This has been another busy two weeks for me. So, please accept another biweekly review.

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.
 

Sunday, July 8, 2012

Beyond the Bris: Questioning Jewish Circumcision: Attachment Parenting, Avoiding Circumcision: My Jewish Family Traditions
A Jewish woman tells of how she was raised to always question. Her grandmother also questioned. Her grandmother questioned the circumcision rite and chose to leave the author's father whole and intact. The author describes the choice of a Brit Shalom instead of a bris. Baby boys need not be circumcised for religious reasons.
 

Monday, July 9, 2012

HIV, AIDS & Circumcision: How the circumcision solution in Africa will increase HIV infections
A reprint of a study that considers the effect of male circumcision and the rate of HIV infections. The researchers identify deficiencies in the three clinical trials relied upon to support the male circumcision campaign in Africa. The researches also identify other reasons why male circumcision fails to prevent HIV.
 

YouTube caitybarcus: My Greatest Regret is I let them circumcise my son

A young mother tells about her son's circumcision. She describes what happened during and after her son's circumcision. She also describes how she then learned about the harm of infant circumcision.She deeply regrets that she allowed her son to go through the ordeal of his infant circumcision.

Thursday, July 12, 2012

In Living Color: Religious Circumcision
Adult circumcision is fine, for any reason, because an adult can choose for himself. Child circumcision, on the other hand, can never be chosen by the child. The author of this article sees no justification for the continued religious circumcision of children.
 

Friday, July 13, 2013

mnsco: Narcisism by Another Name; or, it’s not all about YOUR religion
A discussion on the recent German decision that child circumcision is a human rights issue and is truly an assault on the child's body. The religions upset about the court decision are on the wrong side because religions do not have the absolute right to harm others. The government is actually doing its job to protect those who cannot defend themselves.

Dr Momma peaceful parenting: Great chalk event!
The Great Chalk Event is a twice-yearly event to raise awareness of baby/child-friendly mothering and fathering. It is a simple event. Parents and children decorate sidewalks with creative and educational messages, such as drawing the genital integrity symbol.

Circumstitions News: MONTREAL: Study of natural infant phimosis and UTIs spun to promote circumcision
A critique of a recent article that wrongly claims that a doctor urges male circumcision for treating urinary tract infections. The subject study does not support any conclusion regarding male circumcision. The author of this article sees no justification for the continued religious circumcision of children.
 

Saturday, July 14, 2012

Moralogous: Taking religious circumcision seriously
The author considers the religious arguments in support of male circumcision. She provides an in-depth analysis of circumcision's historical basis and also a review of circumcision in religious texts. She concludes: "Preserving children’s rights to their own bodies is not attacking religion – it is standing up for our foundational principles.  You can practice whatever religion you want, but you cannot force that religion onto others, not even your children."

Crap Mamma: Circumcision – to chop or not?
A mother describes her research into the circumcision question. She considers everything. She finally based her decision on the ‘if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’ kind-of logic. She decided that if she and her husband weren’t going to remove the boys’ tonsils, adenoids and appendix at birth, why would they remove another piece of their son's anatomy that wasn’t problematic as a ‘just in case’ measure?
 

Monday, July 16, 2012

Jewish Circumcision Resource Center: The German Circumcision Ruling: What About the Harm to the Child?
Ronald Goldman, Ph.D., executive director of the Jewish Circumcision Resource Center, a nonprofit educational organization, notes that there is little discussion regarding the harm to the child caused by male circumcision. The German ruling was about protecting the child, but few are talking about child protection, only religion protection. That emphasis seems misplaced to me, too.
 

Tuesday, July 17, 2012

Boston Indymedia: Circumcision in America
Female children are protected against genital cutting in the United States, but boys are not. Boys can have their foreskin amputated solely at the whim of their parents, without any medical need for circumcision.

Dr Momma peaceful parenting: Realization of Circumcision
Guggie Daly: Confessions of a Circumcised Teen
A young man tells of when he first got a semi-clear understanding of male circumcision. His first reaction was disgust that people would still circumcise baby boys. Then he realized that he was circumcised. That made him angry and he felt violated.

BMJ Group Blogs: More on Circumcision in Germany
The author struggles to understand how anyone has a right to cut someone else for cultural or religious reasons. He says that the question comes down to one of balancing a parent’s desire to cut, with the son’s right not to be cut, and – as far as the courts are concerned – a moral and jurisprudential question about whether we want to live in the kind of society that allows parents the right to cut their children, or that allows their children the right not to be cut without their desire.

Barrel of Oranges: The Unspoken Aspects of having a Foreskin – A Guest Post by Life-Intact
An intact man tells of growing up with a foreskin. He is thankful that he is whole and intact. He tells of his first orgasm. He was cleaning under his foreskin in the bath. Comparing his experience with others, he discovered that the circumcised guys did not have the same impact as his did. The circumcised orgasm was much shorter and less intense. He described how his orgasms affected his whole body. After restoring my foreskin, I experienced my first whole body orgasm. I never knew what I was missing.
 

Thursday, July 19, 2012

Moralogous: Man with foreskin shares his experience (and it’s positive)
An intact man tells why he is happy that he is whole and intact. He is happy that he has his foreskin and he debunks several myths about foreskin.

Domain Gang: Inspired by Circumcision.com sale, Yahoo goes after Uncut.com
The new Yahoo! CEO, Marissa Mayer, is about to embark on a circumcision education campaign. Marissa recently announced that she is pregnant, and she seems to be willing to use her position to provide resources about the circumcision question often encountered by parents. {As was pointed out to me in a comment, this post is a spoof, similar to those in The Onion. But still, it makes for good publicity of the intactivist message}

Canadian Medical Association Journal CMAJ: Visibility of the urethral meatus and risk of urinary tract infections in uncircumcised boys
A reply to the recent study that tried to correlate male circumcision to urinary tract infections (UITs). Dr. Christopher Guest shows that that recent study fails to provide evidence regarding intact children and the risk of UTIs. The doctor also makes the valid point that urinary tract infections are better treated with antibiotics instead of invasive surgery like circumcision.
 

Friday, July 20, 2012

EuropeNews: Danish parliament: Majority against religious circumcision
Although Germany seems to be backtracking on supporting the human rights for male children, Denmark seems poised to support bodily autonomy for children by prohibiting male circumcision of children, regardless of religion.

The Narcissism of Small Differences's Blog: Male Circumcision part 2 – It’s not a big deal is it?
From a moral point of view, whether something is a big deal or not is immaterial. Practices that are part of a culture are often thought to be justified unless there are good reasons to think otherwise. So it is with male circumcision in the US. But male infant circumcision inflicts harm by cutting off healthy tissue from an infant without any overwhelming medical benefit.
 

Saturday, July 21, 2012

Salem-News: Campaign to Promote Circumcision Wastes Resources
Circumcision Resource Center: Campaign to Promote Circumcision Wastes Resources
Ronald Goldman, Ph.D., executive director of the Circumcision Resource Center says that the lack of open debate about male circumcision results in a flawed policy like the current male circumcision campaign being waged in Africa. He says that circumcision advocates ignore the significant harm of male circumcision.