IntactiWiki - User contributions [en]

CIRCUMCISED Discussion Forum

2026-06-08T01:01:05Z

WikiModEn2: Add link in SEEALSO section.

The '''{{FULLPAGENAME}}''' claims to be "the first dedicated forum on the Internet for men that have been harmed by male genital mutilation ([[MGM]])." The announcement of its creation was made on Wednesday, 6 May 2026.<ref>{{REFweb
|url=https://www.reddit.com/r/CircumcisionGrief/comments/1t5hhl1/i_created_a_forum_for_those_struggling_with_being/
|title=I created a forum for those struggling with being circumcised
|last=Anonymous
|first=
|init=
|author-link=
|publisher=Reddit
|date=2026-05-06
|accessdate=2026-05-07
}}</ref>

The apparent intent of the anonymous creator of the website is to provide a forum where [[circumcised]] men may discuss every aspect of male [[circumcision]].
{{SEEALSO}}
* [[Foreskin]]
* [[Foreskin comment]]
* [[NORM]]
* [[Policy Paper: Newborn Circumcision as a Negative Wellness Factor]]
{{LINKS}}
* {{URLwebsite|https://circumcised.flarum.cloud/|2026-05-06}}
{{REF}}

[[Category:Forum]]
[[Category:Intactivism]]
[[Category:Intactivism organization]]
[[Category:Male circumcision]]
[[Category:Male genital mutilation]]
[[Category:USA]]

Desmond Morris

2026-06-07T20:27:55Z

WikiModEn2: /* Commentary on male and female genital cutting and genital mutilation */

'''{{FULLPAGENAME}}''' ({{LifeData|birth=1928-01-24|birthplace=[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Purton Purton], Wiltshire|birthcountry=[[United Kingdom]]|death=2026-04-19|deathplace=[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naas Naas], County Kildare|deathcountry=Ireland}})

The late Desmond John Morris, Ph.D., D.Sc., was a British zoologist and ethologist. He became famous by applying the methods of animal study to humans.

Morris was a strong opponent of all forms of genital cutting and sexual mutilation, including [[child circumcision]].
==Early life==
Morris was born in Purton, [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wiltshire Wiltshire], to Marjorie (née Hunt) and children's fiction author Harry Morris. A few years later the family moved to [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swindon Swindon].

In his teen years he attended [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dauntsey%27s_School Dauncey's School], an upscale coeducational school in the country on 150 acres of land.<ref>[https://www.dauntseys.org/ Dauntsey's School]</ref> This may be where he acquired his interest in nature.

==Adult life==
Morris enlisted in the British Army for two years at age 18 in 1946 to perform his [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_service national service].

After completing his national service, Morris started to study zoology at the [https://www.birmingham.ac.uk/ University of Birmingham].

Morris commenced his studies at the [https://www.ox.ac.uk/ University of Oxford] in 1951. He was awarded a Ph.D. in 1954.

Morris served as curator of mammals for the [https://www.londonzoo.org/ London Zoo] from 1959 to 1967.
==Personal life==
Morris married Ramona Baulch in July 1952.<ref name="morris2012">{{REFnews
|title=My secret of 60 years of marital bliss
|url=https://www.dailymail.com/lifestyle/article-2191767/Desmond-Morris-diamond-wedding-testament-primeval-urge-mate-life.html
|last=Morris
|first=Desmond
|init=
|author-link=Desmond Morris
|publisher=The Daily Mail
|website=
|date=2012-08-22
|accessdate=2026-06-06
|format=
|quote=
}}</ref> They made their home in North Oxford. They had one son—Jason.
{{PUB}}
===Articles===
Dr. Morris wrote articles throughout his long life. His prodigious output is indexed on his website. Please see [http://www.desmond-morris.com/articles.php Selected Articles].

A search at [https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/ PubMed] for "Morris DJ" produces a list of 256 published articles. It is not clear how many of these were authored by Desmond John Morris.

===Books===
Dr. Morris is credited with the authorship of 104 books. For a complete list see [http://www.desmond-morris.com books.php Bibliography]
* {{REFbook
|last=Morris
|first=Desmond
|init=
|year=1985
|title=Bodywatching
|url=https://www.amazon.com/s?k=Bodywatching&i=stripbooks
|scope=
|location=
|publisher=Random House
|ISBN=10-0517558149
|accessdate=2026-06-04
}}
* {{REFbook
|last=Morris
|first=Desmond
|init=
|year=1994
|title=The Human Animal: A Personal View of the Human Species
|url=https://www.amazon.com/Human-Animal-Personal-View-Species/dp/0563370211?s=books
|scope=
|location=
|publisher=BBC Publications
|ISBN=10 0563370211
|accessdate=2026-06-03
}}

* {{REFbook
|last=Morris
|first=Desmond
|init=
|year=1997
|title=The Human Sexes
|url=https://www.amazon.com/Human-Sexes-Morris-Desmond/dp/0563383585?s=books
|scope=
|location=
|publisher=Netwook Books
|ISBN=10 0563383585
|accessdate=2026-06-03
}}
* {{REFbook
|last=Morris
|first=Desmond
|init=
|year=1999
|title=The Naked Ape: A Zoologist's Study of the Human Animal
|url=https://www.amazon.com/Naked-Ape-Zoologists-Study-Animal/dp/0385334303?s=books
|scope=
|location=
|publisher=Delta
|ISBN=10 0385334303
|accessdate=2026-06-03
}}
* {{REFbook
|last=Morris
|first=Desmond
|init=
|year=2007
|title=The Naked Woman: A Study of the Female Body
|url=https://www.amazon.com/Naked-Woman-Study-Female-Body/dp/0312338538?s=books
|scope=
|location=
|publisher=St. Martins Griffin
|ISBN=10 9780312338534
|accessdate=2026-06-03
}}
* {{REFbook
|last=Morris
|first=Desmond
|init=
|year=2009
|title=The Naked Man: A Study of the Male Body
|url=https://www.amazon.com/Naked-Man-Study-Male-Body/dp/0312385307?s=books
|scope=
|location=
|publisher=Thomas Dunne Books
|ISBN=10 0312385307
|accessdate=2026-06-03
}}
===Commentary on male and female genital cutting and genital mutilation===
 
IntactiWiki is pleased to present this monograph by Desmond Morris regarding genital cutting and mutilation.
 
 
<hr>
 
<blockquote>
<center>
<big>Comment on Circumcision and Genital Mutilation</big>

Desmond Morris
</center>
For thousands of years, in many different cultures, the genitals have fallen victim to an amazing variety of mutilations and restrictions. For organs that are capable of giving us an immense amount of pleasure They have given us an inordinate amount of pain.

The commonest form of assault they have suffered is male and female circumcision. This strange mutilation is older than civilization and was probably well advanced in the Stone Age. Although it is a piece of deliberate wounding of children by adults, it has been done with the best of intentions. Over the millennia it has cause countless deaths from infection, but its advantages have always been said to outweigh the risks involved. These alleged advantages have varied from epoch to epoch and culture to culture, but recent re-examination has shown that they are all imaginary.

It has been claimed that one of the oldest reasons for performing male circumcision—the removal of the foreskin—is that it provoked immortality in the shape of life after death. This odd notion was based on the observation that when the snake sheds its skin it emerges with glistening new scales and is “reborn.” If the snake can enjoy rebirth by the removal of skin, so too can the human being. For snake read penis; for snake-skin read foreskin.

Once male circumcision had become traditional it no longer mattered whether the old beliefs survived. Being circumcised was not the badge of belonging to a particular society. The ritual mutilation spread and spread. Ancient Egyptians were doing it as long ago as 4000 B.C. In the Old Testament, Abraham demanded it. Arabs circumcised as well as Jews. Mohammed was said to have been born without a foreskin (which he may well have been, as this condition is not unknown to medical science), a claim which automatically doomed the foreskins of his future male followers.

As the centuries passed, religious arguments gave way, for many to quack medical arguments. The possession of a foreskin was said to cause “masturbatory insanity.” Other medical horrors resulting from its retention included hysteria, epilepsy, nocturnal incontinence, and nervousness. Such ideas survived into the early part of the present century and even led to the formation of an Orificial Surgery Society devoted exclusively to the “modifications” of offending genital as a means of preventing mental illness.

When at last this nonsense was on the decline a crisis arose. What new reason could be found for mutilating children’s genitals? The solution had to be one that suited the rational climate of twentieth-century scientific inquiry. The answer appeared in The Lancet in 1932: foreskins caused cancer! By the end of the 1930s 75 per cent of the boys in the United States were being circumcised; by 1973 it was 84 per cent; by 1976 it was 87 per cent. Cancer had become the secular version of hellfire and brimstone, the perfect weapon for the anxiety makers of a post-religious society.

To be more precise, the claim that the “debris” called smegma which collects under retained foreskins could cause cancer of the penis and also cancer of the cervix of the wives of the uncircumcised. The paper which started this false rumour was founded on faulty statistics, but nobody minded because here was a plausible new reason for slicing away at the infantile penis. Subsequent experiments, however revealed that there is nothing remotely carcinogenic about the smegma produced under the fold of the foreskin, but they were widely ignored. Other investigations showed that women whose uncircumcised husbands always wore condoms were no more or less likely to develop cancer than those whose husbands never wore condoms. But again nobody wanted to know. In one country where there was no circumcision at all was compared to a country in which all males were circumcised. The results showed, to the relief of the foreskin snippers, that prostate cancer was higher in the uncircumcised country. Unfortunately this form of cancer is a disease of elderly men, and when a correction for age distribution was made the figures showed that this disorder was actually more likely in the circumcised country.

Not only was the cancer scare completely without foundation, but the operation of foreskin removal continued to prove a distinct health hazard for small babies. There were many cases of haemorrhage, ulceration of the urethra, surgical trauma and local infection. In rare cases, foreskin removal resulted in the death of the baby. There were also more subtle effects with possible long-term implications: following circumcision male babies showed an increase in the level of hormones related to stress; sleep patterns altered; there was more crying and more irritability.

Despite all this, “medical” circumcisions continued (and still continues) at a merry pace in certain countries where private medicine is the rule. In Britain, significantly, there was a dramatic decline in the operation following the introduction of the National Health Service scheme and free treatment. It is impossible to refrain from asking why it should be that the operation sank to a level of less than one per cent (only 0.41 per cent of male babies in 1972) in a country where there was no financial gain to be made from it, while in the United States, for example, in the same year, over 80 per cent of male babies were circumcised, at an annual cost to health-insurance companies of more than $200 million. The new deities demanding circumcision appear to be more fiscal than sacred.

Young females have also been assaulted in this fashion. This has been rare in the West, although as recently as 1937 a Texas doctor was advocating the removal of the clitoris to cure frigidity. The harshest traditions of female circumcision are found in Africa, parts of the Middle East, Indonesia and Malayia. It is a staggering fact that, far from being an ancient memory, the practice of cutting away all or part of the external genitals of young females is still going on in more than 20 countries.

No fewer than 74 million women alive today have been subjected to this mutilation. In the worst cases, they have had their labia and clitoris scraped or cut away and their vaginal opening stitched up with silk, catgut, or thorns, leaving only a tiny opening for urine and menstrual blood. After the operation the girl’s legs are bound together to ensure that scar-tissue forms and the condition becomes permanent. Later, when they marry, these females suffer the pain of having their artificially reduced orifices broken open by their husbands.

The effect of this practice is to dramatically reduce sexual pleasure for wives in the countries concerned, which may be its hidden significance. A side-effect is the high number of deaths and serious illnesses cause by the unhygienic conditions under which the operations are performed, especially in such countries as Oman, South Yemen, Somalia, Djibouti, Sudan, southern Egypt, Ethiopia, northern Kenya, and Mali. The continuance of such practices in the twentieth century against a background of modern enlightenment is clearly going to puzzle historians of the distant future.
<center>
—Desmond Morris (Circa 1985)
</blockquote>
 
<hr>

==Videos==
===Desmond Morris (Writer))===
<youtube>v=rfe8nKkVUPo&list=PLVV0r6CmEsFwtuDq9yKrhqqkJ-Era-N7w&index=3</youtube>
===Desmond Morris - Cheating death even before birth (1/37)===
<youtube>v=aZoJbK9hBMo</youtube>
===Desmond Morris - Human beings - just another species of animal? (23/37)===
<youtube>v=taFeI6TwAOQ</youtube>
===Zoology and the Human Animal===
<youtube>v=myL24gP20fo</youtube>
===Male genital mutilation ritual from Desmond Morris - The Human Sexes===
<youtube>v=QaFtcIrtbm0</youtube>
===Desmond Morris - 'The Human Zoo' (25/37)===
<youtube>v=1wlGhIh1lfE</youtube>
===Desmond Morris - Avoiding death for the second time (3/37)===
<youtube>v=rfe8nKkVUPo</youtube>
===Desmond Morris - Contemplating death and the afterlife (37/37)===
<youtube>v=3uddkAIHTEc</youtube>
===Desmond Morris passes away (1928 - 2026) (UK) - UK News - 20/Apr/2026===
<youtube>v=N9fVSDziV6o</youtube>

==Death==
Following the death of his wife, Ramona, in November 2018, Desmond Morris left his home in [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oxford Oxford] in June 2019 and moved to [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/County_Kildare County Kildare] in [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_of_Ireland Ireland] to live close to his son, Jason, and his family there.

He passed away there at the age of 98 on 19 April 2026.<ref name="radford2026">{{REFweb
|url=https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2026/apr/20/desmond-morris-obituary
|title=Desmond Morris Obituary
|last=Radford
|first=Tim
|publisher=The Guardian
|date=2026-04-20
|accessdate=2026-06-05
}}</ref> <ref name="woodhouse2026>{{REFweb
|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c51y797v200o
|title=Zoologist and author Desmond Morris dies aged 98
|last=Woodhouse
|first=Sam
|publisher=BBC
|date=2026-04-20
|accessdate=2026-06-05
}}</ref>
{{SEEALSO}}
* [[Alice Miller]]
* [[Cervical cancer]]
* [[Child circumcision]]
* [[Circumcision of the newborn]]
* [[Financial incentive]]
* [[Foreskin]]
* [[Penile cancer]]
* [[Risks and complications]]
{{LINKS}}
* {{URLwebsite|http://www.desmond-morris.com/|2026-06-04}}
* {{URLwikipedia|Desmond_Morris|Desmond Morris}}
* {{REFweb
|url=http://www.desmond-morris.com/biography.php
|title=Biography of Desmond John Morris
|last=Williams
|first=David
|init=
|author-link=
|publisher=The Desmond Morris Information Page
|date=2022-09-20
|accessdate=2026-06-06
}}
{{REF}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Morris, Desmond}}

[[Category:Person]]
[[Category:Male]]
[[Category:Author]]
[[Category:Female genital mutilation]]
[[Category:Financial gain]]
[[Category:Intactivism]]
[[Category:Intactivist]]
[[Category:Intactivist literature]]

[[Category:UK]]

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services

2026-06-07T16:31:25Z

WikiModEn2: /* Circumcision issues */ Edit text.

'''{{FULLPAGENAME}}''' (CMS) is the U. S. government agency that administers Medicare and Medicaid. The CMS is directed by Dr. [[Mehmet Cengiz Öz]]. The CMS is a component of the [https://www.hhs.gov/ Department of Health and Human Services], which is headed by [[Robert Francis Kennedy, Jr.]]

Medicaid is a joint federal/state program. The individual states determine the benefit to be paid.

==Benefit==

About 40 percent of births in the [[United States]] are covered by Medicaid.<ref>{{REFdocument
|title=Births in the United States, 2024
|trans-title=
|language=
|url=https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/databriefs/db535.pdf
|archived=
|contribution=
|quote=
|trans-quote=
|quote-lang=
|last=Martin
|first=Joyce
|author-link=
|last2=Hamilton
|first2=Brady
|author2-link=
|last3=Michelle
|first3=JK
|author3-link=
|last4=Osterman
|first4=MHS
|author4-link=
|publisher=National Center for Health Statistics
|location=
|format=PDF
|date=2025-07
|accessdate=2026-06-07
}}</ref>

Some of the states have elected to provide a benefit for [[circumcision of the newborn]]. CMS reimburses those states for a portion of the cost.

==Circumcision issues==
Circumcision is the surgical [[amputation]] of the normal part of the [[penis]], alternatively designated as the "[[foreskin]]" or "prepuce".

The CMS by federal law must pay only for medically-necessary services. There are no medical indications for [[circumcision of the newborn]], which is harmful [[amputation]] of useful, protective, functional, erogenous tissue.

Adler (2011) states Medicaid unlawfully provides [[third-party payment]] for medically-unnecessary, non-therapeutic [[circumcision]] in states where circumcision is a benefit.<ref name="adler2011">{{REFjournal
|last=Adler
|first=Peter W.
|init=PW
|author-link=Peter W. Adler
|title=Is it lawful to use Medicaid to pay for circumcision?
|journal=Journal of Law and Medicine
|date=2011
|volume=19
|issue=
|pages=335-353
|url=https://www.arclaw.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/is-it-lawful-to-use-medicaid-to-pay-for-circumcision.pdf
|quote=
|pubmedID=22320007
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=
|format=PDF
|accessdate=2025-12-08
}}</ref>

The Trump Administration wants to root out fraud, waste, and abuse in the federal government. Payment for non-therapeutic child circumcision qualifies as all three.<ref>{{REFweb
|title=What Is the Difference Between Fraud, Waste, and Abuse?
|url=https://legalclarity.org/what-is-the-difference-between-fraud-waste-and-abuse/
|archived=
|trans-title=
|language=
|last=Legal Clarity Team
|first=
|init=
|author-link=
|publisher=Administrative and Government Law
|website=https://legalclarity.org
|date=2025-08-20
|accessdate=2026-01-03
|quote=Fraud, waste, and abuse represent distinct challenges across various sectors, including government, healthcare, and business. Understanding their individual characteristics and implications is important for the public. These issues can lead to significant financial losses, erode trust, and undermine the effectiveness of programs and services.
}}</ref>
* Fraud: Circumcision is promoted with false statements regarding its alleged value.<ref>{{REFbook
|last=Adler
|first=
|init=PW
|year=2022
|title=Circumcision Is A Fraud
|url=https://www.amazon.com/s?k=Circumcision%20Is%20A%20Fraud&i=stripbooks
|scope=
|location=
|publisher=KDP
|ISBN=979-8844459276
|accessdate=2025-12-28
}}</ref>
* Waste: Federal funds used to pay the federal portion of Medicaid third-party payments for [[circumcision of the newborn]] is waste because it does not treat, prevent, or cure disease.<ref name="adler2011" /> <ref name="doc2019">{{REFdocument
|title=Male Circumcision: A special report to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
|url=https://pool.intactiwiki.org/w/images/Male_Circumcision_DOC_2019-02-01.pdf
|contribution=
|last=Anonymous
|publisher=Doctors Opposing Circumcision
|format=PDF
|date=2019-02-01
|accessdate=2025-12-08
}}</ref>
* Abuse: Payment for unnecessary, non-therapeutic surgical procedures is a violation of federal law and is legally and ethically abusive,<ref name="adler2011" /> as well as abusive to the child patient in many ways.
[[Doctors Opposing Circumcision]] published a review of the issues concerning payment for non-therapeutic circumcision for CMS in 2019,<ref name="doc2019" /> but it has been ignored.

{{SEEALSO}}
* [[Policy Paper: Newborn Circumcision as a Negative Wellness Factor]]
* [[United States of America]]

{{LINKS}}
* {{URLwebsite|https://www.cms.gov/|2025-12-08}}
* {{URLwikipedia|Centers_for_Medicare_&_Medicaid Services|Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services}}
* {{URLwikipedia|Medicaid|Medicaid}}
{{REF}}

[[Category:American healthcare reform]]
[[Category:Scandal]]

[[Category:USA]]

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services

2026-06-07T16:26:48Z

WikiModEn2: /* Circumcision issues */

'''{{FULLPAGENAME}}''' (CMS) is the U. S. government agency that administers Medicare and Medicaid. The CMS is directed by Dr. [[Mehmet Cengiz Öz]]. The CMS is a component of the [https://www.hhs.gov/ Department of Health and Human Services], which is headed by [[Robert Francis Kennedy, Jr.]]

Medicaid is a joint federal/state program. The individual states determine the benefit to be paid.

==Benefit==

About 40 percent of births in the [[United States]] are covered by Medicaid.<ref>{{REFdocument
|title=Births in the United States, 2024
|trans-title=
|language=
|url=https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/databriefs/db535.pdf
|archived=
|contribution=
|quote=
|trans-quote=
|quote-lang=
|last=Martin
|first=Joyce
|author-link=
|last2=Hamilton
|first2=Brady
|author2-link=
|last3=Michelle
|first3=JK
|author3-link=
|last4=Osterman
|first4=MHS
|author4-link=
|publisher=National Center for Health Statistics
|location=
|format=PDF
|date=2025-07
|accessdate=2026-06-07
}}</ref>

Some of the states have elected to provide a benefit for [[circumcision of the newborn]]. CMS reimburses those states for a portion of the cost.

==Circumcision issues==
Circumcision is the surgical [[amputation]] of the normal part of the [[penis]], alternatively designated as the "[[foreskin]]" or "prepuce".

The CMS by federal law must pay only for medically-necessary services. There are no medical indications for [[circumcision of the newborn]], which is harmful [[amputation]] of useful, protective, functional, erogenous tissue.

Adler (2011) states Medicaid unlawfully provides [[third-party payment]] for medically-unnecessary, non-therapeutic [[circumcision]] in states where circumcision is a benefit.<ref name="adler2011">{{REFjournal
|last=Adler
|first=Peter W.
|init=PW
|author-link=Peter W. Adler
|title=Is it lawful to use Medicaid to pay for circumcision?
|journal=Journal of Law and Medicine
|date=2011
|volume=19
|issue=
|pages=335-353
|url=https://www.arclaw.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/is-it-lawful-to-use-medicaid-to-pay-for-circumcision.pdf
|quote=
|pubmedID=22320007
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=
|format=PDF
|accessdate=2025-12-08
}}</ref>

The Trump Administration wants to root out fraud, waste, and abuse in the federal government. Payment for non-therapeutic child circumcision qualifies as all three.<ref>{{REFweb
|title=What Is the Difference Between Fraud, Waste, and Abuse?
|url=https://legalclarity.org/what-is-the-difference-between-fraud-waste-and-abuse/
|archived=
|trans-title=
|language=
|last=Legal Clarity Team
|first=
|init=
|author-link=
|publisher=Administrative and Government Law
|website=https://legalclarity.org
|date=2025-08-20
|accessdate=2026-01-03
|quote=Fraud, waste, and abuse represent distinct challenges across various sectors, including government, healthcare, and business. Understanding their individual characteristics and implications is important for the public. These issues can lead to significant financial losses, erode trust, and undermine the effectiveness of programs and services.
}}</ref>
* Fraud: Circumcision is promoted with false statements regarding its alleged value.<ref>{{REFbook
|last=Adler
|first=
|init=PW
|year=2022
|title=Circumcision Is A Fraud
|url=https://www.amazon.com/s?k=Circumcision%20Is%20A%20Fraud&i=stripbooks
|scope=
|location=
|publisher=KDP
|ISBN=979-8844459276
|accessdate=2025-12-28
}}</ref>
* Waste: Federal funds used to pay the federal portion of Medicaid third-party payments for [[circumcision of the newborn]] is waste because it does not treat, prevent, or cure disease.<ref name="adler2011" /> <ref name="doc2019">{{REFdocument
|title=Male Circumcision: A special report to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
|url=https://pool.intactiwiki.org/w/images/Male_Circumcision_DOC_2019-02-01.pdf
|contribution=
|last=Anonymous
|publisher=Doctors Opposing Circumcision
|format=PDF
|date=2019-02-01
|accessdate=2025-12-08
}}</ref>
* Abuse: Payment for unnecessary, non-therapeutic surgical procedures is a violation of federal law and is legally abusive,<ref name="adler2011" /> as well as abusive in many ways to the child patient.
[[Doctors Opposing Circumcision]] published a review of the issues concerning payment for non-therapeutic circumcision for CMS in 2019,<ref name="doc2019" /> but it has been ignored.

{{SEEALSO}}
* [[Policy Paper: Newborn Circumcision as a Negative Wellness Factor]]
* [[United States of America]]

{{LINKS}}
* {{URLwebsite|https://www.cms.gov/|2025-12-08}}
* {{URLwikipedia|Centers_for_Medicare_&_Medicaid Services|Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services}}
* {{URLwikipedia|Medicaid|Medicaid}}
{{REF}}

[[Category:American healthcare reform]]
[[Category:Scandal]]

[[Category:USA]]

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services

2026-06-07T16:22:46Z

WikiModEn2: /* Benefit */ Add text and citation.

'''{{FULLPAGENAME}}''' (CMS) is the U. S. government agency that administers Medicare and Medicaid. The CMS is directed by Dr. [[Mehmet Cengiz Öz]]. The CMS is a component of the [https://www.hhs.gov/ Department of Health and Human Services], which is headed by [[Robert Francis Kennedy, Jr.]]

Medicaid is a joint federal/state program. The individual states determine the benefit to be paid.

==Benefit==

About 40 percent of births in the [[United States]] are covered by Medicaid.<ref>{{REFdocument
|title=Births in the United States, 2024
|trans-title=
|language=
|url=https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/databriefs/db535.pdf
|archived=
|contribution=
|quote=
|trans-quote=
|quote-lang=
|last=Martin
|first=Joyce
|author-link=
|last2=Hamilton
|first2=Brady
|author2-link=
|last3=Michelle
|first3=JK
|author3-link=
|last4=Osterman
|first4=MHS
|author4-link=
|publisher=National Center for Health Statistics
|location=
|format=PDF
|date=2025-07
|accessdate=2026-06-07
}}</ref>

Some of the states have elected to provide a benefit for [[circumcision of the newborn]]. CMS reimburses those states for a portion of the cost.

==Circumcision issues==
Circumcision is the surgical [[amputation]] of the normal part of the [[penis]], alternatively designated as the "[[foreskin]]" or "prepuce".

The CMS by federal law must pay only for medically-necessary services. There are no medical indications for [[circumcision of the newborn]], which is harmful [[amputation]] of useful, protective, functional, erogenous tissue.

Adler (2011) states Medicaid unlawfully provides [[third-party payment]] for medically-unnecessary, non-therapeutic [[circumcision]] in states where circumcision is a benefit.<ref name="adler2011">{{REFjournal
|last=Adler
|first=Peter W.
|init=PW
|author-link=Peter W. Adler
|title=Is it lawful to use Medicaid to pay for circumcision?
|journal=Journal of Law and Medicine
|date=2011
|volume=19
|issue=
|pages=335-353
|url=https://www.arclaw.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/is-it-lawful-to-use-medicaid-to-pay-for-circumcision.pdf
|quote=
|pubmedID=22320007
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=
|format=PDF
|accessdate=2025-12-08
}}</ref>

The Trump Administration wants to root out fraud, waste, and abuse in the federal government. Payment for non-therapeutic child circumcision qualifies as all three.<ref>{{REFweb
|title=What Is the Difference Between Fraud, Waste, and Abuse?
|url=https://legalclarity.org/what-is-the-difference-between-fraud-waste-and-abuse/
|archived=
|trans-title=
|language=
|last=Legal Clarity Team
|first=
|init=
|author-link=
|publisher=Administrative and Government Law
|website=https://legalclarity.org
|date=2025-08-20
|accessdate=2026-01-03
|quote=Fraud, waste, and abuse represent distinct challenges across various sectors, including government, healthcare, and business. Understanding their individual characteristics and implications is important for the public. These issues can lead to significant financial losses, erode trust, and undermine the effectiveness of programs and services.
}}</ref>
* Fraud: Circumcision is promoted with false statements regarding its alleged value.<ref>{{REFbook
|last=Adler
|first=
|init=PW
|year=2022
|title=Circumcision Is A Fraud
|url=https://www.amazon.com/s?k=Circumcision%20Is%20A%20Fraud&i=stripbooks
|scope=
|location=
|publisher=KDP
|ISBN=979-8844459276
|accessdate=2025-12-28
}}</ref>
* Waste: Federal funds used to pay the federal portion of Medicaid third-party payments for [[circumcision of the newborn]] is waste because it does not treat, prevent, or cure disease.<ref name="adler2011" /> <ref name="doc2019">{{REFdocument
|title=Male Circumcision: A special report to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
|url=https://pool.intactiwiki.org/w/images/Male_Circumcision_DOC_2019-02-01.pdf
|contribution=
|last=Anonymous
|publisher=Doctors Opposing Circumcision
|format=PDF
|date=2019-02-01
|accessdate=2025-12-08
}}</ref>
* Abuse: Payment for unnecessary, non-therapeutic surgical procedures is a violation of federal law and is abusive.<ref name="adler2011" />
[[Doctors Opposing Circumcision]] published a review of the issues concerning payment for non-therapeutic circumcision for CMS in 2019,<ref name="doc2019" /> but it has been ignored.

{{SEEALSO}}
* [[Policy Paper: Newborn Circumcision as a Negative Wellness Factor]]
* [[United States of America]]

{{LINKS}}
* {{URLwebsite|https://www.cms.gov/|2025-12-08}}
* {{URLwikipedia|Centers_for_Medicare_&_Medicaid Services|Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services}}
* {{URLwikipedia|Medicaid|Medicaid}}
{{REF}}

[[Category:American healthcare reform]]
[[Category:Scandal]]

[[Category:USA]]

Trauma

2026-06-07T15:59:39Z

WikiModEn2:

'''{{FULLPAGENAME}}''' is defined as physical injury or psychological or emotional damage.<ref name="trauma2003">{{REFweb
|url=https://medical-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/Trauma
|title=Trauma
|publisher=The Free Medical Dictionary by Farlex
|date=2003
|accessdate=2022-11-13
}}</ref> Trauma also is "wound, shock, or injury.<ref name="woods2026">{{REFjournal
|last=Woods
|init=Tyler
|url=https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/basics/trauma
|title=Trauma
|journal=Psychology Today
|date=2009-03-17
|accessdate=2026-06-01
}}</ref>

Circumcision causes trauma.<ref>{{REFbook
|last=Goldman
|first=Ronald
|init=
|year=1997
|title=Circumcision: The Hidden Trauma: How an American Cultural Practice Affects Infants and Ultimately Us All
|url=https://circumcision.org/circumcision-the-hidden-trauma/
|scope=
|location=
|publisher=Vanguard Publications
|ISBN=
|accessdate=2024-12-13
}}</ref> <ref>{{BoyleGJ GoldmanR SvobodaJS FernandezE 2002}}</ref>

== Physical trauma ==
Physical trauma is any injury caused by a mechanical or physical agent.<ref name="trauma2003"/>
== Childhood trauma ==
Childhood trauma affects behavior throughout life.<ref>{{REFconference
|last=Miller
|first=Alice
|author-link=Alice Miller
|title=Childhood Trauma
|trans-title=
|language=
|url=https://www.naturalchild.org/articles/alice_miller/childhood_trauma.html
|archived=
|place=Lexington 92nd Street YWHA in New York City
|publisher=The Natural Child Project
|source=
|date=1998-10-22
|accessdate=2026-05-26
}}</ref>

== Psychic trauma ==
Psychic trauma is a psychologically upsetting experience that produces an emotional or mental disorder or otherwise has lasting negative effects on a person's thoughts, feelings, or behavior.<ref name="trauma2003" /><ref name="woods2026" />
== Birth trauma ==

De Mause (1996) argued that early trauma results in aggressive adult behavior.<ref name="demause1996">{{REFjournal
|last=deMause
|first=Lloyd
|init=
|author-link=
|etal=no
|title=Restaging Fetal Traumas in War and Social Violence
|journal=Pre- and Perinatal Psychology Journal
|location=
|date=1996
|volume=23
|issue=4
|pages=344-92
|url=http://www.mattes.de/buecher/praenatale_psychologie/PP_PDF/PP_08_2_deMause.pdf
|archived=
|quote=
|pubmedID=11609155
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=
|accessdate=2024-04-03
}}</ref> Jacobsen & Bygdeman (1998) reported an association between birth trauma and adult suicide.<ref>{{REFjournal
|last=Jacobsen
|first=
|init=B
|author-link=
|last2=Bygdeman
|first2=
|init2=M
|author2-link=
|etal=no
|title=Obstetric care and proneness of offspring to suicide as adults: case-control study
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal=BMJ
|location=
|date=1998
|volume=317
|issue=7169
|article=
|page=1346
|pages=
|url=https://www.bmj.com/content/317/7169/1346
|archived=
|quote=
|pubmedID=9812930
|pubmedCID=28715
|DOI=10.1136/bmj.317.7169.1346
|doi=
|accessdate=2023-10-18
}}</ref>

== Circumcision trauma ==
The consequences of circumcision trauma continue to be questioned.<ref name="batterly2023">{{REFjournal
|last=Batterley
|first=
|init=M
|author-link=
|last2=Metters
|first2=
|init2=J
|author2-link=
|last3=Smith
|first3
|init3=D
|author3-link=David Smith
|etal=no
|title=Male Circumcision-Based Trauma: Should it be Shown Greater Recognition?
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal=PsyArXiv
|location=
|date=2023-01-18
|volume=Preprint
|pages=1-13
|url=https://psyarxiv.com/4yv62/
|archived=
|quote=
|DOI=10.31234/osf.io/4yv62
|accessdate=2026-06-07
}}</ref>

There are no medical indications for infant [[circumcision]],<ref>{{REFbook
|last=Committee on Fetus and Newborn
|first=
|init=
|year=1971
|title=Standards and Recommendation for Hospital Care of Newborn infants. 5th ed.
|url=https://www.cirp.org/library/statements/aap/#a1971
|scope=
|location=Evanston
|publisher=American Academy of Pediatrics
|ISBN=
|accessdate=2024-04-03
}}</ref> which is a [[Pain| painful]], traumatic, non-therapeutic, medically-unnecessary invasive [[amputation]] of functional tissue.<ref name="garrett2023-12-17">{{REFweb
|url=https://intactamerica.org/circumcision-trauma/
|title=Circumcision Trauma: The Invisible Elephant in the Room
|last=Garrett
|first=Connor
|init=
|author-link=Connor Judson Garrett
|publisher=Intact America
|date=2023-12-17
|accessdate=2024-05-15
}}</ref> [[Circumcision of the newborn]] still occurs more than 901,000 times a year in the [[United States]] or about 2,400 times per day.<ref>[Births in the United States, 2024 Births in the United States]</ref>

Circumcision trauma includes physical trauma,<ref name="boyle2002">{{BoyleGJ GoldmanR SvobodaJS FernandezE 2002}}</ref> sexual trauma,<ref name="remennick2022">{{REFjournal
|last=Remennick
|first=
|init=L
|author-link=
|etal=no
|title=Joining the tribe: adult circumcision among immigrant men in Israel and its traumatic aftermath
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal=Cult Health Sex
|date=2022-05
|volume=24
|issue=5
|pages=702-16
|url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/epdf/10.1080/13691058.2021.1879272?needAccess=true
|archived=
|quote=Although opinions differed, the majority in this small survey said that the exposure of glans penis gradually lowered sensitivity, reducing pleasure both in intercourse and masturbation. In hindsight, many informants regretted their consent to undergo brit under social pressure.
|pubmedID=33512277
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=10.1080/13691058.2021.1879272
|format=PDF
|accessdate=2024-12-30
}}</ref> and psychic trauma.<ref>{{REFjournal
|last=Aydoğdu
|first=
|init=B
|author-link=
|last2=Azizoğlu
|first2=
|init2=M
|author2-link=
|last3=Okur
|first3=
|init3=MH
|author3-link=
|etal=no
|title=Social and psychological effects of circumcision: A narrative review
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal=Journal of Applied Nursing
and Health
|location=
|date=2022
|volume=4
|issue=2
|article=
|page=
|pages=264-71
|url=https://janh.candle.or.id/index.php/janh/article/download/110/138
|archived=
|quote=
|DOI=10.55018/janh.v4i2.110
|format=PDF
|accessdate=2023-01-16
}}</ref> <ref name="boyle2015">{{REFjournal
|last=Boyle
|first=
|init=GJ
|author-link=Gregory J. Boyle
|etal=no
|title=Circumcision of Infants and Children: Short-Term Trauma and Long-Term Psychosexual Harm
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal=Advances in Sexual Medicine
|location=
|date=2015-04-15
|volume=5
|issue=3
|article=
|page=
|pages=22-38
|url=https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/2931/bb0b1cd39a0224fff37545c23931679488fd.pdf
|archived=
|DOI=10.4236/asm.2015.52004
|format=PDF
|accessdate=2024-03-05
}}</ref> <ref>{{REFweb
|url=https://intactamerica.org/circumcision-gone-wrong/
|title=Circumcision Gone Wrong: Damage, Deformity, Death
|last=Garrett
|first=Connor
|init=
|author-link=Connor Judson Garrett
|publisher=Intact America
|date=2023-11-04
|accessdate=2024-06-02
}}</ref> Batteley, Metters & Smith (2023) state, in addition to the physical risks, the psychological risks should receive attention.<ref name="batterly2023" />

[[Dan Bollinger| Bollinger]] (2023) reported a preliminary survey comparing [[intact]] and [[circumcised]] men using the ACE test. The [[circumcised]] men had higher ACE scores than the [[intact]] men. Bollinger has called for additional study to determine if male genital cutting (circumcision) should be classified as an [[Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs)| Adverse Childhood Experience]].<ref name="bollinger2023">{{REFjournal
|last=Bollinger
|init=D
|author-link=Dan Bollinger
|last2=
|init2=
|author2-link=
|url=https://kindredmedia.org/2023/02/adverse-childhood-experiences-dysfunctional-households-and-circumcision/
|title=Adverse Childhood Experiences, Dysfunctional Households, and Circumcision.
|journal=Kindred
|date=2023-02-28
|volume=
|issue=
|pages=
|accessdate=2023-03-01
}}</ref>

Although the [[medical trade association| medical trade associations]], which promote harmful child circumcision for their [[Financial incentive| profit]], minimize its effects, the trauma from [[circumcision]] is an extremely serious matter. Professor [[Jonathan A. Allan]] (2024) has devoted an entire chapter in his book to the issue of circumcision trauma.<ref name="allan2024">{{REFbook
|last=Allan
|first=
|init=JA
|author-link=Jonathan A. Allan
|year=2024
|title=Uncut: A Cultural Analysis of the Foreskin
|url=https://uofrpress.ca/Books/U/Uncut
|work=
|editor=
|edition=
|volume=
|chapter=Chapter 8: Intactivism and the Logic of Trauma
|scope=
|page=
|pages=217-55
|location=Regina
|publisher=University of Regina Press
|ISBN=978-1779400307
|quote=
|accessdate=2024-12-29
|note=
}}</ref>
=== Physical circumcision trauma ===
Circumcision, more properly described as ''[[posthectomy]]'', is the surgical excision and [[amputation]] of the [[foreskin]] of the [[penis]], which permanently removes a significant portion of the epithelium of the [[penis]] and destroys the significant and important [[Foreskin#Protective_functions| protective]], [[Foreskin#Immunological_functions| immunological]], [[Foreskin#Sexual_functions| sexual]], and [[Foreskin#Sexual_behavior| sensory]] physiological functions of that structure, and leaves the patient permanently and irreversibly impaired by the loss of those functions.<ref name="cold-taylor1999">{{ColdCJ TaylorJR 1999}}</ref>

==== Results of physical circumcision trauma ====
Results of physical trauma include:
* [[Complication]]
* [[Sexual effects of circumcision]]

=== Psychic circumcision trauma ===
According to [[Marilyn Milos]], "every man who has a scar on his [[penis]] also has a scar on his psyche." The medical community, however, has been slow to recognize the trauma of [[circumcision]].<ref name="batterly2023" /> <ref name="goldman1999">{{REFjournal
|last=Goldman
|first=
|init=R
|author-link=Ronald Goldman
|etal=no
|title=The psychological impact of circumcision
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal=BJU Int
|location=
|date=1999-01-01
|season=
|volume=83 Suppl. 1
|issue=
|article=
|page=
|pages=93-103
|url=http://www.cirp.org/library/psych/goldman1/
|archived=
|quote=
|pubmedID=10349420
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=10.1046/j.1464-410x.1999.0830s1093.x
|accessdate=2022-11-14
}}</ref>

Although a [[circumcision]] may be performed at any age, circumcisions are most commonly performed on newborn boys in the first month of life outside of the mother's womb. At that tender age general anesthesia is too dangerous to administer, so newborn boys receive only minimal [[pain]] relief at best and, in many cases, none at all.

[[Circumcised]] boys had a higher pain response at time of vaccination six months later as compared with [[intact]] boys,<ref name="taddio"1995">{{TaddioA etal 1995}}</ref><ref name="taddio1997">{{TaddioA KatzJ IlersichAL KorenG 1997}}</ref> showing that the nervous system had been permanently sensitized to heightened pain sensation.

Taddio et al. (1997) concluded:
{{Citation
|Text=Although postsurgical central sensitisation (allodynia and hyperalgesia) can extend to sites of the body distal from the wound, suggesting a supraspinal effect, the long-term consequences of surgery done without anaesthesia are likely to include post-traumatic stress as well as pain. It is, therefore, possible that the greater vaccination response in the infants circumcised without anaesthesia may represent an infant analogue of a post-traumatic stress disorder triggered by a traumatic and painful event and re-experienced under similar circumstances of pain during vaccination.
|Author=Taddio et al. (1997)
|ref=<ref name="taddio1997"/>
}}

Boyle & Ramos (2019) reported [[PTSD]] in [[circumcised]] boys in the Philippine Islands where [[Tuli]] remains the usual practice.<ref>{{REFjournal
|last=Boyle
|first=Gregory J.
|init=GJ
|author-link=Gregory J. Boyle
|last2=Ramos
|first2=Samuel
|init2=S
|author2-link=
|etal=no
|title=Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among Filipino boys subjected to non-therapeutic ritual or medical surgical procedures: A retrospective cohort study
|journal=Annals of Medicine and Surgery
|location=
|date=2019
|volume=42
|issue=
|pages=19-22
|url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2049080119300305
|archived=
|quote=
|pubmedID=31080593
|pubmedCID=6506608
|DOI=10.1016/j.amsu.2019.04.004
|accessdate=2023-01-26
}}</ref>

==== Results of psychic circumcision trauma ====
Results of psychic circumcision trauma include:
* [[Post-traumatic stress disorder]]
* [[Adamant father syndrome]]
* [[Psychological issues of male circumcision]]

==Intact America==
[[Intact America]] is taking action to inform the public about the psychic trauma and effects of harmful child circumcision by publishing articles about the trauma and its treatment.
===Published articles===
* {{REFweb
|url=https://intactamerica.org/negative-effects-of-circumcision-in-later-life/
|title=Negative Effects of Circumcision in Later Life: Long-term Implications
|last=Garrett
|first=
|init=CJ
|author-link=Connor Judson Garrett
|publisher=Intact America
|date=2023-12-23
|accessdate=2026-01-20
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://intactamerica.org/circumcision-trauma-in-bedroom/
|title=Severed Intimacy: Navigating Circumcision Trauma in The Bedroom
|last=Garrett
|first=
|init=CJ
|author-link=Connor Judson Garrett
|publisher=Intact America
|date=2024-01-16
|accessdate=2026-01-20
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://intactamerica.org/timeline-of-circumcision-suffering/
|title=A Timeline of Circumcision Suffering: A Detailed Look
|last=Garrett
|first=
|init=CJ
|author-link=Connor Judson Garrett
|publisher=Intact America
|date=2024-02-02
|accessdate=2026-01-20
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://intactamerica.org/emotional-weight-of-circumcision/
|title=The Emotional Weight of Circumcision: Beyond the Physical Cut
|last=Alissa
|first=
|init=K
|author-link=Kristel Alissa
|publisher=Intact America
|date=2024-12-22
|accessdate=2026-01-20
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://intactamerica.org/mens-therapy-group-circumcision-trauma/
|title=Healing After Forced Genital Cutting: A Therapist’s Perspective on Men’s Recovery and Resistance
|last=Anderson
|first=
|init=D
|author-link=Dale Andersen
|publisher=Intact America
|date=2025-11-10
|accessdate=2026-01-20
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://intactamerica.org/intact-america-support-group-eugene-belilovsky/
|title=Circumcision Trauma Support: Eugene Belilovsky on Healing Through Intact America’s Support Groups
|last=Belilovsky
|first=Eugene
|init=
|author-link=
|publisher=Intact America
|date=2025-11-26
|accessdate=2026-01-20
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://intactamerica.org/navigating-the-layers-of-circumcision-trauma/
|title=Navigating the Layers of Circumcision Trauma
|last=Rhorer
|first=
|init=C
|author-link=
|publisher=Intact America
|date=2025-12-29
|accessdate=2026-01-20
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://intactamerica.org/grieving-into-acceptance-circumcision-healing/
|title=Healing Circumcision Trauma: A Therapist’s Guide to Grief, Acceptance, and Intimacy
|last=Rhodriguez
|first=Paola
|init=
|author-link=
|publisher=Intact America
|date=2026-01-04
|accessdate=2026-01-20
}}

== Ethics ==
Two ethicists, Myers & Earp (2020), have conducted a detailed review and analysis of the claimed medical benefits of non-therapeutic [[circumcision]]. They have determined that the alleged benefits are not material, so they do not support granting of consent by a surrogate. Moreover, they comment that even the most perfectly executed surgery produces trauma and harm to the patient. Circumcision also produces tissue loss and loss of function, therefore, circumcision should be performed only after the individual reaches the age of consent.<ref name="myers2020">{{REFjournal
|last=Myers
|first=
|init=A
|author-link=
|last2=Earp
|first2=
|init2=BD
|author2-link=Brian D. Earp
|etal=no
|title=What is the best age to circumcise? A medical and ethical analysis
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal=J Biosoc Sci
|location=
|date=2020-09
|volume=34
|issue=7
|pages=560-72
|url=https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Brian-Earp-2/publication/337720859_What_Is_the_Best_Age_to_Circumcise_A_Medical_and_Ethical_Analysis/links/5f815f61a6fdccfd7b555395/What-Is-the-Best-Age-to-Circumcise-A-Medical-and-Ethical-Analysis.pdf
|archived=
|quote=
|pubmedID=32068898
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=10.1111/bioe.12714
|accessdate=2023-05-18
}}</ref> Consent by a surrogate for a non-therapeutic circumcision is an unethical practice.
== Video ==
===Circumcision: Trauma for a Newborn Boy (Thoughts on Male Genital Mutilation)===
<youtube>v=2vkltwCLzsw</youtube>
===Circumcision: Trauma, Psychological Effects, Cultural Beliefs===
<youtube>v=lNItNHs9PR8&list=PLmrnvFzPoEloNFlh1lNKzig41vqprZnoc&index=1</youtube>
===Therapy Uncovers Circumcision Trauma===
<youtube>v=n5NDYG6w2eA</youtube>
{{SEEALSO}}
* [[Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs)]]
* [[Circumstraint]]
* [[Pain]]
* [[Protection of intact newborns in hospital]]
* [[Psychological issues of male circumcision]]
* [[Psychological literature about male circumcision]]
* [[Ronald Goldman Testifies On Circumcision Trauma At Historic PACE Hearing]]
* [[Sexual effects of circumcision]]
* [[Vagina]]
{{LINKS}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://kindredmedia.org/2015/08/infant-circumcision-and-trauma-with-dr-dean-edell/
|title=Infant Circumcision And Trauma – With Dr. Dean Edell
|last=Edel
|first=Dean
|init=
|publisher=Kindred
|date=2015-08-17
|accessdate=2022-11-20
}}
*{{REFweb
|url=https://circumcision.org/circumcision-permanently-alters-the-brain/
|title=Circumcision Permanently Alters the Brain: The surgery subjected the infant to significant trauma
|last=Tinari
|first=Paul D.
|init=
|publisher=Circumcision Resource Center
|date=
|accessdate=2022-11-20
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://iaim.net/extreme-trauma-from-male-circumcision-causes-damage-to-areas-of-brain/#:~:text=Based%20on%20MRI%20data%20collected,and%20frontal%20and%20temporal%20lobes.
|title=Extreme trauma from male circumcision causes damage to areas of the brain
|last=Anonymous
|first=
|init=
|publisher=International Association of Infant Massage.
|date=2016-02-17
|accessdate=2024-03-14
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/moral-landscapes/201501/circumcision-s-psychological-damage
|title=Circumcision’s Psychological Damage
|last=Narvaez
|first=Darcia F.
|author-link=Darcia Narvaez
|publisher=Psychology Today
|website=
|date=2015-01-11
|accessdate=2022-11-14
|format=
|quote=
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://www.hegemonmedia.com/p/the-cultural-trauma-of-circumcision
|title=The Cultural Trauma of Circumcision
|last=Marotta
|first=Brendon
|init=B
|author-link=Brendon Marotta
|publisher=Hegemon Media
|date=2022-02-17
|accessdate=2022-11-14
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://intactamerica.org/circumcision-trauma/
|title=Circumcision Trauma: The Invisible Elephant in the Room
|last=Garrett
|first=Connor
|publisher=Intact America
|date=2023-12-17
|accessdate=2023-12-31
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://intactamerica.org/timeline-of-circumcision-suffering/
|title=A Timeline of Circumcision Suffering: A Detailed Look
|last=Garrett
|first=Connor
|init=
|publisher=Intact America
|date=2024-02-02
|accessdate=2024-02-09
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://intactamerica.org/circumcision-trauma-in-bedroom/
|title=Severed Intimacy: Navigating Circumcision Trauma in The Bedroom
|last=Garrett
|first=Connor
|init=
|publisher=Intact America
|date=
|accessdate=2024-05-09
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://www.verywellmind.com/signs-of-childhood-trauma-in-adults-5207979?hid=3004559afef75db5631e964d1212ec175a774c9e&did=18229677-20250627&lctg=3004559afef75db5631e964d1212ec175a774c9e&lr_input=26e7f2434137ffb0e492a98b870be0a76eb8bfe817d1bc8584c36552ebd17582
|title=Signs of Childhood Trauma in Adults
|last=Loggins
|first=Brittany
|init=
|author-link=
|publisher=Verywell Mind
|date=2023-12-04
|accessdate=2025-06-27
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://intactamerica.org/circumcision-trauma-suicide-son/
|title=A Mother’s Grief: Circumcision Added to My Son’s Trauma Burden
|last=Couture
|first=Laurie A.
|init=
|author-link=
|publisher=Intact America
|date=2025-09-28
|accessdate=2025-10-03
}}
* {{REFweb
|title=Navigating the Layers of Circumcision Trauma
|url=https://intactamerica.org/navigating-the-layers-of-circumcision-trauma/
|trans-title=
|last=Rhorer
|first=Caitlyn
|init=
|author-link=
|publisher=Intact America
|website=https://intactamerica.org
|date=2025-12-29
|accessdate=2025-12-31
|quote=While men may lack a coherent narrative or explicit memory of the event, the physiological impact remains stored within the body.
}}
{{REF}}

[[Category:Medical term]]
[[Category:Circumcision]]
[[Category:Male circumcision]]
[[Category:Pain]]
[[Category:Psychology]]
[[Category:Parental information]]
[[Category:Trauma]]

[[de:{{FULLPAGENAME}}]]

Trauma

2026-06-07T15:48:03Z

WikiModEn2: /* Circumcision trauma */

'''{{FULLPAGENAME}}''' is defined as physical injury or psychological or emotional damage.<ref name="trauma2003">{{REFweb
|url=https://medical-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/Trauma
|title=Trauma
|publisher=The Free Medical Dictionary by Farlex
|date=2003
|accessdate=2022-11-13
}}</ref> Trauma also is "wound, shock, or injury.<ref name="woods2026">{{REFjournal
|last=Woods
|init=Tyler
|url=https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/basics/trauma
|title=Trauma
|journal=Psychology Today
|date=2009-03-17
|accessdate=2026-06-01
}}</ref>

Circumcision causes trauma.<ref>{{REFbook
|last=Goldman
|first=Ronald
|init=
|year=1997
|title=Circumcision: The Hidden Trauma: How an American Cultural Practice Affects Infants and Ultimately Us All
|url=https://circumcision.org/circumcision-the-hidden-trauma/
|scope=
|location=
|publisher=Vanguard Publications
|ISBN=
|accessdate=2024-12-13
}}</ref> <ref>{{BoyleGJ GoldmanR SvobodaJS FernandezE 2002}}</ref>

== Physical trauma ==
Physical trauma is any injury caused by a mechanical or physical agent.<ref name="trauma2003"/>
== Childhood trauma ==
Childhood trauma affects behavior throughout life.<ref>{{REFconference
|last=Miller
|first=Alice
|author-link=Alice Miller
|title=Childhood Trauma
|trans-title=
|language=
|url=https://www.naturalchild.org/articles/alice_miller/childhood_trauma.html
|archived=
|place=Lexington 92nd Street YWHA in New York City
|publisher=The Natural Child Project
|source=
|date=1998-10-22
|accessdate=2026-05-26
}}</ref>

== Psychic trauma ==
Psychic trauma is a psychologically upsetting experience that produces an emotional or mental disorder or otherwise has lasting negative effects on a person's thoughts, feelings, or behavior.<ref name="trauma2003" /><ref name="woods2026" />
== Birth trauma ==

De Mause (1996) argued that early trauma results in aggressive adult behavior.<ref name="demause1996">{{REFjournal
|last=deMause
|first=Lloyd
|init=
|author-link=
|etal=no
|title=Restaging Fetal Traumas in War and Social Violence
|journal=Pre- and Perinatal Psychology Journal
|location=
|date=1996
|volume=23
|issue=4
|pages=344-92
|url=http://www.mattes.de/buecher/praenatale_psychologie/PP_PDF/PP_08_2_deMause.pdf
|archived=
|quote=
|pubmedID=11609155
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=
|accessdate=2024-04-03
}}</ref> Jacobsen & Bygdeman (1998) reported an association between birth trauma and adult suicide.<ref>{{REFjournal
|last=Jacobsen
|first=
|init=B
|author-link=
|last2=Bygdeman
|first2=
|init2=M
|author2-link=
|etal=no
|title=Obstetric care and proneness of offspring to suicide as adults: case-control study
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal=BMJ
|location=
|date=1998
|volume=317
|issue=7169
|article=
|page=1346
|pages=
|url=https://www.bmj.com/content/317/7169/1346
|archived=
|quote=
|pubmedID=9812930
|pubmedCID=28715
|DOI=10.1136/bmj.317.7169.1346
|doi=
|accessdate=2023-10-18
}}</ref>

== Circumcision trauma ==
The consequences of circumcision trauma continue to be questioned.<ref name="batterly2023">{{REFjournal
|last=Batterley
|first=
|init=M
|author-link=
|last2=Metters
|first2=
|init2=J
|author2-link=
|last3=Smith
|first3
|init3=D
|author3-link=David Smith
|etal=no
|title=Male Circumcision-Based Trauma: Should it be Shown Greater Recognition?
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal=PsyArXiv
|location=
|date=2023-01-18
|volume=Preprint
|pages=1-13
|url=https://psyarxiv.com/4yv62/
|archived=
|quote=
|DOI=10.31234/osf.io/4yv62
|accessdate=2026-06-07
}}</ref>

There are no medical indications for infant [[circumcision]],<ref>{{REFbook
|last=Committee on Fetus and Newborn
|first=
|init=
|year=1971
|title=Standards and Recommendation for Hospital Care of Newborn infants. 5th ed.
|url=https://www.cirp.org/library/statements/aap/#a1971
|scope=
|location=Evanston
|publisher=American Academy of Pediatrics
|ISBN=
|accessdate=2024-04-03
}}</ref> which is a [[Pain| painful]], traumatic, non-therapeutic, medically-unnecessary invasive [[amputation]] of functional tissue.<ref name="garrett2023-12-17">{{REFweb
|url=https://intactamerica.org/circumcision-trauma/
|title=Circumcision Trauma: The Invisible Elephant in the Room
|last=Garrett
|first=Connor
|init=
|author-link=Connor Judson Garrett
|publisher=Intact America
|date=2023-12-17
|accessdate=2024-05-15
}}</ref> [[Circumcision of the newborn]] still occurs more than 901,000 times a year in the [[United States]] or about 2,400 times per day.<ref>[Births in the United States, 2024 Births in the United States]</ref>

Circumcision trauma includes physical trauma,<ref name="boyle2002">{{BoyleGJ GoldmanR SvobodaJS FernandezE 2002}}</ref> sexual trauma,<ref name="remennick2022">{{REFjournal
|last=Remennick
|first=
|init=L
|author-link=
|etal=no
|title=Joining the tribe: adult circumcision among immigrant men in Israel and its traumatic aftermath
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal=Cult Health Sex
|date=2022-05
|volume=24
|issue=5
|pages=702-16
|url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/epdf/10.1080/13691058.2021.1879272?needAccess=true
|archived=
|quote=Although opinions differed, the majority in this small survey said that the exposure of glans penis gradually lowered sensitivity, reducing pleasure both in intercourse and masturbation. In hindsight, many informants regretted their consent to undergo brit under social pressure.
|pubmedID=33512277
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=10.1080/13691058.2021.1879272
|format=PDF
|accessdate=2024-12-30
}}</ref> and psychic trauma.<ref>{{REFjournal
|last=Aydoğdu
|first=
|init=B
|author-link=
|last2=Azizoğlu
|first2=
|init2=M
|author2-link=
|last3=Okur
|first3=
|init3=MH
|author3-link=
|etal=no
|title=Social and psychological effects of circumcision: A narrative review
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal=Journal of Applied Nursing
and Health
|location=
|date=2022
|volume=4
|issue=2
|article=
|page=
|pages=264-71
|url=https://janh.candle.or.id/index.php/janh/article/download/110/138
|archived=
|quote=
|DOI=10.55018/janh.v4i2.110
|format=PDF
|accessdate=2023-01-16
}}</ref> <ref name="boyle2015">{{REFjournal
|last=Boyle
|first=
|init=GJ
|author-link=Gregory J. Boyle
|etal=no
|title=Circumcision of Infants and Children: Short-Term Trauma and Long-Term Psychosexual Harm
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal=Advances in Sexual Medicine
|location=
|date=2015-04-15
|volume=5
|issue=3
|article=
|page=
|pages=22-38
|url=https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/2931/bb0b1cd39a0224fff37545c23931679488fd.pdf
|archived=
|DOI=10.4236/asm.2015.52004
|format=PDF
|accessdate=2024-03-05
}}</ref> <ref>{{REFweb
|url=https://intactamerica.org/circumcision-gone-wrong/
|title=Circumcision Gone Wrong: Damage, Deformity, Death
|last=Garrett
|first=Connor
|init=
|author-link=Connor Judson Garrett
|publisher=Intact America
|date=2023-11-04
|accessdate=2024-06-02
}}</ref> Batteley, Metters & Smith (2023) state, in addition to the physical risks, the psychological risks should receive attention.<ref name="batterly2023">

[[Dan Bollinger| Bollinger]] (2023) reported a preliminary survey comparing [[intact]] and [[circumcised]] men using the ACE test. The [[circumcised]] men had higher ACE scores than the [[intact]] men. Bollinger has called for additional study to determine if male genital cutting (circumcision) should be classified as an [[Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs)| Adverse Childhood Experience]].<ref name="bollinger2023">{{REFjournal
|last=Bollinger
|init=D
|author-link=Dan Bollinger
|last2=
|init2=
|author2-link=
|url=https://kindredmedia.org/2023/02/adverse-childhood-experiences-dysfunctional-households-and-circumcision/
|title=Adverse Childhood Experiences, Dysfunctional Households, and Circumcision.
|journal=Kindred
|date=2023-02-28
|volume=
|issue=
|pages=
|accessdate=2023-03-01
}}</ref>

Although the [[medical trade association| medical trade associations]], which promote harmful child circumcision for their [[Financial incentive| profit]], minimize its effects, the trauma from [[circumcision]] is an extremely serious matter. Professor [[Jonathan A. Allan]] (2024) has devoted an entire chapter in his book to the issue of circumcision trauma.<ref name="allan2024">{{REFbook
|last=Allan
|first=
|init=JA
|author-link=Jonathan A. Allan
|year=2024
|title=Uncut: A Cultural Analysis of the Foreskin
|url=https://uofrpress.ca/Books/U/Uncut
|work=
|editor=
|edition=
|volume=
|chapter=Chapter 8: Intactivism and the Logic of Trauma
|scope=
|page=
|pages=217-55
|location=Regina
|publisher=University of Regina Press
|ISBN=978-1779400307
|quote=
|accessdate=2024-12-29
|note=
}}</ref>
=== Physical circumcision trauma ===
Circumcision, more properly described as ''[[posthectomy]]'', is the surgical excision and [[amputation]] of the [[foreskin]] of the [[penis]], which permanently removes a significant portion of the epithelium of the [[penis]] and destroys the significant and important [[Foreskin#Protective_functions| protective]], [[Foreskin#Immunological_functions| immunological]], [[Foreskin#Sexual_functions| sexual]], and [[Foreskin#Sexual_behavior| sensory]] physiological functions of that structure, and leaves the patient permanently and irreversibly impaired by the loss of those functions.<ref name="cold-taylor1999">{{ColdCJ TaylorJR 1999}}</ref>

==== Results of physical circumcision trauma ====
Results of physical trauma include:
* [[Complication]]
* [[Sexual effects of circumcision]]

=== Psychic circumcision trauma ===
According to [[Marilyn Milos]], "every man who has a scar on his [[penis]] also has a scar on his psyche." The medical community, however, has been slow to recognize the trauma of [[circumcision]].<ref name="batterley2023" /> <ref name="goldman1999">{{REFjournal
|last=Goldman
|first=
|init=R
|author-link=Ronald Goldman
|etal=no
|title=The psychological impact of circumcision
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal=BJU Int
|location=
|date=1999-01-01
|season=
|volume=83 Suppl. 1
|issue=
|article=
|page=
|pages=93-103
|url=http://www.cirp.org/library/psych/goldman1/
|archived=
|quote=
|pubmedID=10349420
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=10.1046/j.1464-410x.1999.0830s1093.x
|accessdate=2022-11-14
}}</ref>

Although a [[circumcision]] may be performed at any age, circumcisions are most commonly performed on newborn boys in the first month of life outside of the mother's womb. At that tender age general anesthesia is too dangerous to administer, so newborn boys receive only minimal [[pain]] relief at best and, in many cases, none at all.

[[Circumcised]] boys had a higher pain response at time of vaccination six months later as compared with [[intact]] boys,<ref name="taddio"1995">{{TaddioA etal 1995}}</ref><ref name="taddio1997">{{TaddioA KatzJ IlersichAL KorenG 1997}}</ref> showing that the nervous system had been permanently sensitized to heightened pain sensation.

Taddio et al. (1997) concluded:
{{Citation
|Text=Although postsurgical central sensitisation (allodynia and hyperalgesia) can extend to sites of the body distal from the wound, suggesting a supraspinal effect, the long-term consequences of surgery done without anaesthesia are likely to include post-traumatic stress as well as pain. It is, therefore, possible that the greater vaccination response in the infants circumcised without anaesthesia may represent an infant analogue of a post-traumatic stress disorder triggered by a traumatic and painful event and re-experienced under similar circumstances of pain during vaccination.
|Author=Taddio et al. (1997)
|ref=<ref name="taddio1997"/>
}}

Boyle & Ramos (2019) reported [[PTSD]] in [[circumcised]] boys in the Philippine Islands where [[Tuli]] remains the usual practice.<ref>{{REFjournal
|last=Boyle
|first=Gregory J.
|init=GJ
|author-link=Gregory J. Boyle
|last2=Ramos
|first2=Samuel
|init2=S
|author2-link=
|etal=no
|title=Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among Filipino boys subjected to non-therapeutic ritual or medical surgical procedures: A retrospective cohort study
|journal=Annals of Medicine and Surgery
|location=
|date=2019
|volume=42
|issue=
|pages=19-22
|url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2049080119300305
|archived=
|quote=
|pubmedID=31080593
|pubmedCID=6506608
|DOI=10.1016/j.amsu.2019.04.004
|accessdate=2023-01-26
}}</ref>

==== Results of psychic circumcision trauma ====
Results of psychic circumcision trauma include:
* [[Post-traumatic stress disorder]]
* [[Adamant father syndrome]]
* [[Psychological issues of male circumcision]]

==Intact America==
[[Intact America]] is taking action to inform the public about the psychic trauma and effects of harmful child circumcision by publishing articles about the trauma and its treatment.
===Published articles===
* {{REFweb
|url=https://intactamerica.org/negative-effects-of-circumcision-in-later-life/
|title=Negative Effects of Circumcision in Later Life: Long-term Implications
|last=Garrett
|first=
|init=CJ
|author-link=Connor Judson Garrett
|publisher=Intact America
|date=2023-12-23
|accessdate=2026-01-20
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://intactamerica.org/circumcision-trauma-in-bedroom/
|title=Severed Intimacy: Navigating Circumcision Trauma in The Bedroom
|last=Garrett
|first=
|init=CJ
|author-link=Connor Judson Garrett
|publisher=Intact America
|date=2024-01-16
|accessdate=2026-01-20
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://intactamerica.org/timeline-of-circumcision-suffering/
|title=A Timeline of Circumcision Suffering: A Detailed Look
|last=Garrett
|first=
|init=CJ
|author-link=Connor Judson Garrett
|publisher=Intact America
|date=2024-02-02
|accessdate=2026-01-20
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://intactamerica.org/emotional-weight-of-circumcision/
|title=The Emotional Weight of Circumcision: Beyond the Physical Cut
|last=Alissa
|first=
|init=K
|author-link=Kristel Alissa
|publisher=Intact America
|date=2024-12-22
|accessdate=2026-01-20
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://intactamerica.org/mens-therapy-group-circumcision-trauma/
|title=Healing After Forced Genital Cutting: A Therapist’s Perspective on Men’s Recovery and Resistance
|last=Anderson
|first=
|init=D
|author-link=Dale Andersen
|publisher=Intact America
|date=2025-11-10
|accessdate=2026-01-20
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://intactamerica.org/intact-america-support-group-eugene-belilovsky/
|title=Circumcision Trauma Support: Eugene Belilovsky on Healing Through Intact America’s Support Groups
|last=Belilovsky
|first=Eugene
|init=
|author-link=
|publisher=Intact America
|date=2025-11-26
|accessdate=2026-01-20
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://intactamerica.org/navigating-the-layers-of-circumcision-trauma/
|title=Navigating the Layers of Circumcision Trauma
|last=Rhorer
|first=
|init=C
|author-link=
|publisher=Intact America
|date=2025-12-29
|accessdate=2026-01-20
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://intactamerica.org/grieving-into-acceptance-circumcision-healing/
|title=Healing Circumcision Trauma: A Therapist’s Guide to Grief, Acceptance, and Intimacy
|last=Rhodriguez
|first=Paola
|init=
|author-link=
|publisher=Intact America
|date=2026-01-04
|accessdate=2026-01-20
}}

== Ethics ==
Two ethicists, Myers & Earp (2020), have conducted a detailed review and analysis of the claimed medical benefits of non-therapeutic [[circumcision]]. They have determined that the alleged benefits are not material, so they do not support granting of consent by a surrogate. Moreover, they comment that even the most perfectly executed surgery produces trauma and harm to the patient. Circumcision also produces tissue loss and loss of function, therefore, circumcision should be performed only after the individual reaches the age of consent.<ref name="myers2020">{{REFjournal
|last=Myers
|first=
|init=A
|author-link=
|last2=Earp
|first2=
|init2=BD
|author2-link=Brian D. Earp
|etal=no
|title=What is the best age to circumcise? A medical and ethical analysis
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal=J Biosoc Sci
|location=
|date=2020-09
|volume=34
|issue=7
|pages=560-72
|url=https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Brian-Earp-2/publication/337720859_What_Is_the_Best_Age_to_Circumcise_A_Medical_and_Ethical_Analysis/links/5f815f61a6fdccfd7b555395/What-Is-the-Best-Age-to-Circumcise-A-Medical-and-Ethical-Analysis.pdf
|archived=
|quote=
|pubmedID=32068898
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=10.1111/bioe.12714
|accessdate=2023-05-18
}}</ref> Consent by a surrogate for a non-therapeutic circumcision is an unethical practice.
== Video ==
===Circumcision: Trauma for a Newborn Boy (Thoughts on Male Genital Mutilation)===
<youtube>v=2vkltwCLzsw</youtube>
===Circumcision: Trauma, Psychological Effects, Cultural Beliefs===
<youtube>v=lNItNHs9PR8&list=PLmrnvFzPoEloNFlh1lNKzig41vqprZnoc&index=1</youtube>
===Therapy Uncovers Circumcision Trauma===
<youtube>v=n5NDYG6w2eA</youtube>
{{SEEALSO}}
* [[Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs)]]
* [[Circumstraint]]
* [[Pain]]
* [[Protection of intact newborns in hospital]]
* [[Psychological issues of male circumcision]]
* [[Psychological literature about male circumcision]]
* [[Ronald Goldman Testifies On Circumcision Trauma At Historic PACE Hearing]]
* [[Sexual effects of circumcision]]
* [[Vagina]]
{{LINKS}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://kindredmedia.org/2015/08/infant-circumcision-and-trauma-with-dr-dean-edell/
|title=Infant Circumcision And Trauma – With Dr. Dean Edell
|last=Edel
|first=Dean
|init=
|publisher=Kindred
|date=2015-08-17
|accessdate=2022-11-20
}}
*{{REFweb
|url=https://circumcision.org/circumcision-permanently-alters-the-brain/
|title=Circumcision Permanently Alters the Brain: The surgery subjected the infant to significant trauma
|last=Tinari
|first=Paul D.
|init=
|publisher=Circumcision Resource Center
|date=
|accessdate=2022-11-20
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://iaim.net/extreme-trauma-from-male-circumcision-causes-damage-to-areas-of-brain/#:~:text=Based%20on%20MRI%20data%20collected,and%20frontal%20and%20temporal%20lobes.
|title=Extreme trauma from male circumcision causes damage to areas of the brain
|last=Anonymous
|first=
|init=
|publisher=International Association of Infant Massage.
|date=2016-02-17
|accessdate=2024-03-14
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/moral-landscapes/201501/circumcision-s-psychological-damage
|title=Circumcision’s Psychological Damage
|last=Narvaez
|first=Darcia F.
|author-link=Darcia Narvaez
|publisher=Psychology Today
|website=
|date=2015-01-11
|accessdate=2022-11-14
|format=
|quote=
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://www.hegemonmedia.com/p/the-cultural-trauma-of-circumcision
|title=The Cultural Trauma of Circumcision
|last=Marotta
|first=Brendon
|init=B
|author-link=Brendon Marotta
|publisher=Hegemon Media
|date=2022-02-17
|accessdate=2022-11-14
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://intactamerica.org/circumcision-trauma/
|title=Circumcision Trauma: The Invisible Elephant in the Room
|last=Garrett
|first=Connor
|publisher=Intact America
|date=2023-12-17
|accessdate=2023-12-31
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://intactamerica.org/timeline-of-circumcision-suffering/
|title=A Timeline of Circumcision Suffering: A Detailed Look
|last=Garrett
|first=Connor
|init=
|publisher=Intact America
|date=2024-02-02
|accessdate=2024-02-09
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://intactamerica.org/circumcision-trauma-in-bedroom/
|title=Severed Intimacy: Navigating Circumcision Trauma in The Bedroom
|last=Garrett
|first=Connor
|init=
|publisher=Intact America
|date=
|accessdate=2024-05-09
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://www.verywellmind.com/signs-of-childhood-trauma-in-adults-5207979?hid=3004559afef75db5631e964d1212ec175a774c9e&did=18229677-20250627&lctg=3004559afef75db5631e964d1212ec175a774c9e&lr_input=26e7f2434137ffb0e492a98b870be0a76eb8bfe817d1bc8584c36552ebd17582
|title=Signs of Childhood Trauma in Adults
|last=Loggins
|first=Brittany
|init=
|author-link=
|publisher=Verywell Mind
|date=2023-12-04
|accessdate=2025-06-27
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://intactamerica.org/circumcision-trauma-suicide-son/
|title=A Mother’s Grief: Circumcision Added to My Son’s Trauma Burden
|last=Couture
|first=Laurie A.
|init=
|author-link=
|publisher=Intact America
|date=2025-09-28
|accessdate=2025-10-03
}}
* {{REFweb
|title=Navigating the Layers of Circumcision Trauma
|url=https://intactamerica.org/navigating-the-layers-of-circumcision-trauma/
|trans-title=
|last=Rhorer
|first=Caitlyn
|init=
|author-link=
|publisher=Intact America
|website=https://intactamerica.org
|date=2025-12-29
|accessdate=2025-12-31
|quote=While men may lack a coherent narrative or explicit memory of the event, the physiological impact remains stored within the body.
}}
{{REF}}

[[Category:Medical term]]
[[Category:Circumcision]]
[[Category:Male circumcision]]
[[Category:Pain]]
[[Category:Psychology]]
[[Category:Parental information]]
[[Category:Trauma]]

[[de:{{FULLPAGENAME}}]]

Intact Global

2026-06-07T13:12:09Z

WikiModEn2: /* Intact Global names Colorado as a target */ Add text and citation.

'''{{FULLPAGENAME}}''' is an American [[intactivist]] organization that seeks to advance the right to [[genital integrity]] in the judicial systems of the several States of the [[United States]].

[[Eric Clopper]] is the founder and president of Intact Global.

Intact Global observes that the 14th Amendment to the United States Constitution, Section 1, states in part that States shall not "deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws."
==Inaugural conference==
Intact Global held its inaugural conference in Portland, Oregon on 29-30 March 2025 and followed it with a press conference on 31 March 2025. A suit has been filed on behalf of certain injured Oregonians.<ref>{{REFweb
|url=https://www.intactglobal.org/events/2025-intact-global-conference
|title=2025- Intact Global Conference
|last=Clopper
|first=Eric
|init=
|author-link=Eric Clopper
|publisher=Intact Global
|date=2025-02-02
|accessdate=2025-02-03
}}</ref>

==Popularity of circumcision in Oregon==
Child circumcision is not popular in Oregon. Data Panda (2024) reports the incidence of [[circumcision]] of boys in Oregon in 2024 is 17 percent,<ref>{{REFweb
|url=https://www.datapandas.org/ranking/circumcision-rate-by-state
|title=Circumcision Rate by State
|last=Anonymous
|first=
|init=
|author-link=
|publisher=Data Panda
|date=2024-09-18
|accessdate=2025-04-02
}}</ref> which means that 83 percent of younger boys in Oregon are [[intact]]. Oregon ranks fourth among the States in the unpopularity of child circumcision.

==Complaint==
Intact Global filed a 72-page complaint no. 25CV18224 on behalf of several [[circumcised]] male Oregonians and a female against the State of Oregon in the [https://www.courts.oregon.gov/courts/multnomah/Pages/default.aspx Multinomah County Circuit Court] on 27 March 2025.<ref>{{REFdocument
|title=Hadachek et al. v. Oregon Complaint
|url=https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/66119b8c4d0c10f1951590fc/67e6d9785f82dc54c6513cb7_2025-03-28%20-%20Hadachek%20v.%20Oregon%20-%20Amended%20Complaint%20(Conformed).pdf
|contribution=
|last=Clopper
|first=Eric
|publisher=Intact Global
|format=PDF
|date=2025-03-27
|accessdate=2025-04-01
}}</ref>

[https://www.law-works.com/ Law Works, LLC] serves as local counsel.

The plaintiffs are reported to be in negotiations with the Office of the [https://www.doj.state.or.us/ Attorney-General of Oregon].

A hearing has been scheduled for 23 October 2025 in Portland, Oregon. The case number is 25CV18224.

[https://www.docketalarm.com/cases/Oregon_State_Multnomah_County_Circuit_Court/25CV18224/Dane_Hadachek_Cecil_Mininger_Sierra_Hadachek_Carter_Moody_Landon_Moody_vs_The_State_of_Oregon/03-27-2025-Complaint__Amended-1/ The complaint has been amended].

==Oregon Defense==

It is expected that Oregon will be defended by the [https://www.doj.state.or.us/ Oregon Department of Justice], which is headed by [https://www.doj.state.or.us/oregon-department-of-justice/office-of-the-attorney-general/attorney-general-dan-rayfield/ Attorney-General Dan Rayfield].

==Comment by Shea Lita Bond==

Shea Lita Bond reviewed the issues presented in the 2025 Hadachek in her comment in The ''John Marshall Law Review'' in 1999. She concluded as follows:
<blockquote>
Both male and female circumcision are medically unnecessary procedures that can cause children to experience physical and psychological harm. State legislatures enacted FGM statutes to protect female minors from circumcision complications, but never extended the same protection to male children. This ''Comment'' does not suggest that female circumcision is less important than male circumcision or that it is not a serious human rights problem. However, here in the United States male minors face circumcision at a wider scale, yet they are not legally protected from this painful, medically unnecessary procedure. Laws criminalizing female circumcision are a step in the right direction toward protecting child welfare. However, all children are at risk of being circumcised and yet currently only half are protected under state laws.

State FGM laws violate the constitutional guarantee that similarly situated males and females be treated equally before the law. Notwithstanding a state governments good intentions, and its legal prerogative to protect young girls from an injurious procedure, the state must extend the same legal protections to boys at risk for a similar procedure. Striking down unconstitutional FGM statutes and replacing them with gender neutral, generally applicatable laws will protect all children from harm and further the state's legitimate interest in protecting child welfare without discriminating on the basis of gender.<ref name="bond1999">{{REFjournal
|last=Bond
|init=SL
|author-link=
|url=https://repository.law.uic.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1579&context=lawreview
|title=Female Circumcision Laws and the Equal Protection Clause
|journal=The John Marshall Law Review
|date=1999-12
|volume=32
|issue=
|pages=353-80
|accessdate=2025-10-18
}}</ref>
</blockquote>

==Video==
===Intact Global Launch - Collaboration with GALDEF and LIVE Viewer Q&A!===
<youtube>v=gujPtfh1Y0g&t=12s</youtube>
===Daily Live No. 16! Get Your Tix for Intact Global’s March 29-31 Conference!===
<youtube>v=L_yOmsArLY0&t=21s</youtube>
===Intact Global 2025 Conference===
<youtube>v=CPZ-8vUm0pA</youtube>
===Day 1 LIVESTREAM – Intact Global’s Conference (March 29)===
<youtube>v=fKS-MsIgIIA</youtube>
===Day 2 LIVESTREAM – Intact Global’s Legal Summit for Genital Autonomy (March 30)===
<youtube>v=Kp4_S6_hJBU</youtube>
===Intact Global's Big Announcement Livestream===
<youtube>T1jlxRvZDC0</youtube>
===A Landmark Case for Children’s Rights: Intact Global’s SECOND Constitutional Challenge===
<youtube>v=oPka-aU3O1Q</youtube>
===Intact Global 2026 Conference Livestream – Day 1===
<youtube>?v=otFj_dNVLD0</youtube>
===Intact Global 2026 Conference Livestream – Day 2===
<youtube>v=I3iEeuJseLE</youtube>

==News on Intact Global lawsuit==
The counsel for the Defendant had filed a petition to dismiss the Intact Global lawsuit. A hearing was held in Portland before Judge Melvin Oden-Orr on 23 October 2025. The Court rejected the claims of the Defendant and dismissed the petition. Apparently the way is now clear to adjudicate the case on its merits.

The trial on the merits of Hadachek v. Oregon is now scheduled for December 2026. The trial readiness conference is scheduled for 4 December 2026. The actual trial is now scheduled to start on 7 December 2026 (Pearl Harbor Day). Eight days have been allocated for the trial.<ref>{{REFweb
|url=https://www.reddit.com/r/Intactivism/comments/1r3ubwu/trail_date_set_for_hadachek_v_oregon/
|title=Trial date set for Hadachek v Oregon
|last=
|first=
|init=
|author-link=
|publisher=REDDIT
|date=2026-02-13
|accessdate=2026-02-13
}}</ref>

<HR>

===Courageous Conversations: The Fight Against Newborn Genital Mutilation===
<youtube>v=mZpzr-351M4</youtube>
===Is circumcision child abuse? Attorney Eric Clopper meets TheTinMen===
<youtube>v=-BSsvUdAPR4</youtube>

==Intact Global conference in Los Angeles in April 2026==

Intact Global has announced a conference in Los Angeles, which will be held on 18-19 April 2026.
===Announcement video===
<youtube>xmuzPD-1_lc</youtube>

Tickets are required.

==Intact Global names Colorado as a target==

Intact Global has selected Colorado as the next state to be sued regarding equal protection. There will be an [https://www.reddit.com/r/IntactGlobal/comments/1ttk657/colorado_were_coming/#lightbox Colorado Launch Dinner announcement] on Monday, 14 December 2026.

The Bill of Rights of Colorado is found in Article II of the Constitution of 1876.<ref>{{REFdocument
|title=Constitution of the State of Colorado
|url=https://content.leg.colorado.gov/sites/default/files/images/olls/crs2024-title-00.pdf
|contribution=
|last=
|first=
|publisher=State of Colorado
|format=PDF
|date=1876
|accessdate=2026-06-07
}}</ref>

{{SEEALSO}}
* [[Circumcision legal commentary]]
* [[Genital Autonomy Legal Defense and Education Fund]]
* [[United States of America]]

{{LINKS}}
* {{URLwebsite|https://www.intactglobal.org/|2024-08-16}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://www.youtube.com/@IntactGlobal
|title=Intact Global YouTube Channel
|last=Anonymous
|publisher=YouTube
|date=
|accessdate=2026-04-18
}}
* {{REFdocument
|title=Non-therapeutic circumcision of male minors
|url=https://www.doctorsopposingcircumcision.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/knmg-non-therapeutic-circumcision-of-male-minors-27-05-2010.pdf
|contribution=
|last=Kruseman
|first=Arie Nieuwenhuijzen
|publisher=Royal Dutch Medical Association
|format=PDF
|date=2010-05-27
|accessdate=2023-04-26
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://www.reddit.com/r/IntactGlobal/
|title=Intact Global blog
|publisher=Reddit
|accessdate=2025-04-02
}}
* {{REFdocument
|title=Constitution of Oregon
|url=https://constitutionus.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/oregon-state-constitution-2020.pdf
|contribution=
|last=
|first=
|publisher=State of Oregon
|format=PDF
|date=2020
|accessdate=2025-04-01
}}
* {{REFjournal
|last=Povenmire
|init=R
|author-link=
|url=https://www.cirp.org/library/legal/povenmire/
|title= Do Parents Have the Legal Authority to Consent to the Surgical Amputation of Normal, Healthy Tissue From Their Infant Children?: The Practice of Circumcision in the United States
|journal=Journal of Gender, Social Policy & the Law
|date=1998-9
|volume=7
|issue=
|pages=87-123
|accessdate=2025-05-04
}}
* {{REFdocument
|title=Male and Female genital Alteration: A Collision Course with the Law?
|url=https://scholarlycommons.law.case.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1562&context=healthmatrix
|contribution=
|last=Davis
|first=Dena
|publisher=Health Matrix: J Law-Med.
|format=PDF
|date=2001
|accessdate=2025-10-19
}}
* {{REFjournal
|last=Hill
|first=
|init=G
|author-link=George Hill
|title=The case against circumcision
|journal=Journal of Men's Health and Gender
|date=2007
|volume=4
|issue=3
|pages=318-23
|url=https://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/document?repid=rep1&type=pdf&doi=04ace5046cc27f01b8fbe4aa359c059778983912
|quote=
|format=PDF
|accessdate=2025-10-20
}}
* {{REFdocument
|title=Genital Integrity Policy Statement
|url=https://pool.intactiwiki.org/images/2008_Genital_Integrity_Policy_Statement.pdf
|contribution=
|last=Hill
|first=George
|author-link=George Hill
|publisher=[[Doctors Opposing Circumcision (D.O.C.)]]
|format=PDF
|date=2008-06
|accessdate=2025-04-03
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=http://www.savingsons.org/2015/07/circumcision-and-united-states.html
|title=Circumcision and The United States Constitution: Forced Genital Cutting of Minors is Illegal
|last=Day
|first=
|init=D
|author-link=
|publisher=Saving Our Sons
|date=2014
|accessdate=2025-10-18
}}
* {{REFnews
|title=Lawyers say Oregon genital cutting law discriminates against boys; seek circumcision ban
|url=https://www.oregonlive.com/health/2025/03/lawyers-say-oregon-genital-cutting-law-discriminates-against-boys-seek-circumcision-ban.html
|last=Sparling
|first=Zane
|init=
|author-link=
|publisher=The Oregonian
|website=
|date=2025-03-31
|accessdate=2025-04-02
|quote=
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://www.youtube.com/@IntactGlobal
|title=Intact Global Youtube Channel
|last=
|first=
|init=
|author-link=
|publisher=Intact Global
|date=
|accessdate=2025-05-30
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://autonomycollective.org/hadachek-v-oregon/index.html
|title=Hadachek v. Oregon
|last=Anonymous
|first=
|init=
|author-link=
|publisher=Genital Autonomy Collective
|date=2025-07-25
|accessdate=2025-10-18
}}
* {{REFnews
|title=U.S. Circumcision Lawsuit Advances as Doctors Behind Policy Backtrack
|url=https://blogs.timesofisrael.com/u-s-circumcision-lawsuit-advances-as-doctors-behind-policy-backtrack/
|last=Wald
|first=Rebecca
|author-link=Rebecca Wald
|publisher=The Times of Israel
|date=2025-10-28
|accessdate=2026-04-30
|quote=At issue is whether gender-specific protections against genital cutting can withstand constitutional scrutiny in an era of increasing legal and ethical focus on bodily autonomy.
}}
{{REF}}

[[Category:Education]]
[[Category:Litigation]]
[[Category:Litigation over circumcision]]
[[Category:Intactivism organization]]

[[Category:USA]]

Intact Global

2026-06-07T12:25:41Z

WikiModEn2: /* Intact Global names Colorado as a target */

'''{{FULLPAGENAME}}''' is an American [[intactivist]] organization that seeks to advance the right to [[genital integrity]] in the judicial systems of the several States of the [[United States]].

[[Eric Clopper]] is the founder and president of Intact Global.

Intact Global observes that the 14th Amendment to the United States Constitution, Section 1, states in part that States shall not "deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws."
==Inaugural conference==
Intact Global held its inaugural conference in Portland, Oregon on 29-30 March 2025 and followed it with a press conference on 31 March 2025. A suit has been filed on behalf of certain injured Oregonians.<ref>{{REFweb
|url=https://www.intactglobal.org/events/2025-intact-global-conference
|title=2025- Intact Global Conference
|last=Clopper
|first=Eric
|init=
|author-link=Eric Clopper
|publisher=Intact Global
|date=2025-02-02
|accessdate=2025-02-03
}}</ref>

==Popularity of circumcision in Oregon==
Child circumcision is not popular in Oregon. Data Panda (2024) reports the incidence of [[circumcision]] of boys in Oregon in 2024 is 17 percent,<ref>{{REFweb
|url=https://www.datapandas.org/ranking/circumcision-rate-by-state
|title=Circumcision Rate by State
|last=Anonymous
|first=
|init=
|author-link=
|publisher=Data Panda
|date=2024-09-18
|accessdate=2025-04-02
}}</ref> which means that 83 percent of younger boys in Oregon are [[intact]]. Oregon ranks fourth among the States in the unpopularity of child circumcision.

==Complaint==
Intact Global filed a 72-page complaint no. 25CV18224 on behalf of several [[circumcised]] male Oregonians and a female against the State of Oregon in the [https://www.courts.oregon.gov/courts/multnomah/Pages/default.aspx Multinomah County Circuit Court] on 27 March 2025.<ref>{{REFdocument
|title=Hadachek et al. v. Oregon Complaint
|url=https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/66119b8c4d0c10f1951590fc/67e6d9785f82dc54c6513cb7_2025-03-28%20-%20Hadachek%20v.%20Oregon%20-%20Amended%20Complaint%20(Conformed).pdf
|contribution=
|last=Clopper
|first=Eric
|publisher=Intact Global
|format=PDF
|date=2025-03-27
|accessdate=2025-04-01
}}</ref>

[https://www.law-works.com/ Law Works, LLC] serves as local counsel.

The plaintiffs are reported to be in negotiations with the Office of the [https://www.doj.state.or.us/ Attorney-General of Oregon].

A hearing has been scheduled for 23 October 2025 in Portland, Oregon. The case number is 25CV18224.

[https://www.docketalarm.com/cases/Oregon_State_Multnomah_County_Circuit_Court/25CV18224/Dane_Hadachek_Cecil_Mininger_Sierra_Hadachek_Carter_Moody_Landon_Moody_vs_The_State_of_Oregon/03-27-2025-Complaint__Amended-1/ The complaint has been amended].

==Oregon Defense==

It is expected that Oregon will be defended by the [https://www.doj.state.or.us/ Oregon Department of Justice], which is headed by [https://www.doj.state.or.us/oregon-department-of-justice/office-of-the-attorney-general/attorney-general-dan-rayfield/ Attorney-General Dan Rayfield].

==Comment by Shea Lita Bond==

Shea Lita Bond reviewed the issues presented in the 2025 Hadachek in her comment in The ''John Marshall Law Review'' in 1999. She concluded as follows:
<blockquote>
Both male and female circumcision are medically unnecessary procedures that can cause children to experience physical and psychological harm. State legislatures enacted FGM statutes to protect female minors from circumcision complications, but never extended the same protection to male children. This ''Comment'' does not suggest that female circumcision is less important than male circumcision or that it is not a serious human rights problem. However, here in the United States male minors face circumcision at a wider scale, yet they are not legally protected from this painful, medically unnecessary procedure. Laws criminalizing female circumcision are a step in the right direction toward protecting child welfare. However, all children are at risk of being circumcised and yet currently only half are protected under state laws.

State FGM laws violate the constitutional guarantee that similarly situated males and females be treated equally before the law. Notwithstanding a state governments good intentions, and its legal prerogative to protect young girls from an injurious procedure, the state must extend the same legal protections to boys at risk for a similar procedure. Striking down unconstitutional FGM statutes and replacing them with gender neutral, generally applicatable laws will protect all children from harm and further the state's legitimate interest in protecting child welfare without discriminating on the basis of gender.<ref name="bond1999">{{REFjournal
|last=Bond
|init=SL
|author-link=
|url=https://repository.law.uic.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1579&context=lawreview
|title=Female Circumcision Laws and the Equal Protection Clause
|journal=The John Marshall Law Review
|date=1999-12
|volume=32
|issue=
|pages=353-80
|accessdate=2025-10-18
}}</ref>
</blockquote>

==Video==
===Intact Global Launch - Collaboration with GALDEF and LIVE Viewer Q&A!===
<youtube>v=gujPtfh1Y0g&t=12s</youtube>
===Daily Live No. 16! Get Your Tix for Intact Global’s March 29-31 Conference!===
<youtube>v=L_yOmsArLY0&t=21s</youtube>
===Intact Global 2025 Conference===
<youtube>v=CPZ-8vUm0pA</youtube>
===Day 1 LIVESTREAM – Intact Global’s Conference (March 29)===
<youtube>v=fKS-MsIgIIA</youtube>
===Day 2 LIVESTREAM – Intact Global’s Legal Summit for Genital Autonomy (March 30)===
<youtube>v=Kp4_S6_hJBU</youtube>
===Intact Global's Big Announcement Livestream===
<youtube>T1jlxRvZDC0</youtube>
===A Landmark Case for Children’s Rights: Intact Global’s SECOND Constitutional Challenge===
<youtube>v=oPka-aU3O1Q</youtube>
===Intact Global 2026 Conference Livestream – Day 1===
<youtube>?v=otFj_dNVLD0</youtube>
===Intact Global 2026 Conference Livestream – Day 2===
<youtube>v=I3iEeuJseLE</youtube>

==News on Intact Global lawsuit==
The counsel for the Defendant had filed a petition to dismiss the Intact Global lawsuit. A hearing was held in Portland before Judge Melvin Oden-Orr on 23 October 2025. The Court rejected the claims of the Defendant and dismissed the petition. Apparently the way is now clear to adjudicate the case on its merits.

The trial on the merits of Hadachek v. Oregon is now scheduled for December 2026. The trial readiness conference is scheduled for 4 December 2026. The actual trial is now scheduled to start on 7 December 2026 (Pearl Harbor Day). Eight days have been allocated for the trial.<ref>{{REFweb
|url=https://www.reddit.com/r/Intactivism/comments/1r3ubwu/trail_date_set_for_hadachek_v_oregon/
|title=Trial date set for Hadachek v Oregon
|last=
|first=
|init=
|author-link=
|publisher=REDDIT
|date=2026-02-13
|accessdate=2026-02-13
}}</ref>

<HR>

===Courageous Conversations: The Fight Against Newborn Genital Mutilation===
<youtube>v=mZpzr-351M4</youtube>
===Is circumcision child abuse? Attorney Eric Clopper meets TheTinMen===
<youtube>v=-BSsvUdAPR4</youtube>

==Intact Global conference in Los Angeles in April 2026==

Intact Global has announced a conference in Los Angeles, which will be held on 18-19 April 2026.
===Announcement video===
<youtube>xmuzPD-1_lc</youtube>

Tickets are required.

==Intact Global names Colorado as a target==

Intact Global has selected Colorado as the next state to be sued regarding equal protection. There will be an [https://www.reddit.com/r/IntactGlobal/comments/1ttk657/colorado_were_coming/#lightbox Colorado Launch Dinner announcement] on Monday, 14 December 2026.

{{SEEALSO}}
* [[Circumcision legal commentary]]
* [[Genital Autonomy Legal Defense and Education Fund]]
* [[United States of America]]

{{LINKS}}
* {{URLwebsite|https://www.intactglobal.org/|2024-08-16}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://www.youtube.com/@IntactGlobal
|title=Intact Global YouTube Channel
|last=Anonymous
|publisher=YouTube
|date=
|accessdate=2026-04-18
}}
* {{REFdocument
|title=Non-therapeutic circumcision of male minors
|url=https://www.doctorsopposingcircumcision.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/knmg-non-therapeutic-circumcision-of-male-minors-27-05-2010.pdf
|contribution=
|last=Kruseman
|first=Arie Nieuwenhuijzen
|publisher=Royal Dutch Medical Association
|format=PDF
|date=2010-05-27
|accessdate=2023-04-26
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://www.reddit.com/r/IntactGlobal/
|title=Intact Global blog
|publisher=Reddit
|accessdate=2025-04-02
}}
* {{REFdocument
|title=Constitution of Oregon
|url=https://constitutionus.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/oregon-state-constitution-2020.pdf
|contribution=
|last=
|first=
|publisher=State of Oregon
|format=PDF
|date=2020
|accessdate=2025-04-01
}}
* {{REFjournal
|last=Povenmire
|init=R
|author-link=
|url=https://www.cirp.org/library/legal/povenmire/
|title= Do Parents Have the Legal Authority to Consent to the Surgical Amputation of Normal, Healthy Tissue From Their Infant Children?: The Practice of Circumcision in the United States
|journal=Journal of Gender, Social Policy & the Law
|date=1998-9
|volume=7
|issue=
|pages=87-123
|accessdate=2025-05-04
}}
* {{REFdocument
|title=Male and Female genital Alteration: A Collision Course with the Law?
|url=https://scholarlycommons.law.case.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1562&context=healthmatrix
|contribution=
|last=Davis
|first=Dena
|publisher=Health Matrix: J Law-Med.
|format=PDF
|date=2001
|accessdate=2025-10-19
}}
* {{REFjournal
|last=Hill
|first=
|init=G
|author-link=George Hill
|title=The case against circumcision
|journal=Journal of Men's Health and Gender
|date=2007
|volume=4
|issue=3
|pages=318-23
|url=https://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/document?repid=rep1&type=pdf&doi=04ace5046cc27f01b8fbe4aa359c059778983912
|quote=
|format=PDF
|accessdate=2025-10-20
}}
* {{REFdocument
|title=Genital Integrity Policy Statement
|url=https://pool.intactiwiki.org/images/2008_Genital_Integrity_Policy_Statement.pdf
|contribution=
|last=Hill
|first=George
|author-link=George Hill
|publisher=[[Doctors Opposing Circumcision (D.O.C.)]]
|format=PDF
|date=2008-06
|accessdate=2025-04-03
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=http://www.savingsons.org/2015/07/circumcision-and-united-states.html
|title=Circumcision and The United States Constitution: Forced Genital Cutting of Minors is Illegal
|last=Day
|first=
|init=D
|author-link=
|publisher=Saving Our Sons
|date=2014
|accessdate=2025-10-18
}}
* {{REFnews
|title=Lawyers say Oregon genital cutting law discriminates against boys; seek circumcision ban
|url=https://www.oregonlive.com/health/2025/03/lawyers-say-oregon-genital-cutting-law-discriminates-against-boys-seek-circumcision-ban.html
|last=Sparling
|first=Zane
|init=
|author-link=
|publisher=The Oregonian
|website=
|date=2025-03-31
|accessdate=2025-04-02
|quote=
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://www.youtube.com/@IntactGlobal
|title=Intact Global Youtube Channel
|last=
|first=
|init=
|author-link=
|publisher=Intact Global
|date=
|accessdate=2025-05-30
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://autonomycollective.org/hadachek-v-oregon/index.html
|title=Hadachek v. Oregon
|last=Anonymous
|first=
|init=
|author-link=
|publisher=Genital Autonomy Collective
|date=2025-07-25
|accessdate=2025-10-18
}}
* {{REFnews
|title=U.S. Circumcision Lawsuit Advances as Doctors Behind Policy Backtrack
|url=https://blogs.timesofisrael.com/u-s-circumcision-lawsuit-advances-as-doctors-behind-policy-backtrack/
|last=Wald
|first=Rebecca
|author-link=Rebecca Wald
|publisher=The Times of Israel
|date=2025-10-28
|accessdate=2026-04-30
|quote=At issue is whether gender-specific protections against genital cutting can withstand constitutional scrutiny in an era of increasing legal and ethical focus on bodily autonomy.
}}
{{REF}}

[[Category:Education]]
[[Category:Litigation]]
[[Category:Litigation over circumcision]]
[[Category:Intactivism organization]]

[[Category:USA]]

Desmond Morris

2026-06-07T12:07:44Z

WikiModEn2:

'''{{FULLPAGENAME}}''' ({{LifeData|birth=1928-01-24|birthplace=[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Purton Purton], Wiltshire|birthcountry=[[United Kingdom]]|death=2026-04-19|deathplace=[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naas Naas], County Kildare|deathcountry=Ireland}})

The late Desmond John Morris, Ph.D., D.Sc., was a British zoologist and ethologist. He became famous by applying the methods of animal study to humans.

Morris was a strong opponent of all forms of genital cutting and sexual mutilation, including [[child circumcision]].
==Early life==
Morris was born in Purton, [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wiltshire Wiltshire], to Marjorie (née Hunt) and children's fiction author Harry Morris. A few years later the family moved to [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swindon Swindon].

In his teen years he attended [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dauntsey%27s_School Dauncey's School], an upscale coeducational school in the country on 150 acres of land.<ref>[https://www.dauntseys.org/ Dauntsey's School]</ref> This may be where he acquired his interest in nature.

==Adult life==
Morris enlisted in the British Army for two years at age 18 in 1946 to perform his [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_service national service].

After completing his national service, Morris started to study zoology at the [https://www.birmingham.ac.uk/ University of Birmingham].

Morris commenced his studies at the [https://www.ox.ac.uk/ University of Oxford] in 1951. He was awarded a Ph.D. in 1954.

Morris served as curator of mammals for the [https://www.londonzoo.org/ London Zoo] from 1959 to 1967.
==Personal life==
Morris married Ramona Baulch in July 1952.<ref name="morris2012">{{REFnews
|title=My secret of 60 years of marital bliss
|url=https://www.dailymail.com/lifestyle/article-2191767/Desmond-Morris-diamond-wedding-testament-primeval-urge-mate-life.html
|last=Morris
|first=Desmond
|init=
|author-link=Desmond Morris
|publisher=The Daily Mail
|website=
|date=2012-08-22
|accessdate=2026-06-06
|format=
|quote=
}}</ref> They made their home in North Oxford. They had one son—Jason.
{{PUB}}
===Articles===
Dr. Morris wrote articles throughout his long life. His prodigious output is indexed on his website. Please see [http://www.desmond-morris.com/articles.php Selected Articles].

A search at [https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/ PubMed] for "Morris DJ" produces a list of 256 published articles. It is not clear how many of these were authored by Desmond John Morris.

===Books===
Dr. Morris is credited with the authorship of 104 books. For a complete list see [http://www.desmond-morris.com books.php Bibliography]
* {{REFbook
|last=Morris
|first=Desmond
|init=
|year=1985
|title=Bodywatching
|url=https://www.amazon.com/s?k=Bodywatching&i=stripbooks
|scope=
|location=
|publisher=Random House
|ISBN=10-0517558149
|accessdate=2026-06-04
}}
* {{REFbook
|last=Morris
|first=Desmond
|init=
|year=1994
|title=The Human Animal: A Personal View of the Human Species
|url=https://www.amazon.com/Human-Animal-Personal-View-Species/dp/0563370211?s=books
|scope=
|location=
|publisher=BBC Publications
|ISBN=10 0563370211
|accessdate=2026-06-03
}}

* {{REFbook
|last=Morris
|first=Desmond
|init=
|year=1997
|title=The Human Sexes
|url=https://www.amazon.com/Human-Sexes-Morris-Desmond/dp/0563383585?s=books
|scope=
|location=
|publisher=Netwook Books
|ISBN=10 0563383585
|accessdate=2026-06-03
}}
* {{REFbook
|last=Morris
|first=Desmond
|init=
|year=1999
|title=The Naked Ape: A Zoologist's Study of the Human Animal
|url=https://www.amazon.com/Naked-Ape-Zoologists-Study-Animal/dp/0385334303?s=books
|scope=
|location=
|publisher=Delta
|ISBN=10 0385334303
|accessdate=2026-06-03
}}
* {{REFbook
|last=Morris
|first=Desmond
|init=
|year=2007
|title=The Naked Woman: A Study of the Female Body
|url=https://www.amazon.com/Naked-Woman-Study-Female-Body/dp/0312338538?s=books
|scope=
|location=
|publisher=St. Martins Griffin
|ISBN=10 9780312338534
|accessdate=2026-06-03
}}
* {{REFbook
|last=Morris
|first=Desmond
|init=
|year=2009
|title=The Naked Man: A Study of the Male Body
|url=https://www.amazon.com/Naked-Man-Study-Male-Body/dp/0312385307?s=books
|scope=
|location=
|publisher=Thomas Dunne Books
|ISBN=10 0312385307
|accessdate=2026-06-03
}}
===Commentary on male and female genital cutting and genital mutilation===
 
IntactiWiki is pleased to present this monograph by Desmond Morris regarding genital cutting and mutilation.
 
 
<hr>
 
<blockquote>
<center>
<big>Comment on Circumcision and Genital Mutilation</big>

Desmond Morris
</center>
For thousands of years, in many different cultures, the genitals have fallen victim to an amazing variety of mutilations and restrictions. For organs that are capable of giving us an immense amount of pleasure They have given us an inordinate amount of pain.

The commonest form of assault they have suffered is male and female circumcision. This strange mutilation is older than civilization and was probably well advanced in the Stone Age. Although it is a piece of deliberate wounding of children by adults, it has been done with the best of intentions. Over the millennia it has cause countless deaths from infection, but its advantages have always been said to outweigh the risks involved. These alleged advantages have varied from epoch to epoch and culture to culture, but recent re-examination has shown that they are all imaginary.

It has been claimed that one of the oldest reasons for performing male circumcision—the removal of the foreskin—is that it provoked immortality in the shape of life after death. This odd notion was based on the observation that when the snake sheds its skin it emerges with glistening new scales and is “reborn.” If the snake can enjoy rebirth by the removal of skin, so too can the human being. For snake read penis; for snake-skin read foreskin.

Once male circumcision had become traditional it no longer mattered whether the old beliefs survived. Being circumcised was not the badge of belonging to a particular society. The ritual mutilation spread and spread. Ancient Egyptians were doing it as long ago as 4000 B.C. In the Old Testament, Abraham demanded it. Arabs circumcised as well as Jews. Mohammed was said to have been born without a foreskin (which he may well have been, as this condition is not unknown to medical science), a claim which automatically doomed the foreskins of his future male followers.

As the centuries passed, religious arguments gave way, for many to quack medical arguments. The possession of a foreskin was said to cause “masturbatory insanity.” Other medical horrors resulting from its retention included hysteria, epilepsy, nocturnal incontinence, and nervousness. Such ideas survived into the early part of the present century and even led to the formation of an Orificial Surgery Society devoted exclusively to the “modifications” of offending genital as a means of preventing mental illness.

When at last this nonsense was on the decline a crisis arose. What new reason could be found for mutilating children’s genitals? The solution had to be one that suited the rational climate of twentieth-century scientific inquiry. The answer appeared in The Lancet in 1932: foreskins caused cancer! By the end of the 1930s 75 per cent of the boys in the United States were being circumcised; by 1973 it was 84 per cent; by 1976 it was 87 per cent. Cancer had become the secular version of hellfire and brimstone, the perfect weapon for the anxiety makers of a post-religious society.

To be more precise, the claim that the “debris” called smegma which collects under retained foreskins could cause cancer of the penis and also cancer of the cervix of the wives of the uncircumcised. The paper which started this false rumour was founded on faulty statistics, but nobody minded because here was a plausible new reason for slicing away at the infantile penis. Subsequent experiments, however revealed that there is nothing remotely carcinogenic about the smegma produced under the fold of the foreskin, but they were widely ignored. Other investigations showed that women whose uncircumcised husbands always wore condoms were no more or less likely to develop cancer than those whose husbands never wore condoms. But again nobody wanted to know. In one country where there was no circumcision at all was compared to a country in which all males were circumcised. The results showed, to the relief of the foreskin snippers, that prostate cancer was higher in the uncircumcised country. Unfortunately this form of cancer is a disease of elderly men, and when a correction for age distribution was made the figures showed that this disorder was actually more likely in the circumcised country.

Not only was the cancer scare completely without foundation, but the operation of foreskin removal continued to prove a distinct health hazard for small babies. There were many cases of haemorrhage, ulceration of the urethra, surgical trauma and local infection. In rare cases, foreskin removal resulted in the death of the baby. There were also more subtle effects with possible long-term implications: following circumcision male babies showed an increase in the level of hormones related to stress; sleep patterns altered; there was more crying and more irritability.

Despite all this, “medical” circumcisions continued (and still continues) at a merry pace in certain countries where private medicine is the rule. In Britain, significantly, there was a dramatic decline in the operation following the introduction of the National Health Service scheme and free treatment. It is impossible to refrain from asking why it should be that the operation sank to a level of less than one per cent (only 0.41 per cent of male babies in 1972) in a country where there was no financial gain to be made from it, while in the United States, for example, in the same year, over 80 per cent of male babies were circumcised, at an annual cost to health-insurance companies of more than $200 million. The new deities demanding circumcision appear to be more fiscal than sacred.

Young females have also been assaulted in this fashion. This has been rare in the West, although as recently as 1937 a Texas doctor was advocating the removal of the clitoris to cure frigidity. The harshest traditions of female circumcision are found in Africa, parts of the Middle East, Indonesia and Malayia. It is a staggering fact that, far from being an ancient memory, the practice of cutting away all or part of the external genitals of young females is still going on in more than 20 countries.

No fewer than 74 million women alive today have been subjected to this mutilation. In the worst cases, they have had their labia and clitoris scraped or cut away and their vaginal opening stitched up with silk, catgut, or thorns, leaving only a tiny opening for urine and menstrual blood. After the operation the girl’s legs are bound together to ensure that scar-tissue forms and the condition becomes permanent. Later, when they marry, these females suffer the pain of having their artificially reduced orifices broken open by their husbands.

The effect of this practice is to dramatically reduce sexual pleasure for wives in the countries concerned, which may be its hidden significance. A side-effect is the high number of deaths and serious illnesses cause by the unhygienic conditions under which the operations are performed, especially in such countries as Oman, South Yemen, Somalia, Djibouti, Sudan, southern Egypt, Ethiopia, northern Kenya, and Mali. The continuance of such practices in the twentieth century against a background of modern enlightenment is clearly going to puzzle historians of the distant future.
<center>
—Desmond Morris (Circa 1985)
</blockquote>

==Videos==
===Desmond Morris (Writer))===
<youtube>v=rfe8nKkVUPo&list=PLVV0r6CmEsFwtuDq9yKrhqqkJ-Era-N7w&index=3</youtube>
===Desmond Morris - Cheating death even before birth (1/37)===
<youtube>v=aZoJbK9hBMo</youtube>
===Desmond Morris - Human beings - just another species of animal? (23/37)===
<youtube>v=taFeI6TwAOQ</youtube>
===Zoology and the Human Animal===
<youtube>v=myL24gP20fo</youtube>
===Male genital mutilation ritual from Desmond Morris - The Human Sexes===
<youtube>v=QaFtcIrtbm0</youtube>
===Desmond Morris - 'The Human Zoo' (25/37)===
<youtube>v=1wlGhIh1lfE</youtube>
===Desmond Morris - Avoiding death for the second time (3/37)===
<youtube>v=rfe8nKkVUPo</youtube>
===Desmond Morris - Contemplating death and the afterlife (37/37)===
<youtube>v=3uddkAIHTEc</youtube>
===Desmond Morris passes away (1928 - 2026) (UK) - UK News - 20/Apr/2026===
<youtube>v=N9fVSDziV6o</youtube>

==Death==
Following the death of his wife, Ramona, in November 2018, Desmond Morris left his home in [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oxford Oxford] in June 2019 and moved to [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/County_Kildare County Kildare] in [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_of_Ireland Ireland] to live close to his son, Jason, and his family there.

He passed away there at the age of 98 on 19 April 2026.<ref name="radford2026">{{REFweb
|url=https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2026/apr/20/desmond-morris-obituary
|title=Desmond Morris Obituary
|last=Radford
|first=Tim
|publisher=The Guardian
|date=2026-04-20
|accessdate=2026-06-05
}}</ref> <ref name="woodhouse2026>{{REFweb
|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c51y797v200o
|title=Zoologist and author Desmond Morris dies aged 98
|last=Woodhouse
|first=Sam
|publisher=BBC
|date=2026-04-20
|accessdate=2026-06-05
}}</ref>
{{SEEALSO}}
* [[Alice Miller]]
* [[Cervical cancer]]
* [[Child circumcision]]
* [[Circumcision of the newborn]]
* [[Financial incentive]]
* [[Foreskin]]
* [[Penile cancer]]
* [[Risks and complications]]
{{LINKS}}
* {{URLwebsite|http://www.desmond-morris.com/|2026-06-04}}
* {{URLwikipedia|Desmond_Morris|Desmond Morris}}
* {{REFweb
|url=http://www.desmond-morris.com/biography.php
|title=Biography of Desmond John Morris
|last=Williams
|first=David
|init=
|author-link=
|publisher=The Desmond Morris Information Page
|date=2022-09-20
|accessdate=2026-06-06
}}
{{REF}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Morris, Desmond}}

[[Category:Person]]
[[Category:Male]]
[[Category:Author]]
[[Category:Female genital mutilation]]
[[Category:Financial gain]]
[[Category:Intactivism]]
[[Category:Intactivist]]
[[Category:Intactivist literature]]

[[Category:UK]]

Mutilation

2026-06-07T11:59:29Z

WikiModEn2: /* Circumcision debate */ Wikify.

{{Citation
|Title=Mutilation
|Text='''Mutilation''' or '''maiming''' (from the Latin: ''mutilus'') is cutting off or causing injury to a body part of a person so that the part of the body is permanently damaged, detached or disfigured.<ref>{{REFbook
|editor=Chisholm, Hugh
|year=1911
|chapter=Mutilation
|title=Encyclopædia Britannica
|volume=19
|edition=11
|publisher={{UNI|Cambridge University|UCam}} Press
|pages=99–100
}}</ref>
|Author=Wikipedia
|ref=<ref>{{URLwikipedia|Mutilation|Mutilation|2020-09-12}}</ref>
}}

A British court (2015) has defined ''mutilation'' as:
<blockquote>
[12] The word “mutilation” is not further elaborated or defined in the statute, so I turn to the dictionary. The Oxford English Dictionary defines “mutilation” as meaning “the action of mutilating a person or animal; the severing or maiming of a limb or bodily organ”, “mutilate” being defined as meaning “To deprive (a person or animal) of the use of a limb or bodily organ, by dismemberment or otherwise; to cut off or destroy (a limb or organ); to wound severely, inflict violent or disfiguring injury on.”<ref name="bangham2015">{{REFdocument
|title=Judgment
|url=https://www.familylaw.co.uk/news_and_comment/re-b-and-g-children-no-2-2015-ewfc-3
|contribution=
|last=Bangham
|first=Samantha
|publisher=Family Law
|format=
|date=2015-01-14
|accessdate=2020-09-12
}}</ref>

</blockquote>

== Circumcision debate ==
In many debates and discussions about [[circumcision]], one can hear the argument that [[MGM]] cannot be named a mutilation. The above definition alone proves this pseudo-argument wrong. There are reasons for those who want to defend the right of parents to genitally mutilate their children (both male and female, because in different cultures the [[arguments pro circumcision]] are identical or at least very similar for both [[FGM]] and [[MGM]]).

# The term ''circumcision'' is a [[euphemism]] of what is actually done to the child. Avoiding correct terms like "[[foreskin]] [[amputation]]" or "mutilation" obscures the view on the facts.
# Many adults who want to ensure that children's genitals can still be mutilated are themselves victims of genital mutilation. Therefore, the behavior can be explained by avoiding terms that could trigger them to relive the suffering they experienced yourself. See [[Collective Cognitive Dissonance]] for more psychological details.
# Publications such as "Desert Flower" by Waris Dirie have brought [[female genital mutilation]], which in the past was also belittled as "circumcision", into the public eye. The same weighting of male genital mutilation is still missing in public. Therefore, it is easier for [[circumcision]] advocates to continue to use the trivializing term "circumcision" to protect themselves and their interests behind it.

{{REF}}

[[Category:Circumcision term]]
[[Category:Medical term]]

Desmond Morris

2026-06-07T11:13:47Z

WikiModEn2: /* Commentary on male and female genital cutting and genital mutilation */ Wikify.

'''{{FULLPAGENAME}}''' ({{LifeData|birth=1928-01-24|birthplace=[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Purton Purton], Wiltshire|birthcountry=[[United Kingdom]]|death=2026-04-19|deathplace=[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naas Naas], County Kildare|deathcountry=Ireland}})

The late Desmond John Morris, Ph.D., D.Sc., was a British zoologist and ethologist. He became famous by applying the methods of animal study to humans.

Morris was a strong opponent of all forms of genital cutting and sexual mutilation, including [[child circumcision]].
==Early life==
Morris was born in Purton, [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wiltshire Wiltshire], to Marjorie (née Hunt) and children's fiction author Harry Morris. A few years later the family moved to [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swindon Swindon].

In his teen years he attended [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dauntsey%27s_School Dauncey's School], an upscale coeducational school in the country on 150 acres of land.<ref>[https://www.dauntseys.org/ Dauntsey's School]</ref> This may be where he acquired his interest in nature.

==Adult life==
Morris enlisted in the British Army for two years at age 18 in 1946 to perform his [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_service national service].

After completing his national service, Morris started to study zoology at the [https://www.birmingham.ac.uk/ University of Birmingham].

Morris commenced his studies at the [https://www.ox.ac.uk/ University of Oxford] in 1951. He was awarded a Ph.D. in 1954.

Morris served as curator of mammals for the [https://www.londonzoo.org/ London Zoo] from 1959 to 1967.
==Personal life==
Morris married Ramona Baulch in July 1952.<ref name="morris2012">{{REFnews
|title=My secret of 60 years of marital bliss
|url=https://www.dailymail.com/lifestyle/article-2191767/Desmond-Morris-diamond-wedding-testament-primeval-urge-mate-life.html
|last=Morris
|first=Desmond
|init=
|author-link=Desmond Morris
|publisher=The Daily Mail
|website=
|date=2012-08-22
|accessdate=2026-06-06
|format=
|quote=
}}</ref> They made their home in North Oxford. They had one son—Jason.
{{PUB}}
===Articles===
Dr. Morris wrote articles throughout his long life. His prodigious output is indexed on his website. Please see [http://www.desmond-morris.com/articles.php Selected Articles].

A search at [https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/ PubMed] for "Morris DJ" produces a list of 256 published articles. It is not clear how many of these were authored by Desmond John Morris.

===Books===
Dr. Morris is credited with the authorship of 104 books. For a complete list see [http://www.desmond-morris.com books.php Bibliography]
* {{REFbook
|last=Morris
|first=Desmond
|init=
|year=1985
|title=Bodywatching
|url=https://www.amazon.com/s?k=Bodywatching&i=stripbooks
|scope=
|location=
|publisher=Random House
|ISBN=10-0517558149
|accessdate=2026-06-04
}}
* {{REFbook
|last=Morris
|first=Desmond
|init=
|year=1994
|title=The Human Animal: A Personal View of the Human Species
|url=https://www.amazon.com/Human-Animal-Personal-View-Species/dp/0563370211?s=books
|scope=
|location=
|publisher=BBC Publications
|ISBN=10 0563370211
|accessdate=2026-06-03
}}

* {{REFbook
|last=Morris
|first=Desmond
|init=
|year=1997
|title=The Human Sexes
|url=https://www.amazon.com/Human-Sexes-Morris-Desmond/dp/0563383585?s=books
|scope=
|location=
|publisher=Netwook Books
|ISBN=10 0563383585
|accessdate=2026-06-03
}}
* {{REFbook
|last=Morris
|first=Desmond
|init=
|year=1999
|title=The Naked Ape: A Zoologist's Study of the Human Animal
|url=https://www.amazon.com/Naked-Ape-Zoologists-Study-Animal/dp/0385334303?s=books
|scope=
|location=
|publisher=Delta
|ISBN=10 0385334303
|accessdate=2026-06-03
}}
* {{REFbook
|last=Morris
|first=Desmond
|init=
|year=2007
|title=The Naked Woman: A Study of the Female Body
|url=https://www.amazon.com/Naked-Woman-Study-Female-Body/dp/0312338538?s=books
|scope=
|location=
|publisher=St. Martins Griffin
|ISBN=10 9780312338534
|accessdate=2026-06-03
}}
* {{REFbook
|last=Morris
|first=Desmond
|init=
|year=2009
|title=The Naked Man: A Study of the Male Body
|url=https://www.amazon.com/Naked-Man-Study-Male-Body/dp/0312385307?s=books
|scope=
|location=
|publisher=Thomas Dunne Books
|ISBN=10 0312385307
|accessdate=2026-06-03
}}
===Commentary on male and female genital cutting and genital mutilation===
 
IntactiWiki is pleased to present this monograph by Desmond Morris regarding [[genital cutting]] and [[mutilation]].
 
 
<hr>
 
<blockquote>
<center>
<big>Comment on Circumcision and Genital Mutilation</big>

Desmond Morris
</center>
For thousands of years, in many different cultures, the genitals have fallen victim to an amazing variety of mutilations and restrictions. For organs that are capable of giving us an immense amount of pleasure They have given us an inordinate amount of pain.

The commonest form of assault they have suffered is male and female circumcision. This strange mutilation is older than civilization and was probably well advanced in the Stone Age. Although it is a piece of deliberate wounding of children by adults, it has been done with the best of intentions. Over the millennia it has cause countless deaths from infection, but its advantages have always been said to outweigh the risks involved. These alleged advantages have varied from epoch to epoch and culture to culture, but recent re-examination has shown that they are all imaginary.

It has been claimed that one of the oldest reasons for performing male circumcision—the removal of the foreskin—is that it provoked immortality in the shape of life after death. This odd notion was based on the observation that when the snake sheds its skin it emerges with glistening new scales and is “reborn.” If the snake can enjoy rebirth by the removal of skin, so too can the human being. For snake read penis; for snake-skin read foreskin.

Once male circumcision had become traditional it no longer mattered whether the old beliefs survived. Being circumcised was not the badge of belonging to a particular society. The ritual mutilation spread and spread. Ancient Egyptians were doing it as long ago as 4000 B.C. In the Old Testament, Abraham demanded it. Arabs circumcised as well as Jews. Mohammed was said to have been born without a foreskin (which he may well have been, as this condition is not unknown to medical science), a claim which automatically doomed the foreskins of his future male followers.

As the centuries passed, religious arguments gave way, for many to quack medical arguments. The possession of a foreskin was said to cause “masturbatory insanity.” Other medical horrors resulting from its retention included hysteria, epilepsy, nocturnal incontinence, and nervousness. Such ideas survived into the early part of the present century and even led to the formation of an Orificial Surgery Society devoted exclusively to the “modifications” of offending genital as a means of preventing mental illness.

When at last this nonsense was on the decline a crisis arose. What new reason could be found for mutilating children’s genitals? The solution had to be one that suited the rational climate of twentieth-century scientific inquiry. The answer appeared in The Lancet in 1932: foreskins caused cancer! By the end of the 1930s 75 per cent of the boys in the United States were being circumcised; by 1973 it was 84 per cent; by 1976 it was 87 per cent. Cancer had become the secular version of hellfire and brimstone, the perfect weapon for the anxiety makers of a post-religious society.

To be more precise, the claim that the “debris” called smegma which collects under retained foreskins could cause cancer of the penis and also cancer of the cervix of the wives of the uncircumcised. The paper which started this false rumour was founded on faulty statistics, but nobody minded because here was a plausible new reason for slicing away at the infantile penis. Subsequent experiments, however revealed that there is nothing remotely carcinogenic about the smegma produced under the fold of the foreskin, but they were widely ignored. Other investigations showed that women whose uncircumcised husbands always wore condoms were no more or less likely to develop cancer than those whose husbands never wore condoms. But again nobody wanted to know. In one country where there was no circumcision at all was compared to a country in which all males were circumcised. The results showed, to the relief of the foreskin snippers, that prostate cancer was higher in the uncircumcised country. Unfortunately this form of cancer is a disease of elderly men, and when a correction for age distribution was made the figures showed that this disorder was actually more likely in the circumcised country.

Not only was the cancer scare completely without foundation, but the operation of foreskin removal continued to prove a distinct health hazard for small babies. There were many cases of haemorrhage, ulceration of the urethra, surgical trauma and local infection. In rare cases, foreskin removal resulted in the death of the baby. There were also more subtle effects with possible long-term implications: following circumcision male babies showed an increase in the level of hormones related to stress; sleep patterns altered; there was more crying and more irritability.

Despite all this, “medical” circumcisions continued (and still continues) at a merry pace in certain countries where private medicine is the rule. In Britain, significantly, there was a dramatic decline in the operation following the introduction of the National Health Service scheme and free treatment. It is impossible to refrain from asking why it should be that the operation sank to a level of less than one per cent (only 0.41 per cent of male babies in 1972) in a country where there was no financial gain to be made from it, while in the United States, for example, in the same year, over 80 per cent of male babies were circumcised, at an annual cost to health-insurance companies of more than $200 million. The new deities demanding circumcision appear to be more fiscal than sacred.

Young females have also been assaulted in this fashion. This has been rare in the West, although as recently as 1937 a Texas doctor was advocating the removal of the clitoris to cure frigidity. The harshest traditions of female circumcision are found in Africa, parts of the Middle East, Indonesia and Malayia. It is a staggering fact that, far from being an ancient memory, the practice of cutting away all or part of the external genitals of young females is still going on in more than 20 countries.

No fewer than 74 million women alive today have been subjected to this mutilation. In the worst cases, they have had their labia and clitoris scraped or cut away and their vaginal opening stitched up with silk, catgut, or thorns, leaving only a tiny opening for urine and menstrual blood. After the operation the girl’s legs are bound together to ensure that scar-tissue forms and the condition becomes permanent. Later, when they marry, these females suffer the pain of having their artificially reduced orifices broken open by their husbands.

The effect of this practice is to dramatically reduce sexual pleasure for wives in the countries concerned, which may be its hidden significance. A side-effect is the high number of deaths and serious illnesses cause by the unhygienic conditions under which the operations are performed, especially in such countries as Oman, South Yemen, Somalia, Djibouti, Sudan, southern Egypt, Ethiopia, northern Kenya, and Mali. The continuance of such practices in the twentieth century against a background of modern enlightenment is clearly going to puzzle historians of the distant future.
<center>
—Desmond Morris (Circa 1985)
</blockquote>

==Videos==
===Desmond Morris (Writer))===
<youtube>v=rfe8nKkVUPo&list=PLVV0r6CmEsFwtuDq9yKrhqqkJ-Era-N7w&index=3</youtube>
===Desmond Morris - Cheating death even before birth (1/37)===
<youtube>v=aZoJbK9hBMo</youtube>
===Desmond Morris - Human beings - just another species of animal? (23/37)===
<youtube>v=taFeI6TwAOQ</youtube>
===Zoology and the Human Animal===
<youtube>v=myL24gP20fo</youtube>
===Male genital mutilation ritual from Desmond Morris - The Human Sexes===
<youtube>v=QaFtcIrtbm0</youtube>
===Desmond Morris - 'The Human Zoo' (25/37)===
<youtube>v=1wlGhIh1lfE</youtube>
===Desmond Morris - Avoiding death for the second time (3/37)===
<youtube>v=rfe8nKkVUPo</youtube>
===Desmond Morris - Contemplating death and the afterlife (37/37)===
<youtube>v=3uddkAIHTEc</youtube>
===Desmond Morris passes away (1928 - 2026) (UK) - UK News - 20/Apr/2026===
<youtube>v=N9fVSDziV6o</youtube>

==Death==
Following the death of his wife, Ramona, in November 2018, Desmond Morris left his home in [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oxford Oxford] in June 2019 and moved to [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/County_Kildare County Kildare] in [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_of_Ireland Ireland] to live close to his son, Jason, and his family there.

He passed away there at the age of 98 on 19 April 2026.<ref name="radford2026">{{REFweb
|url=https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2026/apr/20/desmond-morris-obituary
|title=Desmond Morris Obituary
|last=Radford
|first=Tim
|publisher=The Guardian
|date=2026-04-20
|accessdate=2026-06-05
}}</ref> <ref name="woodhouse2026>{{REFweb
|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c51y797v200o
|title=Zoologist and author Desmond Morris dies aged 98
|last=Woodhouse
|first=Sam
|publisher=BBC
|date=2026-04-20
|accessdate=2026-06-05
}}</ref>
{{SEEALSO}}
* [[Alice Miller]]
* [[Cervical cancer]]
* [[Child circumcision]]
* [[Circumcision of the newborn]]
* [[Financial incentive]]
* [[Foreskin]]
* [[Penile cancer]]
* [[Risks and complications]]
{{LINKS}}
* {{URLwebsite|http://www.desmond-morris.com/|2026-06-04}}
* {{URLwikipedia|Desmond_Morris|Desmond Morris}}
* {{REFweb
|url=http://www.desmond-morris.com/biography.php
|title=Biography of Desmond John Morris
|last=Williams
|first=David
|init=
|author-link=
|publisher=The Desmond Morris Information Page
|date=2022-09-20
|accessdate=2026-06-06
}}
{{REF}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Morris, Desmond}}

[[Category:Person]]
[[Category:Male]]
[[Category:Author]]
[[Category:Female genital mutilation]]
[[Category:Financial gain]]
[[Category:Intactivism]]
[[Category:Intactivist]]
[[Category:Intactivist literature]]

[[Category:UK]]

United Kingdom

2026-06-07T00:59:33Z

WikiModEn2: /* British Circumcision Debate - Should Human Rights Outweigh Religious Rights */ Add link in SEEALSO section.

[[File:Flag of the United Kingdom.svg|thumb|150px|Flag of the United Kingdom]]
The '''United Kingdom (UK)''' was the scene of early efforts to promote male circumcision. It influenced the adoption of male [[circumcision]] in other English-speaking nations. Later it was the scene of efforts to reduce and eliminate the practice.

While Jews residing in the UK practiced [[Jewish circumcision| ritual circumcision]] of boys on the eighth day of life in accordance with the [[Abrahamic covenant]], the practice was nearly unknown among gentiles.

==Introduction of circumcision as a medical practice==

French physician [[Claude François Lallemand]] (1790 – 1854) recommended [[circumcision]] as a treatment for ''spermatorrhea'' (excessive, involuntary ejaculation), which was then believed to be a disease. Lallemand influenced later English physicians such as [[William Acton]].<ref name="darby2005">{{REFjournal
|last=Darby
|first=Robert
|init=R
|author-link=Robert Darby
|title=Pathologizing Male Sexuality: Lallemand, Spermatorrhea, and the Rise of Circumcision
|journal= J Hist Med Allied Sci
|date=2005-07
|volume=60
|issue=3
|pages=283-319
|url=https://books.google.de/books?id=kn-nYdTpGx4C&pg=PA117&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q&f=false
|pubmedID=15917258
|DOI=10.1093/jhmas/jri042
|accessdate=2021-09-04
}}</ref>

[[Edward H. Dixon]] (1845) from New York, [[United States| USA]], advocated circumcision to prevent [[masturbation]].<ref name="Dixon1845">{{Dixon1845}}</ref>

Sir [[Jonathan Hutchinson]] (1828 – 1913) was an English surgeon, dermatologist, ophthalmologist, pathologist and venereologist.<ref>{{REFweb
|url=https://litfl.com/jonathan-hutchinson/
|archived=
|title=Jonathan Hutchinson
|trans-title=
|language=
|last=Zhang
|first=Gary
|author-link=
|last2=Cadogan
|init2=
|first2=Mike
|author2-link=
|publisher=Life in the Fast Lane
|website=
|date=2020
|accessdate=2021-09-04
|format=
|quote=
}}</ref> Darby describes Hutchinson as a puritanical and gloomy Quaker who disapproved of masturbation on moral grounds.<ref name="darby2017>{{REFweb
|url=https://www.historyofcircumcision.com/templates/pages/the_crotchets_of_sir_jonathan_hutchinson.html
|archived=
|title=The crotchets of Sir Jonathan Hutchinson
|trans-title=
|language=
|last=Darby
|first=Robert
|author-link=Robert Darby
|publisher=
|website=The History of Circumcision
|date=
|accessdate=2021-09-04
|format=
|quote=
}}</ref> Sir Jonathan advocated circumcision to prevent syphilis.<ref name="hutchinson1855">{{REFjournal
|last=Hutchinson
|first=Jonathan
|init=
|author-link=Jonathan Hutchinson
|title=On the Influence of Circumcision in Preventing Syphilis
|journal=Medical Times and Gazette
|date=1855
|volume=32
|issue=844
|pages=542-543
|url=
|quote=
|pubmedID=
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=
|accessdate=2021-09-04
}}</ref>

[[Nathaniel Heckford]], a paediatrician at the East London Hospital for Children, wrote ''Circumcision as a Remedial Measure in Certain Cases of Epilepsy, Chorea, etc.'' (1865), in which he argued that circumcision acted as an effective remedial measure in the prevention of certain cases of epilepsy and chorea.<ref name="heckford1865!>{{Heckford1865}}</ref>

Sir Jonathan Hutchinson started to promote circumcision to prevent masturbation in 1890.<ref name="darby2017" /> He first published ''A Plea for Circumcison'',<ref name="hutchinson1990!>{{REFjournal
|last=Hutchinson
|init=
|first=Jonathan
|author-link=Jonathan Hutchinson
|title=A plea for circumcision
|journal=Archives of Surgery
|url=
|date=1890
|volume=II
|issue=
|pages=15
|accessdate=2021-09-04
}}</ref>, followed by ''On circumcision as a preventive of masturbation''.<ref>{{REFjournal
|last=Hutchinson
|init=
|first=Jonathan
|author-link=
|url=
|title=On circumcision as a preventive of masturbation
|journal=Archives of Surgery
|date=1890
|volume=II
|issue=
|pages=267-9
|accessdate=2021-09-04
}}</ref>

Sir Jonathan was not yet done. He published yet another article ''On Circumcision'' in 1893.<ref>{{REFjournal
|last=Hutchinson
|init=
|first=Jonathan
|author-link=Jonathan Hutchinson
|url=
|title=On circumcision
|journal=Archives of Surgery
|date=1893
|volume=IV
|issue=
|pages=379-80
|accessdate=2021-08-04
}}</ref>

The introduction of [[circumcision]] as a medical practice was opposed by Dr. [[Herbert Snow]] who published a book entitled ''[https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/57083/pg57083-images.html The Barbarity of Circumcision]'' in 1890.

==Early Twentieth century==
Sir [[Jonathan Hutchinson]] (1900) opened the twentieth century with an article advocating male circumcision as a way to decrease the pleasure of sex, and hence to discourage sexual immorality.<ref>{{REFjournal
|last=Hutchinson
|first=Jonathan
|init=J
|title=The advantages of circumcision
|journal=The Polyclinic
|date=1900-09
|volume=3
|issue=9
|pages=129-131
|url=
|quote=
|pubmedID=
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=
|accessdate=2021-09-04
}}</ref>

Sir Frederick Treves (1853 – 1923), a prominent Harley Street surgeon, who is known to us by ''The Elephant Man'' film, wrote an operative manual in 1903 to educate other surgeons in the performance of the circumcision [[amputation]].<ref name="treves1902>{{REFbook
|last=Treves
|first=Frederick
|init=F
|author-link=
|year=1903
|title=Circumcision
|url=
|work=A Manual of Operative Surgery, II.
|editor=
|edition=
|volume=
|chapter=Chapter VI
|pages=670-3
|location=London
|publisher=Cassell
|isbn=
|quote=
|accessdate=2021-09-04
|note=
}}</ref> The practice of male circumcision was well established in the United Kingdom as the twentieth century began.

[[R. W. Cockshut|Cockshut]] (1935) published a letter in the ''British Medical Journal'' that urged circumcision of all male infants because the "glans of the circumcised rapidly assumes a leathery texture less sensitive than [[skin]]." The advantage, according to [[R. W. Cockshut|Cockshut]], is that masturbation would be reduced.<ref name="cockshut1935">{{REFjournal
|last=Cockshut
|init=RW
|author-link=R. W. Cockshut
|etal=no
|title=Circumcision
|journal=BMJ
|location=
|date=1935-10-19
|volume=2
|issue=3902
|pages=764
|url=https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2461310/pdf/brmedj07592-0054a.pdf
|archived=
|quote=
|pubmedID=
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=
|accessdate=2021-09-04
}}</ref>

Rickwood et al. (2000) reported that the incidence of boys [[circumcised]] reached 35 percent by the early 1930s.<ref name="rickwood2000">{{REFjournal
|last=Rickwood
|first=
|init=AMK
|author-link=
|last2=Kenny
|first2=
|init2=SE
|author2-link=
|last3=Donald
|first3=
|init3=SC
|author3-link=
|etal=no
|title=Towards evidence based circumcision of English boys: survey of trends in practice
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal=BMJ
|location=
|date=2000
|volume=321
|issue=
|article=
|page=
|pages=792-3
|url=https://www.bmj.com/content/321/7264/792.1.full
|archived=
|quote=
|pubmedID=11009516
|pubmedCID=27490
|DOI=10.1136/bmj.321.7264.792
|accessdate=2021-09-05
}}</ref>

Despite these efforts to promote [[circumcision]], [[foreskinned]] men have always been and remain the norm in the United Kingdom.

==Reduction of practice==
A national election was held in the United Kingdom at the end of World War II. The Labour Party gained a majority of the seats in Parliament and its leader, Clement Atlee, became prime minister. The party leaned to the left and supported social welfare. Aneurin Bevan was Minister of Health. [https://www.nhs.uk/ The National Health Service] (NHS) was created in 1948 to provide free medical treatment for all. Services were provided based on clinical need, not ability to pay. The NHS did not provide non-therapeutic [[circumcision]], so the incidence of circumcision dropped to a very low level.<ref name="gollaher1994">{{GollaherDL 1994}}</ref>

Sir [[James Calvert Spence]], a prominent senior British paediatrician, urged his younger colleague, [[Douglas Gairdner]], to produce a paper on infant circumcision. The now famous classic paper, ''The fate of the foreskin: a study of circumcision'', was published in the ''British Medical Journal'' on Christmas Eve, 1949. The paper reported 16 deaths per year from non-therapeutic infant circumcision and concluded in part: "'''The prepuce of the young infant should therefore be left in its natural state.'''"<ref name="gairdner1949">{{GairdnerDM 1949}}</ref>

The NHS provides male circumcision only when there was a clinical need.<ref>{{REFweb
|url=https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/circumcision-in-men/
|archived=
|title=Circumcision in men
|trans-title=
|language=
|last=
|first=
|author-link=
|publisher=National Health Service
|website=
|date=2018-11-05
|accessdate=2021-09-05
|format=
|quote=
}}</ref> The NHS performs circumcisions on boys only for therapeutic need.<ref name="nhschild">{{REFweb
|url=https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/circumcision-in-boys/
|archived=
|title=Circumcision in boys
|trans-title=
|language=
|last=
|first=
|author-link=
|publisher=National Health Service
|website=
|date=2018-11-20
|accessdate=2021-09-05
|format=
|quote=
}}</ref>

The ''British Medical Journal'', the house organ of the [https://www.bma.org.uk British Medical Association], in an unsigned editorial in 1979, slammed the practice of child circumcision, calling it unnecessary, and citing the danger of contracting staphylococcal [[infection]] in the newborn nursery.<ref>{{REFjournal
|last=Van Howe
|first=Robert S.
|init=RS
|author-link=Robert S. Van Howe
|last2=Robson
|first2=
|init2=WM
|author2-link=
|etal=no
|title=The possible role of circumcision in newborn outbreaks of community-associated methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus
|journal=Clin Pediatr (Phila)
|location=
|date=2007-05
|volume=46
|issue=4
|article=
|page=
|pages=356-8
|url=
|archived=
|quote=
|pubmedID=17475996
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=10.1177/0009922806294847
|accessdate=2021-09-10
}}</ref> The editorial reported that the incidence of newborn circumcision in Britain had dropped from one-third in the 1930s to one
fifth in 1949, to ten percent in 1963, and to six percent in 1975.<ref name="bmj1979">{{REFjournal
|last=Anonymous
|first=
|init=
|author-link=
|etal=no
|title=The case against circumcision
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal=BMJ
|location=
|date=1979-05-05
|volume=6172
|issue=
|article=
|page=
|pages=1163-64
|url=http://www.cirp.org/library/general/BMJ/
|archived=
|quote=
|pubmedID=444990
|pubmedCID=1599351
|DOI=
|accessdate=2021-09-05
}}</ref>
===Phimosis diagnosis issues===
Fewer boys were being [[circumcised]] so there were more [[intact]] boys. The general practitioners (GPs) in the UK seemed to be unable to distinguish between true [[phimosis]] and developmentally non-retractile healthy [[foreskin]] and were referring numerous boys for unnecessary [[circumcision]].

Rickwood et al. (1980) had provided guidance on diagnosis of [[phimosis]]. According to Rickwood et al. true [[phimosis]] occurs when the [[foreskin]] has been attacked by [[balanitis xerotica obliterans]] (BXO) (also known as lichen sclerosis). If BXO is not present then true phimosis does not exist.<ref name="rickwood1980">{{REFjournal
|last=Rickwood
|first=
|init=AMK
|author-link=
|last2=Hemalatha
|first2=
|init2=V
|author2-link=
|last3=Batcup
|first3=
|init3=G
|author3-link=
|last4=Spitz
|first4=
|init4=L
|author4-link=
|etal=no
|title=Phimosis in boys
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal=Brit J Urol
|location=
|date=1980-04
|volume=52
|issue=
|article=
|page=
|pages=147-60
|url=http://www.cirp.org/library/treatment/phimosis/rickwood/
|archived=
|quote=
|pubmedID=7191744
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=10.1111/j.1464-410x.1980.tb02945.x
|accessdate=2021-09-05
}}</ref>

Several papers critical of phimosis diagnosis practice in the UK were published in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Rickwood & Walker (1989) reported that in the Mersey region (northwest England) "many boys are [[circumcised]] for [[Physiological phimosis| development non-retractability]] of the prepuce rather than for true [[pathological phimosis]] and that in consequence some two-thirds of the operations are unnecessary."<ref name="rickwood1989">{{REFjournal
|last=Rickwood
|first=
|init=AMK
|author-link=
|last2=walker
|first2=Jenny
|init2=
|author2-link=
||etal=no
|title=Is phimosis overdiagnosed in boys and are too many circumcisions performed in consequence?
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal=Ann R Coll Surg Engl
|location=
|date=1989-09
|volume=71
|issue=5
|article=
|page=
|pages=275-7
|url=http://www.cirp.org/library/treatment/phimosis/rickwood2/
|archived=
|quote=
|pubmedID=2802472
|pubmedCID=2499015
|DOI=
|accessdate=2021-09-05
}}</ref> Griffiths & Frank (1992) also expressed concern regarding the apparent inability of general practitioners to distinguish between a true phimosis and a developmentally non-retractile [[foreskin]]. They pointed out, "Not surprisingly, the diagnostic inaccuracy was greatest when the referring doctor did not examine the patient."<ref name="griffiths1992">{{REFjournal
|last=Griffiths
|first=
|init=D
|author-link=
|last2=Frank
|first2=
|init2=JD
|author2-link=
|etal=no
|title=Inappropriate circumcision referrals by GPs
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal=J R Soc Med
|location=
|date=1992
|volume=85
|issue=
|article=
|page=
|pages=324-5
|url=http://www.cirp.org/library/procedure/griffiths-frank/
|archived=
|quote=
|pubmedID=1625262
|pubmedCID=1293493
|DOI=
|accessdate=2021-09-05
}}</ref> Gordon & Collin (1993) attempted to cast some light in the darkness by providing factual information about actual indications for circumcision and how to distinguish between physiological and pathological phimosis.<ref>{{REFjournal
|last=Gordon
|first=Andrew
|init=
|author-link=
|last2=Collin
|first2=Jack
|init2=
|author2-link=
|etal=no
|title=Save the normal foreskin
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal=BMJ
|location=
|date=1993-01-02
|volume=306
|issue=6869
|article=
|page=
|pages=1-2
|url=https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1676363/pdf/bmj00001-0005.pdf
|archived=
|quote=A better understanding of the normal physiology, developmental anatomy, and pathology of the prepuce could prevent the removal of thousands of normal foreskins over the next 20 years.
|pubmedID=8435567
|pubmedCID=1676363
|DOI=10.1136/bmj.306.6869.1
|accessdate=2021-09-05
}}</ref> Williams et al. (1993) complained that most of the 30,000 circumcisions that were being done in the UK were on boys under 15. They reported that of 69 boys referred by GPs, 29 had a healthy retractile [[foreskin]], 30 had a healthy non-retractile foreskin, and only 9 had a phimosis requiring circumcision.<ref name="williams1993"> {{REFjournal
|last=Williams
|first=Nigel
|init=
|author-link=
|last2=Chell
|first2=Julian
|init2=
|author2-link=
|last3=Kapila
|first3=Leela
|init3=
|author3-link=
|etal=no
|title=Why are children referred for circumcision?
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal=BMJ
|location=
|date=1993-01-02
|volume=306
|issue=6859
|article=
|page=28
|pages=
|url=http://www.cirp.org/library/general/williams/
|archived=
|quote=
|pubmedID=843557
|pubmedCID=1676352
|DOI=10.1136/bmj.306.6869.28
|accessdate=2021-09-05
}}</ref>

In defence of the much criticised British GPs, it should be stated that the data they were provided by [[Douglas Gairdner]] (1949) regarding development of foreskin retractability was very inaccurate,<ref>{{REFjournal
|last=Denniston
|first=George C.
|author-link=George C. Denniston
|init=GC
|last2=Hill
|first2=George
|init2=G
|author2-link=George Hill
|title=Gairdner was wrong.
|journal=Can Fam Physician
|date=2010-10
|volume=56
|issue=10
|pages=986-7
|url=https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2954072/
|quote=
|pubmedID=20944034
|pubmedCID=2954072
|DOI=
|accessdate=2021-09-05
}}</ref> however this was not known at the time.

Cathcart et al. (2006) collected circumcision rates from 1997 through 2003. They reported a decline in the incidence of circumcision of about 20 percent over the period of their study, with about 10,000 circumcisions of boys per year at the end of the study. They commented that the circumcision rate for boys is still five times higher than the reported incidence of phimosis.<ref name="cathcart2006">{{REFjournal |last=Cathcart |init=P |last2=Nuttall |init2=M |last3=van der Meulen |init3=J |last4=Emberton |init4=M |last5=Kenny |init5=SE |date=2006-07 |title=Trends in paediatric circumcision and its complications in England between 1997 and 2003 |accessdate=2021-09-05 |url=http://www.cirp.org/library/procedure/cathcart1/ |journal=BJS |language=en |volume=93 |issue=7 |pages=885–890 |DOI=10.1002/bjs.5369 |pubmedID=16673355 |ISSN=1365-2168}} </ref>

===Decline in circumcision practice continues===

Rickwood & Walker (1989) reported that 21,000 circumcision were done annually on boys under 15 years of age,<ref name="rickwood1989" /> so Cathcart et al. (2006) are finding a reduction of 53 percent,<ref name="cathcart2006" /> although still much higher than it should be. It should be noted that manual [[stretching]] of the [[foreskin]] with the aid of topical steroid ointment to relieve [[phimosis]] had not yet entered general use.

The 2000 British ''National Survey of Sexual Attitudes and Lifestyles'' (Natsal 2000) found that 15.8 percent of British males aged 16 to 44 reported being [[circumcised]]. The incidence of circumcision was highest in the men aged 40-44 at 19.6 percent [born 1956-60] and lowest in the group aged 16-19 [born 1981-84] at 11.7 percent. Men of ethnic minorities (except black Caribbeans) were significantly more likely to circumcised than those described as "white". Jews were 98.7 percent circumcised and Sikhs, Hindus, and Buddhists were only 9.8 percent circumcised.<ref>{{REFjournal
|last=Dave
|first=
|init=SS
|author-link=
|last2=Fenton
|first2=
|init2=KA
|author2-link=
|last3=Mercer
|first3=
|init3=CH
|author3-link=
|last4=Erens
|first4=
|init4=B
|author4-link=
|last5=Wellings
|first5=
|init5=K
|author5-link=
|last6=Johnson
|first6=
|init6=AM
|author6-link=
|etal=no
|title=Male circumcision in Britain: findings from a national probability sample survey.
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal=Sex Trans Infect
|location=
|date=2003-12
|volume=79
|issue=6
|article=
|page=
|pages=499-500
|url=http://www.cirp.org/library/general/dave1/
|archived=
|quote=
|pubmedID=14663134
|pubmedCID=1744763
|DOI=10.1136/sti.79.6.499
|accessdate=2021-09-05
}}</ref>

Quaba & MacKindlay (2004) reported a 33.7% decline in the incidence of [[circumcision]] in Scotland from 1990 to 2000. This occurred because medical doctors were better trained in the recognition of [[Foreskin#Foreskin_in_infancy_and_childhood| healthy non-retractile foreskin in boys]].<ref name="quaba2004">{{REFjournal
|last=Quaba
|first=
|init=O
|author-link=
|last2=MacKindlay
|first2=
|init2=GA
|author2-link=
|etal=no
|title=Changing trends in a decade of circumcision in Scotland
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal=J Pediatr Surg
|location=
|date=2004-7
|volume=39
|issue=7
|article=
|page=
|pages=1037-9
|url=https://www.jpedsurg.org/article/S0022-3468(04)00215-5/fulltext#relatedArticles
|archived=
|quote=
|pubmedID=15213894
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=10.1016/j.jpedsurg.2004.03.061
|accessdate=2021-11-16
}}</ref>

Groves et al. (2010) reported a decline from 769 circumcisions of boys in Northern Ireland in 1991-1992 to 264 circumcisions of boys in 2001-2002 which represented a decline of 66 percent. This was said to be typical of trends in the United Kingdom.<ref name="groves2010">{{REFjournal
|last=Groves
|first=
|init=H
|author-link=
|last2=Bailie
|first2=
|init2=A
|author2-link=
|last3=McCallion
|first3=
|init3=W
|etal=yes
|title=Childhood circumcision in Northern Ireland: A barometer of
the current practice of general paediatric surgery
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal=Ulster Med J
|location=
|date=2010
|volume=79
|issue=2
|article=
|page=
|pages=80-1
|url=
|archived=
|quote=
|pubmedID=21116424
|pubmedCID=2993140
|DOI=
|accessdate= 2021-11-16
}}</ref>

The percentage of males [[circumcised]] in the United Kingdom (prevalence) is reported to be 20.7%.<ref>{{REFweb
|url=https://circstatistics.github.io/
|title=Global Circumcision Statistics and Estimates
|last=
|first=
|init=
|publisher=https://circstatistics.github.io
|date=2024-04-01
|accessdate=2024-04-01
}}</ref>

==Legal matters==
===Early Development of circumcision law===
The relevant statutes are the [http://www.cirp.org/library/legal/UKlaw/oap1861/ Offences Against the Person Act (1861)] and the [https://www.swarb.co.uk/acts/1933CaYPAct.shtml Children and Young Persons Act 1933].

A 1985 decision of the Law Lords ruled:
<blockquote>
Having regard to the reality that a child became increasingly independent as it grew older and that parental authority dwindled correspondingly, the law did not recognise any rule of absolute parental authority until a fixed age. Instead, [[parental rights]] were recognised by the law only as long as they were needed for the protection of the child and such rights yielded to the child's right to make his own decisions when he reached a sufficient understanding and intelligence to be capable of making up his own mind.<ref name="gillick1985>{{REFdocument
|title=Gillick v West Norfolk and Wisbech Area Health Authority [1985] 3 All ER 402
|url=http://www.cirp.org/library/legal/UKlaw/gillickvwestnorfolk1985/
|contribution=
|last=
|first=
|publisher=Circumcision Reference Library
|format=
|date=1985
|accessdate=2021-09-07
}}</ref>
</blockquote>
''Gillick'' affirmed the right and duty of parents to protect their child.

Sebastian Poulter, a legal writer, in a book entitled ''English Criminal Law and Ethnic Minority Customs'' (1986), stated:
<blockquote>
"The basic right to bodily integrity which everyone possesses under the English common law means that any unlawful interference in this right amounts to an assault or battery, at the very least, and might in appropriate circumstances entail the statutory offence of grievous bodily harm. The question raised in cases of circumcision, [[excision]] or [[infibulation]] is whether the operation can be justified as constituting lawful as opposed to unlawful interference with this right."

"...although the matter is not entirely free from doubt, it seems that a parent may equally authorise a non-therapeutic operation, provided it is not actively against the child's interests. This would appear to have been the basis upon which the vast majority of male infants have been circumcised in this country with impunity from time immemorial.[sic]"

"It thus appears that, at common law, while the circumcision of male infants here is lawful, provided that parental consent has been given, no amount of parental agreement or support can legitimise the circumcision, [[excision]] or [[infibulation]] of a young girl in this country, unless the operation is for therapeutic purposes."<ref name="poulter1986">{{REFbook
|last=Poulter
|first=Sebastian
|init=S
|year=1986
|title=English Criminal Law and Ethnic Minority Customs
|url=http://www.cirp.org/library/legal/poulter/
|pages=
|location=London
|publisher=Butterworths
|isbn=
|accessdate=2021-09-07
}}</ref>
</blockquote>

Poulter's claims are controversial. Recent court decisions cast further doubt on their legitmacy.

===Children Act 1989===

Parliament in 1989 passed the [[Children Act 1989]]. This is a very extensive act to provide for the care, welfare and protection of persons under 18 years of age. The Children Act 1989 introduced the legal term ''significant harm''.<ref>{{REFweb
|url=https://www.virtual-college.co.uk/resources/what-is-the-children-act
|archived=
|title=What is the Children Act?
|trans-title=
|language=
|last=
|first=
|author-link=
|publisher=Virtual College
|website=
|date=2021-04-23
|accessdate=2021-09-07
|format=
|quote=Under the Children Act 1989, ‘harm’ is defined as any “ill-treatment or the impairment of the health or development of the child”. Whether the harm is deemed ‘significant’ is decided by comparing the health and development of the child with what would generally be expected of another, similar child and judging if there is a big difference.
}}</ref> One perhaps unexpected effect of the Children Act 1989 was to bring circumcision cases into family court when parents disagreed about circumcision of a son.

The [https://www.lawcom.gov.uk/ Law Commission of England and Wales] had proposed to recommend that circumcision of male children be made lawful. The late [[Christopher P. Price]], solicitor, (1996) submitted a brief to the Law Commission in opposition to the proposal,<ref>{{REFdocument
|title=Male Circumcision: A Legal Affront
|url=http://www.cirp.org/library/legal/price-uklc/
|contribution=
|last=Price
|first=Christopher P.
|init=CP
|author-link=Christopher P. Price
|publisher=Circumcision Reference Library
|format=
|date=1996-12
|accessdate=2021-09-07
}}</ref> after which the proposal was dropped.

The ''Guardian'' (1999) reported the family law case of ''Re J (child's religious upbringing and circumcision)''<ref>{{REFweb
|url=http://www.cirp.org/library/legal/Re_J/2000.html
|title=Re J (child's religious upbringing and circumcision)
|last=
|first=
|date=1999-11-25
|accessdate=2021-09-07
}}</ref> in which the Muslim father wanted a son circumcised but the British mother did not. The Court of Appeals stated in part:
<blockquote>
The judge said it was not in the best interests of the child to be circumcised, with its risk of pain and psychological damage which the boy would find hard to understand.

He said the boy might be traumatised by the operation. "The operation and the period leading up to it was also likely to be highly stressful to the mother."<ref>{{REFnews
|title=Muslim father loses court battle
|url=http://www.cirp.org/news/1999.11.26_Guardian/
|last=
|first=
|coauthors=
|publisher=The Guardian
|website=
|date=1999-11-26
|accessdate=2021-09-07
|quote=
}}</ref>
</blockquote>

===Forward into the 21st century===
Welch solicitor [[Christopher P. Price]] led us into the 21st century with an essay highly critical of child non-therapeutic circumcision in every form.<ref name="price1999">{{REFbook
|last=Price
|first=Christopher P.
|init=CP
|author-link=Christopher P. Price
|year=1999
|title=Male Non-therapeutic circumcision: The Legal and Ethical Issues
|url=http://www.cirp.org/library/legal/price2/
|work=Male and Female Circumcision, Medical, Legal, and Ethical Considerations in Pediatric Practice
|editor=Denniston GC, Hodges FM and Milos MF eds.
|edition=
|volume=
|chapter=
|pages=
|location=New York
|publisher=Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publishers
|isbn=
|quote=
|accessdate=2021-09-07
|note=
}}</ref>

The family law case of [[Re B and G (children) (No 2) EWFC 3]] (2015) was about two children in need of care. This required [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Munby Judge Munby] to consider both male and female circumcision. Judge Munby realised that male circumcision inflicted at least as much harm as lesser forms of female circumcision. This caused him to rule that male circumcision caused ''significant harm'', which now allows courts to issue care orders to prevent male circumcision.<ref name="munby2015">{{REFdocument
|title=Re B and G (Children) (No 2) [2015] EWFC 3, [2015]
|url=https://www.judiciary.uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/BandG_2_.pdf
|contribution=
|last=Munby
|first=James
|publisher=Royal Courts of Justice
|format=PDF
|date=2015-01-14
|accessdate=2024-07-11
}}</ref> Munby cited the Brief to the Law Commission of England and Wales by the late [[Christopher P. Price]] entitled ''Male Circumcision: A Legal Affront'',<ref name="price1996">{{REFweb
|url=http://www.cirp.org/library/legal/price-uklc/
|title=Male Circumcision: A Legal Affront
|last=Price
|first=Christopher
|author-link=
|publisher=Circumcision Reference Library
|website=
|date=1996
|accessdate=2020-09-12
|format=
|quote=
}}</ref>

The case of [[Re L and B (CHILDREN)| L and B (2016)]] was a case in which parents disagreed about the circumcision of two boys. The Muslim father wanted the boys circumcised, however the court ruled that no order should be issued so the boys could decide for themselves when they are of age. In this highly significant case, Mrs. Justice Roberts took the decision away from either parents and gave it to the boys, thereby recognising the boys' right to self-determination. Her conclusion is entirely consistent with the rights of the child under [[Human rights|human rights law]]. Her order also is entirely in accord with [https://assembly.coe.int/nw/xml/XRef/Xref-XML2HTML-en.asp?fileid=20174 Resolution 1952] of the [https://www.coe.int/en/web/portal Council of Europe].<ref name="resolution1952">{{REFdocument
|title=Children's right to physical integrity
|url=http://semantic-pace.net/tools/pdf.aspx?doc=aHR0cDovL2Fzc2VtYmx5LmNvZS5pbnQvbncveG1sL1hSZWYvWDJILURXLWV4dHIuYXNwP2ZpbGVpZD0yMDE3NCZsYW5nPUVO&xsl=aHR0cDovL2Fzc2VtYmx5LmNvZS5pbnQvbncveG1sL3hzbC1mby9QZGYvWFJlZi1XRC1BVC1YTUwyUERGLnhzbA==&xsltparams=ZmlsZWlkPTIwMTc0
|contribution=
|last=
|first=
|publisher=Parliamentary Assembly
|format=PDF
|date=2013-10-01
|accessdate=2021-01-03
}}</ref>

The National Secular Society (2023) has called for the end of genital cutting of children.<ref name="nss2023">{{REFweb
|url=https://www.secularism.org.uk/religious-surgery/
|title=End forced genital cutting
|last=Anonymous
|first=
|init=
|publisher=National Secular Society
|date=2023
|accessdate=2023-09-23
}}</ref>

A court (Miss Nageena Khalique KC) has rejected a father's request to have a 16-month-old boy [[circumcised]]. The court said the boy can have it done later if he wishes.<ref>{{REFweb
|url=https://www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk/child-protection/392-children-protection-news/58547-high-court-rejects-application-by-father-for-young-boy-subject-to-care-order-to-be-circumcised
|title=High Court rejects application by father for young boy subject to care order to be circumcised
|last=Anonymous
|first=
|init=
|author-link=
|publisher=LocalGovernmentLawyer
|date=2024-09-18
|accessdate=2024-09-19
}}</ref>

The [https://www.cps.gov.uk/ Crown Prosecution Service] charged Dr [[Mohammad Siddiqui]] with twenty-five [[circumcision]]-related crimes, to which he has pleaded guilty. He will be sentenced on 14 January 2025 in [https://www.find-court-tribunal.service.gov.uk/courts/southwark-crown-court Southwark Crown Court].<ref name="cps2024">{{REFweb
|title=A former surgeon found guilty of causing harm during multiple male circumcision operations
|url=https://www.cps.gov.uk/cps/news/former-surgeon-found-guilty-causing-harm-during-multiple-male-circumcision-operations
|last=Anonymous
|first=
|init=
|archived=
|trans-title=
|language=
|publisher=Crown Prosecution Service
|website=
|date=2024-10-31
|accessdate=2024-11-01
|format=
|quote=He showed a complete disregard for the impact of his actions on his victims, families, and communities. We hope that this conviction offers some comfort in seeing Siddiqui being brought to justice.
}}</ref> Sidiqui was sentenced to a serve five years and seven months in prison for causing children "gratuitous pain and suffering".<ref>{{REFnews
|title=SICK SURGERY: Ex-doctor made boy’s penis ‘explode’ after performing back street circumcisions using rusty tools & ‘restraint’ board
|url=https://www.thesun.ie/news/14536792/doctor-boy-penis-circumcision/
|last=Christodoulou
|first=Holly
|init=
|author-link=
|publisher=The Irish Sun
|website=
|date=2025-01-15
|accessdate=2025-01-15
|quote=During one particularly gruesome op on a dining room table in Bristol, a boy's penis "exploded" — causing him to almost die.
}}</ref>

The [[Crown Prosecution Service]] (2026) initially wanted to classify [[circumcision]] as "child abuse".<ref name="guardian2026">{{REFnews
|title=Circumcision classed as possible child abuse in draft CPS document
|url=https://www.theguardian.com/law/crown-prosecution-service
|last=Weaver
|first=Matthew
|init=
|author-link=
|last2=Osuh
|init2=Chris
|author2-link=
|publisher=The Guardian
|website=https://archive.is/Ztx07
|date=2026-01-10
|accessdate=2026-01-13
|format=
|quote=Circumcision is to be classed as a potential form of child abuse under new guidance for prosecutors, amid concerns from judges and coroners about deaths and serious harms caused by the procedure.
}}</ref> This was toned down to calling circumcision a "potentially harmful practice" after objections from Jewish and Muslim groups<ref>{{REFnews
|title=Circumcision classed as potentially harmful practice in new CPS guidance
|url=https://www.theguardian.com/society/2026/mar/05/circumcision-classed-potentially-harmful-practice-new-cps-guidance
|last=Weaver
|first=Matthew
|publisher=The Guardian
|website=https://www.theguardian.com
|date=2026-03-05
|accessdate=2026-05-24
|format=
|quote=The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) decided against including [[circumcision]] alongside dowry abuse, witchcraft and female genital mutilation in its new guidance on honour-based abuse, after objections from Jewish and Muslim groups when the plans were revealed by the Guardian.
}}</ref>

==International human rights law in the United Kingdom==
===United Nations multi-lateral human rights treaties===
The UK signed the ''[[International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights]]'' (ICCPR) on 16 September 1968 and formally ratified the [[ICCPR]] treaty on 11 December 1968.<ref name="ratstatus">{{REFweb
|url=https://tbinternet.ohchr.org/_layouts/15/TreatyBodyExternal/Treaty.aspx?CountryID=185
|archived=
|title=Ratification Status for United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
|trans-title=
|language=
|last=
|first=
|author-link=
|publisher=UN Treaty Body Database
|website=https://tbinternet.ohchr.org
|date=
|accessdate=2021-09-12
|format=
|quote=
}}</ref> Article 2 of the [[ICCPR]] requires the UK to apply and enforce the provisions of the [[ICCPR]] within its territory. See [[International_Covenant_on_Civil_and_Political_Rights#Application_of_the_ICCPR_to_non-therapeutic_circumcision_of_children|ICCPR: Application of the ICCPR to non-therapeutic circumcision of children]] for detailed information on the rights applicable to non-therapeutic circumcision of children.

The UK signed the ''[https://www.ohchr.org/en/professionalinterest/pages/crc.aspx Convention on the Rights of the Child]'' (CRC) on 19 April 1990 an formally ratified the CRC treaty on 16 December 1991.<ref name="ratstatus" /> Article 2 of the CRC require the UK to respect and ensure the rights specified in the CRC to each child within its jurisdiction. See [[Human_rights#Application_of_the_CRC_to_non-therapeutic_circumcision_of_children| Application of the CRC to non-therapeutic circumcision of children]] for detailed information on the rights applicable to non-therapeutic circumcision of children.

===Human Rights Act 1998===
The United Kingdom became a founder-member of the [https://www.coe.int/en/web/portal Council of Europe] on 5 May 1949 and therefore subject to the [https://rm.coe.int/1680a2353d ''European Convention on Human Rights''] (1950). Under that ''Convention'' the United Kingdom may be sued in the [https://www.echr.coe.int/Pages/home.aspx?p=home&c European Court of Human Rights] (Strasbourg) for alleged [[human rights]] violations.

Certain parts of the Convention seems applicable to the non-therapeutic circumcision of minor boys:

* Article 3: Freedom from torture and inhuman or degrading treatment
* Article 5: Everyone has a right to liberty and security of person.
* Article 8: Everyone has the right to respect for his private and family life, his home and his correspondence.

The case of ''A v. United Kingdom'' (1998) involved the beating of a child with a garden cane. The court ruled:
<blockquote>
States required to take measures designed to ensure individuals not ill-treated in breach of Article 3 by other private individuals – children entitled to protection, through effective deterrence, against such treatment.<ref>{{REFdocument
|title=A. v United Kingdom. [1998] 2 FLR 959
|url=http://www.cirp.org/library/legal/A_v_UK1998/
|contribution=
|last=
|first=
|publisher=Circumcision Reference Library
|format=
|date=1998
|accessdate=2021-09-07
}}</ref>
</blockquote>
The case clearly established the right of children in the UK to protection under the ECHR. Nevertheless, no known cases have applied international [[human rights]] law specifically to the practice of non-therapeutic child circumcision in the UK.

The [[human rights]] provisions of the Convention have now been brought into domestic law by the [https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1998/42/contents Human Rights Act 1998], so violations of [[human rights]] law could be litigated in the domestic courts of the UK.

Resolution no. 1952 (2013) 'Children's right to physical integrity' of the Parliament Assembly of the Council of Europe, which includes the issue of physical integrity of intersex children for the first time, was adopted on October 1, 2013 following an initiative of the German SPD politician [[Marlene Rupprecht]].<ref name="aktor2016">{{REFbook
|last=Aktor
|first=Mikael
|init=M
|author-link=Mikael Aktor
|last2=
|first2=
|author2-link=
|year=2016
|title=Whose Rights? The Danish Debate on Ritual Infant Male Circumcision as a Human Rights Issue
|url=https://www.academia.edu/22644864
|work=Contemporary Views on Comparative Religion: In Celebration of Tim Jensen's 65th Birthday
|editor=Peter Antes, Armin W. Geertz, Mikael Rothstein
|edition=
|volume=
|chapter=24
|pages=311-24
|location=Sheffield
|publisher=Equinox Publishing
|isbn=9781781791394
|quote=
|accessdate=2021-09-12
|note=
}}</ref>

The resolution includes other topics such as the [[FGM|female genital mutilation]], the [[MGM|male circumcision]] for religious reasons, and the submission or coercion of a child to piercings, tattoos or cosmetic surgery.

The resolution calls on all member States to "''examine the prevalence of different categories of non-medically justified operations and interventions impacting on the physical integrity of children in their respective countries, as well as the specific practices related to them, and to carefully consider them in light of the best interests of the child in order to define specific lines of action for each of them; initiate focused awareness-raising measures for each of these categories of violation of the physical integrity of children, to be carried out in the specific contexts where information may best be conveyed to families, such as the medical sector (hospitals and individual practitioners), schools, religious communities or service providers; [...].''"

This first resolution of its kind by a European institution is not legally binding, but an important signal for further debate and action. It shifts the approach of the point of view of the topic from the current medical domain towards a [[human rights]] approach and identifies the right to bodily integrity, autonomy and self-determination. It calls the for the end of non-therapeutic cosmetic medical and surgical interventions.<ref name="resolution1952" />

==The ethics of non-therapeutic circumcision==

The ''Journal of Medical Ethics'' (London) devoted its entire July 2013 issue to the question of non-therapeutic circumcision of children, where a variety of views are presented.<ref>{{REFjournal
|last=
|init=
|author-link=
|last2=
|init2=
|author2-link=
|url=https://jme.bmj.com/content/39/7
|title=July 2013 issue
|journal=Journal of Medical Ethics
|date=2013-07
|volume=39
|issue=7
|pages=
|accessdate=2021-09-11
}}</ref>
==General Medical Council==
The [https://www.gmc-uk.org/ General Medical Council] (GMC) regulates medical practitioners in the United Kingdom.

The GMC issued an "interim guidance" on the [non-therapeutic] circumcision of male children in 1997.<ref>{{REFweb
|url=http://www.cirp.org/library/statements/gmc/
|archived=
|title=Guidance for Doctors Who Are Asked to Circumcise Male Children
|trans-title=
|language=
|last=Anonymous
|first=
|author-link=
|publisher=General Medical Council
|website=Circumcision Reference Library
|date=1997
|accessdate=2021-09-12
|format=
|quote=Listen to those with parental responsibility and give careful consideration to their views. You are not obliged to act on a request to circumcise a child, but you should explain if you are opposed to circumcision other than for therapeutic reasons. You should also tell those with parental responsibility that they have a right to see another doctor.
}}</ref>

The GMC emphasises the importance of protecting children and young people,<ref>{{REFweb
|url=https://www.gmc-uk.org/ethical-guidance/ethical-guidance-for-doctors/protecting-children-and-young-people
|archived=
|title=Protecting children and young people: The responsibilities of all doctors
|trans-title=
|language=
|last=Anonymous
|first=
|author-link=
|publisher=General Medical Council
|website=
|date=2018-05-25
|accessdate=2021-09-12
|format=
|quote=
}}</ref> but has not prohibited non-therapeutic circumcision of non-consenting minors.

Although the UK has been a member of the [[Council of Europe Debate Genital Cutting Of Boys| Council of Europe]], a [[human rights]] organisation since 1949, a state-party to the [[ICCPR]] since 1976, and the CRC since 1991, the General Medical Council has not revised its policies and procedures to recognise the [[human rights]] of child patients to the physical security of their person.

The GMC holds four disciplinary sessions a year. Over the last decade it has disciplined 39 doctors for ritual (non-therapeutic) [[circumcision]] issues. The Medical Protection Society warned circumcision carries "considerable risks and complications”. Religious and cultural [[circumcision]] on boys is permitted, including by non-doctors, and largely occurs among Jewish, Muslim and some African Christian communities, where they are often considered a religious obligation.<ref>{{REFnews
|title=Exposed: the horror statistics behind ritual circumcision of baby boys in the UK
|url=https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/exposed-horrors-ritual-circumcision-baby-28990951
|last=Penmman
|first=Andrew
|init=
|author-link=
|publisher=Mirror
|website=
|date=2023-01-19
|accessdate=2023-01-20
|format=
|quote=
}}</ref>

The GMC will be holding a disciplinary hearing in the case of Dr Balvinder Mehat of Nottingham who has [[circumcised]] a second boy without the necessary two-parent surrogate consent and the wound became infected.<ref>{{REFnews
|title=Doctor circumcised second boy without parent's consent
|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-nottinghamshire-68180929
|last=Lowbridge
|first=Caroline
|init=
|author-link=
|publisher=BBC
|website=
|date=2024-05-18
|accessdate=2024-05-30
|format=
|quote="I note that similar conduct by Dr Mehat has previously been determined to amount to serious misconduct. If it were found to have been repeated, this would be an aggravating factor."
}}</ref>

==The guidance of the British Medical Association==
The [[British Medical Association]] (BMA) is a [[medical trade association]]. It represents and protects the interests of its doctor-members. Unlike American medical trade associations, the BMA do not claim to be an authority on medical science. Its advice to members address ethical and legal issues to assist members in staying out of legal difficulties. The BMA have provided several statements regarding child circumcision to inform its members since 1996:

* 1996 [http://www.cirp.org/library/statements/bma/ Circumcision of Male Infants: Guidance for Doctors]

The case of ''Re J (1999)'', ''Re S'', and the ''Human Rights Act 1998'' caused the BMA to revise its guidance to doctors and issued a new guidance in 2003.

{{UNI|Keele University|KU}} law professors Fox & Thomson 2005 reviewed the 2003 BMA statement and cited legal deficiencies in that statement.<ref>{{REFjournal
|last=Fox
|first=Marie
|init=M
|author-link=
|last2=Thomson
|init2=M
|author2-link=
|etal=no
|title=A covenant with the status quo? Male circumcision and the new BMA guidance to doctors
|journal=J Med Ethics
|location=
|date=2005
|volume=31
|issue=8
|pages=463-9
|url=https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1734197/pdf/v031p00463.pdf
|archived=
|quote=
|pubmedID=16076971
|pubmedCID=1734197
|DOI=10.1136/jme.2004.009340
|accessdate=2021-09-11
}}
</ref> The BMA accepted the criticism, so the guidance was further revised in 2006.

* 2003 (with changes in 2006 indicated) [http://www.cirp.org/library/statements/bma2003/ The law & ethics of male circumcision - guidance for doctors]

The cases of ''[[Re B and G (children) (No 2) EWFC 3| Re R and B]]'' and ''[[Re L and B (CHILDREN)| Re L and B (CHILDREN)]]'' so alarmed the BMA's lawyers that a new guidance was issued in 2019. The new guidance advises extreme caution regarding performance of non-therapeutic circumcision of boys.

* 2019 [https://www.bma.org.uk/media/1847/bma-non-therapeutic-male-circumcision-of-children-guidance-2019.pdf Non-therapeutic male circumcision (NTMC) of children – practical guidance for doctors]

The 2019 BMA guidance regarding non-therapeutic circumcision of boys is divided into twelve “cards”. Card Four discusses law. [[Human rights]] law is recognised but the BMA fail to understand the significance of [[human rights]] law. The BMA do not clearly state that [[human rights]] law grants rights to children which helps to define the best interests of the child and should be respected and protected.

The BMA seems to lean toward protecting the alleged right of its members to profit from carrying out non-therapeutic circumcision on boys, in the face of increasingly severe legal concerns.

Lempert et al. (2022) criticized the 2019 BMA guidance for "serious weaknesses". They listed:
# the absence of an explicit stance on the underlying ethical status of NPC, coupled with an implicit permissive stance, 
# an incoherent and impracticable analysis of the child’s best interests, 
# unbalanced guidance regarding cultural issues, 
# unbalanced guidance regarding scientific issues, 
# unjustified differential treatment of children of the same sex, 
# unjustified differential treatment of children of different sexes, 
# problems with child safeguarding, and (8) problems with regulation and training. 
# an unjustified presumption of lawfulness of NPC of minors and 
# failure adequately to address recent case law.<ref name="lempert2022">{{REFjournal
|last=Lempert
|first=Antony
|init=A
|author-link=Antony Lempert
|last2=Chegwidden
|first2=James
|init2=J
|author2-link=James Chegwidden
|last3=Steinfeld
|first3=Rebecca
|init3=R
|author3-link=Rebecca Steinfeld
|last4=Earp
|first4=Brian D.
|init4=BD
|author4-link=Brian D. Earp
|etal=no
|title=Non-therapeutic penile circumcision of minors: Current controversies in UK law and medical ethics.
|journal=Clinical Ethics
|location=
|date=2022-05
|season=
|volume
|issue=
|article=
|page=
|pages=
|url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/360642209_Non-therapeutic_Penile_Circumcision_of_Minors_Current_Controversies_in_UK_Law_and_Medical_Ethics
|archived=
|quote=
|pubmedID=
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=
|accessdate=2022-05-20
}}</ref>

In addition, they noted an egregiously inadequate description of the male [[foreskin]] and its functions.<ref name="lempert2022"/>

The 2019 BMA Guidance for members on non-therapeutic circumcision of minors was withdrawn in Feburary 2025. A new guidance for treatment of children and young people under 16 has been published. Updated information regarding non-therapeutic circumcision of young people is now contained in Chapter 15.<ref>{{REFdocument
|title=Ethics toolkit: Children and young people under 16
|url=https://www.bma.org.uk/media/swsfdkbw/children-and-young-people-under-16-toolkit.pdf
|contribution=
|last=Anonymous
|first=
|publisher=British Medical Association
|format=PDF
|date=2025-02
|accessdate=2025-02-27
}}</ref>

==Symposia==
The United Kingdom has been the site of several symposia regarding sexual integrity.

* The [[Fifth International Symposium]] convened at the {{UNI|University of Oxford|Oxon}}, Oxford, England, United Kingdom on 5-7 August 1998.

* The [[Tenth International Symposium]] on Circumcision, Genital Integrity and Human Rights convened at the {{UNI|University of Keele|KU}}, Keele, Newcastle, Staffordshire, England, United Kingdom on September 4-6, 2008.

* The [[Fourteenth International Symposium]] on Genital Autonomy and Children's Rights convened at the {{UNI|University of Keele|KU}}, Keele, Staffordshire, England, United Kingdom on September 14-16, 2016.

==British intactivist organisations==

* [[15 Square]] is a registered charity that provides information and aid to parents and both [[intact]] and [[circumcised]] males. The name refers to the approximate area of the adult male [[foreskin]] in square inches. 15 Square is based in Stone, Staffordshire.

* [[National Secular Society]] advocates separation of church and state. It has taken the position that religion does not provide authority to violate a child's [[human rights]] by not medically indicated [[circumcision]].<ref name="nss2025-01-28">{{REFweb
|url=https://www.secularism.org.uk/news/2025/01/judge-and-parents-call-for-boys-to-be-protected-from-circumcision
|title=Judge and parents call for boys to be protected from circumcision
|last=
|first=
|init=
|author-link=
|publisher=National Secular Society
|date=2025-01-17
|accessdate=2025-01-28
}}</ref>

==Circumcision deaths==
Gairdner (1949) reported 16 deaths per year.<ref name="gairdner1949" /> [[Death]] from circumcision still occurs.

* Amitai Moshe, seven-days-old, stopped breathing and died after having been [[circumcised]] by a ''[[mohel]]'' (2007), who was a member of the [http://www.initiationsociety.net/ Initiation Society], at [https://www.goldersgreenshul.org.uk/ Golders Green Synagogue] in North London. It was thought that the infant had cardiac arrest, perhaps brought on by the [[Pain| painful circumcision]].<ref name="beckford2007">{{REFnews
|title=Police investigate baby's death after circumcision
|url=https://www.cirp.org/news/2007/2007-02-16_dailytelegraph.php
|last=Beckford
|first=Martin
|coauthors=
|publisher=The Daily Telegraph
|website=
|date=2007-02-16
|accessdate=2021-09-12
|quote=Police are investigating the circumstances of the death of a baby boy. Inquiries are being carried out by officers from the Serious Crime Directorate. The death is being treated as unexplained.
}}</ref>

* Celian Noumbiwe, a nine-week-old baby, died in his mother's arms in 2007, after circumcision surgery at a doctor's surgery in Reading, apparently from loss of blood.<ref>{{REFnews
|title=Baby bled to death after circumcision, inquest told
|url=http://www.cirp.org/news/londontimes2009-02-13/
|last=Bannerman
|first=Lucy
|coauthors=
|publisher=The Times
|website=
|date=2009-02-13
|accessdate=2021-09-12
|quote=
}}</ref>

* Goodluck Caubergs, four-weeks-old, bled to death in Oldham after Grace Adeleye [[circumcised]] him in April 2010. Adeleye was found guilty of manslaughter by gross negligence at Manchester Crown Court.<ref>{{REFnews
|title=Grace Adeleye guilty of killing baby in botched circumcision
|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-manchester-20733674
|last=
|first=
|coauthors=
|publisher=BBC
|website=
|date=2012-12-14
|accessdate=2021-09-12
|quote=The boy bled to death before he could reach hospital the following day.
}}</ref>

* Raju Miah: Death by circumcision. July 1991, Birmingham, England, United Kingdom.

* Boma Oruitemeka: Death by circumcision, severe hemorrhage. 1990, London, England, United Kingdom.

==Foreskin information from the National Health Service==
The National Health Service at Alder Hey has created a website with information about the [[foreskin]] for patients, parents and healthcare professionals.<ref>{{REFweb
|url=https://4skin-health.alderhey.nhs.uk/
|title=Information for patients, parents and healthcare professionals
|last=Kenny
|first=
|init=S
|author-link=Simon Kenny
|publisher=NHS Alder Hey
|date=
|accessdate=2025-02-21
}}</ref>

==Conclusion==

The incidence of non-therapeutic [[circumcision]] of boys in the United Kingdom has been substantially reduced from its former peaks in the 1930s and early 1940s. Non-therapeutic circumcision of boys remains lawful provided that both parents grant consent. The practice seems to be concentrated among ethnic minorities. Ethical and [[human rights]] concerns about the surgery persist.

Non-therapeutic [[circumcision]] is not covered by the NHS, so parents must find a private medical or non-medical operator such as a [[mohel]] to perform the [[foreskin]] [[amputation]] and must pay the fee out of pocket as [[third-party payment]] is not available. Given the recent legal cautions uttered by the BMA,<ref name="bma2019" /> it may not be easy to find a medical practitioner willing to accept the risk.

The NHS announced in November 2022 that it would no longer perform the 23,000 circumcisions that it had been performing every year.<ref name="warren2022">{{REFweb
|url=https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11410577/Circumcisions-tummy-tucks-liposuction-operations-stop-funded-NHS.html
|title=Circumcisions, tummy tucks and liposuction are among 13 operations which will stop being funded by the NHS in a 'crackdown' on wasteful spending in a bid to save £2bn a year
|last=Warren
|first=Jessica
|publisher=Daily Mail
|date=2022-11-09
|accessdate=2023-04-07
}}</ref>

The BMA (2019) reported that the NHS therapeutically circumcises about 10,000 boys under 18-years-of-age per year.<ref name="bma2019">{{REFdocument
|title=Non-therapeutic male circumcision (NTMC) of children – practical guidance for doctors
|url=https://www.bma.org.uk/media/1847/bma-non-therapeutic-male-circumcision-of-children-guidance-2019.pdf
|contribution=
|last=
|first=
|publisher=British Medical Association
|format=PDF
|date=2019
|accessdate=2021-09-10
}}</ref> Professor [[Simon Kenny]], (2021) the leading doctor at [https://www.alderhey.nhs.uk/ Alder Hey Children's Hospital], has published a new guidance regarding child circumcision.<ref name="kenny2021">{{REFweb
|url=https://4skin-health.alderhey.nhs.uk/
|title=Information for patients, parents and healthcare professionals
|last=Kenny
|first=
|init=S
|author-link=Simon Kenny
|publisher=NHS Alder Hey
|date=
|accessdate=2025-02-21
}}</ref> The Daily Mail (2022) alleged that 1/2 of the 10,000 NHS [[circumcision|circumcisions]] of boys are unnecessary.<ref>{{REFnews
|title=Is the NHS carrying out thousands of unnecessary circumcisions on teenage boys? New report shows irreversible surgery is carried out 10,000 times per year
|url=https://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-10554847/Is-NHS-carrying-thousands-unnecessary-circumcisions-teenage-boys.html
|last=Ennals
|first=Ethan
|init=
|author-link=
|publisher=The Daily Mail
|website=
|date=2022-03-01
|accessdate=2023-05-23
|format=
|quote=The analysis also found up to half of the boys who underwent medical circumcision at some trusts were under five, an age at which doctors agree the procedure is almost always unnecessary.
}}</ref>

== Videos ==
=== Maajid Nawaz: Male circumcision consent ===
A discussion of consent for non-therapeutic male circumcision by Maajid Nawaz from Sky News

<youtube>v=1mrAZnijYcc</youtube>

=== Great Britain - History of Foreskin and Circumcision ===

<youtube>v=OuDiIHRqEVA</youtube>

=== Why my penis is in constant pain - BBC stories ===

<youtube>v=rXDoezKLZjc</youtube>
===British Circumcision Debate - Should Human Rights Outweigh Religious Rights===
<youtube>v=I4-r0hxChi0</youtube>

{{SEEALSO}}
* [[15 Square]]
* [[Desmond Morris]]
* [[Genital Autonomy]]
* [[Initiation Society]]
* [[Men Do Complain]]
* [[Secular Medical Forum]]
{{LINKS}}
* {{URLwikipedia|United_Kingdom|United Kingdom}}
* {{REFnews
|title=And, cut! What it was like being circumcised in my 60s
|url=https://www.theguardian.com/society/2023/may/06/and-cut-what-it-was-like-being-circumcised-in-my-60s
|last=Jeffries
|first=Stuart
|init=
|author-link=
|publisher=The Guardian
|website=
|date=2023-05-06
|accessdate=2026-01-18
|quote=
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://intactamerica.org/cultures-that-reject-circumcision/
|title=Cultures That Reject Circumcision—And Why They’re Right
|last=Alissa
|first=Kristel
|init=
|author-link=Kristel Alissa
|publisher=Intact America
|date=2025-02-23
|accessdate=2025-05-08
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://www.reddit.com/r/uncircumcised_talk/comments/1qxqitc/queen_victorias_grandson_started_the_fad_of/
|title=Queen Victoria’s grandson started the fad of destroying British royal foreskins.
|last=Anonymous
|first=
|init=
|author-link=
|publisher=REDDIT
|date=2026-02-06
|accessdate=2026-02-07
}}
{{REF}}

[[Category:Male circumcision]]
[[Category:Country]]
[[Category:English-speaking nation]]
[[Category:History]]
[[Category:Statistics]]

[[Category:UK]]
[[Category:Europe]]

[[de:Vereinigtes Königreich]]

Intact Global

2026-06-06T22:36:52Z

WikiModEn2: /* Intact Global conference in Los Angeles in April 2026 */

'''{{FULLPAGENAME}}''' is an American [[intactivist]] organization that seeks to advance the right to [[genital integrity]] in the judicial systems of the several States of the [[United States]].

[[Eric Clopper]] is the founder and president of Intact Global.

Intact Global observes that the 14th Amendment to the United States Constitution, Section 1, states in part that States shall not "deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws."
==Inaugural conference==
Intact Global held its inaugural conference in Portland, Oregon on 29-30 March 2025 and followed it with a press conference on 31 March 2025. A suit has been filed on behalf of certain injured Oregonians.<ref>{{REFweb
|url=https://www.intactglobal.org/events/2025-intact-global-conference
|title=2025- Intact Global Conference
|last=Clopper
|first=Eric
|init=
|author-link=Eric Clopper
|publisher=Intact Global
|date=2025-02-02
|accessdate=2025-02-03
}}</ref>

==Popularity of circumcision in Oregon==
Child circumcision is not popular in Oregon. Data Panda (2024) reports the incidence of [[circumcision]] of boys in Oregon in 2024 is 17 percent,<ref>{{REFweb
|url=https://www.datapandas.org/ranking/circumcision-rate-by-state
|title=Circumcision Rate by State
|last=Anonymous
|first=
|init=
|author-link=
|publisher=Data Panda
|date=2024-09-18
|accessdate=2025-04-02
}}</ref> which means that 83 percent of younger boys in Oregon are [[intact]]. Oregon ranks fourth among the States in the unpopularity of child circumcision.

==Complaint==
Intact Global filed a 72-page complaint no. 25CV18224 on behalf of several [[circumcised]] male Oregonians and a female against the State of Oregon in the [https://www.courts.oregon.gov/courts/multnomah/Pages/default.aspx Multinomah County Circuit Court] on 27 March 2025.<ref>{{REFdocument
|title=Hadachek et al. v. Oregon Complaint
|url=https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/66119b8c4d0c10f1951590fc/67e6d9785f82dc54c6513cb7_2025-03-28%20-%20Hadachek%20v.%20Oregon%20-%20Amended%20Complaint%20(Conformed).pdf
|contribution=
|last=Clopper
|first=Eric
|publisher=Intact Global
|format=PDF
|date=2025-03-27
|accessdate=2025-04-01
}}</ref>

[https://www.law-works.com/ Law Works, LLC] serves as local counsel.

The plaintiffs are reported to be in negotiations with the Office of the [https://www.doj.state.or.us/ Attorney-General of Oregon].

A hearing has been scheduled for 23 October 2025 in Portland, Oregon. The case number is 25CV18224.

[https://www.docketalarm.com/cases/Oregon_State_Multnomah_County_Circuit_Court/25CV18224/Dane_Hadachek_Cecil_Mininger_Sierra_Hadachek_Carter_Moody_Landon_Moody_vs_The_State_of_Oregon/03-27-2025-Complaint__Amended-1/ The complaint has been amended].

==Oregon Defense==

It is expected that Oregon will be defended by the [https://www.doj.state.or.us/ Oregon Department of Justice], which is headed by [https://www.doj.state.or.us/oregon-department-of-justice/office-of-the-attorney-general/attorney-general-dan-rayfield/ Attorney-General Dan Rayfield].

==Comment by Shea Lita Bond==

Shea Lita Bond reviewed the issues presented in the 2025 Hadachek in her comment in The ''John Marshall Law Review'' in 1999. She concluded as follows:
<blockquote>
Both male and female circumcision are medically unnecessary procedures that can cause children to experience physical and psychological harm. State legislatures enacted FGM statutes to protect female minors from circumcision complications, but never extended the same protection to male children. This ''Comment'' does not suggest that female circumcision is less important than male circumcision or that it is not a serious human rights problem. However, here in the United States male minors face circumcision at a wider scale, yet they are not legally protected from this painful, medically unnecessary procedure. Laws criminalizing female circumcision are a step in the right direction toward protecting child welfare. However, all children are at risk of being circumcised and yet currently only half are protected under state laws.

State FGM laws violate the constitutional guarantee that similarly situated males and females be treated equally before the law. Notwithstanding a state governments good intentions, and its legal prerogative to protect young girls from an injurious procedure, the state must extend the same legal protections to boys at risk for a similar procedure. Striking down unconstitutional FGM statutes and replacing them with gender neutral, generally applicatable laws will protect all children from harm and further the state's legitimate interest in protecting child welfare without discriminating on the basis of gender.<ref name="bond1999">{{REFjournal
|last=Bond
|init=SL
|author-link=
|url=https://repository.law.uic.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1579&context=lawreview
|title=Female Circumcision Laws and the Equal Protection Clause
|journal=The John Marshall Law Review
|date=1999-12
|volume=32
|issue=
|pages=353-80
|accessdate=2025-10-18
}}</ref>
</blockquote>

==Video==
===Intact Global Launch - Collaboration with GALDEF and LIVE Viewer Q&A!===
<youtube>v=gujPtfh1Y0g&t=12s</youtube>
===Daily Live No. 16! Get Your Tix for Intact Global’s March 29-31 Conference!===
<youtube>v=L_yOmsArLY0&t=21s</youtube>
===Intact Global 2025 Conference===
<youtube>v=CPZ-8vUm0pA</youtube>
===Day 1 LIVESTREAM – Intact Global’s Conference (March 29)===
<youtube>v=fKS-MsIgIIA</youtube>
===Day 2 LIVESTREAM – Intact Global’s Legal Summit for Genital Autonomy (March 30)===
<youtube>v=Kp4_S6_hJBU</youtube>
===Intact Global's Big Announcement Livestream===
<youtube>T1jlxRvZDC0</youtube>
===A Landmark Case for Children’s Rights: Intact Global’s SECOND Constitutional Challenge===
<youtube>v=oPka-aU3O1Q</youtube>
===Intact Global 2026 Conference Livestream – Day 1===
<youtube>?v=otFj_dNVLD0</youtube>
===Intact Global 2026 Conference Livestream – Day 2===
<youtube>v=I3iEeuJseLE</youtube>

==News on Intact Global lawsuit==
The counsel for the Defendant had filed a petition to dismiss the Intact Global lawsuit. A hearing was held in Portland before Judge Melvin Oden-Orr on 23 October 2025. The Court rejected the claims of the Defendant and dismissed the petition. Apparently the way is now clear to adjudicate the case on its merits.

The trial on the merits of Hadachek v. Oregon is now scheduled for December 2026. The trial readiness conference is scheduled for 4 December 2026. The actual trial is now scheduled to start on 7 December 2026 (Pearl Harbor Day). Eight days have been allocated for the trial.<ref>{{REFweb
|url=https://www.reddit.com/r/Intactivism/comments/1r3ubwu/trail_date_set_for_hadachek_v_oregon/
|title=Trial date set for Hadachek v Oregon
|last=
|first=
|init=
|author-link=
|publisher=REDDIT
|date=2026-02-13
|accessdate=2026-02-13
}}</ref>

<HR>

===Courageous Conversations: The Fight Against Newborn Genital Mutilation===
<youtube>v=mZpzr-351M4</youtube>
===Is circumcision child abuse? Attorney Eric Clopper meets TheTinMen===
<youtube>v=-BSsvUdAPR4</youtube>

==Intact Global conference in Los Angeles in April 2026==

Intact Global has announced a conference in Los Angeles, which will be held on 18-19 April 2026.
===Announcement video===
<youtube>xmuzPD-1_lc</youtube>

Tickets are required.

==Intact Global names Colorado as a target==

[https://www.reddit.com/r/IntactGlobal/comments/1ttk657/colorado_were_coming/#lightbox Colorado Launch Dinner]

{{SEEALSO}}
* [[Circumcision legal commentary]]
* [[Genital Autonomy Legal Defense and Education Fund]]
* [[United States of America]]

{{LINKS}}
* {{URLwebsite|https://www.intactglobal.org/|2024-08-16}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://www.youtube.com/@IntactGlobal
|title=Intact Global YouTube Channel
|last=Anonymous
|publisher=YouTube
|date=
|accessdate=2026-04-18
}}
* {{REFdocument
|title=Non-therapeutic circumcision of male minors
|url=https://www.doctorsopposingcircumcision.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/knmg-non-therapeutic-circumcision-of-male-minors-27-05-2010.pdf
|contribution=
|last=Kruseman
|first=Arie Nieuwenhuijzen
|publisher=Royal Dutch Medical Association
|format=PDF
|date=2010-05-27
|accessdate=2023-04-26
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://www.reddit.com/r/IntactGlobal/
|title=Intact Global blog
|publisher=Reddit
|accessdate=2025-04-02
}}
* {{REFdocument
|title=Constitution of Oregon
|url=https://constitutionus.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/oregon-state-constitution-2020.pdf
|contribution=
|last=
|first=
|publisher=State of Oregon
|format=PDF
|date=2020
|accessdate=2025-04-01
}}
* {{REFjournal
|last=Povenmire
|init=R
|author-link=
|url=https://www.cirp.org/library/legal/povenmire/
|title= Do Parents Have the Legal Authority to Consent to the Surgical Amputation of Normal, Healthy Tissue From Their Infant Children?: The Practice of Circumcision in the United States
|journal=Journal of Gender, Social Policy & the Law
|date=1998-9
|volume=7
|issue=
|pages=87-123
|accessdate=2025-05-04
}}
* {{REFdocument
|title=Male and Female genital Alteration: A Collision Course with the Law?
|url=https://scholarlycommons.law.case.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1562&context=healthmatrix
|contribution=
|last=Davis
|first=Dena
|publisher=Health Matrix: J Law-Med.
|format=PDF
|date=2001
|accessdate=2025-10-19
}}
* {{REFjournal
|last=Hill
|first=
|init=G
|author-link=George Hill
|title=The case against circumcision
|journal=Journal of Men's Health and Gender
|date=2007
|volume=4
|issue=3
|pages=318-23
|url=https://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/document?repid=rep1&type=pdf&doi=04ace5046cc27f01b8fbe4aa359c059778983912
|quote=
|format=PDF
|accessdate=2025-10-20
}}
* {{REFdocument
|title=Genital Integrity Policy Statement
|url=https://pool.intactiwiki.org/images/2008_Genital_Integrity_Policy_Statement.pdf
|contribution=
|last=Hill
|first=George
|author-link=George Hill
|publisher=[[Doctors Opposing Circumcision (D.O.C.)]]
|format=PDF
|date=2008-06
|accessdate=2025-04-03
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=http://www.savingsons.org/2015/07/circumcision-and-united-states.html
|title=Circumcision and The United States Constitution: Forced Genital Cutting of Minors is Illegal
|last=Day
|first=
|init=D
|author-link=
|publisher=Saving Our Sons
|date=2014
|accessdate=2025-10-18
}}
* {{REFnews
|title=Lawyers say Oregon genital cutting law discriminates against boys; seek circumcision ban
|url=https://www.oregonlive.com/health/2025/03/lawyers-say-oregon-genital-cutting-law-discriminates-against-boys-seek-circumcision-ban.html
|last=Sparling
|first=Zane
|init=
|author-link=
|publisher=The Oregonian
|website=
|date=2025-03-31
|accessdate=2025-04-02
|quote=
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://www.youtube.com/@IntactGlobal
|title=Intact Global Youtube Channel
|last=
|first=
|init=
|author-link=
|publisher=Intact Global
|date=
|accessdate=2025-05-30
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://autonomycollective.org/hadachek-v-oregon/index.html
|title=Hadachek v. Oregon
|last=Anonymous
|first=
|init=
|author-link=
|publisher=Genital Autonomy Collective
|date=2025-07-25
|accessdate=2025-10-18
}}
* {{REFnews
|title=U.S. Circumcision Lawsuit Advances as Doctors Behind Policy Backtrack
|url=https://blogs.timesofisrael.com/u-s-circumcision-lawsuit-advances-as-doctors-behind-policy-backtrack/
|last=Wald
|first=Rebecca
|author-link=Rebecca Wald
|publisher=The Times of Israel
|date=2025-10-28
|accessdate=2026-04-30
|quote=At issue is whether gender-specific protections against genital cutting can withstand constitutional scrutiny in an era of increasing legal and ethical focus on bodily autonomy.
}}
{{REF}}

[[Category:Education]]
[[Category:Litigation]]
[[Category:Litigation over circumcision]]
[[Category:Intactivism organization]]

[[Category:USA]]

Desmond Morris

2026-06-06T19:32:33Z

WikiModEn2: Remove Construction Site template.

'''{{FULLPAGENAME}}''' ({{LifeData|birth=1928-01-24|birthplace=[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Purton Purton], Wiltshire|birthcountry=[[United Kingdom]]|death=2026-04-19|deathplace=[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naas Naas], County Kildare|deathcountry=Ireland}})

The late Desmond John Morris, Ph.D., D.Sc., was a British zoologist and ethologist. He became famous by applying the methods of animal study to humans.

Morris was a strong opponent of all forms of genital cutting and sexual mutilation, including [[child circumcision]].
==Early life==
Morris was born in Purton, [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wiltshire Wiltshire], to Marjorie (née Hunt) and children's fiction author Harry Morris. A few years later the family moved to [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swindon Swindon].

In his teen years he attended [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dauntsey%27s_School Dauncey's School], an upscale coeducational school in the country on 150 acres of land.<ref>[https://www.dauntseys.org/ Dauntsey's School]</ref> This may be where he acquired his interest in nature.

==Adult life==
Morris enlisted in the British Army for two years at age 18 in 1946 to perform his [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_service national service].

After completing his national service, Morris started to study zoology at the [https://www.birmingham.ac.uk/ University of Birmingham].

Morris commenced his studies at the [https://www.ox.ac.uk/ University of Oxford] in 1951. He was awarded a Ph.D. in 1954.

Morris served as curator of mammals for the [https://www.londonzoo.org/ London Zoo] from 1959 to 1967.
==Personal life==
Morris married Ramona Baulch in July 1952.<ref name="morris2012">{{REFnews
|title=My secret of 60 years of marital bliss
|url=https://www.dailymail.com/lifestyle/article-2191767/Desmond-Morris-diamond-wedding-testament-primeval-urge-mate-life.html
|last=Morris
|first=Desmond
|init=
|author-link=Desmond Morris
|publisher=The Daily Mail
|website=
|date=2012-08-22
|accessdate=2026-06-06
|format=
|quote=
}}</ref> They made their home in North Oxford. They had one son—Jason.
{{PUB}}
===Articles===
Dr. Morris wrote articles throughout his long life. His prodigious output is indexed on his website. Please see [http://www.desmond-morris.com/articles.php Selected Articles].

A search at [https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/ PubMed] for "Morris DJ" produces a list of 256 published articles. It is not clear how many of these were authored by Desmond John Morris.

===Books===
Dr. Morris is credited with the authorship of 104 books. For a complete list see [http://www.desmond-morris.com books.php Bibliography]
* {{REFbook
|last=Morris
|first=Desmond
|init=
|year=1985
|title=Bodywatching
|url=https://www.amazon.com/s?k=Bodywatching&i=stripbooks
|scope=
|location=
|publisher=Random House
|ISBN=10-0517558149
|accessdate=2026-06-04
}}
* {{REFbook
|last=Morris
|first=Desmond
|init=
|year=1994
|title=The Human Animal: A Personal View of the Human Species
|url=https://www.amazon.com/Human-Animal-Personal-View-Species/dp/0563370211?s=books
|scope=
|location=
|publisher=BBC Publications
|ISBN=10 0563370211
|accessdate=2026-06-03
}}

* {{REFbook
|last=Morris
|first=Desmond
|init=
|year=1997
|title=The Human Sexes
|url=https://www.amazon.com/Human-Sexes-Morris-Desmond/dp/0563383585?s=books
|scope=
|location=
|publisher=Netwook Books
|ISBN=10 0563383585
|accessdate=2026-06-03
}}
* {{REFbook
|last=Morris
|first=Desmond
|init=
|year=1999
|title=The Naked Ape: A Zoologist's Study of the Human Animal
|url=https://www.amazon.com/Naked-Ape-Zoologists-Study-Animal/dp/0385334303?s=books
|scope=
|location=
|publisher=Delta
|ISBN=10 0385334303
|accessdate=2026-06-03
}}
* {{REFbook
|last=Morris
|first=Desmond
|init=
|year=2007
|title=The Naked Woman: A Study of the Female Body
|url=https://www.amazon.com/Naked-Woman-Study-Female-Body/dp/0312338538?s=books
|scope=
|location=
|publisher=St. Martins Griffin
|ISBN=10 9780312338534
|accessdate=2026-06-03
}}
* {{REFbook
|last=Morris
|first=Desmond
|init=
|year=2009
|title=The Naked Man: A Study of the Male Body
|url=https://www.amazon.com/Naked-Man-Study-Male-Body/dp/0312385307?s=books
|scope=
|location=
|publisher=Thomas Dunne Books
|ISBN=10 0312385307
|accessdate=2026-06-03
}}
===Commentary on male and female genital cutting and genital mutilation===
 
IntactiWiki is pleased to present this monograph by Desmond Morris regarding genital cutting and mutilation.
 
 
<hr>
 
<blockquote>
<center>
<big>Comment on Circumcision and Genital Mutilation</big>

Desmond Morris
</center>
For thousands of years, in many different cultures, the genitals have fallen victim to an amazing variety of mutilations and restrictions. For organs that are capable of giving us an immense amount of pleasure They have given us an inordinate amount of pain.

The commonest form of assault they have suffered is male and female circumcision. This strange mutilation is older than civilization and was probably well advanced in the Stone Age. Although it is a piece of deliberate wounding of children by adults, it has been done with the best of intentions. Over the millennia it has cause countless deaths from infection, but its advantages have always been said to outweigh the risks involved. These alleged advantages have varied from epoch to epoch and culture to culture, but recent re-examination has shown that they are all imaginary.

It has been claimed that one of the oldest reasons for performing male circumcision—the removal of the foreskin—is that it provoked immortality in the shape of life after death. This odd notion was based on the observation that when the snake sheds its skin it emerges with glistening new scales and is “reborn.” If the snake can enjoy rebirth by the removal of skin, so too can the human being. For snake read penis; for snake-skin read foreskin.

Once male circumcision had become traditional it no longer mattered whether the old beliefs survived. Being circumcised was not the badge of belonging to a particular society. The ritual mutilation spread and spread. Ancient Egyptians were doing it as long ago as 4000 B.C. In the Old Testament, Abraham demanded it. Arabs circumcised as well as Jews. Mohammed was said to have been born without a foreskin (which he may well have been, as this condition is not unknown to medical science), a claim which automatically doomed the foreskins of his future male followers.

As the centuries passed, religious arguments gave way, for many to quack medical arguments. The possession of a foreskin was said to cause “masturbatory insanity.” Other medical horrors resulting from its retention included hysteria, epilepsy, nocturnal incontinence, and nervousness. Such ideas survived into the early part of the present century and even led to the formation of an Orificial Surgery Society devoted exclusively to the “modifications” of offending genital as a means of preventing mental illness.

When at last this nonsense was on the decline a crisis arose. What new reason could be found for mutilating children’s genitals? The solution had to be one that suited the rational climate of twentieth-century scientific inquiry. The answer appeared in The Lancet in 1932: foreskins caused cancer! By the end of the 1930s 75 per cent of the boys in the United States were being circumcised; by 1973 it was 84 per cent; by 1976 it was 87 per cent. Cancer had become the secular version of hellfire and brimstone, the perfect weapon for the anxiety makers of a post-religious society.

To be more precise, the claim that the “debris” called smegma which collects under retained foreskins could cause cancer of the penis and also cancer of the cervix of the wives of the uncircumcised. The paper which started this false rumour was founded on faulty statistics, but nobody minded because here was a plausible new reason for slicing away at the infantile penis. Subsequent experiments, however revealed that there is nothing remotely carcinogenic about the smegma produced under the fold of the foreskin, but they were widely ignored. Other investigations showed that women whose uncircumcised husbands always wore condoms were no more or less likely to develop cancer than those whose husbands never wore condoms. But again nobody wanted to know. In one country where there was no circumcision at all was compared to a country in which all males were circumcised. The results showed, to the relief of the foreskin snippers, that prostate cancer was higher in the uncircumcised country. Unfortunately this form of cancer is a disease of elderly men, and when a correction for age distribution was made the figures showed that this disorder was actually more likely in the circumcised country.

Not only was the cancer scare completely without foundation, but the operation of foreskin removal continued to prove a distinct health hazard for small babies. There were many cases of haemorrhage, ulceration of the urethra, surgical trauma and local infection. In rare cases, foreskin removal resulted in the death of the baby. There were also more subtle effects with possible long-term implications: following circumcision male babies showed an increase in the level of hormones related to stress; sleep patterns altered; there was more crying and more irritability.

Despite all this, “medical” circumcisions continued (and still continues) at a merry pace in certain countries where private medicine is the rule. In Britain, significantly, there was a dramatic decline in the operation following the introduction of the National Health Service scheme and free treatment. It is impossible to refrain from asking why it should be that the operation sank to a level of less than one per cent (only 0.41 per cent of male babies in 1972) in a country where there was no financial gain to be made from it, while in the United States, for example, in the same year, over 80 per cent of male babies were circumcised, at an annual cost to health-insurance companies of more than $200 million. The new deities demanding circumcision appear to be more fiscal than sacred.

Young females have also been assaulted in this fashion. This has been rare in the West, although as recently as 1937 a Texas doctor was advocating the removal of the clitoris to cure frigidity. The harshest traditions of female circumcision are found in Africa, parts of the Middle East, Indonesia and Malayia. It is a staggering fact that, far from being an ancient memory, the practice of cutting away all or part of the external genitals of young females is still going on in more than 20 countries.

No fewer than 74 million women alive today have been subjected to this mutilation. In the worst cases, they have had their labia and clitoris scraped or cut away and their vaginal opening stitched up with silk, catgut, or thorns, leaving only a tiny opening for urine and menstrual blood. After the operation the girl’s legs are bound together to ensure that scar-tissue forms and the condition becomes permanent. Later, when they marry, these females suffer the pain of having their artificially reduced orifices broken open by their husbands.

The effect of this practice is to dramatically reduce sexual pleasure for wives in the countries concerned, which may be its hidden significance. A side-effect is the high number of deaths and serious illnesses cause by the unhygienic conditions under which the operations are performed, especially in such countries as Oman, South Yemen, Somalia, Djibouti, Sudan, southern Egypt, Ethiopia, northern Kenya, and Mali. The continuance of such practices in the twentieth century against a background of modern enlightenment is clearly going to puzzle historians of the distant future.
<center>
—Desmond Morris (Circa 1985)
</blockquote>

==Videos==
===Desmond Morris (Writer))===
<youtube>v=rfe8nKkVUPo&list=PLVV0r6CmEsFwtuDq9yKrhqqkJ-Era-N7w&index=3</youtube>
===Desmond Morris - Cheating death even before birth (1/37)===
<youtube>v=aZoJbK9hBMo</youtube>
===Desmond Morris - Human beings - just another species of animal? (23/37)===
<youtube>v=taFeI6TwAOQ</youtube>
===Zoology and the Human Animal===
<youtube>v=myL24gP20fo</youtube>
===Male genital mutilation ritual from Desmond Morris - The Human Sexes===
<youtube>v=QaFtcIrtbm0</youtube>
===Desmond Morris - 'The Human Zoo' (25/37)===
<youtube>v=1wlGhIh1lfE</youtube>
===Desmond Morris - Avoiding death for the second time (3/37)===
<youtube>v=rfe8nKkVUPo</youtube>
===Desmond Morris - Contemplating death and the afterlife (37/37)===
<youtube>v=3uddkAIHTEc</youtube>
===Desmond Morris passes away (1928 - 2026) (UK) - UK News - 20/Apr/2026===
<youtube>v=N9fVSDziV6o</youtube>

==Death==
Following the death of his wife, Ramona, in November 2018, Desmond Morris left his home in [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oxford Oxford] in June 2019 and moved to [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/County_Kildare County Kildare] in [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_of_Ireland Ireland] to live close to his son, Jason, and his family there.

He passed away there at the age of 98 on 19 April 2026.<ref name="radford2026">{{REFweb
|url=https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2026/apr/20/desmond-morris-obituary
|title=Desmond Morris Obituary
|last=Radford
|first=Tim
|publisher=The Guardian
|date=2026-04-20
|accessdate=2026-06-05
}}</ref> <ref name="woodhouse2026>{{REFweb
|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c51y797v200o
|title=Zoologist and author Desmond Morris dies aged 98
|last=Woodhouse
|first=Sam
|publisher=BBC
|date=2026-04-20
|accessdate=2026-06-05
}}</ref>
{{SEEALSO}}
* [[Alice Miller]]
* [[Cervical cancer]]
* [[Child circumcision]]
* [[Circumcision of the newborn]]
* [[Financial incentive]]
* [[Foreskin]]
* [[Penile cancer]]
* [[Risks and complications]]
{{LINKS}}
* {{URLwebsite|http://www.desmond-morris.com/|2026-06-04}}
* {{URLwikipedia|Desmond_Morris|Desmond Morris}}
* {{REFweb
|url=http://www.desmond-morris.com/biography.php
|title=Biography of Desmond John Morris
|last=Williams
|first=David
|init=
|author-link=
|publisher=The Desmond Morris Information Page
|date=2022-09-20
|accessdate=2026-06-06
}}
{{REF}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Morris, Desmond}}

[[Category:Person]]
[[Category:Male]]
[[Category:Author]]
[[Category:Female genital mutilation]]
[[Category:Financial gain]]
[[Category:Intactivism]]
[[Category:Intactivist]]
[[Category:Intactivist literature]]

[[Category:UK]]

Desmond Morris

2026-06-06T18:48:22Z

WikiModEn2: /* Commentary on male and female genital cutting and genital mutilation */

{{Construction Site}}
'''{{FULLPAGENAME}}''' ({{LifeData|birth=1928-01-24|birthplace=[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Purton Purton], Wiltshire|birthcountry=[[United Kingdom]]|death=2026-04-19|deathplace=[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naas Naas], County Kildare|deathcountry=Ireland}})

The late Desmond John Morris, Ph.D., D.Sc., was a British zoologist and ethologist. He became famous by applying the methods of animal study to humans.

Morris was a strong opponent of all forms of genital cutting and sexual mutilation, including [[child circumcision]].
==Early life==
Morris was born in Purton, [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wiltshire Wiltshire], to Marjorie (née Hunt) and children's fiction author Harry Morris. A few years later the family moved to [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swindon Swindon].

In his teen years he attended [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dauntsey%27s_School Dauncey's School], an upscale coeducational school in the country on 150 acres of land.<ref>[https://www.dauntseys.org/ Dauntsey's School]</ref> This may be where he acquired his interest in nature.

==Adult life==
Morris enlisted in the British Army for two years at age 18 in 1946 to perform his [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_service national service].

After completing his national service, Morris started to study zoology at the [https://www.birmingham.ac.uk/ University of Birmingham].

Morris commenced his studies at the [https://www.ox.ac.uk/ University of Oxford] in 1951. He was awarded a Ph.D. in 1954.

Morris served as curator of mammals for the [https://www.londonzoo.org/ London Zoo] from 1959 to 1967.
==Personal life==
Morris married Ramona Baulch in July 1952.<ref name="morris2012">{{REFnews
|title=My secret of 60 years of marital bliss
|url=https://www.dailymail.com/lifestyle/article-2191767/Desmond-Morris-diamond-wedding-testament-primeval-urge-mate-life.html
|last=Morris
|first=Desmond
|init=
|author-link=Desmond Morris
|publisher=The Daily Mail
|website=
|date=2012-08-22
|accessdate=2026-06-06
|format=
|quote=
}}</ref> They made their home in North Oxford. They had one son—Jason.
{{PUB}}
===Articles===
Dr. Morris wrote articles throughout his long life. His prodigious output is indexed on his website. Please see [http://www.desmond-morris.com/articles.php Selected Articles].

A search at [https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/ PubMed] for "Morris DJ" produces a list of 256 published articles. It is not clear how many of these were authored by Desmond John Morris.

===Books===
Dr. Morris is credited with the authorship of 104 books. For a complete list see [http://www.desmond-morris.com books.php Bibliography]
* {{REFbook
|last=Morris
|first=Desmond
|init=
|year=1985
|title=Bodywatching
|url=https://www.amazon.com/s?k=Bodywatching&i=stripbooks
|scope=
|location=
|publisher=Random House
|ISBN=10-0517558149
|accessdate=2026-06-04
}}
* {{REFbook
|last=Morris
|first=Desmond
|init=
|year=1994
|title=The Human Animal: A Personal View of the Human Species
|url=https://www.amazon.com/Human-Animal-Personal-View-Species/dp/0563370211?s=books
|scope=
|location=
|publisher=BBC Publications
|ISBN=10 0563370211
|accessdate=2026-06-03
}}

* {{REFbook
|last=Morris
|first=Desmond
|init=
|year=1997
|title=The Human Sexes
|url=https://www.amazon.com/Human-Sexes-Morris-Desmond/dp/0563383585?s=books
|scope=
|location=
|publisher=Netwook Books
|ISBN=10 0563383585
|accessdate=2026-06-03
}}
* {{REFbook
|last=Morris
|first=Desmond
|init=
|year=1999
|title=The Naked Ape: A Zoologist's Study of the Human Animal
|url=https://www.amazon.com/Naked-Ape-Zoologists-Study-Animal/dp/0385334303?s=books
|scope=
|location=
|publisher=Delta
|ISBN=10 0385334303
|accessdate=2026-06-03
}}
* {{REFbook
|last=Morris
|first=Desmond
|init=
|year=2007
|title=The Naked Woman: A Study of the Female Body
|url=https://www.amazon.com/Naked-Woman-Study-Female-Body/dp/0312338538?s=books
|scope=
|location=
|publisher=St. Martins Griffin
|ISBN=10 9780312338534
|accessdate=2026-06-03
}}
* {{REFbook
|last=Morris
|first=Desmond
|init=
|year=2009
|title=The Naked Man: A Study of the Male Body
|url=https://www.amazon.com/Naked-Man-Study-Male-Body/dp/0312385307?s=books
|scope=
|location=
|publisher=Thomas Dunne Books
|ISBN=10 0312385307
|accessdate=2026-06-03
}}
===Commentary on male and female genital cutting and genital mutilation===
 
IntactiWiki is pleased to present this monograph by Desmond Morris regarding genital cutting and mutilation.
 
 
<hr>
 
<blockquote>
<center>
<big>Comment on Circumcision and Genital Mutilation</big>

Desmond Morris
</center>
For thousands of years, in many different cultures, the genitals have fallen victim to an amazing variety of mutilations and restrictions. For organs that are capable of giving us an immense amount of pleasure They have given us an inordinate amount of pain.

The commonest form of assault they have suffered is male and female circumcision. This strange mutilation is older than civilization and was probably well advanced in the Stone Age. Although it is a piece of deliberate wounding of children by adults, it has been done with the best of intentions. Over the millennia it has cause countless deaths from infection, but its advantages have always been said to outweigh the risks involved. These alleged advantages have varied from epoch to epoch and culture to culture, but recent re-examination has shown that they are all imaginary.

It has been claimed that one of the oldest reasons for performing male circumcision—the removal of the foreskin—is that it provoked immortality in the shape of life after death. This odd notion was based on the observation that when the snake sheds its skin it emerges with glistening new scales and is “reborn.” If the snake can enjoy rebirth by the removal of skin, so too can the human being. For snake read penis; for snake-skin read foreskin.

Once male circumcision had become traditional it no longer mattered whether the old beliefs survived. Being circumcised was not the badge of belonging to a particular society. The ritual mutilation spread and spread. Ancient Egyptians were doing it as long ago as 4000 B.C. In the Old Testament, Abraham demanded it. Arabs circumcised as well as Jews. Mohammed was said to have been born without a foreskin (which he may well have been, as this condition is not unknown to medical science), a claim which automatically doomed the foreskins of his future male followers.

As the centuries passed, religious arguments gave way, for many to quack medical arguments. The possession of a foreskin was said to cause “masturbatory insanity.” Other medical horrors resulting from its retention included hysteria, epilepsy, nocturnal incontinence, and nervousness. Such ideas survived into the early part of the present century and even led to the formation of an Orificial Surgery Society devoted exclusively to the “modifications” of offending genital as a means of preventing mental illness.

When at last this nonsense was on the decline a crisis arose. What new reason could be found for mutilating children’s genitals? The solution had to be one that suited the rational climate of twentieth-century scientific inquiry. The answer appeared in The Lancet in 1932: foreskins caused cancer! By the end of the 1930s 75 per cent of the boys in the United States were being circumcised; by 1973 it was 84 per cent; by 1976 it was 87 per cent. Cancer had become the secular version of hellfire and brimstone, the perfect weapon for the anxiety makers of a post-religious society.

To be more precise, the claim that the “debris” called smegma which collects under retained foreskins could cause cancer of the penis and also cancer of the cervix of the wives of the uncircumcised. The paper which started this false rumour was founded on faulty statistics, but nobody minded because here was a plausible new reason for slicing away at the infantile penis. Subsequent experiments, however revealed that there is nothing remotely carcinogenic about the smegma produced under the fold of the foreskin, but they were widely ignored. Other investigations showed that women whose uncircumcised husbands always wore condoms were no more or less likely to develop cancer than those whose husbands never wore condoms. But again nobody wanted to know. In one country where there was no circumcision at all was compared to a country in which all males were circumcised. The results showed, to the relief of the foreskin snippers, that prostate cancer was higher in the uncircumcised country. Unfortunately this form of cancer is a disease of elderly men, and when a correction for age distribution was made the figures showed that this disorder was actually more likely in the circumcised country.

Not only was the cancer scare completely without foundation, but the operation of foreskin removal continued to prove a distinct health hazard for small babies. There were many cases of haemorrhage, ulceration of the urethra, surgical trauma and local infection. In rare cases, foreskin removal resulted in the death of the baby. There were also more subtle effects with possible long-term implications: following circumcision male babies showed an increase in the level of hormones related to stress; sleep patterns altered; there was more crying and more irritability.

Despite all this, “medical” circumcisions continued (and still continues) at a merry pace in certain countries where private medicine is the rule. In Britain, significantly, there was a dramatic decline in the operation following the introduction of the National Health Service scheme and free treatment. It is impossible to refrain from asking why it should be that the operation sank to a level of less than one per cent (only 0.41 per cent of male babies in 1972) in a country where there was no financial gain to be made from it, while in the United States, for example, in the same year, over 80 per cent of male babies were circumcised, at an annual cost to health-insurance companies of more than $200 million. The new deities demanding circumcision appear to be more fiscal than sacred.

Young females have also been assaulted in this fashion. This has been rare in the West, although as recently as 1937 a Texas doctor was advocating the removal of the clitoris to cure frigidity. The harshest traditions of female circumcision are found in Africa, parts of the Middle East, Indonesia and Malayia. It is a staggering fact that, far from being an ancient memory, the practice of cutting away all or part of the external genitals of young females is still going on in more than 20 countries.

No fewer than 74 million women alive today have been subjected to this mutilation. In the worst cases, they have had their labia and clitoris scraped or cut away and their vaginal opening stitched up with silk, catgut, or thorns, leaving only a tiny opening for urine and menstrual blood. After the operation the girl’s legs are bound together to ensure that scar-tissue forms and the condition becomes permanent. Later, when they marry, these females suffer the pain of having their artificially reduced orifices broken open by their husbands.

The effect of this practice is to dramatically reduce sexual pleasure for wives in the countries concerned, which may be its hidden significance. A side-effect is the high number of deaths and serious illnesses cause by the unhygienic conditions under which the operations are performed, especially in such countries as Oman, South Yemen, Somalia, Djibouti, Sudan, southern Egypt, Ethiopia, northern Kenya, and Mali. The continuance of such practices in the twentieth century against a background of modern enlightenment is clearly going to puzzle historians of the distant future.
<center>
—Desmond Morris (Circa 1985)
</blockquote>

==Videos==
===Desmond Morris (Writer))===
<youtube>v=rfe8nKkVUPo&list=PLVV0r6CmEsFwtuDq9yKrhqqkJ-Era-N7w&index=3</youtube>
===Desmond Morris - Cheating death even before birth (1/37)===
<youtube>v=aZoJbK9hBMo</youtube>
===Desmond Morris - Human beings - just another species of animal? (23/37)===
<youtube>v=taFeI6TwAOQ</youtube>
===Zoology and the Human Animal===
<youtube>v=myL24gP20fo</youtube>
===Male genital mutilation ritual from Desmond Morris - The Human Sexes===
<youtube>v=QaFtcIrtbm0</youtube>
===Desmond Morris - 'The Human Zoo' (25/37)===
<youtube>v=1wlGhIh1lfE</youtube>
===Desmond Morris - Avoiding death for the second time (3/37)===
<youtube>v=rfe8nKkVUPo</youtube>
===Desmond Morris - Contemplating death and the afterlife (37/37)===
<youtube>v=3uddkAIHTEc</youtube>
===Desmond Morris passes away (1928 - 2026) (UK) - UK News - 20/Apr/2026===
<youtube>v=N9fVSDziV6o</youtube>

==Death==
Following the death of his wife, Ramona, in November 2018, Desmond Morris left his home in [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oxford Oxford] in June 2019 and moved to [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/County_Kildare County Kildare] in [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_of_Ireland Ireland] to live close to his son, Jason, and his family there.

He passed away there at the age of 98 on 19 April 2026.<ref name="radford2026">{{REFweb
|url=https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2026/apr/20/desmond-morris-obituary
|title=Desmond Morris Obituary
|last=Radford
|first=Tim
|publisher=The Guardian
|date=2026-04-20
|accessdate=2026-06-05
}}</ref> <ref name="woodhouse2026>{{REFweb
|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c51y797v200o
|title=Zoologist and author Desmond Morris dies aged 98
|last=Woodhouse
|first=Sam
|publisher=BBC
|date=2026-04-20
|accessdate=2026-06-05
}}</ref>
{{SEEALSO}}
* [[Alice Miller]]
* [[Cervical cancer]]
* [[Child circumcision]]
* [[Circumcision of the newborn]]
* [[Financial incentive]]
* [[Foreskin]]
* [[Penile cancer]]
* [[Risks and complications]]
{{LINKS}}
* {{URLwebsite|http://www.desmond-morris.com/|2026-06-04}}
* {{URLwikipedia|Desmond_Morris|Desmond Morris}}
* {{REFweb
|url=http://www.desmond-morris.com/biography.php
|title=Biography of Desmond John Morris
|last=Williams
|first=David
|init=
|author-link=
|publisher=The Desmond Morris Information Page
|date=2022-09-20
|accessdate=2026-06-06
}}
{{REF}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Morris, Desmond}}

[[Category:Person]]
[[Category:Male]]
[[Category:Author]]
[[Category:Female genital mutilation]]
[[Category:Financial gain]]
[[Category:Intactivism]]
[[Category:Intactivist]]
[[Category:Intactivist literature]]

[[Category:UK]]

Pheromone

2026-06-06T18:37:25Z

WikiModEn2: Add external link.

A '''pheromone''' is a type of ectohormone secreted by an individual and perceived by a second individual of the same or similar species, thereby producing a change in the sexual or social behavior of that individual.<ref name="farlex2012">{{REFweb
|url=https://medical-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/pheromone
|title=Pheromone
|website=Farlex Partner Medical Dictionary
|date=2012
|accessdate=2021-06-12
}}</ref>

==Pheromones in humans==

Pheromones are important in many animal species but, until recently, were thought to be unimportant in humans.<ref>{{REFjournal
|last=Cohn
|first=
|init=BA
|author-link=
|etal=no
|title=In Search of Human Skin Pheromones
|journal=JAMA Dermatology
|location=
|date=1994-08
|volume=130
|issue=8
|article=
|page=
|pages=1048-51
|url=https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamadermatology/article-abstract/555981
|archived=
|quote=
|pubmedID=8053704
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=10.1001/archderm.1994.01690080114018
|accessdate=2021-06-11
}}</ref> It has now been shown, however, that the timing of ovulation in women can be controlled by pheromones from the armpit. This is believed to be the explanation of the fact that women living together will frequently develop synchronized menstrual cycles.<ref>{{REFjournal
|last=Stern
|first=Kahleen
|init=
|author-link=
|last2=McClitock
|first2=Martha K.
|init2=
|author2-link=
|etal=no
|title=Regulation of ovulation by human pheromones
|journal=Nature
|location=
|date=1998-03-12
|volume=392
|issue=
|article=
|page=
|pages=177-9
|url=https://www.nature.com/articles/32408
|archived=
|quote=
|pubmedID=9515961
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=
|accessdate=2021-06-11
}}</ref><ref name="collins2004">{{REFweb
|last=Anonymous
|url=https://medical-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/pheromone
|title=Pheromone
|website=Collins Dictionary of Medicine
|date=2004
|accessdate=2021-06-12
}}</ref>

Fleiss et al. (1998) reported that the moisture found under the [[foreskin]] contains pheromones such as androsterone and others.<ref name="fleiss-hodges-vanhowe1998">{{FleissP HodgesF VanHoweRS 1998}}</ref>

Androsterone is found in the human axilla and [[skin]] as well as in the [[urine]]. It may also be secreted by human sebaceous glands. It is described as having a musky odor similar to that of androstenol. Androsterone has been found to affect human behavior when smelled.<ref>{{REFbook
|last=Maiworm
|init=RE
|author-link=
|last2=Langthaler
|init2=WU
|author2-link=
|year=1992
|title=Influence of Androstenol and Androsterone on the Evalulation of Men of Varying Attractiveness Levels
|url=https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007%2F978-1-4757-9655-1_88
|work=Chemical Signals in Vertebrates 6
|editor=Richard L. Doty, Dietland Müller-Schwarze
|edition=
|volume=
|chapter=
|pages=575-9
|location=New York
|publisher=Springer
|isbn=978-1-4757-9657-5
|quote=
|accessdate=2021-06-12
|note=
}}</ref>

==Conclusion==

Many find the musky fragrance of the [[intact]] human [[foreskin]] to be attractive, stimulating, and even arousing, not only because of the musk, but because of the pheromones which also are present.<ref>{{REFweb
|url=https://www.quora.com/Is-the-musky-smell-of-the-male-genital-area-attractive-or-pleasant?share=1
|title=Is the musky smell of the male genital area attractive or pleasant?
|last=
|first=
|website=Quora
|accessdate=2021-06-12
}}</ref> While the evidence accumulated to date is not strong, there is evidence that the [[foreskin]] does emit pheromones.<ref>{{REFweb
|url= https://www.reddit.com/r/uncircumcised_talk/comments/1nnil5g/does_anyone_else_like_the_taste_and_smell_of/
|title=Does anyone else like the taste and smell of unwashed foreskin?
|last=Anonymous
|publisher=REDDIT
|date=2025-09-19
|accessdate=2025-10-07
}}</ref>

Several manufactures offer musk-scented cologne for men.

{{SEEALSO}}
* [[Immunological and protective function of the foreskin]]
* [[Preputial sac]]
* [[Smegma]]
{{LINKS}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/lies-and-deception/202409/the-scent-of-truth-the-mystery-of-human-pheromones
|title=The Scent of Truth: The Mystery of Human Pheromones
|last=Sun
|first=
|init=L
|author-link=
|publisher=Psychology Today
|date=2024-09-29
|accessdate=2025-02-02
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://www.reddit.com/r/uncircumcised_talk/comments/1mtdupv/uncut_aroma/
|title=Uncut aroma
|last=Anonymous
|first=
|init=
|author-link=
|publisher=REDDIT
|date=2025-08-17
|accessdate=2025-08-20
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://www.reddit.com/r/uncircumcised_talk/comments/1pglgir/that_smell/?chainedPosts=t3_1pg6gh9
|title=That smell
|last=Anonymous
|first=
|init=
|author-link=
|publisher=REDDIT
|date=2025-12-07
|accessdate=2025-12-08
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=Anyone wanna chat about foreskin smell?
|title=Anyone wanna chat about foreskin smell?
|last=Anonymous
|publisher=REDDIT
|date=2025-11
|accessdate=2026-01-09
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://www.reddit.com/r/uncircumcised_talk/comments/1s4y3ft/the_big_difference_between_cut_and_uncut_we_dont/?sort=old
|title=The big difference between cut and uncut we don’t talk about enough
|last=Anonymous
|publisher=Reddit
|date=2026-03-27
|accessdate=2026-03-27
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://www.reddit.com/r/uncircumcised_talk/comments/1txxc59/foreskin_scent/
|title=Foreskin scent
|last=Anonymous
|publisher=Reddit
|date=2026-06-05
|accessdate=2026-06-06
}}
{{REF}}

[[Category:Foreskinned life]]
[[Category:Male sexuality]]
[[Category:Physiology]]
[[Category:Term]]

[[de:Pheromon]]

New Zealand

2026-06-06T14:15:40Z

WikiModEn2: Add subsection.

[[File:Flag of New Zealand.svg|thumb|150px|Flag of New Zealand]]
'''{{FULLPAGENAME}}''' is also known by the Maori name of '''Aotearoa'''.
== Circumcision in New Zealand ==

The incidence of male neonatal non-therapeutic medically unnecessary [[circumcision]] in New Zealand among white New Zealanders rose to about 95 percent in the 1940s. The incidence of male neonatal non-therapeutic circumcision started to decline about 1950. The decline seems to have been triggered by the publication of [[Douglas Gairdner]]'s classic 1949 paper, ''The Fate of the Foreskin: A Study of Circumcision''.<ref name="gairdner1949">{{GairdnerDM 1949}}</ref>

Dr Phil Silva reported that 40.3 percent of boys born in 1972-3 in the [https://dunedinstudy.otago.ac.nz/ Dunedin Multidisciplinary Health and Development Study] were [[circumcised]].

The incidence of circumcision was reported at 0.35 percent among New Zealander boys in 1995.<ref name="mcgrath-young2001">{{REFbook
|last=McGrath
|first=Ken
|init=
|author-link=Ken McGrath
|last2=Young
|first2=Hugh
|init2=
|author2-link=Hugh Young
|year=2001
|chapter=Review of Circumcision in New Zealand
|url=https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-1-4757-3351-8_8 A
|work=
|editors=[[George C. Denniston]], [[Frederick M. Hodges]], [[Marilyn Fayre Milos]]
|edition=
|volume=
|title=Understanding Circumcision: A Multi-Disciplinary Approach to a Multi-Dimensional Problem
|pages=129-146
|location=New York
|publisher=Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publishers
|isbn=978-0306467011
|quote=
|accessdate=2019-09-27
|note=
}}</ref>

The [http://www.nzma.org.nz/ New Zealand Medical Association] estimated in 2001 that about one percent of Caucasian boys were being [[circumcised]], but nearly 100 percent of Tongan, Samoan, and Jewish boys are being [[circumcised]].<ref name="bone2001">{{REFnews
|title=The First Cut
|url=http://www.cirp.org/news/listener11-17-01/
|last=Bone
|first=Alistair
|coauthors=
|publisher=The Listener
|website=
|date=2001-11-17
|accessdate=2020-01-24
|quote=
}}</ref> [https://www.govt.nz/organisations/health-nz-te-whatu-ora/ Health New Zealand] does not fund non-therapeutic circumcision.<ref name="afsari2002">{{REFjournal
|last=Afsari
|first=Mahnaz
|init=
|author-link=
|last2=Beasley
|first2=Spencer W.
|init2=
|author2-link=
|last3=Moate
|first3=Kiki
|init3=
|author3-link=
|last4=Hecket
|first4=Karen
|init4=
|author4-link=
|etal=no
|title=Attitudes of Pacific parents to circumcision of boys
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal=Pac Health Dialog
|location=
|date=2002-03
|volume=9
|issue=1
|article=
|page=
|pages=29-31
|url=http://pacifichealthdialog.nz/pre-2013-archive/Volume209/No20120_20Emergency20Health20In20The20Pacific/Original20Papers/Attitudes20of20Pacific20Island20parents20to20circumcision20of20boys.pdf
|archived=
|quote=
|pubmedID=12737414
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=
|accessdate=2021-11-08
}}</ref>

Four medical groups condemned the practice of non-therapeutic circumcision of children in 2002.<ref>{{REFnews
|title=Quick snip' an unkind cut
|url=https://www.cirp.org/news/2002/2002-08-30_dominionpost.php
|last=Anonymous
|first=
|coauthors=
|publisher=The Dominion Post
|website=
|date=2002-08-30
|accessdate=2019-10-28
|quote=They say circumcision is painful, risky and often medically unnecessary.
}}</ref>

The [[Royal Australasian College of Physicians]] (RACP) has issued a statement on non-therapeutic child circumcision. (''Australasia'' includes New Zealand.) The statement (2010) states:
<blockquote>
After reviewing the currently available evidence, the [[RACP]] believes that the frequency of diseases modifiable by circumcision, the level of protection offered by circumcision and the complication rates of circumcision do not warrant routine infant circumcision in Australia and New Zealand. However it is reasonable for parents to weigh the benefits and risks of circumcision and to make the decision whether or not to circumcise their sons.
</blockquote>
But the statement also says:
<blockquote>
The option of leaving circumcision until later, when the boy is old enough to make a decision for himself does need to be raised with parents and considered. This option has recently been recommended by the [[Royal Dutch Medical Association]]. The ethical merit of this option is that it seeks to respect the child’s [[physical integrity]], and capacity for autonomy by leaving the options open for him to make his own autonomous choice in the future. However, deferring the decision may not always be the best option. As noted earlier, the psychosocial benefits of circumcision (e.g. full inclusion in a religious community) may only be obtained if circumcision is done in infancy. Waiting until the boy is twelve years old or more (i.e. old enough to make his own decision) may mean losing benefits that circumcision was intended to produce.<ref name="racp2010">{{REFdocument
|title=Circumcision of Infant Males
|url=https://www.racp.edu.au//docs/default-source/advocacy-library/circumcision-of-infant-males.pdf?sfvrsn=eaa32f1a_10
|contribution=
|last=
|first=
|publisher=[[Royal Australasian College of Physicians]]
|format=PDF
|date=2010-09-01
|accessdate=2019-10-29
}}</ref>
</blockquote>
===The case of Master B===

A case of a poorly performed child circumcision has been reported to the Health and Disability Commissioner.<ref>{{REFweb
|url=https://www.hdc.org.nz/decisions/search-decisions/2009/09hdc00810/
|title=Circumcision of young boy at local medical centre
|last=Anonymous
|first=
|init=
|author-link=
|publisher=Health and Disability Commissioner
|date=2009-11-10
|accessdate=2026-06-06
}}</ref>

==Demographics and distribution==

The males in New Zealand who are [[circumcised]] are mostly older men. The percentage of males who are circumcised is gradually declining as older [[circumcised]] males die off and are replaced by younger [[intact]] males. Almost no white males under 35-years-of-age are circumcised.

The Maori people, who constitute about 17 percent of the population, do not circumcise.<ref name="mcgrath-young2001" />

It is said that the small Jewish population have to fly in a ''[[mohel]]'' if they want to have a son [[circumcised]].<ref name="mcgrath-young2001" />

The Pacific Island people, who constitute 8.1 percent of the population, are an exception. The Pacific Islanders circumcise (actually a [[dorsal slit]]) as part of their culture.<ref name="afsari2002"/> <ref>{{REFnews
|title=Foreskin lament for babies
|url=http://www.cirp.org/news/thepress01-13-01/
|last=Martin
|first=Yvonne
|coauthors=
|publisher=The Press
|website=
|date=2001-01-13
|accessdate=2019-10-28
|quote=
}}</ref>

There is now an abundant majority of [[foreskinned]] males in New Zealand.<ref>{{REFweb
|url=https://www.reddit.com/r/uncircumcised_talk/comments/1kxr198/33_born_in_nz_mixed_m%C4%81orieuro_experience_growing/
|title=33 born in NZ mixed Māori/Euro Experience growing up
|last=Anonymous
|first=
|init=
|author-link=
|publisher=REDDIT
|date=2025-05-27
|accessdate=2025-05-29
}}</ref> The [[World Health Organization]] reported in 2007 that fewer than 20 percent of males are [[circumcised]].

==Intactivist website==
New Zealand is the home of [[Circumstitions - The Intactivism Pages]].
{{SEEALSO}}
* [[Australia]]
* [[Foreskin]]
* [[Human rights]]
* [[Royal Australasian College of Physicians]]
* [[T.I.A.K.I. - Tamariki In Aotearoa Kept Intact]]

{{LINKS}}
* {{URLwikipedia|New_Zealand|New Zealand}}
* {{REFweb
|url=http://www.circumstitions.com/NZ.html
|title=The rise and fall of circumcision in New Zealand
|website=Circumstitions
|last=Young H. & [[Ken McGrath|McGrath, K.]]
|date=2000-12-08
|accessdate=2020-01-01
}}
* {{REFjournal
|last=Watson
|first=Lindsay R.
|init=
|author-link=Lindsay R. Watson
|etal=no
|title=The universal condition: Medical constructions of 'congenital phimosis' in twentieth century Nev Zealand and their implications for child rearing
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal=Health History
|location=
|date=2014
|season=
|volume=16
|issue=1
|article=
|page=
|pages=87-106
|url=https://www.academia.edu/15830843/The_Universal_Condition_Medical_Constructions_of_Congenital_Phimosis_in_Twentieth_Century_New_Zealand_and_their_Implications_for_Child_Rearing
|archived=
|quote=
|pubmedID=25095486
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=10.5401/healthhist.16.1.0087
|accessdate=2022-05-14
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://intactivistsofaustralasia.wordpress.com/
|title=Intactivists of Australasia
|last=
|first=
|author-link=
|publisher=
|website=
|date=
|accessdate=2019-11-17
|format=
|quote=
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://www.stuff.co.nz/life-style/wellbeing/300958020/aggressive-circumcisions-ruined-the-lives-of-these-men
|title='Aggressive' circumcisions ruined the lives of these men
|last=Solomon
|first=Serena
|init=
|publisher=Stuff
|date=2023-08-28
|accessdate=2023-09-20
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://intactamerica.org/cultures-that-reject-circumcision/
|title=Cultures That Reject Circumcision—And Why They’re Right
|last=Alissa
|first=Kristel
|init=
|author-link=Kristel Alissa
|publisher=Intact America
|date=2025-02-23
|accessdate=2025-05-08
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://www.reddit.com/r/Intactivists/comments/1ttexk4/why_is_the_very_real_case_of_master_b_never/
|title=Why is the very real case of Master B never discussed in intactivism or anti-circumcision circles?
|last=Anonymous
|publisher=Reddit
|date=2026-05-31
|accessdate=2026-06-05
}}
{{REF}}

[[Category:Circumcision]]
[[Category:Country]]
[[Category:English-speaking nation]]
[[Category:New Zealand]]
[[Category:Statistics]]
[[Category:History]]
[[Category:Male circumcision]]

[[de:Neuseeland]]

Adolescent and adult circumcision

2026-06-06T14:00:19Z

WikiModEn2: /* Medical circumcision */ Add external link.

'''Adolescent and adult circumcision''' is rare when compared to the millions upon millions of medically-unnecessary, harmful non-therapeutic [[Circumcision| circumcisions]] of boys that are carried out in [[Islam]]ic nations, [[Israel]], the [[United States]], and elsewhere, however they are promoted by a [[medical trade association| medical trade associations]] and their members for [[Financial incentive| profit]].

[[Rosemary Romberg]] commented on adult circumcision in the [[United States]]:
<blockquote>
In the [[United States]], where many medical doctors are themselves victims of [[child circumcision]], doctors tend to consider the [[foreskin]] as something "dispensible."
…
It is difficult to ascertain the true percentage of actual need for adult circumcision among [[intact]] males. In a circumcision-oriented society such as ours many doctors prescribe the operation for conditions which could be resolved, often easily, without resort to surgery.…<ref>{{REFbook
|last=Romberg
|first=Rosemary
|init=
|author-link=Rosemary Romberg
|year=2021
|title=Circumcision — The Painful Dilemma
|url=https://circumcisionthepainfuldilemma.wordpress.com/
|work=
|editor=[[Ulf Dunkel]]
|edition=Second Edition, Revised
|volume=
|chapter=The Circumcision of an Adult
|scope=
|page=247
|pages=
|location=
|publisher=Kindle
|ISBN=23: 979-8683021252
|quote=
|accessdate=2023-08-31
|note=
}}</ref>
</blockquote>

[[Posthectomy]] is the proper medical term of [[excision]] and [[amputation]] of the [[foreskin]], but is seldom used. Males who are considering adult circumcision should be aware that irreversible [[amputation]] of the [[foreskin]] is disabling in many ways.<ref name="andersen2025">{{REFjournal
|last=Andersen-Giberson
|init=D
|author-link=Dale Andersen
|url=https://cdd.journals.yorku.ca/index.php/cdd/article/view/39786/36016
|title=Circumcision and forced disability: Routine male neonatal circumcision and the consequences of amputation within a critical disability studies framework
|journal=Critical Disability Discourses
|date=2025-12
|volume=10
|issue=2
|pages=1-37
|URL=https://cdd.journals.yorku.ca/index.php/cdd/article/view/39786/36016
|DOI=https://doi.org/10.25071/1918-6215.39786
|quote=In a critical disability studies framework, it is argued that the act of amputating healthy erogenous tissue and the consequences of that amputation cause disability, particularly from a counter-hegemonic lens.
|format=PDF
|accessdate=2026-03-14
}}</ref>

<big>Circumcision is an [[amputation]] that cannot be reversed or undone. Circumcision is forever.</big>

==Considerations before consent is granted==
[[Alfonso Cepeda-Emiliani| Cepeda-Emiliani]] et al. (2025) have provided this warning to men who are considering an adult circumcision.
<blockquote>
Regarding adult circumcision, the current knowledge of preputial
and penile neuroanatomy and structure underscores the importance
of meticulous patient selection for this procedure. Specifically, when
adult circumcision is to be performed, factors such as the position of
the [[circumcision scar]] line, the amount of inner prepuce retained, the
tightness of the remaining penile skin, and whether a frenulectomy
is performed should be carefully discussed and agreed upon by both
the patient and the surgeon, with all decisions clearly documented in
the [[informed consent]]. Recent survey findings underscore this need
for dialogue: Callegari et al. showed that preferences regarding the
amount of inner preputial remnant retained after circumcision vary
considerably among individuals, reinforcing the importance of engaging patients in personalized discussions to align surgical decisions with their expectations.<ref name="cepeda2025">{{REFjournal
|last=Cepeda-Emiliani
|first=
|init=A
|author-link=Alfonso Cepeda-Emiliani
|last2=Otero-Alén
|first2=
|init2=M
|author2-link=
|last3=Suárez-Quintanilla
|first3=
|init3=J
|author3-link=
|last4=Gándara-Cortés
|first4=
|init4=M
|author4-link=
|last5=García-Caballero
|first5=
|init5=T
|author5-link=
|last6=García-Caballero
|first6=
|init6=R
|author6-link=
|last7=García-Caballero
|first7=
|init7=L
|author7-link=
|etal=no
|title=The sensory penis: A comprehensive immunohistological and ontogenetic exploration of human penile innervation
|trans-title=
|journal=Andrology
|date=2025-09-19
|volume=
|issue=
|article=
|pages=1-41
|url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/andr.70118
|archived=
|quote=
|pubmedID=40970806
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=10.1111/andr.70118
|accessdate=2025-09-29
}}</ref>
</blockquote>

==Consent==

Male [[circumcision]] is not mandatory. It is an ''elective'', irreversible, surgical [[amputation]] of the [[foreskin]] part of the [[penis]]. Legally, the patient or his surrogate must grant [[Informed consent| ''informed'' consent]] before the surgery can be performed. A surrogate's powers are limited to granting consent for medically-indicated and necessary diagnosis and treatment of existing disease.<ref name="myers2020">{{REFjournal
|last=Myers
|first=
|init=A
|author-link=Alex Myers
|last2=Earp
|first2=
|init2=BD
|author2-link=Brian D. Earp
|etal=no
|title=What is the best age to circumcise? A medical and ethical analysis
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal= Bioethics
|location=
|date=2020
|volume=34
|issue=7
|pages=645-63
|url=https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Brian-Earp-2/publication/337720859_What_Is_the_Best_Age_to_Circumcise_A_Medical_and_Ethical_Analysis/links/5f815f61a6fdccfd7b555395/What-Is-the-Best-Age-to-Circumcise-A-Medical-and-Ethical-Analysis.pdf
|quote=Based on a careful consideration of the relevant evidence, arguments and counterarguments, we conclude that medically unnecessary penile circumcision-like other medically unnecessary genital procedures, such as 'cosmetic' labiaplasty-should not be performed on individuals who are too young (or otherwise unable) to provide meaningful consent to the procedure.
|pubmedID=32068898
|pubmedCID=
|doi=10.1111/bioe.12714
|format=PDF
|accessdate=2020-06-30
}}</ref>

The surgeon must provide all material information to the patient before [[informed consent]] can be granted. There is a strong tendency for the surgeon to omit telling the patient anything about the nature and [http://www.intactaus.org/information/functionsoftheforeskin/ functions of the foreskin],<ref name="masood2005">{{REFjournal
|last=Masood
|init=S
|last2=Patel
|first2=
|init2=HRH
|author2-link=
|last3=Himpson
|first3=
|init3=RC
|author3-link=
|etal=yes
|title=Penile sensitivity and sexual satisfaction after circumcision: are we informing men correctly?
|journal=Urol Int
|date=2005
|volume=75
|issue=1
|pages=62-6
|url=https://www.cirp.org/library/sex_function/masood1/
|pubmedID=16037710
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=10.1159/000085930
|accessdate=2023-04-08
}}</ref> which would be lost through [[amputation]] if consent should be granted.

[[Issues_with_American_urologists_and_the_practice_of_male_circumcision| Urologic surgeons]] in the [[United States]] derive a substantial fee from the performance of a [[circumcision]], so some urologists may have a [[bias]] in favor of circumcision and may inappropriately recommend adult circumcision to patients when a conservative treatment would be satisfactory or even when no treatment is necessary. Patients should be wary and do their own research before granting consent for an irreversible [[circumcision]].

[[Marilyn Fayre Milos| Milos]] (2022) advises:
<blockquote>
* A penis without a foreskin doesn’t work as nature intended for its owner or his sexual partner.
* Amputating the foreskin eliminates the penis’ “command and control” nerve center, the normal skin system that allows for comfortable erections and the gliding mechanism necessary for sensory pleasure, foreplay, and normal intromission (entry during intercourse).
* Circumcision amputates the tens of thousands of specialized, erogenous nerve endings that signal to the man where he is in relation to the orgasmic threshold.
* It denudes and exposes the glans (head of the penis), causing it to become dry, calloused, and desensitized. Circumcised men talk about becoming impotent during their 50s or 60s while intact males tell me the urge doesn’t come around as often but their sensitivity hasn’t diminished.
* Circumcision makes the penis smaller, too.<ref name="milos2022-05-02">{{REFweb
|url=https://intactamerica.org/ask-marilyn-a-19-year-old-considers-circumcision/
|title=Ask Marilyn – 19-year-old Considers Circumcision
|last=Milos
|first=
|init=MF
|author-link=Marilyn Fayre Milos
|publisher=Intact America
|date=2022-05-02
|accessdate=2024-10-24
}}</ref>
</blockquote>

Performance of unneccesary circumcision simply to earn a surgical fee is [[Ethics_of_non-therapeutic_child_circumcision#Patient_exploitation| unethical patient exploitation]].

==Reasons for circumcision==

All circumcisions are injurious because they amputate a [http://www.intactaus.org/information/functionsoftheforeskin/ multi-functional body part], but in rare cases the benefit obtained by removing a deformed, diseased, or damaged foreskin may be of more value than the amputated [[foreskin]].

* Deformed foreskins — The common type of deformed foreskin is the narrow non-retractable foreskin of [[phimosis]]. Circumcision was the traditional treatment for phimosis, however circumcision is less performed today because newer conservative treatments are now available that preserve the [[foreskin]] and its many useful functions. There is a wide range of normal in foreskin length. [[Long foreskin| Longer foreskins]] are not deformed, so do ''not'' justify circumcision.

* Diseased foreskins — Diseases for which circumcision may be indicated include [[Penile cancer|malignant tumor]],[[Balanitis xerotica obliterans| lichen sclerosis]], recurrent [[balanoposthitis]], [[gangrene]], and recurrent yeast infection in diabetic males (after conservative treatment fails),<ref name="verma2011">{{REFjournal
|last=Verma
|first=Shyam B.
|init=SB
|author-link=
|last2=Molina
|first2=Uwe
|init2=U
|author2-link=
|etal=no
|title=Looking through the cracks of diabetic candidal balanoposthitis!
|journal=Int J Gen Med
|location=
|date=2011-07-07
|volume=4
|issue=
|pages=511-3
|url=https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3150172/
|pubmedID=21845057
|pubmedCID=3150172
|DOI=10.2147/IJGM.S17875
|accessdate=2020-12-19
}}</ref>

* Damaged foreskins — This includes any type of physical [[trauma]] and injury that is beyond surgical repair. Zipper injury does not require circumcision.<ref name="flowerdew1977">{{REFjournal
|last=Flowerdew
|init=R
|author-link=
|last2=Fishman
|init2=IJ
|author2-link=
|last3=Churchill
|init3=BM
|author3-link=
|etal=no
|title=Management of penile zipper injuries
|journal=J Urol
|location=
|date=1977-05
|volume=117
|issue=5
|article=
|page=671
|pages=
|url=http://www.cirp.org/library/treatment/zipper/flowerdew/
|pubmedID=859209
|pubmedCID=
|DOI= 10.1016/s0022-5347(17)58581-x
|accessdate=2020-12-20
}}</ref> <ref>{{REFjournal
|last=Chalfin
|first=Laura
|init=L
|author-link=
|etal=no
|title=Win one for the zipper
|journal=Emerigency Medicine
|location=
|date=1989-03-30
|volume=21
|issue=6
|article=
|page=
|pages=05
|url=http://www.cirp.org/library/treatment/zipper/chalfin/
|accessdate=2020-12-20
}}</ref>

===Elective non-therapeutic circumcision===

Some adult males may seek non-therapeutic circumcision because of a conversion to [[Judaism]] or [[Islam]]. Others may simply want a circumcision because they like the physical appearance, or to fit into a society where most men are [[circumcised]], or for some personal whim.<ref name="holman1999">{{REFjournal
|last=Holman
|first=John R.
|init=JR
|author-link=
|last2=Steussi
|first2=Keith A.
|init2=KA
|author2-link=
|last3=
|etal=no
|title=Adult circumcision
|journal=Am Fam Physician
|location=
|date=1999-03-15
|volume=59
|issue=6
|article=
|page=1514-8
|pages=
|url=https://www.aafp.org/afp/1999/0315/p1514.html
|pubmedID=10193593
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=
|accessed=2020-12-20}}</ref>

Many men who elect an irreversible non-therapeutic circumcision later express regret.

===A word to intact teens===

Boys are born with a [[foreskin]] that is non-retractable for reasons of protection against [[trauma]] and [[infection]]. The inner surface is fused with the [[glans penis]] by a [[synechia]] (similar to a fingernail that is glued to the nail bed of the finger). Also the tip of the foreskin is too narrow to retract. As a boy gets older, the synechia disintegrates and releases the foreskin and the foreskin gets wider as a boy ages, so the foreskin gradually becomes [[Retraction of the foreskin| retractable]]. Some boys go through [[puberty]] but find that their [[foreskin]] is still too narrow to permit retraction.

Beaugé (1997) reported that boys, who masturbate by pulling their [[foreskin]] away from the body, will not stretch the tight part of the foreskin so non-retractile foreskin will persist. He advised changing the method of [[masturbation]] to the more conventional method of pulling the foreskin toward the body so that the narrow orifice gets stretched.<ref name="beauge1997">{{REFjournal
|last=Beaugé
|init=Michel
|author-link=Michel Beaugé
|url=http://www.cirp.org/library/treatment/phimosis/beauge2/
|title=The causes of adolescent phimosis
|journal=Br J Sex Med
|date=1997
|volume=
|issue=September/October
|pages=26
|accessdate=2021-04-21
}}</ref>

The traditional way of addressing this issue was to consult a urologist and get a circumcision, however we now understand that in the vast majority of cases, manual [[stretching]] over a few months will widen the foreskin by [[tissue expansion]], make the foreskin retractable and eliminate the need for a destructive circumcision.

==Methods of adult circumcision==

===Dorsal slit===

[[Dorsal slit]] is a cut on the top of the [[foreskin]] to widen the opening, allowing the foreskin to retract and fall below the shaft of the [[penis]]. Dorsal slit does not cut around and does not remove tissue, so it is not a true circumcision. Dorsal slit is a first step in the circumcision of a phimotic foreskin by the sleeve technique.<ref name="holman1999" />

===Sleeve technique===

Holman & Stuessi (1999) said patients should be advised of alternatives to circumcision.

They reported the indications for adult circumcision are uncommon. The most common is [[phimosis]].

They recommended [[dorsal penile nerve block]] or [[ring block]] local anesthesia for the [[pain]] of circumcision surgery.

[[Informed consent]] must be obtained. They stated:
<blockquote>
Specifically, the patient should be told about the risks of [[bleeding]], hematoma formation, [[infection]], inadvertent damage to the [[glans]], removal of too much or too little [[skin]], aesthetically unpleasing results, and a change of sensation during intercourse. The patient should also be informed that, during the postoperative period, [[erection]]s can cause pain and [[Wound dehiscence| disruption of the suture line]] that may require replacement of the sutures. Full recovery following circumcision generally requires four to six weeks of abstinence from all genital stimulation and sexual activity.<ref name="holman1999" />
</blockquote>

In regard to complications, Holman & Stuessi reported:
<blockquote>
As with any surgical procedure, [[bleeding]] and [[infection]] are probably the most common complications of circumcision in adult patients; however, accurate statistics are not available. Other complications include hematoma formation, diffuse swelling, pain from inadequate anesthesia, poor cosmesis, tearing of the sutures due to [[erection]] before healing is complete and anesthetic complications. Some patients may also note an unpleasant heightened sensitivity during intercourse. Infection can be treated with local or parenteral antibiotics, depending on the severity of the infection. [[Bleeding]] can be controlled with pressure, an absorbable gelatin sponge product (i.e., Gelfoam), electrocautery or ligatures. None of these techniques can be preferentially recommended based on differences in complication rate or severity.<ref name="holman1999" />
</blockquote>

===Circumcision with a plastic ring device===

Adolescent and adult circumcision may also be carried out with one of several plastic, one-use, disposable ring devices. These devices work by clamping the foreskin tightly so that it is crushed and flow is cut off completely. Ischemic [[necrosis]] ensues and the [[foreskin]] dies. It may then be cut off or left to fall off. Ring devices include the [[TARA KLamp]], the [[PrePex]], [[AccuCirc]], and the [[Shang Ring]].

==Pain during and after circumcision==
Circumcision is a surgical [[amputation]] of part of the [[penis]]. It is normal to feel [[pain]] during the surgical [[amputation]], however this is usually eliminated by general or local anesthesia.

One may expect pain after surgery until the incision heals. Ask your doctor for a two-week supply of an opioid pain reliever.

One may also expect pain when the sensitive [[glans penis]] is exposed to friction from clothing, etc. It is no longer protected by the [[foreskin]], so there is not much one can do about it.

One may also expect painful [[erection]]s, depending on how much [[skin]] was removed.
Depending on how much [[skin]] was removed, there may not be enough [[skin]] left to allow for shaft expansion during [[erection]] and this may cause painful [[erection]]s.

One may also experience phantom pain from neuromas that form at the incision where nerves were severed.<ref name="cold-taylor1999">{{REFjournal
|last=Cold
|init=CJ
|author-link=Christopher J. Cold
|last2=Taylor
|init2=JR
|author2-link=John R. Taylor
|title=The prepuce
|journal=BJU Int
|date=1999-01-01
|volume=83 Suppl 1
|issue=
|pages=34-44
|url=https://www.i2researchhub.org/wp-content/uploads/storage/TQ63QSHD/Cold%20and%20Taylor%20-%201999%20-%20The%20prepuce.pdf
|quote=
|pubmedID=1034941
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=10.1046/j.1464-410x.1999.0830s1034.x
|accessdate=2021-03-07
}}</ref>

[[Masturbation]] after circumcision may be painful if one doesn’t use lubrication because of lack of [[gliding action]].
==Recovery period==
Recovery from an adult circumcision is frequently said to be six weeks. Recovery does not include restoration of permanently lost functions.
===Complications===
Circumcision is a surgical operation. Like all surgical operations, there is risk of [[bleeding| hemorrhage]], [[infection]], and surgical mishap, including, rarely, loss of the [[penis]].
[[Erection]] tends to be painful and may cause [[wound dehiscence]].<ref name="wang2023">{{REFjournal
|last=Wang
|first=
|init=D
|author-link=
|last2=Li
|first2=
|init2=Z
|author2-link=
|last3=Chen
|first3=
|init3=X
|author3-link=
|last4=Wang
|first4=
|init4=H
|author4-link=
|etal=no
|title=Wound healing rates and wound problems of conventional circumcision compared with ring circumcision: A meta-analysis
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal=Int Wound J
|location=
|date=2023-06-11
|volume=Online ahead of print
|issue=
|article=
|page=
|pages=
|url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/iwj.14262
|archived=
|quote=
|pubmedID=37303303
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=
|doi=10.1111/iwj.14262
|accessdate=2023-07-16
}}</ref>

There is danger of [[infection]] until the [[circumcision]] wound heals closed.<ref name="wang2023" />

===Lymphoedema===
[[Lymphoedema]] of the [[penis]] is a normal and expected [[complication]] of male adult circumcision due to the adverse effect on blood circulation. Ferhatoglu et al. (2019) reported edema in 108 of 198 patients or 54.5 percent.<ref>{{REFjournal
|last=Ferhatoglu
|first=
|init=Mf
|author-link=
|last2=Kartal
|first2=
|init2=A
|author2-link=
|last3=Gurkan
|first3=
|init3=A
|author3-link=
|etal=no
|title=Evaluation of Male Circumcision: Retrospective Analysis of One Hundred and Ninety-eight Patients
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal=Cureus
|location=
|date=2019-04-27
|volume=11
|issue=4
|article=
|page=e4555
|pages=
|url=https://www.cureus.com/articles/19380-evaluation-of-male-circumcision-retrospective-analysis-of-one-hundred-and-ninety-eight-patients
|archived=
|quote=
|pubmedID=31275779
|pubmedCID=6592839
|DOI=10.7759/cureus.4555
|accessdate=2022-02-17
}}</ref> It frequently lasts for months.

==Permanent adverse effects==
===Loss of sensation===
The human [[foreskin]] has long been noted for its high level of erogenous sensation. Winklemann (1959) early identified the foreskin as a ''specific erogenous zone''.<ref name="winklemann1959">{{WinkelmannRK 1959}}</ref> Falliers (1970) called attention to ''sensory pleasure'' induced by tactile stimulation of the foreskin, which is almost totally lost after its surgical removal.<ref>{{REFjournal
|last=Falliers
|first=CJ
|init=
|author-link=
|etal=no
|title=Circumcision
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal=JAMA
|location=
|date=1970-12-21
|volume=214
|issue=12
|article=
|page=2194
|accessdate=2021-06-04
}}</ref> García-Mesa et al. (2021) reported the [[foreskin]] has an abundance of [[Meissner's corpuscles]] which provide pleasant sexual sensation when mechanically stimulated by motion of the foreskin.<ref name="garcía-mesa2021">{{REFjournal
|last=García-Mesa
|first=Yolanda
|init=
|author-link=
|last2=García-Piqueras
|first2=Jorge
|init2=
|author2-link=
|last3=Cobo
|first3=Ramón
|init3=
|author3-link=
|last4=Martín-Cruces
|first4=José
|init4=
|author4-link=
|last5=Suazo
|first5=Iván
|init5=
|author5-link=
|last6=García-Suárez
|first6=Olivia
|init6=
|author6-link=
|last7=Feito
|first7=Jorge
|init7=
|author7-link=
|last8=
|first8=Vega
|init8=José A.
|author8-link=
|etal=no
|title=Sensory innervation of the human male prepuce: Meissner's corpuscles predominate
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal=Journal of Anatomy
|location=
|date=2021-10
|volume=239
|issue=4
|article=
|page=
|pages=892-902
|url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/joa.13481
|pubmedID=34120333
|pubmedCID=8450466
|DOI=10.1111/joa.13481
|accessdate=2021-11-15
}}</ref>

Money & Davison (1983) reported "diminished penile sensitivity, less penile gratification, more penile pain, and cosmetic deformity" as the effect of circumcision, however they considered that a "prolongation of the period prior to ejaculation" was a possible benefit.<ref name="money1983">{{REFjournal
|last=Money
|first=John
|init=
|author-link=
|last2=Davison
|first2=Jackie
|init2=
|author2-link=
|author9-link=
|etal=no
|title=Adult penile circumcision: erotosexual and cosmetic sequelae
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal=J Sex Res|
|location=
|date=1983
|volume=19
|issue=3
|article=
|page=
|pages=289-92
|url=http://www.cirp.org/library/complications/money/
|accessdate=2021-06-04
}}</ref>

Money & Davison thought the loss of sensation is "secondary to diminished sensory input from stretch receptors in the less mobile [[shaft skin|skin of the shaft]] of the penis, as well as loss of foreskin stretch receptors".<ref name="money1983" />

Denniston (2004) carried out a survey of 38 adult males who were [[circumcised]] at least 2 years after they commenced sexual intercourse. Thirteen men felt that sexual intercourse was better after circumcision, but 22 felt that intercourse was worse and would not have the circumcision again, because of loss of sexual pleasure.<ref>{{REFjournal
|last=Denniston
|first=George C.
|init=
|author-link=George C. Denniston
|last2=Hill
|first2=George
|init2=
|author2-link=George Hill
|etal=no
|title=Circumcision in adults: effect on sexual function
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal=Urology
|location=
|date=2004-12
|volume=54
|issue=5
|article=
|page=1267
|pages=
|url=http://www.cirp.org/library/sex_function/denniston3/
|pubmedID=15596221
|DOI=10.1016/j.urology.2004.03.059
|accessdate=2021-06-05
}}</ref>

Masood et al. (2005) suggested "before circumcision, men should be warned of the long-term consequences (penile sensations and effect on erectile function) as well as be talked through the more traditional subjects (peri-operative complications)."<ref name="masood2005" />

Kim & Pang (2007) studied the effect of adult circumcision on 138 males in [[South Korea]]. They concluded:
<blockquote>There were no significant differences in sexual drive, [[erection]], [[ejaculation]], and ejaculation latency time between [[circumcised]] and [[uncircumcised]] men. Masturbatory pleasure decreased after circumcision in 48% of the respondents, while 8% reported increased pleasure. Masturbatory difficulty increased after circumcision in 63% of the respondents but was easier in 37%. About 6% answered that their sex lives improved, while 20% reported a worse sex life after circumcision.<ref>{{KimDS PangMG 2007}}</ref>
</blockquote>

Remennick (2021) reported Jewish men from the former Soviet Union who migrated to [[Israel]] and received their [[Brit Milah| ritual circumcision]] as sexually active adults were very displeased with their loss of [[Sexual sensation of the foreskin| sexual sensation]]:
<blockquote>
Driven by social pressure and the need to belong, most young men (and their parents) consented to the operation without proper counselling and unaware of its ramifications. Men share their intimate memories of the rapid surgical procedure, painful recuperation, and their belated regrets, both aesthetic and sexual. The willingness to expose their lingering trauma signals evolving concepts of masculinity and vulnerability among these former Soviet men. Their voices join the local and international movement opposing medically-unnecessary genital surgeries of any kind – on men, women and intersex people.<ref name="remennick2021">{{REFjournal
|last=Remennick
|first=
|init=L
|author-link=
|etal=no
|title=Joining the tribe: adult circumcision among immigrant men in Israel and its traumatic aftermath
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal=Cult Health Sex
|location=
|date=2021-01-29
|volume=24
|issue=5
|pages=702-16
|url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/13691058.2021.1879272?journalCode=tchs20
|archived=
|quote=
|pubmedID=33512277
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=10.1080/13691058.2021.1879272
|accessdate=2025-01-08
}}</ref>
</blockquote>

Many [[circumcised]] men say they are unable to feel anything if a condom is used.

===Other adverse effects===
# Circumicision causes loss of [[body pleasure]].
# Circumcision causes both physical and psychic [[trauma]].
# Circumcision severs blood vessels and disrupts lymph and blood circulation in the [[penis]]. This frequently causes [[lymphoedema]] and [[erection]] difficulties.
# Circumcision invariably excises the [[ridged band]], resulting in partial loss of sensation.
# Circumcision is a surgical [[amputation]] of functional tissue. The various [https://foreskinfunction.org/ functions] cease to operate. If the patient does not like the results, it cannot be reversed or undone.
# Recovery from adolescent or adult circumcision is slow and painful. [[Erection]]s are painful because the [[skin]] is stretched and the sutures are stressed. [[Wound dehiscence]] may occur.
# The [[foreskin]] is protective of the [[glans penis]]. After the foreskin is amputated, the [[glans penis]] is exposed so that it touches clothing and other things. Some men report this causes extreme pain so that they cannot wear pants for an extended time. Some circumcised men complain of discomfort due to the head being permanently exposed.
# The foreskin provides moisture and oil to the glans penis. After circumcision, the glans penis will become desiccated. Many [[circumcised]] men complain of dryness.
# The foreskin has [[Immunological and protective function of the foreskin| immunological functions]] that protect from disease. [[Circumcised]] populations have a higher incidence of [[HIV]] than [[intact]] populations.<ref name="denniston2020">{{REFdocument
|title=World Health Organization, HIV, and male circumcision
|url=https://pool.intactiwiki.org/images/2020-06-15b_LettertoPEPFAR.pdf
|contribution=
|last=Denniston
|first=George C.
|publisher=[[Doctors Opposing Circumcision (D.O.C.)]]
|format=
|date=2020-06-29
|accessdate=2020-09-02
}}</ref><ref name="fish2020">{{REFjournal
|last=Fish
|first=Max
|init=M
|author-link=
|last2=Shavisi
|first2=Arianne
|init2=A
|author2-link=
|last3=Gwaambuka
|first3=Tatenda
|init3=T
|author3-link=
|last4=Tangwa
|first4=Godfrey B.
|init4=GB
|author4-link=
|last5=Ncayiyana
|first5=Daniel
|init5=D
|author5-link=
|last6=Earp
|first6=Brian D.
|init6=BD
|author6-link=Brian D. Earp
|etal=no
|title=A new Tuskegee? Unethical human experimentation and Western neocolonialism in the mass circumcision of African men
|journal=Developing World Bioeth
|date=2020-09-09
|volume=00
|pages=1-16
|url=https://doi.org/10.1111/dewb.12285
|DOI=10.1111/dewb.12285
|accessdate=2021-02-13
}}</ref>
# The heavily innervated [[ridged band]] is located on the foreskin and is always amputated along with the foreskin. The [[Foreskin sensitivity| most sensitive regions in the intact penis]] are those parts ablated by circumcision.<ref>{{Sorrells etal 2007}}</ref> There is great loss of sensation caused by the [[amputation]] of this structure. It appears that many [[intact]] males are unaware of the source of sensation and are shocked by the loss of sensation after circumcision.
# The abundance of [[skin]] in the foreskin allows [[gliding action]]. Gliding action facilitates [[masturbation]] and [[vagina| intercourse]]. The shortening of [[penile skin]] reduces or eliminates gliding action. The loss of gliding action may cause [[dyspareunia]].
# Painful [[erection]]s may occur due to lack of sufficient [[skin]] to allow for expansion of the [[penis]].
# The erect penis may be shorter due to lack of sufficient [[skin]] to allow full expansion.
# There always will be a [[circumcision scar]] that encircles the shaft of the penis.
# The exposed [[glans penis]] will protect itself from friction by developing a layer of [[keratin]] and become cracked and hardened. The [[keratinization]] of the [[glans penis]] will reduce its sensitivity.
# There are possible [[Psychological issues of male circumcision| emotional issues]] secondary to a partial loss of the [[penis]] through circumcision.
# The shaft of the penis becomes narrrower because of the loss of a double layer of skin

==Financial considerations==
Medical insurance policies vary with the provider of insurance. Most will pay for circumcision only if it is done to treat a medical condition. When circumcision is carried out for cosmetic reasons or personal desire, it is very unlikely that medical insurance would pay. The cost of an adult circumcision would include a facility fee, a surgeon's fee, an anesthesiologist's fee, and pre-operative and post-operative care. Garrett (2024) says the cost may range from $1,650 to $6,450.<ref name="garrett2024-03-07">{{REFweb
|url=https://intactamerica.org/adult-circumcision-cost/
|title=Adult Circumcision Cost: The Profit Motives and Hidden Toll
|last=Garrett
|first=Connor
|init=
|author-link=Connor Judson Garrett
|publisher=Intact America
|date=2024-03-07
|accessdate=2024-05-15
}}</ref>

==Warning==
It is quite common for some urologists to push circumcision on any [[foreskinned]] male although conservative treatment would have been sufficient, since there is a nice fee attached to a circumcision [[amputation]]. There are many reports of false statements being made. It is totally unethical and akin to fraud, but it happens frequently.

===Videos===
Here are seven videos in which [[regret men]] who had an adult circumcision express their regret.

==== Circumcised at 18 ====
<youtube>v=NAHGFx95D80</youtube>

====Circumcised at 46====
<youtube>v=pZ3n8CtcmRY</youtube>

==== Why I Regret Getting Circumcised At 19 ====
<youtube>v=7AaUb63NLLw</youtube>

==== Circumcised Man: "I feel such a sense of loss" ====
<youtube>v=gx_PoXm3XZ4</youtube>

==== Circumcised at 30 ====
<youtube>v=g2CwHbCDiAU</youtube>

==== Circumcision Care - After Circumcision - 5 Post Circumcision Surgery Recovery Tips!====
<youtube>v=xdrvq_10vTM</youtube>

====Why can’t I sleep after my circumcision operation?? Day 12 ====
<youtube>v=CLmxdbV3Uyc</youtube>

== Rite of passage ==
In some cultures, [[circumcision]] is viewed as a rite of passage, and a male may not be considered a privileged adult until he has undergone circumcision.

=== Aborigines ===
The indigeous people of [[Australia]], the [[Aborigines]], have variously practiced [[Religion and culture#Australia|subincision]] and [[circumcision]] on adolescents and adults since before the first contact with Europeans.

=== Ulwaluko ===
Traditional [[Circumcision]] and Initiation into Manhood (ulwaluko) is an ancient initiation ritual practiced by the amaXhosa of the Eastern Cape Province of [[South Africa]]. The ritual is traditionally intended as a teaching institution to prepare boys for the responsibilities of manhood. The principles that lie at the very core of the ritual are respect for self (including self control and integrity), respect for family (not to bring shame to them), and respect for community (to protect them from harm).

Every single initiation season the media writes about complications accompanying the ritual of Traditional [[Circumcision]] and Initiation into Manhood ''(ulwaluko)''. The magnitude of these complications is horrific: From 1995 till 2014, 919 boys have lost their lives in the mountains and hills of the Eastern Cape. Many others were mutilated or even lost their manhood. [[Ulwaluko|Many of these mutilations are documented (graphic content).]]

===Tuli===
[[Tuli]] is a [[genital mutilation]] rite of boys and adolescents practiced in the Philippine Islands.

{{SEEALSO}}
* [[Autocircumcision]]
* [[Circumcision: Effect upon erectile function]]
* [[Circumcision methods]]
* [[Circumcision scar]]
* [[Development of retractable foreskin]]
* [[Doctors Cut Off Man’s Penis During Circumcision]]
* [[Ethics of non-therapeutic child circumcision]]
* [[Foreskin]]
* [[Foreskin comment]]
* [[Foreskin sensitivity]]
* [[Frenectomy]]
* [[Frenuloplasty]]
* [[Fusions and adhesions]]
* [[Ischemia of the glans penis]]
* [[American urologists and the practice of male circumcision]]
* [[Neurotomy]]
* [[Penis]]
* [[Phimosis]]
* [[Phimosis#Preputioplasty| Preputioplasty]]
* [[Posthectomy]]
* [[The recovery after an adult circumcision]]
* [[Regret men]]
* [[Risks and complications]]
* [[Sexual effects of circumcision]]
* [[Stretching]]
* [[Surrogate consent]]
* [[Trauma]]
{{LINKS}}
====Medical circumcision====
* {{REFjournal
|last=Holman
|first=
|init=JR
|author-link=
|last2=Stuessi
|first2=
|init2=KA
|author2-link=
|etal=no
|title=Adult circumcision
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal=American Family Physician
|location=
|date=1999-03-15
|season=
|volume=59
|issue=6
|article=
|page=
|pages=1514-18
|url=https://www.aafp.org/pubs/afp/issues/1999/0315/p1514.html
|archived=
|quote=
|pubmedID=10193593
|accessdate=2024-05-03
}}
* {{REFjournal
|last=Hammond
|first=
|init=T
|author-link=
|etal=no
|title=A preliminary poll of men circumcised in infancy or childhood
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal=BJU Int
|location=
|date=1999-01
|season=
|volume=83 Supple 1
|issue=
|article=
|page=
|pages=85-92
|url=http://www.noharmm.org/bju.htm
|archived=
|quote=
|pubmedID=10349419
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=10.1046/j.1464-410x.1999.0830s1085.x
|format=PDF
|accessdate=2022-06-10
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://15square.org.uk/losses-from-circumcision/
|title=Losses from Circumcision
|last=Ball
|first=Peter
|publisher=15 Square
|date=2003-08-09
|accessdate=2023-02-23
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://davidlouis77.wordpress.com/2010/05/08/adult-circumcision-my-experience-2-years-on/comment-page-4/#comment-24567
|title=Adult Circumcision: My experience two years on.
|last=Louis
|first=David
|author-link=
|publisher=
DavidLouis77's Blog
|website=wordpress.com
|date=2010-05-08
|accessdate=2020-12-29
|format=
|quote=
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=http://www.circumstitions.com/Resent.html
|title=The tip of the iceberg: Men who resent being circumcised
|last=Young
|first=Hugh
|author-link=
|publisher=Circumstitions
|website=
|date=
|accessdate=2020-12-29
|format=
|quote=
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=http://www.intactaus.org/men-circumcised-as-adults/
|title=Men Circumcised As Adults
|publisher=Intact Australia
|date=2017-03-01
|accessdate=2020-12-21
|format=
|quote=
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://ladagueetlefourreau.wordpress.com/2017/07/17/a-personal-account-of-adult-circumcision/
|title=A Personal Account of Adult Circumcision
|last=
|first=
|date=2017-07-17
|accessdate=2021-02-14
}}
* {{REFdocument
|title=Circumcision (Complete Removal of the Foreskin}
|url=https://www.baus.org.uk/_userfiles/pages/files/Patients/Leaflets/Circumcision.pdf
|contribution=
|last=
|first=
|publisher=British Association of Paediatric Surgeons
|format=PDF
|date=2020-12
|accessdate=2024-02-12
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://www.cosmopolitan.com/sex-love/a28580739/circumcision-pros-and-cons/
|title=I Had an Adult Circumcision, and I Totally Regret It
|last=Hseih
|first=Carina
|date=2019-08-02
|accessdate=2021-06-05
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://wikionlymen.com/?s=circumcision
|title=Disadvantages Of Circumcision In Man
|publisher=Wiki Only Men
|date=2021-11-05
|accessdate=2024-10-05
}}
* {{REFjournal
|last=Remennick
|first=Larissa
|init=L
|author-link=
|etal=no
|title=Joining the tribe: adult circumcision among immigrant men in Israel and its traumatic aftermath
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal=Cult Health Sex
|location=
|date=2021-01-29
|volume=24
|issue=5
|article=
|page=
|pages=702-16
|url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/13691058.2021.1879272?journalCode=tchs20
|archived=
|quote=
|pubmedID=33512277
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=10.1080/13691058.2021.1879272
|accessdate=2022-10-14
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://www.reddit.com/r/CircumcisionGrief/comments/wemjzy/got_circumcised_4_months_ago/
|title=Got circumcised 4 months ago
|last=Anonymous
|first=
|init=
|author-link=
|publisher=REDDIT
|date=2022
|accessdate=2025-12-26
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://www.reddit.com/r/FriendsOfTheFrenulum/comments/128dvgq/for_adults_contemplating_circumcision_what/
|title=For adults contemplating circumcision, what essential questions should they ponder to guarantee their decision is genuinely rooted in an informed choice — made autonomously and for their own well-being?
|last=Anonymous
|first=
|init=
|author-link=
|publisher=REDDIT
|date=2022
|accessdate=2025-12-26
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://intactamerica.org/adult-circumcision-cost/
|title=Adult Circumcision Cost: The Profit Motives and Hidden Toll
|last=Garrett
|first=Connor
|author-link=Connor Judson Garrett
|init=
|publisher=Intact America
|date=2024-03-07
|accessdate=2024-03-10
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://4skin-health.alderhey.nhs.uk/teenagers-young-adults/
|title=Advice for teenagers and young adults
|last=Kenny
|first=
|init=S
|author-link=
|publisher=NHS Children's Hospital at Alder Hey
|date=
|accessdate=2025-02-21
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://archive.md/Au7cV#selection-98.0-707.8
|title=Unjustifiable reason 1: Parents are clueless about the functions of the foreskin
|last=Anonymous
|first=
|init=
|author-link=
|publisher=REDDIT Intactivism
|date=2025-06-17
|accessdate=2025-06-24
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://www.reddit.com/r/foreskin_restoration/comments/1p67xlp/circumcision_ended_my_life/
|title=Circumcision ended my life
|last=Anonymous
|publisher=REDDIT
|date=12-11-27
|accessdate=2025-12-11
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://www.reddit.com/r/foreskin_restoration/comments/1ptxzrh/i_regret_getting_an_adult_circumcision/?chainedPosts=t3_1p67xlp
|title=I regret getting an adult circumcision
|last=Anonymous
|publisher=REDDIT
|date=12-12-23
|accessdate=2025-12-29
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://www.reddit.com/r/intactinfo/comments/1qe1kkl/the_neurological_cost_of_circumcision_a_breakdown/
|title=The Neurological Cost of Circumcision, A Breakdown of What's Removed
|last=Anonymous
|first=
|init=
|author-link=
|publisher=REDDIT
|date=2026-01-15
|accessdate=2026-01-16
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://www.reddit.com/r/uncircumcised_talk/comments/1qgb86l/uncircumcised_easier_to_climax/
|title=Uncircumcised = easier to climax?
|last=Anonymous
|publisher=REDDIT
|date=2026-01-18
|accessdate=2026-01-31
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://www.reddit.com/r/Intactivists/comments/1tygsl1/adult_circumcision_and_its_effect_on_pleasure/
|title=Adult circumcision and its effect on pleasure
|last=Anonymous
|publisher=Reddit
|date=2026-06-06
|accessdate=2026-06-06
}}

====Traditional circumcision====
* {{NSFW}} [[Ulwaluko]]

{{REF}}

[[Category:Body modification]]
[[Category:Circumcision]]
[[Category:Male circumcision]]
[[Category:Male genital mutilation]]
[[Category:Penile surgery]]
[[Category:Penis]]
[[Category:Teen]]

[[de:Jugendlichen- und Erwachsenenbeschneidung]]

Alice Miller

2026-06-06T13:48:20Z

WikiModEn2: Add link in SEEALSO section.

'''{{FULLPAGENAME}}''', Ph.D., ({{LifeData|birth=1923-01-12|birthplace=Piotrków Trybunalski|birthcountry=Poland|death=2010-04-14|deathplace=Saint-Rémy-de-Provence|deathcountry=France}})

The late Dr. Alice Miller was a preeminent child psychologist of the late 20th and early 21st centuries.
==Early life==
Alice Miller was born in [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piotrk%C3%B3w_Trybunalski Piotrków Trybunalski], Poland to Jewish parents.

Young Alice Miller lived with her parents in [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berlin Berlin], Germany until [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adolf_Hitler Adolf Hitler] was appointed [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chancellor_of_Germany chancellor of Germany] in 1933. After that they were forced to return to [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poland Poland], where they went into hiding to avoid being sent into the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warsaw_Ghetto Warsaw ghetto].<ref name="wikiart">{{URLwikipedia|Alice_Miller_(psychologist)|Alice Miller (psychologist)}}</ref>

Miller relocated to [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Switzerland Switzerland] in 1946 where she had been accepted into the [https://www.unibas.ch/en.html University of Basel].<ref name="wikiart" />

Miller started to study at the [https://www.unibas.ch/en.html University of Basel] in 1946. Miller received her doctorate in [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philosophy philosophy], [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psychology psychology], and [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sociology sociology] in 1953.<ref name="wikiart" />

==Work==
Miller's work has been described in detail at [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alice_Miller_(psychologist)#Work Wikipedia] and need not be repeated here.
===Views on infant circumcision===
Miller lived and worked in Europe where only boys born into Jewish and Muslim families are [[circumcised]], so protection of boys from [[circumcision]] was not a prominent part of her work, however she made her [[intactivist]] views very clear in a [https://scontent-hou1-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t39.30808-6/494050733_2454435724894167_6129074034294450157_n.jpg?_nc_cat=109&ccb=1-7&_nc_sid=127cfc&_nc_ohc=KmczgZNxYZwQ7kNvwGaflIf&_nc_oc=AdpUeh5p2-KxtAbp7bM0-y5bjhznOT3ITAODNLOxG5f1rg6soguWbpUsvLXj9XkW_PlCBJ6Mrh8fp4d2YnOUWL4W&_nc_zt=23&_nc_ht=scontent-hou1-1.xx&_nc_gid=3upC8OUmHQ27ZWvrZZwh_w&_nc_ss=78289&oh=00_Af7B6kU-PYVFI-UpT3-FEkQSv8rWRymXExdYOuz1kcvDNw&oe=6A1E4D26 letter] to [[Marilyn Milos]], dated 14 January 1994.
<blockquote>
"The damage done by circumcision to infants and consequently to the later adults is an extremely important issue. It is still widely minimized because the effects are ignored by most people. … In all my books, I tried to explain that the earlier in life a harm is done, and the more its effects are denied by parents and society, the more a person will be damaged, not only physically but also psychically. If parents know of the child's suffering, they can help as enlightened witnesses by giving support and compassion. If they deny the reality of suffering, the children will deny it as well and later inflict the same pain on their own children ... out of pure ignorance."
</blockquote>

Miller quoted from [[Desmond Morris]] regarding [[child circumcision]] in her book ''Banished Knowledge''.

Later independent research has verified the accuracy of her claims.<ref>{{BoyleGJ GoldmanR SvobodaJS FernandezE 2002}}</ref>

===Selected quotes===
The editors at AZ Quotes have selected significant quotes from Dr. Miller's publications. Please see:

* {{REFweb
|url=https://www.azquotes.com/author/10094-Alice_Miller
|title=Alice Miller Quotes
|last=
|first=
|init=
|author-link=
|publisher=AZ Quotes
|date=
|accessdate=2026-05-27
}}

{{PUB}}
===Articles===
The [https://www.naturalchild.org/ Natural Child Project] has collected an extensive list of [https://www.naturalchild.org/articles/alice_miller/ articles by Alice Miller].

===Books===
* {{REFbook
|last=Miller
|first=Alice
|year=1981
|title=Prisoners Of Childhood
|url=https://www.amazon.com/Prisoners-Childhood-Alice-Miller/dp/0465063470?s=books
|scope=
|location=
|publisher=Basic Books
|ISBN=10 0465063470
|accessdate=2026-05-25
}}
* {{REFbook
|last=Miller
|first=Alice
|year=1991
|title=The Untouched Key: Tracing Childhood Trauma in Creativity and Destructiveness
|url=https://www.amazon.com/Untouched-Key-Childhood-Creativity-Destructiveness/dp/0385267649?s=books
|publisher=Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group
|ISBN=10 0385267649
|accessdate=2026-05-25
}}
* {{REFbook
|last=Miller
|first=Alice
|init=
|year=1991
|title=Banished Knowledge: Facing Childhood Injuries
|url=https://www.amazon.com/Banished-Knowledge-Facing-Childhood-Injuries/dp/0385267622?s=books
|scope=
|location=
|publisher=Knopf Doubleday Publishing Grou
|ISBN=10 0385267622
|accessdate=2026-05-25
}}
* {{REFbook
|last=Miller
|first=Alice
|init=
|year=1997
|title=The Drama of the Gifted Child: The Search for the True Self, Revised Edition
|url=https://www.amazon.com/Drama-Gifted-Child-Search-Revised/dp/0465016901?s=books
|publisher=Basic Books
|ISBN=10 0465016901
|accessdate=2026-05-25
}}
* {{REFbook
|last=Miller
|first=Alice
|init=
|year=1998
|title=Thou Shalt Not Be Aware: Society's Betrayal of the Child
|url=https://www.amazon.com/Thou-Shalt-Not-Be-Aware/dp/0374525439?s=books
|scope=
|location=
|publisher=
|ISBN=10 0374525439
|accessdate=2026-05-26
}}
* {{REFbook
|last=Miller
|first=Alice
|year=2006
|title=The Body Never Lies: The Lingering Effects of Hurtful Parenting
|url=https://www.amazon.com/Body-Never-Lies-Lingering-Parenting/dp/0393328635?s=books
|publisher=W. W. Norton & Company
|ISBN=10 0393328635
|accessdate=2026-05-25
}}
===Circumcision letter===
Dr. Miller sent this letter, dated 14 January 1994, to [[Marilyn Fayre Milos| Marilyn Milos]], R.N., who was then the executive director of [[NOCIRC]] in the [[United States]].
* {{REFweb
|url=https://scontent-hou1-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t39.30808-6/494050733_2454435724894167_6129074034294450157_n.jpg?_nc_cat=109&ccb=1-7&_nc_sid=127cfc&_nc_ohc=KmczgZNxYZwQ7kNvwGaflIf&_nc_oc=AdpUeh5p2-KxtAbp7bM0-y5bjhznOT3ITAODNLOxG5f1rg6soguWbpUsvLXj9XkW_PlCBJ6Mrh8fp4d2YnOUWL4W&_nc_zt=23&_nc_ht=scontent-hou1-1.xx&_nc_gid=3upC8OUmHQ27ZWvrZZwh_w&_nc_ss=78289&oh=00_Af7B6kU-PYVFI-UpT3-FEkQSv8rWRymXExdYOuz1kcvDNw&oe=6A1E4D26
|title=Letter to Marilyn Milos, R.N., of NOCIRC.
|last=Miller
|first=Alice
|author-link=Alice Miller
|publisher=Facebook
|format=PDF
|date=1994-01-14
|accessdate=2026-05-27
}}

==Video==
There are a very large number of videos available on YouTube about Alice Miller. See [https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=alice%20miller%20psychologist Alice Miller (psychologist)].

Here are a few selected videos:
===Alice Miller Interview 1988 : L'Origine du Mal dans l'Enfance===
<youtube>v=dlxj-V-ihTY&list=PLpDWYTxyxBjAqsm3OdUbrAyt9HmCSe-qc&index=1</youtube>
===Wie entsteht emotionale Blindheit? - Alice Miller - (engl. subs)===
<youtube>v=QEPnz57bkzo&list=PLpDWYTxyxBjAqsm3OdUbrAyt9HmCSe-qc&index=2</youtube>
===Interview with Alice Miller, November 1992 [interview]===
<youtube>v=q8qWKlUJ8M8&list=PLpDWYTxyxBjAqsm3OdUbrAyt9HmCSe-qc&index=4</youtube>
===Interview with psychologist Alice Miller's son, Martin Miller -- about his book on her life===
<youtube>v=768c6rukXTs&t=10s</youtube>
==Motion picture==
* [https://whosafraidofalicemiller.com/en#film Who's Afraid of Alice Miller?]

==Death==
Alice Miller was diagnosed with terminal pancreatic cancer. She elected to end her life by assisted suicide at the age of 87, which occurred at her home in [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint-R%C3%A9my-de-Provence Saint-Rémy-de-Provence], France on 14 April 2010.<ref name="wikiart" /> <ref name="obit2010">{{REFweb
|url=https://www.theguardian.com/science/2010/may/31/alice-miller-obituary
|title=Alice Miller Obituary
|last=Cowan-Jenssen
|first=Sue
|publisher=The Guardian
|date=2010-05-31
|accessdate=2026-05-31
}}</ref>
{{SEEALSO}}
* [[Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs)]]
* [[Anna Freud]]
* [[Carl Gustav Jung]]
* [[Child circumcision]]
* [[Circumcision and violence]]
* [[Desmond Morris]]
* [[Gregory J. Boyle]]
* [[Hanny Lightfoot-Klein]]
* [[Pain]]
* [[Ronald Goldman]]
* [[Sigmund Freud]]
* [[Trauma]]
{{LINKS}}
* {{URLwebsite|https://www.alice-miller.com/|2026-05-26}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/suffer-the-children/202104/reflections-alice-miller
|title=Reflections on Alice Miller
|last=Wedge
|first=Marilyn
|publisher=Psychology Today
|date=2021-04-14
|accessdate=2026-05-27
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://famouspsychologists.net/alice-miller-facts/
|title=Alice Miller
|last=Anonymous
|publisher=Famous Psychologists
|date=
|accessdate=2026-05-27
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://intactamerica.org/foreskin-erasure-banished-knowledge/
|title=“Banished Knowledge”: Alice Miller and the Blind Spot at the Heart of Circumcision
|last=Chapin
|first=Georganne
|author-link=Georganne Chapin
|publisher=Intact America
|date=2026-04-14
|accessdate=2026-05-25
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://alicemiller.vic.edu.au/
|title=Alice Miller School
|last=
|first=
|init=
|author-link=
|publisher=
|date=
|accessdate=2026-05-31
}}
{{REF}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Miller, Alice}}

[[Category:Person]]
[[Category:Female]]
[[Category:Author]]
[[Category:Intactivist]]
[[Category:Jewish]]
[[Category:Psychologist]]
[[Category:Psychology]]
[[Category:Switzerland]]
[[Category:Trauma]]
[[Category:Violence]]

Desmond Morris

2026-06-06T13:22:57Z

WikiModEn2: /* Commentary on male and female genital cutting and genital mutilation */

{{Construction Site}}
'''{{FULLPAGENAME}}''' ({{LifeData|birth=1928-01-24|birthplace=[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Purton Purton], Wiltshire|birthcountry=[[United Kingdom]]|death=2026-04-19|deathplace=[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naas Naas], County Kildare|deathcountry=Ireland}})

The late Desmond John Morris, Ph.D., D.Sc., was a British zoologist and ethologist. He became famous by applying the methods of animal study to humans.

Morris was a strong opponent of all forms of genital cutting and sexual mutilation, including [[child circumcision]].
==Early life==
Morris was born in Purton, [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wiltshire Wiltshire], to Marjorie (née Hunt) and children's fiction author Harry Morris. A few years later the family moved to [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swindon Swindon].

In his teen years he attended [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dauntsey%27s_School Dauncey's School], an upscale coeducational school in the country on 150 acres of land.<ref>[https://www.dauntseys.org/ Dauntsey's School]</ref> This may be where he acquired his interest in nature.

==Adult life==
Morris enlisted in the British Army for two years at age 18 in 1946 to perform his [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_service national service].

After completing his national service, Morris started to study zoology at the [https://www.birmingham.ac.uk/ University of Birmingham].

Morris commenced his studies at the [https://www.ox.ac.uk/ University of Oxford] in 1951. He was awarded a Ph.D. in 1954.

Morris served as curator of mammals for the [https://www.londonzoo.org/ London Zoo] from 1959 to 1967.
==Personal life==
Morris married Ramona Baulch in July 1952.<ref name="morris2012">{{REFnews
|title=My secret of 60 years of marital bliss
|url=https://www.dailymail.com/lifestyle/article-2191767/Desmond-Morris-diamond-wedding-testament-primeval-urge-mate-life.html
|last=Morris
|first=Desmond
|init=
|author-link=Desmond Morris
|publisher=The Daily Mail
|website=
|date=2012-08-22
|accessdate=2026-06-06
|format=
|quote=
}}</ref> They made their home in North Oxford. They had one son—Jason.
{{PUB}}
===Articles===
Dr. Morris wrote articles throughout his long life. His prodigious output is indexed on his website. Please see [http://www.desmond-morris.com/articles.php Selected Articles].

A search at [https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/ PubMed] for "Morris DJ" produces a list of 256 published articles. It is not clear how many of these were authored by Desmond John Morris.

===Books===
Dr. Morris is credited with the authorship of 104 books. For a complete list see [http://www.desmond-morris.com books.php Bibliography]
* {{REFbook
|last=Morris
|first=Desmond
|init=
|year=1985
|title=Bodywatching
|url=https://www.amazon.com/s?k=Bodywatching&i=stripbooks
|scope=
|location=
|publisher=Random House
|ISBN=10-0517558149
|accessdate=2026-06-04
}}
* {{REFbook
|last=Morris
|first=Desmond
|init=
|year=1994
|title=The Human Animal: A Personal View of the Human Species
|url=https://www.amazon.com/Human-Animal-Personal-View-Species/dp/0563370211?s=books
|scope=
|location=
|publisher=BBC Publications
|ISBN=10 0563370211
|accessdate=2026-06-03
}}

* {{REFbook
|last=Morris
|first=Desmond
|init=
|year=1997
|title=The Human Sexes
|url=https://www.amazon.com/Human-Sexes-Morris-Desmond/dp/0563383585?s=books
|scope=
|location=
|publisher=Netwook Books
|ISBN=10 0563383585
|accessdate=2026-06-03
}}
* {{REFbook
|last=Morris
|first=Desmond
|init=
|year=1999
|title=The Naked Ape: A Zoologist's Study of the Human Animal
|url=https://www.amazon.com/Naked-Ape-Zoologists-Study-Animal/dp/0385334303?s=books
|scope=
|location=
|publisher=Delta
|ISBN=10 0385334303
|accessdate=2026-06-03
}}
* {{REFbook
|last=Morris
|first=Desmond
|init=
|year=2007
|title=The Naked Woman: A Study of the Female Body
|url=https://www.amazon.com/Naked-Woman-Study-Female-Body/dp/0312338538?s=books
|scope=
|location=
|publisher=St. Martins Griffin
|ISBN=10 9780312338534
|accessdate=2026-06-03
}}
* {{REFbook
|last=Morris
|first=Desmond
|init=
|year=2009
|title=The Naked Man: A Study of the Male Body
|url=https://www.amazon.com/Naked-Man-Study-Male-Body/dp/0312385307?s=books
|scope=
|location=
|publisher=Thomas Dunne Books
|ISBN=10 0312385307
|accessdate=2026-06-03
}}
===Commentary on male and female genital cutting and genital mutilation===
 
 
 
<hr>
 
<blockquote>
<center>
<big>Comment on Circumcision and Genital Mutilation</big>

Desmond Morris
</center>
For thousands of years, in many different cultures, the genitals have fallen victim to an amazing variety of mutilations and restrictions. For organs that are capable of giving us an immense amount of pleasure They have given us an inordinate amount of pain.

The commonest form of assault they have suffered is male and female circumcision. This strange mutilation is older than civilization and was probably well advanced in the Stone Age. Although it is a piece of deliberate wounding of children by adults, it has been done with the best of intentions. Over the millennia it has cause countless deaths from infection, but its advantages have always been said to outweigh the risks involved. These alleged advantages have varied from epoch to epoch and culture to culture, but recent re-examination has shown that they are all imaginary.

It has been claimed that one of the oldest reasons for performing male circumcision—the removal of the foreskin—is that it provoked immortality in the shape of life after death. This odd notion was based on the observation that when the snake sheds its skin it emerges with glistening new scales and is “reborn.” If the snake can enjoy rebirth by the removal of skin, so too can the human being. For snake read penis; for snake-skin read foreskin.

Once male circumcision had become traditional it no longer mattered whether the old beliefs survived. Being circumcised was not the badge of belonging to a particular society. The ritual mutilation spread and spread. Ancient Egyptians were doing it as long ago as 4000 B.C. In the Old Testament, Abraham demanded it. Arabs circumcised as well as Jews. Mohammed was said to have been born without a foreskin (which he may well have been, as this condition is not unknown to medical science), a claim which automatically doomed the foreskins of his future male followers.

As the centuries passed, religious arguments gave way, for many to quack medical arguments. The possession of a foreskin was said to cause “masturbatory insanity.” Other medical horrors resulting from its retention included hysteria, epilepsy, nocturnal incontinence, and nervousness. Such ideas survived into the early part of the present century and even led to the formation of an Orificial Surgery Society devoted exclusively to the “modifications” of offending genital as a means of preventing mental illness.

When at last this nonsense was on the decline a crisis arose. What new reason could be found for mutilating children’s genitals? The solution had to be one that suited the rational climate of twentieth-century scientific inquiry. The answer appeared in The Lancet in 1932: foreskins caused cancer! By the end of the 1930s 75 per cent of the boys in the United States were being circumcised; by 1973 it was 84 per cent; by 1976 it was 87 per cent. Cancer had become the secular version of hellfire and brimstone, the perfect weapon for the anxiety makers of a post-religious society.

To be more precise, the claim that the “debris” called smegma which collects under retained foreskins could cause cancer of the penis and also cancer of the cervix of the wives of the uncircumcised. The paper which started this false rumour was founded on faulty statistics, but nobody minded because here was a plausible new reason for slicing away at the infantile penis. Subsequent experiments, however revealed that there is nothing remotely carcinogenic about the smegma produced under the fold of the foreskin, but they were widely ignored. Other investigations showed that women whose uncircumcised husbands always wore condoms were no more or less likely to develop cancer than those whose husbands never wore condoms. But again nobody wanted to know. In one country where there was no circumcision at all was compared to a country in which all males were circumcised. The results showed, to the relief of the foreskin snippers, that prostate cancer was higher in the uncircumcised country. Unfortunately this form of cancer is a disease of elderly men, and when a correction for age distribution was made the figures showed that this disorder was actually more likely in the circumcised country.

Not only was the cancer scare completely without foundation, but the operation of foreskin removal continued to prove a distinct health hazard for small babies. There were many cases of haemorrhage, ulceration of the urethra, surgical trauma and local infection. In rare cases, foreskin removal resulted in the death of the baby. There were also more subtle effects with possible long-term implications: following circumcision male babies showed an increase in the level of hormones related to stress; sleep patterns altered; there was more crying and more irritability.

Despite all this, “medical” circumcisions continued (and still continues) at a merry pace in certain countries where private medicine is the rule. In Britain, significantly, there was a dramatic decline in the operation following the introduction of the National Health Service scheme and free treatment. It is impossible to refrain from asking why it should be that the operation sank to a level of less than one per cent (only 0.41 per cent of male babies in 1972) in a country where there was no financial gain to be made from it, while in the United States, for example, in the same year, over 80 per cent of male babies were circumcised, at an annual cost to health-insurance companies of more than $200 million. The new deities demanding circumcision appear to be more fiscal than sacred.

Young females have also been assaulted in this fashion. This has been rare in the West, although as recently as 1937 a Texas doctor was advocating the removal of the clitoris to cure frigidity. The harshest traditions of female circumcision are found in Africa, parts of the Middle East, Indonesia and Malayia. It is a staggering fact that, far from being an ancient memory, the practice of cutting away all or part of the external genitals of young females is still going on in more than 20 countries.

No fewer than 74 million women alive today have been subjected to this mutilation. In the worst cases, they have had their labia and clitoris scraped or cut away and their vaginal opening stitched up with silk, catgut, or thorns, leaving only a tiny opening for urine and menstrual blood. After the operation the girl’s legs are bound together to ensure that scar-tissue forms and the condition becomes permanent. Later, when they marry, these females suffer the pain of having their artificially reduced orifices broken open by their husbands.

The effect of this practice is to dramatically reduce sexual pleasure for wives in the countries concerned, which may be its hidden significance. A side-effect is the high number of deaths and serious illnesses cause by the unhygienic conditions under which the operations are performed, especially in such countries as Oman, South Yemen, Somalia, Djibouti, Sudan, southern Egypt, Ethiopia, northern Kenya, and Mali. The continuance of such practices in the twentieth century against a background of modern enlightenment is clearly going to puzzle historians of the distant future.
<center>
—Desmond Morris (Circa 1985)
</blockquote>

==Videos==
===Desmond Morris (Writer))===
<youtube>v=rfe8nKkVUPo&list=PLVV0r6CmEsFwtuDq9yKrhqqkJ-Era-N7w&index=3</youtube>
===Desmond Morris - Cheating death even before birth (1/37)===
<youtube>v=aZoJbK9hBMo</youtube>
===Desmond Morris - Human beings - just another species of animal? (23/37)===
<youtube>v=taFeI6TwAOQ</youtube>
===Zoology and the Human Animal===
<youtube>v=myL24gP20fo</youtube>
===Male genital mutilation ritual from Desmond Morris - The Human Sexes===
<youtube>v=QaFtcIrtbm0</youtube>
===Desmond Morris - 'The Human Zoo' (25/37)===
<youtube>v=1wlGhIh1lfE</youtube>
===Desmond Morris - Avoiding death for the second time (3/37)===
<youtube>v=rfe8nKkVUPo</youtube>
===Desmond Morris - Contemplating death and the afterlife (37/37)===
<youtube>v=3uddkAIHTEc</youtube>
===Desmond Morris passes away (1928 - 2026) (UK) - UK News - 20/Apr/2026===
<youtube>v=N9fVSDziV6o</youtube>

==Death==
Following the death of his wife, Ramona, in November 2018, Desmond Morris left his home in [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oxford Oxford] in June 2019 and moved to [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/County_Kildare County Kildare] in [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_of_Ireland Ireland] to live close to his son, Jason, and his family there.

He passed away there at the age of 98 on 19 April 2026.<ref name="radford2026">{{REFweb
|url=https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2026/apr/20/desmond-morris-obituary
|title=Desmond Morris Obituary
|last=Radford
|first=Tim
|publisher=The Guardian
|date=2026-04-20
|accessdate=2026-06-05
}}</ref> <ref name="woodhouse2026>{{REFweb
|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c51y797v200o
|title=Zoologist and author Desmond Morris dies aged 98
|last=Woodhouse
|first=Sam
|publisher=BBC
|date=2026-04-20
|accessdate=2026-06-05
}}</ref>
{{SEEALSO}}
* [[Alice Miller]]
* [[Cervical cancer]]
* [[Child circumcision]]
* [[Circumcision of the newborn]]
* [[Financial incentive]]
* [[Foreskin]]
* [[Penile cancer]]
* [[Risks and complications]]
{{LINKS}}
* {{URLwebsite|http://www.desmond-morris.com/|2026-06-04}}
* {{URLwikipedia|Desmond_Morris|Desmond Morris}}
* {{REFweb
|url=http://www.desmond-morris.com/biography.php
|title=Biography of Desmond John Morris
|last=Williams
|first=David
|init=
|author-link=
|publisher=The Desmond Morris Information Page
|date=2022-09-20
|accessdate=2026-06-06
}}
{{REF}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Morris, Desmond}}

[[Category:Person]]
[[Category:Male]]
[[Category:Author]]
[[Category:Female genital mutilation]]
[[Category:Financial gain]]
[[Category:Intactivism]]
[[Category:Intactivist]]
[[Category:Intactivist literature]]

[[Category:UK]]

Desmond Morris

2026-06-06T10:42:27Z

WikiModEn2: Add personal life section.

{{Construction Site}}
'''{{FULLPAGENAME}}''' ({{LifeData|birth=1928-01-24|birthplace=[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Purton Purton], Wiltshire|birthcountry=[[United Kingdom]]|death=2026-04-19|deathplace=[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naas Naas], County Kildare|deathcountry=Ireland}})

The late Desmond John Morris, Ph.D., D.Sc., was a British zoologist and ethologist. He became famous by applying the methods of animal study to humans.

Morris was a strong opponent of all forms of genital cutting and sexual mutilation, including [[child circumcision]].
==Early life==
Morris was born in Purton, [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wiltshire Wiltshire], to Marjorie (née Hunt) and children's fiction author Harry Morris. A few years later the family moved to [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swindon Swindon].

In his teen years he attended [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dauntsey%27s_School Dauncey's School], an upscale coeducational school in the country on 150 acres of land.<ref>[https://www.dauntseys.org/ Dauntsey's School]</ref> This may be where he acquired his interest in nature.

==Adult life==
Morris enlisted in the British Army for two years at age 18 in 1946 to perform his [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_service national service].

After completing his national service, Morris started to study zoology at the [https://www.birmingham.ac.uk/ University of Birmingham].

Morris commenced his studies at the [https://www.ox.ac.uk/ University of Oxford] in 1951. He was awarded a Ph.D. in 1954.

Morris served as curator of mammals for the [https://www.londonzoo.org/ London Zoo] from 1959 to 1967.
==Personal life==
Morris married Ramona Baulch in July 1952.<ref name="morris2012">{{REFnews
|title=My secret of 60 years of marital bliss
|url=https://www.dailymail.com/lifestyle/article-2191767/Desmond-Morris-diamond-wedding-testament-primeval-urge-mate-life.html
|last=Morris
|first=Desmond
|init=
|author-link=Desmond Morris
|publisher=The Daily Mail
|website=
|date=2012-08-22
|accessdate=2026-06-06
|format=
|quote=
}}</ref> They made their home in North Oxford. They had one son—Jason.
{{PUB}}
===Articles===
Dr. Morris wrote articles throughout his long life. His prodigious output is indexed on his website. Please see [http://www.desmond-morris.com/articles.php Selected Articles].

A search at [https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/ PubMed] for "Morris DJ" produces a list of 256 published articles. It is not clear how many of these were authored by Desmond John Morris.

===Books===
Dr. Morris is credited with the authorship of 104 books. For a complete list see [http://www.desmond-morris.com books.php Bibliography]
* {{REFbook
|last=Morris
|first=Desmond
|init=
|year=1985
|title=Bodywatching
|url=https://www.amazon.com/s?k=Bodywatching&i=stripbooks
|scope=
|location=
|publisher=Random House
|ISBN=10-0517558149
|accessdate=2026-06-04
}}
* {{REFbook
|last=Morris
|first=Desmond
|init=
|year=1994
|title=The Human Animal: A Personal View of the Human Species
|url=https://www.amazon.com/Human-Animal-Personal-View-Species/dp/0563370211?s=books
|scope=
|location=
|publisher=BBC Publications
|ISBN=10 0563370211
|accessdate=2026-06-03
}}

* {{REFbook
|last=Morris
|first=Desmond
|init=
|year=1997
|title=The Human Sexes
|url=https://www.amazon.com/Human-Sexes-Morris-Desmond/dp/0563383585?s=books
|scope=
|location=
|publisher=Netwook Books
|ISBN=10 0563383585
|accessdate=2026-06-03
}}
* {{REFbook
|last=Morris
|first=Desmond
|init=
|year=1999
|title=The Naked Ape: A Zoologist's Study of the Human Animal
|url=https://www.amazon.com/Naked-Ape-Zoologists-Study-Animal/dp/0385334303?s=books
|scope=
|location=
|publisher=Delta
|ISBN=10 0385334303
|accessdate=2026-06-03
}}
* {{REFbook
|last=Morris
|first=Desmond
|init=
|year=2007
|title=The Naked Woman: A Study of the Female Body
|url=https://www.amazon.com/Naked-Woman-Study-Female-Body/dp/0312338538?s=books
|scope=
|location=
|publisher=St. Martins Griffin
|ISBN=10 9780312338534
|accessdate=2026-06-03
}}
* {{REFbook
|last=Morris
|first=Desmond
|init=
|year=2009
|title=The Naked Man: A Study of the Male Body
|url=https://www.amazon.com/Naked-Man-Study-Male-Body/dp/0312385307?s=books
|scope=
|location=
|publisher=Thomas Dunne Books
|ISBN=10 0312385307
|accessdate=2026-06-03
}}
===Commentary on male and female genital cutting and genital mutilation===
 
 
 
<hr>
 
<blockquote>
<center>
<big>Comment on Circumcision and Genital Mutilation</big>

Desmond Morris
</center>
For thousands of years, in many different cultures, the genitals have fallen victim to an amazing variety of mutilations and restrictions. For organs that are capable of giving us an immense amount of pleasure They have given us an inordinate amount of pain.

The commonest form of assault they have suffered is male and female circumcision. This strange mutilation is older than civilization and was probably well advance in the Stone Age. Although it is a piece of deliberate wounding of children by adults, it has been done with the best of intentions. Over the millennia it has cause countless deaths from infection, but its advantages have always been said to outweigh the risks involved. These alleged advantages have varied from epoch to epoch and culture to culture, but recent re-examination has shown that they are all imaginary.

It has been claimed that one of the oldest reasons for performing male circumcision—the removal of the foreskin—is that it provoked immortality in the shape of life after death. This odd notion was based on the observation that when the snake sheds its skin it emerges with glistening new scales and is “reborn.” If the snake can enjoy rebirth by the removal of skin, so too can the human being. For snake read penis; for snake-skin read foreskin.

Once male circumcision had become traditional it no longer mattered whether the old beliefs survived. Being circumcised was not the badge of belonging to a particular society. The ritual mutilation spread and spread. Ancient Egyptians were doing it as long ago as 4000 B.C. In the Old Testament, Abraham demanded it. Arabs circumcised as well as Jews. Mohammed was said to have been born without a foreskin (which he may well have been, as this condition is not unknown to medical science), a claim which automatically doomed the foreskins of his future male followers.

As the centuries passed, religious arguments gave way, for many to quack medical arguments. The possession of a foreskin was said to cause “masturbatory insanity.” Other medical horrors resulting from its retention included hysteria, epilepsy, nocturnal incontinence, and nervousness. Such ideas survived into the early part of the present century and even led to the formation of an Orificial Surgery Society devoted exclusively to the “modifications” of offending genital as a means of preventing mental illness.

When at last this nonsense was on the decline a crisis arose. What new reason could be found for mutilating children’s genitals? The solution had to be one that suited the rational climate of twentieth-century scientific inquiry. The answer appeared in The Lancet in 1932: foreskins caused cancer! By the end of the 1930s 75 per cent of the boys in the United States were being circumcised; by 1973 it was 84 per cent; by 1976 it was 87 per cent. Cancer had become the secular version of hellfire and brimstone, the perfect weapon for the anxiety makers of a post-religious society.

To be more precise, the claim that the “debris” called smegma which collects under retained foreskins could cause cancer of the penis and also cancer of the cervix of the wives of the uncircumcised. The paper which started this false rumour was founded on faulty statistics, but nobody minded because here was a plausible new reason for slicing away at the infantile penis. Subsequent experiments, however revealed that there is nothing remotely carcinogenic about the smegma produced under the fold of the foreskin, but they were widely ignored. Other investigations showed that women whose uncircumcised husbands always wore condoms were no more or less likely to develop cancer than those whose husbands never wore condoms. But again nobody wanted to know. In one country where there was no circumcision at all was compared to a country in which all males were circumcised. The results showed, to the relief of the foreskin snippers, that prostate cancer was higher in the uncircumcised country. Unfortunately this form of cancer is a disease of elderly men, and when a correction for age distribution was made the figures showed that this disorder was actually more likely in the circumcised country.

Not only was the cancer scare completely without foundation, but the operation of foreskin removal continued to prove a distinct health hazard for small babies. There were many cases of haemorrhage, ulceration of the urethra, surgical trauma and local infection. In rare cases, foreskin removal resulted in the death of the baby. There were also more subtle effects with possible long-term implications: following circumcision male babies showed an increase in the level of hormones related to stress; sleep patterns altered; there was more crying and more irritability.

Despite all this, “medical” circumcisions continued (and still continues) at a merry pace in certain countries where private medicine is the rule. In Britain, significantly, there was a dramatic decline in the operation following the introduction of the National Health Service scheme and free treatment. It is impossible to refrain from asking why it should be that the operation sank to a level of less than one per cent (only 0.41 per cent of male babies in 1972) in a country where there was no financial gain to be made from it, while in the United States, for example, in the same year, over 80 per cent of male babies were circumcised, at an annual cost to health-insurance companies of more than $200 million. The new deities demanding circumcision appear to be more fiscal than sacred.

Young females have also been assaulted in this fashion. This has been rare in the West, although as recently as 1937 a Texas doctor was advocating the removal of the clitoris to cure frigidity. The harshest traditions of female circumcision are found in Africa, parts of the Middle East, Indonesia and Malayia. It is a staggering fact that, far from being an ancient memory, the practice of cutting away all or part of the external genitals of young females is still going on in more than 20 countries.

No fewer than 74 million women alive today have been subjected to this mutilation. In the worst cases, they have had their labia and clitoris scraped or cut away and their vaginal opening stitched up with silk, catgut, or thorns, leaving only a tiny opening for urine and menstrual blood. After the operation the girl’s legs are bound together to ensure that scar-tissue forms and the condition becomes permanent. Later, when they marry, these females suffer the pain of having their artificially reduced orifices broken open by their husbands.

The effect of this practice is to dramatically reduce sexual pleasure for wives in the countries concerned, which may be its hidden significance. A side-effect is the high number of deaths and serious illnesses cause by the unhygienic conditions under which the operations are performed, especially in such countries as Oman, South Yemen, Somalia, Djibouti, Sudan, southern Egypt, Ethiopia, northern Kenya, and Mali. The continuance of such practices in the twentieth century against a background of modern enlightenment is clearly going to puzzle historians of the distant future.
<center>
—Desmond Morris (Circa 1985)
</blockquote>

==Videos==
===Desmond Morris (Writer))===
<youtube>v=rfe8nKkVUPo&list=PLVV0r6CmEsFwtuDq9yKrhqqkJ-Era-N7w&index=3</youtube>
===Desmond Morris - Cheating death even before birth (1/37)===
<youtube>v=aZoJbK9hBMo</youtube>
===Desmond Morris - Human beings - just another species of animal? (23/37)===
<youtube>v=taFeI6TwAOQ</youtube>
===Zoology and the Human Animal===
<youtube>v=myL24gP20fo</youtube>
===Male genital mutilation ritual from Desmond Morris - The Human Sexes===
<youtube>v=QaFtcIrtbm0</youtube>
===Desmond Morris - 'The Human Zoo' (25/37)===
<youtube>v=1wlGhIh1lfE</youtube>
===Desmond Morris - Avoiding death for the second time (3/37)===
<youtube>v=rfe8nKkVUPo</youtube>
===Desmond Morris - Contemplating death and the afterlife (37/37)===
<youtube>v=3uddkAIHTEc</youtube>
===Desmond Morris passes away (1928 - 2026) (UK) - UK News - 20/Apr/2026===
<youtube>v=N9fVSDziV6o</youtube>

==Death==
Following the death of his wife, Ramona, in November 2018, Desmond Morris left his home in [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oxford Oxford] in June 2019 and moved to [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/County_Kildare County Kildare] in [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_of_Ireland Ireland] to live close to his son, Jason, and his family there.

He passed away there at the age of 98 on 19 April 2026.<ref name="radford2026">{{REFweb
|url=https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2026/apr/20/desmond-morris-obituary
|title=Desmond Morris Obituary
|last=Radford
|first=Tim
|publisher=The Guardian
|date=2026-04-20
|accessdate=2026-06-05
}}</ref> <ref name="woodhouse2026>{{REFweb
|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c51y797v200o
|title=Zoologist and author Desmond Morris dies aged 98
|last=Woodhouse
|first=Sam
|publisher=BBC
|date=2026-04-20
|accessdate=2026-06-05
}}</ref>
{{SEEALSO}}
* [[Alice Miller]]
* [[Cervical cancer]]
* [[Child circumcision]]
* [[Circumcision of the newborn]]
* [[Financial incentive]]
* [[Foreskin]]
* [[Penile cancer]]
* [[Risks and complications]]
{{LINKS}}
* {{URLwebsite|http://www.desmond-morris.com/|2026-06-04}}
* {{URLwikipedia|Desmond_Morris|Desmond Morris}}
* {{REFweb
|url=http://www.desmond-morris.com/biography.php
|title=Biography of Desmond John Morris
|last=Williams
|first=David
|init=
|author-link=
|publisher=The Desmond Morris Information Page
|date=2022-09-20
|accessdate=2026-06-06
}}
{{REF}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Morris, Desmond}}

[[Category:Person]]
[[Category:Male]]
[[Category:Author]]
[[Category:Female genital mutilation]]
[[Category:Financial gain]]
[[Category:Intactivism]]
[[Category:Intactivist]]
[[Category:Intactivist literature]]

[[Category:UK]]

Desmond Morris

2026-06-06T09:54:47Z

WikiModEn2: /* Death */ Add external link.

{{Construction Site}}
'''{{FULLPAGENAME}}''' ({{LifeData|birth=1928-01-24|birthplace=[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Purton Purton], Wiltshire|birthcountry=[[United Kingdom]]|death=2026-04-19|deathplace=[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naas Naas], County Kildare|deathcountry=Ireland}})

The late Desmond John Morris, Ph.D., was a British zoologist and ethologist. He became famous by applying the methods of animal study to humans.

Morris was a strong opponent of all forms of genital cutting and sexual mutilation, including [[child circumcision]].
==Early life==
Morris was born in Purton, [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wiltshire Wiltshire], to Marjorie (née Hunt) and children's fiction author Harry Morris. A few years later the family moved to [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swindon Swindon].

In his teen years he attended [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dauntsey%27s_School Dauncey's School], an upscale coeducational school in the country on 150 acres of land.<ref>[https://www.dauntseys.org/ Dauntsey's School]</ref> This may be where he acquired his interest in nature.

==Adult life==
Morris enlisted in the British Army for two years at age 18 in 1946 to perform his [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_service national service].

After completing his national service, Morris started to study zoology at the [https://www.birmingham.ac.uk/ University of Birmingham].

Morris commenced his studies at the [https://www.ox.ac.uk/ University of Oxford] in 1951. He was awarded a Ph.D. in 1954.
{{PUB}}
===Articles===
Dr. Morris wrote articles throughout his long life. His prodigious output is indexed on his website. Please see [http://www.desmond-morris.com/articles.php Selected Articles].

A search at [https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/ PubMed] for "Morris DJ" produces a list of 256 published articles. It is not clear how many of these were authored by Desmond John Morris.

===Books===
Dr. Morris is credited with the authorship of 104 books. For a complete list see [http://www.desmond-morris.com books.php Bibliography]
* {{REFbook
|last=Morris
|first=Desmond
|init=
|year=1985
|title=Bodywatching
|url=https://www.amazon.com/s?k=Bodywatching&i=stripbooks
|scope=
|location=
|publisher=Random House
|ISBN=10-0517558149
|accessdate=2026-06-04
}}
* {{REFbook
|last=Morris
|first=Desmond
|init=
|year=1994
|title=The Human Animal: A Personal View of the Human Species
|url=https://www.amazon.com/Human-Animal-Personal-View-Species/dp/0563370211?s=books
|scope=
|location=
|publisher=BBC Publications
|ISBN=10 0563370211
|accessdate=2026-06-03
}}

* {{REFbook
|last=Morris
|first=Desmond
|init=
|year=1997
|title=The Human Sexes
|url=https://www.amazon.com/Human-Sexes-Morris-Desmond/dp/0563383585?s=books
|scope=
|location=
|publisher=Netwook Books
|ISBN=10 0563383585
|accessdate=2026-06-03
}}
* {{REFbook
|last=Morris
|first=Desmond
|init=
|year=1999
|title=The Naked Ape: A Zoologist's Study of the Human Animal
|url=https://www.amazon.com/Naked-Ape-Zoologists-Study-Animal/dp/0385334303?s=books
|scope=
|location=
|publisher=Delta
|ISBN=10 0385334303
|accessdate=2026-06-03
}}
* {{REFbook
|last=Morris
|first=Desmond
|init=
|year=2007
|title=The Naked Woman: A Study of the Female Body
|url=https://www.amazon.com/Naked-Woman-Study-Female-Body/dp/0312338538?s=books
|scope=
|location=
|publisher=St. Martins Griffin
|ISBN=10 9780312338534
|accessdate=2026-06-03
}}
* {{REFbook
|last=Morris
|first=Desmond
|init=
|year=2009
|title=The Naked Man: A Study of the Male Body
|url=https://www.amazon.com/Naked-Man-Study-Male-Body/dp/0312385307?s=books
|scope=
|location=
|publisher=Thomas Dunne Books
|ISBN=10 0312385307
|accessdate=2026-06-03
}}
===Commentary on male and female genital cutting and genital mutilation===
 
 
 
<hr>
 
<blockquote>
<center>
<big>Comment on Circumcision and Genital Mutilation</big>

Desmond Morris
</center>
For thousands of years, in many different cultures, the genitals have fallen victim to an amazing variety of mutilations and restrictions. For organs that are capable of giving us an immense amount of pleasure They have given us an inordinate amount of pain.

The commonest form of assault they have suffered is male and female circumcision. This strange mutilation is older than civilization and was probably well advance in the Stone Age. Although it is a piece of deliberate wounding of children by adults, it has been done with the best of intentions. Over the millennia it has cause countless deaths from infection, but its advantages have always been said to outweigh the risks involved. These alleged advantages have varied from epoch to epoch and culture to culture, but recent re-examination has shown that they are all imaginary.

It has been claimed that one of the oldest reasons for performing male circumcision—the removal of the foreskin—is that it provoked immortality in the shape of life after death. This odd notion was based on the observation that when the snake sheds its skin it emerges with glistening new scales and is “reborn.” If the snake can enjoy rebirth by the removal of skin, so too can the human being. For snake read penis; for snake-skin read foreskin.

Once male circumcision had become traditional it no longer mattered whether the old beliefs survived. Being circumcised was not the badge of belonging to a particular society. The ritual mutilation spread and spread. Ancient Egyptians were doing it as long ago as 4000 B.C. In the Old Testament, Abraham demanded it. Arabs circumcised as well as Jews. Mohammed was said to have been born without a foreskin (which he may well have been, as this condition is not unknown to medical science), a claim which automatically doomed the foreskins of his future male followers.

As the centuries passed, religious arguments gave way, for many to quack medical arguments. The possession of a foreskin was said to cause “masturbatory insanity.” Other medical horrors resulting from its retention included hysteria, epilepsy, nocturnal incontinence, and nervousness. Such ideas survived into the early part of the present century and even led to the formation of an Orificial Surgery Society devoted exclusively to the “modifications” of offending genital as a means of preventing mental illness.

When at last this nonsense was on the decline a crisis arose. What new reason could be found for mutilating children’s genitals? The solution had to be one that suited the rational climate of twentieth-century scientific inquiry. The answer appeared in The Lancet in 1932: foreskins caused cancer! By the end of the 1930s 75 per cent of the boys in the United States were being circumcised; by 1973 it was 84 per cent; by 1976 it was 87 per cent. Cancer had become the secular version of hellfire and brimstone, the perfect weapon for the anxiety makers of a post-religious society.

To be more precise, the claim that the “debris” called smegma which collects under retained foreskins could cause cancer of the penis and also cancer of the cervix of the wives of the uncircumcised. The paper which started this false rumour was founded on faulty statistics, but nobody minded because here was a plausible new reason for slicing away at the infantile penis. Subsequent experiments, however revealed that there is nothing remotely carcinogenic about the smegma produced under the fold of the foreskin, but they were widely ignored. Other investigations showed that women whose uncircumcised husbands always wore condoms were no more or less likely to develop cancer than those whose husbands never wore condoms. But again nobody wanted to know. In one country where there was no circumcision at all was compared to a country in which all males were circumcised. The results showed, to the relief of the foreskin snippers, that prostate cancer was higher in the uncircumcised country. Unfortunately this form of cancer is a disease of elderly men, and when a correction for age distribution was made the figures showed that this disorder was actually more likely in the circumcised country.

Not only was the cancer scare completely without foundation, but the operation of foreskin removal continued to prove a distinct health hazard for small babies. There were many cases of haemorrhage, ulceration of the urethra, surgical trauma and local infection. In rare cases, foreskin removal resulted in the death of the baby. There were also more subtle effects with possible long-term implications: following circumcision male babies showed an increase in the level of hormones related to stress; sleep patterns altered; there was more crying and more irritability.

Despite all this, “medical” circumcisions continued (and still continues) at a merry pace in certain countries where private medicine is the rule. In Britain, significantly, there was a dramatic decline in the operation following the introduction of the National Health Service scheme and free treatment. It is impossible to refrain from asking why it should be that the operation sank to a level of less than one per cent (only 0.41 per cent of male babies in 1972) in a country where there was no financial gain to be made from it, while in the United States, for example, in the same year, over 80 per cent of male babies were circumcised, at an annual cost to health-insurance companies of more than $200 million. The new deities demanding circumcision appear to be more fiscal than sacred.

Young females have also been assaulted in this fashion. This has been rare in the West, although as recently as 1937 a Texas doctor was advocating the removal of the clitoris to cure frigidity. The harshest traditions of female circumcision are found in Africa, parts of the Middle East, Indonesia and Malayia. It is a staggering fact that, far from being an ancient memory, the practice of cutting away all or part of the external genitals of young females is still going on in more than 20 countries.

No fewer than 74 million women alive today have been subjected to this mutilation. In the worst cases, they have had their labia and clitoris scraped or cut away and their vaginal opening stitched up with silk, catgut, or thorns, leaving only a tiny opening for urine and menstrual blood. After the operation the girl’s legs are bound together to ensure that scar-tissue forms and the condition becomes permanent. Later, when they marry, these females suffer the pain of having their artificially reduced orifices broken open by their husbands.

The effect of this practice is to dramatically reduce sexual pleasure for wives in the countries concerned, which may be its hidden significance. A side-effect is the high number of deaths and serious illnesses cause by the unhygienic conditions under which the operations are performed, especially in such countries as Oman, South Yemen, Somalia, Djibouti, Sudan, southern Egypt, Ethiopia, northern Kenya, and Mali. The continuance of such practices in the twentieth century against a background of modern enlightenment is clearly going to puzzle historians of the distant future.
<center>
—Desmond Morris (Circa 1985)
</blockquote>

==Videos==
===Desmond Morris (Writer))===
<youtube>v=rfe8nKkVUPo&list=PLVV0r6CmEsFwtuDq9yKrhqqkJ-Era-N7w&index=3</youtube>
===Desmond Morris - Cheating death even before birth (1/37)===
<youtube>v=aZoJbK9hBMo</youtube>
===Desmond Morris - Human beings - just another species of animal? (23/37)===
<youtube>v=taFeI6TwAOQ</youtube>
===Zoology and the Human Animal===
<youtube>v=myL24gP20fo</youtube>
===Male genital mutilation ritual from Desmond Morris - The Human Sexes===
<youtube>v=QaFtcIrtbm0</youtube>
===Desmond Morris - 'The Human Zoo' (25/37)===
<youtube>v=1wlGhIh1lfE</youtube>
===Desmond Morris - Avoiding death for the second time (3/37)===
<youtube>v=rfe8nKkVUPo</youtube>
===Desmond Morris - Contemplating death and the afterlife (37/37)===
<youtube>v=3uddkAIHTEc</youtube>
===Desmond Morris passes away (1928 - 2026) (UK) - UK News - 20/Apr/2026===
<youtube>v=N9fVSDziV6o</youtube>

==Death==
Following the death of his wife, Ramona, in November 2018, Desmond Morris left his home in [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oxford Oxford] in June 2019 and moved to [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/County_Kildare County Kildare] in [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_of_Ireland Ireland] to live close to his son, Jason, and his family there.

He passed away there at the age of 98 on 19 April 2026.<ref name="radford2026">{{REFweb
|url=https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2026/apr/20/desmond-morris-obituary
|title=Desmond Morris Obituary
|last=Radford
|first=Tim
|publisher=The Guardian
|date=2026-04-20
|accessdate=2026-06-05
}}</ref> <ref name="woodhouse2026>{{REFweb
|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c51y797v200o
|title=Zoologist and author Desmond Morris dies aged 98
|last=Woodhouse
|first=Sam
|publisher=BBC
|date=2026-04-20
|accessdate=2026-06-05
}}</ref>
{{SEEALSO}}
* [[Alice Miller]]
* [[Cervical cancer]]
* [[Child circumcision]]
* [[Circumcision of the newborn]]
* [[Financial incentive]]
* [[Foreskin]]
* [[Penile cancer]]
* [[Risks and complications]]
{{LINKS}}
* {{URLwebsite|http://www.desmond-morris.com/|2026-06-04}}
* {{URLwikipedia|Desmond_Morris|Desmond Morris}}
* {{REFweb
|url=http://www.desmond-morris.com/biography.php
|title=Biography of Desmond John Morris
|last=Williams
|first=David
|init=
|author-link=
|publisher=The Desmond Morris Information Page
|date=2022-09-20
|accessdate=2026-06-06
}}
{{REF}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Morris, Desmond}}

[[Category:Person]]
[[Category:Male]]
[[Category:Author]]
[[Category:Female genital mutilation]]
[[Category:Financial gain]]
[[Category:Intactivism]]
[[Category:Intactivist]]
[[Category:Intactivist literature]]

[[Category:UK]]

Desmond Morris

2026-06-06T09:36:47Z

WikiModEn2: Add links in SEEALSO section.

{{Construction Site}}
'''{{FULLPAGENAME}}''' ({{LifeData|birth=1928-01-24|birthplace=[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Purton Purton], Wiltshire|birthcountry=[[United Kingdom]]|death=2026-04-19|deathplace=[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naas Naas], County Kildare|deathcountry=Ireland}})

The late Desmond John Morris, Ph.D., was a British zoologist and ethologist. He became famous by applying the methods of animal study to humans.

Morris was a strong opponent of all forms of genital cutting and sexual mutilation, including [[child circumcision]].
==Early life==
Morris was born in Purton, [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wiltshire Wiltshire], to Marjorie (née Hunt) and children's fiction author Harry Morris. A few years later the family moved to [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swindon Swindon].

In his teen years he attended [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dauntsey%27s_School Dauncey's School], an upscale coeducational school in the country on 150 acres of land.<ref>[https://www.dauntseys.org/ Dauntsey's School]</ref> This may be where he acquired his interest in nature.

==Adult life==
Morris enlisted in the British Army for two years at age 18 in 1946 to perform his [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_service national service].

After completing his national service, Morris started to study zoology at the [https://www.birmingham.ac.uk/ University of Birmingham].

Morris commenced his studies at the [https://www.ox.ac.uk/ University of Oxford] in 1951. He was awarded a Ph.D. in 1954.
{{PUB}}
===Articles===
Dr. Morris wrote articles throughout his long life. His prodigious output is indexed on his website. Please see [http://www.desmond-morris.com/articles.php Selected Articles].

A search at [https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/ PubMed] for "Morris DJ" produces a list of 256 published articles. It is not clear how many of these were authored by Desmond John Morris.

===Books===
Dr. Morris is credited with the authorship of 104 books. For a complete list see [http://www.desmond-morris.com books.php Bibliography]
* {{REFbook
|last=Morris
|first=Desmond
|init=
|year=1985
|title=Bodywatching
|url=https://www.amazon.com/s?k=Bodywatching&i=stripbooks
|scope=
|location=
|publisher=Random House
|ISBN=10-0517558149
|accessdate=2026-06-04
}}
* {{REFbook
|last=Morris
|first=Desmond
|init=
|year=1994
|title=The Human Animal: A Personal View of the Human Species
|url=https://www.amazon.com/Human-Animal-Personal-View-Species/dp/0563370211?s=books
|scope=
|location=
|publisher=BBC Publications
|ISBN=10 0563370211
|accessdate=2026-06-03
}}

* {{REFbook
|last=Morris
|first=Desmond
|init=
|year=1997
|title=The Human Sexes
|url=https://www.amazon.com/Human-Sexes-Morris-Desmond/dp/0563383585?s=books
|scope=
|location=
|publisher=Netwook Books
|ISBN=10 0563383585
|accessdate=2026-06-03
}}
* {{REFbook
|last=Morris
|first=Desmond
|init=
|year=1999
|title=The Naked Ape: A Zoologist's Study of the Human Animal
|url=https://www.amazon.com/Naked-Ape-Zoologists-Study-Animal/dp/0385334303?s=books
|scope=
|location=
|publisher=Delta
|ISBN=10 0385334303
|accessdate=2026-06-03
}}
* {{REFbook
|last=Morris
|first=Desmond
|init=
|year=2007
|title=The Naked Woman: A Study of the Female Body
|url=https://www.amazon.com/Naked-Woman-Study-Female-Body/dp/0312338538?s=books
|scope=
|location=
|publisher=St. Martins Griffin
|ISBN=10 9780312338534
|accessdate=2026-06-03
}}
* {{REFbook
|last=Morris
|first=Desmond
|init=
|year=2009
|title=The Naked Man: A Study of the Male Body
|url=https://www.amazon.com/Naked-Man-Study-Male-Body/dp/0312385307?s=books
|scope=
|location=
|publisher=Thomas Dunne Books
|ISBN=10 0312385307
|accessdate=2026-06-03
}}
===Commentary on male and female genital cutting and genital mutilation===
 
 
 
<hr>
 
<blockquote>
<center>
<big>Comment on Circumcision and Genital Mutilation</big>

Desmond Morris
</center>
For thousands of years, in many different cultures, the genitals have fallen victim to an amazing variety of mutilations and restrictions. For organs that are capable of giving us an immense amount of pleasure They have given us an inordinate amount of pain.

The commonest form of assault they have suffered is male and female circumcision. This strange mutilation is older than civilization and was probably well advance in the Stone Age. Although it is a piece of deliberate wounding of children by adults, it has been done with the best of intentions. Over the millennia it has cause countless deaths from infection, but its advantages have always been said to outweigh the risks involved. These alleged advantages have varied from epoch to epoch and culture to culture, but recent re-examination has shown that they are all imaginary.

It has been claimed that one of the oldest reasons for performing male circumcision—the removal of the foreskin—is that it provoked immortality in the shape of life after death. This odd notion was based on the observation that when the snake sheds its skin it emerges with glistening new scales and is “reborn.” If the snake can enjoy rebirth by the removal of skin, so too can the human being. For snake read penis; for snake-skin read foreskin.

Once male circumcision had become traditional it no longer mattered whether the old beliefs survived. Being circumcised was not the badge of belonging to a particular society. The ritual mutilation spread and spread. Ancient Egyptians were doing it as long ago as 4000 B.C. In the Old Testament, Abraham demanded it. Arabs circumcised as well as Jews. Mohammed was said to have been born without a foreskin (which he may well have been, as this condition is not unknown to medical science), a claim which automatically doomed the foreskins of his future male followers.

As the centuries passed, religious arguments gave way, for many to quack medical arguments. The possession of a foreskin was said to cause “masturbatory insanity.” Other medical horrors resulting from its retention included hysteria, epilepsy, nocturnal incontinence, and nervousness. Such ideas survived into the early part of the present century and even led to the formation of an Orificial Surgery Society devoted exclusively to the “modifications” of offending genital as a means of preventing mental illness.

When at last this nonsense was on the decline a crisis arose. What new reason could be found for mutilating children’s genitals? The solution had to be one that suited the rational climate of twentieth-century scientific inquiry. The answer appeared in The Lancet in 1932: foreskins caused cancer! By the end of the 1930s 75 per cent of the boys in the United States were being circumcised; by 1973 it was 84 per cent; by 1976 it was 87 per cent. Cancer had become the secular version of hellfire and brimstone, the perfect weapon for the anxiety makers of a post-religious society.

To be more precise, the claim that the “debris” called smegma which collects under retained foreskins could cause cancer of the penis and also cancer of the cervix of the wives of the uncircumcised. The paper which started this false rumour was founded on faulty statistics, but nobody minded because here was a plausible new reason for slicing away at the infantile penis. Subsequent experiments, however revealed that there is nothing remotely carcinogenic about the smegma produced under the fold of the foreskin, but they were widely ignored. Other investigations showed that women whose uncircumcised husbands always wore condoms were no more or less likely to develop cancer than those whose husbands never wore condoms. But again nobody wanted to know. In one country where there was no circumcision at all was compared to a country in which all males were circumcised. The results showed, to the relief of the foreskin snippers, that prostate cancer was higher in the uncircumcised country. Unfortunately this form of cancer is a disease of elderly men, and when a correction for age distribution was made the figures showed that this disorder was actually more likely in the circumcised country.

Not only was the cancer scare completely without foundation, but the operation of foreskin removal continued to prove a distinct health hazard for small babies. There were many cases of haemorrhage, ulceration of the urethra, surgical trauma and local infection. In rare cases, foreskin removal resulted in the death of the baby. There were also more subtle effects with possible long-term implications: following circumcision male babies showed an increase in the level of hormones related to stress; sleep patterns altered; there was more crying and more irritability.

Despite all this, “medical” circumcisions continued (and still continues) at a merry pace in certain countries where private medicine is the rule. In Britain, significantly, there was a dramatic decline in the operation following the introduction of the National Health Service scheme and free treatment. It is impossible to refrain from asking why it should be that the operation sank to a level of less than one per cent (only 0.41 per cent of male babies in 1972) in a country where there was no financial gain to be made from it, while in the United States, for example, in the same year, over 80 per cent of male babies were circumcised, at an annual cost to health-insurance companies of more than $200 million. The new deities demanding circumcision appear to be more fiscal than sacred.

Young females have also been assaulted in this fashion. This has been rare in the West, although as recently as 1937 a Texas doctor was advocating the removal of the clitoris to cure frigidity. The harshest traditions of female circumcision are found in Africa, parts of the Middle East, Indonesia and Malayia. It is a staggering fact that, far from being an ancient memory, the practice of cutting away all or part of the external genitals of young females is still going on in more than 20 countries.

No fewer than 74 million women alive today have been subjected to this mutilation. In the worst cases, they have had their labia and clitoris scraped or cut away and their vaginal opening stitched up with silk, catgut, or thorns, leaving only a tiny opening for urine and menstrual blood. After the operation the girl’s legs are bound together to ensure that scar-tissue forms and the condition becomes permanent. Later, when they marry, these females suffer the pain of having their artificially reduced orifices broken open by their husbands.

The effect of this practice is to dramatically reduce sexual pleasure for wives in the countries concerned, which may be its hidden significance. A side-effect is the high number of deaths and serious illnesses cause by the unhygienic conditions under which the operations are performed, especially in such countries as Oman, South Yemen, Somalia, Djibouti, Sudan, southern Egypt, Ethiopia, northern Kenya, and Mali. The continuance of such practices in the twentieth century against a background of modern enlightenment is clearly going to puzzle historians of the distant future.
<center>
—Desmond Morris (Circa 1985)
</blockquote>

==Videos==
===Desmond Morris (Writer))===
<youtube>v=rfe8nKkVUPo&list=PLVV0r6CmEsFwtuDq9yKrhqqkJ-Era-N7w&index=3</youtube>
===Desmond Morris - Cheating death even before birth (1/37)===
<youtube>v=aZoJbK9hBMo</youtube>
===Desmond Morris - Human beings - just another species of animal? (23/37)===
<youtube>v=taFeI6TwAOQ</youtube>
===Zoology and the Human Animal===
<youtube>v=myL24gP20fo</youtube>
===Male genital mutilation ritual from Desmond Morris - The Human Sexes===
<youtube>v=QaFtcIrtbm0</youtube>
===Desmond Morris - 'The Human Zoo' (25/37)===
<youtube>v=1wlGhIh1lfE</youtube>
===Desmond Morris - Avoiding death for the second time (3/37)===
<youtube>v=rfe8nKkVUPo</youtube>
===Desmond Morris - Contemplating death and the afterlife (37/37)===
<youtube>v=3uddkAIHTEc</youtube>
===Desmond Morris passes away (1928 - 2026) (UK) - UK News - 20/Apr/2026===
<youtube>v=N9fVSDziV6o</youtube>

==Death==
Following the death of his wife, Ramona, in November 2018, Desmond Morris left his home in [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oxford Oxford] in June 2019 and moved to [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/County_Kildare County Kildare] in [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_of_Ireland Ireland] to live close to his son, Jason, and his family there.

He passed away there at the age of 98 on 19 April 2026.<ref name="radford2026">{{REFweb
|url=https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2026/apr/20/desmond-morris-obituary
|title=Desmond Morris Obituary
|last=Radford
|first=Tim
|publisher=The Guardian
|date=2026-04-20
|accessdate=2026-06-05
}}</ref> <ref name="woodhouse2026>{{REFweb
|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c51y797v200o
|title=Zoologist and author Desmond Morris dies aged 98
|last=Woodhouse
|first=Sam
|publisher=BBC
|date=2026-04-20
|accessdate=2026-06-05
}}</ref>
{{SEEALSO}}
* [[Alice Miller]]
* [[Cervical cancer]]
* [[Child circumcision]]
* [[Circumcision of the newborn]]
* [[Financial incentive]]
* [[Foreskin]]
* [[Penile cancer]]
* [[Risks and complications]]
{{LINKS}}
* {{URLwebsite|http://www.desmond-morris.com/|2026-06-04}}
* {{URLwikipedia|Desmond_Morris|Desmond Morris}}
{{REF}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Morris, Desmond}}

[[Category:Person]]
[[Category:Male]]
[[Category:Author]]
[[Category:Female genital mutilation]]
[[Category:Financial gain]]
[[Category:Intactivism]]
[[Category:Intactivist]]
[[Category:Intactivist literature]]

[[Category:UK]]

Desmond Morris

2026-06-06T00:57:18Z

WikiModEn2: /* Videos */

{{Construction Site}}
'''{{FULLPAGENAME}}''' ({{LifeData|birth=1928-01-24|birthplace=[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Purton Purton], Wiltshire|birthcountry=[[United Kingdom]]|death=2026-04-19|deathplace=[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naas Naas], County Kildare|deathcountry=Ireland}})

The late Desmond John Morris, Ph.D., was a British zoologist and ethologist. He became famous by applying the methods of animal study to humans.

Morris was a strong opponent of all forms of genital cutting and sexual mutilation, including [[child circumcision]].
==Early life==
Morris was born in Purton, [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wiltshire Wiltshire], to Marjorie (née Hunt) and children's fiction author Harry Morris. A few years later the family moved to [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swindon Swindon].

In his teen years he attended [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dauntsey%27s_School Dauncey's School], an upscale coeducational school in the country on 150 acres of land.<ref>[https://www.dauntseys.org/ Dauntsey's School]</ref> This may be where he acquired his interest in nature.

==Adult life==
Morris enlisted in the British Army for two years at age 18 in 1946 to perform his [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_service national service].

After completing his national service, Morris started to study zoology at the [https://www.birmingham.ac.uk/ University of Birmingham].

Morris commenced his studies at the [https://www.ox.ac.uk/ University of Oxford] in 1951. He was awarded a Ph.D. in 1954.
{{PUB}}
===Articles===
Dr. Morris wrote articles throughout his long life. His prodigious output is indexed on his website. Please see [http://www.desmond-morris.com/articles.php Selected Articles].

A search at [https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/ PubMed] for "Morris DJ" produces a list of 256 published articles. It is not clear how many of these were authored by Desmond John Morris.

===Books===
Dr. Morris is credited with the authorship of 104 books. For a complete list see [http://www.desmond-morris.com books.php Bibliography]
* {{REFbook
|last=Morris
|first=Desmond
|init=
|year=1985
|title=Bodywatching
|url=https://www.amazon.com/s?k=Bodywatching&i=stripbooks
|scope=
|location=
|publisher=Random House
|ISBN=10-0517558149
|accessdate=2026-06-04
}}
* {{REFbook
|last=Morris
|first=Desmond
|init=
|year=1994
|title=The Human Animal: A Personal View of the Human Species
|url=https://www.amazon.com/Human-Animal-Personal-View-Species/dp/0563370211?s=books
|scope=
|location=
|publisher=BBC Publications
|ISBN=10 0563370211
|accessdate=2026-06-03
}}

* {{REFbook
|last=Morris
|first=Desmond
|init=
|year=1997
|title=The Human Sexes
|url=https://www.amazon.com/Human-Sexes-Morris-Desmond/dp/0563383585?s=books
|scope=
|location=
|publisher=Netwook Books
|ISBN=10 0563383585
|accessdate=2026-06-03
}}
* {{REFbook
|last=Morris
|first=Desmond
|init=
|year=1999
|title=The Naked Ape: A Zoologist's Study of the Human Animal
|url=https://www.amazon.com/Naked-Ape-Zoologists-Study-Animal/dp/0385334303?s=books
|scope=
|location=
|publisher=Delta
|ISBN=10 0385334303
|accessdate=2026-06-03
}}
* {{REFbook
|last=Morris
|first=Desmond
|init=
|year=2007
|title=The Naked Woman: A Study of the Female Body
|url=https://www.amazon.com/Naked-Woman-Study-Female-Body/dp/0312338538?s=books
|scope=
|location=
|publisher=St. Martins Griffin
|ISBN=10 9780312338534
|accessdate=2026-06-03
}}
* {{REFbook
|last=Morris
|first=Desmond
|init=
|year=2009
|title=The Naked Man: A Study of the Male Body
|url=https://www.amazon.com/Naked-Man-Study-Male-Body/dp/0312385307?s=books
|scope=
|location=
|publisher=Thomas Dunne Books
|ISBN=10 0312385307
|accessdate=2026-06-03
}}
===Commentary on male and female genital cutting and genital mutilation===
 
 
 
<hr>
 
<blockquote>
<center>
<big>Comment on Circumcision and Genital Mutilation</big>

Desmond Morris
</center>
For thousands of years, in many different cultures, the genitals have fallen victim to an amazing variety of mutilations and restrictions. For organs that are capable of giving us an immense amount of pleasure They have given us an inordinate amount of pain.

The commonest form of assault they have suffered is male and female circumcision. This strange mutilation is older than civilization and was probably well advance in the Stone Age. Although it is a piece of deliberate wounding of children by adults, it has been done with the best of intentions. Over the millennia it has cause countless deaths from infection, but its advantages have always been said to outweigh the risks involved. These alleged advantages have varied from epoch to epoch and culture to culture, but recent re-examination has shown that they are all imaginary.

It has been claimed that one of the oldest reasons for performing male circumcision—the removal of the foreskin—is that it provoked immortality in the shape of life after death. This odd notion was based on the observation that when the snake sheds its skin it emerges with glistening new scales and is “reborn.” If the snake can enjoy rebirth by the removal of skin, so too can the human being. For snake read penis; for snake-skin read foreskin.

Once male circumcision had become traditional it no longer mattered whether the old beliefs survived. Being circumcised was not the badge of belonging to a particular society. The ritual mutilation spread and spread. Ancient Egyptians were doing it as long ago as 4000 B.C. In the Old Testament, Abraham demanded it. Arabs circumcised as well as Jews. Mohammed was said to have been born without a foreskin (which he may well have been, as this condition is not unknown to medical science), a claim which automatically doomed the foreskins of his future male followers.

As the centuries passed, religious arguments gave way, for many to quack medical arguments. The possession of a foreskin was said to cause “masturbatory insanity.” Other medical horrors resulting from its retention included hysteria, epilepsy, nocturnal incontinence, and nervousness. Such ideas survived into the early part of the present century and even led to the formation of an Orificial Surgery Society devoted exclusively to the “modifications” of offending genital as a means of preventing mental illness.

When at last this nonsense was on the decline a crisis arose. What new reason could be found for mutilating children’s genitals? The solution had to be one that suited the rational climate of twentieth-century scientific inquiry. The answer appeared in The Lancet in 1932: foreskins caused cancer! By the end of the 1930s 75 per cent of the boys in the United States were being circumcised; by 1973 it was 84 per cent; by 1976 it was 87 per cent. Cancer had become the secular version of hellfire and brimstone, the perfect weapon for the anxiety makers of a post-religious society.

To be more precise, the claim that the “debris” called smegma which collects under retained foreskins could cause cancer of the penis and also cancer of the cervix of the wives of the uncircumcised. The paper which started this false rumour was founded on faulty statistics, but nobody minded because here was a plausible new reason for slicing away at the infantile penis. Subsequent experiments, however revealed that there is nothing remotely carcinogenic about the smegma produced under the fold of the foreskin, but they were widely ignored. Other investigations showed that women whose uncircumcised husbands always wore condoms were no more or less likely to develop cancer than those whose husbands never wore condoms. But again nobody wanted to know. In one country where there was no circumcision at all was compared to a country in which all males were circumcised. The results showed, to the relief of the foreskin snippers, that prostate cancer was higher in the uncircumcised country. Unfortunately this form of cancer is a disease of elderly men, and when a correction for age distribution was made the figures showed that this disorder was actually more likely in the circumcised country.

Not only was the cancer scare completely without foundation, but the operation of foreskin removal continued to prove a distinct health hazard for small babies. There were many cases of haemorrhage, ulceration of the urethra, surgical trauma and local infection. In rare cases, foreskin removal resulted in the death of the baby. There were also more subtle effects with possible long-term implications: following circumcision male babies showed an increase in the level of hormones related to stress; sleep patterns altered; there was more crying and more irritability.

Despite all this, “medical” circumcisions continued (and still continues) at a merry pace in certain countries where private medicine is the rule. In Britain, significantly, there was a dramatic decline in the operation following the introduction of the National Health Service scheme and free treatment. It is impossible to refrain from asking why it should be that the operation sank to a level of less than one per cent (only 0.41 per cent of male babies in 1972) in a country where there was no financial gain to be made from it, while in the United States, for example, in the same year, over 80 per cent of male babies were circumcised, at an annual cost to health-insurance companies of more than $200 million. The new deities demanding circumcision appear to be more fiscal than sacred.

Young females have also been assaulted in this fashion. This has been rare in the West, although as recently as 1937 a Texas doctor was advocating the removal of the clitoris to cure frigidity. The harshest traditions of female circumcision are found in Africa, parts of the Middle East, Indonesia and Malayia. It is a staggering fact that, far from being an ancient memory, the practice of cutting away all or part of the external genitals of young females is still going on in more than 20 countries.

No fewer than 74 million women alive today have been subjected to this mutilation. In the worst cases, they have had their labia and clitoris scraped or cut away and their vaginal opening stitched up with silk, catgut, or thorns, leaving only a tiny opening for urine and menstrual blood. After the operation the girl’s legs are bound together to ensure that scar-tissue forms and the condition becomes permanent. Later, when they marry, these females suffer the pain of having their artificially reduced orifices broken open by their husbands.

The effect of this practice is to dramatically reduce sexual pleasure for wives in the countries concerned, which may be its hidden significance. A side-effect is the high number of deaths and serious illnesses cause by the unhygienic conditions under which the operations are performed, especially in such countries as Oman, South Yemen, Somalia, Djibouti, Sudan, southern Egypt, Ethiopia, northern Kenya, and Mali. The continuance of such practices in the twentieth century against a background of modern enlightenment is clearly going to puzzle historians of the distant future.
<center>
—Desmond Morris (Circa 1985)
</blockquote>

==Videos==
===Desmond Morris (Writer))===
<youtube>v=rfe8nKkVUPo&list=PLVV0r6CmEsFwtuDq9yKrhqqkJ-Era-N7w&index=3</youtube>
===Desmond Morris - Cheating death even before birth (1/37)===
<youtube>v=aZoJbK9hBMo</youtube>
===Desmond Morris - Human beings - just another species of animal? (23/37)===
<youtube>v=taFeI6TwAOQ</youtube>
===Zoology and the Human Animal===
<youtube>v=myL24gP20fo</youtube>
===Male genital mutilation ritual from Desmond Morris - The Human Sexes===
<youtube>v=QaFtcIrtbm0</youtube>
===Desmond Morris - 'The Human Zoo' (25/37)===
<youtube>v=1wlGhIh1lfE</youtube>
===Desmond Morris - Avoiding death for the second time (3/37)===
<youtube>v=rfe8nKkVUPo</youtube>
===Desmond Morris - Contemplating death and the afterlife (37/37)===
<youtube>v=3uddkAIHTEc</youtube>
===Desmond Morris passes away (1928 - 2026) (UK) - UK News - 20/Apr/2026===
<youtube>v=N9fVSDziV6o</youtube>

==Death==
Following the death of his wife, Ramona, in November 2018, Desmond Morris left his home in [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oxford Oxford] in June 2019 and moved to [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/County_Kildare County Kildare] in [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_of_Ireland Ireland] to live close to his son, Jason, and his family there.

He passed away there at the age of 98 on 19 April 2026.<ref name="radford2026">{{REFweb
|url=https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2026/apr/20/desmond-morris-obituary
|title=Desmond Morris Obituary
|last=Radford
|first=Tim
|publisher=The Guardian
|date=2026-04-20
|accessdate=2026-06-05
}}</ref> <ref name="woodhouse2026>{{REFweb
|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c51y797v200o
|title=Zoologist and author Desmond Morris dies aged 98
|last=Woodhouse
|first=Sam
|publisher=BBC
|date=2026-04-20
|accessdate=2026-06-05
}}</ref>
{{SEEALSO}}
* [[Alice Miller]]
{{LINKS}}
* {{URLwebsite|http://www.desmond-morris.com/|2026-06-04}}
* {{URLwikipedia|Desmond_Morris|Desmond Morris}}
{{REF}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Morris, Desmond}}

[[Category:Person]]
[[Category:Male]]
[[Category:Author]]
[[Category:Female genital mutilation]]
[[Category:Financial gain]]
[[Category:Intactivism]]
[[Category:Intactivist]]
[[Category:Intactivist literature]]

[[Category:UK]]

Desmond Morris

2026-06-06T00:35:53Z

WikiModEn2: /* Videos */ Edit videos.

{{Construction Site}}
'''{{FULLPAGENAME}}''' ({{LifeData|birth=1928-01-24|birthplace=[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Purton Purton], Wiltshire|birthcountry=[[United Kingdom]]|death=2026-04-19|deathplace=[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naas Naas], County Kildare|deathcountry=Ireland}})

The late Desmond John Morris, Ph.D., was a British zoologist and ethologist. He became famous by applying the methods of animal study to humans.

Morris was a strong opponent of all forms of genital cutting and sexual mutilation, including [[child circumcision]].
==Early life==
Morris was born in Purton, [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wiltshire Wiltshire], to Marjorie (née Hunt) and children's fiction author Harry Morris. A few years later the family moved to [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swindon Swindon].

In his teen years he attended [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dauntsey%27s_School Dauncey's School], an upscale coeducational school in the country on 150 acres of land.<ref>[https://www.dauntseys.org/ Dauntsey's School]</ref> This may be where he acquired his interest in nature.

==Adult life==
Morris enlisted in the British Army for two years at age 18 in 1946 to perform his [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_service national service].

After completing his national service, Morris started to study zoology at the [https://www.birmingham.ac.uk/ University of Birmingham].

Morris commenced his studies at the [https://www.ox.ac.uk/ University of Oxford] in 1951. He was awarded a Ph.D. in 1954.
{{PUB}}
===Articles===
Dr. Morris wrote articles throughout his long life. His prodigious output is indexed on his website. Please see [http://www.desmond-morris.com/articles.php Selected Articles].

A search at [https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/ PubMed] for "Morris DJ" produces a list of 256 published articles. It is not clear how many of these were authored by Desmond John Morris.

===Books===
Dr. Morris is credited with the authorship of 104 books. For a complete list see [http://www.desmond-morris.com books.php Bibliography]
* {{REFbook
|last=Morris
|first=Desmond
|init=
|year=1985
|title=Bodywatching
|url=https://www.amazon.com/s?k=Bodywatching&i=stripbooks
|scope=
|location=
|publisher=Random House
|ISBN=10-0517558149
|accessdate=2026-06-04
}}
* {{REFbook
|last=Morris
|first=Desmond
|init=
|year=1994
|title=The Human Animal: A Personal View of the Human Species
|url=https://www.amazon.com/Human-Animal-Personal-View-Species/dp/0563370211?s=books
|scope=
|location=
|publisher=BBC Publications
|ISBN=10 0563370211
|accessdate=2026-06-03
}}

* {{REFbook
|last=Morris
|first=Desmond
|init=
|year=1997
|title=The Human Sexes
|url=https://www.amazon.com/Human-Sexes-Morris-Desmond/dp/0563383585?s=books
|scope=
|location=
|publisher=Netwook Books
|ISBN=10 0563383585
|accessdate=2026-06-03
}}
* {{REFbook
|last=Morris
|first=Desmond
|init=
|year=1999
|title=The Naked Ape: A Zoologist's Study of the Human Animal
|url=https://www.amazon.com/Naked-Ape-Zoologists-Study-Animal/dp/0385334303?s=books
|scope=
|location=
|publisher=Delta
|ISBN=10 0385334303
|accessdate=2026-06-03
}}
* {{REFbook
|last=Morris
|first=Desmond
|init=
|year=2007
|title=The Naked Woman: A Study of the Female Body
|url=https://www.amazon.com/Naked-Woman-Study-Female-Body/dp/0312338538?s=books
|scope=
|location=
|publisher=St. Martins Griffin
|ISBN=10 9780312338534
|accessdate=2026-06-03
}}
* {{REFbook
|last=Morris
|first=Desmond
|init=
|year=2009
|title=The Naked Man: A Study of the Male Body
|url=https://www.amazon.com/Naked-Man-Study-Male-Body/dp/0312385307?s=books
|scope=
|location=
|publisher=Thomas Dunne Books
|ISBN=10 0312385307
|accessdate=2026-06-03
}}
===Commentary on male and female genital cutting and genital mutilation===
 
 
 
<hr>
 
<blockquote>
<center>
<big>Comment on Circumcision and Genital Mutilation</big>

Desmond Morris
</center>
For thousands of years, in many different cultures, the genitals have fallen victim to an amazing variety of mutilations and restrictions. For organs that are capable of giving us an immense amount of pleasure They have given us an inordinate amount of pain.

The commonest form of assault they have suffered is male and female circumcision. This strange mutilation is older than civilization and was probably well advance in the Stone Age. Although it is a piece of deliberate wounding of children by adults, it has been done with the best of intentions. Over the millennia it has cause countless deaths from infection, but its advantages have always been said to outweigh the risks involved. These alleged advantages have varied from epoch to epoch and culture to culture, but recent re-examination has shown that they are all imaginary.

It has been claimed that one of the oldest reasons for performing male circumcision—the removal of the foreskin—is that it provoked immortality in the shape of life after death. This odd notion was based on the observation that when the snake sheds its skin it emerges with glistening new scales and is “reborn.” If the snake can enjoy rebirth by the removal of skin, so too can the human being. For snake read penis; for snake-skin read foreskin.

Once male circumcision had become traditional it no longer mattered whether the old beliefs survived. Being circumcised was not the badge of belonging to a particular society. The ritual mutilation spread and spread. Ancient Egyptians were doing it as long ago as 4000 B.C. In the Old Testament, Abraham demanded it. Arabs circumcised as well as Jews. Mohammed was said to have been born without a foreskin (which he may well have been, as this condition is not unknown to medical science), a claim which automatically doomed the foreskins of his future male followers.

As the centuries passed, religious arguments gave way, for many to quack medical arguments. The possession of a foreskin was said to cause “masturbatory insanity.” Other medical horrors resulting from its retention included hysteria, epilepsy, nocturnal incontinence, and nervousness. Such ideas survived into the early part of the present century and even led to the formation of an Orificial Surgery Society devoted exclusively to the “modifications” of offending genital as a means of preventing mental illness.

When at last this nonsense was on the decline a crisis arose. What new reason could be found for mutilating children’s genitals? The solution had to be one that suited the rational climate of twentieth-century scientific inquiry. The answer appeared in The Lancet in 1932: foreskins caused cancer! By the end of the 1930s 75 per cent of the boys in the United States were being circumcised; by 1973 it was 84 per cent; by 1976 it was 87 per cent. Cancer had become the secular version of hellfire and brimstone, the perfect weapon for the anxiety makers of a post-religious society.

To be more precise, the claim that the “debris” called smegma which collects under retained foreskins could cause cancer of the penis and also cancer of the cervix of the wives of the uncircumcised. The paper which started this false rumour was founded on faulty statistics, but nobody minded because here was a plausible new reason for slicing away at the infantile penis. Subsequent experiments, however revealed that there is nothing remotely carcinogenic about the smegma produced under the fold of the foreskin, but they were widely ignored. Other investigations showed that women whose uncircumcised husbands always wore condoms were no more or less likely to develop cancer than those whose husbands never wore condoms. But again nobody wanted to know. In one country where there was no circumcision at all was compared to a country in which all males were circumcised. The results showed, to the relief of the foreskin snippers, that prostate cancer was higher in the uncircumcised country. Unfortunately this form of cancer is a disease of elderly men, and when a correction for age distribution was made the figures showed that this disorder was actually more likely in the circumcised country.

Not only was the cancer scare completely without foundation, but the operation of foreskin removal continued to prove a distinct health hazard for small babies. There were many cases of haemorrhage, ulceration of the urethra, surgical trauma and local infection. In rare cases, foreskin removal resulted in the death of the baby. There were also more subtle effects with possible long-term implications: following circumcision male babies showed an increase in the level of hormones related to stress; sleep patterns altered; there was more crying and more irritability.

Despite all this, “medical” circumcisions continued (and still continues) at a merry pace in certain countries where private medicine is the rule. In Britain, significantly, there was a dramatic decline in the operation following the introduction of the National Health Service scheme and free treatment. It is impossible to refrain from asking why it should be that the operation sank to a level of less than one per cent (only 0.41 per cent of male babies in 1972) in a country where there was no financial gain to be made from it, while in the United States, for example, in the same year, over 80 per cent of male babies were circumcised, at an annual cost to health-insurance companies of more than $200 million. The new deities demanding circumcision appear to be more fiscal than sacred.

Young females have also been assaulted in this fashion. This has been rare in the West, although as recently as 1937 a Texas doctor was advocating the removal of the clitoris to cure frigidity. The harshest traditions of female circumcision are found in Africa, parts of the Middle East, Indonesia and Malayia. It is a staggering fact that, far from being an ancient memory, the practice of cutting away all or part of the external genitals of young females is still going on in more than 20 countries.

No fewer than 74 million women alive today have been subjected to this mutilation. In the worst cases, they have had their labia and clitoris scraped or cut away and their vaginal opening stitched up with silk, catgut, or thorns, leaving only a tiny opening for urine and menstrual blood. After the operation the girl’s legs are bound together to ensure that scar-tissue forms and the condition becomes permanent. Later, when they marry, these females suffer the pain of having their artificially reduced orifices broken open by their husbands.

The effect of this practice is to dramatically reduce sexual pleasure for wives in the countries concerned, which may be its hidden significance. A side-effect is the high number of deaths and serious illnesses cause by the unhygienic conditions under which the operations are performed, especially in such countries as Oman, South Yemen, Somalia, Djibouti, Sudan, southern Egypt, Ethiopia, northern Kenya, and Mali. The continuance of such practices in the twentieth century against a background of modern enlightenment is clearly going to puzzle historians of the distant future.
<center>
—Desmond Morris (Circa 1985)
</blockquote>

==Videos==
===Desmond Morris (Writer))===
<youtube>v=rfe8nKkVUPo&list=PLVV0r6CmEsFwtuDq9yKrhqqkJ-Era-N7w&index=3</youtube>
===Desmond Morris - Cheating death even before birth (1/37)===
<youtube>v=aZoJbK9hBMo</youtube>
===Desmond Morris - Human beings - just another species of animal? (23/37)===
<youtube>v=taFeI6TwAOQ</youtube>
===Male genital mutilation ritual from Desmond Morris - The Human Sexes===
<youtube>v=QaFtcIrtbm0</youtube>
===Desmond Morris - 'The Human Zoo' (25/37)===
<youtube>v=1wlGhIh1lfE</youtube>
===Desmond Morris - Avoiding death for the second time (3/37)===
<youtube>v=rfe8nKkVUPo</youtube>
===Desmond Morris - Contemplating death and the afterlife (37/37)===
<youtube>v=3uddkAIHTEc</youtube>
===Desmond Morris passes away (1928 - 2026) (UK) - UK News - 20/Apr/2026===
<youtube>v=N9fVSDziV6o</youtube>

==Death==
Following the death of his wife, Ramona, in November 2018, Desmond Morris left his home in [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oxford Oxford] in June 2019 and moved to [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/County_Kildare County Kildare] in [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_of_Ireland Ireland] to live close to his son, Jason, and his family there.

He passed away there at the age of 98 on 19 April 2026.<ref name="radford2026">{{REFweb
|url=https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2026/apr/20/desmond-morris-obituary
|title=Desmond Morris Obituary
|last=Radford
|first=Tim
|publisher=The Guardian
|date=2026-04-20
|accessdate=2026-06-05
}}</ref> <ref name="woodhouse2026>{{REFweb
|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c51y797v200o
|title=Zoologist and author Desmond Morris dies aged 98
|last=Woodhouse
|first=Sam
|publisher=BBC
|date=2026-04-20
|accessdate=2026-06-05
}}</ref>
{{SEEALSO}}
* [[Alice Miller]]
{{LINKS}}
* {{URLwebsite|http://www.desmond-morris.com/|2026-06-04}}
* {{URLwikipedia|Desmond_Morris|Desmond Morris}}
{{REF}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Morris, Desmond}}

[[Category:Person]]
[[Category:Male]]
[[Category:Author]]
[[Category:Female genital mutilation]]
[[Category:Financial gain]]
[[Category:Intactivism]]
[[Category:Intactivist]]
[[Category:Intactivist literature]]

[[Category:UK]]

Desmond Morris

2026-06-06T00:21:20Z

WikiModEn2: /* Articles */ Add text and Wikify.

{{Construction Site}}
'''{{FULLPAGENAME}}''' ({{LifeData|birth=1928-01-24|birthplace=[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Purton Purton], Wiltshire|birthcountry=[[United Kingdom]]|death=2026-04-19|deathplace=[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naas Naas], County Kildare|deathcountry=Ireland}})

The late Desmond John Morris, Ph.D., was a British zoologist and ethologist. He became famous by applying the methods of animal study to humans.

Morris was a strong opponent of all forms of genital cutting and sexual mutilation, including [[child circumcision]].
==Early life==
Morris was born in Purton, [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wiltshire Wiltshire], to Marjorie (née Hunt) and children's fiction author Harry Morris. A few years later the family moved to [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swindon Swindon].

In his teen years he attended [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dauntsey%27s_School Dauncey's School], an upscale coeducational school in the country on 150 acres of land.<ref>[https://www.dauntseys.org/ Dauntsey's School]</ref> This may be where he acquired his interest in nature.

==Adult life==
Morris enlisted in the British Army for two years at age 18 in 1946 to perform his [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_service national service].

After completing his national service, Morris started to study zoology at the [https://www.birmingham.ac.uk/ University of Birmingham].

Morris commenced his studies at the [https://www.ox.ac.uk/ University of Oxford] in 1951. He was awarded a Ph.D. in 1954.
{{PUB}}
===Articles===
Dr. Morris wrote articles throughout his long life. His prodigious output is indexed on his website. Please see [http://www.desmond-morris.com/articles.php Selected Articles].

A search at [https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/ PubMed] for "Morris DJ" produces a list of 256 published articles. It is not clear how many of these were authored by Desmond John Morris.

===Books===
Dr. Morris is credited with the authorship of 104 books. For a complete list see [http://www.desmond-morris.com books.php Bibliography]
* {{REFbook
|last=Morris
|first=Desmond
|init=
|year=1985
|title=Bodywatching
|url=https://www.amazon.com/s?k=Bodywatching&i=stripbooks
|scope=
|location=
|publisher=Random House
|ISBN=10-0517558149
|accessdate=2026-06-04
}}
* {{REFbook
|last=Morris
|first=Desmond
|init=
|year=1994
|title=The Human Animal: A Personal View of the Human Species
|url=https://www.amazon.com/Human-Animal-Personal-View-Species/dp/0563370211?s=books
|scope=
|location=
|publisher=BBC Publications
|ISBN=10 0563370211
|accessdate=2026-06-03
}}

* {{REFbook
|last=Morris
|first=Desmond
|init=
|year=1997
|title=The Human Sexes
|url=https://www.amazon.com/Human-Sexes-Morris-Desmond/dp/0563383585?s=books
|scope=
|location=
|publisher=Netwook Books
|ISBN=10 0563383585
|accessdate=2026-06-03
}}
* {{REFbook
|last=Morris
|first=Desmond
|init=
|year=1999
|title=The Naked Ape: A Zoologist's Study of the Human Animal
|url=https://www.amazon.com/Naked-Ape-Zoologists-Study-Animal/dp/0385334303?s=books
|scope=
|location=
|publisher=Delta
|ISBN=10 0385334303
|accessdate=2026-06-03
}}
* {{REFbook
|last=Morris
|first=Desmond
|init=
|year=2007
|title=The Naked Woman: A Study of the Female Body
|url=https://www.amazon.com/Naked-Woman-Study-Female-Body/dp/0312338538?s=books
|scope=
|location=
|publisher=St. Martins Griffin
|ISBN=10 9780312338534
|accessdate=2026-06-03
}}
* {{REFbook
|last=Morris
|first=Desmond
|init=
|year=2009
|title=The Naked Man: A Study of the Male Body
|url=https://www.amazon.com/Naked-Man-Study-Male-Body/dp/0312385307?s=books
|scope=
|location=
|publisher=Thomas Dunne Books
|ISBN=10 0312385307
|accessdate=2026-06-03
}}
===Commentary on male and female genital cutting and genital mutilation===
 
 
 
<hr>
 
<blockquote>
<center>
<big>Comment on Circumcision and Genital Mutilation</big>

Desmond Morris
</center>
For thousands of years, in many different cultures, the genitals have fallen victim to an amazing variety of mutilations and restrictions. For organs that are capable of giving us an immense amount of pleasure They have given us an inordinate amount of pain.

The commonest form of assault they have suffered is male and female circumcision. This strange mutilation is older than civilization and was probably well advance in the Stone Age. Although it is a piece of deliberate wounding of children by adults, it has been done with the best of intentions. Over the millennia it has cause countless deaths from infection, but its advantages have always been said to outweigh the risks involved. These alleged advantages have varied from epoch to epoch and culture to culture, but recent re-examination has shown that they are all imaginary.

It has been claimed that one of the oldest reasons for performing male circumcision—the removal of the foreskin—is that it provoked immortality in the shape of life after death. This odd notion was based on the observation that when the snake sheds its skin it emerges with glistening new scales and is “reborn.” If the snake can enjoy rebirth by the removal of skin, so too can the human being. For snake read penis; for snake-skin read foreskin.

Once male circumcision had become traditional it no longer mattered whether the old beliefs survived. Being circumcised was not the badge of belonging to a particular society. The ritual mutilation spread and spread. Ancient Egyptians were doing it as long ago as 4000 B.C. In the Old Testament, Abraham demanded it. Arabs circumcised as well as Jews. Mohammed was said to have been born without a foreskin (which he may well have been, as this condition is not unknown to medical science), a claim which automatically doomed the foreskins of his future male followers.

As the centuries passed, religious arguments gave way, for many to quack medical arguments. The possession of a foreskin was said to cause “masturbatory insanity.” Other medical horrors resulting from its retention included hysteria, epilepsy, nocturnal incontinence, and nervousness. Such ideas survived into the early part of the present century and even led to the formation of an Orificial Surgery Society devoted exclusively to the “modifications” of offending genital as a means of preventing mental illness.

When at last this nonsense was on the decline a crisis arose. What new reason could be found for mutilating children’s genitals? The solution had to be one that suited the rational climate of twentieth-century scientific inquiry. The answer appeared in The Lancet in 1932: foreskins caused cancer! By the end of the 1930s 75 per cent of the boys in the United States were being circumcised; by 1973 it was 84 per cent; by 1976 it was 87 per cent. Cancer had become the secular version of hellfire and brimstone, the perfect weapon for the anxiety makers of a post-religious society.

To be more precise, the claim that the “debris” called smegma which collects under retained foreskins could cause cancer of the penis and also cancer of the cervix of the wives of the uncircumcised. The paper which started this false rumour was founded on faulty statistics, but nobody minded because here was a plausible new reason for slicing away at the infantile penis. Subsequent experiments, however revealed that there is nothing remotely carcinogenic about the smegma produced under the fold of the foreskin, but they were widely ignored. Other investigations showed that women whose uncircumcised husbands always wore condoms were no more or less likely to develop cancer than those whose husbands never wore condoms. But again nobody wanted to know. In one country where there was no circumcision at all was compared to a country in which all males were circumcised. The results showed, to the relief of the foreskin snippers, that prostate cancer was higher in the uncircumcised country. Unfortunately this form of cancer is a disease of elderly men, and when a correction for age distribution was made the figures showed that this disorder was actually more likely in the circumcised country.

Not only was the cancer scare completely without foundation, but the operation of foreskin removal continued to prove a distinct health hazard for small babies. There were many cases of haemorrhage, ulceration of the urethra, surgical trauma and local infection. In rare cases, foreskin removal resulted in the death of the baby. There were also more subtle effects with possible long-term implications: following circumcision male babies showed an increase in the level of hormones related to stress; sleep patterns altered; there was more crying and more irritability.

Despite all this, “medical” circumcisions continued (and still continues) at a merry pace in certain countries where private medicine is the rule. In Britain, significantly, there was a dramatic decline in the operation following the introduction of the National Health Service scheme and free treatment. It is impossible to refrain from asking why it should be that the operation sank to a level of less than one per cent (only 0.41 per cent of male babies in 1972) in a country where there was no financial gain to be made from it, while in the United States, for example, in the same year, over 80 per cent of male babies were circumcised, at an annual cost to health-insurance companies of more than $200 million. The new deities demanding circumcision appear to be more fiscal than sacred.

Young females have also been assaulted in this fashion. This has been rare in the West, although as recently as 1937 a Texas doctor was advocating the removal of the clitoris to cure frigidity. The harshest traditions of female circumcision are found in Africa, parts of the Middle East, Indonesia and Malayia. It is a staggering fact that, far from being an ancient memory, the practice of cutting away all or part of the external genitals of young females is still going on in more than 20 countries.

No fewer than 74 million women alive today have been subjected to this mutilation. In the worst cases, they have had their labia and clitoris scraped or cut away and their vaginal opening stitched up with silk, catgut, or thorns, leaving only a tiny opening for urine and menstrual blood. After the operation the girl’s legs are bound together to ensure that scar-tissue forms and the condition becomes permanent. Later, when they marry, these females suffer the pain of having their artificially reduced orifices broken open by their husbands.

The effect of this practice is to dramatically reduce sexual pleasure for wives in the countries concerned, which may be its hidden significance. A side-effect is the high number of deaths and serious illnesses cause by the unhygienic conditions under which the operations are performed, especially in such countries as Oman, South Yemen, Somalia, Djibouti, Sudan, southern Egypt, Ethiopia, northern Kenya, and Mali. The continuance of such practices in the twentieth century against a background of modern enlightenment is clearly going to puzzle historians of the distant future.
<center>
—Desmond Morris (Circa 1985)
</blockquote>

==Videos==
===Desmond Morris (Writer))===
<youtube>v=rfe8nKkVUPo&list=PLVV0r6CmEsFwtuDq9yKrhqqkJ-Era-N7w&index=3</youtube>
===Desmond Morris - Human beings - just another species of animal? (23/37)===
<youtube>v=taFeI6TwAOQ</youtube>
===Male genital mutilation ritual from Desmond Morris - The Human Sexes===
<youtube>v=QaFtcIrtbm0</youtube>
===Desmond Morris - 'The Human Zoo' (25/37)===
<youtube>v=1wlGhIh1lfE</youtube>
===Desmond Morris - Cheating death even before birth (1/37)===
<youtube>v=aZoJbK9hBMo</youtube>
===Desmond Morris - 'The Human Zoo' (25/37)===
<youtube>v=1wlGhIh1lfE</youtube>
===Desmond Morris - Avoiding death for the second time (3/37)===
<youtube>v=rfe8nKkVUPo</youtube>
===Desmond Morris - Contemplating death and the afterlife (37/37)===
<youtube>v=3uddkAIHTEc</youtube>
===Desmond Morris passes away (1928 - 2026) (UK) - UK News - 20/Apr/2026===
<youtube>v=N9fVSDziV6o</youtube>
==Death==
Following the death of his wife, Ramona, in November 2018, Desmond Morris left his home in [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oxford Oxford] in June 2019 and moved to [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/County_Kildare County Kildare] in [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_of_Ireland Ireland] to live close to his son, Jason, and his family there.

He passed away there at the age of 98 on 19 April 2026.<ref name="radford2026">{{REFweb
|url=https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2026/apr/20/desmond-morris-obituary
|title=Desmond Morris Obituary
|last=Radford
|first=Tim
|publisher=The Guardian
|date=2026-04-20
|accessdate=2026-06-05
}}</ref> <ref name="woodhouse2026>{{REFweb
|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c51y797v200o
|title=Zoologist and author Desmond Morris dies aged 98
|last=Woodhouse
|first=Sam
|publisher=BBC
|date=2026-04-20
|accessdate=2026-06-05
}}</ref>
{{SEEALSO}}
* [[Alice Miller]]
{{LINKS}}
* {{URLwebsite|http://www.desmond-morris.com/|2026-06-04}}
* {{URLwikipedia|Desmond_Morris|Desmond Morris}}
{{REF}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Morris, Desmond}}

[[Category:Person]]
[[Category:Male]]
[[Category:Author]]
[[Category:Female genital mutilation]]
[[Category:Financial gain]]
[[Category:Intactivism]]
[[Category:Intactivist]]
[[Category:Intactivist literature]]

[[Category:UK]]

Desmond Morris

2026-06-06T00:11:03Z

WikiModEn2: /* Adult life */ Add text and Wikify.

{{Construction Site}}
'''{{FULLPAGENAME}}''' ({{LifeData|birth=1928-01-24|birthplace=[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Purton Purton], Wiltshire|birthcountry=[[United Kingdom]]|death=2026-04-19|deathplace=[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naas Naas], County Kildare|deathcountry=Ireland}})

The late Desmond John Morris, Ph.D., was a British zoologist and ethologist. He became famous by applying the methods of animal study to humans.

Morris was a strong opponent of all forms of genital cutting and sexual mutilation, including [[child circumcision]].
==Early life==
Morris was born in Purton, [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wiltshire Wiltshire], to Marjorie (née Hunt) and children's fiction author Harry Morris. A few years later the family moved to [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swindon Swindon].

In his teen years he attended [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dauntsey%27s_School Dauncey's School], an upscale coeducational school in the country on 150 acres of land.<ref>[https://www.dauntseys.org/ Dauntsey's School]</ref> This may be where he acquired his interest in nature.

==Adult life==
Morris enlisted in the British Army for two years at age 18 in 1946 to perform his [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_service national service].

After completing his national service, Morris started to study zoology at the [https://www.birmingham.ac.uk/ University of Birmingham].

Morris commenced his studies at the [https://www.ox.ac.uk/ University of Oxford] in 1951. He was awarded a Ph.D. in 1954.
{{PUB}}
===Articles===
Dr. Morris wrote articles throughout his long life. His prodigious output is indexed on his website. Please see [http://www.desmond-morris.com/articles.php Selected Articles].
===Books===
Dr. Morris is credited with the authorship of 104 books. For a complete list see [http://www.desmond-morris.com books.php Bibliography]
* {{REFbook
|last=Morris
|first=Desmond
|init=
|year=1985
|title=Bodywatching
|url=https://www.amazon.com/s?k=Bodywatching&i=stripbooks
|scope=
|location=
|publisher=Random House
|ISBN=10-0517558149
|accessdate=2026-06-04
}}
* {{REFbook
|last=Morris
|first=Desmond
|init=
|year=1994
|title=The Human Animal: A Personal View of the Human Species
|url=https://www.amazon.com/Human-Animal-Personal-View-Species/dp/0563370211?s=books
|scope=
|location=
|publisher=BBC Publications
|ISBN=10 0563370211
|accessdate=2026-06-03
}}

* {{REFbook
|last=Morris
|first=Desmond
|init=
|year=1997
|title=The Human Sexes
|url=https://www.amazon.com/Human-Sexes-Morris-Desmond/dp/0563383585?s=books
|scope=
|location=
|publisher=Netwook Books
|ISBN=10 0563383585
|accessdate=2026-06-03
}}
* {{REFbook
|last=Morris
|first=Desmond
|init=
|year=1999
|title=The Naked Ape: A Zoologist's Study of the Human Animal
|url=https://www.amazon.com/Naked-Ape-Zoologists-Study-Animal/dp/0385334303?s=books
|scope=
|location=
|publisher=Delta
|ISBN=10 0385334303
|accessdate=2026-06-03
}}
* {{REFbook
|last=Morris
|first=Desmond
|init=
|year=2007
|title=The Naked Woman: A Study of the Female Body
|url=https://www.amazon.com/Naked-Woman-Study-Female-Body/dp/0312338538?s=books
|scope=
|location=
|publisher=St. Martins Griffin
|ISBN=10 9780312338534
|accessdate=2026-06-03
}}
* {{REFbook
|last=Morris
|first=Desmond
|init=
|year=2009
|title=The Naked Man: A Study of the Male Body
|url=https://www.amazon.com/Naked-Man-Study-Male-Body/dp/0312385307?s=books
|scope=
|location=
|publisher=Thomas Dunne Books
|ISBN=10 0312385307
|accessdate=2026-06-03
}}
===Commentary on male and female genital cutting and genital mutilation===
 
 
 
<hr>
 
<blockquote>
<center>
<big>Comment on Circumcision and Genital Mutilation</big>

Desmond Morris
</center>
For thousands of years, in many different cultures, the genitals have fallen victim to an amazing variety of mutilations and restrictions. For organs that are capable of giving us an immense amount of pleasure They have given us an inordinate amount of pain.

The commonest form of assault they have suffered is male and female circumcision. This strange mutilation is older than civilization and was probably well advance in the Stone Age. Although it is a piece of deliberate wounding of children by adults, it has been done with the best of intentions. Over the millennia it has cause countless deaths from infection, but its advantages have always been said to outweigh the risks involved. These alleged advantages have varied from epoch to epoch and culture to culture, but recent re-examination has shown that they are all imaginary.

It has been claimed that one of the oldest reasons for performing male circumcision—the removal of the foreskin—is that it provoked immortality in the shape of life after death. This odd notion was based on the observation that when the snake sheds its skin it emerges with glistening new scales and is “reborn.” If the snake can enjoy rebirth by the removal of skin, so too can the human being. For snake read penis; for snake-skin read foreskin.

Once male circumcision had become traditional it no longer mattered whether the old beliefs survived. Being circumcised was not the badge of belonging to a particular society. The ritual mutilation spread and spread. Ancient Egyptians were doing it as long ago as 4000 B.C. In the Old Testament, Abraham demanded it. Arabs circumcised as well as Jews. Mohammed was said to have been born without a foreskin (which he may well have been, as this condition is not unknown to medical science), a claim which automatically doomed the foreskins of his future male followers.

As the centuries passed, religious arguments gave way, for many to quack medical arguments. The possession of a foreskin was said to cause “masturbatory insanity.” Other medical horrors resulting from its retention included hysteria, epilepsy, nocturnal incontinence, and nervousness. Such ideas survived into the early part of the present century and even led to the formation of an Orificial Surgery Society devoted exclusively to the “modifications” of offending genital as a means of preventing mental illness.

When at last this nonsense was on the decline a crisis arose. What new reason could be found for mutilating children’s genitals? The solution had to be one that suited the rational climate of twentieth-century scientific inquiry. The answer appeared in The Lancet in 1932: foreskins caused cancer! By the end of the 1930s 75 per cent of the boys in the United States were being circumcised; by 1973 it was 84 per cent; by 1976 it was 87 per cent. Cancer had become the secular version of hellfire and brimstone, the perfect weapon for the anxiety makers of a post-religious society.

To be more precise, the claim that the “debris” called smegma which collects under retained foreskins could cause cancer of the penis and also cancer of the cervix of the wives of the uncircumcised. The paper which started this false rumour was founded on faulty statistics, but nobody minded because here was a plausible new reason for slicing away at the infantile penis. Subsequent experiments, however revealed that there is nothing remotely carcinogenic about the smegma produced under the fold of the foreskin, but they were widely ignored. Other investigations showed that women whose uncircumcised husbands always wore condoms were no more or less likely to develop cancer than those whose husbands never wore condoms. But again nobody wanted to know. In one country where there was no circumcision at all was compared to a country in which all males were circumcised. The results showed, to the relief of the foreskin snippers, that prostate cancer was higher in the uncircumcised country. Unfortunately this form of cancer is a disease of elderly men, and when a correction for age distribution was made the figures showed that this disorder was actually more likely in the circumcised country.

Not only was the cancer scare completely without foundation, but the operation of foreskin removal continued to prove a distinct health hazard for small babies. There were many cases of haemorrhage, ulceration of the urethra, surgical trauma and local infection. In rare cases, foreskin removal resulted in the death of the baby. There were also more subtle effects with possible long-term implications: following circumcision male babies showed an increase in the level of hormones related to stress; sleep patterns altered; there was more crying and more irritability.

Despite all this, “medical” circumcisions continued (and still continues) at a merry pace in certain countries where private medicine is the rule. In Britain, significantly, there was a dramatic decline in the operation following the introduction of the National Health Service scheme and free treatment. It is impossible to refrain from asking why it should be that the operation sank to a level of less than one per cent (only 0.41 per cent of male babies in 1972) in a country where there was no financial gain to be made from it, while in the United States, for example, in the same year, over 80 per cent of male babies were circumcised, at an annual cost to health-insurance companies of more than $200 million. The new deities demanding circumcision appear to be more fiscal than sacred.

Young females have also been assaulted in this fashion. This has been rare in the West, although as recently as 1937 a Texas doctor was advocating the removal of the clitoris to cure frigidity. The harshest traditions of female circumcision are found in Africa, parts of the Middle East, Indonesia and Malayia. It is a staggering fact that, far from being an ancient memory, the practice of cutting away all or part of the external genitals of young females is still going on in more than 20 countries.

No fewer than 74 million women alive today have been subjected to this mutilation. In the worst cases, they have had their labia and clitoris scraped or cut away and their vaginal opening stitched up with silk, catgut, or thorns, leaving only a tiny opening for urine and menstrual blood. After the operation the girl’s legs are bound together to ensure that scar-tissue forms and the condition becomes permanent. Later, when they marry, these females suffer the pain of having their artificially reduced orifices broken open by their husbands.

The effect of this practice is to dramatically reduce sexual pleasure for wives in the countries concerned, which may be its hidden significance. A side-effect is the high number of deaths and serious illnesses cause by the unhygienic conditions under which the operations are performed, especially in such countries as Oman, South Yemen, Somalia, Djibouti, Sudan, southern Egypt, Ethiopia, northern Kenya, and Mali. The continuance of such practices in the twentieth century against a background of modern enlightenment is clearly going to puzzle historians of the distant future.
<center>
—Desmond Morris (Circa 1985)
</blockquote>

==Videos==
===Desmond Morris (Writer))===
<youtube>v=rfe8nKkVUPo&list=PLVV0r6CmEsFwtuDq9yKrhqqkJ-Era-N7w&index=3</youtube>
===Desmond Morris - Human beings - just another species of animal? (23/37)===
<youtube>v=taFeI6TwAOQ</youtube>
===Male genital mutilation ritual from Desmond Morris - The Human Sexes===
<youtube>v=QaFtcIrtbm0</youtube>
===Desmond Morris - 'The Human Zoo' (25/37)===
<youtube>v=1wlGhIh1lfE</youtube>
===Desmond Morris - Cheating death even before birth (1/37)===
<youtube>v=aZoJbK9hBMo</youtube>
===Desmond Morris - 'The Human Zoo' (25/37)===
<youtube>v=1wlGhIh1lfE</youtube>
===Desmond Morris - Avoiding death for the second time (3/37)===
<youtube>v=rfe8nKkVUPo</youtube>
===Desmond Morris - Contemplating death and the afterlife (37/37)===
<youtube>v=3uddkAIHTEc</youtube>
===Desmond Morris passes away (1928 - 2026) (UK) - UK News - 20/Apr/2026===
<youtube>v=N9fVSDziV6o</youtube>
==Death==
Following the death of his wife, Ramona, in November 2018, Desmond Morris left his home in [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oxford Oxford] in June 2019 and moved to [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/County_Kildare County Kildare] in [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_of_Ireland Ireland] to live close to his son, Jason, and his family there.

He passed away there at the age of 98 on 19 April 2026.<ref name="radford2026">{{REFweb
|url=https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2026/apr/20/desmond-morris-obituary
|title=Desmond Morris Obituary
|last=Radford
|first=Tim
|publisher=The Guardian
|date=2026-04-20
|accessdate=2026-06-05
}}</ref> <ref name="woodhouse2026>{{REFweb
|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c51y797v200o
|title=Zoologist and author Desmond Morris dies aged 98
|last=Woodhouse
|first=Sam
|publisher=BBC
|date=2026-04-20
|accessdate=2026-06-05
}}</ref>
{{SEEALSO}}
* [[Alice Miller]]
{{LINKS}}
* {{URLwebsite|http://www.desmond-morris.com/|2026-06-04}}
* {{URLwikipedia|Desmond_Morris|Desmond Morris}}
{{REF}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Morris, Desmond}}

[[Category:Person]]
[[Category:Male]]
[[Category:Author]]
[[Category:Female genital mutilation]]
[[Category:Financial gain]]
[[Category:Intactivism]]
[[Category:Intactivist]]
[[Category:Intactivist literature]]

[[Category:UK]]

Desmond Morris

2026-06-05T23:51:49Z

WikiModEn2: /* Early life */

{{Construction Site}}
'''{{FULLPAGENAME}}''' ({{LifeData|birth=1928-01-24|birthplace=[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Purton Purton], Wiltshire|birthcountry=[[United Kingdom]]|death=2026-04-19|deathplace=[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naas Naas], County Kildare|deathcountry=Ireland}})

The late Desmond John Morris, Ph.D., was a British zoologist and ethologist. He became famous by applying the methods of animal study to humans.

Morris was a strong opponent of all forms of genital cutting and sexual mutilation, including [[child circumcision]].
==Early life==
Morris was born in Purton, [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wiltshire Wiltshire], to Marjorie (née Hunt) and children's fiction author Harry Morris. A few years later the family moved to [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swindon Swindon].

In his teen years he attended [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dauntsey%27s_School Dauncey's School], an upscale coeducational school in the country on 150 acres of land.<ref>[https://www.dauntseys.org/ Dauntsey's School]</ref> This may be where he acquired his interest in nature.

==Adult life==
Morris enlisted in the British Army for two years at age 18 in 1946 to perform his [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_service national service].
{{PUB}}
===Articles===
Morris wrote articles throughout his long life. His prodigious output is indexed on his website. Please see [http://www.desmond-morris.com/articles.php Selected Articles].
===Books===
Dr. Morris is credited with the authorship of 104 books. For a complete list see [http://www.desmond-morris.com books.php Bibliography]
* {{REFbook
|last=Morris
|first=Desmond
|init=
|year=1985
|title=Bodywatching
|url=https://www.amazon.com/s?k=Bodywatching&i=stripbooks
|scope=
|location=
|publisher=Random House
|ISBN=10-0517558149
|accessdate=2026-06-04
}}
* {{REFbook
|last=Morris
|first=Desmond
|init=
|year=1994
|title=The Human Animal: A Personal View of the Human Species
|url=https://www.amazon.com/Human-Animal-Personal-View-Species/dp/0563370211?s=books
|scope=
|location=
|publisher=BBC Publications
|ISBN=10 0563370211
|accessdate=2026-06-03
}}

* {{REFbook
|last=Morris
|first=Desmond
|init=
|year=1997
|title=The Human Sexes
|url=https://www.amazon.com/Human-Sexes-Morris-Desmond/dp/0563383585?s=books
|scope=
|location=
|publisher=Netwook Books
|ISBN=10 0563383585
|accessdate=2026-06-03
}}
* {{REFbook
|last=Morris
|first=Desmond
|init=
|year=1999
|title=The Naked Ape: A Zoologist's Study of the Human Animal
|url=https://www.amazon.com/Naked-Ape-Zoologists-Study-Animal/dp/0385334303?s=books
|scope=
|location=
|publisher=Delta
|ISBN=10 0385334303
|accessdate=2026-06-03
}}
* {{REFbook
|last=Morris
|first=Desmond
|init=
|year=2007
|title=The Naked Woman: A Study of the Female Body
|url=https://www.amazon.com/Naked-Woman-Study-Female-Body/dp/0312338538?s=books
|scope=
|location=
|publisher=St. Martins Griffin
|ISBN=10 9780312338534
|accessdate=2026-06-03
}}
* {{REFbook
|last=Morris
|first=Desmond
|init=
|year=2009
|title=The Naked Man: A Study of the Male Body
|url=https://www.amazon.com/Naked-Man-Study-Male-Body/dp/0312385307?s=books
|scope=
|location=
|publisher=Thomas Dunne Books
|ISBN=10 0312385307
|accessdate=2026-06-03
}}
===Commentary on male and female genital cutting and genital mutilation===
 
 
 
<hr>
 
<blockquote>
<center>
<big>Comment on Circumcision and Genital Mutilation</big>

Desmond Morris
</center>
For thousands of years, in many different cultures, the genitals have fallen victim to an amazing variety of mutilations and restrictions. For organs that are capable of giving us an immense amount of pleasure They have given us an inordinate amount of pain.

The commonest form of assault they have suffered is male and female circumcision. This strange mutilation is older than civilization and was probably well advance in the Stone Age. Although it is a piece of deliberate wounding of children by adults, it has been done with the best of intentions. Over the millennia it has cause countless deaths from infection, but its advantages have always been said to outweigh the risks involved. These alleged advantages have varied from epoch to epoch and culture to culture, but recent re-examination has shown that they are all imaginary.

It has been claimed that one of the oldest reasons for performing male circumcision—the removal of the foreskin—is that it provoked immortality in the shape of life after death. This odd notion was based on the observation that when the snake sheds its skin it emerges with glistening new scales and is “reborn.” If the snake can enjoy rebirth by the removal of skin, so too can the human being. For snake read penis; for snake-skin read foreskin.

Once male circumcision had become traditional it no longer mattered whether the old beliefs survived. Being circumcised was not the badge of belonging to a particular society. The ritual mutilation spread and spread. Ancient Egyptians were doing it as long ago as 4000 B.C. In the Old Testament, Abraham demanded it. Arabs circumcised as well as Jews. Mohammed was said to have been born without a foreskin (which he may well have been, as this condition is not unknown to medical science), a claim which automatically doomed the foreskins of his future male followers.

As the centuries passed, religious arguments gave way, for many to quack medical arguments. The possession of a foreskin was said to cause “masturbatory insanity.” Other medical horrors resulting from its retention included hysteria, epilepsy, nocturnal incontinence, and nervousness. Such ideas survived into the early part of the present century and even led to the formation of an Orificial Surgery Society devoted exclusively to the “modifications” of offending genital as a means of preventing mental illness.

When at last this nonsense was on the decline a crisis arose. What new reason could be found for mutilating children’s genitals? The solution had to be one that suited the rational climate of twentieth-century scientific inquiry. The answer appeared in The Lancet in 1932: foreskins caused cancer! By the end of the 1930s 75 per cent of the boys in the United States were being circumcised; by 1973 it was 84 per cent; by 1976 it was 87 per cent. Cancer had become the secular version of hellfire and brimstone, the perfect weapon for the anxiety makers of a post-religious society.

To be more precise, the claim that the “debris” called smegma which collects under retained foreskins could cause cancer of the penis and also cancer of the cervix of the wives of the uncircumcised. The paper which started this false rumour was founded on faulty statistics, but nobody minded because here was a plausible new reason for slicing away at the infantile penis. Subsequent experiments, however revealed that there is nothing remotely carcinogenic about the smegma produced under the fold of the foreskin, but they were widely ignored. Other investigations showed that women whose uncircumcised husbands always wore condoms were no more or less likely to develop cancer than those whose husbands never wore condoms. But again nobody wanted to know. In one country where there was no circumcision at all was compared to a country in which all males were circumcised. The results showed, to the relief of the foreskin snippers, that prostate cancer was higher in the uncircumcised country. Unfortunately this form of cancer is a disease of elderly men, and when a correction for age distribution was made the figures showed that this disorder was actually more likely in the circumcised country.

Not only was the cancer scare completely without foundation, but the operation of foreskin removal continued to prove a distinct health hazard for small babies. There were many cases of haemorrhage, ulceration of the urethra, surgical trauma and local infection. In rare cases, foreskin removal resulted in the death of the baby. There were also more subtle effects with possible long-term implications: following circumcision male babies showed an increase in the level of hormones related to stress; sleep patterns altered; there was more crying and more irritability.

Despite all this, “medical” circumcisions continued (and still continues) at a merry pace in certain countries where private medicine is the rule. In Britain, significantly, there was a dramatic decline in the operation following the introduction of the National Health Service scheme and free treatment. It is impossible to refrain from asking why it should be that the operation sank to a level of less than one per cent (only 0.41 per cent of male babies in 1972) in a country where there was no financial gain to be made from it, while in the United States, for example, in the same year, over 80 per cent of male babies were circumcised, at an annual cost to health-insurance companies of more than $200 million. The new deities demanding circumcision appear to be more fiscal than sacred.

Young females have also been assaulted in this fashion. This has been rare in the West, although as recently as 1937 a Texas doctor was advocating the removal of the clitoris to cure frigidity. The harshest traditions of female circumcision are found in Africa, parts of the Middle East, Indonesia and Malayia. It is a staggering fact that, far from being an ancient memory, the practice of cutting away all or part of the external genitals of young females is still going on in more than 20 countries.

No fewer than 74 million women alive today have been subjected to this mutilation. In the worst cases, they have had their labia and clitoris scraped or cut away and their vaginal opening stitched up with silk, catgut, or thorns, leaving only a tiny opening for urine and menstrual blood. After the operation the girl’s legs are bound together to ensure that scar-tissue forms and the condition becomes permanent. Later, when they marry, these females suffer the pain of having their artificially reduced orifices broken open by their husbands.

The effect of this practice is to dramatically reduce sexual pleasure for wives in the countries concerned, which may be its hidden significance. A side-effect is the high number of deaths and serious illnesses cause by the unhygienic conditions under which the operations are performed, especially in such countries as Oman, South Yemen, Somalia, Djibouti, Sudan, southern Egypt, Ethiopia, northern Kenya, and Mali. The continuance of such practices in the twentieth century against a background of modern enlightenment is clearly going to puzzle historians of the distant future.
<center>
—Desmond Morris (Circa 1985)
</blockquote>
==Videos==
===Desmond Morris (Writer))===
<youtube>v=rfe8nKkVUPo&list=PLVV0r6CmEsFwtuDq9yKrhqqkJ-Era-N7w&index=3</youtube>
===Desmond Morris - Human beings - just another species of animal? (23/37)===
<youtube>v=taFeI6TwAOQ</youtube>
===Male genital mutilation ritual from Desmond Morris - The Human Sexes===
<youtube>v=QaFtcIrtbm0</youtube>
===Desmond Morris - 'The Human Zoo' (25/37)===
<youtube>v=1wlGhIh1lfE</youtube>
===Desmond Morris - Cheating death even before birth (1/37)===
<youtube>v=aZoJbK9hBMo</youtube>
===Desmond Morris - 'The Human Zoo' (25/37)===
<youtube>v=1wlGhIh1lfE</youtube>
===Desmond Morris - Avoiding death for the second time (3/37)===
<youtube>v=rfe8nKkVUPo</youtube>
===Desmond Morris - Contemplating death and the afterlife (37/37)===
<youtube>v=3uddkAIHTEc</youtube>
===Desmond Morris passes away (1928 - 2026) (UK) - UK News - 20/Apr/2026===
<youtube>v=N9fVSDziV6o</youtube>
==Death==
Following the death of his wife, Ramona, in November 2018, Desmond Morris left his home in [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oxford Oxford] in June 2019 and moved to [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/County_Kildare County Kildare] in [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_of_Ireland Ireland] to live close to his son, Jason, and his family there.

He passed away there at the age of 98 on 19 April 2026.<ref name="radford2026">{{REFweb
|url=https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2026/apr/20/desmond-morris-obituary
|title=Desmond Morris Obituary
|last=Radford
|first=Tim
|publisher=The Guardian
|date=2026-04-20
|accessdate=2026-06-05
}}</ref> <ref name="woodhouse2026>{{REFweb
|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c51y797v200o
|title=Zoologist and author Desmond Morris dies aged 98
|last=Woodhouse
|first=Sam
|publisher=BBC
|date=2026-04-20
|accessdate=2026-06-05
}}</ref>
{{SEEALSO}}
* [[Alice Miller]]
{{LINKS}}
* {{URLwebsite|http://www.desmond-morris.com/|2026-06-04}}
* {{URLwikipedia|Desmond_Morris|Desmond Morris}}
{{REF}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Morris, Desmond}}

[[Category:Person]]
[[Category:Male]]
[[Category:Author]]
[[Category:Female genital mutilation]]
[[Category:Financial gain]]
[[Category:Intactivism]]
[[Category:Intactivist]]
[[Category:Intactivist literature]]

[[Category:UK]]

Desmond Morris

2026-06-05T23:50:34Z

WikiModEn2: Wikify.

{{Construction Site}}
'''{{FULLPAGENAME}}''' ({{LifeData|birth=1928-01-24|birthplace=[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Purton Purton], Wiltshire|birthcountry=[[United Kingdom]]|death=2026-04-19|deathplace=[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naas Naas], County Kildare|deathcountry=Ireland}})

The late Desmond John Morris, Ph.D., was a British zoologist and ethologist. He became famous by applying the methods of animal study to humans.

Morris was a strong opponent of all forms of genital cutting and sexual mutilation, including [[child circumcision]].
==Early life==
Morris was born in Purton, [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wiltshire Wiltshire], to Marjorie (née Hunt) and children's fiction author Harry Morris. A few years later the family moved to [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swindon Swindon].

In his teen years he attended [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dauntsey%27s_School Dauncey's School], an upscale coeducational school in the country on 150 acres of land. This may be where he acquired his interest in nature.<ref>[https://www.dauntseys.org/ Dauntsey's School]</ref>

==Adult life==
Morris enlisted in the British Army for two years at age 18 in 1946 to perform his [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_service national service].
{{PUB}}
===Articles===
Morris wrote articles throughout his long life. His prodigious output is indexed on his website. Please see [http://www.desmond-morris.com/articles.php Selected Articles].
===Books===
Dr. Morris is credited with the authorship of 104 books. For a complete list see [http://www.desmond-morris.com books.php Bibliography]
* {{REFbook
|last=Morris
|first=Desmond
|init=
|year=1985
|title=Bodywatching
|url=https://www.amazon.com/s?k=Bodywatching&i=stripbooks
|scope=
|location=
|publisher=Random House
|ISBN=10-0517558149
|accessdate=2026-06-04
}}
* {{REFbook
|last=Morris
|first=Desmond
|init=
|year=1994
|title=The Human Animal: A Personal View of the Human Species
|url=https://www.amazon.com/Human-Animal-Personal-View-Species/dp/0563370211?s=books
|scope=
|location=
|publisher=BBC Publications
|ISBN=10 0563370211
|accessdate=2026-06-03
}}

* {{REFbook
|last=Morris
|first=Desmond
|init=
|year=1997
|title=The Human Sexes
|url=https://www.amazon.com/Human-Sexes-Morris-Desmond/dp/0563383585?s=books
|scope=
|location=
|publisher=Netwook Books
|ISBN=10 0563383585
|accessdate=2026-06-03
}}
* {{REFbook
|last=Morris
|first=Desmond
|init=
|year=1999
|title=The Naked Ape: A Zoologist's Study of the Human Animal
|url=https://www.amazon.com/Naked-Ape-Zoologists-Study-Animal/dp/0385334303?s=books
|scope=
|location=
|publisher=Delta
|ISBN=10 0385334303
|accessdate=2026-06-03
}}
* {{REFbook
|last=Morris
|first=Desmond
|init=
|year=2007
|title=The Naked Woman: A Study of the Female Body
|url=https://www.amazon.com/Naked-Woman-Study-Female-Body/dp/0312338538?s=books
|scope=
|location=
|publisher=St. Martins Griffin
|ISBN=10 9780312338534
|accessdate=2026-06-03
}}
* {{REFbook
|last=Morris
|first=Desmond
|init=
|year=2009
|title=The Naked Man: A Study of the Male Body
|url=https://www.amazon.com/Naked-Man-Study-Male-Body/dp/0312385307?s=books
|scope=
|location=
|publisher=Thomas Dunne Books
|ISBN=10 0312385307
|accessdate=2026-06-03
}}
===Commentary on male and female genital cutting and genital mutilation===
 
 
 
<hr>
 
<blockquote>
<center>
<big>Comment on Circumcision and Genital Mutilation</big>

Desmond Morris
</center>
For thousands of years, in many different cultures, the genitals have fallen victim to an amazing variety of mutilations and restrictions. For organs that are capable of giving us an immense amount of pleasure They have given us an inordinate amount of pain.

The commonest form of assault they have suffered is male and female circumcision. This strange mutilation is older than civilization and was probably well advance in the Stone Age. Although it is a piece of deliberate wounding of children by adults, it has been done with the best of intentions. Over the millennia it has cause countless deaths from infection, but its advantages have always been said to outweigh the risks involved. These alleged advantages have varied from epoch to epoch and culture to culture, but recent re-examination has shown that they are all imaginary.

It has been claimed that one of the oldest reasons for performing male circumcision—the removal of the foreskin—is that it provoked immortality in the shape of life after death. This odd notion was based on the observation that when the snake sheds its skin it emerges with glistening new scales and is “reborn.” If the snake can enjoy rebirth by the removal of skin, so too can the human being. For snake read penis; for snake-skin read foreskin.

Once male circumcision had become traditional it no longer mattered whether the old beliefs survived. Being circumcised was not the badge of belonging to a particular society. The ritual mutilation spread and spread. Ancient Egyptians were doing it as long ago as 4000 B.C. In the Old Testament, Abraham demanded it. Arabs circumcised as well as Jews. Mohammed was said to have been born without a foreskin (which he may well have been, as this condition is not unknown to medical science), a claim which automatically doomed the foreskins of his future male followers.

As the centuries passed, religious arguments gave way, for many to quack medical arguments. The possession of a foreskin was said to cause “masturbatory insanity.” Other medical horrors resulting from its retention included hysteria, epilepsy, nocturnal incontinence, and nervousness. Such ideas survived into the early part of the present century and even led to the formation of an Orificial Surgery Society devoted exclusively to the “modifications” of offending genital as a means of preventing mental illness.

When at last this nonsense was on the decline a crisis arose. What new reason could be found for mutilating children’s genitals? The solution had to be one that suited the rational climate of twentieth-century scientific inquiry. The answer appeared in The Lancet in 1932: foreskins caused cancer! By the end of the 1930s 75 per cent of the boys in the United States were being circumcised; by 1973 it was 84 per cent; by 1976 it was 87 per cent. Cancer had become the secular version of hellfire and brimstone, the perfect weapon for the anxiety makers of a post-religious society.

To be more precise, the claim that the “debris” called smegma which collects under retained foreskins could cause cancer of the penis and also cancer of the cervix of the wives of the uncircumcised. The paper which started this false rumour was founded on faulty statistics, but nobody minded because here was a plausible new reason for slicing away at the infantile penis. Subsequent experiments, however revealed that there is nothing remotely carcinogenic about the smegma produced under the fold of the foreskin, but they were widely ignored. Other investigations showed that women whose uncircumcised husbands always wore condoms were no more or less likely to develop cancer than those whose husbands never wore condoms. But again nobody wanted to know. In one country where there was no circumcision at all was compared to a country in which all males were circumcised. The results showed, to the relief of the foreskin snippers, that prostate cancer was higher in the uncircumcised country. Unfortunately this form of cancer is a disease of elderly men, and when a correction for age distribution was made the figures showed that this disorder was actually more likely in the circumcised country.

Not only was the cancer scare completely without foundation, but the operation of foreskin removal continued to prove a distinct health hazard for small babies. There were many cases of haemorrhage, ulceration of the urethra, surgical trauma and local infection. In rare cases, foreskin removal resulted in the death of the baby. There were also more subtle effects with possible long-term implications: following circumcision male babies showed an increase in the level of hormones related to stress; sleep patterns altered; there was more crying and more irritability.

Despite all this, “medical” circumcisions continued (and still continues) at a merry pace in certain countries where private medicine is the rule. In Britain, significantly, there was a dramatic decline in the operation following the introduction of the National Health Service scheme and free treatment. It is impossible to refrain from asking why it should be that the operation sank to a level of less than one per cent (only 0.41 per cent of male babies in 1972) in a country where there was no financial gain to be made from it, while in the United States, for example, in the same year, over 80 per cent of male babies were circumcised, at an annual cost to health-insurance companies of more than $200 million. The new deities demanding circumcision appear to be more fiscal than sacred.

Young females have also been assaulted in this fashion. This has been rare in the West, although as recently as 1937 a Texas doctor was advocating the removal of the clitoris to cure frigidity. The harshest traditions of female circumcision are found in Africa, parts of the Middle East, Indonesia and Malayia. It is a staggering fact that, far from being an ancient memory, the practice of cutting away all or part of the external genitals of young females is still going on in more than 20 countries.

No fewer than 74 million women alive today have been subjected to this mutilation. In the worst cases, they have had their labia and clitoris scraped or cut away and their vaginal opening stitched up with silk, catgut, or thorns, leaving only a tiny opening for urine and menstrual blood. After the operation the girl’s legs are bound together to ensure that scar-tissue forms and the condition becomes permanent. Later, when they marry, these females suffer the pain of having their artificially reduced orifices broken open by their husbands.

The effect of this practice is to dramatically reduce sexual pleasure for wives in the countries concerned, which may be its hidden significance. A side-effect is the high number of deaths and serious illnesses cause by the unhygienic conditions under which the operations are performed, especially in such countries as Oman, South Yemen, Somalia, Djibouti, Sudan, southern Egypt, Ethiopia, northern Kenya, and Mali. The continuance of such practices in the twentieth century against a background of modern enlightenment is clearly going to puzzle historians of the distant future.
<center>
—Desmond Morris (Circa 1985)
</blockquote>
==Videos==
===Desmond Morris (Writer))===
<youtube>v=rfe8nKkVUPo&list=PLVV0r6CmEsFwtuDq9yKrhqqkJ-Era-N7w&index=3</youtube>
===Desmond Morris - Human beings - just another species of animal? (23/37)===
<youtube>v=taFeI6TwAOQ</youtube>
===Male genital mutilation ritual from Desmond Morris - The Human Sexes===
<youtube>v=QaFtcIrtbm0</youtube>
===Desmond Morris - 'The Human Zoo' (25/37)===
<youtube>v=1wlGhIh1lfE</youtube>
===Desmond Morris - Cheating death even before birth (1/37)===
<youtube>v=aZoJbK9hBMo</youtube>
===Desmond Morris - 'The Human Zoo' (25/37)===
<youtube>v=1wlGhIh1lfE</youtube>
===Desmond Morris - Avoiding death for the second time (3/37)===
<youtube>v=rfe8nKkVUPo</youtube>
===Desmond Morris - Contemplating death and the afterlife (37/37)===
<youtube>v=3uddkAIHTEc</youtube>
===Desmond Morris passes away (1928 - 2026) (UK) - UK News - 20/Apr/2026===
<youtube>v=N9fVSDziV6o</youtube>
==Death==
Following the death of his wife, Ramona, in November 2018, Desmond Morris left his home in [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oxford Oxford] in June 2019 and moved to [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/County_Kildare County Kildare] in [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_of_Ireland Ireland] to live close to his son, Jason, and his family there.

He passed away there at the age of 98 on 19 April 2026.<ref name="radford2026">{{REFweb
|url=https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2026/apr/20/desmond-morris-obituary
|title=Desmond Morris Obituary
|last=Radford
|first=Tim
|publisher=The Guardian
|date=2026-04-20
|accessdate=2026-06-05
}}</ref> <ref name="woodhouse2026>{{REFweb
|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c51y797v200o
|title=Zoologist and author Desmond Morris dies aged 98
|last=Woodhouse
|first=Sam
|publisher=BBC
|date=2026-04-20
|accessdate=2026-06-05
}}</ref>
{{SEEALSO}}
* [[Alice Miller]]
{{LINKS}}
* {{URLwebsite|http://www.desmond-morris.com/|2026-06-04}}
* {{URLwikipedia|Desmond_Morris|Desmond Morris}}
{{REF}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Morris, Desmond}}

[[Category:Person]]
[[Category:Male]]
[[Category:Author]]
[[Category:Female genital mutilation]]
[[Category:Financial gain]]
[[Category:Intactivism]]
[[Category:Intactivist]]
[[Category:Intactivist literature]]

[[Category:UK]]

Desmond Morris

2026-06-05T22:20:13Z

WikiModEn2:

{{Construction Site}}
'''{{FULLPAGENAME}}''' ({{LifeData|birth=1928-01-24|birthplace=Purton, Wiltshire|birthcountry=[[United Kingdom]]|death=2026-04-19|deathplace=Naas, County Kildare|deathcountry=Ireland}})

The late Desmond John Morris, Ph.D., was a British zoologist and ethologist. He became famous by applying the methods of animal study to humans.

Morris was a strong opponent of all forms of genital cutting and sexual mutilation, including [[child circumcision]].
==Early life==
Morris was born in Purton, [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wiltshire Wiltshire], to Marjorie (née Hunt) and children's fiction author Harry Morris. A few years later the family moved to [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swindon Swindon].

In his teen years he attended [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dauntsey%27s_School Dauncey's School], an upscale coeducational school in the country on 150 acres of land. This may be where he acquired his interest in nature.<ref>[https://www.dauntseys.org/ Dauntsey's School]</ref>

==Adult life==
Morris enlisted in the British Army for two years at age 18 in 1946 to perform his [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_service national service].
{{PUB}}
===Articles===
Morris wrote articles throughout his long life. His prodigious output is indexed on his website. Please see [http://www.desmond-morris.com/articles.php Selected Articles].
===Books===
Dr. Morris is credited with the authorship of 104 books. For a complete list see [http://www.desmond-morris.com books.php Bibliography]
* {{REFbook
|last=Morris
|first=Desmond
|init=
|year=1985
|title=Bodywatching
|url=https://www.amazon.com/s?k=Bodywatching&i=stripbooks
|scope=
|location=
|publisher=Random House
|ISBN=10-0517558149
|accessdate=2026-06-04
}}
* {{REFbook
|last=Morris
|first=Desmond
|init=
|year=1994
|title=The Human Animal: A Personal View of the Human Species
|url=https://www.amazon.com/Human-Animal-Personal-View-Species/dp/0563370211?s=books
|scope=
|location=
|publisher=BBC Publications
|ISBN=10 0563370211
|accessdate=2026-06-03
}}

* {{REFbook
|last=Morris
|first=Desmond
|init=
|year=1997
|title=The Human Sexes
|url=https://www.amazon.com/Human-Sexes-Morris-Desmond/dp/0563383585?s=books
|scope=
|location=
|publisher=Netwook Books
|ISBN=10 0563383585
|accessdate=2026-06-03
}}
* {{REFbook
|last=Morris
|first=Desmond
|init=
|year=1999
|title=The Naked Ape: A Zoologist's Study of the Human Animal
|url=https://www.amazon.com/Naked-Ape-Zoologists-Study-Animal/dp/0385334303?s=books
|scope=
|location=
|publisher=Delta
|ISBN=10 0385334303
|accessdate=2026-06-03
}}
* {{REFbook
|last=Morris
|first=Desmond
|init=
|year=2007
|title=The Naked Woman: A Study of the Female Body
|url=https://www.amazon.com/Naked-Woman-Study-Female-Body/dp/0312338538?s=books
|scope=
|location=
|publisher=St. Martins Griffin
|ISBN=10 9780312338534
|accessdate=2026-06-03
}}
* {{REFbook
|last=Morris
|first=Desmond
|init=
|year=2009
|title=The Naked Man: A Study of the Male Body
|url=https://www.amazon.com/Naked-Man-Study-Male-Body/dp/0312385307?s=books
|scope=
|location=
|publisher=Thomas Dunne Books
|ISBN=10 0312385307
|accessdate=2026-06-03
}}
===Commentary on male and female genital cutting and genital mutilation===
 
 
 
<hr>
 
<blockquote>
<center>
<big>Comment on Circumcision and Genital Mutilation</big>

Desmond Morris
</center>
For thousands of years, in many different cultures, the genitals have fallen victim to an amazing variety of mutilations and restrictions. For organs that are capable of giving us an immense amount of pleasure They have given us an inordinate amount of pain.

The commonest form of assault they have suffered is male and female circumcision. This strange mutilation is older than civilization and was probably well advance in the Stone Age. Although it is a piece of deliberate wounding of children by adults, it has been done with the best of intentions. Over the millennia it has cause countless deaths from infection, but its advantages have always been said to outweigh the risks involved. These alleged advantages have varied from epoch to epoch and culture to culture, but recent re-examination has shown that they are all imaginary.

It has been claimed that one of the oldest reasons for performing male circumcision—the removal of the foreskin—is that it provoked immortality in the shape of life after death. This odd notion was based on the observation that when the snake sheds its skin it emerges with glistening new scales and is “reborn.” If the snake can enjoy rebirth by the removal of skin, so too can the human being. For snake read penis; for snake-skin read foreskin.

Once male circumcision had become traditional it no longer mattered whether the old beliefs survived. Being circumcised was not the badge of belonging to a particular society. The ritual mutilation spread and spread. Ancient Egyptians were doing it as long ago as 4000 B.C. In the Old Testament, Abraham demanded it. Arabs circumcised as well as Jews. Mohammed was said to have been born without a foreskin (which he may well have been, as this condition is not unknown to medical science), a claim which automatically doomed the foreskins of his future male followers.

As the centuries passed, religious arguments gave way, for many to quack medical arguments. The possession of a foreskin was said to cause “masturbatory insanity.” Other medical horrors resulting from its retention included hysteria, epilepsy, nocturnal incontinence, and nervousness. Such ideas survived into the early part of the present century and even led to the formation of an Orificial Surgery Society devoted exclusively to the “modifications” of offending genital as a means of preventing mental illness.

When at last this nonsense was on the decline a crisis arose. What new reason could be found for mutilating children’s genitals? The solution had to be one that suited the rational climate of twentieth-century scientific inquiry. The answer appeared in The Lancet in 1932: foreskins caused cancer! By the end of the 1930s 75 per cent of the boys in the United States were being circumcised; by 1973 it was 84 per cent; by 1976 it was 87 per cent. Cancer had become the secular version of hellfire and brimstone, the perfect weapon for the anxiety makers of a post-religious society.

To be more precise, the claim that the “debris” called smegma which collects under retained foreskins could cause cancer of the penis and also cancer of the cervix of the wives of the uncircumcised. The paper which started this false rumour was founded on faulty statistics, but nobody minded because here was a plausible new reason for slicing away at the infantile penis. Subsequent experiments, however revealed that there is nothing remotely carcinogenic about the smegma produced under the fold of the foreskin, but they were widely ignored. Other investigations showed that women whose uncircumcised husbands always wore condoms were no more or less likely to develop cancer than those whose husbands never wore condoms. But again nobody wanted to know. In one country where there was no circumcision at all was compared to a country in which all males were circumcised. The results showed, to the relief of the foreskin snippers, that prostate cancer was higher in the uncircumcised country. Unfortunately this form of cancer is a disease of elderly men, and when a correction for age distribution was made the figures showed that this disorder was actually more likely in the circumcised country.

Not only was the cancer scare completely without foundation, but the operation of foreskin removal continued to prove a distinct health hazard for small babies. There were many cases of haemorrhage, ulceration of the urethra, surgical trauma and local infection. In rare cases, foreskin removal resulted in the death of the baby. There were also more subtle effects with possible long-term implications: following circumcision male babies showed an increase in the level of hormones related to stress; sleep patterns altered; there was more crying and more irritability.

Despite all this, “medical” circumcisions continued (and still continues) at a merry pace in certain countries where private medicine is the rule. In Britain, significantly, there was a dramatic decline in the operation following the introduction of the National Health Service scheme and free treatment. It is impossible to refrain from asking why it should be that the operation sank to a level of less than one per cent (only 0.41 per cent of male babies in 1972) in a country where there was no financial gain to be made from it, while in the United States, for example, in the same year, over 80 per cent of male babies were circumcised, at an annual cost to health-insurance companies of more than $200 million. The new deities demanding circumcision appear to be more fiscal than sacred.

Young females have also been assaulted in this fashion. This has been rare in the West, although as recently as 1937 a Texas doctor was advocating the removal of the clitoris to cure frigidity. The harshest traditions of female circumcision are found in Africa, parts of the Middle East, Indonesia and Malayia. It is a staggering fact that, far from being an ancient memory, the practice of cutting away all or part of the external genitals of young females is still going on in more than 20 countries.

No fewer than 74 million women alive today have been subjected to this mutilation. In the worst cases, they have had their labia and clitoris scraped or cut away and their vaginal opening stitched up with silk, catgut, or thorns, leaving only a tiny opening for urine and menstrual blood. After the operation the girl’s legs are bound together to ensure that scar-tissue forms and the condition becomes permanent. Later, when they marry, these females suffer the pain of having their artificially reduced orifices broken open by their husbands.

The effect of this practice is to dramatically reduce sexual pleasure for wives in the countries concerned, which may be its hidden significance. A side-effect is the high number of deaths and serious illnesses cause by the unhygienic conditions under which the operations are performed, especially in such countries as Oman, South Yemen, Somalia, Djibouti, Sudan, southern Egypt, Ethiopia, northern Kenya, and Mali. The continuance of such practices in the twentieth century against a background of modern enlightenment is clearly going to puzzle historians of the distant future.
<center>
—Desmond Morris (Circa 1985)
</blockquote>
==Videos==
===Desmond Morris (Writer))===
<youtube>v=rfe8nKkVUPo&list=PLVV0r6CmEsFwtuDq9yKrhqqkJ-Era-N7w&index=3</youtube>
===Desmond Morris - Human beings - just another species of animal? (23/37)===
<youtube>v=taFeI6TwAOQ</youtube>
===Male genital mutilation ritual from Desmond Morris - The Human Sexes===
<youtube>v=QaFtcIrtbm0</youtube>
===Desmond Morris - 'The Human Zoo' (25/37)===
<youtube>v=1wlGhIh1lfE</youtube>
===Desmond Morris - Cheating death even before birth (1/37)===
<youtube>v=aZoJbK9hBMo</youtube>
===Desmond Morris - 'The Human Zoo' (25/37)===
<youtube>v=1wlGhIh1lfE</youtube>
===Desmond Morris - Avoiding death for the second time (3/37)===
<youtube>v=rfe8nKkVUPo</youtube>
===Desmond Morris - Contemplating death and the afterlife (37/37)===
<youtube>v=3uddkAIHTEc</youtube>
===Desmond Morris passes away (1928 - 2026) (UK) - UK News - 20/Apr/2026===
<youtube>v=N9fVSDziV6o</youtube>
==Death==
Following the death of his wife, Ramona, in November 2018, Desmond Morris left his home in [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oxford Oxford] in June 2019 and moved to [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/County_Kildare County Kildare] in [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_of_Ireland Ireland] to live close to his son, Jason, and his family there.

He passed away there at the age of 98 on 19 April 2026.<ref name="radford2026">{{REFweb
|url=https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2026/apr/20/desmond-morris-obituary
|title=Desmond Morris Obituary
|last=Radford
|first=Tim
|publisher=The Guardian
|date=2026-04-20
|accessdate=2026-06-05
}}</ref> <ref name="woodhouse2026>{{REFweb
|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c51y797v200o
|title=Zoologist and author Desmond Morris dies aged 98
|last=Woodhouse
|first=Sam
|publisher=BBC
|date=2026-04-20
|accessdate=2026-06-05
}}</ref>
{{SEEALSO}}
* [[Alice Miller]]
{{LINKS}}
* {{URLwebsite|http://www.desmond-morris.com/|2026-06-04}}
* {{URLwikipedia|Desmond_Morris|Desmond Morris}}
{{REF}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Morris, Desmond}}

[[Category:Person]]
[[Category:Male]]
[[Category:Author]]
[[Category:Female genital mutilation]]
[[Category:Financial gain]]
[[Category:Intactivism]]
[[Category:Intactivist]]
[[Category:Intactivist literature]]

[[Category:UK]]

Desmond Morris

2026-06-05T22:18:19Z

WikiModEn2: /* Early life */ Revise text.

{{Construction Site}}
'''{{FULLPAGENAME}}''' ({{LifeData|birth=1928-01-24|birthplace=Purton, Wiltshire|birthcountry=[[United Kingdom]]|death=2026-04-19|deathplace=Naas, County Kildare|deathcountry=Ireland}})

The late Desmond John Morris, Ph.D., was a British zoologist and ethologist. He became famous by applying the methods of animal study to humans.

Morris was a strong opponent of all forms of genital cutting and sexual mutilation, including [[child circumcision]].
===Early life===
Morris was born in Purton, [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wiltshire Wiltshire], to Marjorie (née Hunt) and children's fiction author Harry Morris. A few years later the family moved to [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swindon Swindon].

In his teen years he attended [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dauntsey%27s_School Dauncey's School], an upscale coeducational school in the country on 150 acres of land. This may be where he acquired his interest in nature.<ref>[https://www.dauntseys.org/ Dauntsey's School]</ref>

==Adult life==
Morris enlisted in the British Army for two years at age 18 in 1946 to perform his [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_service national service].
{{PUB}}
===Articles===
Morris wrote articles throughout his long life. His prodigious output is indexed on his website. Please see [http://www.desmond-morris.com/articles.php Selected Articles].
===Books===
Dr. Morris is credited with the authorship of 104 books. For a complete list see [http://www.desmond-morris.com books.php Bibliography]
* {{REFbook
|last=Morris
|first=Desmond
|init=
|year=1985
|title=Bodywatching
|url=https://www.amazon.com/s?k=Bodywatching&i=stripbooks
|scope=
|location=
|publisher=Random House
|ISBN=10-0517558149
|accessdate=2026-06-04
}}
* {{REFbook
|last=Morris
|first=Desmond
|init=
|year=1994
|title=The Human Animal: A Personal View of the Human Species
|url=https://www.amazon.com/Human-Animal-Personal-View-Species/dp/0563370211?s=books
|scope=
|location=
|publisher=BBC Publications
|ISBN=10 0563370211
|accessdate=2026-06-03
}}

* {{REFbook
|last=Morris
|first=Desmond
|init=
|year=1997
|title=The Human Sexes
|url=https://www.amazon.com/Human-Sexes-Morris-Desmond/dp/0563383585?s=books
|scope=
|location=
|publisher=Netwook Books
|ISBN=10 0563383585
|accessdate=2026-06-03
}}
* {{REFbook
|last=Morris
|first=Desmond
|init=
|year=1999
|title=The Naked Ape: A Zoologist's Study of the Human Animal
|url=https://www.amazon.com/Naked-Ape-Zoologists-Study-Animal/dp/0385334303?s=books
|scope=
|location=
|publisher=Delta
|ISBN=10 0385334303
|accessdate=2026-06-03
}}
* {{REFbook
|last=Morris
|first=Desmond
|init=
|year=2007
|title=The Naked Woman: A Study of the Female Body
|url=https://www.amazon.com/Naked-Woman-Study-Female-Body/dp/0312338538?s=books
|scope=
|location=
|publisher=St. Martins Griffin
|ISBN=10 9780312338534
|accessdate=2026-06-03
}}
* {{REFbook
|last=Morris
|first=Desmond
|init=
|year=2009
|title=The Naked Man: A Study of the Male Body
|url=https://www.amazon.com/Naked-Man-Study-Male-Body/dp/0312385307?s=books
|scope=
|location=
|publisher=Thomas Dunne Books
|ISBN=10 0312385307
|accessdate=2026-06-03
}}
===Commentary on male and female genital cutting and genital mutilation===
 
 
 
<hr>
 
<blockquote>
<center>
<big>Comment on Circumcision and Genital Mutilation</big>

Desmond Morris
</center>
For thousands of years, in many different cultures, the genitals have fallen victim to an amazing variety of mutilations and restrictions. For organs that are capable of giving us an immense amount of pleasure They have given us an inordinate amount of pain.

The commonest form of assault they have suffered is male and female circumcision. This strange mutilation is older than civilization and was probably well advance in the Stone Age. Although it is a piece of deliberate wounding of children by adults, it has been done with the best of intentions. Over the millennia it has cause countless deaths from infection, but its advantages have always been said to outweigh the risks involved. These alleged advantages have varied from epoch to epoch and culture to culture, but recent re-examination has shown that they are all imaginary.

It has been claimed that one of the oldest reasons for performing male circumcision—the removal of the foreskin—is that it provoked immortality in the shape of life after death. This odd notion was based on the observation that when the snake sheds its skin it emerges with glistening new scales and is “reborn.” If the snake can enjoy rebirth by the removal of skin, so too can the human being. For snake read penis; for snake-skin read foreskin.

Once male circumcision had become traditional it no longer mattered whether the old beliefs survived. Being circumcised was not the badge of belonging to a particular society. The ritual mutilation spread and spread. Ancient Egyptians were doing it as long ago as 4000 B.C. In the Old Testament, Abraham demanded it. Arabs circumcised as well as Jews. Mohammed was said to have been born without a foreskin (which he may well have been, as this condition is not unknown to medical science), a claim which automatically doomed the foreskins of his future male followers.

As the centuries passed, religious arguments gave way, for many to quack medical arguments. The possession of a foreskin was said to cause “masturbatory insanity.” Other medical horrors resulting from its retention included hysteria, epilepsy, nocturnal incontinence, and nervousness. Such ideas survived into the early part of the present century and even led to the formation of an Orificial Surgery Society devoted exclusively to the “modifications” of offending genital as a means of preventing mental illness.

When at last this nonsense was on the decline a crisis arose. What new reason could be found for mutilating children’s genitals? The solution had to be one that suited the rational climate of twentieth-century scientific inquiry. The answer appeared in The Lancet in 1932: foreskins caused cancer! By the end of the 1930s 75 per cent of the boys in the United States were being circumcised; by 1973 it was 84 per cent; by 1976 it was 87 per cent. Cancer had become the secular version of hellfire and brimstone, the perfect weapon for the anxiety makers of a post-religious society.

To be more precise, the claim that the “debris” called smegma which collects under retained foreskins could cause cancer of the penis and also cancer of the cervix of the wives of the uncircumcised. The paper which started this false rumour was founded on faulty statistics, but nobody minded because here was a plausible new reason for slicing away at the infantile penis. Subsequent experiments, however revealed that there is nothing remotely carcinogenic about the smegma produced under the fold of the foreskin, but they were widely ignored. Other investigations showed that women whose uncircumcised husbands always wore condoms were no more or less likely to develop cancer than those whose husbands never wore condoms. But again nobody wanted to know. In one country where there was no circumcision at all was compared to a country in which all males were circumcised. The results showed, to the relief of the foreskin snippers, that prostate cancer was higher in the uncircumcised country. Unfortunately this form of cancer is a disease of elderly men, and when a correction for age distribution was made the figures showed that this disorder was actually more likely in the circumcised country.

Not only was the cancer scare completely without foundation, but the operation of foreskin removal continued to prove a distinct health hazard for small babies. There were many cases of haemorrhage, ulceration of the urethra, surgical trauma and local infection. In rare cases, foreskin removal resulted in the death of the baby. There were also more subtle effects with possible long-term implications: following circumcision male babies showed an increase in the level of hormones related to stress; sleep patterns altered; there was more crying and more irritability.

Despite all this, “medical” circumcisions continued (and still continues) at a merry pace in certain countries where private medicine is the rule. In Britain, significantly, there was a dramatic decline in the operation following the introduction of the National Health Service scheme and free treatment. It is impossible to refrain from asking why it should be that the operation sank to a level of less than one per cent (only 0.41 per cent of male babies in 1972) in a country where there was no financial gain to be made from it, while in the United States, for example, in the same year, over 80 per cent of male babies were circumcised, at an annual cost to health-insurance companies of more than $200 million. The new deities demanding circumcision appear to be more fiscal than sacred.

Young females have also been assaulted in this fashion. This has been rare in the West, although as recently as 1937 a Texas doctor was advocating the removal of the clitoris to cure frigidity. The harshest traditions of female circumcision are found in Africa, parts of the Middle East, Indonesia and Malayia. It is a staggering fact that, far from being an ancient memory, the practice of cutting away all or part of the external genitals of young females is still going on in more than 20 countries.

No fewer than 74 million women alive today have been subjected to this mutilation. In the worst cases, they have had their labia and clitoris scraped or cut away and their vaginal opening stitched up with silk, catgut, or thorns, leaving only a tiny opening for urine and menstrual blood. After the operation the girl’s legs are bound together to ensure that scar-tissue forms and the condition becomes permanent. Later, when they marry, these females suffer the pain of having their artificially reduced orifices broken open by their husbands.

The effect of this practice is to dramatically reduce sexual pleasure for wives in the countries concerned, which may be its hidden significance. A side-effect is the high number of deaths and serious illnesses cause by the unhygienic conditions under which the operations are performed, especially in such countries as Oman, South Yemen, Somalia, Djibouti, Sudan, southern Egypt, Ethiopia, northern Kenya, and Mali. The continuance of such practices in the twentieth century against a background of modern enlightenment is clearly going to puzzle historians of the distant future.
<center>
—Desmond Morris (Circa 1985)
</blockquote>
==Videos==
===Desmond Morris (Writer))===
<youtube>v=rfe8nKkVUPo&list=PLVV0r6CmEsFwtuDq9yKrhqqkJ-Era-N7w&index=3</youtube>
===Desmond Morris - Human beings - just another species of animal? (23/37)===
<youtube>v=taFeI6TwAOQ</youtube>
===Male genital mutilation ritual from Desmond Morris - The Human Sexes===
<youtube>v=QaFtcIrtbm0</youtube>
===Desmond Morris - 'The Human Zoo' (25/37)===
<youtube>v=1wlGhIh1lfE</youtube>
===Desmond Morris - Cheating death even before birth (1/37)===
<youtube>v=aZoJbK9hBMo</youtube>
===Desmond Morris - 'The Human Zoo' (25/37)===
<youtube>v=1wlGhIh1lfE</youtube>
===Desmond Morris - Avoiding death for the second time (3/37)===
<youtube>v=rfe8nKkVUPo</youtube>
===Desmond Morris - Contemplating death and the afterlife (37/37)===
<youtube>v=3uddkAIHTEc</youtube>
===Desmond Morris passes away (1928 - 2026) (UK) - UK News - 20/Apr/2026===
<youtube>v=N9fVSDziV6o</youtube>
==Death==
Following the death of his wife, Ramona, in November 2018, Desmond Morris left his home in [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oxford Oxford] in June 2019 and moved to [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/County_Kildare County Kildare] in [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_of_Ireland Ireland] to live close to his son, Jason, and his family there.

He passed away there at the age of 98 on 19 April 2026.<ref name="radford2026">{{REFweb
|url=https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2026/apr/20/desmond-morris-obituary
|title=Desmond Morris Obituary
|last=Radford
|first=Tim
|publisher=The Guardian
|date=2026-04-20
|accessdate=2026-06-05
}}</ref> <ref name="woodhouse2026>{{REFweb
|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c51y797v200o
|title=Zoologist and author Desmond Morris dies aged 98
|last=Woodhouse
|first=Sam
|publisher=BBC
|date=2026-04-20
|accessdate=2026-06-05
}}</ref>
{{SEEALSO}}
* [[Alice Miller]]
{{LINKS}}
* {{URLwebsite|http://www.desmond-morris.com/|2026-06-04}}
* {{URLwikipedia|Desmond_Morris|Desmond Morris}}
{{REF}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Morris, Desmond}}

[[Category:Person]]
[[Category:Male]]
[[Category:Author]]
[[Category:Female genital mutilation]]
[[Category:Financial gain]]
[[Category:Intactivism]]
[[Category:Intactivist]]
[[Category:Intactivist literature]]

[[Category:UK]]

Desmond Morris

2026-06-05T22:16:23Z

WikiModEn2: /* Early life */

{{Construction Site}}
'''{{FULLPAGENAME}}''' ({{LifeData|birth=1928-01-24|birthplace=Purton, Wiltshire|birthcountry=[[United Kingdom]]|death=2026-04-19|deathplace=Naas, County Kildare|deathcountry=Ireland}})

The late Desmond John Morris, Ph.D., was a British zoologist and ethologist. He became famous by applying the methods of animal study to humans.

Morris was a strong opponent of all forms of genital cutting and sexual mutilation, including [[child circumcision]].
===Early life===
Morris was born in Purton, [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wiltshire Wiltshire], to Marjorie (née Hunt) and children's fiction author Harry Morris. A few years later the family moved to [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swindon Swindon].

In his teen years he attended [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dauntsey%27s_School Dauncey's School], an upscale boarding school in the country on 150 acres of land. This may be where he acquired his interest in nature.<ref>[https://www.dauntseys.org/ Dauntsey's School]</ref>

==Adult life==
Morris enlisted in the British Army for two years at age 18 in 1946 to perform his [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_service national service].
{{PUB}}
===Articles===
Morris wrote articles throughout his long life. His prodigious output is indexed on his website. Please see [http://www.desmond-morris.com/articles.php Selected Articles].
===Books===
Dr. Morris is credited with the authorship of 104 books. For a complete list see [http://www.desmond-morris.com books.php Bibliography]
* {{REFbook
|last=Morris
|first=Desmond
|init=
|year=1985
|title=Bodywatching
|url=https://www.amazon.com/s?k=Bodywatching&i=stripbooks
|scope=
|location=
|publisher=Random House
|ISBN=10-0517558149
|accessdate=2026-06-04
}}
* {{REFbook
|last=Morris
|first=Desmond
|init=
|year=1994
|title=The Human Animal: A Personal View of the Human Species
|url=https://www.amazon.com/Human-Animal-Personal-View-Species/dp/0563370211?s=books
|scope=
|location=
|publisher=BBC Publications
|ISBN=10 0563370211
|accessdate=2026-06-03
}}

* {{REFbook
|last=Morris
|first=Desmond
|init=
|year=1997
|title=The Human Sexes
|url=https://www.amazon.com/Human-Sexes-Morris-Desmond/dp/0563383585?s=books
|scope=
|location=
|publisher=Netwook Books
|ISBN=10 0563383585
|accessdate=2026-06-03
}}
* {{REFbook
|last=Morris
|first=Desmond
|init=
|year=1999
|title=The Naked Ape: A Zoologist's Study of the Human Animal
|url=https://www.amazon.com/Naked-Ape-Zoologists-Study-Animal/dp/0385334303?s=books
|scope=
|location=
|publisher=Delta
|ISBN=10 0385334303
|accessdate=2026-06-03
}}
* {{REFbook
|last=Morris
|first=Desmond
|init=
|year=2007
|title=The Naked Woman: A Study of the Female Body
|url=https://www.amazon.com/Naked-Woman-Study-Female-Body/dp/0312338538?s=books
|scope=
|location=
|publisher=St. Martins Griffin
|ISBN=10 9780312338534
|accessdate=2026-06-03
}}
* {{REFbook
|last=Morris
|first=Desmond
|init=
|year=2009
|title=The Naked Man: A Study of the Male Body
|url=https://www.amazon.com/Naked-Man-Study-Male-Body/dp/0312385307?s=books
|scope=
|location=
|publisher=Thomas Dunne Books
|ISBN=10 0312385307
|accessdate=2026-06-03
}}
===Commentary on male and female genital cutting and genital mutilation===
 
 
 
<hr>
 
<blockquote>
<center>
<big>Comment on Circumcision and Genital Mutilation</big>

Desmond Morris
</center>
For thousands of years, in many different cultures, the genitals have fallen victim to an amazing variety of mutilations and restrictions. For organs that are capable of giving us an immense amount of pleasure They have given us an inordinate amount of pain.

The commonest form of assault they have suffered is male and female circumcision. This strange mutilation is older than civilization and was probably well advance in the Stone Age. Although it is a piece of deliberate wounding of children by adults, it has been done with the best of intentions. Over the millennia it has cause countless deaths from infection, but its advantages have always been said to outweigh the risks involved. These alleged advantages have varied from epoch to epoch and culture to culture, but recent re-examination has shown that they are all imaginary.

It has been claimed that one of the oldest reasons for performing male circumcision—the removal of the foreskin—is that it provoked immortality in the shape of life after death. This odd notion was based on the observation that when the snake sheds its skin it emerges with glistening new scales and is “reborn.” If the snake can enjoy rebirth by the removal of skin, so too can the human being. For snake read penis; for snake-skin read foreskin.

Once male circumcision had become traditional it no longer mattered whether the old beliefs survived. Being circumcised was not the badge of belonging to a particular society. The ritual mutilation spread and spread. Ancient Egyptians were doing it as long ago as 4000 B.C. In the Old Testament, Abraham demanded it. Arabs circumcised as well as Jews. Mohammed was said to have been born without a foreskin (which he may well have been, as this condition is not unknown to medical science), a claim which automatically doomed the foreskins of his future male followers.

As the centuries passed, religious arguments gave way, for many to quack medical arguments. The possession of a foreskin was said to cause “masturbatory insanity.” Other medical horrors resulting from its retention included hysteria, epilepsy, nocturnal incontinence, and nervousness. Such ideas survived into the early part of the present century and even led to the formation of an Orificial Surgery Society devoted exclusively to the “modifications” of offending genital as a means of preventing mental illness.

When at last this nonsense was on the decline a crisis arose. What new reason could be found for mutilating children’s genitals? The solution had to be one that suited the rational climate of twentieth-century scientific inquiry. The answer appeared in The Lancet in 1932: foreskins caused cancer! By the end of the 1930s 75 per cent of the boys in the United States were being circumcised; by 1973 it was 84 per cent; by 1976 it was 87 per cent. Cancer had become the secular version of hellfire and brimstone, the perfect weapon for the anxiety makers of a post-religious society.

To be more precise, the claim that the “debris” called smegma which collects under retained foreskins could cause cancer of the penis and also cancer of the cervix of the wives of the uncircumcised. The paper which started this false rumour was founded on faulty statistics, but nobody minded because here was a plausible new reason for slicing away at the infantile penis. Subsequent experiments, however revealed that there is nothing remotely carcinogenic about the smegma produced under the fold of the foreskin, but they were widely ignored. Other investigations showed that women whose uncircumcised husbands always wore condoms were no more or less likely to develop cancer than those whose husbands never wore condoms. But again nobody wanted to know. In one country where there was no circumcision at all was compared to a country in which all males were circumcised. The results showed, to the relief of the foreskin snippers, that prostate cancer was higher in the uncircumcised country. Unfortunately this form of cancer is a disease of elderly men, and when a correction for age distribution was made the figures showed that this disorder was actually more likely in the circumcised country.

Not only was the cancer scare completely without foundation, but the operation of foreskin removal continued to prove a distinct health hazard for small babies. There were many cases of haemorrhage, ulceration of the urethra, surgical trauma and local infection. In rare cases, foreskin removal resulted in the death of the baby. There were also more subtle effects with possible long-term implications: following circumcision male babies showed an increase in the level of hormones related to stress; sleep patterns altered; there was more crying and more irritability.

Despite all this, “medical” circumcisions continued (and still continues) at a merry pace in certain countries where private medicine is the rule. In Britain, significantly, there was a dramatic decline in the operation following the introduction of the National Health Service scheme and free treatment. It is impossible to refrain from asking why it should be that the operation sank to a level of less than one per cent (only 0.41 per cent of male babies in 1972) in a country where there was no financial gain to be made from it, while in the United States, for example, in the same year, over 80 per cent of male babies were circumcised, at an annual cost to health-insurance companies of more than $200 million. The new deities demanding circumcision appear to be more fiscal than sacred.

Young females have also been assaulted in this fashion. This has been rare in the West, although as recently as 1937 a Texas doctor was advocating the removal of the clitoris to cure frigidity. The harshest traditions of female circumcision are found in Africa, parts of the Middle East, Indonesia and Malayia. It is a staggering fact that, far from being an ancient memory, the practice of cutting away all or part of the external genitals of young females is still going on in more than 20 countries.

No fewer than 74 million women alive today have been subjected to this mutilation. In the worst cases, they have had their labia and clitoris scraped or cut away and their vaginal opening stitched up with silk, catgut, or thorns, leaving only a tiny opening for urine and menstrual blood. After the operation the girl’s legs are bound together to ensure that scar-tissue forms and the condition becomes permanent. Later, when they marry, these females suffer the pain of having their artificially reduced orifices broken open by their husbands.

The effect of this practice is to dramatically reduce sexual pleasure for wives in the countries concerned, which may be its hidden significance. A side-effect is the high number of deaths and serious illnesses cause by the unhygienic conditions under which the operations are performed, especially in such countries as Oman, South Yemen, Somalia, Djibouti, Sudan, southern Egypt, Ethiopia, northern Kenya, and Mali. The continuance of such practices in the twentieth century against a background of modern enlightenment is clearly going to puzzle historians of the distant future.
<center>
—Desmond Morris (Circa 1985)
</blockquote>
==Videos==
===Desmond Morris (Writer))===
<youtube>v=rfe8nKkVUPo&list=PLVV0r6CmEsFwtuDq9yKrhqqkJ-Era-N7w&index=3</youtube>
===Desmond Morris - Human beings - just another species of animal? (23/37)===
<youtube>v=taFeI6TwAOQ</youtube>
===Male genital mutilation ritual from Desmond Morris - The Human Sexes===
<youtube>v=QaFtcIrtbm0</youtube>
===Desmond Morris - 'The Human Zoo' (25/37)===
<youtube>v=1wlGhIh1lfE</youtube>
===Desmond Morris - Cheating death even before birth (1/37)===
<youtube>v=aZoJbK9hBMo</youtube>
===Desmond Morris - 'The Human Zoo' (25/37)===
<youtube>v=1wlGhIh1lfE</youtube>
===Desmond Morris - Avoiding death for the second time (3/37)===
<youtube>v=rfe8nKkVUPo</youtube>
===Desmond Morris - Contemplating death and the afterlife (37/37)===
<youtube>v=3uddkAIHTEc</youtube>
===Desmond Morris passes away (1928 - 2026) (UK) - UK News - 20/Apr/2026===
<youtube>v=N9fVSDziV6o</youtube>
==Death==
Following the death of his wife, Ramona, in November 2018, Desmond Morris left his home in [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oxford Oxford] in June 2019 and moved to [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/County_Kildare County Kildare] in [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_of_Ireland Ireland] to live close to his son, Jason, and his family there.

He passed away there at the age of 98 on 19 April 2026.<ref name="radford2026">{{REFweb
|url=https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2026/apr/20/desmond-morris-obituary
|title=Desmond Morris Obituary
|last=Radford
|first=Tim
|publisher=The Guardian
|date=2026-04-20
|accessdate=2026-06-05
}}</ref> <ref name="woodhouse2026>{{REFweb
|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c51y797v200o
|title=Zoologist and author Desmond Morris dies aged 98
|last=Woodhouse
|first=Sam
|publisher=BBC
|date=2026-04-20
|accessdate=2026-06-05
}}</ref>
{{SEEALSO}}
* [[Alice Miller]]
{{LINKS}}
* {{URLwebsite|http://www.desmond-morris.com/|2026-06-04}}
* {{URLwikipedia|Desmond_Morris|Desmond Morris}}
{{REF}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Morris, Desmond}}

[[Category:Person]]
[[Category:Male]]
[[Category:Author]]
[[Category:Female genital mutilation]]
[[Category:Financial gain]]
[[Category:Intactivism]]
[[Category:Intactivist]]
[[Category:Intactivist literature]]

[[Category:UK]]

Desmond Morris

2026-06-05T22:13:26Z

WikiModEn2: /* Early life */ Add citation.

{{Construction Site}}
'''{{FULLPAGENAME}}''' ({{LifeData|birth=1928-01-24|birthplace=Purton, Wiltshire|birthcountry=[[United Kingdom]]|death=2026-04-19|deathplace=Naas, County Kildare|deathcountry=Ireland}})

The late Desmond John Morris, Ph.D., was a British zoologist and ethologist. He became famous by applying the methods of animal study to humans.

Morris was a strong opponent of all forms of genital cutting and sexual mutilation, including [[child circumcision]].
===Early life===
Morris was born in Purton, [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wiltshire Wiltshire], to Marjorie (née Hunt) and children's fiction author Harry Morris. A few years later the family moved to [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swindon Swindon].

In his teen years he attended [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dauntsey%27s_School Dauncey's School], an upscale boarding school in the country on 65 acres. This may be where he acquired his interest in nature.<ref>[https://www.dauntseys.org/ Dauntsey's School]</ref>

==Adult life==
Morris enlisted in the British Army for two years at age 18 in 1946 to perform his [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_service national service].
{{PUB}}
===Articles===
Morris wrote articles throughout his long life. His prodigious output is indexed on his website. Please see [http://www.desmond-morris.com/articles.php Selected Articles].
===Books===
Dr. Morris is credited with the authorship of 104 books. For a complete list see [http://www.desmond-morris.com books.php Bibliography]
* {{REFbook
|last=Morris
|first=Desmond
|init=
|year=1985
|title=Bodywatching
|url=https://www.amazon.com/s?k=Bodywatching&i=stripbooks
|scope=
|location=
|publisher=Random House
|ISBN=10-0517558149
|accessdate=2026-06-04
}}
* {{REFbook
|last=Morris
|first=Desmond
|init=
|year=1994
|title=The Human Animal: A Personal View of the Human Species
|url=https://www.amazon.com/Human-Animal-Personal-View-Species/dp/0563370211?s=books
|scope=
|location=
|publisher=BBC Publications
|ISBN=10 0563370211
|accessdate=2026-06-03
}}

* {{REFbook
|last=Morris
|first=Desmond
|init=
|year=1997
|title=The Human Sexes
|url=https://www.amazon.com/Human-Sexes-Morris-Desmond/dp/0563383585?s=books
|scope=
|location=
|publisher=Netwook Books
|ISBN=10 0563383585
|accessdate=2026-06-03
}}
* {{REFbook
|last=Morris
|first=Desmond
|init=
|year=1999
|title=The Naked Ape: A Zoologist's Study of the Human Animal
|url=https://www.amazon.com/Naked-Ape-Zoologists-Study-Animal/dp/0385334303?s=books
|scope=
|location=
|publisher=Delta
|ISBN=10 0385334303
|accessdate=2026-06-03
}}
* {{REFbook
|last=Morris
|first=Desmond
|init=
|year=2007
|title=The Naked Woman: A Study of the Female Body
|url=https://www.amazon.com/Naked-Woman-Study-Female-Body/dp/0312338538?s=books
|scope=
|location=
|publisher=St. Martins Griffin
|ISBN=10 9780312338534
|accessdate=2026-06-03
}}
* {{REFbook
|last=Morris
|first=Desmond
|init=
|year=2009
|title=The Naked Man: A Study of the Male Body
|url=https://www.amazon.com/Naked-Man-Study-Male-Body/dp/0312385307?s=books
|scope=
|location=
|publisher=Thomas Dunne Books
|ISBN=10 0312385307
|accessdate=2026-06-03
}}
===Commentary on male and female genital cutting and genital mutilation===
 
 
 
<hr>
 
<blockquote>
<center>
<big>Comment on Circumcision and Genital Mutilation</big>

Desmond Morris
</center>
For thousands of years, in many different cultures, the genitals have fallen victim to an amazing variety of mutilations and restrictions. For organs that are capable of giving us an immense amount of pleasure They have given us an inordinate amount of pain.

The commonest form of assault they have suffered is male and female circumcision. This strange mutilation is older than civilization and was probably well advance in the Stone Age. Although it is a piece of deliberate wounding of children by adults, it has been done with the best of intentions. Over the millennia it has cause countless deaths from infection, but its advantages have always been said to outweigh the risks involved. These alleged advantages have varied from epoch to epoch and culture to culture, but recent re-examination has shown that they are all imaginary.

It has been claimed that one of the oldest reasons for performing male circumcision—the removal of the foreskin—is that it provoked immortality in the shape of life after death. This odd notion was based on the observation that when the snake sheds its skin it emerges with glistening new scales and is “reborn.” If the snake can enjoy rebirth by the removal of skin, so too can the human being. For snake read penis; for snake-skin read foreskin.

Once male circumcision had become traditional it no longer mattered whether the old beliefs survived. Being circumcised was not the badge of belonging to a particular society. The ritual mutilation spread and spread. Ancient Egyptians were doing it as long ago as 4000 B.C. In the Old Testament, Abraham demanded it. Arabs circumcised as well as Jews. Mohammed was said to have been born without a foreskin (which he may well have been, as this condition is not unknown to medical science), a claim which automatically doomed the foreskins of his future male followers.

As the centuries passed, religious arguments gave way, for many to quack medical arguments. The possession of a foreskin was said to cause “masturbatory insanity.” Other medical horrors resulting from its retention included hysteria, epilepsy, nocturnal incontinence, and nervousness. Such ideas survived into the early part of the present century and even led to the formation of an Orificial Surgery Society devoted exclusively to the “modifications” of offending genital as a means of preventing mental illness.

When at last this nonsense was on the decline a crisis arose. What new reason could be found for mutilating children’s genitals? The solution had to be one that suited the rational climate of twentieth-century scientific inquiry. The answer appeared in The Lancet in 1932: foreskins caused cancer! By the end of the 1930s 75 per cent of the boys in the United States were being circumcised; by 1973 it was 84 per cent; by 1976 it was 87 per cent. Cancer had become the secular version of hellfire and brimstone, the perfect weapon for the anxiety makers of a post-religious society.

To be more precise, the claim that the “debris” called smegma which collects under retained foreskins could cause cancer of the penis and also cancer of the cervix of the wives of the uncircumcised. The paper which started this false rumour was founded on faulty statistics, but nobody minded because here was a plausible new reason for slicing away at the infantile penis. Subsequent experiments, however revealed that there is nothing remotely carcinogenic about the smegma produced under the fold of the foreskin, but they were widely ignored. Other investigations showed that women whose uncircumcised husbands always wore condoms were no more or less likely to develop cancer than those whose husbands never wore condoms. But again nobody wanted to know. In one country where there was no circumcision at all was compared to a country in which all males were circumcised. The results showed, to the relief of the foreskin snippers, that prostate cancer was higher in the uncircumcised country. Unfortunately this form of cancer is a disease of elderly men, and when a correction for age distribution was made the figures showed that this disorder was actually more likely in the circumcised country.

Not only was the cancer scare completely without foundation, but the operation of foreskin removal continued to prove a distinct health hazard for small babies. There were many cases of haemorrhage, ulceration of the urethra, surgical trauma and local infection. In rare cases, foreskin removal resulted in the death of the baby. There were also more subtle effects with possible long-term implications: following circumcision male babies showed an increase in the level of hormones related to stress; sleep patterns altered; there was more crying and more irritability.

Despite all this, “medical” circumcisions continued (and still continues) at a merry pace in certain countries where private medicine is the rule. In Britain, significantly, there was a dramatic decline in the operation following the introduction of the National Health Service scheme and free treatment. It is impossible to refrain from asking why it should be that the operation sank to a level of less than one per cent (only 0.41 per cent of male babies in 1972) in a country where there was no financial gain to be made from it, while in the United States, for example, in the same year, over 80 per cent of male babies were circumcised, at an annual cost to health-insurance companies of more than $200 million. The new deities demanding circumcision appear to be more fiscal than sacred.

Young females have also been assaulted in this fashion. This has been rare in the West, although as recently as 1937 a Texas doctor was advocating the removal of the clitoris to cure frigidity. The harshest traditions of female circumcision are found in Africa, parts of the Middle East, Indonesia and Malayia. It is a staggering fact that, far from being an ancient memory, the practice of cutting away all or part of the external genitals of young females is still going on in more than 20 countries.

No fewer than 74 million women alive today have been subjected to this mutilation. In the worst cases, they have had their labia and clitoris scraped or cut away and their vaginal opening stitched up with silk, catgut, or thorns, leaving only a tiny opening for urine and menstrual blood. After the operation the girl’s legs are bound together to ensure that scar-tissue forms and the condition becomes permanent. Later, when they marry, these females suffer the pain of having their artificially reduced orifices broken open by their husbands.

The effect of this practice is to dramatically reduce sexual pleasure for wives in the countries concerned, which may be its hidden significance. A side-effect is the high number of deaths and serious illnesses cause by the unhygienic conditions under which the operations are performed, especially in such countries as Oman, South Yemen, Somalia, Djibouti, Sudan, southern Egypt, Ethiopia, northern Kenya, and Mali. The continuance of such practices in the twentieth century against a background of modern enlightenment is clearly going to puzzle historians of the distant future.
<center>
—Desmond Morris (Circa 1985)
</blockquote>
==Videos==
===Desmond Morris (Writer))===
<youtube>v=rfe8nKkVUPo&list=PLVV0r6CmEsFwtuDq9yKrhqqkJ-Era-N7w&index=3</youtube>
===Desmond Morris - Human beings - just another species of animal? (23/37)===
<youtube>v=taFeI6TwAOQ</youtube>
===Male genital mutilation ritual from Desmond Morris - The Human Sexes===
<youtube>v=QaFtcIrtbm0</youtube>
===Desmond Morris - 'The Human Zoo' (25/37)===
<youtube>v=1wlGhIh1lfE</youtube>
===Desmond Morris - Cheating death even before birth (1/37)===
<youtube>v=aZoJbK9hBMo</youtube>
===Desmond Morris - 'The Human Zoo' (25/37)===
<youtube>v=1wlGhIh1lfE</youtube>
===Desmond Morris - Avoiding death for the second time (3/37)===
<youtube>v=rfe8nKkVUPo</youtube>
===Desmond Morris - Contemplating death and the afterlife (37/37)===
<youtube>v=3uddkAIHTEc</youtube>
===Desmond Morris passes away (1928 - 2026) (UK) - UK News - 20/Apr/2026===
<youtube>v=N9fVSDziV6o</youtube>
==Death==
Following the death of his wife, Ramona, in November 2018, Desmond Morris left his home in [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oxford Oxford] in June 2019 and moved to [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/County_Kildare County Kildare] in [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_of_Ireland Ireland] to live close to his son, Jason, and his family there.

He passed away there at the age of 98 on 19 April 2026.<ref name="radford2026">{{REFweb
|url=https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2026/apr/20/desmond-morris-obituary
|title=Desmond Morris Obituary
|last=Radford
|first=Tim
|publisher=The Guardian
|date=2026-04-20
|accessdate=2026-06-05
}}</ref> <ref name="woodhouse2026>{{REFweb
|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c51y797v200o
|title=Zoologist and author Desmond Morris dies aged 98
|last=Woodhouse
|first=Sam
|publisher=BBC
|date=2026-04-20
|accessdate=2026-06-05
}}</ref>
{{SEEALSO}}
* [[Alice Miller]]
{{LINKS}}
* {{URLwebsite|http://www.desmond-morris.com/|2026-06-04}}
* {{URLwikipedia|Desmond_Morris|Desmond Morris}}
{{REF}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Morris, Desmond}}

[[Category:Person]]
[[Category:Male]]
[[Category:Author]]
[[Category:Female genital mutilation]]
[[Category:Financial gain]]
[[Category:Intactivism]]
[[Category:Intactivist]]
[[Category:Intactivist literature]]

[[Category:UK]]

Desmond Morris

2026-06-05T22:04:45Z

WikiModEn2: /* Early life */ Add text.

{{Construction Site}}
'''{{FULLPAGENAME}}''' ({{LifeData|birth=1928-01-24|birthplace=Purton, Wiltshire|birthcountry=[[United Kingdom]]|death=2026-04-19|deathplace=Naas, County Kildare|deathcountry=Ireland}})

The late Desmond John Morris, Ph.D., was a British zoologist and ethologist. He became famous by applying the methods of animal study to humans.

Morris was a strong opponent of all forms of genital cutting and sexual mutilation, including [[child circumcision]].
===Early life===
Morris was born in Purton, [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wiltshire Wiltshire], to Marjorie (née Hunt) and children's fiction author Harry Morris. A few years later the family moved to [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swindon Swindon].

Later he attended [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dauntsey%27s_School Dauncey's School], an upscale boarding school in the country on 65 acres.

==Adult life==
Morris enlisted in the British Army for two years at age 18 in 1946 to perform his [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_service national service].
{{PUB}}
===Articles===
Morris wrote articles throughout his long life. His prodigious output is indexed on his website. Please see [http://www.desmond-morris.com/articles.php Selected Articles].
===Books===
Dr. Morris is credited with the authorship of 104 books. For a complete list see [http://www.desmond-morris.com books.php Bibliography]
* {{REFbook
|last=Morris
|first=Desmond
|init=
|year=1985
|title=Bodywatching
|url=https://www.amazon.com/s?k=Bodywatching&i=stripbooks
|scope=
|location=
|publisher=Random House
|ISBN=10-0517558149
|accessdate=2026-06-04
}}
* {{REFbook
|last=Morris
|first=Desmond
|init=
|year=1994
|title=The Human Animal: A Personal View of the Human Species
|url=https://www.amazon.com/Human-Animal-Personal-View-Species/dp/0563370211?s=books
|scope=
|location=
|publisher=BBC Publications
|ISBN=10 0563370211
|accessdate=2026-06-03
}}

* {{REFbook
|last=Morris
|first=Desmond
|init=
|year=1997
|title=The Human Sexes
|url=https://www.amazon.com/Human-Sexes-Morris-Desmond/dp/0563383585?s=books
|scope=
|location=
|publisher=Netwook Books
|ISBN=10 0563383585
|accessdate=2026-06-03
}}
* {{REFbook
|last=Morris
|first=Desmond
|init=
|year=1999
|title=The Naked Ape: A Zoologist's Study of the Human Animal
|url=https://www.amazon.com/Naked-Ape-Zoologists-Study-Animal/dp/0385334303?s=books
|scope=
|location=
|publisher=Delta
|ISBN=10 0385334303
|accessdate=2026-06-03
}}
* {{REFbook
|last=Morris
|first=Desmond
|init=
|year=2007
|title=The Naked Woman: A Study of the Female Body
|url=https://www.amazon.com/Naked-Woman-Study-Female-Body/dp/0312338538?s=books
|scope=
|location=
|publisher=St. Martins Griffin
|ISBN=10 9780312338534
|accessdate=2026-06-03
}}
* {{REFbook
|last=Morris
|first=Desmond
|init=
|year=2009
|title=The Naked Man: A Study of the Male Body
|url=https://www.amazon.com/Naked-Man-Study-Male-Body/dp/0312385307?s=books
|scope=
|location=
|publisher=Thomas Dunne Books
|ISBN=10 0312385307
|accessdate=2026-06-03
}}
===Commentary on male and female genital cutting and genital mutilation===
 
 
 
<hr>
 
<blockquote>
<center>
<big>Comment on Circumcision and Genital Mutilation</big>

Desmond Morris
</center>
For thousands of years, in many different cultures, the genitals have fallen victim to an amazing variety of mutilations and restrictions. For organs that are capable of giving us an immense amount of pleasure They have given us an inordinate amount of pain.

The commonest form of assault they have suffered is male and female circumcision. This strange mutilation is older than civilization and was probably well advance in the Stone Age. Although it is a piece of deliberate wounding of children by adults, it has been done with the best of intentions. Over the millennia it has cause countless deaths from infection, but its advantages have always been said to outweigh the risks involved. These alleged advantages have varied from epoch to epoch and culture to culture, but recent re-examination has shown that they are all imaginary.

It has been claimed that one of the oldest reasons for performing male circumcision—the removal of the foreskin—is that it provoked immortality in the shape of life after death. This odd notion was based on the observation that when the snake sheds its skin it emerges with glistening new scales and is “reborn.” If the snake can enjoy rebirth by the removal of skin, so too can the human being. For snake read penis; for snake-skin read foreskin.

Once male circumcision had become traditional it no longer mattered whether the old beliefs survived. Being circumcised was not the badge of belonging to a particular society. The ritual mutilation spread and spread. Ancient Egyptians were doing it as long ago as 4000 B.C. In the Old Testament, Abraham demanded it. Arabs circumcised as well as Jews. Mohammed was said to have been born without a foreskin (which he may well have been, as this condition is not unknown to medical science), a claim which automatically doomed the foreskins of his future male followers.

As the centuries passed, religious arguments gave way, for many to quack medical arguments. The possession of a foreskin was said to cause “masturbatory insanity.” Other medical horrors resulting from its retention included hysteria, epilepsy, nocturnal incontinence, and nervousness. Such ideas survived into the early part of the present century and even led to the formation of an Orificial Surgery Society devoted exclusively to the “modifications” of offending genital as a means of preventing mental illness.

When at last this nonsense was on the decline a crisis arose. What new reason could be found for mutilating children’s genitals? The solution had to be one that suited the rational climate of twentieth-century scientific inquiry. The answer appeared in The Lancet in 1932: foreskins caused cancer! By the end of the 1930s 75 per cent of the boys in the United States were being circumcised; by 1973 it was 84 per cent; by 1976 it was 87 per cent. Cancer had become the secular version of hellfire and brimstone, the perfect weapon for the anxiety makers of a post-religious society.

To be more precise, the claim that the “debris” called smegma which collects under retained foreskins could cause cancer of the penis and also cancer of the cervix of the wives of the uncircumcised. The paper which started this false rumour was founded on faulty statistics, but nobody minded because here was a plausible new reason for slicing away at the infantile penis. Subsequent experiments, however revealed that there is nothing remotely carcinogenic about the smegma produced under the fold of the foreskin, but they were widely ignored. Other investigations showed that women whose uncircumcised husbands always wore condoms were no more or less likely to develop cancer than those whose husbands never wore condoms. But again nobody wanted to know. In one country where there was no circumcision at all was compared to a country in which all males were circumcised. The results showed, to the relief of the foreskin snippers, that prostate cancer was higher in the uncircumcised country. Unfortunately this form of cancer is a disease of elderly men, and when a correction for age distribution was made the figures showed that this disorder was actually more likely in the circumcised country.

Not only was the cancer scare completely without foundation, but the operation of foreskin removal continued to prove a distinct health hazard for small babies. There were many cases of haemorrhage, ulceration of the urethra, surgical trauma and local infection. In rare cases, foreskin removal resulted in the death of the baby. There were also more subtle effects with possible long-term implications: following circumcision male babies showed an increase in the level of hormones related to stress; sleep patterns altered; there was more crying and more irritability.

Despite all this, “medical” circumcisions continued (and still continues) at a merry pace in certain countries where private medicine is the rule. In Britain, significantly, there was a dramatic decline in the operation following the introduction of the National Health Service scheme and free treatment. It is impossible to refrain from asking why it should be that the operation sank to a level of less than one per cent (only 0.41 per cent of male babies in 1972) in a country where there was no financial gain to be made from it, while in the United States, for example, in the same year, over 80 per cent of male babies were circumcised, at an annual cost to health-insurance companies of more than $200 million. The new deities demanding circumcision appear to be more fiscal than sacred.

Young females have also been assaulted in this fashion. This has been rare in the West, although as recently as 1937 a Texas doctor was advocating the removal of the clitoris to cure frigidity. The harshest traditions of female circumcision are found in Africa, parts of the Middle East, Indonesia and Malayia. It is a staggering fact that, far from being an ancient memory, the practice of cutting away all or part of the external genitals of young females is still going on in more than 20 countries.

No fewer than 74 million women alive today have been subjected to this mutilation. In the worst cases, they have had their labia and clitoris scraped or cut away and their vaginal opening stitched up with silk, catgut, or thorns, leaving only a tiny opening for urine and menstrual blood. After the operation the girl’s legs are bound together to ensure that scar-tissue forms and the condition becomes permanent. Later, when they marry, these females suffer the pain of having their artificially reduced orifices broken open by their husbands.

The effect of this practice is to dramatically reduce sexual pleasure for wives in the countries concerned, which may be its hidden significance. A side-effect is the high number of deaths and serious illnesses cause by the unhygienic conditions under which the operations are performed, especially in such countries as Oman, South Yemen, Somalia, Djibouti, Sudan, southern Egypt, Ethiopia, northern Kenya, and Mali. The continuance of such practices in the twentieth century against a background of modern enlightenment is clearly going to puzzle historians of the distant future.
<center>
—Desmond Morris (Circa 1985)
</blockquote>
==Videos==
===Desmond Morris (Writer))===
<youtube>v=rfe8nKkVUPo&list=PLVV0r6CmEsFwtuDq9yKrhqqkJ-Era-N7w&index=3</youtube>
===Desmond Morris - Human beings - just another species of animal? (23/37)===
<youtube>v=taFeI6TwAOQ</youtube>
===Male genital mutilation ritual from Desmond Morris - The Human Sexes===
<youtube>v=QaFtcIrtbm0</youtube>
===Desmond Morris - 'The Human Zoo' (25/37)===
<youtube>v=1wlGhIh1lfE</youtube>
===Desmond Morris - Cheating death even before birth (1/37)===
<youtube>v=aZoJbK9hBMo</youtube>
===Desmond Morris - 'The Human Zoo' (25/37)===
<youtube>v=1wlGhIh1lfE</youtube>
===Desmond Morris - Avoiding death for the second time (3/37)===
<youtube>v=rfe8nKkVUPo</youtube>
===Desmond Morris - Contemplating death and the afterlife (37/37)===
<youtube>v=3uddkAIHTEc</youtube>
===Desmond Morris passes away (1928 - 2026) (UK) - UK News - 20/Apr/2026===
<youtube>v=N9fVSDziV6o</youtube>
==Death==
Following the death of his wife, Ramona, in November 2018, Desmond Morris left his home in [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oxford Oxford] in June 2019 and moved to [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/County_Kildare County Kildare] in [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_of_Ireland Ireland] to live close to his son, Jason, and his family there.

He passed away there at the age of 98 on 19 April 2026.<ref name="radford2026">{{REFweb
|url=https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2026/apr/20/desmond-morris-obituary
|title=Desmond Morris Obituary
|last=Radford
|first=Tim
|publisher=The Guardian
|date=2026-04-20
|accessdate=2026-06-05
}}</ref> <ref name="woodhouse2026>{{REFweb
|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c51y797v200o
|title=Zoologist and author Desmond Morris dies aged 98
|last=Woodhouse
|first=Sam
|publisher=BBC
|date=2026-04-20
|accessdate=2026-06-05
}}</ref>
{{SEEALSO}}
* [[Alice Miller]]
{{LINKS}}
* {{URLwebsite|http://www.desmond-morris.com/|2026-06-04}}
* {{URLwikipedia|Desmond_Morris|Desmond Morris}}
{{REF}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Morris, Desmond}}

[[Category:Person]]
[[Category:Male]]
[[Category:Author]]
[[Category:Female genital mutilation]]
[[Category:Financial gain]]
[[Category:Intactivism]]
[[Category:Intactivist]]
[[Category:Intactivist literature]]

[[Category:UK]]

Desmond Morris

2026-06-05T21:54:58Z

WikiModEn2: Add SEEALSO section.

{{Construction Site}}
'''{{FULLPAGENAME}}''' ({{LifeData|birth=1928-01-24|birthplace=Purton, Wiltshire|birthcountry=[[United Kingdom]]|death=2026-04-19|deathplace=Naas, County Kildare|deathcountry=Ireland}})

The late Desmond John Morris, Ph.D., was a British zoologist and ethologist. He became famous by applying the methods of animal study to humans.

Morris was a strong opponent of all forms of genital cutting and sexual mutilation, including [[child circumcision]].
===Early life===
Morris was born in Purton, [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wiltshire Wiltshire], to Marjorie (née Hunt) and children's fiction author Harry Morris.

He attended [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dauntsey%27s_School Dauncey's School]
==Adult life==
Morris enlisted in the British Army for two years at age 18 in 1946 to perform his [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_service national service].
{{PUB}}
===Articles===
Morris wrote articles throughout his long life. His prodigious output is indexed on his website. Please see [http://www.desmond-morris.com/articles.php Selected Articles].
===Books===
Dr. Morris is credited with the authorship of 104 books. For a complete list see [http://www.desmond-morris.com books.php Bibliography]
* {{REFbook
|last=Morris
|first=Desmond
|init=
|year=1985
|title=Bodywatching
|url=https://www.amazon.com/s?k=Bodywatching&i=stripbooks
|scope=
|location=
|publisher=Random House
|ISBN=10-0517558149
|accessdate=2026-06-04
}}
* {{REFbook
|last=Morris
|first=Desmond
|init=
|year=1994
|title=The Human Animal: A Personal View of the Human Species
|url=https://www.amazon.com/Human-Animal-Personal-View-Species/dp/0563370211?s=books
|scope=
|location=
|publisher=BBC Publications
|ISBN=10 0563370211
|accessdate=2026-06-03
}}

* {{REFbook
|last=Morris
|first=Desmond
|init=
|year=1997
|title=The Human Sexes
|url=https://www.amazon.com/Human-Sexes-Morris-Desmond/dp/0563383585?s=books
|scope=
|location=
|publisher=Netwook Books
|ISBN=10 0563383585
|accessdate=2026-06-03
}}
* {{REFbook
|last=Morris
|first=Desmond
|init=
|year=1999
|title=The Naked Ape: A Zoologist's Study of the Human Animal
|url=https://www.amazon.com/Naked-Ape-Zoologists-Study-Animal/dp/0385334303?s=books
|scope=
|location=
|publisher=Delta
|ISBN=10 0385334303
|accessdate=2026-06-03
}}
* {{REFbook
|last=Morris
|first=Desmond
|init=
|year=2007
|title=The Naked Woman: A Study of the Female Body
|url=https://www.amazon.com/Naked-Woman-Study-Female-Body/dp/0312338538?s=books
|scope=
|location=
|publisher=St. Martins Griffin
|ISBN=10 9780312338534
|accessdate=2026-06-03
}}
* {{REFbook
|last=Morris
|first=Desmond
|init=
|year=2009
|title=The Naked Man: A Study of the Male Body
|url=https://www.amazon.com/Naked-Man-Study-Male-Body/dp/0312385307?s=books
|scope=
|location=
|publisher=Thomas Dunne Books
|ISBN=10 0312385307
|accessdate=2026-06-03
}}
===Commentary on male and female genital cutting and genital mutilation===
 
 
 
<hr>
 
<blockquote>
<center>
<big>Comment on Circumcision and Genital Mutilation</big>

Desmond Morris
</center>
For thousands of years, in many different cultures, the genitals have fallen victim to an amazing variety of mutilations and restrictions. For organs that are capable of giving us an immense amount of pleasure They have given us an inordinate amount of pain.

The commonest form of assault they have suffered is male and female circumcision. This strange mutilation is older than civilization and was probably well advance in the Stone Age. Although it is a piece of deliberate wounding of children by adults, it has been done with the best of intentions. Over the millennia it has cause countless deaths from infection, but its advantages have always been said to outweigh the risks involved. These alleged advantages have varied from epoch to epoch and culture to culture, but recent re-examination has shown that they are all imaginary.

It has been claimed that one of the oldest reasons for performing male circumcision—the removal of the foreskin—is that it provoked immortality in the shape of life after death. This odd notion was based on the observation that when the snake sheds its skin it emerges with glistening new scales and is “reborn.” If the snake can enjoy rebirth by the removal of skin, so too can the human being. For snake read penis; for snake-skin read foreskin.

Once male circumcision had become traditional it no longer mattered whether the old beliefs survived. Being circumcised was not the badge of belonging to a particular society. The ritual mutilation spread and spread. Ancient Egyptians were doing it as long ago as 4000 B.C. In the Old Testament, Abraham demanded it. Arabs circumcised as well as Jews. Mohammed was said to have been born without a foreskin (which he may well have been, as this condition is not unknown to medical science), a claim which automatically doomed the foreskins of his future male followers.

As the centuries passed, religious arguments gave way, for many to quack medical arguments. The possession of a foreskin was said to cause “masturbatory insanity.” Other medical horrors resulting from its retention included hysteria, epilepsy, nocturnal incontinence, and nervousness. Such ideas survived into the early part of the present century and even led to the formation of an Orificial Surgery Society devoted exclusively to the “modifications” of offending genital as a means of preventing mental illness.

When at last this nonsense was on the decline a crisis arose. What new reason could be found for mutilating children’s genitals? The solution had to be one that suited the rational climate of twentieth-century scientific inquiry. The answer appeared in The Lancet in 1932: foreskins caused cancer! By the end of the 1930s 75 per cent of the boys in the United States were being circumcised; by 1973 it was 84 per cent; by 1976 it was 87 per cent. Cancer had become the secular version of hellfire and brimstone, the perfect weapon for the anxiety makers of a post-religious society.

To be more precise, the claim that the “debris” called smegma which collects under retained foreskins could cause cancer of the penis and also cancer of the cervix of the wives of the uncircumcised. The paper which started this false rumour was founded on faulty statistics, but nobody minded because here was a plausible new reason for slicing away at the infantile penis. Subsequent experiments, however revealed that there is nothing remotely carcinogenic about the smegma produced under the fold of the foreskin, but they were widely ignored. Other investigations showed that women whose uncircumcised husbands always wore condoms were no more or less likely to develop cancer than those whose husbands never wore condoms. But again nobody wanted to know. In one country where there was no circumcision at all was compared to a country in which all males were circumcised. The results showed, to the relief of the foreskin snippers, that prostate cancer was higher in the uncircumcised country. Unfortunately this form of cancer is a disease of elderly men, and when a correction for age distribution was made the figures showed that this disorder was actually more likely in the circumcised country.

Not only was the cancer scare completely without foundation, but the operation of foreskin removal continued to prove a distinct health hazard for small babies. There were many cases of haemorrhage, ulceration of the urethra, surgical trauma and local infection. In rare cases, foreskin removal resulted in the death of the baby. There were also more subtle effects with possible long-term implications: following circumcision male babies showed an increase in the level of hormones related to stress; sleep patterns altered; there was more crying and more irritability.

Despite all this, “medical” circumcisions continued (and still continues) at a merry pace in certain countries where private medicine is the rule. In Britain, significantly, there was a dramatic decline in the operation following the introduction of the National Health Service scheme and free treatment. It is impossible to refrain from asking why it should be that the operation sank to a level of less than one per cent (only 0.41 per cent of male babies in 1972) in a country where there was no financial gain to be made from it, while in the United States, for example, in the same year, over 80 per cent of male babies were circumcised, at an annual cost to health-insurance companies of more than $200 million. The new deities demanding circumcision appear to be more fiscal than sacred.

Young females have also been assaulted in this fashion. This has been rare in the West, although as recently as 1937 a Texas doctor was advocating the removal of the clitoris to cure frigidity. The harshest traditions of female circumcision are found in Africa, parts of the Middle East, Indonesia and Malayia. It is a staggering fact that, far from being an ancient memory, the practice of cutting away all or part of the external genitals of young females is still going on in more than 20 countries.

No fewer than 74 million women alive today have been subjected to this mutilation. In the worst cases, they have had their labia and clitoris scraped or cut away and their vaginal opening stitched up with silk, catgut, or thorns, leaving only a tiny opening for urine and menstrual blood. After the operation the girl’s legs are bound together to ensure that scar-tissue forms and the condition becomes permanent. Later, when they marry, these females suffer the pain of having their artificially reduced orifices broken open by their husbands.

The effect of this practice is to dramatically reduce sexual pleasure for wives in the countries concerned, which may be its hidden significance. A side-effect is the high number of deaths and serious illnesses cause by the unhygienic conditions under which the operations are performed, especially in such countries as Oman, South Yemen, Somalia, Djibouti, Sudan, southern Egypt, Ethiopia, northern Kenya, and Mali. The continuance of such practices in the twentieth century against a background of modern enlightenment is clearly going to puzzle historians of the distant future.
<center>
—Desmond Morris (Circa 1985)
</blockquote>
==Videos==
===Desmond Morris (Writer))===
<youtube>v=rfe8nKkVUPo&list=PLVV0r6CmEsFwtuDq9yKrhqqkJ-Era-N7w&index=3</youtube>
===Desmond Morris - Human beings - just another species of animal? (23/37)===
<youtube>v=taFeI6TwAOQ</youtube>
===Male genital mutilation ritual from Desmond Morris - The Human Sexes===
<youtube>v=QaFtcIrtbm0</youtube>
===Desmond Morris - 'The Human Zoo' (25/37)===
<youtube>v=1wlGhIh1lfE</youtube>
===Desmond Morris - Cheating death even before birth (1/37)===
<youtube>v=aZoJbK9hBMo</youtube>
===Desmond Morris - 'The Human Zoo' (25/37)===
<youtube>v=1wlGhIh1lfE</youtube>
===Desmond Morris - Avoiding death for the second time (3/37)===
<youtube>v=rfe8nKkVUPo</youtube>
===Desmond Morris - Contemplating death and the afterlife (37/37)===
<youtube>v=3uddkAIHTEc</youtube>
===Desmond Morris passes away (1928 - 2026) (UK) - UK News - 20/Apr/2026===
<youtube>v=N9fVSDziV6o</youtube>
==Death==
Following the death of his wife, Ramona, in November 2018, Desmond Morris left his home in [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oxford Oxford] in June 2019 and moved to [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/County_Kildare County Kildare] in [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_of_Ireland Ireland] to live close to his son, Jason, and his family there.

He passed away there at the age of 98 on 19 April 2026.<ref name="radford2026">{{REFweb
|url=https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2026/apr/20/desmond-morris-obituary
|title=Desmond Morris Obituary
|last=Radford
|first=Tim
|publisher=The Guardian
|date=2026-04-20
|accessdate=2026-06-05
}}</ref> <ref name="woodhouse2026>{{REFweb
|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c51y797v200o
|title=Zoologist and author Desmond Morris dies aged 98
|last=Woodhouse
|first=Sam
|publisher=BBC
|date=2026-04-20
|accessdate=2026-06-05
}}</ref>
{{SEEALSO}}
* [[Alice Miller]]
{{LINKS}}
* {{URLwebsite|http://www.desmond-morris.com/|2026-06-04}}
* {{URLwikipedia|Desmond_Morris|Desmond Morris}}
{{REF}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Morris, Desmond}}

[[Category:Person]]
[[Category:Male]]
[[Category:Author]]
[[Category:Female genital mutilation]]
[[Category:Financial gain]]
[[Category:Intactivism]]
[[Category:Intactivist]]
[[Category:Intactivist literature]]

[[Category:UK]]

New Zealand

2026-06-05T21:43:16Z

WikiModEn2: /* Intactivist website */ Add external link.

[[File:Flag of New Zealand.svg|thumb|150px|Flag of New Zealand]]
'''{{FULLPAGENAME}}''' is also known by the Maori name of '''Aotearoa'''.
== Circumcision in New Zealand ==

The incidence of male neonatal non-therapeutic medically unnecessary [[circumcision]] in New Zealand among white New Zealanders rose to about 95 percent in the 1940s. The incidence of male neonatal non-therapeutic circumcision started to decline about 1950. The decline seems to have been triggered by the publication of [[Douglas Gairdner]]'s classic 1949 paper, ''The Fate of the Foreskin: A Study of Circumcision''.<ref name="gairdner1949">{{GairdnerDM 1949}}</ref>

Dr Phil Silva reported that 40.3 percent of boys born in 1972-3 in the [https://dunedinstudy.otago.ac.nz/ Dunedin Multidisciplinary Health and Development Study] were [[circumcised]].

The incidence of circumcision was reported at 0.35 percent among New Zealander boys in 1995.<ref name="mcgrath-young2001">{{REFbook
|last=McGrath
|first=Ken
|init=
|author-link=Ken McGrath
|last2=Young
|first2=Hugh
|init2=
|author2-link=Hugh Young
|year=2001
|chapter=Review of Circumcision in New Zealand
|url=https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-1-4757-3351-8_8 A
|work=
|editors=[[George C. Denniston]], [[Frederick M. Hodges]], [[Marilyn Fayre Milos]]
|edition=
|volume=
|title=Understanding Circumcision: A Multi-Disciplinary Approach to a Multi-Dimensional Problem
|pages=129-146
|location=New York
|publisher=Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publishers
|isbn=978-0306467011
|quote=
|accessdate=2019-09-27
|note=
}}</ref>

The [http://www.nzma.org.nz/ New Zealand Medical Association] estimated in 2001 that about one percent of Caucasian boys were being [[circumcised]], but nearly 100 percent of Tongan, Samoan, and Jewish boys are being [[circumcised]].<ref name="bone2001">{{REFnews
|title=The First Cut
|url=http://www.cirp.org/news/listener11-17-01/
|last=Bone
|first=Alistair
|coauthors=
|publisher=The Listener
|website=
|date=2001-11-17
|accessdate=2020-01-24
|quote=
}}</ref> [https://www.govt.nz/organisations/health-nz-te-whatu-ora/ Health New Zealand] does not fund non-therapeutic circumcision.<ref name="afsari2002">{{REFjournal
|last=Afsari
|first=Mahnaz
|init=
|author-link=
|last2=Beasley
|first2=Spencer W.
|init2=
|author2-link=
|last3=Moate
|first3=Kiki
|init3=
|author3-link=
|last4=Hecket
|first4=Karen
|init4=
|author4-link=
|etal=no
|title=Attitudes of Pacific parents to circumcision of boys
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal=Pac Health Dialog
|location=
|date=2002-03
|volume=9
|issue=1
|article=
|page=
|pages=29-31
|url=http://pacifichealthdialog.nz/pre-2013-archive/Volume209/No20120_20Emergency20Health20In20The20Pacific/Original20Papers/Attitudes20of20Pacific20Island20parents20to20circumcision20of20boys.pdf
|archived=
|quote=
|pubmedID=12737414
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=
|accessdate=2021-11-08
}}</ref>

Four medical groups condemned the practice of non-therapeutic circumcision of children in 2002.<ref>{{REFnews
|title=Quick snip' an unkind cut
|url=https://www.cirp.org/news/2002/2002-08-30_dominionpost.php
|last=Anonymous
|first=
|coauthors=
|publisher=The Dominion Post
|website=
|date=2002-08-30
|accessdate=2019-10-28
|quote=They say circumcision is painful, risky and often medically unnecessary.
}}</ref>

The [[Royal Australasian College of Physicians]] (RACP) has issued a statement on non-therapeutic child circumcision. (''Australasia'' includes New Zealand.) The statement (2010) states:
<blockquote>
After reviewing the currently available evidence, the [[RACP]] believes that the frequency of diseases modifiable by circumcision, the level of protection offered by circumcision and the complication rates of circumcision do not warrant routine infant circumcision in Australia and New Zealand. However it is reasonable for parents to weigh the benefits and risks of circumcision and to make the decision whether or not to circumcise their sons.
</blockquote>
But the statement also says:
<blockquote>
The option of leaving circumcision until later, when the boy is old enough to make a decision for himself does need to be raised with parents and considered. This option has recently been recommended by the [[Royal Dutch Medical Association]]. The ethical merit of this option is that it seeks to respect the child’s [[physical integrity]], and capacity for autonomy by leaving the options open for him to make his own autonomous choice in the future. However, deferring the decision may not always be the best option. As noted earlier, the psychosocial benefits of circumcision (e.g. full inclusion in a religious community) may only be obtained if circumcision is done in infancy. Waiting until the boy is twelve years old or more (i.e. old enough to make his own decision) may mean losing benefits that circumcision was intended to produce.<ref name="racp2010">{{REFdocument
|title=Circumcision of Infant Males
|url=https://www.racp.edu.au//docs/default-source/advocacy-library/circumcision-of-infant-males.pdf?sfvrsn=eaa32f1a_10
|contribution=
|last=
|first=
|publisher=[[Royal Australasian College of Physicians]]
|format=PDF
|date=2010-09-01
|accessdate=2019-10-29
}}</ref>
</blockquote>

==Demographics and distribution==

The males in New Zealand who are [[circumcised]] are mostly older men. The percentage of males who are circumcised is gradually declining as older [[circumcised]] males die off and are replaced by younger [[intact]] males. Almost no white males under 35-years-of-age are circumcised.

The Maori people, who constitute about 17 percent of the population, do not circumcise.<ref name="mcgrath-young2001" />

It is said that the small Jewish population have to fly in a ''[[mohel]]'' if they want to have a son [[circumcised]].<ref name="mcgrath-young2001" />

The Pacific Island people, who constitute 8.1 percent of the population, are an exception. The Pacific Islanders circumcise (actually a [[dorsal slit]]) as part of their culture.<ref name="afsari2002"/> <ref>{{REFnews
|title=Foreskin lament for babies
|url=http://www.cirp.org/news/thepress01-13-01/
|last=Martin
|first=Yvonne
|coauthors=
|publisher=The Press
|website=
|date=2001-01-13
|accessdate=2019-10-28
|quote=
}}</ref>

There is now an abundant majority of [[foreskinned]] males in New Zealand.<ref>{{REFweb
|url=https://www.reddit.com/r/uncircumcised_talk/comments/1kxr198/33_born_in_nz_mixed_m%C4%81orieuro_experience_growing/
|title=33 born in NZ mixed Māori/Euro Experience growing up
|last=Anonymous
|first=
|init=
|author-link=
|publisher=REDDIT
|date=2025-05-27
|accessdate=2025-05-29
}}</ref> The [[World Health Organization]] reported in 2007 that fewer than 20 percent of males are [[circumcised]].

==Intactivist website==
New Zealand is the home of [[Circumstitions - The Intactivism Pages]].
{{SEEALSO}}
* [[Australia]]
* [[Foreskin]]
* [[Human rights]]
* [[Royal Australasian College of Physicians]]
* [[T.I.A.K.I. - Tamariki In Aotearoa Kept Intact]]

{{LINKS}}
* {{URLwikipedia|New_Zealand|New Zealand}}
* {{REFweb
|url=http://www.circumstitions.com/NZ.html
|title=The rise and fall of circumcision in New Zealand
|website=Circumstitions
|last=Young H. & [[Ken McGrath|McGrath, K.]]
|date=2000-12-08
|accessdate=2020-01-01
}}
* {{REFjournal
|last=Watson
|first=Lindsay R.
|init=
|author-link=Lindsay R. Watson
|etal=no
|title=The universal condition: Medical constructions of 'congenital phimosis' in twentieth century Nev Zealand and their implications for child rearing
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal=Health History
|location=
|date=2014
|season=
|volume=16
|issue=1
|article=
|page=
|pages=87-106
|url=https://www.academia.edu/15830843/The_Universal_Condition_Medical_Constructions_of_Congenital_Phimosis_in_Twentieth_Century_New_Zealand_and_their_Implications_for_Child_Rearing
|archived=
|quote=
|pubmedID=25095486
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=10.5401/healthhist.16.1.0087
|accessdate=2022-05-14
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://intactivistsofaustralasia.wordpress.com/
|title=Intactivists of Australasia
|last=
|first=
|author-link=
|publisher=
|website=
|date=
|accessdate=2019-11-17
|format=
|quote=
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://www.stuff.co.nz/life-style/wellbeing/300958020/aggressive-circumcisions-ruined-the-lives-of-these-men
|title='Aggressive' circumcisions ruined the lives of these men
|last=Solomon
|first=Serena
|init=
|publisher=Stuff
|date=2023-08-28
|accessdate=2023-09-20
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://intactamerica.org/cultures-that-reject-circumcision/
|title=Cultures That Reject Circumcision—And Why They’re Right
|last=Alissa
|first=Kristel
|init=
|author-link=Kristel Alissa
|publisher=Intact America
|date=2025-02-23
|accessdate=2025-05-08
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://www.reddit.com/r/Intactivists/comments/1ttexk4/why_is_the_very_real_case_of_master_b_never/
|title=Why is the very real case of Master B never discussed in intactivism or anti-circumcision circles?
|last=Anonymous
|publisher=Reddit
|date=2026-05-31
|accessdate=2026-06-05
}}
{{REF}}

[[Category:Circumcision]]
[[Category:Country]]
[[Category:English-speaking nation]]
[[Category:New Zealand]]
[[Category:Statistics]]
[[Category:History]]
[[Category:Male circumcision]]

[[de:Neuseeland]]

Desmond Morris

2026-06-05T17:52:04Z

WikiModEn2:

{{Construction Site}}
'''{{FULLPAGENAME}}''' ({{LifeData|birth=1928-01-24|birthplace=Purton, Wiltshire|birthcountry=[[United Kingdom]]|death=2026-04-19|deathplace=Naas, County Kildare|deathcountry=Ireland}})

The late Desmond John Morris, Ph.D., was a British zoologist and ethologist. He became famous by applying the methods of animal study to humans.

Morris was a strong opponent of all forms of genital cutting and sexual mutilation, including [[child circumcision]].
===Early life===
Morris was born in Purton, [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wiltshire Wiltshire], to Marjorie (née Hunt) and children's fiction author Harry Morris.

He attended [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dauntsey%27s_School Dauncey's School]
==Adult life==
Morris enlisted in the British Army for two years at age 18 in 1946 to perform his [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_service national service].
{{PUB}}
===Articles===
Morris wrote articles throughout his long life. His prodigious output is indexed on his website. Please see [http://www.desmond-morris.com/articles.php Selected Articles].
===Books===
Dr. Morris is credited with the authorship of 104 books. For a complete list see [http://www.desmond-morris.com books.php Bibliography]
* {{REFbook
|last=Morris
|first=Desmond
|init=
|year=1985
|title=Bodywatching
|url=https://www.amazon.com/s?k=Bodywatching&i=stripbooks
|scope=
|location=
|publisher=Random House
|ISBN=10-0517558149
|accessdate=2026-06-04
}}
* {{REFbook
|last=Morris
|first=Desmond
|init=
|year=1994
|title=The Human Animal: A Personal View of the Human Species
|url=https://www.amazon.com/Human-Animal-Personal-View-Species/dp/0563370211?s=books
|scope=
|location=
|publisher=BBC Publications
|ISBN=10 0563370211
|accessdate=2026-06-03
}}

* {{REFbook
|last=Morris
|first=Desmond
|init=
|year=1997
|title=The Human Sexes
|url=https://www.amazon.com/Human-Sexes-Morris-Desmond/dp/0563383585?s=books
|scope=
|location=
|publisher=Netwook Books
|ISBN=10 0563383585
|accessdate=2026-06-03
}}
* {{REFbook
|last=Morris
|first=Desmond
|init=
|year=1999
|title=The Naked Ape: A Zoologist's Study of the Human Animal
|url=https://www.amazon.com/Naked-Ape-Zoologists-Study-Animal/dp/0385334303?s=books
|scope=
|location=
|publisher=Delta
|ISBN=10 0385334303
|accessdate=2026-06-03
}}
* {{REFbook
|last=Morris
|first=Desmond
|init=
|year=2007
|title=The Naked Woman: A Study of the Female Body
|url=https://www.amazon.com/Naked-Woman-Study-Female-Body/dp/0312338538?s=books
|scope=
|location=
|publisher=St. Martins Griffin
|ISBN=10 9780312338534
|accessdate=2026-06-03
}}
* {{REFbook
|last=Morris
|first=Desmond
|init=
|year=2009
|title=The Naked Man: A Study of the Male Body
|url=https://www.amazon.com/Naked-Man-Study-Male-Body/dp/0312385307?s=books
|scope=
|location=
|publisher=Thomas Dunne Books
|ISBN=10 0312385307
|accessdate=2026-06-03
}}
===Commentary on male and female genital cutting and genital mutilation===
 
 
 
<hr>
 
<blockquote>
<center>
<big>Comment on Circumcision and Genital Mutilation</big>

Desmond Morris
</center>
For thousands of years, in many different cultures, the genitals have fallen victim to an amazing variety of mutilations and restrictions. For organs that are capable of giving us an immense amount of pleasure They have given us an inordinate amount of pain.

The commonest form of assault they have suffered is male and female circumcision. This strange mutilation is older than civilization and was probably well advance in the Stone Age. Although it is a piece of deliberate wounding of children by adults, it has been done with the best of intentions. Over the millennia it has cause countless deaths from infection, but its advantages have always been said to outweigh the risks involved. These alleged advantages have varied from epoch to epoch and culture to culture, but recent re-examination has shown that they are all imaginary.

It has been claimed that one of the oldest reasons for performing male circumcision—the removal of the foreskin—is that it provoked immortality in the shape of life after death. This odd notion was based on the observation that when the snake sheds its skin it emerges with glistening new scales and is “reborn.” If the snake can enjoy rebirth by the removal of skin, so too can the human being. For snake read penis; for snake-skin read foreskin.

Once male circumcision had become traditional it no longer mattered whether the old beliefs survived. Being circumcised was not the badge of belonging to a particular society. The ritual mutilation spread and spread. Ancient Egyptians were doing it as long ago as 4000 B.C. In the Old Testament, Abraham demanded it. Arabs circumcised as well as Jews. Mohammed was said to have been born without a foreskin (which he may well have been, as this condition is not unknown to medical science), a claim which automatically doomed the foreskins of his future male followers.

As the centuries passed, religious arguments gave way, for many to quack medical arguments. The possession of a foreskin was said to cause “masturbatory insanity.” Other medical horrors resulting from its retention included hysteria, epilepsy, nocturnal incontinence, and nervousness. Such ideas survived into the early part of the present century and even led to the formation of an Orificial Surgery Society devoted exclusively to the “modifications” of offending genital as a means of preventing mental illness.

When at last this nonsense was on the decline a crisis arose. What new reason could be found for mutilating children’s genitals? The solution had to be one that suited the rational climate of twentieth-century scientific inquiry. The answer appeared in The Lancet in 1932: foreskins caused cancer! By the end of the 1930s 75 per cent of the boys in the United States were being circumcised; by 1973 it was 84 per cent; by 1976 it was 87 per cent. Cancer had become the secular version of hellfire and brimstone, the perfect weapon for the anxiety makers of a post-religious society.

To be more precise, the claim that the “debris” called smegma which collects under retained foreskins could cause cancer of the penis and also cancer of the cervix of the wives of the uncircumcised. The paper which started this false rumour was founded on faulty statistics, but nobody minded because here was a plausible new reason for slicing away at the infantile penis. Subsequent experiments, however revealed that there is nothing remotely carcinogenic about the smegma produced under the fold of the foreskin, but they were widely ignored. Other investigations showed that women whose uncircumcised husbands always wore condoms were no more or less likely to develop cancer than those whose husbands never wore condoms. But again nobody wanted to know. In one country where there was no circumcision at all was compared to a country in which all males were circumcised. The results showed, to the relief of the foreskin snippers, that prostate cancer was higher in the uncircumcised country. Unfortunately this form of cancer is a disease of elderly men, and when a correction for age distribution was made the figures showed that this disorder was actually more likely in the circumcised country.

Not only was the cancer scare completely without foundation, but the operation of foreskin removal continued to prove a distinct health hazard for small babies. There were many cases of haemorrhage, ulceration of the urethra, surgical trauma and local infection. In rare cases, foreskin removal resulted in the death of the baby. There were also more subtle effects with possible long-term implications: following circumcision male babies showed an increase in the level of hormones related to stress; sleep patterns altered; there was more crying and more irritability.

Despite all this, “medical” circumcisions continued (and still continues) at a merry pace in certain countries where private medicine is the rule. In Britain, significantly, there was a dramatic decline in the operation following the introduction of the National Health Service scheme and free treatment. It is impossible to refrain from asking why it should be that the operation sank to a level of less than one per cent (only 0.41 per cent of male babies in 1972) in a country where there was no financial gain to be made from it, while in the United States, for example, in the same year, over 80 per cent of male babies were circumcised, at an annual cost to health-insurance companies of more than $200 million. The new deities demanding circumcision appear to be more fiscal than sacred.

Young females have also been assaulted in this fashion. This has been rare in the West, although as recently as 1937 a Texas doctor was advocating the removal of the clitoris to cure frigidity. The harshest traditions of female circumcision are found in Africa, parts of the Middle East, Indonesia and Malayia. It is a staggering fact that, far from being an ancient memory, the practice of cutting away all or part of the external genitals of young females is still going on in more than 20 countries.

No fewer than 74 million women alive today have been subjected to this mutilation. In the worst cases, they have had their labia and clitoris scraped or cut away and their vaginal opening stitched up with silk, catgut, or thorns, leaving only a tiny opening for urine and menstrual blood. After the operation the girl’s legs are bound together to ensure that scar-tissue forms and the condition becomes permanent. Later, when they marry, these females suffer the pain of having their artificially reduced orifices broken open by their husbands.

The effect of this practice is to dramatically reduce sexual pleasure for wives in the countries concerned, which may be its hidden significance. A side-effect is the high number of deaths and serious illnesses cause by the unhygienic conditions under which the operations are performed, especially in such countries as Oman, South Yemen, Somalia, Djibouti, Sudan, southern Egypt, Ethiopia, northern Kenya, and Mali. The continuance of such practices in the twentieth century against a background of modern enlightenment is clearly going to puzzle historians of the distant future.
<center>
—Desmond Morris (Circa 1985)
</blockquote>
==Videos==
===Desmond Morris (Writer))===
<youtube>v=rfe8nKkVUPo&list=PLVV0r6CmEsFwtuDq9yKrhqqkJ-Era-N7w&index=3</youtube>
===Desmond Morris - Human beings - just another species of animal? (23/37)===
<youtube>v=taFeI6TwAOQ</youtube>
===Male genital mutilation ritual from Desmond Morris - The Human Sexes===
<youtube>v=QaFtcIrtbm0</youtube>
===Desmond Morris - 'The Human Zoo' (25/37)===
<youtube>v=1wlGhIh1lfE</youtube>
===Desmond Morris - Cheating death even before birth (1/37)===
<youtube>v=aZoJbK9hBMo</youtube>
===Desmond Morris - 'The Human Zoo' (25/37)===
<youtube>v=1wlGhIh1lfE</youtube>
===Desmond Morris - Avoiding death for the second time (3/37)===
<youtube>v=rfe8nKkVUPo</youtube>
===Desmond Morris - Contemplating death and the afterlife (37/37)===
<youtube>v=3uddkAIHTEc</youtube>
===Desmond Morris passes away (1928 - 2026) (UK) - UK News - 20/Apr/2026===
<youtube>v=N9fVSDziV6o</youtube>
==Death==
Following the death of his wife, Ramona, in November 2018, Desmond Morris left his home in [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oxford Oxford] in June 2019 and moved to [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/County_Kildare County Kildare] in [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_of_Ireland Ireland] to live close to his son, Jason, and his family there.

He passed away there at the age of 98 on 19 April 2026.<ref name="radford2026">{{REFweb
|url=https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2026/apr/20/desmond-morris-obituary
|title=Desmond Morris Obituary
|last=Radford
|first=Tim
|publisher=The Guardian
|date=2026-04-20
|accessdate=2026-06-05
}}</ref> <ref name="woodhouse2026>{{REFweb
|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c51y797v200o
|title=Zoologist and author Desmond Morris dies aged 98
|last=Woodhouse
|first=Sam
|publisher=BBC
|date=2026-04-20
|accessdate=2026-06-05
}}</ref>
{{LINKS}}
* {{URLwebsite|http://www.desmond-morris.com/|2026-06-04}}
* {{URLwikipedia|Desmond_Morris|Desmond Morris}}
{{REF}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Morris, Desmond}}

[[Category:Person]]
[[Category:Male]]
[[Category:Author]]
[[Category:Female genital mutilation]]
[[Category:Financial gain]]
[[Category:Intactivism]]
[[Category:Intactivist]]
[[Category:Intactivist literature]]

[[Category:UK]]

Desmond Morris

2026-06-05T17:50:55Z

WikiModEn2:

{{Construction Site}}
'''{{FULLPAGENAME}}''' ({{LifeData|birth=1928-01-24|birthplace=Purton, Wiltshire|birthcountry=[[United Kingdom]]|death=2026-04-19|deathplace=Naas, County Kildare|deathcountry=Ireland}})
The late Desmond John Morris, Ph.D., was a British zoologist and ethologist. He became famous by applying the methods of animal study to humans.

Morris was a strong opponent of all forms of genital cutting and sexual mutilation, including [[child circumcision]].
===Early life===
Morris was born in Purton, [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wiltshire Wiltshire], to Marjorie (née Hunt) and children's fiction author Harry Morris.

He attended [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dauntsey%27s_School Dauncey's School]
==Adult life==
Morris enlisted in the British Army for two years at age 18 in 1946 to perform his [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_service national service].
{{PUB}}
===Articles===
Morris wrote articles throughout his long life. His prodigious output is indexed on his website. Please see [http://www.desmond-morris.com/articles.php Selected Articles].
===Books===
Dr. Morris is credited with the authorship of 104 books. For a complete list see [http://www.desmond-morris.com books.php Bibliography]
* {{REFbook
|last=Morris
|first=Desmond
|init=
|year=1985
|title=Bodywatching
|url=https://www.amazon.com/s?k=Bodywatching&i=stripbooks
|scope=
|location=
|publisher=Random House
|ISBN=10-0517558149
|accessdate=2026-06-04
}}
* {{REFbook
|last=Morris
|first=Desmond
|init=
|year=1994
|title=The Human Animal: A Personal View of the Human Species
|url=https://www.amazon.com/Human-Animal-Personal-View-Species/dp/0563370211?s=books
|scope=
|location=
|publisher=BBC Publications
|ISBN=10 0563370211
|accessdate=2026-06-03
}}

* {{REFbook
|last=Morris
|first=Desmond
|init=
|year=1997
|title=The Human Sexes
|url=https://www.amazon.com/Human-Sexes-Morris-Desmond/dp/0563383585?s=books
|scope=
|location=
|publisher=Netwook Books
|ISBN=10 0563383585
|accessdate=2026-06-03
}}
* {{REFbook
|last=Morris
|first=Desmond
|init=
|year=1999
|title=The Naked Ape: A Zoologist's Study of the Human Animal
|url=https://www.amazon.com/Naked-Ape-Zoologists-Study-Animal/dp/0385334303?s=books
|scope=
|location=
|publisher=Delta
|ISBN=10 0385334303
|accessdate=2026-06-03
}}
* {{REFbook
|last=Morris
|first=Desmond
|init=
|year=2007
|title=The Naked Woman: A Study of the Female Body
|url=https://www.amazon.com/Naked-Woman-Study-Female-Body/dp/0312338538?s=books
|scope=
|location=
|publisher=St. Martins Griffin
|ISBN=10 9780312338534
|accessdate=2026-06-03
}}
* {{REFbook
|last=Morris
|first=Desmond
|init=
|year=2009
|title=The Naked Man: A Study of the Male Body
|url=https://www.amazon.com/Naked-Man-Study-Male-Body/dp/0312385307?s=books
|scope=
|location=
|publisher=Thomas Dunne Books
|ISBN=10 0312385307
|accessdate=2026-06-03
}}
===Commentary on male and female genital cutting and genital mutilation===
 
 
 
<hr>
 
<blockquote>
<center>
<big>Comment on Circumcision and Genital Mutilation</big>

Desmond Morris
</center>
For thousands of years, in many different cultures, the genitals have fallen victim to an amazing variety of mutilations and restrictions. For organs that are capable of giving us an immense amount of pleasure They have given us an inordinate amount of pain.

The commonest form of assault they have suffered is male and female circumcision. This strange mutilation is older than civilization and was probably well advance in the Stone Age. Although it is a piece of deliberate wounding of children by adults, it has been done with the best of intentions. Over the millennia it has cause countless deaths from infection, but its advantages have always been said to outweigh the risks involved. These alleged advantages have varied from epoch to epoch and culture to culture, but recent re-examination has shown that they are all imaginary.

It has been claimed that one of the oldest reasons for performing male circumcision—the removal of the foreskin—is that it provoked immortality in the shape of life after death. This odd notion was based on the observation that when the snake sheds its skin it emerges with glistening new scales and is “reborn.” If the snake can enjoy rebirth by the removal of skin, so too can the human being. For snake read penis; for snake-skin read foreskin.

Once male circumcision had become traditional it no longer mattered whether the old beliefs survived. Being circumcised was not the badge of belonging to a particular society. The ritual mutilation spread and spread. Ancient Egyptians were doing it as long ago as 4000 B.C. In the Old Testament, Abraham demanded it. Arabs circumcised as well as Jews. Mohammed was said to have been born without a foreskin (which he may well have been, as this condition is not unknown to medical science), a claim which automatically doomed the foreskins of his future male followers.

As the centuries passed, religious arguments gave way, for many to quack medical arguments. The possession of a foreskin was said to cause “masturbatory insanity.” Other medical horrors resulting from its retention included hysteria, epilepsy, nocturnal incontinence, and nervousness. Such ideas survived into the early part of the present century and even led to the formation of an Orificial Surgery Society devoted exclusively to the “modifications” of offending genital as a means of preventing mental illness.

When at last this nonsense was on the decline a crisis arose. What new reason could be found for mutilating children’s genitals? The solution had to be one that suited the rational climate of twentieth-century scientific inquiry. The answer appeared in The Lancet in 1932: foreskins caused cancer! By the end of the 1930s 75 per cent of the boys in the United States were being circumcised; by 1973 it was 84 per cent; by 1976 it was 87 per cent. Cancer had become the secular version of hellfire and brimstone, the perfect weapon for the anxiety makers of a post-religious society.

To be more precise, the claim that the “debris” called smegma which collects under retained foreskins could cause cancer of the penis and also cancer of the cervix of the wives of the uncircumcised. The paper which started this false rumour was founded on faulty statistics, but nobody minded because here was a plausible new reason for slicing away at the infantile penis. Subsequent experiments, however revealed that there is nothing remotely carcinogenic about the smegma produced under the fold of the foreskin, but they were widely ignored. Other investigations showed that women whose uncircumcised husbands always wore condoms were no more or less likely to develop cancer than those whose husbands never wore condoms. But again nobody wanted to know. In one country where there was no circumcision at all was compared to a country in which all males were circumcised. The results showed, to the relief of the foreskin snippers, that prostate cancer was higher in the uncircumcised country. Unfortunately this form of cancer is a disease of elderly men, and when a correction for age distribution was made the figures showed that this disorder was actually more likely in the circumcised country.

Not only was the cancer scare completely without foundation, but the operation of foreskin removal continued to prove a distinct health hazard for small babies. There were many cases of haemorrhage, ulceration of the urethra, surgical trauma and local infection. In rare cases, foreskin removal resulted in the death of the baby. There were also more subtle effects with possible long-term implications: following circumcision male babies showed an increase in the level of hormones related to stress; sleep patterns altered; there was more crying and more irritability.

Despite all this, “medical” circumcisions continued (and still continues) at a merry pace in certain countries where private medicine is the rule. In Britain, significantly, there was a dramatic decline in the operation following the introduction of the National Health Service scheme and free treatment. It is impossible to refrain from asking why it should be that the operation sank to a level of less than one per cent (only 0.41 per cent of male babies in 1972) in a country where there was no financial gain to be made from it, while in the United States, for example, in the same year, over 80 per cent of male babies were circumcised, at an annual cost to health-insurance companies of more than $200 million. The new deities demanding circumcision appear to be more fiscal than sacred.

Young females have also been assaulted in this fashion. This has been rare in the West, although as recently as 1937 a Texas doctor was advocating the removal of the clitoris to cure frigidity. The harshest traditions of female circumcision are found in Africa, parts of the Middle East, Indonesia and Malayia. It is a staggering fact that, far from being an ancient memory, the practice of cutting away all or part of the external genitals of young females is still going on in more than 20 countries.

No fewer than 74 million women alive today have been subjected to this mutilation. In the worst cases, they have had their labia and clitoris scraped or cut away and their vaginal opening stitched up with silk, catgut, or thorns, leaving only a tiny opening for urine and menstrual blood. After the operation the girl’s legs are bound together to ensure that scar-tissue forms and the condition becomes permanent. Later, when they marry, these females suffer the pain of having their artificially reduced orifices broken open by their husbands.

The effect of this practice is to dramatically reduce sexual pleasure for wives in the countries concerned, which may be its hidden significance. A side-effect is the high number of deaths and serious illnesses cause by the unhygienic conditions under which the operations are performed, especially in such countries as Oman, South Yemen, Somalia, Djibouti, Sudan, southern Egypt, Ethiopia, northern Kenya, and Mali. The continuance of such practices in the twentieth century against a background of modern enlightenment is clearly going to puzzle historians of the distant future.
<center>
—Desmond Morris (Circa 1985)
</blockquote>
==Videos==
===Desmond Morris (Writer))===
<youtube>v=rfe8nKkVUPo&list=PLVV0r6CmEsFwtuDq9yKrhqqkJ-Era-N7w&index=3</youtube>
===Desmond Morris - Human beings - just another species of animal? (23/37)===
<youtube>v=taFeI6TwAOQ</youtube>
===Male genital mutilation ritual from Desmond Morris - The Human Sexes===
<youtube>v=QaFtcIrtbm0</youtube>
===Desmond Morris - 'The Human Zoo' (25/37)===
<youtube>v=1wlGhIh1lfE</youtube>
===Desmond Morris - Cheating death even before birth (1/37)===
<youtube>v=aZoJbK9hBMo</youtube>
===Desmond Morris - 'The Human Zoo' (25/37)===
<youtube>v=1wlGhIh1lfE</youtube>
===Desmond Morris - Avoiding death for the second time (3/37)===
<youtube>v=rfe8nKkVUPo</youtube>
===Desmond Morris - Contemplating death and the afterlife (37/37)===
<youtube>v=3uddkAIHTEc</youtube>
===Desmond Morris passes away (1928 - 2026) (UK) - UK News - 20/Apr/2026===
<youtube>v=N9fVSDziV6o</youtube>
==Death==
Following the death of his wife, Ramona, in November 2018, Desmond Morris left his home in [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oxford Oxford] in June 2019 and moved to [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/County_Kildare County Kildare] in [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_of_Ireland Ireland] to live close to his son, Jason, and his family there.

He passed away there at the age of 98 on 19 April 2026.<ref name="radford2026">{{REFweb
|url=https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2026/apr/20/desmond-morris-obituary
|title=Desmond Morris Obituary
|last=Radford
|first=Tim
|publisher=The Guardian
|date=2026-04-20
|accessdate=2026-06-05
}}</ref> <ref name="woodhouse2026>{{REFweb
|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c51y797v200o
|title=Zoologist and author Desmond Morris dies aged 98
|last=Woodhouse
|first=Sam
|publisher=BBC
|date=2026-04-20
|accessdate=2026-06-05
}}</ref>
{{LINKS}}
* {{URLwebsite|http://www.desmond-morris.com/|2026-06-04}}
* {{URLwikipedia|Desmond_Morris|Desmond Morris}}
{{REF}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Morris, Desmond}}

[[Category:Person]]
[[Category:Male]]
[[Category:Author]]
[[Category:Female genital mutilation]]
[[Category:Financial gain]]
[[Category:Intactivism]]
[[Category:Intactivist]]
[[Category:Intactivist literature]]

[[Category:UK]]

Desmond Morris

2026-06-05T17:42:47Z

WikiModEn2: /* == */

{{Construction Site}}
'''{{FULLPAGENAME}}''' ({{LifeData|birth=1928-01-24|birthplace=Purton, Wiltshire|birthcountry=[[United Kingdom]]|death=2026-04-19|deathplace=Naas, County Kildare|deathcountry=Ireland}})
The late Desmond John Morris, Ph.D., was a British zoologist and ethologist. He became famous by applying the methods of animal study to humans.

Morris was a strong opponent of all forms of genital cutting and sexual mutilation, including [[child circumcision]].
===Early life===
Morris was born in Purton, [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wiltshire Wiltshire], to Marjorie (née Hunt) and children's fiction author Harry Morris.

He attended [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dauntsey%27s_School Dauncey's School]
==Adult life==
Morris enlisted in the British Army for two years at age 18 in 1946 to perform his [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_service national service].
{{PUB}}
===Articles===
Morris wrote articles throughout his long life. His prodigious output is indexed on his website. Please see [http://www.desmond-morris.com/articles.php Selected Articles].
===Books===
Dr. Morris is credited with the authorship of 104 books. For a complete list see [http://www.desmond-morris.com books.php Bibliography]
* {{REFbook
|last=Morris
|first=Desmond
|init=
|year=1985
|title=Bodywatching
|url=https://www.amazon.com/s?k=Bodywatching&i=stripbooks
|scope=
|location=
|publisher=Random House
|ISBN=10-0517558149
|accessdate=2026-06-04
}}
* {{REFbook
|last=Morris
|first=Desmond
|init=
|year=1994
|title=The Human Animal: A Personal View of the Human Species
|url=https://www.amazon.com/Human-Animal-Personal-View-Species/dp/0563370211?s=books
|scope=
|location=
|publisher=BBC Publications
|ISBN=10 0563370211
|accessdate=2026-06-03
}}

* {{REFbook
|last=Morris
|first=Desmond
|init=
|year=1997
|title=The Human Sexes
|url=https://www.amazon.com/Human-Sexes-Morris-Desmond/dp/0563383585?s=books
|scope=
|location=
|publisher=Netwook Books
|ISBN=10 0563383585
|accessdate=2026-06-03
}}
* {{REFbook
|last=Morris
|first=Desmond
|init=
|year=1999
|title=The Naked Ape: A Zoologist's Study of the Human Animal
|url=https://www.amazon.com/Naked-Ape-Zoologists-Study-Animal/dp/0385334303?s=books
|scope=
|location=
|publisher=Delta
|ISBN=10 0385334303
|accessdate=2026-06-03
}}
* {{REFbook
|last=Morris
|first=Desmond
|init=
|year=2007
|title=The Naked Woman: A Study of the Female Body
|url=https://www.amazon.com/Naked-Woman-Study-Female-Body/dp/0312338538?s=books
|scope=
|location=
|publisher=St. Martins Griffin
|ISBN=10 9780312338534
|accessdate=2026-06-03
}}
* {{REFbook
|last=Morris
|first=Desmond
|init=
|year=2009
|title=The Naked Man: A Study of the Male Body
|url=https://www.amazon.com/Naked-Man-Study-Male-Body/dp/0312385307?s=books
|scope=
|location=
|publisher=Thomas Dunne Books
|ISBN=10 0312385307
|accessdate=2026-06-03
}}
===Commentary on male and female genital cutting and genital mutilation===
 
 
 
<hr>
 
<blockquote>
<center>
<big>Comment on Circumcision and Genital Mutilation</big>

Desmond Morris
</center>
For thousands of years, in many different cultures, the genitals have fallen victim to an amazing variety of mutilations and restrictions. For organs that are capable of giving us an immense amount of pleasure They have given us an inordinate amount of pain.

The commonest form of assault they have suffered is male and female circumcision. This strange mutilation is older than civilization and was probably well advance in the Stone Age. Although it is a piece of deliberate wounding of children by adults, it has been done with the best of intentions. Over the millennia it has cause countless deaths from infection, but its advantages have always been said to outweigh the risks involved. These alleged advantages have varied from epoch to epoch and culture to culture, but recent re-examination has shown that they are all imaginary.

It has been claimed that one of the oldest reasons for performing male circumcision—the removal of the foreskin—is that it provoked immortality in the shape of life after death. This odd notion was based on the observation that when the snake sheds its skin it emerges with glistening new scales and is “reborn.” If the snake can enjoy rebirth by the removal of skin, so too can the human being. For snake read penis; for snake-skin read foreskin.

Once male circumcision had become traditional it no longer mattered whether the old beliefs survived. Being circumcised was not the badge of belonging to a particular society. The ritual mutilation spread and spread. Ancient Egyptians were doing it as long ago as 4000 B.C. In the Old Testament, Abraham demanded it. Arabs circumcised as well as Jews. Mohammed was said to have been born without a foreskin (which he may well have been, as this condition is not unknown to medical science), a claim which automatically doomed the foreskins of his future male followers.

As the centuries passed, religious arguments gave way, for many to quack medical arguments. The possession of a foreskin was said to cause “masturbatory insanity.” Other medical horrors resulting from its retention included hysteria, epilepsy, nocturnal incontinence, and nervousness. Such ideas survived into the early part of the present century and even led to the formation of an Orificial Surgery Society devoted exclusively to the “modifications” of offending genital as a means of preventing mental illness.

When at last this nonsense was on the decline a crisis arose. What new reason could be found for mutilating children’s genitals? The solution had to be one that suited the rational climate of twentieth-century scientific inquiry. The answer appeared in The Lancet in 1932: foreskins caused cancer! By the end of the 1930s 75 per cent of the boys in the United States were being circumcised; by 1973 it was 84 per cent; by 1976 it was 87 per cent. Cancer had become the secular version of hellfire and brimstone, the perfect weapon for the anxiety makers of a post-religious society.

To be more precise, the claim that the “debris” called smegma which collects under retained foreskins could cause cancer of the penis and also cancer of the cervix of the wives of the uncircumcised. The paper which started this false rumour was founded on faulty statistics, but nobody minded because here was a plausible new reason for slicing away at the infantile penis. Subsequent experiments, however revealed that there is nothing remotely carcinogenic about the smegma produced under the fold of the foreskin, but they were widely ignored. Other investigations showed that women whose uncircumcised husbands always wore condoms were no more or less likely to develop cancer than those whose husbands never wore condoms. But again nobody wanted to know. In one country where there was no circumcision at all was compared to a country in which all males were circumcised. The results showed, to the relief of the foreskin snippers, that prostate cancer was higher in the uncircumcised country. Unfortunately this form of cancer is a disease of elderly men, and when a correction for age distribution was made the figures showed that this disorder was actually more likely in the circumcised country.

Not only was the cancer scare completely without foundation, but the operation of foreskin removal continued to prove a distinct health hazard for small babies. There were many cases of haemorrhage, ulceration of the urethra, surgical trauma and local infection. In rare cases, foreskin removal resulted in the death of the baby. There were also more subtle effects with possible long-term implications: following circumcision male babies showed an increase in the level of hormones related to stress; sleep patterns altered; there was more crying and more irritability.

Despite all this, “medical” circumcisions continued (and still continues) at a merry pace in certain countries where private medicine is the rule. In Britain, significantly, there was a dramatic decline in the operation following the introduction of the National Health Service scheme and free treatment. It is impossible to refrain from asking why it should be that the operation sank to a level of less than one per cent (only 0.41 per cent of male babies in 1972) in a country where there was no financial gain to be made from it, while in the United States, for example, in the same year, over 80 per cent of male babies were circumcised, at an annual cost to health-insurance companies of more than $200 million. The new deities demanding circumcision appear to be more fiscal than sacred.

Young females have also been assaulted in this fashion. This has been rare in the West, although as recently as 1937 a Texas doctor was advocating the removal of the clitoris to cure frigidity. The harshest traditions of female circumcision are found in Africa, parts of the Middle East, Indonesia and Malayia. It is a staggering fact that, far from being an ancient memory, the practice of cutting away all or part of the external genitals of young females is still going on in more than 20 countries.

No fewer than 74 million women alive today have been subjected to this mutilation. In the worst cases, they have had their labia and clitoris scraped or cut away and their vaginal opening stitched up with silk, catgut, or thorns, leaving only a tiny opening for urine and menstrual blood. After the operation the girl’s legs are bound together to ensure that scar-tissue forms and the condition becomes permanent. Later, when they marry, these females suffer the pain of having their artificially reduced orifices broken open by their husbands.

The effect of this practice is to dramatically reduce sexual pleasure for wives in the countries concerned, which may be its hidden significance. A side-effect is the high number of deaths and serious illnesses cause by the unhygienic conditions under which the operations are performed, especially in such countries as Oman, South Yemen, Somalia, Djibouti, Sudan, southern Egypt, Ethiopia, northern Kenya, and Mali. The continuance of such practices in the twentieth century against a background of modern enlightenment is clearly going to puzzle historians of the distant future.
<center>
—Desmond Morris (Circa 1985)
</blockquote>

==Videos==
===Desmond Morris (Writer))===
<youtube>v=rfe8nKkVUPo&list=PLVV0r6CmEsFwtuDq9yKrhqqkJ-Era-N7w&index=3</youtube>

===Male genital mutilation ritual from Desmond Morris - The Human Sexes===
<youtube>v=QaFtcIrtbm0</youtube>
===Desmond Morris - 'The Human Zoo' (25/37)===
<youtube>v=1wlGhIh1lfE</youtube>

======
<youtube></youtube>
===Desmond Morris - 'The Human Zoo' (25/37)===
<youtube>v=1wlGhIh1lfE</youtube>
===Desmond Morris - Human beings - just another species of animal? (23/37)===
<youtube>v=taFeI6TwAOQ</youtube>
===Desmond Morris - Avoiding death for the second time (3/37)===
<youtube>v=rfe8nKkVUPo</youtube>
===Desmond Morris - Contemplating death and the afterlife (37/37)===
<youtube>v=3uddkAIHTEc</youtube>
===Desmond Morris passes away (1928 - 2026) (UK) - UK News - 20/Apr/2026===
<youtube>v=N9fVSDziV6o</youtube>

==Death==
Following the death of his wife, Ramona, in November 2018, Desmond Morris left his home in [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oxford Oxford] in June 2019 and moved to [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/County_Kildare County Kildare] in [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_of_Ireland Ireland] to live close to his son, Jason, and his family there.

He passed away there at the age of 98 on 19 April 2026.<ref name="radford2026">{{REFweb
|url=https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2026/apr/20/desmond-morris-obituary
|title=Desmond Morris Obituary
|last=Radford
|first=Tim
|publisher=The Guardian
|date=2026-04-20
|accessdate=2026-06-05
}}</ref> <ref name="woodhouse2026>{{REFweb
|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c51y797v200o
|title=Zoologist and author Desmond Morris dies aged 98
|last=Woodhouse
|first=Sam
|publisher=BBC
|date=2026-04-20
|accessdate=2026-06-05
}}</ref>
{{LINKS}}
* {{URLwebsite|http://www.desmond-morris.com/|2026-06-04}}
* {{URLwikipedia|Desmond_Morris|Desmond Morris}}
{{REF}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Morris, Desmond}}

[[Category:Person]]
[[Category:Male]]
[[Category:Author]]
[[Category:Female genital mutilation]]
[[Category:Financial gain]]
[[Category:Intactivism]]
[[Category:Intactivist]]
[[Category:Intactivist literature]]

[[Category:UK]]

Desmond Morris

2026-06-05T17:38:26Z

WikiModEn2: /* Desmond Morris - Avoiding death for the second time (3/37 */

{{Construction Site}}
'''{{FULLPAGENAME}}''' ({{LifeData|birth=1928-01-24|birthplace=Purton, Wiltshire|birthcountry=[[United Kingdom]]|death=2026-04-19|deathplace=Naas, County Kildare|deathcountry=Ireland}})
The late Desmond John Morris, Ph.D., was a British zoologist and ethologist. He became famous by applying the methods of animal study to humans.

Morris was a strong opponent of all forms of genital cutting and sexual mutilation, including [[child circumcision]].
===Early life===
Morris was born in Purton, [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wiltshire Wiltshire], to Marjorie (née Hunt) and children's fiction author Harry Morris.

He attended [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dauntsey%27s_School Dauncey's School]
==Adult life==
Morris enlisted in the British Army for two years at age 18 in 1946 to perform his [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_service national service].
{{PUB}}
===Articles===
Morris wrote articles throughout his long life. His prodigious output is indexed on his website. Please see [http://www.desmond-morris.com/articles.php Selected Articles].
===Books===
Dr. Morris is credited with the authorship of 104 books. For a complete list see [http://www.desmond-morris.com books.php Bibliography]
* {{REFbook
|last=Morris
|first=Desmond
|init=
|year=1985
|title=Bodywatching
|url=https://www.amazon.com/s?k=Bodywatching&i=stripbooks
|scope=
|location=
|publisher=Random House
|ISBN=10-0517558149
|accessdate=2026-06-04
}}
* {{REFbook
|last=Morris
|first=Desmond
|init=
|year=1994
|title=The Human Animal: A Personal View of the Human Species
|url=https://www.amazon.com/Human-Animal-Personal-View-Species/dp/0563370211?s=books
|scope=
|location=
|publisher=BBC Publications
|ISBN=10 0563370211
|accessdate=2026-06-03
}}

* {{REFbook
|last=Morris
|first=Desmond
|init=
|year=1997
|title=The Human Sexes
|url=https://www.amazon.com/Human-Sexes-Morris-Desmond/dp/0563383585?s=books
|scope=
|location=
|publisher=Netwook Books
|ISBN=10 0563383585
|accessdate=2026-06-03
}}
* {{REFbook
|last=Morris
|first=Desmond
|init=
|year=1999
|title=The Naked Ape: A Zoologist's Study of the Human Animal
|url=https://www.amazon.com/Naked-Ape-Zoologists-Study-Animal/dp/0385334303?s=books
|scope=
|location=
|publisher=Delta
|ISBN=10 0385334303
|accessdate=2026-06-03
}}
* {{REFbook
|last=Morris
|first=Desmond
|init=
|year=2007
|title=The Naked Woman: A Study of the Female Body
|url=https://www.amazon.com/Naked-Woman-Study-Female-Body/dp/0312338538?s=books
|scope=
|location=
|publisher=St. Martins Griffin
|ISBN=10 9780312338534
|accessdate=2026-06-03
}}
* {{REFbook
|last=Morris
|first=Desmond
|init=
|year=2009
|title=The Naked Man: A Study of the Male Body
|url=https://www.amazon.com/Naked-Man-Study-Male-Body/dp/0312385307?s=books
|scope=
|location=
|publisher=Thomas Dunne Books
|ISBN=10 0312385307
|accessdate=2026-06-03
}}
===Commentary on male and female genital cutting and genital mutilation===
 
 
 
<hr>
 
<blockquote>
<center>
<big>Comment on Circumcision and Genital Mutilation</big>

Desmond Morris
</center>
For thousands of years, in many different cultures, the genitals have fallen victim to an amazing variety of mutilations and restrictions. For organs that are capable of giving us an immense amount of pleasure They have given us an inordinate amount of pain.

The commonest form of assault they have suffered is male and female circumcision. This strange mutilation is older than civilization and was probably well advance in the Stone Age. Although it is a piece of deliberate wounding of children by adults, it has been done with the best of intentions. Over the millennia it has cause countless deaths from infection, but its advantages have always been said to outweigh the risks involved. These alleged advantages have varied from epoch to epoch and culture to culture, but recent re-examination has shown that they are all imaginary.

It has been claimed that one of the oldest reasons for performing male circumcision—the removal of the foreskin—is that it provoked immortality in the shape of life after death. This odd notion was based on the observation that when the snake sheds its skin it emerges with glistening new scales and is “reborn.” If the snake can enjoy rebirth by the removal of skin, so too can the human being. For snake read penis; for snake-skin read foreskin.

Once male circumcision had become traditional it no longer mattered whether the old beliefs survived. Being circumcised was not the badge of belonging to a particular society. The ritual mutilation spread and spread. Ancient Egyptians were doing it as long ago as 4000 B.C. In the Old Testament, Abraham demanded it. Arabs circumcised as well as Jews. Mohammed was said to have been born without a foreskin (which he may well have been, as this condition is not unknown to medical science), a claim which automatically doomed the foreskins of his future male followers.

As the centuries passed, religious arguments gave way, for many to quack medical arguments. The possession of a foreskin was said to cause “masturbatory insanity.” Other medical horrors resulting from its retention included hysteria, epilepsy, nocturnal incontinence, and nervousness. Such ideas survived into the early part of the present century and even led to the formation of an Orificial Surgery Society devoted exclusively to the “modifications” of offending genital as a means of preventing mental illness.

When at last this nonsense was on the decline a crisis arose. What new reason could be found for mutilating children’s genitals? The solution had to be one that suited the rational climate of twentieth-century scientific inquiry. The answer appeared in The Lancet in 1932: foreskins caused cancer! By the end of the 1930s 75 per cent of the boys in the United States were being circumcised; by 1973 it was 84 per cent; by 1976 it was 87 per cent. Cancer had become the secular version of hellfire and brimstone, the perfect weapon for the anxiety makers of a post-religious society.

To be more precise, the claim that the “debris” called smegma which collects under retained foreskins could cause cancer of the penis and also cancer of the cervix of the wives of the uncircumcised. The paper which started this false rumour was founded on faulty statistics, but nobody minded because here was a plausible new reason for slicing away at the infantile penis. Subsequent experiments, however revealed that there is nothing remotely carcinogenic about the smegma produced under the fold of the foreskin, but they were widely ignored. Other investigations showed that women whose uncircumcised husbands always wore condoms were no more or less likely to develop cancer than those whose husbands never wore condoms. But again nobody wanted to know. In one country where there was no circumcision at all was compared to a country in which all males were circumcised. The results showed, to the relief of the foreskin snippers, that prostate cancer was higher in the uncircumcised country. Unfortunately this form of cancer is a disease of elderly men, and when a correction for age distribution was made the figures showed that this disorder was actually more likely in the circumcised country.

Not only was the cancer scare completely without foundation, but the operation of foreskin removal continued to prove a distinct health hazard for small babies. There were many cases of haemorrhage, ulceration of the urethra, surgical trauma and local infection. In rare cases, foreskin removal resulted in the death of the baby. There were also more subtle effects with possible long-term implications: following circumcision male babies showed an increase in the level of hormones related to stress; sleep patterns altered; there was more crying and more irritability.

Despite all this, “medical” circumcisions continued (and still continues) at a merry pace in certain countries where private medicine is the rule. In Britain, significantly, there was a dramatic decline in the operation following the introduction of the National Health Service scheme and free treatment. It is impossible to refrain from asking why it should be that the operation sank to a level of less than one per cent (only 0.41 per cent of male babies in 1972) in a country where there was no financial gain to be made from it, while in the United States, for example, in the same year, over 80 per cent of male babies were circumcised, at an annual cost to health-insurance companies of more than $200 million. The new deities demanding circumcision appear to be more fiscal than sacred.

Young females have also been assaulted in this fashion. This has been rare in the West, although as recently as 1937 a Texas doctor was advocating the removal of the clitoris to cure frigidity. The harshest traditions of female circumcision are found in Africa, parts of the Middle East, Indonesia and Malayia. It is a staggering fact that, far from being an ancient memory, the practice of cutting away all or part of the external genitals of young females is still going on in more than 20 countries.

No fewer than 74 million women alive today have been subjected to this mutilation. In the worst cases, they have had their labia and clitoris scraped or cut away and their vaginal opening stitched up with silk, catgut, or thorns, leaving only a tiny opening for urine and menstrual blood. After the operation the girl’s legs are bound together to ensure that scar-tissue forms and the condition becomes permanent. Later, when they marry, these females suffer the pain of having their artificially reduced orifices broken open by their husbands.

The effect of this practice is to dramatically reduce sexual pleasure for wives in the countries concerned, which may be its hidden significance. A side-effect is the high number of deaths and serious illnesses cause by the unhygienic conditions under which the operations are performed, especially in such countries as Oman, South Yemen, Somalia, Djibouti, Sudan, southern Egypt, Ethiopia, northern Kenya, and Mali. The continuance of such practices in the twentieth century against a background of modern enlightenment is clearly going to puzzle historians of the distant future.
<center>
—Desmond Morris (Circa 1985)
</blockquote>

==Videos==
===Desmond Morris (Writer))===
<youtube>v=rfe8nKkVUPo&list=PLVV0r6CmEsFwtuDq9yKrhqqkJ-Era-N7w&index=3</youtube>

===Male genital mutilation ritual from Desmond Morris - The Human Sexes===
<youtube>v=QaFtcIrtbm0</youtube>
===Desmond Morris - 'The Human Zoo' (25/37)===
<youtube>v=1wlGhIh1lfE</youtube>

======
<youtube></youtube>
======
<youtube></youtube>
===Desmond Morris - Human beings - just another species of animal? (23/37)===
<youtube>v=taFeI6TwAOQ</youtube>
===Desmond Morris - Avoiding death for the second time (3/37)===
<youtube>v=rfe8nKkVUPo</youtube>
===Desmond Morris - Contemplating death and the afterlife (37/37)===
<youtube>v=3uddkAIHTEc</youtube>

===Desmond Morris passes away (1928 - 2026) (UK) - UK News - 20/Apr/2026===
<youtube>v=N9fVSDziV6o</youtube>
==Death==
Following the death of his wife, Ramona, in November 2018, Desmond Morris left his home in [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oxford Oxford] in June 2019 and moved to [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/County_Kildare County Kildare] in [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_of_Ireland Ireland] to live close to his son, Jason, and his family there.

He passed away there at the age of 98 on 19 April 2026.<ref name="radford2026">{{REFweb
|url=https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2026/apr/20/desmond-morris-obituary
|title=Desmond Morris Obituary
|last=Radford
|first=Tim
|publisher=The Guardian
|date=2026-04-20
|accessdate=2026-06-05
}}</ref> <ref name="woodhouse2026>{{REFweb
|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c51y797v200o
|title=Zoologist and author Desmond Morris dies aged 98
|last=Woodhouse
|first=Sam
|publisher=BBC
|date=2026-04-20
|accessdate=2026-06-05
}}</ref>
{{LINKS}}
* {{URLwebsite|http://www.desmond-morris.com/|2026-06-04}}
* {{URLwikipedia|Desmond_Morris|Desmond Morris}}
{{REF}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Morris, Desmond}}

[[Category:Person]]
[[Category:Male]]
[[Category:Author]]
[[Category:Female genital mutilation]]
[[Category:Financial gain]]
[[Category:Intactivism]]
[[Category:Intactivist]]
[[Category:Intactivist literature]]

[[Category:UK]]

Desmond Morris

2026-06-05T17:28:07Z

WikiModEn2: /* Videos */

{{Construction Site}}
'''{{FULLPAGENAME}}''' ({{LifeData|birth=1928-01-24|birthplace=Purton, Wiltshire|birthcountry=[[United Kingdom]]|death=2026-04-19|deathplace=Naas, County Kildare|deathcountry=Ireland}})
The late Desmond John Morris, Ph.D., was a British zoologist and ethologist. He became famous by applying the methods of animal study to humans.

Morris was a strong opponent of all forms of genital cutting and sexual mutilation, including [[child circumcision]].
===Early life===
Morris was born in Purton, [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wiltshire Wiltshire], to Marjorie (née Hunt) and children's fiction author Harry Morris.

He attended [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dauntsey%27s_School Dauncey's School]
==Adult life==
Morris enlisted in the British Army for two years at age 18 in 1946 to perform his [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_service national service].
{{PUB}}
===Articles===
Morris wrote articles throughout his long life. His prodigious output is indexed on his website. Please see [http://www.desmond-morris.com/articles.php Selected Articles].
===Books===
Dr. Morris is credited with the authorship of 104 books. For a complete list see [http://www.desmond-morris.com books.php Bibliography]
* {{REFbook
|last=Morris
|first=Desmond
|init=
|year=1985
|title=Bodywatching
|url=https://www.amazon.com/s?k=Bodywatching&i=stripbooks
|scope=
|location=
|publisher=Random House
|ISBN=10-0517558149
|accessdate=2026-06-04
}}
* {{REFbook
|last=Morris
|first=Desmond
|init=
|year=1994
|title=The Human Animal: A Personal View of the Human Species
|url=https://www.amazon.com/Human-Animal-Personal-View-Species/dp/0563370211?s=books
|scope=
|location=
|publisher=BBC Publications
|ISBN=10 0563370211
|accessdate=2026-06-03
}}

* {{REFbook
|last=Morris
|first=Desmond
|init=
|year=1997
|title=The Human Sexes
|url=https://www.amazon.com/Human-Sexes-Morris-Desmond/dp/0563383585?s=books
|scope=
|location=
|publisher=Netwook Books
|ISBN=10 0563383585
|accessdate=2026-06-03
}}
* {{REFbook
|last=Morris
|first=Desmond
|init=
|year=1999
|title=The Naked Ape: A Zoologist's Study of the Human Animal
|url=https://www.amazon.com/Naked-Ape-Zoologists-Study-Animal/dp/0385334303?s=books
|scope=
|location=
|publisher=Delta
|ISBN=10 0385334303
|accessdate=2026-06-03
}}
* {{REFbook
|last=Morris
|first=Desmond
|init=
|year=2007
|title=The Naked Woman: A Study of the Female Body
|url=https://www.amazon.com/Naked-Woman-Study-Female-Body/dp/0312338538?s=books
|scope=
|location=
|publisher=St. Martins Griffin
|ISBN=10 9780312338534
|accessdate=2026-06-03
}}
* {{REFbook
|last=Morris
|first=Desmond
|init=
|year=2009
|title=The Naked Man: A Study of the Male Body
|url=https://www.amazon.com/Naked-Man-Study-Male-Body/dp/0312385307?s=books
|scope=
|location=
|publisher=Thomas Dunne Books
|ISBN=10 0312385307
|accessdate=2026-06-03
}}
===Commentary on male and female genital cutting and genital mutilation===
 
 
 
<hr>
 
<blockquote>
<center>
<big>Comment on Circumcision and Genital Mutilation</big>

Desmond Morris
</center>
For thousands of years, in many different cultures, the genitals have fallen victim to an amazing variety of mutilations and restrictions. For organs that are capable of giving us an immense amount of pleasure They have given us an inordinate amount of pain.

The commonest form of assault they have suffered is male and female circumcision. This strange mutilation is older than civilization and was probably well advance in the Stone Age. Although it is a piece of deliberate wounding of children by adults, it has been done with the best of intentions. Over the millennia it has cause countless deaths from infection, but its advantages have always been said to outweigh the risks involved. These alleged advantages have varied from epoch to epoch and culture to culture, but recent re-examination has shown that they are all imaginary.

It has been claimed that one of the oldest reasons for performing male circumcision—the removal of the foreskin—is that it provoked immortality in the shape of life after death. This odd notion was based on the observation that when the snake sheds its skin it emerges with glistening new scales and is “reborn.” If the snake can enjoy rebirth by the removal of skin, so too can the human being. For snake read penis; for snake-skin read foreskin.

Once male circumcision had become traditional it no longer mattered whether the old beliefs survived. Being circumcised was not the badge of belonging to a particular society. The ritual mutilation spread and spread. Ancient Egyptians were doing it as long ago as 4000 B.C. In the Old Testament, Abraham demanded it. Arabs circumcised as well as Jews. Mohammed was said to have been born without a foreskin (which he may well have been, as this condition is not unknown to medical science), a claim which automatically doomed the foreskins of his future male followers.

As the centuries passed, religious arguments gave way, for many to quack medical arguments. The possession of a foreskin was said to cause “masturbatory insanity.” Other medical horrors resulting from its retention included hysteria, epilepsy, nocturnal incontinence, and nervousness. Such ideas survived into the early part of the present century and even led to the formation of an Orificial Surgery Society devoted exclusively to the “modifications” of offending genital as a means of preventing mental illness.

When at last this nonsense was on the decline a crisis arose. What new reason could be found for mutilating children’s genitals? The solution had to be one that suited the rational climate of twentieth-century scientific inquiry. The answer appeared in The Lancet in 1932: foreskins caused cancer! By the end of the 1930s 75 per cent of the boys in the United States were being circumcised; by 1973 it was 84 per cent; by 1976 it was 87 per cent. Cancer had become the secular version of hellfire and brimstone, the perfect weapon for the anxiety makers of a post-religious society.

To be more precise, the claim that the “debris” called smegma which collects under retained foreskins could cause cancer of the penis and also cancer of the cervix of the wives of the uncircumcised. The paper which started this false rumour was founded on faulty statistics, but nobody minded because here was a plausible new reason for slicing away at the infantile penis. Subsequent experiments, however revealed that there is nothing remotely carcinogenic about the smegma produced under the fold of the foreskin, but they were widely ignored. Other investigations showed that women whose uncircumcised husbands always wore condoms were no more or less likely to develop cancer than those whose husbands never wore condoms. But again nobody wanted to know. In one country where there was no circumcision at all was compared to a country in which all males were circumcised. The results showed, to the relief of the foreskin snippers, that prostate cancer was higher in the uncircumcised country. Unfortunately this form of cancer is a disease of elderly men, and when a correction for age distribution was made the figures showed that this disorder was actually more likely in the circumcised country.

Not only was the cancer scare completely without foundation, but the operation of foreskin removal continued to prove a distinct health hazard for small babies. There were many cases of haemorrhage, ulceration of the urethra, surgical trauma and local infection. In rare cases, foreskin removal resulted in the death of the baby. There were also more subtle effects with possible long-term implications: following circumcision male babies showed an increase in the level of hormones related to stress; sleep patterns altered; there was more crying and more irritability.

Despite all this, “medical” circumcisions continued (and still continues) at a merry pace in certain countries where private medicine is the rule. In Britain, significantly, there was a dramatic decline in the operation following the introduction of the National Health Service scheme and free treatment. It is impossible to refrain from asking why it should be that the operation sank to a level of less than one per cent (only 0.41 per cent of male babies in 1972) in a country where there was no financial gain to be made from it, while in the United States, for example, in the same year, over 80 per cent of male babies were circumcised, at an annual cost to health-insurance companies of more than $200 million. The new deities demanding circumcision appear to be more fiscal than sacred.

Young females have also been assaulted in this fashion. This has been rare in the West, although as recently as 1937 a Texas doctor was advocating the removal of the clitoris to cure frigidity. The harshest traditions of female circumcision are found in Africa, parts of the Middle East, Indonesia and Malayia. It is a staggering fact that, far from being an ancient memory, the practice of cutting away all or part of the external genitals of young females is still going on in more than 20 countries.

No fewer than 74 million women alive today have been subjected to this mutilation. In the worst cases, they have had their labia and clitoris scraped or cut away and their vaginal opening stitched up with silk, catgut, or thorns, leaving only a tiny opening for urine and menstrual blood. After the operation the girl’s legs are bound together to ensure that scar-tissue forms and the condition becomes permanent. Later, when they marry, these females suffer the pain of having their artificially reduced orifices broken open by their husbands.

The effect of this practice is to dramatically reduce sexual pleasure for wives in the countries concerned, which may be its hidden significance. A side-effect is the high number of deaths and serious illnesses cause by the unhygienic conditions under which the operations are performed, especially in such countries as Oman, South Yemen, Somalia, Djibouti, Sudan, southern Egypt, Ethiopia, northern Kenya, and Mali. The continuance of such practices in the twentieth century against a background of modern enlightenment is clearly going to puzzle historians of the distant future.
<center>
—Desmond Morris (Circa 1985)
</blockquote>

==Videos==
===Desmond Morris (Writer))===
<youtube>v=rfe8nKkVUPo&list=PLVV0r6CmEsFwtuDq9yKrhqqkJ-Era-N7w&index=3</youtube>

===Male genital mutilation ritual from Desmond Morris - The Human Sexes===
<youtube>v=QaFtcIrtbm0</youtube>
===Desmond Morris - 'The Human Zoo' (25/37)===
<youtube>v=1wlGhIh1lfE</youtube>

======
<youtube></youtube>
======
<youtube></youtube>
===Desmond Morris - Avoiding death for the second time (3/37===
<youtube></youtube>

===Desmond Morris passes away (1928 - 2026) (UK) - UK News - 20/Apr/2026===
<youtube>v=N9fVSDziV6o</youtube>
==Death==
Following the death of his wife, Ramona, in November 2018, Desmond Morris left his home in [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oxford Oxford] in June 2019 and moved to [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/County_Kildare County Kildare] in [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_of_Ireland Ireland] to live close to his son, Jason, and his family there.

He passed away there at the age of 98 on 19 April 2026.<ref name="radford2026">{{REFweb
|url=https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2026/apr/20/desmond-morris-obituary
|title=Desmond Morris Obituary
|last=Radford
|first=Tim
|publisher=The Guardian
|date=2026-04-20
|accessdate=2026-06-05
}}</ref> <ref name="woodhouse2026>{{REFweb
|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c51y797v200o
|title=Zoologist and author Desmond Morris dies aged 98
|last=Woodhouse
|first=Sam
|publisher=BBC
|date=2026-04-20
|accessdate=2026-06-05
}}</ref>
{{LINKS}}
* {{URLwebsite|http://www.desmond-morris.com/|2026-06-04}}
* {{URLwikipedia|Desmond_Morris|Desmond Morris}}
{{REF}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Morris, Desmond}}

[[Category:Person]]
[[Category:Male]]
[[Category:Author]]
[[Category:Female genital mutilation]]
[[Category:Financial gain]]
[[Category:Intactivism]]
[[Category:Intactivist]]
[[Category:Intactivist literature]]

[[Category:UK]]

Desmond Morris

2026-06-05T16:55:38Z

WikiModEn2: /* Discussion */ Update text.

{{Construction Site}}
'''{{FULLPAGENAME}}''' ({{LifeData|birth=1928-01-24|birthplace=Purton, Wiltshire|birthcountry=[[United Kingdom]]|death=2026-04-19|deathplace=Naas, County Kildare|deathcountry=Ireland}})
The late Desmond John Morris, Ph.D., was a British zoologist and ethologist. He became famous by applying the methods of animal study to humans.

Morris was a strong opponent of all forms of genital cutting and sexual mutilation, including [[child circumcision]].
===Early life===
Morris was born in Purton, [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wiltshire Wiltshire], to Marjorie (née Hunt) and children's fiction author Harry Morris.

He attended [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dauntsey%27s_School Dauncey's School]
==Adult life==
Morris enlisted in the British Army for two years at age 18 in 1946 to perform his [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_service national service].
{{PUB}}
===Articles===
Morris wrote articles throughout his long life. His prodigious output is indexed on his website. Please see [http://www.desmond-morris.com/articles.php Selected Articles].
===Books===
Dr. Morris is credited with the authorship of 104 books. For a complete list see [http://www.desmond-morris.com books.php Bibliography]
* {{REFbook
|last=Morris
|first=Desmond
|init=
|year=1985
|title=Bodywatching
|url=https://www.amazon.com/s?k=Bodywatching&i=stripbooks
|scope=
|location=
|publisher=Random House
|ISBN=10-0517558149
|accessdate=2026-06-04
}}
* {{REFbook
|last=Morris
|first=Desmond
|init=
|year=1994
|title=The Human Animal: A Personal View of the Human Species
|url=https://www.amazon.com/Human-Animal-Personal-View-Species/dp/0563370211?s=books
|scope=
|location=
|publisher=BBC Publications
|ISBN=10 0563370211
|accessdate=2026-06-03
}}

* {{REFbook
|last=Morris
|first=Desmond
|init=
|year=1997
|title=The Human Sexes
|url=https://www.amazon.com/Human-Sexes-Morris-Desmond/dp/0563383585?s=books
|scope=
|location=
|publisher=Netwook Books
|ISBN=10 0563383585
|accessdate=2026-06-03
}}
* {{REFbook
|last=Morris
|first=Desmond
|init=
|year=1999
|title=The Naked Ape: A Zoologist's Study of the Human Animal
|url=https://www.amazon.com/Naked-Ape-Zoologists-Study-Animal/dp/0385334303?s=books
|scope=
|location=
|publisher=Delta
|ISBN=10 0385334303
|accessdate=2026-06-03
}}
* {{REFbook
|last=Morris
|first=Desmond
|init=
|year=2007
|title=The Naked Woman: A Study of the Female Body
|url=https://www.amazon.com/Naked-Woman-Study-Female-Body/dp/0312338538?s=books
|scope=
|location=
|publisher=St. Martins Griffin
|ISBN=10 9780312338534
|accessdate=2026-06-03
}}
* {{REFbook
|last=Morris
|first=Desmond
|init=
|year=2009
|title=The Naked Man: A Study of the Male Body
|url=https://www.amazon.com/Naked-Man-Study-Male-Body/dp/0312385307?s=books
|scope=
|location=
|publisher=Thomas Dunne Books
|ISBN=10 0312385307
|accessdate=2026-06-03
}}
===Commentary on male and female genital cutting and genital mutilation===
 
 
 
<hr>
 
<blockquote>
<center>
<big>Comment on Circumcision and Genital Mutilation</big>

Desmond Morris
</center>
For thousands of years, in many different cultures, the genitals have fallen victim to an amazing variety of mutilations and restrictions. For organs that are capable of giving us an immense amount of pleasure They have given us an inordinate amount of pain.

The commonest form of assault they have suffered is male and female circumcision. This strange mutilation is older than civilization and was probably well advance in the Stone Age. Although it is a piece of deliberate wounding of children by adults, it has been done with the best of intentions. Over the millennia it has cause countless deaths from infection, but its advantages have always been said to outweigh the risks involved. These alleged advantages have varied from epoch to epoch and culture to culture, but recent re-examination has shown that they are all imaginary.

It has been claimed that one of the oldest reasons for performing male circumcision—the removal of the foreskin—is that it provoked immortality in the shape of life after death. This odd notion was based on the observation that when the snake sheds its skin it emerges with glistening new scales and is “reborn.” If the snake can enjoy rebirth by the removal of skin, so too can the human being. For snake read penis; for snake-skin read foreskin.

Once male circumcision had become traditional it no longer mattered whether the old beliefs survived. Being circumcised was not the badge of belonging to a particular society. The ritual mutilation spread and spread. Ancient Egyptians were doing it as long ago as 4000 B.C. In the Old Testament, Abraham demanded it. Arabs circumcised as well as Jews. Mohammed was said to have been born without a foreskin (which he may well have been, as this condition is not unknown to medical science), a claim which automatically doomed the foreskins of his future male followers.

As the centuries passed, religious arguments gave way, for many to quack medical arguments. The possession of a foreskin was said to cause “masturbatory insanity.” Other medical horrors resulting from its retention included hysteria, epilepsy, nocturnal incontinence, and nervousness. Such ideas survived into the early part of the present century and even led to the formation of an Orificial Surgery Society devoted exclusively to the “modifications” of offending genital as a means of preventing mental illness.

When at last this nonsense was on the decline a crisis arose. What new reason could be found for mutilating children’s genitals? The solution had to be one that suited the rational climate of twentieth-century scientific inquiry. The answer appeared in The Lancet in 1932: foreskins caused cancer! By the end of the 1930s 75 per cent of the boys in the United States were being circumcised; by 1973 it was 84 per cent; by 1976 it was 87 per cent. Cancer had become the secular version of hellfire and brimstone, the perfect weapon for the anxiety makers of a post-religious society.

To be more precise, the claim that the “debris” called smegma which collects under retained foreskins could cause cancer of the penis and also cancer of the cervix of the wives of the uncircumcised. The paper which started this false rumour was founded on faulty statistics, but nobody minded because here was a plausible new reason for slicing away at the infantile penis. Subsequent experiments, however revealed that there is nothing remotely carcinogenic about the smegma produced under the fold of the foreskin, but they were widely ignored. Other investigations showed that women whose uncircumcised husbands always wore condoms were no more or less likely to develop cancer than those whose husbands never wore condoms. But again nobody wanted to know. In one country where there was no circumcision at all was compared to a country in which all males were circumcised. The results showed, to the relief of the foreskin snippers, that prostate cancer was higher in the uncircumcised country. Unfortunately this form of cancer is a disease of elderly men, and when a correction for age distribution was made the figures showed that this disorder was actually more likely in the circumcised country.

Not only was the cancer scare completely without foundation, but the operation of foreskin removal continued to prove a distinct health hazard for small babies. There were many cases of haemorrhage, ulceration of the urethra, surgical trauma and local infection. In rare cases, foreskin removal resulted in the death of the baby. There were also more subtle effects with possible long-term implications: following circumcision male babies showed an increase in the level of hormones related to stress; sleep patterns altered; there was more crying and more irritability.

Despite all this, “medical” circumcisions continued (and still continues) at a merry pace in certain countries where private medicine is the rule. In Britain, significantly, there was a dramatic decline in the operation following the introduction of the National Health Service scheme and free treatment. It is impossible to refrain from asking why it should be that the operation sank to a level of less than one per cent (only 0.41 per cent of male babies in 1972) in a country where there was no financial gain to be made from it, while in the United States, for example, in the same year, over 80 per cent of male babies were circumcised, at an annual cost to health-insurance companies of more than $200 million. The new deities demanding circumcision appear to be more fiscal than sacred.

Young females have also been assaulted in this fashion. This has been rare in the West, although as recently as 1937 a Texas doctor was advocating the removal of the clitoris to cure frigidity. The harshest traditions of female circumcision are found in Africa, parts of the Middle East, Indonesia and Malayia. It is a staggering fact that, far from being an ancient memory, the practice of cutting away all or part of the external genitals of young females is still going on in more than 20 countries.

No fewer than 74 million women alive today have been subjected to this mutilation. In the worst cases, they have had their labia and clitoris scraped or cut away and their vaginal opening stitched up with silk, catgut, or thorns, leaving only a tiny opening for urine and menstrual blood. After the operation the girl’s legs are bound together to ensure that scar-tissue forms and the condition becomes permanent. Later, when they marry, these females suffer the pain of having their artificially reduced orifices broken open by their husbands.

The effect of this practice is to dramatically reduce sexual pleasure for wives in the countries concerned, which may be its hidden significance. A side-effect is the high number of deaths and serious illnesses cause by the unhygienic conditions under which the operations are performed, especially in such countries as Oman, South Yemen, Somalia, Djibouti, Sudan, southern Egypt, Ethiopia, northern Kenya, and Mali. The continuance of such practices in the twentieth century against a background of modern enlightenment is clearly going to puzzle historians of the distant future.
<center>
—Desmond Morris (Circa 1985)
</blockquote>

==Videos==
===Desmond Morris (Writer))===
<youtube>v=rfe8nKkVUPo&list=PLVV0r6CmEsFwtuDq9yKrhqqkJ-Era-N7w&index=3</youtube>

===Male genital mutilation ritual from Desmond Morris - The Human Sexes===
<youtube>v=QaFtcIrtbm0</youtube>

======
<youtube></youtube>
======
<youtube></youtube>
===Desmond Morris - Avoiding death for the second time (3/37===
<youtube></youtube>

===Desmond Morris passes away (1928 - 2026) (UK) - UK News - 20/Apr/2026===
<youtube>v=N9fVSDziV6o</youtube>
==Death==
Following the death of his wife, Ramona, in November 2018, Desmond Morris left his home in [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oxford Oxford] in June 2019 and moved to [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/County_Kildare County Kildare] in [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_of_Ireland Ireland] to live close to his son, Jason, and his family there.

He passed away there at the age of 98 on 19 April 2026.<ref name="radford2026">{{REFweb
|url=https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2026/apr/20/desmond-morris-obituary
|title=Desmond Morris Obituary
|last=Radford
|first=Tim
|publisher=The Guardian
|date=2026-04-20
|accessdate=2026-06-05
}}</ref> <ref name="woodhouse2026>{{REFweb
|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c51y797v200o
|title=Zoologist and author Desmond Morris dies aged 98
|last=Woodhouse
|first=Sam
|publisher=BBC
|date=2026-04-20
|accessdate=2026-06-05
}}</ref>
{{LINKS}}
* {{URLwebsite|http://www.desmond-morris.com/|2026-06-04}}
* {{URLwikipedia|Desmond_Morris|Desmond Morris}}
{{REF}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Morris, Desmond}}

[[Category:Person]]
[[Category:Male]]
[[Category:Author]]
[[Category:Female genital mutilation]]
[[Category:Financial gain]]
[[Category:Intactivism]]
[[Category:Intactivist]]
[[Category:Intactivist literature]]

[[Category:UK]]

Desmond Morris

2026-06-05T15:45:15Z

WikiModEn2:

{{Construction Site}}
'''{{FULLPAGENAME}}''' ({{LifeData|birth=1928-01-24|birthplace=Purton, Wiltshire|birthcountry=[[United Kingdom]]|death=2026-04-19|deathplace=Naas, County Kildare|deathcountry=Ireland}})
The late Desmond John Morris, Ph.D., was British zoologist and ethologist. He became famous by applying the methods of animal study to humans.
===Early life===
Morris was born in Purton, [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wiltshire Wiltshire], to Marjorie (née Hunt) and children's fiction author Harry Morris.

He attended [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dauntsey%27s_School Dauncey's School]
{{PUB}}
===Articles===
Morris wrote articles throughout his long life. His prodigious output is indexed on his website. Please see [http://www.desmond-morris.com/articles.php Selected Articles].
===Books===
Dr. Morris is credited with the authorship of 104 books. For a complete list see [http://www.desmond-morris.com books.php Bibliography]
* {{REFbook
|last=Morris
|first=Desmond
|init=
|year=1985
|title=Bodywatching
|url=https://www.amazon.com/s?k=Bodywatching&i=stripbooks
|scope=
|location=
|publisher=Random House
|ISBN=10-0517558149
|accessdate=2026-06-04
}}
* {{REFbook
|last=Morris
|first=Desmond
|init=
|year=1994
|title=The Human Animal: A Personal View of the Human Species
|url=https://www.amazon.com/Human-Animal-Personal-View-Species/dp/0563370211?s=books
|scope=
|location=
|publisher=BBC Publications
|ISBN=10 0563370211
|accessdate=2026-06-03
}}

* {{REFbook
|last=Morris
|first=Desmond
|init=
|year=1997
|title=The Human Sexes
|url=https://www.amazon.com/Human-Sexes-Morris-Desmond/dp/0563383585?s=books
|scope=
|location=
|publisher=Netwook Books
|ISBN=10 0563383585
|accessdate=2026-06-03
}}
* {{REFbook
|last=Morris
|first=Desmond
|init=
|year=1999
|title=The Naked Ape: A Zoologist's Study of the Human Animal
|url=https://www.amazon.com/Naked-Ape-Zoologists-Study-Animal/dp/0385334303?s=books
|scope=
|location=
|publisher=Delta
|ISBN=10 0385334303
|accessdate=2026-06-03
}}
* {{REFbook
|last=Morris
|first=Desmond
|init=
|year=2007
|title=The Naked Woman: A Study of the Female Body
|url=https://www.amazon.com/Naked-Woman-Study-Female-Body/dp/0312338538?s=books
|scope=
|location=
|publisher=St. Martins Griffin
|ISBN=10 9780312338534
|accessdate=2026-06-03
}}
* {{REFbook
|last=Morris
|first=Desmond
|init=
|year=2009
|title=The Naked Man: A Study of the Male Body
|url=https://www.amazon.com/Naked-Man-Study-Male-Body/dp/0312385307?s=books
|scope=
|location=
|publisher=Thomas Dunne Books
|ISBN=10 0312385307
|accessdate=2026-06-03
}}
===Comment on male and female circumcision (genital mutilation)===

<hr>
<blockquote>
<center>
<big>Comment on Circumcision and Genital Mutilation</big>

Desmond Morris
</center>
For thousands of years, in many different cultures, the genitals have fallen victim to an amazing variety of mutilations and restrictions. For organs that are capable of giving us an immense amount of pleasure They have given us an inordinate amount of pain.

The commonest form of assault they have suffered is male and female circumcision. This strange mutilation is older than civilization and was probably well advance in the Stone Age. Although it is a piece of deliberate wounding of children by adults, it has been done with the best of intentions. Over the millennia it has cause countless deaths from infection, but its advantages have always been said to outweigh the risks involved. These alleged advantages have varied from epoch to epoch and culture to culture, but recent re-examination has shown that they are all imaginary.

It has been claimed that one of the oldest reasons for performing male circumcision—the removal of the foreskin—is that it provoked immortality in the shape of life after death. This odd notion was based on the observation that when the snake sheds its skin it emerges with glistening new scales and is “reborn.” If the snake can enjoy rebirth by the removal of skin, so too can the human being. For snake read penis; for snake-skin read foreskin.

Once male circumcision had become traditional it no longer mattered whether the old beliefs survived. Being circumcised was not the badge of belonging to a particular society. The ritual mutilation spread and spread. Ancient Egyptians were doing it as long ago as 4000 B.C. In the Old Testament, Abraham demanded it. Arabs circumcised as well as Jews. Mohammed was said to have been born without a foreskin (which he may well have been, as this condition is not unknown to medical science), a claim which automatically doomed the foreskins of his future male followers.

As the centuries passed, religious arguments gave way, for many to quack medical arguments. The possession of a foreskin was said to cause “masturbatory insanity.” Other medical horrors resulting from its retention included hysteria, epilepsy, nocturnal incontinence, and nervousness. Such ideas survived into the early part of the present century and even led to the formation of an Orificial Surgery Society devoted exclusively to the “modifications” of offending genital as a means of preventing mental illness.

When at last this nonsense was on the decline a crisis arose. What new reason could be found for mutilating children’s genitals? The solution had to be one that suited the rational climate of twentieth-century scientific inquiry. The answer appeared in The Lancet in 1932: foreskins caused cancer! By the end of the 1930s 75 per cent of the boys in the United States were being circumcised; by 1973 it was 84 per cent; by 1976 it was 87 per cent. Cancer had become the secular version of hellfire and brimstone, the perfect weapon for the anxiety makers of a post-religious society.

To be more precise, the claim that the “debris” called smegma which collects under retained foreskins could cause cancer of the penis and also cancer of the cervix of the wives of the uncircumcised. The paper which started this false rumour was founded on faulty statistics, but nobody minded because here was a plausible new reason for slicing away at the infantile penis. Subsequent experiments, however revealed that there is nothing remotely carcinogenic about the smegma produced under the fold of the foreskin, but they were widely ignored. Other investigations showed that women whose uncircumcised husbands always wore condoms were no more or less likely to develop cancer than those whose husbands never wore condoms. But again nobody wanted to know. In one country where there was no circumcision at all was compared to a country in which all males were circumcised. The results showed, to the relief of the foreskin snippers, that prostate cancer was higher in the uncircumcised country. Unfortunately this form of cancer is a disease of elderly men, and when a correction for age distribution was made the figures showed that this disorder was actually more likely in the circumcised country.

Not only was the cancer scare completely without foundation, but the operation of foreskin removal continued to prove a distinct health hazard for small babies. There were many cases of haemorrhage, ulceration of the urethra, surgical trauma and local infection. In rare cases, foreskin removal resulted in the death of the baby. There were also more subtle effects with possible long-term implications: following circumcision male babies showed an increase in the level of hormones related to stress; sleep patterns altered; there was more crying and more irritability.

Despite all this, “medical” circumcisions continued (and still continues) at a merry pace in certain countries where private medicine is the rule. In Britain, significantly, there was a dramatic decline in the operation following the introduction of the National Health Service scheme and free treatment. It is impossible to refrain from asking why it should be that the operation sank to a level of less than one per cent (only 0.41 per cent of male babies in 1972) in a country where there was no financial gain to be made from it, while in the United States, for example, in the same year, over 80 per cent of male babies were circumcised, at an annual cost to health-insurance companies of more than $200 million. The new deities demanding circumcision appear to be more fiscal than sacred.

Young females have also been assaulted in this fashion. This has been rare in the West, although as recently as 1937 a Texas doctor was advocating the removal of the clitoris to cure frigidity. The harshest traditions of female circumcision are found in Africa, parts of the Middle East, Indonesia and Malayia. It is a staggering fact that, far from being an ancient memory, the practice of cutting away all or part of the external genitals of young females is still going on in more than 20 countries.

No fewer than 74 million women alive today have been subjected to this mutilation. In the worst cases, they have had their labia and clitoris scraped or cut away and their vaginal opening stitched up with silk, catgut, or thorns, leaving only a tiny opening for urine and menstrual blood. After the operation the girl’s legs are bound together to ensure that scar-tissue forms and the condition becomes permanent. Later, when they marry, these females suffer the pain of having their artificially reduced orifices broken open by their husbands.

The effect of this practice is to dramatically reduce sexual pleasure for wives in the countries concerned, which may be its hidden significance. A side-effect is the high number of deaths and serious illnesses cause by the unhygienic conditions under which the operations are performed, especially in such countries as Oman, South Yemen, Somalia, Djibouti, Sudan, southern Egypt, Ethiopia, northern Kenya, and Mali. The continuance of such practices in the twentieth century against a background of modern enlightenment is clearly going to puzzle historians of the distant future.
<center>
—Desmond Morris (cerca 1985)
</center>

</blockquote>

==Videos==
===Desmond Morris (Writer))===
<youtube>v=rfe8nKkVUPo&list=PLVV0r6CmEsFwtuDq9yKrhqqkJ-Era-N7w&index=3</youtube>

===Male genital mutilation ritual from Desmond Morris - The Human Sexes===
<youtube>v=QaFtcIrtbm0</youtube>

======
<youtube></youtube>
======
<youtube></youtube>
===Desmond Morris - Avoiding death for the second time (3/37===
<youtube></youtube>

===Desmond Morris passes away (1928 - 2026) (UK) - UK News - 20/Apr/2026===
<youtube>v=N9fVSDziV6o</youtube>
==Death==
After his wife passed away, Morris went to live with his son's family in [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naas Naas], [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/County_Kildare County Kildare], [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_of_Ireland Ireland]. He passed away there on 19 April 2026.<ref name="radford2026">{{REFweb
|url=https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2026/apr/20/desmond-morris-obituary
|title=Desmond Morris Obituary
|last=Radford
|first=Tim
|publisher=The Guardian
|date=2026-04-20
|accessdate=2026-06-05
}}</ref> <ref name="woodhouse2026>{{REFweb
|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c51y797v200o
|title=Zoologist and author Desmond Morris dies aged 98
|last=Woodhouse
|first=Sam
|publisher=BBC
|date=2026-04-20
|accessdate=2026-06-05
}}</ref>
{{LINKS}}
* {{URLwebsite|http://www.desmond-morris.com/|2026-06-04}}
* {{URLwikipedia|Desmond_Morris|Desmond Morris}}
{{REF}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Morris, Desmond}}

[[Category:Person]]
[[Category:Male]]
[[Category:Author]]

[[Category:UK]]

Desmond Morris

2026-06-05T14:27:37Z

WikiModEn2:

{{Construction Site}}
'''{{FULLPAGENAME}}''' ({{LifeData|birth=1928-01-24|birthplace=Purton, Wiltshire|birthcountry=[[United Kingdom]]|death=2026-04-19|deathplace=Naas, County Kildare|deathcountry=Ireland}})
The late Desmond John Morris, Ph.D., was a British zoologist and ethologist. He became famous by applying the methods of animal study to humans.

Morris was a strong opponent of all forms of genital cutting and sexual mutilation, including [[child circumcision]].
===Early life===
Morris was born in Purton, [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wiltshire Wiltshire], to Marjorie (née Hunt) and children's fiction author Harry Morris.

He attended [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dauntsey%27s_School Dauncey's School]
==Adult life==
Morris enlisted in the British Army for two years at age 18 in 1946 to perform his [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_service national service].
{{PUB}}
===Articles===
Morris wrote articles throughout his long life. His prodigious output is indexed on his website. Please see [http://www.desmond-morris.com/articles.php Selected Articles].
===Books===
Dr. Morris is credited with the authorship of 104 books. For a complete list see [http://www.desmond-morris.com books.php Bibliography]
* {{REFbook
|last=Morris
|first=Desmond
|init=
|year=1985
|title=Bodywatching
|url=https://www.amazon.com/s?k=Bodywatching&i=stripbooks
|scope=
|location=
|publisher=Random House
|ISBN=10-0517558149
|accessdate=2026-06-04
}}
* {{REFbook
|last=Morris
|first=Desmond
|init=
|year=1994
|title=The Human Animal: A Personal View of the Human Species
|url=https://www.amazon.com/Human-Animal-Personal-View-Species/dp/0563370211?s=books
|scope=
|location=
|publisher=BBC Publications
|ISBN=10 0563370211
|accessdate=2026-06-03
}}

* {{REFbook
|last=Morris
|first=Desmond
|init=
|year=1997
|title=The Human Sexes
|url=https://www.amazon.com/Human-Sexes-Morris-Desmond/dp/0563383585?s=books
|scope=
|location=
|publisher=Netwook Books
|ISBN=10 0563383585
|accessdate=2026-06-03
}}
* {{REFbook
|last=Morris
|first=Desmond
|init=
|year=1999
|title=The Naked Ape: A Zoologist's Study of the Human Animal
|url=https://www.amazon.com/Naked-Ape-Zoologists-Study-Animal/dp/0385334303?s=books
|scope=
|location=
|publisher=Delta
|ISBN=10 0385334303
|accessdate=2026-06-03
}}
* {{REFbook
|last=Morris
|first=Desmond
|init=
|year=2007
|title=The Naked Woman: A Study of the Female Body
|url=https://www.amazon.com/Naked-Woman-Study-Female-Body/dp/0312338538?s=books
|scope=
|location=
|publisher=St. Martins Griffin
|ISBN=10 9780312338534
|accessdate=2026-06-03
}}
* {{REFbook
|last=Morris
|first=Desmond
|init=
|year=2009
|title=The Naked Man: A Study of the Male Body
|url=https://www.amazon.com/Naked-Man-Study-Male-Body/dp/0312385307?s=books
|scope=
|location=
|publisher=Thomas Dunne Books
|ISBN=10 0312385307
|accessdate=2026-06-03
}}
===Commentary on male and female genital cutting and genital mutilation===
 
 
 
<hr>
 
<blockquote>
<center>
<big>Comment on Circumcision and Genital Mutilation</big>

Desmond Morris
</center>
For thousands of years, in many different cultures, the genitals have fallen victim to an amazing variety of mutilations and restrictions. For organs that are capable of giving us an immense amount of pleasure They have given us an inordinate amount of pain.

The commonest form of assault they have suffered is male and female circumcision. This strange mutilation is older than civilization and was probably well advance in the Stone Age. Although it is a piece of deliberate wounding of children by adults, it has been done with the best of intentions. Over the millennia it has cause countless deaths from infection, but its advantages have always been said to outweigh the risks involved. These alleged advantages have varied from epoch to epoch and culture to culture, but recent re-examination has shown that they are all imaginary.

It has been claimed that one of the oldest reasons for performing male circumcision—the removal of the foreskin—is that it provoked immortality in the shape of life after death. This odd notion was based on the observation that when the snake sheds its skin it emerges with glistening new scales and is “reborn.” If the snake can enjoy rebirth by the removal of skin, so too can the human being. For snake read penis; for snake-skin read foreskin.

Once male circumcision had become traditional it no longer mattered whether the old beliefs survived. Being circumcised was not the badge of belonging to a particular society. The ritual mutilation spread and spread. Ancient Egyptians were doing it as long ago as 4000 B.C. In the Old Testament, Abraham demanded it. Arabs circumcised as well as Jews. Mohammed was said to have been born without a foreskin (which he may well have been, as this condition is not unknown to medical science), a claim which automatically doomed the foreskins of his future male followers.

As the centuries passed, religious arguments gave way, for many to quack medical arguments. The possession of a foreskin was said to cause “masturbatory insanity.” Other medical horrors resulting from its retention included hysteria, epilepsy, nocturnal incontinence, and nervousness. Such ideas survived into the early part of the present century and even led to the formation of an Orificial Surgery Society devoted exclusively to the “modifications” of offending genital as a means of preventing mental illness.

When at last this nonsense was on the decline a crisis arose. What new reason could be found for mutilating children’s genitals? The solution had to be one that suited the rational climate of twentieth-century scientific inquiry. The answer appeared in The Lancet in 1932: foreskins caused cancer! By the end of the 1930s 75 per cent of the boys in the United States were being circumcised; by 1973 it was 84 per cent; by 1976 it was 87 per cent. Cancer had become the secular version of hellfire and brimstone, the perfect weapon for the anxiety makers of a post-religious society.

To be more precise, the claim that the “debris” called smegma which collects under retained foreskins could cause cancer of the penis and also cancer of the cervix of the wives of the uncircumcised. The paper which started this false rumour was founded on faulty statistics, but nobody minded because here was a plausible new reason for slicing away at the infantile penis. Subsequent experiments, however revealed that there is nothing remotely carcinogenic about the smegma produced under the fold of the foreskin, but they were widely ignored. Other investigations showed that women whose uncircumcised husbands always wore condoms were no more or less likely to develop cancer than those whose husbands never wore condoms. But again nobody wanted to know. In one country where there was no circumcision at all was compared to a country in which all males were circumcised. The results showed, to the relief of the foreskin snippers, that prostate cancer was higher in the uncircumcised country. Unfortunately this form of cancer is a disease of elderly men, and when a correction for age distribution was made the figures showed that this disorder was actually more likely in the circumcised country.

Not only was the cancer scare completely without foundation, but the operation of foreskin removal continued to prove a distinct health hazard for small babies. There were many cases of haemorrhage, ulceration of the urethra, surgical trauma and local infection. In rare cases, foreskin removal resulted in the death of the baby. There were also more subtle effects with possible long-term implications: following circumcision male babies showed an increase in the level of hormones related to stress; sleep patterns altered; there was more crying and more irritability.

Despite all this, “medical” circumcisions continued (and still continues) at a merry pace in certain countries where private medicine is the rule. In Britain, significantly, there was a dramatic decline in the operation following the introduction of the National Health Service scheme and free treatment. It is impossible to refrain from asking why it should be that the operation sank to a level of less than one per cent (only 0.41 per cent of male babies in 1972) in a country where there was no financial gain to be made from it, while in the United States, for example, in the same year, over 80 per cent of male babies were circumcised, at an annual cost to health-insurance companies of more than $200 million. The new deities demanding circumcision appear to be more fiscal than sacred.

Young females have also been assaulted in this fashion. This has been rare in the West, although as recently as 1937 a Texas doctor was advocating the removal of the clitoris to cure frigidity. The harshest traditions of female circumcision are found in Africa, parts of the Middle East, Indonesia and Malayia. It is a staggering fact that, far from being an ancient memory, the practice of cutting away all or part of the external genitals of young females is still going on in more than 20 countries.

No fewer than 74 million women alive today have been subjected to this mutilation. In the worst cases, they have had their labia and clitoris scraped or cut away and their vaginal opening stitched up with silk, catgut, or thorns, leaving only a tiny opening for urine and menstrual blood. After the operation the girl’s legs are bound together to ensure that scar-tissue forms and the condition becomes permanent. Later, when they marry, these females suffer the pain of having their artificially reduced orifices broken open by their husbands.

The effect of this practice is to dramatically reduce sexual pleasure for wives in the countries concerned, which may be its hidden significance. A side-effect is the high number of deaths and serious illnesses cause by the unhygienic conditions under which the operations are performed, especially in such countries as Oman, South Yemen, Somalia, Djibouti, Sudan, southern Egypt, Ethiopia, northern Kenya, and Mali. The continuance of such practices in the twentieth century against a background of modern enlightenment is clearly going to puzzle historians of the distant future.
<center>
—Desmond Morris (Circa 1985)
</blockquote>

==Videos==
===Desmond Morris (Writer))===
<youtube>v=rfe8nKkVUPo&list=PLVV0r6CmEsFwtuDq9yKrhqqkJ-Era-N7w&index=3</youtube>

===Male genital mutilation ritual from Desmond Morris - The Human Sexes===
<youtube>v=QaFtcIrtbm0</youtube>

======
<youtube></youtube>
======
<youtube></youtube>
===Desmond Morris - Avoiding death for the second time (3/37===
<youtube></youtube>

===Desmond Morris passes away (1928 - 2026) (UK) - UK News - 20/Apr/2026===
<youtube>v=N9fVSDziV6o</youtube>
==Death==
Following the death of his wife, Ramona, in November 2018, Desmond Morris left his home in [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oxford Oxford] in June 2019 and moved to [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/County_Kildare County Kildare] in [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_of_Ireland Ireland] to live close to his son, Jason, and his family there.

He passed away there at the age of 98 on 19 April 2026.<ref name="radford2026">{{REFweb
|url=https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2026/apr/20/desmond-morris-obituary
|title=Desmond Morris Obituary
|last=Radford
|first=Tim
|publisher=The Guardian
|date=2026-04-20
|accessdate=2026-06-05
}}</ref> <ref name="woodhouse2026>{{REFweb
|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c51y797v200o
|title=Zoologist and author Desmond Morris dies aged 98
|last=Woodhouse
|first=Sam
|publisher=BBC
|date=2026-04-20
|accessdate=2026-06-05
}}</ref>
{{LINKS}}
* {{URLwebsite|http://www.desmond-morris.com/|2026-06-04}}
* {{URLwikipedia|Desmond_Morris|Desmond Morris}}
{{REF}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Morris, Desmond}}

[[Category:Person]]
[[Category:Male]]
[[Category:Author]]
[[Category:Female genital mutilation]]
[[Category:Financial gain]]
[[Category:Intactivism]]
[[Category:Intactivist]]
[[Category:Intactivist literature]]

[[Category:UK]]

Desmond Morris

2026-06-05T13:52:54Z

WikiModEn2: /* Comment on male and female circumcision (genital mutilation) */

{{Construction Site}}
'''{{FULLPAGENAME}}''' ({{LifeData|birth=1928-01-24|birthplace=Purton, Wiltshire|birthcountry=[[United Kingdom]]|death=2026-04-19|deathplace=Naas, County Kildare|deathcountry=Ireland}})
The late Desmond John Morris, Ph.D., was British zoologist and ethologist. He became famous by applying the methods of animal study to humans.

Morris was a strong opponent of all forms of genital cutting and sexual mutilation, including [[child circumcision]].
===Early life===
Morris was born in Purton, [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wiltshire Wiltshire], to Marjorie (née Hunt) and children's fiction author Harry Morris.

He attended [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dauntsey%27s_School Dauncey's School]
==Adult life==
Morris enlisted in the British Army for two years at age 18 in 1946 to perform his [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_service national service].
{{PUB}}
===Articles===
Morris wrote articles throughout his long life. His prodigious output is indexed on his website. Please see [http://www.desmond-morris.com/articles.php Selected Articles].
===Books===
Dr. Morris is credited with the authorship of 104 books. For a complete list see [http://www.desmond-morris.com books.php Bibliography]
* {{REFbook
|last=Morris
|first=Desmond
|init=
|year=1985
|title=Bodywatching
|url=https://www.amazon.com/s?k=Bodywatching&i=stripbooks
|scope=
|location=
|publisher=Random House
|ISBN=10-0517558149
|accessdate=2026-06-04
}}
* {{REFbook
|last=Morris
|first=Desmond
|init=
|year=1994
|title=The Human Animal: A Personal View of the Human Species
|url=https://www.amazon.com/Human-Animal-Personal-View-Species/dp/0563370211?s=books
|scope=
|location=
|publisher=BBC Publications
|ISBN=10 0563370211
|accessdate=2026-06-03
}}

* {{REFbook
|last=Morris
|first=Desmond
|init=
|year=1997
|title=The Human Sexes
|url=https://www.amazon.com/Human-Sexes-Morris-Desmond/dp/0563383585?s=books
|scope=
|location=
|publisher=Netwook Books
|ISBN=10 0563383585
|accessdate=2026-06-03
}}
* {{REFbook
|last=Morris
|first=Desmond
|init=
|year=1999
|title=The Naked Ape: A Zoologist's Study of the Human Animal
|url=https://www.amazon.com/Naked-Ape-Zoologists-Study-Animal/dp/0385334303?s=books
|scope=
|location=
|publisher=Delta
|ISBN=10 0385334303
|accessdate=2026-06-03
}}
* {{REFbook
|last=Morris
|first=Desmond
|init=
|year=2007
|title=The Naked Woman: A Study of the Female Body
|url=https://www.amazon.com/Naked-Woman-Study-Female-Body/dp/0312338538?s=books
|scope=
|location=
|publisher=St. Martins Griffin
|ISBN=10 9780312338534
|accessdate=2026-06-03
}}
* {{REFbook
|last=Morris
|first=Desmond
|init=
|year=2009
|title=The Naked Man: A Study of the Male Body
|url=https://www.amazon.com/Naked-Man-Study-Male-Body/dp/0312385307?s=books
|scope=
|location=
|publisher=Thomas Dunne Books
|ISBN=10 0312385307
|accessdate=2026-06-03
}}
===Commentary on male and female genital cutting and genital mutilation===
 
 
 
<hr>
 
<blockquote>
<center>
<big>Comment on Circumcision and Genital Mutilation</big>

Desmond Morris
</center>
For thousands of years, in many different cultures, the genitals have fallen victim to an amazing variety of mutilations and restrictions. For organs that are capable of giving us an immense amount of pleasure They have given us an inordinate amount of pain.

The commonest form of assault they have suffered is male and female circumcision. This strange mutilation is older than civilization and was probably well advance in the Stone Age. Although it is a piece of deliberate wounding of children by adults, it has been done with the best of intentions. Over the millennia it has cause countless deaths from infection, but its advantages have always been said to outweigh the risks involved. These alleged advantages have varied from epoch to epoch and culture to culture, but recent re-examination has shown that they are all imaginary.

It has been claimed that one of the oldest reasons for performing male circumcision—the removal of the foreskin—is that it provoked immortality in the shape of life after death. This odd notion was based on the observation that when the snake sheds its skin it emerges with glistening new scales and is “reborn.” If the snake can enjoy rebirth by the removal of skin, so too can the human being. For snake read penis; for snake-skin read foreskin.

Once male circumcision had become traditional it no longer mattered whether the old beliefs survived. Being circumcised was not the badge of belonging to a particular society. The ritual mutilation spread and spread. Ancient Egyptians were doing it as long ago as 4000 B.C. In the Old Testament, Abraham demanded it. Arabs circumcised as well as Jews. Mohammed was said to have been born without a foreskin (which he may well have been, as this condition is not unknown to medical science), a claim which automatically doomed the foreskins of his future male followers.

As the centuries passed, religious arguments gave way, for many to quack medical arguments. The possession of a foreskin was said to cause “masturbatory insanity.” Other medical horrors resulting from its retention included hysteria, epilepsy, nocturnal incontinence, and nervousness. Such ideas survived into the early part of the present century and even led to the formation of an Orificial Surgery Society devoted exclusively to the “modifications” of offending genital as a means of preventing mental illness.

When at last this nonsense was on the decline a crisis arose. What new reason could be found for mutilating children’s genitals? The solution had to be one that suited the rational climate of twentieth-century scientific inquiry. The answer appeared in The Lancet in 1932: foreskins caused cancer! By the end of the 1930s 75 per cent of the boys in the United States were being circumcised; by 1973 it was 84 per cent; by 1976 it was 87 per cent. Cancer had become the secular version of hellfire and brimstone, the perfect weapon for the anxiety makers of a post-religious society.

To be more precise, the claim that the “debris” called smegma which collects under retained foreskins could cause cancer of the penis and also cancer of the cervix of the wives of the uncircumcised. The paper which started this false rumour was founded on faulty statistics, but nobody minded because here was a plausible new reason for slicing away at the infantile penis. Subsequent experiments, however revealed that there is nothing remotely carcinogenic about the smegma produced under the fold of the foreskin, but they were widely ignored. Other investigations showed that women whose uncircumcised husbands always wore condoms were no more or less likely to develop cancer than those whose husbands never wore condoms. But again nobody wanted to know. In one country where there was no circumcision at all was compared to a country in which all males were circumcised. The results showed, to the relief of the foreskin snippers, that prostate cancer was higher in the uncircumcised country. Unfortunately this form of cancer is a disease of elderly men, and when a correction for age distribution was made the figures showed that this disorder was actually more likely in the circumcised country.

Not only was the cancer scare completely without foundation, but the operation of foreskin removal continued to prove a distinct health hazard for small babies. There were many cases of haemorrhage, ulceration of the urethra, surgical trauma and local infection. In rare cases, foreskin removal resulted in the death of the baby. There were also more subtle effects with possible long-term implications: following circumcision male babies showed an increase in the level of hormones related to stress; sleep patterns altered; there was more crying and more irritability.

Despite all this, “medical” circumcisions continued (and still continues) at a merry pace in certain countries where private medicine is the rule. In Britain, significantly, there was a dramatic decline in the operation following the introduction of the National Health Service scheme and free treatment. It is impossible to refrain from asking why it should be that the operation sank to a level of less than one per cent (only 0.41 per cent of male babies in 1972) in a country where there was no financial gain to be made from it, while in the United States, for example, in the same year, over 80 per cent of male babies were circumcised, at an annual cost to health-insurance companies of more than $200 million. The new deities demanding circumcision appear to be more fiscal than sacred.

Young females have also been assaulted in this fashion. This has been rare in the West, although as recently as 1937 a Texas doctor was advocating the removal of the clitoris to cure frigidity. The harshest traditions of female circumcision are found in Africa, parts of the Middle East, Indonesia and Malayia. It is a staggering fact that, far from being an ancient memory, the practice of cutting away all or part of the external genitals of young females is still going on in more than 20 countries.

No fewer than 74 million women alive today have been subjected to this mutilation. In the worst cases, they have had their labia and clitoris scraped or cut away and their vaginal opening stitched up with silk, catgut, or thorns, leaving only a tiny opening for urine and menstrual blood. After the operation the girl’s legs are bound together to ensure that scar-tissue forms and the condition becomes permanent. Later, when they marry, these females suffer the pain of having their artificially reduced orifices broken open by their husbands.

The effect of this practice is to dramatically reduce sexual pleasure for wives in the countries concerned, which may be its hidden significance. A side-effect is the high number of deaths and serious illnesses cause by the unhygienic conditions under which the operations are performed, especially in such countries as Oman, South Yemen, Somalia, Djibouti, Sudan, southern Egypt, Ethiopia, northern Kenya, and Mali. The continuance of such practices in the twentieth century against a background of modern enlightenment is clearly going to puzzle historians of the distant future.
<center>
—Desmond Morris (Circa 1985)
</blockquote>

==Videos==
===Desmond Morris (Writer))===
<youtube>v=rfe8nKkVUPo&list=PLVV0r6CmEsFwtuDq9yKrhqqkJ-Era-N7w&index=3</youtube>

===Male genital mutilation ritual from Desmond Morris - The Human Sexes===
<youtube>v=QaFtcIrtbm0</youtube>

======
<youtube></youtube>
======
<youtube></youtube>
===Desmond Morris - Avoiding death for the second time (3/37===
<youtube></youtube>

===Desmond Morris passes away (1928 - 2026) (UK) - UK News - 20/Apr/2026===
<youtube>v=N9fVSDziV6o</youtube>
==Death==
Following the death of his wife, Ramona, in November 2018, Desmond Morris left his home in [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oxford Oxford] in June 2019 and moved to [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/County_Kildare County Kildare] in [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_of_Ireland Ireland] to live close to his son, Jason, and his family there.

He passed away there at the age of 98 on 19 April 2026.<ref name="radford2026">{{REFweb
|url=https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2026/apr/20/desmond-morris-obituary
|title=Desmond Morris Obituary
|last=Radford
|first=Tim
|publisher=The Guardian
|date=2026-04-20
|accessdate=2026-06-05
}}</ref> <ref name="woodhouse2026>{{REFweb
|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c51y797v200o
|title=Zoologist and author Desmond Morris dies aged 98
|last=Woodhouse
|first=Sam
|publisher=BBC
|date=2026-04-20
|accessdate=2026-06-05
}}</ref>
{{LINKS}}
* {{URLwebsite|http://www.desmond-morris.com/|2026-06-04}}
* {{URLwikipedia|Desmond_Morris|Desmond Morris}}
{{REF}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Morris, Desmond}}

[[Category:Person]]
[[Category:Male]]
[[Category:Author]]
[[Category:Female genital mutilation]]
[[Category:Financial gain]]
[[Category:Intactivism]]
[[Category:Intactivist]]
[[Category:Intactivist literature]]

[[Category:UK]]

Desmond Morris

2026-06-05T13:20:18Z

WikiModEn2:

{{Construction Site}}
'''{{FULLPAGENAME}}''' ({{LifeData|birth=1928-01-24|birthplace=Purton, Wiltshire|birthcountry=[[United Kingdom]]|death=2026-04-19|deathplace=Naas, County Kildare|deathcountry=Ireland}})
The late Desmond John Morris, Ph.D., was British zoologist and ethologist. He became famous by applying the methods of animal study to humans.

Morris was a strong opponent of all forms of genital cutting and sexual mutilation, including [[child circumcision]].
===Early life===
Morris was born in Purton, [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wiltshire Wiltshire], to Marjorie (née Hunt) and children's fiction author Harry Morris.

He attended [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dauntsey%27s_School Dauncey's School]
==Adult life==
Morris enlisted in the British Army for two years at age 18 in 1946 to perform his [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_service national service].
{{PUB}}
===Articles===
Morris wrote articles throughout his long life. His prodigious output is indexed on his website. Please see [http://www.desmond-morris.com/articles.php Selected Articles].
===Books===
Dr. Morris is credited with the authorship of 104 books. For a complete list see [http://www.desmond-morris.com books.php Bibliography]
* {{REFbook
|last=Morris
|first=Desmond
|init=
|year=1985
|title=Bodywatching
|url=https://www.amazon.com/s?k=Bodywatching&i=stripbooks
|scope=
|location=
|publisher=Random House
|ISBN=10-0517558149
|accessdate=2026-06-04
}}
* {{REFbook
|last=Morris
|first=Desmond
|init=
|year=1994
|title=The Human Animal: A Personal View of the Human Species
|url=https://www.amazon.com/Human-Animal-Personal-View-Species/dp/0563370211?s=books
|scope=
|location=
|publisher=BBC Publications
|ISBN=10 0563370211
|accessdate=2026-06-03
}}

* {{REFbook
|last=Morris
|first=Desmond
|init=
|year=1997
|title=The Human Sexes
|url=https://www.amazon.com/Human-Sexes-Morris-Desmond/dp/0563383585?s=books
|scope=
|location=
|publisher=Netwook Books
|ISBN=10 0563383585
|accessdate=2026-06-03
}}
* {{REFbook
|last=Morris
|first=Desmond
|init=
|year=1999
|title=The Naked Ape: A Zoologist's Study of the Human Animal
|url=https://www.amazon.com/Naked-Ape-Zoologists-Study-Animal/dp/0385334303?s=books
|scope=
|location=
|publisher=Delta
|ISBN=10 0385334303
|accessdate=2026-06-03
}}
* {{REFbook
|last=Morris
|first=Desmond
|init=
|year=2007
|title=The Naked Woman: A Study of the Female Body
|url=https://www.amazon.com/Naked-Woman-Study-Female-Body/dp/0312338538?s=books
|scope=
|location=
|publisher=St. Martins Griffin
|ISBN=10 9780312338534
|accessdate=2026-06-03
}}
* {{REFbook
|last=Morris
|first=Desmond
|init=
|year=2009
|title=The Naked Man: A Study of the Male Body
|url=https://www.amazon.com/Naked-Man-Study-Male-Body/dp/0312385307?s=books
|scope=
|location=
|publisher=Thomas Dunne Books
|ISBN=10 0312385307
|accessdate=2026-06-03
}}
===Comment on male and female circumcision (genital mutilation)===
<hr>
<blockquote>
<center>
<big>Comment on Circumcision and Genital Mutilation</big>

Desmond Morris
</center>
For thousands of years, in many different cultures, the genitals have fallen victim to an amazing variety of mutilations and restrictions. For organs that are capable of giving us an immense amount of pleasure They have given us an inordinate amount of pain.

The commonest form of assault they have suffered is male and female circumcision. This strange mutilation is older than civilization and was probably well advance in the Stone Age. Although it is a piece of deliberate wounding of children by adults, it has been done with the best of intentions. Over the millennia it has cause countless deaths from infection, but its advantages have always been said to outweigh the risks involved. These alleged advantages have varied from epoch to epoch and culture to culture, but recent re-examination has shown that they are all imaginary.

It has been claimed that one of the oldest reasons for performing male circumcision—the removal of the foreskin—is that it provoked immortality in the shape of life after death. This odd notion was based on the observation that when the snake sheds its skin it emerges with glistening new scales and is “reborn.” If the snake can enjoy rebirth by the removal of skin, so too can the human being. For snake read penis; for snake-skin read foreskin.

Once male circumcision had become traditional it no longer mattered whether the old beliefs survived. Being circumcised was not the badge of belonging to a particular society. The ritual mutilation spread and spread. Ancient Egyptians were doing it as long ago as 4000 B.C. In the Old Testament, Abraham demanded it. Arabs circumcised as well as Jews. Mohammed was said to have been born without a foreskin (which he may well have been, as this condition is not unknown to medical science), a claim which automatically doomed the foreskins of his future male followers.

As the centuries passed, religious arguments gave way, for many to quack medical arguments. The possession of a foreskin was said to cause “masturbatory insanity.” Other medical horrors resulting from its retention included hysteria, epilepsy, nocturnal incontinence, and nervousness. Such ideas survived into the early part of the present century and even led to the formation of an Orificial Surgery Society devoted exclusively to the “modifications” of offending genital as a means of preventing mental illness.

When at last this nonsense was on the decline a crisis arose. What new reason could be found for mutilating children’s genitals? The solution had to be one that suited the rational climate of twentieth-century scientific inquiry. The answer appeared in The Lancet in 1932: foreskins caused cancer! By the end of the 1930s 75 per cent of the boys in the United States were being circumcised; by 1973 it was 84 per cent; by 1976 it was 87 per cent. Cancer had become the secular version of hellfire and brimstone, the perfect weapon for the anxiety makers of a post-religious society.

To be more precise, the claim that the “debris” called smegma which collects under retained foreskins could cause cancer of the penis and also cancer of the cervix of the wives of the uncircumcised. The paper which started this false rumour was founded on faulty statistics, but nobody minded because here was a plausible new reason for slicing away at the infantile penis. Subsequent experiments, however revealed that there is nothing remotely carcinogenic about the smegma produced under the fold of the foreskin, but they were widely ignored. Other investigations showed that women whose uncircumcised husbands always wore condoms were no more or less likely to develop cancer than those whose husbands never wore condoms. But again nobody wanted to know. In one country where there was no circumcision at all was compared to a country in which all males were circumcised. The results showed, to the relief of the foreskin snippers, that prostate cancer was higher in the uncircumcised country. Unfortunately this form of cancer is a disease of elderly men, and when a correction for age distribution was made the figures showed that this disorder was actually more likely in the circumcised country.

Not only was the cancer scare completely without foundation, but the operation of foreskin removal continued to prove a distinct health hazard for small babies. There were many cases of haemorrhage, ulceration of the urethra, surgical trauma and local infection. In rare cases, foreskin removal resulted in the death of the baby. There were also more subtle effects with possible long-term implications: following circumcision male babies showed an increase in the level of hormones related to stress; sleep patterns altered; there was more crying and more irritability.

Despite all this, “medical” circumcisions continued (and still continues) at a merry pace in certain countries where private medicine is the rule. In Britain, significantly, there was a dramatic decline in the operation following the introduction of the National Health Service scheme and free treatment. It is impossible to refrain from asking why it should be that the operation sank to a level of less than one per cent (only 0.41 per cent of male babies in 1972) in a country where there was no financial gain to be made from it, while in the United States, for example, in the same year, over 80 per cent of male babies were circumcised, at an annual cost to health-insurance companies of more than $200 million. The new deities demanding circumcision appear to be more fiscal than sacred.

Young females have also been assaulted in this fashion. This has been rare in the West, although as recently as 1937 a Texas doctor was advocating the removal of the clitoris to cure frigidity. The harshest traditions of female circumcision are found in Africa, parts of the Middle East, Indonesia and Malayia. It is a staggering fact that, far from being an ancient memory, the practice of cutting away all or part of the external genitals of young females is still going on in more than 20 countries.

No fewer than 74 million women alive today have been subjected to this mutilation. In the worst cases, they have had their labia and clitoris scraped or cut away and their vaginal opening stitched up with silk, catgut, or thorns, leaving only a tiny opening for urine and menstrual blood. After the operation the girl’s legs are bound together to ensure that scar-tissue forms and the condition becomes permanent. Later, when they marry, these females suffer the pain of having their artificially reduced orifices broken open by their husbands.

The effect of this practice is to dramatically reduce sexual pleasure for wives in the countries concerned, which may be its hidden significance. A side-effect is the high number of deaths and serious illnesses cause by the unhygienic conditions under which the operations are performed, especially in such countries as Oman, South Yemen, Somalia, Djibouti, Sudan, southern Egypt, Ethiopia, northern Kenya, and Mali. The continuance of such practices in the twentieth century against a background of modern enlightenment is clearly going to puzzle historians of the distant future.
<center>
—Desmond Morris (Circa 1985)
</blockquote>

==Videos==
===Desmond Morris (Writer))===
<youtube>v=rfe8nKkVUPo&list=PLVV0r6CmEsFwtuDq9yKrhqqkJ-Era-N7w&index=3</youtube>

===Male genital mutilation ritual from Desmond Morris - The Human Sexes===
<youtube>v=QaFtcIrtbm0</youtube>

======
<youtube></youtube>
======
<youtube></youtube>
===Desmond Morris - Avoiding death for the second time (3/37===
<youtube></youtube>

===Desmond Morris passes away (1928 - 2026) (UK) - UK News - 20/Apr/2026===
<youtube>v=N9fVSDziV6o</youtube>
==Death==
Following the death of his wife, Ramona, in November 2018, Desmond Morris left his home in [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oxford Oxford] in June 2019 and moved to [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/County_Kildare County Kildare] in [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_of_Ireland Ireland] to live close to his son, Jason, and his family there.

He passed away there at the age of 98 on 19 April 2026.<ref name="radford2026">{{REFweb
|url=https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2026/apr/20/desmond-morris-obituary
|title=Desmond Morris Obituary
|last=Radford
|first=Tim
|publisher=The Guardian
|date=2026-04-20
|accessdate=2026-06-05
}}</ref> <ref name="woodhouse2026>{{REFweb
|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c51y797v200o
|title=Zoologist and author Desmond Morris dies aged 98
|last=Woodhouse
|first=Sam
|publisher=BBC
|date=2026-04-20
|accessdate=2026-06-05
}}</ref>
{{LINKS}}
* {{URLwebsite|http://www.desmond-morris.com/|2026-06-04}}
* {{URLwikipedia|Desmond_Morris|Desmond Morris}}
{{REF}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Morris, Desmond}}

[[Category:Person]]
[[Category:Male]]
[[Category:Author]]
[[Category:Female genital mutilation]]
[[Category:Financial gain]]
[[Category:Intactivism]]
[[Category:Intactivist]]
[[Category:Intactivist literature]]

[[Category:UK]]

Desmond Morris

2026-06-05T13:18:06Z

WikiModEn2: /* Comment on male and female circumcision (genital mutilation) */

{{Construction Site}}
'''{{FULLPAGENAME}}''' ({{LifeData|birth=1928-01-24|birthplace=Purton, Wiltshire|birthcountry=[[United Kingdom]]|death=2026-04-19|deathplace=Naas, County Kildare|deathcountry=Ireland}})
The late Desmond John Morris, Ph.D., was British zoologist and ethologist. He became famous by applying the methods of animal study to humans.

Morris was a strong opponent of all forms of genital cutting and sexual mutilation, including [[child circumcision]].
===Early life===
Morris was born in Purton, [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wiltshire Wiltshire], to Marjorie (née Hunt) and children's fiction author Harry Morris.

He attended [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dauntsey%27s_School Dauncey's School]
==Adult life==
Morris enlisted in the British Army for two years at age 18 in 1946 to perform his [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_service national service].
{{PUB}}
===Articles===
Morris wrote articles throughout his long life. His prodigious output is indexed on his website. Please see [http://www.desmond-morris.com/articles.php Selected Articles].
===Books===
Dr. Morris is credited with the authorship of 104 books. For a complete list see [http://www.desmond-morris.com books.php Bibliography]
* {{REFbook
|last=Morris
|first=Desmond
|init=
|year=1985
|title=Bodywatching
|url=https://www.amazon.com/s?k=Bodywatching&i=stripbooks
|scope=
|location=
|publisher=Random House
|ISBN=10-0517558149
|accessdate=2026-06-04
}}
* {{REFbook
|last=Morris
|first=Desmond
|init=
|year=1994
|title=The Human Animal: A Personal View of the Human Species
|url=https://www.amazon.com/Human-Animal-Personal-View-Species/dp/0563370211?s=books
|scope=
|location=
|publisher=BBC Publications
|ISBN=10 0563370211
|accessdate=2026-06-03
}}

* {{REFbook
|last=Morris
|first=Desmond
|init=
|year=1997
|title=The Human Sexes
|url=https://www.amazon.com/Human-Sexes-Morris-Desmond/dp/0563383585?s=books
|scope=
|location=
|publisher=Netwook Books
|ISBN=10 0563383585
|accessdate=2026-06-03
}}
* {{REFbook
|last=Morris
|first=Desmond
|init=
|year=1999
|title=The Naked Ape: A Zoologist's Study of the Human Animal
|url=https://www.amazon.com/Naked-Ape-Zoologists-Study-Animal/dp/0385334303?s=books
|scope=
|location=
|publisher=Delta
|ISBN=10 0385334303
|accessdate=2026-06-03
}}
* {{REFbook
|last=Morris
|first=Desmond
|init=
|year=2007
|title=The Naked Woman: A Study of the Female Body
|url=https://www.amazon.com/Naked-Woman-Study-Female-Body/dp/0312338538?s=books
|scope=
|location=
|publisher=St. Martins Griffin
|ISBN=10 9780312338534
|accessdate=2026-06-03
}}
* {{REFbook
|last=Morris
|first=Desmond
|init=
|year=2009
|title=The Naked Man: A Study of the Male Body
|url=https://www.amazon.com/Naked-Man-Study-Male-Body/dp/0312385307?s=books
|scope=
|location=
|publisher=Thomas Dunne Books
|ISBN=10 0312385307
|accessdate=2026-06-03
}}
===Comment on male and female circumcision (genital mutilation)===
<hr>
<blockquote>
<center>
<big>Comment on Circumcision and Genital Mutilation</big>

Desmond Morris
</center>
For thousands of years, in many different cultures, the genitals have fallen victim to an amazing variety of mutilations and restrictions. For organs that are capable of giving us an immense amount of pleasure They have given us an inordinate amount of pain.

The commonest form of assault they have suffered is male and female circumcision. This strange mutilation is older than civilization and was probably well advance in the Stone Age. Although it is a piece of deliberate wounding of children by adults, it has been done with the best of intentions. Over the millennia it has cause countless deaths from infection, but its advantages have always been said to outweigh the risks involved. These alleged advantages have varied from epoch to epoch and culture to culture, but recent re-examination has shown that they are all imaginary.

It has been claimed that one of the oldest reasons for performing male circumcision—the removal of the foreskin—is that it provoked immortality in the shape of life after death. This odd notion was based on the observation that when the snake sheds its skin it emerges with glistening new scales and is “reborn.” If the snake can enjoy rebirth by the removal of skin, so too can the human being. For snake read penis; for snake-skin read foreskin.

Once male circumcision had become traditional it no longer mattered whether the old beliefs survived. Being circumcised was not the badge of belonging to a particular society. The ritual mutilation spread and spread. Ancient Egyptians were doing it as long ago as 4000 B.C. In the Old Testament, Abraham demanded it. Arabs circumcised as well as Jews. Mohammed was said to have been born without a foreskin (which he may well have been, as this condition is not unknown to medical science), a claim which automatically doomed the foreskins of his future male followers.

As the centuries passed, religious arguments gave way, for many to quack medical arguments. The possession of a foreskin was said to cause “masturbatory insanity.” Other medical horrors resulting from its retention included hysteria, epilepsy, nocturnal incontinence, and nervousness. Such ideas survived into the early part of the present century and even led to the formation of an Orificial Surgery Society devoted exclusively to the “modifications” of offending genital as a means of preventing mental illness.

When at last this nonsense was on the decline a crisis arose. What new reason could be found for mutilating children’s genitals? The solution had to be one that suited the rational climate of twentieth-century scientific inquiry. The answer appeared in The Lancet in 1932: foreskins caused cancer! By the end of the 1930s 75 per cent of the boys in the United States were being circumcised; by 1973 it was 84 per cent; by 1976 it was 87 per cent. Cancer had become the secular version of hellfire and brimstone, the perfect weapon for the anxiety makers of a post-religious society.

To be more precise, the claim that the “debris” called smegma which collects under retained foreskins could cause cancer of the penis and also cancer of the cervix of the wives of the uncircumcised. The paper which started this false rumour was founded on faulty statistics, but nobody minded because here was a plausible new reason for slicing away at the infantile penis. Subsequent experiments, however revealed that there is nothing remotely carcinogenic about the smegma produced under the fold of the foreskin, but they were widely ignored. Other investigations showed that women whose uncircumcised husbands always wore condoms were no more or less likely to develop cancer than those whose husbands never wore condoms. But again nobody wanted to know. In one country where there was no circumcision at all was compared to a country in which all males were circumcised. The results showed, to the relief of the foreskin snippers, that prostate cancer was higher in the uncircumcised country. Unfortunately this form of cancer is a disease of elderly men, and when a correction for age distribution was made the figures showed that this disorder was actually more likely in the circumcised country.

Not only was the cancer scare completely without foundation, but the operation of foreskin removal continued to prove a distinct health hazard for small babies. There were many cases of haemorrhage, ulceration of the urethra, surgical trauma and local infection. In rare cases, foreskin removal resulted in the death of the baby. There were also more subtle effects with possible long-term implications: following circumcision male babies showed an increase in the level of hormones related to stress; sleep patterns altered; there was more crying and more irritability.

Despite all this, “medical” circumcisions continued (and still continues) at a merry pace in certain countries where private medicine is the rule. In Britain, significantly, there was a dramatic decline in the operation following the introduction of the National Health Service scheme and free treatment. It is impossible to refrain from asking why it should be that the operation sank to a level of less than one per cent (only 0.41 per cent of male babies in 1972) in a country where there was no financial gain to be made from it, while in the United States, for example, in the same year, over 80 per cent of male babies were circumcised, at an annual cost to health-insurance companies of more than $200 million. The new deities demanding circumcision appear to be more fiscal than sacred.

Young females have also been assaulted in this fashion. This has been rare in the West, although as recently as 1937 a Texas doctor was advocating the removal of the clitoris to cure frigidity. The harshest traditions of female circumcision are found in Africa, parts of the Middle East, Indonesia and Malayia. It is a staggering fact that, far from being an ancient memory, the practice of cutting away all or part of the external genitals of young females is still going on in more than 20 countries.

No fewer than 74 million women alive today have been subjected to this mutilation. In the worst cases, they have had their labia and clitoris scraped or cut away and their vaginal opening stitched up with silk, catgut, or thorns, leaving only a tiny opening for urine and menstrual blood. After the operation the girl’s legs are bound together to ensure that scar-tissue forms and the condition becomes permanent. Later, when they marry, these females suffer the pain of having their artificially reduced orifices broken open by their husbands.

The effect of this practice is to dramatically reduce sexual pleasure for wives in the countries concerned, which may be its hidden significance. A side-effect is the high number of deaths and serious illnesses cause by the unhygienic conditions under which the operations are performed, especially in such countries as Oman, South Yemen, Somalia, Djibouti, Sudan, southern Egypt, Ethiopia, northern Kenya, and Mali. The continuance of such practices in the twentieth century against a background of modern enlightenment is clearly going to puzzle historians of the distant future.
<center>
—Desmond Morris (Circa 1985)
</blockquote>

==Videos==
===Desmond Morris (Writer))===
<youtube>v=rfe8nKkVUPo&list=PLVV0r6CmEsFwtuDq9yKrhqqkJ-Era-N7w&index=3</youtube>

===Male genital mutilation ritual from Desmond Morris - The Human Sexes===
<youtube>v=QaFtcIrtbm0</youtube>

======
<youtube></youtube>
======
<youtube></youtube>
===Desmond Morris - Avoiding death for the second time (3/37===
<youtube></youtube>

===Desmond Morris passes away (1928 - 2026) (UK) - UK News - 20/Apr/2026===
<youtube>v=N9fVSDziV6o</youtube>
==Death==
Following the death of his wife, Ramona, in November 2018, Desmond Morris left his home in [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oxford Oxford] in June 2019 and moved to [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/County_Kildare County Kildare] in [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_of_Ireland Ireland] to live close to his son, Jason, and his family there.

He passed away there at the age of 98 on 19 April 2026.<ref name="radford2026">{{REFweb
|url=https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2026/apr/20/desmond-morris-obituary
|title=Desmond Morris Obituary
|last=Radford
|first=Tim
|publisher=The Guardian
|date=2026-04-20
|accessdate=2026-06-05
}}</ref> <ref name="woodhouse2026>{{REFweb
|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c51y797v200o
|title=Zoologist and author Desmond Morris dies aged 98
|last=Woodhouse
|first=Sam
|publisher=BBC
|date=2026-04-20
|accessdate=2026-06-05
}}</ref>
{{LINKS}}
* {{URLwebsite|http://www.desmond-morris.com/|2026-06-04}}
* {{URLwikipedia|Desmond_Morris|Desmond Morris}}
{{REF}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Morris, Desmond}}

[[Category:Person]]
[[Category:Male]]
[[Category:Author]]
[[Category:Female genital mutilation]]
[[Category:Financial gain
[[Category:Intactivism]]
[[Category:Intactivist]]
[[Category:Intactivist literature]]

[[Category:UK]]

Desmond Morris

2026-06-05T13:05:35Z

WikiModEn2: /* Death */

{{Construction Site}}
'''{{FULLPAGENAME}}''' ({{LifeData|birth=1928-01-24|birthplace=Purton, Wiltshire|birthcountry=[[United Kingdom]]|death=2026-04-19|deathplace=Naas, County Kildare|deathcountry=Ireland}})
The late Desmond John Morris, Ph.D., was British zoologist and ethologist. He became famous by applying the methods of animal study to humans.

Morris was a strong opponent of all forms of genital cutting and sexual mutilation, including [[child circumcision]].
===Early life===
Morris was born in Purton, [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wiltshire Wiltshire], to Marjorie (née Hunt) and children's fiction author Harry Morris.

He attended [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dauntsey%27s_School Dauncey's School]
==Adult life==
Morris enlisted in the British Army for two years at age 18 in 1946 to perform his [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_service national service].
{{PUB}}
===Articles===
Morris wrote articles throughout his long life. His prodigious output is indexed on his website. Please see [http://www.desmond-morris.com/articles.php Selected Articles].
===Books===
Dr. Morris is credited with the authorship of 104 books. For a complete list see [http://www.desmond-morris.com books.php Bibliography]
* {{REFbook
|last=Morris
|first=Desmond
|init=
|year=1985
|title=Bodywatching
|url=https://www.amazon.com/s?k=Bodywatching&i=stripbooks
|scope=
|location=
|publisher=Random House
|ISBN=10-0517558149
|accessdate=2026-06-04
}}
* {{REFbook
|last=Morris
|first=Desmond
|init=
|year=1994
|title=The Human Animal: A Personal View of the Human Species
|url=https://www.amazon.com/Human-Animal-Personal-View-Species/dp/0563370211?s=books
|scope=
|location=
|publisher=BBC Publications
|ISBN=10 0563370211
|accessdate=2026-06-03
}}

* {{REFbook
|last=Morris
|first=Desmond
|init=
|year=1997
|title=The Human Sexes
|url=https://www.amazon.com/Human-Sexes-Morris-Desmond/dp/0563383585?s=books
|scope=
|location=
|publisher=Netwook Books
|ISBN=10 0563383585
|accessdate=2026-06-03
}}
* {{REFbook
|last=Morris
|first=Desmond
|init=
|year=1999
|title=The Naked Ape: A Zoologist's Study of the Human Animal
|url=https://www.amazon.com/Naked-Ape-Zoologists-Study-Animal/dp/0385334303?s=books
|scope=
|location=
|publisher=Delta
|ISBN=10 0385334303
|accessdate=2026-06-03
}}
* {{REFbook
|last=Morris
|first=Desmond
|init=
|year=2007
|title=The Naked Woman: A Study of the Female Body
|url=https://www.amazon.com/Naked-Woman-Study-Female-Body/dp/0312338538?s=books
|scope=
|location=
|publisher=St. Martins Griffin
|ISBN=10 9780312338534
|accessdate=2026-06-03
}}
* {{REFbook
|last=Morris
|first=Desmond
|init=
|year=2009
|title=The Naked Man: A Study of the Male Body
|url=https://www.amazon.com/Naked-Man-Study-Male-Body/dp/0312385307?s=books
|scope=
|location=
|publisher=Thomas Dunne Books
|ISBN=10 0312385307
|accessdate=2026-06-03
}}
===Comment on male and female circumcision (genital mutilation)===
<hr>
<blockquote>
<center>
<big>Comment on Circumcision and Genital Mutilation</big>

Desmond Morris
</center>
For thousands of years, in many different cultures, the genitals have fallen victim to an amazing variety of mutilations and restrictions. For organs that are capable of giving us an immense amount of pleasure They have given us an inordinate amount of pain.

The commonest form of assault they have suffered is male and female circumcision. This strange mutilation is older than civilization and was probably well advance in the Stone Age. Although it is a piece of deliberate wounding of children by adults, it has been done with the best of intentions. Over the millennia it has cause countless deaths from infection, but its advantages have always been said to outweigh the risks involved. These alleged advantages have varied from epoch to epoch and culture to culture, but recent re-examination has shown that they are all imaginary.

It has been claimed that one of the oldest reasons for performing male circumcision—the removal of the foreskin—is that it provoked immortality in the shape of life after death. This odd notion was based on the observation that when the snake sheds its skin it emerges with glistening new scales and is “reborn.” If the snake can enjoy rebirth by the removal of skin, so too can the human being. For snake read penis; for snake-skin read foreskin.

Once male circumcision had become traditional it no longer mattered whether the old beliefs survived. Being circumcised was not the badge of belonging to a particular society. The ritual mutilation spread and spread. Ancient Egyptians were doing it as long ago as 4000 B.C. In the Old Testament, Abraham demanded it. Arabs circumcised as well as Jews. Mohammed was said to have been born without a foreskin (which he may well have been, as this condition is not unknown to medical science), a claim which automatically doomed the foreskins of his future male followers.

As the centuries passed, religious arguments gave way, for many to quack medical arguments. The possession of a foreskin was said to cause “masturbatory insanity.” Other medical horrors resulting from its retention included hysteria, epilepsy, nocturnal incontinence, and nervousness. Such ideas survived into the early part of the present century and even led to the formation of an Orificial Surgery Society devoted exclusively to the “modifications” of offending genital as a means of preventing mental illness.

When at last this nonsense was on the decline a crisis arose. What new reason could be found for mutilating children’s genitals? The solution had to be one that suited the rational climate of twentieth-century scientific inquiry. The answer appeared in The Lancet in 1932: foreskins caused cancer! By the end of the 1930s 75 per cent of the boys in the United States were being circumcised; by 1973 it was 84 per cent; by 1976 it was 87 per cent. Cancer had become the secular version of hellfire and brimstone, the perfect weapon for the anxiety makers of a post-religious society.

To be more precise, the claim that the “debris” called smegma which collects under retained foreskins could cause cancer of the penis and also cancer of the cervix of the wives of the uncircumcised. The paper which started this false rumour was founded on faulty statistics, but nobody minded because here was a plausible new reason for slicing away at the infantile penis. Subsequent experiments, however revealed that there is nothing remotely carcinogenic about the smegma produced under the fold of the foreskin, but they were widely ignored. Other investigations showed that women whose uncircumcised husbands always wore condoms were no more or less likely to develop cancer than those whose husbands never wore condoms. But again nobody wanted to know. In one country where there was no circumcision at all was compared to a country in which all males were circumcised. The results showed, to the relief of the foreskin snippers, that prostate cancer was higher in the uncircumcised country. Unfortunately this form of cancer is a disease of elderly men, and when a correction for age distribution was made the figures showed that this disorder was actually more likely in the circumcised country.

Not only was the cancer scare completely without foundation, but the operation of foreskin removal continued to prove a distinct health hazard for small babies. There were many cases of haemorrhage, ulceration of the urethra, surgical trauma and local infection. In rare cases, foreskin removal resulted in the death of the baby. There were also more subtle effects with possible long-term implications: following circumcision male babies showed an increase in the level of hormones related to stress; sleep patterns altered; there was more crying and more irritability.

Despite all this, “medical” circumcisions continued (and still continues) at a merry pace in certain countries where private medicine is the rule. In Britain, significantly, there was a dramatic decline in the operation following the introduction of the National Health Service scheme and free treatment. It is impossible to refrain from asking why it should be that the operation sank to a level of less than one per cent (only 0.41 per cent of male babies in 1972) in a country where there was no financial gain to be made from it, while in the United States, for example, in the same year, over 80 per cent of male babies were circumcised, at an annual cost to health-insurance companies of more than $200 million. The new deities demanding circumcision appear to be more fiscal than sacred.

Young females have also been assaulted in this fashion. This has been rare in the West, although as recently as 1937 a Texas doctor was advocating the removal of the clitoris to cure frigidity. The harshest traditions of female circumcision are found in Africa, parts of the Middle East, Indonesia and Malayia. It is a staggering fact that, far from being an ancient memory, the practice of cutting away all or part of the external genitals of young females is still going on in more than 20 countries.

No fewer than 74 million women alive today have been subjected to this mutilation. In the worst cases, they have had their labia and clitoris scraped or cut away and their vaginal opening stitched up with silk, catgut, or thorns, leaving only a tiny opening for urine and menstrual blood. After the operation the girl’s legs are bound together to ensure that scar-tissue forms and the condition becomes permanent. Later, when they marry, these females suffer the pain of having their artificially reduced orifices broken open by their husbands.

The effect of this practice is to dramatically reduce sexual pleasure for wives in the countries concerned, which may be its hidden significance. A side-effect is the high number of deaths and serious illnesses cause by the unhygienic conditions under which the operations are performed, especially in such countries as Oman, South Yemen, Somalia, Djibouti, Sudan, southern Egypt, Ethiopia, northern Kenya, and Mali. The continuance of such practices in the twentieth century against a background of modern enlightenment is clearly going to puzzle historians of the distant future.
<center>
—Desmond Morris (Circa 1980)
</blockquote>

==Videos==
===Desmond Morris (Writer))===
<youtube>v=rfe8nKkVUPo&list=PLVV0r6CmEsFwtuDq9yKrhqqkJ-Era-N7w&index=3</youtube>

===Male genital mutilation ritual from Desmond Morris - The Human Sexes===
<youtube>v=QaFtcIrtbm0</youtube>

======
<youtube></youtube>
======
<youtube></youtube>
===Desmond Morris - Avoiding death for the second time (3/37===
<youtube></youtube>

===Desmond Morris passes away (1928 - 2026) (UK) - UK News - 20/Apr/2026===
<youtube>v=N9fVSDziV6o</youtube>
==Death==
Following the death of his wife, Ramona, in November 2018, Desmond Morris left his home in [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oxford Oxford] in June 2019 and moved to [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/County_Kildare County Kildare] in [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_of_Ireland Ireland] to live close to his son, Jason, and his family there.

He passed away there at the age of 98 on 19 April 2026.<ref name="radford2026">{{REFweb
|url=https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2026/apr/20/desmond-morris-obituary
|title=Desmond Morris Obituary
|last=Radford
|first=Tim
|publisher=The Guardian
|date=2026-04-20
|accessdate=2026-06-05
}}</ref> <ref name="woodhouse2026>{{REFweb
|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c51y797v200o
|title=Zoologist and author Desmond Morris dies aged 98
|last=Woodhouse
|first=Sam
|publisher=BBC
|date=2026-04-20
|accessdate=2026-06-05
}}</ref>
{{LINKS}}
* {{URLwebsite|http://www.desmond-morris.com/|2026-06-04}}
* {{URLwikipedia|Desmond_Morris|Desmond Morris}}
{{REF}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Morris, Desmond}}

[[Category:Person]]
[[Category:Male]]
[[Category:Author]]
[[Category:Female genital mutilation]]
[[Category:Financial gain
[[Category:Intactivism]]
[[Category:Intactivist]]
[[Category:Intactivist literature]]

[[Category:UK]]

Desmond Morris

2026-06-05T12:59:13Z

WikiModEn2: Add category.

{{Construction Site}}
'''{{FULLPAGENAME}}''' ({{LifeData|birth=1928-01-24|birthplace=Purton, Wiltshire|birthcountry=[[United Kingdom]]|death=2026-04-19|deathplace=Naas, County Kildare|deathcountry=Ireland}})
The late Desmond John Morris, Ph.D., was British zoologist and ethologist. He became famous by applying the methods of animal study to humans.

Morris was a strong opponent of all forms of genital cutting and sexual mutilation, including [[child circumcision]].
===Early life===
Morris was born in Purton, [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wiltshire Wiltshire], to Marjorie (née Hunt) and children's fiction author Harry Morris.

He attended [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dauntsey%27s_School Dauncey's School]
==Adult life==
Morris enlisted in the British Army for two years at age 18 in 1946 to perform his [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_service national service].
{{PUB}}
===Articles===
Morris wrote articles throughout his long life. His prodigious output is indexed on his website. Please see [http://www.desmond-morris.com/articles.php Selected Articles].
===Books===
Dr. Morris is credited with the authorship of 104 books. For a complete list see [http://www.desmond-morris.com books.php Bibliography]
* {{REFbook
|last=Morris
|first=Desmond
|init=
|year=1985
|title=Bodywatching
|url=https://www.amazon.com/s?k=Bodywatching&i=stripbooks
|scope=
|location=
|publisher=Random House
|ISBN=10-0517558149
|accessdate=2026-06-04
}}
* {{REFbook
|last=Morris
|first=Desmond
|init=
|year=1994
|title=The Human Animal: A Personal View of the Human Species
|url=https://www.amazon.com/Human-Animal-Personal-View-Species/dp/0563370211?s=books
|scope=
|location=
|publisher=BBC Publications
|ISBN=10 0563370211
|accessdate=2026-06-03
}}

* {{REFbook
|last=Morris
|first=Desmond
|init=
|year=1997
|title=The Human Sexes
|url=https://www.amazon.com/Human-Sexes-Morris-Desmond/dp/0563383585?s=books
|scope=
|location=
|publisher=Netwook Books
|ISBN=10 0563383585
|accessdate=2026-06-03
}}
* {{REFbook
|last=Morris
|first=Desmond
|init=
|year=1999
|title=The Naked Ape: A Zoologist's Study of the Human Animal
|url=https://www.amazon.com/Naked-Ape-Zoologists-Study-Animal/dp/0385334303?s=books
|scope=
|location=
|publisher=Delta
|ISBN=10 0385334303
|accessdate=2026-06-03
}}
* {{REFbook
|last=Morris
|first=Desmond
|init=
|year=2007
|title=The Naked Woman: A Study of the Female Body
|url=https://www.amazon.com/Naked-Woman-Study-Female-Body/dp/0312338538?s=books
|scope=
|location=
|publisher=St. Martins Griffin
|ISBN=10 9780312338534
|accessdate=2026-06-03
}}
* {{REFbook
|last=Morris
|first=Desmond
|init=
|year=2009
|title=The Naked Man: A Study of the Male Body
|url=https://www.amazon.com/Naked-Man-Study-Male-Body/dp/0312385307?s=books
|scope=
|location=
|publisher=Thomas Dunne Books
|ISBN=10 0312385307
|accessdate=2026-06-03
}}
===Comment on male and female circumcision (genital mutilation)===
<hr>
<blockquote>
<center>
<big>Comment on Circumcision and Genital Mutilation</big>

Desmond Morris
</center>
For thousands of years, in many different cultures, the genitals have fallen victim to an amazing variety of mutilations and restrictions. For organs that are capable of giving us an immense amount of pleasure They have given us an inordinate amount of pain.

The commonest form of assault they have suffered is male and female circumcision. This strange mutilation is older than civilization and was probably well advance in the Stone Age. Although it is a piece of deliberate wounding of children by adults, it has been done with the best of intentions. Over the millennia it has cause countless deaths from infection, but its advantages have always been said to outweigh the risks involved. These alleged advantages have varied from epoch to epoch and culture to culture, but recent re-examination has shown that they are all imaginary.

It has been claimed that one of the oldest reasons for performing male circumcision—the removal of the foreskin—is that it provoked immortality in the shape of life after death. This odd notion was based on the observation that when the snake sheds its skin it emerges with glistening new scales and is “reborn.” If the snake can enjoy rebirth by the removal of skin, so too can the human being. For snake read penis; for snake-skin read foreskin.

Once male circumcision had become traditional it no longer mattered whether the old beliefs survived. Being circumcised was not the badge of belonging to a particular society. The ritual mutilation spread and spread. Ancient Egyptians were doing it as long ago as 4000 B.C. In the Old Testament, Abraham demanded it. Arabs circumcised as well as Jews. Mohammed was said to have been born without a foreskin (which he may well have been, as this condition is not unknown to medical science), a claim which automatically doomed the foreskins of his future male followers.

As the centuries passed, religious arguments gave way, for many to quack medical arguments. The possession of a foreskin was said to cause “masturbatory insanity.” Other medical horrors resulting from its retention included hysteria, epilepsy, nocturnal incontinence, and nervousness. Such ideas survived into the early part of the present century and even led to the formation of an Orificial Surgery Society devoted exclusively to the “modifications” of offending genital as a means of preventing mental illness.

When at last this nonsense was on the decline a crisis arose. What new reason could be found for mutilating children’s genitals? The solution had to be one that suited the rational climate of twentieth-century scientific inquiry. The answer appeared in The Lancet in 1932: foreskins caused cancer! By the end of the 1930s 75 per cent of the boys in the United States were being circumcised; by 1973 it was 84 per cent; by 1976 it was 87 per cent. Cancer had become the secular version of hellfire and brimstone, the perfect weapon for the anxiety makers of a post-religious society.

To be more precise, the claim that the “debris” called smegma which collects under retained foreskins could cause cancer of the penis and also cancer of the cervix of the wives of the uncircumcised. The paper which started this false rumour was founded on faulty statistics, but nobody minded because here was a plausible new reason for slicing away at the infantile penis. Subsequent experiments, however revealed that there is nothing remotely carcinogenic about the smegma produced under the fold of the foreskin, but they were widely ignored. Other investigations showed that women whose uncircumcised husbands always wore condoms were no more or less likely to develop cancer than those whose husbands never wore condoms. But again nobody wanted to know. In one country where there was no circumcision at all was compared to a country in which all males were circumcised. The results showed, to the relief of the foreskin snippers, that prostate cancer was higher in the uncircumcised country. Unfortunately this form of cancer is a disease of elderly men, and when a correction for age distribution was made the figures showed that this disorder was actually more likely in the circumcised country.

Not only was the cancer scare completely without foundation, but the operation of foreskin removal continued to prove a distinct health hazard for small babies. There were many cases of haemorrhage, ulceration of the urethra, surgical trauma and local infection. In rare cases, foreskin removal resulted in the death of the baby. There were also more subtle effects with possible long-term implications: following circumcision male babies showed an increase in the level of hormones related to stress; sleep patterns altered; there was more crying and more irritability.

Despite all this, “medical” circumcisions continued (and still continues) at a merry pace in certain countries where private medicine is the rule. In Britain, significantly, there was a dramatic decline in the operation following the introduction of the National Health Service scheme and free treatment. It is impossible to refrain from asking why it should be that the operation sank to a level of less than one per cent (only 0.41 per cent of male babies in 1972) in a country where there was no financial gain to be made from it, while in the United States, for example, in the same year, over 80 per cent of male babies were circumcised, at an annual cost to health-insurance companies of more than $200 million. The new deities demanding circumcision appear to be more fiscal than sacred.

Young females have also been assaulted in this fashion. This has been rare in the West, although as recently as 1937 a Texas doctor was advocating the removal of the clitoris to cure frigidity. The harshest traditions of female circumcision are found in Africa, parts of the Middle East, Indonesia and Malayia. It is a staggering fact that, far from being an ancient memory, the practice of cutting away all or part of the external genitals of young females is still going on in more than 20 countries.

No fewer than 74 million women alive today have been subjected to this mutilation. In the worst cases, they have had their labia and clitoris scraped or cut away and their vaginal opening stitched up with silk, catgut, or thorns, leaving only a tiny opening for urine and menstrual blood. After the operation the girl’s legs are bound together to ensure that scar-tissue forms and the condition becomes permanent. Later, when they marry, these females suffer the pain of having their artificially reduced orifices broken open by their husbands.

The effect of this practice is to dramatically reduce sexual pleasure for wives in the countries concerned, which may be its hidden significance. A side-effect is the high number of deaths and serious illnesses cause by the unhygienic conditions under which the operations are performed, especially in such countries as Oman, South Yemen, Somalia, Djibouti, Sudan, southern Egypt, Ethiopia, northern Kenya, and Mali. The continuance of such practices in the twentieth century against a background of modern enlightenment is clearly going to puzzle historians of the distant future.
<center>
—Desmond Morris (Circa 1980)
</blockquote>

==Videos==
===Desmond Morris (Writer))===
<youtube>v=rfe8nKkVUPo&list=PLVV0r6CmEsFwtuDq9yKrhqqkJ-Era-N7w&index=3</youtube>

===Male genital mutilation ritual from Desmond Morris - The Human Sexes===
<youtube>v=QaFtcIrtbm0</youtube>

======
<youtube></youtube>
======
<youtube></youtube>
===Desmond Morris - Avoiding death for the second time (3/37===
<youtube></youtube>

===Desmond Morris passes away (1928 - 2026) (UK) - UK News - 20/Apr/2026===
<youtube>v=N9fVSDziV6o</youtube>
==Death==
Following the death of his wife, Ramona, in November 2018, Desmond Morris left his home in [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oxford Oxford] in June 2019 and moved to [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/County_Kildare County Kildare] in [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_of_Ireland Ireland] to live close to his family there.

He passed away there at the age of 98 on 19 April 2026.<ref name="radford2026">{{REFweb
|url=https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2026/apr/20/desmond-morris-obituary
|title=Desmond Morris Obituary
|last=Radford
|first=Tim
|publisher=The Guardian
|date=2026-04-20
|accessdate=2026-06-05
}}</ref> <ref name="woodhouse2026>{{REFweb
|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c51y797v200o
|title=Zoologist and author Desmond Morris dies aged 98
|last=Woodhouse
|first=Sam
|publisher=BBC
|date=2026-04-20
|accessdate=2026-06-05
}}</ref>
{{LINKS}}
* {{URLwebsite|http://www.desmond-morris.com/|2026-06-04}}
* {{URLwikipedia|Desmond_Morris|Desmond Morris}}
{{REF}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Morris, Desmond}}

[[Category:Person]]
[[Category:Male]]
[[Category:Author]]
[[Category:Female genital mutilation]]
[[Category:Financial gain
[[Category:Intactivism]]
[[Category:Intactivist]]
[[Category:Intactivist literature]]

[[Category:UK]]