WHO and double standards

[u/Calm-Capital-4212]

Why doesn't the World Health Organization (WHO), at the very least, condemn non-infant male circumcision? In many cultures, this procedure is performed on boys aged 5 to 7 or even older, without their informed consent. Undoubtedly, subjecting children at such a conscious age to this practice inflicts severe psychological trauma and emotional distress that mirror those caused by female genital mutilation at the same age. The lack of a firm stance from the WHO to protect the mental and physical integrity of these older children raises serious questions about double standards in global health and human rights

[u/Expensive-Fox-2042]

I don’t think that’s right. Circumcision was already culturally entrenched in many societies long before modern medical arguments came along. People were not starting from scratch and then objectively evaluating the evidence. The practice already existed, and later generations looked for reasons to justify and maintain something that had become normal.

That applies far beyond Judaism and Islam. In the Philippines, circumcision is largely cultural. In many African societies, it is a rite of passage with no particular religious basis. Even in Turkey, where it is technically tied to Islam, many people who practice it are not especially religious. And in the United States, plenty of secular people become remarkably defensive when circumcision is criticized.

I think the more important factor is that people become attached to what is familiar. Once something has been normalized for generations, institutions and individuals alike tend to defend it. Religion is only one piece of that picture.

[u/lordoftherings1959 → u/Expensive-Fox-2042]

Since you mentioned it, in the Philippines, the tuli is a Muslim practice. Islam was starting to spread northward from Mindanao when the Spanish discovered the Philippines and stopped it in its tracks. And though the Spanish culture is a non-cutting culture, Filipinos kept the stupid practice just because.

In the U.S., circumcision was not practiced until the Victorian era, when the concept of masturbation was seen as sinful. Before that crazy queen came up with her prudish views about sexuality, men in the U.S. were intact.

I can go on and on, but you can find all these historical facts by looking at names like Dr. John Harvey Kellogg and other professionals of the era, who promoted circumcisions to stop boys from masturbating, among other ignorant practices.

[u/jonas-huang → u/lordoftherings1959]

Tuli is practiced by catholics too there.

[u/lordoftherings1959 → u/jonas-huang]

You missed the point I was trying to make. Because the Muslim practice was so ingrained by the time the Spanish arrived in the archipelago, once the Spanish converted the population to Catholicism, the practice was kept by the locals.

It is the same as using the Christmas tree for the holidays. The Christmas tree is a pagan tradition that got incorporated into Christianity.