Foreskin and Circumcision with Georganne Chapin

Tristan Taormino welcomes Intactivist Georganne Chapin from Intact America to educate listeners on the anatomy and sexual importance of the foreskin of the penis. No professional medical association in the United States or the rest of the world recommends routine circumcision, yet it’s incredibly prevalent in America. We discuss the debate surrounding routine circumcision in male infants. What are some of the arguments about why circumcision is necessary, and how many of them stand up to fact-checking and science? Does opposing circumcision devalue cultural and religious practices? We talk about what role the foreskin plays in solo and partnered sex and how leaving the penis intact affects people’s sex lives. There has been a global outcry about female genital mutilation (FGM), but not about penile circumcision, a similar procedure—why is that? How does the Intactivist Movement to end child genital cutting intersect with efforts to end FGM and activism to stop doctors from medically intervening when someone is identified as intersex at birth? How does the everyday person bring up the subject with a loved one, a spouse, a sibling, or a close friend? This episode is made possible by Calm and Intensity by Pour Moi.

Georganne Chapin has dedicated her life to promoting human rights and fighting injustice. Georganne is a leader in the growing national movement to end routine circumcision of baby boys. Twelve years ago, she co-founded and became executive director of Intact America, the largest national organization working to end child genital cutting in this country and to ensure healthy sexual futures for all people. Prior to that, she founded the Hudson Center for Health Equity and Quality (which she also currently heads) and is the former president and CEO of Hudson Health Plan, a large nonprofit Medicaid managed care organization in the Hudson Valley. She has her MPhil in Sociomedical Sciences from Columbia University and her JD from Pace University School of Law.