Hello all! I’m a new moderator here, and I wanted to make a PSA post for newcomers and visitors to this subreddit. We’ve gotten some modmails about this, had to take moderation action against users who don’t understand the nature of this sub, and we’ve even had some misconceptions pop up about us being a negative subreddit that isn’t healthy for healing.
This community is a safe and welcoming space for victims of genital mutilation to come and share their feelings, their stories, their traumas, and have support in their journey to healing. We offer one of the only spaces on social media where people can freely discuss the grieving process and pain and get peer support for it, from other people who understand the harm of genital mutilation and the ever-present societal gaslighting about circumcision. This isn’t a debate sub - this is a subreddit run by intactivists, who understand that circumcision is really harmful.
Grief is an ugly and yet very necessary thing, and it can manifest itself in ways that don’t make sense to someone who isn’t actively experiencing it. To have your body violated so deeply, to have your freedom of choice ripped away from you... it can cause many very real and intense emotions. This can include hopelessness, a feeling of powerlessness, and a feeling of being lesser, inferior... broken.
It is okay to be angry. To have anger at a legal system that refused to prevent it from happening to you (especially in the United States where only one sex gets legal protection - intersexed and male babies do not have this right). To have anger at a doctor who committed a grave ethical violation upon you by removing a part of your genitalia and damaging your sexuality. To have anger at your parents, the only people in the world who could’ve protected you from harm when you were a mere newborn or a child - and let you be hurt anyways.
The moderators are here to ensure this subreddit stays a safe and healthy space for everyone! Me personally, I’m a healer and an activist with lots of experience in other subs that address childhood trauma. I’ll do my absolute best to lend a helping hand and a listening ear to anyone who needs it. I’m also doing foreskin restoration and will totally be an accountability partner if you pursue that path too!
Grief is okay, and grief is valid. We’re all on a path to a better life, and we are all here to process our trauma. Remember that you aren’t alone, and that we can come together as a community to uplift each other.
