Pros and Cons of Circumcision?

StephK · May 2011

CA2006:
Ugh...FGM and circumcision are NOT the same. Not by a longshot. Comparing the two is ignorant. DH is circed and does NOT suffer loss of all pleasure or sensation down there and neither do the majority of men who are circed. B/C if they did, don't you think they would speak up against circing their baby boys? To the contrary, I think you will find that the majority of circed boys have circed fathers.

FGM is done to deprive a woman of sexual pleasure, done at an older age and is done unsanitarily the majority of time. While there may be no medical reason to circ, there is no real medical reason not to either. It is a personal decision.

I agree with this. The bolded is the part that occurs to me every time I read opinions that male circumcision and FGM are the same. Yes, you're removing a part of the penis, but you're not removing the entire thing. That's a big difference between circ and FGM. Of course, men who are circumcised don't know what it feels like to be uncircumcised (or vice versa), but clearly circumcised men are not suffering from a total loss of sexual feeling or pleasure.

I personally hope the ban fails because it denies religious exceptions and therefore raises 1st amendment issues. If they left in those exceptions, it's a different matter. I also don't think government should have a say in the issue, but it wouldn't be the first or last time that happened.

CA2006 · May 2011

christiney06:
CA2006:
christiney06:
CA2006:

DH is circed and does NOT suffer loss of all pleasure or sensation down there and neither do the majority of men who are circed. B/C if they did, don't you think they would speak up against circing their baby boys?

how would he know if he has always been cut? it's a medical fact that the tip of the penis is loaded w/ nerve endings that make sex better. he just doesn't know what he's missing out on!

Seriously? Circumcision is cutting off the foreskin...the extra piece of skin that covers the SHAFT. It pulls back during intercourse. Nobody is cutting the tip off of anything.

yes, it's the tip of skin and it does have nerve endings. sorry you are getting so fired up over this.

I just want to make sure that you know that circed men still have the tip of their penis that is filled with nerve endings fully intact, that's all.

ProcrastinatingBride · May 2011

StephK:
CA2006:
Ugh...FGM and circumcision are NOT the same. Not by a longshot. Comparing the two is ignorant. DH is circed and does NOT suffer loss of all pleasure or sensation down there and neither do the majority of men who are circed. B/C if they did, don't you think they would speak up against circing their baby boys? To the contrary, I think you will find that the majority of circed boys have circed fathers.

FGM is done to deprive a woman of sexual pleasure, done at an older age and is done unsanitarily the majority of time. While there may be no medical reason to circ, there is no real medical reason not to either. It is a personal decision.
I agree with this. The bolded is the part that occurs to me every time I read opinions that male circumcision and FGM are the same. Yes, you're removing a part of the penis, but you're not removing the entire thing. That's a big difference between circ and FGM. Of course, men who are circumcised don't know what it feels like to be uncircumcised (or vice versa), but clearly circumcised men are not suffering from a total loss of sexual feeling or pleasure.
I personally hope the ban fails because it denies religious exceptions and therefore raises 1st amendment issues. If they left in those exceptions, it's a different matter. I also don't think government should have a say in the issue, but it wouldn't be the first or last time that happened.

Amen. Wink

karinothing · May 2011

CA2006:
Ugh...FGM and circumcision are NOT the same. Not by a longshot. Comparing the two is ignorant. DH is circed and does NOT suffer loss of all pleasure or sensation down there and neither do the majority of men who are circed. B/C if they did, don't you think they would speak up against circing their baby boys? To the contrary, I think you will find that the majority of circed boys have circed fathers.

FGM is done to deprive a woman of sexual pleasure, done at an older age and is done unsanitarily the majority of time. While there may be no medical reason to circ, there is no real medical reason not to either. It is a personal decision.

I don't think it is ignorant to compare them. While I agree (as I have pointed out time and time again) that FGM is far more extreme and hurtful and horrible they are still both removing part of our natural bodies (and in the case of children) without consent. I don't really understand why it is "ignorant" to make such a comparison.

Janimal · May 2011

karinothing:
CA2006:

Ugh...FGM and circumcision are NOT the same. Not by a longshot. Comparing the two is ignorant. DH is circed and does NOT suffer loss of all pleasure or sensation down there and neither do the majority of men who are circed. B/C if they did, don't you think they would speak up against circing their baby boys? To the contrary, I think you will find that the majority of circed boys have circed fathers.

FGM is done to deprive a woman of sexual pleasure, done at an older age and is done unsanitarily the majority of time. While there may be no medical reason to circ, there is no real medical reason not to either. It is a personal decision.

I don't think it is ignorant to compare them. While I agree (as I have pointed out time and time again) that FGM is far more extreme and hurtful and horrible they are still both removing part of our natural bodies (and in the case of children) without consent. I don't really understand why it is "ignorant" to make such a comparison.

It's ignorant because they aren't the same. To use your description, clipping nails and cutting hair are the same also - removing part of our natural bodies without consent.

If you read up about victims of FGM - OMG it'll make you cry. Circumcision is no where near in the same vicinity as FGM. They both involve genitalia - that's it!

FFS, some people don't want to circ, others do. To insist that you know better for someone else's kid's weewee is ridiculous. If you want to cut, go ahead. If not, groovy. But honestly, pretending to be the ultimate source of info and the head cheese of circumcision etiquette is just silly. YOU know what is best for YOUR kid, no one elses.

I care far more about how you raise your son to be a good member of society and respectful of girls like my daughter, than I do the status of their foreskin.

karinothing · May 2011

Janimal:
karinothing:
CA2006:

Ugh...FGM and circumcision are NOT the same. Not by a longshot. Comparing the two is ignorant. DH is circed and does NOT suffer loss of all pleasure or sensation down there and neither do the majority of men who are circed. B/C if they did, don't you think they would speak up against circing their baby boys? To the contrary, I think you will find that the majority of circed boys have circed fathers.

FGM is done to deprive a woman of sexual pleasure, done at an older age and is done unsanitarily the majority of time. While there may be no medical reason to circ, there is no real medical reason not to either. It is a personal decision.

I don't think it is ignorant to compare them. While I agree (as I have pointed out time and time again) that FGM is far more extreme and hurtful and horrible they are still both removing part of our natural bodies (and in the case of children) without consent. I don't really understand why it is "ignorant" to make such a comparison.

It's ignorant because they aren't the same. To use your description, clipping nails and cutting hair are the same also - removing part of our natural bodies without consent.

If you read up about victims of FGM - OMG it'll make you cry. Circumcision is no where near in the same vicinity as FGM. They both involve genitalia - that's it!

FFS, some people don't want to circ, others do. To insist that you know better for someone else's kid's weewee is ridiculous. If you want to cut, go ahead. If not, groovy. But honestly, pretending to be the ultimate source of info and the head cheese of circumcision etiquette is just silly. YOU know what is best for YOUR kid, no one elses.

I care far more about how you raise your son to be a good member of society and respectful of girls like my daughter, than I do the status of their foreskin.

I don't believe i insisted I know better. I think I just said that some people see it as mutilation plain and simple. If you see something as mutilation of course it is going to abhorrent to you. That is the main point I am trying to get across.

Janimal · May 2011

karinothing:

I don't believe i insisted I know better. I think I just said that some people see it as mutilation plain and simple. If you see something as mutilation of course it is going to abhorrent to you. That is the main point I am trying to get across.

That's your point? Um, well, DUH!

If that was your point, you coulda just said that. But that is not how you came across at all.

Of course if you think someone is mutilating a child that would be awful to you. But the argument that it is mutilation is a ssssttrreetccchh. Where's the outcry from circ'd men? :::birds chirping:: crickets:::: Victims of FGM is another story. Comparing the two disses the horrible pain of victims of FGM and is pretty damn disrespectful to the millions of Jews who believe it's a covenant with God.

Of course some men wish they hadn't been circ'd. Just like some men wish they had been. Unfortunately sometimes things happen.

There is no right answer! Do what you want with your baby penises!

Slockhart · May 2011

I personally think circumsized penises look better, And thats MY OPINION. So based off that alone I had my DS circ'd. (Also his father is done and is jewish)

ecartstan · May 2011

If it's a boy, he will be circumcised because on my side of the family a medical defect occurs where the foreskin gets too tight and the men are unable to keep it clean. All the uncircumcised men had to get circumcised at an older age and it was very painful. I don't want to risk it with my son. They also have issues with testicular torsion, so I will be acutely aware of my son's private parts for quite some time. My DH was against circumcision (he is) until he spoke to my cousins. Now he agrees to do it a precautionary measure. I don't judge either way.

BTW, I just saw a presentation from survivor of female circumcision in my physiology class a couple of weeks ago. Someone compared male and female circumcision and she got very upset. The damage done under female circumcision is devastating and traumatic and used to keep women "in place". You cannot compare the two.

KristaK10 · May 2011

wilsontl19191:
tulip1184:

My husband is not circumcised...he has never had any infections (any whoe cleans themselves properly shouldn't have a problem with this), he has never been made fun of, in fact he says the majority of guys he knows aren't circumcised, also...he has never experienced pain during sex, handjobs or blowjobs....

Like a pp mentioned, that's how they come into this world, why change it?? I don't understand why it's done..other than in certain religions for their own religious beliefs..

This!! My husband is not circumcised as well. Never had infections. Never made fun of. Never had pain during sex, etc. If you are going to circumcise your son, these are not "reasons" to do it. I completely understand the religious aspect of it, but that's about all that makes sense to me.

This!!! Religious reasons I get, no debate from me:) Add from DH- for the record if we have a boy, we wont be cutting his ear off either...just my love's sense of humor.

jbennett4579 · May 2011

Janimal:
Of course some men wish they hadn't been circ'd. Just like some men wish they had been. Unfortunately sometimes things happen.

There is no right answer! Do what you want with your baby penises!

Let me be clear, I DO agree that it's a personal choice and like the poster mentioned, there may be certain genetic conditions in your family that would warrant it. That's a very personal choice.

However I don't understand the comment above. Men who wish they had been can always choose to have the procedure done. We know the opposite is definitely not true. And yes that would be a painful decision to have to make for yourself down the road, probably like having your ears pierced or something (maybe worse), but I think part of the argument is that it would be his choice, not his parents'.

Just because a baby boy won't remember it doesn't make it a-okay in my book. There are painful things that happen to us as tiny babies and who's to say that they don't remain in our subconscious for a long time to come? I'm not trying to open up a psychological debate but I'm just trying to state the reason why I will choose not to circumcise our son - in perhaps a different way than previously stated.

My husband is not either and it's never caused a problem with cleanliness or infection. I happen to believe that it enhances sexual pleasure for both the WOMAN as well as the man! And I don't think that aspect has been mentioned thus far.

Food for thought...

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