who thinks circumcision is sexual assault

[madbr3991]

circumcision is one of the worst things someone can do to a human. i would say circumcision is as bad as rape. im sorry but if you wanted to cause permanent harm to a baby. to rob a child of the sexual experience he was entitled to. you couldn't do better then circumcision. cutting the genitals of a baby or child stealing the most sensitive part of a babies body. i say circumcision is sexual assault.

what do you think?

[tony12345]

I contend that circumcision is worse than rape, check out my testimony on mgmbill.org

[Joseph]

"Rape?! RAPE??!!! RAPE?!! It’s not just rape!!
I’d far prefer rape!"
~Van Lewis

I'll have to agree; circumcision is far worse than child molestation or even rape; at least with rape, the victim gets to keep his/her whole body.

A circumcision victim has to live with the visual scar, the visually different appearance of the circumcised penis, and the fact that part of his penis is missing for the rest of his life.

All so that he'd have a "pretty penis" like mommy and the doctor wanted it.

[z726]

I'd say assault and battery, whatever the proper legal categorization for this crime would be. It doesn't matter, if nobody has the presence of mind to file charges against the perpetrator. The victim, as a child, would be too young to understand, and the parents would have been conned into thinking it was ok by the doctor.

[peterpink]

In legal terms cutting a part off another person's body with or without their permission is called 'assault' in English Law, so is probably similar in the USA. Cultural blindness (and the cost) stops people taking doctors to court.

My opinion is that circumcision is worse that rape. Rape produces physical and mental damage, the physical can heal. Circumcision produces physical and mental damage, the physical can never heal.

I tell people that I was sexually assaulted the day after I was born.

[deadhand31]

This has been a major contributor to a lot of the rage that I am plagued with over my circ. Most people I have talked to say that it isn't sexual assault simply because my parents had authority, and it was because they wanted what was best for me. However, sexual assault does not take intent into account. A few examples:

Pedophiles never believe that they harm a child. They think they're doing something normal, yet taboo (yes, when psychologically examined, this is what the vast majority of pedophiles actually feel.) So.. since the pedophile doesn't THINK he's harming the child, should we give him a pass?

If I were to touch a woman on the shoulder, if she takes great offense to that, it is technically sexual assault. Any kind of unwanted touching, according to the legal system, classifies as sexual assault if the one being touched FEELS violated or threatened, then it is sexual assault. The fact that I may have just wanted to get her attention is irrelevant.

The problem is that few people really understand that circumcision is not something that is done and over, it's a daily consequence. A woman who is raped can, through counseling, learn to enjoy her sexuality again. A man who is circumcised can go through counseling to help deal with the past, but he will never know 100% of what sex is supposed to feel like.

[Joseph]

Originally Posted by deadhand31

Most people I have talked to say that it isn't sexual assault simply because my parents had authority, and it was because they wanted what was best for me.

Best for YOU? Or best for THEM?

It's interesting how the "parents have authority" quip works.

It'll work for a boy, but not for a girl, and ONLY when it comes to circumcision.

If a parent uses his/her authority to let the doctor fondle the child's penis while s/he masturbated to orgasm, I'm sure that would be justified "because parents have authority to let that happen."

After all, the child wouldn't even remember it.

[cobra]

I don't think it's right to compare circumcision to the sexual abuse of a child. I am a survivor of both circumcision and child sexual abuse. If I could magically undo one of the two, I would probably undo the sexual abuse. Circumcision can be physically reversed, but the mental damage caused by sexual abuse is just as severe. Maybe more so.

As an sexual abuse survivor, I know I am not the person I would have been had I not been molested. It creates almost a split personality in your psyche, with your normal persona who is happy and lives a normal life, and then the "drone" persona who absorbs the pain and anger at the cost of becoming emotionally dead.

I would rather have one mind in an imperfect body than carry around this fractured part of my psyche the rest of my life.

[Joseph]

Do you think it would have affected you had someone had their way with you at an age where you couldn't remember it?

As with men who can't remember their circumcisions (and more than likely do not wish to), probably not.

Let's keep into perspective that quite a few men in the world (e.g., Africa, the Middle East, Malaysia, etc.) undergo forced circumcisions at an age where they are fully aware and are most likely to remember it.

There's not a doubt in my mind that these boys carry with them "fractured psyches," equal to, or worse than boys who have only been sexually abused without having had parts of their bodies cut off.

I think how much psychological damage each of these kinds of sexual assault inflicts will depend on the age at which they were perpetuated.

Bottom line is though, they're BOTH sexual assault and they're BOTH wrong, and it doesn't matter whether a person could remember it or not. It's still sick, disgusting and perverted and people need to get in trouble for it.

[Joseph]

Originally Posted by cobra

As an sexual abuse survivor, I know I am not the person I would have been had I not been molested. It creates almost a split personality in your psyche, with your normal persona who is happy and lives a normal life, and then the "drone" persona who absorbs the pain and anger at the cost of becoming emotionally dead.

I would rather have one mind in an imperfect body than carry around this fractured part of my psyche the rest of my life.

I think it's probably about time I came out on this forum as a male sexual abuse survivor...

It's been about 6 years since I've started coping with what happened to me when I was 4yo. I've come quite a long way. I probably wouldn't be where I was today had I decided not start dealing with my past 6 years ago.

It's probably why I'm so vocal on here, as I see circumcision as WORSE than what happened to me.

At any rate, I think I can identify with the above quote. I too feel "I know I am not the person I would have been had I not been molested." However, contrary to you, I'm not sure what my actions would have been had I found out I was circumcised ON TOP of my sexual abuse.

I would have been "damaged goods" both psychologically and physically.

I seriously think this would have driven me over the edge to commit suicide. I couldn't live knowing I was born merely to sexually gratify others with my body, and in more ways than one.

I'm not sure which would I "rather" have had... "one mind in an imperfect body," or my whole body with a fractured psyche for the rest of my life. I would have been abused either way. What a shitty deal to choose from.