On August 16, 2010, the New York Times published an article about the steep drop in U.S. circumcision rates from 2006 to 2009.
The news is out. Record numbers of Americans are rejecting circumcision. A significant majority of American parents are keeping their boys whole and normal.
You might be thinking, "32% seems low... Where did these numbers come from?"
A Pennsylvania based medical research company, SDI Health, found this data while conducting research on circumcision complication rates. Their research indicated that U.S. circumcision rates fell from 56% in 2006 to 32.5% in 2009.
Here's how Georganne Chapin, executive director of Intact America, reacted to the news
"Word has gotten around that it's not necessary, it's harmful and it's painful. Greater awareness about female circumcision may have influenced parents as well. How can you think it's O.K. to cut little boys, when you are horrified by the idea of cutting little girls?"
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For more information:
the report that started it all - U.S. Newborn Male Circumcision Rate Dropped Sharp
link to the New York Times article - Steep Drop Seen in Circumcisions in U.S.
nonprofit dedicated to genital integrity - Intact America
from Cosmo magazine - Circumcision on the Decline
Comments
I was thrilled when I read the original article. It gives me tingles to know that so many babies were spared the cut. Baby boys have the basic human right to genital integrity and nobody, not even their parents, should be able to take that away.
Absolutely. Everyone has a right to their whole healthy body.
Fantastic! It's about time the good news spreads in this country. Circumcision is pointless & provides NO health and/or medical benefit. We chose not to circumcise our son. He is 6 now & we are very thankful we made this choice.
It's about time that people actually used their brains for a change!!
There is so much mis-information. Check out the circumcision info on Web MD. Out-of-touch. But people read it and believe it. See my article this week on NPR's "All things considered" show last Sunday
http://www.examiner.com/intactivist-in-national/tell-npr-to-give-intacti...
Hear the the things coming out of the mouth of...not just any doctor...but a member of the AAP task force on circumcision! No wonder some parents still think it is in their child's best interest to be circumcised.
I am so pleased with the US for seriously relinquishing this barbaric disgrace of human rights. Children are NOT accessories and are NOT yours to do with as you see fit. Body modification should be left up to one person: the inhabitant of the body.
Absolutely!
I don't know a single circumcised man who wishes he weren't, but know of at least two who are not cut and wished they were
Most circumcised men don't know what they're missing by being cut and avoid thinking about this subject for fear they will learn the painful and humiliating truth. Circumcision removes three-fourths of a man's erogenous nerves and increasingly damages his ability to maintain an erection as he gets older. Women suffer too, partly because of the latter problem, but also because sex with a circumcised man involves too much dry friction as the man thrusts hard in an effort to make up for the missing sensations he would have received had he been allowed to keep his foreskin. The foreskin lubricates sex and makes intercourse the magical experience it is advertized to be. If you don't know any circumcised men who wish they had a foreskin, it is just because this information is tuned out or denied by so many. Luckily, more and more people in America (often enlightened mothers) are refusing to have their sons circumcised. This means that a happier future is in store for our country. Alas, many circumcised men will feel left out and hurt by this process, but there is no other way. Many circumcised men are bravely allowing their sons to keep their foreskins. Many also are endeavoring to stretch what skin they have in order to create or "restore" a foreskin.
I for one wish I was not cut, and know others who share my sentiment. Those who aren't that wish they were are adults and well in their rights to get circumcised if they feel so strongly about it. I was never given that choice!
I was cut as a baby, against my will. I never gave permission..and my parents used shitty excuses for circumcision. I won't even repeat them here - they're all myths. I am currently undergoing foreskin restoration. I WISH MY PENIS WAS NEVER CUT!!
my df is and wishes his mom never 'cut' him
To anonymous - as an adult, the two people who wish they had been circumcised are more than welcome to make the decision to cosmetically alter their penises. Thankfully, their parents did not take that choice away from them.
And adults can make cosmetic decisions for themselves, as well. Believe it or not, there are different styles of circumcision. If a boy grows up and actually wants one, he probably will have specific ideas of how he wants it to look. And he'll get pain relief.
With babies, the tiny penis is so small, there is no way to calculate how much skin he'll need. But some doctors still tell folks its better to get them when they are young! Just listen to Diekema in an "All Things Considered" show on NPR last week.
For more on that show and a link to the interview click
http://www.examiner.com/intactivist-in-national/tell-npr-to-give-intacti...
As the cut father (who wishes he wasn't) of an intact teenage son, I'm proud to be among the new majority of American parents educating themselves on the functions of the prepuce and the woefully under-reported harms of this bizarre surgery.
I cannot imagine explaining to a teenager,why his private body parts were altered. I have no fear of explaining to my boy, if he ever asks, why he is whole.
Our generation experienced a circumcision halucaust, but most of us are not playing it forward on out kids. Yippee.
My 3 yr old is cut and my 3 month old is intact and I had just learned that my sister left my 2 day old nephew intact and likely because of what I told her about why we didn't circ my baby. I am so glad to have passed on the knowledge that was not given to me when my 3 yr old was born.
I have so much respect for moms who change course and keep younger sons whole even if all their boys don't match. I'd love to share your story if you want to share. Shoot me an email atlanta.intactivist.examiner@gmail.com.
I chose circumcision at a very young age because the glans was visually more interesting than the foreskin. Throughout life, many experiences showed me circumcision IS the biggest mistake of my life. Am now restoring CI 4.
Types of circumcision:
If I were to choose to have the glans exposed again, I would have the type that cuts off a sleeve of shaft skin at the penile base. This pulls back the foreskin in a permanent position and preserves ALL of the good stuff. Further, FULL restoration is possible.
I wish my parents would have left me alone. I pray I will get my foreskin back in heaven. I just want to be whole again.
Intact is IN baby! So happy to hear that the majority of parents are now taking home the WHOLE baby. :)
I've heard many women voice their preference for a circumcised penis, but have never heard the opposite. I've also found women are more likely to perform oral sex on a circumcised penis, stating that in their experience it is cleaner and requires less upkeep.
The shiny, delicate, moist glans of an intact penis is far more appealing than the wrinkled, dry, keritinized, and sometimes scarred glans of the circumcised. Those who are intact are by far more willing to wear condoms, as they can spare some sensation for the sake of protection. The cut ones are much less willing to wear them, as they have little sensation without any condoms, as is. I believe this is why the US, despite it's high circ rate, is the one with the highest STD rate of any Western country. Obviously, this issue should be of concern to women.
I have had sexual experience with almost 2 dozen men, and I've seen quite a few botch jobs, even in such a relatively small number. Erectile pain and dysfunction, downward curvature, dark brown scars, skin tags, bleeding incision scars, strange clumps of veins at the scar site, pubic hair being pulled onto the shaft due to insufficient shaft skin, and mental/emotional trauma from their infant circumcisions have all been revealed to me by these men I've dated. Several have told me that they'd rather not have sex at all than have sex with a condom on (due to lack of sensation). One had even told me that vaginal sex feels like nothing to him. He had to have very aggressive masturbation that almost looked painful in order for him to feel anything. The man I'm now married to harbors deep resentment towards his mother for choosing to have him mutilated shortly after his birth. He has attempted foreskin restoration, but has yet to find a method that is comfortable and works for him.
This "cosmetic" procedure should NOT be done on anyone who is a minor, unless it is absolutely medically necessary. Circ'd men have been maimed for life, whether they realize it or not, and they have the (physical and oftentimes psychological) scars to prove it. It's truly a crime against humanity, and this insane drive to mutilate penises MUST stop!!!!!
I am a woman in her early 30's, born and raised in the Midwestern US. I have seen and experienced both cut and intact members. I prefer intact, rather than scarred, mutilated, reduced, desensitized (circumcised). I see intact members as much more exquisite, interesting, sexy, and cute.
The intact penis has natural lubrication because of the foreskin, and the foreskin keeps the juices inside. The circ'd ones are always dry, and if a woman isn't in the mood, a lube needs to be applied or else intercourse will become painful due to chaffing and friction (perhaps a reason why circ'd men actually NEED saliva applied to their members, via oral sex, in order for it not to hurt the woman, if they don't use store bought lube).
The natural penis is a truly beautiful design, and the retracted foreskin creates "ribbed" folds of skin.... ribbed for her pleasure! The intact members provide gentler, more intimate strokes vs. the sharper, rougher jabs that the desensitized ones need in order to feel anything. The intact penis has natural lubrication because of the foreskin, and the foreskin keeps the juices inside. The circ'd ones are always dry, and if a woman isn't in the mood, a lube needs to be applied or else intercourse will become painful due to chaffing and friction (perhaps a reason why circ'd men actually NEED saliva applied to their members, via oral sex, in order for it not to hurt the woman, if they don't use store bought lube.
...and my apologies for the many posts. I somehow triggered the "profanity filter" and had to chop up my message into segments to end up finding the sentence that contained whatever this website deemed as "offensive".
I have had sexual experience with almost 2 dozen men, and I've seen quite a few botch jobs, even in such a relatively small number. Erectile pain and dysfunction, downward curvature, dark brown scars, skin tags, bleeding incision scars, strange clumps of veins at the scar site, pubic hair being pulled onto the shaft due to insufficient shaft skin, and mental/emotional trauma from their infant circumcisions have all been revealed to me by these men I've dated. Several have told me that they'd rather not have sex at all than have sex with a condom on (due to lack of sensation). One had even told me that vaginal sex feels like nothing to him. He had to have very aggressive masturbation that almost looked painful in order for him to feel anything. The man I'm now married to harbors deep resentment towards his mother for choosing to have him mutilated shortly after his birth. He has attempted foreskin restoration, but has yet to find a method that is comfortable and works for him.
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