Circumcision

Circumcision Information Sheet
Kim Henderson

What is it?
Before going any farther, I think it is important to have a clear view of what circumcision actually is. Circumcision is an operation performed on baby boys a few days after birth and involves the removal of the foreskin, also known as the prepuce from the baby boy’s penis. This special skin covers the head of the babies’ penis and keeps it moist, clean and sensitive. It becomes retractable sometime around the boy’s third birthday, but until then, it is attached to the glans of the penis head by special connective tissue known as the frenulum. The foreskin is full of stretch receptors which, it is argued, makes an intact man more sexually sensitive.
What is the foreskin good for?
In fact, in the study Fine-touch pressure thresholds in the adult penis published in 2007 by the Department of Pediatrics and Human Development at the Michigan State University College of Human Medicine, the uncircumcised male was shown to be more sexually sensitive. “The glans of the uncircumcised men had significantly lower mean (SEM) pressure thresholds than that of the circumcised men, at 0.161 (0.078) g (P=0.040) when controlled for age, location of measurement, type of underwear worn, and ethnicity. There were significant differences in pressure thresholds by location on the penis.”
Also, the foreskin creates a “reservoir” for a substance known as smegma; a collection of dead skin cells, transudated skin oils, moisture and many protective substances, including an immunoprotective enzyme lysozyme, which is also found in tears, breast milk, and other body fluids. Females also create smegma, which collects around the clitoris and in the folds of the labia minoria. An uncircumcised penis smells and is lubricated more like female genitalia, and is similarly sensitive as female genitalia. In essence, allowing a boy to remain intact helps the sexes achieve more equality in a lot of ways.
So the old argument that the circumcised penis is “cleaner” obviously is not true. The continuous bathing of smegma over the uncircumcised penis with its immunoprotective enzyme keeps the penis cleaner. Studies are beginning to come out that suggest HIV might be easier to contract with an uncircumisized penis; however, those studies have been shown to lack credibility, because they used data from populations who aren’t representative of the general population. Studies I’ve read used truck drivers in Uganda and the results where inconclusive. Also, the same studies have suggested good hygiene might be just as preventative as removing the foreskin. All other afflictions, such as penile cancer and HIV in female partners have such a small statistical significance that it really isn’t worth it.
The History of circumcision
Interestingly enough, circumcision has been a political tool as much as it has been a medical one. Circumcision apparently started in ancient Egypt, was rejected by the Romans as ancient and barbaric, and then adopted by the Jews as a sort of political stance against the Romans. They wanted to separate themselves from the Romans, and so they used circumcision as a sign that they where aligned with God, and separate from the Romans. Orthodox Jews still celebrate Brit Milah, the holy ceremony involving the circumcision of their eight-day old boys. A Brit Milah circumcision involves a mohel, a man specifically trained to circumcise boys, in the tradition of Abraham. Christians at first rejected circumcision as a way to separate themselves from the Jews, especially after Paul, Barnabas and other prominent Christians of the day said in Acts, Chapter 15: “when they arrived in Jerusalem they were welcomed by the church, as well as by the apostles and the elders, to whom they reported all that God had helped them accomplish. Some of the converted Pharisees then got up and demanded that such Gentiles be circumcised and told to keep the Mosaic law. The apostles and the elders accordingly convened to look into the matter. After much discussion…(a letter was sent which said) “It is the decision of the Holy Spirit, and ours too, not to lay on you any burden beyond that which is strictly necessary, namely, to abstain from meat sacrificed to idols, from blood, from meat of strangled animals, and from sexual union. You will be well advised to avoid these things.”
Christians adopted circumcision widely prior to World War II. Kellogg, the maker of Kellogg cereals was a big supporter and propagator of circumcision dogma, claiming that circumcision would keep boys from masturbating as much. Circumcision was also touted as a cure for syphilis, gonorrhea and many other STDs, based not on fact so much as hearsay and circumstantial evidence. Suddenly, circumcision became the norm in the United States, with over 80% of all infant boys being circumcised in 1960.
Eight arguments for circumcision, and the counterarguments (paraphrased from a Mothering article entitled “Protect your Uncircumcised Son” by Paul M. Fleiss)
1) Your son’s foreskin should be cut off in order to facilitate hygiene.
As we have seen, hygiene is not an issue for the uncircumisized boy. According to Doctor Paul M. Fleiss “my experience as a pediatrician has convinced me that circumcision makes the penis dirtier, a fact that was confirmed by a study recently published in the British Medical Journal of Urology. For at least a week after circumcision, the baby is left with a large open wound that is in almost constant contact with urine and feces-hardly a hygienic advantage…”
2) Your son’s foreskin is too tight. It doesn’t retract. He needs to be circumcised.
Again, Doctor Paul M. Fleiss assures us “The tightness of the foreskin is a safety mechanism that protects the glans and urethra from direct exposure to contaminants and germs…”
3) Your son’s foreskin is “adhered” to the glans. It must be amputated.
The attachment of the foreskin and glans is nature’s way of protecting the underdeveloped glans from premature exposure. Detachment is a normal physiological process that can take up to two decades to complete. By the end of puberty, the foreskin will have detached from the glans because of hormones that are produced in great quantities at puberty help with the process.
4) Your son’s foreskin is getting tighter. It no longer retracts. Something is wrong. He will have to be circumcised.
Sometimes, in childhood, a previously retractable foreskin will become resistant to retraction for reasons that are unrelated to impending puberty. In these causes, the opening of the foreskin may look chapped and sting when your son urinates. This is not an indication for surgery any more then chapped lips.
5) Your son’s foreskin is red, inflamed, itching, and uncomfortable. It has an infection and needs to be cut off.
Sometimes, the tip of the foreskin does become reddened. During the diaper wearing years, this is usually….diaper rash. When normal skin bacteria and feces react with urine, they produce ammonia, which burns the skin and causes inflammation and discomfort. If the foreskin where amputated, the inflammation would be on the glans itself and could enter the urethra. When the foreskin becomes reddened, it is doing its job of protecting the glans and urinary meatus.
6) Your son is always pulling on his foreskin. He should be circumcised.
I can assure you that, whether circumcised or not, all little boys touch and pull on their penis….classic anatomical studies demonstrates that the foreskin is the most pleasurable sensitive part of the penis. You can congratulate yourself for having protected your child from a surgical amputation that would have permanently denied him normal sensations.
7) Your child should be circumcised now because it will hurt more if it has to be done later, or worse, when he is an adult.
This excuse is tragically wrong and has resulted in a very serious crisis in American medical practice. It’s based on the false idea that infants and young children don’t feel pain. Babies can see, hear, taste, smell and feel. In fact, babies feel pain more acutely then adults…
8) Your son has a urinary tract infection (UTI) and needs to be circumcised to prevent it from happening again.
Even if it could be proven that circumcision slightly reduces the risk of UTI, it is an absurd proposal because UTIs in boys are extremely rare and are easily treated with antibiotics. Breastfeeding, too, helps prevent UTIs. Child friendly doctors advocate breastfeeding not penile surgery.
More facts about circumcision (taken from Anesthesia for Neonatal Circumcision: Who Benefits?)
• During circumcision, a baby’s blood oxygen level drops. His heart rate, respiratory rate, blood pressure, and cortisol level (a measure of stress,) shoots up. His cry takes on a surprisingly high-pitched character seen only when a baby experiences excruciating pain.
• The standard excuse [for circumcision] was that the baby was not feeling pain from the surgery, but rather he was crying from being strapped into the circumcision restraint. Experimental evidence does not support his contention. Infants strapped in a circumcision restraint for 20 minutes showed no appreciable change from baseline plasma cortisol levels 30 minutes later. The same study found drawing blood from the baby’s heel significantly increased plasma cortisol levels.
• A boy’s sleep pattern is altered following circumcision. The average sleep state demonstrates a shift with light sleep increasing and deep sleep decreasing in the post-circumcision period. Infants who are circumcised have been observed to suck harder, faster, and more vigorously at heir bottles, making them less available to their surroundings, and less able to interact with their mother. In babies who breastfeed, feeding deteriorates following circumcision.