Why are guys circumcised?

Question

I just learned exactly what circumcision entails (I'm 21) in my sociology human sexuality class. I gotta say, I have always seen circumcised penises so I had no idea what happened to all those guys at birth. But seeing a video of it, looks brutal for those poor fellas!

Why are guys circumcised? Girls, do you think it's better?

Answer 1

Surely it is whether you like the smell of cheese or not?

Answer 2

JEWS LIKE TO DO IT SOME SORT OF CULTURAL TRADITION...BUT I HEARD THAT IT PREVENTS INFECTION SOMETHING LIKE THAT AND PRETTY MUCH HAVING IT CIRCUMCISED IS EASIER TO F*CK ANAL!

Answer 3

It was traditionally a Jewish tradition, but it has become the standard for what a male p***s in the US looks like.  Now that I'm older, I probably wouldn't care...but a lot of women/girls would probably be freaked out by the look of an uncircumcised p***s because it doesn't look "typical"

A friend of mine got circumcised as an adult b/c he said his wife said she had infections that she felt was b/c of his f******n since it is more prone to hold bacteria and germs.

Answer 4

Circumcision prevents infections and diseases.Its like a Jewish cultural thing but a lot of people do it. They say it decreases pleasure as compared to guys that aren't (like me).Babies now are numbed but before that they just do the procedure because they think babies at a very young age cant feel.  There is stuff on youtube if your more curious to know what it is.

Answer 5

it is for hygienic and health reasons and in some cases religious reasons

Answer 6

There are actually no good reasons to do it, if you do the research you will see the claims of stuff it prevents etc are wildly exaggerated and just don't make sense. Most men in the world never have it done and of course have no problems. The f******n is an important part of the p***s for sexual function and pleasure. I would prefer to have an intact boyfriend and luckily I do. The only girls who seem to say it's better are those who are from the USA and know no different.

Harriet

Answer 7

Doesn't really matter to me. It's not pretty either way and only there for one thing.

Answer 8

circumcision decreases the risks of STDs slightly and other infections.

Answer 9

Circumcision decreases risks of infections because the f******n can tear easily.  Minuscule tears can allow bacteria to enter and result in infection.  

Answer 10

I'm guessing that you're learning about this in sociology because the ONLY reason boys are circumcised is societal pressure. Here's a chart comparing it to the reasons girls are circumcised, which pretty much sums it up-

http://www.boystoo.com/fgm&mgm.htm

Here's some more info (aimed at parents, but informative nonetheless)about circumcision to help you learn about the subject-

First, only 50% of boys nationwide are circumcised. You may actually find that your son is in the minority in the locker room if you cut him. (I don't advocate making this decision on those grounds, but if you were leaning towards doing it because you don't want him to be "different", you should know that the boys will be pretty evenly split between cut and intact and noone will think intact is weird)

Second, it is VERY painful to an infant. Most doctors still don't use any anesthesia, those that do rarely offer adequate anesthesia because the only stuff that works is not safe enough to use in infants for such a "minor" procedure. Further, some of the pain meds offered to infants aren't even reccomended for use on babies! Further, some doctors argue that it has beenb done "for thousands of years" without anesthetic- what they neglect to tell you is that a medical circumcision can take over 15 minutes to complete. A Jewish ritual circumcision, by contrast, takes under 60 seconds to complete (and the bay is given wine) Here is some info on the pain.....

http://www.cirp.org/library/pain/

http://www.circumcision.org/response.htm

http://www.cirp.org/library/pain/taddio2... (note in this one that even infants offered pain meds for the procedure showed signs of post traumatic stress!)

You should also know that studies have shown that the most sensitive parts of the male anatomy of ON the f******n- NOT the head of the p***s. By cutting off the f******n, you remove a mans most errogenous genital tissue. Here is a study about that.... (note that other studies found no difference, but they neglected to test the sensitivty of the f******n- they only tested the glans p***s of intact and cut men and didn't pay any attention to the f******n at all) http://www.nocirc.org/touch-test/touchte...

You should know that infant boys are EASIER to care for when they are intact. The f******n does not retract until late childhood or even puberty, so you do nothing special, just wipe the outside of his p***s clean and leave it alone. In a cut boy he will be extremely sensitive for a few weeks because the head of the p***s is raw and exposed (they have to tear the f******n off of the head in infants, it is naturally fused). During this time you will need to keep it VERY clean and may need to cover the wound with vaseline and guaze. Furthermore, to prevent painful and bleeding erections later in life, doctors are now commonly leaving more skin behind- in a cut boy this means you may have to push the left over skin back at every diaper change and clean beneath it to prevent it from readhereing or infecting. The very thing that mother's think they avoid by circumcising! In short-

Intact = wipe like a finger, NEVER retract

Cut= vaseline, clean thoroughly, push back remaining skin to prevent adhesions etc (the last step perhaps for several months or years)

Here is an excellent tutorial on the basics of intact care and circumcision....

http://www.lactivistintactivist.com/?pag...

Another factor in your decision is that circumcised boys experience a 12% increase in their risk of MRSA infection. MRSA is commonly picked up in hospitals (where circumcision is performed in non-sterile conditions) and has been known to kill adults. I wouldn't want to deal with it in an infant. Also, 12% is a BIG risk, the risk of a boy "needing" a circ later in life is WELL below that- under 1%. http://www.nocirc.org/publish/12-Answers...

The so called "benefits" of circumcision are generally trumped up. A big one now is that it "prevents" AIDS. All the studies showing "benefits" like this have been poorly designed and inconclusive. Also, for every study that finds a "benefit" there are more studies that find no benefit. http://www.icgi.org/

It is rather eye-opening to see how circumcision first became popular in the US to begin with. It was virtually unknown in this country until the 20th century. This slideshow takes you through the rise of circumcision.... http://youtube.com/watch?v=f4unKTMpBGA

Finally, you should watch a video or two of the procedure so you are fully informed of what your infant will go through. I will warn you that these are graphic. If you can't handle watching them as an adult, why would you expect your infant son to endure them?

There are two main methods for circumcision here is one of each-

Gomco Clamp- note that the father is in the room, and the doctor claims to have used anesthesia (although whether or not he did is debateable, and he is dissmissive about the whole idea) http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=...

Plastibell- I include this because some parents will have you believe it is "painless" or "requires no cutting/blood" I'll let you judge for yourself.....

http://youtube.com/watch?v=qaqQ5Glro84

Answer 11

hygiene or religion

Answer 12

It is much better and its more hygienic

Answer 13

There is no good reason to do it. There are many psychological inadequacies and errors in judgment that cause about 55% of new parents in the US to continue this barbaric blood-ritual.

They use pathetic excuses such as "looking like daddy", they are too lazy to look up correct care of a whole baby boy and then there are the arrogant fools that think their religion gives them a right to butcher their children.

I am a circumcised man and it was not botched but I feel that I was mutilated against my will.

I am actually in the process of restoring my f******n non-surgically as I am extremely angry and disappointed that a healthy, functioning part of my body was removed for no good reason other than societal customs.

http://www.norm.org

The risks are very small, but many boys have lost their penises due to botched circumcisions and some have even died due to bleeding or infection.

The risk is very small but it is a risk that I would never even consider when the alternative is to leave my son the way that he is intended to be and carries no risk of death or disfigurement.

http://www.icgi.org/

http://www.noharmm.org

http://www.nocirc.org

I think that it is important for everyone to read what's behind the following link.

http://knol.google.com/k/george-hill/cir...

PS - If you have Netflix, or Blockbuster Online I STRONGLY recommend that you watch the documentary, "The Business of Being Born". Everyone thinks of hospitals as the place to give birth but countries that have higher percentages of assisted home births have lower rates of maternal and infant mortality. A hospital birth is one that gives no respect to the way a woman's body works or her right to a natural birth.

http://www.thebusinessofbeingborn.com/

Answer 14

  No insult to you but 21  and just finding out?

  It began and continues in a religious context as well as a personal Hygiene sense. Yes I'm sure it hurts, but I'm also sure it isn't like slaughtering a hog.

  The sense of it in Hygiene is ease of being clean, assuming a guy showers or bathes and doesn't have to stress over the extra work, or sweat, bacteria etc, buildup.

A.F.

Answer 15

Circumcision or excision is a rite of the Jewish and Muslim religions but the medical aspect is for hygienic reasons. A secondary reason is to remove the f******n to eliminate phimosis, or the narrow opening preventing the the tip of the p***s to extrude. This f******n or prepuce is on both male and female. Consider that there are glans in the area that secrete smegma and if left without hygenic cleaning daily, the secretions become thick with a bad smelling, rotten cheese-like odor. Sometimes carcinoma developes in the cells of the skin. So an exposed penile gland is usually a cleaner gland. Women tend to dedicate themselves more to hygiene than us fellas. Sometimes.

Answer 16

There is a myth that hygene is better for circumcised. It's pretty stupid tho considering all you have to do is move the forskin back & clean under it & it's the exact same

As for the other myths like it stops infections...could someone explain to me how removing the cover that's there to stop stuff getting  into the entrence of the p***s helps keeps stuff out more? that does not make sence.

If any guy doesn't wash everyday he has bad hygene. Don't matter if he is cut or uncut.

This is only common practice in US. Very rare in europe or asia & in America (outside the US)

Answer 17

Usually guys are circumcised without their consent as infants for no good reason. The reason given is generally so they'll "match" daddy (though I don't usually see fathers dying their hair to match their sons' hair color if it's different, nor do I think many fathers shave their pubes so their sons won't wonder why it's all hairy) which is pretty silly, IMO.

There are some alleged hygiene and health benefits to being circumcised, but they are mostly what you would expect if you cut anything off. For example: You wouldn't need to clean behind your ears if your parents had lopped them off for you as a baby (to save you time and trouble in the shower and give you a nice, sleek look!). You would never get cancer on your ears (skin cancer) and you would never have to put sunscreen on them either. You wouldn't be able to hear quite as well, but you *could* still hear and your brain would adapt to the less sensitive hearing anyhow. You would never know what you were missing either (especially if everyone else had it done at birth too).

As a woman, h**l NO I don't think circumcised is better. I prefer having something to play with and the f******n is a lot of fun to play with. I also prefer not to look at a big, unnecessary scar and I prefer to have s*x with mucus membrane against mucus membrane. Thankfully my in-laws didn't buy into the "matching daddy" argument and didn't try to "fix" what wasn't broken :-)