Monday, February 05, 2007

Circumsision is barbaric.


Anonymous
05:32:00 PM

18 comments:

thewordofrashi said...

I disagree, although I know that Pchis would agree with the OP.

Did you know that women who have sex with circumcised men have a much lower rate of cervical cancer?

Also, men who are circumcised report a higher amount of pleasure while engaging in intercourse.

Also, men who are circumcised have a lower rate of infection.

Basically, it's a process that's thousands of years old, it's healthier, and it's no more barbaric than getting your ears pierced.

Anonymous said...

i read somewhere that circumcised men have a smaller chance of spreading AIDS. so i'm all for it.

Anonymous said...

Circumcision for males isn't so bad, no. But who said that's what the OP was talking about?

He/she could have been referring to female circumcision, a practice that truly is barbaric: in an attempt to keep females' sexual desires under control and preserve (by force) virginity until marriage, girls in some cultures must have their external genatailia cut off and the remaining opening sticthed almost all the way shut. The operation renders sexual pleasure virtually unattainable for the woman, makes intercourse and urination painful, can cause complications during childbirth, and can even cause death from bloodloss or infection if improper surgical methods are used. To do to a male what female circumcision does to a woman, one would have to cut off his penis entirely.

That's pretty barbaric.

PChis said...

Another believer?
Praise!

The idea that women have a much lower rate of cervical cancer is not a well supported theory at all.

While many surveys have shown exactly what rashi describes, many have concluded exactly the opposite.

The forskin contains very sensitive nerves, secretes a lubricant not unlike vaginal secretions (what's that called anyone?), it has a sensitive band at the end thought to be primarily for sexual stimulation, and it acts as a protective cover of the glans (the head of the penis).

Men who are circumcised have a higher chance of getting genital warts and an infection of the urethra, whereas uncircumcised men have a higher chance of getting things like herpes I believe.

There has been a preliminary study on the idea that circumcision prevents HIV, but it has not met close scrutiny as of yet (or to my knowledge at least). Condom use is a much more effective and safe way of achieving this goal.


To say that it's "no more barbaric than getting your ears pierced" is inane because circumcision is the removal of one of the most sensitive parts of the male body.

That is to say it is extremely painful and has effects much longer lasting than a hole in your ear.


If you want to read a fairly short and, from what I've read, a fairly objective view of the subject, try:

http://www.netdoctor.co.uk/menshealth/facts/circumcision.htm


If you'd like a little more extensive and anti-circumcision viewpoint you can go to:

http://www.circumcision.org/


The first site is more of a brief overview, whereas the second sites specific studies about things ranging from medical to sex issues.



As to my own personal claim: My grandpa was forced to go through the process at the age of thirteen, and he despised doctors and the practice up until the day he died.

As a result all of his offspring have remained untouched,

a tradition I intend to keep.

It has relatively weak medical support and should really only be done as a purely religious thing or in the case of medical need.

I also believe religions should abandon it as they have abandoned many things such as sacrifices towards cattle and harsh treatment towards women (and basically the entirety of leviticus), as this is one more thing that cannot possibly coincide with our evolving standards of decency.


Cutting off part of your penis is gross; don't do it to yourself and certainly don't do it to your child.


Plus I think that with the forskin it looks pretty...or at least non-obtrusive and without it it looks downright creepy.

Anonymous said...

No. I was talking about male circumcision. I think almost all concerned with this site would agree female is gross and disgusting.

TintedFragipan said...

oh man! if I ever see a real dude's foreskin I might literally puke.

penii are so much better without them


also, it's not painful as an infant. WELL that's a lie. it's still painful, just no one cares because you're not aware enough to communicate the pain, per se.

Anonymous said...

^ Haha, "Cruel & Unusual Punishment" arguments, anyone?

:D

Graffiti Pastry said...

No.

It's hardly a punishment.

Honestly, does anybody remember what it felt like to get circumcised?

Anonymous said...

yea, down with circumcising. In some European countries we claim the majority.

PChis said...

Apparently studies are being done in Canada and the UK showing that children go through a psychological effect not unlike PTSD after circumcision. The fact that many babies don't cry during circumcision is from that fact that the baby goes into shock because of the extreme pain.

Hannah said...

re: anon under tinted:

would it cause FOUR MINUTES of pain??? :D

Graffiti Pastry said...

Pchis... multiple problems with citing study evidence from the UK and Canada. Firstly, how could you go about analyzing pain/trauma in infants... especially when hardly anything is known about what goes in in the minds of young children.

Second and thirdly, this seems like a given, why would you take a Brit or Canadian's word on it?

Graffiti Pastry said...

... I mean... I don't have Canadian citizenship or anything... *cough*

Anonymous said...

yea down with Canucks, In some American countries we have the majority

PChis said...

I trust the UK and Canada because the U.S. has some ridiculous notion that everyone should be circumcised.

80% of males are circumcised in America today, and 60% of newborns.

In europe it's about 20%, for religious reasons.

Unneeded surgery for some cultural fad seems rather ridiculous to me.

Queen Sekaf said...

I really wanted to tag this post a knowledge claim, and then realized I wasn't in TOK...and will never be again! really sad!

Anonymous said...

Circumcision is hot. Seriously. Uncircumcised penises are gross. And having been with men who had been and had not been, I absolutely love circumcised.

Anonymous said...

Um...I don't actually know who any of you are or have ever read Tangst before for that matter but I do know that there is some dude out there named PChis with a foreskin and that is way more information than I ever wanted to have. But thanks for sharing.