William Quincy Belle: Circumspect About Circumcision

Published on May 7, 2014 by CollegeHumor
The Real Reason You're Circumcised - Adam Ruins Everything
If You're Not Jewish, and You're Circumcised, You Need to Watch This Video.

Psychology Today - Sep 11/2011
Myths about Circumcision You Likely Believe by Darcia Narvaez Ph.D.
When I was pregnant with my first child, I just thought that circumcision was what you did, no big deal, and that every man was circumcised. Then one day I saw a picture of a baby being circumcised, and everything changed. Just one tiny, grainy photo was enough to make me want to know more, and the more I knew, the worse it got. It turns out, circumcision really is a big deal.

Myth 1: They just cut off a flap of skin.
Myth 2: It doesn't hurt the baby.
Myth 3: My doctor uses anesthesia.
Myth 4: Even if it is painful, the baby won't remember it.
Myth 5: My baby slept right through it.
Myth 6: It doesn't cause the baby long-term harm.

Psychology Today - Sep 13/2011
More Circumcision Myths You May Believe: Hygiene and STDs by Darcia Narvaez Ph.D.
There's a lot of hype about how circumcision is better for a man's health. But is it really? Here is Part 2 of our series on myths about circumcision.

Myth: You have to get the baby circumcised because it is really hard to keep a baby's penis clean.
Myth: Little boys won't clean under their foreskins and will get infections.
Myth: Uncircumcised penises get smelly smegma.
Myth: "My uncle wasn't circumcised and he kept getting infections and had to be circumcised as an adult."
Myth: My son was diagnosed with phimosis and so had to be circumcised.
Myth: Uncircumcised boys get more urinary tract infections (UTIs.)
Myth: Circumcision prevents HIV/AIDS.
Myth: Circumcision is worth it because it can save lives.

HuffPost Science - Apr 9/2015
Time for U.S. Parents to Reconsider the Acceptability of Infant Male Circumcision by Morten Frisch, M.D.
Do the benefits of male circumcision outweigh the risks? The U.S. Centers for Disease Control -- echoing the 2012 policy statement of the American Academy of Pediatrics -- have recently suggested that they do. What many Americans are not aware of, however, is the fact that the United States is not just unusual, but actually unique among developed nations in finding such widespread medical support for infant male circumcision.

Wikipedia: Circumcision: Adverse Effects: Sexual Effects
Circumcision does not appear to decrease the sensitivity of the penis, harm sexual function or reduce sexual satisfaction. A 2013 systematic review and meta-analysis found that circumcision did not appear to adversely affect sexual desire, pain with intercourse, premature ejaculation, time to ejaculation, erectile dysfunction or difficulties with orgasm. Another 2013 systematic review found that the highest-quality studies reported no adverse effects of circumcision on sexual function, sensitivity, sensation or satisfaction. A 2014 literature review found that there are significant gaps in the current literature on male and female sexual health that need to be addressed for the literature to be applicable to North American populations. A 2010 Royal Australasian College of Physicians viewpoint mentions that the effects of circumcision on sexual sensation are not clear. Royal Dutch Medical Association's 2010 viewpoint mentions that "complications in the area of sexuality" have been reported.

Wikipedia: Prevalence of circumcision
The World Health Organization (WHO) has estimated that globally one-third of males aged 15 years and over are circumcised, with almost 70% of those being Muslims.

Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand and the United Kingdom are examples of countries that have seen a decline in male circumcision in recent decades.

Mad Science Writer - May 8/2013
The foreskin: Why is it such a secret in North America? by Spoony Quine
I had heard of circumcision as a Jewish religious practice, but thought myself unlikely to ever see its results. Little did I know, all the male genitalia I had seen both in real life and as depicted in American anatomy books, had been edited in exactly the same way. Why would anyone selectively remove foreskins, not just from real people but from scientific anatomical texts, which I had thought were meant to represent the natural human form?

My Personal Note
I'm circumcised. Why did my parents do this? We're Protestant, so it wasn't religious. In the above reading, it would seem this is a tradition started in North America during the 1800's and continues today without any thought as to the benefits or the risks. We do what our parents did and never question it. Isn't it about time we take a better look at our traditions? They may not be the best course of action. (slavery, segregation, racism, sexism, ageism, homophobia, elitism, fear of vaccinations, anti-abortion, abstinence-only sex education, no sex education, health care for profit, etc.)

References

Wikipedia: CollegeHumor
CollegeHumor is a comedy website owned by IAC and based in New York City. The site features daily original comedy videos and articles created by its in-house writing and production team, in addition to user-submitted videos, pictures, articles and links. In early 2009, CollegeHumor's editorial staff wrote and starred in their own TV show, The CollegeHumor Show, on MTV. CollegeHumor is operated by CHMedia, a New York company that also owns Defunker, Sports Pickle, and Jest (formerly Today's Big Thing (also owned by IAC))

YouTube channel: CollegeHumor

CollegeHumor - Aug 13/2014
Adam Ruins Everything
The entire "Adam Conover Ruins Everything" series up to this point.

2014-04-23

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