Is circumcision a surgery?

Samantha

Yes it is. Now let me explain:

If someone was circumcised, they may say they’ve never had surgery and be correct since surgery generally refers to other stuff. But at the same time, past a certain age, people generally don’t tell their friends or others they’re circumcised because it’s sort of private info. (On anonymous places like this, it’s the exception.)

So why is that?

Sapio

Male circumcision, which has nothing to do with FGM, is a very minor procedure when done on an infant.
tbh, I’ve never considered that surgery. Not that I was hiding the fact. Until I read your post, I never considered it surgery.

Even when I was going through puberty, I didn’t hesitate to say I was circumcised, though it would be understandable if one wanted to keep it private. But I’ve never known a guy who was reluctant to say whether or not he was circumcised, in the presence of girls or not.

I suppose you could say circumcision is surgery to the same extent that any kind of piercings are surgery.

While this has nothing to do with why I never thought about it being surgery, part of the current reason people stay away from that characterization may be the push by anti-circumcision zealots to stop circumcision, primarily strong in Europe, ironically.

Samantha

But do guys generally ask their friends if they’re circumcised? I can’t imagine that coming up in normal conversation.

Have girls asked you? Those who actually date you (like before you pull it out) or just random girls who are friends?

All mammals have foreskins. FGM (aka female circumcision) is the female equivalent, especially considering how a penis starts as female genitalia.

Sapio

Samantha With my group of friends it rarely came up in conversation. Once we hit 7th grade, we saw everyone in the locker room. It came up maybe once in college. No girl has asked me before I pull it out. In the US, most guys are circumcised; it’s the default.

FGM (female genital mutilation), which often involves removal of the clitoris, is NOT the female equivalent of male circumcision. Male circumcision as an infant has an almost zero complication rate and prevents phimosis later in adolescence. But in the US, it’s primarily done because it’s the default standard. Two religions require it, but their populations are very small and are not the reason for it’s popularity.

Very, very few men who have been circumcised resent their parents’ decision about it.

jacksmith123

for boys circumcision is a very minor operation of removing the foreskin that covers the head of the penis. it is common in USA for religious reasons and done when boys are babies. In the UK (where I am), I only know of a couple of boys. One was getting it done because his foreskin was tight and couldnt pull it back.
Im not exactly sure what happens for girls, but a girl told me it was like if a boy got the entire head of the dick removed. I’m not sure why religions see the need to remove the foreskin, and the female equivalent does sound like mutilation. hence the term FGM

Sapio

jacksmith123 In the US, male circumcision is not done primarily for religious reasons.

Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) is not comparable to male circumcision. FGM usually involves removal of the entire clitoris, in order to deprive the girl from sexual pleasure. That would be comparable to cutting off the head of the boy’s penis. Thus, the ridiculousness in the comparison.

Pultost

No, it’s mangling.

Sapio

Pultost If you’re an extremist and consider it ‘mangling,’ don’t get your son’s penis circumcised, and hope he doesn’t develop phimosis later in adolescence, when the procedure in much more dangerous with long term consequences. But passing laws preventing parents from having their sons circumcised is out of line.

Better to focus on the abuse of having baby’s ears pierced, for the sole viewing pleasure of the mother.

jacksmith123

Sapio
yeah FGM really does sound truly awful. And that should be banned.
it’s interesting circumcision for boys as in the UK (where i’m from), getting it done at birth is far less common. Because of this, tight foreskins (phimosis) does happen. Usually in the early period of puberty when a boy starts getting erections, and starts pulling their foreskin back, doing it slowly over time (being in water eg bath or shower helps). Doctors can provide steroid cream too and circumcision is a last resort. In my school (over 100 boys in each year, it’s pretty large), all the boys got a physical check down there (development, checking for lumps on balls and pulling back foreskin), and only one boy in my year has had to get circumcised. whilst boys in the USA may often see cut boys in the changing rooms, here, i think i’ve only seen one or 2 cut boys. And i look a lot!

Samantha

jacksmith123

Let’s just be sure we know what phimosis truly is. In the USA, a lot of doctors will say the kid has it. Either they don’t know the boy can’t retract immediately at birth (the average age is something like 12 years) or they just want the money from doing it. Once the skin is cut off, it can get sold for more money. The first time a lot of boys try to pull it back, it actually won’t go back because it’s obviously still attached.

As far as those guys you’ve seen that were cut…I wonder if they were Jewish.

Miki

Infant circumcision isnt surgery it is mutilation

Samantha

Is circumcision really the default in the US? It depends where you live. A lot of states make the parents pay for it out of their own pocket. In states where Medicaid pays for it, it’s gonna be more common. You also have immigrants who are less likely to do it which helps to explains why southern states are so low.

https://worldpopulationreview.com/state-rankings/circumcision-rates-by-state

I believe this only counts before hospital discharge. If a baby boy is circumcised later on, it counts as “no circumcision” but the majority of them are gonna be in the hospital. IIRC, the Jewish population of the USA is a very, very small percentage.

HoopHero

I refuse to engage in a silly debate whether circumcision is bad and/or mutilation or not, but it definitely is surgery, based on definition, which by a medical dictionary is: “A procedure to remove or repair a part of the body or to find out whether disease is present. Also called operation.” One member said that a piercing could be considered surgery. I suppose it could, but usually is not. AI has a great (but very long) explanation of it. Simple procedures such as having moles removed, or many dental procedures are also considered surgeries, so it really shouldn’t shock people when they hear that a circumcision also falls into a very long list of simple and safe surgeries.

Like I said, I personally won’t debate circumcision but will simply state that I can’t relate to those who do. I can’t understand why others become extremists over a topic that really falls under simple choice by the parents. Parents literally make hundreds of choices daily that will have both short and long term ramifications on their kids, and circumcision is just one of them. Decisions such as will the parents abuse, neglect, feed, shelter, protect, love, and accept their children unconditionally are far more important that if they remove a tiny piece of skin on their dicks or not.