The circumcision decision

[Rowan]

Yay or nay? To keep the foreskin or make it go away? The choice is yours, dare I say, You might be happier without it or regret it the next day.

Before we begin, yes I did make up the little rhyme by myself. Im proud of it.

Many males dont have a say wether or not they are to be circumsized. That is something left up the parents discretion (ignoring any encouragment from doctors). There are medical reasons for having circumcisions and there are health benefits, we are sure of this. But what are the negative aspects? Do girls have a preference when it comes to sex? I've read that many women prefer circumsized men as 'its' cleaner and nicer to look at, as well as feeling better. I've also heard that it is less gratifying sexually for men from people who claim to have been circumsized later in life as opposed to having the procedure performed at birth. Circumcision can also be a religious right of passage for some, as well as being a joyeous ceremony for others (excuse me but I find that incredibly ludicrous personally). But at what point do we stop and think "hey, this is something that is permanant and something that should have the consent of the child" obviously most people are unable to talk at that point in their lives, Although im sure one would be glad they had it done as a baby and not having to dread having it done as an adult or teen.

Any thoughts?

[RamesesII]

I will show you mine if you show me yours, personally I am not circumcised and it doesn't bother me in the slightest I am happily married with three children, I wasn't present when my wife decided which way to go with our son but I would not have been opposed yo either choice even if I was there, it is such a trivial thing really both options have pros and cons.

It is only the cleaner option to be circumcised if you are lazy enough not to maintain your penis which you should anyway whether you are or you aren't that is the only difference as long as the young male is taught to regular clean then there is no trouble.
On the other hand there is the mental issue for the women as you said it looks cleaner and more neat from the women perspective.

Sexually I think it would benefit a woman if a man was circumcised young because I believe it reduces stimulation for the man making him last longer I can't say for sure that is just my assumption. I don't know how that would work for a man getting it done because I know myself that it can get quite sensitive under the foreskin and uncomfortable

As for getting the childs consent if it is done at a young age then you live your whole life as it is and you don't know anything but the choice your parents made for you so it wouldn't bother you it would be different as an older man getting it done because as you said it is something you can just walk back in a say hey I don't like it this way put it back on.

Anywho I won't be getting mine done anytime soon I am happy with my parents choice and my wife is happy so that's all there is to it.

[The_Dream_Recluse]

I think it's ultimately up to the owner of the penis to decide, though obviously if the parents decide to go through with circumcision that's their right i suppose.

My parents never circumcised me and i've never really had any problems with my own penis. Granted, it can be a little annoying at times to clean but nothing that bad.

[smurphy]

Personally I am glad that I still have my foreskin. I cannot imagine how uncomfortable it may sometimes get given how sensitive the nerve endings are where the foreskin would normally cover.

I am of the opinion that it is wrong to circumcise children just after birth unless there is a medical condition in which it is required or if your parents are religiously zealous. It is mutilation as it is getting rid of something which doesnt do any harm(unlike, lets say, the appendix). And there has not been proven to be any health benefits.

So the decision should be left up to the individual at adulthood. If you are not circumcised at birth, at least you may choose to become so. If you are, you cannot just decide to grow back a foreskin.

[Tiffany]

I'm personally against it, my guy is personally for it. So if we ever have a boy we're in a heap of trouble. I don't think its necessary and aside from religious reasons it doesn't make sense to me.

But my guy is, and his argument is that he has it done so it would make sense for our future son to have it done too.

Hygiene doesn't play a part in it for me, so long as you keep it clean and washed it'll be fine. I don't think any less of people who want to have it done... its a personal decision and everyone makes the best one for their families.

[Horhay]

Unless there are complications with the foreskin such as phimosis and inflammation, then I don't see any reason for a parent to allow a circumcision to be done on their newborn child. You lose sensitivity, and it's purely cosmetic. I view it as parents mutilating their children's sexual appendages, even in light of religious traditions.

Now, I do know women who complain about the smell and smegma and such, but circumcised men can have these problems as well, and as long as they wash their nether regions properly beforehand, it really shouldn't be a problem. Then again, I'm one of the few in the United States that finds foreskin aesthetically pleasing and fun, but that's besides the point.

There's no reason to remove any part of your body unless there are complications or ailments. If you wanna remove that part of your body for cosmetic reasons when you're of the age of reason, then that's for you, and only you, to decide.

[Rowan]

Now, I do know women who complain about the smell and smegma and such, but circumcised men can have these problems as well

I beg to differ. To my understanding the smegma is produced only in the foreskin, ive never been able to produce any. Also there are statistics which would sugguest there are proven benefits. Ill copy pasta some info from good old wiki.

1.Circumcision is also used therapeutically, as one of the treatment options for balanitis xerotica obliterans, paraphimosis, balanitis, posthitis, balanoposthitis and urinary tract infections.

2.Circumcision reduces the risk of HIV infection in heterosexual populations that are at high risk. Evidence among heterosexual men in sub-Saharan Africa shows a decreased risk of between 38% and 66% over 2 years

3.A prospective trial in Uganda randomized 3393 subjects to circumcision or a control group and found a significant reduction of HPV infection in the circumcision group. At 24 month follow-up, there was a 27.9% prevalence of high-risk HPV genotypes in the control group and only a 18.0% prevalence in the circumcision group (adjusted risk ratio, 0.65; 95% CI, 0.46 to 0.90; P=0.009). A later report on the same study found that the risk in female partners was reduced; the percentages of women in the control and circumcision groups testing positive for high-risk HPV were 38.7% and 27.8%, respectively. Another recent trial by Auvert et al. in Orange Farm, South Africa, randomized men to either a circumcision or control group. At the 21 month visit, the prevalence of high-risk HPV infection was lower in the circumcised men than the uncircumcised participants (14.8% and 22.3% respectively, a prevalence rate ratio of 0.66) in the absence of any difference in reported sexual behaviour or gonorrhea prevalence

4.A meta-analysis of observational data from twenty-six studies found that circumcision was associated with lower rates of syphilis, chancroid and possibly genital herpes.


Whilst they dont really prove anything, one would assume that having a snip snip would be optimal for someone who wishes to lower their chances of contracting an infection of sorts.

[Unknown Entity]

It is only the cleaner option to be circumcised if you are lazy enough not to maintain your penis which you should anyway whether you are or you aren't that is the only difference as long as the young male is taught to regular clean then there is no trouble.

Exactly. Having it done for hygiene isn't really a good enough reason for me. It makes you wonder what was unhygienic about it in the first place for a man to even consider the option. You can get health issues without keeping it clean, so it's best to scrubba-dub-dub regularly regardless.

On the other hand there is the mental issue for the women as you said it looks cleaner and more neat from the women perspective.

It doesn't really bother me. Penis looks like penis to me. Unless it's like huge and scary, then it's like "OMMFG, PENIS". But yeah. Neat and clean? Doesn't to me. Anyway, irrelevant. I don't see why it can't look neat without a "jacket" lol.

I also heard that it's better for sex to keep it because it's more sensitive. So the guy will have a great time. "Lasting" can be something that can be worked on regardless, and I don't think a circumcised man will have that advantage of lasting longer - that just sounds like urban myth to me.

Personally, if I have a son one day in the distant future, I won't put him through one at birth. If he decides to go through with one later in life, then he can go for it - I don't really need to know. I also won't be with someone depending on what their preference is - their penis wouldn't be the foundations of the relationship, and will only shatter it if it's not kept clean out of laziness.

[Rowan]

I wouldn't sugguest getting a snip as an alternative to cleaning, ever. It should be looked after like any part of your body, with tender loving care and washed accordingly. As far as sensativity goes, I wouldnt know what it feels like to have foreskin so I personally couldnt care less and it shouldn't matter to anyone else who has never experienced either. In this case, ignorance is a good thing (assuming that foreskin increases the pleasure). I happen to have the godlike ability of being able to control when I *ahem*. I could attribute this to the fact that im circumsized and perhaps feel less sensative, or I could just be really in touch with my inner oneness. Either way, I think both have their positives but when we are talking about something that cant be taken back, I believe some people need reassurance that there are just as many pro's to being circumsized as there are to not. I was chatting with my mates of whom sport jackets, and they have mentioned to me that they have experienced pain during sex when the foreskin pulls back to far or doesnt roll forward afterward. One of them actually had to go to hospital for a condition in which the foreskin becomes to tight to actually roll back over the tip. He has a reccuring problem in which this happens if it is pulled back all the way and he regulary experiences pain when try to do so for cleaning purposes. Often he wont do a proper clean due to the pain he feels from rolling back. None of these are problems a circumsized person has to deal with. Perhaps a solution for this would be to have a circumcision. But when I mentioned it, he said hed rather deal with the pain. I can understand he would rather not have his penis operated on, but in all seriousness, if you are experiencing so much pain, the long term solution would be to have the procedure.

[Alpha]

The difficulty is that no one (or very, very few) has experienced both. I can't imagine not having a foreskin. I imagine it being more uncomfortable, but I just have no idea. Much like I have no idea what it's like to have only one testicle.

As for whether or not it's better for hygiene... I call bull. I've never had any issues and I'd imagine the amount of cleaning you do in the shower would be exactly the same.

I think it just cones down to what the father thinks. I won't circumcise my children because I'm not, and haven't had any trouble. A circumcised father probably thinks the opposite. It really doesn't matter.

[OnOneRyder]

Rowan look where those stats are from, we're not in Africa haha.

I actually considered getting it done in my late teens but eventually decided against it after giving it some serious thought and reading as much as I could online. It seemed quite common for adults who got it done to later regret the operation, some even went as far as restoration procedures which sounded horrendous. Needless to say I'm very happy I'm still intact, and with an extra 5 seconds in the shower all the health arguments get thrown out the window.

[Rowan]

I think its worth mentioning that I knew of someone back in high school who had it done and said it felt a lot better for him and he wish he could have had it done at birth. This was not for medical reason, but rather after reading about it he decided to have it done. I guess its personal preference. Although im sure there are botched uncessful circumsicisions that deform penis. I've never heard of any though.

[Furore]

Uncircumcised and shit can I hold out.
I'm against circumcision unless there's a medical reason for it or the dude prefers the aesthetics.

Mine's never been infected and I'm the type that if anyone has a skin infection and I have a cut open, I'm probably gonna get it. Shower and soap are such a grand combination...

I cared not about the topic until some prick linked me to a gallery of botched operations (including some with so much infection genitalia was not visible) under false pretenses. And one TV show down here (the 7pm project) had a story on it and one article commenter brought up the statistics of how many people die after a procedure every year in the US where such a procedure is more prevalent. Not cool.

[Psiko]

Circumcised and proud of it.

I think some people get their children circumcised after birth for the same reason some pierce their infant's ears: it is less traumatic for the child. The infant will forget about the process a lot sooner than a young child who made the decision for themselves.

Could it be argued that the child should have been given a choice? There can always be that sort of argument against infant circumcision, as well as infant baptism. Even without religious significance attached, many people still choose to do both of these out of tradition. If a man is circumcised, the odds are that he will want his son to be as well.

I don't know that I would ever have wanted to be faced with the choice of whether or not to get a circumcision. I think there wouldn't be a lot of them if everyone was given the choice later in life. How many men would really want to risk something going terribly wrong with that part of their body?

[Cereal~Killer]

I'm uncircumcized. It's how we were made. Why change it? I will never be circumcized, especially now as an adult, since I heard getting circumcized as an adult is one of the most painful things to happen to a man.

[Chez Daja]

I really don't agree with circumcision at all. Over here in England, it's mostly unheard of for a man to be circumcised unless for a religious reason. I just don't see the point in mutilating a little baby, cleanliness shouldn't be an issue (in the western world) and if it is, well, you're doing something wrong.
I hear its pretty common in America. I don't know why that is, really, especially in this day and age.