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General update of old article.
What are the rights of boys and men? Do boys and men have rights to their physical integrity, to their [[genital autonomy]]?
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[[WHO]]: Female genital mutilation (FGM) comprises all procedures that involve partial or total removal of the external female genitalia, or other injury to the female genital organs for non-medical reasons.
[We] Circumcision (MGM/MC) involves partial removal of the external male genitalia, for cultural, social, "medical" or "aesthetic" reasons. BTW, at least two studies have found circumcised women to have less prevalence of [[HIV]]. If there was a medical "benefit" from cutting females, would the WHO promote it?
[[WHO]] The practice is mostly carried out by traditional circumcisers, who often play other central roles in communities, such as attending childbirths. However, more than 18% of all FGM is performed by health care providers, and the trend towards medicalization is increasing.
[We] In African, Islamic and Jewish communities, circumcision is mostly carried out by traditional circumcisers. In the U.S. it is often carried out by the doctors attending childbirths ({{OBGYN}}), whose specialty has little or nothing to do with male genitalia.
[[WHO]] FGM is recognized internationally as a violation of the [[human rights]] of girls and women. It reflects deep-rooted inequality between the sexes, and constitutes an extreme form of discrimination against women. It is nearly always carried out on minors and is a violation of the rights of children. The practice also violates a person's rights to health, security and physical integrity, the right to be free from torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, and the right to life when the procedure results in death
[We] MC has not been recognized internationally as a violation of [[human rights]] of boys and girls, but the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe gave a first step in naming non-therapeutic circumcision of underage boys among procedures that violate the children's right to physical integrity. Circumcision reflects inequality between sexes and a form of violence and discrimination against boys. It is nearly always carried out on minors and should be recognized a violation of the rights of children. The practice also violates a person's right to health (externalizing an internal organ, often causing meatal stenosis and loss of erogenous tissue), the right to be free from torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment (see the treatment received by the child in the above pictures) and the right to life when the procedure results in death (deaths after circumcisions are not unheard of, both in traditional procedures - such as South Africa every year -, ritual - such as [[Israel]] - or medical, as in the United States).
[[WHO]] Immediate complications [of FGM] can include severe pain, [[shock]], [[haemorrhage]] ([[bleeding]]), tetanus or sepsis (bacterial infection), [[urine]] retention, open sores in the genital region and injury to nearby genital tissue.
[We] Immediate complications of circumcision can include severe [[pain]], [[shock]], [[haemorrhage]] ([[bleeding]]), sepsis (life threatening), [[urine]] retention, injury to nearby genital tissue (the glans, the shaft).
[We] "he will thank you later", "he will be made fun of in the locker room", "girls won't like him if he is not cut", "all males in my family have been traditionally circumcised", "all American boys are circumcised", "baby must match daddy"... Yup, social pressure. “The desire to conform is an important motivation for circumcision in places where the majority of boys are circumcised,” Dr Catherine Hankins.
[[WHO]] [[FGM]] is often considered a necessary part of raising a girl properly, and a way to prepare her for adulthood and marriage.
[We] According to the [[AAP]]: "In the pluralistic society of the United States, where parents are afforded wide authority for determining what constitutes appropriate child-rearing and child welfare, it is legitimate for the parents to take into account their own cultural, religious, and ethnic traditions, in addition to medical factors, when making this choice." (The AAP issued its last statement on male circumcision in 2012. It was not renewed and expired in August 2017.)
[[WHO]] [[FGM]] is often motivated by beliefs about what is considered proper sexual behaviour, linking procedures to premarital virginity and marital fidelity. FGM is in many communities believed to reduce a woman's libido and therefore believed to help her resist "illicit" sexual acts. When a vaginal opening is covered or narrowed (type 3 above), the fear of the pain of opening it, and the fear that this will be found out, is expected to further discourage "illicit" sexual intercourse among women with this type of FGM.
[We] It is necessary to remember that the original motivation behind medical circumcision in the [[United States]] was to prevent and cure [[masturbation]]. Male [[infibulation]] (sewing the [[foreskin]] with a silver thread) was also done at the time to prevent erections. Doctors today deny that there is any sexual harm, but they were [[circumcised]] at birth themselves so they don't have a personal experience of [[intact]] sex.
[[WHO]] [[FGM]] is associated with cultural ideals of femininity and modesty, which include the notion that girls are “clean” and "beautiful" after removal of body parts that are considered "male" or "unclean".
[We] [[Circumcision]] and masculinity: “Circumcision is also associated with factors such as masculinity, social cohesion with boys of the same age who become circumcised at the same time, self-identity and spirituality,” Dr [[Catherine Hankins]]. From the same article: "In some settings where circumcision is the norm, there is discrimination against non-circumcised men. For the Lunda and Luvale tribes in Zambia, or the Bagisu in Uganda, it is unacceptable to remain [[uncircumcised]], to the extent that forced circumcisions of older boys are not uncommon. Among the Xhosa in [[South Africa]], men who have not been [[circumcised]] can suffer extreme forms of punishment, including bullying and beatings."
Circumcision and cleanliness: (from the same article) "In a study of US newborns in 1983, mothers cited hygiene as the most important determinant of choosing to circumcise their sons, <ref name="metcalf1983">{{REFjournal |last=Metcalf |first= |init=TJ |author-link= |last2=Osborn |first2= |init2=LM |author2-link= |last3=Mariani |first3= |init3=EM |author3-link= |etal=no |title=Circumcision. A study of current practices |journal=Clin Pediatr (Phila) |date=1983-08 |volume=22 |issue=8 |pages=575-9 |url=https://www.cirp.org/library/procedure/metcalf/ |archived= |quote= |pubmedID=6861426 |pubmedCID= |DOI=10.1177/000992288302200811. |accessdate=2025-12-13}}</ref> and in Ghana, male circumcision is seen as cleansing the boy after birth. Improved hygiene was also cited by 23% of 110 boys circumcised in the Philippines"
Circumcision and female parts: (from the same article): "certain ethnic groups including the Dogon and Dowayo of West Africa, and the Xhosa of [[South Africa]] view the [[foreskin]] as the feminine element of the [[penis]], the removal of which (along with passing certain tests) makes a man of the child."
[We] Male circumcision was made massive in the [[United States]] by the Army and the American medical community. The [[AAP]], the [[WHO]], [[UNAIDS]], [[UNICEF]], the [[CDC]] are contributors to the perpetuation of male circumcision.
[[WHO]] In most societies, [[FGM]] is considered a cultural tradition, which is often used as an argument for its continuation.
[We] [[AAP]] says "it is legitimate for the parents to take into account their own cultural, religious, and ethnic traditions, in addition to medical factors, when making this choice."
[[WHO]] In some societies, recent adoption of the practice is linked to copying the traditions of neighbouring groups. Sometimes it has started as part of a wider religious or traditional revival movement.
[We] (Again, from the UNAIDS article) "With advances in surgery in the 19th century, and increased mobility in the 20th century, the procedure was introduced into some previously non-circumcising cultures for both health-related and social reasons."
[[WHO]] In some societies, [[FGM]] is practised by new groups when they move into areas where the local population practice FGM.
[We] (Again, from the UNAIDS article): "The desire to ‘belong’ is also likely to be the main factor behind the high rate of adult male circumcisions among immigrants to [[Israel]] from non-circumcising countries (predominantly the former Soviet Union)."
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[[Category:Circumcision video]]
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