The Negative Consequences Of Male Circumcision

Circumcision, the excision of the male foreskin, is torturous genital mutilation with life-long consequences and no health benefits.

Almost all mammals have foreskins. The foreskin boasts a plethora of functions and benefits such as pleasure, protection and natural lubrication during sexual intercourse. 

During circumcision, what would have grown to be a couple of inches of erogenous skin is removed. This includes parts of the frenulum, the highly erogenous elastic tissue that keeps the foreskin contracted, the ridged band which rests at the tip of the foreskin and the glans (head) of the penis.

Without the protection of the foreskin, internal body parts that are supposed to be kept moist are forced to callus. Eventually, these body parts become desensitized after being exposed and rubbed against clothing. 

Today somewhere between 55 and 80 percent of United States newborns undergo circumcision, whether performed medically in hospitals, ritually at home or at a synagogue.

Some boys today are circumcised without anesthesia. Most boys will scream at the top of their lungs and go into a state of shock due to the pain. But even with anesthesia, circumcision is still very painful.

Medical justifications for circumcision argue that it helps prevent penile cancer, urinary tract infections and STIs. However, these issues are less prominent in areas where circumcision is uncommon, such as the European Union. 

Removing the foreskin may increase infections and diseases since studies have shown that the foreskin actually has immunological properties.

Some doctors have been taught to forcefully retract the foreskin to clean it even though the foreskin is naturally fused to the glans until puberty. This practice is painful and makes the area vulnerable to infections that may cause phimosis, a case of a tight foreskin that won’t retract.

This prolongs the issue, as some doctors may solve phimosis through circumcision.
The good news for anyone circumcised is that it’s possible to restore foreskin by stretching and keeping the remaining skin under tension.

In light of the harm involved, some Jewish people have also opted for a Brit Shalom, an alternative ceremony known as a “covenant of peace” that does not involve circumcision. 

Organizations such as Intact America, Your Whole Baby, Doctors Opposing Circumcision and the Bloodstained Men are dedicated to ending infant circumcision. This anti-circumcision movement is known as intactivism.

Though the movement keeps growing, I still urge readers to spread awareness of the harms of circumcision so that we may end genital mutilation altogether.