Circumcision Scar: My 35 Year Foreskin Restoration, Neonatal Circumcision Memories, and How Christian American Doctors Hijacked “Holy Circumcision” to Dupe a Nation
One man’s lifelong struggle with recurring nightmares leads him to discover repressed memories of his neonatal circumcision. He details a compelling narrative about foreskin restoration, medical abuse and how Christian American doctors usurped religious freedoms to surgically force a nation into denial about the male anatomy.
Circumcision Scar is an emotionally powerful story about one man’s lifelong struggle with circumcision related trauma – from recurring nightmares, to repressed memories, to erectile dysfunction, to decades of surgical and manual foreskin restoration – after reading this book, never again can it be said that circumcision is harmless.
The inspiration for this book came from an unexpected emotional trigger the author experienced in his 50s which caused him to understand he was being haunted by repressed memories of his neonatal circumcision. After suffering an unrelated trauma at the age of 1, the author experienced parallel memories that caused him to discern he’d been in two separate hospital settings as an infant, and his inability to reconcile these conflicting memories became the impetus behind his lifelong struggle.
As an adult, the author sought treatment for his erectile dysfunction only to be berated and chased out of multiple doctor’s offices for suggesting circumcision is harmful. Accosted by this extreme emotional bias, he was abandoned by a medical community that branded him immoral and perverse for believing circumcision had hampered his ability to perform from his first sexual experience onward. Equating his abusers to surgical rapists, the author offers an unflinching glimpse into the debilitating mindset of circumcision related sexual trauma – the same mindset and debilitating trauma experienced by all victims of sexual violence.
Circumcision is considered the oldest surgery and cult sacrifice of human flesh in history, and it’s still widely performed today. Yet few understand the true origins behind this controversial operation and how it became commonplace in America. Christian American doctors consciously forced this mandate onto a nation and worked methodically to impart their moral dictums onto every male possible, willing or not, plunging a nation into denial about the male anatomy.
Circumcision Scar proves this “meaningless flap of skin” is anything but meaningless. It’s a cultural psychosis plaguing this nation.
Consider reading this book if you’re man enough to learn the truth about what’s been done to you. Take a stand if you value protecting children over an arcane religious ritual. Educate yourself before needlessly circumcising your son.
Jackson tends to write in circles, repeatedly falling into spiraling rants and rambles. The book occasionally loses focus for dozens of pages at a time, resulting in a 400-page narrative that would have been far more effective at half the length. It occasionally reads like an unedited journal, which can detract from the points Jackson’s trying to make. When he declares that any circumcised male who doesn’t share his viewpoint has been brainwashed, or says circumcision is equivalent to rape and pedophilia, it alienates readers who don’t already agree with him, eroding the potential power of his message.
When the story is focused on the author’s personal experience, however, the book has a powerful sense of furious momentum. Jackson describes the physical and emotional abuse he suffered at the hands of his bigoted family with heartbreaking vulnerability. He includes several powerful anecdotes describing the enraged reactions to his beliefs about the evils of circumcision: urologists hurl homophobic insults at him in full waiting rooms; a cousin-in-law threatens to force Jackson and his husband to circumcise a hypothetical future child. In these passages, the author effectively calls out the indoctrination in both religion and medicine. Despite the lack of clear focus, this is a powerful and moving narrative of suffering and recuperation.
Takeaway: This unflinching memoir could be a valuable resource for readers researching the negative effects of circumcision.
Great for fans of Ronald Goldman’s Circumcision: The Hidden Trauma.
Production grades
Cover: C
Design and typography: C
Illustrations: -
Editing: C
Marketing copy: B
