The circumcision poll

[erratic]

Do you think the results are valid at this stage, in terms of representing how men feel generally?

You do have a double-layered selection bias going on. First, only people who would sign up for a "large penis support group" are voting; second, only people within that group who are interested enough in foreskin or circumcision (or who are up too late, or too bored to do anything else are going to click on the thread.

That said, the sexual health research I've seen shows similar results to what you're getting, so congrats. The vast majority of men with foreskin would not consider losing it, whereas cut men are more 50/50.

 

[Drifterwood]

That said, the sexual health research I've seen shows similar results to what you're getting, so congrats. The vast majority of men with foreskin would not consider losing it, whereas cut men are more 50/50.

Yes, thanks. I think Snozzle's 2006 poll is similar. I think it's currently running at 85% to keep the skin if there is a preference, and 50% ish for the cut guys.

I wonder why the uncut guys who have an issue don't just get it done. I presume they have a choice to do that. It is worth remembering that foreskins can be too tight, too dangly, or simply not to the owner's aesthetic.

 

[erratic]

I wonder why the uncut guys who have an issue don't just get it done.

Well, I would imagine there's a big difference between thinking about it and actually doing it. It's kind of like getting a tattoo, I would imagine: What if you don't like it? What if it's all fucked up? What if you change your mind a year from now? It's an irreversible cosmetic surgery. That's pretty scary.

 

[Snozzle]

You do have a double-layered selection bias going on. First, only people who would sign up for a "large penis support group" are voting; second, only people within that group who are interested enough in foreskin or circumcision (or who are up too late, or too bored to do anything else are going to click on the thread.

And of those, only those who don't care that people know how they feel, and those who want people to know how they feel, will go in to this poll, unlike the previous one.

That said, the sexual health research I've seen shows similar results to what you're getting, so congrats.

There's some good research? Reference?

The vast majority of men with foreskin would not consider losing it, whereas cut men are more 50/50.

Which bears on the "argument" Drifterwood wants to avoid: if you're much more likely to make a man unhappy by cutting him as a baby than by leaving him alone, that adds to the case for leaving him alone.

 

[Drifterwood]

There's some good research? Reference? Which bears on the "argument" Drifterwood wants to avoid: if you're much more likely to make a man unhappy by cutting him as a baby than by leaving him alone, that adds to the case for leaving him alone.

You can see in the poll results, Snozzle, that I am uncut and happy.

Had I gone for anonymity, I suspect that some of the pro or anti circ crusaders would have voted to spoil the stats. This is why I would not trust your poll too much.

 

[noirman]

Cut but wish I weren't; but maybe it's a case of the grass-always-being-greener.

 

[Snozzle]

You can see in the poll results, Snozzle, that I am uncut and happy.

I'm not surprised, and I'm glad to hear it.

Had I gone for anonymity, I suspect that some of the pro or anti circ crusaders would have voted to spoil the stats. This is why I would not trust your poll too much.

How do you "vote to spoil the stats"? As long as you don't allow multiple voting, the worst they can do is send out a call to their mates to come and vote, but this is not a public poll. How does non-anonymity prevent people "voting to spoil the stats"?

 

[D_Miranda_Wrights]

How does non-anonymity prevent people "voting to spoil the stats"?

This can happen when you have an anonymous or unaccountable sample where one sub-sample is much greater than the other, or the results

For instance, if you had a poll of 1,000 uncut guys, and 50 cut guys, and 10% of the uncut guys decided to make the cut guys look bad instead (since their vote has a greater effect), they might vote "I hate being cut." The result would be a cut guy subsample that is only 33% cut guys, and 67% uncut guys wanting cut guys to seem more dissatisfied. This is a more minor problem when samples are similarly sized, but still can be a problem -- especially in a case like this, where it's easy to come by "cut but dissatisfied" votes but the uncut guys are overwhelmingly satisfied. It might, say, prompt a cut guy to muddy the clearer waters on the other side of the poll.

It's much more of a problem when it's a poll like, "Cut guys: Do you like/hate being cut?" When faced with the choice between dishonesty and not voting, people are more apt to choose dishonesty than when they have a voting option.

 

[Snozzle]

Well, certainly non-anonymity makes it harder for guys to lie about their status here - though not everybody's profile reveals his status - but anyone can always lie about his satisfaction, and lying is a problem in any poll, one that is usually minimised by guaranteeing anonymity.

 

[c_123]

cut but I don't mind either way

 

[Bbucko]

Cut, wish I hadn't been, but I'm not a fanatic about it. It's just a fact of life.

 

[hung]

I appreciate my status, but I also respect others who have been cut. For some it is a religious requirement.

Everyone has the right to think which is best, but please do not push it on anyone, either way.

 

[matthi]

I am cut for medical reasons (done when I was 11)