 Genital Cutting WHAT IT IS
Pictures at a CircumcisionNobody should consent to genitally cutting a baby who has not seen it. Videos
Unfortunately YouTube has removed many of these videos, apparently on the ironical grounds that they show violence | | An 8 minute video of a Gomco circumcisionuploaded 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. | | | A 12-minute video of a circumcision (by GomcoTM clamp) - not for the squeamish - the baby is quieter in this one, but what the doctor says may give you pause. (Requires minimal registration to view—just an email address.) | A 5'45" minute video of a circumcision
(by MogenTM clamp)
Not for the squeamish.
(Also uses the same registration as above video.) | | | | A 2'15" minute video of a circumcision by Accu-circTM from the makers (click on "Live Demonstration"). Not for the squeamish—even though the baby's shrieks have been replaced by monotonous piano music. | Ten close-up videos of Brit Milah with a barzel. (NSFW) They are indeed quick, though some may have been edited. The mohel does not wear gloves. | Video of tribal Male Gential Cutting (quite comparable to FGC)
apparently in Uganda
involving peeling and deliberate degloving
VERY disturbing (1'09") | (23:47 NSFW) Much screaming. | Stills
Still pictures of a PlastibellTM circumcision
(clinical, from a scientific paper)
Warning, very graphic.
Still pictures of a sleeve procedure
(clinical, from a scientific paper)
Warning, very graphic.
Close-up still photos of an infant circumcision. 12-page photo story of a a GomcoTM procedure
(no close-ups, offsite, from the Saturday Evening Post)
|
METHODSA survey of historical and present-day cutting and crushing instruments, and what can go wrong using each of them.
EXCUSESLists of - Circumstitions (bad reasons for cutting, the genesis of these pages):
- Fallacies used to promote cutting
Hygiene
Who dares to be in favour of dirt? Facts about bacteria. Disease
Circumcision is said to prevent or cure... 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 cutting—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
Short of death, bleeding leads to many near-death crises.Pain
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. Appearance
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).
Resentment
Famous men and others who resent/ed being cut
Regrets
Parents who regret having cut their sons
Men who regret having had their foreskins cut off as adults .
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: | 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. |
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 — 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."
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" Analogy
Definders of genital cutting frequently use (bad) analogies for it and for the foreskin
Satire
There is a whole genre of articles defending genital cutting, with so many features in common that this short tutorial shows you how to write them yourself. A checklist enables you evaluate their Coefficient Of C*rc*mc*s**n Knowledge.
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 Physicians—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:
REBUTTALS
The case presented for circumcision is hydra-headed: answer one argument and its supporters will produce another, and another, indefinitely. (Urinary Tract Infections, until recently cited as the main reason to circumcise, were only added to the list in 1982) Something else is going on--if the foreskin has so many faults and varied, how could it ever have have survived? A 1941 article mentions in passing that some doctors then did it without asking Former US Surgeon-General G. Everett Koop's site, drkoop.com has moved forward very little. Harvard Medical School lends its prestige to a very one-sided article. The American Medical Association finds no convincing medical reason, yet leaves the surgical decision to the parents. Emeritus Professor Brian Morris, a retired molecular biologist formerly at the University of Sydney, has only a passing acQuaintance with facts. A 2003 leaflet for parents (revised 2008) by the Americal College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) dissected.
A 2017 FAQ for parents (revised 2019) by the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) given better answers. The Mayo Clinic has produced a brochure for parents with misleading "before" and "after" pictures. The Eisenhower Army Medical Center in Georgia offers a particularly bad example. Rebuttal to a pro-circ article in Parenting magazine's BabyTalk. Calls for circumcision to prevent HIV are becoming more frequent and strident. That by Szabo and Short is answered here and contrasted with that of Weiss. A very biased BBC/Learning Channel documentary about HIV is rebutted here. A renewed claim that circumcision protects against cervical cancer in the partner is rebutted here. | The American Association of Family Physicians' 2002 circumcision policy admits the low utility of circumcision, and discusses ethics (inadequately). | The Royal Australasian College of Physicians' 2022 policy mentions foreskin function and ethical objections, but fails to say anything more about them and comes down firmly on the side of "parents' choice".I
It is a step backward from the 2010 policy, which disposes of the medical claims, details the functions of the foreskin and considers the plight of unhappy cut men. | The RACP has issued a brochure. | The American Academy of Pediatrics policy on male genital cutting is culturally biased and seriously flawed. It should be withdrawn. | The Center for Disease Control and Prevention's proposed policy on male genital cutting is closedly based on the AAP's policy. It has received more than 3,100 replies, 97.2% of them opposed. They include submissions from | | The Sydney Children's Hospital's Fact Sheet for parents is excellent, a model of its kind |
PARALLEL EVILS
Female Genital Cutting
Female circumstitions—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) |
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