Female vs. Male Circumcision?

Question

Norway recently banned male circumcision, and one of the main debates is because a baby doesn't have any say.

As a result, many activist groups are stepping forward to proclaim it a religious right to circumcise a boy.

Now their argument is based on why female circumcision is bad when compared to male circumcision. Both are practiced and important in certain cultures, and both get rid of the most sensitive part of the genitilia.

As my friend writes: So why not allow them [parents] to foot the bill for female circumcision? Are you trying to say it's OK to mutilate a baby boy's genitalia but not a girl's because you happen to find the adult male circumcised penis more aestheticly pleasing?

What is your take on female and male circumcision as a cultural ritual? Should one be allowed and the other not?

Answer 1

Male circumcision is performed for health reasons also. Female circumcision is mutilation and has no justification.

Answer 2

I think the biggest difference between female circumcision is that it takes away the most pleasurable spot for a woman, and unfortunately she may never reach a climax. (this is unhealthy for anyone to live by) Men on the other hand, still climax, they have no problem urinating or doing any other daily functions. I have read stories by woman who have been circumcised and they say the pain of urinating and having sex can be unbearable.
Also I think that in general, at least in the United States, boys being circumcised is a norm, and we think nothing of it. I also hear that it is more healthier for the man in the long run because the foreskin can hold a lot of bacteria. Personally I am against female circumcision, and I may just be a product of the American Culture by saying it doesn't matter for a boy as much.

Answer 3

As a cultural ritual, I think that there should be some exceptions as to how much the law can intervene... however I do see the point they have in that the child really has no say in the matter. Just because I don't have any cultural bias towards either male or female circumcision, I would go for a law banning both of them until a child is of a particular age when they can give consent....

Answer 4

infant circumcision as commonly practiced today does a couple things.
1. It takes away the freedom of choice from the person
2. It typically removes way more skin than was required in olden times.
My take is if a person wants to belong to a particular religious or cultural group and circumcision is required of members, then once the person is old enough to make that decision they should be free to choose. But if they are circumcised at birth then opt to follow a different path, how do they undo the circumcision.
Plus it is possible there shoud be a return to the olden style ritual circumcision where only a token amount of skin is removed. If it was good enough for the biblical times there is no reason to remove more is there.

Answer 5

This is a very important issue. I work in development and what you are saying about female and male circumcision is very strange to me. Fpr a male, the process is (from a non religious point of view) hygienic. However, the female form is a horrible practice. Painful, it removes any chance of pleasure derived from sexual acts and usually results in a huge fear of sex with their husbands due to psychological problems. In less developed countries, a whole celebrating ritual is performed and the act is at times performs by non medical staff. The result are devastating. In Egypt, they unwisely say that 95 % of females are circumsized which is a joke. What happens is that study centers interview different ages each year, resulting in duplicating all answers. But still, the problem is a huge deal. People with uneducated religious backgrounds think it is Islamic, even though in Islam it is not mentioned at all and some Sheikhs are against it religiously. This topic affects so many lives. It is VERY different for male sand females. Males undergo the process for different reasons, and maintain healthy sexual feelings that would have been there had they not undergone the procedure. With females, you are almost destroying apoor girl's life before it even begins. There have been deaths of young girls who underwent the procedure. It is a horrible issue that upsets me greatly. That a family would do that to their daughter without proper education and research into its validity. However, for many backwards rural areas, parents believe (and sometimes with justification) that it is the only way for their girl to find a home and husband, in a world that is cruel to them. These are people who might not find water to drink everyday. It should not be banned because a baby does not have any say, rather it should be banned because of the pain and suffering it causes to so many people. The daughter that is circumsized will grow up into a certain kind of mother, different then the one with freedom to choose her right or wrong sexuality. It is a very complicated issue. But i am very much against female genital mutilation. We are not talking about gender inequality here, we must focus on health and well being first.

Answer 6

Personally, I believe that the main reason that male circ is not outlawed in the same way that female circ has been made illegal is that there's been a lack of publicity. In the 90's female circ was all over the news, oprah did a show on it, there was a public outcry. The aap actually used to recommend female circ too! It's a matter of time. People are becoming more educated.Most people who circ. now are mostly those who didn't do their research. Often with less education than most and a lower income. The religious reasons argument just doesn't hold up, because, after all, wasn't that the main argument for female circ? religious/cultural? Also, you hear alot of the pro cutting people trying to say that female circ and female mutilation are different things but according to the law they are not. There may be different degrees of mutilation but it is all mutilation. If you asked a dr. to circ your daughter they'd prob. report you to child services - and it should (and will be eventually) the same with boys.

Answer 7

Cut 50 years ago speaks the truth.
If female circumcision was done in hospitals when a the girl is born, would anyone complain about it?
All circumcision should be a personal choice of the patient, not the parents of the patient.

Answer 8

... sorry no real answer.. just a comment.

The small amount of foreskin removed from a penis during circumcision is not the most sensitive part of the male genitalia and the practice was begun as a religious offering, not for aesthetics.

The clitoris and labia removed from a vagina during 'circumcision' are the most sensitive parts of the female genitalia and was begun to control a woman's natural sexual drive by attempting to remove the source.

... big difference.

about allowing one or the other.. well... male circumcision is done most often on infants and is quickly healed and not a disturbance in his natural sexual development, and female circumcision is done on older girls (ages i'm not sure but not often infants or toddlers..) and is a serious wound taking long to heal and seriously disturbing her natural sexual development.

the procedures are so different in nature i don't think they should be called the same thing or compared thus. as a woman i am simply unwilling to agree with female circumcision as an option.

Answer 9

Both should be banned. Male circumcision was originally a religious ritual as a sacrifice to the Jewish god, a token to Abraham's sacrifice of his son. There is no hygienic reason.

Answer 10

Regarding Johanna's answer :

"lilabner and queen_kiddo gave excellent answers, and I just wanted to add female circumcision is a barbaric control mechanism by pathetic males."

It seems to me by watching these boards is that the BIGGEST proponent of infant male circumcision are FEMALES! And yet, they find the mutilation of baby boys' acceptable?

Circumcision does NOT make the penis any cleaner if the male washes under his foreskin every day. Would a female's genatalia smell any good after a day without bathing? No! So why the comparison?

Regarding lilabner's response :

"Male circumcision does not dull sexual sensation it makes for a much cleaner and disease free penis. Female circumcision is to take away the clitoris so there is no pleasure in sex. A young girl just bled to death last week from it. Male--yes--Female,no."

Absolute bullsh*t. Every significant medical board in the world, including the USA, acknowledges that the foreskin contains thousands of nerve endings that are permanently removed because of circumcision, and that it's removal does indeed affect sensation, and is detrimental to sexual enjoyment. Furthermore, over time, the skin of the glans of the circumcised male becomes thick and keratinised and sensation declines over the years - not so with the intact penis. The glans of the circumcised penis is less sensitive to fine touch than the glans of the uncircumcised penis. The transitional region from the external to the internal prepuce is the most sensitive region of the uncircumcised penis and more sensitive than the most sensitive region of the circumcised penis. Circumcision amputates the most sensitive parts of the penis.

And, lilabner, how many diseases are there out there whereby circumsicion is neccessary? Almost nil. Almost every foreskin condition, which are relatively rare in themselves, that require intervention can be solved via medication alone. I get eye infections sometimes? Only the rare condition, paraphimosis, MAY need to involve the removal of the foreskin. Should I have my eyelids removed as a baby - just IN CASE I get an infection in later life? Your argument is typical of someone who is circumcised from birth, and realises that you have lost something that should not have been someone elses decision to take away from you. Because your sex life is lousy, you want every other male to suffer the same traumatic humiliation. It's an act of revenge to perpetuate the circumcision myth. It's called 'foreskin envy'.

Circumcision is decling in the USA now. Why? Because they are taking the lead from the rest of the world, including Europe - who are just as advanced medically as the USA.

A few facts :

Did you know that most men in the world and the great majority of men in Europe, Scandinavia, Central and South America or Asia are not circumcised? Many of these coutries are as equally advanced in medicine as the USA, if not more so.

That "medical" infant circumcision was introduced to prevent masturbation?

That babies are strapped down to be circumcised and that circumcision with a PlastiBellTM does involve cutting? It is CRUSHED off!

That before the foreskin can be cut (or crushed) off, it must be torn away from the glans?

That circumcision removes 50% of the skin of the penis?

That no medical association anywhere in the world supports neonatal male circumcision on medical grounds?

I could forgive any American mother for circumcising their boys because they were ignorant. In this day and age, with so much information on how the foreskin works and how important it is to male (and female) sexual enjoyment, their actions are unforgivable. Routine circumcision of baby boys for no medical reason is irrational, barbaric, traumatic and effectively child abuse.

Lastly, many boys die from circumcision complications every year. No boy has died of having a foreskin. Surely even one death cannot be worth the risk. It's time that women who condone the needless butchery of their infant sons, wake up, do the research and stop this horrific practice.

If any mother, considering circumcising her newborn baby son for non-religious reasons, can look at the following few examples of the abuse they are about to impart on their offspring, without feeling any anxiety or guilt, ought to be sterilised and not allowed to have children :

http://www.nvsh.nl/cn/pictures/circumcision2.jpg

http://www.cessen.com/crunchy_temp/crunchy/circumcision2.jpg

http://oliver.prygotzki.de/privat/einsichten/(c)-danhaller.com-circumcision-08.jpg

http://www.cessen.com/crunchy_temp/crunchy/circumcision5.jpg