Myths Surrounding Circumcision

For This week's episode, I interviewed Brendon Marotta, the director of the documentary film called American Circumcision that was newly released on Netflix. 

We talked about how much of what we're told about circumcision is a plain myth and how those myths must be addressed before the conversation can move forward.

For one, many medical aspects we were told about circumcision either aren't true or are extremely exaggerated while the risks are majorly downplayed.

Also, unless there was an extreme botch that's immediately noticed, they almost always go unreported and many problems aren't revealed until the male has reached puberty. This makes it very unlikely that the dots will be connected 15+ years down the line. 

Another aspect of the conversation I find to be very interesting is asking the question if we even have to right to remove part of a vital organ without someone's consent? Is that a violation of rights even if there were actually medical benefits to it? Doesn't that seem like an extreme solution for something that is a preventative measure?

Other aspects we discussed include:

• How it's so normalized we've lost our ability to objectively look at the practice. (i.e. suggesting to cut off part of a newborns pinky finger as a preventative measure would seem crazy, but when it's male genitalia we don't blink an eye)
• Many forget that it is a surgery and the risks must be weighed before agreeing to move forward with it
• It's the only preventative surgery that is done and the only type of surgery that doesn't include a prolonged routine follow-up to make sure there were no complications
• All genitalia practices are cultural and something that happens at the identity level (i.e. men say "I AM circumcised" not "I HAD a circumcision")
• It is generally not a skilled surgeon performing the surgery, but often medical students who have only done one or two prior
• Infants CAN and DO remember the pain from circumcision (somatic memory - see studies linked below)
• Circumcision was used in the Victorian era as a means to desensitize the penis in hopes of preventing masturbation (they now claim that no feeling is lost from removing the foreskin)
• Religious aspects of the conversation including: how it originally was a much smaller procedure when done as a religious ceremony and how the practice is actually not supported by Christianity 

It was such an intriguing conversation with Brendon and brought many nuances to light. However, I highly recommend watching the full film over on Netflix or at circumcisionmovie.com.

Resources:

• Stay up to date with the film on Instagram at instagram.com/circmovie
• Find the host at instagram.com/chemistkarma
• Hickey and Anand pain study
• Study- Exposure to Early Life Pain: Long Term Consequences and Contributing Mechanisms

If you enjoyed the show, I'd love if you could leave a 5 star review on the Apple podcast app so more women can find this vital information. See you next week!