WEB EXCLUSIVE: It’s My Body! The Genital Autonomy Legal Defense and Education Fund

The Genital Autonomy Legal Defense and Education Fund (GALDEF) was founded in 2022 as the latest project in my 35+ year history with the children’s genital autonomy movement. It basically grew out of my frustration with the medical community’s (profit-driven) resistance to abandoning a practice that belongs in the dustbin of history. I co-founded the foreskin restoration group NORM, created a group (patterned after ACT-UP) involving public demonstrations by the affected, produced the world’s first feature documentary about circumcision that aired on PBS, had three large scale surveys of circumcision sufferers published in respected journals, and have spoken on the topic at numerous international conferences. At age 68 I’ve now reached the conclusion that the only ones who can rein in physicians who ignore their Hippocratic Oath to “Do No Harm” are attorneys.  My full history in the queer and genital autonomy movements is online.

 

There are so many misconceptions about this that it’s hard to cover them all in this brief interview, but I’ll name a few here. The biggest misconception is that the penile foreskin (there’s also a clitoral foreskin) constitutes a small and useless amount of tissue. In fact, what many laugh off as a “snip” in infancy actually becomes 15 square inches of highly erogenous inner and outer foreskin by adulthood, comprising about 1/2 of the skin system of the penis. It’s the only movable part of the penis, providing protection, pleasure, and natural lubrication. Another misconception is that circumcision is beneficial and harmless. In fact, all the benefits that are claimed for circumcision can be achieved without surgery and without trauma to infants, children or adults. Hygiene for the intact penis (we don’t say “uncircumcised” any more) is simple; phimosis (tight foreskin) can be cured with topical steroid creams; and STIs (including HIV) can be prevented with condoms not circumcision. Growing numbers of cisgender men – as well as transgender women and intersex people – who were subjected at birth to penile circumcision are speaking out about their genital loss and the long-term adverse physical, sexual, emotional, psychological and self-esteem problems they endure from a surgery they didn’t consent to. This harm is increasingly being documented by studies of circumcision sufferers. Readers can learn more about the facts and myths regarding the foreskin and circumcision at our Did You Know and Setting the Record Straight pages.

 

 

Morally, philosophically, ethically and legally we believe that all children have a fundamental human right to bodily integrity and should be able to choose how much of their genitals they get to keep. We primarily focus our attention, however, on the 98% of genital cutting imposed by U.S. medical professionals upon those assigned male at birth. Religious circumcisions account for less than 2% of childhood genital cutting in the U.S. and we leave that segment of the problem for those communities to resolve. With respect to religious circumcision, I’m proud to be a co-author of, and GALDEF is an original endorser of, the Statement Opposing Antisemitism within the Genital Autonomy Movement.

 

In the Jewish community – here at home, in Israel and worldwide – groups who oppose the traditional Brit Milah, like Beyond the Bris and Bruchim, have mounted robust educational campaigns, resulting in many Jewish parents choosing a ceremony called Brit Shalom that – without genital cutting, pain, trauma and bloodshed – welcomes boys and girls equally into the Jewish community. Within Islam there is increased questioning of circumcision, especially by groups like Quranic Path.

 

 

That’s a good question. Circumcision is not healthcare. It’s a social custom and a human rights issue because there’s no medical need to impose this genital cutting on children who are too young to consent, refuse, resist or escape. Those affected by this cutting must live with the long-term adverse consequences of a surgery they didn’t consent to. This is why we produced our brochure “Circumcision & the LGBTQIA Community“. So many in our community have been adversely affected by it, some to the point of pursuing foreskin restoration to regain their genital integrity. In the U.S., parents – including many in our community – are routinely solicited by doctors and hospitals for this archaic, obsolete and profit-driven surgery. Even if you aren’t or don’t plan to become a parent, our community is all too familiar with how both religion and medicine have historically tried to control our sexuality and violated our rights to self-determination and autonomy in the most personal and private parts of our lives. There’s a lot of intersectionality between these two issues that our brochure explores.

 

 

We are currently the only 501(c)3 non-profit organization whose mission includes raising the funds necessary – a “war chest” if you like – to fund the expensive legal challenges that will create impact litigation; litigation that changes the current legal landscape in the U.S. to recognize that it’s not just those born with a vulva who deserve protection from genital cutting, but also those born with a penis and those born with intersex traits. 

 

I think we’ve been very creative in developing a variety of ways to give. Supporters can choose to donate via Zelle, Paypal, debit/credit card, or Go Fund Me. They can donate cryptocurrency, stock and mutual funds, use a Donor Advised Fund or participate in their Employer Matching Gift program. Older supporters (age 70+) can designate part or all of the annual Required Minimum Distribution of their retirement fund. For those who plan ahead, they can name GALDEF as a beneficiary in their estate plan. Our supporters can even apply for the no fee, low interest Charity Charge Mastercard where a percentage of every purchase is donated back to GALDEF. Or they can just have fun shopping for merchandise in our online store.