CIRCUMCISION:
A BARBARIC PRACTICE,
A HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATION.
I'm going to raise an issue a
lot of women and men would rather not think about. Circumcision (also known as
male genital mutilation, or "MGM").
I think there are several
reasons it's difficult to talk about.
First of all, it involves male
genitals, which we don't usually like to discuss in polite society.
Secondly, it involves a very
painful operation done to children, and we would probably rather not think too
much about that.
Finally, I think many of us aren't
quite sure why we do it, and feel the easier option is just not to discuss it.
But I think it's important to
look at because in many ways it's revealing about the differences between how
we view women and men in this culture, differences which in varying ways harm
and limit all of us.
Male circumcision is closely
connected with is closely connected with other forms of male oppression and has
much to teach us about our condition.
The simple fact that
circumcision can happen in this country is astounding.
When we are days old, doctors
cut off the most sensitive part of our body without anesthesia.
The operation is very violent,
performed without anesthesia, and unspeakably painful to the infant.
The screams, shaking, and
frantic attempt by the newborn to escape this unexpected and unbearable pain
can be truly horrible to watch, let alone experience.
Concrete medical evidence
demonstrates that relative to an adult, the circumcision experience is
significantly MORE traumatizing to an infant, who has not yet developed methods
to cope with pain and whose neurological pathways are not yet fully developed.
Researchers found that
circumcised boys exhibited, 4-6 months after their circumcisions, heightened
physiological pain responses to inoculation shots as compared to girls and boys
who had not had the experience of circumcision.
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