Circumcision
Over on Facebook I have a whole lot of people piling in to tell me about how bris is bad in the comments on an article I posted about how some Christians are trying to ban it in Denmark and I just don't want to argue with them
Circumcision, pain
But yeah I was born in a country where bris was illegal and had it done after we emigrated. Which was awful, painful, traumatic, and didn't heal well. I don't regret it but I wish it had been done at the proper time
🖲️
Circumcision, pain
@derpayatz @jessmahler I'm sorry that happened to you. Infant circumcisions can be botched and have issues healing too. I was circumcised as an infant, and my skin was cut so tight that it would sometimes tear and bleed when puberty started. Erections were often very painful. A recent study found that 11.5% of the circumcisions they tracked over a 2 year period were botched in some way: http://spuonline.org/abstracts/2018/P21.cgi?fbclid=IwAR2i6ihhKEzPTXABDkJbJ67nVKQZ3cWsc9gMmicPtvsSgxLymKxClMhoyXQ
I was circumcised in part for religious reasons, and also because my parents thought that it was the healthy thing to do.
I have multiple Jewish friends who are opposed to circumcision of minors, one who is working on restoring his foreskin, and left his son intact.
I also have a trans friend who is working on restoring her foreskin, to reduce the need for skin grafts for her bottom surgery. Having an intact foreskin gives them a lot more erogenous tissue to work with.
I think that male, female, and intersex children should be protected from genital cutting without consent, however, education about the harms of genital cutting will be more effective than passing laws.
Circumcision, pain
@theonefreeman @jessmahler I'm sorry to hear that that happened to you, too. Thanks for the study link. I think that botched circumcisions are a real issue—especially given how many infants are circumcised in the United States for bogus health reasons, and how most of those circumcisions are performed by physicians of uncertain expertise.
Circumcision, pain
@derpayatz @jessmahler Even when circumcisions aren't botched, you're still removing a lot of erogenous tissue from someone who can't consent, and getting rid of the protective and mechanical gliding functions of the foreskin. In my case, it wouldn't have been possible to tell it was botched until puberty started, you don't know how much someone will grow when they are cut as an infant or child. In the US, there's no legal requirement for hospitals to keep track of or report botched circumcisions, even if they lead to the death of a child.
The operations performed on intersex children are often much worse. This person was castrated as an infant without their consent: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9yHAYOvTdMI Their mother was pressured into it by doctors, because of a slightly higher risk of cancer, even though that risk is much lower than the rate of breast cancer for cis women.
Circumcision, pain
@theonefreeman @jessmahler and like I said, the situation in the US, with "medical" circumcisions with little training or oversight, is a problem. I think that the circumcision at birth of infants without parental initiative, not to mention consent, is not acceptable. But a ban without a religious exemption is not acceptable either.
Circumcision, pain
@theonefreeman @jessmahler I don't think that circumcision—the removal of some erogenous tissue—is equivalent to genital mutilation or intersex surgery, in which the body is fundamentally altered and whole organs are removed, and sometimes lifelong pain caused deliberately.
Just as the individual has the right to engage in body modification with pros and cons, I think that the community has the right to mark its members.