The website "Sexually Mutilated Child" was created by the late John Erickson. It became Marilyn Milos' responsibility once he passed, and Intact America's responsibility was once Marilyn joined them. Intact America did not maintain the site.
Hopefully, it will continue to be available via the Wayback Machine (web archive):
https://web.archive.org/web/20180809143143/http://sexuallymutilatedchild.org/
Today I was pressed to file a complaint with the Department of Justice. Thank you Eric Anderson for the encouragement (see https://youtu.be/7jfVEWOaWzk?si=xWoSvsbke1Jc7I-a).
If you have followed my blog over the years, you know that I have taken many actions to get law enforcement to do something about genital-cutting rituals performed in the USA. DOJ is not one that I had considered up to this point and there's a specific website to submit such complaints.
The record number is 488879-BBR.
This is what I stated:
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I do not have the exact time as I do not know how soon after I was born in the hospital that the act was performed. Many years ago I submitted a FOIA request for my medical records and never received them even though I did receive a receipt of the request.
I do not know whether my mother, Glenda Lou Adkison (maiden name ****), consented to the act. Even if she did, I do not believe that the Bill of Rights permits the act.
The act entails the removal of part of my genitalia. There was no medical indication requiring this action be taken.
The following existed at the time:
-the Fourth Amendment to the US Constitution (“right of the people to be secure in their persons”),
-the Eighth Amendment of the US Constitution (“nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted”)
Since then there have been many developments that would further prevent such an act, but the act continues to occur in government operations. This includes the anti-FGM legislation, CAPTA, and the 14th Amendment.
For further consideration:
"The right to one's person may be said to be a right of complete immunity; to be let alone." (Union Pacific Railway Co. v. Botsford, 141 U.S. 250, 1891) "The Nuremberg Code... fully informed consent of the subject is an absolute requirement, coercion is absolutely forbidden.
While I am not seeking imprisonment for those involved with my specific case, I AM seeking the end of the ritual in the USA.
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There have only been a few I know who have been brave enough to take actions like this. Are you? Or, are you of the belief that nothing will result from doing so? It is going to take a number of us to do these sorts of things to get change. Be one of that number.
August 9, 2024 UPDATE: their response is "...we have decided not to take any further action on your complaint."
I'm not surprised. However, if enough men were to do this they would have to take note.
Taking inventory of all the reasons that I believe I am feeling burnt out. While I'm sure that those who read this have lived through their own traumas and I'm not interested in a competition, it helps me to write it down.
Sexually mutilated immediately after birth.
Sexually confused mother, likely due to puritanical Christian beliefs. Failed to be a good teacher of how I should interact with women.
Pedophilic father. He lied and manipulated to get his way. He hated hypocrites but proved to be one of the worst hypocrites I have ever known.
I was confused about sexuality. I saw females in an unhealthy way, which led me to treat them in an unhealthy way. When I DID have sexual relations, the sexual mutilation that I did not understand at the time exacerbated my problems with relationships.
I was drawn to what I perceived as greatness: I approached and shook hands of Bill Gates. Today I realize that humans are drawn to be surrounded by what they *perceive* to be great because they fail to see their own greatness. And, they have yet to see the humanity of the person they perceive to be great. Today Gates is the largest single contributor to the largest genital mutilation effort the world has ever seen; closely related to the genital mutilation I have come to hate was done to me.
A series of employment situations where I was tossed away when automation, outsourcing, and/or offshoring made me less valuable to the organization. And cases where the organization shrunk or went out of business and a system that provided an ineffective social safety net.
The first wife proved to be unfaithful and unappreciative.
The second wife with undiagnosed bipolar and gastrointestinal issues.
Inlaws who ended up with memory issues at the same time, which led my wife (who's an only child) and I to have to take extraordinary measures to take care of them and the stuff (hoarders) they left behind.
Our two children ended up with a severe auto-immune disease, which led to severe disruption of our lives.
Becoming a father led me down a trail of discovery about genital-cutting rituals and the effects of my own genital mutilation. A series of traumas from realizations of the many ways I've been affected as well as hearing many stories of grief from others. To make it worse, discussions with those who believe that the genital-cutting ritual is a good thing go on to gaslight those who have legitimate reasons to feel grief. While I realize that their attempts to gaslight are rooted in their own insecurities I end up seeing trauma all around.
Watching the homeless situation get worse and worse. And, hearing the stories of people who ended up homeless as my wife and I work to help.
Numerous cases of theft.
Involvement in efforts to make the world a better place where some of the people in the efforts hinder the efforts due to selfish motives.
Being a property manager of low-income housing where the system fails both the property owner and the tenant. Top it off with being paid so low that my family is considered low-income.
Some say that intactivism needs to be organized better. I say that it is as organized as it can humanly be.
The main reason that it appears so splintered is because of very different opinions (and knowledge) about the impacts of genital cutting as well as what to do about it.
I'm not going to get into the impacts here, but there are MANY things to do about it and different groups are focusing on just one or two of those many things:
Protest/demonstrate - let society know that we exist. Bloodstained Men, Intaction, Cockfight and others do this.
Educate - Your Whole Baby does this with a website that approaches the topic in a way that attempts to be friendly (a difficult thing with such a contentious issue). Your Whole Baby, and others, also host information booths at events such as baby expos. We shouldn't need to do this, though - educational institutions, religious institutions, and healthcare institutions should be providing the information. We *all* need to apply pressure on the institutions we personally work with.
Lobby government - ask government representatives to make laws. Intaction has a separate arm (https://intaction.org/intactpac/) that has been taking this on in their state. We need one in every state. Healthcare in the USA is primarily handled at the state level. However, some local governments (e.g. Austin, TX) do establish laws related to medical practices.
Get in the NEWS - The various organizations typically get into news media, some local, some national, some podcasts, etc. One individual had the thought to push (instead of waiting for them to pull) information to the NEWS. That individual created Next Level Intactivism and claims to have influenced the NEWS to cover the movement more.
Provide emotional support - Your Whole Baby, NORM (National Organization of Restoring Men), 15 Square, Intersex organizations, and others have been doing some things to support those of us who become distraught over the losses due to being genitally cut. There remains much room for improvement here. Most sexologists, psychologists, and counselors (not all) that I have spoken with are supportive.
Litigation - "US legal defense and education funds have been responsible for some of the most influential human and civil rights court cases in history" (credit: Dan MacClymont from GALDEF). GALDEF (Genital Autonomy Legal Defense and Education Fund) is an organization that I co-founded with Tim Hammond and several others. Litigation certainly has not started with GALDEF, though. There are many ways that litigation can impact this movement. William Stowell obtained a settlement for his non-therapeutic genital surgery because his mother was dealing with the effects of anesthesia when they got her to sign consent forms. The Lavine family (see circumcisionisafraud.com) has mounted litigation. Myself and some others have taken steps "pro se" (without legal representation) to attempt to cause changes.
Is there room for improvement? ABSOLUTELY! Probably always will be until leaving people's genitalia intact when they are children becomes the norm.
Is any of this easy? ABSOLUTELY NOT! All of these things involve time, risk, emotional stress, and funding.
It seems that many people see male "circumcision," female "genital mutilation," and intersex "normalization" as different things. When discussions are happening about one, bringing up another is called out as "equating."
Are they equal procedures?
Of course not. Neither are the different types of male "circumcision," female "genital mutilation," and intersex "normalization." YES, there are different types of ALL of those. Is one more harmful than another? Of course, they are, but do we need an Oppression Olympics?
Are they equal in the sense of ethics and human rights?
My stance, as well as many scholars, is that they absolutely are.
Thus, when someone says "You can't equate those," you can say "From an ethics and human rights perspective, I can."
I get criticized for telling the world that my sons are intact (not "circumcised"). Of course, that criticism always comes from people who defend genital cutting, but I am still compelled to explain the many reasons that it is important for me to share. And, I DO get that many people don't want those images in their heads.
Yes, it is THEIR genitalia and THEIR lives that are exposed (also proves the point of genital autonomy), but I'm exposing something about myself like it's a badge. Some people put things like "PhD," or "MA" after their name. I used to put "MCSE" after my name. If there was an official acronym for what shows that I have done the study, I would likely use it.
I think that a parent who truly loves their child will do anything for that child; and, I have TWO. So, what about sharing that is doing something for my sons? Multiple things:
1. I made absolutely sure that it was best for their physical health.
So many have gotten this belief that if a human male is not "circumcised" (prepuce amputated) that they are definitely going to have problems and that there is no harm in doing it. After years of second-guessing myself, I kept digging. I've only come to realize that is something people tell themselves to justify the practice and that the truth is actually the opposite. In other blogs and vlogs I've explained how the cognitive dissonance of those in the cutting cultures is extremely deep. It ultimately comes down to having a higher chance of having problems because one less body part is removed and there are several body parts that have higher chances of problems and are unnecessary body parts.
2. I am doing everything I know to make sure that it was, and is, best for their mental (including social) health.
In some cultures, being "uncircumcised" is severely looked down on.
For instance, in the Philippines, nearly all adult males are cut. I recently come to find out that they are often given options about how they are cut, though. So, in that sense, they are better than those who cut babies. However, they have a derogatory term for those who do not get cut: "SUPOT." If we were living in that part of the world, I would be exposing them as "SUPOT."
In certain tribes of Africa, mobs of men will literally tackle a man who has avoided getting cut and cut him right then and there. In the U.S.A. I believe that the mob would get charged with sexual assault and battery.
I'm very thankful for the Internet and social media as it allows more discussion on this topic from people in both cultures who cut as well as those who do not. I know my sons can respond to anyone who attacks them (hopefully only verbally) that they are the ones with normal dicks and that the attacker is culturally conditioned. However, I'm still not satisfied.
As much as I don't want males who were cut as babies/minors to feel bad about their status, I want my sons to feel lucky and proud of their bodies. I want them to feel confident as they go into the world as adults. I also want the people who are missing part of their genitalia to speak up so that the next generation gets to keep all of theirs.
Therefore, until people stop needlessly cutting the genitalia of children, I'm going to continue advocating for my sons and the next generation across the globe.
I decided to put up a survey on Twitter to see what people think. I spent a little over $50 to promote it to make sure I wasn't getting just my followers (who probably agree with me).
I started off with something that I would think would get a 100% "Yes" vote. Surprisingly, no.
