“The self-making of the scientific circumciser (fenni sünnetçi):” the medicalization of male circumcision in Turkey

This article analyzes the medicalization of male circumcision in Turkey. In the 1960s, the Turkish state launched its largest network of healthcare services in its history. As part of the network, health officers began to perform circumcisions and introduced medical expertise into male circumcision. They advertised new surgical techniques via mass media and aimed to persuade families of their benefits and replace itinerant circumcisers stigmatized in the new modern, national imaginary. To do so, this article argues, health officers turned themselves into “fenni sünnetçi (scientific circumciser).” By operationalizing the concept of ambivalence, this article investigates how “fenni sünnetçi” came to epitomize a hybrid identity that enabled health officers to differentiate themselves from itinerant circumcisers and maintain their professional status while resonating with families accustomed to the services of itinerant circumcisers. The article enriches our understanding of medicalization by paying attention to the changing subjectivities of medical professionals who initiate the medicalization process. •The process of medicalization changed how male circumcision was performed.•The drivers of the medicalization were low-ranked medical professionals.•Understanding subjectivities deepens the theories of medicalization.