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Marilyn Milos and Georganne Chapin, authors of their memoirs

Our Books 

Georganne Chapin and Marilyn Milos release their memoirs detailing their experiences and observations as  leaders of the intactivist movement . 

This Penis Business: A Memoir

Georganne Chapin’s memoir of becoming an intactivist – one who actively opposes child genital cutting – delivers a powerful indictment of the U.S. circumcision industry. Motivated since childhood by an innate sense of justice, Chapin earned degrees in anthropology and sociomedical sciences from Barnard College and Columbia University. In 1980, recalling her baby brother’s trauma following “routine” circumcision, and having learned that most of the world’s men are not circumcised, Chapin relied on common sense in declining the surgery for her son. When he thanked her years later, she realized that not only had she spared him momentary suffering, but that for his lifetime he would enjoy the sexual pleasure nature intended. Chapin went on to lead Hudson Health Plan, a nonprofit New York insurance company for 25 years. Mid-career, she enrolled in an evening law school program, exploring the ethical, legal and cultural standards applied to the genital cutting of boys versus those applied to girls. In 2008 she co-founded Intact America, a nonprofit organization dedicated to protecting boys and the men they will become from a surgery undertaken in the interest of profit and custom. This Penis Business: A Memoir is Chapin’s first book. It presents the definitive case for ending circumcision and will change lives.

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This Penis Business, a book by Georganne Chapin
Georganne Chapin, author

About The Author

Georganne Chapin is a healthcare expert, attorney, social justice advocate, and founding executive director of Intact America, the nation’s most influential organization opposing the U.S. medical industry’s penchant for surgically altering the genitals of male children (“circumcision”). Under her leadership, Intact America has definitively documented tactics used by U.S. doctors and healthcare facilities to pathologize the male foreskin, pressure parents into circumcising their sons, and forcibly retract the foreskins of intact boys, creating potentially lifelong, iatrogenic harm. Chapin holds a BA in Anthropology from Barnard College, and a Master’s degree in Sociomedical Sciences from Columbia University. For 25 years, she served as president and chief executive officer of Hudson Health Plan, a nonprofit Medicaid insurer in New York’s Hudson Valley. Mid-career, she enrolled in an evening law program, where she explored the legal and ethical issues underlying routine male circumcision, a subject that had interested her since witnessing the aftermath of the surgery conducted on her younger brother. She received her Juris Doctor degree from Pace University School of Law in 2003, and was subsequently admitted to the New York Bar. As an adjunct professor, she taught Bioethics and Medicaid and Disability Law at Pace, and Bioethics in Dominican College’s doctoral program for advanced practice nurses.

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"Georganne Chapin’s memoir is both a captivating personal narrative and a history of America’s most frequently performed and most damaging unnecessary surgery. This book exposes this monumental medical fraud for what it is and examines the far reaching damage it does to person lives, human relationships and families. Educating, Galvanizing and Transforming."
William M. Kaye
William M. KayeAmazon Review
"When I first cracked the book, I wasn't expecting that for the next 24 hours I would be reading it all the way through but that's what happened: I couldn't put it down! Knowing more about Georganne's life helped shape my understanding of how and why she would become a leading force in the intactivist movement. The book is full of both fascinating and relatable details to evoke the entire spectrum of human emotion. For anyone completely unaware of any social debate regarding infant circumcision, this read will leave them well-informed. But this book belongs on everyone's shelf whether they are a total newb or a seasoned intactivist."
Larissa
LarissaAmazon Review
"I found this book to be difficult to put down. The author's biography was both gripping and familiar. We all have some suppressed stories that we've tried to shut out. Georganne embraces the good, bad and ugly of growing up in the world of the sixties. She does a great job of laying the groundwork for why she's such an advocate for leaving young babies' penises alone. She lays out the disturbing reality that somehow as a society we have chosen to ignore. Circumcision is genital mutilation inflicted on babies who have no say in the matter. If you're unsure about circumcision this book will persuade you to oppose it. If you are already against it, this book will give you the data to help others stand up for babies."
Don Hall
Don HallAmazon review
"If you've never given much thought to the topic of circumcision, this book will put it on your mind in a very compelling way. Georganne weaves her own personal story through a backdrop of candid information on the culture and exploitation associated with the accepted practice of the genital mutilation of our little boys. The book is insightful and will hopefully inspire others to not just become aware, but involved in the "Intact" movement."
Lisa Babbage-Jackson
Lisa Babbage-JacksonAmazon Review
"In addition to providing important information about circumcision, a topic that many people are uncomfortable thinking about, never mind discussing, this is a fascinating memoir. The author’s family spent time living in Texas, Hawaii, New Mexico and Ohio during her childhood in the 1950s and 1960s. Her young adulthood included attending Barnard College and adventures in Mexico and Bolivia. The author addresses issues related to sex, race and politics during those years in an extremely interesting and fun to read way. How these diverse influences resulted in her current commitment to educating people about circumcision, and ending the practice of routine infant circumcision in America, is a fascinating narrative."
Irene Dillon
Irene DillonAmazon Review

Please Don’t Cut The Baby! A Nurse’s Memoir

Marilyn Milos was a nursing student on the obstetrical unit in 1979 when she first witnessed a baby being circumcised. The only person to step forward to comfort the infant as it writhed and screamed in pain during the surgery, she was shocked when the doctor said to her: “There is no medical reason for doing this.” From that moment on, Marilyn became an advocate for ending medically unnecessary circumcision, protecting our children, and educating parents, the public, and medical professionals about this cultural fraud and violation of human rights. She founded the National Organization of Circumcision Information Resource Centers (NOCIRC); organized fifteen international symposia; and became a spokesperson for promoting the genital integrity of all children. A story of determination, service, and love, Marilyn’s memoir describes the myths, misinformation, and economic forces driving non-religious infant circumcision in the United States, where it has become standard practice. Readers may find their own beliefs and assumptions challenged, and their hearts touched by this story of a life devoted to justice for babies and the adults they will become.

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Please Don't Cut the Baby, a book by Marilyn Milos
Marilyn Milos, book author

About The Author

Marilyn Fayre Milos, multiple award winner for her humanitarian work to end routine infant circumcision in the United States and advocating for the rights of infants and children to genital autonomy, has written a warm and compelling memoir of her path to becoming “the founding mother of the intactivist movement.” Needing to support her family as a single mother in the early sixties, Milos taught banjo—having learned to play from Jerry Garcia (later of The Grateful Dead)—and worked as an assistant to comedian and social critic Lenny Bruce, typing out the content of his shows and transcribing court proceedings of his trials for obscenity. After Lenny’s death, she found her voice as an activist as part of the counterculture revolution, living in Haight Ashbury in San Francisco during the 1967 Summer of Love, and honed her organizational skills by creating an alternative education open classroom (still operating) in Marin County.

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"At first I was skeptical because of the strange title but then after I started reading I was pulled in by this remarkable story of a hero who has helped so many people by sharing what should be general knowledge. This book is very eye opening and inspiring. Great job by Judy Kirkwood in bringing this memoir to life!"
Robert Roa
Robert RoaAmazon Review
"This memoir by the "mother" of the anti-circumcision movement is essential to understand the struggle to end this unnecessary and damaging surgery over the last 45 years. Milos' clear prose relates her sudden awareness of the brutality of infant circumcision when in nursing school, her eventual forced resignation from a hospital for merely trying to inform parents of the truth, and her lifelong commitment to genital integrity for all. Milos' creation of NOCIRC, which eventually morphed into Genital Autonomy America and then folded into Intact America, demonstrates what one individual can do to change society. The book also explains why circumcision is so damaging and why every parent should just say "No!" when solicited for it. A must read for expectant parents."
David J. Llewellyn
David J. LlewellynAmazon review
"For years, I've heard people rave about Marilyn Milos, the "mother" of the intactivist movement. But I didn't know the full story of how much she accomplished until I read her memoir. I could not put it down! She writes about her friendship with Jerry Garcia, her work as an assistant to Lenny Bruce, how she raised three boys, all circumcised, mostly on her own, and her horror when she learned it was totally medically unnecessary to cut her boy's genitals It's a beautiful story told by a beautiful woman who shows that one person can make a big difference."
Jeannie Mandelker
Jeannie MandelkerAmazon Review
"What a beautiful memoir. If you don't know Marilyn then you are missing out on a wonderful life experience. She is a beacon of light in this world. I truly appreciate her commitment to being against forced genital cutting of minors. I was lucky enough to meet her and I cherish that, she taught me so much and I remember every word."
David R. Grant
David R. GrantAmazon Review
"I was lucky enough to have a mother who encouraged me to keep my two sons intact, so I was happy to know about this memoir by a pioneer of the movement to end circumcision. There is no reason for boys to be subjected to an unnecessary surgery to remove a perfectly functional part of their body. I want to thank Marilyn Milos for the work she did to both protect baby boys from the trauma of circumcision and to explain how circumcision is a human rights violation of a person's bodily integrity. This book should be read by anyone who will be faced with the question of whether or not to circumcise their son."
Kate Slate
Kate SlateAmazon Review

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Marilyn

Marilyn Fayre Milos, multiple award winner for her humanitarian work to end routine infant circumcision in the United States and advocating for the rights of infants and children to genital autonomy, has written a warm and compelling memoir of her path to becoming “the founding mother of the intactivist movement.” Needing to support her family as a single mother in the early sixties, Milos taught banjo—having learned to play from Jerry Garcia (later of The Grateful Dead)—and worked as an assistant to comedian and social critic Lenny Bruce, typing out the content of his shows and transcribing court proceedings of his trials for obscenity. After Lenny’s death, she found her voice as an activist as part of the counterculture revolution, living in Haight Ashbury in San Francisco during the 1967 Summer of Love, and honed her organizational skills by creating an alternative education open classroom (still operating) in Marin County. 

After witnessing the pain and trauma of the circumcision of a newborn baby boy when she was a nursing student at Marin College, Milos learned everything she could about why infants were subjected to such brutal surgery. The more she read and discovered, the more convinced she became that circumcision had no medical benefits. As a nurse on the obstetrical unit at Marin General Hospital, she committed to making sure parents understood what circumcision entailed before signing a consent form. Considered an agitator and forced to resign in 1985, she co-founded NOCIRC (National Organization of Circumcision Information Resource Centers) and began organizing international symposia on circumcision, genital autonomy, and human rights. Milos edited and published the proceedings from the above-mentioned symposia and has written numerous articles in her quest to end circumcision and protect children’s bodily integrity. She currently serves on the board of directors of Intact America.

Georganne

Georganne Chapin is a healthcare expert, attorney, social justice advocate, and founding executive director of Intact America, the nation’s most influential organization opposing the U.S. medical industry’s penchant for surgically altering the genitals of male children (“circumcision”). Under her leadership, Intact America has definitively documented tactics used by U.S. doctors and healthcare facilities to pathologize the male foreskin, pressure parents into circumcising their sons, and forcibly retract the foreskins of intact boys, creating potentially lifelong, iatrogenic harm. 

Chapin holds a BA in Anthropology from Barnard College, and a Master’s degree in Sociomedical Sciences from Columbia University. For 25 years, she served as president and chief executive officer of Hudson Health Plan, a nonprofit Medicaid insurer in New York’s Hudson Valley. Mid-career, she enrolled in an evening law program, where she explored the legal and ethical issues underlying routine male circumcision, a subject that had interested her since witnessing the aftermath of the surgery conducted on her younger brother. She received her Juris Doctor degree from Pace University School of Law in 2003, and was subsequently admitted to the New York Bar. As an adjunct professor, she taught Bioethics and Medicaid and Disability Law at Pace, and Bioethics in Dominican College’s doctoral program for advanced practice nurses.

In 2004, Chapin founded the nonprofit Hudson Center for Health Equity and Quality, a company that designs software and provides consulting services designed to reduce administrative complexities, streamline and integrate data collection and reporting, and enhance access to care for those in need. In 2008, she co-founded Intact America.

Chapin has published many articles and op-ed essays, and has been interviewed on local, national and international television, radio and podcasts about ways the U.S. healthcare system prioritizes profits over people’s basic needs. She cites routine (nontherapeutic) infant circumcision as a prime example of a practice that wastes money and harms boys and the men they will become. This Penis Business: A Memoir is her first book.