partially relieved by anaesthetics.A report from the AAPrecommends avoiding painful procedures, but fails to mention thecommonest painful procedure.

Circumcision may hinder Breastfeeding.

Circumcision vs
Breastfeeding
PDF format

Appearance

For those who think male genital cutting improves theappearance andis invariably harmless, there's a gallery of pictures of circumcisions. Oneman's multiple botches.Side-by-side comparisonof the intact and circumcised penis: you can seethe difference (NSFW).

Resentment
Famous menand others who resent/edbeing cut

Regrets
Parentswho regret having cut theirsons
Men who regret having hadtheir foreskins cut off as adults .

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THE WORLD
Some people imagine infant male genital cutting is universal in thewestern world.They should see the map of itsprevalence worldwide. The same page shows mapsof the prevalence andlegality of Female GenitalCutting (FGC) and of recognition and protection of Intersexed people.

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Predominantly intact countries:

New Zealand A presentation andan article. From beingvery rare in the 1950s, intactness is now commonplace. An intact New Zealander celebrates.(.wav file, 103KB) Australia In Australiafour boys in five are now left intact some states, more than 19 in 20in others.The Netherlands Non-religious circumcision has never been known in theNetherlands.

Het geïnformeerdegbesnijdenisbeleid van KNMG
The Royal Dutch Medical Association's
enlightened circumcision policy

A Dutch documentary (withEnglishsubtitles)"Mamawaaram ben ik besneden?"
(Mum, why was I circumcised?)
by Michael Schaap
covers most of the mainissues —shows several circumcisions, not for the squeamish

Mexico A guide (en espagnol) from theNational Center for Health TechnologyExcellence, with input from the institutions that make up the NationalHealth System, says "Circumcision of boys should not be done withoutmedical indication."

Sweden (på svenska) The first countryto regulate male circumcision See Itemsfrom Sweden, most in Swedish and English.

Finland In Finland,where the homecircumcisions of six African boys were botched, a working party memberhas recommended that it be at parental discretion and public expense,but doctors refuse toco-operate.

The Pacific Practices vary widely in Polynesia,Melanesia and Micronesia.

Predominantly circumcising countries:

Tribalcircumcision

U.S.A. The United Statesis the only country in the world that surgically modifies a majority ofits boy babies.

KoreaFrom unknown, circumcision has become almost universal in Korea in the last 50 years.

Iran Infant male cutting is routine, even for boys whose parentsare not Muslim.
An article inFarsi (Persian) (NSFW
)

The Philippines A traditional ritual for boys has become medicalised in the Philippines withoutthe need for it ever being questioned. Myths are rampant.

YemenJustified by appeal to Islam, a report of Yemenicircumcision from 1921 details a particularly brutal variant(an answer to "but FGM is much worse")

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REPRESENTATION--how male genital cutting isperceived
Silence - the normalisation of male genital cuttingby ignoring the foreskin

Massmedia
Circumcision episodes on TVsitcoms, soaps, talk showsand in movies. "That Thing"--commonthemes in TV shows.

Books
Books about, orwithsignificant parts about, circumcision or the foreskin Theforeskinand circumcision in literature,mainly fiction

"Mutilation"
Why circumcision may be called "mutilation"

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AT THE OTHER END OF THE KNIFE

Doctors' organisations
The American Medical Association'spolicy statement on circumcision is weighed in the balance(and found wanting). It agrees with the recommendation of the American Academy of Pediatrics.The stark contrast between the AAPstatements on circumcision and Female Genital MutilationThe statements of the AmericanUrological Association and the AmericanAssociation of Family Physicians—both ethically barren

Nurses
Advice for nursesquestioningcircumcision

Midwives
The serious bias towards circumcision of a leading US midwiferytextbook, including a chapter telling midwives how to do it (yet itdetails the disadvantages of each method)--analysedand contrasted with aBritish textbook. Famous hippie guru midwife Ina May Gaskinused to cut babies and has never renounced it. This video calls on herto do so:

REBUTTALS

The case presented for circumcision ishydra-headed:answer oneargument and its supporters will produce another, and another,indefinitely. (Urinary Tract Infections,until recently cited as the main reason to circumcise, were only addedto the list in 1982) Something else is going on--ifthe foreskin has so many faults and varied, how could it ever have havesurvived?

A1941article mentions in passing that some doctors then didit without asking

Former US Surgeon-General G. EverettKoop'ssite, drkoop.comhas moved forward very little.

HarvardMedical School lends its prestige to a very one-sidedarticle.

The AmericanMedical Association finds no convincing medical reason, yet leaves the surgical decision tothe parents.

EmeritusProfessor Brian Morris, a retired molecular biologistformerly at the University of Sydney, has only a passing acQuaintancewith facts.

A 2003 leaflet for parents (revised2008)by theAmerical College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG)dissected.

The MayoClinic has produced a brochurefor parents with misleading "before"and "after" pictures.

The Eisenhower Army Medical Center inGeorgia offers a particularly badexample.

Rebuttal to a pro-circ article inParentingmagazine's BabyTalk.

Calls for circumcision to prevent HIV are becoming more frequent andstrident. That by Szabo and Shortis answered here and contrastedwith that of Weiss.

A very biased BBC/Learning Channel documentary about HIV isrebutted here.

A renewedclaim that circumcision protects against cervical cancer inthe partner is rebutted here.

TheAmerican Association of Family Physicians' 2002 circumcisionpolicy admits the low utility of circumcision, and discusses ethics(inadequately).

TheRoyalAustralasian College of Physicians'2010 policy disposes of the medical claims and (unlike its predecessor)considers the functions of the foreskin, but still bends over backwardsto blur the ethical issues so that it can stay on the fence.

The RACP has issued a brochure.

The American Academy ofPediatricspolicy on male genital cutting is culturallybiased and seriously flawed. It should be withdrawn.

Video It is annotated and answered here. (The 1999policy) A paper in the Kennedy Institute of Ethicsjournal refutes the AAP's "benefits vs risk" claim. The AAP Policy is rejectedby the Paediatric Associations and senior paediatricians in 17countries. The AAP's 2012brochure for parents is so full of bias that this page offersan alternative.

The Center for Disease Control andPrevention's proposed policy on male genital cuttingis closedly based on the AAP's policy. It has received morethan3,100 replies, 97.2% of themopposed. They include submissions from

Brian Earp, citing his peer-reviewed critique of the policyDoctorsOpposing Circumcisionthe author of this website.The Sydney Children's Hospital's FactSheet for parents is excellent, a model of its kind

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PARALLELEVILS

Female Genital Cutting
Femalecircumstitions—bad reasons to cut a girl The AAP's 2010 policy on FGC compared withits 1999 policy, and its 1999 policies on FGC and MGCcompared. A chart comparing circumcision with Female Genital Cutting(FGM/FGC). The UN definitions of thetypes of FGM/FGC Adoctor defends FGM. A study showing FGM does notimpair the frequency of women's sex(nothing about the quality). The circumcision A lovingMalaysian mother's blog about her daughter's surgical FGC

Labiapulling

Episiotomy A form of Female Genital Cutting still common in the US.

Breast-ironing Another cruel sexually-related female mutilation, practisedin parts of West and Central Africa.

Intersexedpeople and non-consensual gender-assignment.

Castration Mozart,Handel, Rossini and Gluck wrote music for castrated singers, andAllegri was one. This was as accepted in Italy in 1600-1860 ascircumcision is in the US today.

And beyond the genitals, infant circumcision comparedwith footbindingand uvulectomy(removal of the uvula that hangs down at the back of the mouth)

These pages aresupportedbythe generosity of
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The case against infant genital cutting and for genital autonomy for all sexes, viewed from many angles.

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