To Get Circumcised or Not to Get Circumcised?

9.07.2012 | By: S. J.

What are the advantages and the weaknesses of circumcision? Is it better to get circumcised than not to get circumcised?

If you don't have any problems with your foreskin, it's better not to get circumcised. (PhotoXpress)

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To get circumcised one has to undergo a procedure in which the foreskin of the penis is removed. Circumcision is usually performed due to various traditional, often religious beliefs and is largely performed very early in childhood, sometimes only a few days after the birth of a baby boy. It rarely happens that the procedure is performed on an adult man.

The main reason for circumcision in different cultures is that genitals are considered unaesthetic and unclean in their natural state; this also dictates circumcision for women in certain regions of Africa. The second most frequent reason for circumcision is health problems. Namely, some people have trouble with moving the foreskin of the penis backwards, since it causes them great pain. After you get circumcised, the pain disappears.

Many women believe that the penis which isn't circumcised is somehow filthy and unattractive, and they prefer to have sexual intercourse with a man who has a circumcised penis. Few women are aware of the actual consequences of circumcision for them and for men: circumcision decreases sexual sensation in both partners and can thus have a negative effect on sexual pleasure. The foreskin of the male sexual organ is an erogenous tissue which, among other things, increases sensation of the penis during intercourse and, in addition, serves as protection against various potentially harmful external factors. There are many nerve endings intertwined in the head of the penis. Constant exposure of the head of the penis in circumcised men gradually causes the organ to be less sensitive to touch.

Several studies, which included adult men circumcised after starting with their sex life, have shown that for a number of men sexual sensation during intercourse is dramatically reduced in comparison to the one experienced prior to circumcision.

Circumcision can also be dangerous. In African cultures, young boys are circumcised without any anaesthetic or sterile surgical instruments, which often leads to infections and death. Unfortunately, a number of circumcisions result in removing too much foreskin. It's difficult to determine whether too much foreskin has been removed in a young boy, because the result is evident only after he grows up. Due to the removal of too much tissue in childhood, numerous men have painful erections later in life.

On the other hand, circumcision seems to have positive effects, too. Some studies indicate that circumcision reduces the possibility of penile cancer. The possibility of urinary tract infections is also lowered. Moreover, as already mentioned, the head of a circumcised penis is less sensitive to touch and its sexual stimulation has to be more intense. Research suggests that circumcised men are thus sexually “wilder” compared to men who aren't circumcised, which is evident in masturbation, oral intercourse as well as anal intercourse.

In many cultures, circumcision isn't obligatory, but is considered a decision made by an individual. Experts, however, don't advise it, unless there's a good medical reason for it.