Circumcision

[asterroc]

B/c some people on my friendslist have discussed this in the last few months, here's a CNN article on the dropping rate of infant male circumcision. Surprisingly, only around 57% of male babies are circumcised at birth in the US, and we're more than most of the world.

Comments

[dirkcjelli.livejournal.com]

I'm not sure there are, indeed, minor benefits... I'm skeptical of preliminary testing (and this is one more ad hoc explanation to throw on the pile of false past assertions like 'it will curtail masturbation')

[zandperl.livejournal.com]

I'm skeptical of the HIV claims. I am not skeptical of the smegma/hygeinic claims. It is the latter that I referred to when I said there were minor benefits. If it really did reduce the chance of contracting HIV I would call that a major benefit. In the light of only minor benefits, I would not do this elective surgery. Similarly, I'm sure removing the clitoral hood would help with female hygeine, but I wouldn't want to do that either. If I were convinced that circumcision prevented contraction of HIV 100% of the time, I'd be tempted to do it, but I'm still not sure that I would.

not the singular form of data, I understand...

[dirkcjelli.livejournal.com]

An infant died, slowly and unpleasantly, of an infection and septic shock after an ordinary circumcision. (http://scienceblogs.com/pharyngula/2007/06/snip.php)

yay anecdotes

[zandperl.livejournal.com]

Huh. If you followed the links from that page, there was a study that apparently the most sensitive parts of the penis are removed with the circumcision - that one's non-anecdotal, but not sure if it was repeated or not.

For another anecdote on circumcision horrors, see the John/Joan case.

Re: yay anecdotes

[dirkcjelli.livejournal.com]

I was leaving "reduces mens sexual pleasure" out of the discussion, but I understand that to be factual.

Re: yay anecdotes

[zandperl.livejournal.com]

While I had assumed so as well, it never hurts to have evidence. Meanwhile, I wonder if greater sensitivity would mean guys want sex more often b/c it's so good, or less often b/c they're so satisfied. A study of *that* would be highly amusing - and really difficult to do w/o biases.