Circumcision and Human Rights

by Denniston, George C.; Hodges, Frederick Mansfield; Milos, Marilyn Fayre

• ISBN13: 9781402091667
• ISBN10: 1402091664
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2009-02-03
• Publisher: Springer Verlag

Summary

"There is hardly a reason to circumcise a little boy for medical reasons because those medical reasons don't exist," said Dr. Michael Wilks, Head of Ethics at the British Medical Association, who admitted that doctors have circumcised boys for "no good reason." In the United States, parts of Africa, the Middle East, and in the Muslim world, 13.3 million infant boys and 2 million girls have part or all of their external sex organs cut off for reasons that defy logic and violate basic human rights. Doctors, parents, and politicians have been misled into thinking that circumcision is beneficial, necessary, and harmless.In Circumcision and human rights, internationally respected experts in the fields of medicine, science, politics, law, ethics, sociology, anthropology, history, and religion present the latest research on this tragedy, as a part of the worldwide campaign to end sexual mutilation. They outline steps for eradicating this abusive practice to enable males and females the dignity of living out their lives with all the body parts with which they were born.

Table of Contents

Delusional Psychologies of Circumcision and Civilization	p. 1
Reconsidering 'Best Interests': Male Circumcision and the Rights of the Child	p. 15
Cultural Relativism at Home and Abroad: An American Anthropologist Confronts the Genital Modification of Children	p. 33
Medical Interventions on Women's Genitals: Historical Texts and Contemporary Discourse	p. 43
1996-2005-Ten Years of Merka's Alternative Ritual in Somalia: From "Sunna Gudnìn" to "Gudnin Usùb" (The New Rite")	p. 51
The Ritual Use of Herbs for Female Genital Modifications (FGMo) in Africa	p. 63
Female Genital Modifications in Malawi: Culture, Health, and Sexuality	p. 83
Variations in Penile Anatomy and Their Contribution to Medical Mischief	p. 97
The Normal, Natural Penis and the Effects of Circumcision	p. 109
Conservative Management of Foreskin Conditions	p. 121
Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus: An Emerging Risk for Circumcised Boys	p. 133
Fitting In and Getting Off: Elective Adult Male Circumcision in the United States and Britain	p. 141
Norm-UK	p. 149
Real Men: Foreskin Cutting and Male Identity in the Philippines	p. 155
Filipino Male Experience of Ritual Circumcision: Perspectives and Insights for Philippine-Based Anti-Circumcision Advocacy	p. 175
Traditional Male Circumcision in West Timor, Indonesia: Practices, Myths, and Their Impact on the Spread of HIV and Gender Relation	p. 185
Circumcision: If It Isn't Ethical, Can It Be Spiritual?	p. 189
Garbage In, Garbage Out: Coding, Reporting, and Analyzing Circumcision Data in the United States	p. 195
A Treatise from the Trenches: Why Are Circumcision Lawsuits So Hard to Win?	p. 201
Winning and Losing on the Circuit	p. 219
The MGM Bill: A Legislative Strategy for Protecting US Boys from Circumcision	p. 227
Circumcision in European Countries: Review of the Possible Annual Number of Laws and Regulations and of Economic Aspects	p. 231
"That Thing": Portrayal of the Foreskin and Circumcision in Popular Media	p. 239
Limbic Imprint	p. 251
Two Poems	p. 255
	p. 257
	p. 263
Index	p. 269
Table of Contents provided by Ingram. All Rights Reserved.