Let's have an intactivist ROLL-CALL!

[pdx.mothernurture]

First name, and any family details you want to share.


What state/province are you from?


Briefly, what drew you to this issue?


Particular interests? Special talents?


What kinds of things are you doing to discourage/end RIC?


If you could give an expectant parent one link, what would it be?

[Zamber]

Alright, I'll give this a try

First name, and any family details you want to share.
Nicole, married, SAHM to intact DS.

What state/province are you from?
Michigan

Briefly, what drew you to this issue?
Having a natural unassisted birth with my son; wanting him to live a natural, whole, untampered with healthy life.

Particular interests? Special talents?
I love to read, take care of animals, and spend time with my DH and DS.

What kinds of things are you doing to discourage/end RIC?
~Donated $50 to No Circ of MI just last week.
~I wear my "Stop Circumcision" bracelet everyday. It has started a couple conversations about the subject.
~I give informational phamplets to any expectant mother I know (I almost always carry these phamplets with me)
~Made a pink and blue bumper sticker that says "Circumcision advocates aren't playing with a full dick"
~Currently looking for interesting places to leave printouts
If you could give an expectant parent one link, what would it be?
http://notjustskin.org

[pdx.mothernurture]

First name, and any family details you want to share.

Jen (26), mommy to Quinn (2 1/2) and dss Jon (15). Happily married to dh (36).

What state/province are you from?

Near Portland, OR.

Briefly, what drew you to this issue?

I worked as a nursing assistant, where one of my duties was assisting with circumcisions. What I witnessed was the catalyst for researching the issue, and what I learned (and continue to learn) fuels my activism.

Particular interests? Special talents?

I'm a childbirth educator, birth assistant, and breastfeeding peer counselor.

What kinds of things are you doing to discourage/end RIC?

I share information on message boards, create eye-catching graphics, blinkies, and anti-ric siggies. I'm working on learning website design and will be creating a website during the next few months. I host an Intact Care Board on another parenting website. I'm also hoping to create a "Circumcision Decision" class to supplement more general childbirth education classes, and will hopefully be making an online version available too.

If you could give an expectant parent one link, what would it be?

http://www.mothering.com/articles/ne...cumcision.html because it's a great overview.

Jen

[dnr3301]

First name, and any family details you want to share.
Rebecca, dh, dd (5), ds (2)

What state/province are you from?
Minnesota

Briefly, what drew you to this issue?
I guess I didn't realize people still did this, my mom is anti-circ, didn't circ my brother, and is outspoken about it; that and doing more research before I started attending births as a doula.

Particular interests? Special talents?
I'm a doula, and one of the leaders of the API group here.

What kinds of things are you doing to discourage/end RIC?
~I talk about it often, whenever I talk about my doula work, or see a pregnant woman, learn of a pregnancy in any way related to me.
~I always give the "case against circ" article as part of my "hey you're a friend of mine and having your first baby" gift
~I've "accidentily" left copies of the Nocirc "answers to your ?s about infant circ" pamphlet at Kinko's.
~brainstormed bumpersticker ideas with my father (my favorite of his is "Foreskins are better than none"), which in turn keeps the topic going on my family
~I have a lot of anti-circ info in the folder that I give potential doula families, they know right away that I don't think it's ok.

If you could give an expectant parent one link, what would it be?
http://www.circumstitions.com/Itsaboy.html

[MCatLvrMom2A&X]

First name, and any family details you want to share.
Melissa, dh Harold, dd Alenna 5yrs ds Xander 17months


What state/province are you from?
Tennesse



Briefly, what drew you to this issue?
I have always known I wouldnt circ. What has drawn me to it is the birth of my son.


Particular interests? Special talents?
Reading, nothing really special I can sew very well by hand or with machine tho

What kinds of things are you doing to discourage/end RIC?
Talk to anyone who will listen, leave little cards every were I can think of for people to read about it.


If you could give an expectant parent one link, what would it be?
www.noharm.com

[trmpetplaya]

First name, and any family details you want to share.

Betsy (23 - almost!), dh (22), dd (5 months - almost!)


What state/province are you from?

Born in Georgia, live in Washington (the state) and have lived everywhere in between.


Briefly, what drew you to this issue?

Having an intact husband and researching more about it.


Particular interests? Special talents?

Music. I can play every wind instrument except the saxophone in varying degrees of proficiency. I'm more experienced with brass instruments (as you probably already figured out...).


What kinds of things are you doing to discourage/end RIC?

I talk to almost everyone about it if there's an opportune moment (such as someone mentioning they're pregnant). I signed a petition... I'd like to do more, but haven't had time yet


If you could give an expectant parent one link, what would it be?

http://www.doctorsopposingcircumcisi...ision_quiz.htm

because it's written by a doctor and it's so simple that anyone should be able to see the myths vs. the facts.

love and peace.

[Stevie]

First name, and any family details you want to share.
Stevie, married to Allan, mom to Solomon age 29, and my 2 littles


What state/province are you from?
Wisconsin


Briefly, what drew you to this issue?
researching while I was waiting for younger DS to be born


Particular interests? Special talents?
reading is a passion; health and nutrition are my avocation


What kinds of things are you doing to discourage/end RIC?
I speak with every young person I meet. I also have made a couple of bumperstickers.


If you could give an expectant parent one link, what would it be?
MDC is where I send everyone

[Gatsby]

First name, and any family details you want to share.
Alcon. I'm a high schooler, so I don't have many other family details to share I became interested when I ended up doing a project on circumcision in middle school. I couldn't understand why anyone would reasonably do it.

What state/province are you from?
Beautiful Washington State

Briefly, what drew you to this issue?
Well, I went to a doctor's check-up when I was about 11 and my doctor assured me that only about half of boys my age in the area were circumcised. I assumed that they were born that way - I couldn't imagine why anyone would want to do that to themselves. Eventually, I ended up doing a project on it (randomly selected subject in a health class) and became even more strongly against it.

Particular interests? Special talents?
I like political stuff, and do lots of things with computer security.

What kinds of things are you doing to discourage/end RIC?
Spread the word. Not much else to do, I suppose.

[DahliaRW]

First name, and any family details you want to share.

My name is Noah (yes a Female Noah). I have a dh who is circ'd and a ds (15 months) who is not.


What state/province are you from?

Washington State - near Seattle.


Briefly, what drew you to this issue?

Dh and I decided to not circ ds because it just seemed like a dumb thing to do. I knew a little about it (enough to know it was painful), but had no idea at the time about the function of the foreskin and such. Since having ds and finding Mothering and the real truths about the awfulness of circ I've become a complete intactivist and have really lost a lot of respect for people I know who knew better and circ'd.


Particular interests? Special talents?

I love to sew and just got my first serger for Christmas. I'm working on learning to sew diapers. I'm also a lactivist and really into human rights (including children's rights) in general. I also love anything outdoorsy.


What kinds of things are you doing to discourage/end RIC?

Mostly just educating myself so I can talk to others about it. I've been thinking about printing up cards to stick in library books and such (need to get one it). I'd also like to help out at NOCIRC's conference here in Seattle in August, but haven't found a contact person to ask about doing it. I also have anti-circ satements/links in my signature on other sites I post on and have debated circ on a private board I'm on (and have had people say they are reconsidering based on that - even one who has a circ'd ds because she knew nothing about it!)

If you could give an expectant parent one link, what would it be?

Just one? That's tough. I'd probably send them here (or just mention mothering in general so that they could stumble on this forum themselves).

[laprettygurl]

First name, and any family details you want to share.
Pauline/Dan/Cassidy

What state/province are you from?
Ontario

Briefly, what drew you to this issue?
Hubs is intact

Particular interests? Special talents?
Knitting, crocheting, losing weight...: Special talents? Not too much.

What kinds of things are you doing to discourage/end RIC?
Talking to everyone I know about it.

If you could give an expectant parent one link, what would it be?
I link to here.

[kxsiven]

First name, and any family details you want to share.

Kia, married to an American. We have boy/girl twins, they will be 4 next summer. 1 french bulldog, 3 cats.


What state/province are you from?

Finland/Scandinavia/Europe. My spouse is originally from California.


Briefly, what drew you to this issue?

When I lived in USA I learned about circumcision - it shocked me so badly I wanted to do something. Also I spoke with a jewish man (here in Finland)who had badly bothced circ in Israel and his opinions about RIC had a big influence.


Particular interests? Special talents?

I try to remind people how healthy intact men are - circumcision has always been unknown practise in Scandinavia.


What kinds of things are you doing to discourage/end RIC?

Because I am on the other side of Atlantic all I can do is write to message boards.


If you could give an expectant parent one link, what would it be?

Well, Mothering ofcourse. Great place for parents to get info. From actual intact-concentrated info pages I would choose http://www.infocirc.org/index-e.htm

[+stella+]

First name, and any family details you want to share.
Stella, mom to one Sept 04 super son.
dh is circ'd


What state/province are you from?
Phx, Az


Briefly, what drew you to this issue?
After we decided we werent circing, it suprised me how sad I was when I heard others were (too much internet baby boards) and I read more and more, and realised it was something I felt pretty passionately about.


Particular interests? Special talents?
Computers, online communities, video games (EQ, WoW) knitting, reading
No talents, haha, but I am a blood banker in my mommy off time. :P


What kinds of things are you doing to discourage/end RIC?
Posting links, info, my story, reassuring and trying to persuade expectant mothers to BE INFORMED. Dont have many friends in real life but I talk to my girlfriends about all aspects of AP, and have talked my sister out of RIC any of her sons, and plan on hitting my sister in laws when they decide they want children. I want to do so much more, need to snail mail our no circ chapter here.


If you could give an expectant parent one link, what would it be?

I really like the lost list, I think it gives a good over view of all the important aspects of the intact penis and their purposes.
http://www.norm.org/lost.html

but there are sooo many links!

[Sharlla]

First name, and any family details you want to share. Barbara, married for 7.5 years to Jesse whom I've been with since we were 17. We have a 7 year old and 10 month old


What state/province are you from? Origionally I'm from OR (where ds1 was born) but I spent 5 years in Wa state where dh's family lived until 1.5 years ago when we moved to MO


Briefly, what drew you to this issue? I chose not to circ ds1 because it seemed so wrong, I saw a video of a baby being strapped down and crying and it broke my heart and couldn't imagine doing that to my son. I heard all the locker room arguements and it just seemed silly to do it for that reason. I didn't circ ds2 either for those same reasons, plus I had since gotten a chance to research it more.


Particular interests? Special talents? I love punk and metal music


What kinds of things are you doing to discourage/end RIC? Well luckily in this state Circ is not covered by medicaid, and many people don't want to pay an extra $650 out of pocket to have it done. I do talk about circ with people and how I didn't do it and why.


If you could give an expectant parent one link, what would it be I would direct them to MDC (and I have), because not only does it have a great section on no circ, it also is informative in all the other aspects of AP

[mama_at_home]

First name, and any family details you want to share.
Nancy, mama to almost 3 year old ds (circ'd) and boy/girl twins born New Year's Eve. Ds #2 is intact and of course all other boys we may have will be intact.

What state/province are you from?
Born and raised in Northern CA but currently live in MI

Briefly, what drew you to this issue?
Ds #1 is circ'd as a result of pressure from family, friends and pretty much anyone I came into contact with. I read up a bit on circ and thought it sounded unnecessary but in the end I doubted myself. If only I had come into contact with ONE person who told me to leave him intact, I bet he would be today.


Particular interests? Special talents?
No special talents. I enjoy hiking and researching things online.


What kinds of things are you doing to discourage/end RIC?
Well I start up anti-circ conversations on other boards, which usually end up getting shut down by moderators who don't want to hear what a horrible thing they did to their sons. I talk with married family members or friends who don't have kids yet, hoping to "brainwash" them into leaving their future sons intact. I wish I had had a relative like me before I had kids.

If you could give an expectant parent one link, what would it be?
Not sure, probably a link to this board.

[utahandy]

Originally Posted by sunflower_mommy

First name, and any family details you want to share.
Janet , I have 5 kids 1 boy he's 14

What state/province are you from?

utah
Briefly, what drew you to this issue?

After Mil startedgiving us a hardtime about keeping ds intact I started resurching. Even though DH has problems with hs circ (they took way to much skin and scaring) she still insists it's needed.To the point of trying to talk dh into getting it done when I was not there.
Particular interests? Special talents?knitting, sewing, gardening, reading, and cooking.


What kinds of things are you doing to discourage/end RIC?
just telling everyone about our lack of problems with Ds. It's hardcin this area we have such a high circ rate.

If you could give an expectant parent one link, what would it be?
This one I don't have to many that I saved.

[nikirj]

First name, and any family details you want to share.

Niki; mother of three children, one a boy

What state/province are you from?

Washington, Snoqualmie area

Briefly, what drew you to this issue?

Family is historically intact (never know how to describe that - my dad is a descendant of the infamous Dr. Kellog but somewhere along the lines, there was a major family revolt and they're all intact...) as is my husband's (his father is the unfortunate and lesson-learning exception to that). I didn't think twice about it, I just assumed we would not circ (DH of course agreed!), the same way I assumed a good many things as a just-out-of-teens parent. The activism began when I HEARD one after giving birth to my first. I had assumed that they were extraordinarily rare anymore. A nurse assured me that this was not the case. I had nightmares all throughout the pregnancy with my son; I would dream that he was circumcised without my consent in the large hospital I 'had to' deliver at. Thus began actually looking into the subject beyond the broad and familially-induced impression that circumcision was a stupidity that was rapidly declining.

What kinds of things are you doing to discourage/end RIC?

I've convinced my family to make some sort of opportunity-based effort to educate their high school and college peers (all my siblings are younger). They seem wildly successful thus far at being the first to get this information to them. My sister in particular, as a history major, is able to tell her classmates to "just look up the history" if they balk at the concept...

I've also been known to write lengthy posts on mainstream boards and actually have a talent for doing so in a non-offensive way, which I hope helps reach more people.

If you could give an expectant parent one link, what would it be?

http://www.cirp.org/news/Mothering1997/

[USAmma]

First name, and any family details you want to share.
See my sig.

What state/province are you from?
AZ

Briefly, what drew you to this issue?
A man I worked with before I had kids, he talked about it openly. He regretted that his parents did that to him and was attempting to restore his foreskin. He gently spoke to all the expectant parents at work about it. I thought he had a lot of courage.

My dh is intact and he's Hindu, so circ is not something that is normally done to baby boys.

Particular interests? Special talents?
Well lots, but not relating this forum. Homeschooling, writing.


What kinds of things are you doing to discourage/end RIC?
I just try to talk about it with moms-to-be.

If you could give an expectant parent one link, what would it be?
How Male Circ May Be Affecting Your Love Life
http://mensightmagazine.com/Articles...p/lovecirc.htm


Because it's very interesting and would appeal to women who have a male partner, and get them thinking about their own sons.

[paquerette]

First name, and any family details you want to share.
Jeni, sahm to 14 mo dd, wife to Mike

What state/province are you from?
PA

Briefly, what drew you to this issue?
Since I was a teen I thought it was kind of a silly and weird thing to do, and didn't think I would ever do that to a son, but didn't think about it too much otherwise. After getting pg, I came to mdc, ventured in here a bit because I figured I needed to know what was what in case I had a boy, and have gradually become more outraged.

Particular interests? Special talents?
History, especially historical costuming. Medieval living history.

What kinds of things are you doing to discourage/end RIC?
Mostly word of mouth and distribution of flyers up ubtil now, but I'm working on networking with other PA people for a more organized effort.

If you could give an expectant parent one link, what would it be?
Phoebe's site usually, also like the colorado one. I think the format of one page that's down to earth and concise is the best warm up. Seems like if you send someone to a forum such as here, they're not as likely to read through it. And sometimes the vent threads here can be a little off-putting.

[wendy1221]

First name, and any family details you want to share.
Wendy (29), dh Marc (27), Damien (6--not dh's biological son), Jake (2), and Liam (6 mos.) Our 3 boys are intact. We are Jewish, it hasn't been an issue except w/ FIL, who thinks we made a mistake not having it done, but oddly enough for "medical" reasons. MIL thinks it's barbaric and commented that she's glad I had the strength to stand up and wishes she had.

What state/province are you from?
We are from PA, living in IN while dh is in grad school.

Briefly, what drew you to this issue?
Thought circ was normal until I noticed most of the babiy boys whose diapers I changed at work (daycare, while I was in college at Penn State) were intact. Asked the ladies I worked w/ and none of their kids were circ'd. Intact started looking more normal. It came up in my Bradley classes when I was pg w/ ds2, and my research then made me not only against having it done to my boys, but against all RIC.

Particular interests? Special talents?
I'm good at art and music. Have a B.S. in chemistry, planning on going back to school to be a nurse practitioner, either pediatric or neonatal. I sew, mostly organic cotton sherpa cloth diapers for ds and friends, also knitting a little. Still REALLY slow! My current project is a pair of organic longies or shorties, depending on when I get them done. I dyed my balls of Treliske yarn by hand w/ indigo and that yarn is BEAUTIFUL!!! I think I'll put a link in my sig to a pic when I'm done.

What kinds of things are you doing to discourage/end RIC?
Well, my older sister's oldest is 4. When D was a baby, she thought it was gross he wasn't circ'd. She now has 2 intact little boys. I try to plant the seeds in anyone I talk to where having babies comes up. You know, just casually mention in my whole homebirth spiel how the hospital here tried to circ Jake 3 times and isn't that awful? Can't believe people around here still do such a barbaric thing, where I had ds1, no one does that! (which, btw, is very true. Less than 10% circ rate in State College, PA, the year he was born!)

If you could give an expectant parent one link, what would it be?

I would give them Mothering articles, not links.

[hummingbear]

First name, and any family details you want to share.
Ann and Tim with one son Rowan

What state/province are you from?
CO

Briefly, what drew you to this issue?
I guess I really didn't know this surgery existed. Then people came into my life to bring my awareness to circumcision. To educate ourselves, DH and I watched a video of a circumcision when I was pregnant (didn't know we were pregnant with a boy) and I became passionate about ending RIC.

Particular interests? Special talents?
river trips, anything creative, dance, music, inventive imagination

What kinds of things are you doing to discourage/end RIC?
talk to people, support nocirc

If you could give an expectant parent one link, what would it be?
hmmmmmmm here