General websites for information on circumcision

The most comprehensive collection of information is available on the Circumcision Information and Resource Pages: www.cirp.org

Other excellent sites covering all aspects of the subject are:

US-based National Organisation of Circumcision Information Resource Centres
www.nocirc.org

Another US site
www.noharmm.org

A discussion of why claims for the health benefits of circumcision amount to medical fraud and a challenge to prove them. Reward offered!
http://med-fraud.org/

A lively, cheeky and very wide-ranging site from New Zealand
www.circumstitions.com

A comprehensive and authoritative site in Canada
www.infocirc.org/top.htm

Another great Canadian site
www.intact.ca

Circumcision Information Centre (USA)
www.circ-info.org/index.htm

Circumcision Resource Centre
http://circumcision.org

Mothers Against Circumcision
A personal website maintained by a group of mothers in the US
www.mothersagainstcirc.org

Billy Ray Boyd¹s book Circumcision exposed may be previewed and purchased at
www.circumcisionexposed.com

International Coalition for Genital Integrity
www.icgi.org

A good British site
www.norm-uk.co.uk

Another individual US site
www.eskimo.com/~gburlin/circ.html

Another Australian site
http://members.ozemail.com.au/~stormboy

An angry young man's personal site, with some revealing images
http://josh.bakehorn.net/circ.html

Another interesting site, showing that you can't always believe what doctors say
(and making you wonder if you ever can)
http://circumcisionquotes.com

A small collection of personal stories and thoughts against circumcision, maintained by a mother of three
lovely children, including one intact boy and two intact girls. One feature author is an American (but not circumcised) man with a lot of interesting comment, including useful advice to women about how to raise the subject of not circumcising any baby boys which might appear with their partners. Another author offers an interesting anecdote suggesting that the chance your son will die as result of a complication from circumcision is over 1,000 times greater than your chance of winning the lottery.Further information

Association for Genital Integrity (Canada)

The Association for Genital Integrity is a Canadian group committed to raising public awareness of the issues surrounding infant male circumcision. The Association seeks to promote the right of every child to bodily integrity.
http://www.courtchallenge.com

"Separated at birth" by Mark Jenkins

A graphic account of a typical circumcision as carried out in a US hospital, with revealing illustrations. Originally published in Men's Health, July-August 1998
Now available at http://www.noharm.org/separated.htm

Students for Genital Integrity

A new group set up by tertiary students in the USA
http://www.studentsforgenitalintegrity.org

Wicked Envy

A sophisticated and beautifully designed site, with comprehensive information, useful photos and a personal perspective on the harm done by unnecessary surgery.
http://www.wicked-envy.com

Stop Mutilating Children

A new site from Britain. It covers a full range of topics and links but I particularly concerned with British support for and links with repressive Islamic regimes which practise mass circumcision of boys. It mentions Turkey, a country trying to get into the European Union, but which has a terrible record of human rights abuses. These include a "tradition" in which nearly all Turkish boys are forcibly circumcised at the age of around ten, often in mass sessions carried out by the army.
http://stop-mutilating-children.netfirms.com

Nocirc South Africa

Legal and ethical issues

In Memory of the Sexually Mutilated Child
www.sexuallymutilatedchild.org

Attorneys for the Rights of the Child

An international network of lawyers and legal experts addressing the multi-faceted issue of the genital mutilation of children, particularly the practice of routine male circumcision. Attorneys for the Rights of the Child (ARC) is a non-profit organization founded to secure equal protection for, and broaden judicial and public recognition of, children's legal and human rights to bodily integrity and self-determination.
www.arclaw.org

Margaret Somerville, "Altering baby boys' bodies: The ethics of infant male circumcision"
www.intact.ca/canary.htm

Margaret Somerville is the founding director of the Centre for Medicine, Ethics and Law at McGill University, where she holds the Samuel Gale Chair in the Faculty of Law. She is also a professor in the Faculty of Medicine. The article on routine male circumcision is from her book, The Ethical Canary Science, Society and the Human Spirit, (Toronto, Viking/Penguin, 2000), chapter 8.

Boys too!
A site arguing that under equal opportunity and anti-discrimination legislation, boys should have the same protection against unsought genital alteration that is enjoyed by girls in many western countries.
www.boystoo.com

Canadian site documenting a long-running legal case on the legality of routine circumcision of infants
www.courtchallenge.com

Female genital mutilation

New book on female circumcision in the United States: one woman’s terrible experience.

Patricia Robinett, The Rape of Innocence: One Woman’s Story of Female Genital Mutilation in the United States

The story of a white, Anglo-Saxon Protestant woman, born and raised in Kansas, who realized as an adult that she had been the victim of female genital mutilation as a little girl.

Further information on female circumcision

Research, Action and Information Network for the Bodily Integrity of Women
www.rainbo.org

Amnesty International
www.amnesty.org/ailib/intcam/femgen/fgm1.htm

Amnesty International correctly defines female genital mutilation as the removal of any part of the female genitalia, by which definition the removal of any part of the male genitalia must similarly be defined as male genital mutilation. Yet Amnesty has been reluctant to take a stand against forcible male circumcision, and you will find nothing about it on their website.

Female Genital Mutilation Education and Networking Project
www.fgmnetwork.org

Religious tolerance site
www.religioustolerance.org/fem_circ.htm

There is a comprehensive list of other sites and resources at
www.cirp.org/pages/female.html

Hanny Lightfoot-Klein’s website

History of circumcision

A new site on the history of circumcision, both medical and ritual.

History of circumcision

Interesting information also available from Lockergnome Encyclopedia

Religiously motivated circumcision

Circumcision is commonly practised by Jewish parents when their baby boys are eight days old, and by Moslem parents when their boys are aged between six and ten years. Islamic law and custom states that girls should also be circumcised, but in practice this is less frequent. In many western countries the circumcision of girls has been banned by law.

For information on Jewish circumcision, see US site maintained mainly by Jewish men and women who are opposed to circumcision
Circumcision Resource Centre
http://circumcision.org

A newsletter (in Hebrew) published by Israelis and other Jews who question the necessity for Brit-Milah
www.af-mila.org.il

A new site established by Jewish men and women opposed to circumcision is Jews Against Circumcision

They write: "We are educated and enlightened Jews who realize that the barbaric, primitive, torturous, and mutilating practice of circumcision has no place in modern Judaism. Rabbi Moses Maimonides himself acknowledged that circumcision is only done to desensitize the penis and curb masturbation. In ancient Judaism, you could be murdered for disobeying your husband or parents, blasphemy, homosexuality and other so-called crimes that we now realize are not crimes, but freedoms of expression. Jews are some of the smartest people in the world. We are 1/3rd of 1% of the population, yet we hold 33% of Nobel prizes. We are smart enough to understand that mutilating our little boys genitals is not an acceptable practice in modern times."

Brit Shalom is a non-cutting naming ceremony for newborn Jewish boys. It may be performed by a Rabbi or other experienced lay leader. If desired, providers can aid parents in devising their own ceremony. This ceremony replaces Brit Milah (ritual circumcision). It has also been termed Alternative Brit (or Bris), Brit b'li Milah (Covenant without cutting) and Brit Chayim (Covenant of Life). Further details available at:

http://www.nocirc.org/religion/Naming%20ceremony.html
http://www.cirp.org/pages/cultural/bris_shalom.html
http://www.noharmm.org/nontrad.htm

A list of celebrants who provide the Brit Shalom ceremony, a non-injurious alternative to Brit Milah are available at

http://www.circumstitions.com/Jewish-shalom.html

On Islamic circumcision

Information about Turkish circumcision
Turkce Sunnet Hakkinda Bilgi

Information about Moslem circumcision
Muslumanlarda Sunnet Hakkinda Bilgi

A site maintained by Moslems who oppose circumcision
www.quran.org/khatne.htm

The comprehensive study by Dr Sami Aldeeb, To mutilate in the name of Allah or Jehovah: The legitimation of male and female circumcision, is available at www.quran.org/CIRCUMCISION.HTM

Also available at
www.fgmnetwork.org/samialdeeb/

See also Dr Aldeeb's home page
http://go.to/samipage

A Moslem site explaining why women should be circumcised and listing the hygienic and medical benefits
www.themuslimwoman.com/hygiene

The Christian Church has repeatedly condemned and sometimes banned circumcision: see www.cirp.org/library/cultural/

Catholics Against Circumcision

Catholics recognise that Christianity has traditionally rejected circumcision.

http://www.CatholicsAgainstCircumcision.org

Foreskin restoration

National Organisation of Restoring Men

The National Organization of Restoring Men is a non-profit support group for men who have concerns about being circumcised, are considering foreskin restoration, or are in the process of restoring their foreskins. Its aim is to help men regain their sense of self-directedness, both physically and emotionally.
www.norm.org

Many men engaged in foreskin restoration maintain websites on which they report progress. See the Norm site for links to these.

New sites on foreskin restoration, with extensive links, are available at:

http://www.pagerealm.com/kjodle/circ_index.htm

http://www.newforeskin.biz

http://www.manhood.mb.ca/

Some recent comments in British Medical Journal are also of interest:
http://bmj.bmjjournals.com/cgi/eletters/309/6955/676/a#87799

Photographs

Close-up photos of normal male genitals
www.foreskin.org

Photos by Sherwin Carlquist
www.naturalmanphotos.com

Other lists

A very comprehensive listing of sites, both for and against circumcision, and other information on child health
http://dmoz.org/Health/Child_Health/Circumcision/

www.circumstitions.com/links.html
www.nocirc.org/resources
www.foreskin.org/links.htm