Parents, protect your babies. Support intactivism. 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.

Monday, December 5, 2011

Foreskin-Restoration / Intactivism Network: How Male Circumcision Harms Women
A forum post reprinting Ronald Goldman's story about How Male Circumcision Harms Women. Marilyn Milos was converted to intactivism after witnessing an infant circumcision in nursing school. She saw firsthand the pain suffered by the baby boy as the most sensitive part of his body was cut up. Male infant circumcision affects the bond between the baby boy and his mother. Male circumcision also affects the sex life of the boy who grows up to be a man, even though many men refuse to admit that there is anything wrong with having less than the whole penis they were born with.

The Guerrilla Intactivist: Printable Fliers - fixed!
Intactivist information card suitable to post wherever people can see it. Intactivist K lists many places and ways for posting the information card. Lots of good ideas on how to get the word out that male infant circumcision is unnecessary and harmful.
 

Tuesday, December 6, 2011

The Guardian: Infant male circumcision is genital mutilation
"Men should have the right to choose circumcision, not have the choice forced upon them. Infant circumcision without consent or immediate medical justification is an unjustified violation of basic human rights, that shares more in common with ancient coming-of-age rituals than responsible medical practice."

Awesatious: The evolution of activism
A mother blogs about her evolution as an intactivist. A year ago she thought that all it would take to convince others was to present accurate information on the harms of infant circumcision. She has since learned that many are firmly entrenched believing the various myths of circumcision.

Intact America Blog: The Problem with a Religious Exemption to an Anti-Circumcision Ban
Georganne Chapin discusses the many reasons why there should not be any exemption to a ban on genital cutting of children. She argues that the rights of the person with the genitalia supersedes everyone else's rights. After all, it is the child's body, not anyone else's.

Blogcritics: For God's Sake: A Non-Jewish View on the Morality of Circumcision
An analysis of the story of Abraham and his son Isaac. Abraham was ready to sacrifice his son to god. Human sacrifice is ludicrous and immoral. But many still practice one form of blood rite: male infant circumcision. Just as we call sex without consent 'rape', circumcision without consent or reasonable justification should be called 'mutilation.'”

The Truther Girls: Rethinking Circumcision with Maurene White
Maurene White, an ardent intactivist and maker of the i4SkinHealth app, was interviewed by The Truther Girls. Maurene talked about how male infant circumcision is wrong and boys should be able to grow up intact, that is, as whole as they were born. The blog notes that "two babies died as a result of circumcision at the Jewish General Hospital in Montreal, one from hemorrhage and the other from shock."

The Johns Hopkins Berman Institute of Bioethics: Infant Male Circumcision Is Genital Mutilation
Recognition that it is nonsense to claim that female circumcision is ethically different than male circumcision. Both involve genital cutting of a non-consenting person, thereby violating their basic human right to bodily autonomy. Every child and every person has the right to an intact body. It is unconscionable cut off healthy parts of a person's body when there was not informed consent given by that person.

Canadian Medical Association: The studies that launched a thousand snips
An authoritative critique of the three studies used to support the circumcision campaign in Africa. The studies are biased, for example, attrition bias (the number of participants who dropped out vastly outnumbered those who became infected), duration bias (the trials were not long enough to determine if the positive effect would plateau), expectation bias (the primary investigators have already called for mass circumcision), and lead-time bias (circumcised men were vulnerable for a short time than intact men).
 

Wednesday, December 7, 2011

The WHOLE Network: A.J.'s Story: A Teen Battles Depression After Circumcision
A teenager tells of how his mother had him circumcised when he was a pre-teen. The surgery occurred shortly after his parents divorced. He was devastated when he woke up after the surgery and saw that part of his body had been removed. He had no problems with his foreskin, but his mother had it removed by circumcision. The boy now feels like he has not control over his body or his life. He is rebelling, trying to gain some control of himself. Sadly, parents feel like they own their children. His mother obviously did not respect her son.

Joseph4GI: CIRCUMCISION: BBC Runs Paid PrePex Ad
Joseph writes about a recent BBC report on male circumcision as a way to reduce HIV in Africa. Joseph points out the flaws in their reporting.

NCFM Los Angeles: Male circumcision leads to a bad sex life
A report of the recent Danish study that found that male circumcision effects sexual pleasure of both the circumcised man and his partner. My personal experience corroborates the study results. As I got older, I experienced reduced sexual pleasure and it took longer for me to ejaculate during sex. After I began restoring my foreskin I had a complete turnaround. I am enjoying sex more than I have ever before.

Huffington Post Religion: Circumcision: Identity, Gender And Power
Mariam Pollack, a Jewish intactivist, writes about the Jewish rite of circumcision. She describes the history of male circumcision, particularly with respect to the Jewish religion. She explains how the "cutting out a portion of a child's genitalia is fundamentally about gender and power." This is an extensive, well-thought out article.

The Daily Beast: How To Think About Circumcision
Andrew Sullivan quotes a thought experiment that Martin Robbins described in his Guardian article: Infant male circumcision is genital mutilation. Sullivan, via Robbins, captures the essence of why male infant circumcision is wrong and needs to stop.

The Men's Network: Time to stop male genital mutilation in the UK?
Commentary and support for the recent Guardian article: Infant male circumcision is genital mutilation. Circumcision "has no place in a modern society. Infant circumcision – regardless of gender – should be stopped."
 

Thursday, December 8, 2011

Info Barrel: The Truth Behind the Myths of Infant Circumcision
An informative article debunking several common myths about male infant circumcision. Yes, male infant circumcision is painful for the baby, both during the surgery and afterwards as the wound stays in a diaper that is often dirty. Leaving a boy with his foreskin is natural and common because most men in the world are not circumcised. Taking care of an intact baby boy is simple: wipe like a finger and never retract.

The Daily Titan: Devil’s Advocate: Yes the U.S. should ban circumcision
An examination of the recent attempt to ban or restrict male infant circumcision in San Francisco. The author states his case that male infant circumcision is unnecessary surgery that places baby boys in unnecessary risk.

The Guerrilla Intactivist: Making It Stick
Tips on how to post information cards, fliers, and messages IRL. The blogger does not like using anything that will deface property. So she offers tips on what to use to securely hold the information.
 

Friday, December 9, 2011

Beyond the Bris: Anti-Circumcision Book Signed by Howard Stern Being Auctioned
Howard Stern, radio personality and Jewish circumcision critic, autographed the book, I Want My Foreskin for Giftmas. The autographed book is for sale on e-bay. Rebecca's post tells the story of how the book came to be autographed and why Howard Stern was willing to sign it.

Feckblog: Circumcision.....a huge sigh
Commentary on Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's recent announcement regarding the circumcision campaign in Africa. Condoms are the best weapon against AIDS and HIV. In 10 of 18 countries in Africa, more circumcised men are HIV positive than there are intact men. That there are studies that show the opposite indicates only that not enough is known about the causes of HIV in Africa. Obviously, male circumcision is ineffective against HIV infections.
 

Saturday, December 10, 2011

Up, Down & Natural: Circumcision ~ A Guest Post by Cynthia
A mother of two little boys provides the results of her research into the circumcision question. She found that there is no reason to circumcise baby boys. The cleanliness and hygiene reasons often give are based on myth. An intact penis is easy to clean when the boy is a baby - wipe like a finger and never retract - and when the baby grows up - retract and rinse with water.

A Voice for Men: Baby boys and turtles
A good analysis about cultural effects on animals and humans. The author notes the disparity in treatment in various cultures. For example, female genital cutting needs to stop in Africa, but male circumcision is advocated.