# Do American women prefer circumcised lovers? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 17, 2003, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-american-women-prefer-circumcised-lovers/161893 "2003-03-17T02:00:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![TGWATY](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b5e925/32.png) [@TGWATY](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TGWATY)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2003, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-american-women-prefer-circumcised-lovers/161893/81 "2003-03-25T22:42:46Z")
I’m circumcised and I had my son circumcised and then shortly after regretted it. It is a above all an ethical question. Do you have the right to decide that a **purely cosmetic** surgery should be performed on an infant? And doctors should no more be in the business of circumcising babies than they should be tatooing them or piercing their ears! I think that circumcision is in the same category as Chinese feet-binding. Future generations will look back and shake their heads. ---
**Author:** ![TGWATY](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b5e925/32.png) [@TGWATY](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TGWATY)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2003, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-american-women-prefer-circumcised-lovers/161893/82 "2003-03-25T22:46:41Z")
Dammit. I’m can’t get over this! When I think about my poor baby’s bloody penis… He was so perfectly formed, we had no business to mess with it. And don’t let them give you any malarkey about it being quick and not really hurting them. Give your son a pinch and see how he cries! He feels pain there and anywhere the same as any male of any age. ---
**Author:** ![bernse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a9a28c/32.png) [@bernse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bernse)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2003, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-american-women-prefer-circumcised-lovers/161893/83 "2003-03-25T23:31:04Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Cervaise \* > \*\*[Start here](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?s=&postid=881102#post881102). \*\* I just read a page of that thread and now I feel like eating a bullet. Thats one of the biggest train-wrecks of a thread **ever**. ---
**Author:** ![pizzabrat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e9c0ed/32.png) [@pizzabrat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pizzabrat)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2003, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-american-women-prefer-circumcised-lovers/161893/84 "2003-03-26T00:19:54Z")
Can anyone tell me why _women_, should have any say in the mutilation of a penis? Not only do they not have one, but judging from these apathetic posts (and the oh my god infuriating posts of the linked GD thread), they have very little respect for them. ---
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2003, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-american-women-prefer-circumcised-lovers/161893/85 "2003-03-26T00:23:20Z")
In my experience, women who espouse male circumcision shut up very quickly when you say the words “female circumcision”. ---
**Author:** ![FaerieBeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e95f7d/32.png) [@FaerieBeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FaerieBeth)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2003, 3:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-american-women-prefer-circumcised-lovers/161893/86 "2003-03-26T03:01:17Z")
My husband is unsnipped, and frankly, I am a little disturbed by all the inferences of unsnipped men being smelly or somehow ‘fouler’ than a circumcised man. Poor hygeine is poor hygeine and has nothing to do with one’s foreskin. Now, while I’m certain that you ladies with bad experiences with the intact aren’t overstating your impressions, I am also certain that there are probably just as many smelly, urky circumcised ones out there. FB ---
**Author:** ![skaterboarder87](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9de0a6/32.png) [@skaterboarder87](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/skaterboarder87)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2003, 5:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-american-women-prefer-circumcised-lovers/161893/87 "2003-03-26T05:26:49Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Princhester \* > \*\*In my experience, women who espouse male circumcision shut up very quickly when you say the words “female circumcision”. \*\* But shouldn’t women to “smell better”…hypocrites?! :rolleyes: (Note: I was not referring to all women, obviously, only the ones pro-circumcision) ---
**Author:** ![skaterboarder87](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9de0a6/32.png) [@skaterboarder87](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/skaterboarder87)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2003, 5:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-american-women-prefer-circumcised-lovers/161893/88 "2003-03-26T05:40:01Z")
Grr, the prior statement should read: “But shouldn’t women want to “smell better”…hypocrites?!” ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Lao](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/2bfe46/32.png) [@Dr.Lao](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Lao)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2003, 6:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-american-women-prefer-circumcised-lovers/161893/89 "2003-03-26T06:48:47Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by auntie em \* > \*\*What, is bacon secretly made _from_ pig penis??? 😕 \*\* Bacon comes from the belly of the pig (think ab muscles). It is made from both male and female pigs. There is nothing I could find on circumcision of any non-humans. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Lao](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/2bfe46/32.png) [@Dr.Lao](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Lao)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2003, 6:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-american-women-prefer-circumcised-lovers/161893/90 "2003-03-26T06:57:10Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by auntie em \* > **My mom (who’s an old lady now, and her brothers–old men–are intact, because routine circumcision had not come into practice when they were born) maintains that being left intact can make sex _painful_. I originally thought maybe she meant for the female partners of these men, but no–she meant for the _men_. Where she got that, I dunno, but has anyone else heard of this?** If the opening at the end of the foreskin isn’t wide enough to fully retract, yeah it could be painful. But it can be stretched. > [@](#): > > \*\*My mother also told me that when her brothers were babies, her mother (my grandmother) “worked” their foreskin back with her fingers on a routine basis until it just became “trained” to stay that way. :eek: > > Seems to me like THAT would be painful! \*\* While they were babies, yeah it probably would be painful. It normally takes several years for the foreskin to fully detach from the glans to move freely. ---
**Author:** ![Already\_in\_Use](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a9adbd/32.png) [@Already\_in\_Use](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Already_in_Use)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2003, 8:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-american-women-prefer-circumcised-lovers/161893/91 "2003-03-26T08:03:51Z")
If a man is filthy enough that his foreskin smells bad, the rest of his crotch probably will too anyway. So in my opinion, circumcision for solely that reason lacks sufficient justification. ---
**Author:** ![auntie\_em](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5e9695/32.png) [@auntie\_em](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/auntie_em)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2003, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-american-women-prefer-circumcised-lovers/161893/92 "2003-03-26T14:10:12Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Nametag \* > \*\*Sorry, auntie em, but I think your mom and your sister are nuts. \*\* Honey, you and me both (and I’m sure my SO would love to join this little club, too). 😉 ---
**Author:** ![auntie\_em](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5e9695/32.png) [@auntie\_em](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/auntie_em)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2003, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-american-women-prefer-circumcised-lovers/161893/93 "2003-03-26T14:20:15Z")
Thanks for the input, **Dr. Lao**. FWIW, my SO and I _both_\* googled to try to find something about circumcision of pigs. We got nothing (except a whole bunch of links to stuff about Judaism). At any rate, I’ve learned a lot from you. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![jct103](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/57b2e6/32.png) [@jct103](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jct103)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2003, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-american-women-prefer-circumcised-lovers/161893/94 "2003-03-26T14:38:35Z")
I live in England where circumcision is v unusual. My Dad is circumcised and when I asked him why his reply was ‘because my mum’s bitch’ I think that’s good enough reason not to do it!! Don’t go messing with your baby’s bits!! ---
**Author:** ![ratty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ccd318/32.png) [@ratty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ratty)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2003, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-american-women-prefer-circumcised-lovers/161893/95 "2003-03-26T18:13:58Z")
This is going to sound rather stupid, but I don’t really see the big deal here. Granted, I’m female, so make of my opinions what you will. I did some googling on the subject, and when one wades through the diatribe on both sides of this issue, it seems as though the procedure on an infant is relatively painless and problem-free, but not having the procedure done is 100% painless and also problem-free. I think it ought to be up to the child, frankly. Since infants can’t make this kind of decision, waiting is probably the best tactic. Perhaps when the son is in his mid-teens would be a good time to have some sort of snipping talk with him? I don’t have kids, so I can’t say what such a discussion would be like for parents or children. But circumcision does involve the permanent removal of a body part. A small and largely unimportant body part (as compared to a limb or something) but it’s still a body part, and barring some catastrophe, I’d be pretty angry if someone lopped off a piece of me without my express permission. As to my own personal preference, well, I don’t have one. A penis is a penis, regardless of whether it’s wearing a little skin hat or not. It’s what its owner is doing with it that interests me. As to the hygeine issue, maybe it’s true that intact males need to be a little more conscientious than snipped ones. Whatever. Bad hygeine is gross regardless, and the crotch is a particularly odoriferous area, so funk-control is a must either way. But I have to say that comparing female circumcision to male circumcision is confusing the issue. Male circumcision, from what google tells me, is almost always performed at just a few days old in a hospital or doctor’s office, with all the sanitation and skill that (usually) entails. Female circumcision, on the other hand, is generally performed at or just before puberty in completely unsanitary conditions by non-skilled practitioners. It is also a far more radical and invasive procedure, and even if performed under sterile conditions, causes a huge host of lasting problems. Male circumcision, while it may decrease sensation during intercourse, is not designed to completely eradicate all sensation (save pain) during intercourse, as female circumcision is designed to do. There’s also a whole socio-political element of oppression related to it, which male circumcision simply does not have, regardless of what some would like to think. ---
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2003, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-american-women-prefer-circumcised-lovers/161893/96 "2003-03-26T23:35:58Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by ratty \* > \*\*This is going to sound rather stupid, but I don’t really see the big deal here. \*\* \*\* > [@](#): > > … I’d be pretty angry if someone lopped off a piece of me without my express permission. \*\* Does anything strike you as odd about the juxtaposition of these two comments, both by you, **Ratty**? \*\* > [@](#): > > But I have to say that comparing female circumcision to male circumcision is confusing the issue. Male circumcision, from what google tells me, is almost always performed at just a few days old in a hospital or doctor’s office, with all the sanitation and skill that (usually) entails. Female circumcision, on the other hand, is generally performed at or just before puberty in completely unsanitary conditions by non-skilled practitioners. \*\* So if it had been done to you, you wouldn’t have much of an issue with it (subject to your point below) as long as it was done hygenically? \*\* > [@](#): > > It is also a far more radical and invasive procedure, and even if performed under sterile conditions, causes a huge host of lasting problems.\*\* Like what? > [@](#): > > **Male circumcision, while it may decrease sensation during intercourse, is not designed to completely eradicate all sensation (save pain) during intercourse, as female circumcision is designed to do.** So you’d be happy to have undergone hygenic partial circumcision (just all your labia but leaving your clitoris, say) would you? > [@](#): > > \*\*There’s also a whole socio-political element of oppression related to it, which male circumcision simply does not have, regardless of what some would like to think. \*\* I think that you are being ethnocentric. Amongst those who practice universal female circumcision I think you would find that the attitude is very similar to that which we have to male circumcision: it looks neater, the mother had it done so her daughter is certainly going to also, men like you better, there’s less skin to get dirty etc. The men-oppressing-women angle is added later by western women. ---
**Author:** ![NotBob13](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/e19b73/32.png) [@NotBob13](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NotBob13)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2003, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-american-women-prefer-circumcised-lovers/161893/97 "2003-03-26T23:47:23Z")
I **hate** the fact that I was snipped. Nice to meet you **SHAKES** I will never let that be done to a son of mine, before consulting him. I’f he want’s it later, I’ll let him do it, when he can make up his own mind about it. I feel cheated out of my foreskin. ---
**Author:** ![Parallax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/bbce88/32.png) [@Parallax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Parallax)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2003, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-american-women-prefer-circumcised-lovers/161893/98 "2003-03-26T23:59:13Z")
I don’t let this bother me because it is already too late. Plus, who is to say that I’d like it better with a foreskin than without. It isn’t like anyone could try it both ways to see which they like best and then stick with the one they like. If we have a son we don’t plan on having it done to him and he can get it done later if he wants. I see this as a dangerous thing though because like I said above - you can’t go back. Once you have it snipped you can’t decide you liked it better the other way and have it put back on. Any non-reversible, non-medically necessary surgery just seems like a bad idea to me because you might regret it. ---
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2003, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-american-women-prefer-circumcised-lovers/161893/99 "2003-03-27T00:24:21Z")
I read somewhere that women still prefer their men tall, dark, and handsome. Sheesh! Anything else, even his penis, is somewhere down the list. Guess I’ll get my short, pale, and homely ass outta here. 😃 Peace, mangeorge (Generalizes a _lot_) ---
**Author:** ![foolsguinea](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foolsguinea/32/14751_2.png) [@foolsguinea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/foolsguinea)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2003, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-american-women-prefer-circumcised-lovers/161893/100 "2003-03-27T02:38:20Z")
I’m a guy, and I’m circumcised, & I would tell your sister _flat-out_: Don’t do it. A. You married into this guy’s family, respect his male traditions insofar as they are neutral & harmless. If he were from an ethnicity which binds girl’s feet or something, it would be another matter. But an uncircumcised boy is just … normal. B. For that matter, imagine the poor kid back in Italy if he were clipped. :eek: C. Let the husband have this. The kid’s cock will be like his dad’s. D. If in doubt, don’t take the irreversible option. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-american-women-prefer-circumcised-lovers/161893.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-american-women-prefer-circumcised-lovers/161893.md?page=6)