HOW CIRCUMCISION BROKE THE INTERNET.

An Open Letter to the Author of
‘How Circumcision Broke the Internet’.

Brian D. Earp believes circumcision is worth talking about and he would like Mr. Stern and the editors of Slate magazine to know why.

Dear Mr. Stern,
I recently read your article, “How Circumcision Broke the Internet” for Slate magazine [republished as "'Intactivists' Against Circumcision" in Canada's National Post].

I understand your concern about overheated rhetoric in public debates as well as the misuse of science to support untenable positions.
As a scientist and ethicist who studies circumcision professionally, I will admit that I have seen this happen on both sides of this particular controversy.
I think, however, that in your hurry to admonish “the intactivists” for pushing their anti-circumcision arguments too far, you may have fallen prey to some of that very same rhetorical excess (as well as misuse of science) in your own piece.

First, when you said that circumcision used to be “practiced by most families” I’m glad that you added the qualifier, “in America at least.”   This is an important point.

Circumcision is extremely uncommon in most parts of the world, and about 70-80% of men globally are left intact.
Over 70% of those who are circumcised come from the Muslim world where it is done as a rite of passage; it is also a rite of passage in countries like South Africa, where at least 39 young men recently died from complications related to circumcision, such as excessive bleeding from their penises.

Europeans, by contrast, (including the British; as well Latin Americans, Canadians, Australians, New Zealanders, the Japanese, the Chinese, Russians, and Indians–that is, most of the developed world) very rarely circumcise outside of religious communities (if at all). 

A majority of doctors from these countries insist that any “health benefits” conferred by circumcision – even when the procedure is performed correctly – are dubious at best.

In fact, 37 of Europe’s most pre-eminent medical authorities (along with the distinguished Canadian pediatrician, Dr. Noni MacDonald) have recently expounded on this point in the flagship journal 'Pediatrics'.
 
Also, I noticed that you cite a “systematic review” by Brian Morris (and a co-author) in support of one of your claims about penile sensitivity.

Your readers may not be aware that Professor Morris (Sydney University) runs a pro-circumcision advocacy website, has founded a highly active circumcision lobby group (some of whose board members derive a substantial income from performing circumcisions), and has recently been profiled in the International Journal of Epidemiology as being engaged in systematically distorting the academic literature on circumcision.

 

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http://goodmenproject.com/ethics-values/an-open-letter-to-the-author-of-how-circumcision-broke-the-internet/ 

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INTACTIVIST BLOG.

BLOG: Circumcision Regret Stories.

 

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http://circregretstories.blogspot.com.au/ 

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CIRCUMCISION MAKES THE FOLLOWING CHANGES.

Circumcision (loss of the foreskin)
makes the following changes. 

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.

Neonatal circumcision is often done with inadequate pain relief. The child is subjected to intense pain for up to 15 minutes.
This pain may leave a child with post-traumatic stress disorder, which is debilitating even for adults who can receive therapy for it.
For a baby, it could lead to all sorts of hidden but significant psychological problems in later life. 

Life Threatening.

About 500 babies per year die from complications of circumcision - usually from blood loss, infection or anesthetic problems. 

Sensitivity Loss.

When the foreskin is removed half the penile sensitivity is instantly lost, BUT at the same time the glans is exposed, making it SEEM more sensitive.
After that, the glans keratinizes, making it very slowly get less sensitive - so slowly that it's hard to notice a difference.
This is not 'healing' - it will feel better, but only because it's being so badly damaged that the nerves are being deadened.
In the end, there's a big difference (up to 75% sensitivity loss).
Nerve endings don't grow back, and a penis that has lost so many cannot possibly feel as sensitive as it did before.
But like the proverbial frog cooking slowly on a hotplate and not noticing the difference in heat, a man who gets a circumcision might think that his penis feels the same, but he just doesn't notice the difference because the process takes so long. 

Failure to Heal.

A circumcised penis can never 'heal completely'.
The penis has been permanently damaged.

Size.

After neonatal or childhood circumcision, it's believed that the growth of the penis is retarded, causing the adult penis to be smaller than it would have been if the foreskin had been left intact. 

Further Damage.

After the glans is exposed, the 'pearly penile papules' around the corona (rim of the glans) tend to disappear.
These structures are poorly understood, but may increase sexual pleasure for either the male or the female. 

Loss of Function.

The foreskin is an entire mechanism, including skin, muscle, mucous membrane and supporting structures.
Cutting it off is not only excruciatingly painful, but it cripples the penis, destroying a large part of it, including the penis's only moving part, making the whole organ incapable of ever functioning the way nature intended and making sexual intercourse that much more difficult. 

Difficulty Entering the Vagina.

A circumcised penis has no foreskin to help the man enter a woman's vagina. When used correctly, the foreskin is pushed forward to facilitate comfortable entry - it unfolds as the penis pushes into the vagina.
A man who has no foreskin cannot do this, so he must use lubricant. 

Need For More Lubrication.

With the foreskin gone, a couple needs to use lubrication during sex to keep the vagina moist. An uncircumcised man needs none - his foreskin forms a seal with the vaginal wall, reducing the need for lubrication and keeping the vaginal fluids where they belong. 

Increased Risk of Infection.

A circumcised penis is more likely to get infected than an intact penis. 

Erectile Dysfunction.

Those who have been circumcised suffer from sexual problems throughout the rest of their lives: they more easily develop erectile dysfunction as they get older.
Some unfortunate victims find the loss of sensitivity so severe that they cannot orgasm even at a young age. 

No Advantage in Terms of Cleanliness.

Many people have been led to believe that circumcision is cleaner.
But a circumcised penis is no cleaner than an intact penis.
Both need to be gently rinsed clean while showering. 

Circumcision is a Woman's Problem Too.

The circumcised penis usually gives less pleasure to the woman because the foreskin that gives the uncircumcised penis its gliding motion is no longer there.
As a result of this, and as a result of the loss of sensitivity involved in a circumcised penis, the man has to push harder and more roughly to get the same feeling that an uncircumcised penis would give.
All this, combined with the roughness and dryness of the keratinized glans, results in a less comfortable and less pleasurable experience for the woman. The circumcised penis can cause chafing and discomfort that may lead to vaginal infection.
The foreskin is designed to prevent these problems.
Many female partners of circumcised males have been led to assume that feminine dryness is a common female ailment when in fact it's a male problem caused by the loss of the foreskin. 

The Mutilation of the Father Revisited On the Son.

The thought of permanent loss of sensory function is so painful that men who have been circumcised often deny their loss in order to avoid facing the painful feelings.
Circumcised males may experience a wide range of emotional dysfunction resulting from loss.
This frequently results in circumcised fathers adamantly insisting that a son be circumcised and circumcised doctors recommending that their male patients be circumcised.

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MALE CIRCUMCISION LEADS TO A BAD SEX LIFE.

Male circumcision leads to a bad sex life.

 
Circumcised men have more difficulties reaching orgasm, and their female partners experience more vaginal pains and an inferior sex life, a new study shows.
 
If a man is circumcised, he faces an increased risk of experiencing delayed orgasm, and his female partner has an increased risk of not feeling sexually fulfilled.

This is the clear-cut conclusion of a new Danish research article, which has received international attention.

Some 5,000 sexually active men and women were surveyed about their experiences and possible problems with their sex lives. With a specific focus on circumcised men and their women, the results are startling.

“Circumcised men are three times as likely to experience a frequent inability to reach an orgasm,” says one of the researchers, Associate Professor Morten Frisch from Danish research enterprise SSI.
 
 “We’re seeing a consistent picture. Even though most circumcised men – and their women – do not have problems with their sex lives, there is a significantly larger group of circumcised men and their female partners who experience frequent problems in achieving orgasm, compared to couples where the man is not circumcised.”

In addition, there are significantly more women with circumcised men, who experience vaginal pains during intercourse or feel that their sexual needs are not met.
 

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http://sciencenordic.com/male-circumcision-leads-bad-sex-life 

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PAINFUL MEMORIES OF MY SON'S CIRCUMCISION.

Frail and Broken:
Painful Memories of My Son's Circumcision.

My name is Kelsey. On October 19, 2010, I gave birth to my first child - a boy. He surprised us all with his red hair and his uncanny resemblance to my husband.   He was perfect.
I was thrilled to be his mother, and I knew it was my duty to do everything I could in my life to benefit him.

October 20, 2010, on day two of his life, less than 48 hours old, the doctor came in to check on me, went down her routine list of questions, and then got to the question of whether or not I wanted to circumcise him.
With confidence, I quickly replied, "Yes!" My doctor almost did a double take, and said, "But you know that it is purely for cosmetic reasons, right?"
I replied in an annoyed tone, "Thanks, I did my research. I know what I'm doing. Yes, please have it done."
She made a mark on her clipboard and prepped for the procedure.

Truth be told, I did not do any research, at least not any REAL research.
I maybe jumped into circumcision debates, and found comfort in what the pro-circumcision people were saying, but that's about it.
I had no real basis for my belief that circumcision was necessary.
It mostly came from whispers around me and seeing circumcised men without a care in the world, never having any problems.

The whispers I heard were such things as, "uncircumcised boys are dirty," "uncircumcised men/boys get ridiculed immensely,"(which was only fueled by me witnessing such childish cruelty in my own schooling), whispers of "it's just something that all boys need done," "its cleaner," "intact penises look disgusting," "if you don't have it done now when they can't remember and don't feel pain, then you almost always have to get it done later, so circumcise him now to save him later..."

All of these whispered myths are those I have found to be completely false, presumptuous propaganda as my wisdom has grown.

What I saw then, and what I see now, are virtually two different visions. As a new and naive mother, with my newborn son, I saw a tuckered out baby boy after having a "medical procedure" done that was totally necessary in order to keep him healthy and happy.

What I see now, looking back, is the horror that is my ultimate wrong decision as a mother - to have a healthy, vital, functional, purposeful part of his genitals cut off in a cruel and unusual way.

 

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http://www.savingsons.org/2014/01/frail-and-broken-painful-memories-of-my.html 

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OPRAH PROTEST.

Oprah protested for endorsing face cream
made from foreskins.

Her advice may be followed by hordes of people, but a Vancouver group wants Oprah Winfrey to explain why she has endorsed an anti-wrinkle cream made with human foreskins.

Winfrey makes her first appearance in Vancouver on Thursday before a sold-out crowd at Rogers Arena.

But as crowds pack into the stadium, Glen Callender, founder of the Canadian Foreskin Awareness Project, will be outside with his supporters protesting Winfrey's support of SkinMedica.

Callender says it’s hypocritical of Winfrey to speak out against female genital mutilation, while saying it’s all right to use a face cream made from foreskins from circumcised infant males.

“Imagine how Oprah would respond if a skin cream for men went on the market that was made from parts of the genitalia of little girls,” Callender said. “That would be an outrage and rightly so.”

Callender expects “a dozen to two dozen people” to attend the protest.
Advertisements for SkinMedica say Winfrey has described the product as her “magic fountain of youth and miracle wrinkle solution.” Winfrey didn’t immediately respond to an email asking for comment.

The makers of SkinMedica have said they use foreskin fibroblast — a piece of human skin used as a culture to grow other skin or cells.

“I would like Oprah to come to her senses and realize that all children have a fundamental human right to keep all their genitalia and to decide for themselves if anything gets cut off,” Callender said Wednesday.

Callender describes the Foreskin Awareness Project as Canada's “feistiest pro-foreskin advocacy group” with the goal of “foreskin education and appreciation.”

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http://www.circumstitions.com/news/news53.html#styles 

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DOCTOR BLOWS WHISTLE ON BOTCHED CIRCUMCISIONS.

EASTERN CAPE:
Doctor blows whistle on botched circumcisions.

Shooting the messenger...
Outrage over graphic circumcision website by Bongani Fuzile and Zwanga Mukuthu.

*** A Website set up by a controversial Dutch doctor showing graphic images of mutilated and infected penises of Eastern Cape initiates has caused outrage among traditional leaders in the province.

Dr Dingeman Rijken, a former employee of the Eastern Cape department of health, said he set the website up “for the world to see”.

Rijken said this was a last-ditch effort to show traditional leaders and local communities that initiation was not just a ritual, but in many cases resulted in genital mutilation that had led to the death of hundreds of young boys, while thousands have had their penises amputated or disfigured.

Rijken said he had on numerous occasions requested that initiates undergo medical circumcision but “weak” traditional leaders had shown no interest.

Instead, circumcision was being carried out by traditional surgeons who were sometimes incompetent or did not use sterilised equipment.

Speaking to the Saturday Dispatch this week and referring to traditional leaders, Rijken said the “self-proclaimed custodians of the ritual” called numerous meetings to discuss the death of initiates but there were never any solutions.

“Why do we sustain a ritual that slaughters boys in their prime or physically and mentally scars many others for life?” he asked.

“Many have lost their manhood while hundreds have suffered penile amputation. These deaths were avoidable.
If the weak traditional leaders continue to do this, many innocent lives will be lost. These leaders need to wake up,” he said.

But the doctor’s website has come in for criticism from several quarters and he has been accused of exposing a sacred initiation custom to the world.

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http://circumstitionsnews.blogspot.com.au/ 

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*** Caution: The following website contains grahic, disburbing images!

These selected photographs were taken in various health institutions in Pondoland during 2012 and 2013.

 

They illustrate the magnitude of the problems faced by health care practitioners during the initiation seasons.

After viewing some of the pictures you will understand what is meant by ‘male genital mutilation’.

A number of photographs were too graphic for publication, however many of the photographs below are still graphic.
Please be warned.

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http://www.ulwaluko.co.za/Photos.html 

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