I was "circumcised" the day I was born, like most. Next to the words "reason to operate" were the hand written words "live birth". Since when is "live birth" a disease? My mother claims that she does not remember signing a consent form, so I assume they forged her signature.

Like most men, I was not aware of what was missing while growing up. When I noticed the drawings of Greco-Roman nudes and statues, I asked my mother "Why didn't they finish drawing it?" I guess she explained this to me, but I have no audible memory of her words. I was trying to figure out what she was saying, and was thoroughly confused.

When mother told me that I could be drafted one day, I told her I would cut my penis off She replied "You will bleed to death." I hadn't bled to death from the scar they gave me, and could not figure out how they did this. I was glad I did not have to do it again, but was instinctively curious.

When I grew older, in the back of my mind, I was always curious as to what that foreskin thing was all about. I had mixed and confused feelings, but knew that I wish I had been consulted. Assuming my Dad was cut, I was surprised to find out that he was not circumcised when he told me 35 years later. I grew up in a family that did not support nudity as anything good, so much so that when I went to life drawing classes, I was mortified. That mortification was intensified when I first witnessed a "circumcision." Read more . . .

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

This week marks the 40th anniversary of Van Lewis's arrest for intactivism. Van lewis and his brother were jailed in Florida's capital city, on 17 December, 1970, for peacefully protesting against infant circumcision while on the public sidewalk in front of Tallahassee Memorial Hospital. They were charged with disturbing the peace and spent a day in jail. Van continues as an intactivist.

Van became the Legislative Liaison and President of Florida's Chapter of the National Organization of Circumcision Information Resource Centers, a Certified Educator for Doctors Opposing Circumcision, and an active participant/protester in the Stop Infant Circumcision Society.

To mark the 40th anniverary, Van Lewis demonstrated against infant circumcision at the same place where he was arrested 40 years ago. Read more . . .

Baby Mario was born this summer in a South Miami, Florida, hospital. Due to complications (some type of infection), baby Mario was in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) for ten days. While in the hospital, Mario's mother Vera Delgado explicitly and repeatedly told the hospital staff that she did not want her son circumcised. She refused to sign the consent form for the circumcision surgery.

Despite all this, Mario was circumcised. On the eighth day of Mario's stay in the NICU and after Vera Delgado left her son's side to go home and shower, a doctor removed baby Mario from the NICU and circumcised him. Without consent. Without the parents being present. Without consideration that the infant was in the NICU and should not have to undure the stress of circumcision surgery. Read more . . .

I am an intactivist because I want to see the day when parents respect the genital integrity and autonomy of their children. If surgery is not medically necessary to correct a birth defect or disease, then the child should not be cut, period.

I am a son who was circumcised shortly after birth. I do not like it. I hate my circumcision. Many young men who were circumcised also do not like that part of their sex organ was cut off. Thanks to the Internet, more young men are learning what circumcision does. It removes erogenous tissue from the penis. The foreskin is there for a reason and these young men are upset that it was removed before they were old enough to object. Read more . . .