DAdams91982
Board Sponsor
Since there are quite of few "Facts" being stated here without no one backing themselves up with data, here are a few interesting real studies out there about circumcision.
HIV (and HPV)
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Ironic the rest of the world is growing in circumcision:
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The world isn't as black and white as people are making it out to be. In fact I looked up the rates of complications and general cut site care problems is less than 2%, all of which are treatable. The extreme problems stated came up with nothing, other than ol Joe Schmoe's blogs.
HIV (and HPV)
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Ironic the rest of the world is growing in circumcision:
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The world isn't as black and white as people are making it out to be. In fact I looked up the rates of complications and general cut site care problems is less than 2%, all of which are treatable. The extreme problems stated came up with nothing, other than ol Joe Schmoe's blogs.
Torobestia
Well-known member
FWIW, and I know this isn't a terribly great argument for circumcision, but if you had complications down the road that would necessitate a circumcision well after birth, like when you're 12, it's going to be extremely painful for a long time. I would have rather gotten mine when I was a kid and couldn't really experience it.
Stroke UR Ego
Banned
Why are you on this forum ? *******. You need your ego stroked. Obviously not 30 or you have ph@ggot syndrome
DAdams91982
Board Sponsor
A little too quick with some homophobic slurs.
B5150
Legend
Not cool. First and last warning.
B5150
Legend
I kind of chuckeled at this when I reread it.
I can't imagine how the women in Britian handle the 9 1/2 minutes of boredom
Consider procreation (survival/evolution of the species') and delayed ejaculation/orgasm. There was a time that if you didn't deliver the goods soon enough or first the ovulating female mate would be on to another and your lineage would be minimal to nill.
vidapreta
Well-known member
I kind of chuckeled at this when I reread it.
I can't imagine how the women in Britian handle the 9 1/2 minutes of boredom
Consider procreation (survival/evolution of the species') and delayed ejaculation/orgasm. There was a time that if you didn't deliver the goods soon enough or first the ovulating female mate would be on to another and your lineage would be minimal to nill.
So Real Men have Premature ejaculation!!LOL
Sent from my HTC Sensation 4G using Tapatalk 2
MightyBeast
Member
A true alpha male can control when ti ejaculate.
Stroke UR Ego
Banned
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B5150
Legend
A TRUE alpha male doesn't care!
BTW - do you know what it take to make a woman have an orgasm?
B5150
Legend
A TRUE alpha male doesn't care!
It was a joke and a TRUE alpha male would have know that
Beau
Well-known member
Well, last night I was able to get my hair cut (no need to worry - it will grow back). Best of all, I was able to do so without calling anyone names or being an internet tough guy. Glad thats over.
mls51112
Active member
I must have missed something.
anyways.. my dad was circumcised in his 30's and hated it.. a little personal so he didn't go into details with me, but he said my son would thank me later for leaving him intact.
I chose to leave him the way God made him, and after getting personal opinions from men and doing 7 months of research during my pregnancy, I decided to let him be.. and I couldn't have a happier, healthier baby.. and that tells me I made the right choice :]
the right choice for me might not be the right choice for you, but it's not your choice to make, it's your sons.
anybody here who isn't circumcised mad at their parents or have a dull love life because of it? do you all have HIV and dirty penises? does it take extra time to be hygienic?
anyways.. my dad was circumcised in his 30's and hated it.. a little personal so he didn't go into details with me, but he said my son would thank me later for leaving him intact.
I chose to leave him the way God made him, and after getting personal opinions from men and doing 7 months of research during my pregnancy, I decided to let him be.. and I couldn't have a happier, healthier baby.. and that tells me I made the right choice :]
the right choice for me might not be the right choice for you, but it's not your choice to make, it's your sons.
anybody here who isn't circumcised mad at their parents or have a dull love life because of it? do you all have HIV and dirty penises? does it take extra time to be hygienic?
Stroke UR Ego
Banned
I'm thankful my mother didn't have me cut, sliced... diced, slit, trimmed... shaved lol wat. But I would rather stay uncut than get circumcised. IMO I think these "advantages" are too insignificant to get cut now anyway
I doubt I'd get HIV as-well.
Doesn't take extra time to be hygienic^Love life too isn't abnormal.
Only thing that would make me think second of having my child/ren cut is loss of sensitivity
I doubt I'd get HIV as-well.
Doesn't take extra time to be hygienic^Love life too isn't abnormal.
Only thing that would make me think second of having my child/ren cut is loss of sensitivity
B5150
Legend
Clearly only those who would be crazy enough to choose to do it later in life (or had to for health reasons) would know the difference. I am circumcised and I promise you I am missing nothing aside from a foreskin. Any man who tells you differently is either obsessed with his penis or is obsessed with physical sexual gratification/pleasure. I hate to break it to you, but the intimacy and pleasure of true love making goes light years beyond the physical pleasure with or without foreskin.
I also hate to break it to you but your baby doesn't know or care if he is or is not circumcised and his happiness today has absolutely zero to do with the presence of his foreskin...you do know that...right? So, let's not get so carried away with the boasting and taking so much credit for your baby's happiness as a result of your choice to not remove his foreskin.
Beau
Well-known member
Err, not quite sure the math actually works out that way; but if so, they took too much dingus off of your son.
BTW - Although it wasn't directed at me - I am not angry - just amused.
DerickVonD
Well-known member
Whats wrong with wanting physical pleasure? I myself am angry I was circumcised knowing it takes away pleasure. Think about it this way, would you even want to make love if you couldn't feel your penis at all? Wanting to increase the sensation doesn't make someone obsessed.
DAdams91982
Board Sponsor
I don't understand why you find that funny.
Beau
Well-known member
I must be unsusual; I don't find tragic events (however caused) to be the least bit funny.
I guess thats just me ....
MightyBeast
Member
I feel plenty of pleasure.
B5150
Legend
Defensive? I am arguing my point (aka: defending my stance on a matter). Angry? No one is angry.
Half of my penis is gone? You continue to argue with ridiculousness.
I'll have to inform my wife about this fact. I know she'll be relieved she doesn't have to receive twice what she does now.
B5150
Legend
Stroke UR Ego
Banned
This thread is a recipe for butt-hurt
B5150
Legend
There's an app for that...
Attachments
Stroke UR Ego
Banned
Attachment fail.
Beau
Well-known member
I'll offer this as a possible explanation. There are things people feel very passionately about; some more so than others. In the case of circumcision, people's opinion range from, "no" to "yes" to "don't really care/not an emergent issue".
What I find amusing is that in assessing the opinions of others, certain people tend to assign motives to others, and even suggest comparisons between one thing, and another. To avoid doubt, I do not see circumcision as being anything remotely similar to mutilation, amputation, genital mutilation, etc. In the case of genital mutilation, I believe it is a rather abhorrent (and rare) practice done at or about the age of a tribal girls puberty. The pain associated with that must be unbearable.
Not so (at least most would contend) for circumcision. It is a fairly common practice, culturally not outside the norm, not without at least some merit and basis, and although a certain amount of pain must be involved, I do not believe there is lifelong negative residual affect. I don't recall any pain, and I don't grieve the loss of my foreskin. Maybe I am just too shallow, but I do not believe my life (or any aspect thereof (including sexual)) would be any different if my parents had not made the decision they did. I am not foreskin retentive.
Nor do I believe circumcision (or not circumcising) to be a selfish act. It is a decision a parent makes; nothing more, nothing less.
With all of the truly emergent issues our society faces, such as the almost complete lack or personal responsibility, the loss of two parent, intact families, and the serious decline in personal integrity, I have difficult time getting jacked up about this.
And, isn't it ironic that many (but not all) [and this is not directed at anyone on this board] of those who view circumcision as akin to mutilation, amputation or genital mutilation, and express concern for allowing the baby to exercise his/her own free will, do not seem to be bothered by the fact that abortion truly is mutilation, amputation and mutilation (in fact killing (but not murder)), of a baby in its entirety; not simply the surgical removal of a part of that baby that may (or may not) serve a useful purpose.
So of all of the issues that exist, this does not make the list.
Now, my haircut is a different matter.
Beau
Well-known member
That is very nice to read. Me, too.
B5150
Legend
Agree.
murk01
Well-known member
It body modifacation. Originally start as a mock to gods creation.
Thousands of years before the Egyptians use it to make slaves and provent acedental cross breading between the pharos and slaves.
Oldest know history goes back to that aborigines.
It raises risk of infections and deformations. The excuse to continue scarifacation of the genitals, reproductive organs for cleanliness. Is not so obvious.
If u can run water and have soap u can clean ur balls. Y would u need to cut it. Its spiritual/ritual cleansing of what's considered dirty beings.
Y don't we cut a girls vaginal lips off it we are realty worried about flaps of skin?
Thousands of years before the Egyptians use it to make slaves and provent acedental cross breading between the pharos and slaves.
Oldest know history goes back to that aborigines.
It raises risk of infections and deformations. The excuse to continue scarifacation of the genitals, reproductive organs for cleanliness. Is not so obvious.
If u can run water and have soap u can clean ur balls. Y would u need to cut it. Its spiritual/ritual cleansing of what's considered dirty beings.
Y don't we cut a girls vaginal lips off it we are realty worried about flaps of skin?
MightyBeast
Member
Cause y would we cut that on girls. It's so pretty.
Stroke UR Ego
Banned
Thanks yourself that you don't live where I do (UK) Circumcision is somewhat rare and you'd get raked for being so
mls51112
Active member
Stroke UR Ego said:
the US is just extremely ignorant when it comes to caring for an intact penis.. they forcefully retract.. when you take your son in for his first pediatrician appointment, the first thing they ask is, 'WHEN are you getting your son circumcised?'
seriously?
Stroke UR Ego
Banned
the US is just extremely ignorant when it comes to caring for an intact penis.. they forcefully retract.. when you take your son in for his first pediatrician appointment, the first thing they ask is, 'WHEN are you getting your son circumcised?'
seriously?
I hate how its used/pushed/suggested as the first treatment towards tight foreskin
I'm not against circumcision I must add, If I had a choice I wouldn't really care if I was circumcised at birth or not js. But I haven't had any problems w/o circumcision for now.
purebred
Guest
I find the fact that there even is a debate quite interesting. This mainly has to due with the fact that it is medically unnecessary and a cosmetic procedure.
I wasn't aware of this until recently. I would also like to see the conclusive evidence supporting the arguments regarding increase susceptibility to disease, etc.
I wasn't aware of this until recently. I would also like to see the conclusive evidence supporting the arguments regarding increase susceptibility to disease, etc.
B5150
Legend
Myth: Uncircumcised Men Enjoy Sex More
By June Machover Reinisch, Ph.D.
Scientific Study of Sexual and Psychosexual Development
HSAB Affiliation: Executive Director.
"Does circumcision affect sexual pleasure, and does it have any benefits that might make the quite low level of surgical risk, like bleeding and infection, or possible discomfort even with anesthetic, worthwhile? And, if you are already one of the majority of men in the United States who are circumcised without being asked, are you missing out on anything of consequence? That’s our question. What I want to focus on here today is the widespread belief of some people that men with a foreskin get more pleasure from sex than men who have been circumcised. Now the basis for this belief has not in the past been scientific, just like the basis for circumcision has not been scientific in the past. And that’s because data have been really hard to obtain, since most men have not been in the position to experience participating in sexual behavior with and without their foreskin. Obviously – since it’s done early in life. There was a kind of logic, I think, to the position that it might be better to have a foreskin, because the foreskin covers the most sensitive part of the penis, that is, the head or the glans of the penis. And it seems logical to believe that this covering would protect that sensitive part of the penis from irritation and perhaps keep it more responsive for the times that it’s uncovered during sexual activity. I mean that seems to make sense. And also, being that the penis is one of the most – well, perhaps the most highly valued part of many men’s bodies, or every man’s body, it was not surprising that the thought of losing even a very small part of it would be considered negative. And finally, the fact that many men have a major concern about the size of the penis, the loss of even a millimeter of it would certainly not be construed as moving in the right direction. So we can understand that there would be a concern about removing any part of it, and removing this part that covers the most sensitive part.
So, we have three very recent studies that have addressed this question, about the possible changes in sexual satisfaction after circumcision in adult men with sexual experience. And these are quite new studies. The first was conducted in 2002 in the United States, and it questioned 15 adult men about the details of their sexual lives prior to undergoing circumcision. They were assessed on their sex drive, their erections, their ejaculations, their sexual problems, and their overall sexual satisfaction. The average age of these subjects was almost 37 years old, and they were asked again about these same aspects of their sexuality a minimum of three months after the circumcision took place. The researchers found that there were no differences before and after the circumcision in the men’s reports on their sex drives, their ejaculations, their erections, their sexual problems, or their overall satisfaction. So the researchers concluded that there appeared to be no adverse clinically important effects of circumcision on male sexual function in sexually active adults. So that’s our first piece of evidence – good news!
The second study was conducted in Turkey in 2004 with 42 adult men. Now, 39 of these men had their circumcisions for religious reasons, and 3 for cosmetic reasons. The men ranged in age from 19 to 28 and the average age was about 22 years and 4 months. These men were also questioned about their sexual functioning before the surgery in the same way as the men in that first study I told you about. They were also evaluated for the time that it took them to ejaculate. This time that it takes you before you ejaculate, from the beginning when you start stimulation until after you ejaculate, or until the time you ejaculate, is called ejaculatory latency time. And then, three months after their circumcision, the 42 men were evaluated in exactly the same way again. No differences were found between the men’s reports of their sex drives, their erections, their ejaculations, their sexual problems, and their overall sexual satisfaction before and after the circumcision. But there was a change in their ejaculatory latency time. The average time it took them to ejaculate was a bit longer than prior to the surgery. The researchers concluded that adult circumcision does not affect sexual functioning and, based on their sample, the increase in ejaculatory latency time, they felt, could be considered an advantage.
The last study was conducted in the United States in 2005. The research was designed specifically to evaluate differences in sensation between two groups of men – one group was circumcised at birth, and the second group was uncircumcised. There were 125 men in the circumcised group, and 62 men in the uncircumcised group. This was a very, very interesting study because they used what’s called quantitative somatosensory testing. And this involves different kinds of touch on the head, or the glans, of the penis. Now these evaluations tested sensitivity to five kinds of sensations – vibration, pressure, spatial perception – that is, it’s the kind of thing where you have two places being touched and they see if you can tell whether it’s one or two places that are being touched, it’s that kind of spatial perception – and when one can feel the first feeling of warmth or the first feeling of cold – so it starts at room temperature or body temperature and then it gets a little bit warmer or a little bit colder, and you tell exactly when (you have your eyes closed of course) you can first feel the warmth or the cold. So it tells you how sensitive you are to temperature. So those are the kinds of tests that they gave – it’s very precise sensory testing. When age, hypertension, diabetes, and any erectile problems were accounted for, there were no differences in the sensitivity to all these different kinds of touch between the circumcised and the uncircumcised men. That’s a very precise kind of measurement of sensitivity. This is, I think, probably the best study done so far, and the results were quite clear. They also agree with the other studies of men who were circumcised in adulthood. So, based on these studies, I feel quite confident in saying to you at this point that there are no identifiable differences in sexual pleasure between circumcised and uncircumcised men. And so I think we can lay that aside, and say that there probably aren’t any differences."
By June Machover Reinisch, Ph.D.
Scientific Study of Sexual and Psychosexual Development
HSAB Affiliation: Executive Director.
"Does circumcision affect sexual pleasure, and does it have any benefits that might make the quite low level of surgical risk, like bleeding and infection, or possible discomfort even with anesthetic, worthwhile? And, if you are already one of the majority of men in the United States who are circumcised without being asked, are you missing out on anything of consequence? That’s our question. What I want to focus on here today is the widespread belief of some people that men with a foreskin get more pleasure from sex than men who have been circumcised. Now the basis for this belief has not in the past been scientific, just like the basis for circumcision has not been scientific in the past. And that’s because data have been really hard to obtain, since most men have not been in the position to experience participating in sexual behavior with and without their foreskin. Obviously – since it’s done early in life. There was a kind of logic, I think, to the position that it might be better to have a foreskin, because the foreskin covers the most sensitive part of the penis, that is, the head or the glans of the penis. And it seems logical to believe that this covering would protect that sensitive part of the penis from irritation and perhaps keep it more responsive for the times that it’s uncovered during sexual activity. I mean that seems to make sense. And also, being that the penis is one of the most – well, perhaps the most highly valued part of many men’s bodies, or every man’s body, it was not surprising that the thought of losing even a very small part of it would be considered negative. And finally, the fact that many men have a major concern about the size of the penis, the loss of even a millimeter of it would certainly not be construed as moving in the right direction. So we can understand that there would be a concern about removing any part of it, and removing this part that covers the most sensitive part.
So, we have three very recent studies that have addressed this question, about the possible changes in sexual satisfaction after circumcision in adult men with sexual experience. And these are quite new studies. The first was conducted in 2002 in the United States, and it questioned 15 adult men about the details of their sexual lives prior to undergoing circumcision. They were assessed on their sex drive, their erections, their ejaculations, their sexual problems, and their overall sexual satisfaction. The average age of these subjects was almost 37 years old, and they were asked again about these same aspects of their sexuality a minimum of three months after the circumcision took place. The researchers found that there were no differences before and after the circumcision in the men’s reports on their sex drives, their ejaculations, their erections, their sexual problems, or their overall satisfaction. So the researchers concluded that there appeared to be no adverse clinically important effects of circumcision on male sexual function in sexually active adults. So that’s our first piece of evidence – good news!
The second study was conducted in Turkey in 2004 with 42 adult men. Now, 39 of these men had their circumcisions for religious reasons, and 3 for cosmetic reasons. The men ranged in age from 19 to 28 and the average age was about 22 years and 4 months. These men were also questioned about their sexual functioning before the surgery in the same way as the men in that first study I told you about. They were also evaluated for the time that it took them to ejaculate. This time that it takes you before you ejaculate, from the beginning when you start stimulation until after you ejaculate, or until the time you ejaculate, is called ejaculatory latency time. And then, three months after their circumcision, the 42 men were evaluated in exactly the same way again. No differences were found between the men’s reports of their sex drives, their erections, their ejaculations, their sexual problems, and their overall sexual satisfaction before and after the circumcision. But there was a change in their ejaculatory latency time. The average time it took them to ejaculate was a bit longer than prior to the surgery. The researchers concluded that adult circumcision does not affect sexual functioning and, based on their sample, the increase in ejaculatory latency time, they felt, could be considered an advantage.
The last study was conducted in the United States in 2005. The research was designed specifically to evaluate differences in sensation between two groups of men – one group was circumcised at birth, and the second group was uncircumcised. There were 125 men in the circumcised group, and 62 men in the uncircumcised group. This was a very, very interesting study because they used what’s called quantitative somatosensory testing. And this involves different kinds of touch on the head, or the glans, of the penis. Now these evaluations tested sensitivity to five kinds of sensations – vibration, pressure, spatial perception – that is, it’s the kind of thing where you have two places being touched and they see if you can tell whether it’s one or two places that are being touched, it’s that kind of spatial perception – and when one can feel the first feeling of warmth or the first feeling of cold – so it starts at room temperature or body temperature and then it gets a little bit warmer or a little bit colder, and you tell exactly when (you have your eyes closed of course) you can first feel the warmth or the cold. So it tells you how sensitive you are to temperature. So those are the kinds of tests that they gave – it’s very precise sensory testing. When age, hypertension, diabetes, and any erectile problems were accounted for, there were no differences in the sensitivity to all these different kinds of touch between the circumcised and the uncircumcised men. That’s a very precise kind of measurement of sensitivity. This is, I think, probably the best study done so far, and the results were quite clear. They also agree with the other studies of men who were circumcised in adulthood. So, based on these studies, I feel quite confident in saying to you at this point that there are no identifiable differences in sexual pleasure between circumcised and uncircumcised men. And so I think we can lay that aside, and say that there probably aren’t any differences."
B5150
Legend
Myth: Uncircumcised Men Enjoy Sex More
By June Machover Reinisch, Ph.D.
Scientific Study of Sexual and Psychosexual Development
HSAB Affiliation: Executive Director.
"Now I’m going to move on to health issues. There appear to be some health benefits to circumcision that have been identified by research. Now these health benefits are relatively small, and they are about some relatively rare, but nevertheless, I think, important medical problems – that is, the ones that are medical problems that you could be born with or that could happen to you. And they are more likely in uncircumcised males than in circumcised males. The first one is called phimosis, and that’s a condition that you’re born with where the foreskin cannot be pulled back over the head of the penis. And that’s something that can be fixed by surgery. The second is called paraphimosis, and that’s a condition in which the foreskin is trapped behind the head of the penis, and it can’t come over, it can’t be pulled over the glans of the penis. And again, that’s something else that can be fixed by surgery. Third is an inflammation of the glands of the foreskin, which is something that’s again more likely to happen with men who have a foreskin than ones who have been circumcised. Now there are three more health problems that deserve noting because of their seriousness, and these are not so rare and may be more serious. But these all probably can be dealt with with good daily – underline daily – hygiene. But it’s something that you really have to attend to if you have a foreskin. The first is the possibility that being uncircumcised might increase the risk of HIV/AIDS, both acquiring it and transmitting it to somebody else. Now the first study is not very definitive but I want to mention it to you. It’s an overall analysis of 37 studies on the effects of circumcision in preventing the acquisition of the AIDS virus and it showed an association between circumcision and the prevention of HIV. Now association doesn’t mean cause and effect – it means that the two things seem to go together. It’s not causal, but it alerts us that there might be a relationship between one thing and another thing. The researchers warned, however, that the differences among the methods used in all these different studies and the rigor with which the research studies were done was very very low, and so their findings should not be taken as definitive.
A second study was published in 2005, and was conducted to determine the probability of female to male transmission of the AIDS virus between circumcised and uncircumcised men. Now this was done by taking detailed accounts of sexual behavior in a population of men with multiple sexual partners. And the subjects were quite a large group – there were 745 Kenyan truck drivers. Now, they used Kenyan truck drivers because these are men who travel across Africa and they have been thought to be one of the major transmitters of AIDS around the continent of Africa, and they are known to have lots of partners. And their sexual behavior was recorded every three months in interviews, and they were interviewed about their sexual behavior with their wives, with casual partners, and with prostitutes. Now after accounting for the level of individual rates of sexual behavior among the men, the researchers found that uncircumcised men were twice as likely to acquire the AIDS virus per individual sex act when they were compared to circumcised men. So the uncircumcised men were twice as likely to acquire the AIDS virus per individual sex acts with a partner than were the circumcised men. Pretty scary. Again, good hygiene would probably lower this rate, and maybe lower it to be equal to the circumcised men.
Now, two recent studies published in 2002 also appear to support this finding that uncircumcised men are more likely to be at high risk for infection and for transmitting another virus – not the AIDS virus, but another virus. This virus is the one that causes genital warts. And it’s also the same virus that’s identified as related to cervical cancer in women. So it causes genital warts and it’s believed pretty strongly now that it’s the cause of cervical cancer in women. The name of this virus is human papillomavirus, and you also have probably heard it called HPV for short. Now, the first study evaluated 216 Danish men, and it was found that a man was more likely to be infected with HPV if he had a higher number of lifetime sex partners, if he was younger than older, in this study, and if he was uncircumcised. In the second study, which was conducted in Spain with two groups of men – 847 who were uncircumcised, and 292 who were circumcised – and in Spain, more men are uncircumcised than circumcised – 19.6% (that’s just about 1 out of 5) of the uncircumcised men were found to be infected with HPV, that is, with the genital wart virus, whereas only 5.5% of the circumcised men were infected. You see, the foreskin probably has a lot of places where these viruses can hide – there’s not so many places to hide in a circumcised man. So unless an uncircumcised man cleans himself regularly every day, it’s probably easier for these little viruses to hide there. After the findings were adjusted for age at first intercourse, lifetime number of partners, and other potential influences, the differences were still strongly maintained between the circumcised and the uncircumcised men. Now when they looked at the monogamous women – that is, women who did not have any other partners except a man who was in this study – whose male partners had six or more sexual partners and were circumcised, those women, those monogamous women, had a lower risk of cervical cancer than the women whose partners were uncircumcised. So the women who had circumcised partners were at lower risk for having cervical cancer than the women whose partners were uncircumcised. So circumcision seems to have some real health benefits, not just for men, but for their partners as well.
Finally, and this is the final health risk – and although this is very rare, it’s a scary one! Circumcised men appear to be at lower risk for a rare form of cancer which may also be related to that same virus which causes cervical cancer in women, that HPV virus. A study published in 2005 evaluated 62 men with invasive cancer of the penis and compared them with men who were chosen because they were very similar but did not have cancer. The researchers found that men who were not circumcised were at increased risk for this kind of rare cancer – and, the cancer was also related to cigarette smoking and phimosis. And remember, phimosis is a condition in which the foreskin cannot be pulled back behind the head of the penis, which is also, of course, found in men that are uncircumcised. And they found that that same HPV virus was detected in more than ¾ of those cancers, those invasive cancers that were in these men that were more likely to be uncircumcised. And that’s the same virus that is found in many women who have cervical cancer, and those women are more likely to be having sex with men who are uncircumcised. So it all sort of fits together."
So – what’s the story about circumcision? There appear to be some benefits of circumcision, but they’re probably small IF uncircumcised men are careful and consistent in their daily hygiene. And if you’re circumcised, the data suggests that you don’t have to worry about pleasure – you’ve lost nothing from being circumcised, in your sexual pleasure, and you may have gained a few strokes. And that’s the end of this month’s myth.
By June Machover Reinisch, Ph.D.
Scientific Study of Sexual and Psychosexual Development
HSAB Affiliation: Executive Director.
"Now I’m going to move on to health issues. There appear to be some health benefits to circumcision that have been identified by research. Now these health benefits are relatively small, and they are about some relatively rare, but nevertheless, I think, important medical problems – that is, the ones that are medical problems that you could be born with or that could happen to you. And they are more likely in uncircumcised males than in circumcised males. The first one is called phimosis, and that’s a condition that you’re born with where the foreskin cannot be pulled back over the head of the penis. And that’s something that can be fixed by surgery. The second is called paraphimosis, and that’s a condition in which the foreskin is trapped behind the head of the penis, and it can’t come over, it can’t be pulled over the glans of the penis. And again, that’s something else that can be fixed by surgery. Third is an inflammation of the glands of the foreskin, which is something that’s again more likely to happen with men who have a foreskin than ones who have been circumcised. Now there are three more health problems that deserve noting because of their seriousness, and these are not so rare and may be more serious. But these all probably can be dealt with with good daily – underline daily – hygiene. But it’s something that you really have to attend to if you have a foreskin. The first is the possibility that being uncircumcised might increase the risk of HIV/AIDS, both acquiring it and transmitting it to somebody else. Now the first study is not very definitive but I want to mention it to you. It’s an overall analysis of 37 studies on the effects of circumcision in preventing the acquisition of the AIDS virus and it showed an association between circumcision and the prevention of HIV. Now association doesn’t mean cause and effect – it means that the two things seem to go together. It’s not causal, but it alerts us that there might be a relationship between one thing and another thing. The researchers warned, however, that the differences among the methods used in all these different studies and the rigor with which the research studies were done was very very low, and so their findings should not be taken as definitive.
A second study was published in 2005, and was conducted to determine the probability of female to male transmission of the AIDS virus between circumcised and uncircumcised men. Now this was done by taking detailed accounts of sexual behavior in a population of men with multiple sexual partners. And the subjects were quite a large group – there were 745 Kenyan truck drivers. Now, they used Kenyan truck drivers because these are men who travel across Africa and they have been thought to be one of the major transmitters of AIDS around the continent of Africa, and they are known to have lots of partners. And their sexual behavior was recorded every three months in interviews, and they were interviewed about their sexual behavior with their wives, with casual partners, and with prostitutes. Now after accounting for the level of individual rates of sexual behavior among the men, the researchers found that uncircumcised men were twice as likely to acquire the AIDS virus per individual sex act when they were compared to circumcised men. So the uncircumcised men were twice as likely to acquire the AIDS virus per individual sex acts with a partner than were the circumcised men. Pretty scary. Again, good hygiene would probably lower this rate, and maybe lower it to be equal to the circumcised men.
Now, two recent studies published in 2002 also appear to support this finding that uncircumcised men are more likely to be at high risk for infection and for transmitting another virus – not the AIDS virus, but another virus. This virus is the one that causes genital warts. And it’s also the same virus that’s identified as related to cervical cancer in women. So it causes genital warts and it’s believed pretty strongly now that it’s the cause of cervical cancer in women. The name of this virus is human papillomavirus, and you also have probably heard it called HPV for short. Now, the first study evaluated 216 Danish men, and it was found that a man was more likely to be infected with HPV if he had a higher number of lifetime sex partners, if he was younger than older, in this study, and if he was uncircumcised. In the second study, which was conducted in Spain with two groups of men – 847 who were uncircumcised, and 292 who were circumcised – and in Spain, more men are uncircumcised than circumcised – 19.6% (that’s just about 1 out of 5) of the uncircumcised men were found to be infected with HPV, that is, with the genital wart virus, whereas only 5.5% of the circumcised men were infected. You see, the foreskin probably has a lot of places where these viruses can hide – there’s not so many places to hide in a circumcised man. So unless an uncircumcised man cleans himself regularly every day, it’s probably easier for these little viruses to hide there. After the findings were adjusted for age at first intercourse, lifetime number of partners, and other potential influences, the differences were still strongly maintained between the circumcised and the uncircumcised men. Now when they looked at the monogamous women – that is, women who did not have any other partners except a man who was in this study – whose male partners had six or more sexual partners and were circumcised, those women, those monogamous women, had a lower risk of cervical cancer than the women whose partners were uncircumcised. So the women who had circumcised partners were at lower risk for having cervical cancer than the women whose partners were uncircumcised. So circumcision seems to have some real health benefits, not just for men, but for their partners as well.
Finally, and this is the final health risk – and although this is very rare, it’s a scary one! Circumcised men appear to be at lower risk for a rare form of cancer which may also be related to that same virus which causes cervical cancer in women, that HPV virus. A study published in 2005 evaluated 62 men with invasive cancer of the penis and compared them with men who were chosen because they were very similar but did not have cancer. The researchers found that men who were not circumcised were at increased risk for this kind of rare cancer – and, the cancer was also related to cigarette smoking and phimosis. And remember, phimosis is a condition in which the foreskin cannot be pulled back behind the head of the penis, which is also, of course, found in men that are uncircumcised. And they found that that same HPV virus was detected in more than ¾ of those cancers, those invasive cancers that were in these men that were more likely to be uncircumcised. And that’s the same virus that is found in many women who have cervical cancer, and those women are more likely to be having sex with men who are uncircumcised. So it all sort of fits together."
So – what’s the story about circumcision? There appear to be some benefits of circumcision, but they’re probably small IF uncircumcised men are careful and consistent in their daily hygiene. And if you’re circumcised, the data suggests that you don’t have to worry about pleasure – you’ve lost nothing from being circumcised, in your sexual pleasure, and you may have gained a few strokes. And that’s the end of this month’s myth.