On the failure of academics to concern themselves with the essential questions of human existence, meaning, value, instead tending to their “little farms” of specialisms. “Other teachers will emerge and will be followed.” — Wolfgang Köhler And the counterpoint (in Köhler’s own voice), “When asked to choose between writing badly about the greatest questions and well about more modest topics we prefer the second alternative.”

Followers who consider themselves straight males - does this resonate with your experience growing up? 🤔 From Sexual Revolution by Laurie Penny. I don’t know how much ‘straight boy’ accurately describes my childhood self, but must confess that I, too, do not recall experiencing anything remotely like this (mostly, premarital sex meant going to hell; certainly not an entitlement)

Pretty horrifying. This should be a major concern. "A Drug Addiction Risk Algorithm and Its Grim Toll on Chronic Pain Sufferers" buff.ly/3sdSwvS - excerpts below Secret 'credit score' for controlled substances based on opaque, often biased algorithm

Okay, finally back at my computer so adding these refs now - someone asked whether there are post-colonial critiques of tendency to think of African child genital cutting as 'barbaric' while white Western/US child genital cutting is 'civilized/respectable' - yes. Some highlights:

https://twitter.com/briandavidearp/status/1410664711687839745

Among many other excellent discussions of this issue, I recommend "Dualisms and female bodies in representations of African female circumcision: a feminist critique" by Wairimũ Ngaruiya Njambi journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/14… 1/

There is a lot of work on this; much of it is cited in this review article by Sara Johnsdotter and myself nature.com/articles/s4144… … I’ll add refs to individual papers by (eg) post colonial and African studies scholars below

https://twitter.com/rogue_feminist/status/1410628799281172481

(When I’m back at my computer :)

Take this chapter by Birgitte Essén, perhaps the most senior gynecologist & medical expert who has extensive clinical experience working directly w. women affected by FGC. She notes that for over 50 years, the @WHO has published guidelines on FGC re: health consequences ... 6/ & other empirical claims concerning different types of FGC, but "without the usual concern" for high quality evidence, based on "uncritical" thinking re: causes & consequences, "skewed or insufficient data" & "misleading conclusions." This has v. bad real-world implications 7/

Heartbreaking: up to 40% of Filipino boys experience infection (drdf.org.ph/sites/default/…), and up to 70%, PTSD (sciencedirect.com/science/articl…), from their public circumcision rites each year. I wonder why @WHO doesn't view this as a human rights violation? One possibility is that ... routine & religious male circumcision—common in U.S. & Jewish/Muslim families, respectively—is a tradition among many of the most influential “gatekeepers” of the global human rights agenda: “the practice is prevalent in their own social networks”(amazon.com/Lost-Causes-Ve…) ...

New paper: "Zero Tolerance for Genital Mutilation: Review of Moral Justifications" (in press with Current Sexual Health Reports). Analyzes culturally biased, unscientific, ethically incoherent position of @WHO on child genital cutting practices. Thread 1/ researchgate.net/publication/34… Paper analyzes 2 main positions that have emerged in bioethics literature: equal opportunity defenders of parental/religious rights to cut children's genitals irrespective of sex/gender, & equal opportunity defenders of children's rights to be protected from genital cutting. 2/

Published! “What is the best age to circumcise? A medical and ethical analysis” - Myers and Earp - - Bioethics - Wiley Online Library buff.ly/37FuzBM Abstract

Very disturbing to see this lack of scientific nuance from one of the main people responsible for driving US policy & funding toward a mass surgical campaign affecting the genitals of millions of Africans. There are multiple things wrong with this statement ... [THREAD]

https://twitter.com/PeterKilmarx/status/1224710091355631616

First, it is false there is "no debate in science community" re original RCTs. Rather, those with critiques were ignored or shut out by those driving agenda, a small network of circumcision advocates active in all stages of the science-to-policy pipeline ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25646671

New paper on FGC in Asia Pacific so important. Highlights a constant theme in recent work: multiple double-standards (race, religion, sex) and cultural bias in Western policy; FGC defenders rely on Western tolerance for MGC to justify continuance [THREAD] researchgate.net/profile/Abdul_… Emphasis on explicit religious justification within many Muslim communities ...

Every year in the Philippines, young boys are lined up, pinned on tables, overpowered & subjected to what any adult would experience as torture, as part of their penis is cut off while loved ones smile, laugh, and hold their arms down. Horrific abuse A recent study suggests this causes PTSD in these young boys at rates of nearly 70%, more than 3 times the rate of soldiers coming back from Iraq and Afghanistan ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/P…

A colleague emailed that ritual female genital cutting is "patriarchy incarnate" w. only goal to "destroy female sexuality." In my work, I argue *all* non-consensual genital cutting is morally wrong if not medically necessary. But the patriarchy argument is extremely problematic: Here is my emailed response to that particular issue: 1 of 4

Wow, @WHO uses p value of .06 to declare “non-significant difference” and classify a treatment as safe. This is failure of statistical basics 101. Another reminder: there is no shortage of scientific incompetence at the @WHO. Embarrassing and dangerous buff.ly/2Mp5pAj @WHO “Lapse of scientific rigor” & failure to take “account of ethical concerns” in a trial conducted in vulnerable African populations: sadly par for the course at @WHO, with both their unscientific FGM policy & their rush to circumcise millions of African men, boys, & babies.

In Malaysia "health & hygiene" most common reasons given for female "circumcision" (type IV nicking) (buff.ly/35nMWLD); I argue if "health benefits" seen 2 justify genital cutting children, pro-female "circumcision" ppl will adopt those arguments: buff.ly/2RX3SBC Tendency toward trivialization non-consensual genital cutting in female "circumcision" among its supporters: "it's like ear-piercing, and that's okay, so what's the big deal?" bmjopen.bmj.com/content/9/4/e0…

I just want to follow up on this shocking conflict of interest case at @WHO, where the inventor of a newborn circumcision device, after applying for a patent, is invited to co-write the @WHO "manual" for performing newborn circumcision, touting his own device for mass use.

https://twitter.com/briandavidearp/status/1149789438966259713

Again, the whole @WHO push for mass circumcision in Africa was based on studies of sexually active adults, circumcised (nominally) with their consent. There is no controlled evidence that newborn circumcision lowers risk of HIV in Africa or anywhere else; & newborns can't consent

Wow. @WHO claims 2 have 'voluntary' medical male circumcision (VMMC) program, based on data from studies of sexually active *adults* - but now pushes non-voluntary circ of infants, for which there is no controlled evidence of a protective effect against HIV. Plot thickens ... Their manual 4 performing non-consensual circ argues "cultural & religious" factors should be considered, in contrast 2 @WHO policy on FGM which says even ritual nicking of the vulva is a *human rights violation* regardless of consent, culture, or religion apps.who.int/iris/bitstream…

G. Heinrichs reporting on new meta-analysis of sexual function following FGM/C. Attempted meta-regression 2 control 4 potential confounding contextual/demographic variables but there was not enough data: those factors not routinely/robustly collected in studies on sexual function Question: is there a "dose response" w. more severe forms of FGC associated w. greater dysfunction than less severe forms? Control group score about 26 (near sexual dysfunction line on FSFI!); in Type I, score about 25, not far different; but Types II, III trend to lower scores.

Audience member: when assessing outcomes of FGC It's very important first to determine whether the woman seeking treatment has had a consensual sexual experience prior to the interview; in many cases there may be rape or other sexual violence, or the woman may have had no sexual experience whatsoever (thereby worrying she may be sexually disabled, perhaps based on what she has 'learned' from Western discourse) when it fact she may be able to have positive sexual experiences, if the prior (other) wrongs have been addressed w. sensitive counseling/support

Speaker from Burkina Faso: women requesting clitoral 'reconstruction' surgery in his clinic after some forms of FGC don't realize that the external clitoris is not necessary or sufficient for orgasm: many women without FGC struggle w/ orgasm; many with do not. So first step in counseling is to explain that clitoral structures that are anatomically involved with orgasm are still extant and can function; with appropriate sex therapy and education, many women do not pursue surgery (with its additional risks); others pursue it for a sense of identity -

B. Essen, senior OGBYN: "My clinical evidence does not support @WHO claims about maternal mortality/complications due to FGM/C. I support WHO policy generally, but as a professional, I have a duty to raise my critical voice when I see research or policy not adding up." @WHO in @LancetGH: "FGM is associated with increased maternal mortality and this is likely to be causal. FGM done to young girls leading to scar. This causes obstruction." Essen: remember those words: "causal," "scar," and "obstruction." (1) Placenta/uterus bleeds, not scar; (2)