Nov 10, 2021
For 25 Years, Bollinger’s Activism and Research Have Propelled the Anti-Circumcision Movement Forward and Helped Shift Public Perception About a Medically Unnecessary Procedure
(Tarrytown, New York—November 10, 2021)…Dan Bollinger, an industrial designer whose personal circumcision trauma led him to become a committed American anti-circumcision activist, has joined the Intact America board of directors as vice chairperson, announced Georganne Chapin, MPhil, JD, founding executive director of the organization. Mr. Bollinger will also continue in his role as a strategic advisor to Intact America, which is the largest professional anti-circumcision group in the United States.
“Dan’s tireless devotion to this work has enabled Intact America to steadily shift public opinion against routine male child genital cutting in the United States,” said Ms. Chapin. “According to our latest public opinion poll this year, 22.5% of Americans favor keeping boys intact, up from 16.8% in 2019—a 25% increase in two years.”
The impact of Bollinger’s research
Mr. Bollinger’s studies and surveys have helped advance the field of circumcision research by documenting the procedure’s harm. His peer-reviewed paper published in Thymos: Journal of Boyhood Studies, “Lost Boys: An Estimate of U.S. Circumcision-Related Infant Deaths,” revealed that at least 100 babies die annually in the United States as a result of circumcision. Another study, published in the International Journal of Men’s Health, which he co-authored with Robert S. Van Howe, MD, “Alexithymia and Circumcision Trauma: A Preliminary Investigation,” uncovered an association between circumcision trauma and the personality trait disorder alexithymia, or difficulty in identifying and expressing feelings.
The “Alexithymia and Circumcision Trauma” paper also revealed an association between erectile dysfunction and circumcision, citing findings that circumcised men were 4.53 times more likely to use an erectile dysfunction drug than intact men. In his latest study, Mr. Bollinger writes, he found that dysfunctional households are more likely to chose circumcision for their sons, and that these boys have higher Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) scores. Higher ACE scores are associated with medical and psychological outcomes such as substance use, chronic illness, and a shorter lifespan.
“Doctors insist that circumcision doesn’t harm baby boys, but our research tells a different story,” said Mr. Bollinger. “The question we have to ask ourselves is why Americans encourage the genital cutting of baby boys when we’d be appalled if it were done to baby girls,” he adds. “No child—boy, girl, or intersex—should endure genital cutting until the child is old enough to give his, her, or their consent.”
Mr. Bollinger noted that the United States is the only Western country that routinely circumcises baby boys in a medical setting; therefore, most Americans know little about the male foreskin and its role in sex, “This is why Intact America is pushing to normalize the acceptance of the natural penis,” he said. He pointed out that the foreskin is the most sensitive tissue on the penis, designed to enhance sex for men and their partners. “It is unconscionable to me that American doctors routinely remove baby boy foreskins for no justifiable medical reason,” he said.
About Dan Bollinger
Dan Bollinger has been a social activist since his student days at Purdue University, where he earned his BA in Industrial Design. While at Purdue, he became interested in men’s issues and co-taught workshops to help men heal after losing their fathers. Later, he decided to focus on the one men’s issue he could personally relate to—involuntary male child genital cutting, or circumcision. A well-known and oft-quoted intactivist for 25 years. Bollinger was at the table when Intact America was founded in 2008, and has served as a strategic adviser since then. A lifelong Hoosier, he owns and operates, with his wife, a small manufacturing company in Tippecanoe County, Indiana.
About Intact America
Intact America is the largest national advocacy group working to end involuntary child genital cutting in America and to ensure healthy sexual futures for all people. It does this by challenging social and sexual norms and empowering supporters and volunteers through advocacy and education. To learn more about the issues involved in the current conversation about newborn male circumcision, visit IntactAmerica.org and CircumcisionDebate.org, and follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
Oct 29, 2021
Marilyn Milos, Regarded as ‘The Mother of the Intactivist Movement,’ Merges Her Organization, Genital Autonomy-America, with Intact America, the Nation’s Largest Professional Anti-Circumcision Advocacy Group
Says Milos: “It’s an auspicious time to join forces and further public awareness of the direct correlation between circumcision solicitation in hospitals and the high rate of medically unnecessary circumcision in the United States.”
(Tarrytown, New York—October 30, 2021) Georganne Chapin, MPhil, JD, founding executive director of Intact America, and Marilyn Milos, RN, founding executive director of Genital Autonomy-America, announced today that their two organizations have officially merged. Ms. Milos will continue her intactivist work at Intact America, the largest national, professional advocacy group that is changing the way America thinks about circumcision.
The newly merged entity, a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization, will retain the name Intact America. Ms. Milos will sit on Intact America’s Board of Directors and continue her intactivist work as Intact America’s clinical consultant.
“It’s a tremendous honor that Marilyn Milos and the Board of Directors of GA-America have entrusted their organization’s mission and vision to us,” said Ms. Chapin. “Thanks to her work, male genital cutting emerged from the shadows and became a human rights issue. I and many other intactivists consider Marilyn to be the mother of our movement.”
The Evolution of Organized Intactivism
It was a watershed event in intactivism when, in 1985, Marilyn Milos launched the National Organization of Circumcision Resource Centers (NOCIRC). (The organization was renamed Genital Autonomy-America [GA-America] in 2016.) The group was the first clearinghouse of circumcision information for doctors, nurses, parents, and the public. Over the years, NOCIRC succeeded in raising awareness among tens of thousands of people that male child genital cutting (circumcision) is physically painful and traumatic to a baby, medically unnecessary, and amputates the most erogenous part of the adult male genitalia.
Under Ms. Milos’ leadership, NOCIRC gained attention for organizing biennial International Symposia on Circumcision, beginning in 1989. Experts in medicine, academia, ethics, law, and other disciplines flocked to the symposia, whose proceedings were published and shared worldwide. These highly influential publications advanced the field of male and female genital cutting research and shed new light on the ill effects of routine male circumcision.
A Next Step for Intactivism
Although Ms. Milos broke the taboo about speaking publicly about circumcision, more work was needed to strategically change America’s systemic circumcision culture. In 2008, Ms. Milos and other leading intactivists helped to form Intact America, a professional advocacy group funded by philanthropist Dean Pisani and managed by the experienced health care executive and attorney Georganne Chapin. Intact America’s work includes conducting national research and generating public awareness by mounting campaigns against routine male child genital cutting and forced foreskin retraction of intact boys.
Ms. Chapin noted, “We’re shifting the public’s perception of circumcision. In our most recent opinion poll, conducted this year, we found that more than 22.5% of respondents favor keeping boys intact, up from 16.8% in 2019. That’s an increase of 25% in just two years. We’re making big progress.”
Ms. Milos said the merger comes at an auspicious time. “I’ve worked relentlessly to save baby boys from the horror of routine circumcision and help adults and families to overcome the physical and psychological consequences of unnecessary circumcisions,” Ms. Milos said. “Now, it’s time for me to step back from the day-to-day responsibility of running GA-America. Since it was founded, Intact America has taken intactivism to the next level. I feel that the movement’s future success could not be in better hands.”
About Intact America
Intact America is the largest national advocacy group working to end involuntary child genital cutting in America and to ensure healthy sexual futures for all people. It does this by challenging social and sexual norms and empowering supporters and volunteers through advocacy and education. To learn more about the issues involved in the current conversation about newborn male circumcision, visit IntactAmerica.org and CircumcisionDebate.org, and follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
Oct 25, 2021
This letter to the editor was published in The New Yorker on October 25, 2021.
Kudos to Shteyngart for bravely exposing the harm that can be caused by circumcision. His heartbreaking personal struggle, while extreme, is more common among circumcised men than the public has been led to believe. Since 2008, when I co-founded Intact America, an organization that seeks to change the way people in this country think about circumcision, I have heard from thousands of men who have suffered lifelong physical and psychological damage from the procedure. According to a 2019 report published in the Journal of Pediatric Surgery, in the U.S., where nearly all circumcisions take place in medical settings, eleven per cent of pediatric-surgery malpractice cases involve circumcision. Yet American doctors and hospitals keep putting babies at risk with a medically unnecessary procedure that is not routinely performed on male children in any other Western country. We must ask why we allow doctors and hospitals to profit from cutting the genitals of male children even as we fight to outlaw female genital cutting, here and abroad.
Georganne Chapin
Oct 15, 2021
by Lisa Braver Moss & Rebecca WaldIn many cases, Jewish families who opt out of circumcision make a decision of omission — circumcision is simply skipped. But more and more parents are choosing an alternative ceremony known as brit shalom (“covenant of peace” in Hebrew) as opposed to brit milah (“covenant of circumcision”).
Brit shalom is an uplifting, celebratory baby-naming ceremony specifically designed for non-circumcising families. It’s an affirmation that despite what may be seen by others as a radical choice, the family still considers themselves to be Jewish. And it’s a beautiful symbolic acknowledgment of the ancient Abrahamic covenant.
Brit shalom ceremonies can be tailored to what’s meaningful to the family. Its liturgy may be modeled after that of brit milah, with the circumcision being replaced by a symbolic act such as the cutting of a pomegranate.
Throughout Jewish history, there have been those who didn’t circumcise, but alternative ceremonies for traditional brit milah are relatively new. We believe one of the earliest such ceremonies was officiated by Rabbi Nathan Segal (1949-2019) in the mid-1980s. The movement grew from there.
Various naming ceremonies for intact babies came into being—for example, “brit ben” (covenant for a boy) and “brit b’lee milah” (covenant without circumcision). The ceremony known as brit shalom has become the most common. Since the etymological root of “shalom” in Hebrew can mean both “peace” and “wholeness,” there is perhaps no better name.
At first, it was difficult to find officiants to lead brit shalom ceremonies, and families often created and led their own, culling liturgy from various Jewish sources (or borrowing from Jewish naming ceremonies for girls). Over time, an underground grass-roots movement evolved, with names of willing officiants shared informally and photocopied pages of newly-created ceremonies stapled together and distributed as needed. Until our book Celebrating Brit Shalom came out in 2015, there was no published resource specifically designed for these families.
Thanks to Dr. Mark Reiss, who, over a period of years, painstakingly amassed a list of officiants willing to lead brit shaloms, more non-circumcising families began to hold ceremonies. In more recent times, many progressive rabbis, such as those from the Reform movement, will also officiate if asked.
Brit shalom is an expression of pride in both being Jewish, and deciding not to circumcise. We hope more and more families will choose this option.
Lisa Braver Moss and Rebecca Wald are the authors of Celebrating Brit Shalom and the co-founders of Bruchim, a new Jewish nonprofit advocating for the open inclusion of non-circumcising families in Jewish spaces.
Oct 15, 2021
R.F., a proud mother of 2 intact boys, is the first and only parent in her large Jewish family to keep her sons intact. The following is a letter she wrote to her cousins who were expecting a boy and had recently been persuaded by a mohel to go forward with the circumcision (despite their exposure to intactivism). “The pressure to stay silent in a Jewish family is massive and intimidating,” R.F. says. “But I will continue to use my voice to advocate for these infant boys.”
I am writing today because I need to do everything I can to convince you not to let your son’s penis be permanently mutilated. I purposely did not use the word “circumcised” because that word hides and trivializes what it really is. It’s a word we are used to as American Jews. But we are not used to looking deeply at the truth of it.
Yes, I am putting pressure on you, because I know infant genital cutting is wrong. Your mohel is wrong. Whatever she said to make you feel this is a good idea — it’s wrong. If she said the baby won’t feel pain — she is wrong. If she said that it’s just a “little snip” — she is wrong. If she said there are medical benefits — she is wrong. If she said the risks for infection or complications are low — she is wrong. If she said the baby will just “go to sleep” afterwards — she is wrong (babies often go into shock and “pass out” in a traumatized state). If she said you need to do this to participate in the Jewish community—she is wrong.
She has to believe these things because this is the life she has chosen for herself. But you do not have to buy into her mindset.
If she said this will make you part of a long-standing tradition — she is right. But that long-standing tradition is one of abuse. You are too good for this. You have access to too much information to do this. Our parents (and theirs) did not have the Intact America and Your Whole Baby websites. They were much more insulated in a Jewish/American world without easy access to different ideas and different voices. When they find out and understand the truth, they can say “We didn’t know better.” But you are different. You have the internet and the book about Brit Shalom, and articles and YouTube. You have me! You DO know better.
Female genital mutilation is condemned worldwide, and I am sure this makes sense to you. The baffling thing is how, at the same time, male genital mutilation is normalized and encouraged in America and in certain religions. It is the pinnacle of hypocrisy to look down on FGM but endorse MGM.
Imagine your daughter being strapped down by her wrists and ankles, and then someone taking a knife and cutting off her labia or clitoral hood. Take a moment and really picture it in your mind. What could possibly be the benefit of such a violent act? This is what you are considering doing to your eight-day-old son. It’s not different because he is smaller or younger or because he is a boy. The clitoral hood is her foreskin. Its purpose is to protect her clitoris and maintain its sensitivity. The male foreskin is there to protect the glans of the penis, maintain its sensitivity— and more. The male foreskin is live, sensory tissue that has a role in sexual function.
It might feel stressful to change the bris into a Brit Shalom so late in the process. People have expectations; maybe you even made a payment. But this is nothing compared to what it means for your baby to keep his foreskin and avoid a profound, painful, irreversible trauma. If you decide to cancel the genital cutting and change plans, I will drop everything to help you. I will make all the calls for you. You don’t have to rush. You can cancel everything now and do a Brit Shalom when he is 1 month or 3 months or 5 months or 1 year. The well-being of your baby is all that matters.
You might be thinking, “We are the parents, and it is our choice.” But it is not parents’ prerogative to sacrifice their child’s bodily integrity, to injure their children. They are not allowed to tattoo their children, or remove the foreskin of their daughters. The legality of infant boy genital cutting is a tragic loophole in our culture. What would you say if a religious leader or doctor suggested that you cut off your son’s pinky finger on the 8th or 1st day of his life? It would be the most absurd thing you ever heard. This is the same. A child has a right to his whole body.
You might think that the event will be “quick” and then over. But it is not quick. It is forever. You will see your child’s penis every single day for years. You will be reminded of what you allowed to be done to him. Or you can keep him whole, and you will see that his penis, with foreskin, is perfect and beautiful, as God and Nature made him. You will be so grateful that no one took a knife to it. And when he comes to know the sexual functions of his foreskin, he will thank you.
If you allow someone to cut your son’s penis, what will you say to your son when he asks you why you chose to do this to him? What will you say when he finds out that a natural human penis has a foreskin, but his was removed? What if he feels it should have been his choice? This will affect your relationship with your son forever. It will affect his sex life forever. Yes, “circumcised” penises are also beautiful, as are all people and bodies no matter what we have been through. But cut men are survivors of unnecessary violence and loss. And our bodies remember even when our conscious brains do not.
You do not want to become regret parents. It is such a horrific thing to realize what you have done to your child but it’s too late. You are here now! You can make the right choice — the fair and loving choice for your child, for your sweet boy, whose body is absolutely perfect just as it is.
I love you.
— R.F.
Interested in lending your voice? Send us an email, giving us a brief summary of what you would like to write about, and we will get back to you.
Sep 20, 2021
Smegma \ ˈsmeg-mə \ : the secretion of a sebaceous gland, specifically: the cheesy matter that collects between the glans penis and the foreskin or around the clitoris and labia minora
Yes! That’s right. Smegma was recognized by the Ancient Greeks (who had a sophisticated understanding of the body and abhorred circumcision) as a beneficial and cleansing substance. That white stuff that builds up in our genitals – under the foreskin in intact males, and around the clitoris in intact females – is as natural as the saliva in your mouth. And just as helpful!
Smegma serves important functions. Fresh smegma is smooth and moist. In adult men, it helps to keep the foreskin and the head of the penis soft, and eases intromission (insertion) during sex. Understanding this makes it easy to see why men who are missing their foreskins need to use lubricants for both masturbation and sex. And it makes it easy to understand why partners of circumcised men sometimes complain of pain and dryness during intercourse.
Circumcision removes nature’s perfect lube — forever!–
Smegma also keeps the penis and clitoris from adhering (sticking) to the adjacent skin in a mature adult. Of course, in baby boys, the foreskin is naturally attached to the head of the penis – that’s for protection, too. As the boy grows and the foreskin begins to separate from the glans, smegma sometimes appears in the form of small white lumps (some people call them “smegma pearls”) underneath the foreskin. This is perfectly normal, and no intervention is required. The pearls will be discarded once the foreskin separates from the glans. Smegma will then take over to do its important work!
And remember: Nobody – not a parent or a doctor or a nurse or a babysitter – should EVER forcibly retract a child’s foreskin!
Just as no special care or attention is required for an intact baby, nothing special is needed to keep an adult’s genitals healthy. Again, nature’s best rinsing agent – plain warm water (with a mild unscented soap, if you wish) will take care of any build-up of smegma or any odor you might find offensive.
Here’s something else to think about. A study published in 2016 found that nasal mucous contains a natural antibiotic substance (called lugdunin), which is uniquely effective in fighting drug-resistant staph infections. Another natural substance that fights infection is Lysozyme, a crystalline, basic protein present in human saliva and tears, where it functions as an antibacterial enzyme. Isn’t it likely that smegma also fights infection? Could this help to explain lower rates of STDs in Europe, where relatively few men are circumcised, compared to the United States, where three-quarters of adult men are missing their foreskins and the natural protection this body part offers? Let’s hope that future research will explore this question. Sometimes the facts are right under our noses — or under our foreskins!
By Marilyn Milos, RN and Georganne Chapin, IA Executive Director
