The Infectious Myth - David Smith on Genital Autonomy - 07.19.17

In Episode 148, David Crowe speaks with David Smith of the UK charities Genital Autonomy and 15 Square. The conversation covers male genital mutilation (circumcision), female genital mutilation (FGM) and transgender changes of minors. They cover the reasons why circumcision still exists and why it is so much less common in the UK than in the US. They discuss the purpose of the foreskin and  what harms occur from its removal. Circumcision is contrasted with FGM, where the autonomy of the child is protected against an irreversible operation. With transgender and intersex minors, the issue is whether doctors and parents have the right to perform surgery on a child, even if the minor child agrees, due to the possibility of them changing their mind, but not of reversing the surgery. They also discuss how adult men can deal with phimosis (overly tight foreskin) and the ability to recover some of the foreskin through stretching.

 

See more at: https://www.genitalautonomy.org and https://www.15square.org.uk