Coming up next week is a series of public information meetings and protests outside London clinics that perform genital alterations of children with 'atypical', 'ambiguous', or 'otherwise deemed unworthy' genitals.  STOP Genital Mutilation in Children's Clinics! is aimed at those children who are born with genitalia that fall in the continuum between completely male and completely female. These children are often called intersex.

The meetings and protests are sponsored by Zwischengeschlecht.org. Zwischengeschlecht.org is a Human Rights Advocacy Group of survivors and allies fighting against genital mutilation in children's clinics and for the right to physical integrity and self determination for all children born with "atypical genitalia."

Genital alterations of children is a problem in the United States, also. Recently, news was published of a doctor at Cornell University who used a vibrator on female children after clitorises were surgically altered to a smaller size. The children were born with a clitoris that was larger than is considered normal by many. So, their parents decided to have their child's clitoris reduced. The doctor was testing to determine if the girls were still sensitive.
See Slog: Female Genital Mutilation at Cornell University and Bioethics Forum: Bad Vibrations.

Check out the Intactivist Calendar for other intactivist events coming up.

Parents, protect your babies. Support intactivism. All children deserve to grow up with their WHOLE body. The following list includes blogs, articles, and websites of interest to Intactivists that were published in the past week. This is a running tally of the ones I found interesting.
 

Sunday, September 4, 2011

Jewlicious U: OPINION: Grabbing circumcision by the balls
Male infant circumcision violates international laws enacted by the United Nations. Article 6 of The United Nations Declaration of Human Rights. Circumcision goes against the edicts of the United Nations, and therefore violates human rights. "If Jews are to exist in a contemporary world, and escape the barbaric past in which we have so suffered, we as a people must be willing to make sacrifices of our own to coexist."
 

Monday, September 5, 2011

Intact America: INTACTIVIST OF THE MONTH: Shelton Walden
This month Intact America celebrates Shelton Walden, a media producer, videographer, and host/producer of "Walden's Pond," a weekly radio program on health, culture and politics that's been airing on New York's WBAI/Pacifica Radio since 1989.

Should I circumcise?: Top Ten Reasons Why Foreskin is Great
A circumcised man give ten reasons why he believes foreskin belongs on the penis. After restoring my foreskin, I have to agree with his reasons. Foreskin is better when it remains attached to the penis.
 

Tuesday, September 6, 2011

Intactivist Blog: I'll Lose
A powerful picture: "I'm a baby boy, tiny and weak, yet I'm fighting . . . but, all alone in this fight . . . I'll lose." We need to protect those who cannot protect themselves. Baby boys need to be protected against unnecessary, elective surgery like circumcision.

Brian with i: A Dick Thing to Do
 A father-to-be of a son tells of his wife's research into the circumcision question. He is certain that his son will not be circumcised. According to him, "Every parent wants their child to have what they didn’t, and for me, that begins with the foreskin." He even goes on to say, "the reasons why we circumcise are bullshit."

Facebook Pages Campaigns: Ban Circumcision and Female genital mutilation
A page describing the reasons why genital cutting of both males and females should stop. Genital cutting is a cultural phenomenon that affects 15.3 million children and young adults annually (13.3 million boys and 2 million girls).

bunnika's blog: You’re Not Cutting My Sons: Why Infant Male Circumcision is a Feminist Issue
A feminist states she is against male infant circumcision. She takes issue with male circumcision being called male genital mutilation because she believes that "genital mutiltion" only happens to females. She is misguided by focusing on the words in view of her cultural thinking that female genital mutilation is a much worse atrocity than male circumcision and that to call male circumcision mutilation is to appropriate the oppression of women. Sorry, but genital mutilation is genital mutilation. The sex of the victim has no bearing on it be mutilation of the genitals. Cutting the genitalia of a male oppresses that male, just as cutting the genitalia of a female oppresses that female. In both cases an innocent child is being mutilated to some degree.

Sex with Emily: Confessions of a Sex With Emily Intern
Emily describes the differences between having sex with a circumcised man and one who is intact, with all the equipment that he was born with. She describes the experience of having sex with a man who has a foreskin thusly: "The ecstasy of delicious natural sex is the foundation upon which an intimate couple builds a mutual sexual admiration for each other. Natural lovemaking is completely different from circumcised sex. It's a gentler interminging, a tender blending—an enrapturement oozing with sensuousness—with both partners swooning in ecstatic surrender to the passionate, graceful dance of the sex organs."
 

Wednesday, September 7, 2011

The Birthing Blog:  No-Circ Information
A list of resources supporting leaving a child whole without circumcising his penis. There is much evidence showing the harms of male infant circumcision. Dr. Dean Edell has spoken against infant circumcision for years and an educational video is linked.

The WHOLE Network: Pressure from Spouses: A Botched Circumcision Leads to Regret
A mother is pressured into circumcising her son. Unfortunately, her son's circumcision did not go well. Circumcising an infant is more complicated and difficult than most people realize. The penis is small and not fully developed. It is difficult to judge how much to take off. Doctors also do not want to take the time to properly do the surgical procedure and blood vessels are often nicked or severed, resulting in uncontrolled bleeding.

YouTube video by whatUneverknew: I LOVE Foreskin!
One woman eloquently says she loves foreskin. As more women experience men with foreskin, the more we hear about how women like having sex with guys who have foreskin. She says that the foreskin has been perfected by nature and is needed for sex to be the way nature intended: soft, fluid, slick, and intimate. Read what she wrote about loving foreskin.
 

Thursday, September 8, 2011

Sickly Cat: Should I Circumcise My Baby?
A father considers the circumcision question for his son. He comes up with 23 reasons not to circumcise an infant son. He does not identify any reasons why other than he thinks guys who were circumcised at birth "turned out alright." I beg to differ. Many men suffer from botched circumcisions and circumcision complications. Not all men turn out alright by having their sex organ partially amputated.

Babble: Two Sons, Two Different Decisions
For her second son, this mother learned about the harms of circumcision and opted to leave him whole. Her first son's circumcision was very traumatic for him and her. "He was a bloody, screaming mess — and so was I. I couldn’t believe that I had put my brand new, perfect baby through such a medically unnecessary, painful procedure. It was nearly more than I could handle."
 

Friday, September 9, 2011

Salem-News.com: CIRCUMCISION: Medicine Practicing Below the Usual and Customary Standards of Care in Ritual
A discussion of infant circumcision relative to the standard of care of infant surgery. "Circumcision is not a necessary treatment and not recognized as such by any medical organization worldwide.  Circumcision is a sacrificial genital flesh and blood ritual. . . . One of the most common ethical issues raised by the principle of respect for the autonomy is paternalism.  The term refers to the practice of overriding or ignoring the person’s preferences in order to benefit them or enhance their welfare.  In essence, it consists in the judgment that beneficence takes priority over autonomy.  Historically, the medical profession has endorsed paternalism."

Intact News: Vancouver Pride - Foreskin Awareness
A video from the Vancouver Pride Festival where men are interviewed on their thoughts of infant circumcision. Many men feel violated and suffer from the harm of their infant circumcision.
 

Saturday, September 10, 2011

Intact News: Routine Infant Circumcision
An article based on the YouTube Video: Routine Infant Circumcision. The video is a news report that discusses infant circumcision.