Circumcision Should be Stopped

Circumcision Should be Stopped

July 2, 2012

Circumcision is a needless operation that maims and traumatizes male babies.

(Editor's Note: I do not endorse the information or conclusions presented here, but post for discussion purposes. I think anything that decreases male sex drive is a positive.)

by David Richards

(henrymakow.com) http://www.henrymakow.com

(David Richards is a 24-yr-old Brit who teaches English in Mongolia.)

The World Health Organization estimates that 30% of men across the world have been snipped. Circumcision is part of the religious tradition of Muslims and Jews.

In the West, most commonly in America, many Christians and secularists circumcise for health reasons. However, the American Association of Pediatrics says there is no evidence that circumcision improves penile hygiene. (Urine is sterile and the foreskin can be easily retracted and cleaned.)

Cir Traumatizes Baby Boys

A University of Michigan Study found that circumcision causes excruciating pain that lasts days (the operation is performed without anesthetic!). Some boys cry so much that they cannot breathe and turn blue due to lack of oxygen. One baby cried so much he ruptured his stomach.

After the operation, the boys nurse poorly and do not bond normally with their mothers. Some psychologists speculate that the trauma of circumcision may stay with a man into adulthood, existing as 'a feeling of anger he cannot place.'

Sexual Problems

Circumcision causes a true loss of sensation. Canadian pathologist Dr John Taylor and his team found that the foreskin contains specialized nerve endings comparable to those in fingertips and lips.

'Whereas the foreskin is loaded with nerves, the head of the denuded penis is a blunt instrument, insensitive to light, touch, heat, cold, and, as far as the authors are aware, to pinprick"

Medical researcher Tina Kimmel found that the penile sensitivity of intact males is 25 percent to 30 percent greater than that of circumcised males.

The foreskin also acts as a mechanical lubricant during sex. The penis is not designed to slide in and out of a woman, but in and out of its own skin during sex. Without a foreskin, a man has to build friction to feel pleasure.

Many circumcised men have voiced their struggle to achieve sexual satisfaction.

Here are some comments I found online. A man who got circumcised 'out of curiosity':

"Getting circumcised was the most foolish thing I've done in my life... I was quite sexually active before marriage, and had a pretty normal sex life after marriage for two years before my reduction. Now I am essentially only interested in oral sex, as vaginal sex does not provide the detailed sensations that it did when I had a foreskin. The analogy of "seeing without color" is perfectly apt to describe sex without a foreskin. Rather than being a touch-sensitive organ, it becomes merely a pressure-sensitive tool. Big difference!"

A promiscuous gay man:

"I have a lot of insight about this subject... Over the years I have noticed that uncircumcised men plainly have more intense pleasure (I see it as uncontrollable and very intense), erections and last much longer and with much less stimulation. Circumcised men always need to be stimulated or they lose the feeling of pleasure."

I have often wondered why all male porn stars are circumcised. Are they snipped purposely to reduce sensitivity? Does it help them have sex for hours without ejaculating?

The Effect on Women

Circumcision can also hinder a woman's sex life. Firstly, the friction a circumcised man needs to build can cause her pain.

Secondly, circumcised men get less satisfaction form typical sex and require 'compensatory sex', such as oral sex and the use of lotions. Many women may resent giving these services and feel demoralized that their partner cannot reach satisfaction through normal sex. As the saying goes 'sex is between the ears'; if a woman feels the man isn't enjoying it, neither will she.

Here are some comments I found online by women. A 44-year-old woman who experienced her first uncircumcised penis later in life:

"I discovered that since the penis goes in and out of its own skin, the vagina does not get sore from frequent sex. It is a much smoother process. I have had times when I was having frequent sex and got so sore and raw from the common circumcised penis I had to sit in a hot bathtub, and then smear cortisone cream on my vulva. With a 'ragtop' that does not happen.

I never performed oral sex on an uncut guy and they never seemed to want it. I assume they were getting enough stimulation from regular vaginal sex."

Another 'experienced' woman:

"Circumcision can harm sexual relations. If you've ever had sex with both a circed and an uncirced man, you'd know. Some women say that it doesn't make a difference, but I know that it definitely did for me. (Think "ribbed for her pleasure".)

When you rub the (uncircumcised) penis with your hand, the foreskin makes it "glide" up and down easier. Sex is better, too, for the same reason - the foreskin helps it slide in and out better."

Historical Background

It has been known for centuries that circumcision damages healthy sexual behavior.

Circumcision was introduced into Western culture by puritanical Victorian elites hell-bent on reducing sexual activity.

In her 1978 paper The Ritual of Circumcision Karen Paige wrote:

"The original reason for the surgical removal of the foreskin was to control 'masturbatory insanity' - the range of mental disorders that people believed were caused by the 'polluting' practice of 'self-abuse.'"

Writing in the Australian medical Journal, Robert Darby provides some background:

"In the 19th century the role of the foreskin in erotic sensation was well understood by physicians who wanted to cut it off precisely because they considered it the major factor leading boys to masturbation.

The Victorian physician and venereologist William Acton (1814-1875) damned it as "a source of serious mischief", and most of his contemporaries concurred.

William Hammond, a Professor of Mind in New York in the late 19th century, commented that "circumcision, when performed in early life, generally lessens the voluptuous sensations of sexual intercourse", and both he and Acton considered the foreskin necessary for optimal sexual function, especially in old age.

Jonathan Hutchinson, English surgeon and pathologist (1828-1913), and many others, thought this was the main reason why it should be excised."

At the same time, female circumcision (removal of the clitoris) was also practiced on women to 'treat' female masturbators.

Can the foreskin be replaced?

It is possible to restore the foreskin. This involves steady extension of the shaft skin, allowing the man to recover some of the functions of the foreskin.

Restoration involves tugging or stretching the skin using elastics or weights.

One man who is 2 years into an on-off restoration attempt reports:

"I can definitely report differences! During sex, the dominant sensation is no longer friction, but the tension of the skin being pulled in and out... an additional pleasurable and very different sensation entirely absent before restoration. It's hard to describe, but I must say it was well worth the time and effort put into restoration!"

Conclusion

The foreskin is an essential part of a functioning penis.

The removal of the foreskin causes great trauma to a newborn baby and may cause him serious sexual problems in the future.

Given the negative effects of circumcision, what justification is there to continue the practice?

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Cir trauma babies - http://www.circumcision.org/response.htm

Info on the loss of sensation - http://www.babyhealth.co.za/circumcision.html

The personal accounts http://www.mothersagainstcirc.org/sex-cut-uncut.htm

Karen Paige 'The Ritual of Circumcision' http://www.noharmm.org/paige.htm

Historical background on 'circumcision as a way to stop masturbation' -http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_male_circumcision#Male_circumcision_to_prevent_masturbation