Here is the compilation of posts I have made to address my observations, the latest media coverage, pertinent topics, and more.
—Georganne Chapin, Executive Director
In South Florida, a Mother’s Quest to Protect her Child. In the Nation’s Capital, a Demand for Basic Human Rights
Note: The following essay appeared on the op-ed page of the (Palm Beach, Florida) Sun-Sentinel on March 28, 2015. This version has been edited slightly for timeliness and for the audience of this blog. The headlines have subsided, but Florida mother Heather Hironimus...
A Mother’s Quest to Protect her Child
The headlines have subsided, but Florida mother Heather Hironimus is in now in her seventh week of hiding to protect her son from his father, who wants to cut off the boy’s foreskin. A Palm Beach County judge has ordered her arrest. As Heather sat in captivity, just...
Jimmy Kimmel Gives a Sly Thumbs-Down to Circumcision
In recent days, celebrity news has been aflutter with talk that Jimmy Kimmel “had surgery on his penis … twice!” Though we don’t know exactly when, it appears that as an adult Kimmel underwent two “horrible” operations to reopen his urethra when “it just kind of...
Lousy Sex
In a new “listicle” posted on its website this week, The Huffington Post outlines Eight Things America Gets Wrong About Sex. From health care to homophobia, the piece covers a range of historical and sociological reasons for America’s sexual dilemmas. It speaks to...
Compelled Altruism
The following is an actual comment made by someone on Intact America’s Facebook page. We often see comments from men who defend their circumcised status, but this was the first time I’d seen someone finding solace in the idea that his foreskin was (perhaps?) used for...
Is Circumcision in America Really “Deeply Religious”?
Things have changed considerably in just the last few years with respect to mass media and the topic of circumcision. Several articles are published every month now – if not every week -- in major newspapers and websites here in the U.S. and abroad. As a result, it’s...
Intact America protests Good Samaritan Hospital’s experimentation on healthy baby boys
INTACTIVISTS GATHER AT HOSPITAL FOR PEACEFUL PROTEST Press conference – 11 am, Thursday, October 3, corner of Dixmyth and Clifton Avenues, Cincinnati, OH Tarrytown, NY—September 30, 2013 On Thursday, October 3, members of Intact America, an organization devoted to...
Circumcision and Rape: Does a Victim’s Memory Matter?
Several days ago, Intact America posted this meme on Facebook: The response was astonishing – the posting got the greatest number of views and comments, by far, of anything we've ever posted on our Facebook page. Many of the comments contained arguments and rejoinders...
A Love Lesson from the French
Ok, I’m a sucker for provocative headlines. So when I saw a link to a Huffington Post piece called “What French Women Can Teach Us About Sex and Love,” of course I opened it. The author gives a few rather mundane observations about flirting, romance, the...
Cultural Blindness and Circumcision
I can’t count the times I’ve heard people say that female genital mutilation (FGM) is “much worse” than routine infant male circumcision. And frankly, I’m tired of it. Cutting the genitals of children – female or male – is a gross violation of their basic human rights. Mutilation is mutilation. Period.