[43] Cutting Culture: The Impact of Male Circumcision

Travis Wisdom, a student of Women's Studies at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, organized a daylong conference on male circumcision and the issues surrounding identity and body ownership.

Panelists Michelle Jacobs Hinman, Kathya Delaguila, and Brendon Marotta answer questions about how Intactivism and the issue of circumcision affect people's lives; along with members of the audience, they tell their stories and exchange advice. Here is a recording of the discussion, and a transcript follows.

[42] Cutting Culture: The Medical Ethics of Male Circumcision

Travis Wisdom, a student of Women's Studies at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, organized a daylong conference on male circumcision and the issues surrounding identity and body ownership.

The third speaker of the day was Gillian Longley of Colorado NOCIRC, who discussed the unethical nature of non-therapeutic circumcision without valid consent (with a focus on neonatal circumcision). Here is a recording of the presentation, and a transcript follows.

[41] Cutting Culture: Tuskegee Redux? Legal and Ethical Problems of the Ramp Up to Male Circumcision in Africa

Travis Wisdom, a student of Women's Studies at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, organized a daylong conference on male circumcision and the issues surrounding identity and body ownership. The second speaker of the day was John Geisheker of Doctors Opposing Circumcision, who discussed the dubious nature of the 3 African studies that are now being used to promote circumcision in the name of HIV prevention. Here is a recording of the presentation, and a transcript follows.

[36] The Cut Podcast: Circumcision and HIV: A Conversation with David Wilton

Eliyahu Ungar-Sargon interviews David Wilton about the nature of the push to circumcise Africa, how this has affected the controversy over circumcising completely healthy infants, and in what ways the Intactivist Movement needs to evolve its organization. Here is the recording, and a transcript follows.

[19] The Cut Podcast: The Psychological Consequences of Circumcision

Eliyahu Ungar-Sargon conversed with Dr. Ronald Goldman, a psychologist and published Intactivist, about the psychological consequences surrounding the practice of circumcision. Here is the recording.

Transcript
(slightly modified)

Eliyahu Ungar-Sargon

From the White Letter Productions studios in Los Angeles, California, I'm [Eliyahu] Ungar-Sargon, and this is The Cut Podcast.

Welcome to another special edition of The Cut Podcast; I'm very happy to be sitting here with Ronald Goldman, and we're going to be having a conversation today about some of the psychological aspects of infant male circumcision.

This is a field [into which] I've been a little wary to wade; I think when I talk to people who don't necessarily agree with my position on this subject, I find it much easier to talk about things like Meissner's corpuscles—the hard scientific stuff [to which] I can just sort of point, [and for which] we have hard data; my impressions—and I would love to get your reaction and your opinion about this—is that when it comes to the psychological data, just by virtue of where we are in our understanding of the human brain and the human mind, it's a little trickier to get hard data on these questions. Is that right? or is this a misperception [that I have]?

Ronald Goldman

Well, I agree with you; part of the problem is there's a resistance to doing these kinds of [study]. Most of the researchers who do the studies on circumcision are looking for benefits, not potential harm. They happen to be medical doctors for the most part, so they're starting with what they're familiar with, which is the physical body. Studying behavior is a lot more complicated. You can't so much put it in a box and put it under a microscope [to examine] it that way. So, human behavior requires a different kind of research, and we haven't had the will to do that for the most part.

[10] The Cut Podcast: David Llewellyn: the Harm of Circumcision is Hidden because the genitals are hidden

Eliyahu Ungar-Sargon, the director of the documentary film Cut, interviews lawyer David Llewellyn about the legality of forced male circumcision, genital-injury cases, and his motivations for taking part in the Intactivist Movement. Here is the recording.

Transcript
(slightly modified)

Eliyahu Ungar-Sargon

From the White Letter Productions studios in Los Angeles, California, I'm [Eliyahu] Ungar-Sargon, and this is The Cut Podcast.

I'm sitting here now with David Llewellyn, so thank you so much for joining us. Why don't we jump off by having you explain to our audience what it is you do.

David Llewellyn

Well, I'm a trial lawyer in Atlanta, GA, and the majority of my work is now—and has been for several years—in the area of genital injury litigation, by which I mean cases where [men or babies] have been damaged by circumcision or circumcised against their or their parents' wishes—and I know that sounds strange, but I've actually had a case where an adult [who was] having other genital surgery was assured that he would retain his foreskin and did not because of a mistake (apparently on the part of the resident, who did not know how to do this surgery without removing the foreskin).

[09] The Cut Podcast: The Effects of Circumcision on Sexuality

On Tuesday, September 13, 2011, this recording was made of a conversation between Eliyahu Ungar-Sargon and Aubrey Taylor, whose intactivist work can be viewed at the YouTube channel whatUneverknew.

Transcript
(slightly modified)

Eliyahu Ungar-Sargon:

From the White Letter Productions studios in Los Angeles, California, I'm [Eliyahu] Ungar-Sargon, and this is The Cut Podcast.

I'm sitting here with Aubrey Taylor in Atlanta, Georgia. Aubrey was responsible for organizing the Atlanta leg of The Cut Tour, and she's a very prominent intactivist in her own right.

So, I just thought it would be a really good opportunity to talk to you about some aspects of this issue that don't often get talked about, and I think you're a very interesting person to provide that perspective.

So, why don't we start with you explain[ing] to our audience how you came [to be involved in] this issue, because I find your story to be very interesting and different.

Aubrey Taylor

Of course, you can watch my video (I Love Foreskin), and hear my story there.

I just always intuitively knew [that something about circumcision is bizarre], and then one day when I was about 20 [years old], I found out how [boys actually get circumcised] and the whole reality came crashing in.

[05] The Cut Tour: Austin, Texas Q&A with Janet Heimlich

On Wednesday, 7 September 2011, this recording was made of the Q&A after the Austin, Texas screening of the film Cut by Eliyahu Ungar-Sargon. Eliyahu was joined by Janet Heimlich, author of:

Breaking Their Will: Shedding Light on Religious Child Maltreatment