Most university ethics committees in North America and Western Europe consider that borderline unethical. If it got reported that your prof forced a public show of hands on a sensitive topic he could get censured in a big way.
The prof. didn't do anythingw rong talking about that topic, it's similar to tlaking about abortions, or in science class where the prof. says "Sorry if any of you are religious, but this is this courses view on the creation of life"
I don't feel he crossed any sort of boundary. Knowledge of circumcision status has absolutely nothing to do with sex.
Would it have been inappropriate if the professor had asked for a show of hands from girls who have had an abortion or guys who have gotten girls pregnant who then had an abortion?
Would it have been inappropriate if the professor had asked who in the class has had their appendix or tonsils out?
Or if he had asked who in the class has a religious duty to circumcise?
It all really comes down to what circumcision means to you. Is it merely anatomical surgery, like an appendectomy or tonsillectomy? Or does it carry sociological, anthropological, psychological and religious baggage in your view? Would it depend on whether you had it done to you for necessary medical reasons, or for cultural reasons? Or whether you chose it yourself or had it imposed on you?
Whether it is a sexual question or not depends on if you personally feel that information about your sex organs is inherently private. There are some guys here on LPSG who honestly don't differentiate between their penis and their hands when it comes to privacy -- they'd just as soon show one as the other to anyone who asks. It's just a body part, like an ear or a foot.
There are others who never show their penis to anyone. For them, there is no more intimate part of the body and the whole image of "penis" is sexualized.
Most people fall somewhere in-between. We do think the penis is different than other parts of the body, but we also don't go out of our way to hide it in situations where such nudity is normal (locker room, shower, peeing at a urinal, FKK beach, or changing in front of a friend).
The classroom question was a bit personal. As such, it's interesting that every male in the class raised his hand; it presumes that they don't consider it too personal a question to answer, or feel too much peer pressure not to. And the professor's inquiry supposed that every male
would participate, either by putting his hand up (circumcised) or leaving it down (not circumcised). That seems a bit presumptuous and confining.
And from
brockli's description the prof did sound a bit pervy and interested to have his personal biases confirmed and imparted.
