#73 — Circumcision, Trauma, and Men’s Bodies (with Jenna McLelland)

👉 Join The Men Rising Community here: ⁠https://www.skool.com/men-rising/about⁠⚠️ Trigger Warning: This episode includes graphic discussion of circumcision and may be emotionally activating for some listeners.This is one of the most real and confronting conversations I’ve ever had on this podcast.In this episode, I sit down with Jenna McLelland, spiritual healer and circumcision researcher, to explore a subject that almost no one wants to look at—but nearly half the men listening have lived through.Circumcision.For many men, this is something that happened before we had language, choice, or consent. And because it happened so early, most of us never question it. We don’t know life any other way. We’re told it’s normal. We’re told it’s necessary. We’re told not to think about it.This episode invites us to think about it anyway.Jenna takes us deep into what actually happens during circumcision, the physical and nervous-system impact on an infant, and how that trauma can ripple into adulthood—affecting sensation, intimacy, emotional regulation, and a man’s relationship to his body.I also share my own story in this episode—as a circumcised man—speaking honestly about what it’s like to wake up to this later in life and begin asking the question:What would my experience of my body, pleasure, and intimacy be like if I had been intact?We explore:The physical and neurological impact of circumcisionHow early trauma can live in the body without memoryWhy adult men often feel disconnected from sensationThe emotional and relational consequences many men carry unknowinglyCultural, religious, and belief-based justifications—and why they deserve to be questionedWhy this practice continues despite lacking necessityThis is not an episode meant to shame parents.It is an episode meant to awaken awareness.Outside of inherited dogma and unquestioned belief systems, there is very little reason for this practice to continue. And until men are willing to look directly at it, it will remain hidden, normalized, and unexamined.This conversation is raw.It’s honest.And it matters.🎧 Listen with care, curiosity, and self-compassion.More from Jenna-https://www.instagram.com/jenna_mcclelland_/If this episode stirred something in you and you want a space to process, reflect, and explore your relationship with your body, intimacy, and masculinity—Men Rising exists for that reason.Men Rising is a grounded community for men who want to:Develop a deeper relationship with their bodiesUnpack inherited beliefs and early conditioningExplore intimacy, touch, and pleasure with awarenessHeal rather than suppress👉 Join Men Rising here:https://www.skool.com/men-rising/about