Circumsized men: do you feel mutilated?

Question

I had a friend that was very against male circumcision, called it "genital mutilation". I asked every man I know, and they all looked at me like I was kidding: "No, of course I don't feel mutilated. And, yes, I am VERY sensitive down there, no problems." I know that there are some horrible accidents that happen with circumcision, and that's terrible! And I have heard the argument that "well, you must think female circumcision is ok, then?", but it's not the same- women lose the ability to orgasm when they are circumcised.

I'm not saying men should or shouldn't be circumcised, there's medical evidence for both sides...

But, do YOU feel mutilated? Do you wish you weren't circumcised? Why? Or why not?

Just really curious, thanks for your input.

Please excuse the spelling errors ;D

Captain-- I completely understand what you're saying. Of course a guy will feel that his penis is normal whether he was circumcised at birth or not. And, yes, the practice of circumcising newborns varies depending on religion, culture, and country of origin. And there is evidence that circumcision reduces risk of STD's, and also that it increases risk of other health problems. There is no conclusive evidence either way.

And I have been with both un- and circumcised men. As a woman, I have no preference. I am not disgusted by foreskin, neither am I particularly attracted to circumcised penises.

I was just curious if any men felt upset about being circumcised, or any thoughts on the matter. I do have a gay male friend who is circumcised, and he in no way feels "mutilated" , but he wishes he wasn't just because he finds uncircumcised penises arousing.

Thank you for your informed and well-thought out response.

Nautilis- I was very curious about men who were circumcised as adults, because they know what both states are like. Thanks for your info, and feel free to elaborate.

And who the heck is giving all these thumbs down?! Knock it off, O Invisible, Judgmental Giver Of Many Thumbs Down.

Mike H- I wasn't implying that circumcised (at birth) men had a real frame of reference. The question was simply "do you feel mutilated?", and a lot of the answers were "no", although, as the unfortunate "cut50yearsago" can attest, some people DO feel that way. And I don't think that we can assume that adults experiencing circumcision must be kidding themselves if they state they prefer it.

Answer 1

Mutilated? Hmm... according to Merriam Webster, mutilated means:

1 : to cut up or alter radically so as to make imperfect
2 : to cut off or permanently destroy a limb or essential part of : cripple

My penis doesn't feel imperfect or crippled. So no, I guess I'm not mutilated. Altered? Yes. Circumcision is a bizarre practice that should probably be discontinued, but for me, in my case, I'm happy.

Answer 2

I'm an adult who had circumcision forced on me as an infant, and I hate and resent the violation of my body and my rights. And I'm not alone; there are hundreds of thousands of males who feel the same way. I've restored my foreskin to regain some of the sensitivity/function destroyed by the damage that is circumcision, but it will never repair the permanent neural and vascular damage forced on me so that some unscrupulous doctor could make money from it. As a female, how do you think you would feel if you had had a female circumcision forced on you as a child, leaving your own genitals permanently mutilated and scarred? I highly doubt that you would feel kindly towards anyone who did such a thing to you. There are no benefits to male circumcision; it is genital mutilation, which always damages a male's sexual feeling, function and ability. As there are no standards to circumcision, the damage varies wildly. If you wouldn't want it done to you, why would you perpetrate it on a male infant? It's not your penis, nor your husband's. It's the child's and the individual himself should be the only one who has the right to decide whether or not he wishes to be circumcised when he is of age. Most American parents these days are not circumcising their sons. Only about 33% of American male infants are being circumcised, and the numbers continue to decline. Circumcision doesn't prevent any diseases or infections; the only things circumcision prevents are complete, natural and normal sexual feeling, function and ability. Circumcision is a fraud and a hoax. A foreskin is not a birth defect; it is a birthright. ERIC

Answer 3

Most boys who were circumcised at birth would have no frame of reference for comparison. Since a circumcised penis would be "normal" for them, it's unlikely that many of them would feel mutilated. None of them would ever know what they were missing and since circumcised men are still in general able to enjoy sex, masturbation etc, there would be no reason for them to feel "mutilated".

As an uncircumcised guy, I personally am glad to be the way that I am. I know what the foreskin feels like and can't imagine not having it so if I were to be circumcised, I probably would feel mutilated. But that is difference since I have actually grown up with my penis intact. Most guys who have their foreskin wouldn't want to get rid of it and most guys who don't have a foreskin are perfectly happy with their penis the way it is.

There are probably quite a few circumcised guys out there that would have rather have had the option (to choose for themselves), just as there are no doubt some uncircumcised guys that have had problems with their foreskin and want to get circumcised. But for the most part, as long as the persons penis works without any problems, I think people adapt to what they've got. Unless someone was particularly bitter that they were circumcised (against their will) they wouldn't really have any reason to feel mutilated.

You also have to remember that most peoples opinions are going to be biased towards their nationality and/or ethnicity. Most American men are circumcised while most European men are not. A Jewish person is more likely to favor circumcision than a Hispanic/Latino person. So it really depends on who you are asking for the most part. If someone consideres circumcision to be abnormal, unnatural or uncommon, they are more likely to feel "mutilated" than a person who consideres circumcision to be "the norm".

Answer 4

Of course they don't feel mutilated. Nor do the majority of women that have undergone female circumcision. In both cases it is the socially acceptable if not the norm. And women that have undergone FGM claim to have full sexual function:
---- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Female_genital_cutting ---
This practice increases the occurrence of medical complications due to a lack of modern western medicine and surgical practices. Despite claims that infibulation eliminates sexual pleasure, a five-year study of 300 women and 100 men in Sudan found that "sexual desire, pleasure, and orgasm are experienced by the majority of women who have been subjected to this extreme sexual mutilation, in spite of their being culturally bound to hide these experiences.
---- ---- ----

What will be interesting, is in the future many more men will grow up feeling mutilated. As our society is slowly ridding ourselves of this practice, the social norm will no longer be in place. A MSNBC Poll on Circumcision:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19296194/
43% For Circumcision
57% Against Circumcision.

If there were any good medical evidence that circumcision had value you would have at least one medical association endorsing it. The real purpose of circumcision has always been to do as much damage possible to the penis while retaining the ability to procreate.

Answer 5

That's very interesting how all the cut guys say they wouldn't want to be uncircumcised - something they don't remember ever being - because they think it looks bad or isn't clean. Those are the only reasons they can come up with to make themselves happy they're missing a bit? That's why the practice still goes on, because if they don't say "uncut is dirty and freaky looking" they'd have to admit they had a useless operation done. And yes, enough do regret it to mean that the risk shouldn't be taken with somebody making that decision on behalf of a defenceless baby, when they could leave him to make up his own mind. I also agree if you get it done as an adult and regret it then you might not admit it, not even to yourself. Of course some people get off on it like surfnyogadude which is great for them but they can mutilate themselves and not try to promote it on babies for false reasons.

Answer 6

Well let me see, for the last 30 years, by the end of my work day my glans (head of my penis) was so damn sore from friction against my underware that I couldn't stand to walk upright, and when I tried to have an intimate moment with my wife I couldn't feel her moist folds enought to reach my orgasm before she would have to ask me to stop. In the last couple of years I have been "restoring" my foreskin and these problems have somewhat gone away. By recovering just a portion of what was stolen from me, I have greatly improved my life. So to answer your question; Yes, I was mutilated.

I have been able to improve my quality of life by protecting my glans from drying and friction, but this leaves me wondering just how much am I missing because of all the nerves that were hacked from my body. I will never know what it would have been like to experience intimacy with a complete penis.

Answer 7

Most guys who are circumsized had it done at birth, so can't accurately compare being cut to not being cut. And those who had it done as adults would only ever claim it to be a good thing, even if deep down they regret it.

Answer 8

Well no ive been like this my whole life i dont know what its like to be uncircumcised sometimes i wonder what its like to have foreskin sometimes i wish i could have it but overall I'm happy.

Answer 9

I was circumcised at 18 now 28 and would do it again in a heartbeat! Everything you read from the antis is all BS! Sex is so much better circumcised and it is much cleaner and heathier! When my son's (1&3) were born there was no doubt they would be circumcised! It really is the only way to be!

Answer 10

No......and the thought of "feeling" mutilated never even occurred to me; never, ever and I'm 54 years old.

Truth be told I have wondered if guys or gals feel they have mutilated their bodies when they have parts of their body pierced. Especially their genitals, tongue and nose. And they volunteered and paid to have their body "mutilated".

But again, at 54 it's a generational thing....difference.