You Made a Difference For That One
By Danelle Day
Any time we speak out about the atrocities facing babies around us, we may face some backlash from those who refuse to acknowledge the damage they do to little ones by parenting in a detached, unprotective, or unloving manner. This may come in many forms - genital cutting being one, or simple refusal to learn why love matters. We cannot save all the babies and children (and future adults and society) out there from the pains and heartache and developmental problems that result from non-peaceful parenting. But whenever we share accurate information, whenever we speak up, whenever we defend those who do not yet have a voice for themselves and cannot yet defend themselves, we DO empower and equip and enable parents to make wise, conscious choices. And it is for this *one* who listens and invests in their innate mothering or fathering instincts that we continue to do the work we do.
Today, as I have been unable to save a newborn baby from the trauma that is genital mutilation in the United States, I encourage you to not become discouraged in your own work toward a healthier, happier, wiser, more peaceful world. Every single one makes a difference. And through each of YOU lives are changed every moment, of every day.
So don't be silent. And don't be discouraged.
Be brave. Be bold. Be smart. Be gentle.
And go love your little ones like you've never loved before! Because each one matters.
From The Star Thrower by anthropologist and writer, Loren Eiseley (1907-1977)
Once upon a time, there was a wise man who used to go to the ocean to do his writing. He had a habit of walking on the beach before he began his work.
One day, as he was walking along the shore, he looked down the beach and saw a human figure moving like a dancer. He smiled to himself at the thought of someone who would dance to the day, and so, he walked faster to catch up.
As he got closer, he noticed that the figure was that of a young man, and that what he was doing was not dancing at all. The young man was reaching down to the shore, picking up small objects, and throwing them into the ocean.
He came closer still and called out, "Good morning! May I ask what it is that you are doing?"
The young man paused, looked up, and replied, "Throwing starfish into the ocean."
"I must ask, then, why are you throwing starfish into the ocean?" asked the somewhat startled wise man.
To this, the young man replied, "The sun is up and the tide is going out. If I don't throw them in, they will die."
Upon hearing this, the wise man commented, "But, young man, do you not realize that there are miles and miles of beach and there are starfish all along every mile? You can't possibly make a difference!"
At this, the young man bent down, picked up yet another starfish, and threw it into the ocean. As it met the water, he said, "It made a difference for that one."
Note: This is a true story that Eiseley wrote about. He was the 'wise man' walking the beach before his morning writing session. He encountered this young man throwing starfish back into the ocean and was forever impacted by the experience. His story is told in many forms, in many places - but rarely is credit given to Eiseley as the original author and subject of the narrative.
He who passively accepts evil
is as much involved in it as he who helps to perpetrate it.
He who accepts evil without protesting against it
is really cooperating with it.
~ Martin Luther King, Jr.
is as much involved in it as he who helps to perpetrate it.
He who accepts evil without protesting against it
is really cooperating with it.
~ Martin Luther King, Jr.
Any time we speak out about the atrocities facing babies around us, we may face some backlash from those who refuse to acknowledge the damage they do to little ones by parenting in a detached, unprotective, or unloving manner. This may come in many forms - genital cutting being one, or simple refusal to learn why love matters. We cannot save all the babies and children (and future adults and society) out there from the pains and heartache and developmental problems that result from non-peaceful parenting. But whenever we share accurate information, whenever we speak up, whenever we defend those who do not yet have a voice for themselves and cannot yet defend themselves, we DO empower and equip and enable parents to make wise, conscious choices. And it is for this *one* who listens and invests in their innate mothering or fathering instincts that we continue to do the work we do.
Today, as I have been unable to save a newborn baby from the trauma that is genital mutilation in the United States, I encourage you to not become discouraged in your own work toward a healthier, happier, wiser, more peaceful world. Every single one makes a difference. And through each of YOU lives are changed every moment, of every day.
So don't be silent. And don't be discouraged.
Be brave. Be bold. Be smart. Be gentle.
And go love your little ones like you've never loved before! Because each one matters.
From The Star Thrower by anthropologist and writer, Loren Eiseley (1907-1977)
Once upon a time, there was a wise man who used to go to the ocean to do his writing. He had a habit of walking on the beach before he began his work.
One day, as he was walking along the shore, he looked down the beach and saw a human figure moving like a dancer. He smiled to himself at the thought of someone who would dance to the day, and so, he walked faster to catch up.
As he got closer, he noticed that the figure was that of a young man, and that what he was doing was not dancing at all. The young man was reaching down to the shore, picking up small objects, and throwing them into the ocean.
He came closer still and called out, "Good morning! May I ask what it is that you are doing?"
The young man paused, looked up, and replied, "Throwing starfish into the ocean."
"I must ask, then, why are you throwing starfish into the ocean?" asked the somewhat startled wise man.
To this, the young man replied, "The sun is up and the tide is going out. If I don't throw them in, they will die."
Upon hearing this, the wise man commented, "But, young man, do you not realize that there are miles and miles of beach and there are starfish all along every mile? You can't possibly make a difference!"
At this, the young man bent down, picked up yet another starfish, and threw it into the ocean. As it met the water, he said, "It made a difference for that one."
Why Intact Men Have Bigger Penises
By Georg von Neumann
Men who have not been circumcised typically have larger penises than men who have been circumcised. What is the reason for this?
Circumcision is a surgical process usually performed when the male is in his infancy. It removes the foreskin from his penis. It is a traumatic process for the infant, and some researchers believe that it creates deep-based psychological fears, as the male is so young.
When the foreskin is surgically removed it creates scarring and scar tissue. If a circumcised male looks at his penis, he can usually see the scarring between the shaft of the penis where it meets the corona (the corona is at the base or back of the head of the penis). The scarring is usually visible because the skin will have a different color than the rest of the penis.
This scarring damages the tissues in this area of the penis and will impede penis length on erection. Because this is done in infancy (usually) and before puberty, this will affect the size of the penis when it gets its growth spurt during adolescence.
An Australian scientific study (1) measured 158 men for penis length. They compared circumcised and uncircumcised men. They found that the average penis length in circumcised men was 5% less than non-circumcised men. This, of course, is the average. Some men lost less and some men lost more of their size. It's also worth noting the research of Dr. John Taylor who revealed that 51% of an infant's penile skin is removed with circumcision.
But affecting penis size isn't the only problem with circumcision. The foreskin is rich in sensory nerve endings and is one of the main areas of the penis that increases a man's sexual pleasure. When it is removed this decreases the sexual pleasure a man will feel during intercourse. The foreskin is also rich in tactile nerve endings, like those found in the fingertips that can perceive very fine sensations through feeling. With removal of the foreskin, the male loses this very fine touch sensation in his penis. This is important because he won't be able to "feel" the vagina with his penis.
The scarring of the penis cannot be reversed, unfortunately, but there are methods of natural penis enlargement that can help increase a man's size if he was robbed of it through this surgical procedure. There are also methods of increasing the sensitivity and sensation-ability of the penis. To learn about some of these methods, read Iron Man Penis: The Russian System (2).
Sincerely,
Georg von Neumann
Notes:
1) Richters J, Gerofi J, Donovan B. Are condoms the right size(s)? A method for self-measurement of the erect penis. Venereology. 1995;8(2):77-81.
2) This text is currently unavailable online.
Related Reading:
Functions of the Foreskin: http://www.DrMomma.org/2009/09/functions-of-foreskin-purposes-of.html
Foreskin and its 16+ Functions (not 'just skin'): http://www.SavingSons.org/2015/09/foreskin-and-its-16-functions-not-just.html
Intact vs. Circumcised: A Significant Difference in the Adult Penis: http://www.DrMomma.org/2011/08/intact-or-circumcised-significant.html
Saving Our Sons Community
IntactHealth.org/research
Dr. von Neumann has over twenty years experience in the medical field. He co-authored IRON MAN PENIS - THE RUSSIAN SYSTEM, a manual on helping men get the most out of their Sexual Potential. More from this author: https://ezinearticles.com/expert/Georg_Von_Neumann/351391#more-information
Men who have not been circumcised typically have larger penises than men who have been circumcised. What is the reason for this?
Circumcision is a surgical process usually performed when the male is in his infancy. It removes the foreskin from his penis. It is a traumatic process for the infant, and some researchers believe that it creates deep-based psychological fears, as the male is so young.
When the foreskin is surgically removed it creates scarring and scar tissue. If a circumcised male looks at his penis, he can usually see the scarring between the shaft of the penis where it meets the corona (the corona is at the base or back of the head of the penis). The scarring is usually visible because the skin will have a different color than the rest of the penis.
This scarring damages the tissues in this area of the penis and will impede penis length on erection. Because this is done in infancy (usually) and before puberty, this will affect the size of the penis when it gets its growth spurt during adolescence.
An Australian scientific study (1) measured 158 men for penis length. They compared circumcised and uncircumcised men. They found that the average penis length in circumcised men was 5% less than non-circumcised men. This, of course, is the average. Some men lost less and some men lost more of their size. It's also worth noting the research of Dr. John Taylor who revealed that 51% of an infant's penile skin is removed with circumcision.
But affecting penis size isn't the only problem with circumcision. The foreskin is rich in sensory nerve endings and is one of the main areas of the penis that increases a man's sexual pleasure. When it is removed this decreases the sexual pleasure a man will feel during intercourse. The foreskin is also rich in tactile nerve endings, like those found in the fingertips that can perceive very fine sensations through feeling. With removal of the foreskin, the male loses this very fine touch sensation in his penis. This is important because he won't be able to "feel" the vagina with his penis.
The scarring of the penis cannot be reversed, unfortunately, but there are methods of natural penis enlargement that can help increase a man's size if he was robbed of it through this surgical procedure. There are also methods of increasing the sensitivity and sensation-ability of the penis. To learn about some of these methods, read Iron Man Penis: The Russian System (2).
Sincerely,
Georg von Neumann
Notes:
1) Richters J, Gerofi J, Donovan B. Are condoms the right size(s)? A method for self-measurement of the erect penis. Venereology. 1995;8(2):77-81.
2) This text is currently unavailable online.
Related Reading:
Functions of the Foreskin: http://www.DrMomma.org/2009/09/functions-of-foreskin-purposes-of.html
Foreskin and its 16+ Functions (not 'just skin'): http://www.SavingSons.org/2015/09/foreskin-and-its-16-functions-not-just.html
Intact vs. Circumcised: A Significant Difference in the Adult Penis: http://www.DrMomma.org/2011/08/intact-or-circumcised-significant.html
Saving Our Sons Community
IntactHealth.org/research
Dr. von Neumann has over twenty years experience in the medical field. He co-authored IRON MAN PENIS - THE RUSSIAN SYSTEM, a manual on helping men get the most out of their Sexual Potential. More from this author: https://ezinearticles.com/expert/Georg_Von_Neumann/351391#more-information
 |
| Lost and Found cards available at Etsy for awareness raising and education. |
Circumcision Information Take 3
This video was put together by an outspoken, fun-loving, male stripper who is in fact, intact. As a young intact boy growing up amidst an ocean of cut peers, Stroud was compelled early on to investigate why he was (happily!) intact while so many of the boys around him had the "best" part of their penis cut off. While still in high school, Stroud researched all that he could surrounding the prepuce organ, and the amputation of it, and became a respected and well-read intactivist at his school. After learning what had been done to them, and taken from them, most of his cut peers wished they had been granted their genital integrity at birth to remain whole and intact as teens and adults.
Stroud covers many of the issues surrounding the myths of circumcision and tells his own story and that of others who have shared with him. His videos include a style of humor that may rub some people the wrong way - yet he uses his personal style to drive home some very good points.
There is 'adult language' used approximately 3-4 times throughout the video, and Stroud's presentation of religion may also upset some viewers. We'd encourage him to dig a little deeper into the topic of 'cutting the blessing' among Hebrews and Jews in antiquity (something that was not done in the same way as today's U.S. prepuce amputation, or done with such severity as we do today, but was genital mutilation nonetheless). It may add to the videos if Stroud were to also dive into historical research regarding the complete lack of circumcision among Christians for most of human history, and the outright opposition of this infant mutilation by the Christian church and the majority of Christian leaders throughout history.
We'd encourage you to take a listen to what this passionate, unique, young man has to say. Amid his humor, he makes a lot of powerful and important points.
What is done to children,
They will do to society.
~ Karl Menninger
By Jamie Brendon Stroud
They will do to society.
~ Karl Menninger
By Jamie Brendon Stroud
The Circumcision Secret
By Stan Emerson
I am a 51-year-old, circumcised man.
By age 43 I had lost all glans sensitivity. It became difficult, at times even when I was alone, to reach orgasm and ejaculation. This is the big secret here. But of course most cut men don't even know why they have difficulty with, or lose interest in, intercourse or masturbation with age.
Due to the awful damage to my penis, there is just no more physical sensory input to achieve or produce much or any pleasure, and the neurological triggers that lead to orgasm and ejaculation are severely damaged or not even present.
I was cut way too tightly to "restore" my foreskin with stretching, so I gave up some years ago. There was no gain at all in the time I did spend in restoration. I was born to Catholics, sexually mutilated at birth by an elderly Jew (a medical doctor) born in Russia in 1888. I was born in Beth Israel Hospital, Newark, New Jersey. The doctor sliced off an excessive amount of my prepuce organ and the skin system of my penis so I was never able to have a normal sex life, not even during masturbation.
My goal is to make sexually mutilated men, fathers, and women too, furious (in a non-violent way) at the sexual mutilators at large today.
Circumcision was mentioned to me by my late mother when I was in 9th grade.
No details, no explanation.
Just a mention of circumcision since it had been severely inflicted on me at birth. I did not wonder about it for decades. I heard Dr. Dean Edell, MD, on the radio about the craziness of and damage from infant circumcision. Reading more caused me anguish, alarm, and finally disgust. I'm concerned about the darker, troubling aspects of this tragedy: the sexually mutilated male MD's, the Semites, and the young fathers and their fear, envy, anxiety and hatred of the normal, natural, intact penis. I became a Natioanl Organization of Circumcision Information and Resource Centers (NOCIRC) activist, keen on confronting others with this atrocity and fraud.
If your husband was circumcised, he will remain sexually mutilated until he dies. He has a partial, man-made, desexualized, and emasculated penis. If he was forced in infancy to undergo this senseless, violent, shameful, degrading practice (posing as medicine) then he has never known the joys and sexual sensations that only the intact man knows. His primary sex organ, his prepuce & penis, not his brain, was surgically reduced and permanently damaged anatomically, neurologically, and physiologically. What pleasure he experiences now will fade soon. In his 40s, when the glans of his penis is fully deadened and desensitized, he may lose interest in sex. Then too, he might die in denial, especially if he demands his own newborn son be circumcised to match his own partial, wrecked penis.
-Stan Emerson
NOCIRC and NOHARMM of Wisconsin/Madison
More men tell their stories about how circumcision has impacted them on the links/videos on this page. Our hope is that men are empowered to speak up about this very important topic. Change can only happen when we are not longer silent.
I am a 51-year-old, circumcised man.
By age 43 I had lost all glans sensitivity. It became difficult, at times even when I was alone, to reach orgasm and ejaculation. This is the big secret here. But of course most cut men don't even know why they have difficulty with, or lose interest in, intercourse or masturbation with age.
Due to the awful damage to my penis, there is just no more physical sensory input to achieve or produce much or any pleasure, and the neurological triggers that lead to orgasm and ejaculation are severely damaged or not even present.
I was cut way too tightly to "restore" my foreskin with stretching, so I gave up some years ago. There was no gain at all in the time I did spend in restoration. I was born to Catholics, sexually mutilated at birth by an elderly Jew (a medical doctor) born in Russia in 1888. I was born in Beth Israel Hospital, Newark, New Jersey. The doctor sliced off an excessive amount of my prepuce organ and the skin system of my penis so I was never able to have a normal sex life, not even during masturbation.
My goal is to make sexually mutilated men, fathers, and women too, furious (in a non-violent way) at the sexual mutilators at large today.
Circumcision was mentioned to me by my late mother when I was in 9th grade.
No details, no explanation.
Just a mention of circumcision since it had been severely inflicted on me at birth. I did not wonder about it for decades. I heard Dr. Dean Edell, MD, on the radio about the craziness of and damage from infant circumcision. Reading more caused me anguish, alarm, and finally disgust. I'm concerned about the darker, troubling aspects of this tragedy: the sexually mutilated male MD's, the Semites, and the young fathers and their fear, envy, anxiety and hatred of the normal, natural, intact penis. I became a Natioanl Organization of Circumcision Information and Resource Centers (NOCIRC) activist, keen on confronting others with this atrocity and fraud.
-Stan Emerson
NOCIRC and NOHARMM of Wisconsin/Madison
More men tell their stories about how circumcision has impacted them on the links/videos on this page. Our hope is that men are empowered to speak up about this very important topic. Change can only happen when we are not longer silent.
Intact Music Videos & Free Bumper Stickers
We love Ron's bold, honest, intactivist spirit that never dies.
More from Ron at TLC Tugger.com
TLC Tugger offers 2 FREE bumper stickers of your choice upon request! Those pictured here are among the selection.
~~~~
Jack Black and Circumcision in Antiquity
Circumcision 'humor' if you will: a movie scene from Year One:
"Cutting the Blessing" among the Hebrews in antiquity was done in a MUCH different fashion than in modern U.S. culture where we amputate the entire prepuce organ. Hebrews and early Jews made a very tiny slit in the tip of the prepuce to allow for mere drops of blood to be shed as the blood sacrifice of the covenant.
The Hebrew words used for this practice in the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament) are "namal" and "muwl." Namal means 'to clip' - like one would clip the tips of your fingernails. Muwl means 'to curtail, to blunt.' Neither of these words mean "to cut," "to amputate," "to remove," "to cut off," etc. There were very different Hebrew words with clearly understood meanings representing 'the cutting off' or 'the removal of' something. The difference was plainly obviously to those practicing and writing about the practice at the time.
At this time in antiquity, we could not possibly amputate the prepuce organ (as circumcision is done today) and expect the child to live! Even in the 21st century we suffer from a 1-in-3 rate of complications due to prepuce amputation. At this early time in human history, babies would have hemorrhaged from the complete cutting off of the prepuce, and in rare cases when they lived through the blood loss, they would have died of surgical site infection and disease (something we commonly find today despite our sterile environments and understanding of wound infection).
Side Note: I have been working recently on a compilation of paintings from antiquity representing Jesus as a baby. Jesus (born to Jewish parents) would likely have been 'circumcised' on his 8th day of life. Again, this means a tiny slit would have been made in the end of his prepuce to allow for the shedding drops of blood as a part of the covenant his parents had with YHVH (Yahweh). When we (with our modern, Western eyes and presumptions about circumcision) pour over these paintings of a naked baby Jesus, it would appear that he was always painted as INTACT. Why? Because the prepuce was NOT removed. It was not amputated. It was never 'cut off'.
Ancient peoples never dreamed of doing away with a God-created organ that was so useful, so important. The prepuce was regarded with such honor that it was thee organ seen as being most GOD-LIKE. Hence the reason it was the organ 'slit' for the blood letting as a sign that "YHVH is the one I follow"...not my own 'god-like' member.
When Jews in antiquity wanted to exercise in the gymnasium (often done in the nude) they had to appear intact. Greeks only allowed intact men to participate in activities there and the rules were strictly adhered to. To do so, Jewish men regularly pulled the prepuce down over the glans (head) of the penis, before going in. There were even little devices made to cover the scar from the slit in the prepuce end so that no one would be the wiser as to their 'circumcision'. None of this would have been possible if the entire prepuce were removed.
There is a lot more to be said on this topic. Completing graduate studies in Human Sexuality, I found it necessary to also complete a corresponding degree in Religion because (as shocking as it may sound) the two subjects go together SO much of the time... We frequently must understand one in order to fully understand the other. When it comes to issues of circumcision in antiquity this is most certainly the case.
Much more recently in American history, we started the prepuce amputation practice in an effort to curtail masturbation among boys and cut down on men's sexual exploits (especially among soldiers overseas during war times). It was in our post-WWII drive to circumcise all boys and men that we first introduced 'circumcision' to the mass society as we now know it today. Even Americans at that time KNEW that removing the prepuce would take away a man's most sensitive and sexual organ.
It is empowering to find that many of the most outspoken intactivists today are Jewish men and women. At the same time, many Jews today are opting instead for a Brit Shalom in place of cutting their perfectly born sons.
Links to articles and information at the Intact Jewish Network and The Intact Jewish Resource Page.
Books on the subject from a Jewish perspective include:
Questioning Circumcision: A Jewish Perspective
Covenant of Blood: Circumcision and Gender in Rabbinic Judaism
Celebrating Brit Shalom
Marked in Your Flesh: Circumcision from Ancient Judea to Modern America
Circumcision: A History of the World's Most Controversial Surgery
On a related note - if you are Christian, you will find that circumcision is fully against what early Christians taught. Jesus followers, the New Testament, and the early Christian Church were unquestionably opposed to genital cutting in any form. It is Jesus who is the 'New Covenant' between God and his people, and participation in the Old Covenant (by shedding the blood of your newborn, for example) is to deny Christ's existence, authority, and power by grace in salvation.
More links to articles and information on Christianity and Circumcision can be found here.
Eliyahu Ungar-Sargon is the Jewish filmmaker (with an Orthodox Rabbi father) of the highly informative documentary, "CUT: Slicing Through the Myths of Circumcision". (Watch/Buy Here). After researching this topic and studying with some of the ‘experts’ in the fields of human sexuality, health, religion, and history, Ungar-Sargon concluded, “Circumcision was always a cure in search of a disease. When you look through history, you see that whatever the scary disease of the generation was, that was the one that circumcision would help prevent. So in the early 20th century it was syphilis, a scary disease that there was no cure for then. Later, it was cancer. Then UTIs, and now HIV.” As a Jewish man, strong in his faith, Ungar-Sargon chose not to cut his son.
Male circumcision as we know it, and female circumcision in the United States actually share a very similar history. All the myths we now toss around concerning MGM (male genital mutilation), we once held about FGM (female genital mutilation).
I wholeheartedly agree with what others (including Ungar-Sargon) have stated — genital cutting and the amputation of a healthy, functioning body organ from a non-consenting human being is a severe violation of human rights. If we did such a thing to a dog, we would be charged with animal abuse. And what we do to babies due to our own ignorance is certainly more criminal than that. This is not a subject that can be taken lightly or ignored any longer.
As far as having the religious freedom and choice to genitally cut our sons - we (in the United States) have outlawed, through the 1996 FGM Bill, any mutilation of baby girls for religious or non-religious reasons. It would therefor follow that the MGM Bill would be a logical and ethical item to pass in order to grant boys equal protection under law as girls. No human being is less valuable, or less deserving of basic human rights, simply because they were born with a larger prepuce organ... (oh, did I mention that girls have one too?!)
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