Bodily Autonomy

The MRM believes that everyone should be entitled to bodily autonomy and protection from unnecessary medical procedures from birth. Male genital mutilation remains legal in every country.

Permanent Bodily Modification

Permanent bodily modification includes tattooing, branding, some forms of piercing, genital cutting as well as various steps involved in gender transitioning.

Piercing of the earlobe as is traditional in Western culture is generally not considered to be a permanent bodily modification as it is fully reversible.

Throughout the world today children are restricted in law from making certain choices that would have long-term consequences. Children cannot sign legal contracts or consent to necessary medical procedures. In some cases these decisions are made for them by parents or guardians. There are a variety of choices, however, that a child cannot make and that cannot be made for them by a parent or guardian. These decisions must wait until they are adults.

Genital Cutting

Genital cutting involves permanently altering the genitals of an individual.

The procedure commonly known as circumcision is a form of male genital cutting. When performed on infant boys that cannot consent it is known as routine infant circumcision. Many men who were circumcised as infants seek to restore their foreskins but restoration can only partially restore lost functionality.

Gender Transitioning

While there has been widespread public discussion of the gender transitioning of children and teenagers in recent years this practice has actually been going on for decades.

In 1965 in Canada the penis of an infant boy was severely injured during a botched circumcision procedure. His doctors and parents agreed to reassign him as female. The young boy went on to have genital surgery in which plastic surgeons fashioned him genitals resembling those of a female.

On learning what had happened to him the boy started transitioning back to male at the age of 15 and took the name David Reimer. David Reimer subsequently took his own life at 38.

Starting in the late 1960s Intersex children have similarly been transitioned to male or female as infants.

In recent years gender transitioning of children and teenagers has become increasingly common.