Does anyone NOT have circumcision done? Or know someone who doesn't have it done?

Question

I am really confused about this whole circumcision thing, my fiances sister says that its not right, that it puts the baby in unnessessary pain and they just tell you that they can get infections because it is their way of making money. and then my mom and friends tell me that they really can get an infection from not having it done, so I was wondering if anyone on here wasn't circumcised that could tell me what their experiences have been? I am just wondering in case I ever have a baby and it is a boy. I want to know what I am going to do.. I have also heard if you do not get it done that you could get in trouble for neglect, etc. ITS SO CONFUSING!!! everyone tells me something different!

Answer 1

Circumcision is not painful because local anaesthetic is used nowadays, so let's forget about this "pain" thing for a start. Circumcision is very beneficial and circumcised men enjoy better hygiene, health, comfort, appearance, self-esteem and FAR better sexual sensation during intercourse for both themselves and their female partners. Also most women who have had experience of both, much prefer a circumcised man as a sexual partner. I chose to be circumcised as an adult in response to my (then new) wifes strong preference, so I know what life is like from personal experience, both uncircumcised and as a circumcised man. I can tell you that life is far better circumcised for all the reasons which I have listed above and it was one of the best things that I ever did. There are simply NO disadvantages to being circumcised and you should ignore the "Bleeding Heart" anti-circ club members who may tell you that it is a bad thing - they are either uncircumcised men, men with psychological problems which affect their sexual performance, or naiive young women, who have no experience of circumcision.

Answer 2

YES! Lots of people are NOT circumcised! 85% of men in the world, in fact, and half of newborns in the USA currently.

It is not done in Europe (including the UK) or other Western countries like Canada, Australia or New Zealand. Plus most of the rest of the world. The USA is the last country still doing it.

Your fiance's sister is correct - it is not necessary. It is a way of making money. Doctors can make up to 20k a year doing circumcisions. It is done for traditional and cultural reasons, but there is NO medical evidence that it is better, in fact there is a lot of evidence is worse, and there are more complications from surgery than the problems that circumcision supposedly prevents.

You can't get in trouble for not doing it. Babies are born perfect. I don't know where you heard that but nowhere is it problematic to not be circumcised. It's normal and natural to be intact. Read up on care of the intact penis (you don't need to retract the foreskin in babies to clean underneath it) and you will be fine if you have a son and leave him intact.

My boyfriend and almost all my family members are uncircumcised - no problems there.

I suggest you read a lot about it - here are some web site:
http://www.historyofcircumcision.net
http://www.mothering.com
http://www.cirp.org

Answer 3

Try looking at it in the female. The labia is only used to keep dirt out of their, and to protect ourself. But, how would you feel about circumcising your daughter by cutting her labia off? There is a good view for Women. Yes, you can easily get an infection from it. Plus, it's a baby! Why the heck would you be so cruel to a kid?!?

Answer 4

I am uncircumcised and my parents taught me how to wash myself so cleanliness is not an issue. many if not most countries in the world do not do circumcision except for religious reasons. I strongly believe that if it were meant to be cut off it wouldn't have been placed there in the first place. I have no problems if you are jewish or muslim and want to have it done because that is important to their faith but as a Christian I don't want my children circumcised I would like for them to be able to decide for themselves what happens to their own body.

edit: and if my girlfriend told me she preferred circumcised men and wanted to dump me if I didn't get it done then I would have no problems dumping her if she is so shallow to base her love on that. Also self esteem has nothing to do with that small piece of skin.....I was brought up to respect myself and my body and have had family who loved me very much. I grew up having friends who cared about me alot and never once did I think that I was a failure because of not being circumcised. As for sensation, the foreskin contains alot of sensitive nerve cells so to be circumcised means to cut off alot of that sensitive tissue. (this was in response to a later poster)

Answer 5

I am female, but I am a health educator.. No, you will not get in trouble for not circumcising your child. It is up to the parents to decide. There are many factors that come about when parents decide that... some may be religious or other may be medical, or personal beliefs. If a male is not circumcised, he can be prone to more infections because of the foreskin covering the penis allows for "dirt" to get in there. If a male is uncircumcised, he needs to pull the foreskin back while showering and clean that area of the penis to prevent infections. I think the best thing is to talk to your pediatrician (when you have a child) or your physician to get their opinion and more TRUE facts.

Answer 6

There is a great divide about circumcision. Some men are even fixated on the look of the exposed glans and eroticse the process of circumcision. Their statements about the post circumcision state being so much better cannot be trusted because of their sexual preference for the cut state.

Using surgery to mutilate the genitals instead of washing in a modern western society makes no sense. Normal intact male genitals are, if anything, easier to wash than female ones and the same substance, smegma collects in the folds of both sorts.

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.

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 7

Yes. Myself, my brother, my father, and all of my cousins. None of us have ever had any infections there. We are all happily married and have fathered children. And not a one of us would put a child of ours through that barbaric procedure. In fact, many people consider it child abuse, and I tend to agree.

Outside the USA, the Philippines, Israel, and the Muslim world, circumcision is extremely rare. Japan and most European nations have circumcision rates of about 2%, nearly all of them done for religious reasons. About 85% of the men in the world are happily uncut.

There is absolutely no reason to do this to your child. He will be born perfect -- leave him perfect.

Answer 8

I'm also one of the proud 15% who aren't circumcised.. No pain infection or anything.... Take a look at Daniel Radcliffe's... He's not circumcised....

Answer 9

It can also depend on where you live and what type of kids he will go to school with.If he happens to be the only non circumsied kid in gym class,it could be devastating to him mentally.It's a sad fact.

Answer 10

well... i am one of the proud 15% out there who has been circumcised. i am fine and healthy. I dont cry at night or anything b/c of bad memories and i dont hate my parents for their "Barbaric dicission"