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Circumcision.. What do Evolutionary Biologists/Naturalists/Darwinists think?

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As a chinese, the idea of circumcision is weird and foreign since it's definitely not normal in our culture to 'snip off parts of the dicks'.

Also, i don't get the argument that uncircumcised dicks are 'dirty'. Our moms had been educating us to wash our dicks (thoroughly i might add) since young at least twice a day (first thing in the morning, last thing at night)....and wipe it clean (with paper napkins) when you are peeing....

the first time i've heard of circumcision and cutting dicks off, i thought it's some foreigner's idea of an eunuch. you are cutting 'parts' of your dick!!! (even though it's just the skin)......how can that be NOT horrible.
 

BaasRed

Banned
I can see where yall are coming from here. I'll research now more about circumcision and see for myself how necessary or unnecessary it is. Thanks to everyone for replying to me! 😄
Currently on mobile so can't quote all of you but thanks to you.
 

Hoo-doo

Banned
There's no rational debate about this online.

Circumcised people will pressure you to do it seeing as they underwent it themselves, uncircumcised people will pressure you to not do it.

I'd say leave it to your son. There's absolutely 0 downside to having him decide for himself later, and circumcision is steadily getting less popular over time, so it could very well be you saved him a completely unnecessary surgical procedure in the end.
 

theaface

Member
Whether or not you "agree" with the definition of a word is irrelevant. You mutilated your son's penis without his consent.

This part makes no sense. You have basically said "It's irrelevant what YOU think mutilation means, because I'M telling you it means this."


A couple of dictionary definitions:

1. to injure, disfigure, or make imperfect by removing or irreparably damaging parts

2. to deprive (a person or animal) of a limb or other essential part.

Inflict a violent and disfiguring injury on.

Inflict serious damage on.

So again, no, I don't think mutilation is the right word at all.
 

The Lamp

Member
Do it. It's normal. Uncircumcised penises look gross.

Why should anyone take this post seriously? There's like no thought put into it. Let alone, why should anyone just blindly do what Americans feel is "normal?" Our society has got almost nothing socially or ethically responsible figured out.
 

Hoo-doo

Banned
This part makes no sense. You have basically said "It's irrelevant what YOU think mutilation means, because I'M telling you it means this."


A couple of dictionary definitions:





So again, no, I don't think mutilation is the right word at all.

How is what you just quoted not applicable to circumcision? It's irreparably damaging someone's genitals. Your semantics do not change this fact.
 

Hypron

Member
Who's got time to look at their flaccid dick all day?

We wear pants for a reason.

Fixed for accuracy. It doesn't even look different when you're most likely to show it to other people.

That, plus "looking better" to Americans is just a result of it being the norm among them.
 

SMattera

Member
What now? I was literally present when it took place and saw the whole thing. What leap of logic is this?

OK. Then maybe you don't understand the words "disfigure" "irreparably" "damaging" or "injury".

Let me help you. By removing a part of the penis, you are disfiguring it. You can't put it back on, so it's irreparable. The procedure is quite violent and causes damage and injury (hence crying, blood, gauze, etc).

Circumcision is, by definition, mutilation.

I understand it might be easier to pretend you don't understand the meaning of the word than to come to terms with that fact.
 

Cyanity

Banned
What now? I was literally present when it took place and saw the whole thing.



Because we disagree that it is damaging. Why is this hard to understand?

Okay well, talk to your kid when they're older and ask them if they would have preferred if you had given them a choice. Should be an enlightening conversation.
 
yth 1: They just cut off a flap of skin.

Reality check: Not true. The foreskin is half of the penis's skin, not just a flap. In an adult man, the foreskin is 15 square inches of skin. In babies and children, the foreskin is adhered to the head of the penis with the same type of tissue that adheres fingernails to their nail beds. Removing it requires shoving a blunt probe between the foreskin and the head of the penis and then cutting down and around the whole penis. Check out these photos: http://www.drmomma.org/2011/08/intac...cant.html(nsfw)

Myth 2: It doesn't hurt the baby.

Reality check: Wrong. In 1997, doctors in Canada did a study to see what type of anesthesia was most effective in relieving the pain of circumcision. As with any study, they needed a control group that received no anesthesia. The doctors quickly realized that the babies who were not anesthetized were in so much pain that it would be unethical to continue with the study. Even the best commonly available method of pain relief studied, the dorsal penile nerve block, did not block all the babies' pain. Some of the babies in the study were in such pain that they began choking and one even had a seizure (Lander 1997).

Myth 3: My doctor uses anesthesia.

Reality check: Not necessarily. Most newborns do not receive adequate anesthesia. Only 45% of doctors who do circumcisions use any anesthesia at all. Obstetricians perform 70% of circumcisions and are least likely to use anesthesia - only 25% do. The most common reasons why they don't? They didn't think the procedure warranted it, and it takes too long (Stang 1998). A circumcision with adequate anesthesia takes a half-hour - if they brought your baby back sooner, he was in severe pain during the surgery.

Myth 4: Even if it is painful, the baby won't remember it.

Reality check: The body is a historical repository and remembers everything. The pain of circumcision causes a rewiring of the baby's brain so that he is more sensitive to pain later (Taddio 1997, Anand 2000). Circumcision also can cause post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, anger, low self-esteem and problems with intimacy (Boyle 2002, Hammond 1999, Goldman 1999). Even with a lack of explicit memory and the inability to protest - does that make it right to inflict pain? Ethical guidelines for animal research whenever possible* - do babies deserve any less?

Myth 5: My baby slept right through it.

Reality check: Not possible without total anesthesia, which is not available. Even the dorsal penile nerve block leaves the underside of the penis receptive to pain. Babies go into shock, which though it looks like a quiet state, is actually the body's reaction to profound pain and distress. Nurses often tell the parents "He slept right through it" so as not to upset them. Who would want to hear that his or her baby was screaming in agony?

https://www.psychologytoday.com/blo...9/myths-about-circumcision-you-likely-believe

Don't put your baby through that.

quoting because more people need to see that...

don't mutilate your child, whatever the reason! Let him decide later! And yes, even if ti's less damaging, it's still an horrible thing to do like FGM
 

Hoo-doo

Banned
Because we disagree that it is damaging. Why is this hard to understand?

You can't just change the definition of words when you feel like it.

The procedure is damaging healthy tissue if done for aesthetic reasons. The resulting lack of lubrication and protection of the gland can be regarded as damaging as well.

Sure, you probably won't suffer any sweeping consequences from it, but it's still irreparably damaging no matter how much you disagree or not.

If there's a proper medical indication for circumcision, then i'm all for it. But otherwise you're just putting someone through completely unnecessary surgery that involves damaging healthy tissue for aesthetic/religious reasons.
 
Okay well, talk to your kid when they're older and ask them if they would have preferred if you had given them a choice. Should be an enlightening conversation.

So... Does that also apply to the person you are talking to and his parents? Because that conversation would not go the way you expect.
 

Raonak

Banned
I always think of it this way; if you aren't religious, then there is no reason to do it.
It is an unnecessary and invasive procedure. Would you get a baby's ear pierced if it were the normal thing to do?
 

Rentahamster

Rodent Whores
A couple of dictionary definitions:

So again, no, I don't think mutilation is the right word at all.

Err, this is pretty much what circumcision is.

1. to injure, disfigure, or make imperfect by removing or irreparably damaging parts

It removes parts of the penis, thus disfiguring it.

It is irreparable. Foreskin don't grow back.
 

Cyanity

Banned
I always think of it this way; if you aren't religious, then there is no reason to do it.
It is an unnecessary and invasive procedure. Would you get a baby's ear pierced if it were the normal thing to do?

And here is where I'm getting so confused. Why should circumcision be okay if you're religious?

So... Does that also apply to the person you are talking to and his parents? Because that conversation would not go the way you expect.

Maybe his kid will be okay with it. But my parents asked me about my circumcision a while back, and my thoughts back then were my thoughts now. I just don't want anyone else to have to wake up in their teens and realize that they've been permanently altered because of religious or cultural reasons. It's not a good feeling.
 
And here is where I'm getting so confused. Why should circumcision be okay if you're religious?

i don't think he means it's okay, he just means there's litterally NO reason to do it when you're not religious! Relgious people have in fact a reason to do it, even though it's fucked up and they shouldn't
 
i don't think he mean it's okay, he just mean there's litterally NO reason to do it when you're not religious! Relgious people have in fact a reason to do it, even though it's fucked up and they shouldn't

Completely removing any chance of phimosis or paraphimosis is a perfectly sound, logical reason for circumcision.
 

Hoo-doo

Banned
Completely removing any chance of phimosis or paraphimosis is a perfectly sound, logical reason for circumcision.

That's like pulling healthy teeth to prevent them from getting cavities. Or pre-emptively removing a gall-bladder for the off chance you develop gallstones.

Phimosis is not all that common and can be properly treated if and when it occurs (which, if it happens, most often is at a very young age). This is not a sound, logical reason for circumcision at all.
 

BaasRed

Banned
Myth 1: They just cut off a flap of skin.

Reality check: Not true. The foreskin is half of the penis's skin, not just a flap. In an adult man, the foreskin is 15 square inches of skin. In babies and children, the foreskin is adhered to the head of the penis with the same type of tissue that adheres fingernails to their nail beds. Removing it requires shoving a blunt probe between the foreskin and the head of the penis and then cutting down and around the whole penis. Check out these photos: http://www.drmomma.org/2011/08/intact-or-circumcised-significant.html(nsfw)

Myth 2: It doesn't hurt the baby.

Reality check: Wrong. In 1997, doctors in Canada did a study to see what type of anesthesia was most effective in relieving the pain of circumcision. As with any study, they needed a control group that received no anesthesia. The doctors quickly realized that the babies who were not anesthetized were in so much pain that it would be unethical to continue with the study. Even the best commonly available method of pain relief studied, the dorsal penile nerve block, did not block all the babies' pain. Some of the babies in the study were in such pain that they began choking and one even had a seizure (Lander 1997).

Myth 3: My doctor uses anesthesia.

Reality check: Not necessarily. Most newborns do not receive adequate anesthesia. Only 45% of doctors who do circumcisions use any anesthesia at all. Obstetricians perform 70% of circumcisions and are least likely to use anesthesia - only 25% do. The most common reasons why they don't? They didn't think the procedure warranted it, and it takes too long (Stang 1998). A circumcision with adequate anesthesia takes a half-hour - if they brought your baby back sooner, he was in severe pain during the surgery.

Myth 4: Even if it is painful, the baby won't remember it.

Reality check: The body is a historical repository and remembers everything. The pain of circumcision causes a rewiring of the baby's brain so that he is more sensitive to pain later (Taddio 1997, Anand 2000). Circumcision also can cause post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, anger, low self-esteem and problems with intimacy (Boyle 2002, Hammond 1999, Goldman 1999). Even with a lack of explicit memory and the inability to protest - does that make it right to inflict pain? Ethical guidelines for animal research whenever possible* - do babies deserve any less?

Myth 5: My baby slept right through it.

Reality check: Not possible without total anesthesia, which is not available. Even the dorsal penile nerve block leaves the underside of the penis receptive to pain. Babies go into shock, which though it looks like a quiet state, is actually the body's reaction to profound pain and distress. Nurses often tell the parents "He slept right through it" so as not to upset them. Who would want to hear that his or her baby was screaming in agony?​

https://www.psychologytoday.com/blo...9/myths-about-circumcision-you-likely-believe

Don't put your baby through that.
I wish I'd read this post earlier. Thanks man, I will definitely not do this to my kid.
 

theaface

Member
OK. Then maybe you don't understand the words "disfigure" "irreparably" "damaging" or "injury".

Let me help you. By removing a part of the penis, you are disfiguring it. You can't put it back on, so it's irreparable. The procedure is quite violent and causes damage and injury (hence crying, blood, gauze, etc).

Circumcision is, by definition, mutilation.

Good lord. I'm really not going to sit here all day and google each and every word for you, but for the last time...

Violent - Using or involving physical force intended to hurt, damage, or kill someone or something

Circumcisions are not done with with intent to hurt, damage or kill. You really can't be arguing that? Surely? As for whether or not it's 'damaging' is something we simply disagree on, which leads me to...

Damage - Physical harm that impairs the value, usefulness, or normal function of something.

Does it change the normal function of a penis? Yes it does. Does it impair normal function? The medical profession would contend that it does not.

Disfigure - Spoil the appearance of.

Entirely subjective.

Irreparable

You mean irreversible.

As for crying, blood and dressing, a child gets these (to an admittedly lesser extent) when they have their 8 week vaccinations.

I'm more than happy to disagree with you on the merits/demerits of circumcision. I just find it objectionable that you try to paint it as a brutal traumatic event intended to do harm.
 

The Lamp

Member
Completely removing any chance of phimosis or paraphimosis is a perfectly sound, logical reason for circumcision.

No it's not. That's like saying removing your toenails to avoid toenail fungus is a logical reason. You can easily treat most phimosis with steroid creams and stretches, if it even happens. Surgery should always be a last resort because it has its own risks involved, obviously described earlier on this page.
 

Cyanity

Banned
Good lord. I'm really not going to sit here all day and google each and every word for you, but for the last time...



Circumcisions are not done with with intent to hurt, damage or kill. You really can't be arguing that? Surely? As for whether or not it's 'damaging' is something we simply disagree on, which leads me to...



Does it change the normal function of a penis? Yes it does. Does it impair normal function? The medical profession would contend that it does not.



Entirely subjective.



You mean irreversible.

As for crying, blood and dressing, a child gets these (to an admittedly lesser extent) when they have their 8 week vaccinations.

I'm more than happy to disagree with you on the merits/demerits of circumcision. I just find it objectionable that you try to paint it as a brutal traumatic event painted in the light of intent to do harm.

By your argument, female genital mutilation is also okay. Please explain why if you disagree with this.
 

Rentahamster

Rodent Whores
As for crying, blood and dressing, a child gets these (to an admittedly lesser extent) when they have their 8 week vaccinations.

You're experiencing some heavy cognitive dissonance if you're seriously trying to equivocate the pain and trauma between these two procedures, especially when considering how much more important to global health on a massively larger scale vaccinations are relative to circumcision.
 
Completely removing any chance of phimosis or paraphimosis is a perfectly sound, logical reason for circumcision.

then let just cut your whole dick to remove any chance of STD... what kind of reasoning is that?

If you happen to have phimosis or paraphimosis, there's treatment for that, don't mutilate your child just because of a really small chance that it could happen
 

kinoki

Illness is the doctor to whom we pay most heed; to kindness, to knowledge, we make promise only; pain we obey.
The mutilation of genetalia is a purely religious thing that primarily exists in Africa, the Middle East and North America. I see it as a symptom of an unhealthy view on sexuality. Only through education can we combat this abominable treatment of boys and girls.
 

theaface

Member
By your argument, female genital mutilation is also okay. Please explain why if you disagree with this.

Fucking hell. I feel zero obligation to defend your ludicrous leap of thinking, but to quote the NHS guidance:

It can seriously harm the health of women and girls. It can also cause long-term problems with sex, childbirth and mental health.
 

Serra

Member
I really dont understand why you would ever cut it. The original reasons why they did it were fucking stupid, so why keep a stupid tradition alive.

As for sensitivity and all that jazz, you pull the foreskin back for sex anyway so it doesnt matter for that.
 
Fucking hell. I feel zero obligation to defend your ludicrous leap of thinking, but to quote the NHS guidance:

please, just read this post :

Myth 1: They just cut off a flap of skin.

Reality check: Not true. The foreskin is half of the penis's skin, not just a flap. In an adult man, the foreskin is 15 square inches of skin. In babies and children, the foreskin is adhered to the head of the penis with the same type of tissue that adheres fingernails to their nail beds. Removing it requires shoving a blunt probe between the foreskin and the head of the penis and then cutting down and around the whole penis. Check out these photos: http://www.drmomma.org/2011/08/intact-or-circumcised-significant.html(nsfw)

Myth 2: It doesn't hurt the baby.

Reality check: Wrong. In 1997, doctors in Canada did a study to see what type of anesthesia was most effective in relieving the pain of circumcision. As with any study, they needed a control group that received no anesthesia. The doctors quickly realized that the babies who were not anesthetized were in so much pain that it would be unethical to continue with the study. Even the best commonly available method of pain relief studied, the dorsal penile nerve block, did not block all the babies' pain. Some of the babies in the study were in such pain that they began choking and one even had a seizure (Lander 1997).

Myth 3: My doctor uses anesthesia.

Reality check: Not necessarily. Most newborns do not receive adequate anesthesia. Only 45% of doctors who do circumcisions use any anesthesia at all. Obstetricians perform 70% of circumcisions and are least likely to use anesthesia - only 25% do. The most common reasons why they don't? They didn't think the procedure warranted it, and it takes too long (Stang 1998). A circumcision with adequate anesthesia takes a half-hour - if they brought your baby back sooner, he was in severe pain during the surgery.

Myth 4: Even if it is painful, the baby won't remember it.

Reality check: The body is a historical repository and remembers everything. The pain of circumcision causes a rewiring of the baby's brain so that he is more sensitive to pain later (Taddio 1997, Anand 2000). Circumcision also can cause post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, anger, low self-esteem and problems with intimacy (Boyle 2002, Hammond 1999, Goldman 1999). Even with a lack of explicit memory and the inability to protest - does that make it right to inflict pain? Ethical guidelines for animal research whenever possible* - do babies deserve any less?

Myth 5: My baby slept right through it.

Reality check: Not possible without total anesthesia, which is not available. Even the dorsal penile nerve block leaves the underside of the penis receptive to pain. Babies go into shock, which though it looks like a quiet state, is actually the body's reaction to profound pain and distress. Nurses often tell the parents "He slept right through it" so as not to upset them. Who would want to hear that his or her baby was screaming in agony?​

https://www.psychologytoday.com/blo...9/myths-about-circumcision-you-likely-believe

Don't put your baby through that.
 

Greddleok

Member
Completely removing any chance of phimosis or paraphimosis is a perfectly sound, logical reason for circumcision.

Fuck, I just sprained my ankle. It was super painful and I have to go to the doctors to get medication for it. If only my dad had insisted on removing my foot when I was a baby. I'd never have had a sprained ankle.

Hindsight's 20:20 though...
 

manueldelalas

Time Traveler
I'm sure people that circumcize their kids are the same that cut the tail off their dogs, same exact arguments.

There is no health benefit, you are just torturing your newborn. What's next? Cut its ear?
 
Myth 1: They just cut off a flap of skin.

Reality check: Not true. The foreskin is half of the penis's skin, not just a flap. In an adult man, the foreskin is 15 square inches of skin. In babies and children, the foreskin is adhered to the head of the penis with the same type of tissue that adheres fingernails to their nail beds. Removing it requires shoving a blunt probe between the foreskin and the head of the penis and then cutting down and around the whole penis. Check out these photos: http://www.drmomma.org/2011/08/intact-or-circumcised-significant.html(nsfw)

Myth 2: It doesn't hurt the baby.

Reality check: Wrong. In 1997, doctors in Canada did a study to see what type of anesthesia was most effective in relieving the pain of circumcision. As with any study, they needed a control group that received no anesthesia. The doctors quickly realized that the babies who were not anesthetized were in so much pain that it would be unethical to continue with the study. Even the best commonly available method of pain relief studied, the dorsal penile nerve block, did not block all the babies' pain. Some of the babies in the study were in such pain that they began choking and one even had a seizure (Lander 1997).

Myth 3: My doctor uses anesthesia.

Reality check: Not necessarily. Most newborns do not receive adequate anesthesia. Only 45% of doctors who do circumcisions use any anesthesia at all. Obstetricians perform 70% of circumcisions and are least likely to use anesthesia - only 25% do. The most common reasons why they don't? They didn't think the procedure warranted it, and it takes too long (Stang 1998). A circumcision with adequate anesthesia takes a half-hour - if they brought your baby back sooner, he was in severe pain during the surgery.

Myth 4: Even if it is painful, the baby won't remember it.

Reality check: The body is a historical repository and remembers everything. The pain of circumcision causes a rewiring of the baby's brain so that he is more sensitive to pain later (Taddio 1997, Anand 2000). Circumcision also can cause post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, anger, low self-esteem and problems with intimacy (Boyle 2002, Hammond 1999, Goldman 1999). Even with a lack of explicit memory and the inability to protest - does that make it right to inflict pain? Ethical guidelines for animal research whenever possible* - do babies deserve any less?

Myth 5: My baby slept right through it.

Reality check: Not possible without total anesthesia, which is not available. Even the dorsal penile nerve block leaves the underside of the penis receptive to pain. Babies go into shock, which though it looks like a quiet state, is actually the body's reaction to profound pain and distress. Nurses often tell the parents "He slept right through it" so as not to upset them. Who would want to hear that his or her baby was screaming in agony?​

https://www.psychologytoday.com/blo...9/myths-about-circumcision-you-likely-believe

Don't put your baby through that.

Even if most of this is correct, and I bet there's a lot of good reasons to not get cut. But including this "discredit" of myth number 4 almost makes this whole thing questionsable. PTSD, Depression and anger? That's just bullshit. During my life I have heard more people complain about NOT being cut. Never in my life met someone who says they wish they weren't or that being cut lead them to some kind of source of anger or depression.

Although I have directly heard of not being cut causing more anger and depression because of awkward sexual encounters at the very least.
 

massoluk

Banned
Fuck, I just sprained my ankle. It was super painful and I have to go to the doctors to get medication for it. If only my dad had insisted on removing my foot when I was a baby. I'd never have had a sprained ankle.

Hindsight's 20:20 though...
You could have had cybernetic legs and become superhero :(
 

Grug

Member
Myth 1: They just cut off a flap of skin.

Reality check: Not true. The foreskin is half of the penis's skin, not just a flap. In an adult man, the foreskin is 15 square inches of skin. In babies and children, the foreskin is adhered to the head of the penis with the same type of tissue that adheres fingernails to their nail beds. Removing it requires shoving a blunt probe between the foreskin and the head of the penis and then cutting down and around the whole penis. Check out these photos: http://www.drmomma.org/2011/08/intact-or-circumcised-significant.html(nsfw)

Myth 2: It doesn't hurt the baby.

Reality check: Wrong. In 1997, doctors in Canada did a study to see what type of anesthesia was most effective in relieving the pain of circumcision. As with any study, they needed a control group that received no anesthesia. The doctors quickly realized that the babies who were not anesthetized were in so much pain that it would be unethical to continue with the study. Even the best commonly available method of pain relief studied, the dorsal penile nerve block, did not block all the babies' pain. Some of the babies in the study were in such pain that they began choking and one even had a seizure (Lander 1997).

Myth 3: My doctor uses anesthesia.

Reality check: Not necessarily. Most newborns do not receive adequate anesthesia. Only 45% of doctors who do circumcisions use any anesthesia at all. Obstetricians perform 70% of circumcisions and are least likely to use anesthesia - only 25% do. The most common reasons why they don't? They didn't think the procedure warranted it, and it takes too long (Stang 1998). A circumcision with adequate anesthesia takes a half-hour - if they brought your baby back sooner, he was in severe pain during the surgery.

Myth 4: Even if it is painful, the baby won't remember it.

Reality check: The body is a historical repository and remembers everything. The pain of circumcision causes a rewiring of the baby's brain so that he is more sensitive to pain later (Taddio 1997, Anand 2000). Circumcision also can cause post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, anger, low self-esteem and problems with intimacy (Boyle 2002, Hammond 1999, Goldman 1999). Even with a lack of explicit memory and the inability to protest - does that make it right to inflict pain? Ethical guidelines for animal research whenever possible* - do babies deserve any less?

Myth 5: My baby slept right through it.

Reality check: Not possible without total anesthesia, which is not available. Even the dorsal penile nerve block leaves the underside of the penis receptive to pain. Babies go into shock, which though it looks like a quiet state, is actually the body's reaction to profound pain and distress. Nurses often tell the parents "He slept right through it" so as not to upset them. Who would want to hear that his or her baby was screaming in agony?​

https://www.psychologytoday.com/blo...9/myths-about-circumcision-you-likely-believe

Don't put your baby through that.

I almost cried reading that. The idea of inflicting that on my little boy shakes me to my core.

Who can look at their beautiful newborn boy and think "yeah, bring in the dude with the scalpel".

I'll probably rile a few posters up here but I genuinely feel that some posters here are more trying to convince themselves more than others they they did the right think in circumcising their kid. I sense shame.
 
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