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Weekly News Roundup
June 20, 2016
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Dennis J. Barbour, JD, Editor
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Snip snap
Why more than half of newborn boys in America are circumcised
Sexual, health and aesthetic norms do not vary much across the West. Male circumcision is an exception. Over half of American boys are snipped, compared with 2-3% in Finland and Britain. The procedure is justified in America on grounds given little credence in Europe: that it makes genitals cleaner, nicer-looking and more socially acceptable. Circumcision first became popular in the late 19th century as a supposed cure for masturbation-and health problems from headaches to tuberculosis. After the second world war it became associated in America with hygiene and wealth; in other rich countries governments (which paid for most health care) were unconvinced of its merits.
On the whole, European countries view the snip as an infringement on the child's bodily integrity that cannot be justified on medical grounds. It is true that circumcision can help prevent some sexually transmitted infections-but the evidence is from African countries where HIV/AIDS is common. Other infections can be fought in other ways, for example with vaccines or antibiotics. America puts parents' wishes first-even if future generations may find their reasons as odd as the Victorians' desire to check "excessive lust".
The Economist, June 18, 2016
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| HPV vaccine's worldwide health impact is clear
In the decade since the HPV vaccine was introduced, it has substantially reduced cervical pre-cancers, genital warts and abnormal Pap smears in countries with immunization programs, according to a new
international review
. The review, published online this month in the journal Clinical Infectious Diseases, looked at 58 studies of the effectiveness of
Merck's
Gardasil vaccine in Australia, Europe, North America, and New Zealand. The review was funded in part by a Merck-supported healthcare research company.
Gardasil
protects against sexually transmitted strains of the human papillomavirus (HPV) that cause most genital warts and 70 percent of cervical cancers, as well as some less common cancers of the head, neck, and genitals that occur in both men and women. (A newer version of Gardasil protects against strains that cause 90 percent of cervical cancers.) Because HPV-related cancer typically takes decades to develop, the full impact of the vaccine will take more time to emerge.
Philadelphia Inquirer, June 16, 2016
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| 1 in 13 Young Adults in U.S. Considered Suicide in Past Year
Federal data from 2013-2014 also finds significant differences between states
"Breaking down barriers regarding mental health, improving access to mental health services, better parental involvement and increasing awareness of crisis intervention hotlines are all necessary," said Dr. Robert Dicker. He helps direct child and adolescent psychiatry at Northwell Health in New Hyde Park, N.Y. The new report is based on 2013-2014 federal data. The findings also show significant differences in rates of "serious suicidal thoughts" among young adults across various states. Rates ranged from a high of 10.3 percent in New Hampshire to a low of 6.2 percent in Texas, the study found. Other states with the highest rates were Alaska, Indiana, Michigan, Montana, Nevada, Ohio, Oregon and Utah. Some states with the lowest rates were Arkansas, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Kansas, Mississippi, New Mexico, South Carolina and the District of Columbia.
Medline Plus, June 16, 2016
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| Male Teen Obesity May Mean Liver Disease Later
Study found risk increased as weight went up
Older teen boys who are overweight or obese could be at increased risk for severe liver disease later in life, a new study suggests. The research included nearly 45,000 Swedish males who entered military service in their late teens between 1969 and 1970. The investigators reviewed over 40 years of their health information. Nearly 400 of them were diagnosed with severe liver disease, the study authors said. Men who were overweight or obese in their late teens were 64 percent more likely to develop severe liver disease compared with men who had a low normal weight in their late teens. The researchers said that worked out to a 5 percent increased risk for every one point increase in body mass index (BMI).
Healthday, June 16, 2016
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Improving access to human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine leads to more improvement in vaccine uptake than other interventions, according to a new study. Such interventions often come in the form of school-based vaccination programs (VP) that reach large number of adolescents.
The Academy and CDC recommend HPV vaccine as part of routine immunization for males and females at age 11 or 12 years.
AAP News, June 15, 2016
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| 'We're Not a Threat': Transgender Teen Shares Powerful Message on Bullying
Corey Maison said she always knew in her heart that she was a female.The 14-year-old transgender teen describes herself as unique, outgoing, funny and has dreams of one day becoming a supermodel. But for now, Corey's main focus is sharing her story of how she's overcome bullying, in the hopes of supporting others who face the same obstacle. "We're not a threat," Corey wrote to ABC News. "We are just like any other kids. We only want people to accept and love us for who we are."
ABC News, June 15, 2016
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| Why are most internet trolls men?
A
ccording to Dr Claire Hardaker of Lancaster University, we can't be certain but there is "lots of anecdotal evidence" that most trolls are male - that's despite a study in May revealing half of all tweetscontaining the words 'slut' and 'whore' come from women. "I don't buy into the simplistic idea that it's a teenage boy sitting in his mum's basement," adds Bates. "Many are men with good jobs and families. The one thing that comes out from the messages I receive is, 'Shut up!' So perhaps it comes from a defensive reaction that by talking about women's rights they think we must be trying to steal something from men." It is hard to know exactly what motivates trolls - they don't tend to volunteer for studies. Yet empirical evidence of those who have turned up in the papers suggests the abusers are often - though certainly not always - from disadvantaged social groups; and as Bates, says, the messages directed at women are often domineering in their tone, which suggests an attempt to grab some of the power they feel has been denied them by society.
Telegraph, June 15, 2016
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| What Do We Do If The Orlando Shooter Really Was Gay?
What happens when it's revealed that the man who killed 49 queer people - most of them
queer
people of color - and wounded 53 others at a queer nightclub might
have been a longtime patron of that club and that he was spotted on gay sex apps
? One of the most horrific and heartbreaking moments in modern American history threatens to become even more horrific and heartbreaking. Suddenly, instead of simply (or not so simply) blaming the mass shooting on a dizzyingly noxious cocktail of hate, extremism, mental illness and offensively lax gun laws, we now must also grapple with the gruesome and all-too-familiar specter of internalized homophobia materializing to haunt this tragedy.
Huffington Post, June 15, 2016
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Our national attachment to dominance models of manhood is a major reason why we have so much violence. If toxic masculinity was just about men posturing around each other in a comical fashion, that would be one thing, but this persistent pressure to constantly be proving manhood and warding off anything considered feminine or emasculating is the main reason why we have so many damn shootings in the United States. Whether it's Islamic terrorism or Columbine-style shootings or, as is the case with some of the most common but least covered mass shootings, an act of domestic violence by a man who would rather kill his family than lose control, the common theme is this toxic masculinity, a desire on the part of the shooter to show off how much power and control he has, to take male dominance to the level of exerting control over life and death itself.
Salon, June 13, 2016
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| It's 2016 And Two Men Kissing Is Still A Stunning, Terrifying Sight
We don't know exactly why the Orlando he did it and we may never know. What we do know - what I've known my entire life - is that the sight of two men kissing is a stunning, terrifying thing. A dangerous thing. A thing that inspires fury and fear and violence and, yes, murder. Even today, even living in New York City, one of the most accepting cities in the world, I think twice before holding another man's hand or kissing another man's face. I don't want to - every time I do it I internally recoil a bit at my own reaction. And then I take a deep breath and take my date's hand. Or I push my lips towards my friend's lips when we're saying "goodnight." It's a simple act - a moment - but even twenty years after I first came out, I feel the terror swarming me because I do not know what might happen. After the Orlando massacre, w
e are devastated. We are terrified. We are in mourning. But we aren't alone and we must not let anything stop us from continuing our fight to be heard, to be seen, to be respected and to be free.
Huffington Post, June 12, 2016
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The Weekly News Roundup is produced by The Partnership for Male Youth and is released every Monday.
For more information contact Dennis J. Barbour, JD. News Roundup editor and President/CEO of the Partnership, at [email protected].
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