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"The test of the morality of a society is what it does for its children." --Dietrich Bonhoeffer

You can write to me here. You are welcome to share your own experiences, ask me questions or tell me anything else you would like me to know. Thanks so much for visiting my site. I hope it has been helpful:-)

I know I'm almost a year late at replying, and I do apologize for this, but I just wanted you to know that because of this video you posted and the message you wrote me, I decided NOT to circumcise my son. My baby was born 6 weeks premature and was in the NICU for almost a month because of low birth weight and difficulty in breathing. During his stay at the hospital, you would not believe how many times I was asked by several nurses if I wanted to circumcise my baby. No matter how many times I said "NO," they kept pestering me and asking away! It was incredible! Finally, they just gave up and left it alone, so, with that being said, my son is whole. I also got a lot of lip from relatives. When my baby finally came home, my cousin asked if I circumcised my boy. When I said that I didn't, she gave me a shocking look and said, "Why the hell didn't you? If your baby gets an infection, it's gonna be your fault!" I told her that if God intended for the male not to have the foreskin, they all would have been born without it!

Thank you so much for posting this video and for your email too! I wish more families could open their eyes and see that really is an unnecessary procedure; in addition, extremely barbaric!

Warm regards,

Mary

I just have to tell you thank you for opening my eyes to a tragedy that is occurring everyday in every hospital. I feel that this information needs to be made public for all expecting parents and men that are having any sort of problems with sexual activity. I must tell you that when I was 19 years old, I worked in a newborn nursery at a Hospital. I worked the night shift taking care of the babies and in the morning I had to assist with circumcising. It was terrible, I had to strap the babies to a hard plastic board and assist the doctor with the instruments. There was no pain medication whatsoever and the newborn babies would cry tears which is not supposed to happen when they are only one day old. For the days following the circumcising the babies would cry again with tears rolling down their cheeks everytime they would urinate and we knew they needed a diaper change. You see, uric acid and sodium chloride burn when applied to an open wound. I am only hoping that the procedure is more humane these days, but I feel like going on a crusade to save the male penis from this mutilation. I am going to gather the information that you have given me and do something about it, even if it is just informing pediatricians by emailing them this link. Well, I thank you again!

~Christina

I'm British, and born before the barbaric practice fell from favour after 1949, so I was cut. I didn't know that until I saw other boys when I was 11 years old, and noticed that they got more pleasure from masturbation than I did. Since then sexual pleasure has gradually diminished, until the age of 60 when I could no longer orgasm in intercourse. It is high time that the nasty procedure was ended, and I hope that the ban recently announced in Germany spreads to the rest of the world.

After my step-daughter’s ultrasound for her first child she came to me livid with her pediatrician. As soon as the physician and nurse learned the sex of her fetus, he said, “Congratulations, you are having a boy!” in the same breath he continued, “And, you NEED to make a decision about circumcision.” He shoved a piece of paper in her hand about circumcision, and then both of them began telling her why they thought her son would be better off with part of his genitals missing.

She and her husband had already agreed that they would not consider circumcision if they were having a boy, since they saw no NEED, imperative, or necessity for it. She was very angry with her physician and nurse for promoting an unnecessary surgery that would put her son at risk now and in the future. She trusted them to protect her AND her child.

Promoting is the right verb. They mentioned circumcision even though she hadn’t asked about it. They had literature prepared in advance. When she said she and her husband had already decided no, they did not give her information on caring for an intact boy, but they continued to talk her into circumcision. What they didn’t do was provide her with what she wanted information—either verbally or written—on the care of a natural penis.

Does greed, peer-pressure, or simple stupidity drive physicians to promote circumcision? I don’t know. What I do know is that I would be very angry and grief stricken if any of my grandsons were cut, just as I would be equally furious if someone cut my granddaughter.

I have been circumcised and I am completely ashamed of it. It has caused me so much negative feelings you would not believe it. It is at moments like this that I am gratefull for the internet. Because even though I can see that you stand against routine non-consensual circumcision I would never be able to look you in the face knowing that you know I am circumcised. It makes me feel naked, exposed, humiliated and completely weakened. These are terrible feelings and just some of the things that circumcision does to a person.

I thought your videos were so informative! I had never given the topic any thought what so ever. I have not had children yet but I'm blessed w/ having so much knowledge available to me before I bring a little one in the world.

Please continue your work and I thank you for it.

i just want to say thank you for making this site... it really opened my eyes up to what circumsision really is!! i have a baby girl and i remember thinking when i was pregnant... if its a boy... i wouldnt want to get him circumsized.... and now i know for sure if i have a boy he will only get circumsized if he decides to when he is older!! thank you soo much, those videos almost made me throw up!! how could anyone willingly let their child go through that kind of pain!!!!!!! ugh im just sick right now! but thank you for sharing this information!

I've been really unsure about what I wanted to do when my son gets here. And I've been told that having him circumsized would mean easier cleaning. So I am all for it. But after reading the information on you're site I have to say I have done a complete 180 on that idea.

I will NOT have my son circumsized!

Thank you so much for supplying people with all this information :)

Jessica

I was just randomly browsing around and I came across this page. I have just always been nonchalant about circumcision, never strong for or against it. I thought it was a quick, mostly pain free procedure, but I watched one of your videos and I could barely sit all the way through it! I did not know circumcision was SO intense and painful for the baby. I couldn't watch. I felt sick and sad. I have definitely decided against circumcising my future children, DEFINITELY. No baby deserves to go through that barbaric act.

The US would go into an uproar if we started cutting off the genitals of baby girls, so this should not be done to boys. I have had boyfriends who were uncircumcised, it does not bother me at all. It's natural, and there for a reason!

Thank you so much for your information!!

Take care

Hi, My first son was circumcised - I was young & didn't have any information on the subject. Having had 2 sisters & a polite father, my knowledge of penises was very limited. My now-ex husband figured that he was circumcised then our son should be too. I had NO idea what was involved & asked to watch ( I like to learn about as many things in life as I can. ) The nurse told me that I didn't want to know, and kept me out of the room. After that I did some research. One Dr. I read compared it to the pain of having your eyelids surgically removed, & the cause of MANY sleep disorders. My next 2 boys are intact. Several times a day I had to remind the newborn nurses that MY son was NOT due for his circumcision. This is one of the few causes that I get REALLY loud about. --- Yeah, I am seriously "pro-choice" GLAD IT'S NOT JUST ME !!! ;-)

Thanks for the ear!

ttfn

Hi!

I just wanted to say that I just happened to come across your site. I wanted to let you know that I am so happy that my husband and I decided to keep our son as natural as the day he was born. We had a lot of opposition from family members and friends claiming that we did the wrong thing, but we know we did the right thing.

take care,

chama

however we are going to have a baby, and we do NOT plan circumcision. we both work at ob/gyn and the doc there does circumcision, and more and more parents are choosing not to circumcise! dad is circumcised and we do not worry about baby "not looking like dad" or any of those other "worries" -- i was shocked when i realized that the "circumstraint" is a real thing... i thought is was a joke at first (although really not funny) i see moms getting a teary eyed, and just about to have their baby boy circumcised and then back out, and the doc is happy about it! other mom's just cry and leave the room while it happens... so strange to me...

~another mom keeping her baby whole.

I am glad that someone has the courage to stand up for what is right! Babies are born as they should be . . . it is not up to a parent to cosmetically alter their infant!! Thank you for sharing this valuable information and for sharing part of yourself with us all.

Future Mother of an Intact Boy, USA

I had a very difficult time with my family because I chose to NOT circumsize either of my sons. All it takes is a little education for parents to realize what a risk they are taking. I personally know of 3 boys in my own family who had adhesions, and one had to have corrective surgery at 12. But, as always until I started asking the hard questions no one in the family talked about the medical complications these boys had had and none of them knew of the others! Yet the family will talk ad naseum about everything else...keep up the good work. I will be sure to send a link to your page to anyone I know who is pregnant :)

Most of my friends are not educated about circumcision. Don't even know to question it. The way this story is tells it perfectly. I am honored to educate people or at least get them thinking. I don"t write or research much so I appreciate having stuff like this all ready to pass on. A couple of my friends have posted it already. Likely some have read it that never thought about it before. You are doing miraculous work for humanity one bulletin at a time. I had my son circumsized and it was absolutely traumatizing for my son and I. I am committed to educating others so they will not make the same uneducated decision because everyone else is doing it. Thanx for the badge

Corina

Nice to meet you! I think you're doing a great thing by keeping people informed about this issue. Our son is 13 months old and intact. I had decided years ago that if I ever had a son he would be left as he came. My wife has seen a couple of the other boys in pre-school who have been cut. She thanked me all over again after seeing them. She was very surprised at how much skin had been removed. By the way, we have been told several times by teachers and other mothers that our son is so happy and easy going. They asked my wife why that is. I told her to tell them it is because we didn't cut half his penis off at birth!

Thanks again!

Keith

For the record I come from a long line of healthy males that are un-cut. My two boys share this feature with me.

I wasn't born on the North American continent. I just live here now. The doctors tried to convince me to cut my sons but I insisted that it would not be acceptable. Our children were born at home with a mid-wife so there was no pressure at the time of birth to perform the proceedure. Before me my wife had never even seen of one un cut and actually had no idea that the cut ones were made that way through cutting.

What I never understood was that why is it bad to cut a female and not a male. In my opinion the foreskin is very sensitive and adds loads of pleasure to sex. Why mess with nature. A nice clean, hygienic natural protector .... and people want to cut it off. Eventually on a guy with foreskin it retracts and is pretty hard to tell the difference anyway.

i am a little confused ive never thought about it till today browsing through your videos. im christian and thought it was a must to do the cir. is it??? [I wrote her back in detail how circumcision is not a christian religious requirement]

ok well thank u soo much. thanks to u honestly i will never circ my children if God ever gives me any. before viewing ur videos and reading your literature i was very sure i was gonna circ my children but now knowing all this info i have no right to make a decision this important without his consent they have a right to choose whether they keep it or not thank u sooooo much i hope u can reach more people and open their eyes as well thanks again!!!!

Good to see the movement getting into the mainstream media! I'm circumcized, but we didn't circumcize my son (in the early 90s, I guess that makes us pioneers). I think the reasons Americans circumcise are more complex and strange. It's something mainly in the subconscious and it says alot about culture and psychology. I also wondered if there was a semitic-sympathy component after WWII which helped trigger the trend? Whatever the case, now it may be seen as a racial/class mark, and American women grow up thinking un-cut is abnormal and dirty.

Anyway, keep up the good work!

I just wanted you to know that the deciding factor for me to leave my son intact was based on information, links and videos that I found on your site about a month ago. Thank god I stumbled upon your site. Thank you SOOOO much for helping to educate people. My son is perfect just the way he is and my whole family was really supportive of my decision. My mom told me that after they brought my brother back in the room after getting circumcised 21 years ago that it broke her heart to look at his face and see how hard he had been crying. It amazes me that we are supposed to be such an educated and advanced society but we do this to our helpless infants :(

Hey there! Just wanted to share that 13 years ago I chose not to circ my baby boy, feeling that body rights apply to men as well. 13 years has brought no infections, no medical problems, no teasing, no trauma....and my son THANKED me because he felt like he truly owned his body. He thinks it puts him in a very special club - Men who are as much a master of their bodies as we want women to be. I truly hope as the years go on, that more and more men will join this "club"!

In college, I'm a pediatric nurse, circumcision was on our lab check list. Before that I had never really thought about what this meant or the principle of this "procedure" but when faced with this horrified, screaming & pleading newborn baby boy I refused to participate, hyperventilated and threw up. It's torture and I would never take part in inflicting something so barbaric and evil on a helpless little baby. It's sick and should be against the law. If a boy grows up and wants to slice up his winky (how many would actually say yes to that one, lol) that's his perogative but no one should be making that call for him.

"Welcome to the world baby! Let's cut your winky up!"

NO WAY! Not my baby boy! ; )

Thank you for having this page. I pray that all parents will see the truth about the cruelty and brutality of circumcision. When people criticize me, I tell them: "A woman can get breast implants if she wants, since its her body and her choice. If my son wants to alter his body when he's an adult, its his decision to do so and NOT ours.

Thanks for the congrats. To be completely honest I had absolutely no opinion about circumcision until I researched it. I'm a woman, just biology, I don't have the parts so why should I care right?! After careful consideration and tons of research I'm so glad I brought my WHOLE baby home. Woman dont get boob jobs for no reason so why subject my already gorgeous and perfect baby to something just as cosmetic? God made him in one piece and I intend to keep him that way. I am now a proud intactivist! Thanks again for the add, keep up the amazing work!

I love your page! My 10 yr old boy was just checking it out with me and he again stated how grateful he is to be "whole." I put up with a lot of crap when I decided not to put him under the knife, but we've NEVER had a problem and I know I made the right decision. Keep up the good work! :)

It was a lot of pressure and of course, I heard all of the,"He won't be clean...Have you ever been with anyone who hasn't been circumsized...He's not going to be like the other boys when he grows up..." and many more, and yes, even the Pre-school teacher gave me static about the fact that my son is his whole self. She too tried to tell me that "when he realizes that he's different from everyone else, he's going to want to be cut and it's going to hurt worse". The only difference I see in cutting is not that the pain is any less, but that the older our son's become, the more likely they are to remember the pain.

I was very lucky to have a Pediatrician who gave me all of the facts and never once indicated his own opinions.

For a time I did start to doubt my decision to keep my son whole and intact; as a result of all the continued pressure. Five years later however, I have NO regrets.

I am so glad you've posted these videos! It would be a better world if people knew what and why they were really doing something before they did it. Unfortunately, it's a world of blind followers.

Hello I have one question or maybe more.

For the past year or so infant circumcision has been running in my mind.

It gets to me from time to time.

I don't tell people about how I feel about it.

I'm not good at proving my points and I just give up as not to upset others.

I've read all the studies and I believe that its not my choice its the child's alone.

How are you so open about it?

I think thats great what your doing showing people the truth.

I can honestly say that if my boyfriend wasn't not intact that my future boys if I had any would have been cut.

I didn't know that foreskin even existed.

I didn't know what it was for.

I found so much information about it.

I cried seeing what I saw, and I read some parenting forums.

I heard parents saying it looks nice and its cleaning thats why we had it done.

I feel for their sons.

I can say now that my children will be taught how to love their bodies and how to repect them.

My boyfriend's parents never taught him about his foreskin.

And he was very nervous about telling me since we are both virgins and I'm his first love.

He wrote it on a note one day saying he was uncircumcised.

After that he kept asking is that ok.

Because our society says cut is better so it made him sad.

But at that time I had to look up the word uncircumcised and some other things.

I'm glade that people like you educated people once like me.

thank you,

Jaimi

When I had my first baby we weren't sure if we should get him circumcised, but his dad is circumcised, and we thought it would be cleaner, less trouble to take care of, and he would feel more "normal" if he were so we went ahead with it. They took him away on the 3rd day after his birth and when they brought him back he was crying in a way I had never heard him cry before, I can only describe it as a "hurt cry." Even though I comforted him as best I could he was fussy for several days afterward where as before he had been a calm baby. His little penis, which before I had thought was cute, was an open wound: red, swollen and weeping. Even with the petroleum jelly on it, it bled through the gauze dressing, the blood dried, and it became firmly adhered. I had to gingerly pull it off a little at a time, while our son screamed bloody murder. His dad knelt by the bed while I did this, and he turned so white I thought he might pass out. It was a this point we asked ourselves "why did we do this to him???" and agreed we had fallen prey to an insidious kind of adult peer pressure. I vowed if I had another son I wouldn't make the same mistake again.

After researching it this time around with my second son, I realized that many of the benefits I attributed to circumcision could be gained through proper hygiene and as far as fitting in goes, if getting a functioning part of your body amputated is necessary to fit in then count us out! Actually, giving in to the pressure to circumcise just leads to more circumcisions - someone has to stop the cycle of violence. And to those we say that "oh they won't remember" I believe that they may not remember the details of the event but the memory of the pain and fear will always be with them and will influence their development. If this was true then children who were abused as infants would develop normally, but as we know they do not. If "he won't remember" is an excuse for hurting a baby ... then what kind of a society have we become?

Danielle Saxon, RN, BSN.

PS I also witnessed infants being circumcised during my nurse's training and trust me I can attest that it is not a pleasant affair. (This was after my first son was born and circumcised.)

I just watched your video and I COULD not make it all the way through. I have 2 boys that I did that too And now I cant stop crying. I feel so horrible I had no IDEA the dr's just say it doesnt hurt and it is not big deal I am so angry. what can I do to make it up to my boys for doing that to them? is there ANYTHING?? i cant believe i did that to them. I think that is the worst thing in the world.

Angel Thank you for your reply. I did send an indepth email to one of my friends that is having a baby and it is a boy! I hope i get through to her. I will pass this on to others and get the word out further. thanks again

Angel

I wanted to thank you for helping to educated people and try to stop this horrible procedure, I am also extremely against it. Keep up the work

It is a heated debate over a child that is not yet conceived. I am so glad you added me because I was able to use alot of information from your you tube to bring to light the brutality of circumcision. Apparently, I am farther in the wrong than I was. All he does is tell me, I am thankful my parents did it and if we have a son, "MY son will be cut". Here is my opinion. I have to carry a child and push it out, I should have some say in it. People are blind to the screams and people dont know what goes on with thier babies. I am not even pregnant yet and I am on the verge of calling off a life with a decent man over this kind of issue. I dont feel that I have to subject my baby to it because I am told that it will be done if I like it or not. What if my baby does NOT like it. I am in a hole and dont know if I should dig deeper into life with this man, or turn right in the hole and build a new tunnel to get away from him. It turned into a huge argument. I thought there should have been some compromise. I had no reason to believe it would cause this much strain. I think that there is a new issue building for not just me, but other couples. What do you do in the heat of debate? I am thankful to God that the debate is now, and not in the birthing room. I am wondering what all the red flags are here to back out. Yet I dont want to really ditch a great relationship. But I will and just go get artificially inseminated if I really want to have a kid. Not looking for advice. Just thought you might find interest in my particular situation. Thanks for reading this far. Cause I feel better!

My baby's circumcision is an issue that haunts me. I have such tremendous guilt over it and have shed many tears. Circumcision is a horrendous practice and I've always hated it. When my older son was born, they didn't even ask me if I wanted him circumcised. They TOLD me they were going to do it and that it was best, etc. and made it sound as though I had no choice.

This other doctor did ask and when I expressed reservations, he told me that it was best, etc. He's a good doctor, but grossly misinformed. He was delayed in doing the procedure and I told the nurse that I did NOT want it done, to please get the doctor to contact me. This was the day BEFORE they did it. I do remember speaking to a nurse and telling her that I did NOT want this, even though I can't remember her name or exactly what I said and I do remember her response was to blow me off. She basically told me that I was being emotional and hormonal, as if I were overreacting, and that it was best for the baby to be circumcised. She did not give the doctor the message. Other nurses said they would try to get in touch, but somehow it was not done. By the time the doctor came to see me the next day, he'd already cut my son. I was devastated. I will contact that attorney and see if I have a case or not. My thinking is that since I was impaired and cannot remember the nurse's name, I won't be able to prove anything. It really is horrible and difficult to live with this guilt. :(

Thanks for having this site available. I will be showing many of your photos in a presentation that I'm doing to midwives at the Trust Birth Conference in Redondo Beach, CA. Foreskins for keeps, an idea whose time has come.

Gloria Lemay

www.trustbirthconference.com

That constraint thing is one of the sickest things I've ever seen.

Circumcision isn't common here in the UK. I'd only ever heard of it being done for religious reasons, and had a huge shock when I discovered how common it is in America. I mean, I was really upset, crying for days, I couldn't believe this routine mutilation was going on.

For every person that doesn't circumcise because of your site, you have done such a wonderful thing.

And oh my god, I've just looked at the comparison pictures of intact and cut penises.

I am lucky enough to have never seen a cut penis before.

How can anyone think it is okay to do that????

I'm not going to watch any of the videos. I am already anti-circ enough, the descriptions I read around the time of my first discovery are enough (including one of a Jewish non hospital one). I don't think I could recover from the trauma.

Please keep up the good work.

I dont know why you have dedicated a site to this topic, but fortunately I already know that circumcision is a useless barbaric practice. I would never let anyone torture my newborn baby like so many others have. As you may already know there have been many cases where the doctors have cut too much skin, one case where they said to raise the boy as a girl, because they cut so much of the penis.

I completely agree with your mission, however, I cannot view any of your videos, it would break my heart. I had a tough time with my husband because I would not allow our son to be circumcised, he said, well, as a man, I think I know what's best for him, and I said, well as the woman who carried him for nine months and spent 36 hours in labor, you will not so much as allow anyone to touch one hair on his body, end of story. Well, that was that, I absolutely could not give in on this one. Now before you think my husband must be a real you-know-what, I must explain, he was not circumcised at birth, but at 16 years of age and for medical reasons. He was trying to spare our son from the same fate. My argument was, it's not a genetic thing, what happened to you is very rare and will not necessarily happen to him, does that mean I have to get a hysterectomy because I may get uterine cancer ? I know sounds ridiculous. Anyways, he was given a local anesthetic, I hear this isn't so for newborns. completely different argument, but I won't get my daughter's ears pierced either, they can make those kinds of choices for themselves. They won't live their life without pain, I know, but why start life out that way?

Take care,

Sandra

It really is quite a bizarre thing - over here[Europe], it just is not something that happens - I have only ever met one person who had had it done, and that was a guy of my age (26). I have never heard of a baby or child having it done. Why is it so popular over there do you think? Anna xx

Hi,

My wife just showed me your page, and I wanted to say thank you. it's such important info. Circumcision is one of those "Unquestioned Assumptions" that our american culture is riddled with.

For the Sake of Children Everywhere,

Michael

It was easy to protect them because I stayed home and birthed them into a safe gentle environment. If we had had to go in, I had a birth plan that explicitly stated my baby was never to leave my sight, or be circumcised, and had someone done so I would have needed to be physically restrained from attacking them for assaulting my child. Tell your readers to put NO CIRC explicitly in their birthplans for the hospital. It should say I DO NOT CONSENT to circumcision.

carrie

You have an amazing amount of vital information on your site! Thank you for your work!

-Jessica

It pisses me off that people are so stupid and blind also. They "know" about circumcision but yet don't want to see a baby in a circumstraint. What blind fools. I get so angry. They should see everything. I wonder how many people would be persuaded to leave their sons intact if it was mandatory that they had to watch circumcision videos before making a decision....

i am a married mother of two,consider myself a good mother who truly feels for her boys. i chose circumcision for both my boys. i feel this was the right choice for them (my husband agreed). i will admit your images are truly disturbing and i sobbed big fat mommy tears. but i know now why my doctor ( whom took good care of me for 14 years) ASKED me to leave the room. i sat in the waiting room,could hear them cry and yet i knew they would soon forget the whole thing.i asked many and i do mean many man their opinions. I learned that both "natural and unnatural" men had good points and bad. i didn't see any of the good things about circumcision on your site. If you trust your instincts you will make the right decision for your family.i know i did.

I think that this page is wonderfully informative, but it makes me feel horrible. I did what I thought was the right thing and got my son circumsized...I'll never forget his first diaper changing. I just stood over him crying, while I changed his bandages. I wish that I had this information prior to his birth.

Take care, and have a Blessed Easter,

~Rose

I have a 1 1/2 year old son who is not circumsized! My husband is dominican and there culture doesn't do that. I also thought it was terrible to do and when I had him they asked me if I wanted to and I asked the doctors about it. The doctor told me there was no medical proof that it was either better or worse and that he refused when His son was born. So I opted not too. My older sister who has a son and is circumsized was trying to convince me to go back and get it done but I just couldn't find any logical reason to do something so painful when there is no benefit to my sons health in the long run. Trust me I have heard alot of criticism about it and I really could not care less.

Hello,

I was wondering if you may be able to help me with something?

My husband and I are parents to three little girls, so we have not really had a lot of conversations about circumcision.

We have thought about the possibility of a little boy, and would like to someday have a fourth child. When we have talked about circumcisions, my husband says that his boy should be circumcised like his daddy, and also brings up that it is written in the Bible that how a penis should be.

I was wondering if you can help me, by giving me a little more fuel that this should not be done. I would feel awful if there was a part of my body cut off.

I am almost tempted to give up on the thought of having a son... three children should be "enough", and then the circumcision argument would not have to be a battle for us. That may sound like a coward's way out. I do long to have a little boy though.

Thank you so much for the info!!!

Shelly

I have a 3 year old son whom I would not circumsize. Couldn't be happier with my decision. He has never had issues with it and he already knows how to take care of himself quite well. I am pregnant with a boy now, and he will not be circumsized either.

xoxox

Thank you for taking the time to reply. I did go back to MDC. I havent' posted my story as I'm sure they get alot of same stories daily. I've been reading others similar stories. They are soo educated and creative with words on that website. I posted alot of their stories on my CIRCUMCISION blog. I don't see how anyone can make the choice to Circumsize after reading them. I want to send some knowledge or GUILT to these doctors who preform this surgery on innocent helpless newborns & demand that they educate themselves & MAKE A CHANGE! Thanks Again.

the one of the actual procedure was VERY helpful (even though it made me horribly sick watching it) it actually changed my good friend's mind completely and a few random girls that saw it. and well i also showed the ones of the RNs and one other i'm not sure which one (i did this like a week or so back) and i posted them in pregnancy/mother forums.

I just picked up 'What to Expect the First Year' (at a thrift store) and it's already irritated me. Under pros/cons for circ it said 'it is surgery, but minor...it is not believed it is painful for the baby and if it is, it's only short in duration'. WHAT??? And added that since the use of the padded circumstraint it's become less uncomfortable for baby. WHAT? So it's was the lack of padding that made it so awful NOT the hot blade removing part of his penis??? Right...

My mother in law actually used that "locker room" argument. It didn't falter our decision. It was annoying having to defend it though. All I can say is that we never had a cranky baby on our hands. In fact, he's not one of those babies who freak out during every diaper change.

Thanks for such an informative site. I only wished people would question the terrible act they're about to do to their sons rather than go ahead with it because "everyone else is doing it."

take care,

camilla

I have always personally been against circumcision, and I am so glad both my sons are not. I got only about 20 seconds or so into one of the videos on your page and was sick at my stomach. Keep up the good work of keeping people informed.

i am wondering if you can offer any advice on what i can do for my first son who was circumsized. i was on the fence about it, actually i was against it, but left it up to my husband to decide. well when brandon was 5 days old we took him to get his vit k, pku and circ. i was against vit k as well, but they wouldn't do the circ without it. i didn't not go into the room where they injected the vit k, nor did i go into the room where the pku was done. both were very quick and i didn't hear him cry. then we proceeded up to the labor and delivery or wherever it was they do circ's and we had to sign a consent form. they expressed how rare and complications were and we felt ok about those odds. the doc assured me brandon would not feel any pain because they numb before the do anything and besides, all they would do is put a rubberband around his penis and it would suffocate the skin and the skin would fall off. i felt comfortable knowing that it wouldn't hurt.

my point, much later, when he was old enough to talk when changing his diaper, he would tell me his pee pee hurts. this was from accumulation of dust or clothing getting under his skin up on the rim of the head of his penis, i think i said that right, basically his penis is small and tucks in his skin, looks like a turtle barely poking his head out. well debris would get up in there so we had to pull back the skin, by pushing back on his fat area and clean that off, it was very red, and we would put gentle cream on it. anyways, because of always hearing about his pee pee hurting we started to think about the circ and wondered if it has anything to do with it. i did some research and saw the show on HBO criticize circ's and have since found you here. obviously now i am totally against it regardless of what any man thought, no one will EVER do that to one of my babies again. i have a second son and he was born at home with unassisted husband/wife childbirth. everytime i change his diaper i am reminded of the huge mistake we made with our first. i wonder if there is anything we can do to reverse his pain. it's one of my biggest regrets in life. i would have never gone to the hospital that day had i known what i know now. sorry this is so lengthy. but it really bothers me that i have caused psychological and physical pain to my newborn baby. i assume now it was painful despite what i was told by the so kind to us doctor. i can't bare to even watch the video of a circumcision. well let me know if there is anything we can do to reverse the damage. my son is extremely emotional and cries over the smallest thing. we think it's his virgoism but my goodness, sometimes we are just blow away at the tiny things this boy cries over. he is 4 now. well thanks if you made it this far in reading this and thank you soo much in advance if you choose to respond! have a very merry christmas!

When we were expecting our first, I did not want to circumsize. My husband did. So, we asked our midwife about her thoughts on the subject, and she said "Most boys just want to look like daddy." NOT GOOD ENOUGH!!!

Needless to say, I have 2 boys who are both complete with foreskin.

Thank you for putting these pictures and comments out. I'm a Dutch born male who came to Canada in 1981. In most European countries circumcisions are only performed as the result of medical need or religious reasons. I had a younger brother who was circumcised at the age of 5. He was not too happy about the results, but it was believed that it was necessary, since he could not retract the foreskin.

In 1989 I married a fine Canadian girl and we had our first son in February of 1992. Even though my wife had not seen an uncircumcised penis until she married me, she realized that circumcision without a medical reasons was a form of abuse. There had been some comments made by my in laws, but after a talk with them they also realized that there was no reason for our son to be circumcised or for that matter any child without medical need there off.

December of 1992 we adopted a son and one of the first questions to us was; "do you want him to be circumcised?" Of course our answer was no.

In 1998 I was diagnosed as having a neurogenic bladder. This requires me to intermittently use catheters. Even with this my urologist did not see me being uncircumcised causing or adding any problem.

The worlds view point regarding circumcision needs to change. Most people will admit that circumcision of females is abuse. There is no difference in altering the penis in males.

Thank you and please continue to advocate against infant circumcision.

I'm pregnant w/#2. we've decided not to find out the sex of the baby...but if it's a baby boy my partner 'demands' a circumcision. he won't even read the facts about it. any ideas? tamara

Thank you for putting up such wonderful information and graphics about circs. =o)

Blessings & Harmony,

Missy Jo

Greetings! I wanted to tell you I just LOVE your site here! It really terrific. I run an intactivists group on here: http://www.care2.com/c2c/group/TheWholeChild I would love to have you come over and join us.

Peace & Wholeness,

Lauren

I think your site is awesome, informative and has a lot of unbiased information. I watched the video about plastibell circumcision and it made me feel awful. My son is 9 days old, and I was pressured by a LOT of people to have him circumsized. The only person that didnt pressure me was the Dr performing the procedure, he asked if this was what I wanted to do and told me it was strictly for cosmetic pruposes. I was so nervous and felt so bad about what they did to my poor baby's penis. Really, I regret doing it. Those restraints look awful. They used lidocaine and Sweatease, and he had a nurse with him strictly for comfort. I still feel so awful. his penis is healed and looks ok, no infection or anything. I'm going through hormonal ups and downs of post-partum, and now I feel like the worst mom! I should have listened to my instincts. Thank you for the wake-up call and for educating me.

It is my belief that circumcising an unconsenting child is a pedophile attack on that child and the law should prosecute those who perform such a crime. There is no Medical organisation in the world that condones the operation, the child will not be handicapped in any way by waiting until the age of consent, and let him make up his own mind. Any father who insists that his child be circumcised needs psychiatric counselling and any mother who insists that the child be circumcised should firstly undergo circumcision herself. It should not be a crime to shoot a circumciser. I DO NOT SUPPORT THIS BRUTAL INSANE MALICIOUS CRIPPLING OPERATION. [...] Because they have never known life any other way, many males who were circumcised at birth have trouble understanding the damage inflicted on them. They think the little sensation they have as being natural and the ramming violent sex they dish out to stimulate their remnant sexual feelings makes them great lovers.... Little do they know that now because of the internet and the release of what has happened to them that women now prefer and actually seek out intact lovers... Circumcised guys will be ten deep at the tip. I believe that a circumcised guy could be described as "sexually handicapped" and that circumcising an unconsenting child is committing a pedophile attack on that child.

bobbie

I have read detail after detail regarding routine infant circumcision and it's brutality. One point has never been brought to light is the mental/emotional damage to the boy. I offer that deep in his subconscious mind he remembers what they did to him. Go to any doctor's office or hospital and watch as parents bring their sons in the door. The smells, the lights, the sounds, the masked medical people terrify the babies because they flashback to that painful experience. Their panic is clearly demonstrated by their very loud cries. They anticipate a repeat of the gruesome painful procedure that welcomed them into the world.

Mike

You provide a good and much-needed service[with your Functions/Mobility page]. The sequence 1-5 by Erikson has excellent shots of the ridged band of the prepuce (best in 3,4) and the way it is mobilized from tip to mid-shaft of penis during retraction of the prepuce. Your first animation does arrow 'ridged band'. As ridged band is by far the most specialized part of the prepuce (it is highly reflexogenic) it might be worth another mention opposite its real-life portrait, if only because Erikson tried very hard to show it at the 1994 Baltimore meeting. (shocked hotel staff made him tear the exhibit down!) . Best (Dr.) John R Taylor

[View his excellent site here: http://research.cirp.org/func1.html]

Wow! Thank you SO MUCH for this detailed information! When our oldest son was born in 1980 my circumcised husband said we would not have our sons circumcised. Our next son was born in 1981. Both sons are "intact", were never heckled in the locker room, and never asked their dad why they "look different from him". I'm so glad to know I didn't deprive them of any sexual sensations!

Thanks! I'm a young man who was considering getting rid of his foreskin, but after seeing the risks and discovering how much it does, I'm keeping it intact! I'm so grateful I didn't lose it!

And I don't care what anybody else says! When I have a son, he will never get cut without his permission! Before I wasn't so strict about it, but now sites like this and my own great, pleasure-filled experiences with my foreskin have permanently cemented my stance on circumsizing babies! They shouldn't be robbed of such great pleasure at all!

I made the big mistake of looking at the photos of babies being mutilated, how, how could anyone do that to a totally defenseless baby? Parents are supposed to protect their children, not aid and abett in the crime committed against them. I am so glad no one hacked off part of my penis!

Our pediatrician wanted us to cut our son citing cleanliness (duh a bath works), look like dad and boys in locker room (lets do plastic surgery to clone everyone), less infections (uh, i asked about cutting off girls labia to prevent infection), last longer in bed (uh, so its just the uncut guys that are buying all the viagra and cialis??). He was ignorant and just wanted us to go with the flow and not ask questions. He wanted us to change our son's penis so instead we changed doctors!

i just want to thank you for opening my eyes to the terrible effects of circumcision. I am still restoring my foreskin, i just purchased the tlcx i love it. Without you i would not have learned all that i did and would not have the wonderful sex life that i do. I let everyone i know about circumcision that i can. I know a few boys that i saved from the knife using the knowledge that you introduced me to. THANK YOU!

glen

Trust me, I'm FULLY informed about it now. I'm a mom who's son was regretfully circumcised at birth 15 years ago. I've only learned the truth about circ within the last year. I'm completely disgusted by it and sickened that I allowed it to happen to my son.

Unfortunately, I'm surrounded by a ton of people in *real life* who just don't get it! I've yet to meet or talk to anyone in person who feels the same way that I do about it.. everyone is either disgusted by thought of intactness or simply believes it to be no big deal at all to circumcise.

So I just happened to come across your site and I totally agree with you! I am an LPN who just graduated from nursing school. I watched a circumcision and wanted to cry. Most doctors do not believe in giving any numbing medication before hand. If parents only knew what happened behind closed doors and that they have the option of saying they want their baby to be numbed. I had a friend who recently had a baby boy and I wanted her to know just what exactly she was going to have done to her baby so she could think about it. She wouldn't let me tell her. STRANGE I THINK seeing as how she was going to have a procedure done to her only child and yet she didn't want to know what would happen!

I wish I would have seen this site when my son was born in March of 06.

I went into the hospital to have my son wanting to keep my son intact. I wasn't 100% sure on that, but I was pretty sure. I refused to sign the consent when I was admitted. I told them I would make up my mind for sure after he was born. I had done the research but didn't have the "courage" to fight it.

Here I am a single teenage mother, telling the Dr. that I wasn't sure what I wanted to do yet, but I was thinking I didn't want him to be "snipped". She went on the tell me how awful it would be to not do it, and how many problems there would be in the long run. Bla bla bla... same old stuff.

So I told her ok. Whatever, we will do it. She then took my son to the nursey and I watched her perform it before I signed any consent!! I did sign it afterwards not wanting to cause problems.

after it healed up, he had adhesions. The foreskin that was left was reattaching to his head os his penis.

He is 2 1/2 and every once in awhile a small part of it will get torn away and bleed. I feel so bad for him and I am ashamed that I did not have the strength to say no.

Thanks! I am a nurse and have seen first hand what happens when these poor little babies are circumcised. It's cruel and barbaric and I can't believe it's even legal to do such a thing! They shake and scream and some even stop breathing- Who wouldn't react that way? Some stranger with a knife just strapped him to a table and is cutting off part of his winky! They don't even numb it first! It's sick! My baby boy is completely intact and has every piece of life that God gave him- I never even considered circumcision.

Thanks for spreading awareness about this barbaric ritual. I think that people are so programmed to do things like this that they don't realize how cruel and unnecessary it is. It's great to see a page that educates people about important things like this so they can make an informed decision and not just "follow the leader"....and hopefully make the decision to not mutilate their son's body!

Yesterday we had our 3rd prenatal w/ our midwife, and we spent about an hour on circumcision alone. She is white American, but grew up in China as her family were missionaries. She has 3 older brothers and just as you said we're the only ones that routinely do this, so for them to be in a area where it wasn't common of course her brothers were not circumcised. I never knew that. I mean it makes sense that of course only would OUR country be this way as they are with hospital births as well amongst other things. Figures. But since my midwife's response I FEEL SO MUCH BETTER! I'm extremely surprised how open-minded my husband is being, considering his family didn't question it, and decided to circumcise my husband. After going over our convo w/ the midwife he said the only reason TO circumcise is cosmetic reasons alone and that just isn't even a reason if thats the case. With all the information we're finding I agree w/ my husband, there just isn't a good enough reason to have it done. Not to mention, if one day he chooses he wanted to be circumcised, then we'd be more than happy to pay the expenses when ever, how ever old he might be, but that if we had circumcised him as a baby, it's not like he can ask for his foreskin back as an adult. Thank You!

I decided to leave my son intact after searching for information that justified doing this very painful thing to my son. I found nothing, in fact, I found so much information that convinced me NOT to, that I printed it out and gave it to my husband to read. Before readi7ng it, he said, "You are NOT going to change my mind", but I insisted that he read it and it DID change his mind!!! I was so relieved and I LOVE my son's intact penis. I cringe whenever I think about other children experiencing this unnecessary pain. It makes me want to cry when I find out that others plan to do it to their sons. I just think about how painful it would be to have my labia cut off, or the skin that covers my urethra/clitoris cut off. What a way to welcome a beautiful and whole individual into this world.

I had my youngest son circumcised when he was born 5 years ago, when I was young (19) and naive and had never seen a foreskin. The way it turned out is hard to describe, but he has bunches of skin behind the head that actually has a cauliflower looking effect. Has anyone else heard of this? The doctors say they could do surgery on it that is more complicated than circumcision, or we could wait and see if it looks better as he gets older and bigger. The way he is, he's prime game for teasing but I hate to put him through surgery, and I think there would be a danger of leaving him with too little skin.

My younger son is 27 months and not circumcised. His penis is cute as heck and caring for it is a non-issue. I encourage new parents to leave their kids penises alone.

My son was born at home. I was lucky I didn't have to deal with the doctors at the hospital at the time & circumcision is something my midwife would never recommend! But we did take him to the Dr. at 2 weeks for a quick check up. When the Dr. took his diaper off he looked at me with this odd expression & asked why he wasn't circumcised!? I told him flat out that it was wrong & any doctor who performs this mutilating surgery shouldn't call himself a doctor! "First do no harm" right?? Well he said that my son would be in jeopardy of getting infections & possibly cancer! So I asked him if I should cut off my breasts so I wouldn't be in "jeopardy" of getting breast cancer!? He didn't have an answer to that. We left & found a Dr. who actually refuses to perform

circumcisions!

As for my family, the only people who give us problems on the subject are those who are just too ignorant to find out the facts. I firmly believe if you want your son circumcised even though it's NOT NECESSARY then you should be forced to watch a circumcision being performed. And if this still doesn't change your mind then you should be there holding your son's hand while it's being done to him! And I hope that image and the sound of his screams will stay with you the rest of your life.

Thank you

Jennifer

Thank Goodness I found this site! As a mother of 2 boys I chose not to have either circumcized. I think its cruel and unnecessary. Once I knew what circumcision was, I always knew I could never do something so cruel and barbaric to my sons. My mother told me of how when my older brother was circumcized she could hear his horrible cries all the way down the hall. When my first son was born, my husband and I got a lot of flack for not doing it. Particularly from the nurses and his mother. My pediatrician, who is not originally from the US told us all about the procedure and that America is the only country that does it routinely. She was the only one that supported our decision to leave our sons intact. She also said that she has seen more infections in circumsized boys than intact boys (soon after circumcision.) Thank you for completely reassuring me and giving me a page I can sit my Mother In Law in front of and say there. I made the right choice...I always knew it!

Thank you for this web site. I have convinced myself and my circumcised husband that the best thing for our son is to leave him alone. It was assumed we would choose circumcision at first until I happened to come across this web site from a comment a person made on a parent board. To be fair, I found some web sites in support of it but found the reasons against circumcision far more logical. Our son will be born this June and will remain intact.

~Cheryl

Hi, I have 2 sons. When I had my first I was just 20 yrs old. I didn't even think about getting my son circ'ed. It was just something I thought everyone did. I took my son in and the Dr showed me where they strap his little legs down, bring the spotlight down and cut off his foreskin :*( Stupid as I was, I still let them do it. I left crying and went outside until they were finished. Outside that building I could hear my baby cry! I cried and cried for days after. I had my second son 16 months ago. When he was born I didn't even think about it...THERE WAS NO WAY HE WAS GETTING CIRC'ED!!! I am so thankful I didn't get it done. I know I will have some explaining to do when they are a little older, but OH well. I know I did what was right for me. I don't want to tell anyone what to do, I would hate for someone to have their son circ'ed and then later regret it, like I do. It is something you can never take back.

Denise

I have never seen such rigid conformity to such an obviously BAD idea. I liken it to brainwashing! I try to get all expecting mothers to learn about this, and let them know it is THEIR decision!! I have been told, "well, I'll leave it up to my husband." to which I want to reply-"Was it up to him whether or not you would have had an abortion??"

My mother read a book I had on circumcision after I had moved from home, and called me to sincerely apologize. She said in 1970 it was standard procedure-no questions asked. She didn't even know she had a choice, and if she knew, she would have spared me and my brother. It really meant a lot to me for her to say that, to acknowledge that I had been changed. And that she wouldn't have let it happen if she knew what she knew now. Please continue trying to educate, as will I.

When talking about this, I find it odd how some people object to using words like "bloody, cut, cry, pain, slice, crush, traumatic, etc." Do they not apply? What would they rather see- "Traditional, similar to the parent, unquestionable, cleaner, American"?! What could be clean about an open wound, and how can you view it as anything else but chopping off a part of your baby? Ask anyone when they are old enough to answer you, "would you like part of your penis removed?" and they would call the police on you! Thank you again for your efforts.

I can only say that, as a 25-year-old man, I am absolutely delighted that I am whole, intact and as nature intended me to be. My parents and I are extremely close, and although the subject of circumcision never arises, I'm profoundly thankful that they never elected to have this sickening procedure forced upon me at an age where it was utterly impossible for me to give or withhold my consent. The issue of informed consent is just one of many, many reasons why I am so passionately

anti-circumcision and why I believe so very strongly that this barbaric and ultimately pointless procedure should be stamped out as a matter of routine.

Note that I say as a matter of routine; I, like most I would imagine, am prepared to concede that there are undoubtedly examples where circumcision is indicated for very sound medical reasons (chronic phimosis and paraphimosis, for example). However, this is ALL I will concede. Otherwise, I am unshakable in my belief that routine circumcision of babies simply as a matter of course, as it seems to be still all to often in the US (I'm English) is, in my intemperate view, a crime of our supposedly modern times. There are too many entertaining and snappy anti-circ arguments for me to list, so I will merely relate the one that immediately comes to mind, from Dr. Alex Comfort's bestselling 'The Joy of Sex'. The good doctor says that he and his wife like their eggs both with and without salt, metaphorically speaking---and everyone else should be left the have that same choice of their own.

I'm also reminded of the wise advice given to parents considering mutilating---I'm not known for moderating either my views or the language in which I express them!---their sons; put away a small sum of money every month when your baby boy is born; on his eighteenth birthday, or whenever he is considered to have reached majority, take him aside and tell him about the nest-egg amassed since he came into the world and tell him that if he still wishes to have himself irreparably altered, that is his own choice and there is a good sum of money ready so that he can have it done in the best private clinic of his choice. In view of the very tiny number of fully-grown, adult men who elect to have themselves circumcised, I think we can take it that he would prefer to spend the money on something useful and worthwhile.

Thanks for getting back so quickly. I actually spent half the night awake last night trying to work this issue through my head, and get to a comfortable space. I think I have. Since writing to you, I have read much more medical info on the net. I have also spoke and educated my husband a bit more. He is supportive of leaving him intact. I also spoke to my 5 year old directly. I used the wording suggested. I told him that when he had the operation, mom and dad thought it was what was best and that is what doctors told us. The same went for his two year old brother. He understood quite well. I told him that we now know that this operation is not needed, and that we were not going to have it done to the new brother. I told him that his penis would look a little different. He said "that's O.K. mom, I don't want Steven to be hurt.(I had explained that it was painful). Then he added that he wished I hadn't done it to him. Well we decided together that we didn't want to do it to his little bro. Then he had us all three overlap hands and break like they do in sports, you know sorta like a pact. Then I knew that it was the right decision.

I also called my pediatrician. I was told that they do not express an opinion one way or another..personally on the issue, but that they did perform the procedure with a local anaesthetic. We also discussed the fact that the # of C's performed was declining. They had a pamphlet they offered to mail that discussed the risk of UTI's increase with intact boys. I was also told that much of the medical info. to support this was inconclusive. I believe I actually educated the nurse on the issue as well. They were unaware of female circumcision. She agreed that she would not want this done to herself. Any way, I get the feeling that the medical community is definitely rethinking it's position on this issue.

The negative responses I referred to were mostly from other family members. One actually said that I had to do it to the new baby because his brothers and Dad were, too. I guess I felt like it would be my fault if he felt like the black sheep. Now, I am actually starting to feel bad that I had my two eldest undergo this when all along it never sat well within me. I can't change the past though, but I can effect the future. I am definitely not going to put baby Steven through this. Maybe my decision will also help others who feel torn about what is so called "best".

Well that's all for now. I will keep in touch. Thanks for all your support.

I just assumed I'd have my son circumcised like "everyone else." It's something I probably wouldn't have given another thought to, until my dad (who is intact, but I had no idea until he told me!) asked, "Why?" So I REALLY started researching it and decided to leave that choice up to my son. I think a lot of parents-to-be today have that mindset of "circumcision is normal, everyone does it" which just isn't true anymore. Thank you for making this video and spreading the word!

~*~