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[hongkosmo]

Maybe I should get back to writing in here frequently. Maybe I should be taking notes in art history instead of writing in my livejournal.

...nah.

Does circumcision affect sexual sensitivity?Found this article, it's short and interesting. I'm uncircumcised, which is fairly uncommon in America (more common on the west coast though), and I've

Comments

[crimsonglory42]

-yes

-yes

-makes it easier for girls to get in and do their tamponthing a few times a month?

-that would be my idea...but it sucks.

go pay attention you

[carnificinafera]

My main objection to neo-natal circumcision is that it is the permanent modification of a rather important part of a person's body without their consent. Another problem with is is that it causes your child extreme pain (topical anaesthetics don't work, and other kinds aren't okay on infants).

I don't care all that much about the sensitivity debate, because I think that no one has a right to cut off part of anyone else's genitals without their permission unless there's a damn good reason to do it. Trying to prove a reason not to do it seems redundant.

[hongkosmo]

I agree whole heartedly, I don't think that that mutilation is justified. But the World Health Organization is concerned with the spread of HIV in Africa, and multiple studies have shown that while obviously circumcision is not a substitute for the safety of a condom, the spread of infection has decreased dramatically among circumcised men.

[greeneyedgirl77]

Something interesting that also occurs in Africa is female genital cutting which has different levels of severity but is also highly controversial (the clitoris is always altered). In this case, it's a cultural thing that's part of an initiation into the female way of life and into adulthood, rather than a health concern. It's interesting to consider the American "objection" to it when you think about how many babies are born in US hospitals and then circumcised. Just thought I'd add in the female perspective :-)

[carnificinafera]

Well, clitorectomy (and other forms of FGM) are a whole 'nother league.

Where there's debate about sensitivity effects of circumcision, clitorectomy is KNOWN to dramatically decrease sensitivity, often to the point of making orgasm impossible, and sometimes to the point of preventing all sexual pleasure. It's also oten not performed in a "medically sound" (for lack of a better term) way, leading to infection, spread of disease such as HIV, further damage than was intended, and death.