Somebody please tell me why the U.S. is still so hung up on circumcision?

Question

I see sooooooooo many questions asked on here each day about circumcision and at risk of sounding controversial, i can't figure out why this is still such a big issue in the US. Most of the rest of the world has realized it isn't medically necessary to do it routinely at birth. I do realize that in a limited number of cases it may be necessary later in life but so are many surgeries such as tonsillectomies but we don't whip those out as a matter of course in the first week of life! i dunno...seems a bit barbaric to start lopping off body parts purely for social reasons.

Immature responses are not welcome but i am interested in the comments of thinking people. Who knows, this could get interesting :)

Great answers so far everyone! See? I said this might get interesting :)

I'd just like to add something to the mix at this point. I am a medical microbiologist and there is no higher infection rate in uncircumcised males to circumcised males. (just a bit more food for thought!)

I'm certainly getting the feeling that in the US it's largely simply a matter of what you are used to as opposed for sound reasoning for medical intervention?

Keep in mind, there are no wrong answers here...only valid opinions. :)

Answer 1

It's not "extra" skin. It's a functioning body part, similar to the eyelid, which keeps the glans sensitive by redusing friction from clothing. It also has a lot of nerve endings, which make sex more pleasurable.

As to why it is still popular in the US, I think it really goes back to our Puritan roots and the zealots of the Victorian era, who regarded everything sexual as dirty. Dr. Kellogg, who did much to popularize circumcision in the US, was so anti-sex that he never had intercourse with his wife. He was rabidly anti-masturbation and wrote: "A remedy [for masturbation] which is almost always successful in small boys is circumcision...The operation should be performed by a surgeon without administering an anesthetic, as the brief pain attending the operation will have a salutary effect upon the mind...In females, the author has found the application of pure carbolic acid to the clitoris an excellent means of allaying the abnormal excitement. "

The US is still recovering from the excesses of this Victorian sex opponent and the other people who drummed it into our heads that anything pleasurable is evil.

Answer 2

Personally, I agree with you... for a start in response to another answer it is not 'extra skin' it is a functioning part of the male anatomy and full of nerve endings.

I am from the UK, I had had seven partners before I came across one who had been circumcised because it is rare here, and I became curious about it and why it was done.

In the UK circumcision is not a topic of interest because it is uncommon, it is just something that is occasionally done for medical or religious reasons, so I was incredibly shocked when I realised how hung up people from the US are on circumcison, and the misinformation and prejudice that surround being circumcised or uncircumcised.

I suppose that is a big reason I answer questions on circumcision on here - I am very against circumcision being performed for anything but a real medical need (and even then it is often performed when less drastic options would suffice). I can only think it is social prejudice, because nothing else explains the belief in the need ofr circumcision.

Personally having has uncircumcised partners, and being aware of the pleasure the foreskin can give and how it actually functions anatomically, I can't understand how people could ever believe circumcision necessary. Excepting it's ability to increase pleasure, the whole point of the foreskin is that it protects the glans. In fact one of my circumcised partners was less clean than any uncircumcised partner I have ever had - cleanliness is no reason and really not an issue.

Answer 3

Since routine infant circumcision was introduced in th eUs a few decades ago, it has been reputed to
a) cure epilepsy
b) stop masturbation
c) prevent infections
d) and a whole host of other miracle cures.

Fact is it is merely a lot of window dressing to justify the willingness of parents and other adults to show they possess and/or control children by removing the foreskin for no sound medical reason. And of course it is a self-perpetuating system in that once most are circumcised, it would make the uncircumcised into misfits so the cutting must continue lest some people break tradition and allow their boys to suffer teasing for having what the rest are missing.

Answer 4

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Answer 5

I agree completely! I really don't understand them in the US.

Luckily here in Australia we've moved away from circumcision (the rate of babies done at birth is around 10% or lower) but there are still a couple of insane (circumcised) activists saying it is cleaner, and circumcised men have more partners, and loads of other crap.

I hope the US will eventually learn that they are the last Western country doing it (not to mention they have the highest HIV infection rate) and give it a rest.

Answer 6

I am circumcised, but as with the vast majority of american males, had no choice in the matter. I really think in looking back at the history of it, it was a product of the rise of Nazi Germany. The Nazis would make suspected jews strip to show their genitals and arrest them if they were circumcised, so jewish males stuck out so to speak. Many jewish doctors fled to the US, and I really think started the myth of the need for circumcism to 1) perpetuate the validity of the act on their own sons and 2) to prevent what happened in Germany from happening again-- if every male was circumcised, an oppressive regime could not use that as a way to flush out jews in hiding in order to persecute or kill them.

Thankfully fewer and fewer US families are opting for the barbaric act; so I think in 20 years or so the number of young guys circumcised will be quite low as compared to 20 years in the past. Whereas it is unusual to see an uncut penis in the gym locker room today, with more and more guys being left natural that and the perception that circumcism is "better" and acceptable will go away.

Answer 7

A lot of women say uncircumcised looks icky.Most mothers see only circumcised penis and think that is natural and want their sons to look the same.When my sons were born I had to argue with the nurses to stop trying to convince my wife to have them circumcised.My wife didn't even know what circumcision was....I was the only man she has been with sexually her whole life.She didn't know any different until I took her to a nude beach when she was 28 and let her look at all the circumcisions she wants.


Ultimately it is the mothers who decide and after having a baby are not in a mood to fight with a doctor.
The only thing about not having a circumcision that has ever bothered me is the time when I had too shower in high school with the other guys.I got all kinds of looks and ? s like what is wrong with your penis.
It never bothered me anymore after I had sex the first time.
I am also too sensitive for oral sex .So i have never had it and never will.

Answer 8

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Answer 9

I agree that it should only be allowed for medical reasons. I am intact and proud. To those who say that we spread AIDS and STD's easily, what happened to wearing a condom and not sleeping around?
I don't smell because I know how to use soap and water. It doesn't take more than 5 seconds to wash.
We enjoy sex more and so do our partners.
If a man want to get cut when he is an adult then that is fine, its his penis and up to him to make up his mind to remove a perfectly good part of his anatomy. (why i will never know). but it is wrong when a parent gets their son done at birth "to look like dad" or "because it's cleaner".
Those who say being cut means you have little chance of getting penile cancer, that's like saying remove a girls breasts so she can't get breast cancer. I mean they don't need them do they? you can bottle feed a child. Sounds stupid doesn't it! just like removing a perfectly good part of a man penis that also serves a purpose for the very very small chance he MAY have a problem. Why stop there, remove every ones appendix as well?
Those who say cut looks better. that's like saying blonde's look better than red heads. it is personal choice. If you cant love someone because of a piece of natural skin then it cant be love can it.

I agree with all your points and thanks for standing up for us all.

Answer 10

It has become a money making racket. I first learned of that via a co-worker. She was like 7 months pregnant and did the test to see what gender. How 'bout the doctor sent her a bill for the circumsion during that time. I mean how did they know she and her husband wanted to go that route?

something to ponder on? I mean God created man that way and used [circumsion]that back in the day to differ the Isaelites from the other nations. New convenant - circumsion not needed anymore, bibically.
hygienecailly yes. but parents teach the child how to clean it and everything should be okay.