Archives for July 2018

If you live in Missouri, you actually have a candidate in the 2018 US Senate race who opposes circumcision: Austin Petersen.

Three years ago, Petersen dedicated an entire episode of his podcast The Freedom Report to the Heather Hironomus case (where a court ordered a mother have her three-year old son circumcised against her wishes) and circumcision debate called “Why Do Girls Have A Right To Genital Integrity, But Not Boys.” The post he wrote about it starts with the Ayaan Hirsi Ali quote “I think male circumcision is worse than an incision of the girl.” Even in libertarian circles, Petersen has taken heat for his views on circumcision, and refused to back down.

Listen to the full podcast here.

This isn’t the only time Peterson has spoken on circumcision. Peterson debates circumcision in the context of the Hironomus case at 21 minutes into a Freedom Report podcast titled Libertarian Battle Royale! Court Demands Man Stop Having Kids, Plus: Circumcision: Chop It or Stop It?

Peterson also has an earlier 2014 podcast called “Should we ban male and female circumcision?” where he debates this issue with another libertarian, discusses the intactivist movement, compares male and female circumcision, and talks about the loss of sexual pleasure from missing the foreskin.

In this video, Petersen explicitly says on camera “a man should be able to choose” and “I am opposed to male circumcision.”

As a libertarian, Petersen’s politics do not fit in the traditional Republican-Democrat divide. He has been critical of both Trump and the far-left. There is potential for Petersen to attract supporters from either party.

If circumcision is a primary issue for you and you live in Missouri where Petersen is running, consider using this as an opportunity to vote a politician into the US Senate who might speak on this issue.

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If you’d like to understand circumcision debate more, and want to know why a major US Senate candidate would oppose circumcision, watch my film American Circumcision, because every American citizen should be informed on this issue.

The show Sex & Circumcision: An American Love Story caused a stir when it premiered at Harvard University. Having followed the circumcision debate for several years for my film American Circumcision, I can say there is nothing else like it out there. Watch the trailer:

 

You can watch the full stage show on Eric’s website Clopper.com.

Despite their stated commitment to free expression and Eric’s disclaimer at the beginning that his show represented only his views, Harvard fired Eric less than twenty-four hours after the release of his show. Harvard’s paper The Crimson wrote multiple editorials attacking Eric, and refused to publish his letter in response. Eric is currently raising funds for a legal case against Harvard.

I’m not a lawyer, and Eric is up against a large institution, but based on what I’ve heard, his case is strong. You might want to contribute here, because regardless of your views on circumcision or the show, artistic expression deserves to be protected.

P.S. Eric gives a shout-out to my film American Circumcision during his talk. If you want to understand why someone would risk their livelihood and reputation over the issue of circumcision, consider getting the film here.