• cum@lemmy.cafe
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    11 months ago

    I love when this topic comes up because people definitely don’t have a weird fixation on foreskin and totally have balanced discussions that calmly hears both sides.

    • CurlyMoustache@lemmy.world
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      11 months ago

      Not a fixation on foreskins but on personal freedoms and the right to choose what happens to your own body:

      Are you an adult? Cut off what ever part of your body you want to. I don’t care.

      Are you an adult who wants to cut of body parts from others? No. Stop it. Let them decided themselves when they are old enough.

      • cum@lemmy.cafe
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        11 months ago

        If you intentionally do not recognize it as a legitimate medical procedure with lots of science backed behind it, then you’re purposefully spreading misinfo. That’s just a fact. Just like how some people in this thread are saying it reduces sexual pleasure, scientific evidence states this is not true. It’s also significantly safer and less risk when they’re a baby. These are just peer-reviewed objective facts that have been extensively tested and confirmed.

        https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/58456/cdc_58456_DS1.pdf

        • Sunfoil@lemmy.world
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          11 months ago

          Haha the irony of you coming out so strongly after your original statement is gold.

        • AWildMimicAppears@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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          11 months ago

          ignoring bodily autonomy and the right for your OWN CHILD to choose what their penis will look like for a medical procedure that only should be used when a phimosis diagnosis has been made or when you join specific religions (and not for “so he looks like dad” or “my religions imaginary friend collects foreskins of infants”)

          • Soggytoast@lemm.ee
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            11 months ago

            When my son (2) was born there was decent pressure to circumcise, we were asked leading up to birth, before birth at hospital many times, and many times after.

            I’m sure there’s plenty of single mothers who don’t know any better and just eventually agree. I’ve been told hospitals sell the cut off for woman’s make up stuff

          • cum@lemmy.cafe
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            11 months ago

            It’s kind of you to worry about the aesthetics of your child’s penis, which studies have shown that it improves body image and sexual satisfaction anyways. You should really leave the medical suggestions to the professionals. There’s so much anti-science in this thread going on, I’d assume that I was in a crazy 5G anti vax conspiracy bullshit forum. What is it about medical scientific evidence that makes people so upset? All I’m doing is repeating and sharing established medical studies after all, but apparently that makes people a little emotional. Kind of like vaccinations!

              • cum@lemmy.cafe
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                11 months ago

                Suppose we should just not name children until they’re old enough to choose their own name too. We’re talking about some fuckin skin on the tip of the dick lol. Most will never even know the difference until they go see it in a health class or Google what the differences even look like.

                What are the pros and cons here again? The cons of the situation is that they might end up wanting some extra skin at the tip of the dick for whatever reason. The pros is health and self confidence improvement. The pros outweigh the cons here, it’s a no brainer. It’s a simple medical procedure has been factually proven to improve health and self confidence, and it’s by far the safest to perform on a new born.

                • CurlyMoustache@lemmy.world
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                  11 months ago

                  This is the most idiotic thing I’ve ever read. They can change their name if they want to. How old they have to be is different from country to country.

                  Equating naming a child with cutting off stuff from their bodies is fucking stupid.

                • AWildMimicAppears@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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                  11 months ago

                  like @CurlyMoustache@lemmy.world said: names can be changed. and if your confidence is based on a mutilated sexual organ, then go cut yourself as much as you like, but leave others alone. don’t do something irreversible to someone without their consent.

                • KillingTimeItself@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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                  11 months ago

                  i dont like my given birth name, i could legally change if it i please. In fact i don’t like the concept of legal names much at all, but thats a different story.

                  Lets throw in some similar cases here. Ear lobes, why not just chop those off at birth? They dangle around weirdly and are places to put jewelry. Which can cause injury.

                  Ever heard of scarification? It’s like a tattoo, but subtractive instead of additive.

                  You ever heard of penile subincision? You just yeet a massive slit into the bottom of the penis, that leads into the urethra.

                  Why not just do those things to children upon birth?

            • lud@lemm.ee
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              11 months ago

              Multilating childrens genitals for appearance is pretty fucked up.

              That choice should be left to themselves and no one else. Unless absolutely necessary of course.

              The supposed benefits are very very small and the majority of the world is doing absolutely fine without removing the foreskin of children.

              • cum@lemmy.cafe
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                11 months ago

                Maybe go back and read all the text you ignored about the other benefits. Would love to see you link any established peer-reviewed studies that can back up your neanderthal level reading comprehension.

                • calcopiritus@lemmy.world
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                  11 months ago

                  I don’t give a fuck about those “benefits” which have miniscule impact and can absolutely be achieved by means other than cutting a baby’s foreskin.

                  Adults can cut their dick off if they want, surely a lot of men would do it if those benefits are so impressive.

                  Parents should not have the freedom to mutilate their babies because they say so. Only if a doctor recommends it because of an actual disease (phimosis or whatever).

                  That is basic ethics. Don’t make unneeded permanent choices for a baby. If it is a decision that can easily wait until the baby is an adult, it is evil to make it for them.

            • chetradley@lemmy.world
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              11 months ago

              Honest question, did you read this study before you posted it? The sample size is 37 Turkish men who voluntarily applied for circumcision. Do you not find that sample to be extremely small? Don’t you think there would be some inherent bias when assessing the psychological effect in people who had chosen to undergo the procedure? If anything, this study reinforces that circumcision should be left to the individual to choose, rather than having the procedure done against their will as an infant.

        • lightnsfw@reddthat.com
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          11 months ago

          That document is regarding the spread of STIs. There’s plenty of other methods to avoid those that don’t involve cutting part of your dick off.

        • UnPassive@lemmy.world
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          11 months ago

          Science is different than peer reviewed science. The STI study has some big problems (especially moral problems) - one practical problem though is the hiv test in the study isn’t accurate for some time (3 months I think) and that messes with their data and wasn’t accounted for properly (some test candidates definitely had HIV before the study). Another huge oversight was that a freshly cut man isn’t going to have sex for weeks while he heals, deceasing the chances of contracting HIV. Another sign that something is wrong is European countries that have less HIV than the USA. But even if it was guaranteed that you contact HIV 10% less often if circumcised, that’s still not even close to a good enough benefit to justify the procedure.

          The “data” on why circumcision is beneficial is mostly just cut men trying to justify why they’re superior and is biased. The sensitivity being the same claims are silly. Studies done are controversial because measuring sensitivity is hard. A big red flag is reading testimants of adults who got cut - usually they say it was super painful while healing, then crazy sensitive, underwear was uncomfortable and they had trouble lasting during sex. But a couple years later and they’d lost sensitivity. Underwear feels fine, refactory period goes up. This is because of keratinization of the glans of the penis. Similar to a callous on skin tissue

        • CurlyMoustache@lemmy.world
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          11 months ago

          Sure. As I said: adults can cut of anything they want. Babies cannot decide for themselves. It is immoral and barbaric to cut of parts from the bodies of babies.

          Condoms gives insanely more protection than a circumcised penis. The health benefits are therefore just a fart in the wind and should not be used as a an argument for cutting people without their consent. Teach healthy sex practices in schools

        • mishielda1234@lemmy.world
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          11 months ago

          Cum, I love how your replies are more than happy to pick apart your sources without providing any of their own. A casual scroll through the other comments will reveal that most people who weren’t circumcized at birth have issues with it or regret having to have the procedure done later in life.

          There’s a reason the procedure is so ubiquitous for so long, the science and health research is there to prove it. Same way getting vaccines is mandatory in the US for going to school. Same way abortion would be if politicians didn’t keep getting involved in legitimate medical research. These procedures have been studied and peer reviewed for decades by experts, best leave it to them. https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/news/articles/2012/10/greater-benefits-of-infant-circumcision

          If you want to have a real argument with myself and cum (lmao) bring your own sources and maybe other people will take you seriously.

          • cum@lemmy.cafe
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            11 months ago

            Exactly, you get it lol. This is a funny topic because you can simply drop a fact sheet by medical professionals that all overwhelmingly agree on this topic, and then people will lose their mind. That’s why I’m only interested in looking for scientifically backed viewpoints instead of people getting so emotional. Reality disagrees with their traditions so they really hate it.

    • the_brownie@lemm.ee
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      11 months ago

      I think part of the problem with this discussion is that a lot of us who were circumcised without consent spend most of our early years thinking it’s normal and there is nothing to be upset about. So when people point out the practice is generally very harmful, it is upsetting. It can be hard to process at first, and I think, unfortunately, some people double down on traditional rationalizations as a defense mechanism.

      That being said, I am not a fan of people referring to my genitalia as mutilated/mangled or to me as damaged. It is completely valid to be upset about having your foreskin removed without your consent, but I feel sometimes people veer a little too far in projecting their own hurt onto others. Many people live fulfilling lives with circumcised penises, and some even do it by choice, so, speaking strictly for myself, I generally am glass half-full about it.

      • a Kendrick fan@lemmy.ml
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        11 months ago

        Yeah, I think since the practice is based on organized religion and there’s no consent when circumcised, the validity of circumcision is quite questionable.

        But, medically speaking, is circumcision harmful?

        That’s a genuine question and I see a lot of uncircumcised people complain about phimosis and the skin flap getting tighter and more uncomfortable as they grow older, being cut sounds better.

        • EndlessApollo@lemmy.world
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          11 months ago

          It can be very very harmful, with pretty much no benefits. The claim that it helps prevent spread of sti’s is thoroughly debunked, and a person’s risk of getting penile cancer is way lower than the risk of complications from circumcision. The claim that is easier as a baby is also VERY thoroughly bullshit, on account of a baby’s foreskin is literally attached to their penis and has to be ripped away. All that pain and risk and long-term damage for basically nothing, it’s kinda fucked up that it’s still as common as it is

          • Dkarma@lemmy.world
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            11 months ago

            Your entire post is simply false and outright misinformation.

            Absolutely nothing you said is even remotely true.

            Shame on you.

        • S_204@lemm.ee
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          11 months ago

          But, medically speaking, is circumcision harmful?

          Seems to be among the hysterical crowd who’s not actually familiar with the medical opinions on this topic. Not surprising.

          Oddly, I happen to know a plastic surgeon who performs the procedure in my city, he’s apparently the go to guy for it so when given the opportunity to talk about children’s genitals I just had to take it up with him…he told me, to my surprise that the vast bulk of his patients now are recently immigrated from Africa. Wasn’t expecting that, was more just curious how much bullshit he got on a day to day basis given his specialty.

          • KillingTimeItself@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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            11 months ago

            last i checked according to the ole reliable wikipedia, circumcision is still pretty big in other parts of the world, notably africa iirc.

            Society is weird.

            • S_204@lemm.ee
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              11 months ago

              It’s odd to me, and the specialist that the majority of his work now involves African people rather than the clientele he’s been working with for the past 30ish years of his practice was the point he emphasized.

              • KillingTimeItself@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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                11 months ago

                yeah, it’s a fair observation, i just felt the need to mention that for some reason. Often times weird things have fairly simple explanations.

      • Dkarma@lemmy.world
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        11 months ago
        1. Kids can’t consent. Parents do it for them in every aspect. This is no different. Making medical decisions for your kids is normal.
        2. You have no reason to be bitter about a legitimate pre emptive procedure to prevent smegma and potential phimosis
        3. Male circ is a safe and sometimes necessary procedure.
        4. Why cant you people be honest? You’re bitter we get it. But lying about circumcision is just stupid and doesn’t convince anyone to not do it.
        5. Everyone should Google phimosis. Anti circ ppl love to lie about there being no medical reason or excuse it away.
        6. It’s none of your business what other people do with their bodies.
        7. There is nothing harmful here at all. It’s no different than removing a skin tag. Demonizing it is laughable.
        • CaptnNMorgan@reddthat.com
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          11 months ago

          Google says phimosis is fixed easily and is rare to begin with. I think being passionate on either side is silly

            • CaptnNMorgan@reddthat.com
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              11 months ago

              I’m circumcised and happy about it because of conversations I’ve had various women about dicks in general and my dick in particular with a few of them. That being said if I ever have a son, he won’t be circumcised. Unless his mom is Jewish I guess. But I don’t understand the anger around the subject at all.

              • TokenBoomer@lemmy.world
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                11 months ago

                I’m circumcised, my son is not. If it is your religion, have at it. But forcing religious traditions onto those that don’t have a say is problematic. It’s getting better, but it’s still pushed in hospitals unnecessarily.

              • 22decembre@lemmy.world
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                11 months ago

                It’s good you’re able to talk sanely about it.

                But I don’t understand the anger around the subject at all.

                It’s simply a subject of personal autonomy and body integrity.

                Imagine being a grown man or just a teenager and being forced to perform that operation without your consent nor any explanation (as it’s mostly useless out of social norms and potentially harmful). I guess you’d be furious, at least.

                That’s it.

                • CaptnNMorgan@reddthat.com
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                  11 months ago

                  But it’s not happening to grown men or teenagers against their will. It’s happening to people when they won’t remember it and the idea is it prevents minor annoyances about being a man. Archaic and unnecessary? Definitely. But getting mad at people isn’t going to change their mind and doesn’t help people understand it’s unnecessary. That said, being someone who has a mentally unhealthy aversion to bathing, I’m really glad I don’t have to even think about “smegma” I didn’t even know it was a thing until I was fully grown.

                  Edit: to be clear, I don’t think anyone should do that to their kids. If you can’t teach your kid to clean themselves you probably shouldn’t have them to begin with. I just think it’s more helpful for future kids if their parents aren’t circumcising them because they don’t want to agree with the annoying angry people online. It would be more helpful to spread knowledge without judgement or making people feel shameful for something they thought was good. That’s how you get people to double down.

        • slackassassin@sh.itjust.works
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          11 months ago

          This is the dumbest fucking list of bullshit

          1. Kids can’t consent. Eyup.
          2. Cutting of a body part to avoid cleaning it is a unique kind of stupid argument.
          3. Nobody is against it when it’s necessary. That’s what is known as a strawman argument.
          4. No one is lying. You are the one trying to convince someone to do something. Not doing anything is the fucking default.
          5. Again, addressing phimosis is NOT the issue people are against.
          6. Babies are not capable of doing anything to their bodies.
          7. It can absolutely be harmful and comparing the removal of nerves and tissue from genitalia to a skin tag is so stupid that I actually think you’re trolling.
          • the_brownie@lemm.ee
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            11 months ago

            Thanks for this lol. I started to respond yesterday but as I was thinking about their arguments halfway through I decided it wasn’t worth my time or energy (validated by their response to this comment LOL).

          • Dkarma@lemmy.world
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            11 months ago

            You’re being 100% dishonest and misinformative in your post.

            Why u guys gotta double down on your complete lies when called out?
            It’s pathetic. Mind u own business and cope with ur sad doggy penis.

            • slackassassin@sh.itjust.works
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              11 months ago

              Lol. This mf here getting their bs called out point by point with simple rhetorical counters and retorts with a solid “No u. And you have a dumb pee pee.” Epic.

    • Belgdore@lemm.ee
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      11 months ago

      Why is this a both sides thing? Circumcision is a Jewish rite that became a larger thing because of a couple mentions in the Christian New Testament. It also has some medical application for individuals with certain conditions.

      Doing it to all male babies doesn’t make rational sense unless you are a specific type of religious.

      • robocall@lemmy.world
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        11 months ago

        no one should mutilate a baby’s genitalia. I guess some people feel strongly about breaking the tradition.

        • nomous@lemmy.world
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          11 months ago

          Why are people so upset about cutting baby dicks wtf it’s up to the parents obviously?

          IMO we should just go ahead and gauge his little ears too, dad has gauged ears, we want them to look the same.

          Mom has full sleeve tattoos so we’re thinking maybe he’d look cool with some fresh ink too?

          • slackassassin@sh.itjust.works
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            11 months ago

            Just cut the dicks already! God, why is this a debate, cut the dicks and be happy about it. A baby is born, and you cut its dick. It’s tradition.

            How else do you keep it from having to wash it and wear a condom. It won’t have to do any of that if you just cut its dick!

            Perfectly normal, very chill. Slash that dick up asap or you’re just a weirdo. /s