Circumcision?

Question

What is the point of it

does it effect sex life

Answer 1

There are some really horrible ignorant and sexist answers here. I can't believe these people believe that normal male genitals are any harder to wash than their own and that a person has to have half his penile skin cut off instead of just washing it daily. The same substance, smegma collects in the folds of the genitals of both sexes.These people are trotting out all the same reasons that are given by proponents of female circumcision but that mutilation would justifiably horrify these same people here supporting this form of male genital mutilation. The USA is the last western nation still doing this to around half of its baby boys and it’s done horribly without anaesthetic based on the long-outdated belief that babies don’t feel pain.

Since its introduction into the west as an anti-masturbation measure in the 19th century, circumcision proponents have trotted out endlessly changing justifications for the procedure, as earlier ones are disproved. Most of these proposed reasons have later been proved to be based on flawed studies but the myths continue. Even if the claims for benefit were accepted the level of any protection from disease is so low as to be easily outweighed by the risks involved in the surgery. A few babies even die each year from circumcision complications and some lose their penis from necrotic infection. More common complications of infant circumcision, like skin bridges or too much skin removed, do not show up until much later in life. So the statistics do not include them in the complication rate. (A penis with a skin bridge is much harder to clean and causes major sexual difficulties.) However even on these artificially lowered statistics all the major medical authorities in the world now say that these risks outweigh the dubious benefits of routine infant circumcision.

Circumcision removes over half the skin of the penis (about 15 square inches or 40 square centimetres, in an adult) and it's not just simple skin. It's packed with nerve endings, special anatomical features like the ridged band and has a unique elastic gliding action, allowing it to slide on itself and act like lube. This action is what most males use to masturbate with except those who are cut so tightly that they have to use lube or just rub it dry. Of course the intact male has the option to use lube too if he wants to. During intercourse it acts like lube on entry and may act as a dam, preventing lubricating secretions escaping from the vagina. In one study women reported that sex with an intact partner was gentler and more satisfying since he doesn't have to thrust as hard to feel enough stimulation. Removing the foreskin turns the surface of the glans from an inner mucosal membrane to outside skin. Newly circumcised adults usually go through some weeks of intense discomfort as the glans is constantly exposed to rubbing on clothing, until it develops a thicker keratin layer and becomes less sensitive. A new study has shown real differences in fine touch sensitivity between circumcised and intact penises and that the most sensitive parts of the intact penis are those that would be removed by circumcision.

A few intact males have problems with tight foreskin but this is only a tiny proportion of intact males. The condition can now be almost always treated with simple stretching exercises, sometimes in combination with a steroid cream that speeds up the process. However doctors who do not value the preservation of the foreskin often still trot out circumcision as a first-option treatment in the US and even some other countries.

I myself am circumcised. I have hated it ever since as a 12 year old I saw a mate masturbating with a foreskin and realised a little of what I had lost. I have never been able to last a long time during intercourse as I have to thrust hard to feel much and this tends to push me over the edge. Now I am older I can't feel much at all and I suffer from ED.

Many men resent being circumcised, some so much that they stretch to try and regain some of their lost foreskin's function. They can never recover all the complex anatomy and lost nerve endings though. Infant circumcision is a violation of a man's right to intact genitals and I will never forgive my parents and the medical profession for doing it to me.

Answer 2

Beats me what the point is supposed to be.

It makes sex less pleasurable for women: http://www.healthcentral.com/drdean/408/60750.html

It reduces sensitivity for men. http://www.nocirc.org/touch-test/bju_6685.pdf

It isn't any cleaner -- you need to wash whether you are circumcised or not!

It looks bad to have a scar there.

It doesn't even stop masturbation, which is why it was originally brought into common use 150 years ago.

It doesn't reduces the rate of STDs or cervical cancer.

It is almost never needed to treat phimosis (tight foreskin) as less drastic treatments (stretching and hormone cream) work very well. The only medical reasons for circumcision are frostbite, gangrene, or cancer of the foreskin. All are extremely rare.

There really is no point! Even some religious Jews are now not allowing their children to be mutilated.

"Because we've always done it that way" is lame.

Answer 3

Over all there is no point in doing it these days.
Back in the 1800's they thought boy's would stop masturbating if they did it and there are lots of different reasons like you don't get aids and std's but there have been studies done where there is no differences if you are done or not. You can still be a Jew if you are not and anyway way would your god make you attack your body it is like having a god where you have to smoke weed and have tattoos also women don't have as many orgasms and you have to push harder as one women quoted it is like having sex with a broom stick handle then a well oil piston over all I believe they shouldn't ban it but they should make age limits on it make it 18 or 20 because it is your body not your mums or dads or doctors. I thought we lived in a free world a was circumcised when I was little I hate it and I am doing foreskin restoration. I hate it when women say stuff about it and they don't even have one but when you ask men about it no one wants someone to make there penis smaller. At the moment if a doctour recommends it he is after money there is no need to do it now.

Answer 4

Most, but not all, Muslims and Jews do it for religious reasons.

As for how it affects sex life?

It reduces sensitivity and pleasure, and increases masturbation difficulty. Those studies are in the British Journal of Urology:
http://forums.govteen.com/showpost.php?p=3069995&postcount=2

It's becoming less common. The USA is the only advanced nation (Europe/Latin America/Asia don't do it, yet they have lower HIV rates) that does this to newborns, but the rates are quickly dropping. In some states it's as low as 14% already:
http://www.cirp.org/library/statistics/USA/staterates2004/

It doesn't make the penis any bigger, it's just an allusion. That happens because since the shaft is skinnier without the foreskin, the head stands out more. When erect they look similar, the shaft is just ticker on an uncircumcised guy, so the head doesn't stand as much.

As for keeping clean, it takes less than 10 seconds to slide it back and rub the head; it even feels good. Smegma doesn't grow if you do that (even when out camping for three days I didn't get any).

As far as HPV goes, girls are vaccinated for that now. The penile cancer claim was also claimed to be false, according to the American Cancer Society. The USA has the highest circ rate in the developed world and yet we have the higher HIV rates, according to CIA statistics. So just about every "benefit" of circumcision can be proved false, read the link below.

Answer 5

I was going to pass this question but after seeing some of the absolutely ridiculous answers given,I just cannot pass it up.Theses dumbsh*t airheads who say that it looks better are so shallow it is difficult to tell the difference between them and their shadow.Before you go about advocating the mutilation of men have your vagina circumcised first and just see how much you like it.Your stupidity is astounding and your ignorance even more so.

Answer 6

There is no point to it. It started in this country to try to keep guys from jacking off. Now it is just a big money-maker for the hospitals. It sucks.

Answer 7

to lose sensitivity in the penis. its COMPLETELY USELESS unless your doing it for religious purposes. your penis will NOT get infected if your not circumcised...you ARE clean uncircumcised....people do it without actually doing any research...and in the end your son has to pay with sex being not 100% great as it could have been. i dont think nature just gave you extra skin just for the heck of it....the skin is completly normal...when you remove the skin it takes out some of the nerves at the tip...thats why sex just isnt as great. its like how we pull out our wisdom teeth...its there for reason but we take it out anyway because it hurts when growing or because everyone tells us we should take them out.

Answer 8

i don't know why everyone automatically think that girls prefer circumcized penises.

i admit that i thought i didn't like uncircumcized penises but that changed ever since i've been with my current boyfriend. it's easy to pleasure since you just slide it up and down and you dont need any lubes. its just more to play with. hes never been dirty either, i think most people shower. and i noticed that when hard they dont look that different.

Answer 9

Yes, I would say it would be better to be circumcised. There are many benefits to it, here are some found in an article.

"Several studies have shown that uncircumcised men are at greater risk of human papilloma virus (HPV) infection. While most genital HPV strains are considered harmless, some can cause genital warts or cancer although there is a vaccine against most cancer causing strains of HPV. "

"Circumcision reduces the amount of smegma produced by the male. Smegma is a combination of exfoliated epithelial cells, transudated skin oils, and moisture that can accumulate under the foreskin of males and within the female vulva area. It has a characteristic strong odor and taste, and is common to all mammals—male and female. While smegma is generally not believed to be harmful to health, the strong odour may be considered to be a nuisance or give the impression of a lack of hygiene. In rare cases, accumulating smegma may help cause balanitis."


Not to mention, it looks much cleaner and neat when one is circumcised. So i would say go circumcised.

Answer 10

it is only needed if you have phimosis and it can't be cured with stretching.you will lose pleasure and so will your partner.here are links for more information.