Sometimes I think we’re making progress for men and boys, sometimes I feel differently. Sometimes when it comes to the most fundamental, sacred and precious rights of all, that of bodily autonomy, to see it so wilfully invaded, on babies no less, and violated by those entrusted to protect that baby, and for this to happen to millions of babies with the wilful ignorance and negligence of the law… …well it leaves little to feel positive about. Worse are the reasons I read for such an abuse of children – “it looks better”, “he’ll be like his dad”, or even “well it’s just cleaner”, are excuses so far from being valid, that they make me wince, cringe and hang my head in despair. And no, it’s not cleaner. In fact, the foreskin offers important properties to protect the glans and urethra, and well as powerful natural immunological properties to further guard the body from infection. Even if it was ‘more hygienic’, are we seriously advocating we cut body parts off babies, to avoid educating that child on basic cleanliness? And why stop there? The human body comes with many difficult to reach spots, nooks and crannies, and hidden areas… Are we to start cutting those off too? What is the cure to dandruff I wonder? Cutting off your own head? Beneath the nonsense, for which their really ought to be no sense of humour, circumcision is violation of human rights, and an abandonment of a parents duty to protect their own child. It is accepted, both legally and socially across the world, with no laws banning it or agencies calling for such laws. It is practiced not on thousands, or millions, but on over a billion men and boys globally. And whilst the world is slowly waking up to what circumcision is, a barbaric practice originally introduced to stop boys from masterbating, the slow drop in favour isn’t happening fast enough. So what will it take to open our eyes? What will it take to stop us circumcising our boys, without medical need? ~ [1]  [2] Images by Sakura L, Alecsander Alves, Franco Antonio Giovanella, Abdulla Ali, Engin Akyurt, and Omar Lopez. #intactivist #intactivism #intact #circumcision

2023-06-08