# Intact America \[relative prevalence of circumcision\]
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/intact-america-relative-prevalence-of-circumcision/574163
**Category:** Factual Questions
**Created:** [March 10, 2011, 12:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/intact-america-relative-prevalence-of-circumcision/574163 "2011-03-10T12:44:42Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@copperwindow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/copperwindow)
#### Post date: [March 10, 2011, 12:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/intact-america-relative-prevalence-of-circumcision/574163/1 "2011-03-10T12:44:42Z")
Is it true that that circumcising boys in Europe is unheard of?
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### Author:  [@Schnitte](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Schnitte)
#### Post date: [March 10, 2011, 12:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/intact-america-relative-prevalence-of-circumcision/574163/2 "2011-03-10T12:48:15Z")
No (after all, there are Jewish and Muslim communities in most European countries), but the so-called secular circumcision - where boys are circumcised for the medical benefit (either real or alleged - there’s a lively debate about the medical pros and cons) is much rarer in Europe than it is in the U.S.
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### Author:  [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)
#### Post date: [March 10, 2011, 12:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/intact-america-relative-prevalence-of-circumcision/574163/3 "2011-03-10T12:53:39Z")
A couple of differences in culture between the U.S. and the U.K. that most Americans and Britons aren’t even aware of is that most American men are circumcised while most British men aren’t and most Americans are buried when they die and most Britons are cremated.
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### Author:  [@Candyman74](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Candyman74)
#### Post date: [March 10, 2011, 12:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/intact-america-relative-prevalence-of-circumcision/574163/4 "2011-03-10T12:54:00Z")
Unheard of? Of course not.
Other than religious circumcisions, though, it’s much rarer than in the US. I’d be pretty surprised to hear that any of my friends were - not that it’s the sort of information that comes up in everyday conversation.
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### Author:  [@Septima](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Septima)
#### Post date: [March 10, 2011, 12:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/intact-america-relative-prevalence-of-circumcision/574163/5 "2011-03-10T12:54:04Z")
Well, this european had never heard of circumcision for anybody except Jewish boys. I was quite shocked and appalled when I learned about the American practice (on this board no less).
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### Author:  [@copperwindow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/copperwindow)
#### Post date: [March 10, 2011, 1:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/intact-america-relative-prevalence-of-circumcision/574163/6 "2011-03-10T13:08:11Z")
> [@Wendell\_Wagner](#):
>
> A couple of differences in culture between the U.S. and the U.K. that most Americans and Britons aren’t even aware of is that most American men are circumcised while most British men aren’t and most Americans are buried when they die and most Britons are cremated.
I saw cemetery’s when I went to England…
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### Author:  [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)
#### Post date: [March 10, 2011, 1:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/intact-america-relative-prevalence-of-circumcision/574163/7 "2011-03-10T13:14:08Z")
Yeah, but didn’t you notice that most of the graves looked pretty old? Here’s a Wikipedia article with statistics on cremation in various countries:
> **[List of countries by cremation rate](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_cremation_rate)**
>
> This article is a list of countries by cremation rate. Cremation rates vary widely across the world. As of 2019, international statistics report that countries with large Buddhist populations like Bhutan, Cambodia, Hong Kong, Japan, Myanmar, Nepal, Tibet, Sri Lanka, South Korea, and Thailand have a cremation rate ranging from 80% to 99%, while Roman Catholic majority-countries like Italy, France, Ireland, Latvia, Poland, Spain, and Portugal report much lower rates. Factors include both c Cremat...
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### Author:  [@One\_And\_Only\_Wanderers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/One_And_Only_Wanderers)
#### Post date: [March 10, 2011, 1:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/intact-america-relative-prevalence-of-circumcision/574163/8 "2011-03-10T13:21:14Z")
> [@copperwindow](#):
>
> I saw cemetery’s when I went to England…
I have a clash in my family. On my Dad’s side they go for burial, on my Mum’s side cremation.
My Mum always say if she goes first and my Dad buries her she will haunt him in retribution 😛
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### Author:  [@Baracus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baracus)
#### Post date: [March 10, 2011, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/intact-america-relative-prevalence-of-circumcision/574163/9 "2011-03-10T14:38:52Z")
> [@copperwindow](#):
>
> I saw cemetery’s when I went to England…
Well, he did say “most” and not “all”.
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### Author:  [@Hypno-Toad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypno-Toad)
#### Post date: [March 10, 2011, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/intact-america-relative-prevalence-of-circumcision/574163/10 "2011-03-10T15:23:20Z")
> [@One\_And\_Only\_Wanderers](#):
>
> I have a clash in my family. On my Dad’s side they go for burial, on my Mum’s side cremation.
>
> My Mum always say if she goes first and my Dad buries her she will haunt him in retribution 😛
Sounds like a burning issue.
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### Author:  [@Candyman74](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Candyman74)
#### Post date: [March 10, 2011, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/intact-america-relative-prevalence-of-circumcision/574163/11 "2011-03-10T15:37:16Z")
> [@copperwindow](#):
>
> I saw cemetery’s when I went to England…
They’re all fairly full. Crowded country = more cremations.
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### Author:  [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)
#### Post date: [March 10, 2011, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/intact-america-relative-prevalence-of-circumcision/574163/12 "2011-03-10T16:17:51Z")
> [@copperwindow](#):
>
> I saw cemetery’s when I went to England…
So?
And by the way, you might be surprised how many American men aren’t even sure if they are or aren’t circumcised. It’s so common, many Americans have no idea how it looks uncircumcised.
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### Author:  [@Oukile](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oukile)
#### Post date: [March 10, 2011, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/intact-america-relative-prevalence-of-circumcision/574163/13 "2011-03-10T16:30:11Z")
> [@Wendell\_Wagner](#):
>
> A couple of differences in culture between the U.S. and the U.K. that most Americans and Britons aren’t even aware of is that most American men are circumcised while most British men aren’t and most Americans are buried when they die and most Britons are cremated.
> [@Septima](#):
>
> Well, this european had never heard of circumcision for anybody except Jewish boys. I was quite shocked and appalled when I learned about the American practice (on this board no less).
(French male here)
Are you guys telling me that most American males are circumcised ? :eek:
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### Author:  [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)
#### Post date: [March 10, 2011, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/intact-america-relative-prevalence-of-circumcision/574163/14 "2011-03-10T16:43:41Z")
> [@Oukile](#):
>
> (French male here)
> Are you guys telling me that most American males are circumcised ? :eek:
That’s my understanding (and, from what I see out of the corner of my eye in locker rooms, experience), though, I gather that it’s not done to baby boys as automatically now as it was a few decades ago.
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### Author:  [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)
#### Post date: [March 10, 2011, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/intact-america-relative-prevalence-of-circumcision/574163/15 "2011-03-10T16:59:08Z")
Most. For most of the past half century, [the vast majority](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Circumcision).
> [@](#):
>
> Although it is difficult to determine historical circumcision rates, one estimate of infant circumcision rates in the United States holds that 32% of newborn American boys were being circumcised in 1933.[28] Laumann et al. reported that the prevalence of circumcision among US-born males was approximately 70%, 80%, 85%, and 77% for those born in 1945, 1955, 1965, and 1971 respectively.[28] Xu et al. reported that the prevalence of circumcision among US-born males was 91% for males born in the 1970s and 84% for those born in the 1980s.[29] Between 1981 and 1999, National Hospital Discharge Survey data from the National Center for Health Statistics demonstrated that the infant circumcision rate remained relatively stable within the 60% range, with a minimum of 60.7% in 1988 and a maximum of 67.8% in 1995.[30] A 1987 study found that the most prominent reasons US parents choose circumcision were “concerns about the attitudes of peers and their sons’ self concept in the future,” rather than medical concerns.[31] However, a later study speculated that an increased recognition of the potential benefits of neonatal circumcision may have been responsible for the observed increase in the US rate between 1988 and 2000.[32] A report by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality placed the 2005 national circumcision rate at 56%.[33]
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### Author:  [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)
#### Post date: [March 10, 2011, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/intact-america-relative-prevalence-of-circumcision/574163/16 "2011-03-10T17:28:05Z")
Edited thread title to indicate subject.
Colibri
General Questions Moderator
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### Author:  [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)
#### Post date: [March 10, 2011, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/intact-america-relative-prevalence-of-circumcision/574163/17 "2011-03-10T17:34:46Z")
Quoth **Schnitte** :
> [@](#):
>
> so-called secular circumcision - where boys are circumcised for the medical benefit (either real or alleged - there’s a lively debate about the medical pros and cons)
I’m not sure that’s an accurate description: I imagine that most American males were circumcised, not for any alleged health benefit, but for more nebulous reasons like “so he’ll look like Dad”, or even just “because that’s the way it always is”, with no deep thought put into it at all. And even the folks who claim it was because of the health benefits, at least some were just shopping around for a reason why they did it for no particular reason.
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### Author:  [@copperwindow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/copperwindow)
#### Post date: [March 10, 2011, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/intact-america-relative-prevalence-of-circumcision/574163/18 "2011-03-10T17:42:00Z")
Was it started as a way to “cure” masturbation?
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### Author:  [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)
#### Post date: [March 10, 2011, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/intact-america-relative-prevalence-of-circumcision/574163/19 "2011-03-10T19:18:01Z")
> [@copperwindow](#):
>
> Was it started as a way to “cure” masturbation?
Yes. Often done when the boy was older (say a preteen or teen) and still without anesthetic as punishment. Girls got their clitoris sprayed with acid for the same reason. Girls now have the right to intact genitalia while boys do not.
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### Author:  [@SimonMoon5](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SimonMoon5)
#### Post date: [March 10, 2011, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/intact-america-relative-prevalence-of-circumcision/574163/20 "2011-03-10T19:26:32Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#):
>
> So?
>
> And by the way, you might be surprised how many American men aren’t even sure if they are or aren’t circumcised. It’s so common, many Americans have no idea how it looks uncircumcised.
Supporting anecdote:
I remember as a teenager at summer camp, we had a sex education lecture (I’m not sure why that was appropriate for summer camp, but, whatever). I remember the guy talking to us discussed the fact that some guys were circumcised and others weren’t. But he didn’t exactly draw pictures or anything, so I wasn’t sure which I was. But I didn’t remember anybody chopping off bits of me down there, so I was starting to convince myself that I was uncircumcised until eventually I realized the truth, that I had been circumcised at birth. (Nobody ever told me that they’d done that to me. And it just never came up. And my penis didn’t look different from any of the others I ever saw.)
And whenever I’d seen an uncut penis in art (a painting or sculpture, for example), I’d think how odd that those artists must’ve felt a need to censor themselves or something (since they didn’t make the penis look like any penis I’d ever seen before, but instead made it look much more nondescript, i.e., uncut).
It was a quite a long time until I found out what an uncut penis looked like, but I’m sure these days with the prevelance of internet porn, young American men must surely know better than I did back then!
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