Let’s stop arguing about circumcision and begin teaching about it instead.
I floated this idea in “Changing Opinions Over the Changing Table,” a Huffington Post article published Christmas Eve (read the article here), and it seems a lot of people liked this approach. The article received 31 positive comments, 1,800 Facebook likes, 278 shares, and 100 pins on Pinterest.
So, we have to do something to educate relatives, friends, and pediatricians who continue to challenge mothers who want to protect their baby boys by leaving them intact. So, when challenged, I’m asking mothers to turn it into a teachable moment.
To quote the article:
“I know you would like to say, ‘How dare you tell me to butcher my baby! You don’t know anything!’
“But what if you said instead, ‘You know, I was pretty clueless about circumcision in the past, because it’s been the so-called normal thing to do in America. But I decided to get educated, and I’m so happy I did. Do you want to hear what I learned?’
One reader commented, “Thank you Huffington Post for having the guts to keep writing about this issue! Great suggestions, and reminder that at one time most of us ‘intactivists’ took for granted that circumcision was normal and necessary.”
Georgeanne, Loved the article and the concept of the teachable moments! Kudos to you for staying on top of this valid, indefensible cause. It takes a village and more to spread the word, and the word is, its his body!!!! I had a bit of an edgy time while my son and his wife were considering this issue for their newborn last March. Thankfully, they decided to leave him “intact” and I believe your newsletters and articles had a bearing on their decision. Thank You for your hard work and dedication in saving our children from the unbearable, intolerable, barbaric procedure! xoxo Diane
Georganne, do you advise what to say when somebody moves to the US from a country where circumcision is unheard of and somebody asks you about the topic of circumcision? I always get totally outraged that such a thing could even be on the table.
I am baffled at the fact that I can find no comment by NIH, CDC, AAP, AMA or any major health agency on the studies conducted by Danish epidemiologist Morten Frisch. He found that couples with a circumcised male partner experience frequent intercourse failure almost three times as often as couples with an intact male partner. More ominous, in 2015 he found a 46% higher incidence of Autism Spectrum Disorder in boys circumcised at birth or before age five. Does Intact America know of an agency investigating these findings?