To Circumcise or Not to Circumcise
Posted by logicallyspeaking on November 28, 2008
Wrapping my head around circumcision is difficult. Maybe it’s because I am a woman and I often wonder how men feel about the fact that their parents chose to circumcise them – causing probably unbearable pain. Could this be the reason so many guys are obsessed with the size of their penis? So guys, would love to hear your thoughts/perspectives on it.
Being a woman and having experienced intercourse with both a circumcised and an uncircumcised man, I cannot say that there is a difference. Esthetically, for me, there is also no difference. If there is a difference I would have to comment that it is when performing oral sex. There tends to be a different taste – not nasty or anything – and at first a different feel, there is extra skin that needs to be pulled back – GENTLY – but not too gently of course!
My first born is a boy. Actually, I am raising two boys (if you count my husband, it’s three – but that’s another post). When I was pregnant the first time, the decision of whether to circumcise or not circumcise didn’t even show up on my radar. Until we took pre-natal classes.
Our instructor talked about all the medical reasons why you may choose to and all the medical reasons why you didn’t need to. At that time the “in” thing in the Canadian medical establishment was that it was not a necessary thing. Hence, OHIP (Ontario’s Medical Insurance) no longer covered the procedure and I can’t remember what it cost, but that is nor here or there. That perspective is not something that all doctors agree on. Damn, wish the medical world would make up its mind!
My husband is circumcised. My sons are not. Both my spouse and I made the decision to not have them circumcised because we did not want to subject our son to that type of pain within 48 hours of his coming into the world. Given that it takes 10 to 14 days for that area to heal; and given that in a diaper the wounded penis (which is not bandaged) is exposed to the feces, urine and the rubbing of the diaper – I just could not put my child through that. There was no medical reason to do so. I am not aware of any medical reason why this procedure MUST be done to a newborn. From my perspective, it is male mutilation. Not dissimilar from female mutilation.
Yes, there are religions that require it. In the old testament of The Bible, all Jewish boys were to have this procedure done. And that’s all fine and good. From my perspective I’ve never understood why – until I started to think more logically about things.
From what I understand for a man who has foreskin (is uncircumcised) it is important from a cleanliness perspective that they are careful to pull the skin back and wash themselves with soap and water. I taught both my sons to do this by the time they reached the age of 3 – didn’t make it a big deal, it was just part of the body that they needed to wash, like under their arms, in their ears etc. The foreskin covers the tip of he penis – it protects it. However, sweat and bodily fluids etc. will tend to make their way under the foreskin so therefore it is important to clean that area so that infection does not ensue. Hmmm, good idea back in Biblical times when soap and water was not that readily available.
Yes, there have been medical cases where for whatever reason the foreskin seems to grow over the tip and does not allow for the normal or smooth flow of urine or semen and can be painful. That is why I taught my sons at an early age to pull back the skin each time they were in the bath. There are procedures that can be done when a child is older if this is the case. Still painful as hell of course.
For those men who are circumcised, I suppose that although they still need to “cleanse” the area, it is exposed to the water flow and soap and also there is very little folds that would capture and hold onto whatever bacteria can get there. I’m no medical expert so I am basically going by what I have read and discussed with other males and nurses.
As I understand it, for the older male who is not circumcised, there is more sensitivity at the tip of the penis which can result in greater sexual arousal for him. Is this true? Men, let me hear from you! For those who are circumcised it seems that although still sensitive, having the tip of the penis always exposed causes it to be less sensitive and requiring a little more stimulation for full arousal – especially as a man gets older. Is this true?
For more information, this may be a helpful website:
http://www.canadiancrc.com/Circumcision_Genital_Mutilation_Male-Female_Children.aspx
Anonymous said
I was circumcised as a baby and can honestly say that I have no recollection of the event. I think that is the typical response of any pro-circumcision doctor that “the child will never remember the pain. When my son was born, my wife wanted him to be circumcised and I don’t remember if I had any thoughts about it at that time. We went our family doctor and she refused to perform the surgery and stated it was “unnecessary”.
We had to track down a Jewish doctor that was comfortable with the procedure. (We are not Jewish) So the deed was done and while I do remember it being somewhat uncomfortable for our son it did not cause any issue past the second day. It did however require extra care in making sure that he was changed immediately and sufficient amount of cream was applied.
Two of my current partner’s children are not circumcised and are now 7 and 12 years old respectively. This becomes a whole new issue in that these children are old enough to “remember” the pain that this procedure will surely cause. I would think that even more so for the 12 year old who is getting close to the age of inexplicable arousal without warning. I would think the stretching of the skin involved would be problematic for a while afterwards.
I had a friend when I was in my late teens that had the procedure done because of “overstimulation” caused by the foreskin. According to him, during intercourse the skin provided a secondary level of friction against the glans. This doubling up on the pleasure factor typically led to premature response. The sensation as he described it was similar to lubricating the inside of a condom and having intercourse. I cannot say whether I am less sensitive than the uncircumcised male but have no problem in getting aroused. I did try masterbating once with lubrication inside of a condom and the level of sensitivity was greatly heightened. I would be more apt to say that the additional friction provided by the foreskin would make an uncircumcised male more sensitive as my friend had suggested.
He went through with the operation and was out of service for approximately 2 months thereafter and said he would not recommend it to anyone.
My point is that if someone were considering the procedure, they might want to do it when the boy was an infant and not wait because of the complications that could arise with an older boy or adult male. That being said, from anything that I have read it is an “unnecessary procedure”.
Bob Hope said
I really don’t think doctors should be doing it anymore. Unless there is medical need for it that is. From what I’ve read the chances of a child ever needing to get a circumcision nowadays is very low. I don’t see the logic in removing healthy sex anatomy from ~100 boys without their consent in order to get it over with earlier for the 1 who may eventually need it. It really boils down to parents’ culture cosmetic preferences. Doctors shouldn’t perform surgery like this on a person without direct consent or a clear and present medical indication IMO.
I was circumcised at birth and, as far as sensitivity goes, there’s no way to compare if you’ve always had it a certain way. Though common sense would suggest that removing tissue from the sex organs would result in some reduction in sensitivity. In any case, the fact that this is a possible consequence of the surgery is another reason against it being done without consent.
“I often wonder how men feel about the fact that their parents chose to circumcise them”…
Well, how would you feel if about it you’re parents chose to have part of your genitals cut off and surgically tweaked at birth because they felt it was better looking and ‘cleaner’? Everyone is different, some men don’t accept it, some do, some like it, some don’t… which is why I think it should be a choice for the individual to make re their own body. It should also tell you something that when actually given the choice most men tend not to want to get a healthy part of their penis cut off, or wish it was cut off ‘for them’ at birth.
Not that I think parents are at fault, I see it as a cultural phenomenon that some doctors try and rationalize and legitimize. At least here in Canada most doctors generally do not support it and have been recommending against it for a couple decades now.
dyme1 said
I have been with circumcised and un circumcised men and I would rather the circumcised man. I just feel uncircumcised men pull back the skin to clean it properly. I am a germaphob.
Eva said
As a person who works as a caregiver to elderly men (and women), helping them shower and such, I know that there is a greater likelihood of infection if a man is uncircumsized. Goes back to the cleanliness thing.
Personally, I would advise circumcision, but mostly only so that when “you” get old and start having trouble getting yourself clean, your caregiver doesn’t have to help you pull back the foreskin!
Anonymous said
hmmm , what amputative surgery on baby girls sex organs would Eva advise for the purpose of making her job easier in keeping elderly women’s vaginas clean?
Eva said
Yeah, I understand the arguments against it. Makes perfect sense. My last sentence was an attempt at “tongue ‘n cheek,” which obviously failed. I was just related the conversation back to my own life experience.
lyle said
Intact male here. What circ cuts off is rich in nerve endings and is histologically complicated in other ways. The foreskin really facilitates masturbation and the handjob. If a guy has a foreskin and his partner is willing to pump it, the guy is in pretty sorry shape if he won’t rise to the occasion. The foreskin also makes possible intercourse between the upper thighs. Uncut oral is fine, if the dude washes his dick right before getting down to business.
Many gay men, and a few straight women, are foreskin fetishists. But I suspect that your opinion about the foreskin and vaginal intercourse is a common one among women: it doesn’t make a difference. Also, a woman who can distinguish cut from uncut by looks alone, when both are hard, is one damn sophisticated woman.
Routine infant circ is out of favour in every English speaking country except the USA, where it has become controversial. No other advanced country is fond of circ except South Korea, where they wait until puberty, and Israel, for obvious reasons and where it generally is not done by medical practitioners.
Reading that circ after infancy is awful leaves me skeptical. Reading that circ in infancy without local anesthesia (which is what the USA did throughout the 20th century) ain’t awful leaves me even more skeptical.
During childhood, a long tapered foreskin that retracts with difficulty or not at all is entirely normal. It is not unusual for full retractability of the foreskin to occur only around 17-20 years of age. If a boy has no complaints about his penis and can urinate without difficulty, leave it alone until at least age 15.
Millions of American baby boys are circumcised because their parents are afraid. Afraid that their son will be humiliated in sports changing rooms.
Rejected and humiliated during his first sexual encounters.
The typical USA Mom and Dad have never seen a foreskin in the flesh. Every time an American teenage girl changes a boy’s diaper, she only sees circumcised. The rare intact boy in Dad’s locker room experiences passed for cut by pulling back his foreskin. Thus Mom and Dad find the intact penis unerotic.
Dad does not want to be reminded of his own circumcision every time he sees Junior running around naked. Mom does not want to be reminded of the alien foreskin every time she changes Junior’s diaper. Mom does not want to think about having to care for her son’s penis, and teaching him penis hygiene. That is sooooo icky… Many square American women have an uneasy truce with one penis, namely that of their husbands, and very much do not want to think about anybody else’s willy. Cutting off the foreskin at birth cuts the Gordian Knot, as it were, and means that you never have to think about your son’s penis again. It is much easier to pay a doctor to cut something off, than to reexamine attitudes that are deeply ingrained because profoundly sexual.
In any event, Mother Nature should enjoy the benefit of the doubt.
No name said
ok im 17 turning 18 and im uncurcumside and i do think it is embarising so wut should i do? should i pull the skin back myself? is that possible? or will it happen on its own? my brothers already but im not and im older. i wasnt the cleanest boy either cuz i played 4 sports and never wanted to take a bath, and masturbated often is that y?
logicallyspeaking said
I’m not a doctor so not sure I can answer your questions in an appropriate manner. So, the first thing I would say to you is that if you are urinating okay and there is no pain, then you are fine. The skin should pull back naturally when you have an erection and should not be painful – even when you masturbate. I would suggest that when you shower, pull the skin back carefully yourself and clean with soap and water. There is no need to be embarrased, as one other comment on this post indicates, when a man is erect it’s pretty hard to tell whether he is circumsized or not. When you are not erect the skin will naturally cover the tip, so that is normal.
If you are embarrased about speaking to someone about this issue, the best bet is to speak to your doctor if you are concerned.
Jenn said
I’m pregnant with my first boy and I’m really on the fence about this. I’m leaning more towards not circumcising though. I can’t find any real benefit of doing the surgery. The only pro is that he would look like Daddy down there, but really, I’m probably going to be the one doing the potty training anyway, and there’s no way a little boy will ever match his mama, so it really seems a silly reason to do it.
I’m in the U.S. and more babies are circumcised here than they are in Canada, although the numbers here are dropping. I think it’s close to half are, half aren’t.
You’ve given me a bit more to consider. thanks!
Jenn