Why are Americans circumcised?

[BortimusPrime]

I believe the practice started during the WW1 era based on bad science claiming it prevented infection. Note that this is the same level of medical technology that invented the Graham cracker, which was designed to prevent children from masturbating due to the bland flavor.

Since unnecessary surgery makes doctors and hospitals a lot of money, doctors that know it's pointless still push parents into it, or at least take the neutral approach of not saying anything against it. Just add it to the list of other pointless surgical procedures designed to rip people off, lots of hysterectomies and back surgeries fall into this category. Hell, my dentist wanted to remove my wisdom teeth, and the best reason he could give was "well, it's pretty hard to brush that far back". Needless to say I opted out and am all the wiser for it.

 

[WanderingSoul]

You ant eaters are a strange bunch.

 

[ghostdog]

You ant eaters are a strange bunch.

It must be all of our extra nerve endings.

 

[Tex Pro]

You ant eaters are a strange bunch.

It must be all of our extra nerve endings.

 

[cardguy]

I believe the practice started during the WW1 era based on bad science claiming it prevented infection. Note that this is the same level of medical technology that invented the Graham cracker, which was designed to prevent children from masturbating due to the bland flavor.

Since unnecessary surgery makes doctors and hospitals a lot of money, doctors that know it's pointless still push parents into it, or at least take the neutral approach of not saying anything against it. Just add it to the list of other pointless surgical procedures designed to rip people off, lots of hysterectomies and back surgeries fall into this category. Hell, my dentist wanted to remove my wisdom teeth, and the best reason he could give was "well, it's pretty hard to brush that far back". Needless to say I opted out and am all the wiser for it.

Never thought of removal of wisdom teeth as being a scam. I will have to look into that.

Would be interested to know if others think it is as well?

 

[Thomas the Rhymer]

Juat wondering what the reason for this is? Apparently most Americans are circumcised. Seems a bit of a strange thing to do considering the foreskin is there for a reason (thanks to evolution).

It always seems a bit backward to have a totally pointless operation carried out on babies (particularly since it can occasionally be deadly).

Anyway - just curious as to how this came about? Here in the UK it is only carried out for religious reasons. So - I am interested in how it became a cultural norm in America?

The explanation I received in medical school is that there just happened to be a mania for circumsion from about the 1950's.

It was thought to be healthier to be circumcised, and at the time there was a lot of press about the unhealthy side effects of masturbation, and it was thought that circumcision would reduce masturbatory behaviour later in life.

That the future masturbatory habits of newborn males were such a concern in the USA just goes to show what a messed up era that must have been.

This was an era in the USA where people would shut up and do what they were told and you never argued with your doctor.

Anyway, once it became a popular idea in medical circles, the USA basically went into a manic circumcision bubble where everyone joined in the groupthink without questioning the logic or the science behind circumcisions. The bubble popped somewhere in the late 1970's and circumcision rates have been steadily declining since.

Anyway, that's what they taught me in school, but I've learn the hard way not to believe everything I've been taught, so take it for what it is - an attempt to historically rationalise an irrational group behaviour.

 

[2Wycked]

redacted

 

[Handsome Creepy Eel]

Misinformation at first, fueled by sexual paranoia (see Dr. Kellog), then denial and rationalization about having made a mistake. It it was done for religious reasons like in the rest of the world, I could understand it.

 

[Days of Broken Arrows]

Juat wondering what the reason for this is? Apparently most Americans are circumcised. Seems a bit of a strange thing to do considering the foreskin is there for a reason (thanks to evolution).

It always seems a bit backward to have a totally pointless operation carried out on babies (particularly since it can occasionally be deadly).

Anyway - just curious as to how this came about? Here in the UK it is only carried out for religious reasons. So - I am interested in how it became a cultural norm in America?

The explanation I received in medical school is that there just happened to be a mania for circumsion from about the 1950's.

It was thought to be healthier to be circumcised, and at the time there was a lot of press about the unhealthy side effects of masturbation, and it was thought that circumcision would reduce masturbatory behaviour later in life.

That the future masturbatory habits of newborn males were such a concern in the USA just goes to show what a messed up era that must have been.

This was an era in the USA where people would shut up and do what they were told and you never argued with your doctor.

Anyway, once it became a popular idea in medical circles, the USA basically went into a manic circumcision bubble where everyone joined in the groupthink without questioning the logic or the science behind circumcisions. The bubble popped somewhere in the late 1970's and circumcision rates have been steadily declining since.

Anyway, that's what they taught me in school, but I've learn the hard way not to believe everything I've been taught, so take it for what it is - an attempt to historically rationalise an irrational group behaviour.

He's right. It was anti-masturbation hysteria, but from what I gather it started before the 1950s with the guy Kellogg -- the one behind the cereal company. He also believed in enemas regularly. There is a movie from the '90s about him called "The Road to Wellness" starring Matthew Broderick.

The reason this is still done is because circumcision is a big money maker for hospitals. Superstitious bullshit tends to stick around when someone can make a profit off it. There is no medical basis for circumcision and in fact a large number of them are botched. For further reading, consult the books of Dr. Dean Edell, a medical physician who not is against the practice but is Jewish -- and doesn't believe religious rituals should be medical procedure for everyone.

God, or nature, didn't make mistakes with the human body that humans need to "correct." And if people can justify circumcision for men, I don't see why you can't do the same for women -- and throw in foot-binding while they're at it.

Also, women should have no say in this debate, as it's not their bodies. My body my choice -- maybe they've heard that saying somewhere.

PS: The same debate is happening in regard to wisdom teeth. Unless they're impacted or you have too many teeth for your mouth, they don't need to come out. Mine grew in fine but a dentist convinced me they were "problematic" and removed two. I later found out his kid was in legal trouble and he was doing unnecessary procedures to raise legal funds.

 

[Exactaking]

People are getting real high-horse about circumcision. I think I was one of the last males to be circumcised (in 1989). Now its like considered murder, or strictly a Jewish thing. I think the doctor that delivered me was quite WASPy, I think it was just old school medical theory about it. Not to sound like a whiner (I'm not Jewish btw) but this anti-circumsision thing seems to me to be a crypto-criticism of Jews, like how much SWPLs don't like Israel, they wanna complain about jews (which a lot of them are) and have their cake, too.

 

[Days of Broken Arrows]

People are getting real high-horse about circumcision. I think I was one of the last males to be circumcised (in 1989). Now its like considered murder, or strictly a Jewish thing. I think the doctor that delivered me was quite WASPy, I think it was just old school medical theory about it. Not to sound like a whiner (I'm not Jewish btw) but this anti-circumsision thing seems to me to be a crypto-criticism of Jews, like how much SWPLs don't like Israel, they wanna complain about jews (which a lot of them are) and have their cake, too.

I just mentioned above one of the leading proponents of the anti-circumcision brigade was Dr. Dean Edell, who is Jewish. This movement didn't catch fire until he started making it a point to chastise everyone who was circumcising their boys on his daily radio show. He did this for over two decades. If you read his books, he has his reasons. Medical procedures and religious beliefs do not often work together, as I stated earlier.

Beyond that, I think you've posted a poor argument that demeans what people are discussing here in a mature, rational way.

Proclaiming bigotry lurks behind sound intellectual thought is not only intellectually suspect, but it's also the biggest cliche in American culture today. People who don't like the president for policy reasons are not necessarily racist. People who are against immigration because of wage reasons are not by default anti-Hispanic. And people who have valid medical reasons for not liking circumcision are not anti-Semitic simply because of their ideas.

When someone states a point and makes it clearly and without snide remarks, it's simply rude (and on the level of Jezebel) to play "mind-reader" and assume there is some sort of imaginary prejudice lurking in their brains. Most likely there is not. Why? Well, in these parts we're all using aliases here and could be overt in our bigotry if we wanted. This isn't a dinner party with the boss. And in the outside world, none of the people in this movement that I know of are anti-Semites.

Finally, Muslims also circumcise their boys. Why wouldn't you claim this prejudice is anti-Muslim? Why does it have to necessarily be anti-Jewish?

 

[Tex Pro]

People are getting real high-horse about circumcision. I think I was one of the last males to be circumcised (in 1989). Now its like considered murder, or strictly a Jewish thing. I think the doctor that delivered me was quite WASPy, I think it was just old school medical theory about it. Not to sound like a whiner (I'm not Jewish btw) but this anti-circumsision thing seems to me to be a crypto-criticism of Jews, like how much SWPLs don't like Israel, they wanna complain about jews (which a lot of them are) and have their cake, too.

Nope.

 

[Moma]

Africans get circumcised too so it's not just a Jewish thing. I've heard it's cleaner to be circumcised because urine and all sorts of knob cheese gets built up behind the foreskin and most cats are too lazy to pull the skin back and clean it properly.

 

[Tex Pro]

Africans get circumcised too so it's not just a Jewish thing. I've heard it's cleaner to be circumcised because urine and all sorts of knob cheese gets built up behind the foreskin and most cats are too lazy to pull the skin back and clean it properly.

I keep hearing that American girls prefer guys to be circumcised, but for me that isn't a good reason to get circumcised since I want to fuck foreign girls, not American ones.

If I one day get to the point where I no longer have to fuck American girls, I will know I have won.

 

[Exactaking]

Why are people so passionate about circumcision? It is just a battle between those who were clipped (like me) and those who weren't? I predict this thread will go 20 pages.

I'd stick a sly gif, but my computer skills are shit. Probably because I was clipped.

 

[Moma]

I keep hearing that American girls prefer guys to be circumcised, but for me that isn't a good reason to get circumcised since I want to fuck foreign girls, not American ones.

If I one day get to the point where I no longer have to fuck American girls, I will know I have won.

Lizards don't care what your dyck looks like as long as it is not covered in bumps and sores and it is satisfying (filling).

 

[Tex Pro]

Why are people so passionate about circumcision? It is just a battle between those who were clipped (like me) and those who weren't? I predict this thread will go 20 pages.

I'd stick a sly gif, but my computer skills are shit. Probably because I was clipped.

Being clipped affected you computer skills?????????????

Do you type with your dick??????????

 

[Teedub]

^ I think he was being sarcastic.

 

[Veloce]

Yeah, as an uncut guy I can safely say it's not once, ever, come up. If anything, I've had several girls tell me how much they enjoy playing with the tip.

The only references I've read to girls preferring circumcision is in magazines like Cosmo. I don't think I need to address further.

I'll never know what sex feels like being circumcised, just like cut guys will never know what it feels like to be me. It doesn't really matter. However, for the sake of argument, I'm pasting this from wiki:

"The College of Physicians and Surgeons of British Columbia have written that the foreskin is "composed of an outer skin and an inner mucosa that is rich in specialized sensory nerve endings and erogenous tissue."

 

[MidniteSpecial]

I wonder how different it would feel having sex un cut. Better or worse? I heard about some men getting the foreskin reattached. That's pretty bugged out.