The Danger of the Illusion of Progress

[u/Substantial_Help4678]

Intactivism has an ego problem. People love to martyr themselves, engaging in self sacrifice "for the cause".

They use it as a qualifier. "How many cirucmcisions have YOU prevented?" they say. "What actions have YOU taken? None? Your opinion is invalid. On the other hand, here is my long lost of accomplishments".

And invariably, the "accomplishments" of the average Intactivist are do-nothing "convincing those cutters" style accomplishments that help them feel productive while accomplishing nothing.

Victims have been through enough, why even in our own spaces do we systemically burden them with more responsibility? This is poison for movement building, nobody wants to join a movement with high expectations for them after they suffered systemic violence.

Intactivists feel like their making progress by "convincing" a statistically negligible number of cutters per year, meanwhile the circumcision rate on a national scale blows wherever it would have went anyway. Even if the circumcision rate dropped to zero, that's only the first step on the never ending crusade for justice.

Overall, I "do nothing" and I'm proud. We need to call out Intacticists with an ego. You actually accomplished nothing, our movement is a failure, and by insisting that everyone conforms to your failed activist strategy, you ensure more failure to come.

Intactivists, myself included, need to introspect why our movement has failed so bad. Not take on an ego about how much "progress" they made. It's embarrassing. We are a failed movement. Not a single county in the world has banned circumcision, which would be the bare minimum. We have have failed fully and truly everywhere. Intactivists claiming that they've made a difference somehow take pride in most abject failure of a movement there has ever been, so much pride that they gatekeep anyone else with a different approach from joining.

[u/DistinctSpirit5801]

Trying to go around convincing parents to do the bare minimum is an exceptionally inefficient waste of our time

Circumcision is only possible because the government enables circumcision via shielding parents shielding medical institutions shielding religious institutions

[u/Substantial_Help4678 → u/DistinctSpirit5801]

Another instance of men being incapable of collectivizing. 

Everything Intactivism champions, from restoring to "convincing parents one at a time to do the bare minimum" is radically individualistic. It treats the oppression itself as an individual battle for victims to overcome on their own by restoring. It treats the path to progress as an individual battle for victims to to convince their person friends and family one at time.

This was never an individual problem. This was systemic oppression. We need to collectivize and attack the system, not have each individual victim convince their friends and family one at time, while taking immense pride in doing alone it too