persuasive speech on circ

[2xy]

I'm using RIC for a persuasive speech topic for school.

I was hoping you folks, being the plethora of information that you are, could direct me towards some online articles on the subject that come from non-biased sources. Nocirc and Noharmm are great sites, but not exactly neutral.

Thanks in advance! Most of my classmates are older teens and young 20-somethings, so I'm hoping to at least give them food for thought if not persuade them totally.

[glongley]

www.cirp.org has a ton of articles that support the position of not circumcising. The site is against circumcision, but the articles are from peer-reviewed medical journals. You can always refer to the circumcision position statements of various professional medical organizations, NONE of which recommends RIC. These are all available at cirp.org. The statement of the College of the Physicians and SUrgeons of British Columbia is especially good at stating the ethical concerns with RIC.

There is such a lot to present when arguing against RIC, you may need to narrow the topic down to a few select angles. Do you want to focus on medical rationales, and why they are not valid? Do you want to highlight complications of circumcision? Do you want to focus on the ethical problems? Do you want to highlight the fact that the foreskin is a normal, sexually functionally body part (an almost universally ignored piece of the puzzle)? Do you want to put circumcision in historical context to show how it was founded on very shaky foundations scientifically and continues mostly due to cultural blindness? Do you want to draw attention to parallels with female genital cutting practices? There is plenty of good evidence out there to support any one of these, but if you try to do them all, you'll probably get overwhelmed.

Let us know what you are specifically looking for. And thank you for doing this presentation - getting the word out whenever we can, and learning and growing while we're doing it, is really a wonderful thing!

Gillian

[PuppyFluffer]

I think with the age of your audience, focusing on the reason circ became so established in the USA (the prevention of masturbation), the sexual impact of it and the rights of the child and adult they will become to have determination of over their body are all points young adults are interested in.

It's also worth noting that there are medical references to using carbolic acid on the genitals of girls and removing the clitoris of girls to curb masturbation....things that most people are shocked and repulsed by...yet circ of boys remains very mainstream.

[georgia]

IMO, these Mothering articles are very fair in presenting facts:

http://www.mothering.com/articles/ne...cumcision.html

http://www.mothering.com/articles/ne...-decision.html

[Greg B]

It could be argued there are no totally unbiased articles. However, these two seem quite fair to me:

http://icgi.org/Downloads/FD2.pdf

http://www.doctorsopposingcircumcisi...tatement0.html

The only way to judge bias is to analyze what is being said against logic and other guidelines covering broader issues. You need to pick apart the arguments from many sources and then determine which are internally consistent and true to the broader issues.

Regards

[GoldmanBaby09]

Originally Posted by georgia

IMO, these Mothering articles are very fair in presenting facts:

http://www.mothering.com/articles/ne...cumcision.html

http://www.mothering.com/articles/ne...-decision.html

That first Mothering article is great. I'm not writing any speeches, but I am always looking for concise reasons to explain why we are not circumcising. That article hits the nail on the head and includes references

[2xy]

The past couple of days have been a bit busy, but I just wanted to pop in to thank everyone for their input and the links!

[Night_Nurse]

Since your target audience is young adults, maybe throw some quotes (or at least a printed link) from the Penn and Teller episode in during your speech. Or maybe hand out those 3" x 5" index cards that say "what does this have to do with your penis???" (it amounts to the adult surface area lost w/ circ).

Great idea on a topic and good luck!

[tammyswanson]

I also think that a mention about the prevalence of MRSA in hospitals (circumcised babies are VERY vulnerable to this infection) today is also a good reason to not circumcise.

Here's a recent article, also more info on MRSA can be found at http://www.doctorsopposingcircumcsion.com

[2xy]

Originally Posted by Night_Nurse

Or maybe hand out those 3" x 5" index cards that say "what does this have to do with your penis???" (it amounts to the adult surface area lost w/ circ).

Great idea! I was planning on using the index card comparison, anyway, but passing them out would be even better.

I might add that this speech is supposed to last 5-6 minutes, so I have to be choosy about what to cover.

I think I'll start out with examining the foreskin and what it's comprised of, pointing out all the wonderful things that are lost during circumcision....then I'll segue into additional damage that is done to the penis (keratinization, scarring, etc.), then focus on how that damage is done (explanation of circ procedure).

I figure that if I start out with the gruesomeness of the surgery, I might lose some people. I'd rather focus on the benefits of having a foreskin to start out with. Make sense?

[PuppyFluffer]

Yes, I think starting out with the benefits is good.

Do you have any of the printed 3 x 5 cards? I don't know if they are available online or not but I have some and I'd be happy to mail you some. If I don't have enough, you can get copies made. Just pm with your address if you want some.

[Dev]

I have 3X5 postcards in WORD that you can print off four per page. Colored picture of a newborn draped and strapped to a circ. board on one side and a list of what is lost to circ. on the other. Just personal message me and I would be happy to e-mail you the template. Good Luck, You will do fine. Don't be hesitant to give any graphic details since making it real and disclosing the facts is what is important.