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24th February 2005, 05:11 AM | #1 |
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What is it with circumcision?
There was a great programme on BBC1 television this week about coming of age in different societies that featured an African boy preparing for his entry into manhood including having his private parts abbreviated.
Why do so many traditional cultures and religions want to harvest foreskins? There are discussions to be had about the medical benefits, but were those societies capable of developing this practice because of supposed medical benefits? If not, then why did they pick on that piece of anatomy? When this topic comes up I'm always reminded of this joke. "What is the useless piece of skin at the end of a penis?" "A man" Edited for typos, but I see that formatting the thread title doesn't work! |
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24th February 2005, 06:01 AM | #2 |
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I'm reminded of notes in the Skeptic's Annotated Bible to the effect of, "God loves Penises. And he HATES foreskins."
I just think a trimmed John Thomas is more attractive, easier to keep clean, and looks a lot less worm-like. I wonder if there's not some connection between woodies and snakes that bothers early cultures. |
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24th February 2005, 06:10 AM | #3 |
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And when the serpent sheds its skin, it's a sign of eternal life ... which, is why the serpent is revered in so many cultures.
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24th February 2005, 06:16 AM | #4 |
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That might explain why adolescent males think they're immortal.
A pal of mine had a job circimcising elephants. The pay was pitiful....... but the tips were enormous |
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24th February 2005, 06:47 AM | #5 |
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Quote:
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"i'm frankly surprised homeopathy does as well as placebo" Anonymous homeopath. "Alas, to wear the mantle of Galileo it is not enough that you be persecuted by an unkind establishment; you must also be right." (Robert Park) Is the pen is mightier than the sword? Its effectiveness as a weapon is certainly enhanced if it is sharpened properly and poked in the eye of your opponent. |
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24th February 2005, 06:58 AM | #6 |
Illuminator
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interesting
Quote:
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24th February 2005, 10:53 AM | #7 |
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Doesn't it seem a little weird that some patriarchal societies tend to have circumcision rituals? Adult men making rules and rituals about a younger male's thingy....
Some women think it's a male conspiracy to bring attention to their "little friend"....? |
24th February 2005, 11:03 AM | #8 |
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24th February 2005, 12:02 PM | #9 |
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In all seriousness, I think Iacchus' snake-skin analogy might be the actual key here - the 'shedding of the skin' as a mark of adulthood. That might well be the key.
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Just digging through the old threads, wanted to put this link back out: http://www.sacred-texts.com/index.htm |
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24th February 2005, 02:29 PM | #10 |
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Re: interesting
As a man whose sex organs were mutilated at birth, against my will, without my permission, for archaic, ancient, ritualistic reasons, I have an opinion on the subject.
More importantly, I have a question. How sexually sensitive was the part cut off? Was it like the skin along the back of the penis, or near the base, that isn't particularly sexually sensitive, and is more like normal skin elsewhere? Or is it, or parts of it (which parts?) are sensitive similar to the skin beneath the head on the underside? If so, someone needs to go to jail. |
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24th February 2005, 02:40 PM | #11 |
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Re: Re: interesting
Quote:
http://www.circumcision.org/foreskin.htm
Quote:
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24th February 2005, 03:07 PM | #12 |
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24th February 2005, 03:19 PM | #13 |
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The benefits are about equal to the risks, and even this consideration leaves out the reduced sexual preformance of the victim. |
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24th February 2005, 03:22 PM | #14 |
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Sheesh. Stop being greedy. Isn't sex good enough already, even without a foreskin?
I'd also point out that in that long excerpt from the foreskin pathologists, where they discuss lubrication and movement, etc, none of that would actually work with a foreskin if you were wearing a condom. It'd be just like being circumsized anyway. For me, at least, that makes the issue moot. |
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24th February 2005, 03:25 PM | #15 |
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If the issue was really about control, they'd leave it on and pierce it. I'm sure BME has some pics of that... |
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24th February 2005, 03:31 PM | #16 |
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Sir Arthur C. Clarke - "Any sufficiently advanced technology, to the uninformed observer, is indistinguishable from magic." c4ts - "Jesus loves the little children, Nice and fat and honey roasted..." Lancastic = Demonstrative of outstanding personal effort in the exposing of frauds. Rob Lister - "The enemy of my enemy probably tastes yummy. " |
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24th February 2005, 03:33 PM | #17 |
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Sir Arthur C. Clarke - "Any sufficiently advanced technology, to the uninformed observer, is indistinguishable from magic." c4ts - "Jesus loves the little children, Nice and fat and honey roasted..." Lancastic = Demonstrative of outstanding personal effort in the exposing of frauds. Rob Lister - "The enemy of my enemy probably tastes yummy. " |
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24th February 2005, 03:38 PM | #18 |
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I haven't noticed the circumsized getting any less than those who weren't. In fact, in the US anyway, it's sometimes easier for the circumsized to get sex, since it's the norm (at the moment, anyway). The prevailing cultural prejudice seems to be pro-circumcision, and the perception that it "looks better". (I'm well aware of the fact that I'm spelling circumsision with varying numbers of s's and c's. I'm lazy, and can't be bothered to look it up.) |
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24th February 2005, 03:54 PM | #19 |
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24th February 2005, 03:56 PM | #20 |
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Well, everywhere I look, the consensus seems to be the same. Circumcision reduces sexual pleasure for men, and possibly for women, too.
How annoying. |
24th February 2005, 03:59 PM | #21 |
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I thought it was to make it easier to clean.
However, they forgot about the feeling of constantly having your nerves rub against your underwear. <--circumsized. |
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24th February 2005, 04:12 PM | #22 |
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24th February 2005, 05:29 PM | #23 |
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Re: What is it with circumcision?
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24th February 2005, 11:49 PM | #24 |
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Personally, I think it's an atrocious practice. There is no utility in it. The myth of 'uncleanliness' is just that, especially in the past four hundred years with hygiene becoming prevalent (or in places where it was always recognized, as in Japan).
I feel that those who are circumcized are victimized. How would you feel if it were a custom to have your lips removed at birth because they are 'unclean'? It is a practice that needs to be stopped in the way it is done currently. Heck, you want your foreskin removed at an age of responsibility (16/18), sure go for it. But 2 week old babies don't have a say or choice in the matter. For the always-hypocritical Christians out there: Abortion is bad, mutilation is okay? Yes, I was a victim of this insulting practice. (That's two in the poll, right?) |
25th February 2005, 12:32 AM | #25 |
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Quote:
Cavalier, and proud of it: BSM may be badly shaved, but has not been trimmed in any other way. |
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"i'm frankly surprised homeopathy does as well as placebo" Anonymous homeopath. "Alas, to wear the mantle of Galileo it is not enough that you be persecuted by an unkind establishment; you must also be right." (Robert Park) Is the pen is mightier than the sword? Its effectiveness as a weapon is certainly enhanced if it is sharpened properly and poked in the eye of your opponent. |
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25th February 2005, 12:52 AM | #26 |
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25th February 2005, 01:05 AM | #27 |
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I was circumsised as a child (three in the poll) and I've no idea why. My parents were, if anything, anglican. I think it was just the done thing at that time and in that place.
I've never felt victimised, insulted or deprived because I have no foreskin. I can't remember it happening, so I don't know if it hurt or not. And having nothing to compare it to, I can't say that I get any less sexual pleasure than a man with a foreskin. The sum of my opinion therefore is "meh". My children are not circumcised, as I don't see any point in it. I'd like to quote Robin Williams: "We're going into the desert, folks. You don't want sand in there!" |
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25th February 2005, 01:07 AM | #28 |
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sniff
I miss my foreskin. A |
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25th February 2005, 05:05 PM | #29 |
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25th February 2005, 06:09 PM | #30 |
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No streaking! Bad magician!
Anyway, I thought it was for hygenic purposes. The forskin attracts infection or something. |
25th February 2005, 06:14 PM | #31 |
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Re: Re: Re: interesting
Quote:
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26th February 2005, 03:27 AM | #32 |
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Sir Arthur C. Clarke - "Any sufficiently advanced technology, to the uninformed observer, is indistinguishable from magic." c4ts - "Jesus loves the little children, Nice and fat and honey roasted..." Lancastic = Demonstrative of outstanding personal effort in the exposing of frauds. Rob Lister - "The enemy of my enemy probably tastes yummy. " |
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26th February 2005, 04:27 AM | #33 |
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RE:circumcision
As I was sitting here reading this my dog was rolling around on the floor and boom what do I see?His red]RED ROCKET.Maybe ancient cultures were trying to be less animal like in the appearance of their sexual organs.Just a thought.Make that four in your pole.Pun intended.Does anyone really think that thousands of years ago some guy decided to cut off his foreskin to increase his wives pleasure?Iseriously doubt that.
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26th February 2005, 05:18 AM | #34 |
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I don't support female infibulation, therefore I don't support circumcision. I was under the impression that it was a religious notion all bundled up with some claim of health benefits.
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26th February 2005, 09:03 AM | #35 |
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I was cut as an infant and I have no memory of the event. Heck I didn't even know I was missing a part till around 16. So what is it with cultures that wait till 10-12 years of age?
Do they figure each little boy needs a bit of physical and psychological trauma involving his weiner? "Step out of line and it'll be the whole thing next time kiddo." |
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.. The stars were suns, but so far away they were just little points of light ... The scale of the universe suddenly opened up to me. It was a kind of religious experience. There was a magnificence to it, a grandeur, a scale which has never left me. Never ever left me. Carl Sagan |
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26th February 2005, 10:04 AM | #36 |
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Re: RE:circumcision
Quote:
Mind you, I'm glad we didn't try to engineer anything quite as baroque as the ram's male implement. Badly Shaved Monkey wishes to make it clear that his detailed knowledge of animal penises is derived from his professional training and is not merely an unpleasant hobby. Edited for typos, but not for decency or taste! |
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"i'm frankly surprised homeopathy does as well as placebo" Anonymous homeopath. "Alas, to wear the mantle of Galileo it is not enough that you be persecuted by an unkind establishment; you must also be right." (Robert Park) Is the pen is mightier than the sword? Its effectiveness as a weapon is certainly enhanced if it is sharpened properly and poked in the eye of your opponent. |
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26th February 2005, 02:27 PM | #37 |
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Here's a joke on the subject ;
Q What happened to the blind circumciser ? A He got the sack. |
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26th February 2005, 06:45 PM | #38 |
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Oh, and foreskins act as increased protection against contracting STDs, which explains why they were naturally selected in the first place. But those without may consider themselves a cut above the rest... |
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26th February 2005, 07:09 PM | #39 |
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What about the scare tissue then?
That can't look good. |
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26th February 2005, 07:16 PM | #40 |
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