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Male Circumcision Can't Hurt?


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Ugandan men say circumcision did not effect their sexual satisfaction. Studies suggest circumcised men reduce their HIV infection rate by 50%.

This article points out a glaring bias though, "Other studies already show that being able to reassure men that the procedure won't affect sexual satisfaction or performance makes them much more likely to be circumcised." If the pro-circumcision movement needs a study that says sexual satisfaction is not changed through circumcision they are going to find it. Even HIV activists are concerned with circumcision. They argue condoms are the best protection against HIV and men who are circumcised my falsely believe they are protected.

So really, what's the point? Leave poor willy alone.
uroborus8

11 responses // Male Circumcision Can't Hurt?

  • http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Circumcision#_note-35
    I'm a girl and not a doctor, so I don't really have any authority on this issue. But what's the point? Lots of hygiene issues to begin with. And in places where men don't have access to clean water and ways to keep themselves clean, perhaps this is one way to prevent infection. I am not saying that circumcision protects from HIV. Condoms and abstinence do that. But there are some benefits of the procedure if it's carried out properly, and as close to birth as possible. There's more in the wiki!
    abbym0308
  • There are so many nerve endings in the prepuce that it is clear that circumcision considerably diminishes a man's pleasure during sex.
    Vierotchka
  • http://www.cirp.org/library/anatomy/
    Excerpt:

    Innervation. The prepuce is profusely innervated especially near the tip in the ridged band area where the mucocutaneous boundary occurs. It is now understood that this junction is the most sensitive and erogenous part of the penis.17,18,26,31,32,34,39,41 Winkelmann explains the importance of the mucocutaneous boundary in human sexual response.18 He explains, "All biologic phenomena, including sensation, are the result of a certain statistical events. It is logical to anticipate that some individuals will have cutaneous hyperneuria, and also to expect eventually to find some individuals with actual diminution in organization of the cutaneous nerves for sensation. Certain pathologic states may be explicable on the basis of diminished or augmented cutaneous nerve supply."18 Thus, the accumulation of sensation triggers the ejaculation reflex.18 Diminution of the available nerve supply would make achievement of orgasm more difficult. The penile erection and ejaculation require the integration and proper sequencing of somatic, sympathetic, and parasympathetic innervation.26

    Taylor's ridged band is located near the tip of the prepuce on the inner layer of the foreskin near the muco-cutanaeous boundary.33 The ridged band merges smoothly with the frenulum.32 Taylor states that the ridged band is sensitive to motion.42 The foreskin slides back and forth over the glans during foreplay and intercourse.30, 31 Typically, the ridged band area of the prepuce is stretched when it passes over the glans penis and, by this stretching action, the multitude of pleasure sensors in Taylor's ridged band are stimulated.

    The ridged band area, which is stimulated by motion,42 is the most highly innervated18, 32 and pleasure producing21 region of the prepuce. They clearly have an important, but not yet well understood, function in human sexual response.18,32 Cold and Taylor (1999) confirmed the structure and innervation of the prepuce, and explained its importance in more detail.41

    In comparison to the prepuce, the glans penis is much less innervated and sensitive.25,27 The corona (rim) is the most highly innervated part of the glans
    Vierotchka
  • There was a study published in the March 2007 issue of BJU International on "The Effect Of Male Circumcision On Sexuality":

    About 6% answered that their sex lives improved, while 20% reported a worse sex life after circumcision.

    This study suggests that adult circumcision adversely affects sexual function in a significant number of men, and the authors suggest that it may be due to loss of nerve endings in the removed skin. In addition, there was an approximately 9% incidence of severe penile scarring or uncomfortable erections from curvature or tethering after circumcision.>>

    http://tinyurl.com/2fjtxb

    Now why didn't this receive the same coverage the latest study got?

    Why has there been no coverage of :
    1) the 2005 study in Tanzania which showed that circumcised *women* had lower rates of HIV
    2) the 2007 study that showed that circumcised virgins in Kenya, Lesotho, and Tanzania were more likely to be HIV+ that uncircumcised virgins
    3) the 2007 study whose latest findings show that circumcised HIV+ men are more than twice as likely to pass on HIV to their wives
    4) the 1993 study that found that "partner circumcision" was "strongly associated with HIV-1 infection [in women] even when simultaneously controlling for other covariates."
    5) The fact that the USA has a higher HIV rate than any of the 27 European Union countries, none of which circumcise.

    This whole thing is about promoting circumcision, not about fighting HIV. Abstinence, Being faithful, and Condoms (ABC) protect against HIV, so why is anyone trying to promote genital surgery? Circumcised men are less likely to use condoms, so this whole thing will cost lives, not save them.
    ml66uk
  • Oh you poor baby, you got circumsized and now sex doesn't feel as good as if you hadn't been. Poor baby....I feel so sorry for you! Get a life. There are more things to worry about in this world than your sexual satisfaction. I wish every male who's arguing about male circumcision would just get on with life and educate themselves on what's truly important.
    Brigitte_T
  • Brigitte_T, would you say the same thing to women who have had their clitoris removed? Because sexual mutilation is sexual mutilation, whether performed on boys and men or girls and women, and the trauma and loss is equally deep for both genders. Your post seems to stem from an anorgasmic woman...
    Vierotchka
  • i agree with brigitte that there is more important things in life, however its still something that is controversial and not so black and white. on one side there are those who pull the faith card and their list of benefits, then the others who pull the idea that it is sexual mutilation.

    ultimately i think the choice should be to the individual and i think that they should be educated on the repercussions so that they can decide what the worth is to themselves.
    AswegoAsdego
  • There are over 1000 nerve ending in the male foreskin. Ouch!
    uroborus8
  • Wow... you guys now your penises. what i wanna know is who in the hell gets a circumcision later in life? That just sounds like some form of cruel torcher.
    frankie_of_tempe
  • Actually, Frankie, circumcision hurts less later in life. It's less dangerous too, and the results are cosmetically better. Oh, and the owner of the penis gets to have a say in whether or not he wants it done at all.
    ml66uk
  • Male circumcision is genital mutilation. And for Bridgitte, would you feel the same if you were the one who had the procedure? It is ignorant to base you claims on the idea that those arguing against circumcision, or genital mutilation, are motivated by a wanting of a higher "sexual satisfaction". Any decision that is made over a bodily organ should remain the decision of the person who is going to get the procedure. In any case, if we as a society have come to accept the idea of everyone person having their own opinion, then when will we arrive at the point where we realize that everyone has the right to decide over what occurs with there body. Honestly, when will we get over this double standard? If the subject was instead female genital mutilation, would the tone be the same?
    utopian_sounds

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