Poll: Circumcision

[Arrers]

It's not normal in Poland, or Europe. Why would it be?

No point, really. It's just inhumane, cutting off the most important part of a man just for... WHAT?

The most important part of me is my massive, throbbing...
Brain.
What did you think I was going to say?

Oh, you know..

But seriously, I don't think there's anythnig wrong with it, and most people in Britain don't seem to think it's weird.

 

[DannyBoy451]

The evils of unconsentual genital mutilation etc. etc. etc.

 

[Nostalgia]

Both are pretty barbaric to me. Especially when it comes to female circumcision considering there is absolutely no reason for it to be done but to stop said girl from experiencing sexual pleasure.

Circumcision can be done for medical reasons, and I could accept that, but for the most part, it's not the case as it's done right after birth under parent consent even with no signs of problems. You can say that circumcision merely exists for cleanliness, given the times and area, but being mainly a religious practice, it's to stop accessibility and lessen pleasure from masturbation.

 

[Syntax Error]

Circumcision in our part of the world is done only in males and usually when they're at adolescence. Like I said earlier, you'll get nasty looks from women here if you're a native and you're not circumcised.

 

[IchStrafenDich]

I'm still bewildered when you say that circumcision 'lessens pleasure from masturbation'.

Durrr?

The male organ is ridiculously easy to please. Any nerve endings lost in the foreskin really don't make that much of a difference. And about autonomy and consensual things? It's really the same principle as your parents deciding anything else about your life before you're sentient enough to make a decision. As a child, I don't think you really count as a human being, so parents are perfectly within their rights to impose their values on you. A foreskin can be repaired if you give enough of a shit later in life.

 

[Superbeast]

I had to get circumcised a few years back,because my foreskin had become too tight and was causing me problems.

Same here (though more than a few years ago now, about 12-15 years ago). I'm from the UK btw. I think over here (Europe) circumcision is only practiced by followers of Judaism (sp?) and for medical reasons. Having it done "just because" seems a little...bizzare to me. Oh, and sensetive people (pun intended if you read on) might not want to read the next paragraph, you may find it gross or offensive...

Spoiler

Though my (female) best mate certainly thinks it was an advantage - we have a bit of fun occasionally and she's now dating a jewish guy, and aparently we're the best she's had. Something to do with the desensitisation of the head (since it isn't so protected in day-to-day life) leading to better performance/staimina (and that's a view I've heard from other women as well - and not just ones I've slept with, I mean in general conversation or other internet forum topics).

Hmm, I suppose I should clarify something: By desensitisation, I'm not talking that you loose feeling - no girlfriend of mine has ever had to 'work harder' with me than with an "un-cut" guy, but the trigger to climax is delayed because the feelings aren't so "abnormal" to your body (ie, you still feel everything but you don't ejaculate so quickly). I don't know if this is medical fact or just hyperbole rumour, but I've seen other "cut" posters mention something similar.

It's a bloody painful procedure though. A day later I had to walk out of hospital (no pain killers) and effing hell, I could hardly move (imagine a little kid walking doubled over and crying, having to be virtually dragged by parents). It's not something I would recommend going through for "vainty/sexual performance" issues. In fact, it would be interesting to see if the experiences of circumcision (as in the effects or what have you) differ from those circumcised at birth (jews) or a relatively young age (like me) and those who make the decision later in life (so 18+ kinda thing).

 

[theklng]

Yup, its a Jewish thing, mainly. As in religious. Which is probably why it isn't practiced in Russia all that much - Russia is a pretty antisemitic place. Or at the least it used to be.

what? have you actually been to russia? do you realize that it is larger than the US in square meters than the US? what you said would be the equivalent of saying "yeah the US is a pretty antisemitic place".

 

[Doug]

I'm an American (cut), but I was educated in a properly archaic English boarding school. None of my housemates were cut, and the girls we knew seemed to prefer cut guys for reasons many and varied. At some point in my senior year, before going off on a road trip, all the other lads in my year did the research, read the scary stories and laughable outrage and en-masse decided to have the procedure. Two years on, none of them regret it. Is the foreskin really such a massive inconvenience?

I find it hilarious how many people are commenting on the nature of subjective experiences they personally do not have (Dirk Gently). I've been circumcised since before I can remember, and my genitals lack no sensitivity, but I wouldn't have the arrogance to describe what it feels like to have a foreskin. Human feelings and sensation being tricky to quantify or discuss objectively, it seems like everybody should pause a moment before opening their gobs, because you can't just read an article and assume you have reliable, or even substantial, knowledge of an issue like this. You can only really know what you experience, and even then you have to account for what you are used to, so unless you've possessed multiple penises of varying degrees of foreskinned-ness and have been able to compare their relative sensitivity your entire life, you don't really have sufficient epistemological qualifications to weigh in on this topic. All anybody can contribute is another opinion, at which point it becomes a matter of counting 'Yea' and 'Nay' votes, which is great for democracy but crap for meaningful discussion.

TL;DR stfu.

Oh, and hi. I'm new.

I thought most of the topic was about whether it prevented STDs, especially HIV. I personally haven't commented on the different between cut/uncut - some books and articles have opinions, but those are opinions.

I'm against the forced circumcision of baby boys because you are removing the choice from the kid in the first place. For example, you had no choice if you wanted to be circumcised or not. You were, and hence are stuck like that. These guys who had it done: tis their choice - their adults and presumably willing and able to research something like this, weigh up any pro's or con's, and decide for themselves. Thats fair enough. But inflicting on a baby, whether they'll want it later or not, isn't right.

Ok, if clear, strong scientific evidence comes out that it protects kids from STDs very well, and this is confirmed, repeatable, and so forth, then it'll be ethnical to make a call like this.

As for religious circumcision:

* Islam doesn't require it - its a myth from tribes who converted to Islam centuries ago, and has never been written as a requirement in the Koran.

* According to this link [http://www.jewishcircumcision.org/], circumcision is NOT a requirement to be Jewish. I can't say if this is true or not, but the site seems well thought out and presented, so I assume its a valid view on Judaism.

* Christians haven't ever required the practise, as far as I'm aware, in order to be christian.

And bluntly, for other religions, there has to be something wrong if your religion requires you to force both the religion and the act of circumcision onto a kid who isn't old enough to make up his or her own mind.

As for cultural circumcision, well, thats outright barbaric, frankly. Especially female circumcision.

 

[Nostalgia]

The male organ is ridiculously easy to please. Any nerve endings lost in the foreskin really don't make that much of a difference. And about autonomy and consensual things? It's really the same principle as your parents deciding anything else about your life before you're sentient enough to make a decision. As a child, I don't think you really count as a human being, so parents are perfectly within their rights to impose their values on you. A foreskin can be repaired if you give enough of a shit later in life.

Oh, no doubt about that, but that wasn't any concern of mine.
Removing the foreskin, exposing the head of your penis, makes it prone to friction and stimulus growing up. Over time, you'll loss some sense of pleasure and sensitivity. Also, it could lead to callouses due to there being no foreskin to provide a moist environment.
You can say it doesn't make much of a difference, or not enough of a difference that a man would care to get reconstructive surgery or go through surgery to remove it, but logically looking at it, it seems there really is no reason to remove it in the first place besides infection.

Other countries find it to be disgusting that Americans will still provide this services so willingly for a reason.

 

[space_oddity]

Snipped and proud.

 

[MercenaryCanary]

The odd thing about circumcision is that they don't give the babies any drugs, so they feel the full effect. When some of them go to sleep, they actually go into shock, because their skins is 100 times sensitive than ours.
What do they do with the foreskins, anyway?
They use them in (and here is the kicker) beauty products! Guess I have a reason to laugh at people who apply make-up now.

Oh, nearly forgot, I'm not circumcised. This does provide me with a bit of a worry, but seeing as I'm not old enough to actually have sex at this moment, I've decided to worry about it later.

 

[space_oddity]

Removing the foreskin, exposing the head of your penis, makes it prone to friction and stimulus growing up. Over time, you'll loss some sense of pleasure and sensitivity. Also, it could lead to callouses due to there being no foreskin to provide a moist environment.

Dude what the hell kind of underwear are you wearing? Sandpaper?
Also what the hell is your penis made of if it is getting callouses?

Unless you are a Urologist you have absolutely no authority to cite your opinions as fact. Please dont ever use the word moist again when referring to your MANatomy.

Other countries find it to be disgusting that Americans will still provide this services so willingly for a reason.

What countries?

 

[IchStrafenDich]

The male organ is ridiculously easy to please. Any nerve endings lost in the foreskin really don't make that much of a difference. And about autonomy and consensual things? It's really the same principle as your parents deciding anything else about your life before you're sentient enough to make a decision. As a child, I don't think you really count as a human being, so parents are perfectly within their rights to impose their values on you. A foreskin can be repaired if you give enough of a shit later in life.

Other countries find it to be disgusting that Americans will still provide this services so willingly for a reason.

Apparently not disgusting enough for people to choose it, non-medically, during adulthood outside the States.

Stop caring about children, they don't matter and they bounce back.

Also, don't interfere with a parent's right to impose values on a child, or you'll regret it when you come to make those decisions for your own children. So what if the parents make the wrong one, or a traumatic one? Then the little snotlings will have a reason to be angsty, cynical and rebellious other than mere adolescence. Suffering builds character. Beat on the brat. By your logic, one could advertise circumcision as a hilarious practical joke.

 

[Zykon TheLich]

They use them in (and here is the kicker) beauty products! Guess I have a reason to laugh at people who apply make-up now.

That has to be an urban myth....has to be...although if it's not...just think, if you're circumcised some model could be rubbing a bit of your cock all over her face as we speak

 

[vamp rocks]

Edit: I think some people do it for religious purposes. Don't know what the reasoning is, though.

i think it was from the Jewish faith originally, they had to have long journeys through the desert and sand would get caught between the foreskin and the head of the penis, causing extreme discomfort. nowadays it does not really have much practicallity but it is a tradition.

also i am not circumcised..

im not sure but i think i read somewhere that the foreskin, because it moves back and forth.. makes it easier to... hmm... to put this in the cleanest way possible... go in and out.. without lubricant.. anyway thats what i heard.

 

[Gamine]

Removing the foreskin, exposing the head of your penis, makes it prone to friction and stimulus growing up. Over time, you'll loss some sense of pleasure and sensitivity. Also, it could lead to callouses due to there being no foreskin to provide a moist environment.

Dude what the hell kind of underwear are you wearing? Sandpaper?
Also what the hell is your penis made of if it is getting callouses?

ROTFLMAO!!

Circumcision please!!!
Its better in the long run, how many of you circumcised dudes can remember the pain?

As for Female circumcision, some claim there is a need for some women....
but i know that there is a difference between Mutilation and Circumcision

 

[Labyrinth]

I'm not gay, there's not a high chance I'll be getting HIV that way.

Sorry to throw a spanner in it, but heterosexual sex is only less likely to transfer AIDS because the vaginal wall is thicker than then anal.

Spoiler: I really doubt this counts as safe for work.

Female circumcision is vastly different to male. A wikipedia diagram has the right idea.

Spoiler: Female Genital Circumcision types

For a more general description which my XY counterpart may empathise with in terms of the loss of physical stimulation.

Normal: Whole package present.
Type I: Severance of penis head and/or removal of nerves along the top of the penis.
Type II: Near-complete castration. A stump left, covered with a second skin layer.
Type III: Well... see the diagram.

Edit: there's a fourth type not included in the diagram. This includes any kind of piercing, needle pricking and the like of that area. There's also a few adult women who opt to have part of the clitoral hood removed if it's particularly stubborn in order to gain better access to the clit itself.

For myself, I'm uncircumcised. I can't say I have a preference either way when it comes to male partners. Female circumcision pushes my rage buttons I'm afraid.

 

[Doug]

Circumcision please!!!
Its better in the long run, how many of you circumcised dudes can remember the pain?

As for Female circumcision, some claim there is a need for some women....
but i know that there is a difference between Mutilation and Circumcision

How is it better? And why do people reckon there is a 'need' for some women to get circumcised? Aside from medical conditions.

 

[Doug]

I'm not gay, there's not a high chance I'll be getting HIV that way.

Sorry to throw a spanner in it, but heterosexual sex is only less likely to transfer AIDS because the vaginal wall is thicker than then anal.

Yeah, I had to sigh at his blind stupid ignorance too.

For myself, I'm uncircumcised. I can't say I have a preference either way when it comes to male partners. Female circumcision pushes my rage buttons I'm afraid.

Understandable. Frankly, type III scares me that they would think its acceptable. Add to that, its a recipe for infections and so forth. Its just evil, really.

 

[Pipotchi]

Uncircumcised for me, and as has already been pointed out that seems to be the norm in Europe.

If a guy wants to chop his foreskin as an adult then good for him, but in my mind mutilating a child with no say in the matter is an abhorent practice regardless of wherever your religion endorses it.

Edit Oh and female circumscision is even more twisted