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Letter to the Person Who Cut Off Part of Me  

post #1 of 16
Thread Starter 
Dear Sir,

Pardon the presumption in contacting you, for it has been many years since we were last in each other's presence. You probably do not remember me, but I will remember the choice you made for the rest of my life. Although I know little about you, I do know some things about you that you yourself don't even realize.

You believe the design of the human body is inherently flawed and needs to be surgically corrected. This leads you to think that it is your right to amputate a perfectly normal and healthy body part from an individual without their consent.

Now maybe you don't think you believe this, but as evidenced by the permanent scar on my body and many others, you do. I do not remember what happened when I was with you, yet every time I use my penis I must face the irreversible consequences of what you did.

Let me refresh your memory: Shortly after I was born you took me away from my mother and carried me to a secluded room where she could not see or hear what was going to happen. You strapped my arms and legs firmly to a form-fitting board so that I couldn't move. You held my penis in your hand. You then forcibly separated my glans from my foreskin. You then cut around my penis amputating my foreskin and most of my frenulum. You threw the amputated parts of my penis into the trash. You collected a monetary sum for this.

Though at the time I couldn't speak or defend myself, I am a man now and you will listen to what through my profuse crying you should have understood then, "I don't want part of my penis cut off. Get your cold gleaming steel blade away from me. It is my body and you have no permission, authority, or right to cut off part of it. Stop!".

However, you never even paused to ask yourself whether I, the person whose body it is, want part of my body cut off or not. Instead you proceeded blithely against my explicit vocal opposition to cut off part of my infant body. I consider your actions, at minimum, tantamount to battery for which you should be held legally accountable.

You don't believe you are responsible for this because you were only doing what was asked of you. My parents are not qualified to make medical diagnoses. If they had asked you to cut off any other part of my body you would have refused to have done it, because you have 'morals' and also since it would have been criminal assault. As a medical professional it is your responsibility to be aware that no medical organization including the ones you belong to, consider this justifiable for health reasons which makes this by definition, cosmetic surgical amputation being performed on an infant. No matter how you want to try to rationalize it in your own mind, my blood from your sexual assault upon my infant body was and still is on your hands.

Despite all of this I know that you are a person who probably meant well and just got caught up in a cultural ritual. I know you would not have done this to me if you knew that I did not want it. In fact it is even likely that you too are missing part of your penis as well. Though you have permanently simplified and damaged the way my penis functions, you were probably ignorant and not malicious so I forgive you. However from my letter at least, you are ignorant no longer; therefore you now bear full ethical and moral responsibility for any future partial penis amputations you perform on infants. Please reconsider your decision to continue amputating a natural and functional part of someone else's body without their consent and instead let it be a choice each individual makes for himself when he reaches an age where he can decide what is best for his own body.

May you understand and heed for the first time what I and every other baby restrained helplessly before you has tried through our screams and tears so many times in vain to say to you.

Peace,

A Man missing part of his body

[Feel free to post this letter on a blog, forum or anywhere if it will be helpful, or even personalize it and send it to the person who cut off part you. ]
post #2 of 16
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post #3 of 16
Thanks for putting your feelings into words, and giving voice to all the babies who cannot speak for themselves! I wish EVERY doctor who does or has ever done circumcisions would receive a letter like this! Most of them have probably never even thought twice about how the boy might feel about it when he grows up to become a man.

Gillian
post #4 of 16
It's a tiny thing:

Quote:
My parents are not qualified to make medical decisions.
But I think it should read "My parents are not qualified to make such medicial decisions about the cosmetic appearance of my normal body."

Or something to that effect. Certainly we're not arguing that parents can't make medical decisions for their children period, but rather that circ shouldn't be one of those decisions.
post #5 of 16
Quote:
Originally Posted by glongley View Post
Thanks for putting your feelings into words, and giving voice to all the babies who cannot speak for themselves! I wish EVERY doctor who does or has ever done circumcisions would receive a letter like this! Most of them have probably never even thought twice about how the boy might feel about it when he grows up to become a man.

Gillian
:
post #6 of 16
Thank you for sharing that. Doctors who ignore their moral and ethical obligation to first do no harm by doing circumcisions need to recognize and answer to those they have wounded.
post #7 of 16
v powerful!
post #8 of 16
wow. thank you for sharing. that made me teary-eyed.
post #9 of 16
That made me tear up.
post #10 of 16
Saw it on MySpace and was just as moved then as I am now. Thank you for putting that into words.
post #11 of 16
PQ you are an excellent writer. I enjoy reading all of your work. I wonder how we can get this letter in front of more OB's...

Kathleen
post #12 of 16


Quote:
Originally Posted by glongley View Post
Thanks for putting your feelings into words, and giving voice to all the babies who cannot speak for themselves! I wish EVERY doctor who does or has ever done circumcisions would receive a letter like this! Most of them have probably never even thought twice about how the boy might feel about it when he grows up to become a man.

Gillian
:
post #13 of 16


That just broke my heart. Thank you for your beautiful writing.
post #14 of 16
post #15 of 16
This has to be one of the best things I have ever read. Definitely worthy of mass circulation.
post #16 of 16
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