Why Blame Women For Circumcision?

Posting Date: 06/16/2000

Vivian: I take issue with your blaming women for the circumcision of little boys. The women usually have nothing to do with it. Most of the time the child's father or a male doctor pushes it for religious or other reasons.

Dr. Dean: You're probably right, but mothers have told me directly that they don't like foreskins, so they circumcise their little boys. Unlike European women, most American women have never seen an intact man, so that's what they prefer.

Vivian: I think it's unconscionable for you to even suggest that women be circumcised.

Dr. Dean: I think it's unconscionable to circumcise anyone.

Vivian: I agree with that.

Dr. Dean: Vivian, you and I are on the same side.

Of course, I am opposed to female circumcision. It's just that when a woman at a cocktail party told me that as an "end user" she prefers a circumcised man, my response was that men in many other countries prefer women to be circumcised, but that does not justify it. That's a ridiculous reason to cut off anyone's body parts.

To me, this is a human rights issue. A child has the right to have her or his genitals left intact. They should be protected from meddlesome adults who have concocted all kinds of crazy reasons to mutilate them. At age 21, people can choose circumcision if that's what they want to do.

And men, listen up. We have a survey on HealthCentral.com where women say that intact men make better lovers because they're subtler. Because his penis has been dulled, the repertoire of the circumcised male is often limited to vigorous thrusting, which lacks sensuality. Intact men are more sensitive, so they can slow it down and vary the sex play too.

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