Quote: (05-21-2013 01:06 AM)Thomas the Rhymer Wrote:
Quote: (05-20-2013 11:09 PM)cardguy Wrote:
Juat wondering what the reason for this is? Apparently most Americans are circumcised. Seems a bit of a strange thing to do considering the foreskin is there for a reason (thanks to evolution).
It always seems a bit backward to have a totally pointless operation carried out on babies (particularly since it can occasionally be deadly).
Anyway - just curious as to how this came about? Here in the UK it is only carried out for religious reasons. So - I am interested in how it became a cultural norm in America?
The explanation I received in medical school is that there just happened to be a mania for circumsion from about the 1950's.
It was thought to be healthier to be circumcised, and at the time there was a lot of press about the unhealthy side effects of masturbation, and it was thought that circumcision would reduce masturbatory behaviour later in life.
That the future masturbatory habits of newborn males were such a concern in the USA just goes to show what a messed up era that must have been.
This was an era in the USA where people would shut up and do what they were told and you never argued with your doctor.
Anyway, once it became a popular idea in medical circles, the USA basically went into a manic circumcision bubble where everyone joined in the groupthink without questioning the logic or the science behind circumcisions. The bubble popped somewhere in the late 1970's and circumcision rates have been steadily declining since.
Anyway, that's what they taught me in school, but I've learn the hard way not to believe everything I've been taught, so take it for what it is - an attempt to historically rationalise an irrational group behaviour.
He's right. It was anti-masturbation hysteria, but from what I gather it started before the 1950s with the guy Kellogg -- the one behind the cereal company. He also believed in enemas regularly. There is a movie from the '90s about him called "The Road to Wellness" starring Matthew Broderick.
The reason this is still done is because circumcision is a big money maker for hospitals. Superstitious bullshit tends to stick around when someone can make a profit off it. There is no medical basis for circumcision and in fact a large number of them are botched. For further reading, consult the books of Dr. Dean Edell, a medical physician who not is against the practice but is Jewish -- and doesn't believe religious rituals should be medical procedure for everyone.
God, or nature, didn't make mistakes with the human body that humans need to "correct." And if people can justify circumcision for men, I don't see why you can't do the same for women -- and throw in foot-binding while they're at it.
Also, women should have no say in this debate, as it's not their bodies. My body my choice -- maybe they've heard that saying somewhere.
PS: The same debate is happening in regard to wisdom teeth. Unless they're impacted or you have too many teeth for your mouth, they don't need to come out. Mine grew in fine but a dentist convinced me they were "problematic" and removed two. I later found out his kid was in legal trouble and he was doing unnecessary procedures to raise legal funds.
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