Circumcision and Human Rights »

"There is hardly a reason to circumcise a little boy for medical reasons because those medical reasons don’t exist," said Dr. Michael Wilks, Head of Ethics at the British Medical Association, who admitted that doctors have circumcised boys for "no good reason."

In the United States, parts of Africa, the Middle East, and in the Muslim world, 13.3 million infant boys and 2 million girls have part or all of their external sex organs cut off for reasons that defy logic and violate basic human rights. Doctors, parents, and politicians have been misled into thinking that circumcision is beneficial, necessary, and harmless.

In Circumcision and human rights, internationally respected experts in the fields of medicine, science, politics, law, ethics, sociology, anthropology, history, and religion present the latest research on this tragedy, as a part of the worldwide campaign to end sexual mutilation. They outline steps for eradicating this abusive practice to enable males and females the dignity of living out their lives with all the body parts with which they were born.

Delusional Psychologies of Circumcision and Civilization David B. Chamberlain 1

Reconsidering 'Best Interests': Male Circumcision and the Rights of the Child Marie Fox Michael Thomson 15

Cultural Relativism at Home and Abroad: An American Anthropologist Confronts the Genital Modification of Children Zachary Androus 33

Medical Interventions on Women's Genitals: Historical Texts and Contemporary Discourse Noel Gazzano 43

1996-2005-Ten Years of Merka's Alternative Ritual in Somalia: From "Sunna Gudnin" to "Gudnin Usub" (The New Rite") Mana Sultan Abdurahman Ali Issah Pia Grassivaro Gallo 51

The Ritual Use of Herbs for Female Genital Modifications (FGMo) in Africa Pia Grassivaro Gallo Miriam Manganoni Franco Viviani 63

Female Genital Modifications in Malawi: Culture, Health, and Sexuality Pia Grassivaro Gallo Debora Moro Miriam Manganoni 83

Variations in Penile Anatomy and Their Contribution to Medical Mischief Ken McGrath 97

The Normal, Natural Penis and the Effects of Circumcision James L. Snyder 109

Conservative Management of Foreskin Conditions John Dalton 121

Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus: An Emerging Risk for Circumcised Boys George Hill 133

Fitting In and Getting Off: Elective Adult Male Circumcision in the United States and Britain Zachary Androus 141

Norm-UK David Smith 149

Real Men: Foreskin Cutting and Male Identity in the Philippines Leonard B. Glick 155

Filipino Male Experience of Ritual Circumcision: Perspectives and Insights for Philippine-Based Anti-Circumcision Advocacy Romeo B. Lee 175

Traditional Male Circumcision in West Timor, Indonesia: Practices, Myths, and Their Impact on the Spread ofHIV and Gender Relation Primus Lake 185

Circumcision: If It Isn't Ethical, Can It Be Spiritual? Miriam Pollack 189

Garbage In, Garbage Out: Coding, Reporting, and Analyzing Circumcision Data in the United States Georganne Chapin 195

A Treatise from the Trenches: Why Are Circumcision Lawsuits So Hard to Win? J. Steven Svoboda 201

Winning and Losing on the Circuit David J. Llewellyn 219

The MGM Bill: A Legislative Strategy for Protecting US Boys from Circumcision Matthew Hess 227

Circumcision in European Countries: Review of the Possible Annual Number of Laws and Regulations and of Economic Aspects Yngve Hofvander 231

"That Thing": Portrayal of the Foreskin and Circumcision in Popular Media Hugh Young 239

Limbic Imprint Elena Tonetti-Vladimirova 251

Two Poems Suzanne Arms 255

Appendix A 257

Appendix B 263

Index 269