What's the point of circumcision?

HamYai

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OK. I've got my hard-hat on.

It may have been asked before, but I'm relatively new here, so bear with it or ignore it. Life's so easy when you got choices.

I know I've a position on this as I'm uncut (but then, I'd ahve a position on this if I were cut, too:cool:).

Why (apart from for religious purposes - which is not a valid reason in my opinion, anyway) does/should a penis have it's foreskin removed? And why is it predominantly performed on infants who don't have the capacity or voice to make there choices known?

I hope this don't turn into a "Cut/Uncut is good - Cut/Uncut is bad" flame war (tho something tells me it will). Ho Hum. Yawn.

Can anyone really try and justify it for it's own sake (rather than bullshit, spurious, hygiene reasons - if that were the case, women would also be circumcised. Don't even go there. I'm talking about labia circumcision, not clitoral), hygiene is hygiene. Give me a washed uncut one over an unwashed cut one any day of the week.
 

vietballa

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There is no valid reason.

It is simply a trend in America.

This has been discussed exhaustively. Use the search feature.
 

Kalamazoo

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I would take exception to the "infants who don't have the . . . voice to make their [sic] choices known," comment. Seems to me they protest like hell when it happens.
 

HamYai

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There is no valid reason.

It is simply a trend in America.

This has been discussed exhaustively. Use the search feature.

A trend?

'sthatit?

How much does it cost to have an infant circumcised, in the US?

Wouldn't it be better to save the money and put it towards the teenage braces thing that also seems to be a US trend?
 

HamYai

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Wuz simply trying to give a boot in the balls to those who would claim it was a hygiene thing, before they got to say it.

Cuz the argument sucks (if you'll pardon the expression :biggrin1:).

Anyway, it's all a tad too concilliatory on here at the moment:firedevil:
 
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Principessa

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Would you prefer we call it force of habit?:rolleyes:
How much does it cost to have an infant circumcised, in the US?
It varies by state and hospital. It can be as low as $125 or as much as $300.

Wouldn't it be better to save the money and put it towards the teenage braces thing that also seems to be a US trend?

Bad analogy, braces are not a trend they are medically necessary. When a childs teeth grow in at odd angles or they have a severe overbite it can seriously distort their facial features.

Besides which we can't have people thinking we're British. :biggrin1: :cool:

There is no valid reason.
It is simply a trend in America.
This has been discussed exhaustively. Use the search feature.
I tend to agree with you on that.
 
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B_Kumquat

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Some people get infections or something from being uncircumsized. I personally am circumsized, and I thank my parents for doing it. When I have a son, I will indeed get him circumsized.
 

Tremaine

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Circumcision was and in some places still is an old habit of religious dictate - and that was argued to be for health reasons - but the root of that is due to lack of hygene.
Now in some places such as the US it is a cultural hangover from the days of poorer hygene and a lack of a ready supply of clean running water.

As for the comment to not be mistaken for a Brit. The vast majority of you could never be mistaken for a Brit., way way before your show us you have between your legs.

In the UK now some people have the cut on medical grounds such a their forskin is too tight around their cock, such that it splits when shagging, but this is done when they are adults and not babes in arms.
 

Viking_UK

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Phimosis and paraphymosis are the most commonly cited reasons for circumcision, although there are plenty of guys who suffer from both but have stayed intact without any problems. It's easy enough to clean under the foreskin even if you can't skin it back.

I can't remember the exact stats about UTI infections off the top of my head, but they're easy enough to look up on line. It works out something like uncut boys are ten times more likely to get a UTI in their first year of life than cut boys, but it's only something like 2% anyway, much lower than UTI incidence in girls. Another point is that although cut boys are less likely to suffer from a UTI, they have wound infections, which, oddly enough work out about the same as UTIs in intact boys. To summarise, around 2% of boys are going to have some sort of infection involving their cocks, whether they're cut or not.

Uncut guys occasionally get fungal infections, which can be quite painful and circumcision cuts down the chances of getting one of those. The other point is that once you've had one, you're more likely to catch another, so if you're intact and prone to fungal infections, getting clipped might clear up the problem.

The main reason behind routine infant circumcision in the US years ago was to avoid penile cancer, which usually starts off in the foreskin. If caught early enough, it can be treated by cutting out the cancer, but that's very rare as guys tend to be a bit reluctant to whip it out for the doctor, so often, it's beyond the stage where excision is effective and some guys actually end up having to have their cock amputated or worse. Before you all get completely paranoid about it though, penile cancer has a very low incidence and is usually seen only over-60s, although it can occur earlier. The incidence is something like 2-3% in uncut males and 0.2% in males who were cut as infants, so if you're intact, you're 10 times as likely to suffer from penile cancer in your 60s than someone who was cut at birth. However, what the docs often seem to forget to tell people is the incidence of complications of infant circumcision, which can range from the minor ones like infection of the wound all the way up to penile amputation and death. The rates of accidental amputation and amputation due to infection are comparatively high as are the rates of reconstructive surgery either due to infection or botched cut jobs.

From the hygiene point of view, it's a little easier to keep a cut cock clean than an intact one, but not much. It's not as if it's a major cleaning job either way.

On the one hand, you've got factors like slightly easier maintenance and lower rates of infection or disease, but you've got to balance that with risks of surgical complications and psychological issues. At the end of the day, it's your choice if you decide to have your sons cut, but bear in mind that they might not thank you for it in 15-20 years' time (or less if there are complications). At least if you're an adult deciding to have it done for yourself, it's your decision for your own reasons.
 

SteveHd

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OK. I've got my hard-hat on.
You might need it.:smile:
Why (apart from for religious purposes - which is not a valid reason in my opinion, anyway) does/should a penis have it's foreskin removed? And why is it predominantly performed on infants who don't have the capacity or voice to make there choices known?
Why is it predominantly performed on infants? To be blunt: the fact that infants don't have a say IS a reason some adults advocate doing it to infants. There is a mindset that wants to impose their preference upon others. They rarely express it but it's there. Many circ. advocates don't want adults deciding for themselves. They know what the odds are of convincing most adults to get cut in the absence of medical indication.
Can anyone really try and justify it for it's own sake ...
For an adult deciding for himself, yes, it can be justified. It's his body and his decision. He doesn't even need to have a medical indication [such as BXO or whatever], i/m/o.

For an infant or child with no medical indication, no, it can't be justified. If any doubt, check the position statements of the medical governing boards of Aus., Canada, U.K., and [even] USA. None recommend it for infants and children.

------------
Yet another example for the need of a Forum dedicated to the subject.
I see no need for a "dedicated" forum. This thread should be moved to The Healthy Penis, however.
 

craig_uk

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The main reason for it being popular in the sates is a simple one. It is nothing to do with rducing the risk of penile cancer, which occurs so rarely anyway that the lives saved is about the same as those who die as a result of the operation itself.

It was advocated and made popular by Kellog (the cornflakes guy) who was fixated on masturbation. In his eyes masturbation was resposible for all the ills in American society. In order to try and reduce levels of masturbation the pressure group he funded repeated a lot of the Victorian myths about the problems it caused (like madness and blindness) and advocated circumcision as this would make it more difficult to masturabate.

Since then then pro-circ lobby has added reason after reason to justify routine infant cutting. They are well funded as there is a lot of money in this trade. So it still happens.