WTF

There are so many shocking facts about “circumcision” (let's be real, it's genital cutting) that it's hard to pick just one to share. However, we promised you one "WTF?!" piece of information, so here it is: 

The most common form of genital cutting of the penis permanently cuts off a body part that is “necessary for normal sexual function” [1] and leaves a prominent ring-shaped scar around the entire shaft. In simpler terms . . . 

Genital cutting disrupts normal sexual function and leaves an unmistakable scar in its wake.   

Right now, you might be having a sort of epiphany. You're thinking about that ring around your penis. The one that has been there your entire life. You didn't know any different, because it's been there for as long as you can remember, but now that you think about it, something along the lines of, "WTF?!" might be entering into your head. That's a scar. On your genitals. From when you were a day or two old. When a doctor CUT off part of your penis. A normal part. A NECESSARY part. 

Chances are, your hands and legs were strapped down to a board. You most likely screamed in protest, but your cries were ignored. If you received any "pain relief," it was probably nothing more than a pacifier covered in sugar water and shoved into your mouth in an effort to silence you. And what may have been the most horrific violation of your life happened when a healthy, functional part of your tiny little body was brutally cut from your genitals. That was your welcome to this world. 

And, it's not because your family didn't love you. In fact, they probably did it because they loved you. They were likely told, taught, and wholeheartedly believed it was the best thing for you. It was healthier. Cleaner. Would prevent you from being made fun of as an adolescent. Yet, they were wrong. They made a mistake that other families will continue to make as long as the medical community keeps disguising a social norm as medicine.

But, you are young, and the world is changing, and you're going to put a stop to this bullshit. Your ego isn't going to stop you from saying, "What happened to me is really fucked up, and it will not happen to my children." 

In doing so, you are going to help end an archaic, destructive practice that is perpetuated by junk science, and you are going to be part of the growing, unstoppable force that says it is time to stop cutting the genitals of children. 

1 Cold, C.J., & Taylor, J.R. (1999). The prepuce. British Journal of Urology, Volume 83, Suppl. 1: Pages 34-44, January 1999.