tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-458545442038812352024-03-13T06:03:59.138-04:00Josh's view of circumcisionJosh, USAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11307896175011966838noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-45854544203881235.post-30874596612152624172009-01-17T17:37:00.005-05:002009-01-17T17:45:49.139-05:00How it all began...<span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:180%;color:#000099;"><em><strong></strong></em></span><span style="color:#000099;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:180%;color:#000099;"><em><strong><span style="color:#000099;">Finding out that you're going to be a parent is an exciting, yet surreal, moment.</span><br /></strong></em></span><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:130%;"><strong>But, if you've got a boy on the way, one of the decisions you'll need to make is whether his penis will <em>circumcised</em> or not. This is the decision that my fianceé left to me last year when we found out the sex.</strong></span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Anna was indifferent about it, and I just assumed our boy would be circumcised, mostly because I am myself. We also live in the United States (New Jersey to be particular) and it just seemed like something everybody does.</span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">It wasn't until we met with the paediatrician one day and he brought the topic up. He said, somewhat bluntly, that "<em>the Paediatrics Academy doesn't recommend this procedure. From a medical standpoint its not really beneficial, and from an ethical standpoint... well that depends on your point of view</em>."</span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Driving home, this got me thinking (while Anna concerned herself more with boy names and bedroom wallpaper designs). Her opinion was that I'm the one with the penis, so I should decide what happens in that department.</span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:130%;"><strong>So, I went on the internet, and did some homework. What happened next shocked me.</strong></span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">It soon became clear that circumcision was no longer something everyone "just did".</span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">I started from the very beginning — doing a Google search for circumcision returned over <strong><span style="font-size:130%;"><u>six million</u></span></strong> results. </span><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><em>At that point, I decided I would need a beer.</em></span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;color:#000099;"><em>So, armed with a 4-pack of Bud and a curiosity as to why there are 6,000,000 webpages about it, I got stuck in.</em></span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Next, I realized how hotly debated circumcision actually is. I found it very difficult to find resources that were impartial. Most seemed to be either very "pro" or very "anti", and a lot of people have very strong opinions for their side of the fence, some even resorting to flat out abuse of the opposition.</span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><em>Oh by the way, for the purposes of this blog, I will often refer to circumcised penises as "<span style="color:#000099;">cut</span>" and uncircumcised ones as "<span style="color:#000099;">intact</span>". This seemed like what each battalion preferred calling their respective units, and also I am the laziest person I know, so typing out the long versions every other sentence will soon get tiresome.</em></span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">When I was eventually able to find some objective resources, I quickly learned a lot. See, I thought that if we didn't have baby Joseph (so he turned out to be named) circumcised, we'd have to intricately wash under his foreskin after every diaper change to prevent all sorts of nasty diseases. Not so. In fact it seemed like more care and attention would be required if we had him cut!</span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">I also learned that the foreskin plays an important role in protecting the penis head, and that I could actually be missing out on some sexual sensation being cut. I think this is disputable, and almost impossible to prove.</span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;color:#000066;">To outline what follows: I've split my blog up into 4 sections.</span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;color:#000066;"><em>In the first, I'll share what I know of the actual thing that us Americans like to cut off: the foreskin itself.</em></span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;color:#000066;">Next, I'll talk about how America is actually the only country that cuts foreskins off for non-religious reasons!</span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;color:#000066;"><em>Thirdly, I will dedicate a whole section to the potential protections circumcision has to offer, as well as its potential risks.</em></span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;color:#000066;">And finally, the decision that I made for little Joe, as I smoked a thousand cigarettes while Anna pressed through labor for what seemed like an eternity, way back in the April of '08...</span>Josh, USAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11307896175011966838noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-45854544203881235.post-32983479945689668732009-01-17T17:30:00.005-05:002009-01-17T17:37:07.396-05:00What is the foreskin there for?<span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><span style="font-size:180%;color:#000099;"><strong></strong></span></span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:180%;color:#000099;"><em>"Its just a ghastly flap of extra skin."</em></span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><span style="font-size:130%;">That may be how you've heard a male foreskin described. But allow me to shed some light on what the foreskin <em><span style="font-size:180%;">really</span></em> is.</span></span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Well, firstly, its not "<em>extra</em>". All guys are born with it, so that immediately begs the question, "<em>if we were born with it, it must be there for a reason?</em>" Well it is.</span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Foreskin comprises four-fifths of penile skin, and is full of specialized nerve receptors. These receptors play a role in <strong>sexual</strong> <strong>functions</strong> <span style="font-size:85%;">(as I will soon explain)</span> and the way that it acts as a 'sheath' over the head (or 'glans' to be scientific) means that it <strong>protects</strong> it too.</span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><em>Understanding how the foreskin plays a role in sex is something of a vague science.</em></span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">So lets start with <span style="font-size:130%;color:#000099;"><em>masturbation</em></span>.</span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Don't frown; we all do it, and your son will do it too, especially when he starts 'growing up'! Doctors actually first started circumcising boys to STOP them from masturbating, because once-upon-a-time they thought it was harmful. The way the foreskin can be glided back and forth over the glans and shaft makes masturbation easier and, arguably, more enjoyable. Without the need for artificial lubrication, it seems as though boys can discover self-pleasure from a youunger age if they are intact.</span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><span style="font-size:180%;">In <span style="color:#660000;">sex</span></span> it is believed that this gliding action is what most stimulates the orgasmic elements of the penis. It also makes for smoother movement between the partners, and creates a pressure that enables enhanced pleasure for both.</span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;color:#000066;"><em>Don't get me wrong. Circumcised men can still lead normal and very enjoyable sex lives. I do. But the prospect that it could be better if I had a foreskin certainly makes me wonder...</em></span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">While not masturbating or having sex, the foreskin sits in its usual forward position, protecting the glans.</span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:130%;">This protection keeps the glans soft and sensitive. Cut the foreskin off, and thousands of nerve endings are removed and the glans becomes tough and dry, in a process called keratinization.</span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">So you see, the foreskin does serve a purpose. Several important ones, in fact.</span><br /><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;"></span>Josh, USAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11307896175011966838noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-45854544203881235.post-43532308245882757792009-01-17T17:23:00.004-05:002009-01-17T17:49:22.440-05:00Who in the world circumcises...<p><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">As far as I can see, there are three main reasons why a boy would be circumcised:<br /></span><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:130%;">1. Religious reasons<br />2. Medical reasons<br />3. Cultural reasons</span></p><p><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">In terms of reason 1, the mainstream religions that require their males to be circumcised are <strong>Judaism</strong> and <strong>Islam</strong>. Therefore, all Jewish and Muslim men are 'cut'. Furthermore, this means that the majority of men in the Middle East are circumcised.</span></p><p><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;color:#000099;"><em>Sometimes, a boy may have a medical condition where a circumcision is required. The most common such condition appears to be phimosis, where the foreskin cannot be pulled back.<br /></em></span><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Although these problems are rare, they are usually the reason behind most circumcisions in first-world countries other than the U.S.</span></p><p><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><strong><em><span style="font-size:130%;">Cultural reasons...</span></em></strong><br />Ask me to define '<em>culture</em>' and I'd struggle to be very precise at all.<br /></span><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">But let me give you an example: Nelson Mandela.<br />It was a custom for him to undergo a circumcision at the age of 16, as a sign of transition from boy to man. Mandela even had to bury his own severed foreskin in the ground as part of the ritual.<br />In the Philippines, boys undergo a similar cultural tradition when they hit puberty, and have their foreskins cut off too.</span></p><p><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Now I want to make something clear:<br /><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000066;"><span style="color:#3333ff;">The USA is the only developed country that circumcises most of its boys for non-religious and non-medical reasons. Our European, Asian, Australian and South-American friends do not routinely circumcise.</span><br /></span></span><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000066;">However, the U.S. rate of circumcision has dwindled to just <span style="font-size:180%;"><u>57%</u></span> with the lowest rates in the south and west and higher rates in the midwest.<br /></span><br />Later, I will make very important comparisons between the USA, a country where 80% of males are 'cut', and countries where 80% of males are 'intact'.</span></p><p><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><span style="font-size:180%;">To conclude this section, I can summarise by telling you that on the global scale, approximately 80% of males are 'intact'.</span><br />At the time of going to print, the world's population was <strong><span style="font-size:130%;">6¾ billion</span></strong>.<br />So assuming there are around 3.4 billion men on the planet, that means about <strong><u>2.7 billion</u></strong> of them have foreskins!</span></p>Josh, USAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11307896175011966838noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-45854544203881235.post-33356052997825888362009-01-17T17:07:00.007-05:002009-01-17T17:47:08.102-05:00Now let’s get down to business…<span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:180%;color:#000099;"><em>Circumcision has some pros, but are they sufficient enough to warrant cutting your son's foreskin off?</em></span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:130%;">It would be unfair, impartial and futile for me to deny that circumcision carries some benefits. The extent of these benefits however, are <em>not</em> as great as I once thought. Especially in a country like mine where hot water runs out of our taps, and people can purchase condoms from their local store.</span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Let's explore the apparent advantages, one by one:</span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><span style="font-size:180%;color:#000099;"><strong>STI</strong> (Sexually Transmitted Infection)</span></span><br /><br /><ul><li><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Its never been more essential to use a condom or other reliable contraceptive.</span></li><li><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Whether a man is 'cut' or 'intact' actually appears to have <strong>little or no</strong> affect on his exposure to STDs. Studies are often conflicting and complex, but the most recent one showed that circumcision offers a tiny 1% reduction. Every study however notes that there are much more significant factors, such as use of condoms and promiscuous behavior, in the acquisition of STDs, than whether the man has a foreskin or not.</span></li><li><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">As mentioned earlier, I would also like to compare a mostly-circumcised region to a mostly-uncircumcised region. The USA has a greater incidence of STDs than several Western European countries, despite having most of its males 'cut' compared to most of their males 'intact'.</span></li></ul><p><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:180%;"><span style="color:#000099;"><strong>UTI</strong> (Urinary Tract Infections)</span></span></p><ul><li><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Females are far more prone to UTIs than males.</span></li><li><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Again, the risk of UTIs in developed countries like the U.S. are markedly reduced compared to the third-world, yet <strong>one-third</strong> of adult Americans reported getting a UTI at some point in their lives. This is in a country where 80% are circumcised...</span></li><li><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">In the UK however, where 80% of males have foreskins, only 1 in 30 boys reported having a UTI by the age of 16.</span></li><li><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">The effect of circumcision on risk of UTIs is also minimal, and risk in adulthood is more commonly associated with increased and vigorous intercourse with a new partner.</span></li></ul><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><p><span style="font-size:180%;color:#3333ff;"><strong>Penile cancer</strong></span></p><ul><li>Cancer scares the shit of people. And rightly so.</li><li>In 'cut' men, the cancer usually forms on the actual circumcision scar itself, whereas in 'intact' men, it usually forms on the foreskin if the man has particularly poor hygiene. But penile cancer is very rare, affecting less than <strong><span style="font-size:130%;">1 in 100,000</span></strong> men.</li><li>The American Cancer Society declared that having a foreskin does not increase the risk of penile cancer any more than having unprotected sex with multiple partners and smoking cigarettes.</li><li>The American Medical Association (and Australia's equivalent body) also declared that circumcising an infant in hope of preventing penile cancer is "unjustified".</li><li>Again, comparing the prevalence of penile cancer in the USA to a non-circumcising region such as Scandinavia, showed no difference at all.</li></ul><p><span style="font-size:180%;color:#3333ff;"><strong>Cervical cancer</strong></span></p><ul><li>Cervical cancer is most commonly caused by the HPV virus and a promiscuous sexual history. Not all strains of HPV can be transmitted and not all are dangerous; believe it or not, 80% of sexually-active Americans will carry some form of HPV at some point in their lives.</li><li>In 2006, the <em>HPV Vaccine</em> for girls was approved, which showed protection against 70% of cervical cancer-causing HPV strains and 90% of strains which cause genital warts. </li><li>The affect of male circumcision on female cervical cancer is "insignificant" according to one study, especially if the 'intact' man practises <em>good hygiene</em> and the woman keeps her <em>sexual behavior</em> at a low-risk. Bigger factors which affect a woman's risk to cervical cancer are having multiple sex partners, having sex before the age of 18, and having sex with a man who has had previously had sex with someone with the cancer.</li></ul><p><span style="font-size:180%;color:#000099;"><strong>HIV</strong> (Human Immunodeficiency Virus)</span></p><ul><li>You, like me, may have come across headlines sensationally declaring circumcision reduces a man's risk to HIV by up to 60%. This is all very well in some African countries, where there is an epidemic and contraception is rarely (or never) available nor used. </li><li>In the U.S., prevalence of HIV is much lower though, and contraception is <em>always available</em> and usually used. Attitudes towards maintaining relationships instead of having multiple sex partners is also different in the West than in Africa.<br /></li><li><span style="font-size:130%;"><strong><span style="color:#660000;">The USA has the highest prevalence of HIV/AIDs than any developed country, at 0.6%. We also have a male population that is 80% circumcised.</span></strong><br /><br />In France, its<span style="color:#000099;"> 0.4%.</span> In the UK its<span style="color:#000099;"> 0.2%.</span> Its only <span style="color:#000099;">0.1%</span> in Finland, Ireland, Sweden and New Zealand, and <span style="color:#000099;">0.01%</span> in Germany. Most men in those countries are <em>'intact'</em>.<br /></span></li><li>My point is that circumcision is being used as a seemingly "desperate" measure in Africa to help curb the HIV epidemic. But in the developed world, its <em>irrelevant</em>.</li></ul><p><strong><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-size:180%;">To sum up</span>, I concluded that the advantages of circumcision are minimal and insignificant, and that if a man cleans his foreskin area regularly and properly, and sensibly uses contraception, then he is no more at risk of any health problem.</span></strong></p><p>I also read the testimonies of 'intact' men who actually decided to get cut as adults.<br /><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">Ouch</span></strong> right? Well, one common theme was that the operation itself was painless and that the recovery from it was entirely manageable.</p><p><strong><span style="font-size:130%;">So if men can easily undergo circumcision as adults without a traumatic experience, then why not let our babies make the decision for themselves when they're old enough?</span></strong></p><p>This would bring me onto the ethical issues of circumcising baby boys, but like our ped said to us, that depends on your point of view.</span></p>Josh, USAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11307896175011966838noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-45854544203881235.post-21665569677189378802009-01-17T16:43:00.004-05:002009-01-17T17:29:43.986-05:00So, what happened to our little Joe?<span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:180%;"><strong>Researching circumcision was an absorbing experience for me.</strong></span><br /><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;"><span style="font-size:130%;">So absorbing in fact, that six months later I decided to write all about my findings, and now I have posted them here online. <em>So, what did Anna and I decide to do for Joseph?</em></span></span><br /><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;"></span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;color:#000066;"><em>You know, in spite of concluding circumcision is unnecessary, I still had to come to terms with the idea of my son being "different" than me.</em></span><br /><em><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;color:#000066;"></span></em></span><br /><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;color:#000000;">It wasn't that I wasn't sure how to teach him how to take care for his equipment if we didn't circumcise, since there are several websites out there with advice for parents on how to care for both 'cut' and 'intact' boys.</span><br /><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;">I guess I just didn't want Joe to be worried that he's different from me, or his friends. The fact that more and more boys aren't being cut nowadays helped us realize he shouldn't have any horror stories with teasing in locker rooms. Then, something clicked.</span><br /><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;">I figured Joe wouldn't be like me anyway. His would be tiny and bald, mine would be big and hairy. So what about being cut or not? And I never really paid much attention to my dad's penis anyway!</span><br /><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;font-size:180%;">One day I'll explain all this to him. I'll explain that my foreskin was cut off because back then they thought it was harmful to keep it on.</span><br /><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;font-size:180%;"><strong><span style="color:#000066;">But in the 21st-century, its completely fine to keep a boy's penis intact, so long as you're willing to teach him to take care of it when he's older.</span></strong></span><br /><strong><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;color:#000066;"></span></strong><br /><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;font-size:130%;color:#006600;">Joe turns 1 this spring, and he's not had any problems with his foreskin.</span><br /><br /><p><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;font-size:78%;">--End--</span></p>Josh, USAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11307896175011966838noreply@blogger.com1