Cut the Film

A handy link to watch the abridged version of Cut. You can buy the unabridged version of the film on DVD at their website.

Causing a Stir in San Fran

A man is hoping some legislation will be presented on November's ballot in San Francisco for the people to vote to decide if male infant/child circumcision will be illegal within the city for non-medical reasons. I'm happy to see the major news stations carrying the story, but saddened and angry at the comments from the public I'm reading in response to this story. I'm so angry at peoples' ignorance on this subject, matter of fact, that I should probably apologize for the dripping sarcasm before you read it.

Here are some comments I read on ABC News Facebook page this morning:

Mind your own business. Besides that, it is much more sanitary.

So I'm going to assume this person has never heard of soap and water.

oh dear lord this guy must have a mental condition!wasteing time on such stupid topic if you not want it then dont do it with all the damned trouble all ofvover the south , high gas prices he has to be brain dead for sure!

A mental condition? Yes, it's called compassion. This man cares about the babies being cut, and so do I. And of course it's completely understandable to be more worried about gas prices than altering forever someone's body without their permission or consent. And that's great logic, "if you not want it then dont do it" (punctuation not mine) but once you cut it off, you certainly cannot glue it back on. What's a person to do when they grow up and decide they *do* want it as part of their body?

Really? People are barely getting by and THIS is an issue? The government has no business getting in anyone's pants...infant or not!

The *government* has no right deciding what goes on in someone's pants? Right. Only the person who owns the pants should decide what goes on in his pants, not even his parents.

Only in the land of fruits & nuts would this seem like a good idea. Big govenement at its best at trying to extend their authority in places that they don't belong.

Well this comment is probably one of the most intelligent. They resort to name-calling and homophobia. And I got news for you, it's not the government trying to protect the children of this country, it's a man named Lloyd Schofield. The government *should have* been protecting children all along so that people like Lloyd can concentrate their efforts on other issues.

so tired of people imposing their beliefs on other people..

I am too! I am very tired of people imposing their beliefs on another, especially a non-consenting baby or child!

Why are we even debating whether or not circumcision is legal? This should be a non-issue from the start. We should never be handing our children over to greedy doctors to have healthy body parts cut off! We are supposed to be civilized. What is so civilized about torturing babies?

And here is the absolute best of them all and really reflects on this particular person's reasoning abilities:

Not every man wants to look like a snufalapagus or smell like one

She was probably watching Sesame Street while her son was being mutilated by a doctor. (Yes, it was a "she" who said this... obviously she doesn't have to worry about this because females are protected from being cut up at birth in this country.)

Why do we need to inflict this "choice" on children before they are capable of understanding what is happening to them? Is it really that horrible to have to wait until they're 18 years old and let them decide for themselves what they want done to their bodies?

If you're interested in reading more of the ignorant posts on the ABC News thread, click here.

***UPDATE: May 18, 2011

Just got word San Francisco accepted the petition to outlaw circumcision on minors. This WILL be on the ballot in the fall!

No Circ Pledge for Expectant Parents

I have no idea why it won't paste properly on the blog but if anyone wants the "cleaned up" version please feel free to send me your email address and I'll get it out to you right away. Let me know if you want all 3 versions or just one: for expectant parents, for parents/guardians, for doctors.

NO CIRCUMCISION PLEDGE

_______________________________________

and _____________________________________,

parent(s) or legal guardian(s) of baby

due to be born _______________________________________

do swear on this date __________________________________________, 20______ that I/we will not consent from the child's birthday forward to having my child undergo the procedure known as circumcision.

Circumcision is the removal of healthy tissue on the tip of the penis known as a foreskin. A foreskin, or prepuce, serves many important functions that I/we want my child to enjoy the benefits of.

In addition, I/we also pledge to properly care for my intact son. I/we will go by the rule of “Intact, don't retract.” I/we will clean only what is seen. I/we will not retract my child's foreskin and I/we will not allow or consent to any medical professional, babysitter, caregiver or any other person to do so as well.

I/we claim for above named child his natural birthright to a whole, intact body.

Signed,

Parent/Guardian Signature

Parent/Guardian Signature

NO Circ Pledge with optional doctor acknowledgment

I wrote this for someone this morning. Please feel free to copy and use it. I am freely giving permission for anyone to use my words and share it with anyone who is interested in signing a pledge for their son. You may make modificiations according to your particular situation. With a few changes this could be also written for a daughter. If anyone wants the original text file emailed to them, please drop me a note at intactivist.net@gmail.com and I will send one right out to you. I made two versions, one with a space for doctor's signature indicating they have received a copy to keep on file in the doctor's office.

NO CIRCUMCISION PLEDGE

I, _______________________________________

and _____________________________________,

parent(s) of baby named _______________________________________

born on this date________________________________________

do swear on this date __________________________________________, 20______ that I/we will not consent to having my child undergo the procedure known as circumcision, from this day forward.

Circumcision is the removal of healthy tissue on the tip of the penis known as a foreskin. A foreskin, or prepuce, serves many important functions that I/we want my child to enjoy the benefits of.

In addition, I/we also pledge to properly care for my intact son. I/we will go by the rule of “Intact, don't retract.” I/we will clean only what is seen. I/we will not retract my child's foreskin and I/we will not allow or consent to any medical professional, babysitter or caregiver or any other person to do so as well.

I/we claim for my child his natural birthright to a whole, intact body.

Signed,

Parent Signature

Parent Signature

Physician's signature indicating this document is on file for this child:

Physician Signature Date

No Circ Pledge

Send your email address to intactivist.net@gmail.com and I will send out the updated, neater text file of this form right away. There are 3 versions: for parents/guardians, expectant parents, and one to be kept on file at the doctors office. Use this form as needed, change it to suit your particular situation, and feel free to distribute it for use by others. ~Monica

NO CIRCUMCISION PLEDGE

_______________________________________

and _____________________________________,

parent(s)/guardian(s) of baby named _______________________________________

born on this date________________________________________

do swear on this date __________________________________________, 20______ that I will not consent to having my child undergo the procedure known as circumcision, from this day forward.

Circumcision is the removal of healthy tissue on the tip of the penis known as a foreskin. A foreskin, or prepuce, serves many important functions that I want my child to enjoy the benefits of.

In addition, I also pledge to properly care for my intact son. I will go by the rule of “Intact, don't retract.” I will clean only what is seen. I will not retract my child's foreskin and I will not allow or consent to any medical professional, babysitter or caregiver or any other person to do so as well.

I claim for my child his natural birthright to a whole, intact body.

Signed,

Parent Signature

Parent Signature

Facebook Police Ban Another Anti Circ Photo

Tate Wright, advocate for genital integrity, signed onto Facebook to find this note along with the realization a photo was removed depicting circumcision rituals that was meant as an anti-circ/pro-genital integrity message.

Here is the note that Facebook sent:

Hello,
You uploaded a photo that violates our Terms of Use, and this photo has been removed. Facebook does not allow photos that attack an individual or group, or that contain nudity, drug use, violence, or other violations of the Terms of Use. These policies are designed to ensure Facebook remains a safe, secure and trusted environment for all users, including the many children who use the site.
If you have any questions or concerns, you can visit our FAQ page at http://www.facebook.com/help/?topic=wphotos.
The Facebook Team

It's ironic Facebook would mention their intentions are to protect children, since this photo was uploaded just for that very reason ~ to protect children. These circumcision rituals are performed on minor, non consenting *children* all over the world, including the United States.

According to Facebook, it's quite alright to *do* this to children, but certainly not for them to *see* it in a picture. (I maintain they are condoning it because of the many circumcision pictures they allow to remain on the site, see below for one example.)

This is one of many intactivist pictures I've heard of being removed for violations of vague Facebook rules, along with other human rights issues being depicted in pictures. Most recently there was a picture of two men kissing which caused quite a stir in the Facebook community.

Apparently now Facebook is not allowing advocating for children's rights as seen in pictures.

Here is the photo in question:

And Tate's graphic, which was put together by someone who wants to see this barbaric ritual come to an end so no more children suffer, is removed, but the one below remained for many weeks, despite having been reported many times to Facebook for promoting violence *towards children*.

Clearly the children in these pictures are not happy about what's being done to them and you certainly get the sense that their human rights are being violated. Why is one allowed to remain on Facebook but the other violates the TOS?

Intactivist Overheard

Quote from an intactivist mother in the United States:

To do a surgery on the sex organs of a baby for cosmetic and future sex-related reasons is a bunch of pedophilia. LADIES, I AM SAYING IT! I am tired of beating around the bush. Cutting and handling of baby genitals is medicalized pedopilia. I am telling you, I am straight up telling this to people now. Spread the word that circ is sick. It is no longer an argument of is it cleaner, better looking, the parents choice, etc. We've moved beyond that. Circumcision is here because the biggest pedophiles: Mr. Kellogg and Mr. Graham. They were such sickos that they created hospitals to torture, mutilate, and purposely traumatize children with genital torture and cutting... PEDOPHILES. And I am losing it, I can't take this country much longer. If a bill doesn't pass I'm moving to Denmark or any other place that has zero culture of mutilation. AND, for the record, I am tired of talking about it and having to educate and convince people not to f-ing cut up their own babies genitals. I am tired of talking about other peoples babies genitals. They should care more about protecting their baby from profiteering knife-wielding doctors.

Note from Intactivist.net: This frustration is all too common. People who are involved in this movement really, truly care about the children they are desperately trying to protect. Sometimes it gets to the point where we explode because it seems no one is hearing us. I heard another conversation where someone asked why does it seem like "intactivists" are crazy or sometimes even rude... that is not the intent at all. The answer given to this person was that it's just that we know too much, we know and we're trying to tell you, and we can see it so clearly for what it is, and we just want to protect children.

Strapping a baby down, or holding it down as is the case in many a bris, and then ripping apart that child's genitals and slicing parts off... does this really seem like a *sane* thing to do? Think on this for a moment, really meditate on it. Don't you agree that this should not even happen?

Rape of Innocence

This morning I viewed Patricia Robinett's interview video for the first time and was sobbing before I got to the end. There is nothing graphic here, so anyone with a sensitive stomach for such things should be able to watch this. I think it's so very important that parents of both boys and girls watch this.

Patricia's link as has been added to the sidebar of the blog for easy reference as well.