| How did circumcision come to America?
Prior to the 19th century, circumcision was virtually unknown to non-Jewish and non-Muslim Americans. It simply wasn't practiced. So how did it come to be so widespread? The practice of routine male circumcision in the USA is rooted in masturbation. Yes, masturbation. In the 1800s, masturbation became public enemy number one. Doctors believed masturbation was the cause of numerous problems like mental illness, alcoholism, and kleptomania. Religions which frowned upon sex and masturbation also played a factor. During this era, chastity belts and female circumcision were practiced as well (Yes! In America, our doctors practiced female genital mutilation at one time!). Adults and children caught masturbating would be subjected to circumcision (either having their foreskins or clitorises removed), physical restraint or even put in institutions. But America has largely forgotten this part of our history. Did you know that Kellogg Company, the inventor of cereals like Kellogg's Corn Flakes and Rice Krispies that grace our breakfast bowls every morning, was originally started because the brother of its founder, John Harvey Kellogg, believed that his cold cereal like Corn Flakes would help curb the desire to masturbate? John Harvey Kellogg also advocated the circumcision of male children (not as infants but older) to punish them for masturbation and teach them that masturbation was equal to pain. Kellogg also advocated applying phenol to women's clitorises, sewing foreskins shut, caging the genitals, and tying up people who masturbated. And the bad thing was that Kellogg was not a stand-alone overzealous nut. He was a respected medical professional and doctor. He published books, opened hospitals, and ran a sanitarium. Reverend Sylvester Graham, inventor of the Graham Cracker, believed his cracker would curb sexual urges and masturbation. I know it sounds crazy but it's 1000% true. Both Graham and Kellogg, like most of the medical community, called masturbation "self-injury" or "self-abuse." Many people feared that men would discover the "pleasure of masturbation" while cleaning their foreskins so the simple solution was to take the foreskins away. Up until the 1960s, doctors and people regularly came up with new excuses to justify circumcision and continue the practice. However, the American Academy of Pediatrics stated they did not recommend circumcision for non-theraputic reasons in the 1970s and circumcision rates began to plummet.
So now we've established how male circumcision became widespread in America. But why is it still performed?
Most of the public is ignorant about circumcision. It's something you do, the child doesn't feel it or miss it, and you go on about life. Everyone does it, your doctor tells you to, your family wants to keep tradition, and the media says it's better. There are many factors that play a role in the promotion of circumcision in American society. It mostly boils down to personal beliefs and unsupported medical claims rather than medical science.
- 1. It prevents cancer and other medical problems. - Your lungs, kidneys, heart, breasts, blood, and a slew of other organs may get cancer. Do you remove them at birth? No. You don't take action against it unless you actually get diagnosed with cancer. Plus penile cancer is extremely rare. A man in the United States of America has a 1 in 50,000 chance of developing penile cancer where a woman has a 1 in 8 chance of developing breast cancer. That means a woman is more than 6,000 times more likely to get breast cancer than a man is to get penile cancer but we're not removing women's breasts, are we?
- 2. It will hurt if a man has it done when he's an adult. - It hurts him just as much as an infant. Only a baby can't say the words "I'm in pain!" Unless a rare medical issue arrises, circumcision is generally not on the average's person to do list.
- 3. It's cleaner. - If your feet get dirty, do you cut them off? Nope, you wash them. I won't deny it's possible that a circumcised penis could be cleaner than a natural penis but that's simply because a body part can't get dirty if you don't have it. A circumcised man doesn't have a foreskin so it can't get dirty. But unless you're that pressed for time that you don't have 5 seconds to clean a foreskin, not being circumcised will not affect hygiene. We have soap and water widely available now. Plus, I find this very insulting because it implies that a grown man can't wash himself properly.
- 4. It looks better. - What is ugly and beautiful is always down to a personal view and what is considered beautiful is not always natural or healthy. In Uganda, there are tribes that believe the fatter a woman is, the more beautiful she is (some women are so obese from trying to comply with these beauty standards that they suffer a life of health problems). In the United States, many people believe a suntan is beautiful (even though a suntan is technically skin damage and puts the person at risk for skin cancer and premature aging). In Japan, pale skin called bihaku is considered beautiful (so many women use skin lighteners made with chemicals like mercury to be lighter). What is "beautiful today" may very well be ugly tomorrow. Would you force your loved one to get a nose job or a boob job to fit society's standard or would you tell them to love themselves the way they are?
- 5. Everyone does it. I want me/my son to be like everyone else. - The truth is that everyone does NOT circumcised. More than 3/4 of the world's men are uncircumcised. And circumcision rates in the USA are declining. Only 33% of male children were circumcised last year. This means natural penises are the majority of children right now.
- 6. The foreskin is useless. - Most people have no idea that the foreskin has a function. The foreskin contains more than 10,000 nerve endings (for the record, a clitoris has only about 8,000) and plays a huge role in sexual pleasure. This means circumcision will leave a penis less sensitive than a natural penis. Plus, the foreskin allows the penis to expand during erections. When too much skin is removed, it can lead to "tight erections," which is when the penis simply doesn't have enough skin to enlarge when it begins to become erect. This can cause painful sex. The foreskin also protects the head of the penis, which extremely sensitive. Without the foreskin, the penis is vulnerable to the elements and there's a risk of developing a callous. Foreskins also play a part in sexual intercourse. A foreskin helps keep the vagina lubricated and prevents friction (vaginal friction can lead to urinary tract infections and inflammation).
- 7. Religious reasons. - While many Jews, even Orthodox ones, are moving against circumcision now and the Qu'ran does not mention or require circumcision, many people still circumcise for religious reasons. I find this selfish though. Just because you are a religion does not mean your child will share your views. If you raise your child Jewish/Muslim and they leave the religion as adults, what good does circumcision do them then? It may even prevent them from joining other religions or groups.
- 8. Circumcision is a booming medical industry. - Not many people think about it in their lives but circumcision, like any other medical surgery, generates income and profit. OBGYNs regularly supplement income by performing circumcision. Think about it in numbers. In 2005, more than 1 million boys were circumcised. The average circumcision costs $400. $400 x 1,000,000 boys = $400,000,000. As circumcision requires no pain killers or medical supplies aside from from creams and gauze, it is virtually pure profit. Then the hospital harvests the foreskin and resells it to make skin grafts, which can cost upwards of hundreds of thousands of dollars. Millions of people directly or indirectly benefit from all of this money.
- 9. It lowers the risk of STDs and HIV/AIDS. - For starters, if you have sex, you should be using a condom. This is the only way to prevent STDs and AIDS/HIV. In countries like Japan and China, less than 1% of the population is circumcised and less than 0.1% of the population of HIV/AIDS. India has a a circumcision rate of less than 20% and an HIV/AIDS rate of 0.3%. In the United States, 80% of the population is circumcised but there's an HIV/AIDS rate of 0.6%. Judging by these statistics, circumcision increases the chances of HIV/AIDS transmission. All in all, circumcision will not prevent any disease. Only safe sex practices will.
- 10. They don't know the dangers. - When you hear about circumcision, you don't think infections, ruptured bladders, MRSA, death, necrosis, amputation of the penis and testicles (see David Reimer), skin tags, scarring, decreased sensitivity, loss of natural function, heart attack or death being possible and very real side effects (every circumcised man will suffer at least ONE of these complications, even if the circumcision is not "botched"). Most American don't know that circumcision kills more children in the USA than SIDS.
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