This site differs from others opposed to genital mutilation - its focus is on intactness, rather than on circumcision. It is intended to counteract the "circodoxy": the mindset that the foreskin is an "extra" "flap of skin" and that circumcision is the norm - and the corresponding mindsets that lead to the cutting of girls and intersex people.

A trombone can play more notes than a vuvuzela.

Policy Statement

This site does not pretend to be "balanced". The case for circumcision has been made daily for decades in public media such as TV sitcoms, magazine articles, by medical "authorities" and by word of mouth. Now, thanks to the Internet, the opposition has a chance to be heard uninterrupted. This site does attempt to tell the truth about circumcision, and not overstate the case against it.

There are some pictures of penises on this site, including erect ones and also a few babies' ones, where necessary for their purpose. They are preceded by warnings.

This site does not claim to offer medical advice, etc. etc.

Basics:
Did you know that -

The Intactivism Pages

The struggle for genital integrity
and against the involuntary genital modification
of children of any sex:

Circumcision
Female Genital Cutting
Involuntary Sex Reassignment
- Genital Integrity for All!

 

Circumcision decision flowchart

- after Jo S Wun, after Stewart

Parents of the month

Peaches Geldorf & Thomas Cohen
Peaches Geldorf & Thomas Cohen

"My baby won't be circumcised," he says. "My mum didn't want me to be circumcised either."

- Daily Mail, January 29, 2012

 

Intactivist News

On this site:
animated Your legal rights
Comprehensive rebuttal of HIV-RCTs
Satire: How to write about circumcision
  How to discuss the SF MGM Bill
Circumcision methods

World:

Eastern Cape Deaths
from Circumcision, 2011:
28
2010 Total: 62

February 3, 2012

TANZANIA: Circumcised men think they're immune.

February 2, 2012

COLORADO: Senate committee votes 6-3 to restore Medicaid circumcision coverage

February 1, 2012

COLORADO: Circumcision benefit "insignificant"

January 31, 2012

ZAMBIA: Cut men resume unsafe sex early with multiple partners, risking more HIV

January 30, 2012

TANZANIA: Little girl cut because she couldn't walk

January 30, 2012

LIBERIA: Botched circumcision repair "most complicated" surgery

January 30, 2012

KENYA: Forced circumcsion a form of abuse

January 30, 2012

TANZANIA: Stabbed to death over choice of circumcision venue

January 29, 2012

ISRAEL: Circumcision adds to trauma of Ethiopian immigrants

January 24, 2012

KENYA: Cut men take more risks

January 24, 2012

UGANDA: four babies die of circumcision

January 23, 2012

Kenya: Women think circumcised men HIV-free, abandon condoms

January 21, 2012

SANTA CRUZ, CALIFORNIA: ACLU opposed "divisive" circumcision age-restriction

January 22, 2012

JOHANNESBURG: Doctor gets 10 years for circumcision death

January 19, 2012

DENVER: Colorado Medicaid to fund circumcision again?

January 17, 2012

KENYA: Girls taken to Tanzania for FGC

January 16, 2012

UGANDA: Men promise to make up for lost time after circumcision

January 16, 2012

NEW ZEALAND: Immigrant girls "at risk" of FGC

January 15, 2012

MARINA, CALIFORNIA: Protestors picket ACLU

January 13, 2012

IRAQ: FGC causes PTSD

January 11, 2012

UGANDA: Circumcision rate unknown

January 10, 2012

SWAZILAND: "Circumcise and Conquer" fails

January 7, 2012

SWAZILAND: "Circumcise and Conquer" ends on ambiguity

January 4, 2012

LIBERIA: Girl, 17, dies from female cutting

January 3, 2012

GAMBIA: Female cutting "is not a religious obligation"

January 3, 2012

HELSINKI: Parents and circumciser penalised; legality of circumcision in question

Earlier news items

Contents   FAQ   Site Map   What's New

The Foreskin

Circumcision

Anatomy | Brit Shalom | Celebrities | Christianity | Galleries | Links | Restoration | Sex

Disease | HIV (the RCTs) | Memes | Movies | TV

Appearance
Structure
Function
Care
For Parents &Sons
Human Rights
Intactivism
Background

Housekeeping

Pictures
Excuses
Downsides
The World
Representation
Perpetrators
Rebuttals

FEMALE CUTTING
Intersex
Parallels

(Google)

Links to Blogs | Essays | Podcasts | Videos Facebook pages

Twitter

  • Intactivism tweets are hashtagged with #i2
  • The host of these pages tweets as intactive - but not very often.


Notices



12th International Symposium
on Circumcision,
Genital Integrity, and Human Rights
September 30 - October 3, 2012
Radisson Blu Royal Hotel
Helsinki, Finland

Progress of the
Defence of Male Genital Cutting
(with Boxcutters) Bill

(updated automatically)


 

Petition to
WHO and UNAIDS
by Intact America

Put Down the Knife!
campaign by
Intact America


Circumcised? Mad as hell about it?

Join the class action
at SueEasy.com
250 claimants as of May 2010

 

 


The Foreskin

 

APPEARANCE

A Gallery of Intact Men and their Penises. A Gallery of Intact Men and their Penises in Art. (The entire sequence of five pages is a slide show with music, off-site.) Countries that celebrate the (intact) penis. The "luscious beauty" of the intact male.

For intact (young US) men who worry about being "different", a Gallery of Intact Celebrities (with their clothes on). A page each of intact historical personages, US film stars former and current, US TV stars former and current, US sporting heroes, US musicians, non-US celebrities (musicians, actors, sportsmen and others), and leaders. (Before you write challenging the status of any of these men, read the FAQ.)

A Gallery of Very-Probably-Intact men.


STRUCTURE

A Glossary of words relating to Intactivism and normal anatomy. Some of the main ones are illustrated.

Diagrams of male and female anatomy at eight weeks gestation and at birth illustrate the simlarity of structure.

Not "just a flap of skin": a non-erotic animation of how a foreskin works. A more stylised animation to demonstrate its size. A remarkable illustration of its actual size.


FUNCTION
Functions of the Foreskin (22 of them)

Sexuality
The sexuality page answers "no difference in sexual function between intact and circumcised men". The foreskin itself gives pleasure. A musical illustration. Reports by women about what a revelation intact men were to them. Condoms and the intact man. Tantric sex. "Women prefer circumcised." (The Williamsons' study of women in Iowa).

(offsite)

A very convincing online video
"The Prepuce"

aimed at doctors and uses medical language
but very clear about the use and value of the foreskin.

It's at:
http://www.doctorsopposingcircumcision.org/video/prepuce.html


CARE

"Care of the Intact Penis"

(There's very little to it!)
Also available as a leaflet in pdf format.

- a response to the AAP's "Care of the Uncircumcised Penis".

Paraphimosis, one of the few real threats.

Paraphimosis
a leaflet in pdf format.

Frenulum breve "tight banjostring" - can be readily treated.


FOR PARENTS (TO-BE) AND SONS

"It's a Boy!"

A short summary for parents and parents-to-be
of the case for intactness
in simple language.
Also available as a leaftlet in pdf format.

- written to answer the AAP's brochure for parents which doesn't even acknowledge that the foreskin is part of the penis!

(offsite)

A historic documentary video (circa 1982)
including Intactivist pioneers Edward Wallerstein
and Rosemary Romberg
(How little has changed!)
includes a Mogen clamp circumcision
Parental Guidance Recommended.

Mothers and mothers-to-be:
Sheila Kitzinger's ''New Pregnancy &Childbirth". A thought-experiment. How to raise the subject with a circumcised husband.

Fathers
A circumcised father with an intact son - a telling rejoinder to "A boy should look like his father". A cartoon. A 2500-year-old fable by Æsop.

Refusal
Circumcision is sometimes pushed on parents, and even committed contrary to their wishes. To prevent this, a firmly-worded

Circumcision Refusal Form
and a sheet of circumcision refusal stickers,
downloadable in pdf format.

Intact boys


"Why is mine different?"

A short story for intact boys and their parents
about what intactness is, and why intact boys should,
if anything, be glad to be "different" from their friends.
Also in pdf formats.

Intact teens


"Something They Haven't"

A story and Q&A for intact teenagers
about peer pressure and being intact.
Also in pdf format.

Foreskin restoration - a growing movement 
Deutches fahn Vorhaut-Restoration - ausf�hrliche Informationen auf Deutsch
An artificial foreskin.


HUMAN RIGHTS
Genital integrity is first and foremost a human rights issue.

Ethics
Medical organisations have very little to say about the ethics of circumcision. There is more here.
The British Medical Association has issued ethical guidelines that rule out infant circumcision based on parental preference alone.
An important book, "The Ethical Canary", includes a chapter on the ethics of circumcision.

Two ethicists defend circumcision and attack their critics using flawed arguments. Here is a rebuttal.


The Chair of the AAP Bioethics Committee shows that parental consent is inadequate for unnecessary surgery.

Law
The legal case against infant circumcision is growing. This section also contrasts the protection afforded cats, dogs and a baby's head against similar procedures.

A shocking parallel. Parental guidance recommended.


THE CAMPAIGN FOR GENITAL INTEGRITY (INTACTIVISM)

(offsite)

SCHMUCK
Interview with Dan Strandjord,
who daily pickets the University of Chicago Hospital
in protest at its high circumcision rate.

(offsite)

Five short videos
from Genital Integrity Awareness Week 2009
on YouTube
.

(offsite)

Bruce Springsteen "sings" at Superbowl
"Born Intact"
Another great rewrite from TLCTugger.

(offsite)

An award-winning children's rights documentary
"Whose Body, Whose Rights?"
is available online.
The only circumcision-related video
to explore important issues not addressed in other programs,
and so far the only one that can both
be purchased as a DVD and viewed online.

Available to both high-speed DSL and 56K dial-up users
in QuickTime or Windows Media Player format.

See http://www.circumcisionvideos.com/onlinewbwr.htm

To other Intactivist sites


BACKGROUND

Propaganda

Circumcision - a "cure" in search of a disease

Presentation to the New Zealand Skeptics, September 26, 2009
"The Rape of the Cock" - epic poem with illustrations
Open Source Impress file - will open in Powerpoint* (4.7MB)
"The Foreskin and Circumcision"
Open Source Impress file - will open in Powerpoint* (1.1MB)
Link to a podcast (audio) of the presentation (offsite)

* Because of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation's support for circumcision, this site will no longer use Microsoft software.

Campaign resources
Readymade T-shirts and bumperstickers from The Intactivism Shop
Also mugs, buttons, fridge-magnets, tote bags, and other gear.

(offsite)

New at The Intactivism Shop!


''You can take my foreskin from my cold, dead hand'' tote bag The Intactivism Shop: 'Glad to be INTACT'' hoodie
T-shirts, bumperstickers, mugs, more.
The Intactivism Shop - teddybear The Intactivism Shop - NO-CIRC T-shirt

HOUSEKEEPING

Feedback from readers
Comments about this site are welcome. Please use email. (Please don't use e-cards. Hostile messages may be displayed unedited. Offers to exchange links with sites unrelated to genital cutting will be ignored.)

Frequently Asked Questions

Miscellaneous
Types of circumcision articles; circumcision in Shakespeare; infection vs inflammation; diabetes; other "useless" organs, the appendix and Jacobsen's organ; whether babies remember being circumcised; permanent retraction; circumcision and royalty.

To people who think the subject is beneath discussion.

Have you changed your mind about circumcision?
We'd love to hear about it!


Circumcision

 

PICTURES AT A CIRCUMCISION:

Nobody should consent to a circumcision who has not seen one.

Close-up still pictures of an infant circumcison.

Videos

(offsite)

A 5-minute video of a circumcision on Video Google
(by Gomco clamp, with sound, not for the squeamish),
originally at Intact Canada.
14 minute version

(offsite)

A 12-minute video of a circumcision
(by Gomco clamp) from Stanford University
again, not for the squeamish.
(The baby is quieter in this one,
but what the doctor says may give you pause.)

(offsite)

A 3-minute video of a circumcision
(by Gomco clamp) with instructions
again, not for the squeamish.
(The sound-track does not include the baby.)

(offsite)

A 7-minute video of a circumcision
(by Gomco clamp)
The baby shrieks pitously

(offsite)

A 5¾ minute video of a circumcision
(by Mogen clamp) from Stanford University
And again, not for the squeamish.

(offsite)

A 2¾ minute video of a circumcision
by Accu-circ from the makers (click on "Live Demonstration")
Not for the squeamish - even though the baby's shrieks have been replaced by montonous piano music.

(offsite)

A 10-minute circumcision of a young boy
(by forceps) from Bulgaria (in Bulgarian)
Quite queasy-making.

(offsite)

Closeup amateur videos of the electrocautery circumcision
and stitching of a Turkish boy,
objecting as best he can.

(offsite)

Ten closeup videos of Brit Milah with a barzel. (NSFW)
They are indeed quick, though some may have been edited.
The mohel does not wear gloves.

Stills

Still pictures of a Plastibell™ circumcision
(artistic, by a doula, offiste)

Still pictures of a Plastibell™ circumcision
(clinical, from a scientific paper)
Warning, very graphic.

Still pictures of a sleeve procedure
(clinical, from a scientific paper)
Warning, very graphic.

Still pictures of a Gomco procedure
(no close-ups, offsite, from the Saturday Evening Post, )

Methods

A survey of historical and present-day circumcision instruments, and what can go wrong using each of them.

EXCUSES

Lists of

Hygiene:
Who dares to be in favour of dirt? Facts about bacteria.

Disease
Circumcision is said to prevent

Religion::

khanda

Sikhism:
Almost alone in celebrating the natural body.

Cross

Christianity:
New Testament quotations and church policies.

Christianity and Circumcision
The same in brochure form,
in pdf format.

An essay on Jesus' circumcision. A commentary on Mantegna's painting "The Circumcision".

Mineret

Islam
The Qu'ran does not mention circumcision.
A page challenges assumptions.

 
Menorah

Judaism:
A very small proportion of circumcision worldwide, but pre-eminent in the public consciousness of circumcision. An essay looks at the case for Brit without Milah.

Brit Without Milah
A leaflet in .pdf format

A list of Rabbis and others who will perform it. A speech by one after a Kol Nidre service. A Jewish father's letter to his intact son.

Motivation to circumcise
The psychology of circumcising. "Circumcision as a memeplex". Prejudice against intact men. The remarkable silence around the intact penis and circumcision. Circumsurdities - absurd claims for circumcision.

Money:
Evidence that doctors promote circumcision out of greed. The declining rate of Medicaid cover. The real cost of circumcision. A cost-utility analysis of circumcision - it's a loser.


DOWNSIDES

Complications:
Risks and damage, upto 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 PlastiBellTM.

Pain:
The pain of circumsion 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.

Appearance:
For those who think circumcision 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.

Hinders Breastfeeding.

Circumcision vs Breastfeeding
Downloadable in .pdf format

Resentment
Famous men and others who resent/ed being circumcised


THE WORLD
Some people imagine circumcision is universal in the western world. They should see the map of its prevalence worldwide. The same page shows a map of the prevalence of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM).

Predominantly intact countries::

New Zealand:
A presentation and an article. From being very rare in the 1950s, intactness is now commonplace. An intact New Zealander celebrates. (.wav file, 103KB)

Australia:
In Australia four boys in five are now left intact some states, more than 19 in 20 in others.

Holland     De Nederlandse vlag Non-religious circumcision has never been known in Holland.

Het ge�nformeerdeg besnijdenisbeleid van KNMG
The Royal Dutch Medical Association's
enlightened circumcision policy

(offsite)

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)

Sweden     Sveriges fana / Swedish flag (p� svenska)
The first country to regulate male circumcision. Items from Sweden, many in Swedish and English.

Finland     Finnish flag
In Finland, where the home circumcisions of six African boys was botched, a working party has recommended that it be at parental discretion and public expense, but doctors refuse to co-operate.

The Pacific
Practices vary widely inPolynesia, Melanesia and Micronesia.

Predominantly circumcising countries::

Tribal circumcision

U.S.A.     US flag
The United States is the only country in the world that surgically circumcises a majority of its boy babies.

Korea:
From unknown, circumcision has become almost universal in Korea in the last 50 years.

The Philippines
A traditional ritual for boys has become medicalised in the Philippines without the need for it ever being questioned. Myths are rampant.

The 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 circumcision is perceived

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, Regrets, Second-thoughts
Why circumcision may be called "mutilation". A mother who regrets circumcising. A last minute change of heart.


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) here. 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.

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?

  • The Royal Australasian College of Physicians' 2010 policy disposes of the medical claims and (unlike its predecessor) considers the functions of the foreskin, but still bends over backwards to blur the ethical issues so that it can stay on the fence.
  • The RACP has issued a brochure which significantly waters down these recommendations.

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).

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.

Non-consensual gender-assignment of Intersexed people.

Castration. Mozart, Handel, Rossini and Gluck were among composers who 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.


 

free debate

These pages are supported by
the generosity of
Tilted Planet, Ltd.

The Ataahua Shop logo To Cheer you up -

The Ataahua Shop

Beautiful things to uplift you
No religion, politics, sex or cynicism
Ideal gifts