why do we circumcise little boys?

Question

most boys are circumcised and i thought it was so they the skin wouldn't collect dirt that was hard to get out and that would prevent a infection. however i just came across a site that relates circumcising to foot bounding. they make it sound wrong when i always thought it was good for the baby. they make it sound like it takes away pleasure from sex and also the pain last weeks...when i thought it only lasted a day not even like a hour maybe.the site also says boys have died from it. so why do we do it? is it just really about looks? or does it have a health benefit? is it something our culture just does or is it really safer then being uncircumcised? the binding of the feet were just for pleasure so is circumcising just pleasure?

Answer 1

The USA is the last developed nation (Europe and Japan don't do it... nor does Latin America or China, for that matter) doing circumcision to newborns without medical/religious reasons and even our rates have fallen from as high as 90% in the 60s to as low as 14% nowadays in some states.
http://www.cirp.org/library/statistics/USA/staterates2004/

Studies have found that circumcision reduces sensitivity (this article also mentions how it has lost popularity in the USA in recent times):
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,285532,00.html

Makes masturbation more difficult:
http://www.blackwell-synergy.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1464-410X.2006.06646.x

Which makes sense, that's how it was made popular in the USA:
http://english.pravda.ru/science/health/27-03-2006/77873-circumcision-0

Increases erectile dysfunction rates:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=14979200&dopt=Abstract%7C

As far as cleaning goes, it takes about 5 to 10 seconds to pull back the foreskin and rub the head, it even feels good (the head is sensitive, after all). But for newborns and young (before puberty) boys, the foreskin may not slide back, because it's designed to be attached to the head so stuff like feces / poo from diapers doesn't touch the head.
http://www.mothering.com/articles/new_baby/circumcision/protect-uncircson.html

Overall, feel free to research here, using medical studies, information, and statistics.
http://shorl.com/fajeputyprise

Answer 2

Most boys worldwide are NOT circumcised. Even in the US it is now about 50-50 so it's losing popularity there too.

You are right it causes problems at the time and can cause longer lasting and serious complications and problems. And there is no need for it. The health benefits have never been proven (and you get them anyway with proper care, washing, and condoms which all men need to do).

The only reason it's still done in the US is cultural - people think it's good, people follow what their father has done - but rates are seriously dropping.

In regard to the bible comment below me (which is not why most people do it, btw) - circumcision is indeed stated clearly in the Old Testament but it also says other things like women on their period can't go to church, people need to be stoned etc. most Christians don't follow that! In the New Testament circumcision is mentioned a lot and it not only says it's unnecessary, but actually seems to warn against it.

Answer 3

Because Americans don't 'get it' yet, like the Europeans did so very long ago. Circumcision is not necessary for other than perhaps religious reasons or a medical emergency. If you're talking cosmetics (cool! I look like my Dad now!) or practicality (great, now I'll never pee on my hands again! lol), you are a seriously deluded person indeed. Just don't do it! It's one thing if you were cut as a baby, but why put your own child through this unnecessary surgery?

Answer 4

Why would nature give us a body part that we didn't need?

Nope, you're right-- it is just as easy to clean when left intact and there is NO reason to do it...hygene is just an excuse. Also, there are studies that show it causes more problems than good, and it's being deemed "unnescessary cosmetic surgery" by many doctors.

Originally people thought that it would keep the kids from masturbating, but it actually didn't help a bit. It's basically old superstition, and people just assume that it's for hygene. My fiance never got circumcised and I'm happy about it, he's less likely to get erection problems later on in life. Also, the foreskin is VERY sensative and it does take away feeling and pleasure during sex (this was intended, to keep kids from masturbating).

I'm a body mod person and I would NEVER force ody mods on my kids! I see it as very wrong. Keep in mind over 80% of the world does not practice this...and rarely do you hear about erection problems or any typs of infections in other countries.

If I have kids, they will not have to endure unecessary surgery that puts them in the risk of infection and death. It's wrong and should be outlawed-- if a man wants to do this body modification when he's an adult, that's fine. But forcing a kid into a body mod is wrong-- would you make your child split their toung for vanity when they were a baby?

Answer 5

Jews and Moslems circumcise because they descend from the middle east north african area, a very arid area where water is too scarce to waste on hygiene . Sand was used to clean ones hands and skin. Not so good with the penis. One eats with the right hand and the left hand is used for hygiene.
The christians picked it up on the crusades, but it still is not popular their. Why the USA does it is linked with Calvinism and the idea the pleasure = sin.
Now it seems that the aids virus harbors less in a circumcised penis, that an uncircumcised one. So I have had to reverse myself again on this issue.
But please use some anesthetic on the thing. The screams are as horrible as the act.

Answer 6

Well, although it's true that it's just as easy to clean with or without a foreskin, the fact of the matter is that a lot of boys, unfortunately, don't really make it a point to shower more than once every few days. You probably remember a few of the "smelly kids" back in school.

Well, a circumcised penis will not harbor bacteria and germs nearly as well as an uncircumcised one. Basically, if a boy cleans his penis often, it doesn't matter. But if he doesn't clean it often, he's a lot better off being circumcised.

Of course, it also doesn't look nearly as ugly when it's circumcised. If done properly (like you would expect at any hospital in a developed country), the pain is minimal. It is even less painful due to the fact that most newborns' nerve endings haven't quite finished developing yet. They also are generally full of adrenaline for the first few days of life, being that diaper changes, breathing, eating, bathing, etc. are all very new experiences and somewhat traumatic as a whole for someone who's been in a dark cave for his/her entire life to that point.

If done as an adult, the pain lasts up to a week or two, but it's nothing a couple of Advil couldn't handle. I've heard a couple of adult circumcision patients say that the occasional migraine is much worse than circumcision pain.

Being circumcised myself, I have never had any problems in the bedroom... just ask my wife. If it hadn't been done to me as a child, I would want to do it myself today. Most of my uncircumcised football teammates (where else am I going to see a bunch of penises but in the locker room?) did say that they would prefer to be circumcised. The biggest reason was that since most uncircumcised men have to pull back their foreskin to urinate, if it ever slipped, they would end up literally spraying urine all over their pants, hand(s), and the toilet. Circumcised men never have to worry about that, and can pee with their hands in the air if they want. It's quite convenient when you have to pee-n-text at the same time.

Answer 7

It does take away pleasure from sex, ask anyone who got circumsized as an adult, it also makes the penis smaller for people who have been cicrumsized all their lives, because the body doesn't bother growing that part as much, since you aren't using it as much.

Europeans have almost a full inch longer dongs than americans and the blame can be laid at the feet of circumcision... and bad, artery clogging diets too... but you get the point.

Answer 8

Why? Because it's something humans have done for thousands of years. It's nothing more than tradition.

http://www.cirp.org/library/history

Answer 9

Read the Bible. That is one thing that is stated clearly.

Answer 10

Well it is the easiest way to get tips.