NSFW How do you decide about cirumcision?

I have my foreskin and I do not plan on having my childrens’ removed.

I have it, both my sons have it, and do you know what kind of kettle of fish you just opened?

Yeah I got chopped at birth (foreskin that is…not the whole thing!). I haven’t done the relevant reading on the pro’s and con’s, so not sure yet about future sons.

Perhaps I am just used to “cut” as here there is a culture here to circumsize. So because I am used to it I prefer it. My son is also circumsized. I don’t think it is fair to ask which you prefer it’s a bit like asking do you prefer big boobs or small boobs? As in the guy cannot undo it. Or do it. If I had another child would I do it? Yes I would.

If I ever have a son, they will definitely be keeping their whole penis.

I think it is inhuman, and ridiculous that it is still allowed to happen. I mean its against the law to cut pups ears and tails in some places, yet it is still acceptable to hack into a baby’s genitals. No…no….no….no.

Thats just my opinion though…...

I have it but again it might be more cultural (keep it warm in the winter if we are wearing a kilt lol) If I had a son I would probably leave him uncut but then I wonder what would happen if you had a mix of cultures with the parents with one coming from a culture where all boys are cut and like me where more are uncut?

@cytonic_horus no… no our son will be cut ;)

@Just_Justine can we negotiate and maybe leave him with one that he can pop on and off as the will (or willie) desires?

loll

I’m cut.
I have no intentions of getting any future sons circumcised.

All three of my sons are circumcised. I left that decision up to their father.
I did have my reservations about it.

My boys’ father was not circumsized. He was a home birth in a religious family that did not believe in doctors. My oldest son was born in a hospital where circumcision was done before the baby went home. The second son was born at a hospital where the baby had to be brought back and the circumcision had to be paid for when it was done. We were not able to afford the additional expense. When the youngest was 15 and I had insurance for him through my job, he asked to be circumsized. I figured it must be pretty important to a young man to want to be like everybody else if he was willing to go through that much pain when he was almost grown. I never asked, but assumed it was because he felt very different from a majority that was circumsised. For me, I have experienced both and prefer circumcised men, but would not be be turned “off” by someone that wasn’t.

@Exhausted Why do you prefer circumcised?

I’m a lady and I don’t even have an opinion on this one bc I’ve never seen a circumcised one.

I’m circumcised, but I didn’t have to make a decision about my kids since we hd two girls. I’m not sure what I would have chosen if we had a boy.

I have been snipped. Have no desire to have it re-attached.

I see it as 50/50. Does not matter either way.
Except I have heard many a woman, make the statement that they prefer a Circumcised man.
Meaning if you are Circumcised, you are good to go with all women. If you are not, there will be a percentage that will not be interested.

I’m confused about this notion of women “preferring” a circumcised man. @ChazMaz suggests that there is a percentage that will not be interested. Really? After you’ve developed a relationship to the point that you are about to have sex you’re going to get your underpants off and she’s going to take a close look and say, “oops, sorry, not interested, pull em up and go home. Don’t call me, I’ll call you”? I don’t really buy it. It’s not like you can feel the difference during sex, and the cosmetic effect? Well I’ve been told by women that flaccid penises just look silly, circumcised or not doesn’t really matter, and when it’s erect with the foreskin retracted, you can barely tell the difference. I’ve had women who didn’t actually realize I was not circumcised until I mentioned it, in spite of us having had sex. What exactly is it one prefers about a circumcised penis?

Just saying what I see in dating adds and what women have told me.

“going to take a close look and say, “oops, sorry, not interested, pull em up and go home. Don’t call me, I’ll call you”?”
Hopefully they have talked about it before. So in a way, some yes.

“What exactly is it one prefers about a circumcised penis?”
That question is going to need the opinion of a woman that does not like it.

As a guy, and having seen men with their for-shin intact. It looks, odd.
But then again I am only use to seeing my own without.

Aside from the cultural/religious factor for some, there is also numerous health/medical benefits for getting the foreskin cut. Here’s an informational brochure listing some of the benefits Given the substantial information, one can make an intelligent decision whether to get the procedure done or not.

Source: http://www.circinfo.net/

@njnyjobs cool post! I knew there were health benefits too. Now men know how it feels to have their “bits” on debate lol

I’ve never seen an uncircumcised one in real life. I prefer the helmeted soldier, so to speak.

@Just_Justine Now we know? It’s not a particularly new debate:

http://www.fluther.com/disc/53444/do-you-believe-in-male-circumcision-do-you-feel-that-godnature/

http://www.fluther.com/disc/51293/would-youdid-you-have-your-newborn-baby-boy-circumcised/

http://www.fluther.com/disc/69208/those-attracted-to-men-would-a-guy-being-uncircumcised-be-a/

http://www.fluther.com/disc/59246/soyoure-uncircumsized/

Without revealing too much information…. Wow. How do you say this? I’ve been with one man who was not cut. Didn’t much care for the looks of it. As a single mother when my son was born, I really didn’t give it any though. It was SOP at the hospital where I worked. He was done on day three, snip, snip, snip. I didn’t realize until about a year ago that this was such an issue for some men.
Color me so insensitive towards my son. I thought that it was just…. part of having a boy.

@ChazMaz Maybe that’s how it works with getting dates from ads, but I’ve never had that conversation. Not being circumcised is perfectly normal for me, and not something I talk about before having sex. Do you sit down and have a chat with women to inform them that you are circumcised before you get down to business?

@Snarp it is a new debate if you have not previously read the other ones

@Snarp… interesting that you have all those. When I searched circumcision on here only one thing came up for me.

@Trillian “I thought that it was just…. part of having a boy.”
To me that is the issue, a largely pointless surgical procedure performed on infants just because that’s just the way it is, with no actual thought involved. I don’t have anything against you, but against a system that has treated this as the thing to do for absolutely no reason whatsoever.

@sleepdoc I just searched for it just now and those all came up. Maybe you had a typo when you searched.

@Snarp If I spelled is correct in my post then there was not typo when I searched.

@Snarp we are all allowed to having a preference, without chewing our head off (excuse the pun).

I’ve still got mine thankfully & no plans to have it removed, I’ve read men who have had their foreskin removed get less pleasure out of having intercourse as some nerves are removed when circumcised that stimulate pleasure during intercourse, so I guess I’m getting more out it than those guys who have had theirs removed at birth, it’s a lot less common practice now in the US to circumcise new born males & is becoming increasing unpopular as time goes on… :-/

I posted this to an earlier question, viewer discretion is advised!!
http://indra.com/~shredder/intact/anatomy/

@Just_Justine that was a lovely turn of phrase at the end

@Scooby yeah in the UK there are hardly any circumsized males. Where I live it is part of the process. Wouldn’t want little willie to be left out!! I personally prefer the look of a cut penis, but I don’t mind an erect penis with a foreskin. I was told “might be rubbish” that it was more hygienic? @Snarp if I had to post links on “are big tits better than small” or “my labia too small or big” I would never find enough room on this thread. Meaning how women’s bit’s are always on debate.@cytonic_horus why thank you loll.

@Just_Justine That’s certainly true, but no one questions whether female genital mutilation makes a woman more attractive.

@Snarp no they don’t but doesn’t stop women shoving silicone bags into their chests.

@Snarp maybe this is an issue that more women should be made aware of before having a baby. I’m sure many are guided by their doctors just as I was and never even thought to question it.

@Trillian I honestly don’t know why there’s so little discussion of it in America. Truthfully it’s not on a par with female genital mutilation, but it is a strange bit of surgery that has basically been passed down for religious reasons. It actually wasn’t all that popular among Christians in the states until John Kellogg and the Seventh Day Adventists started pushing it as a cure for masturbation. Somehow it went from there to just being the thing to do.

I was actually billed for my son’s circumcision that never happened, just because they automatically bill for it because it’s so common. Same thing happened when I was a baby in a different state.

Only circumcised for ME! It’s a preferance. Having seen and had both.

@sleepdoc should know anyway he’s a doctor? right?

@Just_Justine BTW, I never meant to chew anyone’s head off, but no one has really explained this preference to me, so I’m asking. I realize that sometimes preference is unexplainable, but usually people have reasons, or at least impressions.

@Just_Justine

At the end of the day it’s your choice if you wish to have your son circumcised, he’s obviously too young to have any say yet, I just hope you’re doing it for the right reasons, just because it’s what everybody else does ( some sort of fashion statement??) doesn’t necessarily make it the right choice, you should check out all available information before doing something that is going to affect HIS life for the rest of HIS life…. :-/ check out the web address I posted earlier…. You may find it interesting?

@Snarp I think a lot of porn usually involves “cut” men. Similarly to a generalization of females with big boobs! So there is that angle. Culture is well known to play a part and so is fashion oddly. When my son was born, his father was and he actually demanded it. Not me. So, for me, I have been exposed mostly to men who have had the chop. It is just more familiar to me. Some women here said the opposite was better for them. It’s a personal preference. I have heard of foreskins having to be removed later in life due to issues, which caused the male a lot of pain at a later age. I think the most important thing is the man that owns his penis! If you love him it will not matter.Or you will continue to have your preferences. I do not believe you can compare it to the female equivalent as I believe they also “sew up her vagina” however, I am not an expert so I will leave it at that. (According to a program on Discovery female circumcision). @Scooby my son is 28 and he is glad we did.

@Just_Justine

Bit late then!! :-/ oh well…...

Maybe for some the father ran into problems later on and was left walking like John Wayne for a bit so want to spare their son the possibility of that?

@Snarp
Check out Circumcision Info that provides Evidence-based information to the following subjects. Apparently, not only men do benefit from this, but women’s medical well being as well.

1. What is circumcision?

2. Who in the world gets circumised?

3. The circumcision debate.

4. Circumcision history and recent trends.

5. Position statements by national pediatric bodies.

6. Why the foreskin increases infection risk.

7. Circumcision – ‘shapshot’ of health benefits + reviews.

8. Different specialists see different things.

9. Circumcision – benefits outweigh the risks.

10. Pain and memory.

11. Penile hygiene.

12. What motivates parents to baby boy circumcision.

13. Rates of circumcision.

14. Physical problems.

15. Inflammatory dermatoses.

16. Urinary tract infections.

17. Sexually transmitted infections.

18. Cancer of the penis.

19. Prostate cancer.

20. Cervical cancer in female partners of uncircumcised men.

21. Breast cancer in female partners of uncircumcised men.

22. Herpes simplex type 2 virus in women.

23. Chlamydia in women.

24. Trichomonas in women.

25. Bacterial vaginosis in women.

26. HIV: the AIDS virus.

27. Circumcision Socio-sexual aspects.

28. Circumcision – sensitivity, sensation & sexual function.

29. Circumcision – societal class distinction.

30. Circumcision prevents infibulation.

31. Circumcision procedure.

32. Circumcision & Anesthesia.

33. Cost of the Circumcision procedure.

34. Cost benefit of Circumcision.

35. Circumcision – how do I find someone to do it?.

36. Circumcision – whose responsibility?...legal

37. Risks in infants.

38. Circumcision – risks in adults & older boys.

39. Circumcision – breastfeeding outcomes and cognitive ability.

40. Circumcision, does it affect penis length?

41. Circumcision – why are human males born with a foreskin?

42. Circumcision – best not to delay til later.

43. Circumcision – what caused many cultures to ritually remove the foreskin?

@njnyjobs My decisions are made, so no, I’m not going to read all that. I also don’t think that the majority of people the U.S. makes the decision based on anything other than whether or not the father was circumcised. But a brief perusal of the site shows it to be written by someone with a strong bias, who in spite of his claims to lack such a bias promotes (and writes) pamphlets for something called the Gilgal Society, a group entirely dedicated to promoting circumcision. In spite of that site’s author’s claims of a lack of religious motivation, Gilgal is the name of the place where the Israelites were circumcised in the bible. I would certainly advise anyone considering this decision to seek their information elsewhere, starting with their own pediatrician.

the stuff about cancer and what can maybe possibly cause it can often be taken with a pinch of salt…I remember one report saying burnt toast and whisky can help cause it

Yes it can be unhealthy if you have your foreskin but that is often if you are too lazy to make sure you are clean…if you leave it that it’s like a swamp and has more cheese than Switzerland then you are going to have problems but cleaning every day or after sex or things like that keeps it down.

ew

@cytonic_horus the link between cancer is actually a bit more than that. HPV which is know to cause cervial cancer is more frequently found in uncircumsized men.

This might be better here

The Mayo Clinic

Check this out! :-/

http://www.cirp.org/library/normal/aap/

And female circumcision

” circumcision removes the prepuce (a fold of skin that covers the clitoris) and/or the tip of the clitoris. A clitoridectomy removes the entire clitoris and some or all of the surrounding tissue; this procedure occurs in approximately 80% of cases. The most extreme form of genital mutilation is excision and infibulation, in which the clitoris and all of the surround tissue are cut away and the remaining skin is sewn together. Only a small opening is left for the passage of urine and menstrual blood. Infibulation accounts for approximately 15% of FGM procedures.

and here

@Just_Justine Granted that female genital mutilation is not really on a par with circumcision. But comparing breast size, which is a matter of genetic chance and is usually only altered by adults of their own volition to a surgery performed on infants with only marginal, if any benefits, and that is generally chosen for cultural, rather than medical, reasons is even less appropriate. We see circumcision as trivial because of our culture, but it is still surgery performed on the genitals of infants for largely cultural reasons, which gives it more of a comparison with the albeit far more barbarous practice of female genital mutilation.

@Snarp but then there is a kind of culture portrayed through tv and magazines about the body beautiful so some women feel forced into implants to feel more welcomed into that culture so surely it has the same root as the idea that being circumcised is more cultural with outside pressures affecting ones decision?

The only difference is with breast implants the adult feels forced to do it to themselves while with circumcision it is the parents who feel forced…both end up with the body being changed from how nature intended it…I guess it is like when people say if I was meant to fly I would have been given wings…if I was meant to not have a foreskin I wouldn’t have been born with one

“To look like the father” is one of the worst reasons to get someone circumcised. This is what bothers me about circumcision: people just blindly do it. Obviously, some people think about it and make an educated decision, but most of the people who do it probably don’t give it much thought because “it’s just what’s done”. Believe it or not, rates of routine infant circumcision (a uniquely American phenomenon; go to any European country and this is not done) are going down. In the western United States (where I was born and currently reside) the rate is at around 30% compared to 60% for the rest of the country and it continues to go down.

I don’t believe in the validity of the “circumcision craze” that is part of America. People shouldn’t remove a part of their child’s body without their permission just because they think it looks pretty or because their dad looks that way or because “it’s just what’s done”. People need to put some thought into something like that.

People came up with all this stuff about cancer and STDs as a means of justifying circumcision after it was already done. It wasn’t the original reason for doing it. It started out as a religious practice. There are conflicting studies all over the place about circumcision, some of which I’ve seen that seem to indicate the benefits of circumcision are few. I highly doubt that nature made this huge mistake and that we need to correct surgically in infancy. What about the Europeans and Asians who don’t circumcise? Are they all plagued with disease and living in hell because of it? The risks are minimal and people just use it as a excuse for justifying something that isn’t all that easily justified.

My parents did not choose to have me circumcised and I am glad for that decision. My dad is circumcised and he doesn’t hate it or anything, but he and my mom did not view it as necessary. They didn’t want to remove a part of my genitalia without my permission and I am glad they didn’t. I was taught how to clean myself down there and it is not a problem. (People always exaggerate the “difficulty” of cleaning yourself there). My brothers and I are all in the same boat. My boyfriend is uncircumcised as well and although I have a thing for it sexually, I certainly do not have a huge preference. Either way, it isn’t something you should just do “because”, especially seeing as how there are plenty of circumcised men who wish they weren’t.

It shouldn’t be a “routine” decision like it is. It’s much more significant than that and I for one am glad that it seems more people are informed about it now than ever.

The biological father of my first son was not circumcized but didn’t care either way and I believed strongly in no circumcision for any of my kids, no matter the gender. My husband is circumcized and not happy that it was done to him so obviously our son together was not circumcized. I fail to see why this should be a father’s decision only, on all counts.

@Simone_De_Beauvoir If you are referring to my post, I was 19 what did I know. Anyway I would still do it today. My son is happy with it. Why is it a problem if he is happy with it?

@Just_Justine My post wasn’t directed at you. You, as a parent, get to decide and I, as a parent, decided against it.

@DominicX

Well said that Man!! ;-)

@DominicX there are men who wished they weren’t? why? I know men who wished they were.

@Scooby Thanks. :)

@Just_Justine Yes, there are men who wished they weren’t. Some of which are on this site. They all have their own personal reasons for wishing they weren’t, I don’t know too much detail. For some of them it has to do with sexual pleasure, others have had complications because of it, others simply just feel cheated by having that part of their body removed without their permission. The whole concept of “foreskin restoration” wouldn’t exist if there weren’t men who wished they weren’t circumcised.

Although not widely done, one can always get a circumcision at an older age if one truly desires that. It’s not easy to get an “uncircumcision” and in most cases, not possible.

@DominicX oh well, I am glad someone likes them! there is a pot for every lid they say. You like them I don’t. Not sure about the pleasure part buy anyhow. Just as well we all like different things.

We read all kinds of research and finally decided to do it to our son.

It’s hard for me to imagine needing more sensitivity. If those with foreskins are more sensitive, then I’d imagine their women wouldn’t be happy, since they’d all be ejaculating within ten seconds.

I don’t need more sensitivity. I suspect that pleasure also might be related to testosterone, but who can tell? Pleasure is a purely subjective experience.

there is more to not ejaculating within 10 seconds than just not having a foreskin

subjective? :-/ well I’m intact & I know what I feel…...

The foreskin gives more pleasure to both partners! :-/

@Scooby I never experienced a difference.

@Just_Justine

I’ve been with women in my time who have had relations with both men with & without, I can say that in all instances they have said sex was more fulfilling with an intact mate, I guess it is different for everyone though… granted. ;-)

All this discussion sparked and I only get one great question????

I’m not snipped. But I really don’t like how people say stuff like “more hygienic”. If you keep yourself clean and take neccessary precautions then everything will be just fine, no surgery required.

OK Mr. Fussy pants. There’s another GQ. Happy?
@Scooby that bizarre looking little piece of skin did not give me any more pleasure. I promise you. It completely grossed me out and all I could think of was that the whole thing looked like a club.

and I put the GQ up to 4 which is quite appropriate for a question such as this

@sleepdoc so stop fussing! You didn’t even answer my dang question from yesterday and I’ve answered yours twice. So there! ;-)

@Trillian I wasn’t on here yesterday. I will go look at it specifically now.

My husband is circumcised. Our two sons are. I really have no preference.

@casheroo that was the most objective answer here. I am impressed.

@Trillian

I can’t understand your preference, that bizarre looking little piece of skin has given me no end of pleasure over the years & I’ve had no complaints at least not relating to my foreskin! But again each to their own…….. :-/

I’m a female and grew never seeing an uncircumsized example. I personally don’t care for the look of an uncircumsized one. Several family members decided over the years not to circumsize their boys and each one of those boys ended up electing to have the surgery as adults. I also have had two male friends who chose to get circumsized as adults and one man who chose to remain uncut. If it were my child, I’d choose the circumcision based on the stories my relatives told of awkwardness in comparison with their peers as far as looks go and the reactions of sexual partners.

My husband is American and I’m from England. I don’t think I’ve ever come across any circumcised willies before I met my husband. When our son was born I was adamant that he not be snipped. It became our biggest argument to date! My husband felt he wanted his son to fit in and be normal, but this sounded like tosh to me, especially seeing as what’s normal for my husband is not what’s normal for me. In the end I told him that if he could provide me with one valid medical reason to do it, I would reconsider my position on the matter. After consulting with peadiatricians both in the U.S. and U.K. he decided he couldn’t really provide a valid medical reason to justify doing it, so we didn’t. If my son feels left out of the snipped gang when he’s older, I’ll gladly support his decision.

I am cut, and I considered not having my son cut. I read quite a bit on the matter, and it turns out men who were not cut had higher rates of AIDS and prostate problems.
I had my son cut.

(personal opinion) I will not be with a man unless he is circumcised. I guess this is because it is what I’m use to. I think cut looks better, feels better to the touch, feels better in my mouth, and they are easer to give oral to. I have been with one guy who was uncut, and I never wanted to again.
I’m sorry if I offended anyone, but it is my personal preference.

Im happy to say Im all in one piece….. I dont think anyone should decide for their child whether this pointless proceedure should happen or not. Why not wait so the child can decide for himself.

@filmfann Im sorry to say the information you read about AIDS etc is total & utter nonsense & you really should have done a little more reading on the subject.

@JeffVader It’s true. I find your lack of faith disturbing.

@filmfann I want to point out that the associations you discuss were found in 3rld world countries (correct me if I’m wrong) where the decrease in AIDS and the like could have been due to the men beginning to properly washing themselves and paying more attention to that part of the body (lack of clean water is a big factor, foreskin can harbor bacteria but poses NO risk if it’s properly taken care of)

Circumcision Deaths….
Some babies die of complications of circumcision. Deaths occur secondary to loss of blood or systemic infection from the circumcision wound.
A few deaths are reported in the medical literature. Other medical literature discusses the frequency of those deaths. A few deaths are reported in the popular press.
There is reason to believe that many deaths from circumcision are attributed to other causes. For example, if a baby were to die of meningitis that was contracted through the circumcision wound, the death may be attributed to meningitis while ignoring the fact that the baby would not have had meningitis if he had not been circumcised.
Circumcision originated before the dawn of history. There was no knowledge of sanitation or the need for a sterile operating environment. Jews have traditionally performed circumcision on the eighth day after birth for many thousands of years. The medical literature was still reporting numerous deaths from ritual circumcision in the early twentieth century. There must have been vast numbers of babies who died under those conditions through the centuries. Jewish law allows parents who have had three sons die from circumcision to leave the fourth son intact.
Doctors are highly motivated to conceal the true cause of circumcision death. Neonatal circumcision has no medical indication and is now considered to be an unnecessary non-therapeutic operation. It is unethical to carry out such operations on minors who cannot consent for themselves. Consequently, most doctors who have a baby die after a circumcision would prefer to attribute the results of his unethical operation to secondary causes, such as infection or bleeding, while ignoring the primary cause, which is the circumcision that resulted in the infection or bleeding. It is, therefore, very hard to identify the total number of deaths that occur from circumcision. One senses that one may be seeing only the “tip of the iceberg,” with the vast majority of deaths from circumcision being concealed. The deaths undoubtedly cause an increase in infant mortality. Male infant mortality is higher than female infant mortality. It is not known how much of this increased mortality is due to the practice of male circumcision.
Several doctors have given estimates of the number of deaths that occur each year. Douglas Gairdner reported 16–19 actual deaths a year in England and Wales from neonatal circumcisions in the 1940s. Sydney Gellis believed that “there are more deaths from complications of circumcision than from cancer of the penis. There are various figures for the number of deaths from penile cancer ranging from 200 to 480 deaths per year. Robert Baker estimated 229 deaths per year from circumcision in the United States.
There are several case reports of death in the medical literature. These are deaths from various infections. Sauer reported the death of an 18-day-old infant from Staphylococcal bronco-pneumonia. Hiss et al. reported the death of an infant in Israel from haemorrhage and hypovolemic shock after ritual circumcision.
There are several newspaper accounts of boys who have died after circumcision. These are from bleeding and from complications of anesthesia.
Several coroner’s reports of deaths from circumcision are known to exist. Demetrius Manker died from blood loss in Dade County, Florida on June 23, 1993. The coroner’s report on the death of a previously healthy one-month-old infant, Ryleigh Roman Bryan McWillis, less that 48 hours after his circumcision, is available. Baby Ryleigh died of hypovolemic shock, after exsanguination caused by hemorrhage at the circumcision wound. Ryleigh’s mother said, “I unplugged his life support at 5 a.m. on the 22nd of August, one month and one day after he was born.”

Many African tribes have initation ceremonies in which a youth or young man is initiated into manhood. The youths are sent to a camp in a remote area where initiation ceremonies, including circumcision, take place. The circumcisions are carried out by persons without medical training. African tribal ritual circumcision produces reports of death or serious injury every year. The Mail and Guardian reports seven dead in the Fall of 2003 and a total of 250 dead since 1995.
Amitai Moshe, age 8 days, went into cardiac arrest after a ritual circumcision at Golder’s Green Synagogue, London. He was taken from the synagogue directly to hospital and died eight days later.
A family doctor in Ontario circumcised an unnamed healthy infant at seven days of age. The infant suffered multiple complications and died seven days later of hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy…..

Before anyone starts, I cut & pasted this from the Circumcision Reference Library!!
:-/
I hope you all found it informative.. ;-)

@filmfann Perhaps that because I rely on proof, rather than faith for my knowledge.

@Scooby….. “the Circumcision Reference Library” I honestly never imagined such a thing existed :)

@JeffVader

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

Check this out, I’ve posted pages from it earlier but there’s a lot of reading to get through, Fascinating stuff! :-) take a peek…

@Scooby that is really interesting! @sleepdoc you should visit that website and this is one of the first stuff I read; “The human foreskin is highly innervated and vascularized sensitive erogenous tissue. It plays an important role in normal human sexual response and is necessary for normal copulatory behavior. An understanding of this role is now emerging in the scientific literature. Removal of the foreskin (circumcision) interferes with normal sexual function.”

Scary. After reading Scooby’s post and that, I definetly wouldn’t circumcise my baby boy if I would ever give birth to one, bc there is just too much literature on why you shouldn’t circumsize. I wouldn’t circumsize a baby girl either, even if I would live in Africa and ppl would force me. Hell, I’d move. I think it’s inhuman, and immoral to remove a tiny piece of frikkin skin and it could have huge concequences. Utterly stupid, period. If you were tought how to clean yourself down there, or if you tell your kids how to keep clean then I see no problem. They aren’t dumb or anything.

My opinion in short; circumcision is fucking with human nature.

Are you getting your boy circumsized? Why don’t you just buy your wife a pair of new boobs while you’re at it? O_o!

@whyigottajoin

Sure is & Thank you… :-)

Did anyone know that you can grow a foreskin to the size of a football field…. how gross is that!

@JeffVader I find your lack of faith disturbing is a line from Star Wars. I thought you would get that.

If you want proof, here is a link
Here is another
Here is one more

In fairness (and I strive to be fair), there are some studys that disagree, and say it has no measurable effect on decreased HIV transmission. However, since it isn’t detrimental, why not try it?

Regarding Prostate cancer, you will find this information here
“Uncircumcised men have a 1.6 to 2.0 fold higher incidence of prostate cancer compared with circumcised men”

So, now you have some proof.

@filmfann Well, firstly I have no desire to mutilate my body. I also believe the evidence you’ve supplied comes from special interest groups & is biased & unfair. However, that being said, I will read more about this to get a better rounded understanding of all the issues.

@filmfann @JeffVader There are benefits and risks – studies have been done both ways. However, in 1999 the AAP (American Academy of Pediatrics) after reviewing all the studies chose AGAINST recommending routine neonatal circumcision and has not to this day reverted their decision. That year the AMA (American Medical Association) also pointed out similar decisions in Canada and Australia. As late as 2007, the AAFP (American Academy of Family Physicians) and the AUA (American Urological Association) attested that there are controversies and adult circumcision should be presented as an option and that parents should decide for themselves whether or not to circumcize. I, as a parent, with a solid base in science and biology chose against it because my child was unable to agree to the procedure (I know you’ll say that’s extreme and we do other things to them like blood tests without concent but I disagree it’s the same) and if they want, they can undergo the procedure later (why this would be so is beyond me – I will not raise children who grow up into adults swayed by what others looks like or tell them about their own looks). We can spend all day presenting science – at the end of the day, you best believe that millions of circumcisions that have occurred all over the world are NOT about science but beliefs, religion, sexism (in case of FGM) and so forth and so on.

@Simone_De_Beauvoir I understand what you are saying, and I agree, it is up to the individual, but most adults will not go thru a circumcision, even if they really wish they had been as children. It is much more painful as an adult.
I also understand that a lot of parents today are choosing NOT to have their kids vaccinated against the measles, etc, for fear it will cause autism. I think those parents are jeapadizing their kids futures.

Does anyone talk about their penis and if it’s circumcised with people “in real life”? I never talk about my sons penis other than the internet. No one else cares.

@casheroo

I remember one time I was with a group of guys (there were 5 of us) and one of them said something like “shut up or I’ll circumcise you” and then the other guy said “already done, idiot” and then we ended up sharing whether we were circumcised or not. Out of 5 guys, 3 were and 2 weren’t.

That is the only time it has ever come up in real life for me.

The only time I would worry about it would be in relationships. But if I was with a guy and he didn’t want to be with me anymore because he found out I was uncircumcised (it certainly isn’t something I share right off the bat) then I would kick him out on his shallow ass. :)

If it ain’t broke…

@filmfann I believe the vaccination conversation took place in another q (of wundayatta’s) and we already discussed it to death there – we’re not discussing it right now and it is not a natural progression from no circumcision to no vaccination.

@casheroo It has come up before in conversation. Before I left the U.K. I did know one male friend who was circumcised as a young boy for medical reasons. He discussed it with us because it was unusual, and he told us he felt his sensation was affected as a result. After I left the U.K. the issue was discussed a lot amongst friends, when new bonds were formed between those of varying cultural backgrounds. My experience is that people tend to care a lot about this issue, and my opinion is that it is quite important, and should be talked about openly in ‘real life’ or anywhere.

I agree with @Simone_De_Beauvoir, the reasons for opting for circumcision are often cultural rather than medical. As I already said, my husband couldn’t find any good reason to do it other than to look like other American boys, and that’s not a good enough reason for me. Vaccination is a medical issue @filmfann, not cultural.

@jeanmay cultural and medical issues enmesh and are hard to tease out – many people’s medical knowledge is zero and many people’s cultures differ – it’s all about a philosophical standpoint for me – I’d want them to give consent to this procedure which I think is pretty painful and neurologically jarring for an infant – I don’t care what others say, there is NO reason for me to be okay with inflicting pain on my infant when even conservative organizations like the AAP and the AMA have not put out a recommendation for it. As for any studies done, I can find some fault in their design and can argue there are other factors in play other than circumcision.

OK so I was thinking, I could make a whole question out of this one but I already want to ask something NSFW and I don’t want to seem perverted; Isn’t it more difficult to mastrubate for circumcised men? Bc the forskin is used during mastrubation, and I was just thinking, men don’t have soft hands like we do, so circumcised ones need alot of saliva or lubricant always? Bc I wouldnt see how this dry hand rubbing over the top would turn anyone on.. Uncircumcised men don’t need spit or lube right away, they could use their hands or their girlfriends hands first to get them hard or blowjob or whatever. Idk if I’m making any sense here but I’ve only seen two guys with uncircumcised ones mastrubate and they both used their forskin kinda? I mean I don’t see how it would work without lots of spit and lube involved everytime.

@whyigottajoin Happily that’s not something I’d ever considered before….. but you must be right, what you described does sound rather uncomfortable!

@whyigottajoin No. And not all men use a lubricant to masturbate, they can do fine without it.

@whyigottajoin no you don’t need extra lube or saliva if you are circumsized. You of course can use if it you so choose, but so can one who is uncircumsized.

@whyigottajoin

“men don’t have soft hands like we do”

I beg to differ! ;-) Lol..
I look after mine, can’t risk any chafing now can we!…… :-/

@Scooby correction; not all men have soft hands ;)

@whyigottajoin

;-) Granted!

Growing up, all I saw were circumcised penises. I did not see an intact one until I became a nurse (which was after my son was born). While pregnant with my son, my ex-brother-in-law (who was about 10) got circumcised. I saw the pain he went through with not being able to wear pants for about a week afterwards. I started reading the risks and benefits of circumcision. I decided to get my son circumcised because of 2 reasons. The first reason being that I didn’t want to take the risk that he would need a circumcision when he got older and have to go through the pain my ex-brother-in-law went through. Yes I know babies still feel pain, but the healing process and everything is easier on a baby that isn’t moving around than it is on an older child (or man) who moves around). The second reason was because of the benefits. Yes, the benefits can be argued both ways (as really being there and not really being there), it just depends on which article you read. I chose to believe that there are benefits and they outweighed the risks. My husband and I have talked about it and agree that if we have any more boys, they will also be circumcised.

It’s a no-no for me, should i ever have a child, i’ll not have it done to him. My husband’s in one piece and i like it that way.

I WILL NOT DECIDE for my sons. It’s up to them. If they want to get circumsized, fine. If they don’t, fine. The thing is, in our country, circumcision is an act of machismo of some sort. If you’re not circumsized, your friends and girlfriend will laugh at you. So most probably, to ‘fit in’, I guess my future spawns will do it, or maybe not, if they grew up to have liberal views like me.

I personally don’t give a dang if a guy isn’t or is circumsized.

@nikkidug Do you decide what they should eat? Do you decide what they wear, or how they act?
This is an act of religious faith. Teaching your children about religion is as important as either of those.

@filmfann I guess I have to reiterate that in our country, circumcision IS NOT a religious act but rather a cultural tradition and is often associated with machismo culture. Men here are made fun of if they are not circumcised. Now when my future spawns come of age and see their friends get circumcised and tell me they want to get it too, I have no qualms about it. And FYI, I’m not a person who leans towards religious dogmas. And in case you haven’t noticed, the person who asked this question didn’t limit this topic to religion, so there you have it. Do I have to decide what they should eat or wear or act? I would never want to forcefully control my future spawns. I may have brought them into this world but I do not have any right to decide for them. They can decide on their own. I am merely there to direct them to the right path if they go astray. Also, teaching my future spawn about what’s ethical, rational, and about empathy IS AS IMPORTANT AS teaching them about religion.

I think circumcision should be a person’s own choice. If I have sons, I do not plan on getting them circumcised as I don’t agree with the practice. As for what I prefer, I don’t judge a guy based on that… at least, I don’t think I do. My favourite penis in the world is uncircumcised, though, and belongs to the guy I am sometimes sexually active with. :)