is circumcision for boys a healthy practice?

Question

or is it a form of genital mutilation

Answer 1

I feel more qualified than most of the others in answering this question because 1) I'm not female, and 2) I elected to be circumcised as a young adult. A lot of what the anti-circumcision lobby is saying to you is NOT based on personal experience, but on what they have read or been told. It's true that like all surgery, circumcision carries risks, but at the same time there are just as many stories of phimosis and other abnormalities of the penis that do require circumcision. Unlike female circumcision, which really IS mutilation, male circumcision is no more of a mutilation than removal of the tonsils, adenoids, appendix or various piercings. My young son has not been circumcised, but I feel that it may be necessary in future because his foreskin will not retract very far at all; I wish his mother had allowed me to decide in this matter.
Apart from this, I am just so happy to have been cut now, and would do the same again. Contrary to what several females have told you (how on earth can they judge??!!), there is no loss of sensation in sex, nor is there smelly smegma, no risk of rupturing the frenulum, or closing your foreskin in the zipper of your jeans.

Answer 2

There's sufficient data to support both sides of the argument. Talk about a hot topic! I think this probably belongs in "polls and opinions" (or whatever that forum is called)...circumcision, abortion, and breastfeeding...three topics that tend to generate a lot of HEAT.

In any event: I don't think the two are mutually exclusive. Studies consistently show that there are higher rates of certain cancers among men who are not circumcised than among their circumcised counterparts....but who's to say that precludes the practice from constituting a form of genital mutilation?

Answer 3

It is genital mutilation. Permanently altering or removing a healthy body part for no good reason is the essence of mutilation. Fortunately Americans are starting to catch on - we are behind the rest of the world, where boys haven't been routinely mutilated for decades. It's also called "penis reduction surgery," and that's a better name. No one should do this to a helpless baby, as once it's gone, the change is permanent.

Answer 4

What I like about this particular question is the fact that there has been a pretty balanced ratio between those who are for circumcision and those who oppose it. It seems that there are alot of people who are beginning to see circumcision as something unnecessary, and that the reasons used by the pro-circumcision advocates are not necessarily accurate. Afterall, in the U.S. circumcision has become a very common practice, the fact is that it is seen as the norm. The main reason for this practice is that people prefer the way it looks in it's flaccid state with the glans (head) exposed. There really is no other reason for having a boy circumcised......it's just about the way it looks to people. People will claim hygiene, STD's, AIDS, and any other kind of exaggerated and generalized statements to bring their point across. It has gotten to the point where many new parents feel pressured into automatically circumcising their newborn boy.......not because the boy actually needs it, but because they're worried their child might be teased because of it. It seems that we, the american people have even standardized the way people are supposed to look physically to be accpeted as normal.
I am not exactly a proponent of either circumcision or of being uncircumcised......I believe in the natural, god-given right for people to choose their own destinies. I also believe that if someone prefers to be circumcised, by all means do it. If something like that is going to build your self-esteem.....I would not disagree with you. The only thing I ask is, please let others choose for themselves.....not everyone wants to be circumcised. Not everyone sees it as a necessary procedure. Whole countries and cultures exist in this world in which circumcision is not practiced at all, and having a foreskin is the accepted norm. It doesn't mean they're right or wrong......it just means they see things differently, and that's not a bad thing.
If a parent is worried about their son's health......all they have to do is teach them how to wash themselves well, and for the son to make it a common practice in his life. Teach your son about the differences between what being uncircumcised and circumcised means, so that he is not completely blind-sided if someone points it out to him unexpectedly in a mocking manner.
To me.....there is nothing wrong at all with being a little different, actually I think it makes a few of us kind of unique in the U.S., because as one person answered in here......it is a particularly rare thing to find an uncircumcised guy in the U.S.
I am uncircumcised, and proudly so......I went through my moments of doubt when I was a little younger, but I'm glad I decided to keep myself natural. It has really served me well.....and it has been a very pleasant surprise for quite a few young women in my intimate life, especially those girls who had never had the benefit of experiencing intimacy with an uncut man.
Nasty....?? Of course not. Dirty....? Only in the confines of some prude's mind. Disease-ridden...? Yeah right....got a clean bill of health here.
Best of Luck!!!!

Answer 5

Genital mutilation. You will find a lot of people saying that it is healthier because it is cleaner, prevents STDs, and son should look like daddy.

First of all, if a person can't teach their kid how to properly clean themselves they are lazy. Cleaning a boy is no different from cleaning a girl, both have folds that need to be done.

Second, it will not prevent STDs because they don't discriminate. If a person wants to be safe they need to practice safe sex, as in the nifty invention called the condom or no sex at all.

Third, the kid is not daddy. It is a combination of both of parents, and is it's own person. Kids are smart they know not everybody s the same. They see people are different shapes, sizes, and colors. So guess what, they also get that daddy and him are not going to be exactly the same.

And about the penile cancer issue, it really isn't one since the chance of having it is VERY SLIM for even uncircumcised males.

Answer 6

It just is a genital mutilation necessary for some religion and useful if living in some country (Africa) where AIDS infection is great and where there is a low knowledge and hygiene.
Despite that, circumcision however gets many side effects!

Answer 7

It is not natural, and has no real benefits, only a very very tiny few (not in size) need any correction made to their foreskins in order to sexually perform. It is simply a mutilation, and child abuse for children to undergo. There are about 3 billion men and boys in the world. Well over 2 billion are uncircumcised, or in other words, not mutilated. So anyone that spouts the crap about hygeine, etc. is full of it. It is the natural way to hang. It orginated in old tribal practices and the religions like jews and muslims adopted it so they would look different from other people and not look like their camels or sheep. Hard to say you are god-like when your penis looks similar to the ones on farm animals.

Answer 8

Circumcision is dangerous and therefore unhealthy by definition. I know 2 people personally who had botched circumcisions. One of these people lost the "sensitive part" under the glans (but he still has orgasms). The other is still a child. For a worst case scenario, read : "As Nature Made Him: The Boy Who Was Raised as a Girl" by John Colapinto.
It is true that moisture can stay under the foreskin and cause problems for couples, like recurrent yeast infections. But that is curable without cutting ! A man can learn to keep his foreskin retracted on a permanent basis, so that the glans stays dry. Cutting is barbaric and unnecessary.

Answer 9

Genital mutilation made up by humans.

Answer 10

Its definitely genital mutilation. When a guy gets circumcised as a child, the end of his ding-dong isn't as sensitive in adulthood as it should be, so sex doesn't feel as good as it should.

Damn those circumcising b*st*rds ... damn them to hell.