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Graphic Circumcision Photos ...
please view at your own discretion.
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These photos are displayed for
educational purposes only.
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Please do not copy or reproduce
without the photographer's permission.
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Copyright 2009 Patti Ramos
All rights reserved.
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"The soft-minded man always fears change.
He feels security in the status quo, and he has an almost morbid fear of the new.
For him, the greatest pain is the pain of a new idea."
~ Martin Luther King
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Such a beautiful little boy ...
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Copyright 2009 Patti Ramos
All rights reserved.
Please do not copy or reproduce
without the photographer's permission.
For purchase information contact Patti at
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Posts
32 comments:
Was there something wrong with the baby's penis?
The tears in his eyes and terror in his face are more than I would be able to handle as the photographer of such a crime. I agree with the comment by "AsNatureIntended," ~ WHEN are we going to end this tragic form of genital mutilation on our newborn babies? When will we afford boys their basic human right of genital integrity - equal to that which girls currently hold in this country? I pray the MGM Bill (http://www.mgmbill.org) soon passes to match the current FGM Bill so that photos like this become entirely obsolete. Someday, we are sure to look back at these with horror and bewilderment and wonder, "WHAT were we thinking?!" Thank you, Patti, for telling this boy's story at a time when he can only speak for himself with screams and not words.
Thank you for sharing this.
that poor baby :-(
Not my boys!
No other country on the planet does this to infant males. I'm proud to be an American but this is one thing my country does that I am not proud of. It just needs to stop. People need to wake up and see circumcision for what it really is.
His body = His Choice
I was in the room and watched when my 1st. son had a circumcision and was surprised by how calm he was. He cried when they strapped his legs down, but after that was fine and did not cry at all.
I have to say that seeing the pictures made me cringe a little, but like in the photos it does go very quickly and is over in hardly any time at all.
I understand that some parents do have reasons for not wanting to circumcise, but many parents that do circumcise have legitimate reasons for wanting to. For us, it was a reminder of the covenant God made with Abraham, and to us, that was significant, even though we are not under the law of circumcision.
Thank you for sharing this.
Thank you for posting these touching photos. Hopefully, they will prevent some parents from doing this painful & unnecessary procedure.
The baby's eyes say it all.
Wow, these photos really show the horror of circumcision. I was cut as an infant but until I saw a video of what I went through, and what every man who was cut as a baby went through I had no idea of the actual barbarity of it. Seeing that video caused me to start speaking out against this violent act.
Patty, I am not sure how you managed to brace yourself for this. I am a photographer as well and feel that I have a strong stomach, but I could not witness such a thing without feeling extremely strong thoughts of revulsion, anger and revenge for the perpetrator of these crimes against children. I would like to know your feelings and emotions as you witessed this.
I hope many people see these remarkable images and realize how brutal and cruel circumcision is. I hope these pictures help to bring an end to this form of child abuse.
James Loewen
Patti, thank you for sharing that. I think more people should see it *before* they do it. What a beautiful beautiful boy.
~Cari
Thanks for posting this.
Great eye opener, and these are definitely images parents NEED to see before making the final life changing decision for thier son.
Thanks!
Well Patti, I see you censor out any posts that is critical of circumcision--WAY to go! Keep covering your ignorant ass!
For a douls who believes in "peaceful bithing" and claims to provide brithing education, it is so nice to see full-blown hypocrisy!
Dear "Anonymous",
Your comment is a perfect example of why I chose to not add the comments on my blog.
My blog is not a forum for nasty, rude, argumentative comments and accusations.
I chose to let the photos speak for themselves. My blog ... my choice.
The pictures are a gruesome reminder of the hypocraicy still running rampant in America. See those pictures makes my heart ache, and makes me sick. I will never understand how people can think that is is BETTER than leaving boys alone...makes me even more glad that this American women did not buy the hype, and left her sons intact.
Patti! Thank you so much for showing people this! This is exactly why I choose NOT to circumcise MY SON! This is cruel, harsh and completely UNNECESSARY! If my son wants to be circumcised he will be more than welcome to do so at an age where he can make the decision on his own. If you teach your soon basic cleanliness there will never be a problem with his penis being uncircumcised...Again thank you!
Poor baby. That is so sad.
I agree, the pictures speak for themselves, especially the fourth from the end, and the last.
Indeed these pictures do speak for themselves.
The problem is circumcision is so deeply entrenched in the minds of those on whom it's been forced that even graphic photos showing this sexual violation won't sway those who are convinced that removing half of an infant's penile skin is "healthy" or "hygienic."
As a man who had this cruel surgery imposed upon me as an infant I am very glad to see graphic pictures like this displayed. Some people will get the message, even a male infant should have full human rights.
your anonymous poster should use spell check. :) hint: if you don't want to read the blog, there's a x in the top right corner - use it.
patti - thanks for all the wonderful pictures you post - they do speak for themselves.
That is truly heartbreaking...the poor baby! :(
Thank you for exposing the horror of circumcision and the consequences that this primal wound inflicted on a perfectly normal baby. The baby's face, as it appears in the last photo, illustrates the harm of circumcision. He is indelibly traumatized, a trauma that can't be ignored and that will be with him for the remainder of his life. Seeing the amputation of the most erogenous part of the baby's body, the irreverent attitude toward that precious part, and recognizing the sexual starvation that the baby has been subjected to because of the amputation are profound. Every parent should see these photos before subjecting their son to this human rights violation or, better yet, they should witness a circumcision and listen to the screams of the infant. Those screams are what alert us to the harm and violence that is being done and moves us to react to protect the infant. As Jody McLaughlin says, "Ten out of ten babies oppose circumcision, shouldn't you?" It's exposure to the pain, trauma, and harm of circumcision that will bring this anachronistic blood ritual to an end. Thank you for doing your part.
I went to nursing school so the pictures of the actual penis and during the circumcision don't strike me as much as the picture of the poor boys eyes. If you take a minute to really look into his eyes...there is something missing at the end. So sad.
Lidocaine and xylocaine were very seldom used last century. While xylocaine is now best practice, it has yet to become standard practice. Barbaric pain still commonly attends routine infant circumcision in the USA.
What this sequence of photographics depicts is common in the USA, a minority event in Australia and Canada, and unknown elsewhere. In western nations other than the USA and Korea, nearly everyone who is neither Jewish nor Moslem accepts the foreskin as part of normal life, sexual and otherwise.
Dear Patti,
I don't understand how you can be a doula and a childbirth educator, and be "for" circumcision. These pictures are so painful for me to look at. My husband and I definitely made the right decision to not put our baby boy through this painful and heart wrenching procedure.
Sincerely,
Megan S.
Megan ... why the blatant assumption that I am "for" circumcision. Where on my blog have I made that statement??? NOWHERE!
My intention was to offer a graphic photo essay so parents would then have the opportunity to view the surgery and then therefore, make a more informed choice.
Comments like yours are so ridiculous. One commentor actually assumed that I performed the circumcision on my own son and photographed it to boot! Now that would make for one multi-tasking doula!
I am pleased to say that there have been thousands of hits on this page that have generated an incredible amount of discussion on many blogs and websites. Hundreds of parents have written to me saying that nothing else convinced them to not circumcise their sons, until they viewed these photos.
What have you done Megan to accomplish the same results?
Patti,
Thank you for showing families what this "little snip" actually is. I'm a childbirth educator and though I offer handouts full of information about circ, people still don't "get it" until I show an actual procedure in class. As long as this remains behind closed doors, more boys will be hurt. I honestly and truly do not understand how it is legal.
Thankyou for posting this! I don't believe you are 'for' circumcision by this post, I think you are helping educate families that think it's no big deal, because it's a BIG deal. Its unecessary surgery!!!
Your photos show some of the truth about genital mutilation. Those pictures could just as well have been of me thirty years ago. Thank you for making them public.
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