by Georganne Chapin and Echo Montgomery Garrett
Lucid House Publishing LLC
2/20/2024, paperback
SKU: 9781950495450
In her eye-opening memoir, Georganne Chapin exposes the business of medical circumcision. This unnecessary and most common pediatric surgery in the United States permanently reduces the size and alters the function of a boy's penis for the rest of his life. Every year, nearly 1.5 million baby boys are assaulted in American hospitals and doctors' offices, subjecting them to pain, functional and psychological damage, and a forever-altered sexual experience. Chapin traces circumcision's U.S. roots from 19th Century fears of masturbation to stereotypes about race, class, religion, and male sexuality. She describes how what started as a way to keep men and women from enjoying sex morphed into a for-profit medical practice-one that is rare or unknown in Europe, non-Muslim Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean. Finally, she shows how physician organizations, especially the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), have worked for decades to fraudulently promote circumcision's supposed benefits and suppress facts about circumcision harm and deaths, and how they refuse to acknowledge the procedure as a gross violation of basic medical ethics. Indeed, the AAP now characterizes male genital mutilation as a matter of "culture" and "parental preference"-a position that, conveniently, shields trade associations and their physician members from legal and financial liability. This book is a punch-in-the-gut wake-up call that will enrage and empower anyone impacted by the multi-billion-dollar penis business.
Reviews:
"With this book, Georganne Chapin is doing the heavy lifting of helping parents make informed decisions around an almost exclusively cosmetic, yet shockingly normalized surgery." -- Nathan Riley, MD, "The Holistic OB/GYN"
"When I was a new journalist, Georganne Chapin opened my eyes to a shocking truth: Many medical procedures have no clinical evidence to support them, especially infant male circumcision. 'This Penis Business' charts her path to becoming the nation's leading voice in ending this unnecessary and often harmful practice." -- Joy Victory, writer and health journalist
"I dare you to read this book. The United States is the only country in the western world where medical professionals aggressively promote the removal of the most sensitive part of the penis. Be prepared to be shocked by Georganne Chapin's memoir as she unveils the irrational beliefs and corrupt motives underlying the national tragedy of 'routine' circumcision. If you are a circumcised male, you are going to be upset. If you are the partner of a circumcised male, you will realize that the sexual problems between you may not be his fault. And if it's not too late, you will protect your son. Circumcision is an issue whose time has come. What are you going to do about it? Who will you tell? Whose side are you on?" -- Dean Edell, MD, American physician and broadcaster
About the Author:
Georganne Chapin is a healthcare expert, attorney, social justice advocate, and founding executive director of Intact America, the nation's most influential organization opposing the U.S. medical industry's common practice of surgically altering ("circumcising") the genitals of male children. This Penis Business: A Memoir is her first book.
Echo Montgomery Garrett has spent her career finding and writing stories that matter. From the moment she and Georganne Chapin first spoke about "this penis business," Echo knew this project was a social justice issue that had the potential to change millions of lives. A graduate of Auburn University, Echo has co-authored, contributed to, or ghostwritten twenty-five nonfiction books. Liane and her husband Dave, co-founded Cincinnati Works, an award-winning nonprofit. Echo also co-authored with Sam Bracken My Orange Duffel Bag: A Journey to Radical Change. She co-founded the Orange Duffel Bag Initiative (ODBI), a nonprofit that provides life plan coaching and ongoing advocacy to young people ages 14-24, who are experiencing poverty, homelessness or aging out of foster care. She and her husband Kevin Garrett, who photographed the Skin in the Game: Circumcision Cuts Through Us All campaign, reside in Marietta, Georgia.