# what's the deal with the american circumcising? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 13, 2004, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-the-american-circumcising/233991 "2004-03-13T00:08:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![emekthian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ecae2f/32.png) [@emekthian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/emekthian)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2004, 5:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-the-american-circumcising/233991/21 "2004-03-13T05:02:07Z")
> [@](#): > > Belief that an uncircumsized boy will suffer all manner of social opprobrium in the locker room for daring to look different “down there”. I would’ve thought that no one would dare look at another boy’s penis, for fear of being labeled gay. So, no one would dare make fun of an uncircumsized penis, because doing so would tell everyone that you look at other boys’ dicks. Which means that your a homosexual, which is the last thing (sadly) a teenage boy would want to be known as. ---
**Author:** ![Walloon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/fbc32d/32.png) [@Walloon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walloon)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2004, 5:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-the-american-circumcising/233991/22 "2004-03-13T05:08:43Z")
> [@emekthian](#): > > I would’ve thought that no one would dare look at another boy’s penis, for fear of being labeled gay. Well, you would be wrong. ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_Pearse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/richard_pearse/32/13144_2.png) [@Richard\_Pearse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Pearse)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2004, 5:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-the-american-circumcising/233991/23 "2004-03-13T05:22:30Z")
> [@tanookie](#): > > I’ve never seen an uncut penis. I am American for what its worth. **We also elected to not circumcise our son.** Ha! So you _have_ seen an uncut penis! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Jervoise](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d2c977/32.png) [@Jervoise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jervoise)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2004, 5:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-the-american-circumcising/233991/24 "2004-03-13T05:30:21Z")
FWIW, routine circumcision isn’t–or wasn’t–an exclusively American phenomenon. For example, in 1960s Australia over 70% of male babies were circumcised, falling from 90% in the 1950s. The rate of neo-natal circumcision has since fallen to less than 15%, but it remains a fact that almost 50% of all Australian men are circumcised. ---
**Author:** ![5cents](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/5/46a35a/32.png) [@5cents](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/5cents)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2004, 6:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-the-american-circumcising/233991/25 "2004-03-13T06:20:09Z")
I had always wondered if circumcision was common in the US partially because there are so many Jewish doctors here, and cultural bias feeds into medical bias. I mean, this 19th century masturbation stuff seems like a bit of a reach, in what is now the 21st century. The masturbation stuff might have started it, but perhaps it has stuck around not only due to inertia but also due to cultural influence of doctors? A quick search doesn’t turn up statistics on religious affiliations of physicians, but I know a lot of physicians (and my wife knows a bunch more), and a healthy percentage are Jewish. Note: Don’t construe this as anti-Jewish in any way. We chose to live in a suburb that is 95% Jewish, and are the honorary gentiles on our block (the rest of the block is mostly Orthodox Jewish). If anything, I’m more comfortable living where I am than many Reform Jews are (there’s a wee bit of tension between Orthodox and Reform Jews…). ---
**Author:** ![Walloon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/fbc32d/32.png) [@Walloon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walloon)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2004, 6:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-the-american-circumcising/233991/26 "2004-03-13T06:32:35Z")
You haven’t explained why a Jewish doctor would care about whether a gentile male was circumcised. To a Jew, circumcision is a religious and cultural expression. ---
**Author:** ![Chotii](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/71e660/32.png) [@Chotii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chotii)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2004, 7:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-the-american-circumcising/233991/27 "2004-03-13T07:02:15Z")
> [@Walloon](#): > > You haven’t explained why a Jewish doctor would care about whether a gentile male was circumcised. To a Jew, circumcision is a religious and cultural expression. Mmm. Why then do I know several ‘culturally Jewish’ men who wouldn’t DREAM of not having their sons’ penises altered, even though they themselves, the fathers, do not even practice the religion they profess? Even though they have the deed done in a hospital by an MD, rather than by a mohel? To them, it appears to be a ‘religious and cultural expression’ even in the absence of _practiced_ religion. (I know a little boy whose circumcision was botched in the hospital, and referred to a pediatric urologist - who cut him _very_ tight. Too tight. So that the little boy suffers pain with every erection - that kind of tight. I did some research for the mother, trying to find what would help the little boy with this problem, and it eventually came out that the mother believes the father would resist any attempt on the boy’s part to stretch / regrow any skin on his shaft, as this would appear to be restoration of his foreskin. And the father is a non-practicing Jew, and cannot bear the thought of _that_. It’s a wierd situation. Meanwhile, the little boy suffers.) I could see how a Jewish doctor _might_ consciously or unconsciously promote circumcision, touting its health benefits, because he believes it was a good thing when it was done to him (or her husband). But the same thing might be true of _any_ doctor. There’s some possibility that _some_ doctors are promoting infant circumcision because they themselves were so done, and for it to have been good for them, they must promote it for others. There is a larger chance that some doctors have required the surgery as adolescents or adults, and since it was so awful for them (and they remember it), they think it ought to be done when babies cannot remember how awful it is. Possibly, some of them just do it because the parents request. I know that when I was pregnant with my last kiddo, the nurse at my OB’s office said “If you’re having a boy, do you want him circumcised?” and I said “No,” and she cheered. So it’s hardly universal. ---
**Author:** ![Chotii](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/71e660/32.png) [@Chotii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chotii)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2004, 7:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-the-american-circumcising/233991/28 "2004-03-13T07:05:03Z")
> [@Walloon](#): > > The foreskin is not an essential part of the penis, and its removal is excision, not mutilation. The folds of skin on a Shar Pei dog aren’t essential to it, so removing them and leave the dog smooth would be excision, not mutilation. ---
**Author:** ![5cents](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/5/46a35a/32.png) [@5cents](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/5cents)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2004, 7:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-the-american-circumcising/233991/29 "2004-03-13T07:13:27Z")
> [@Walloon](#): > > You haven’t explained why a Jewish doctor would care about whether a gentile male was circumcised. To a Jew, circumcision is a religious and cultural expression. …and religion and culture can bias thought processes, and can affect how you approach people on medical issues. My wife works in Bioethics. There are tons of studies done on how people make medical choices and how the biases of medical professionals contribute to these choices. Our family physician, who is Jewish and delivered two of our daughters, stated (right after one delivery) that he was glad we had girls because if they were boys he’d have to discuss circumcision, and he has a difficult time recommending against circumcision. He didn’t continue on and say “due to my cultural and religious beliefs”, but what else is there? He’s coordinator of ob/gyn residency in family medicine at a top-ranked hospital, faculty at well-known medical school, and just generally keeps up on things. He must know that, medically, there’s not any real difference. ---
**Author:** ![Walloon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/fbc32d/32.png) [@Walloon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walloon)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2004, 7:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-the-american-circumcising/233991/30 "2004-03-13T07:14:21Z")
> [@Chotii](#): > > Why then do I know several ‘culturally Jewish’ men who wouldn’t DREAM of not having their sons’ penises altered, even though they themselves, the fathers, do not even practice the religion they profess? You answered your own question: Because they are _culturally_ Jewish. Look back at what I wrote: “To a Jew, circumcision is a religious and **cultural** expression.” ---
**Author:** ![ageless6](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9de053/32.png) [@ageless6](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ageless6)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2004, 8:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-the-american-circumcising/233991/31 "2004-03-13T08:18:49Z")
I must say I’m mystified that not one jDT reference has appeared in this thread. How quickly we forget even the truly great departed loonies. ---
**Author:** ![Kegg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Kegg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kegg)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2004, 8:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-the-american-circumcising/233991/32 "2004-03-13T08:45:18Z")
i was not circumcised at birth, I had it done in my 20’s . At 22 it is not an easy operation. I will never regret having it. IT IS CLEANER. Smedma beging to collect after a bath/shower and there is no way to stop it. If you look under the forskin an hour after a bath, it will have an oder. IT IS CLEANER\> * * * Spelling and grammer subject to change with out notice. ---
**Author:** ![Andy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/aeb1de/32.png) [@Andy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2004, 10:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-the-american-circumcising/233991/33 "2004-03-13T10:58:16Z")
Kegg, I assume you appreciate the difference between _electing_ to undergo surgery as an adult and having a perfectly normal part of one’s anatomy removed whilst too young to object/decide. I was wondering if maybe we ought to start removing finger and toenails, just to make sure no dirt gets lodged under there…IT IS CLEANER. ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_Pearse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/richard_pearse/32/13144_2.png) [@Richard\_Pearse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Pearse)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2004, 11:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-the-american-circumcising/233991/34 "2004-03-13T11:11:16Z")
We do remove finger and toenails (it’s CLEANER). The pesky things keep growing back though. ---
**Author:** ![ruadh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/d2c977/32.png) [@ruadh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ruadh)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2004, 11:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-the-american-circumcising/233991/35 "2004-03-13T11:19:47Z")
> [@alice\_adrift](#): > > personally, i think penises are really much more attractive when circumcised. but that’s just me. I don’t personally find them “attractive” in any case. They’re useful things, obviously, but from an aesthetic perspective they’re not much to look at either way. ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2004, 11:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-the-american-circumcising/233991/36 "2004-03-13T11:24:44Z")
> [@SnoopyFan](#): > > Um, I’d daresay most women have seen both. > > Cut is prettier. > > Can’t be touchin’ it uncut. _shudder_ I’m 46 years old, and I’ve only seen two men naked in person. I realize that I have had far less than my fair share of lovers, though, even though I was a young adult in the 70s. Since I’m really not into visual porn, I’d NEVER seen an uncut penis until JDT came along, and I had to examine some links for appropriate content in the course of moderating the message board. If he had never graced this board with his presence, it’s quite likely that I STILL would not have seen an uncut penis, even in photos. For those who care, I DID approve the “Tug-A-Hoy” links, with pics, because I reasoned that they were Educational, not Lewd. ---
**Author:** ![cactus\_waltz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/74df32/32.png) [@cactus\_waltz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cactus_waltz)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2004, 11:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-the-american-circumcising/233991/37 "2004-03-13T11:51:41Z")
> [@SnoopyFan](#): > > Can’t be touchin’ it uncut. _shudder_ Sure you can. Just pull the skin back. As for boys in the shower, I think an uncut penis would be noticed in a group of kids that were all un-cut, but I think they would find it more interesting than as a reason to bully. Unless they wanetd the bully the kid anyway… ---
**Author:** ![jujuju](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/7993a0/32.png) [@jujuju](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jujuju)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2004, 11:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-the-american-circumcising/233991/38 "2004-03-13T11:52:34Z")
> [@Kegg](#): > > i was not circumcised at birth, I had it done in my 20’s . At 22 it is not an easy operation. I will never regret having it. IT IS CLEANER. i think my grandfather had a similar experience. he was an officer in WWII and when he returned from war, he had his foreskin removed. my grandmother shared this with me when i was pregnant with my son. ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2004, 11:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-the-american-circumcising/233991/39 "2004-03-13T11:54:39Z")
> [@Kegg](#): > > i was not circumcised at birth, I had it done in my 20’s . At 22 it is not an easy operation. I will never regret having it. IT IS CLEANER. Smedma beging to collect after a bath/shower and there is no way to stop it. If you look under the forskin an hour after a bath, it will have an oder. IT IS CLEANER\> May I ask _why_ you were circumcised? Because in my experience, there’s no cleanliness or odour issues unless I wash less than once a day. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2004, 12:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-the-american-circumcising/233991/40 "2004-03-13T12:12:16Z")
As an uncut male it behoves me to inform ladies who are grossed out by uncut winkies that when the foreskin is rolled back, it’s barely visible when flaccid, and almost totally invisible when erect. In the unlikely event that I were in a state of tumescence with **SnoopyFan** and adequately prepared, I would defy her to tell the difference. Though perhaps she might declare “it’s like a penis, only larger”. 😉 As to the hygiene thing: an uncircumsised male can get round the problems of hygiene by the simple expedience of _washing his fucking cock_. Why did nobody think of this cunning plan before? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-the-american-circumcising/233991.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-the-american-circumcising/233991.md?page=3)