How is circumcision justifiable?

Question

How can it possibly be ok to mutilate a human being when they aren't old enough to give consent? Why aren't people outraged over it? If I wanted to cut the vaginal lips off of my baby daughter, would you be cool with that?

And please, don't tell me it's healthier. It isn't. I respect circumsized penises, but I don't have that much respect for parents who mutilate their children.

Blah. I'm going to go cut off someone's ears to prevent them from getting ear infections.

Answer 1

Just last week I was talking to a woman who mentioned she was pregnant with a boy and would be having him circumsized. I told her that I did some research during which I discovered some pretty unpleasant pictures as to how it's all done and she asked me not to share them with her otherwise she wouldn't go through with it. Does that make sense? She didn't research both sides of the process, yet she assumes it's the best thing for the child.

The problem is they are unaware of the the process. If they were many of us wouldn't subject our children to that.

Answer 2

>> Why aren't people outraged over it? <<

People ARE outraged. Just last week, over 200 people traveled to Seattle from around the globe at their own personal expense to take part in the 9th International Symposium on Circumcision, Genital Integrity, and Human Rights. They met to strategize and bring about the end of all forms of genital mutilation throughout the world.

80% of the world does not circumcise. Those who do mutilate are motivated by superstition and/or ignorance. You will learn more by watching the 20-minute video (4th link) than a typical US med student is taught about the normal penis.

Be the change you wish to see.

-Ron

Answer 3

Children (especially little girls) are mutilated every day, in many third world countries. At puberty their clitorises are cut off, without anesthesia. At least circumcision, for the most part, is done for religious or health reasons, and at an extremely early age .. not that that makes it right by any means. No child anywhere or at anytime should be harmed or mutilated to satisfy someone else's need or desires.

Answer 4

Well, I think that every person should have the right to make that decision for themselves, but, as for healthier or not? Maybe, when the child is growing up, and has the right information about hygiene from his parents, and takes care of himself, like he's supposed to, that's good.. but, later, when he gets older, and starts to have trouble in that area, because he has trouble with the foreskin, then circumcision may become something he NEEDS...
and, at this later stage, it can be a very painful, traumatizing experience..
And, of course, the older the man, the harder it is for him, no pun intended,. and I know this because I had to have it done in my late 40's, even though I did everything correctly.. BUT, due to phimosis, I started experiencing infections, etc, and, rather than continue on this path, and endanger the health of myself, and my wife, I had to go through this procedure. So, yes, there are times when it is justified.
As for outrage, it's something that is ingrained in parents, for as long as I can remember, so, naturally, there is no outrage, for the most part.. However, more and more parents are learning that it isn't a NECESSARY procedure, and fewer are having it done.. But, you can't FORCE your beliefs on others, any more than you would want them to force theirs on you. Educate, not violate.

Answer 5

Except in very rare medial cases, there is no justification for this barbaric practice. It apparently became popular when some nut cases decided it would keep boys from mastrubating--it didn't. Why cut off part of the penis to keep it clean - would you cut off your arm so you could keep your armpits clean?

This disgusting practice is becoming a bit less common, but people still mutilate their little boys (often w/o anestethesia. It's sick!

Answer 6

This Site Might Help You.

RE:
How is circumcision justifiable?
How can it possibly be ok to mutilate a human being when they aren't old enough to give consent? Why aren't people outraged over it? If I wanted to cut the vaginal lips off of my baby daughter, would you be cool with that?

And please, don't tell me it's healthier. It...

Answer 7

I have always been v. anti circumcision due to the obvious unnecessary mutilation and subsequent insensitivity that must develop over years of sensitive skin being unprotected.
http://www.aegis.com/news/bbc/2004/BB040319.html
Saw this program on the BBC last year and at least where they practice anal sex as a form of birth control and in Africa there may be pro's.
Also: http://www.circumcisioninfo.com/bbc_cancer.htm
Still wouldn't do it to my kid or self though!

Answer 8

I first read about circumcision in the Bible. God considers men dirty if they are uncircumcised.

As much as you do not want to hear about the health factors, it does play a huge part.

Parents usally circumcise their sons at young ages to spare them of the pain if they want to do it when they're older. I think this is a bit different from mutilation.

Answer 9

It used to be very important when personal hygiene wasn't so great- i.e. showers and running water weren't common and they hadn't even heard of indoor plumbing. Anyway, diseases and infections are quite happy to live under the foreskin and people found that it was better to get rid of it to keep their children from getting all kinds of diseases. Why people still do it when sanitation is so good is beyond me- tradition is stupid sometimes.

Answer 10

Not justifiable at all!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

RELIGION--If God intended boys to not have "skin" He would have made them so.
http://www.nocirc.org/religion/

HYGIENE--Use a new invention, soap and water!!! Women produce much more smegma because of physiologic and anatomical reasons, and how would you feel if they cut your vulva lips??? Women, why don’t you answer my question, are you afraid? Baby girls are more likely to get urinary tract infections and no one suggests we surgically alter them at birth to reduce the risks! Just one of many double standards and laws that always treat men worse.

MEDICAL REASONS--No medical reasons. A extremely small chance of a complication do not justify the removal of the foreskin, if so, why don't we remove the tonsils and the appendix when a child is born, and the chance of complications of the tonsils and the appendix is much greater. Talking about complications, in fact many baby boys die each year from circumcision and related complications.
EVEN if phimosis occurs, instead of chopping it off like barbarians!, use Conservative Treatments like:
-Topical Medication(non-traumatic and non-destructive)
-Dilation and Stretching(non-traumatic and non-destructive)
-Combination treatment(non-traumatic and non-destructive)
-Preputioplasty is the medical term for plastic surgery of the prepuce or foreskin(many methods).
If you want more detail on Conservative Treatments, go here:
http://www.cirp.org/library/treatment/phimosis/

SEX--Foreskin actually enhances the sexual experience for men because it constantly moves over the head of the penis causing more friction and pleasure. Men will also lose much sensitivity to the glans if circumcised.
Circunsized men will have to deal with disconfot and dry glans.
The foreskin have those functions: protective, erogenous, sensory, and sexual physiologic. After all, why would you want to lose all of those “Meissner corpuscles”, the same nerve complexes which provide fine touch to the fingertips?
It is there for many reasons, that is how a man should be(it is natural).
If women like it better circumcised because it looks better(strange, not natural) or gives them more sexual pleasure(strange, not natural), then too bad, they do not have the right! All men do not like mutilated vulvas, and all men like breasts with nipples, they do not like mutilated breasts, etc, etc, etc, because that is the way those organs are supposed to be, it is natural. Interesting, isn’t?!!!

If that was a common practice to do that to baby girls, all the women would be in a big uproar about it(and men too!, men are not like women), but it’s ok to mutilate little boys. The great majority of the ones that agree with circumcision are women for their stupid selfish reasons. Even court cases reported in which mother and father fight because the mother wants to mutilate the son, it is always the mother!. You women should be ashamed to that to your son. Men that are not circumcised, will not get circumcised when adults, they would scream, kick, fight and run, if someone tries to mutilate their privates area, just like you women would run too if someone tried to do that to your labia. Men that where circumcised do not realize what they lost because never had one, and most of them that do realize try to justify it so they do not feel bad about it. Many circumcised men feel very bad emotionally because of what was done to them to such a private area.
It is mutilation of defenceless children in the most private spot, genital mutilation.
It is cruel and barbaric.
It is a human rights violation.
It is not the parent’s decision; it is the parents decision if they want to abuse him, rape him, or to kill him?.
I do not even agree that it is ok if an adult man wants to get circumcised. I think it is wrong, because if a man wants to lose a finger, the Doctor can not do that to him. Think about it, think, think. And by the way, adult men that decide to get circumcised, do it because they know most women like it, they just do it to be more accepted by women.
I think it is just like slavery and all other barbaric acts of the past, it was accepted because it was common practice or tradition, everyone accepted slavery without questioning the facts, but it is not accepted anymore in a modern and fair and civilized society. Circumcision must not be allowed, BY LAW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Many other reasons not to do it, check it out:
http://www.mothersagainstcirc.org/
http://www.cirp.org/library/treatment/phimosis/
http://www.circumcisionquotes.com/boydies.html