Circumstitions
(Excuses Given for Circumcising a Male)
1. Because "[I] thought [he] might as well be circ'd." / "just in
case" / Because "we just do it. It's better this way."
Actor Tony Randall on the Late Late Show, Oct 6, 1998 / said to
a man being operated on for kidney stones / Told by a doctor to T--,
now a restoring father
2. Because it's better and it has to be done
Said to the source's mother-in-law in 1971 at Baptist Hospital,
Lynchburg VA - <japg[AT-sign]mindspring.com>
3. Because "without it being done his son would not achieve the
high grades needed at school."
Said to the doctor by the father of a schoolmate of
hoodyh1(AT)yahoo.co.nz, posting to Circumsexual(AT)yahoogroups.com on
Aug 14, 2007
This may have been true: hoodyh1 was told "it was expected by
the college that a circumcision would take place regardless of the
students wishes."
4. Because "These things must be done for boys and the time had
come"
Told to a schoolmate of matelot923(AT)yahoo.com, posting to
Circumsexual(AT)yahoogroups.com on Aug 14, 2007
5. Because it only seems natural / It seemed like the natural thing
to do
The Hite Report on Male Sexuality, pp. 397-398 / Sara, writing
to Chatelaine
6. Because it is a sin not to
According to a patient of Phil Nguyen, Indiana U School of
Medicine
7. beacuse it is the only decent thing to do
feedback from M Hogan
NEONATAL
8. Because "He doesn't choose to be born, either."
- response by an expectant mother, having been told that
circumcision is torturous and denies his right to choose.
9. To impress the poor
"Until the Second World War it was regarded as a class symbol in
many parts of western European society [False - only the UK]: in the
eyes of the poor, circumcision was evidence that a boy's parents were
affluent enough to afford some medical treatment." - Dr Thomas
Stuttaford in The Times Online
10. Because it's a lot more easy for the baby
Response to a survey conducted by Paul Baker <pbaker[AT-
sign]nermal.santarosa.edu>
11. Because "They're my kids and I'll do any god-damned thing I want
to them, so you lost this argument, Asshole."
posted to <Glharryman[AT-sign]aol.com>
12. Because of an "accident on medical records..." According to the
"paperwork guidelines, I was not supposed to be Circ."
Told by (ERWI2)<erwi2[AT-sign]aol.com>
13. "Because any child with a foreskin is a pedafile"
A woman on the circumcision board at Parentsoup quoting a female
friend
14. Because NOT circumsizing your child is just...well WARPED!
According to (JL) <merilin[AT-sign]winternet.com>
15. I am not sure why, but my family has done it for a long time.
You could call it tradition, I guess / because my family has always
had circumcisions/Because of custom / Because it's habit and the way
the society works / Because "it was simply a common social custom
which we took more or less for granted"
Response to a survey conducted by Paul Baker <pbaker[AT-
sign]nermal.santarosa.edu> / Shannon M. Corn of Knightdale, North
Carolina, quoted in the Raleigh News and Observer, 31 Oct 2001 /
Response to a survey conducted by Paul Baker <pbaker[AT-
sign]nermal.santarosa.edu> / Bryce Courtenay in April Fool's Day. His
son was haemophilic and nearly died.
16. Because it's a "religious practice that has been going on for
thousands of years"
feedback from <ALibLaiR18[AT-sign]aol.com>
17. Because "to NOT BE CIRCUMCISED ... [is] ... old-fashioned"
feedback from <ALibLaiR18[AT-sign]aol.com>
18. Because it makes the penis look more modern
Told in Guadalajara to Dr Sergio Aquilar, who told Gary
Harriman<Glharryman[AT-sign]aol.com>
19. Because it is a good and proper thing to do/Because all the nice
families are having it done
Reported in Canadian Medical Association Journal, Vol 95 (Sept
10, 1966), pages 576-581/Said to the mother of Neal Smith
<neal_smith[AT-sign]rocketmail.com> North Carolina, 1940
20. Because his mother had an episiotomy ("I was cut, why shouldn't
he be?")
21. Because his mother suffered much greater pain during
childbirth / Because the father "just didn't want to argue with her
after she'd been through all that suffering."
/ According to <JJMaloneJr[AT-sign]aol.com>
22. Because the woman is the one to change the diapers
Mother of Kerri W. on AOL MomsOnline
23. To teach him that the world is a painful place / that life
hurts / To toughen 'em up for real life / Because "It teaches them
that pain doesn't matter."
/Told to Susan Peer <susan[AT-sign]noln.com>/Told to Curt Geiler
<curt[AT-sign]null.net>
46. April 5th,
2007
7:10 pm
REAL PURPOSE OF CIRCUMCISION:
a little pain right after birth to innoculate the boy against
the pains of life
a little tough love right off the bat
- Posted by face it to the NY Times
24. Because "I'm not messing around with this guy [God] right now."
The baby had been born premature, and was in an incubator.
Shalom Auslander in his book Foreskin's Lament
25. Because "his little peepee is so small"
Said by a doctor to Brooke Channell who tells her story on
blOUCH!: the circumcision was botched, the baby haemorrhaged, almost
died, and will need more surgery.
26. Because infant circumcision is much less complicated, painful,
and heals faster than adult circumcision.
According to Gwen A Orel <gaost3+[AT-sign]pitt.edu> 5 October
1996
27. Because it will have to be done sooner or later
28. To prevent "psychological trauma due to castration anxiety"
( ! )
29. Because it's just part of being born / Because all males are
circumcised/Because it is hospital policy/Because it was pretty much
mandatory/Because "they just do it automatically" / Because when his
mother said "What's circumcision?" they said, "Don't worry dear, we'll
look after it."/Because it's a law / Because "in Tennessee, it was
required"
/ Told to John Chastain//According to Tom H. <workhard[AT-
sign]home.com> of Oshawa, Southern Ontario / / T.G.'s mother, told to
Ken Drabik/Reported by John M Foley MD in FACT magazine, July - August
1966 / Told to Amber Craig <jcraig2[AT-sign]ibm.net> at the Charlotte,
N.C., Baby Show, 6 Nov 99
30. Because I was born in the US
Told by his mother to Mike Giamo <giamomj[AT-
sign]post.drexel.edu>
31. To protect him from being kidnapped and sacrificed
"In Uganda, the increase [in the circumcision rate] is due not
only to HIV risk prevention -- but also because some parents believe
that a circumcised child is less likely to be kidnapped, and then
offered as a sacrifice." CBC Jan 3, 2007 [It is not clear whether the
protection is magical or practical - supposing kidnappers would
consider a circumcised child unsuitable for sacrificing, and check
first.]
32. Because the doctor "circed all babys, for their own good" /
Because the doctor just did it
Chris Oehler <COehler[AT-sign]wow.com> had this happen to his
sons - contrary to his instructions / John M Foley MD in FACT
magazine, July - August 1966
33. Because the doctor just likes doing it
I've known of doctors in clinic type settings that gladly
circumcise every baby they can just because it's something that they
like to do, even when they don't get paid. - Rosemary Romberg, author
of Circumcision: the painful dilemma
34. Because "they were kind of pressuring me at the hospital to do
so."
Told by a friend to mamarama on YouTube
35. Because they told his mother at the hospital if she didn't have
him circumcised he wouldn't be able to father children
Told by Susan Peer to Al Field <albfie[AT-sign]worldlynx.net>
36. Because circumcision is insignificant compared to the truly
important issues that come with raising a child
According to Len Denzo
37. Because the foreskin is a mistake of nature/Because the foreskin
is a mutation that only appears on some males and must be removed
According to Dr Thomas Wiswell/Told by a woman doctor to an
intact man, as reported in a newspaper read by Chuck Kappenman
<chazbsweet[AT-sign]hotmail.com>
38. Because his mother had never seen an intact penis and thought it
was deformed/To make it look "more like a penis"
It was "Derek Townsend"'s mother / Said by <notw[AT-sign]my-
deja.com>'s girlfriend, told on alt.circumcision
39. Because "I don't want him to look like he has a dog dick."
A mother to nurse Mary Conant <wholebaby2[AT-sign]juno.com>
40. Because it is rooted in our culture
Blue Cross Blue Shield of Utah vice-president W. Knox
Fitzpatrick
41. Because we live in the country
...the midwife told me that 20 % city people circumcise, and 50%
country do it. We are from a country town, so i guess we fit into
that. Jennifer05 at Bub Hub
42. Because it is culturally significant / culturally necessary / a
cultural norm
//According to <prhagen[AT-sign]bitstream.net> (Paul Hagen
43. Because they have a device to do it, so it must be okay
According to Michael Lines' <linesm[AT-sign]gnn.com> sister in
law
44. Because the opposition to it is too shrill / bizarre / On
principle / To spite its opponents/To spite his absent/divorced father/
Because his (gay) uncle recommended against it
So said Bob Cohen in Living Marxism, May 1996 ////Given by Don
Morgan/the case of a guest on an aborted Dr Laura show Sept 18, 2000/
The uncle was Fred Bradford <avpower[AT-sign]pacbell.net>
45. To get even for having been raped as a teenager
A British nanny, Angela, cited by "The Cutter" <cutter[AT-
sign]circum.demon.co.uk>
46. Because "I don't want to piss off my mother-in-law." / Because
"My mother won't babysit him if he's not circumcised."
A father to nurse Mary Conant <wholebaby2[AT-sign]juno.com> / A
mother to nurse Mary Conant <wholebaby2[AT-sign]juno.com>
47. In exchange for not having to change his diapers
Joe Crummey KABC AM 790, Los Angeles Dec 5 1999
48. Because if he isn't circumcised at birth he won't want to be
circumcised later
[Well, Duh! And why should he be circumcised later?]
49. Because his mother doesn't want to have to explain why his penis
looks different from his father's./ "I didn't want him to question why
daddy looked different"
(...so now he can question why they look the same...)
/ A (former?) friend of Rockett <dropforged[AT-
sign]sprintmail.com>
50. To prevent any discussion about it later
51. Because the decision was made for me, so I'll make the decision
for my sons / Because I had no choice
52. Because it's part of his father's identity
Mrs Ines Ford-Bruins in the NZ Sunday Star-Times (Nov 9, 2003),
New Zealand, where routine circumcision is almost obsolete
53. If I had to, he has to.
Husband of mattdog[AT-sign]pacific.net 's niece
54. Because his father had been circumcised as an adult and had been
traumatised by it.
(The father's foreskin "had torn during intercourse" - it was
probably his frenulum, but in any case circumcision was not required.
Wasn't the son lucky his father never had his arm amputated!)
"Tilly" <climbaboard[AT-sign]hotmail.com> on alt.circumcision,
12 August 2003
55. Because it saves him from the embarassment of having to ask for
it
56. To keep peace in the family
57. "To save our marriage"
(Her second husband wanted the boy cut and she didn't want to
have a big argument. )
She'd had the first son cut because she missed her dead
husband's penis! Sent by remdog <remdog[AT-sign]earthlink.net>
58. Because the foreskin will fall off if a baby is put into a hot
tub of water for a bath.
"His perception was that the foreskin was something like the
umbilical cord, and that it needed to be removed shortly after birth,
lest it become the site for infection."
(Babies shouldn't be put in hot water, of course.)
Believed by a 20 y o friend of Art Boy (Jeff Borg) <artboyz[AT-
sign]worldnet.att.net>
59. Because the foreskin would fall off by itself if it wasn't cut
off by the doctor, just like the umbilical cord.
Believed for 24 years by Steve Wilder <wilder[AT-
sign]ksl.stanford.edu>
60. "...since he had heard of some intact baby boy who had gotten a
hair wrapped around his glans and strangled his penis!!!"
A first-year medical student at the U of Chicago to Dan
Strandjord" <danstrandjord[AT-sign]att.net>
61. To prevent tears later in life (in the skin, not the eyes)
This is quite false: the circumcision wound may tear.
Given on Medline: http://www.medscape.com/HomeExamRoom/spotlight/05.97-spotlight.html
62. Because a friend of a friend of a... "had to be" circumcised
later in life.
63. Because a neighbouring year old was born "naturally circumcised"
and needed it
(?)
Told to vuckovic[AT-sign]interaccess.com (G. Vuckovic)
64. Because it's covered by Medicare / National Health / Social
Security / Health Insurance / State insurance
////At Charity Hospital, New Orleans, told to John Erickson
65. Because doctors make money from it / Because if he didn't some
other doctor would get the money. / Because the hospital charges a
circumcision fee whether he's cut or not
/ Said by a retired OBGYN to Patricia Robinett<patricia[AT-
sign]efn.org> / Said to the source's mother-in-law in 1971 at Baptist
Hospital, Lynchburg VA
66. Because a military surgeon "wanted to get back into practice
because she could get $100 apiece for them in private practice." / To
provide practice for house-surgeons (interns) / To provide practice
for Navy surgeons waiting for action
The surgeon spoke to Darillyn Starr <sstar[AT-sign]vii.com> /
Jason Ashley / Aboard USS Peleliu in the Arabian Sea, 2 Nov 2001,
Reuters
67. "In order [for the doctor] to be granted privileges in neonatal
circumcision"
Practice guidelines of the University of Manitoba medical school
68. Because they're fun to do.
'"I like doing circumcisions. They're fun procedures because
they're one of the few procedures I can do on a healthy kid." Then she
immediately said something like, "Why are you looking at me like that?
I knew you wouldn't understand!" She made this comment in a roomful of
other students which had two other doctors in it and they were nodding
in agreement.' - a midwife posting on the Midwifery Today forum
69. Because it makes it easier to take a clean urine sample
Letter to Pediatr. Ann. 1997: 26(5): 278 from S A Bailis
70. Because doctors know best
POST-NEONATAL
71. To make the penis look like that of a kangaroo
John Cawte, cited in The Universality of Incest
72. To symbolise humanity's unique essence as more than animal
Ben David <b_david2[AT-sign]netvision.net.il>
73. To keep a bargain Abraham made with G*d
(Gen. 17:10-14)
74. "... because Jewish men should be able to feel the pain of
others more easily."
Dr Aaron Jesin, quoted in the Toronto eye, 7/99
75. Because he's heir to the British throne and Queen Victoria
believed they were descended from King David
The second part of this has been disputed.
76. To bribe Satan: "Kabbalah explains that we say to Satan that we
take the holy part, which is the child, and the unholy foreskin we
give to Satan. Because of this gift, the Satan is bribed to the extent
that he then praises the Jews and becomes a defender rather than a
prosecutor."
http://www.shemayisrael.com/mikvah/britmilah1.html
77. As a badge of Jewish identity.
Rabbi Lawrence, in "The Naked Penis" TV3 New Zealand, May 30,
2001
78. To make him look different from outsiders
79. To remind him of anti-Semitic persecution
(which was facilitated by circumcision)
80. To get revenge on anti-Semites
"Curt to the point of rudeness, [the mohel] shouted over the
baby's cries that every time we circumcise a Jewish child, we are
getting revenge upon the anti-Semites who wanted to crush us." - Lila
Hanft, Becoming a Jewish Mother
81. To prevent another Holocaust (he's a gentile: circumcising
gentiles will hide Jews)
Helen Latner, columnist for Jewish Week, quoted in "Humanistic
Judaism. Volume 1, No 4 (Winter 1983) pp 46-6 no. 4 (Winter 1983): pp.
43-46
82. To prevent Jews and Muslims from being marginalised (he's a
gentile: circumcising gentiles will normalise Jews and Muslims).
"Ancient ritual does no harm", Catherine Ford, Calgary Herald,
March 31, 2001
83. Because Allah wants him to be a Muslim.,
Davoud Jenkins has formed a Yahoo! group, Circumcised became
Muslim
... I am a Muslim American, circumcised at birth by the will of
Allah. This was His sign to me to become a Muslim. ... Were you
circumcised without any reason, like already being a Muslim? You are
probably wondering why you received the sign of circumcision. Well,
welcome to this group! Here you can discover the true reason for your
circumcision from Allah, the Merciful.
84. To bond him with his community / To enforce social cohesion
Gwen A Orel <gaost3+[AT-sign]pitt.edu> 3 July 1996 / Yehudi
Cohen, cited in The Universality of Incest
85. To educate him in his parent's faith / Because it is "an
educational measure".
86. Because the sexual organ is where the future generations of Jews
come from. Comment by Sarah Sutton on Newsweek on May 3, 2007
87. To signify the union of body and spirit
(Cutting part off to signify union...)
According to <b_david2[AT-sign]netvision.net.il)
88. To offer our children to a higher spiritual life
Ruth Ostrow, "Tradition cuts to the present" the Weekend
Australian, June 16-17, 2001
89. To ensure a share for him in the world to come
According to Matt Prastein <smp[AT-sign]fgi.net>
90. To draw down the Divine light, bring down the soul of holiness
into the body, reveal the Jew's inherent connection to G-d
According to CHABAD-LUBAVITCH in CYBERSPACE <listserv[AT-
sign]chabad.org>
91. Because the foreskin concentrates negative energy
(from the Advocating Circumcision Today website)
92. Because "[t]his paring away of the superfluous skin allows for
Shechinah energy to permeate the seed of Israel."
"Yechidah" <thehealingshelf[AT}hotmail.com> on alt.circumcision,
June 12 2004 (Shechinah energy is defined by Riain Barton
<riain[AT]columbus.rr.com> as "the 'essence' of the Universal Deity")
93. To "spiritually remov[e] and eliminat[e] undesirable character
traits...
94. ...depressive tendencies and so on...
95. ...[To] eliminate from the body of the child, forces which might
try to cultivate overindulgence in physical pleasures, etc."
(from the Advocating Circumcision Today website)
96. For "its positive effects on the generations to come."
Friends of Refugees of Eastern Europe (FREE) an arm of Chabad
Lubavitch - a strict and somewhat controversial form of Orthodoxy
97. Because Jews do it and they are so clean
a common 19th century reason
98. "So that he will be rich as a Jew"
A Peruvian mother said it (apparently seriously ) to Ari
Zigelboim <akp[AT-sign]communique.net>
99. "I think my parents thought it would save trouble later on if I
wanted to be the real thing [Jewish]." - English actor Stephen Fry.
(He never did.)
Interview with Deborah Ross, The Independent, April 20, 2002
100. Because Jesus was circumcised
Luke 2 21
101. "...because of our Biblical beliefs. We just felt it was a
covenant between God and his people. We are God's people and felt it
was right for us." / Just in case G-d had good reason and it wasn't
someone's misinterpretation religiously...we felt we had "covered
ourselves"...(we are Episcopalian, actually) / Because his father
thought the Covenant applied to him somehow, though he wasn't Jewish
Kay Henson <serenity[AT-sign]herbcare.com> /told to Patrick
Draper <pdrap[AT-sign]ctp.com>/A caller to Dr Dean Edell, 6 Mar 1998,
heard by Wayne Hampton <hampton[AT-sign]netcom.com>
102. Because of Acts 15 1: "And certain men came down from Judea and
taught the brethren, "Unless you are circumcised according to the
custom of Moses, you cannot be saved."
Yet the chapter goes on to repudiate circumcision for
Christians.
included on a painting called "Circumcision" by Samoan na�ve
artist Tony Schuster, April 2003
103. Because it is a good Christian thing to do
(said by a Lutheran) to Duane Voskuil <dvoskuil[AT-
sign]tic.bisman.com>
104. Because we're Pentecostal
(Circumcision is not among the "Gifts of the Spirit")
told to Patrick Draper <pdrap[AT-sign]ctp.com>
105. Because we're Episcopalian
A couple to nurse Mary Conant <wholebaby2[AT-sign]juno.com>
106. Because we're Orthodox Albanians
"the priest does come and it is considered a rite of passage
into our faith" - a poster on a list for midwives and doulas, reported
by "cam" <cmay[AT-sign]flash.net>
107. Because it's a tradition of the Orthodox in Northern Greece
Markos, personal communication
108. Because he (a Navajo) was placed during the school term with
Mormons
109. Because a baboon the Egyptians considered sacred is "born
circumcised"
110. Because Mohammed was "born circumcised"
111. Because his mother's boyfriend is a Muslim
the father of David Williams, <21davidwilliams[AT-
sign]supanet.com>
112. Because impurities collect in the foreskin and by removing it we
are purer and closer to God.
Said to Dan Bollinger<danbollinger[AT-sign]home.com> by a
Lebanese Moslem man. He replied, "Exactly what impurities would these
be?" The man said nothing and changed the subject.
113. Because it is required by Islam
(But it's not in the Qur'an)
114. Because it is required by the Catholic church / For religious
reasons...my parents were Catholics
/ personal communication
115. Because it is required by his stepfather's insurance policy
Don Morgan
116. Because women's magazines advise it
Canadian Medical Association Journal, Vol 95 (Sept 10, 1966),
pages 576-581
CHILDHOOD
117. Because his mother was having another baby, so they could go in
together
(He was 18 months old, and became an elective mute)
Grandson of a workmate of Erick L. Gustavson <egustav435[AT-
sign]erols.com>
118. "To advertise sociopolitical relief organisations in Turkey"
(?)
E. Ozdemir, Significantly increased complication risks with mass
circumcision, British Journal of Urology (1997) 80, 136-9
119. To celebrate a newspaper's anniversary
"Relax, it's good for our circulation" [picture] "A BOY grimaces
in pain at a mass circumcision at the offices of Kompas, Indonesia's
largest daily newspaper, in Jakarta yesterday. In an Islamic rite of
passage, 171 Indonesian boys were circumcised in celebration of the
newspaper's 36th birthday." - The Australian, July 6, 2001, p30
(Marketplace)
120. As a tourist attraction
(Malaysia, Indonesia)
121. Because it is a routine procedure in his parents' country of
origin
Reported in the Canadian Medical Association Journal, Vol 95
(Sept 10, 1966), pages 576-581
122. Because everybody else is doing it
123. Because his mother's friends kept asking why he wasn't
(He was, but didn't look it, so it was done again)
Told to George Hill
124. Because only the Mexicans don't do it (in San Diego)
Told by Kent_and_Liz[AT-sign]msn.com (Liz deForest)
125. Because it is a status symbol: "If you ain't circumcised, you
ain't shit."
126. Because it is an act of the civilized world
127. Because "It's one more thing that sets us apart from the apes."
128. Because he is a nervous little boy
Father of Carla <Carmilarms[AT-sign]aol.com>
129. To make him better-tempered
R N Jones, 1965
130. To show the child "We love you, but we must rid you of your
infantilisms"
Theodor Reik, cited in The Universality of Incest
131. To prepare him to receive tribal secrets / priestly secrets
(Australia) / (ancient Egypt)
132. To make him immortal, like a snake gaining a new life when it
sheds its skin
(Egypt)
133. To enable him to reincarnate
(Australia)
134. To enable him to communicate with the spirits of his ancestors
(Xhosa)
135. To separate him from his mother
(Xhosa)
136. To break an excessively strong dependence upon the mother
John Whiting, cited in The Universality of Incest
137. To ward off evil
(Xhosa - and who else?)
138. To cement mutual respect among those circumcised
(Herero of Namibia)
139. To make him an Olympic runner
(Kenya) "...a pet idea of [John] Manners, that the male
circumcision ritual, in which boys are shamed if they react to pain,
uniquely prepares Kalenjin men for the pressure of an Olympic
final" (but "female circumcision" is "often debilitating"): "Fast
Forward: The rise of Kenya's women runners" by Lori Shontz, Post-
Gazette, Pittsburgh, PA, May 5, 2002
140. Because he belongs to the Spanish royal family
141. Because he belongs to the upper class
TIM HUISAMEN <AKTH[AT-sign]warthog.ru.ac.za> and widely reported
142. Because he's an orphan
143. Because he's to be adopted
144. Because he's been adopted
Rosie O'Donnell's adopted son Parker was circumcised at 18
months in a pseudo-bris.
145. Because he's disabled
146. Because "I kind of think it is 'American'... in the early years
of this great nation, we took pride in BEING DIFFERENT thon ether
nations"
Offered by Sean <JSQB03B[AT-sign]prodigy.com> - sent by George
HIll
147. Because "it's the American thing to do"
Medical advisor Dr Cohen on AHN TV - posted on alt.circumcision
by Chele <rickw409[AT-sign]aol.com> (RickW409) 26 July 1998
148. Because the Americans do it. / Because the Arikwao (white men)
do it.
Peter Frazer (Roy Cohn's lover), Arnold Schwarznegger / (Solomon
Islands) personal communication
149. Because "a boy should look like his brother" / Because if only
one brother is cut, "neither will know which one is normal"
(and which one is?)
Mark H, who was cut at the last minute for this reason, and has
never seen his brothers' penises / Surgeon-General Everett B. Coop,
1993
150. "For good measure" because his older brother was being c.
Told by the (French) older brother to Martin Novoa
<acroposthion[AT-sign]hotmail.com>
151. For variety (leaving brother/s intact)
"Steven Daniel"
152. To make him look different from his twin brother
153. "We don't want him to look and ask why... 'why do you look like
that, daddy... and I look like this?' ...
154. ...We wanted him to fit in...
155. ... to feel that he's part of the family...
156. ... that there's nothing wrong with him... (!)
157. ... and he's just the same as daddy!" / Because "a boy should
look like his father" / 'Like father like son' / "Because his father
is and it is better for them to be alike."
///(said by a woman who had broken off contact with the father
before she knew she was pregnant)
John [Masseli], in NBC Today Show, Nov 9, 1998/Joe Crummey, KABC
Radio, Los Angeles/ letter to Suzanne Cook <nocircofmaine[AT-
sign]juno.com> / from Darilynn Starr <sstar[AT-sign]vii.com>
158. Because his mother feared his father wouldn't bond with him if
they didn't look the same.
(This may have some basis - though not justification - in
biology)
159. Because fathers and sons are natural enemies / To channel a
father's natural anger and jealousy into one controlled cut
"The day I cut off my son's foreskin" by Daniel Silberman
Brenner/Rabbi Joshua Hammerman in Good Weekend, May 28, 1994
160. Because "In the primeval way of things procreative, we decided
to pass on a tradition from father to son."/ Because I wanted to share
the circumcision bond with my sons
Parents Magazine, February 1999/Dr Alan Greene, www.parenthoodweb.com
161. Because everyone in our family is circumsised
Reported by John M Foley MD (in FACT magazine, July - August
1966)
162. Because the mother missed her dead husband's penis [ ! ]
(posted on an email list for stay-at-home attachment parents:
the first husband died before the birth of his son, and the mother
posted "I took comfort that if I couldn't have my husband, at least I
could have a penis I was comfortable with." )
The same woman let her second son be cut to save her marriage.
Sent by remdog <remdog[AT-sign]earthlink.net>
163. To make him look like his mother's father
164. Because of an inborn "vagina envy"
Bruno Bettleheim cited in The Universality of Incest
165. To make him look like his peers / To make him feel "regular"
166. Because "until more people start objecting to this procedure,
it's easier on the kid to get him circumsised"
(i.e. Somebody else go first.)
Bill <Wes676767[AT-sign]aol.com> on the Superconsciousness (?)
list
167. To protect him from being teased / called "cheese dick" / "To
prevent "locker-room syndrome" / Because his mother heard of an intact
boy in a locker-room being called "flappy".
168. Because if we ever live in Egypt [my husband is Egyptian] my son
won't feel different from other boys
Lisa <ljahmed[AT-sign]mailcity.com>
169. Because his foreskin had been (but was no longer) swollen after
a dog bite.
http://www.medscape.com/HomeExamRoom/spotlight/05.97-spotlight.html
170. "Trim the twig to strengthen the limb" / Because plants require
pruning for growth
Foreskin, p121 / Gwen A Orel <gaost3+[AT-sign]pitt.edu> 3 Dec
1996
171. Because it does him a favour / Because circumcision is "the
KINDEST CUT OF ALL" in a man's life."
/ James Yello <jamesyello[AT-sign]aol.com>
172. To provide skin for growing for grafts
173. To provide collagen for cosmetic surgery on lips and cheeks
"Herd on the Street", Maureen Dowd, New York Times, April 11,
2001
174. To use his foreskin for testing cosmetics for irritation
175. To use his foreskin to make TNS Recovery Complex(TM), an anti-
wrinkle cream.
Skinmedica Tns Recovery Complex - ...The biotechnology of the
skin's natural healing process has arrived with the first tissue
repairing complex containing growth factors found in normal, healthy
skin. The TNS (Tissue Nutrient Solution) Recovery Complex System with
NouriCel-MD�, a research based cosmetic ingredient only found in TNS,
is comprised of natural growth factors, antioxidants, matrix proteins,
and soluble collagens, to help restore what time takes away.
SkinCareShop
Did someone mention soap?
As seen on Oprah!
176. To use his foreskin as a culture medium
Dr Gerald N. Weiss <gnweiss[AT-sign]frii.com>
177. To graft on to mice to experimentally induce skin cancer
HealthSCOUT, quoting "a recent issue of the American Journal of
Pathology
178. To make his penis cleaner / "For hygienic purposes" / Because
"no son of mine is gonna have a doggy dick."
/ / steve-o <smcarus[AT-sign]syr.edu>
179. Because it's too much trouble for his mother to clean / Because
we sometimes go to Africa where hygiene is impossible
/ told to Pat A Miller <patm.tapsac.nocircoh[AT-sign]juno.com>
180. "Because I was afraid I would not know how to clean it...
181. "...I am embarrassed to admit I do not know how to clean it...
182. "...I would be humiliated to take him to the doctor with an
infection...
183. "...If he got an infection, I would be considered a dirty
incompetent mom."
All four told to Eileen Wayne <EileenWayne[AT-sign]aol.com> by
the same woman
184. Because the cleaning instructions for intact boys are
contradictory
Dr Gerald N. Weiss <gnweiss[AT-sign]frii.com>
185. Because he lacked co-ordination and his mother couldn't imagine
him being able to retract his own foreskin
A friend of Anne LaMotte, quoted in her book "Operating
Instructions"
186. Because men prefer a maintainence-free penis
Dr William Sears on ParentTime
187. Because his mother thought that cleaning him was too much like
masturbating him / Because cleaning him could be misinterpreted as
masturbating him / Because parents might be uncomfortable discussing
penile hygiene with him
/Steve Scott at the 6ISGI/ Dr Marianne Neifert in "Dr Mom"
188. To make his genitals odourless
189. ...male circumcision is a beautiful thing and not a barbaric
thing or mutilation. That is why we circumcise..because it is
beautiful.
Candybags <candybags[AT-sign]shaw.ca> on the
circumcision_pro_or_con group, Aug 5, 2003
190. To make his penis look nicer / cuter / sexy
/ / <vuckovic[AT-sign]interaccess.com> (G. Vuckovic)
191. Because it exposes the most beautiful part / Because it's an
"aesthetic enhancement"
The Hite Report on Male Sexuality, pp. 397-398 / <wadi4885[AT-
sign]my-dejanews.com>
192. Because "circumcision provides the perfect penis".
A urologist to an adult man who told John D. Dalton <cole[AT-
sign]dentfell.demon.co.uk>
193. Because an uncircumcised penis looks funny /... like a piece of
meat / "...sort of marsupial, or like [a] little rodent[] stuck in [a]
garden hose[]."/ "Because if your not cut.....you look like a freak!!"
The Hite Report on Male Sexuality, pp. 397-398 // Anne LaMott,
"Operating Instructions" / Bradley Wells <QHRQ11B[AT-sign]prodigy.com>
194. Because it makes it uniformly pink
(It doesn't, of course - on the contrary.)
The Hite Report on Male Sexuality, pp. 397-398
195. Because our son ended up being born with a really tight
foreskin, so much so that it was discolored and our OB said it really
had to be done.
Lisa <ljahmed[AT-sign]mailcity.co>
196. Because he was "presenting with a megaprepuce that had both
physical and mental effects, eg in his relations with his peers and in
emotional anxiety for his parents" / Because his foreskin is
"excessively long"
Gomez, British Journal of Urology 1997; 80:357-361 / Gomez et
al, British Journal of Urology (1996), 78, 959-960
197. Because the doctors said his urethra was too long
(This is nonsense. The state of the foreskin has no effect on
the urethra. They probably meant his foreskin was too long - for their
comfort.)
I. H. personal communication
198. "Because [my sister's] doctor said having his glans exposed
would help calm him down a little (he's terribly hyper)." (The writer
goes on "It's certainly more natural than using drugs like Ritalin")
Posted Feb 24, 2000, on ParentSpace by chelle_ken
199. To prevent excessive crying / Because "If you don't have him
circumcised and he gets an infection, he'll cry and cry and cry and
you'll never be able to get him to stop."
Reported in the Canadian Medical Association Journal, Vol 95
(Sept 10, 1966), pages 576-581 /
200. Because "it improves his health"
Beth on www.parenthoodweb.com
201. To prevent/cure yeast infections
202. To prevent/cure balanitis
203. To prevent/cure phimosis / "tight skin" / Because it wouldn't
retract at birth
/ Canadian Medical Association Journal, Vol 95 (Sept 10, 1966),
pages 576-581 / The Hite Report on Male Sexuality, pp. 397-398
204. "I had him circumcized because the foreskin kept getting tighter
and tighter as he got older to the point where he could no longer
retract it and if he did not get it circumcized the chances of his
developing gangrene were not even a question."
www.pregnancy.org
205. Because "apparently there is something in the Korean genotype
[hereditary makeup] that causes problems with penile phimosis"
(Only the South Korean genotype, it seems)
A teacher in South Korea to Matthew L <mjl[AT-sign]f1.net.au>
206. Because he was (one of 16) in the control group for an
experiment that showed that topical steriods succesfully treated
phimosis
Br J Urol 1996 Nov; 78(5): 786-788
207. To prevent/cure paraphimosis
208. To prevent Urinary Tract Infection
209. To prevent infant epididymitis (infection of the sperm-storage
tubules behind the testes)
210. Because he had an accumulation of water in his scrotum which,
had he not been circumcised, would have made him sterile
(They probably just took the opportunity to c. him when they
were draining his scrotum. Maybe they lied, maybe he misunderstood.)
A schoolfriend of John D. Dalton <cole[AT-
sign]dentfell.demon.co.uk>
211. To prevent high blood pressure
Dr Thomas Wiswell, Knight-Ridder newspapers 2/Apr/97
212. To prevent the formation of gallstones
Dr Edgar Schoen, quoted in USA Today, July 1995
213. To cure a stomach infection
A man at a NORM-SoCal meeting, sent by Gary Harryman
<Glharryman[AT-sign]aol.com>
214. To prevent prostate cancer
Dr. Abraham Ravich
215. Because he was born with ichthyosis
(A rare skin condition affecting the whole body)
A friend of Nathan Kennard <nathankennard[AT-SIGN]hotmail.com>
216. "An urologist who checked my penis suggested me to circumcise my
penis because he says the little white points [around the gland] can
be dangerous, meaning being transmited while sex."
These papillae coronis are perfectly normal and common.
A correspondent to David Stevens <davidstevens[AT-
sign]sbcglobal.net>
217. To prevent rupture
Canadian Medical Association Journal, Vol 95 (Sept 10, 1966),
pages 576-581
218. To prevent boils
219. "To combat the ravages of schistosomal infectious
symptomatology"
A schistosome is a threadworm. Symptomatology is the study of
symptoms.
Gerald N. Weiss M.D. <gnweiss,frii.com>
220. To cure genital crabs
A caller to the Howard Stern Show, September 4, 2003
221. To prevent or cure alcoholism, asthma, curvature of the spine,
epilepsy, gout, hernia, headaches and rheumatism
P C Remondino, 1891
222. To help him cope with chicken pox
Geoffrey T. Falk
223. Because he hadn't urinated hours after birth
(He had.)
MBLNovoa <chuff[AT-sign]pacbell.net:>
224. So that the tip of the penis (glans) and the opening of the
urethra, through which the baby urinates, are exposed to air
The foreskin is the tip of the penis
Supplied by Pat a. Miller <patm.tapsac.nocircoh[AT-
sign]juno.com>
225. Because a foreskin that completely covers the glans is abnormal
On this basis, the same study found 49% of intact men to be
"abnormal"
Osmond TE. Is routine circumcision advisable? J Royal Army Med
Corps. 1953; 99:254.
226. To stop him dribbling when he pees / sprinkling on the toilet
seat / To prevent difficulty with micturation in childhood
Jason Ashley//
227. Because "If you don't do that they get a rupture.... The urine
will get all backed up and won't come out properly." / To allow him to
urinate
A nursing graduate to Coontail <coontail[AT-sign]my-deja.com> /
228. "We did it for potty training. It's just easier that way."
In "a local daily paper" submitted by <gdavis[AT-
sign]griffin.emba.uvm.edu> (Gary Davis)
229. To confer "societal health benefits"
230. Because scar tissue had formed at the end of his foreskin making
it hard to urinate (the doctor had ordered the mother to retract his
foreskin forcibly from four months onward)
From Darillyn Starr <Sstar[AT-sign]vii.com>
231. Because "my cousin's penis, started growing shut, and if he
wouldn't have had it cut, he could have died. (if it was let closed
shut completely)
An anonymous poster on misc.kids.pregnancy
232. Because "there wouldn't have had any place for my penis to grow"
[Name removed at writer's request]
233. Because he had a large glans
Peter Patterson, Toronto, Canada, personal communication.
234. Because "the foreskin and the frenulum stop the growth of the
penis and in some cases circumcision is necessary to protect the boy
or man from the psychological trauma of an abnormally small penis."
a respected gynecologist, doctor's union official, and a
political power in the Institute Mexicano Seguro Social (Social
Security) to Dr Sergio Aguilar
235. To prevent stunted growth of his whole body
In the Philippines, where boys are circumcised before
adolescence.
236. Because he is under anaesthetic already for another operation
Combined tonsillectomy and circumcision became so common it was
called "T & C"
One mother told Suzanne Cooke <Scookie5[AT-sign]aol.com> how
she'd fought in 1977 to keep her son intact, but they got him when
they were bringing down a testicle.
dvoskuil[AT-sign]tic.bisman.com (Duane Voskuil Ph.D.)
237. So that he will do better at school
Recommended by Dr Manuel Neto of North Dakota to Mona Goheen,
who wrote to the National Post, October 27, 1999
ADOLESCENT
238. To protect him from getting stuck in a zipper
239. To extract him from a zipper
240. Because "it reduces a boy's excessive fascination with his
penis"
Beth on www.parenthoodweb.com
241. To prevent masturbation - and prevent or treat about 100
allegedly consequent ailments, including arthritic hips*, blindness,
headaches, hydrocephaly, insanity, kidney disease, kleptomaina,
leprosy, moral depravity, rectal prolapse, plague and tuberculosis
John Kellog, 1888
*Lewis A. Sayre, 1870s (vehemently opposed to routine c.,
though)
242. To punish him for masturbating
243. So that he will be easier to control as a teenager
244. To "create a rosebud that will bloom when he's 18."
An angry man to nurse Mary Conant <wholebaby2[AT-sign]juno.com>
ADULT
245. To punish him for homosexuality/cure his homosexuality
D-----, friend of B------, was 26, and it was done at his
parents' behest in Colombia while he was under general anaesthetic for
another operation. Personal communication./Dear Abby, June 9, 2006
246. To punish him for going AWOL / trying to escape from prison
/ Bud Berkeley, "Foreskin", p 153
247. To punish him for bestiality
Dr Charles E. Briggs was surgeon of the 54th Massachusetts
Infantry, a unit of black soldiers. Private James Riley was accused of
bestiality with a mare, but acquitted. Nevertheless Dr Briggs had the
soldier bound and gagged, then performed a punitive circumcision and
mutilated the soldier's penis with a hot iron, all without
anesthetics. (For this malpractice, torture, assault, and battery,
Briggs was court-martialled.) - Tarnished Scalpels: The Court-Martials
of Fifty Union Surgeons by Thomas P. Lowry and Jack D. Welsh,
Stackpole Books. (Read reviews and order from Amazon.com)
248. To punish him for stealing a Circumstraint (tm)
"Babyboy", New York,
249. To punish him for anti-Semitism
On the ABC programme "The View", comedienne Joy Behar suggested
this for actor Mel Gibson after his drunken anti-Semitic tirade on
July 21, 2006
250. To punish him for catching an STD
251. To prevent STDs
(syphilis) Jonathan Hutchinson, 1856
252. Because he had had an STD and "otherwise it would have resulted
in a sterile future"
told by a Navy medic to the father of a correspondent with Ken
Avery <kenny318east3rd[AT-sign]hotmail.com>, 1950s
253. To prevent HIV
* because the foreskin is deficient in Langerhans cells
(Weiss, 1993)
* because the foreskin is rich in Langerhans cells (Szabo
and Short, 2000)
254. Because his foreskin was growing back (after his first
circumcision)
Friends of Gabrielle Rhodes' husband <rhodes38[AT-sign]home.com>
255. To initiate him when crossing the Equator
256. Because "circumcised (Samoan and Tongan) men are better Rugby
League players."
Metro (NZ) September 1999
257. Because he will be prevented from speaking in public if his
(Samoan) father is intact.
Pacific Star (NZ) February/March 1999
258. Because it was a requirement before you could see the doctor
Told to Tom H. <workhard[AT-sign]home.com> of Oshawa, Southern
Ontario in 1954 by his family
259. Because [the Jews] lived in the desert, and the dust and dirt
would get in there in young boys and cause infections
(This belief is widespread, and has no foundation.)
An anonymous poster on misc.kids.pregnancy
260. To protect him from irritation when fighting in the desert /
Because his mother had heard that Americans in the trenches in World
War I got infections under their foreskins
Tried on HY's mother in 1942, and by Kim Saffron's mother in
1964 / Darillyn Starr <Sstar[AT-sign]vii.com>
261. Because he was going to serve in Vietnam and "might have to walk
through swamps"
(As the man himself said, wouldn't his foreksin protect him in
that case?)
Brother of G--- J---; personal communication.
262. To be allowed to work in a US Army kitchen (in Korea)
Prof. DaiSik Kim
263. To make him fit for military service
264. To promote military discipline
265. Because it is "a requirement for admission to the armed forces /
the US Marines / As a requirement of joining the Coast Guard, because
the foreskin is a "health problem"
Canadian Medical Association Journal, Vol 95 (Sept 10, 1966),
pages 576-581 / Helen Bryce <bryce[AT-sign]cruzio.com> quoting Dodie
Hall on fgm-l citing Marvin Zindler of LeGrange, TX / Randy Reinhart
randyr[AT-sign]connect.net<
266. Because you get two days off military service to recover
(Taiwanese army/UK troops in Singapore)
D.J. Toman <milesian[AT-sign]asiaonline.net.tw> / "The Virgin
Soldiers" (film, 1969, UK)
267. Because a friend of the adoption social worker was circumcised
in the Navy, and he was a mess
Darillyn Starr <Sstar[AT-sign]vii.com>
268. To make him look like his master / Because his master ordered it
Advice column, Friction magazine, August 1989 (advised against
allowing it) / Tom Hodgson ordered it for his "lover"/slave, Robert
McEwan in Perth, Australia, in the 1980s. McEwan stabbed Hodgson 42
times in 1994. express newspaper, Auckland NZ, February 8, 1997 and
Outrage, Sydney
269. Because he's in prison
270. Because he's a Prisoner Of War
A friend of B--- M---; personal communication
271. To prevent him from concealing/transporting drugs under his
foreskin
Tim Huisamen <AKTH[AT-sign]warthog.ru.ac.za>
272. To encourage your children to become more creative when they are
adults.
Dr Dave Mirkin. It turns out he means "much more creative in
lovemaking" based on the Laumanns' finding that circumcised men of
some ethnicities masturbate more and have more oral sex than intact
men. Creative?
273. To enable him to become not just a very fine, but a great actor
No�l Coward to Derek Jacobi, told in the Daily Telegraph, July
16, 2002
274. To prevent him becoming a presidential assassin.
These two together make one wonder about John Wilkes Booth....
275. Because it was "too long" and would get tangled when he was
rowing (ordered by the doctor of his rowing club)
A friend of Ari Zigelboim <ariz[AT-sign]communique.net>
276. Because I am heartily sick of it rolling forward and trapping my
hairs!
"John Hobson"<johnhobson[AT-sign]ntlworld.com> on
alt.circumcision. He didn't take the option of trimming the hair
seriously, suggesting this was not the real reason.
277. To frighten his enemies
278. To give him the appearance of permanent arousal / Because a
circumcised penis always looks ready to go.
/ Gene McGough <genem[AT-sign]caveman.net>
279. To weaken him ready for slaughter
Genesis 34:14-25
280. In exchange for a grant of land from the Temple in ancient
Israel
Ari Zigelboim <ariz[AT-sign]communique.net>
281. To make a / real / American / man of him
In 1996 in Queensland, an Aboriginal woman identified as
"Gladys" told Ambrose John Neal to "make a man of" Irwin Brookdale,
which he did with a broken bottle. Brookdale got $A10,000 in damages.
AFP Oct 8, 1997. / /
282. As a proud mark that one was not French
An Algerian man describing life under colonial French rule in
the film "Circoncision"
283. To pass as a Muslim
Sir Richard Burton - the explorer, not the actor
284. Because he's a slave in a Muslim brothel, so he has to be a
Muslim
Reported in Gay News (UK) April 2005
285. Because he is a Promise Keeper
Jack Hayford, another charismatic Baptist preacher, ... is a
frequent speaker at Promise Keepers seminars ... One of the other
beliefs that Jack Hayford promotes stems from ... a vision of [Jesus]
seated in heaven, ... Jesus told Hayford why God required circumcision
in the Old Testament. "God wants to touch your very identity as a
man," Hayford explained to the group, in an effort to encourage adult
circumcision on those men who had not yet experienced the ritual. "He
wants to reach out and touch your secret and private parts. This
enables Him to better perform surgery on the heart. God wants to touch
man�s creative parts." (from a speech made by Hayford to the Promise
Keepers during their regional conference in Anaheim, California, 14
May 1994.)
Barbara Victor, "The Last Crusade, Religion and the Politics of
Misdirection"
Constable & Robinson Ltd, London, 2005, ISBN 1-84119-955-9, p
178.
Read reviews and buy this book from Amazon.com
286. To pass as a Jew (in kibbutzim)
Article by Herb Keinon in The Jerusalem Post, Oct 18, 1991
287. To pass as a member of the English upper class
The father of mervyn <mcripps[AT-sign]mergetel.com>
288. Because he has been captured by Muslims
289. In case he is captured by Muslims (the British surgeon would
take more care, 1661)
Bud Berkeley, "Foreskin", p 31
290. In order to be allowed to live in Saudi Arabia
291. In order to be considered worthy to be elected President of
South Africa
(Xhosa said they would not vote for an intact man, April 1999)
292. Because his penis was "too big, to make it more comfortable"
R--, personal communication (26 May 2002), circumcised in his
fifties without him having presented any symptoms
293. "As a way of reinforcing his African heritage"
White South African performance artist Peet Pienaar, October
2000
294. As "a symbol of me broadening my identity"
Pienaar again when African cultural objections were raised to
the first proposal
295. As a work of performance art
Pienaar again in the final event. The exhibit included close-up
video of the circumcision and the foreskin itself in formaldehyde
296. In case he becomes quadriplegic and needs a catheter
(False. Men in non-circumcising countries are routinely
catheterised while intact)
According to Dr Gerald N. Weiss <gnweiss[AT-sign]frii.com>
297. Because he was diabetic, so he was "bound to have problems with
it sooner later" [details suppressed for confidentiality]
298. To demonstrate the circumcisor's prowess as a warrior
Bud Berkeley, "Foreskin", p 31
299. So that other members of the circumcision club can watch and
masturbate
300. Because the foreskin's purpose is to facilitate rape
301. To remove the female element from him: "A boy is female from his
foreskin; a girl is male from her clitoris"
According to the Dogon of West Africa
302. As an "equalizer for the inconvenience, sometimes pain, that the
female of the species suffers month after month"
Adrian E. Cristobal in Manilla News Online, July 20, 2003
303. So that men can have the same blood-bond as women: "Our mothers,
sisters, wives, and daughters experience the awesome spiritual bonding
power of blood every month. Men have this opportunity only during
circumcision."
Rabbi David Zaslow, "Circumcision and Brit: They're Not the Same
Thing" Tikkun May/June 2001
MARRIAGE AND SEX
304. To prepare him for marriage
305. To impart a sense of sacredness to the act of conjugal union
Rabbi Reuven Bulka of the congregation Machzikei Hadas, Ottawa
(Ottawa Citizen, Oct 21, 1997)
306. Because "it helps with the love connection."
Father of Carl Schutt, author of "I want my Foreskin for
Giftmas"
307. To reduce his sexual performance
Maimonides, Guide for the Perplexed, p.378 of the Dover edition,
1956
308. Because it cuts down excessive libido, which leads to adultery
309. For "the subversion of sexual energy into productive societal
endeavours in a supportive environment."
"pantera" <nick_msk[AT-sign]hotmail.com> on alt.circumcision on
20 Mar 2003
310. To prevent infertility / ensure fertility
Canadian Medical Association Journal, Vol 95 (Sept 10, 1966),
pages 576-581
311. Because his sperm were abnormal in a test for in vitro
fertilization, and balanitis could be the cause
BMJ, (1998;316:1438-1441 9 May)
312. To prevent cervical cancer in his partner/s
313. Because he was giving his wife yeast infections
(and she was giving them to him...)
Told to <dvoskuil[AT-sign]tic.bisman.com> (Duane Voskuil Ph.D.)
314. Because his partner demands it / To make him attractive to his
partner / "Because no woman wants to look at a doggy dick!!"
Jason Ashley // Bradley Wells <QHRQ11B[AT-sign]prodigy.com>
315. To "make him 'respectable' to the female of the species."
Adrian E. Cristobal in Manilla News Online, July 20, 2003
316. Because his mother and her friends prefer circumcised men for
sexual pleasure
Letter to Suzanne Cook <nocircofmaine[AT-sign]juno.com>
317. Because his mother had sex with an intact man once and it was
"dirty"
318. Because women don't like performing oral sex on intact men /
Because prostitutes prefer circumcised penises
/ Attributed to an Australian medical journal
319. Because women think it looks "more natural"
(!)
Said by Edgar Schoen, Today Show, 11/11/98 apprently in refernce
to Williamson & Williamson's survey of Iowa women
320. To use his foreskin for a dowry
(1 Sam 18 25-7)
321. To make his penis bigger / To allow the penis to become more
erect and hence 'bigger'. / Because the Tip of the Penis will surely
be diminished in size due to the presence of the foreskin./ To make it
look bigger
Reported in "NZ Truth" / A father to nurse Mary Conant
<wholebaby2[AT-sign]juno.com> / told to <BFKOUBA[AT-sign]aol.com> by a
Japanese youth who failed at self-c. / "South Park" May 20, 1998
322. Because "the foreskin and the frenulum stop the growth of the
penis and in some cases circumcision is necessary to protect the boy
or man from the psychological trauma of an abnormally small penis"
Told by a respected gynecologist, doctors' union official, and
political power in the Institute Mexicano Seguro Social (Social
Security), to Dr Sergio Aquilar, who told Gary Harriman<Glharryman[AT-
sign]aol.com>
323. To make his erection shorter [tight circumcision is specified]
and so protect future partners from painful bumping on the far end of
their vaginas
Chris "sianick1994" <***@yahoo.co.uk> in the Yahoo group
circumcision_pro_and_con, Oct 1, 2003
324. To avoid tearing in tight situations / Because it is better for
overall comfort when you have a stiff erection
The Hite Report on Male Sexuality, pp. 397-398
325. To prevent pain in intercourse
(Herero of Namibia)
326. To enhance his sexual performance / prevent premature
ejaculation
327. Because "his early sexual experiences are likely to be enjoyable
and enhance his self-esteem[.] Clumsy experimentation may be reduced
or eliminated."
John Pritchard <jpritcha[AT-sign]escape.ca> alt.circumcision Nov
17, 1998
328. Because it enhances sensitivity
The Hite Report on Male Sexuality, pp. 397-398
329. Because it reduces sensitivity / (at 11-13) To remove the
foreskin before the boy starts to gain sexual stimulation from it at
puberty.
/ http://www.circlist.org/cconsider.html
OLD AGE
330. To prevent penile cancer
Abraham Wolbarst, 1914
331. To prevent urinary obstruction in his old age
Canadian Medical Association Journal, Vol 95 (Sept 10, 1966),
pages 576-581
332. Because "If he gets ill and cannot manage his personal hygiene
himself he will have to put up with some stranger (whoever) attending
to this problem of pulling back the foreskin weekly [!] to clean the
area. This would be most disgusting and belittling for him." / "The
procedure of being cleaned is emotionally difficult for the older
uncircumcised patient."
Shirley Murray on the Australian "60 Minutes" discussion board /
Ruth Frank, RN, CS, VA Medical Center, Durham, NC, in PEDIATRICS Vol.
106 No. 4 October 2000, pp. 954
333. Because if "a guy has a car accident and is incapable of
[cleaning under his foreskin] for himself[, h]e will now need this
service regularly to be done by some strange (probably a nurse) person
for term of his remaining life."
Shirley Murray on the Australian "60 Minutes" discussion board
334. In case he needs a catheter when he is senile
Dr Gerald N. Weiss <gnweiss[AT-sign]frii.com>
POSTHUMOUS
335. So that his children will not be embarrassed when they perform
the ritual bath after his death
(Korea) Kukmin Ilbo, Sep. 24, 1996, cited by DaiSik Kim in "Male
circumcision: a South Korean perspective", British Journal of Urology,
Vol 83 Jan 1999
336. To prepare his corpse for the study of male anatomy
337. Because the foreskin "is a disgrace to him"
(why a Jewish baby who dies before his Bris must be circumcised
at the graveside)
Code of Jewish Law, ... by Rabbi Solomon Ganzfried (NY, Hebrew
Publishing Co, 1961) vol 4, p 44
338. To admit sinful Jews to Gehinnom (Hell): Abraham sits at the
gate of Gehinnon and takes the foreskins off Jewish babies who died
uncircumcised and puts them on bad Jews
A Cohen, Everyman's Talmud, (New York, Schocken, 1975) p 381
...BUT:
339. "The bodily pain caused to that member is the real purpose of
circumcision."
- Maimonides
And this doesn't include the underlying reasons - to show him who's in
charge and what they think about his sexuality.
http://www.circumstitions.com/Stitions&refs.html