Adult Circumcision Stories -
What Men Circumcised At Birth Think

The accounts below are from men who will obviously have no idea of what it is to be uncircumcised. They provide another perspective on this issue.

No problems

"It was with real pleasure that I read your compendious and well-written overview of the subject of circumcision. I am not qualified to make any judgment of strictly medical matters. Although circumcised as an infant, I gave the subject little attention for a long while, although there were, at various times in my life, chance remarks or encounters that very much stuck in my memory.

However, when our university modernized, and I got net-access, I became aware of a well-orchestrated anti-circ. campaign. This upset me a little, until I took time to reflect, and it occurred to me that the anti-circ. propaganda just did not correspond to my own experience.

I was not angry, did not feel "mutilated", was not suffering from psychological or physical problems. I could very well see, though, that on someone less mature, this propaganda could have a devastating effect. We all owe a debt of gratitude to people like you who have brought some rationality back to the discussion."

Businessman on Ivory Coast of Africa

[Some language corrections applied]

"I'm [name deleted] an Ivoirian-French 32 year-old businessman (my father is black from the Ivory Coast, Africa and my mother is white from France). Sorry for my English but here we speak French.

I was very surprised, when I searched out of curiosity for information about circumcision, that there are a very large number of web pages against circumcision! I was born in the Ivory Coast and grew up here in a modern middle class family.

But I always travelled to France for school holidays with my parents since childhood. I did my university studies in Paris from the age of 20 to 25 and afterwards worked in Paris until 1995. After that I came back to the Ivory Coast and I started a small engineering informatics society. My wife, a French white woman, will have a baby boy soon. We decided to circumcise him, but I wanted to have more information on the best age.

I was circumcised at the age of 7, like most children in the Ivory Coast and the rest of Africa, for traditional reasons. My father told me that he was circumcised at 13 for ritual reasons (African animist initiation) and to be a true male like the large majority of African men of tribal heritage. He circumcised me, just as he did my two brothers, to be like him. I was born in a Christian family.

But here we say that Christian and Moslem it's the same thing because under the skin there is always an animist ancestral tradition. I'm very happy to be circumcised even though I always knew that in France like the rest of Europe most boys aren't except Moslems and Jews. For example my French cousins in France compared us (my brothers and I) with Arab boys. Now I can say to them that the majority of Anglo-Saxon men are circumcised.

My hope for my baby is that I will be having him circumcised for modern reasons and for health. Now, having read your page web circumcision information, I will explain to my wife that the best moment will be the neonatal period. I agree with Dr Wiswell, but African adult male circumcision rates are higher than in the "States.

In Africa neonatal circumcision rates, however, are very very low. Here in Africa circumcision is done, in infancy (between the ages of 5 and 12 and in some far away villages as late as 21). But with modern life in big towns, the age of circumcision has changed, especially in modern and educated families. Therefore it is not in African social attitude to perform circumcision at neonatal period in the same way as in Islamic groups.

You must considered this factor, and not to use only the neonatal circumcision rates but the circumcision rate of all male (including babies, young boys and adults). Those against circumcision say that neonatal circumcision rate is low in the world for their arguments.

They are right. But if you do studies on the total male circumcision rate in the world this parameter will change. An Algerian Islamic author, who is highly regarded in France (Malek Chebel) has estimated that there are more than one billion circumcised men in the world in his book "Histoire de la Circoncision, des Origine à Nos Jours (History of Circumcision from its Origins until the Present Day). According to his studies more than 30 per cent of males are circumcised today. Even in the male population of communist China the rate would be 40 per cent."

Circumcision en masse in Philippines

"I'm a Filipino who is a permanent resident here in Singapore, and I was circumcised after birth 42 years ago. It amuses me to learn that there are some foreskin lovers out there trying to discourage this essential medical practice for males.

It used to be a rite of passage to manhood or a religious ritual performed since the beginning of civilization, but with more medical evidence emerging in favor of circumcision, I think that these silly prepuce preservers should be treated like the minority groups who are full of sound and fury, signifying nothing (example gay, lesbian, abortion "rights" groups).

Having read your concise article about circumcision on the Net, the said article should be disseminated to the general public. Circumcision is no big deal. It's just a little slice that separates the boys from the men. You may be interested to know that in the Philippines, my home country, circumcision is a must for all males, young and old.

This is probably due to the medical influences of the American government when they colonized my country from the 1900s to WW2. Like I said, it's no big deal. All the Filipino men are circumcised, though being Asians, we only have 5 inches to spare, we also have the notoriety of being Lotharios (it seems to be a practice to have one wife and a mistress, for machismo's sake; but of course it's not always true). So all those claims of genital and emotional trauma by organizations such as UNCIRC are all bull.

In fact, there is a social stigma attached in the Philippines if you are an uncircumcised male. Colleagues would call you, "Supot!! (pronounced soo-poht)" if they found out you couldn't cut it (pun intended).

There is great peer pressure to have the foreskin removed, and they even brag about the type of cut that was done to shape the knobby head, such as German cut or American cut, etc. Having done that, they can say, "Now you are a man." Social pressure aside, I'm glad that the report you made confirms earlier findings of penile cancer prevention, building a natural barrier to STD and HIV and of course for hygienic and esthetic reasons.

Again, being in Singapore for 8 years now, I have observed that only the Muslims and Jews here practice the removal of foreskins. It would not be far from me to conclude that except for the Philippines and the Jews and Muslims or minority groups that follow these rites for religious purposes, the rest of the men of South-east Asia are "supot". How do I know?

Simple. I asked the Filipino wives of the local men here. Most of the time, the Chinese were uncircumcised, and the Indians too, unless they were of Jewish or Muslim affiliation or if they knew of its medical benefits.

The Malay men who are Muslims anyway, are all circumcised. Maybe you'd like to do a study on circumcision in the Philippines to confirm your findings. I'm sure that my countrymen will be delighted to oblige you.

By the way, my son is uncircumcised and he's almost 13. I didn't consent to the operation because the medical fees here are high, a whopping S$400 (a little over A$420). Back home in Manila, boys could have a "summer special" where they are circumcised at a clinic en masse for free.

If you want it done by a GP on your own it only costs you about S$35 in the Philippines. This Christmas when my family will visit my folks and kin at Manila, I'll have my boy make the cut. Of course, it will spoil his weekend. No sir, my son won't be "supot" for long. That's my Christmas gift to him."

Australian lawyer says plot to feminize men

[Note: Some may be offended by the suggestions below, and are included nevertheless in order that the diversity of views in the community be aired.]

"Stumbled onto your article while browsing the internet. You"re absolutely right about "The Chop": it should be compulsory, at puberty! I'll send you my views in greater detail when I get a chance to put them on paper again.

Meanwhile try this for size. Remember I'm a lawyer not a doctor, but it is my view that anti-circumcision is the invention of the politically correct lobby to feminize men and make them dirty and susceptible to penile cancer which usually puts them in a position of weakness. To be dominated by women!! to the feminist, circumcision is a patriarchal custom, and it annoys them just like men's clubs and the Catholic Church (institutions resistant to feminism). It will serve them right if the uncircumcision ends up spreading cervical cancer instead.

And making the next generation of men 95 per cent gay and uninterested in women. Far-fetched? Go to a New Age health festival and ask every man and every hairy arm-pitted woman what he/she/it thinks of circumcision. You should take a tape recorder with you.

Also I read some interesting stuff from a Palestinian Christian (dirty uncut) to the effect that infant circumcision was so traumatic that it made all the races that practise it susceptible to violence. Conveniently he forgot the uncut races that are into perpetual blood-letting, torture and genocide, such as the Cambodians, the Chinese, Japanese and the Germans! Aren't there some weird people around? Look forward to hearing from you.

Barrister and Solicitor" "Yes, it's very funny in Indonesia and Malaysia how the boys go around post op, with their sarongs attached to a piece of string lest the cloth rub against the freshly cut skin.

There seems little anecdotal evidence of botched operations, the actual cutting being done traditionally with a piece of bamboo. And they get lots of presents for being brave.

By contrast, in our post circumcisional society of the politically correct, children are cosseted and hugged and mollycoddled to such an extent that they have lost all sense of responsibility. You can't help thinking that the women with the hairy armpits and the intact labia have plotted all of this. Well enough of my right wing conspiracy theories. I'll wait to hear when you want more ..."

UK man "restores foreskin" and finds sex no better

Your article on the Medical Benefits From Circumcision was very interesting, if a little defensive. I was circumcised at birth and knew very little about the opposite reality of not being circumcised until I was about 17. I became very interested in learning about the differences in the two styles of penis.

What I did find out bothered me somewhat. The accounts of more pleasure, more sensitivity, etc that the anti-circ groups tout affected me deeply. So much so in fact that I began to restore my foreskin as the stretching method prescribed.

And, to be perfectly honest with you, the sensitivity was increased. However, sex was really no better. This I attribute to the possible functions of different nerves in the penis (i.e., unaffected deep-touch sensory nerves being responsible for orgasm, while the new, more sensitive light-touch capabilities more for arousal).

There is some truth in the anti-circ documentation; the glans skin is far more supple and thin than before, and therefore more responsive to certain types of touch. Also, if I do go uncovered there is fairly significant discomfort in even feeling the glans brush against my underwear.

Clearly this is evidence that an uncircumcised penis is more sensitive, in some way at least. Also, the issue is fairly simple in my mind. Although I hold no bitterness whatsoever towards my parents for having me circumcised, I would have preferred the choice.

I may very well have asked to have been circumcised, but the simple fact that I would have had autonomy over my own body would have been appreciated. (Incidentally, you are very right when you say that the anti-circumcision groups can cause a lot of pain.)

Anti-circ sites intimidate man

"I would like to thank you for your page concerning circumcision. I am a grown man who was circumcised in infancy.

Up until recently I was very satisfied (didn't think much about it, really). Everything functions OK and my girlfriends never complained. But a few weeks ago I searched "circumcision" on Yahoo just for the hell of it.

I was shocked to find site after site telling me how barbaric it was and how my pleasure was only a dim shadow of what it should be. I started to wonder "wait a minute, is this something I should be pissed off about?" In most ways I'm very happy with my parents decision.

But all the advantages I've gained would not be worth it if it meant losing sensitivity in my most sensitive part. It sounds so trivial, but I was really becoming upset thinking that I would never even know what a man was supposed to feel.

That I had been cheated in a very profound way. I'm still unsure what to think. Are you SURE there's no difference in sensitivity in a circumcised and uncircumcised penis? I am not a doctor and have no way of really judging the various claims and counterclaims I read.

Your page was very comforting. Would it be possible for you to send me further information on this or at least point me in the direction of some unbiased information. Thank you for your time, and in the event that I accidentally typed the wrong email address, well someone gets an interesting email!"

"Thank you for responding to my email. Since then I have done much research on my own and have reached a very satisfied conclusion. It was dumb to let a lifetime of positive experience be called into question by a few hysterical websites. (A valuable lesson.)

There were just so many and they seemed so unanimous in their condemnation. On the whole this has been a good experience. I now have an appreciation for something I had always taken for granted. And when the time comes I will certainly give my son the benefits that I've enjoyed. Thank you for your time."

Aussie man astounded at ignorance about circumcision

"Thanks I really enjoyed your review! I'm a 28 year-old male circumcised at birth and I'd really been thinking about it and wondering if it was the best thing, etc.

Now my mind's at rest and I feel better about myself. I'm sure more people could benefit from this information!!

Interestingly on my web search a site under "obstetrics - information for medical offices, etc" cited several experts that found there was NO scientific proof for the benefit of circumcision and therefore did not offer the service at their hospital (one on the central coast north of Sydney).

I may be wrong, but this sounds pretty stupid to me. Anyway, up for circumcision and I hope your book does well."

Scar almost inperceptable

"I've just read your excellent review of the procedure. However, I do have one question. Does circumcision leave any scars? Please answer soon, since my wife is 5 months pregnant with our first child ... a boy!

Thanks PS. I was circumcised after birth (1967), and am happy with the results. However, it seems to have left an almost imperceptible scar around the whole circumference of the shaft. Is this normal?"

Gay man says circ penis looks better

"While the subject of your article is not something I really spend a great deal of time thinking about, I ended up looking up this topic on the net because I was thinking of this guy I once knew who was an anti-circ zealot and what a total weirdo he was about it.

Whenever I read anti-circ tracts, that same weirdness seems to come across every time without exception. I didn't read all of your article, but I thought you might like to know that my own experience verifies what you said about the anti-circ crowd being more than a little strange.

And lest you think that Gay men are all prone to this neurosis, being Gay myself, I always thought that the circumcised look actually looks more "natural" because a thing of beauty shouldn't be covered up (I hope I'm not being too blunt), while the "uncut" look has that wrinkly effect.

Besides, all that nastiness accumulating on a guy's equipment doesn't do anything for my arousal. While we're on the subject of being strange, I've long believed, being a re-incarnationist, that the anti-circ people are the way they are because of castration anxiety from being "cut" in the worst possible way in a previous life. A weird theory, perhaps, but it does make their behavior make a little more sense, one must admit."

Short foreskin worn retracted in Asia

"One of the things that I found quite interesting is that in the traditionally non-circumcising SE Asian societies, like Japan and China, and possibly in the other neighboring countries, men are expected to keep the foreskin retracted after they reach puberty.

It is also well known that people from the Mongoloid race (i.e., Japanese, Chinese, Vietnamese, etc.) have a very short foreskin which hardly covers half of the glans of a flaccid penis. In fact, Chinese, Japanese, etc men have a fully exposed, and hence dry, clean and healthy glans, without being circumcised.

That's why circumcision is not regular in these societies, despite the fact that the climate (hot and humid) would require it. (In almost all other cultures living under a hot climate, such as Africa, America (Incas and Aztecs), the circumcised penis is the norm.) I was interested to hear from you about the latest developments as to what is the medical profession's position on circumcision in Australia and in the USA. I read quite confusing reports on what the AAP says about circumcision."

American man won't restore now

I am very thankful for the research that you have submitted concerning circumcision. I, being circumcised at birth, was seriously considering trying to restore my foreskin by means of taping.

However, after reading your very informative study I have decided not to pursue this action. I feel that more medical staff should be better informed on the pros and cons pertaining to circumcision.

My family, being of Irish American background have undergone circumcision at birth. No real explanation for this procedure that was performed on me was ever given. Thus I was very uninformed as to the pros behind my being circ'd. I wish to extend my gratitude to you for supplying such insight into this manner."

Law in Sweden

"I have been practising circumcision on a number of patients for a long time, here in Sweden.

Fortunately, the Swedish Parliament passed a law 3 weeks ago, retaining the acceptance for this practice with the votes 139 for and 10 against.

Thus retaining the religious rights of the Jewish and the Moslem societies her in Sweden. I did enjoy your article on the Internet, and would like to have further e-mail contact with you."