Reviews (Circumcision: The Painful Dilemma)
From Peaceful Beginnings
Reviews
JOURNAL
OF
RITUAL STUDIES
Circumcision: The Painful Dilemma. Rosemary Romberg, Bergin and Garvey Publishers, South Hadley, Massachusetts, c. 1985. xxi + 454. 87 photographs, 10 illustrations. ISBN: 0‑89789 –074-4.
Reviewer: Harriet Lyons, Wilfrid Laurier University
This is a lengthy, impassioned, and at times unpleasant book but one which scholars interested in ritual operations on the human body probably should read. Its author, a member of INTACT, an organization dedicated to ending the practice of routine medical circumcision of infants in the United States, has assembled a mass of historical, medical and anecdotal evidence in support of her position. The bulk of this work deals with nonritual circumcision of infants in American hospitals, and at first glance appears to have little direct relevance to students of ritual. But the author does discuss ritual circumcision in two contexts with a chapter on the origin and history of circumcision and one on Jewish circumcision. The historical chapter relies largely on outdated and sensationalist accounts of the operation, many of them dating to a period when the anthropological literature on primitive circumcision was heavily tainted by racist sentiment. In the chapter on Jewish circumcision, the author knows she is treading on dangerous ground and is careful to note several times that she does not wish her work to be used to further anti-Semitism. She does express the hope that with increasing secularization Jews will voluntarily abandon infant circumcision.
Romberg mentions one anti‑Semitic explanation for current American practice (though she immediately rejects it as insufficient to account for the universality of the operation), the argument that Jewish doctors have imposed circumcision upon all American males so that Jews might not be distinguishable from others because of circumcision. Though Romberg rejects this argument, apparently it is accepted by some members of her group.
Romberg provides lengthy descriptions with drawings and photographs of the methods used by both physicians and Jewish mohels (ritual circumcisers), as well as letters and interviews reflecting the unpleasant experiences of mothers who have had their sons circumcised. The pain endured by the infants is stressed and there is an exceptionally vivid chapter detailing complications of the operation. The book cites numerous studies published in medical journals all of which offer little medical justification for routine circumcision.
The value of ritual operations is contingent upon the symbolic statements made by such procedures. This aspect is likely to be dismissed or ignored by those conditioned to a Western, technical point of view. If social or spiritual status or power is to be gained, human beings are willing to undergo tortures far greater than those of circumcision. On the other hand, where the end result of pain and disfigurement is subordination, rather than elevation in status, there is likely to be resistance to traditional practices during periods of social change, as in the current controversy over clitoridectomy in Africa and the abolition of foot‑binding in China.
To appreciate the context of Romberg’s argument we must understand something about the relationship between routine infant circumcision and status and power in American society. Infant circumcision, as it is practiced in the U.S., is part of a widely criticized health care system in which control of the birth process, like much else to do with health, is in the hands of physicians and hospital staff. There has for some time been a movement to better attune infant delivery to the emotional needs of mothers and babies, with various forms of unmedicated, low technology childbirth becoming increasingly popular. Romberg is an advocate of the Leboyer technique, in which childbirth is carried out under soft lights, without undue noise and with the avoidance of abrupt, startling transitions for the newborn infant. A constant theme in Romberg’s own reminiscences and those of other mothers quoted in the book is the contrast between the natural childbirth they chose and the medical procedure of circumcision. The book contains many photographs of happy, trouserless, uncircumcised male infants, often posed idyllically with their mothers. The argument of the book is as much a product of a belief system opposed to modern medical culture as it is a result of the examination of factual evidence. Since modern medicine bases its claim to power on the provable physiological benefits of its treatments, it would appear it does have a case to answer in the matter of infant circumcision (if Romberg’s medical data are correct).
For students of ritual, especially rituals involving physical suffering, the book may be a useful reminder of the needs of the body. Such needs have a tendency to become obscured in a discourse which accepts the claims of practitioners who more consciously than Romberg, are motivated principally by considerations of faith.
Volume 1, Number 2 Summer 1987
“When my daughters were born six and three years ago I was relieved not to have to face the circumcision decision. Although I had reservations about the procedure, I was not sure enough to withstand the pressures to have a son circumcised. It was with great interest then that I received Rosemary Romberg’s book while pregnant with my third child.
. . . “When I finished reading Circumcision: The Painful Dilemma, I felt that there was no way to justify my unborn baby should it turn out to be a son. Obviously one can argue that the book is biased – in fact even the title makes it clear where the author stands. However, I believe Ms. Romberg when she states that she did not undertake her exhaustive work with conclusions drawn beforehand. In the absence of any clear medical benefit from circumcision, it is hard to dispute the author’s powerful statement that ‘Immediate circumcision is unquestioningly totally disregarding of the infant’s feeling in his introduction into this world. It constitutes the absolute antithesis of non-violent birth. However, welcoming the baby into the world with non-violent birthing techniques, only to subject him to circumcision a few days later is nothing but hypocritical!’ For too long those of us who have espoused natural, gentle childbirth have failed to see this contradiction.
William was born on August 7, 1985. Hours later we brought our son home – intact. Thank you, Rosemary Romberg.”
Carole Kavanagh
Book Review for Boston Association for Childbirth Education Newsletter: April‑June l986
“... must reading for expectant parents, counselors, teenagers, family centers, and should be in every library of all the healing fields as well as seminaries. . . .
It is a sad commentary on military invasion of human rights.
A must read book for everyone interested in male liberation.
An important guide for everyone interested in female liberation.
A history of circumcision, male and female. . . .
Everything you ever wanted to know about circumcision.
A hope vitamin pill for the future safety and protection of infants’ rights.
A rap on the knuckles of discompassionate and/or money hungry physicians.
A challenge to researchers. . . .
The time has come when we can no longer silently condone the continued ‘acceptable form of child abuse’ known as routine infant circumcision. Parents must love their baby boys enough to leave them intact and give them their whole bodies, protected from any invasive and coercive alteration of healthy tissue for which they haven’t consented willingly.”
David C. McKnight, D.C.
Des Moines, IA.
Review for Barefoot #1, 1986
“(Circumcision: The Painful Dilemma is) . . . A compelling and powerful statement about the way in which we, as a people, perceive and treat newborns.
Romberg’s introduction is her own story. Her involvement in her third son’s circumcision and the trauma it entailed for both of them led her to doing the research with which she wrote this book. . . .
(The chapter) “Routine Infant Circumcision as a Medical Practice in 20th Century United States,” includes interviews with a physician, an OB nurse, letters from parents of circumcised sons and picture display of methods of circumcision with accompanying explanations. The letters from parents are painful to read:
‘I stood outside the door while they were doing it to him and listened to him scream and cry. That’s the first time I really began to wonder why I had let them do it to my baby. Since then I have asked myself that a million times.’ Jacque Dyer, Mother. . . .
Circumcision: The Painful Dilemma should be required reading for medical, nursing, and midwifery students, childbirth educators, parents and parents-to-be. We owe it to our children to be as well-informed as possible before making such a momentous decision. Just as NAPSAC members have questioned routine obstetrical and childrearing practices done “for our own good”, so do we have the responsibility of questioning the so-called “scientific” merits of circumcision. Readers looking for the truth about circumcision will find it in Rosemary Romberg’s book.
Nancy B. Perry, RN, CNM.
Mother and Childbirth Educator
Certified NAPSAC Leader
Chairperson, NAPSC Review Committee
Marlboro, MA.
NAPSAC News, Vol. 10, Nos. 3-4, Fall-Winter 1986.
