Genital Cutting

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

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

Lists of

Hygiene

Who dares to be in favour of dirt? Facts about bacteria.

Disease

Circumcision is said to prevent or cure...

"A Field Guide for the Modern [Intact] Male" an artistic version of how one young man successfully eased his (unusually tight--phimotic) foreskin back

Motivation to cut

The psychology of cutting; Circumcision as a memeplex; Prejudice against intact men; The grim determination of some people to cut; Circumsurdities--absurd claims for male genital cutting; Circumfetishism, the sexualisation of genital cutting.

Money

Evidence that doctors promote cutting out of greed. The declining rate of Medicaid cover. The real cost of cutting. A cost-utility analysis of cuttingâ€”it's a loser.

DOWNSIDES

Complications

Risks and damage, up to and including loss of the penis and death. The autopsy reports on a Canadian baby who died of blood loss another when his urethra was blocked by a PlastiBell TM

Short of death, bleeding leads to many near-death crises.

The pain of male genital cutting has long-term effects and is only partially relieved by anaesthetics. A report from the AAP recommends avoiding painful procedures, but fails to mention the commonest painful procedure.

Circumcision may hinder Breastfeeding.

Circumcision vs

Breastfeeding

PDF format

For those who think male genital cutting improves the appearance and is invariably harmless, there's a gallery of pictures of circumcisions. One man's multiple botches. Side-by-side comparison of the intact and circumcised penis: you can see the difference (NSFW).

THE WORLD

Some people imagine infant male genital cutting is universal in the western world. They should see the map of its prevalence worldwide. The same page shows maps of the prevalence and legality of Female Genital Cutting (FGC) and of recognition and protection of Intersexed people.

Predominantly intact countries:

New Zealand A presentation and an article. From being very rare in the 1950s, intactness is now commonplace. An intact New Zealander celebrates. (.wav file, 103KB)

Australia In Australia four boys in five are now left intact some states, more than 19 in 20 in others.

The Netherlands Non-religious circumcision has never been known in the Netherlands.

Het geÃ¯nformeerdeg besnijdenisbeleid van KNMG

The Royal Dutch Medical Association's

enlightened circumcision policy



A Dutch documentary (with English subtitles) "Mama waaram ben ik besneden?"

(Mum, why was I circumcised?)

by Michael Schaap

covers most of the main issues â€” shows several circumcisions, not for the squeamish

Mexico A guide (en espagnol) from the National Center for Health Technology Excellence, with input from the institutions that make up the National Health System, says "Circumcision of boys should not be done without medical indication."

Sweden (pÃ¥ svenska) The first country to regulate male circumcision See Items from Sweden, most in Swedish and English.

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

Predominantly circumcising countries:

U.S.A. The United States is the only country in the world that surgically modifies a majority of its boy babies.

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

Iran Infant male cutting is routine, even for boys whose parents are not Muslim.

An article in Farsi (Persian) (NSFW

)

The Philippines A traditional ritual for boys has become medicalised in the Philippines without the need for it ever being questioned. Myths are rampant.

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

REPRESENTATION--how male genital cutting is perceived

Silence - the normalisation of male genital cutting by ignoring the foreskin

Mass media

Circumcision episodes on TV sitcoms, soaps, talk shows and in movies. "That Thing"--common themes in TV shows.

Books

Books about, or with significant parts about, circumcision or the foreskin The foreskin and circumcision in literature, mainly fiction

"Mutilation"

Why circumcision may be called "mutilation"

AT THE OTHER END OF THE KNIFE

Doctors' organisations

The American Medical Association's policy 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 AAP statements on circumcision and Female Genital Mutilation The statements of the American Urological Association and the American Association of Family Physiciansâ€”both ethically barren

Nurses

Advice for nurses questioning circumcision

Midwives

The serious bias towards circumcision of a leading US midwifery textbook, including a chapter telling midwives how to do it (yet it details the disadvantages of each method)--analysed and contrasted with a British textbook. Famous hippie guru midwife Ina May Gaskin used to cut babies and has never renounced it. This video calls on her to do so:







Female Genital Cutting

Female circumstitionsâ€”bad reasons to cut a girl The AAP's 2010 policy on FGC compared with its 1999 policy, and its 1999 policies on FGC and MGC compared. A chart comparing circumcision with Female Genital Cutting (FGM/FGC). The UN definitions of the types of FGM/FGC A doctor defends FGM. A study showing FGM does not impair the frequency of women's sex (nothing about the quality). The circumcision A loving Malaysian mother's blog about her daughter's surgical FGC

Labia pulling

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

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

Intersexed people and non-consensual gender-assignment.

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

And beyond the genitals, infant circumcision compared with footbinding and uvulectomy (removal of the uvula that hangs down at the back of the mouth)