foreskinrestorationinspiration said: Why would you alter a beautiful penis and loose sensitivity and function as well. That would be a wrong move, in my opinion.
I do not wish to be rude, but this is not the correct way to be an intactivist. Intactivists who criticise others for their consenting, informed decisions to do things are no better than the pro-circumcision bullies that they oppose.
I consider myself to be an intactivist. I am against routine infant circumcision, coerced circumcision, infant circumcision, uninformed circumcision and all other types of non-consensual and uninformed circumcisions.
The reply above is one of the more well said messages sent to those who would choose a circumcision for themself - it’s less forceful and less demanding and demeaning than most of the messages I find that come out of the more radical intactivists. But the whole message behind intactivism is that body autonomy is important. Body autonomy is the right to choose what do with your own body. This is piercings, body modification, hair dying and many other things. And body modification does include circumcision.
By being rude to people considering circumcision for themselves for some reason (not that this specific message is necessarily in this category), you are instead taking that body autonomy you fight for away, just as people who would try to convince someone to get circumcised would do.
Please think about these things before you post. Your actions count, use them where it’s important. Fight the right fights, the ones that protect people who can’t protect themselves. Let the people who have body autonomy exercise their body autonomy, and make those decisions for themselves. It’s no different to when my mother tells me she dislikes my piercings - I didn’t get them for her, and I’m not getting circumcised for you.
Edit: Wanted to add one more followup. Neither my (possible) decision to get circumcised, nor my ability to be ok with being circumcised (if indeed I am) should not threaten or demean anybody else’s decision to restore or to remain intact/uncut. And vice-versa. We’re all different with different experiences, bodies and opinions.
i’m just gonna take this post for a moment so i can rant but like
i Hate how entitled adults can feel over a child’s hair!
it started when i was young myself, i wanted a mohawk, but my dad didn’t approve of that look on a “girl”, and insisted i’d regret such a bold cut. at 16 i was finally given full autonomy over my own head.
but then i have a son and everyone around us is trying to keep his hair short. when we finally moved out just me my partner and him, i told him he doesn’t need to get any haircuts he doesn’t want.
so he starts growing it out, it’s still short but coming on mid-length. his teacher makes a point to tell me it’s getting long as if i don’t have eyes. i hear her walking out with him one day talking to him about haircuts, as if to coax him into one. eventually i get child services called on me for ‘forcing a transgender lifestyle’ over what i can only assume is from a combination of me drawing cute ponies on his valentine box and letting him go to school in a ponytail.
he kept it short for awhile after but told me he wanted to grow it out again, so i let him of course. he comes home one day after getting a haircut at his grandpa’s and tells me he didn’t Want the haircut.
i ask why he got it then and learned he was bribed with a promise of a surprise IF he cut his hair.
tl;dr people need to back the hell up off of children and let them have owership of what’s on THEIR body! /rant
Same thing about getting a child to curl or straighten their hair. Or do anything with it. Just let kids have control over their bodies.
This happened to me when I was little too!! Growing up I had naturally tight Shirley Temple curls. The only problem was that you can’t get a hair brush through it if your life depended on it until it grew out over a few years.
but This One Lady from church decided that leaving my hair messy and curly was child abuse and threatened to call social services on my family every damn time she saw me until one day she was the designated kid watcher and ho boy my momma tells me i came out with tears in my eyes and greasy slicked down hair and that’s where she ends the story because i think my mother beat her ass but yeah.
Leave kids hair alone.
I’m going to be honest, parents who are super-controlling of their children’s hair creep me the fuck out and I’m not entirely certain why except that I get a vague feeling they kind of relegate them to, “annoying talking doll” status.
I loved my daughter’s long blond hair. It was thick and wavy and beautiful but when she told me she wanted it cut short ‘like a boy’(she was four) I took her to the salon and let her whack it off.
The stylist was skeptical, ‘are you sure?” and the thing is, she said this to me, not my daughter. So I asked my girl ‘are you sure you want it cut short?’ She was. The hair went. The stylist acted nervous most of the way through like she was waiting for one of us to burst into tears, but it looked cute! And my daughter loved it! (And it’s been short ever since.)
Autonomy over your hair is bodily autonomy and we as a culture need to start holding bodily autonomy as sacred
there is a reason that so many of us who’ve experienced trauma will reclaim control over our bodies and our selves by cutting and dying our hair. it’s part of us. it’s part of our expression. that’s vitally important to people, especially kids, who are still early in the process of learning how they fit into the world around them.
For some reason, “stop enforcing your gender identity and sexual orientation on children” never applies to cis-het people who are the only ones actually enforcing it.
teaching children about body autonomy and consent bgins as soon as they understand words and continues until they’re grown. Some of yall weirdly sexualize children but clutch pearls over teaching them essential lessons for adulthood
I’m pro-Becky who found out at her 20-week anatomy scan that the infant she had been so excited to bring into this world had developed without life-sustaining organs.
I’m pro-Susan who was sexually assaulted on her way home from work, only to come to the horrific realization that her assailant planted his seed in her when she got a positive pregnancy test result a month later.
I’m pro-Theresa who hemorrhaged due to a placental abruption, causing her parents, spouse, and children to have to make the impossible decision on whether to save her or her unborn child.
I’m pro-little Cathy who had her innocence ripped away from her by someone she should have been able to trust and her 11-year-old body isn’t mature enough to bear the consequence of that betrayal.
I’m pro-Melissa who’s working two jobs just to make ends meet and has to choose between bringing another child into poverty or feeding the children she already has because her spouse walked out on her.
I’m pro-Brittany who realizes that she is in no way financially, emotionally, or physically able to raise a child.
I’m pro-Emily who went through IVF, ending up with SIX viable implanted eggs requiring selective reduction to ensure the safety of her and a SAFE number of fetuses.
I’m pro-Jessica who is FINALLY getting the strength to get away from her physically abusive spouse only to find out that she is carrying the monster’s child.
I’m pro-Vanessa who went into her confirmation appointment after YEARS of trying to conceive only to hear silence where there should be a heartbeat.
I’m pro-Lindsay who lost her virginity in her sophomore year with a broken condom and now has to choose whether to be a teenage mom or just a teenager.
I’m pro-Courtney who just found out she’s already 13 weeks along, but the egg never made it out of her fallopian tube so either she terminates the pregnancy or risks dying from internal bleeding.
You can argue and say that I’m pro-choice all you want, but the truth is:
I am pro-life.
Their lives.
Women’s lives.
The government has no right to pick and choose which scenarios warrant disapproval. It’s not about which situations others find unacceptable. It’s about respecting women and the CHOICES that they alone must make.
Women’s rights protect ALL women, regardless of their situation!
Overturning the 50 year precedent of Roe v. Wade would trample the human right to bodily autonomy and power over one’s own well-being.
Why say “a woman’s right to choose” when “bodily autonomy” is right there, inclusive, applies to everyone, is something everybody wants because who doesn’t want control over their own body?
In light of todays (not shocking but still disappointing news, about Roe v.Wade being overturned) I’m sharing the link, as these services will be needed ASAP since 22 states have trigger laws on the books
Body Autonomy / Liberation Ride in Solidarity with Clinic Defense and World Naked Bike Ride
“Body autonomy means hands off our bodies,” declare activists. “Exercise your rights! Love your body, ride your bike!”
Contacts:
Benjamin Shepard – 917 586 7952
What: A two part clothing-optional bike ride calling for the state, police, and the Church to keep their hands off our bodies.
Saturday June 9th, 2012
Part One Starts: 8:15 AM
Where:43rd Street & 3rd Avenue, Brooklyn
Body autonomy ride joins the Brooklyn Pro-Choice Network, the Rude Mechanical Orchestra and the Church Ladies for Choice at a prayer vigil of Bishop DiMarzio and the Helpers of God’s Precious Infants (“HOGPI”) to let them know: “YOU ARE NOT WELCOME HERE” Part Two Starts: Gathering 5:30 PM
Where: Grand Ferry Park on the Brooklyn Waterfront. Ride departs at 6:30 PM
New York, NY (June 9th, 2012)–Saturday, June 9th, Time’s Up!, a direct action environmental group,will call attention to the need for free autonomous bodies, safe from interference from the state, cars, police or the moralists.
“From mandatory transvaginal ultrasounds to stop and frisk policing to the hyper restrictions on our right to gather together in public space, our bodies have been under assault,” declares Times Up! volunteer Ellen Levin. “Fight back and have some fun with body autonomy.”
“Clinic defense in the morning and support for the World Naked Bike ride in the afternoon, June 9th will be a day to celebrate liberation of our bodies and minds,” notes Times Up! volunteer Benjamin Shepard.
A joyous and liberating protest aimed at reducing the dangers posed to our world and our bodies by automobiles and oil dependence! The ride takes place in solidarity with the World Naked Bike Ride, in its 10th year internationally, with rides happening across the Northern Hemisphere on this date. While the ride is clothing optional, many will be clothed yet still ready to celebrate body autonomy in any way they see fit. Feel free to come as dressed or bare as you dare. Creative costuming is also highly encouraged. Body painting and bike decoration will start at 5:30 PM, with the ride departing no later than 6:30pm. Activists will provide a know your rights training and teach-inn on consent. Be sure to bring lights, bells, a sense of humor , a positive attitude, and respect for all riders.
The ride is endorsed by the OWS Bike Coalition.
“The cops ripped off my clothes, that’s why I’m riding naked,” declares Cara of the OWS bike coalition, who will join the ride.
“I can’t afford clothes,” notes Audrey Hephburn of the OWS Bike Coalition. “We’ve got nothing to hide. Come and stop and frisk us.”
The body autonomy ride is established to critique the over policing of public space and the social imagination. Riders are encouraged to participate in the June 17th March to End Stop and Frisk action as well as the drag march on June 22.
Reclaim your body! Reclaim your streets! Reclaim your planet! Ride your bike! The Body Autonomy Ride is a safer space for all bodies to ride free of harassment or pollutants in the physical or mental environment. To participate each rider is asked to respect that the liberation of bodies requires freedom, autonomy, and justice for all. This begins with joy and commitment to self determination for all.
TIMES UP! is a non-profit environmental group that has been using educational outreach and direct action for the last 25 years to promote a more sustainable, less toxic city.
Though we have had a lack of consensus among organizers over when WNBR NYC 2012 should happen, volunteers have called for a “Body Autonomy” bike ride in solidarity with WNBR on June 9th. This has been put on the Time’s Up! calendar online and in print with the minimal following information:
BODY AUTONOMY RIDE - Saturday June 9th Time and location TBD We will reclaim our bodies and our public spaces in this amazing dance ride. Expect body painting, bands, an after party and good times!!!
Anyone in the NYC area is interested in participating/organizing for a WNBR-style ride on June 9th, please let us know ASAP (wnbrnyc [at] gmail [dot] com) so we can make some great decisions about how we can have the most fun on a group ride while protest against all dangers to our bodies.
Please note that the phrase “Body Autonomy” has been chosen to give this ride for explicitly feminist approach, and we are especially looking for more organizers with strong feminist backgrounds. BECAUSE OTHERWISE WHAT IS THE POINT? LET’S STOP PERPETUATING TOXIC SOCIAL ENVIRONMENTS THAT POISON ALL OUR BEAUTIFUL MINDS & BODIES. Sexist/sizist/body-shaming/homophobic/violent etc behavior will not be tolerated. Find a great definition of Body Autonomy here:
The Body Autonomy Ride is a safer space for all bodies to ride free of harassment or pollutants in the physical or mental environment. To participate each rider is asked to respect that the liberation of bodies requires freedom, autonomy, and justice for all. This begins with joy and commitment to self determination for all riders.
We hope this answers the question of “What is up with the naked ride???”
Now help make it! Call and host a meeting! Find concensus on intentions; plot routes and contingency plans; create & distribute outreach materials; plan outfits for the day; write slogans; fix up your bike; get paint and body decor; ect! MOST IMPORTANT SPREAD THE WORD & STAY TUNED.
“TST and its members have deeply held religious beliefs that bodily autonomy is a fundamental right.
Join The Satanic Temple’s fight for Religious Reproductive Rights by making a recurring donation via your state or the state closest to you.
In 11 states, egregious laws have been passed that restrict or inhibit access to abortion, make unreasonable demands on patients or practitioners, or endanger the health, safety, or wellbeing of our members. This is a violation of our Third Tenet - bodily autonomy - and Fifth Tenet - living in accordance with the best scientific understanding of the world. As a federally recognized religion, the right to practice our beliefs is protected under the First Amendment and the Religious Freedom Restoration Act.
Our ongoing legal battles in the fight for Reproductive Rights cost immense amounts of money. We need your help.” - The Satanic Temple
“Please join the fight for Reproductive Rights by making a recurring donation. Select your state or the state closest to you to donate.
A rally will be held at the capital of the state who raises the most money. The winner will be announced after the campaign ends on Oct. 31, at 11:59 p.m.
Once your donation has been made, the governor of your chosen state will receive a postcard informing them that, due to their actions, a donation has been made to TST in their name.
As a federally recognized religion, the right to practice our beliefs is protected under the First Amendment and the Religious Freedom Restoration Act.
A concerted effort to insert theocratic law into US legislation has resulted in egregious laws that restrict or inhibit access to abortion, make unreasonable demands on patients or practitioners, or endanger the health, safety, or well-being of our members.
Lawsuits are a necessary part of an ongoing battle that we are aggressively fighting to preserve the rights of women and all our members.
On July 31st, 2019 The Satanic Temple filed an appeal to a federal lawsuit in Missouri. The appeal is based on a 1989 decision handed down by the U.S. Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals “which explicitly states that the life of each human being begins at conception is ‘an impermissible state adoption of a theory when life begins.’ ” The appeal is to the same court. We need your help to continue the fight. “ - The Satanic Temple
