Okay. Now I'm Jewish, and even though I'm not very religious, I needed to ask:
At my college, they're always going on about being sensitive to other types of people and whatnot (as many colleges do).
But in one of my classes, the topic of male circumcision came up. And everyone, even the professor, went on talking about how it's a terrible, harmful, barbaric process that is just plain cruel and everything else. All of this with no regard to the fact that some people might find that offensive.
I've heard many people say "they have proven this bad thing" and "that bad thing" about circumcision. And I've read about horror stories but I've never actually known of any. But I've looked at the World Health Organization site, and all kinds of health sites, and I've not found anything that proves those "bad" things about circumcision, only benefits (HIV, STD, cleanliness benefits, etc...all *proven* things)
So I want to ask, where are people getting this "proven" information? I'm not trying to change anyone's views, I just want to know where people are finding proven information on the commonly mentioned dangers of it, when I myself found absolutely no proven information.
Plus--when those students said it was unnatural, I couldn't help but think--wait a minute, there have been more medical complications with tattoos... and piercings... and we're in a clothes-wearing, makeup wearing society that drives cars and shaves, wears tampons, uses condoms, takes birth control, sits in an air conditioned classroom, and does all kinds of other **** that's "unnatural." I'm not trying to just rant, but I really do want to understand the logic on this argument.
And I understand the pain portion, but in Muslim cultures older boys are given circumcision to endure the pain as a covenant with God. Are people disregarding this? What happened to being sensitive to other people's cultures?
I'm sorry I'm ranting but this is something that really bothered me today... I understand your anger and wanting to rant. Circumcision is one of those hushush topics that people rarely discuss. What you are not aware of is that there is an anti circumcision lobby out there that is as nasty and as bad as the anti abortionists. They are out to stamp out circumcision anyway they can.
They say it mutilation, barbaric anti human rights etc. You will recognize them by the Anti circ sites they refer you to. Such as Noharm, Norm, Cirp, Nocirc and ICGI.
What you need is pro circucision information. I have listed below sites where you can get it. I learned so much by going to these sites.
first of all you are well informed and the benefits are many. Jews have the lowest cancer of the penis rate in the world because they circumcise at birth.
In the USA it has become a cultural tradition, going back to the 1800's. Soldiers were routinely circumcised during world war 2 for sanitary reasons due to going weeks without bathing.
Koreans also circumcise, and it it gaining popularity in the Philipines, it is also being done in Africa to combat HIV.
here are the sites where you can get all the info you need to
battle the ignoramuses out there.
And thank your parents for providing you with a lifetime of protection from Std,s, hpv, etc.
http://www.circlist.com/
http://www.gilgalsoc.org/
http://www.aboutcirc.com/
http://www.medicirc.org/
http://www.circinfo.net/
http://www.circinfo.com/
http://www.geocities.com/HotSprings/2754...
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Inter-Circ...
http://groups.google.com/group/CIRCLIST
http://men.webmd.com/guide/circumcision-...
http://www.circumcisioninfo.com/index_ho...
http://www.eurocirc.org/index_en.html
http://www.bris.us
ps Circumcison is the oldest surgical procedure known to civilization. It is over 3000 years old. It was even practiced by the ancient Egytians. if it was a detriment it would have died out a long time ago. Dude, most men you see today are probably circumcised. Well I say that because I've read that circumcision has become something the majority of Americans were doing at some point, I forget when, but correct me if I'm wrong on that. Anyway...Either they know what they're talking about or they are perfectly normal and nothing is wrong with them. I myself, being female, don't see how this is a problem for men because I've always been told that boys are circumcised for the sake of good hygiene and so forth, and that circumcision for men is beneficial. I don't know of any risks, but now that I'm hearing of so many people complaining about it, I think I'll make sure my son leaves the hospital with his foreskin intact when I get to having kids. I don't think there's going to be any huge harm either way unless it is an extreme form of circumcision or it's been botched. I do not know where the information comes from, as I could not find any credible sources when doing research in the decision of whether or not to have my sons circumsized. For the first three the decision was made for it, for social reasons. For my fourth, in all honesty, there were no more doctors where I live who perfrom them unless for medical reasons. Sure there are certified people of religion that do, but as I am not religious, not the route to go. Really, there are no good things about circumcision simply because the bad things outweigh any "supposed" miniscule benefits by so much.
The bad thing about circumcision is that it destroys the way the penis was designed to work. Take a look at this site (beware, contains pictures and videos of intact penis's!):
http://geocities.com/painfulquestioning/...
As you can see, the normal way for a man to masturbate is by the skin rolling up and down. This is known as the gliding effect. A circumcised man can't do that. The gliding effect is important because the foreskin is the most sensitive part of the penis - the glans (head) is one of the least sensitive. The reason it is sensitive is because attached to the underside of the foreskin are thousands of touch sensitive nerves called meissner's corpuscles. these are stimulated as the skin moves up and down and so the nerves are constantly brushing against the shaft. After circumcision, the exposed head of the penis thickens like a callus and becomes less sensitive. The sensitivity worsens over time. All this will impact the man's sex life. Because erotically sensitive areas of the penis have been removed,the circumcised penis must thrust more vigorously with a much longer stroke in order to reach orgasm through stimulating the less sensitive penile shaft. This will make sex a lot less pleasurable for a woman. Another function of the foreskin is that when retracted it keeps moisture inside the vagina , and so prevents vaginal dryness which is also painful for a woman:
http://mensightmagazine.com/Articles/Nor...
You say the benefits are proven, well actually no they are not proven - this is why no doctors association in the world recommends circumcision on health grounds. The AAP changed there stance of in favour, to saying that the risks outweigh any supposed benefits:
http://www.circumstitions.com/AAP-ana.ht...
All of the studies done on HIV and STD's were flawed with many confounding factors, so no firm conclusion about circumcision preventing these things can be drawn:
http://www.doctorsopposingcircumcision.o...
Cleanliness benefits: What exactly do you mean by this? In medical terms this phrase is meaningless. The intact foreskin serves to protect the urethra and the smegma contains antibodies whilst also providing lubrication. There are no cleanliness benefits - a circumcised penis requires way more care in the first 3 years of life. An intact penis just needs to be left alone - it doesn't need to be retracted and you don't have to excessively clean under it - just as you wouldn't clean a vagina.
Most of the world (80%) is uncut and it is extremely rare for them to have any problems whatsoever.
Complications from circumcision however are quite common - even if it is just an untidy job -you wouldn't be happy. Circumcised boys are significantly more likely to have non-cosmetic problems, including coronal adhesions, trapped epithelial debris, a reddened meatus, preputial stenosis (phimosis) and balanitis than boys with a foreskin:
http://www.catholicsagainstcircumcision....
This is someone's penis - it shouldn't be mutilated . If it does go wrong, the consequences are not pretty:
http://www.circumcisionquotes.com/images...
http://www.infocirc.org/fourn.htm
What you see here is a baby with a circumcised penis, only the penis is dead:
http://www.circumcisionquotes.com/images...
Not much use now. How would you like to be that boy? |
