(as published in the Tabloid - for the Athens Human Rights Festival 2012)
Have you ever heard of intactivism? It’s a new term for a lot of people,
even though the activism it describes has been around for… well, ever.
Intactivist are human rights activist who advocate leaving
the foreskin of babies and young boys ON their penises. There have been people opposed to
circumcision since circumcision began, and although the surgery has been pretty
normal in the United States for the last 100 years, a movement that began in
the 70’s to end this forced body modification is now becoming the next big
issue.
Like all rights movements, intactivism is centered around
the goal of giving a right to an individual that society has failed in the past
to see as a right bearer; like allowing women to vote, or gay people to
marry. The right in this case is
called genital integrity (the right to refuse amputation of a healthy part of
the genitals) and those that should have it are men.
Part of the job of any rights advocate is to dispel the
myths around a subject that are responsible for keeping people thinking that
the rights violation is ok. If you
met an intactivist (if you stopped by the genital integrity booth at the
festival) they would tell you a lot of things that might not be what you’ve always
thought were true, like: the foreskin is good for the penis, men are NOT so
inferior in mind and skill as to need amputation in place of bathing, or that
circumcision can be very, very dangerous.
Moms and dads ‘to be’ are the main targets for this
blossoming activism. In the last
few years, with the help of the internet, thousands of individuals, and several
new grassroots groups like The WHOLE Network and Saving our Sons, join some
long standing organizations including NOCIRC and Doctors Opposing Circumcision
to take on the task of education.
This is a bigger social problem than just misinformed
parents, though. Circumcision is a money making procedure, and foreskins
themselves fetch a price for medical and beauty products. The new organization Intact America
aims its activism at the professionals and organizations that have incentive to
continue the practice and perpetuate medical myths such as the CDC and the
American Academy of Pediatrics.
Because genital integrity is being denied to men, it is a
men’s rights issue, but if you stop to think about it, the everyday occurrence
of a forced body modification is everyone’s issue. Since it happens when they are children, it is a children’s
rights issue. Female circumcision
has been illegal since 1997, and that makes it a gender equality issue. As it treats no disease or symptom, and
lacks consent, it is a patient’s rights issue. It is paid for by Medicaid in most states, so it’s also a
taxpayer’s issue. Due to the 14th
amendment guaranteeing equal protection under the law, it is a constitutional
issue. Many have even argued that
because circumcision is a sexual violence that perpetuates sexism, it is a
feminist issue. I could go on, but
suffice it to say: because it allows a violation of rights to exist, it is a
human rights issue.
