22,208
edits
Changes
Jump to navigation
Jump to search
m
wikify skin
Since intactivism is prevalent mostly in countries where FGM is not prevalent, and since campaigns against FGM are led by recognized global organizations, intactivists have very limited action regarding FGM. Intactivists however remain attentive to ensure that FGM does not spread to their countries of influence.
When the American Academy of Pediatrics in 2010 suggested that "pricking or incising the clitoral [[skin]]" was a harmless procedure that might satisfy parents, intactivist organizations and individuals were quick to respond in condemning the "policy statement on ritual genital cutting of female minors".
While the intactivist movement at large recognizes all forms of female genital mutilation as harmful, some of the organizations leading the campaigns against FGM do not recognize any harm in male circumcision. In fact, Catherine Hankins, a circumcision promoter who works for the [[WHO|World Health Organization]], wrote: "it is therefore critical that messaging about male circumcision for [[HIV]] prevention not only clearly distinguishes it from FGM but also contributes to efforts to eradicate FGM".
Genital reconstructive surgery at that time was primarily performed on older children and adults. In the early 1950s, it consisted primarily of the ability to remove an unwanted or nonfunctional gonad, to bring a testis into a scrotum, to repair a milder chordee or hypospadias, to widen a vaginal opening, and to remove a [[clitoris]].
Genital corrective surgeries in infancy were justified by (1) the belief that genital surgery is less emotionally traumatic if performed before the age of long-term memory, (2) the assumption that a firm gender identity would be best supported by genitalia that "looked the part," (3) the preference of parents for an "early fix," and (4) the observation of many surgeons that connective tissue, [[skin]], and organs of infants heal faster, with less scarring than those of adolescents and adults. However, one of the drawbacks of surgery in infancy was that it would be decades before outcomes in terms of adult sexual function and gender identity could be assessed.
Intactivism and intersex activism intersected in 1965, when baby [[David Reimer|Bruce Reimer]] had his penis burned during a circumcision. Johns Hopkins psychologist John Money recommended sexually reassigning the baby as a female (conveniently this would serve as an experiment for John Money's theories, as Bruce's twin brother had not been operated). Bruce was renamed Brenda, castrated, subjected to hormone treatment, and raised as a girl. During adolescence, the parents had to tell her the truth, and Brenda resumed a male identity, now taking the name David. David underwent double mastectomy and two phalloplasties, and replaced hormonal treatment with testosterone. After learning that John Money continued presenting his case as a success, and that intersex children were routinely subjected to sexual reassignment, David went public with his story in 1997. David committed [[suicide]] in 2004.