* No-one except for Jewish people and Muslims would even be having this discussion if it weren't for the fact that 19th century doctors thought that :
a) masturbation caused various physical and mental problems (including epilepsy, convulsions, paralysis, tuberculosis etc), and
b) circumcision stopped masturbation.
Both of those sound ridiculous today I know, but that's how they thought back then, and that's how non-religious circumcision got started. If you don't believe me (and I was initially skeptical), then google this : "A Short History of Circumcision in North America In the Physicians' Own Words"
or just look for any medical text from about 1850-1950 that mentions male circumcision or masturbation. Heck, they even passed laws against "self-pollution" as it was called.
Over a hundred years later, circumcised men keep looking for new ways to defend the practice.
* Plenty of circumcised men have great sex. A significant number of men have problems due to being circumcised though.
Sorrells (2007)
"Circumcision ablates the most sensitive parts of the penis."
Kim and Pang 2006 (255 men circumcised as adults)
"About 6% answered that their sex lives improved, while 20% reported a worse sex life after circumcision."
Frisch 2011
"Conclusions Circumcision was associated with frequent orgasm difficulties in Danish men and with a range of frequent sexual difficulties in women, notably orgasm difficulties, dyspareunia and a sense of incomplete sexual needs fulfilment."
Bronselaer et al, 2013
"For the glans penis, circumcised men reported decreased sexual pleasure and lower orgasm intensity"
* There are far better ways of protecting against HIV than genital surgery, which can only help when having unsafe sex wtih an HIV+ partner. It is unclear if circumcised men are more likely to infect women btw. The only ever randomized controlled trial into male-to-female transmission showed a 54% higher rate in the group where the men had been circumcised.
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* No-one except for Jewish people and Muslims would even be having this discussion if it weren't for the fact that 19th century doctors thought that :
a) masturbation caused various physical and mental problems (including epilepsy, convulsions, paralysis, tuberculosis etc), and
b) circumcision stopped masturbation.
Both of those sound ridiculous today I know, but that's how they thought back then, and that's how non-religious circumcision got started. If you don't believe me (and I was initially skeptical), then google this : "A Short History of Circumcision in North America In the Physicians' Own Words"
or just look for any medical text from about 1850-1950 that mentions male circumcision or masturbation. Heck, they even passed laws against "self-pollution" as it was called.
Over a hundred years later, circumcised men keep looking for new ways to defend the practice.
* Plenty of circumcised men have great sex. A significant number of men have problems due to being circumcised though.
Sorrells (2007)
"Circumcision ablates the most sensitive parts of the penis."
Kim and Pang 2006 (255 men circumcised as adults)
"About 6% answered that their sex lives improved, while 20% reported a worse sex life after circumcision."
Frisch 2011
"Conclusions Circumcision was associated with frequent orgasm difficulties in Danish men and with a range of frequent sexual difficulties in women, notably orgasm difficulties, dyspareunia and a sense of incomplete sexual needs fulfilment."
Bronselaer et al, 2013
"For the glans penis, circumcised men reported decreased sexual pleasure and lower orgasm intensity"
* There are far better ways of protecting against HIV than genital surgery, which can only help when having unsafe sex wtih an HIV+ partner. It is unclear if circumcised men are more likely to infect women btw. The only ever randomized controlled trial into male-to-female transmission showed a 54% higher rate in the group where the men had been circumcised.
May 21, 2015 - 2:38amThis Comment
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