Intactivism: September 2013 in Review

I am still way too busy to do this post justice. A lot is happening, but I do not have time to report on it even a small fraction of it.

Parents, protect your babies. Support intactivism. The following list includes blogs, articles, and websites of interest to Intactivists that were published in the past month. This is a running tally of the ones I found interesting.
 

September 6, 2013

Journal of Medical Ethics: Forced circumcision of men (abridged)
The abstract of an ethics article in the Journal of Medical Ethics states, "The forced circumcision of men is a widespread human rights abuse that often accompanies other human rights violations. It occurs in clashes between circumcising and non-circumcising cultures, or when individuals in circumcising cultures reject circumcision. This article documents the forced circumcision of men against their will, shows how evidence of forced circumcision has been downplayed and discounted, and outlines and discusses some measures that could help to reduce its prevalence."
 

September 20, 2013

JudgyBitch: The circumcision “debate” is missing the point: adults can do whatever they want to their genitals. No one gets to carve up a baby’s hoochie!
A great post discussing male infant circumcision and how barbaric it is. Body modifications should be done by consenting adults, not on infants and children. 
  Read more . . .

Intactivism: August 2013 in Review

The last month has been hectic for me. That means this month's list of blogs is sparse and late.

Parents, protect your babies. Support intactivism. The following list includes blogs, articles, and websites of interest to Intactivists that were published in the past month. This is a running tally of the ones I found interesting.
  Read more . . .

5 year progress report for my foreskin restoration

5 years of foreskin restorationFive years. 60 months. It seems like I have been restoring my foreskin for a long time. I have trouble remembering what it was like before I started restoring my foreskin. 

Like most other men, though, I wish I had started years before I did. That way I would have enjoyed the benefits of foreskin restoration for much longer.

After 5 years of tugging my foreskin, I am not yet done. I would have been, and I thought I was done, but I lost 45 pounds since early last year. 

The weight loss resulted in a reduction of my fat pad on my abdomen. That means my penis sticks out further. About 1 inch further. With a longer penis, my foreskin cannot cover it the same as before my weight loss. My coverage index went from full flaccid coverage with a bit of overhang, about CI-7 or CI-8, to not quite full flaccid coverage, about a CI-5. With continued tugging, I am back to about CI-6. I have full flaccid coverage most of the time, but my restored foreskin still occasionally spontaneously retracts. More length will fix that. I know because it used to be long enough to not spontaneously retract. Read more . . .

Intactivism: July 2013 in Review

Circumcision has not stopped HIV in the US, How is it suddenly working miracles in Africa?Parents, protect your babies. Support intactivism. The following list includes blogs, articles, and websites of interest to Intactivists that were published in the past month. This is a running tally of the ones I found interesting.

Unfortunately, I am getting busier and busier. That is why there is limited info about each post. Just click on them and read the original. Each one is worth the read.
 

Monday, July 1, 2013

Practical Ethics: Podcast: The Ethics of Infant Male Circumcision

 

Friday, July 5, 2013

Kevin Knauss: I don't own my son

 

Sunday, July 7, 2013

The Bilerico Project: Foreskin Restoration: Becoming Whole Again
An informative article about foreskin restoration on The Bilerico Project, one of the major LGBT politics & culture blogs. The author describes restoring and the changes he has noticed.
  Read more . . .

Intactivism: June 2013 in Review

Intactivists marking as Foreskin Pride Parents, protect your babies. Support intactivism. The following list includes blogs, articles, and websites of interest to Intactivists that were published in the past month. This is a running tally of the ones I found interesting.

June saw a lot of pride parades across the United States. Many intactivists took advantage of these various events to help get the word out that the male foreskin is a valuable body part and it is wrong to circumcise baby boys to remove the foreskin. I applaud all these intactivists for their efforts. Through them, we will change the cutting culture in the United States.
 

YouTube Video: Circumcision: The Whole Story
Dr. Christopher Guest of CHHRP.org discusses the history of circumcision, medical myths surrounding it, and the function and anatomy of the intact penis. The video is a powerful resource tool for prenatal education. Intact America named Dr. Christopher Guest as their Intactivist of the Month for July 2013.

Read more . . .

Fixing my skin bridge

Click to Enlarge
My skin bridge on the dorsal side between my foreskin and glans

I would like to share with you all my recent experience in having my skin bridge (a piece of skin from my foreskin attached to my glans penis) removed. My hope is that this information may help answer some questions others may have about correcting a skin bridge.

About me

I am a 36 year old male from Melbourne, Australia. For many years I have been living with a bit of my foreskin attached to the glans (head /knob) of my penis. The foreskin covered a larger portion of the left side of my glans.

I didn’t really know why I have a skin bridge. I did not even have any idea what it was called, until I came across this website, which has been my inspiration to have the problem rectified.

I have learnt that at birth all foreskins are adhered (stuck) to the glans of the penis and after a period of time the foreskin slowly detaches itself away from the glans.

Skin bridges mostly occur after circumcision when two ‘raw’ skin surfaces adhere (stick) together. But I am uncircumcised (uncut or, more correctly, intact). My skin bridge is not a result of a botched circumcision. My skin bridge likely occurred when my foreskin was trying to detach itself from the glans. Perhaps it happened due to a forced retraction when I was an infant and the detached skin reattached itself, permanently. Read more . . .

Intactivism: May 2013 in Review

"I find circumcision to be . . . illogical." So says Spock baby.Parents, protect your babies. Support intactivism. The following list includes blogs, articles, and websites of interest to Intactivists that were published in the past month. This is a running tally of the ones I found interesting.
 

Thursday, May 2, 2013

Guggie Daly: Jewish Anti-Circumcision and Intactivist Ads in Israel (Translations Provided)
Guggie translates Hebrew informational posters and brochures that provide intactivist messages. The Hebrew messages were produced by an Israeli Intactivist Group.
 

Friday, May 10, 2013

The WHOLE Network: Infant's Brush with Death After Routine Circumcision
A mother writes about her son's ill-fated circumcision. She and her husband took their son to a urologist for a circumcision. They thought they were doing the right thing and that it was only a routine procedure. They were wrong. The boy was cut and they were sent on their way. Unfortunately, the urologist botched the circumcision and the baby started bleeding. The frantic parents finally made it to the ER. The baby boy had to be transferred to another hospital where the urologist stitched up the cut blood vessel. They were sent home, only to have another ambulance trip to the hospital because the baby boy had lost so much blood. All because the parents went with the flow and did not question the need for an infant circumcision.
  Read more . . .

Intactivism: April 2013 in Review

His body, His rightsIntact America is preparing for a New Orleans protest outside the annual convention of the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG). Intact America will be sponsoring a sidewalk demonstration in New Orleans on Saturday, May 4, 2013, at the annual convention of the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. The image to the right is the Intact America logo for this protest and is being used by many on Facebook. The ACOG convention is the largest assemblage of baby-cutters under one roof. During this one-day event, intactivist will be protesting the role of obstetricians in perpetrating circumcision in American hospitals.

The picture below shows the mobile billboard that will traverse the streets of New Orleans on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. It is just one more way Intact America gets the word out that male infant circumcision is harmful. Baby boys need to be protected. It is, after all, his body and his rights.

Parents, protect your babies. Support intactivism. The following list includes blogs, articles, and websites of interest to Intactivists that were published in the past month. This is a running tally of the ones I found interesting.

Should I circumcise?: Circumcision and Trauma
Infant circumcision is traumatic. Why is that controversial? Trauma is defined as an event that the person experiences where they feel a lack of control and fear that their life is in danger. It is also accompanied by a state of heightened central nervous system arousal, a fight or flight type response. This describes what happens when a baby has part of his most sensitive organ cut off.

Intactivism: March 2013 in Review

2013 Genital Integrity Awareness WeekAnother year has gone by and I still have not made it to Genital Integrity Awareness Week in Washington, DC. *sigh*

Eventually, I need to get caught up with my work so I can have more time to more of the intactivist work I want, like go to one of the many intactivist events.

I still have not yet found time to provide weekly updates. The following list includes blogs, articles, and websites of interest to Intactivists that were published in the past month. This is a running tally of the ones I found interesting.
 

Your Tango: How Circumcision Affects Sexual Pleasure [EXPERT]
Mommy's Dirty Little Secret: Penis Talk: Circumcision, How And Why It Affects Sexual Pleasure
Acknowledgement from those in the sex education field, it is well-known that male circumcision reduces sexual pleasure for both the circumcised man and his partner. Not that sex is bad for circumcised guys, it is not. But it is not as good as it could be for most of them. The foreskin offers a lot for men. It is erogenous tissue that feels good. The gliding action of the foreskin changes the sexual dynamic and aids both the man and the woman.
  Read more . . .

Happy 4th Birthday, RestoringForeskin.org!

Happy birthday Restoring Foreskin.orgHappy fourth birthday Foreskin Restoration.orgI am so embarrassed. Foreskin restoration site RestoringForeskin.org had its 4th birthday last week and I missed it.

Four years ago (plus a week) the popular foreskin restoration site RestoreForeskin.org announced that it was shutting down in two weeks. Craig, the site admin, was not responding to anyone's request for information. Nor was he responding to any offers to take over the site. We were about to lose a great resource for restoring men.

I saw the need for a replacement site and quickly got to work. I posted a request for help in building a new site. We had two weeks. If a new site was to be built before RestoreForeskin.org shut down, it would require more than one person. QBMan, a Canadian restorer, stepped up and volunteered. Others volunteered to be beta testers.

We quickly got to work and in two weeks RestoringForeskin.org went live. It took a while longer to get the rough edges worked out. In fact, we are still working on making the site better. Read more . . .