I'm circumcised, my son is not. Now he's 12 he's saying he wishes we had decided to circumcise him in infancy. We explained the religious roots but that we didn't feel that particular tradition worth carrying on.

Told him he's free to decide for himself if he wants it done at 18 or after.

I'm honestly not sure what's right or best, but on balance, not doing something that's irreversible at least allows for consideration, maturation, and study.

I admire you for taking that tack, Brad. It's so much easier to go along with what "everybody" is doing.

Yawn.

Statistically throughout the decades how is this a health issue, a cultural issue, or even a topic?

Giving your kids BAGS of potato chips to snack on is much worse but ...

Some have way too much time on their hands.

It's barbaric, and dying out. Fewer boys were circumcised then not, for several years now.

A friend at age 14 asked his parents (the mother a surgeon, the father an oncologist) to get a circumcision. His reasoning was that he didn't want to give women cervical cancer.

I have no idea why his parents let him. But it was fun watching him walk like a duck for months.

Did you know that the CDC, FDA etc. do NOT keep statistics on how many little boys are mutilated by circumcision? Not, death but conditions which cause the boy to suffer problems, often lifelong, with sometimes serious physical and psychological effects.

I myself suffer from the effects of my circumcision. Basically the vermin who cut me took off too much which forced the corpora cavernosa (the spongy tubes that fill with blood to create an erection) into my body. The result of this was erections that were excessively ridged and took far longer than normal to reduce (Which seemed like a good thing in my younger days). The long term consequences have been erectile dysfunction from internal damage caused by my equipment being jammed back into my body. Corrective surgery was not an option for me 30 years ago.

All these problems, and yes pain, caused by a completely cosmetic surgery with NO medical necessity what-so-ever!

P.S. Just for the record, the 'they cut off too much' excuse is common among men who find their size inadequate. I myself did not have that issue as I am somewhat larger than the average North American White Male (by actual doctors measurement).

Yawn.

Statistically throughout the decades how is this a health issue, a cultural issue, or even a topic?

Tell me Bob, do you agree with product recalls issued by the governemnts CPSC because of the death toll products such as drop down railing cribs, quick release gate designed to keep kids off the stairs, toys with choking hazards, ect have?

Point being on average many of those products are responsible for a few dozens deaths a decade.

The CDC tracks carbon monoxides deaths, 430 over the last 15 years. Less than 30 per year.

On average less than 40 children die each year being left in hot cars

Roughly 70 children under the age of five drown in bathtubs each year

The people who fight against circumcision figure about 100 children die each year from complications of circumcision.

Now granted they have an ax to grind, but no one seem able to refute their numbers.

You ask why its a big deal?

Fair enough, why then are children being left to die of heat stroke a big deal as its less than half?

Why does the CDC track carbon monoxide deaths that are less than a third?

Why does the CPSC recall products that have one tenth the death rate?

We spend tens of millions of dollars every year on product research, data analysis, and PSAs to prevent accidents that each cause less loss of life than circumcision

If all of these other, far less lethal, issues are bid deals why isnt circumcision?

Bob, I seem to remember something about male circumcision reducing the likelihood of HIV transmission. Though I don't know whether there are other factors (based on geography) to consider. Of course, even if there are, it's still going to be controversial.

My point is that there seems to be some hysteria in the language/tone.

Obviously any surgical procedure has potential issues and this should be discussed and evaluated.

Logic seems to indicate that the procedure is not necessary and the fact that it is a common practice does not justify its use. (We just did what our pediatrician recommended.)

But the tone, the governments stopping it in the name of health, the statistic of deaths (which is not backed up by date as far Google shows), and the "no human being has the right to blah blah blah" statements (not here) is tiresome. Don't these people have a life other than screaming the sky is falling?

Although Joe Friday didn't state "Just the facts Ma'am." it's applicable to a lot of issues.

> because you think medically
> unnecessary surgery

When your abuse of language is so ham-handed, do you seriously expect to persuade?

I'm glad I was circumcised as a child. I was saved the chore of fiddling with my foreskin every time I had to use the bathroom.

ALL HAIL THE FORESKIN!!!

@Warhawke223: Removing skin is not going to affect the underlying organ. Skin stretches and grows as needed: just consider how your penis grew when you hit puberty.

"Just for the record, the 'they cut off too much' excuse is common among men who find their size inadequate."

Even dumber. It's only skin. Granted, there's no reason to cut it off, and any surgery carries risks of infection, but removing skin has nothing to do with penis size or function.

Thanks for writing this. I have found that one of the privileges of being male is to be ignored. So it doesn't matter how many men like me talk about bad circumcision is and how it hurt us. We will be ignored. The most effective men's rights activists are female. Male circumcision will only end when there are enough female activists speaking up.

P.S. I just finished reading UNSPEAKABLE MUTATIONS: Circumcised men speak out. Half of that book could have been written about me.

P.P.S. I just started reading SEX AS NATURE INTENDED IT. This book focuses on how circumcision harms sex. Only when women see how male circumcision hurt women will this barbaric violence stop.

"...this barbaric violence." From our new commenter, "Joshua Thom."

@a_random_guy

Buried Penis symptoms;
"Circumcision can also lead to the problem, particularly circumcision during which the shaft skin has been mistaken for the foreskin, effectively trimming the tissue too far down - meaning skin will push the penis back into the pubic pad."

http://www.express.co.uk/life-style/life/770334/Buried-penis-symptoms-treatment?utm_source=traffic.outbrain&utm_medium=traffic.outbrain&utm_term=traffic.outbrain&utm_content=traffic.outbrain&utm_campaign=traffic.outbrain

I've been looking for something like this because you have NO idea what you are talking about.

And yes, I am the guy that will remember shit like this for months and go back when I find the place where it needs to go.