This book illuminates the vulnerability of human society to medical, economic, and historical pressures. It provides a much needed thoughtful and detailed analysis of the impact of circumcision on human rights and the development of the concept of bodily integrity. In this last sense, the challenge posed by the contemporary cultural disregard for the individual's right to control his own body and sexual destiny serves as a vivid example of how medicine has played a decisive role in shaping and defining cultural attitudes towards male sexuality and the male body.