Circumcision and Truth The Dilemna
The Dilemna of telling the truth about the harms of circumcision
and the sequalae of removing a healthy functional sex organ in the male
foreskin, is that it actually harms those that have been circumcised, in
particular children and adolescents, and pro-circumcision adults in those Cultures
just fight harder to defend it. However, if the truth is not spoken, the harms of circumcision will never end.
With children and adolescents, as they are developing &
vulnerable minors we want them to grow up feeling good about themselves. If and when we tell the truth that
circumcision removes a functional and pleasurable part of their sex organ,
which would have made their penis function and feel better, we can create psychological
pain and harm to self-esteem of those children or adolescents, or we can cause a
highly irrational defensive reaction. This is an unintended consequence about telling the truth it may harm children and adolescents circumcised against their will, during a time of life theyre are forming an identity.
As for adults from circumcision cultures those that favour it
or defend it, will go to extreme lengths to do so, leaving themselves open to charges of total
irrationality when trying to dispute the truth about the harms of circumcision
and the function of the foreskin. Look at
the previously esteemed organisationssuch as the American Academy of Pediatrics, that
in order to defend circumcision they released a paper in support of
circumcision which not only minimized the harms of circumcision but denied truth
that the male foreskin had any sexual function or sexual pleasure, leaving themselves looking unprofessional and totally irrational among their peers. The AAP circumcision policy even motivated
conservative medical professionals from around the world to band together and to
publicly condemn the irrational and unscientific defence of circumcision by the AAP.
My dilemma is not that we provoke defensive reactions by
adults from circumcision cultures, that is to be expected, and if the truth is
not spoken, the harms of circumcision will never end. My Dilemna is how we protect vulnerable
children, and adolescents when we speak the truth about circumcision. They did not choose circumcision for
themselves but had it imposed upon them, they are minors, and psychologically
vulnerable.
The question is how do we speak about the truth circumcision
and minimize the harm to our most vulnerable humans, children?
