Are you for or against male circumcision?

Question

And does anyone have the right to make this decision about another persons body?

I am against it.

Answer 1

Against, simply because the owner of the body should be able to choose (and if left uncircumcised you can).

Other than that, it has too many risks for an optional surgery.

Circumcision = loss of sensitivity study
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,285532,00.html
http://www.circumstitions.com/Sexuality.html#sorrells

Higher erectile dysfunction rates after circumcision:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=14979200&dopt=Abstract%7C

When women didn't know what penis they were dealing with (circumcised or uncircumcised) 9 out of 10 preferred uncircumcised (study).
http://www.healthcentral.com/drdean/408/60750.html

Foreskin anatomy and function (keeps the glans soft and protects it, etc).
http://www.cirp.org/pages/anat/

Circumcision is extremely painful.
http://www.cirp.org/library/procedure/plastibell/

The USA is the last advanced nation doing it, but rates have fallen down from over 90% in the 1960s to as low as 21% here in California currently. From CNN:
http://www.cnn.com/2007/HEALTH/06/18/circumcision.decline.ap/index.html
http://www.cirp.org/library/statistics/USA/staterates2004/

Circumcision was actually promoted in the USA at first to stop masturbation (in hopes of it being tight enough to require lubes and not have skin to slide since the foreskin is already moist)
http://english.pravda.ru/science/health/27-03-2006/77873-circumcision-0

USA = highest HIV rates in advanced nations (and highest circumcision rates). CIA statistics:
https://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/rankorder/2155rank.html

Worldwide circumcision rates:
http://www.circumstitions.com/Maps.html

And discussion of common circumcision benefit myths and discussion of all the risks that can develop over time and negative side effects (buried penis, meatal stenosis, etc):
http://forums.govteen.com/showpost.php?p=3069995&postcount=2

Answer 2

I'll keep this short. I'm against non-medical and non-religious male circumcision (basically the vast majority of infant/child circumcisions). There are some cases where circumcision is medically necessary, but these instances are quite rare. Basically if it's not absolutely necessary (and it almost always isn't), it shouldn't be done. Again this basically only applies to minors.

Now, if an adult male wants to get circumcised, he can do whatever he wants. I don't understand this controversy so much. In most places in the world it isn't done unless it's necessary (or for religious reasons). And it should be that way.

Answer 3

I think it should be illegal to do this to anyone under age 21. We don't allow female genital mutilation even for religious purposes. We don't allow parents to bind the feet of their girl children just because they come from a culture where that was once considered normal. And we should not allow parents to mutilate their baby boys, either.

If adults want to have it done, they should have to first be FULLY informed about the negative effects, dangers, and irreversibility of the procedure.

Answer 4

only parents have the right to make that decision about their baby's body. After that no one else has that right except the guy considering having it done. I like both kinds of dick. But then I just like dick. LOL !! Are you for or against it and why?

Answer 5

~I take it you are against it, with the second question you asked. Anyhow, I am FOR circumcision. It is like a "MADE IN THE USA" stamp.
It looks nice, feels nice, and begs for attention. The uncircumcised penis is the opposite of appealing! I wouldn't even want to touch it.
Yes, the mother has the right to make the decision, and in the states, she does!~

Answer 6

against. Apparently God put it there for some reason. He later used it(the removal of it) as a teaching tool in the Christian world and for a physical lesson.

I would have liked to have had that choice but it was taken from me when I was only 3 or 4 days old.

Answer 7

Against, especially with babies. I don't think it's good for adults but it's their choice.

Answer 8

I am for male circumcision becuase it is more healthy for the male and it eliminates the chance of getting infections and stuff like that....

Answer 9

Honestly, it's the parent's choice on whether they cut the foreskin or not, i mean come on this is the 2000s so yeah whatever floats the parent's boats

Ps. the guy above me is sooo into these questions huh?

Answer 10

I feel one should not be allowed to cut parts off of someone's body without their informed consent, be it the mother or the father irrelevant of their intentions. It is an irreversible process. How will the child view your decision when he grows up? See this video: http://video.yahoo.com/video/play?vid=137650&fr=ybr_sbc
By forcing the procedure onto him, you are denying him his human rights of bodily integrity.


It's perpetuated by culture, just as FGM in other areas and the majority of people who force it on their children do not know the true facts.

It should be the choice of the victim as to whether or not they want to undergo the procedure. There are many men who try to undo the damage done to them every year: http://www.norm.org/
It is wrong to force an irreversible process onto them that they may not undergo as a adult if they still had the choice.


Parents should not have the right to force it on to their children. Should they have the right to circumcise girls? It is comparable to type 2 female circumcision (see below).
No medical institution in the world actually recommends the practice.
Let's have a look at medical associations in the developed world. The British Medical Association, Royal Australasian College of Physicians, Canadian Paediatric Society, American Medical Association, American Academy of Pediatrics, Australian College of Paediatrics and Australasian Association of Paediatric Surgeons. Every one of them recommends AGAINST performing the procedure. Their positions on the procedure can be found here: http://www.circumcision.org/position.htm


Here is a video of the operation. Watch it if you want to learn more. Please do watch it.
http://youtube.com/watch?search=&mode=related&v=XmX6RdRNoqk
Or this video:
http://video.yahoo.com/video/play?vid=352478&fr=ybr_sbc
It is not just a little snip here and there. Watch the above video of a circumcision in progress.


The foreskin keeps the glans soft and moist and protects it from trauma and injury. Without this protection, the glans becomes dry, calloused, and desensitized from exposure and chafing.
Specialized nerve endings in the foreskin enhance sexual pleasure.
The foreskin may have functions not yet recognized or understood.
[ http://www.nocirc.org/publish/pamphlet7.html ]

"Circumcision removes the most sensitive parts of the penis and decreases the fine-touch pressure sensitivity of glans penis. The most sensitive regions in the uncircumcised penis are those parts ablated by circumcision. When compared to the most sensitive area of the circumcised penis, several locations on the uncircumcised penis that are missing from the circumcised penis were significantly more sensitive." Circumcision removes as much as 75% of sensation [ http://www.nocirc.org/touch-test/bju_6685.pdf ].

The foreskin reduces the force required by the penis to enter the vagina while circumcision contributes to vaginal dryness. [ http://www.circumcision.org/studies.htm , http://www.cirp.org/library/sex_function/ ]
The foreskin also increases the sexual enjoyment of the female partner. [ http://www.cirp.org/library/anatomy/ohara/ ]

Performing circumcision on a child can and does result in the deaths of children due to blood loss and/or failure of the immune system.
http://video.yahoo.com/video/play?vid=512542
Approximately 230 American males die every year because of circumcision. [ http://www.sexuallymutilatedchild.org/deathsdo.htm , http://www.cirp.org/library/death/ ] This is a meaningless and very sad loss of life.

It can and does result in very significant scaring.
It can and does result in sexual problems later in life.

Circumcised males have a much higher rate of sexual dysfunction and premature ejaculation. [ http://www.cirp.org/library/sex_function/ ]

According to the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) "there is little evidence to affirm the association between circumcision status and optimal penile hygiene." [ http://www.circumcision.org/aap.htm ]

Hygiene and prevention of disease are among the commonest reasons cited for performing male circumcision. This directory contains references that examine the validity of these claims in detail: http://www.cirp.org/library/disease/




A lot of the information perpetuated about it preventing diseases is false.
The study that you are less susceptible to aids if you are circumcised is flawed. Here is a discussion of the report and its methodology by "Doctors Opposing Circumcision": http://www.doctorsopposingcircumcision.org/info/HIVStatement.html .

Have a read through their statement. It is very informative. It shows the methodological flaws and poor conclusion in the report that the WHO has jumped upon. Everything is aptly sourced.


Men may often feel a need to justify their own circumcision by the generation of claims of health benefits.[ http://www.cirp.org/library/psych/goldman1/ ]
"The medical literature is full of protective claims for various diseases, such as sexually transmitted disease , male and female cancers, and urinary tract infection. All such claims have been disproved."[ http://www.doctorsopposingcircumcision.org/info/HIVStatement.html ]

"The United States has one of the highest rates of male circumcision and also one of the highest rates of HIV infection in the developed world, suggesting that circumcision is having exactly the opposite effect. Conversely, Finland and Japan have some of the lowest rates of circumcision and also some of the lowest rates of HIV/AIDS."

Condoms have been proven to be an effective means of combating AIDS.




Are you aware that Stallings study also shows that female circumcision also reduces HIV transmission? [ http://www.ias-2005.org/planner/Abstracts.aspx?AID=3138 ]
Female circumcision type II is the removal of the prepuce, part of the clitoris and the labia. Because of the function of the male foreskin, male circumcision is comparable to type II female circumcision. [ http://www.mgmbill.org/mgm101.pps ]
They both reduce sensitivity. Children die from both of them each year. They both involve the cutting of the child's genitals when the child is too young to consent. No medical institution in the world recommends either practice.
Should we circumcise girls or is this practice different or is it that one is "culturally" acceptable and one is not.
We do not nor should we circumcise girls.


They are both mutilations of the genitals. A parent does not have a right to mutilate their child's genitals under the U.N. Universal Declaration on Human Rights, the U.N. Convention on the Rights of the Child, and the U.N. International Covenant of Civil and Political Rights. These violations were brought to the attention of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights in 2001 both orally and in writing by NOCIRC. However, the U.N. has yet to take action. [ http://www.mgmbill.org/un.htm ]

The vast majority of the world(83%) is not circumcised.
There is no good reason to perform male genital mutilation.

About circumcision bias: http://www.circumcision.org/bias.htm
Ethical questions of circumcision: http://circumcision.org/bioethics.htm
Ethics of circumcision: http://circumcision.org/ethics.htm
Circumcision Information: http://www.circumcision.org/information.htm


See these sites specifically:
http://www.doctorsopposingcircumcision.org/
http://www.mgmbill.org/
http://www.nocirc.org/
http://www.mothersagainstcirc.org/
http://www.noharmm.org/
http://www.circumcision.org/
http://www.cirp.org/
http://www.norm.org/

Here is a tracking of circumcision news articles which is kept very up to date:
http://www.cirp.org/news/

Have a look at this website:
http://www.cnn.com/HEALTH/9712/23/circumcision.anesthetic/

Have a look at this video:
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-1736954830543671382&sourceid=searchfeed

Here are some very significant articles on circumcision that I recommend:
http://www.birthingthefuture.com/AllAboutBirth/circumcision.php
http://www.compleatmother.com/articles3/femalecircumcision.shtml