Defense Date
3-22-2024
Graduation Date
Spring 5-10-2024
Availability
Immediate Access
Submission Type
dissertation
Degree Name
PhD
Department
Clinical Psychology
School
McAnulty College and Graduate School of Liberal Arts
Committee Chair
Elizabeth Fein
Committee Member
Jessie Goicoechea
Committee Member
Richard A. Shweder
Keywords
circumcision, anti-circumcision, Intactivism, ethnography, clinical ethnography, cultural psychology, sexuality, pain, euphemism
Abstract
On a routine trip to the grocery store, or while scrolling online, you might encounter the provocative and puzzling discourse of Intactivism, a viral, single-issue social movement that opposes infant male circumcision, and wonder “Huh? Why is this here, now?” This project situates Intactivism in a history of circumcision and anti-circumcision that spans from ancient Sumerian tents to the front pages of Reddit. It takes an immersive qualitative clinical ethnographic approach, nested in a broader cultural psychology that is non-reductive and pluralistic, to articulate an Intactivist ethos in its public and private dimensions. Methods include participant-observation, interviews, and framework discourse analysis. Findings include Intactivism’s distinctive internet-ready discursive structures and practices that attempt to impugn euphemistic language and culture through carefully designed encounters online and at protests.
Language
English
Recommended Citation
Gaddes, B. M. (2024). Circumcision—Deal With It! A clinical ethnography of Intactivism at American intersections (Doctoral dissertation, Duquesne University). Retrieved from https://dsc.duq.edu/etd/2221