"Just a snip"?: a social history of male circumcision.
نویسنده
چکیده
T HE last seven years have seen growing advocacy for male circumcision as a means of HIV prevention, commencing first among public health specialists working mainly in the USA, then among some of those working in international organisations, and more recently endorsed as part of a comprehensive package of measures supported by both the World Health Organization and UNAIDS. Opinions continue to differ sharply as to whether or not to implement this form of prevention* – or how quickly to do so – although there appears to be growing consensus that, as with all HIV-related public health interventions, male circumcisionmust be promoted in a culturally appropriate, rights-based and gender sensitive way. Papers and discussions elsewhere take up issues of gender sensitivity and rights. It is issues of culture and politics that I want to examine here. All over the world male circumcision has its roots deep in the structure of society. Far from being a simple technical act, even when performed in medical settings, it is a practice which carries with it a whole host of social meanings. Some of these meanings link to what it is to be a man, with circumcision taking place as a rite of passage into adulthood in several African and Oceanic societies. In other settings, male circumcision carries religious connotations, it being widely practised among Jews and Muslims, although less so among Christians and rarely among other religions. From the late 19th century onwards, however, male circumcision also entered into the
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عنوان ژورنال:
- Reproductive health matters
دوره 15 29 شماره
صفحات -
تاریخ انتشار 2007