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BOOK
The Female Circumcision Controversy: An Anthropological Perspective
Ellen Gruenbaum
$19.00

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To the Western eye, there is something jarringly incongruous, even shocking, about the image of a six-year-old girl being held down by loving relatives so that her genitals can be cut. Yet two million girls experience this each year. Most Westerners, upon learning of the practice of female circumcision, have responded with outrage; those committed to improving the status of women have gone beyond outrage to action by creating various programs for "eradicating" the practice. But few understand the real life complexities families face in deciding whether to follow the traditional practices or to take the risk of change.

In The Female Circumcision Controversy, Ellen Gruenbaum points out that Western outrage and Western efforts to stop genital mutilation often provoke a strong backlash from people in the countries where the practice is common. She looks at the validity of Western arguments against the practice. In doing so, she explores both outsider and insider perspectives on female circumcision, concentrating particularly on the complex attitudes of the individuals and groups who practice it and on indigenous efforts to end it. Gruenbaum finds that the criticisms of outsiders are frequently simplistic and fail to appreciate the diversity of cultural contexts, the complex meanings, and the conflicting responses to change.

Drawing on over five years of fieldwork in Sudan, where the most severe forms of genital surgery are common, Gruenbaum shows that the practices of female circumcision are deeply embedded in Sudanese cultural traditions--in religious, moral, and aesthetic values, and in ideas about class, ethnicity, and gender. Her research illuminates both the resistance to and the acceptance of change. She shows that change is occurring as the result of economic and social developments, the influences of Islamic activists, the work of Sudanese health educators, and the efforts of educated African women. That does not mean that there is no role for outsiders, Gruenbaum asserts, and she offers suggestions for those who wish to help facilitate change.

By presenting specific cultural contexts and human experiences with a deep knowledge of the tremendous variation of the practice and meaning of female circumcision, Gruenbaum provides an insightful analysis of the process of changing this complex, highly debated practice.

BOOK
Circumcision: A History of the World's Most Controversial Surgery
David L. Gollaher
$10.39

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More than a million infant boys are circumcised every year in America, the highest occurrence of this procedure in the world. Why? Out of sheer cultural habit, concludes David Gollaher in his groundbreaking study, Circumcision. The tremendous momentum behind Gollaher's account is generated by one simple question: what is known about this most common of procedures? Alarmingly, precious little. Gollaher remedies that problem by tracing the historical roots of circumcision as a rite of passage into manhood in various ancient cultures before bringing the reader to 19th-century America, when circumcision rates skyrocketed through endorsements by the nascent American medical profession, which credited circumcision with exaggerated health benefits. Circumcision would eventually turn into a mark of class distinction, and the surgery would become entrenched in modern medical practices, despite scant study of its benefits, dangers, or side effects. Gollaher is to be commended for maintaining an even perspective on a practice that is sure to become increasingly controversial; he allows the research itself to fascinate and illuminate. As expected, there are many unsettling graphic descriptions in this book, but its most horrifying revelation is its most casual: the incontrovertible fact that circumcision remains the least understood--yet most widely practiced--surgery in the United States. --Sumi Hahn Almquist

BOOK
Marked in Your Flesh: Circumcision from Ancient Judea to Modern America
Leonard B. Glick
$2.33

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The book of Genesis tells us that God made a covenant with Abraham, promising him a glorious posterity on the condition that he and all his male descendents must be circumcised. For thousands of years thereafter, the distinctive practice of circumcision served to set the Jews apart from their neighbors. The apostle Paul rejected it as a worthless practice, emblematic of Judaism's fixation on physical matters. Christian theologians followed his lead, arguing that whereas Christians sought spiritual fulfillment, Jews remained mired in such pointless concerns as diet and circumcision. As time went on, Europeans developed folklore about malicious Jews who performed sacrificial murders of Christian children and delighted in genital mutilation. But Jews held unwaveringly to the belief that being a Jewish male meant being physically circumcised and to this day even most non-observant Jews continue to follow this practice. In this book, Leonard B. Glick offers a history of Jewish and Christian beliefs about circumcision from its ancient origins to the current controversy. By the turn of the century, more and more physicians in America and England--but not, interestingly, in continental Europe--were performing the procedure routinely. Glick shows that Jewish American physicians were and continue to be especially vocal and influential champions of the practice which, he notes, serves to erase the visible difference between Jewish and gentile males. Informed medical opinion is now unanimous that circumcision confers no benefit and the practice has declined. In Jewish circles it is virtually taboo to question circumcision, but Glick does not flinch from asking whether this procedure should continue to be the defining feature of modern Jewish identity.

BOOK
Circumcision, The Hidden Trauma : How an American Cultural Practice Affects Infants and Ultimately Us All
Ronald Goldman
$16.20

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Circumcision: The Hidden Trauma is the first intensive exploration of the unrecognized psychological and social effects of this American cultural practice. The book has been endorsed by dozens of professionals in the fields of psychology, psychiatry, child development, pediatrics, obstetrics, childbirth education, sociology, and anthropology.

Plain facts and recent research results revealed in the book conflict with popular beliefs and raise serious questions. Goldman's application of psychological and social research coherently explains both the tenacity of circumcision and the contradictory information and beliefs about it. He discusses the potential adverse effects of circumcision not only on infants, men, and sexuality, but also on mother-child relationships, male-female relationships, and societal traits and problems.

The social analysis is provocative, but it is the exploration of the deeply personal effects of circumcision on individuals that is most compelling. We learn how some men discover their feelings about circumcision, why men do not generally talk about them, and why this is changing. The book illustrates how specific male behaviors can be connected to circumcision, even though a man may be unaware of the connection. The text is supported with clinical reports, interviews, surveys, illustrations, and thorough documentation.

Circumcision: The Hidden Trauma identifies an overlooked source of early pain and simultaneously points us in the direction of both healing and preventing this pain. It is of particular interest to parents and children's advocates; men who seek to explore their sexuality and deepen self-awareness; women who want to understand men better; childbirth educators and allied workers; and mental health, medical, and academic professionals.

The book has wide appeal because it is not just about circumcision and the critical importance of proper infant care. More generally, it is about trusting our instincts, questioning some of our cultural values and assumptions, and reflecting on who we are and who we can be as individuals and as a society.

BOOK
History of Circumcision from the Earliest Times to the Present. Moral and Physical Reasons for its Performance
Peter Charles Remondino
$9.99

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History of Circumcision from the Earliest Times to the Present. Moral and Physical Reasons for its Performance. please visit www.valdebooks.com for a full list of titles

BOOK
The Sacrificial Circumcision of the Bronx
Arthur Nersesian
$4.91

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“Nersesian is this generation’s Mark Twain and the East River is his Mississippi.”—Jennifer Belle, author of High Maintenance

“Nersesian is a first-rate observer of his native New York.”—Publishers Weekly

"The unquestioned authority of Moses is difficult to fully grasp today -- this unimaginable, outsized character whose outrageous deeds seem the stuff of novels. And that is how Nersesian is tackling him, by blending fact with fiction. Historical events and persons are interwoven with a fascinating apocalyptic story and literary license, at last revealing the tumultuous life and legacy of Robert Moses. Faced with such a daunting subject matter and multi-volume work, Nersesian’s narrative is masterful."—Brooklyn Eagle

The Sacrificial Circumcision of the Bronx is the highly anticipated follow-up to The Swing Voter of Staten Island—the first two installments in Arthur Nersesian’s series of novels offering an alternate history of New York: The Five Books of Moses.

Robert Moses was responsible for creating contemporary New York’s infrastructure, but he did so at the cost of destroying neighborhoods. In this novel, Robert has looted his brother Paul’s share of the Moses family fortune, repeatedly blocked his attempts at gaining public office, thwarted his career in the private sector, and set in motion events that decimate Paul’s home life.

Paul Moses’ deep-seated rage metamorphoses into an act of terrorism committed against his brother and against a city that he once cherished. Although it can be read as a stand-alone novel about Robert and Paul Moses, The Sacrificial Circumcision of the Bronx is also a memory play that follows Uli Sarkisian—the hero of The Swing Voter of Staten Island—en route to solving a massive historical crime, while desperately struggling to escape from becoming another one of its victims.

Arthur Nersesian is the author of eight novels, including the smash hit The Fuck-Up (more than 100,000 copies sold), dogrun, Suicide Casanova (Akashic Books), and, most recently, The Swing Voter of Staten Island, the first volume in The Five Books of Moses series. He lives in New York City.

BOOK
The Joy of Uncircumcising!: Exploring Circumcision : History, Myths, Psychology, Restoration, Sexual Pleasure, and Human Rights
Jim Bigelow
$25.00

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Must read practical advice for every man and woman in a circumcising culture. Fascinating and informative reading-- I read it in two days. It changed my life forever. Expectant mothers, wives, girlfriends, grandmothers-- all American women should read this book too. American women don't understand men because they don't comprehend circumcision. Reading this book will change that. Reading chapter two, "The Natural Penis"-- will make most Americans change their minds about what they prefer. That's a great chapter. It ends on page 18 with six illustrated drawings and a detailed description of the pleasure dynamics with male/female intercourse with an uncircumcised penis. A side note letter on the same page details the way the foreskin can be used for easy vaginal entry.

Many side-line letters are included in this book to enhance the content with personal experiences and emotional stories. All of those were very interesting. I couldn't put this book down, and now I recommend it to everyone I know. Don't circumcise any more male babies. Read this book instead.

BOOK
Circumcision: An American Health Fallacy (Springer Series: Focus on Men)
Edward Wallerstein
$13.07

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In 1980, a secular Jew and retired electronic engineer published this book, reporting on nearly a decade of work critically reviewing the medical literature research on routine infant circumcision. This was at a time when over 90% of infant boys born in USA urban hospitals were routinely circumcised, and the practice was not in the least controversial. The result was a damning indictment of the practice. Wallerstein was also the first person to diffuse the fact that the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists had ceased endorsing the practice in 1979. Reading this book extinguished my shame about being intact.

It is too bad this book is out of print, as it is a careful scientific document. While a lot has been written about male circumcision since this book appeared, I doubt we have learned much that is not already in this book. All of Wallerstein's arguments are still correct, and his statement of them unsurpassed. Because the author is dead, there will never be a 2nd edition.

BOOK
What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About Circumcision: Untold Facts on America's Most Widely Performed-and Most Unnecessary-Surgery
D.Phil Frederick M. Hodges
$8.99

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I have probably read every book on the subject of male infant circumcision. So, in Fleiss' and Hodges' book I was expecting a repeat of the usual information. I am delighted to say I was wrong; and, I learned a lot, too.

This book presents the truth about non-therapeutic circumcision in a straight forward and easy to read fashion. Whether you are a parent questioning circumcision, a survivor wanting to know more about your body, or a human rights activist needing a solid background of information, I highly recommend this book. It has become the first book I suggest people read on the subject. Dan Bollinger, Executive Director, International Coalition for Genital Integrity www.icgi.org

BOOK
Sign of the Covenant: Circumcision in the Priestly Tradition
David A. Bernat
$17.96

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