IntactiWiki - User contributions [en]

Adolescent and adult circumcision

2026-07-22T13:17:55Z

WikiModEn2: /* Medical circumcision */

'''Adolescent and adult circumcision''' is rare when compared to the millions upon millions of medically-unnecessary, harmful non-therapeutic [[Circumcision| circumcisions]] of boys that are carried out in [[Islam]]ic nations, [[Israel]], the [[United States]], and elsewhere, however they are promoted by a [[medical trade association| medical trade associations]] and their members for [[Financial incentive| profit]].

[[Rosemary Romberg]] commented on adult circumcision in the [[United States]]:
<blockquote>
In the [[United States]], where many medical doctors are themselves victims of [[child circumcision]], doctors tend to consider the [[foreskin]] as something "dispensible."
…
It is difficult to ascertain the true percentage of actual need for adult circumcision among [[intact]] males. In a circumcision-oriented society such as ours many doctors prescribe the operation for conditions which could be resolved, often easily, without resort to surgery.…<ref>{{REFbook
|last=Romberg
|first=Rosemary
|init=
|author-link=Rosemary Romberg
|year=2021
|title=Circumcision — The Painful Dilemma
|url=https://circumcisionthepainfuldilemma.wordpress.com/
|work=
|editor=[[Ulf Dunkel]]
|edition=Second Edition, Revised
|volume=
|chapter=The Circumcision of an Adult
|scope=
|page=247
|pages=
|location=
|publisher=Kindle
|ISBN=23: 979-8683021252
|quote=
|accessdate=2023-08-31
|note=
}}</ref>
</blockquote>

[[Posthectomy]] is the proper medical term of [[excision]] and [[amputation]] of the [[foreskin]], but is seldom used. Males who are considering adult circumcision should be aware that irreversible [[amputation]] of the [[foreskin]] is disabling in many ways.<ref name="andersen2025">{{REFjournal
|last=Andersen-Giberson
|init=D
|author-link=Dale Andersen
|url=https://cdd.journals.yorku.ca/index.php/cdd/article/view/39786/36016
|title=Circumcision and forced disability: Routine male neonatal circumcision and the consequences of amputation within a critical disability studies framework
|journal=Critical Disability Discourses
|date=2025-12
|volume=10
|issue=2
|pages=1-37
|URL=https://cdd.journals.yorku.ca/index.php/cdd/article/view/39786/36016
|DOI=https://doi.org/10.25071/1918-6215.39786
|quote=In a critical disability studies framework, it is argued that the act of amputating healthy erogenous tissue and the consequences of that amputation cause disability, particularly from a counter-hegemonic lens.
|format=PDF
|accessdate=2026-03-14
}}</ref>

<big>Circumcision is an [[amputation]] that cannot be reversed or undone. Circumcision is forever.</big>

==Considerations before consent is granted==
[[Alfonso Cepeda-Emiliani| Cepeda-Emiliani]] et al. (2025) have provided this warning to men who are considering an adult circumcision.
<blockquote>
Regarding adult circumcision, the current knowledge of preputial
and penile neuroanatomy and structure underscores the importance
of meticulous patient selection for this procedure. Specifically, when
adult circumcision is to be performed, factors such as the position of
the [[circumcision scar]] line, the amount of inner prepuce retained, the
tightness of the remaining penile skin, and whether a frenulectomy
is performed should be carefully discussed and agreed upon by both
the patient and the surgeon, with all decisions clearly documented in
the [[informed consent]]. Recent survey findings underscore this need
for dialogue: Callegari et al. showed that preferences regarding the
amount of inner preputial remnant retained after circumcision vary
considerably among individuals, reinforcing the importance of engaging patients in personalized discussions to align surgical decisions with their expectations.<ref name="cepeda2025">{{REFjournal
|last=Cepeda-Emiliani
|first=
|init=A
|author-link=Alfonso Cepeda-Emiliani
|last2=Otero-Alén
|first2=
|init2=M
|author2-link=
|last3=Suárez-Quintanilla
|first3=
|init3=J
|author3-link=
|last4=Gándara-Cortés
|first4=
|init4=M
|author4-link=
|last5=García-Caballero
|first5=
|init5=T
|author5-link=
|last6=García-Caballero
|first6=
|init6=R
|author6-link=
|last7=García-Caballero
|first7=
|init7=L
|author7-link=
|etal=no
|title=The sensory penis: A comprehensive immunohistological and ontogenetic exploration of human penile innervation
|trans-title=
|journal=Andrology
|date=2025-09-19
|volume=
|issue=
|article=
|pages=1-41
|url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/andr.70118
|archived=
|quote=
|pubmedID=40970806
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=10.1111/andr.70118
|accessdate=2025-09-29
}}</ref>
</blockquote>

==Consent==

Male [[circumcision]] is not mandatory. It is an ''elective'', irreversible, surgical [[amputation]] of the [[foreskin]] part of the [[penis]]. Legally, the patient or his surrogate must grant [[Informed consent| ''informed'' consent]] before the surgery can be performed. A surrogate's powers are limited to granting consent for medically-indicated and necessary diagnosis and treatment of existing disease.<ref name="myers2020">{{REFjournal
|last=Myers
|first=
|init=A
|author-link=Alex Myers
|last2=Earp
|first2=
|init2=BD
|author2-link=Brian D. Earp
|etal=no
|title=What is the best age to circumcise? A medical and ethical analysis
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal= Bioethics
|location=
|date=2020
|volume=34
|issue=7
|pages=645-63
|url=https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Brian-Earp-2/publication/337720859_What_Is_the_Best_Age_to_Circumcise_A_Medical_and_Ethical_Analysis/links/5f815f61a6fdccfd7b555395/What-Is-the-Best-Age-to-Circumcise-A-Medical-and-Ethical-Analysis.pdf
|quote=Based on a careful consideration of the relevant evidence, arguments and counterarguments, we conclude that medically unnecessary penile circumcision-like other medically unnecessary genital procedures, such as 'cosmetic' labiaplasty-should not be performed on individuals who are too young (or otherwise unable) to provide meaningful consent to the procedure.
|pubmedID=32068898
|pubmedCID=
|doi=10.1111/bioe.12714
|format=PDF
|accessdate=2020-06-30
}}</ref>

The surgeon must provide all material information to the patient before [[informed consent]] can be granted. There is a strong tendency for the surgeon to omit telling the patient anything about the nature and [http://www.intactaus.org/information/functionsoftheforeskin/ functions of the foreskin],<ref name="masood2005">{{REFjournal
|last=Masood
|init=S
|last2=Patel
|first2=
|init2=HRH
|author2-link=
|last3=Himpson
|first3=
|init3=RC
|author3-link=
|etal=yes
|title=Penile sensitivity and sexual satisfaction after circumcision: are we informing men correctly?
|journal=Urol Int
|date=2005
|volume=75
|issue=1
|pages=62-6
|url=https://www.cirp.org/library/sex_function/masood1/
|pubmedID=16037710
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=10.1159/000085930
|accessdate=2023-04-08
}}</ref> which would be lost through [[amputation]] if consent should be granted.

[[Issues_with_American_urologists_and_the_practice_of_male_circumcision| Urologic surgeons]] in the [[United States]] derive a substantial fee from the performance of a [[circumcision]], so some urologists may have a [[bias]] in favor of circumcision and may inappropriately recommend adult circumcision to patients when a conservative treatment would be satisfactory or even when no treatment is necessary. Patients should be wary and do their own research before granting consent for an irreversible [[circumcision]].

[[Marilyn Fayre Milos| Milos]] (2022) advises:
<blockquote>
* A penis without a foreskin doesn’t work as nature intended for its owner or his sexual partner.
* Amputating the foreskin eliminates the penis’ “command and control” nerve center, the normal skin system that allows for comfortable erections and the gliding mechanism necessary for sensory pleasure, foreplay, and normal intromission (entry during intercourse).
* Circumcision amputates the tens of thousands of specialized, erogenous nerve endings that signal to the man where he is in relation to the orgasmic threshold.
* It denudes and exposes the glans (head of the penis), causing it to become dry, calloused, and desensitized. Circumcised men talk about becoming impotent during their 50s or 60s while intact males tell me the urge doesn’t come around as often but their sensitivity hasn’t diminished.
* Circumcision makes the penis smaller, too.<ref name="milos2022-05-02">{{REFweb
|url=https://intactamerica.org/ask-marilyn-a-19-year-old-considers-circumcision/
|title=Ask Marilyn – 19-year-old Considers Circumcision
|last=Milos
|first=
|init=MF
|author-link=Marilyn Fayre Milos
|publisher=Intact America
|date=2022-05-02
|accessdate=2024-10-24
}}</ref>
</blockquote>

Performance of unneccesary circumcision simply to earn a surgical fee is [[Ethics_of_non-therapeutic_child_circumcision#Patient_exploitation| unethical patient exploitation]].

==Reasons for circumcision==

All circumcisions are injurious because they amputate a [http://www.intactaus.org/information/functionsoftheforeskin/ multi-functional body part], but in rare cases the benefit obtained by removing a deformed, diseased, or damaged foreskin may be of more value than the amputated [[foreskin]].

* Deformed foreskins — The common type of deformed foreskin is the narrow non-retractable foreskin of [[phimosis]]. Circumcision was the traditional treatment for phimosis, however circumcision is less performed today because newer conservative treatments are now available that preserve the [[foreskin]] and its many useful functions. There is a wide range of normal in foreskin length. [[Long foreskin| Longer foreskins]] are not deformed, so do ''not'' justify circumcision.

* Diseased foreskins — Diseases for which circumcision may be indicated include [[Penile cancer|malignant tumor]],[[Balanitis xerotica obliterans| lichen sclerosis]], recurrent [[balanoposthitis]], [[gangrene]], and recurrent yeast infection in diabetic males (after conservative treatment fails),<ref name="verma2011">{{REFjournal
|last=Verma
|first=Shyam B.
|init=SB
|author-link=
|last2=Molina
|first2=Uwe
|init2=U
|author2-link=
|etal=no
|title=Looking through the cracks of diabetic candidal balanoposthitis!
|journal=Int J Gen Med
|location=
|date=2011-07-07
|volume=4
|issue=
|pages=511-3
|url=https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3150172/
|pubmedID=21845057
|pubmedCID=3150172
|DOI=10.2147/IJGM.S17875
|accessdate=2020-12-19
}}</ref>

* Damaged foreskins — This includes any type of physical [[trauma]] and injury that is beyond surgical repair. Zipper injury does not require circumcision.<ref name="flowerdew1977">{{REFjournal
|last=Flowerdew
|init=R
|author-link=
|last2=Fishman
|init2=IJ
|author2-link=
|last3=Churchill
|init3=BM
|author3-link=
|etal=no
|title=Management of penile zipper injuries
|journal=J Urol
|location=
|date=1977-05
|volume=117
|issue=5
|article=
|page=671
|pages=
|url=http://www.cirp.org/library/treatment/zipper/flowerdew/
|pubmedID=859209
|pubmedCID=
|DOI= 10.1016/s0022-5347(17)58581-x
|accessdate=2020-12-20
}}</ref> <ref>{{REFjournal
|last=Chalfin
|first=Laura
|init=L
|author-link=
|etal=no
|title=Win one for the zipper
|journal=Emerigency Medicine
|location=
|date=1989-03-30
|volume=21
|issue=6
|article=
|page=
|pages=05
|url=http://www.cirp.org/library/treatment/zipper/chalfin/
|accessdate=2020-12-20
}}</ref>

===Elective non-therapeutic circumcision===

Some adult males may seek non-therapeutic circumcision because of a conversion to [[Judaism]] or [[Islam]]. Others may simply want a circumcision because they like the physical appearance, or to fit into a society where most men are [[circumcised]], or for some personal whim.<ref name="holman1999">{{REFjournal
|last=Holman
|first=John R.
|init=JR
|author-link=
|last2=Steussi
|first2=Keith A.
|init2=KA
|author2-link=
|last3=
|etal=no
|title=Adult circumcision
|journal=Am Fam Physician
|location=
|date=1999-03-15
|volume=59
|issue=6
|article=
|page=1514-8
|pages=
|url=https://www.aafp.org/afp/1999/0315/p1514.html
|pubmedID=10193593
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=
|accessed=2020-12-20}}</ref>

Many men who elect an irreversible non-therapeutic circumcision later express regret.

===A word to intact teens===

Boys are born with a [[foreskin]] that is non-retractable for reasons of protection against [[trauma]] and [[infection]]. The inner surface is fused with the [[glans penis]] by a [[synechia]] (similar to a fingernail that is glued to the nail bed of the finger). Also the tip of the foreskin is too narrow to retract. As a boy gets older, the synechia disintegrates and releases the foreskin and the foreskin gets wider as a boy ages, so the foreskin gradually becomes [[Retraction of the foreskin| retractable]]. Some boys go through [[puberty]] but find that their [[foreskin]] is still too narrow to permit retraction.

Beaugé (1997) reported that boys, who masturbate by pulling their [[foreskin]] away from the body, will not stretch the tight part of the foreskin so non-retractile foreskin will persist. He advised changing the method of [[masturbation]] to the more conventional method of pulling the foreskin toward the body so that the narrow orifice gets stretched.<ref name="beauge1997">{{REFjournal
|last=Beaugé
|init=Michel
|author-link=Michel Beaugé
|url=http://www.cirp.org/library/treatment/phimosis/beauge2/
|title=The causes of adolescent phimosis
|journal=Br J Sex Med
|date=1997
|volume=
|issue=September/October
|pages=26
|accessdate=2021-04-21
}}</ref>

The traditional way of addressing this issue was to consult a urologist and get a circumcision, however we now understand that in the vast majority of cases, manual [[stretching]] over a few months will widen the foreskin by [[tissue expansion]], make the foreskin retractable and eliminate the need for a destructive circumcision.

==Methods of adult circumcision==

===Dorsal slit===

[[Dorsal slit]] is a cut on the top of the [[foreskin]] to widen the opening, allowing the foreskin to retract and fall below the shaft of the [[penis]]. Dorsal slit does not cut around and does not remove tissue, so it is not a true circumcision. Dorsal slit is a first step in the circumcision of a phimotic foreskin by the sleeve technique.<ref name="holman1999" />

===Sleeve technique===

Holman & Stuessi (1999) said patients should be advised of alternatives to circumcision.

They reported the indications for adult circumcision are uncommon. The most common is [[phimosis]].

They recommended [[dorsal penile nerve block]] or [[ring block]] local anesthesia for the [[pain]] of circumcision surgery.

[[Informed consent]] must be obtained. They stated:
<blockquote>
Specifically, the patient should be told about the risks of [[bleeding]], hematoma formation, [[infection]], inadvertent damage to the [[glans]], removal of too much or too little [[skin]], aesthetically unpleasing results, and a change of sensation during intercourse. The patient should also be informed that, during the postoperative period, [[erection]]s can cause pain and [[Wound dehiscence| disruption of the suture line]] that may require replacement of the sutures. Full recovery following circumcision generally requires four to six weeks of abstinence from all genital stimulation and sexual activity.<ref name="holman1999" />
</blockquote>

In regard to complications, Holman & Stuessi reported:
<blockquote>
As with any surgical procedure, [[bleeding]] and [[infection]] are probably the most common complications of circumcision in adult patients; however, accurate statistics are not available. Other complications include hematoma formation, diffuse swelling, pain from inadequate anesthesia, poor cosmesis, tearing of the sutures due to [[erection]] before healing is complete and anesthetic complications. Some patients may also note an unpleasant heightened sensitivity during intercourse. Infection can be treated with local or parenteral antibiotics, depending on the severity of the infection. [[Bleeding]] can be controlled with pressure, an absorbable gelatin sponge product (i.e., Gelfoam), electrocautery or ligatures. None of these techniques can be preferentially recommended based on differences in complication rate or severity.<ref name="holman1999" />
</blockquote>

===Circumcision with a plastic ring device===

Adolescent and adult circumcision may also be carried out with one of several plastic, one-use, disposable ring devices. These devices work by clamping the foreskin tightly so that it is crushed and flow is cut off completely. Ischemic [[necrosis]] ensues and the [[foreskin]] dies. It may then be cut off or left to fall off. Ring devices include the [[TARA KLamp]], the [[PrePex]], [[AccuCirc]], and the [[Shang Ring]].

==Pain during and after circumcision==
Circumcision is a surgical [[amputation]] of part of the [[penis]]. It is normal to feel [[pain]] during the surgical [[amputation]], however this is usually eliminated by general or local anesthesia.

One may expect pain after surgery until the incision heals. Ask your doctor for a two-week supply of an opioid pain reliever.

One may also expect pain when the sensitive [[glans penis]] is exposed to friction from clothing, etc. It is no longer protected by the [[foreskin]], so there is not much one can do about it.

One may also expect painful [[erection]]s, depending on how much [[skin]] was removed.
Depending on how much [[skin]] was removed, there may not be enough [[skin]] left to allow for shaft expansion during [[erection]] and this may cause painful [[erection]]s.

One may also experience phantom pain from neuromas that form at the incision where nerves were severed.<ref name="cold-taylor1999">{{REFjournal
|last=Cold
|init=CJ
|author-link=Christopher J. Cold
|last2=Taylor
|init2=JR
|author2-link=John R. Taylor
|title=The prepuce
|journal=BJU Int
|date=1999-01-01
|volume=83 Suppl 1
|issue=
|pages=34-44
|url=https://www.i2researchhub.org/wp-content/uploads/storage/TQ63QSHD/Cold%20and%20Taylor%20-%201999%20-%20The%20prepuce.pdf
|quote=
|pubmedID=1034941
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=10.1046/j.1464-410x.1999.0830s1034.x
|accessdate=2021-03-07
}}</ref>

[[Masturbation]] after circumcision may be painful if one doesn’t use lubrication because of lack of [[gliding action]].
==Recovery period==
Recovery from an adult circumcision is frequently said to be six weeks. Recovery does not include restoration of permanently lost functions.
===Complications===
Circumcision is a surgical operation. Like all surgical operations, there is risk of [[bleeding| hemorrhage]], [[infection]], and surgical mishap, including, rarely, loss of the [[penis]].
[[Erection]] tends to be painful and may cause [[wound dehiscence]].<ref name="wang2023">{{REFjournal
|last=Wang
|first=
|init=D
|author-link=
|last2=Li
|first2=
|init2=Z
|author2-link=
|last3=Chen
|first3=
|init3=X
|author3-link=
|last4=Wang
|first4=
|init4=H
|author4-link=
|etal=no
|title=Wound healing rates and wound problems of conventional circumcision compared with ring circumcision: A meta-analysis
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal=Int Wound J
|location=
|date=2023-06-11
|volume=Online ahead of print
|issue=
|article=
|page=
|pages=
|url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/iwj.14262
|archived=
|quote=
|pubmedID=37303303
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=
|doi=10.1111/iwj.14262
|accessdate=2023-07-16
}}</ref>

There is danger of [[infection]] until the [[circumcision]] wound heals closed.<ref name="wang2023" />

===Lymphoedema===
[[Lymphoedema]] of the [[penis]] is a normal and expected [[complication]] of male adult circumcision due to the adverse effect on blood circulation. Ferhatoglu et al. (2019) reported edema in 108 of 198 patients or 54.5 percent.<ref>{{REFjournal
|last=Ferhatoglu
|first=
|init=Mf
|author-link=
|last2=Kartal
|first2=
|init2=A
|author2-link=
|last3=Gurkan
|first3=
|init3=A
|author3-link=
|etal=no
|title=Evaluation of Male Circumcision: Retrospective Analysis of One Hundred and Ninety-eight Patients
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal=Cureus
|location=
|date=2019-04-27
|volume=11
|issue=4
|article=
|page=e4555
|pages=
|url=https://www.cureus.com/articles/19380-evaluation-of-male-circumcision-retrospective-analysis-of-one-hundred-and-ninety-eight-patients
|archived=
|quote=
|pubmedID=31275779
|pubmedCID=6592839
|DOI=10.7759/cureus.4555
|accessdate=2022-02-17
}}</ref> It frequently lasts for months.

==Permanent adverse effects==
===Loss of sensation===
The human [[foreskin]] has long been noted for its high level of erogenous sensation. Winklemann (1959) early identified the foreskin as a ''specific erogenous zone''.<ref name="winklemann1959">{{WinkelmannRK 1959}}</ref> Falliers (1970) called attention to ''sensory pleasure'' induced by tactile stimulation of the foreskin, which is almost totally lost after its surgical removal.<ref>{{REFjournal
|last=Falliers
|first=CJ
|init=
|author-link=
|etal=no
|title=Circumcision
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal=JAMA
|location=
|date=1970-12-21
|volume=214
|issue=12
|article=
|page=2194
|accessdate=2021-06-04
}}</ref> García-Mesa et al. (2021) reported the [[foreskin]] has an abundance of [[Meissner's corpuscles]] which provide pleasant sexual sensation when mechanically stimulated by motion of the foreskin.<ref name="garcía-mesa2021">{{REFjournal
|last=García-Mesa
|first=Yolanda
|init=
|author-link=
|last2=García-Piqueras
|first2=Jorge
|init2=
|author2-link=
|last3=Cobo
|first3=Ramón
|init3=
|author3-link=
|last4=Martín-Cruces
|first4=José
|init4=
|author4-link=
|last5=Suazo
|first5=Iván
|init5=
|author5-link=
|last6=García-Suárez
|first6=Olivia
|init6=
|author6-link=
|last7=Feito
|first7=Jorge
|init7=
|author7-link=
|last8=
|first8=Vega
|init8=José A.
|author8-link=
|etal=no
|title=Sensory innervation of the human male prepuce: Meissner's corpuscles predominate
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal=Journal of Anatomy
|location=
|date=2021-10
|volume=239
|issue=4
|article=
|page=
|pages=892-902
|url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/joa.13481
|pubmedID=34120333
|pubmedCID=8450466
|DOI=10.1111/joa.13481
|accessdate=2021-11-15
}}</ref>

Money & Davison (1983) reported "diminished penile sensitivity, less penile gratification, more penile pain, and cosmetic deformity" as the effect of circumcision, however they considered that a "prolongation of the period prior to ejaculation" was a possible benefit.<ref name="money1983">{{REFjournal
|last=Money
|first=John
|init=
|author-link=
|last2=Davison
|first2=Jackie
|init2=
|author2-link=
|author9-link=
|etal=no
|title=Adult penile circumcision: erotosexual and cosmetic sequelae
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal=J Sex Res|
|location=
|date=1983
|volume=19
|issue=3
|article=
|page=
|pages=289-92
|url=http://www.cirp.org/library/complications/money/
|accessdate=2021-06-04
}}</ref>

Money & Davison thought the loss of sensation is "secondary to diminished sensory input from stretch receptors in the less mobile [[shaft skin|skin of the shaft]] of the penis, as well as loss of foreskin stretch receptors".<ref name="money1983" />

Denniston (2004) carried out a survey of 38 adult males who were [[circumcised]] at least 2 years after they commenced sexual intercourse. Thirteen men felt that sexual intercourse was better after circumcision, but 22 felt that intercourse was worse and would not have the circumcision again, because of loss of sexual pleasure.<ref>{{REFjournal
|last=Denniston
|first=George C.
|init=
|author-link=George C. Denniston
|last2=Hill
|first2=George
|init2=
|author2-link=George Hill
|etal=no
|title=Circumcision in adults: effect on sexual function
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal=Urology
|location=
|date=2004-12
|volume=54
|issue=5
|article=
|page=1267
|pages=
|url=http://www.cirp.org/library/sex_function/denniston3/
|pubmedID=15596221
|DOI=10.1016/j.urology.2004.03.059
|accessdate=2021-06-05
}}</ref>

Masood et al. (2005) suggested "before circumcision, men should be warned of the long-term consequences (penile sensations and effect on erectile function) as well as be talked through the more traditional subjects (peri-operative complications)."<ref name="masood2005" />

Kim & Pang (2007) studied the effect of adult circumcision on 138 males in [[South Korea]]. They concluded:
<blockquote>There were no significant differences in sexual drive, [[erection]], [[ejaculation]], and ejaculation latency time between [[circumcised]] and [[uncircumcised]] men. Masturbatory pleasure decreased after circumcision in 48% of the respondents, while 8% reported increased pleasure. Masturbatory difficulty increased after circumcision in 63% of the respondents but was easier in 37%. About 6% answered that their sex lives improved, while 20% reported a worse sex life after circumcision.<ref>{{KimDS PangMG 2007}}</ref>
</blockquote>

Remennick (2021) reported Jewish men from the former Soviet Union who migrated to [[Israel]] and received their [[Brit Milah| ritual circumcision]] as sexually active adults were very displeased with their loss of [[Sexual sensation of the foreskin| sexual sensation]]:
<blockquote>
Driven by social pressure and the need to belong, most young men (and their parents) consented to the operation without proper counselling and unaware of its ramifications. Men share their intimate memories of the rapid surgical procedure, painful recuperation, and their belated regrets, both aesthetic and sexual. The willingness to expose their lingering trauma signals evolving concepts of masculinity and vulnerability among these former Soviet men. Their voices join the local and international movement opposing medically-unnecessary genital surgeries of any kind – on men, women and intersex people.<ref name="remennick2021">{{REFjournal
|last=Remennick
|first=
|init=L
|author-link=
|etal=no
|title=Joining the tribe: adult circumcision among immigrant men in Israel and its traumatic aftermath
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal=Cult Health Sex
|location=
|date=2021-01-29
|volume=24
|issue=5
|pages=702-16
|url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/13691058.2021.1879272?journalCode=tchs20
|archived=
|quote=
|pubmedID=33512277
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=10.1080/13691058.2021.1879272
|accessdate=2025-01-08
}}</ref>
</blockquote>

Many [[circumcised]] men say they are unable to feel anything if a condom is used.

===Other adverse effects===
# Circumicision causes loss of [[body pleasure]].
# Circumcision causes both physical and psychic [[trauma]].
# Circumcision severs blood vessels and disrupts lymph and blood circulation in the [[penis]]. This frequently causes [[lymphoedema]] and [[erection]] difficulties.
# Circumcision invariably excises the [[ridged band]], resulting in partial loss of sensation.
# Circumcision is a surgical [[amputation]] of functional tissue. The various [https://foreskinfunction.org/ functions] cease to operate. If the patient does not like the results, it cannot be reversed or undone.
# Recovery from adolescent or adult circumcision is slow and painful. [[Erection]]s are painful because the [[skin]] is stretched and the sutures are stressed. [[Wound dehiscence]] may occur.
# The [[foreskin]] is protective of the [[glans penis]]. After the foreskin is amputated, the [[glans penis]] is exposed so that it touches clothing and other things. Some men report this causes extreme pain so that they cannot wear pants for an extended time. Some circumcised men complain of discomfort due to the head being permanently exposed.
# The foreskin provides moisture and oil to the glans penis. After circumcision, the glans penis will become desiccated. Many [[circumcised]] men complain of dryness.
# The foreskin has [[Immunological and protective function of the foreskin| immunological functions]] that protect from disease. [[Circumcised]] populations have a higher incidence of [[HIV]] than [[intact]] populations.<ref name="denniston2020">{{REFdocument
|title=World Health Organization, HIV, and male circumcision
|url=https://pool.intactiwiki.org/images/2020-06-15b_LettertoPEPFAR.pdf
|contribution=
|last=Denniston
|first=George C.
|publisher=[[Doctors Opposing Circumcision (D.O.C.)]]
|format=
|date=2020-06-29
|accessdate=2020-09-02
}}</ref><ref name="fish2020">{{REFjournal
|last=Fish
|first=Max
|init=M
|author-link=
|last2=Shavisi
|first2=Arianne
|init2=A
|author2-link=
|last3=Gwaambuka
|first3=Tatenda
|init3=T
|author3-link=
|last4=Tangwa
|first4=Godfrey B.
|init4=GB
|author4-link=
|last5=Ncayiyana
|first5=Daniel
|init5=D
|author5-link=
|last6=Earp
|first6=Brian D.
|init6=BD
|author6-link=Brian D. Earp
|etal=no
|title=A new Tuskegee? Unethical human experimentation and Western neocolonialism in the mass circumcision of African men
|journal=Developing World Bioeth
|date=2020-09-09
|volume=00
|pages=1-16
|url=https://doi.org/10.1111/dewb.12285
|DOI=10.1111/dewb.12285
|accessdate=2021-02-13
}}</ref>
# The heavily innervated [[ridged band]] is located on the foreskin and is always amputated along with the foreskin. The [[Foreskin sensitivity| most sensitive regions in the intact penis]] are those parts ablated by circumcision.<ref>{{Sorrells etal 2007}}</ref> There is great loss of sensation caused by the [[amputation]] of this structure. It appears that many [[intact]] males are unaware of the source of sensation and are shocked by the loss of sensation after circumcision.
# The abundance of [[skin]] in the foreskin allows [[gliding action]]. Gliding action facilitates [[masturbation]] and [[vagina| intercourse]]. The shortening of [[penile skin]] reduces or eliminates gliding action. The loss of gliding action may cause [[dyspareunia]].
# Painful [[erection]]s may occur due to lack of sufficient [[skin]] to allow for expansion of the [[penis]].
# The erect penis may be shorter due to lack of sufficient [[skin]] to allow full expansion.
# There always will be a [[circumcision scar]] that encircles the shaft of the penis.
# The exposed [[glans penis]] will protect itself from friction by developing a layer of [[keratin]] and become cracked and hardened. The [[keratinization]] of the [[glans penis]] will reduce its sensitivity.
# There are possible [[Psychological issues of male circumcision| emotional issues]] secondary to a partial loss of the [[penis]] through circumcision.
# The shaft of the penis becomes narrrower because of the loss of a double layer of skin

==Financial considerations==
Medical insurance policies vary with the provider of insurance. Most will pay for circumcision only if it is done to treat a medical condition. When circumcision is carried out for cosmetic reasons or personal desire, it is very unlikely that medical insurance would pay. The cost of an adult circumcision would include a facility fee, a surgeon's fee, an anesthesiologist's fee, and pre-operative and post-operative care. Garrett (2024) says the cost may range from $1,650 to $6,450.<ref name="garrett2024-03-07">{{REFweb
|url=https://intactamerica.org/adult-circumcision-cost/
|title=Adult Circumcision Cost: The Profit Motives and Hidden Toll
|last=Garrett
|first=Connor
|init=
|author-link=Connor Judson Garrett
|publisher=Intact America
|date=2024-03-07
|accessdate=2024-05-15
}}</ref>

==Warning==
It is quite common for some urologists to push circumcision on any [[foreskinned]] male although conservative treatment would have been sufficient, since there is a nice fee attached to a circumcision [[amputation]]. There are many reports of false statements being made. It is totally unethical and akin to fraud, but it happens frequently.

===Videos===
Here are seven videos in which [[regret men]] who had an adult circumcision express their regret.

==== Circumcised at 18 ====
<youtube>v=NAHGFx95D80</youtube>

====Circumcised at 46====
<youtube>v=pZ3n8CtcmRY</youtube>

==== Why I Regret Getting Circumcised At 19 ====
<youtube>v=7AaUb63NLLw</youtube>

==== Circumcised Man: "I feel such a sense of loss" ====
<youtube>v=gx_PoXm3XZ4</youtube>

==== Circumcised at 30 ====
<youtube>v=g2CwHbCDiAU</youtube>

==== Circumcision Care - After Circumcision - 5 Post Circumcision Surgery Recovery Tips!====
<youtube>v=xdrvq_10vTM</youtube>

====Why can’t I sleep after my circumcision operation?? Day 12 ====
<youtube>v=CLmxdbV3Uyc</youtube>

== Rite of passage ==
In some cultures, [[circumcision]] is viewed as a rite of passage, and a male may not be considered a privileged adult until he has undergone circumcision.

=== Aborigines ===
The indigeous people of [[Australia]], the [[Aborigines]], have variously practiced [[Religion and culture#Australia|subincision]] and [[circumcision]] on adolescents and adults since before the first contact with Europeans.

=== Ulwaluko ===
Traditional [[Circumcision]] and Initiation into Manhood (ulwaluko) is an ancient initiation ritual practiced by the amaXhosa of the Eastern Cape Province of [[South Africa]]. The ritual is traditionally intended as a teaching institution to prepare boys for the responsibilities of manhood. The principles that lie at the very core of the ritual are respect for self (including self control and integrity), respect for family (not to bring shame to them), and respect for community (to protect them from harm).

Every single initiation season the media writes about complications accompanying the ritual of Traditional [[Circumcision]] and Initiation into Manhood ''(ulwaluko)''. The magnitude of these complications is horrific: From 1995 till 2014, 919 boys have lost their lives in the mountains and hills of the Eastern Cape. Many others were mutilated or even lost their manhood. [[Ulwaluko|Many of these mutilations are documented (graphic content).]]

===Tuli===
[[Tuli]] is a [[genital mutilation]] rite of boys and adolescents practiced in the Philippine Islands.

{{SEEALSO}}
* [[Autocircumcision]]
* [[Circumcision: Effect upon erectile function]]
* [[Circumcision methods]]
* [[Circumcision scar]]
* [[Development of retractable foreskin]]
* [[Doctors Cut Off Man’s Penis During Circumcision]]
* [[Ethics of non-therapeutic child circumcision]]
* [[Foreskin]]
* [[Foreskin comment]]
* [[Foreskin sensitivity]]
* [[Frenectomy]]
* [[Frenuloplasty]]
* [[Fusions and adhesions]]
* [[Ischemia of the glans penis]]
* [[American urologists and the practice of male circumcision]]
* [[Neurotomy]]
* [[Penis]]
* [[Phimosis]]
* [[Phimosis#Preputioplasty| Preputioplasty]]
* [[Posthectomy]]
* [[The recovery after an adult circumcision]]
* [[Regret men]]
* [[Risks and complications]]
* [[Sexual effects of circumcision]]
* [[Stretching]]
* [[Surrogate consent]]
* [[Trauma]]
{{LINKS}}
====Medical circumcision====
* {{REFjournal
|last=Holman
|first=
|init=JR
|author-link=
|last2=Stuessi
|first2=
|init2=KA
|author2-link=
|etal=no
|title=Adult circumcision
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal=American Family Physician
|location=
|date=1999-03-15
|season=
|volume=59
|issue=6
|article=
|page=
|pages=1514-18
|url=https://www.aafp.org/pubs/afp/issues/1999/0315/p1514.html
|archived=
|quote=
|pubmedID=10193593
|accessdate=2024-05-03
}}
* {{REFjournal
|last=Hammond
|first=
|init=T
|author-link=Tim Hammond
|etal=no
|title=A preliminary poll of men circumcised in infancy or childhood
|trans-title=
|journal=BJU Int
|date=1999-01
|volume=83 Supple 1
|issue=
|pages=85-92
|url=https://d1wqtxts1xzle7.cloudfront.net/104891874/Hammond_20Preliminary_20Poll_201999-libre.pdf?1691631077=&response-content-disposition=inline%3B+filename%3DA_preliminary_poll_of_men_circumcised_in.pdf&Expires=1784674087&Signature=RxPFDxQnrBLWdlpGl6OaggpDiiMgTSSFedCtwhhLCHZms7VVCMmVZ~~GewMp14JdxBlUnbrM2Uns8qogKMWGzNiku4x-YDxcpXgW-AnTsjdiHDi2cnfH2kMpEFiTlGVCaoUxvNKOQqlkGnZ99AIOzKtXlgMLZX78zILtBvAV-cMCyYOTS27yxy-MB288nymSy9MznHVajjt1ZCnVOYDOUZTMvv~RgZubDzbrTNJse1FFJpbaT4ohrBVyrBOmiV7ffwwIgN9a0aSGbEZqDM-NthcjFPmtloKwgPTHwnRAmszNQc8SMNe0aAlYs5qSM7RPA1vCEwzYptTdpk1Kjiqvnw__&Key-Pair-Id=APKAJLOHF5GGSLRBV4ZA
|pubmedID=10349419
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=10.1046/j.1464-410x.1999.0830s1085.x
|format=PDF
|accessdate=2022-06-10
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://15square.org.uk/losses-from-circumcision/
|title=Losses from Circumcision
|last=Ball
|first=Peter
|publisher=15 Square
|date=2003-08-09
|accessdate=2023-02-23
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://www.reddit.com/r/foreskin_restoration/comments/1p67xlp/circumcision_ended_my_life/
|title=Circumcision ended my life
|last=Anonymous
|publisher=Reddit
|date=2024-12
|accessdate=2026-07-21
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://davidlouis77.wordpress.com/2010/05/08/adult-circumcision-my-experience-2-years-on/comment-page-4/#comment-24567
|title=Adult Circumcision: My experience two years on.
|last=Louis
|first=David
|author-link=
|publisher=
DavidLouis77's Blog
|website=wordpress.com
|date=2010-05-08
|accessdate=2020-12-29
|format=
|quote=
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=http://www.circumstitions.com/Resent.html
|title=The tip of the iceberg: Men who resent being circumcised
|last=Young
|first=Hugh
|author-link=
|publisher=Circumstitions
|website=
|date=
|accessdate=2020-12-29
|format=
|quote=
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=http://www.intactaus.org/men-circumcised-as-adults/
|title=Men Circumcised As Adults
|publisher=Intact Australia
|date=2017-03-01
|accessdate=2020-12-21
|format=
|quote=
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://ladagueetlefourreau.wordpress.com/2017/07/17/a-personal-account-of-adult-circumcision/
|title=A Personal Account of Adult Circumcision
|last=
|first=
|date=2017-07-17
|accessdate=2021-02-14
}}
* {{REFdocument
|title=Circumcision (Complete Removal of the Foreskin}
|url=https://www.baus.org.uk/_userfiles/pages/files/Patients/Leaflets/Circumcision.pdf
|contribution=
|last=
|first=
|publisher=British Association of Paediatric Surgeons
|format=PDF
|date=2020-12
|accessdate=2024-02-12
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://www.cosmopolitan.com/sex-love/a28580739/circumcision-pros-and-cons/
|title=I Had an Adult Circumcision, and I Totally Regret It
|last=Hseih
|first=Carina
|date=2019-08-02
|accessdate=2021-06-05
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://wikionlymen.com/?s=circumcision
|title=Disadvantages Of Circumcision In Man
|publisher=Wiki Only Men
|date=2021-11-05
|accessdate=2024-10-05
}}
* {{REFjournal
|last=Remennick
|first=Larissa
|init=L
|author-link=
|etal=no
|title=Joining the tribe: adult circumcision among immigrant men in Israel and its traumatic aftermath
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal=Cult Health Sex
|location=
|date=2021-01-29
|volume=24
|issue=5
|article=
|page=
|pages=702-16
|url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/13691058.2021.1879272?journalCode=tchs20
|archived=
|quote=
|pubmedID=33512277
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=10.1080/13691058.2021.1879272
|accessdate=2022-10-14
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://www.reddit.com/r/CircumcisionGrief/comments/wemjzy/got_circumcised_4_months_ago/
|title=Got circumcised 4 months ago
|last=Anonymous
|first=
|init=
|author-link=
|publisher=REDDIT
|date=2022
|accessdate=2025-12-26
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://www.reddit.com/r/FriendsOfTheFrenulum/comments/128dvgq/for_adults_contemplating_circumcision_what/
|title=For adults contemplating circumcision, what essential questions should they ponder to guarantee their decision is genuinely rooted in an informed choice — made autonomously and for their own well-being?
|last=Anonymous
|first=
|init=
|author-link=
|publisher=REDDIT
|date=2022
|accessdate=2025-12-26
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://intactamerica.org/adult-circumcision-cost/
|title=Adult Circumcision Cost: The Profit Motives and Hidden Toll
|last=Garrett
|first=Connor
|author-link=Connor Judson Garrett
|init=
|publisher=Intact America
|date=2024-03-07
|accessdate=2024-03-10
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://4skin-health.alderhey.nhs.uk/teenagers-young-adults/
|title=Advice for teenagers and young adults
|last=Kenny
|first=
|init=S
|author-link=
|publisher=NHS Children's Hospital at Alder Hey
|date=
|accessdate=2025-02-21
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://archive.md/Au7cV#selection-98.0-707.8
|title=Unjustifiable reason 1: Parents are clueless about the functions of the foreskin
|last=Anonymous
|publisher=REDDIT Intactivism
|date=2025-06-17
|accessdate=2025-06-24
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://www.reddit.com/r/foreskin_restoration/comments/1ozfcdo/i_thought_i_was_fine_after_getting_circumcised/
|title=I thought I was ‘fine’ after getting circumcised for phimosis… and it turns out I wasn’t.
|last=Anonymous
|publisher=Reddit
|date=2025-12
|accessdate=2026-06-26

}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://www.reddit.com/r/foreskin_restoration/comments/1ptxzrh/i_regret_getting_an_adult_circumcision/?chainedPosts=t3_1p67xlp
|title=I regret getting an adult circumcision
|last=Anonymous
|publisher=REDDIT
|date=12-12-23
|accessdate=2025-12-29
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://www.reddit.com/r/intactinfo/comments/1qe1kkl/the_neurological_cost_of_circumcision_a_breakdown/
|title=The Neurological Cost of Circumcision, A Breakdown of What's Removed
|last=Anonymous
|first=
|init=
|author-link=
|publisher=REDDIT
|date=2026-01-15
|accessdate=2026-01-16
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://www.reddit.com/r/uncircumcised_talk/comments/1qgb86l/uncircumcised_easier_to_climax/
|title=Uncircumcised = easier to climax?
|last=Anonymous
|publisher=REDDIT
|date=2026-01-18
|accessdate=2026-01-31
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://www.reddit.com/r/Intactivists/comments/1tygsl1/adult_circumcision_and_its_effect_on_pleasure/
|title=Adult circumcision and its effect on pleasure
|last=Anonymous
|publisher=Reddit
|date=2026-06-06
|accessdate=2026-06-06
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://www.reddit.com/r/uncircumcised_talk/comments/1v2q1ru/just_found_out_today_that_ill_be_getting/
|title=Just found out today that I’ll be getting circumcised. Any advice?
|last=Anonymous
|publisher=Reddit
|date=2026-07-21
|accessdate=2026-07-21
}}

====Traditional circumcision====
* {{NSFW}} [[Ulwaluko]]

{{REF}}

[[Category:Body modification]]
[[Category:Circumcision]]
[[Category:Male circumcision]]
[[Category:Male genital mutilation]]
[[Category:Penile surgery]]
[[Category:Penis]]
[[Category:Teen]]

[[de:Jugendlichen- und Erwachsenenbeschneidung]]

Puberty

2026-07-22T13:11:51Z

WikiModEn2: /* Puberty for Boys: 10 Top Things to Expect */ Add external link.

'''{{FULLPAGENAME}}''' is the period in human development when a child gradually changes into an adult, during which physical growth and sexual maturation occurs.<ref>{{REFweb
|url=https://medical-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/puberty
|title=Puberty
|last=
|first=
|init=
|author-link=
|publisher=Farlex Medical Dictionary
|date=
|accessdate=2025-09-28
}}</ref>

==Start of puberty==
Puberty begins when the hypothalumus, which is part of the brain, produces a hormone that stimulates the pituitary gland, which then produces hormones called gonadotrophins that stimulate the gonads and adrenals. Gonads are the testes in males and the ovaries in females. The gonads then produce a flood of sexual hormones that stimulate growth and development of the sexual organs in both genders and in the breasts of females.

Females usually start puberty at about 10.5 years of age, and males start about a year later.<ref name="cleveland2024">{{REFweb
|url=https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/body/puberty
|title=Puberty
|last=Anonymous
|first=
|init=
|author-link=
|publisher=Cleveland Clinic
|date=2024-08-26
|accessdate=2025-09-28
}}</ref>

===Precocious puberty===
Puberty sometimes starts early. When it does, it is called ''precocious puberty''. Puberty that starts before eight years of age in girls and nine years of age in boys is considered to be [https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/21064-precocious-early-puberty precocious puberty].<ref name="cleveland2024" />

==Onset of sexual function==
Menstruation usually occurs at about 12.5 years of age, while first [[ejaculation]] usually occurs at about 13 years of age.

If a [[foreskinned]] boy's [[foreskin]] has not become retractable prior to puberty, then it will almost certainly become retractable during puberty.<ref name="Øster1968">{{OesterJ 1968}}</ref> <ref name="kayaba1996">{{REFjournal
|last=Kayaba
|init=H
|last2=Tamura
|init2=H
|last3=Kitajima
|init3=S
|etal=yes
|title=Analysis of shape and retractability of the prepuce in 603 Japanese boys
|journal=J Urol
|volume=156
|issue=5
|pages=1813-1815
|url=http://www.cirp.org/library/normal/kayaba/
|quote=
|pubmedID=8863623
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=
|date=1996-11-01
|accessdate=2025-09-28
}}</ref> <ref name="agarwal2005">{{REFjournal
|last=Agarwal
|first=
|init=A
|author-link=
|last2=Mohta
|first2=
|init2=A
|author2-link=
|last3=Anand
|first3=
|init3=RK
|author3-link=
|etal=no
|title=Preputial retraction in children
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal=J Indian Assoc Pediatr Surg
|location=
|date=2005-04
|season=
|volume=10
|issue=2
|article=
|pages=89-91
|url=https://journals.lww.com/jiap/fulltext/2005/10020/preputial_retraction_in_children.5.aspx
|archived=
|quote=
|pubmedID=
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=10.4103/0971-9261.16468
|accessdate=2025-09-28
}}</ref>

==Tanner stages==
Dr [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Mourilyan_Tanner James Mourilyan Tanner], a British paediatric endocrinologist, created [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tanner_scale Tanner stages], which describe the progress of puberty through five stages.<ref name="cleveland2024" /> <ref>{{REFbook
|last=Emmanuel
|first=Mickey
|init=
|last2=Bokor
|first2=Brooke R
|init2=
|year=2022
|title=Tanner Stages
|url=https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK470280/
|scope=
|location=
|publisher=StatPearls
|ISBN=
|accessdate=2025-09-29
}}</ref>

==End of puberty==
Puberty typically lasts for 2 to 5 years. It usually ends for girls at age 15 to 17, and for boys at age 16 to 17.<ref name="cleveland2024" />
==Video==
===What Boys Want to Know About Puberty===
<youtube>v=RJtbLfJ_kRk</youtube>
===Are You Starting Puberty? Signs Every Boy Should Know and What Happens Next===
<youtube>v=uI4kGBldiwU&t=131s</youtube>
===Anatomy of Male Bodies===
<youtube>v=G2ciOhidKpg</youtube>
===Why Do Boys Have Wet Dreams During Puberty? Causes, Facts, and What It Means===
<youtube>v=Kr-hDmU4AhQ</youtube>
===Puberty for Boys: 10 Top Things to Expect===
<youtube>v=4tF4cB4B7Do</youtube>
{{SEEALSO}}
* [[Development of retractable foreskin]]
* [[Fusions and adhesions]]
* [[Masturbation]]
* [[Puberty books for teen boys]]
* [[Stretching]]

{{LINKS}}
* {{URLwikipedia|Puberty|Puberty}}
* {{REFweb
|title=How Long Does Puberty Last For Boys
|url=https://wikionlymen.com/how-long-does-puberty-last-for-boys/
|archived=
|trans-title=
|language=
|last=Anonymous
|publisher=Wiki Only Men
|website=https://wikionlymen.com/
|date=2022-09-12
|accessdate=2026-01-28
|quote=
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://growingupboys.info/tanner-stage-calculator-for-boys/
|title=Tanner Stage Calculator for Boys
|last=Hamilton
|first=Jeffrey
|init=
|author-link=
|publisher=Growing Up in the Lord for Boys
|date=2020
|accessdate=2026-04-01
}}
* {{REFweb
|title=Puberty info for boys blog.
|url=https://www.reddit.com/r/pubertyinfoforboys/
|publisher=Reddit
|accessdate=2026-02-22
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://circumcised.com/Thread-The-Dilemma-of-the-Circumcised-Boy-at-Puberty
|title=The Dilemma of the Circumcised Boy at Puberty
|last=Anonymous
|publisher=Circumcised.com
|date=2026-06-28
|accessdate=2026-06-28
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://4skin-health.alderhey.nhs.uk/teenagers-young-adults/
|title=Advice for teenagers and young adults
|last=Kenny
|first=
|init=S
|author-link=
|publisher=NHS Children's Hospital at Alder Hey
|date=
|accessdate=2026-07-22
}}

==Dedication==
This page is dedicated to Ethan, who inspired its creation.

{{REF}}

[[Category:Education]]
[[Category:Educational]]
[[Category:Foreskin anatomy]]
[[Category:Foreskinned life]]
[[Category:Male sexuality]]
[[Category:Physiology]]
[[Category:Teen]]

Adolescent and adult circumcision

2026-07-21T21:56:48Z

WikiModEn2: /* Medical circumcision */ Revise entry

'''Adolescent and adult circumcision''' is rare when compared to the millions upon millions of medically-unnecessary, harmful non-therapeutic [[Circumcision| circumcisions]] of boys that are carried out in [[Islam]]ic nations, [[Israel]], the [[United States]], and elsewhere, however they are promoted by a [[medical trade association| medical trade associations]] and their members for [[Financial incentive| profit]].

[[Rosemary Romberg]] commented on adult circumcision in the [[United States]]:
<blockquote>
In the [[United States]], where many medical doctors are themselves victims of [[child circumcision]], doctors tend to consider the [[foreskin]] as something "dispensible."
…
It is difficult to ascertain the true percentage of actual need for adult circumcision among [[intact]] males. In a circumcision-oriented society such as ours many doctors prescribe the operation for conditions which could be resolved, often easily, without resort to surgery.…<ref>{{REFbook
|last=Romberg
|first=Rosemary
|init=
|author-link=Rosemary Romberg
|year=2021
|title=Circumcision — The Painful Dilemma
|url=https://circumcisionthepainfuldilemma.wordpress.com/
|work=
|editor=[[Ulf Dunkel]]
|edition=Second Edition, Revised
|volume=
|chapter=The Circumcision of an Adult
|scope=
|page=247
|pages=
|location=
|publisher=Kindle
|ISBN=23: 979-8683021252
|quote=
|accessdate=2023-08-31
|note=
}}</ref>
</blockquote>

[[Posthectomy]] is the proper medical term of [[excision]] and [[amputation]] of the [[foreskin]], but is seldom used. Males who are considering adult circumcision should be aware that irreversible [[amputation]] of the [[foreskin]] is disabling in many ways.<ref name="andersen2025">{{REFjournal
|last=Andersen-Giberson
|init=D
|author-link=Dale Andersen
|url=https://cdd.journals.yorku.ca/index.php/cdd/article/view/39786/36016
|title=Circumcision and forced disability: Routine male neonatal circumcision and the consequences of amputation within a critical disability studies framework
|journal=Critical Disability Discourses
|date=2025-12
|volume=10
|issue=2
|pages=1-37
|URL=https://cdd.journals.yorku.ca/index.php/cdd/article/view/39786/36016
|DOI=https://doi.org/10.25071/1918-6215.39786
|quote=In a critical disability studies framework, it is argued that the act of amputating healthy erogenous tissue and the consequences of that amputation cause disability, particularly from a counter-hegemonic lens.
|format=PDF
|accessdate=2026-03-14
}}</ref>

<big>Circumcision is an [[amputation]] that cannot be reversed or undone. Circumcision is forever.</big>

==Considerations before consent is granted==
[[Alfonso Cepeda-Emiliani| Cepeda-Emiliani]] et al. (2025) have provided this warning to men who are considering an adult circumcision.
<blockquote>
Regarding adult circumcision, the current knowledge of preputial
and penile neuroanatomy and structure underscores the importance
of meticulous patient selection for this procedure. Specifically, when
adult circumcision is to be performed, factors such as the position of
the [[circumcision scar]] line, the amount of inner prepuce retained, the
tightness of the remaining penile skin, and whether a frenulectomy
is performed should be carefully discussed and agreed upon by both
the patient and the surgeon, with all decisions clearly documented in
the [[informed consent]]. Recent survey findings underscore this need
for dialogue: Callegari et al. showed that preferences regarding the
amount of inner preputial remnant retained after circumcision vary
considerably among individuals, reinforcing the importance of engaging patients in personalized discussions to align surgical decisions with their expectations.<ref name="cepeda2025">{{REFjournal
|last=Cepeda-Emiliani
|first=
|init=A
|author-link=Alfonso Cepeda-Emiliani
|last2=Otero-Alén
|first2=
|init2=M
|author2-link=
|last3=Suárez-Quintanilla
|first3=
|init3=J
|author3-link=
|last4=Gándara-Cortés
|first4=
|init4=M
|author4-link=
|last5=García-Caballero
|first5=
|init5=T
|author5-link=
|last6=García-Caballero
|first6=
|init6=R
|author6-link=
|last7=García-Caballero
|first7=
|init7=L
|author7-link=
|etal=no
|title=The sensory penis: A comprehensive immunohistological and ontogenetic exploration of human penile innervation
|trans-title=
|journal=Andrology
|date=2025-09-19
|volume=
|issue=
|article=
|pages=1-41
|url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/andr.70118
|archived=
|quote=
|pubmedID=40970806
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=10.1111/andr.70118
|accessdate=2025-09-29
}}</ref>
</blockquote>

==Consent==

Male [[circumcision]] is not mandatory. It is an ''elective'', irreversible, surgical [[amputation]] of the [[foreskin]] part of the [[penis]]. Legally, the patient or his surrogate must grant [[Informed consent| ''informed'' consent]] before the surgery can be performed. A surrogate's powers are limited to granting consent for medically-indicated and necessary diagnosis and treatment of existing disease.<ref name="myers2020">{{REFjournal
|last=Myers
|first=
|init=A
|author-link=Alex Myers
|last2=Earp
|first2=
|init2=BD
|author2-link=Brian D. Earp
|etal=no
|title=What is the best age to circumcise? A medical and ethical analysis
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal= Bioethics
|location=
|date=2020
|volume=34
|issue=7
|pages=645-63
|url=https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Brian-Earp-2/publication/337720859_What_Is_the_Best_Age_to_Circumcise_A_Medical_and_Ethical_Analysis/links/5f815f61a6fdccfd7b555395/What-Is-the-Best-Age-to-Circumcise-A-Medical-and-Ethical-Analysis.pdf
|quote=Based on a careful consideration of the relevant evidence, arguments and counterarguments, we conclude that medically unnecessary penile circumcision-like other medically unnecessary genital procedures, such as 'cosmetic' labiaplasty-should not be performed on individuals who are too young (or otherwise unable) to provide meaningful consent to the procedure.
|pubmedID=32068898
|pubmedCID=
|doi=10.1111/bioe.12714
|format=PDF
|accessdate=2020-06-30
}}</ref>

The surgeon must provide all material information to the patient before [[informed consent]] can be granted. There is a strong tendency for the surgeon to omit telling the patient anything about the nature and [http://www.intactaus.org/information/functionsoftheforeskin/ functions of the foreskin],<ref name="masood2005">{{REFjournal
|last=Masood
|init=S
|last2=Patel
|first2=
|init2=HRH
|author2-link=
|last3=Himpson
|first3=
|init3=RC
|author3-link=
|etal=yes
|title=Penile sensitivity and sexual satisfaction after circumcision: are we informing men correctly?
|journal=Urol Int
|date=2005
|volume=75
|issue=1
|pages=62-6
|url=https://www.cirp.org/library/sex_function/masood1/
|pubmedID=16037710
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=10.1159/000085930
|accessdate=2023-04-08
}}</ref> which would be lost through [[amputation]] if consent should be granted.

[[Issues_with_American_urologists_and_the_practice_of_male_circumcision| Urologic surgeons]] in the [[United States]] derive a substantial fee from the performance of a [[circumcision]], so some urologists may have a [[bias]] in favor of circumcision and may inappropriately recommend adult circumcision to patients when a conservative treatment would be satisfactory or even when no treatment is necessary. Patients should be wary and do their own research before granting consent for an irreversible [[circumcision]].

[[Marilyn Fayre Milos| Milos]] (2022) advises:
<blockquote>
* A penis without a foreskin doesn’t work as nature intended for its owner or his sexual partner.
* Amputating the foreskin eliminates the penis’ “command and control” nerve center, the normal skin system that allows for comfortable erections and the gliding mechanism necessary for sensory pleasure, foreplay, and normal intromission (entry during intercourse).
* Circumcision amputates the tens of thousands of specialized, erogenous nerve endings that signal to the man where he is in relation to the orgasmic threshold.
* It denudes and exposes the glans (head of the penis), causing it to become dry, calloused, and desensitized. Circumcised men talk about becoming impotent during their 50s or 60s while intact males tell me the urge doesn’t come around as often but their sensitivity hasn’t diminished.
* Circumcision makes the penis smaller, too.<ref name="milos2022-05-02">{{REFweb
|url=https://intactamerica.org/ask-marilyn-a-19-year-old-considers-circumcision/
|title=Ask Marilyn – 19-year-old Considers Circumcision
|last=Milos
|first=
|init=MF
|author-link=Marilyn Fayre Milos
|publisher=Intact America
|date=2022-05-02
|accessdate=2024-10-24
}}</ref>
</blockquote>

Performance of unneccesary circumcision simply to earn a surgical fee is [[Ethics_of_non-therapeutic_child_circumcision#Patient_exploitation| unethical patient exploitation]].

==Reasons for circumcision==

All circumcisions are injurious because they amputate a [http://www.intactaus.org/information/functionsoftheforeskin/ multi-functional body part], but in rare cases the benefit obtained by removing a deformed, diseased, or damaged foreskin may be of more value than the amputated [[foreskin]].

* Deformed foreskins — The common type of deformed foreskin is the narrow non-retractable foreskin of [[phimosis]]. Circumcision was the traditional treatment for phimosis, however circumcision is less performed today because newer conservative treatments are now available that preserve the [[foreskin]] and its many useful functions. There is a wide range of normal in foreskin length. [[Long foreskin| Longer foreskins]] are not deformed, so do ''not'' justify circumcision.

* Diseased foreskins — Diseases for which circumcision may be indicated include [[Penile cancer|malignant tumor]],[[Balanitis xerotica obliterans| lichen sclerosis]], recurrent [[balanoposthitis]], [[gangrene]], and recurrent yeast infection in diabetic males (after conservative treatment fails),<ref name="verma2011">{{REFjournal
|last=Verma
|first=Shyam B.
|init=SB
|author-link=
|last2=Molina
|first2=Uwe
|init2=U
|author2-link=
|etal=no
|title=Looking through the cracks of diabetic candidal balanoposthitis!
|journal=Int J Gen Med
|location=
|date=2011-07-07
|volume=4
|issue=
|pages=511-3
|url=https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3150172/
|pubmedID=21845057
|pubmedCID=3150172
|DOI=10.2147/IJGM.S17875
|accessdate=2020-12-19
}}</ref>

* Damaged foreskins — This includes any type of physical [[trauma]] and injury that is beyond surgical repair. Zipper injury does not require circumcision.<ref name="flowerdew1977">{{REFjournal
|last=Flowerdew
|init=R
|author-link=
|last2=Fishman
|init2=IJ
|author2-link=
|last3=Churchill
|init3=BM
|author3-link=
|etal=no
|title=Management of penile zipper injuries
|journal=J Urol
|location=
|date=1977-05
|volume=117
|issue=5
|article=
|page=671
|pages=
|url=http://www.cirp.org/library/treatment/zipper/flowerdew/
|pubmedID=859209
|pubmedCID=
|DOI= 10.1016/s0022-5347(17)58581-x
|accessdate=2020-12-20
}}</ref> <ref>{{REFjournal
|last=Chalfin
|first=Laura
|init=L
|author-link=
|etal=no
|title=Win one for the zipper
|journal=Emerigency Medicine
|location=
|date=1989-03-30
|volume=21
|issue=6
|article=
|page=
|pages=05
|url=http://www.cirp.org/library/treatment/zipper/chalfin/
|accessdate=2020-12-20
}}</ref>

===Elective non-therapeutic circumcision===

Some adult males may seek non-therapeutic circumcision because of a conversion to [[Judaism]] or [[Islam]]. Others may simply want a circumcision because they like the physical appearance, or to fit into a society where most men are [[circumcised]], or for some personal whim.<ref name="holman1999">{{REFjournal
|last=Holman
|first=John R.
|init=JR
|author-link=
|last2=Steussi
|first2=Keith A.
|init2=KA
|author2-link=
|last3=
|etal=no
|title=Adult circumcision
|journal=Am Fam Physician
|location=
|date=1999-03-15
|volume=59
|issue=6
|article=
|page=1514-8
|pages=
|url=https://www.aafp.org/afp/1999/0315/p1514.html
|pubmedID=10193593
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=
|accessed=2020-12-20}}</ref>

Many men who elect an irreversible non-therapeutic circumcision later express regret.

===A word to intact teens===

Boys are born with a [[foreskin]] that is non-retractable for reasons of protection against [[trauma]] and [[infection]]. The inner surface is fused with the [[glans penis]] by a [[synechia]] (similar to a fingernail that is glued to the nail bed of the finger). Also the tip of the foreskin is too narrow to retract. As a boy gets older, the synechia disintegrates and releases the foreskin and the foreskin gets wider as a boy ages, so the foreskin gradually becomes [[Retraction of the foreskin| retractable]]. Some boys go through [[puberty]] but find that their [[foreskin]] is still too narrow to permit retraction.

Beaugé (1997) reported that boys, who masturbate by pulling their [[foreskin]] away from the body, will not stretch the tight part of the foreskin so non-retractile foreskin will persist. He advised changing the method of [[masturbation]] to the more conventional method of pulling the foreskin toward the body so that the narrow orifice gets stretched.<ref name="beauge1997">{{REFjournal
|last=Beaugé
|init=Michel
|author-link=Michel Beaugé
|url=http://www.cirp.org/library/treatment/phimosis/beauge2/
|title=The causes of adolescent phimosis
|journal=Br J Sex Med
|date=1997
|volume=
|issue=September/October
|pages=26
|accessdate=2021-04-21
}}</ref>

The traditional way of addressing this issue was to consult a urologist and get a circumcision, however we now understand that in the vast majority of cases, manual [[stretching]] over a few months will widen the foreskin by [[tissue expansion]], make the foreskin retractable and eliminate the need for a destructive circumcision.

==Methods of adult circumcision==

===Dorsal slit===

[[Dorsal slit]] is a cut on the top of the [[foreskin]] to widen the opening, allowing the foreskin to retract and fall below the shaft of the [[penis]]. Dorsal slit does not cut around and does not remove tissue, so it is not a true circumcision. Dorsal slit is a first step in the circumcision of a phimotic foreskin by the sleeve technique.<ref name="holman1999" />

===Sleeve technique===

Holman & Stuessi (1999) said patients should be advised of alternatives to circumcision.

They reported the indications for adult circumcision are uncommon. The most common is [[phimosis]].

They recommended [[dorsal penile nerve block]] or [[ring block]] local anesthesia for the [[pain]] of circumcision surgery.

[[Informed consent]] must be obtained. They stated:
<blockquote>
Specifically, the patient should be told about the risks of [[bleeding]], hematoma formation, [[infection]], inadvertent damage to the [[glans]], removal of too much or too little [[skin]], aesthetically unpleasing results, and a change of sensation during intercourse. The patient should also be informed that, during the postoperative period, [[erection]]s can cause pain and [[Wound dehiscence| disruption of the suture line]] that may require replacement of the sutures. Full recovery following circumcision generally requires four to six weeks of abstinence from all genital stimulation and sexual activity.<ref name="holman1999" />
</blockquote>

In regard to complications, Holman & Stuessi reported:
<blockquote>
As with any surgical procedure, [[bleeding]] and [[infection]] are probably the most common complications of circumcision in adult patients; however, accurate statistics are not available. Other complications include hematoma formation, diffuse swelling, pain from inadequate anesthesia, poor cosmesis, tearing of the sutures due to [[erection]] before healing is complete and anesthetic complications. Some patients may also note an unpleasant heightened sensitivity during intercourse. Infection can be treated with local or parenteral antibiotics, depending on the severity of the infection. [[Bleeding]] can be controlled with pressure, an absorbable gelatin sponge product (i.e., Gelfoam), electrocautery or ligatures. None of these techniques can be preferentially recommended based on differences in complication rate or severity.<ref name="holman1999" />
</blockquote>

===Circumcision with a plastic ring device===

Adolescent and adult circumcision may also be carried out with one of several plastic, one-use, disposable ring devices. These devices work by clamping the foreskin tightly so that it is crushed and flow is cut off completely. Ischemic [[necrosis]] ensues and the [[foreskin]] dies. It may then be cut off or left to fall off. Ring devices include the [[TARA KLamp]], the [[PrePex]], [[AccuCirc]], and the [[Shang Ring]].

==Pain during and after circumcision==
Circumcision is a surgical [[amputation]] of part of the [[penis]]. It is normal to feel [[pain]] during the surgical [[amputation]], however this is usually eliminated by general or local anesthesia.

One may expect pain after surgery until the incision heals. Ask your doctor for a two-week supply of an opioid pain reliever.

One may also expect pain when the sensitive [[glans penis]] is exposed to friction from clothing, etc. It is no longer protected by the [[foreskin]], so there is not much one can do about it.

One may also expect painful [[erection]]s, depending on how much [[skin]] was removed.
Depending on how much [[skin]] was removed, there may not be enough [[skin]] left to allow for shaft expansion during [[erection]] and this may cause painful [[erection]]s.

One may also experience phantom pain from neuromas that form at the incision where nerves were severed.<ref name="cold-taylor1999">{{REFjournal
|last=Cold
|init=CJ
|author-link=Christopher J. Cold
|last2=Taylor
|init2=JR
|author2-link=John R. Taylor
|title=The prepuce
|journal=BJU Int
|date=1999-01-01
|volume=83 Suppl 1
|issue=
|pages=34-44
|url=https://www.i2researchhub.org/wp-content/uploads/storage/TQ63QSHD/Cold%20and%20Taylor%20-%201999%20-%20The%20prepuce.pdf
|quote=
|pubmedID=1034941
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=10.1046/j.1464-410x.1999.0830s1034.x
|accessdate=2021-03-07
}}</ref>

[[Masturbation]] after circumcision may be painful if one doesn’t use lubrication because of lack of [[gliding action]].
==Recovery period==
Recovery from an adult circumcision is frequently said to be six weeks. Recovery does not include restoration of permanently lost functions.
===Complications===
Circumcision is a surgical operation. Like all surgical operations, there is risk of [[bleeding| hemorrhage]], [[infection]], and surgical mishap, including, rarely, loss of the [[penis]].
[[Erection]] tends to be painful and may cause [[wound dehiscence]].<ref name="wang2023">{{REFjournal
|last=Wang
|first=
|init=D
|author-link=
|last2=Li
|first2=
|init2=Z
|author2-link=
|last3=Chen
|first3=
|init3=X
|author3-link=
|last4=Wang
|first4=
|init4=H
|author4-link=
|etal=no
|title=Wound healing rates and wound problems of conventional circumcision compared with ring circumcision: A meta-analysis
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal=Int Wound J
|location=
|date=2023-06-11
|volume=Online ahead of print
|issue=
|article=
|page=
|pages=
|url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/iwj.14262
|archived=
|quote=
|pubmedID=37303303
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=
|doi=10.1111/iwj.14262
|accessdate=2023-07-16
}}</ref>

There is danger of [[infection]] until the [[circumcision]] wound heals closed.<ref name="wang2023" />

===Lymphoedema===
[[Lymphoedema]] of the [[penis]] is a normal and expected [[complication]] of male adult circumcision due to the adverse effect on blood circulation. Ferhatoglu et al. (2019) reported edema in 108 of 198 patients or 54.5 percent.<ref>{{REFjournal
|last=Ferhatoglu
|first=
|init=Mf
|author-link=
|last2=Kartal
|first2=
|init2=A
|author2-link=
|last3=Gurkan
|first3=
|init3=A
|author3-link=
|etal=no
|title=Evaluation of Male Circumcision: Retrospective Analysis of One Hundred and Ninety-eight Patients
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal=Cureus
|location=
|date=2019-04-27
|volume=11
|issue=4
|article=
|page=e4555
|pages=
|url=https://www.cureus.com/articles/19380-evaluation-of-male-circumcision-retrospective-analysis-of-one-hundred-and-ninety-eight-patients
|archived=
|quote=
|pubmedID=31275779
|pubmedCID=6592839
|DOI=10.7759/cureus.4555
|accessdate=2022-02-17
}}</ref> It frequently lasts for months.

==Permanent adverse effects==
===Loss of sensation===
The human [[foreskin]] has long been noted for its high level of erogenous sensation. Winklemann (1959) early identified the foreskin as a ''specific erogenous zone''.<ref name="winklemann1959">{{WinkelmannRK 1959}}</ref> Falliers (1970) called attention to ''sensory pleasure'' induced by tactile stimulation of the foreskin, which is almost totally lost after its surgical removal.<ref>{{REFjournal
|last=Falliers
|first=CJ
|init=
|author-link=
|etal=no
|title=Circumcision
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal=JAMA
|location=
|date=1970-12-21
|volume=214
|issue=12
|article=
|page=2194
|accessdate=2021-06-04
}}</ref> García-Mesa et al. (2021) reported the [[foreskin]] has an abundance of [[Meissner's corpuscles]] which provide pleasant sexual sensation when mechanically stimulated by motion of the foreskin.<ref name="garcía-mesa2021">{{REFjournal
|last=García-Mesa
|first=Yolanda
|init=
|author-link=
|last2=García-Piqueras
|first2=Jorge
|init2=
|author2-link=
|last3=Cobo
|first3=Ramón
|init3=
|author3-link=
|last4=Martín-Cruces
|first4=José
|init4=
|author4-link=
|last5=Suazo
|first5=Iván
|init5=
|author5-link=
|last6=García-Suárez
|first6=Olivia
|init6=
|author6-link=
|last7=Feito
|first7=Jorge
|init7=
|author7-link=
|last8=
|first8=Vega
|init8=José A.
|author8-link=
|etal=no
|title=Sensory innervation of the human male prepuce: Meissner's corpuscles predominate
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal=Journal of Anatomy
|location=
|date=2021-10
|volume=239
|issue=4
|article=
|page=
|pages=892-902
|url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/joa.13481
|pubmedID=34120333
|pubmedCID=8450466
|DOI=10.1111/joa.13481
|accessdate=2021-11-15
}}</ref>

Money & Davison (1983) reported "diminished penile sensitivity, less penile gratification, more penile pain, and cosmetic deformity" as the effect of circumcision, however they considered that a "prolongation of the period prior to ejaculation" was a possible benefit.<ref name="money1983">{{REFjournal
|last=Money
|first=John
|init=
|author-link=
|last2=Davison
|first2=Jackie
|init2=
|author2-link=
|author9-link=
|etal=no
|title=Adult penile circumcision: erotosexual and cosmetic sequelae
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal=J Sex Res|
|location=
|date=1983
|volume=19
|issue=3
|article=
|page=
|pages=289-92
|url=http://www.cirp.org/library/complications/money/
|accessdate=2021-06-04
}}</ref>

Money & Davison thought the loss of sensation is "secondary to diminished sensory input from stretch receptors in the less mobile [[shaft skin|skin of the shaft]] of the penis, as well as loss of foreskin stretch receptors".<ref name="money1983" />

Denniston (2004) carried out a survey of 38 adult males who were [[circumcised]] at least 2 years after they commenced sexual intercourse. Thirteen men felt that sexual intercourse was better after circumcision, but 22 felt that intercourse was worse and would not have the circumcision again, because of loss of sexual pleasure.<ref>{{REFjournal
|last=Denniston
|first=George C.
|init=
|author-link=George C. Denniston
|last2=Hill
|first2=George
|init2=
|author2-link=George Hill
|etal=no
|title=Circumcision in adults: effect on sexual function
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal=Urology
|location=
|date=2004-12
|volume=54
|issue=5
|article=
|page=1267
|pages=
|url=http://www.cirp.org/library/sex_function/denniston3/
|pubmedID=15596221
|DOI=10.1016/j.urology.2004.03.059
|accessdate=2021-06-05
}}</ref>

Masood et al. (2005) suggested "before circumcision, men should be warned of the long-term consequences (penile sensations and effect on erectile function) as well as be talked through the more traditional subjects (peri-operative complications)."<ref name="masood2005" />

Kim & Pang (2007) studied the effect of adult circumcision on 138 males in [[South Korea]]. They concluded:
<blockquote>There were no significant differences in sexual drive, [[erection]], [[ejaculation]], and ejaculation latency time between [[circumcised]] and [[uncircumcised]] men. Masturbatory pleasure decreased after circumcision in 48% of the respondents, while 8% reported increased pleasure. Masturbatory difficulty increased after circumcision in 63% of the respondents but was easier in 37%. About 6% answered that their sex lives improved, while 20% reported a worse sex life after circumcision.<ref>{{KimDS PangMG 2007}}</ref>
</blockquote>

Remennick (2021) reported Jewish men from the former Soviet Union who migrated to [[Israel]] and received their [[Brit Milah| ritual circumcision]] as sexually active adults were very displeased with their loss of [[Sexual sensation of the foreskin| sexual sensation]]:
<blockquote>
Driven by social pressure and the need to belong, most young men (and their parents) consented to the operation without proper counselling and unaware of its ramifications. Men share their intimate memories of the rapid surgical procedure, painful recuperation, and their belated regrets, both aesthetic and sexual. The willingness to expose their lingering trauma signals evolving concepts of masculinity and vulnerability among these former Soviet men. Their voices join the local and international movement opposing medically-unnecessary genital surgeries of any kind – on men, women and intersex people.<ref name="remennick2021">{{REFjournal
|last=Remennick
|first=
|init=L
|author-link=
|etal=no
|title=Joining the tribe: adult circumcision among immigrant men in Israel and its traumatic aftermath
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal=Cult Health Sex
|location=
|date=2021-01-29
|volume=24
|issue=5
|pages=702-16
|url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/13691058.2021.1879272?journalCode=tchs20
|archived=
|quote=
|pubmedID=33512277
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=10.1080/13691058.2021.1879272
|accessdate=2025-01-08
}}</ref>
</blockquote>

Many [[circumcised]] men say they are unable to feel anything if a condom is used.

===Other adverse effects===
# Circumicision causes loss of [[body pleasure]].
# Circumcision causes both physical and psychic [[trauma]].
# Circumcision severs blood vessels and disrupts lymph and blood circulation in the [[penis]]. This frequently causes [[lymphoedema]] and [[erection]] difficulties.
# Circumcision invariably excises the [[ridged band]], resulting in partial loss of sensation.
# Circumcision is a surgical [[amputation]] of functional tissue. The various [https://foreskinfunction.org/ functions] cease to operate. If the patient does not like the results, it cannot be reversed or undone.
# Recovery from adolescent or adult circumcision is slow and painful. [[Erection]]s are painful because the [[skin]] is stretched and the sutures are stressed. [[Wound dehiscence]] may occur.
# The [[foreskin]] is protective of the [[glans penis]]. After the foreskin is amputated, the [[glans penis]] is exposed so that it touches clothing and other things. Some men report this causes extreme pain so that they cannot wear pants for an extended time. Some circumcised men complain of discomfort due to the head being permanently exposed.
# The foreskin provides moisture and oil to the glans penis. After circumcision, the glans penis will become desiccated. Many [[circumcised]] men complain of dryness.
# The foreskin has [[Immunological and protective function of the foreskin| immunological functions]] that protect from disease. [[Circumcised]] populations have a higher incidence of [[HIV]] than [[intact]] populations.<ref name="denniston2020">{{REFdocument
|title=World Health Organization, HIV, and male circumcision
|url=https://pool.intactiwiki.org/images/2020-06-15b_LettertoPEPFAR.pdf
|contribution=
|last=Denniston
|first=George C.
|publisher=[[Doctors Opposing Circumcision (D.O.C.)]]
|format=
|date=2020-06-29
|accessdate=2020-09-02
}}</ref><ref name="fish2020">{{REFjournal
|last=Fish
|first=Max
|init=M
|author-link=
|last2=Shavisi
|first2=Arianne
|init2=A
|author2-link=
|last3=Gwaambuka
|first3=Tatenda
|init3=T
|author3-link=
|last4=Tangwa
|first4=Godfrey B.
|init4=GB
|author4-link=
|last5=Ncayiyana
|first5=Daniel
|init5=D
|author5-link=
|last6=Earp
|first6=Brian D.
|init6=BD
|author6-link=Brian D. Earp
|etal=no
|title=A new Tuskegee? Unethical human experimentation and Western neocolonialism in the mass circumcision of African men
|journal=Developing World Bioeth
|date=2020-09-09
|volume=00
|pages=1-16
|url=https://doi.org/10.1111/dewb.12285
|DOI=10.1111/dewb.12285
|accessdate=2021-02-13
}}</ref>
# The heavily innervated [[ridged band]] is located on the foreskin and is always amputated along with the foreskin. The [[Foreskin sensitivity| most sensitive regions in the intact penis]] are those parts ablated by circumcision.<ref>{{Sorrells etal 2007}}</ref> There is great loss of sensation caused by the [[amputation]] of this structure. It appears that many [[intact]] males are unaware of the source of sensation and are shocked by the loss of sensation after circumcision.
# The abundance of [[skin]] in the foreskin allows [[gliding action]]. Gliding action facilitates [[masturbation]] and [[vagina| intercourse]]. The shortening of [[penile skin]] reduces or eliminates gliding action. The loss of gliding action may cause [[dyspareunia]].
# Painful [[erection]]s may occur due to lack of sufficient [[skin]] to allow for expansion of the [[penis]].
# The erect penis may be shorter due to lack of sufficient [[skin]] to allow full expansion.
# There always will be a [[circumcision scar]] that encircles the shaft of the penis.
# The exposed [[glans penis]] will protect itself from friction by developing a layer of [[keratin]] and become cracked and hardened. The [[keratinization]] of the [[glans penis]] will reduce its sensitivity.
# There are possible [[Psychological issues of male circumcision| emotional issues]] secondary to a partial loss of the [[penis]] through circumcision.
# The shaft of the penis becomes narrrower because of the loss of a double layer of skin

==Financial considerations==
Medical insurance policies vary with the provider of insurance. Most will pay for circumcision only if it is done to treat a medical condition. When circumcision is carried out for cosmetic reasons or personal desire, it is very unlikely that medical insurance would pay. The cost of an adult circumcision would include a facility fee, a surgeon's fee, an anesthesiologist's fee, and pre-operative and post-operative care. Garrett (2024) says the cost may range from $1,650 to $6,450.<ref name="garrett2024-03-07">{{REFweb
|url=https://intactamerica.org/adult-circumcision-cost/
|title=Adult Circumcision Cost: The Profit Motives and Hidden Toll
|last=Garrett
|first=Connor
|init=
|author-link=Connor Judson Garrett
|publisher=Intact America
|date=2024-03-07
|accessdate=2024-05-15
}}</ref>

==Warning==
It is quite common for some urologists to push circumcision on any [[foreskinned]] male although conservative treatment would have been sufficient, since there is a nice fee attached to a circumcision [[amputation]]. There are many reports of false statements being made. It is totally unethical and akin to fraud, but it happens frequently.

===Videos===
Here are seven videos in which [[regret men]] who had an adult circumcision express their regret.

==== Circumcised at 18 ====
<youtube>v=NAHGFx95D80</youtube>

====Circumcised at 46====
<youtube>v=pZ3n8CtcmRY</youtube>

==== Why I Regret Getting Circumcised At 19 ====
<youtube>v=7AaUb63NLLw</youtube>

==== Circumcised Man: "I feel such a sense of loss" ====
<youtube>v=gx_PoXm3XZ4</youtube>

==== Circumcised at 30 ====
<youtube>v=g2CwHbCDiAU</youtube>

==== Circumcision Care - After Circumcision - 5 Post Circumcision Surgery Recovery Tips!====
<youtube>v=xdrvq_10vTM</youtube>

====Why can’t I sleep after my circumcision operation?? Day 12 ====
<youtube>v=CLmxdbV3Uyc</youtube>

== Rite of passage ==
In some cultures, [[circumcision]] is viewed as a rite of passage, and a male may not be considered a privileged adult until he has undergone circumcision.

=== Aborigines ===
The indigeous people of [[Australia]], the [[Aborigines]], have variously practiced [[Religion and culture#Australia|subincision]] and [[circumcision]] on adolescents and adults since before the first contact with Europeans.

=== Ulwaluko ===
Traditional [[Circumcision]] and Initiation into Manhood (ulwaluko) is an ancient initiation ritual practiced by the amaXhosa of the Eastern Cape Province of [[South Africa]]. The ritual is traditionally intended as a teaching institution to prepare boys for the responsibilities of manhood. The principles that lie at the very core of the ritual are respect for self (including self control and integrity), respect for family (not to bring shame to them), and respect for community (to protect them from harm).

Every single initiation season the media writes about complications accompanying the ritual of Traditional [[Circumcision]] and Initiation into Manhood ''(ulwaluko)''. The magnitude of these complications is horrific: From 1995 till 2014, 919 boys have lost their lives in the mountains and hills of the Eastern Cape. Many others were mutilated or even lost their manhood. [[Ulwaluko|Many of these mutilations are documented (graphic content).]]

===Tuli===
[[Tuli]] is a [[genital mutilation]] rite of boys and adolescents practiced in the Philippine Islands.

{{SEEALSO}}
* [[Autocircumcision]]
* [[Circumcision: Effect upon erectile function]]
* [[Circumcision methods]]
* [[Circumcision scar]]
* [[Development of retractable foreskin]]
* [[Doctors Cut Off Man’s Penis During Circumcision]]
* [[Ethics of non-therapeutic child circumcision]]
* [[Foreskin]]
* [[Foreskin comment]]
* [[Foreskin sensitivity]]
* [[Frenectomy]]
* [[Frenuloplasty]]
* [[Fusions and adhesions]]
* [[Ischemia of the glans penis]]
* [[American urologists and the practice of male circumcision]]
* [[Neurotomy]]
* [[Penis]]
* [[Phimosis]]
* [[Phimosis#Preputioplasty| Preputioplasty]]
* [[Posthectomy]]
* [[The recovery after an adult circumcision]]
* [[Regret men]]
* [[Risks and complications]]
* [[Sexual effects of circumcision]]
* [[Stretching]]
* [[Surrogate consent]]
* [[Trauma]]
{{LINKS}}
====Medical circumcision====
* {{REFjournal
|last=Holman
|first=
|init=JR
|author-link=
|last2=Stuessi
|first2=
|init2=KA
|author2-link=
|etal=no
|title=Adult circumcision
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal=American Family Physician
|location=
|date=1999-03-15
|season=
|volume=59
|issue=6
|article=
|page=
|pages=1514-18
|url=https://www.aafp.org/pubs/afp/issues/1999/0315/p1514.html
|archived=
|quote=
|pubmedID=10193593
|accessdate=2024-05-03
}}
* {{REFjournal
|last=Hammond
|first=
|init=T
|author-link=Tim Hammond
|etal=no
|title=A preliminary poll of men circumcised in infancy or childhood
|trans-title=
|journal=BJU Int
|date=1999-01
|volume=83 Supple 1
|issue=
|pages=85-92
|url=https://d1wqtxts1xzle7.cloudfront.net/104891874/Hammond_20Preliminary_20Poll_201999-libre.pdf?1691631077=&response-content-disposition=inline%3B+filename%3DA_preliminary_poll_of_men_circumcised_in.pdf&Expires=1784674087&Signature=RxPFDxQnrBLWdlpGl6OaggpDiiMgTSSFedCtwhhLCHZms7VVCMmVZ~~GewMp14JdxBlUnbrM2Uns8qogKMWGzNiku4x-YDxcpXgW-AnTsjdiHDi2cnfH2kMpEFiTlGVCaoUxvNKOQqlkGnZ99AIOzKtXlgMLZX78zILtBvAV-cMCyYOTS27yxy-MB288nymSy9MznHVajjt1ZCnVOYDOUZTMvv~RgZubDzbrTNJse1FFJpbaT4ohrBVyrBOmiV7ffwwIgN9a0aSGbEZqDM-NthcjFPmtloKwgPTHwnRAmszNQc8SMNe0aAlYs5qSM7RPA1vCEwzYptTdpk1Kjiqvnw__&Key-Pair-Id=APKAJLOHF5GGSLRBV4ZA
|pubmedID=10349419
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=10.1046/j.1464-410x.1999.0830s1085.x
|format=PDF
|accessdate=2022-06-10
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://15square.org.uk/losses-from-circumcision/
|title=Losses from Circumcision
|last=Ball
|first=Peter
|publisher=15 Square
|date=2003-08-09
|accessdate=2023-02-23
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://www.reddit.com/r/foreskin_restoration/comments/1p67xlp/circumcision_ended_my_life/
|title=Circumcision ended my life
|last=Anonymous
|publisher=Reddit
|date=2024-12
|accessdate=2026-07-21
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://davidlouis77.wordpress.com/2010/05/08/adult-circumcision-my-experience-2-years-on/comment-page-4/#comment-24567
|title=Adult Circumcision: My experience two years on.
|last=Louis
|first=David
|author-link=
|publisher=
DavidLouis77's Blog
|website=wordpress.com
|date=2010-05-08
|accessdate=2020-12-29
|format=
|quote=
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=http://www.circumstitions.com/Resent.html
|title=The tip of the iceberg: Men who resent being circumcised
|last=Young
|first=Hugh
|author-link=
|publisher=Circumstitions
|website=
|date=
|accessdate=2020-12-29
|format=
|quote=
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=http://www.intactaus.org/men-circumcised-as-adults/
|title=Men Circumcised As Adults
|publisher=Intact Australia
|date=2017-03-01
|accessdate=2020-12-21
|format=
|quote=
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://ladagueetlefourreau.wordpress.com/2017/07/17/a-personal-account-of-adult-circumcision/
|title=A Personal Account of Adult Circumcision
|last=
|first=
|date=2017-07-17
|accessdate=2021-02-14
}}
* {{REFdocument
|title=Circumcision (Complete Removal of the Foreskin}
|url=https://www.baus.org.uk/_userfiles/pages/files/Patients/Leaflets/Circumcision.pdf
|contribution=
|last=
|first=
|publisher=British Association of Paediatric Surgeons
|format=PDF
|date=2020-12
|accessdate=2024-02-12
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://www.cosmopolitan.com/sex-love/a28580739/circumcision-pros-and-cons/
|title=I Had an Adult Circumcision, and I Totally Regret It
|last=Hseih
|first=Carina
|date=2019-08-02
|accessdate=2021-06-05
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://wikionlymen.com/?s=circumcision
|title=Disadvantages Of Circumcision In Man
|publisher=Wiki Only Men
|date=2021-11-05
|accessdate=2024-10-05
}}
* {{REFjournal
|last=Remennick
|first=Larissa
|init=L
|author-link=
|etal=no
|title=Joining the tribe: adult circumcision among immigrant men in Israel and its traumatic aftermath
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal=Cult Health Sex
|location=
|date=2021-01-29
|volume=24
|issue=5
|article=
|page=
|pages=702-16
|url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/13691058.2021.1879272?journalCode=tchs20
|archived=
|quote=
|pubmedID=33512277
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=10.1080/13691058.2021.1879272
|accessdate=2022-10-14
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://www.reddit.com/r/CircumcisionGrief/comments/wemjzy/got_circumcised_4_months_ago/
|title=Got circumcised 4 months ago
|last=Anonymous
|first=
|init=
|author-link=
|publisher=REDDIT
|date=2022
|accessdate=2025-12-26
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://www.reddit.com/r/FriendsOfTheFrenulum/comments/128dvgq/for_adults_contemplating_circumcision_what/
|title=For adults contemplating circumcision, what essential questions should they ponder to guarantee their decision is genuinely rooted in an informed choice — made autonomously and for their own well-being?
|last=Anonymous
|first=
|init=
|author-link=
|publisher=REDDIT
|date=2022
|accessdate=2025-12-26
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://intactamerica.org/adult-circumcision-cost/
|title=Adult Circumcision Cost: The Profit Motives and Hidden Toll
|last=Garrett
|first=Connor
|author-link=Connor Judson Garrett
|init=
|publisher=Intact America
|date=2024-03-07
|accessdate=2024-03-10
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://4skin-health.alderhey.nhs.uk/teenagers-young-adults/
|title=Advice for teenagers and young adults
|last=Kenny
|first=
|init=S
|author-link=
|publisher=NHS Children's Hospital at Alder Hey
|date=
|accessdate=2025-02-21
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://archive.md/Au7cV#selection-98.0-707.8
|title=Unjustifiable reason 1: Parents are clueless about the functions of the foreskin
|last=Anonymous
|first=
|init=
|author-link=
|publisher=REDDIT Intactivism
|date=2025-06-17
|accessdate=2025-06-24
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://www.reddit.com/r/foreskin_restoration/comments/1ozfcdo/i_thought_i_was_fine_after_getting_circumcised/
|title=I thought I was ‘fine’ after getting circumcised for phimosis… and it turns out I wasn’t.
|last=Anonymous
|publisher=Reddit
|date=2025-12
|accessdate=2026-06-26

}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://www.reddit.com/r/foreskin_restoration/comments/1ptxzrh/i_regret_getting_an_adult_circumcision/?chainedPosts=t3_1p67xlp
|title=I regret getting an adult circumcision
|last=Anonymous
|publisher=REDDIT
|date=12-12-23
|accessdate=2025-12-29
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://www.reddit.com/r/intactinfo/comments/1qe1kkl/the_neurological_cost_of_circumcision_a_breakdown/
|title=The Neurological Cost of Circumcision, A Breakdown of What's Removed
|last=Anonymous
|first=
|init=
|author-link=
|publisher=REDDIT
|date=2026-01-15
|accessdate=2026-01-16
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://www.reddit.com/r/uncircumcised_talk/comments/1qgb86l/uncircumcised_easier_to_climax/
|title=Uncircumcised = easier to climax?
|last=Anonymous
|publisher=REDDIT
|date=2026-01-18
|accessdate=2026-01-31
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://www.reddit.com/r/Intactivists/comments/1tygsl1/adult_circumcision_and_its_effect_on_pleasure/
|title=Adult circumcision and its effect on pleasure
|last=Anonymous
|publisher=Reddit
|date=2026-06-06
|accessdate=2026-06-06
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://www.reddit.com/r/uncircumcised_talk/comments/1v2q1ru/just_found_out_today_that_ill_be_getting/
|title=Just found out today that I’ll be getting circumcised. Any advice?
|last=Anonymous
|publisher=Reddit
|date=2026-07-21
|accessdate=2026-07-21
}}

====Traditional circumcision====
* {{NSFW}} [[Ulwaluko]]

{{REF}}

[[Category:Body modification]]
[[Category:Circumcision]]
[[Category:Male circumcision]]
[[Category:Male genital mutilation]]
[[Category:Penile surgery]]
[[Category:Penis]]
[[Category:Teen]]

[[de:Jugendlichen- und Erwachsenenbeschneidung]]

Adolescent and adult circumcision

2026-07-21T21:40:13Z

WikiModEn2: /* Medical circumcision */ Add external link.

'''Adolescent and adult circumcision''' is rare when compared to the millions upon millions of medically-unnecessary, harmful non-therapeutic [[Circumcision| circumcisions]] of boys that are carried out in [[Islam]]ic nations, [[Israel]], the [[United States]], and elsewhere, however they are promoted by a [[medical trade association| medical trade associations]] and their members for [[Financial incentive| profit]].

[[Rosemary Romberg]] commented on adult circumcision in the [[United States]]:
<blockquote>
In the [[United States]], where many medical doctors are themselves victims of [[child circumcision]], doctors tend to consider the [[foreskin]] as something "dispensible."
…
It is difficult to ascertain the true percentage of actual need for adult circumcision among [[intact]] males. In a circumcision-oriented society such as ours many doctors prescribe the operation for conditions which could be resolved, often easily, without resort to surgery.…<ref>{{REFbook
|last=Romberg
|first=Rosemary
|init=
|author-link=Rosemary Romberg
|year=2021
|title=Circumcision — The Painful Dilemma
|url=https://circumcisionthepainfuldilemma.wordpress.com/
|work=
|editor=[[Ulf Dunkel]]
|edition=Second Edition, Revised
|volume=
|chapter=The Circumcision of an Adult
|scope=
|page=247
|pages=
|location=
|publisher=Kindle
|ISBN=23: 979-8683021252
|quote=
|accessdate=2023-08-31
|note=
}}</ref>
</blockquote>

[[Posthectomy]] is the proper medical term of [[excision]] and [[amputation]] of the [[foreskin]], but is seldom used. Males who are considering adult circumcision should be aware that irreversible [[amputation]] of the [[foreskin]] is disabling in many ways.<ref name="andersen2025">{{REFjournal
|last=Andersen-Giberson
|init=D
|author-link=Dale Andersen
|url=https://cdd.journals.yorku.ca/index.php/cdd/article/view/39786/36016
|title=Circumcision and forced disability: Routine male neonatal circumcision and the consequences of amputation within a critical disability studies framework
|journal=Critical Disability Discourses
|date=2025-12
|volume=10
|issue=2
|pages=1-37
|URL=https://cdd.journals.yorku.ca/index.php/cdd/article/view/39786/36016
|DOI=https://doi.org/10.25071/1918-6215.39786
|quote=In a critical disability studies framework, it is argued that the act of amputating healthy erogenous tissue and the consequences of that amputation cause disability, particularly from a counter-hegemonic lens.
|format=PDF
|accessdate=2026-03-14
}}</ref>

<big>Circumcision is an [[amputation]] that cannot be reversed or undone. Circumcision is forever.</big>

==Considerations before consent is granted==
[[Alfonso Cepeda-Emiliani| Cepeda-Emiliani]] et al. (2025) have provided this warning to men who are considering an adult circumcision.
<blockquote>
Regarding adult circumcision, the current knowledge of preputial
and penile neuroanatomy and structure underscores the importance
of meticulous patient selection for this procedure. Specifically, when
adult circumcision is to be performed, factors such as the position of
the [[circumcision scar]] line, the amount of inner prepuce retained, the
tightness of the remaining penile skin, and whether a frenulectomy
is performed should be carefully discussed and agreed upon by both
the patient and the surgeon, with all decisions clearly documented in
the [[informed consent]]. Recent survey findings underscore this need
for dialogue: Callegari et al. showed that preferences regarding the
amount of inner preputial remnant retained after circumcision vary
considerably among individuals, reinforcing the importance of engaging patients in personalized discussions to align surgical decisions with their expectations.<ref name="cepeda2025">{{REFjournal
|last=Cepeda-Emiliani
|first=
|init=A
|author-link=Alfonso Cepeda-Emiliani
|last2=Otero-Alén
|first2=
|init2=M
|author2-link=
|last3=Suárez-Quintanilla
|first3=
|init3=J
|author3-link=
|last4=Gándara-Cortés
|first4=
|init4=M
|author4-link=
|last5=García-Caballero
|first5=
|init5=T
|author5-link=
|last6=García-Caballero
|first6=
|init6=R
|author6-link=
|last7=García-Caballero
|first7=
|init7=L
|author7-link=
|etal=no
|title=The sensory penis: A comprehensive immunohistological and ontogenetic exploration of human penile innervation
|trans-title=
|journal=Andrology
|date=2025-09-19
|volume=
|issue=
|article=
|pages=1-41
|url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/andr.70118
|archived=
|quote=
|pubmedID=40970806
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=10.1111/andr.70118
|accessdate=2025-09-29
}}</ref>
</blockquote>

==Consent==

Male [[circumcision]] is not mandatory. It is an ''elective'', irreversible, surgical [[amputation]] of the [[foreskin]] part of the [[penis]]. Legally, the patient or his surrogate must grant [[Informed consent| ''informed'' consent]] before the surgery can be performed. A surrogate's powers are limited to granting consent for medically-indicated and necessary diagnosis and treatment of existing disease.<ref name="myers2020">{{REFjournal
|last=Myers
|first=
|init=A
|author-link=Alex Myers
|last2=Earp
|first2=
|init2=BD
|author2-link=Brian D. Earp
|etal=no
|title=What is the best age to circumcise? A medical and ethical analysis
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal= Bioethics
|location=
|date=2020
|volume=34
|issue=7
|pages=645-63
|url=https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Brian-Earp-2/publication/337720859_What_Is_the_Best_Age_to_Circumcise_A_Medical_and_Ethical_Analysis/links/5f815f61a6fdccfd7b555395/What-Is-the-Best-Age-to-Circumcise-A-Medical-and-Ethical-Analysis.pdf
|quote=Based on a careful consideration of the relevant evidence, arguments and counterarguments, we conclude that medically unnecessary penile circumcision-like other medically unnecessary genital procedures, such as 'cosmetic' labiaplasty-should not be performed on individuals who are too young (or otherwise unable) to provide meaningful consent to the procedure.
|pubmedID=32068898
|pubmedCID=
|doi=10.1111/bioe.12714
|format=PDF
|accessdate=2020-06-30
}}</ref>

The surgeon must provide all material information to the patient before [[informed consent]] can be granted. There is a strong tendency for the surgeon to omit telling the patient anything about the nature and [http://www.intactaus.org/information/functionsoftheforeskin/ functions of the foreskin],<ref name="masood2005">{{REFjournal
|last=Masood
|init=S
|last2=Patel
|first2=
|init2=HRH
|author2-link=
|last3=Himpson
|first3=
|init3=RC
|author3-link=
|etal=yes
|title=Penile sensitivity and sexual satisfaction after circumcision: are we informing men correctly?
|journal=Urol Int
|date=2005
|volume=75
|issue=1
|pages=62-6
|url=https://www.cirp.org/library/sex_function/masood1/
|pubmedID=16037710
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=10.1159/000085930
|accessdate=2023-04-08
}}</ref> which would be lost through [[amputation]] if consent should be granted.

[[Issues_with_American_urologists_and_the_practice_of_male_circumcision| Urologic surgeons]] in the [[United States]] derive a substantial fee from the performance of a [[circumcision]], so some urologists may have a [[bias]] in favor of circumcision and may inappropriately recommend adult circumcision to patients when a conservative treatment would be satisfactory or even when no treatment is necessary. Patients should be wary and do their own research before granting consent for an irreversible [[circumcision]].

[[Marilyn Fayre Milos| Milos]] (2022) advises:
<blockquote>
* A penis without a foreskin doesn’t work as nature intended for its owner or his sexual partner.
* Amputating the foreskin eliminates the penis’ “command and control” nerve center, the normal skin system that allows for comfortable erections and the gliding mechanism necessary for sensory pleasure, foreplay, and normal intromission (entry during intercourse).
* Circumcision amputates the tens of thousands of specialized, erogenous nerve endings that signal to the man where he is in relation to the orgasmic threshold.
* It denudes and exposes the glans (head of the penis), causing it to become dry, calloused, and desensitized. Circumcised men talk about becoming impotent during their 50s or 60s while intact males tell me the urge doesn’t come around as often but their sensitivity hasn’t diminished.
* Circumcision makes the penis smaller, too.<ref name="milos2022-05-02">{{REFweb
|url=https://intactamerica.org/ask-marilyn-a-19-year-old-considers-circumcision/
|title=Ask Marilyn – 19-year-old Considers Circumcision
|last=Milos
|first=
|init=MF
|author-link=Marilyn Fayre Milos
|publisher=Intact America
|date=2022-05-02
|accessdate=2024-10-24
}}</ref>
</blockquote>

Performance of unneccesary circumcision simply to earn a surgical fee is [[Ethics_of_non-therapeutic_child_circumcision#Patient_exploitation| unethical patient exploitation]].

==Reasons for circumcision==

All circumcisions are injurious because they amputate a [http://www.intactaus.org/information/functionsoftheforeskin/ multi-functional body part], but in rare cases the benefit obtained by removing a deformed, diseased, or damaged foreskin may be of more value than the amputated [[foreskin]].

* Deformed foreskins — The common type of deformed foreskin is the narrow non-retractable foreskin of [[phimosis]]. Circumcision was the traditional treatment for phimosis, however circumcision is less performed today because newer conservative treatments are now available that preserve the [[foreskin]] and its many useful functions. There is a wide range of normal in foreskin length. [[Long foreskin| Longer foreskins]] are not deformed, so do ''not'' justify circumcision.

* Diseased foreskins — Diseases for which circumcision may be indicated include [[Penile cancer|malignant tumor]],[[Balanitis xerotica obliterans| lichen sclerosis]], recurrent [[balanoposthitis]], [[gangrene]], and recurrent yeast infection in diabetic males (after conservative treatment fails),<ref name="verma2011">{{REFjournal
|last=Verma
|first=Shyam B.
|init=SB
|author-link=
|last2=Molina
|first2=Uwe
|init2=U
|author2-link=
|etal=no
|title=Looking through the cracks of diabetic candidal balanoposthitis!
|journal=Int J Gen Med
|location=
|date=2011-07-07
|volume=4
|issue=
|pages=511-3
|url=https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3150172/
|pubmedID=21845057
|pubmedCID=3150172
|DOI=10.2147/IJGM.S17875
|accessdate=2020-12-19
}}</ref>

* Damaged foreskins — This includes any type of physical [[trauma]] and injury that is beyond surgical repair. Zipper injury does not require circumcision.<ref name="flowerdew1977">{{REFjournal
|last=Flowerdew
|init=R
|author-link=
|last2=Fishman
|init2=IJ
|author2-link=
|last3=Churchill
|init3=BM
|author3-link=
|etal=no
|title=Management of penile zipper injuries
|journal=J Urol
|location=
|date=1977-05
|volume=117
|issue=5
|article=
|page=671
|pages=
|url=http://www.cirp.org/library/treatment/zipper/flowerdew/
|pubmedID=859209
|pubmedCID=
|DOI= 10.1016/s0022-5347(17)58581-x
|accessdate=2020-12-20
}}</ref> <ref>{{REFjournal
|last=Chalfin
|first=Laura
|init=L
|author-link=
|etal=no
|title=Win one for the zipper
|journal=Emerigency Medicine
|location=
|date=1989-03-30
|volume=21
|issue=6
|article=
|page=
|pages=05
|url=http://www.cirp.org/library/treatment/zipper/chalfin/
|accessdate=2020-12-20
}}</ref>

===Elective non-therapeutic circumcision===

Some adult males may seek non-therapeutic circumcision because of a conversion to [[Judaism]] or [[Islam]]. Others may simply want a circumcision because they like the physical appearance, or to fit into a society where most men are [[circumcised]], or for some personal whim.<ref name="holman1999">{{REFjournal
|last=Holman
|first=John R.
|init=JR
|author-link=
|last2=Steussi
|first2=Keith A.
|init2=KA
|author2-link=
|last3=
|etal=no
|title=Adult circumcision
|journal=Am Fam Physician
|location=
|date=1999-03-15
|volume=59
|issue=6
|article=
|page=1514-8
|pages=
|url=https://www.aafp.org/afp/1999/0315/p1514.html
|pubmedID=10193593
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=
|accessed=2020-12-20}}</ref>

Many men who elect an irreversible non-therapeutic circumcision later express regret.

===A word to intact teens===

Boys are born with a [[foreskin]] that is non-retractable for reasons of protection against [[trauma]] and [[infection]]. The inner surface is fused with the [[glans penis]] by a [[synechia]] (similar to a fingernail that is glued to the nail bed of the finger). Also the tip of the foreskin is too narrow to retract. As a boy gets older, the synechia disintegrates and releases the foreskin and the foreskin gets wider as a boy ages, so the foreskin gradually becomes [[Retraction of the foreskin| retractable]]. Some boys go through [[puberty]] but find that their [[foreskin]] is still too narrow to permit retraction.

Beaugé (1997) reported that boys, who masturbate by pulling their [[foreskin]] away from the body, will not stretch the tight part of the foreskin so non-retractile foreskin will persist. He advised changing the method of [[masturbation]] to the more conventional method of pulling the foreskin toward the body so that the narrow orifice gets stretched.<ref name="beauge1997">{{REFjournal
|last=Beaugé
|init=Michel
|author-link=Michel Beaugé
|url=http://www.cirp.org/library/treatment/phimosis/beauge2/
|title=The causes of adolescent phimosis
|journal=Br J Sex Med
|date=1997
|volume=
|issue=September/October
|pages=26
|accessdate=2021-04-21
}}</ref>

The traditional way of addressing this issue was to consult a urologist and get a circumcision, however we now understand that in the vast majority of cases, manual [[stretching]] over a few months will widen the foreskin by [[tissue expansion]], make the foreskin retractable and eliminate the need for a destructive circumcision.

==Methods of adult circumcision==

===Dorsal slit===

[[Dorsal slit]] is a cut on the top of the [[foreskin]] to widen the opening, allowing the foreskin to retract and fall below the shaft of the [[penis]]. Dorsal slit does not cut around and does not remove tissue, so it is not a true circumcision. Dorsal slit is a first step in the circumcision of a phimotic foreskin by the sleeve technique.<ref name="holman1999" />

===Sleeve technique===

Holman & Stuessi (1999) said patients should be advised of alternatives to circumcision.

They reported the indications for adult circumcision are uncommon. The most common is [[phimosis]].

They recommended [[dorsal penile nerve block]] or [[ring block]] local anesthesia for the [[pain]] of circumcision surgery.

[[Informed consent]] must be obtained. They stated:
<blockquote>
Specifically, the patient should be told about the risks of [[bleeding]], hematoma formation, [[infection]], inadvertent damage to the [[glans]], removal of too much or too little [[skin]], aesthetically unpleasing results, and a change of sensation during intercourse. The patient should also be informed that, during the postoperative period, [[erection]]s can cause pain and [[Wound dehiscence| disruption of the suture line]] that may require replacement of the sutures. Full recovery following circumcision generally requires four to six weeks of abstinence from all genital stimulation and sexual activity.<ref name="holman1999" />
</blockquote>

In regard to complications, Holman & Stuessi reported:
<blockquote>
As with any surgical procedure, [[bleeding]] and [[infection]] are probably the most common complications of circumcision in adult patients; however, accurate statistics are not available. Other complications include hematoma formation, diffuse swelling, pain from inadequate anesthesia, poor cosmesis, tearing of the sutures due to [[erection]] before healing is complete and anesthetic complications. Some patients may also note an unpleasant heightened sensitivity during intercourse. Infection can be treated with local or parenteral antibiotics, depending on the severity of the infection. [[Bleeding]] can be controlled with pressure, an absorbable gelatin sponge product (i.e., Gelfoam), electrocautery or ligatures. None of these techniques can be preferentially recommended based on differences in complication rate or severity.<ref name="holman1999" />
</blockquote>

===Circumcision with a plastic ring device===

Adolescent and adult circumcision may also be carried out with one of several plastic, one-use, disposable ring devices. These devices work by clamping the foreskin tightly so that it is crushed and flow is cut off completely. Ischemic [[necrosis]] ensues and the [[foreskin]] dies. It may then be cut off or left to fall off. Ring devices include the [[TARA KLamp]], the [[PrePex]], [[AccuCirc]], and the [[Shang Ring]].

==Pain during and after circumcision==
Circumcision is a surgical [[amputation]] of part of the [[penis]]. It is normal to feel [[pain]] during the surgical [[amputation]], however this is usually eliminated by general or local anesthesia.

One may expect pain after surgery until the incision heals. Ask your doctor for a two-week supply of an opioid pain reliever.

One may also expect pain when the sensitive [[glans penis]] is exposed to friction from clothing, etc. It is no longer protected by the [[foreskin]], so there is not much one can do about it.

One may also expect painful [[erection]]s, depending on how much [[skin]] was removed.
Depending on how much [[skin]] was removed, there may not be enough [[skin]] left to allow for shaft expansion during [[erection]] and this may cause painful [[erection]]s.

One may also experience phantom pain from neuromas that form at the incision where nerves were severed.<ref name="cold-taylor1999">{{REFjournal
|last=Cold
|init=CJ
|author-link=Christopher J. Cold
|last2=Taylor
|init2=JR
|author2-link=John R. Taylor
|title=The prepuce
|journal=BJU Int
|date=1999-01-01
|volume=83 Suppl 1
|issue=
|pages=34-44
|url=https://www.i2researchhub.org/wp-content/uploads/storage/TQ63QSHD/Cold%20and%20Taylor%20-%201999%20-%20The%20prepuce.pdf
|quote=
|pubmedID=1034941
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=10.1046/j.1464-410x.1999.0830s1034.x
|accessdate=2021-03-07
}}</ref>

[[Masturbation]] after circumcision may be painful if one doesn’t use lubrication because of lack of [[gliding action]].
==Recovery period==
Recovery from an adult circumcision is frequently said to be six weeks. Recovery does not include restoration of permanently lost functions.
===Complications===
Circumcision is a surgical operation. Like all surgical operations, there is risk of [[bleeding| hemorrhage]], [[infection]], and surgical mishap, including, rarely, loss of the [[penis]].
[[Erection]] tends to be painful and may cause [[wound dehiscence]].<ref name="wang2023">{{REFjournal
|last=Wang
|first=
|init=D
|author-link=
|last2=Li
|first2=
|init2=Z
|author2-link=
|last3=Chen
|first3=
|init3=X
|author3-link=
|last4=Wang
|first4=
|init4=H
|author4-link=
|etal=no
|title=Wound healing rates and wound problems of conventional circumcision compared with ring circumcision: A meta-analysis
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal=Int Wound J
|location=
|date=2023-06-11
|volume=Online ahead of print
|issue=
|article=
|page=
|pages=
|url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/iwj.14262
|archived=
|quote=
|pubmedID=37303303
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=
|doi=10.1111/iwj.14262
|accessdate=2023-07-16
}}</ref>

There is danger of [[infection]] until the [[circumcision]] wound heals closed.<ref name="wang2023" />

===Lymphoedema===
[[Lymphoedema]] of the [[penis]] is a normal and expected [[complication]] of male adult circumcision due to the adverse effect on blood circulation. Ferhatoglu et al. (2019) reported edema in 108 of 198 patients or 54.5 percent.<ref>{{REFjournal
|last=Ferhatoglu
|first=
|init=Mf
|author-link=
|last2=Kartal
|first2=
|init2=A
|author2-link=
|last3=Gurkan
|first3=
|init3=A
|author3-link=
|etal=no
|title=Evaluation of Male Circumcision: Retrospective Analysis of One Hundred and Ninety-eight Patients
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal=Cureus
|location=
|date=2019-04-27
|volume=11
|issue=4
|article=
|page=e4555
|pages=
|url=https://www.cureus.com/articles/19380-evaluation-of-male-circumcision-retrospective-analysis-of-one-hundred-and-ninety-eight-patients
|archived=
|quote=
|pubmedID=31275779
|pubmedCID=6592839
|DOI=10.7759/cureus.4555
|accessdate=2022-02-17
}}</ref> It frequently lasts for months.

==Permanent adverse effects==
===Loss of sensation===
The human [[foreskin]] has long been noted for its high level of erogenous sensation. Winklemann (1959) early identified the foreskin as a ''specific erogenous zone''.<ref name="winklemann1959">{{WinkelmannRK 1959}}</ref> Falliers (1970) called attention to ''sensory pleasure'' induced by tactile stimulation of the foreskin, which is almost totally lost after its surgical removal.<ref>{{REFjournal
|last=Falliers
|first=CJ
|init=
|author-link=
|etal=no
|title=Circumcision
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal=JAMA
|location=
|date=1970-12-21
|volume=214
|issue=12
|article=
|page=2194
|accessdate=2021-06-04
}}</ref> García-Mesa et al. (2021) reported the [[foreskin]] has an abundance of [[Meissner's corpuscles]] which provide pleasant sexual sensation when mechanically stimulated by motion of the foreskin.<ref name="garcía-mesa2021">{{REFjournal
|last=García-Mesa
|first=Yolanda
|init=
|author-link=
|last2=García-Piqueras
|first2=Jorge
|init2=
|author2-link=
|last3=Cobo
|first3=Ramón
|init3=
|author3-link=
|last4=Martín-Cruces
|first4=José
|init4=
|author4-link=
|last5=Suazo
|first5=Iván
|init5=
|author5-link=
|last6=García-Suárez
|first6=Olivia
|init6=
|author6-link=
|last7=Feito
|first7=Jorge
|init7=
|author7-link=
|last8=
|first8=Vega
|init8=José A.
|author8-link=
|etal=no
|title=Sensory innervation of the human male prepuce: Meissner's corpuscles predominate
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal=Journal of Anatomy
|location=
|date=2021-10
|volume=239
|issue=4
|article=
|page=
|pages=892-902
|url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/joa.13481
|pubmedID=34120333
|pubmedCID=8450466
|DOI=10.1111/joa.13481
|accessdate=2021-11-15
}}</ref>

Money & Davison (1983) reported "diminished penile sensitivity, less penile gratification, more penile pain, and cosmetic deformity" as the effect of circumcision, however they considered that a "prolongation of the period prior to ejaculation" was a possible benefit.<ref name="money1983">{{REFjournal
|last=Money
|first=John
|init=
|author-link=
|last2=Davison
|first2=Jackie
|init2=
|author2-link=
|author9-link=
|etal=no
|title=Adult penile circumcision: erotosexual and cosmetic sequelae
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal=J Sex Res|
|location=
|date=1983
|volume=19
|issue=3
|article=
|page=
|pages=289-92
|url=http://www.cirp.org/library/complications/money/
|accessdate=2021-06-04
}}</ref>

Money & Davison thought the loss of sensation is "secondary to diminished sensory input from stretch receptors in the less mobile [[shaft skin|skin of the shaft]] of the penis, as well as loss of foreskin stretch receptors".<ref name="money1983" />

Denniston (2004) carried out a survey of 38 adult males who were [[circumcised]] at least 2 years after they commenced sexual intercourse. Thirteen men felt that sexual intercourse was better after circumcision, but 22 felt that intercourse was worse and would not have the circumcision again, because of loss of sexual pleasure.<ref>{{REFjournal
|last=Denniston
|first=George C.
|init=
|author-link=George C. Denniston
|last2=Hill
|first2=George
|init2=
|author2-link=George Hill
|etal=no
|title=Circumcision in adults: effect on sexual function
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal=Urology
|location=
|date=2004-12
|volume=54
|issue=5
|article=
|page=1267
|pages=
|url=http://www.cirp.org/library/sex_function/denniston3/
|pubmedID=15596221
|DOI=10.1016/j.urology.2004.03.059
|accessdate=2021-06-05
}}</ref>

Masood et al. (2005) suggested "before circumcision, men should be warned of the long-term consequences (penile sensations and effect on erectile function) as well as be talked through the more traditional subjects (peri-operative complications)."<ref name="masood2005" />

Kim & Pang (2007) studied the effect of adult circumcision on 138 males in [[South Korea]]. They concluded:
<blockquote>There were no significant differences in sexual drive, [[erection]], [[ejaculation]], and ejaculation latency time between [[circumcised]] and [[uncircumcised]] men. Masturbatory pleasure decreased after circumcision in 48% of the respondents, while 8% reported increased pleasure. Masturbatory difficulty increased after circumcision in 63% of the respondents but was easier in 37%. About 6% answered that their sex lives improved, while 20% reported a worse sex life after circumcision.<ref>{{KimDS PangMG 2007}}</ref>
</blockquote>

Remennick (2021) reported Jewish men from the former Soviet Union who migrated to [[Israel]] and received their [[Brit Milah| ritual circumcision]] as sexually active adults were very displeased with their loss of [[Sexual sensation of the foreskin| sexual sensation]]:
<blockquote>
Driven by social pressure and the need to belong, most young men (and their parents) consented to the operation without proper counselling and unaware of its ramifications. Men share their intimate memories of the rapid surgical procedure, painful recuperation, and their belated regrets, both aesthetic and sexual. The willingness to expose their lingering trauma signals evolving concepts of masculinity and vulnerability among these former Soviet men. Their voices join the local and international movement opposing medically-unnecessary genital surgeries of any kind – on men, women and intersex people.<ref name="remennick2021">{{REFjournal
|last=Remennick
|first=
|init=L
|author-link=
|etal=no
|title=Joining the tribe: adult circumcision among immigrant men in Israel and its traumatic aftermath
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal=Cult Health Sex
|location=
|date=2021-01-29
|volume=24
|issue=5
|pages=702-16
|url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/13691058.2021.1879272?journalCode=tchs20
|archived=
|quote=
|pubmedID=33512277
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=10.1080/13691058.2021.1879272
|accessdate=2025-01-08
}}</ref>
</blockquote>

Many [[circumcised]] men say they are unable to feel anything if a condom is used.

===Other adverse effects===
# Circumicision causes loss of [[body pleasure]].
# Circumcision causes both physical and psychic [[trauma]].
# Circumcision severs blood vessels and disrupts lymph and blood circulation in the [[penis]]. This frequently causes [[lymphoedema]] and [[erection]] difficulties.
# Circumcision invariably excises the [[ridged band]], resulting in partial loss of sensation.
# Circumcision is a surgical [[amputation]] of functional tissue. The various [https://foreskinfunction.org/ functions] cease to operate. If the patient does not like the results, it cannot be reversed or undone.
# Recovery from adolescent or adult circumcision is slow and painful. [[Erection]]s are painful because the [[skin]] is stretched and the sutures are stressed. [[Wound dehiscence]] may occur.
# The [[foreskin]] is protective of the [[glans penis]]. After the foreskin is amputated, the [[glans penis]] is exposed so that it touches clothing and other things. Some men report this causes extreme pain so that they cannot wear pants for an extended time. Some circumcised men complain of discomfort due to the head being permanently exposed.
# The foreskin provides moisture and oil to the glans penis. After circumcision, the glans penis will become desiccated. Many [[circumcised]] men complain of dryness.
# The foreskin has [[Immunological and protective function of the foreskin| immunological functions]] that protect from disease. [[Circumcised]] populations have a higher incidence of [[HIV]] than [[intact]] populations.<ref name="denniston2020">{{REFdocument
|title=World Health Organization, HIV, and male circumcision
|url=https://pool.intactiwiki.org/images/2020-06-15b_LettertoPEPFAR.pdf
|contribution=
|last=Denniston
|first=George C.
|publisher=[[Doctors Opposing Circumcision (D.O.C.)]]
|format=
|date=2020-06-29
|accessdate=2020-09-02
}}</ref><ref name="fish2020">{{REFjournal
|last=Fish
|first=Max
|init=M
|author-link=
|last2=Shavisi
|first2=Arianne
|init2=A
|author2-link=
|last3=Gwaambuka
|first3=Tatenda
|init3=T
|author3-link=
|last4=Tangwa
|first4=Godfrey B.
|init4=GB
|author4-link=
|last5=Ncayiyana
|first5=Daniel
|init5=D
|author5-link=
|last6=Earp
|first6=Brian D.
|init6=BD
|author6-link=Brian D. Earp
|etal=no
|title=A new Tuskegee? Unethical human experimentation and Western neocolonialism in the mass circumcision of African men
|journal=Developing World Bioeth
|date=2020-09-09
|volume=00
|pages=1-16
|url=https://doi.org/10.1111/dewb.12285
|DOI=10.1111/dewb.12285
|accessdate=2021-02-13
}}</ref>
# The heavily innervated [[ridged band]] is located on the foreskin and is always amputated along with the foreskin. The [[Foreskin sensitivity| most sensitive regions in the intact penis]] are those parts ablated by circumcision.<ref>{{Sorrells etal 2007}}</ref> There is great loss of sensation caused by the [[amputation]] of this structure. It appears that many [[intact]] males are unaware of the source of sensation and are shocked by the loss of sensation after circumcision.
# The abundance of [[skin]] in the foreskin allows [[gliding action]]. Gliding action facilitates [[masturbation]] and [[vagina| intercourse]]. The shortening of [[penile skin]] reduces or eliminates gliding action. The loss of gliding action may cause [[dyspareunia]].
# Painful [[erection]]s may occur due to lack of sufficient [[skin]] to allow for expansion of the [[penis]].
# The erect penis may be shorter due to lack of sufficient [[skin]] to allow full expansion.
# There always will be a [[circumcision scar]] that encircles the shaft of the penis.
# The exposed [[glans penis]] will protect itself from friction by developing a layer of [[keratin]] and become cracked and hardened. The [[keratinization]] of the [[glans penis]] will reduce its sensitivity.
# There are possible [[Psychological issues of male circumcision| emotional issues]] secondary to a partial loss of the [[penis]] through circumcision.
# The shaft of the penis becomes narrrower because of the loss of a double layer of skin

==Financial considerations==
Medical insurance policies vary with the provider of insurance. Most will pay for circumcision only if it is done to treat a medical condition. When circumcision is carried out for cosmetic reasons or personal desire, it is very unlikely that medical insurance would pay. The cost of an adult circumcision would include a facility fee, a surgeon's fee, an anesthesiologist's fee, and pre-operative and post-operative care. Garrett (2024) says the cost may range from $1,650 to $6,450.<ref name="garrett2024-03-07">{{REFweb
|url=https://intactamerica.org/adult-circumcision-cost/
|title=Adult Circumcision Cost: The Profit Motives and Hidden Toll
|last=Garrett
|first=Connor
|init=
|author-link=Connor Judson Garrett
|publisher=Intact America
|date=2024-03-07
|accessdate=2024-05-15
}}</ref>

==Warning==
It is quite common for some urologists to push circumcision on any [[foreskinned]] male although conservative treatment would have been sufficient, since there is a nice fee attached to a circumcision [[amputation]]. There are many reports of false statements being made. It is totally unethical and akin to fraud, but it happens frequently.

===Videos===
Here are seven videos in which [[regret men]] who had an adult circumcision express their regret.

==== Circumcised at 18 ====
<youtube>v=NAHGFx95D80</youtube>

====Circumcised at 46====
<youtube>v=pZ3n8CtcmRY</youtube>

==== Why I Regret Getting Circumcised At 19 ====
<youtube>v=7AaUb63NLLw</youtube>

==== Circumcised Man: "I feel such a sense of loss" ====
<youtube>v=gx_PoXm3XZ4</youtube>

==== Circumcised at 30 ====
<youtube>v=g2CwHbCDiAU</youtube>

==== Circumcision Care - After Circumcision - 5 Post Circumcision Surgery Recovery Tips!====
<youtube>v=xdrvq_10vTM</youtube>

====Why can’t I sleep after my circumcision operation?? Day 12 ====
<youtube>v=CLmxdbV3Uyc</youtube>

== Rite of passage ==
In some cultures, [[circumcision]] is viewed as a rite of passage, and a male may not be considered a privileged adult until he has undergone circumcision.

=== Aborigines ===
The indigeous people of [[Australia]], the [[Aborigines]], have variously practiced [[Religion and culture#Australia|subincision]] and [[circumcision]] on adolescents and adults since before the first contact with Europeans.

=== Ulwaluko ===
Traditional [[Circumcision]] and Initiation into Manhood (ulwaluko) is an ancient initiation ritual practiced by the amaXhosa of the Eastern Cape Province of [[South Africa]]. The ritual is traditionally intended as a teaching institution to prepare boys for the responsibilities of manhood. The principles that lie at the very core of the ritual are respect for self (including self control and integrity), respect for family (not to bring shame to them), and respect for community (to protect them from harm).

Every single initiation season the media writes about complications accompanying the ritual of Traditional [[Circumcision]] and Initiation into Manhood ''(ulwaluko)''. The magnitude of these complications is horrific: From 1995 till 2014, 919 boys have lost their lives in the mountains and hills of the Eastern Cape. Many others were mutilated or even lost their manhood. [[Ulwaluko|Many of these mutilations are documented (graphic content).]]

===Tuli===
[[Tuli]] is a [[genital mutilation]] rite of boys and adolescents practiced in the Philippine Islands.

{{SEEALSO}}
* [[Autocircumcision]]
* [[Circumcision: Effect upon erectile function]]
* [[Circumcision methods]]
* [[Circumcision scar]]
* [[Development of retractable foreskin]]
* [[Doctors Cut Off Man’s Penis During Circumcision]]
* [[Ethics of non-therapeutic child circumcision]]
* [[Foreskin]]
* [[Foreskin comment]]
* [[Foreskin sensitivity]]
* [[Frenectomy]]
* [[Frenuloplasty]]
* [[Fusions and adhesions]]
* [[Ischemia of the glans penis]]
* [[American urologists and the practice of male circumcision]]
* [[Neurotomy]]
* [[Penis]]
* [[Phimosis]]
* [[Phimosis#Preputioplasty| Preputioplasty]]
* [[Posthectomy]]
* [[The recovery after an adult circumcision]]
* [[Regret men]]
* [[Risks and complications]]
* [[Sexual effects of circumcision]]
* [[Stretching]]
* [[Surrogate consent]]
* [[Trauma]]
{{LINKS}}
====Medical circumcision====
* {{REFjournal
|last=Holman
|first=
|init=JR
|author-link=
|last2=Stuessi
|first2=
|init2=KA
|author2-link=
|etal=no
|title=Adult circumcision
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal=American Family Physician
|location=
|date=1999-03-15
|season=
|volume=59
|issue=6
|article=
|page=
|pages=1514-18
|url=https://www.aafp.org/pubs/afp/issues/1999/0315/p1514.html
|archived=
|quote=
|pubmedID=10193593
|accessdate=2024-05-03
}}
* {{REFjournal
|last=Hammond
|first=
|init=T
|author-link=Tim Hammond
|etal=no
|title=A preliminary poll of men circumcised in infancy or childhood
|trans-title=
|journal=BJU Int
|date=1999-01
|volume=83 Supple 1
|issue=
|article=
|page=
|pages=85-92
|url=http://www.noharmm.org/bju.htm
|archived=
|pubmedID=10349419
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=10.1046/j.1464-410x.1999.0830s1085.x
|format=PDF
|accessdate=2022-06-10
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://15square.org.uk/losses-from-circumcision/
|title=Losses from Circumcision
|last=Ball
|first=Peter
|publisher=15 Square
|date=2003-08-09
|accessdate=2023-02-23
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://www.reddit.com/r/foreskin_restoration/comments/1p67xlp/circumcision_ended_my_life/
|title=Circumcision ended my life
|last=Anonymous
|publisher=REDDIT
|date=2012-11-27
|accessdate=2025-12-11
* {{REFweb
|url=https://davidlouis77.wordpress.com/2010/05/08/adult-circumcision-my-experience-2-years-on/comment-page-4/#comment-24567
|title=Adult Circumcision: My experience two years on.
|last=Louis
|first=David
|author-link=
|publisher=
DavidLouis77's Blog
|website=wordpress.com
|date=2010-05-08
|accessdate=2020-12-29
|format=
|quote=
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=http://www.circumstitions.com/Resent.html
|title=The tip of the iceberg: Men who resent being circumcised
|last=Young
|first=Hugh
|author-link=
|publisher=Circumstitions
|website=
|date=
|accessdate=2020-12-29
|format=
|quote=
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=http://www.intactaus.org/men-circumcised-as-adults/
|title=Men Circumcised As Adults
|publisher=Intact Australia
|date=2017-03-01
|accessdate=2020-12-21
|format=
|quote=
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://ladagueetlefourreau.wordpress.com/2017/07/17/a-personal-account-of-adult-circumcision/
|title=A Personal Account of Adult Circumcision
|last=
|first=
|date=2017-07-17
|accessdate=2021-02-14
}}
* {{REFdocument
|title=Circumcision (Complete Removal of the Foreskin}
|url=https://www.baus.org.uk/_userfiles/pages/files/Patients/Leaflets/Circumcision.pdf
|contribution=
|last=
|first=
|publisher=British Association of Paediatric Surgeons
|format=PDF
|date=2020-12
|accessdate=2024-02-12
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://www.cosmopolitan.com/sex-love/a28580739/circumcision-pros-and-cons/
|title=I Had an Adult Circumcision, and I Totally Regret It
|last=Hseih
|first=Carina
|date=2019-08-02
|accessdate=2021-06-05
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://wikionlymen.com/?s=circumcision
|title=Disadvantages Of Circumcision In Man
|publisher=Wiki Only Men
|date=2021-11-05
|accessdate=2024-10-05
}}
* {{REFjournal
|last=Remennick
|first=Larissa
|init=L
|author-link=
|etal=no
|title=Joining the tribe: adult circumcision among immigrant men in Israel and its traumatic aftermath
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal=Cult Health Sex
|location=
|date=2021-01-29
|volume=24
|issue=5
|article=
|page=
|pages=702-16
|url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/13691058.2021.1879272?journalCode=tchs20
|archived=
|quote=
|pubmedID=33512277
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=10.1080/13691058.2021.1879272
|accessdate=2022-10-14
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://www.reddit.com/r/CircumcisionGrief/comments/wemjzy/got_circumcised_4_months_ago/
|title=Got circumcised 4 months ago
|last=Anonymous
|first=
|init=
|author-link=
|publisher=REDDIT
|date=2022
|accessdate=2025-12-26
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://www.reddit.com/r/FriendsOfTheFrenulum/comments/128dvgq/for_adults_contemplating_circumcision_what/
|title=For adults contemplating circumcision, what essential questions should they ponder to guarantee their decision is genuinely rooted in an informed choice — made autonomously and for their own well-being?
|last=Anonymous
|first=
|init=
|author-link=
|publisher=REDDIT
|date=2022
|accessdate=2025-12-26
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://intactamerica.org/adult-circumcision-cost/
|title=Adult Circumcision Cost: The Profit Motives and Hidden Toll
|last=Garrett
|first=Connor
|author-link=Connor Judson Garrett
|init=
|publisher=Intact America
|date=2024-03-07
|accessdate=2024-03-10
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://4skin-health.alderhey.nhs.uk/teenagers-young-adults/
|title=Advice for teenagers and young adults
|last=Kenny
|first=
|init=S
|author-link=
|publisher=NHS Children's Hospital at Alder Hey
|date=
|accessdate=2025-02-21
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://archive.md/Au7cV#selection-98.0-707.8
|title=Unjustifiable reason 1: Parents are clueless about the functions of the foreskin
|last=Anonymous
|first=
|init=
|author-link=
|publisher=REDDIT Intactivism
|date=2025-06-17
|accessdate=2025-06-24
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://www.reddit.com/r/foreskin_restoration/comments/1ozfcdo/i_thought_i_was_fine_after_getting_circumcised/
|title=I thought I was ‘fine’ after getting circumcised for phimosis… and it turns out I wasn’t.
|last=Anonymous
|publisher=Reddit
|date=2025-12
|accessdate=2026-06-26

}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://www.reddit.com/r/foreskin_restoration/comments/1ptxzrh/i_regret_getting_an_adult_circumcision/?chainedPosts=t3_1p67xlp
|title=I regret getting an adult circumcision
|last=Anonymous
|publisher=REDDIT
|date=12-12-23
|accessdate=2025-12-29
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://www.reddit.com/r/intactinfo/comments/1qe1kkl/the_neurological_cost_of_circumcision_a_breakdown/
|title=The Neurological Cost of Circumcision, A Breakdown of What's Removed
|last=Anonymous
|first=
|init=
|author-link=
|publisher=REDDIT
|date=2026-01-15
|accessdate=2026-01-16
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://www.reddit.com/r/uncircumcised_talk/comments/1qgb86l/uncircumcised_easier_to_climax/
|title=Uncircumcised = easier to climax?
|last=Anonymous
|publisher=REDDIT
|date=2026-01-18
|accessdate=2026-01-31
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://www.reddit.com/r/Intactivists/comments/1tygsl1/adult_circumcision_and_its_effect_on_pleasure/
|title=Adult circumcision and its effect on pleasure
|last=Anonymous
|publisher=Reddit
|date=2026-06-06
|accessdate=2026-06-06
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://www.reddit.com/r/uncircumcised_talk/comments/1v2q1ru/just_found_out_today_that_ill_be_getting/
|title=Just found out today that I’ll be getting circumcised. Any advice?
|last=Anonymous
|publisher=Reddit
|date=2026-07-21
|accessdate=2026-07-21
}}

====Traditional circumcision====
* {{NSFW}} [[Ulwaluko]]

{{REF}}

[[Category:Body modification]]
[[Category:Circumcision]]
[[Category:Male circumcision]]
[[Category:Male genital mutilation]]
[[Category:Penile surgery]]
[[Category:Penis]]
[[Category:Teen]]

[[de:Jugendlichen- und Erwachsenenbeschneidung]]

Resources at Reddit

2026-07-20T23:21:06Z

WikiModEn2: /* Male channel subreddits */ Add subreddit

[[File:Reddit logo 2023.svg.png|thumb|Logo used since November 2023]]
Wikipedia describes Reddit as:
<blockquote>Reddit (/ˈrɛdɪt/) is an American social news aggregation, content rating, and forum social network. Registered users (commonly referred to as "Redditors") submit content to the site such as links, text posts, images, and videos, which are then voted up or down ("upvoted" or "downvoted") by other members. Posts are organized by subject into user-created boards called "subreddits".<ref>{{REFweb
|url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reddit
|title=Reddit
|author-link=
|publisher=Wikipedia
|accessdate=2024-09-03
}}</ref></blockquote>

The purpose of this file is to list the '''resources at Reddit''' that may be helpful. Various subreddits are of interest to [[foreskinned]] men, parents, [[intactivists]] or [[foreskin]] restorers.

==Behavior subreddits==
=== r/[[puberty]] ===
This subreddit is for minor pubescent and adolescent youth to discuss sexual issues, including [[foreskin]] issues. URL: https://www.reddit.com/r/Puberty/
===r/pubertyinfoforboys===
This subreddit is for minor pubescent and adolescent males to discuss [[puberty]] and sexual issues, including [[foreskin]] issues. URL: https://www.reddit.com/r/pubertyinfoforboys/
===r/psychologyofsex===
This subreddit is for sharing and discussing science-based material on sex, love, and relationships. URL: https://www.reddit.com/r/psychologyofsex/
==Breastfeeding subreddits==
[[Breastfeeding]] is included here because the [[pain]] and [[trauma]] of [[circumcision of the newborn]] weakens and debilitates newborn boys and makes it more difficult or impossible for them to institute breastfeeding.
===r/breastfeeding===
This subreddit is a forum for breastfeeding mothers to discuss breastfeeding issues. URL: https://www.reddit.com/r/breastfeeding/

===r/breastfeedingsupport===
This subreddit is a pro-breastfeeding support group for breastfeeding mothers. URL: https://www.reddit.com/r/breastfeedingsupport/

==Foreskin regeneration subreddits==
===r/Foregen===
This subreddit discusses the application of regenerative medicine to [[foreskin regeneration]].: URL: https://www.reddit.com/r/Foregen/

==Foreskin restoration subreddits==
===r/Foreskin restoration===
This subreddit provides information regarding [[foreskin restoration]]. URL: https://www.reddit.com/r/foreskin_restoration/
===r/foreskinrestoring===
This is a {{NSFW}} subreddit "where people who are restoring their foreskins are able to ask questions, share pictures (as long as you are over 18 years old), and share their personal experiences with restoration techniques." URL: https://www.reddit.com/r/foreskinrestoring/
===r/Restoring dick===
This is a {{NSFW}} subreddit that offers photographs of partially restored foreskins. URL: https://www.reddit.com/r/restoringdick/

==Intactivism subreddits==
===r/CircumcisionJustice===
This subreddit is a "place which amplifies the voices of and empowers victims who had their genitals electively intruded into as children (aka [[circumcised]])." URL: https://www.reddit.com/r/CircumcisionJustice/

===r/DebunkingCircumcision===
This {{NSFW}} subreddit collects information to debunk the advocates of male circumcision. URL: https://www.reddit.com/r/DebunkingCircumcision/
===r/foreskinexplained===
This subreddit is "an Intactivist community for anyone to ask foreskin related questions and share educational [[intact]] related content. Our goal is to share the facts about the [[foreskin]] and stamp out all of the lies and misinformation. Whether you’re a [[Intactivist]], parent, partner, [[circumcised]] or [[foreskinned| uncircumcised]] male everyone is welcome. URL: https://www.reddit.com/r/foreskinexplained/
===r/foreskininfo===
This subreddit is a "supportive and educational space for all things foreskin." URL: https://www.reddit.com/r/foreskininfo/
===r/FriendsOfTheFrenulum/===
This subreddit is where circumcision opponents gather to oppose [[circumcision]]. the "handle" of the anonymous [[intactivist]] moderator is "[[C4Charkey]]". URL: https://www.reddit.com/r/FriendsOfTheFrenulum/
===r/IntactAmerica===
This subreddit belongs to the prominent educational, [[intactivist]], non-profit [[Intact America| organization]]. "Our mission is to protect newborns from the [[pain]] and [[trauma]] of [[circumcision]], [[Regret parents| parents from a lifetime of regret]], men from the [[Risks and complications| complications]] and consequences of the genital surgery, and to guarantee open sexual futures for everyone. This community will highlight Intact America's advocacy and empower our supporters, partners, and volunteers to move [[USA| America]] to a social-change tipping point." URL: https://www.reddit.com/r/IntactAmerica/

===r/IntactCare===
This subreddit is for [[foreskinned]] men to learn [[foreskin]] care. URL: https://www.reddit.com/r/IntactCare/
===r/IntactGlobal===
This subreddit "is a nonprofit organization founded with the mission to end genital mutilation practices that violate the bodily autonomy of children. We are committed to taking bold legal actions and raising awareness to protect the rights of all children." URL: https://www.reddit.com/r/IntactGlobal/
===r/intactinfo===
This subreddit is "a supportive, foreskin-positive community focused on education and respectful dialogue." URL: https://www.reddit.com/r/intactinfo/
===r/Intactivism===
This subreddit is for the [[intactivism]] movement for [[physical integrity]]. URL: https://www.reddit.com/r/Intactivism/
===r/Intactivists===
This subreddit is for [[intactivists]]. URL: https://www.reddit.com/r/Intactivists/
===r/IntactivistMemes===
This subreddit provides illustrations expressing [[intactivist]] ideas. URL: https://www.reddit.com/r/IntactivistMemes/

==Intersex subreddits==
===r/intersex===
This subreddit is the place to talk about [[intersex]] topics with intersex Redditors. URL: https://www.reddit.com/r/intersex/

==Law and ethics subreddits==
===r/bioethics===
This subreddit is a "place to debate and discuss bioethical issues old, new and yet-to-come." URL: https://www.reddit.com/r/bioethics/
===r/ethics_medical===
This subreddit is for questions regarding medical ethics. URL: https://www.reddit.com/r/ethics_medical/
===r/humanrights ===
This subreddit has had several posts regarding circumcision as a violation of human rights. URL: https://www.reddit.com/r/humanrights/
===r/MensRights===
This subreddit states "At the most basic level, men's rights are the legal rights that are granted to men. However, any issue that pertains to men's relationship to society is also a topic suitable for this subreddit. Men's rights are influenced by the way men are perceived by others. WARNING: Some other subs have bots that will ban you if you post or comment here." URL: https://www.reddit.com/r/MensRights/

==Male channel subreddits==
===r/AskMen===
This subreddit is a general discussion of male issues where matters relating to the [[foreskin]] and [[circumcision]] are occasionally discussed. URL: https://www.reddit.com/r/AskMen/
===r/CircumcisionGrief===
This subreddit is a place to discuss the negative emotions that may come along with being [[circumcised]] without one's consent as an infant or regretting getting [[circumcised]] as an adult. URL: https://www.reddit.com/r/CircumcisionGrief/
===r/CircumcisionRegret===
This subreddit is "is mostly for men that submitted to [[adult circumcision]] as teenagers or adults and regret having it done." URL: https://www.reddit.com/r/CircumcisionRegret/
===r/intact_chat===
This subreddit offers "evidence-based advice, suggestions, and friendly discussions on the restored and natural ([[intact]]) [[penis]], [[glans]], [[frenulum]] and [[foreskin]]." URL: https://www.reddit.com/r/intact_chat/
===r/MaleSexualHealth===
This subreddit is a dedicated space for all things related to male sexual health and wellness. URL: https://www.reddit.com/r/MaleSexualHealth/
===r/penisquestion===
The subreddit is "A safe place for males to ask other males questions without being judged." URL: https://www.reddit.com/r/penisquestion/
===r/uncircumcised_talk===
This subreddit is a place where [[foreskinned]] men may discuss [[intactness]] and matters of mutual interest. URL: https://www.reddit.com/r/uncircumcised_talk/

==Parent subreddits==
===r/IntactParenting===
r/IntactParenting "is a community dedicated to promoting the importance of keeping infants' genitals [[intact]]. It highlights the harms of non-consensual genital cutting practices such as [[circumcision]], and advocates for respecting bodily autonomy and informed decision-making. The community provides a supportive space for parents and caregivers who choose to keep their children's genitals [[intact]], and seeks to empower and educate individuals for the well-being of all children." URL: https://www.reddit.com/r/IntactParenting/

===r/Moms===
Welcome to r/Moms: a supportive space for all moms, stepmoms, guardians, and maternal figures. Whether you’re pregnant, raising toddlers, juggling teens, or parenting adult kids, this is your place to vent, laugh, ask for advice, and connect with others who get it. No judgment, just real talk about the ups and downs of motherhood. Everyone’s journey is different and everyone’s welcome here. URL: https://www.reddit.com/r/Moms/
===r/NewBorn===
This subreddit is "A positive source for information on your new born baby." URL: https://www.reddit.com/r/NewBorn/
===r/Newborns===
This subreddit is "a subreddit for parents/caretakers of newborn babies and those who are getting ready to have babies." URL: https://www.reddit.com/r/newborns/
===r/Parenting===
This subreddit says "It is the place to discuss the ins and out as well as ups and downs of child-rearing", but it has a lot of rules. URL: https://www.reddit.com/r/Parenting/
===r/parent===
This subreddit is a less active list for parents. URL: https://www.reddit.com/r/parent/
===r/realpregnancy===
This subreddit is a new subreddit for parents that permits the discussion of harmful, male non-therapeutic circumcision. "Real pregnancy is a Reddit forum meant for all topics of pregnancy and birth to be safely discussed. You will not be banned for activity in other forums, but you are asked to be kind." URL: https://www.reddit.com/r/realpregnancy/
===r/ScienceBasedParenting ===
This subreddit is "a place to ask questions related to parenting and receive answers based on science, share relevant research, and discuss existing scientific journalism." URL: https://www.reddit.com/r/ScienceBasedParenting/
===r/toddlers===
This subreddit is for parents of toddlers. URL: https://www.reddit.com/r/toddlers/

==Penis condition subreddits==
===r/bxo===
This subreddit is "A support community for guys with Balanitis Xerotica Obliterans (BXO) - also known male genital or penile Lichen Sclerosus (LS)." URL: https://www.reddit.com/r/bxo/
===r/penisquestion===
This subreddit is "A safe place for males to ask other males questions without being judged." There is some {{NSFW}} content. URL: https://www.reddit.com/r/penisquestion/
===r/Phimosis===
This {{NSFW}} subreddit is dedicated to the discussion of non-surgical solutions to [[phimosis]]. URL: https://www.reddit.com/r/Phimosis/

===r/Phimosis_Care===
This {{NSFW}} subreddit is a "place for men to share techniques, tools & tips on foreskin [[stretching]]. This group is for fixing or managing [[phimosis]] to AVOID [[adult circumcision| circumcision]]." URL: https://www.reddit.com/r/Phimosis_Care/
===r/Phimosishelp ===
This {{NSFW}} subreddit offers "advice and support for boys and men with [[phimosis]] (tight foreskin)." URL: https://www.reddit.com/r/Phimosishelp/

{{REF}}

[[Category:Education]]
[[Category:Foreskin restoration]]
[[Category:Human rights]]
[[Category:Intactivism]]
[[Category:Intactivist]]
[[Category:Intersex]]
[[Category:Penile disorder]]

Masturbation

2026-07-20T23:06:45Z

WikiModEn2: /* Is masturbation good or bad for you? */ Add external link.

'''Masturbation''' is the sexual stimulation of one's own genitals for sexual arousal or other sexual pleasure, usually to the point of orgasm.<ref name="webmd">{{REFweb
|first=Jennifer
|last=Robinson
|url=http://www.webmd.com/sex-relationships/guide/masturbation-guide
|title=Masturbation – Is Masturbation Normal or Harmful? Who Masturbates? Why Do People Masturbate?
|publisher=WebMD
|date=2010-03-04
|accessdate=2011-08-17
}}</ref><ref name="Lehmiller">{{REFbook
|last=Lehmiller
|first=J.J.
|init=JJ
|title=The Psychology of Human Sexuality
|publisher=John Wiley & Sons
|isbn=978-1119164708
|year=2017
|page=402
|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ytk5DwAAQBAJ&pg=PT402
|quote=Masturbation refers to all solo forms of self-stimulation focusing on the genitals. Masturbation practices vary widely depending upon the individual's body and personal preferences. For instance, masturbation among women may involve manipulation of the [[clitoris]] and labia, stimulation of the breasts, or vaginal penetration with a sex toy. [...] Among men, masturbation most frequently involves using one or both hands to stimulate the penis. Of course, men sometimes utilize sex toys too (e.g., masturbation sleeves, butt-plugs, etc.).
}}</ref><ref name="Nadal">{{REFbook
|last=Nadal
|first=K.L.
|init=KL
|title=The SAGE Encyclopedia of Psychology and Gender
|publisher=SAGE
|isbn=978-1483384276
|year=2017
|page=1123
|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lVYoDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA1123
|quote=Masturbation is the act of touching or otherwise stimulating one's own body, particularly one's genitals, for the purpose of sexual pleasure and/or orgasm. The term is most commonly used to describe solitary masturbation, in which people provide themselves with sexual stimulation while they are physically alone. Mutual masturbation is when two or more people manually stimulate their own body or each other's bodies.
}}</ref> The stimulation may involve hands, fingers, everyday objects, sex toys such as vibrators, or combinations of these.<ref name="webmd"/><ref name="Lehmiller"/> Mutual masturbation is masturbation with a sexual partner,<ref name="Nadal"/><ref name="Bruess">{{REFbook
|last=Bruess
|first=C.E.
|init=CE
|last2=Schroeder
|first2=E.
|init2=E
|title=Sexuality Education Theory And Practice
|publisher=Jones & Bartlett Publishers
|isbn=978-1449649289
|year=2013
|page=151
|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WWFW6-kkAVoC&pg=PA151
}}</ref> and may include manual stimulation of a partner's genitals (fingering or a handjob),<ref name="Bruess"/> or be used as a form of non-penetrative sex.<ref name="Upton">{{REFbook
|last=Upton
|first=D.
|init=D
|title=Nursing & Health Survival Guide: Health Promotion
|publisher=Routledge
|isbn=978-1317906179
|year=2014
|page=52
|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VnvJAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA52
}}</ref> Masturbation is benign and harmless. Recently a German health insurance company even recommended masturbation as a sleep aid!<ref>{{REFweb
|url=https://www.spiegel.de/gesundheit/sex/barmer-krankenkasse-empfiehlt-selbstbefriedigung-als-einschlafhilfe-a-1279049.html
|title=Barmer Krankenkasse empfiehlt Masturbation zum Einschlafen
|trans-title=Barmer health insurance recommends masturbation to sleep
|language=German
|publisher=Spiegel
|date=2019-07-25
|accessdate=2020-05-01
}}</ref>

Masturbation is normal, natural, and healthy. It is common in both sexes and at any age. Various medical and psychological benefits have been attributed to a healthy attitude toward sexual activity in general and to masturbation in particular. No causal relationship is known between masturbation and any form of mental or physical disorder.<ref>{{REFbook
|last=Coleman
|first=Eli
|init=E
|year=2012
|orig-year=2002
|url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150722160223/http://samples.sainsburysebooks.co.uk/9781317787587_sample_833458.pdf
|editors=Bockting, Walter O. & Coleman, Eli
|title=Masturbation as a Means of Achieving Sexual Health
|location=New York
|publisher=Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group
|page=7
|isbn=978-0-7890-2047-5
|oclc=50913590
|quote=Despite the scientific evidence indicating that masturbation is generally a normal variant of sexual expression and that it does not seem to have a causal relationship with sexual pathology, negative attitudes about masturbation persist and it remains stigmatized.
}}</ref> <ref name="link2022">{{REFweb
|url=https://www.healthline.com/health/masturbation-side-effects
|title=Masturbation — How Does It Affect Your Health?
|last=Link
|first=Rachel
|init=
|publisher=Healthline
|date=2022-05-06
|accessdate=2022-12-17
}}
</ref> In the Western world, masturbation in private or with a partner is generally considered a normal and healthy part of sexual enjoyment.

Medical science has not established any limits on the quantity or frequency of masturbation. One is free to do it as much and as often as one desires. There is no minimum or maximum age for masturbation. Interest in masturbation typically increases with the onset of [[puberty]].

Masturbation may help with:
* Reducing anxiety.
* Reducing [[Nocturnal emission| nocturnal emissions]].
* Maintaining sexual function.
* Supporting overall emotional well-being.<ref>{{REFweb
|url=https://goit.science/masturbation-secrets-old-men-wish-they-knew-sooner/
|title=Is Masturbation Harmful to Men Over 70? Dr. Stefan Buntrock Explains
|last=Buntrock
|first=
|init=S
|author-link=
|publisher=Go It
|date=2025-01-02
|accessdate=2025-08-05
}}</ref>

==Male masturbation==
Masturbation to orgasm before bed is very relaxing and contributes to sleeping. Moreover, it prevents overfilled [[seminal vesicles]] and [[nocturnal emission| nocturnal emissions]] (wet dreams}. Masturbation to orgasm in the morning may help a teen to get through the school day.

The manner of male masturbation tends to be controlled by the [[circumcision]] status of the individual. How one masturbates depends on whether one has an [[intact]], internally-lubricated, movable erogenous [[foreskin]] that [[gliding action| glides]] up and down the shaft of the [[penis]] or whether one has been [[circumcised]] and has restricted or non-existent skin mobility and loss of [[gliding action]].<ref>{{REFweb
|url=https://www.reddit.com/user/C4Charkey/comments/1jumd8x/the_accidental_intactivist_manifesto_ii_the_myth/
|title=Section II. The Myth of the Foreskin: Deconstructing the Label, Understanding the Whole
|last=C4Charkey
|first=
|init=
|author-link=C4Charkey
|publisher=REDDIT
|date=2025-04-08
|accessdate=2025-04-13
}}</ref>

Masturbation may be helpful in reducing a persistent [[erection]].

Andersen-Giberson (2025) states:
<blockquote>
Regarding masturbation, the elimination of the foreskin presents a radically different version of self-pleasure than with an intact penis, where there is no foreskin to use for the rhythmic gliding action of masturbation.<ref name="andersen2025">{{REFjournal
|last=Andersen-Giberson
|init=D
|author-link=Dale Andersen
|url=https://cdd.journals.yorku.ca/index.php/cdd/article/view/39786/36016
|title=Circumcision and forced disability: Routine male neonatal circumcision and the consequences of amputation within a critical disability studies framework
|journal=Critical Disability Discourses
|date=2025-12
|volume=10
|issue=2
|pages=1-37
|URL=https://cdd.journals.yorku.ca/index.php/cdd/article/view/39786/36016
|DOI=https://doi.org/10.25071/1918-6215.39786
|accessdate=2026-03-12
|quote=In a critical disability studies framework, it is argued that the act of amputating healthy erogenous tissue and the consequences of that amputation cause disability, particularly from a counter-hegemonic lens.
|format=PDF
|accessdate=2026-03-12
}}</ref>
</blockquote>

There is no minimum age for masturbation. Young adolescents may experience dry orgasms until secretion of [[semen]] commences.
===Reduction of incidence of prostate cancer===
Rider et al. (2016) report that frequent [[ejaculation]] is associated with a reduced incidence of [[prostate cancer]].<ref>{{REFjournal
|last=Rider
|first=
|init=JR
|author-link=
|last2=Wilson
|first2=
|init2=KM
|author2-link=
|last3=Sinnot
|first3=
|init3=JA
|author3-link=
|last4=Kelly
|first4=
|init4=RS
|author4-link=
|last5=Mucci
|first5=
|init5=LA
|author5-link=
|last6=Gionvannucci
|first6=
|init6=EL
|author6-link=
|etal=no
|title=Ejaculation Frequency and Risk of Prostate Cancer: Updated Results with an Additional Decade of Follow-up
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal=Eur Urol
|location=
|date=2016-12
|volume=70
|issue=6
|pages=974-82
|url=https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5040619/
|archived=
|quote=These findings provide additional evidence of a beneficial role of more frequent ejaculation throughout adult life in the etiology of PCa, particularly for low-risk disease.
|pubmedID=27033442
|pubmedCID=5040619
|DOI=10.1016/j.eururo.2016.03.027
|accessdate=2025-01-06
}}</ref> Masturbation is helpful in providing frequent [[ejaculation]].

=== Intact [[penis]] ===
===Masturbation with foreskin===
The movable, internally-lubricated, [[Ridged band| nerve-laden]] erogenous [[foreskin]] and its [[gliding action]] is an important aid to masturbation.<ref name="kimpang2007">{{KimDS PangMG 2007}}</ref> [[Intact]] males simply use their hand to glide the [[foreskin]] back and forth.<ref>{{REFweb
|url=https://www.reddit.com/r/uncircumcised_talk/comments/1lysu09/i_cant_cum_if_i_am_not_touching_my_foreskin/
|title=I cant cum if i am not touching my foreskin
|last=Anonymous
|first=
|init=
|author-link=
|publisher=REDDIT
|date=2025-07-13
|accessdate=2025-07-25
}}</ref> It is ''not'' necessary to retract the [[foreskin]] while masturbating. If the foreskin is of adequate length, then the [[foreskinned]] male will usually keep it forward for additional stimulation. Keeping the head covered by the [[foreskin]] also protects the sensitive [[mucosa]] covering the [[glans penis| head]]. The motion of the foreskin, as in [[gliding action]], stimulates the nerves ([[Meissner's corpuscles]]) in the [[foreskin]].<ref name="garcía-mesa2021">{{REFjournal
|last=García-Mesa
|first=Yolanda
|init=
|author-link=
|last2=García-Piqueras
|first2=Jorge
|init2=
|author2-link=
|last3=Cobo
|first3=Ramón
|init3=
|author3-link=
|last4=Martín-Cruces
|first4=José
|init4=
|author4-link=
|last5=Suazo
|first5=Iván
|init5=
|author5-link=
|last6=García-Suárez
|first6=Olivia
|init6=
|author6-link=
|last7=Feito
|first7=Jorge
|init7=
|author7-link=
|last8=
|first8=Vega
|init8=José A.
|author8-link=
|etal=no
|title=Sensory innervation of the human male prepuce: Meissner's corpuscles predominate
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal=Journal of Anatomy
|location=
|date=2021-10
|volume=239
|issue=4
|article=
|page=
|pages=892-902
|url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/joa.13481
|pubmedID=34120333
|pubmedCID=8450466
|DOI=10.1111/joa.13481
|accessdate=2025-09-09
}}</ref> Foreskins naturally vary greatly in length and tightness, so men report different experiences, however every [[foreskin]] offers a [[ridged band]] and [[gliding action]]. There are many variations in technque.<ref>{{REFweb
|url=http://jackinworld.com/techniques/jackinexpert-collection/foreskin-fun
|title=Foreskin Fun
|last=
|first=
|init=
|publisher=JackinWorld
|date=
|accessdate=2024-02-25
}}</ref> <ref>{{REFweb
|url=https://www.reddit.com/r/uncircumcised_talk/comments/1o3843x/masturbating/?chainedPosts=t3_1o4xmmq
|title=Masturbating
|last=Anonymous
|publisher=REDDIT
|date=2025-10-12
|accessdate=2025-10-13
}}</ref>

Prolonged and/or vigorous masturbation occasionally causes [[lymphoedema]] of the [[foreskin]], which causes temporary swelling of the [[foreskin]]. The condition is painless and harmless. It usually resolves within about 24 hours.<ref>{{REFweb
|url=https://www.reddit.com/r/hardflaccidresearch/comments/1k393ff/foreskin_swelling_after_masturbating/
|title=Foreskin swelling after masturbating
|last=Anonymous
|first=
|init=
|author-link=
|publisher=REDDIT
|date=2025-04
|accessdate=2025-05-12
}}</ref>

[[Sclerosing lymphangitis]] is a rare condition that is associated with vigorous masturbation.<ref name="rosen2003">{{REFjournal
|last=Rosen
|first=
|init=T
|author-link=
|last2=Hwong
|first2=
|init2=H
|author2-link=
|etal=no
|title=Sclerosing lymphangitis of the penis
|trans-title=
|journal= J Am Acad Dermatol
|date=2003-11
|season=
|volume=49
|issue=5
|article=
|pages=916-8
|url=https://www.jaad.org/article/S0190-9622(03)00464-X/abstract
|archived=
|quote=
|pubmedID=14576679
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=10.1016/s0190-9622(03)00464-x
|accessdate=2025-02-10
}}</ref> <ref name="babu2014">{{REFjournal
|last=Babu
|first=
|init=AK
|author-link=
|last2=Krishnan
|first2=
|init2=P
|author2-link=
|last3=Andezuth
|first3=
|init3=DD
|author3-link=
|etal=no
|title=Sclerosing lymphangitis of penis—literature review and report of 2 cases
|trans-title=
|journal= Dermatol Online J
|date=2014-07-15
|season=
|volume=20
|issue=7
|pages=13030/qt7gq9h1v9
|url=https://escholarship.org/uc/item/7gq9h1v9
|archived=
|quote=
|pubmedID=25046462
|pubmedCID=
|accessdate=2025-02-10
}}</ref>

Many believe that [[foreskinned]] men tend to produce more [[pre-ejaculate]] than [[circumcised]] men, perhaps because of better erogenous stimulation.
====Lubrication====
Lubrication is a crutch for men crippled by [[circumcision]]. Use of lubrication is optional for [[intact]] males as the mobile [[gliding action]] of the [[foreskin]] renders lubrication unnecessary.<ref>{{REFweb
|url=https://www.reddit.com/r/uncircumcised_talk/comments/1nwnl9c/i_use_my_foreskin_as_lube/
|title=I use my foreskin as lube
|last=Anonymous
|first=
|init=
|author-link=
|publisher=REDDIT
|date=2025-10-03
|accessdate=2025-10-05
}}</ref> An informal online survey of [[intact]] and restored males in 2024 found use of lubricant is unnecessary and unpopular with almost no use of lubricant, although a few [[intact]] men enjoy the sensation produced by lubrication.<ref name="survey2025">{{REFweb
|url=https://www.reddit.com/r/uncircumcised_talk/comments/1hs49xk/do_you_use_lubricant_when_masturbating/
|title=Do you use lubricant when masturbating?
|last=Anonymous
|first=
|init=
|author-link=
|publisher=REDDIT
|date=2025-01-02
|accessdate=2025-01-05
}}</ref>

====Masturbation with phimosis====
[[Phimosis]] or tight [[foreskin]] generally does not create any kind of difficulty with masturbation. It is ''not'' necessary to retract the [[foreskin]] while masturbating. The outer layer of foreskin may be [[Gliding_action| glided]] without retraction. Phimosed men may pull their non-retractile [[foreskin]] away from the body. There is some anecdotal evidence that phimosed males will stimulate their [[acroposthion]] more than non-phimosed males. Some claim that men with phimosis are more aroused and have a greater desire to masturbate.<ref>{{REFweb
|url=https://www.reddit.com/r/uncircumcised_talk/comments/1kjqhh8/comment/mrsogrc/?context=3
|title=Whenever I'm erect, the tight encasement of my glans feels fantastic!
|last=
|first=
|init=
|author-link=
|publisher=REDDIT
|date=
|accessdate=2025-05-12
}}</ref>

Beaugé (1997) stated that adult [[phimosis]] is caused by unusual methods of masturbation that fail to [[Stretching| stretch]] the narrow [[foreskin]] of childhood. According to Beaugé, the condition may be treated by changing one's method of masturbation so that the foreskin is pulled back against the head of the [[penis]] causing the [[foreskin]] to stretch.<ref name="beauge1997">{{REFjournal
|last=Beaugé
|init=M
|author-link=
|url=http://www.cirp.org/library/treatment/phimosis/beauge2/
|title=The causes of adolescent phimosis.
|journal=Br J Sex Med
|date=1997-10
|volume=
|issue=
|pages=26
|accessdate=2023-06-24
}}</ref>

====Masturbation for intact teens====
Milos (2022) advises regarding a 14-year-old [[intact]] teen:
<blockquote>
I am happy that you and your son can talk candidly about sex. You can explain to him that, just as you cautioned him not to forcibly retract his [[foreskin]], he needs to be careful with his foreskin when he masturbates. Here’s why: One or two millimeters under the penile skin is a smooth muscle sheath called the [[dartos]] fascia. The dartos fascia covers the shaft of the [[penis]] and extends to the tip. The dartos fascia muscle fibers near the tip of the foreskin form a sphincter-like structure—or a ring—that acts like a one-way valve and shields the urinary opening.

The muscle fibers of the ring will become elastic over time as your son’s foreskin loosens with the hormones of [[puberty]] and eventually fully retracts. Until then, tell your son to masturbate gently to slowly widen the opening. If he masturbates too vigorously, he can force the head of the penis through the opening and tear the ring, causing bleeding as well as pain. Gentleness is always important when the genitals are involved.<ref name="milos2022-07-25">{{REFweb
|url=https://intactamerica.org/ask-marilyn-why-is-vigorous-masturbation-painful-for-this-intact-teen/
|title=Ask Marilyn—Why Is Vigorous Masturbation Painful for this Intact Teen?
|last=Milos
|first=
|init=MF
|publisher=Intact America
|date=2022-07-25
|accessdate=2024-05-04
}}</ref>
</blockquote>

===Circumcised penis===
====Masturbation without foreskin====

Circumcised men are sexually handicapped,<ref name="andesen2025">{{REFjournal
|last=Andersen-Ghiberson
|first=Dale
|init=
|author-link=
|etal=no
|title=Circumcision and forced disability: Routine male neonatal circumcision and the consequences of amputation within a critical disability studies framework
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal=Critical Disability Discourses
|location=
|url=https://cdd.journals.yorku.ca/index.php/cdd/article/view/39786/36016
|date=2025-12-19
|accessdate=2026-07-01
}}</ref> so adjustments to masturbation technique may be required.

Nineteenth century physicians falsely believed that masturbation caused many diseases, including epilepsy, so they thought of ways to prevent masturbation. Bauer (1878) recommended infibulation,<ref name="bauer1878">{{REFjournal
|last=Bauer
|init=L
|url=
|title=Dementia brought on by excessive self-abuse: cure by infibulation
|journal=St Louis Clin Record
|date=1878
|volume=4
|issue=
|pages=271-3
|accessdate=2023-10-30
}}</ref> <ref name="bauer1879">{{REFjournal
|last=Bauer
|init=L
|author-link=
|url=
|title=Infibulation as a remedy for epilepsy and seminal losses
|journal=St Louis Clin Record
|date=1879
|volume=6
|issue=
|pages=163-5
|accessdate=2023-10-30
}}</ref> but circumcision was the favored treatment.<ref name="schultheiss2003">{{REFjournal
|last=Schultheiss
|first=
|init=D
|author-link=
|last2=Mattelaer
|first2=
|init2=JJ
|author2-link=
|last3=Hodges
|first3=
|init3=FM
|author3-link=Frederick M. Hodges
|etal=no
|title=Preputial infibulation: from ancient medicine to modern genital piercing
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal=BJU Int
|location=
|date=2003-11
|volume=92
|issue=7
|article=
|page=
|pages=758-63
|url=https://bjui-journals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1046/j.1464-410X.2003.04490.x
|archived=
|quote=
|pubmedID=14616462
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=10.1046/j.1464-410x.2003.04490.x
|doi=
|accessdate=2023-10-30
}}</ref> <ref>{{REFweb
|url=https://www.reddit.com/r/Pro_Male_Collective/comments/1nglucz/male_circumcision_is_intended_to_prevent/
|title=Male circumcision is intended to prevent masturbation
|last=Anonymous
|first=
|init=
|author-link=
|publisher=REDDIT
|date=2025-09
|accessdate=2025-10-16
}}</ref>

[[Circumcision]] was introduced in English-speaking nations in Victorian times (19th century) to un-[[foreskin]] the [[penis]], tighten the [[skin]] to make it immovable, and make it impossible for [[circumcised]] guys to masturbate.<ref name="moses1871">{{Moses1871}}</ref> It failed to stop masturbation, but it made it harder to do and less enjoyable. [[E. J. Spratling]] (1895) gave instructions on doing circumcisions to other doctors:

<blockquote>
In all cases [of masturbation] circumcision is undoubtedly the physicians' closest friend and ally ... To obtain the best results one must cut away enough [[skin]] and [[Mucosa| mucous membrane]] to rather put it on the stretch when erections come later. There must be no play in the [[skin]] after the wound has thoroughly healed, but it must fit tightly over the [[penis]], for should there be any play the patient will be found to readily resume his practice, not begrudging the time and extra energy required to produce the orgasm. It is true, however, that the longer it takes to have an orgasm, the less frequently it will be attempted, consequently the greater the benefit gained ... The younger the patient operated upon the more pronounced the benefit, though occasionally we find patients who were [[circumcised]] before [[puberty]] that require a resection of the [[skin]], as it has grown loose and pliant after that epoch.<ref name="spratling1895">{{REFjournal
|last=Spratling
|init=EJ
|author-link=
|url=https://www.historyofcircumcision.com/templates/pages/treating_masturbation_1895.html
|title=Masturbation in the Adult
|journal=Medical Record
|date=1895-09-28
|volume=48
|issue=
|pages=442-3
|accessdate=2021-11-02
}}</ref>
</blockquote>

Kim & Pang (2007) reported that masturbatory pleasure decreased in 48% of the respondents and increased in 8%, while difficulty increased in 63% but was easier in 37%. They concluded that there was a decrease in masturbatory pleasure after [[circumcision]].<ref name="kimpang2007" />

Looking at male masturbation in erotic videos, it is noticeable that a [[penis]] without a [[foreskin]] is often stimulated by hand as if a [[foreskin]] were present. Even without a [[foreskin]], the hand is pushed back and forth along the [[Shaft skin|shaft]] of the [[penis]], perhaps to simulate the stimulating movement of the (non-existent) [[foreskin]] over the [[glans]].

====Lubrication====

[[Circumcised]] males found that they could still practice [[masturbation]], if they used lubrication to overcome the crippling handicap of being [[circumcised]].<ref name="spratling1895" /> Lubrication has been characterized as a "prosthesis" used to overcome the impairment induced by amputation of a functional body part. Ravi Kumar (2017) reports:
<blockquote>
The disadvantages mainly lie in the removal of the foreskin, which constitutes almost half the skin on the penis. The foreskin provides natural lubrication and protection. It is well-known that a circumcised man cannot indulge in masturbation without a lubricant – which makes the act much more difficult and time-consuming.<ref>{{REFweb
|url=https://www.youthkiawaaz.com/2017/02/the-stigma-of-circumcision-in-india
|title=Stop Body-Shaming Me Just Because I Am Circumcised
|last=Kumar
|first=Ravi
|init=
|author-link=
|publisher=Youth Ki Awaaz
|date=2017-02-14
|accessdate=2025-06-19
}}</ref></blockquote>
Most, but not all, [[circumcised]] males need lubrication to avoid friction irritation and reach orgasm.<ref name="techniques2022">{{REFweb
|url=http://www.jackinworld.com/techniques/the-basics/lubrication
|title=Lubrication
|last=
|first=
|date=
|accessdate=2022-04-24
}}</ref> Some [[circumcised]] males who have a loose cut and some [[gliding action]] find it is enough to support masturbation without lubrication.

''Substances with harsh or irritant chemicals should not be used for lubrication.''<ref>{{REFweb
|url=http://www.jackinworld.com/questions-answered/troubleshooting-faq/male-masturbation-semen-or-ejaculation/lubes/what-kinds-lubr-0
|title=What kinds of lubrication do you not recommend?
|last=
|first=
|date=
|accessdate=2022-04-24
}}</ref>

One may use various personal lubricants that are sold for sexual lubrication<ref>{{REFweb
|url=http://www.jackinworld.com/questions-answered/troubleshooting-faq/male-masturbation-semen-or-ejaculation/lubes/what-kinds-lubri
|title=What kinds of lubrication do you recommend?
|last=
|first=
|date=
|accessdate=2022-04-24
}}</ref> or one may use such substances as baby oil, coconut oil, [[jojoba]] oil, other vegetable oils, or saliva. Saliva dries rapidly so it must be replenished frequently, but it is always available.

====Death grip masturbation====
Many commenters on death grip syndrome seem profoundly ignorant of the effects of circumcision ([[MGM]]). Their comments are not helpful. Death grip masturbation may be regarded as a late complication of circumcision.

[[Circumcision]] excises about 15-square-inches of highly-innervated erogenous tissue<ref name="winklemann1959">{{WinkelmannRK 1959}}</ref> from the [[penis]], reduces or eliminates the [[gliding action]], and severely reduces [[Foreskin sensitivity| penile sensation]].<ref name="taylor1996">{{TaylorJR LockwoodAP TaylorAJ 1996}}</ref> [[Circumcised]] men, with their desensitized [[penis]], in an attempt to restore lost sensation, are more likely to try using a very tight grip when they masturbate. This technique is referred to by the slang term ''death grip masturbation''.<ref name="savage2019">{{REFweb
|url=https://www.joseph4gi.com/2019/11/death-grip-and-circumcision-is-there.html?m=1
|title=Death Grip and Circumcision: Is There a Correlation?
|last=Savage
|first=Dan
|init=
|publisher=Joseph4GI
|date=2019-11-17
|accessdate=2024-05-13
}}</ref>

Practitioners of death grip masturbation may do better by using lubrication and a lighter grip.<ref>{{REFweb
|url=https://www.menshealth.com/sex-women/a27044367/death-grip-masturbation/
|title=Are You Using a 'Death Grip' During Masturbation? It Could Be Messing With Your Sex Life
|last=Engle
|first=Gigi
|init=
|publisher=Men's Health
|date=2019-04-04
|accessdate=2023-08-13
}}</ref> <ref>{{REFweb
|url=https://www.forhims.com/blog/death-grip-syndrome
|title=Death Grip Syndrome: What It Is & How to Treat It
|last=Hagerty
|first=Katelyn
|init=
|publisher=hims
|date=2023-07-27
|accessdate=2023-08-13
}}</ref> For the longer term, non-surgical [[foreskin restoration]] may help to improve sensation.<ref>{{REFbook
|last=Bigelow, Ph.D
|first=Jim
|init=
|author-link=Jim Bigelow
|year=1995
|title=The Joy of Uncircumcising
|url=
|work=
|editor=
|edition=Second Edition
|volume=
|chapter=Why Men Today Want to Uncircumcise
|scope=
|page=
|pages=113-4
|location=Aptos
|publisher=Hourglass
|ISBN=0-934061-22-X
|quote=
|accessdate=2023-08-13
|note=
}}</ref>

The presence of the [[foreskin]], with its high degree of [[Foreskin sensitivity| sensitivity]] and easy [[gliding action]], eliminates any need or desire for death grip masturbation among [[intact]] men.<ref name="savage2019" /> It appears to be impossible for a [[foreskinned]] man to practice death grip masturbation.

====Improving the masturbation experience====
[[Circumcised]] males are pitied by some [[intact]] males.<ref>{{REFweb
|url=https://www.reddit.com/r/uncircumcised_talk/comments/1m8yps6/i_feel_sorry_for_circumsised_guys/
|title=I feel sorry for circumsised guys
|last=Anonymous
|first=
|init=
|author-link=
|publisher=REDDIT
|date=2025-07-25
|accessdate=2025-07-26
}}</ref> [[Circumcised]] males who are not satisfied with the quality of their masturbation experience may wish to consider non-surgical [[foreskin restoration]]. It takes some time and effort to restore a missing foreskin, but once it is done, it will last the rest of one's life.

===Restored penis===
[[Circumcision]] (foreskin amputation) was promoted in the nineteenth century to stop masturbation.<ref name="bigelow1995">{{REFbook
|last=Bigelow
|first=Jim
|author-link=Jim Bigelow
|year=1995
|title=The Joy of Uncircumcising!: Exploring Circumcision: History, Myths, Psychology, Restoration, Sexual Pleasure, and Human Rights
|url=https://www.amazon.com/Joy-Uncircumcising-Circumcision-Psychology-Restoration/dp/093406122X
|editor=
|edition=2
|volume=
|chapter=America's 100-year Infatuation with Circumcision
|page=70
|location=
|publisher=Hourglass Book Publishing
|isbn=978-0934061223
}}</ref> It follows that restoration of the [[foreskin]] would facilitate and improve masturbation.

Many men who practice [[foreskin restoration]] report a substantial improvement in their masturbation experience with their [[restored]] [[penis]] as compared with their previous [[circumcised]] penis. Notably, they typically report an improvement in [[gliding action]], in [[Foreskin sensitivity| sensation]], and a reduction or elimination of the need for lubrication with their [[restored foreskin]].

==Refractory period==

After a wet or dry orgasm, one immediately goes into the refractory period.<ref>{{REFweb
|url=https://medical-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/refractory+period
|archived=
|title=Refractory period
|trans-title=
|language=
|last=
|first=
|author-link=
|publisher=Segen's Medical Dictionary
|website=thefreedictionary.com
|date=2012
|accessdate=2020-05-29
|format=
|quote=
}}</ref> The [[glans penis]] becomes hyper-sensitive and further masturbation becomes impossible for a variable period of time.

In human sexuality, the refractory period is usually the recovery phase after orgasm during which it is physiologically impossible for a man to have additional orgasms. This phase begins immediately after [[ejaculation]] and lasts until the excitement phase of the human sexual response cycle begins anew with low level response.

==Gooning==
''Gooning'' is an old slang word with many various meanings, but teens are now applying it to male masturbation.<ref>{{REFweb
|url=https://grammarverb.com/gooning/
|title=What does "gooning" mean
|last=Anonymous
|publisher=grammarverb.com
|date=2025-12-13
|accessdate=2026-03-14
}}</ref>

== Video ==
 
===Video for boys===
<youtube>v=4wRxbx0YfRU</youtube>
 
===Masturbation myths===
<youtube>v=xIFsNsf86KY</youtube>
 
===Is masturbation good or bad for you?===
[[Dr Bret Palmer]] explains.
<youtube>v=9O9Q8spuqcQ</youtube>

{{SEEALSO}}
* [[Body pleasure]]
* [[Erogenous sensation of the foreskin]]
* [[Foreskin play]]
* [[Gliding action]]
* [[Lymph]]
* [[Lymphoedema]]
* [[Manual tugging]]
* [[Penis]]
* [[Pre-ejaculate]]
* [[Sclerosing lymphangitis]]
* [[Semen]]
* [[Sexual effects of circumcision]]

{{LINKS}}
* {{URLwikipedia|Masturbation|Masturbation}}
* {{REFjournal
|last=Darby
|first=
|init=R
|author-link=Robert Darby
|etal=no
|title=The masturbation taboo and the rise of routine male circumcision: a review of the historiography
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal=J Soc Hist
|location=
|date=2003
|season=Spring
|volume=36
|issue=3
|pages=737-57
|url=https://d1wqtxts1xzle7.cloudfront.net/33685508/RD-MastJSH03-libre.pdf?1399951512=&response-content-disposition=inline%3B+filename%3DThe_Masturbation_Taboo_and_the_Rise_of_R.pdf&Expires=1757870104&Signature=bz--MK9BHuiaGORLq~xcaziD4~G48joTevxi8JRARGRATdRNMG0NLPtgLkxj3jg1TxDLh8f5iSPKQg4WDL9RSwMUyI4uj7TJ3VmhgaPEXy5G9hr6F7TRVAT17ngXtVPruoUdb3856nzIS-8psUIEZYTwZiA9oH24Y1KzLF6DWCFwJxAkLKo18KW0tG4s93Tojs1BafuF7APGIEmmMUcgOFuwha9y4H4CpJaAYojGr1F0X85NwMdduV5PXBPVynEcq79GZmLriKvr-MW47cqABEEWUdptDKtSk6MKQ1m4aHLGg8QYUKhsfE6hSnNkmOsBD8Vp33juU4BfBSgfYY6Esw__&Key-Pair-Id=APKAJLOHF5GGSLRBV4ZA
|archived=
|quote=
|format=PDF
|accessdate=2025-09-14
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://www.reddit.com/r/masturbation/comments/9m82v9/comment/e7etecv/
|title=Answers to questions about foreskin masturbation
|last=Anonymous
|first=
|init=
|author-link=
|publisher=REDDIT
|date=2018
|accessdate=2025-12-02
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=http://web.archive.org/web/20200824042005/https://www.reddit.com/r/masturbationquestions/wiki/howmale
|archived=yes
|title=How to masturbate with a penis
|last=
|first=
|accessdate=2021-07-20
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=http://acroposthion.com/masturbation-deterrent/
|archived=
|title=Masturbation Deterrent?
|trans-title=
|language=
|last=
|first=
|author-link=
|publisher=Acroposthion
|website=
|date=
|accessdate=2021-07-20
|format=
|quote=
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://www.healthline.com/health/masturbation-side-effects
|title=Masturbation — How Does It Affect Your Health?
|last=Link
|first=Rachel
|init=
|publisher=Healthline
|date=2022-05-06
|accessdate=2022-12-17
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://intactamerica.org/ask-marilyn-why-is-vigorous-masturbation-painful-for-this-intact-teen/
|title=Ask Marilyn—Why Is Vigorous Masturbation Painful for this Intact Teen?
|last=Milos
|first=Marilyn
|init=
|author-link=Marilyn Fayre Milos
|publisher=Intact America
|date=2022-07-25
|accessdate=2024-06-21
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://www.plannedparenthood.org/learn/sex-pleasure-and-sexual-dysfunction/masturbation
|title=Masturbation
|publisher=Planned Parenthood
|date=
|accessdate=2023-01-16
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://intactamerica.org/dyk-may-masturbation/
|title=“Do You Know?” May Is Masturbation Month
|last=Chapin
|first=
|init=G
|author-link=Georganne Chapin
|publisher=Intact America
|date=2023-06-23
|accessdate=2025-10-19
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://www.reddit.com/r/FriendsOfTheFrenulum/comments/1ma5zqc/the_data_is_in_the_silence_is_broken_a_first_look/
|title=The Data is In. The Silence is Broken. A First Look at Our Survey's Staggering Results.
|last=Intactivist
|first=Accidental
|init=
|author-link=
|publisher=REDDIT
|date=2025-07-26
|accessdate=2025-07-27
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://www.reddit.com/r/Puberty/comments/1n2psn4/do_uncut_guys_need_lube_too/
|title=Do uncut guys need lube too?
|last=Anonymous
|publisher=REDDIT
|date=2025-08-28
|accessdate=2025-08-29
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://www.reddit.com/r/uncircumcised_talk/comments/1n0cnh2/how_do_you_play_with_your_foreskin_not_sexually/
|title=How do you play with your foreskin? Not sexually, just casually
|last=Anonymous
|publisher=REDDIT
|date=2025-08-25
|accessdate=2025-09-04
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://www.reddit.com/r/uncircumcised_talk/comments/1n9vc90/jo/
|title=How to masturbate with a long foreskin
|last=Anonymous
|publisher=REDDIT
|date=2025-09-06
|accessdate=2025-09-09
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://www.reddit.com/r/uncircumcised_talk/comments/1nqur98/how_did_you_masturbate_before_you_could_retract/?chainedPosts=t3_1nrtpcb
|title=How did you masturbate before you could retract your foreskin?
|last=Anonymous
|publisher=REDDIT
|date=2025-09-26
|accessdate=2025-09-27
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://www.reddit.com/r/uncircumcised_talk/comments/1ooxau8/masturbation_with_foreskin/?chainedPosts=t3_1osfbjg
|title=Masturbation with foreskin
|last=Anonymous
|publisher=REDDIT
|date=2025-11-04
|accessdate=2025-11-09
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://www.reddit.com/r/Intactivists/comments/1o03x02/if_im_circumcised_why_do_i_still_feel_pleasure/
|title=If im circumcised, why do I still feel pleasure?
|last=Anonymous
|publisher=REDDIT
|date=2025-09
|accessdate=2025-11-22
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://www.reddit.com/r/uncircumcised_talk/comments/1p8c7js/do_you_prefer_to_orgasm_with_it_pulled_back_or/?sort=old
|title=Do you prefer to orgasm with it pulled back or forward? Does it make a difference?
|last=Anonymous
|publisher=REDDIT
|date=2025-11-27
|accessdate=2025-11-28
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://www.reddit.com/r/uncircumcised_talk/comments/1pmkb1x/foreskins_role_in_masturbating/
|title=Foreskin’s role in masturbating.
|last=Anonymous
|publisher=REDDIT
|date=2025-12-14
|accessdate=2025-12-14
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://www.reddit.com/r/uncircumcised_talk/comments/1q588k5/being_intact_and_multiple_orgasms/
|title=Being intact and multiple orgasms
|last=Anonymous
|publisher=REDDIT
|date=2026-01-05
|accessdate=2026-01-23
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://www.reddit.com/r/uncircumcised_talk/comments/1qjs9g1/if_ure_moving_foreskin_back_and_forth_over_glans/
|title=If ure moving foreskin back and forth over glans retracting and covering it to masturbate, can u do it smoothly dry without any external lubricant or spit also? Doesn’t inner foreskin and glans stick together if it’s dry?
|last=Anonymous
|publisher=REDDIT
|date=2026-01-22
|accessdate=2026-01-26
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://www.reddit.com/r/uncircumcised_talk/comments/1s1a8ey/foreskin_length/
|title=Foreskin length
|last=Anonymous
|first=
|init=
|author-link=
|publisher=Reddit
|date=2026-03-23
|accessdate=2026-03-23
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://www.reddit.com/r/uncircumcised_talk/comments/1uxpt04/masturbation/
|title=Masturbation?
|last=Anonymous
|publisher=Reddit
|date=2026-07-15
|accessdate=2026-07-19
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://www.reddit.com/r/uncircumcised_talk/comments/1v0k3an/masturbation_tips/
|title=Masturbation Tips
|last=Anonymous
|publisher=Reddit
|date=2026-07-19
|accessdate=2026-07-19
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://www.reddit.com/r/uncircumcised_talk/comments/1v1xi88/anyone_out_there_developed_a_similar_masturbation/
|title=Anyone out there developed a similar masturbation technique?
|last=Anonymous
|publisher=Reddit
|date=2026-07-20
|accessdate=2026-07-20
}}
{{REF}}

[[Category:Term]]
[[Category:Foreskinned life]]
[[Category:Male circumcision]]
[[Category:Sexuality]]
[[Category:Male sexuality]]
[[Category:Female sexuality]]
[[Category:Penis]]
[[Category:Teen]]

[[de:Masturbation]]

Foreskin restoration

2026-07-20T22:52:44Z

WikiModEn2: /* Medical malpractice leads to painful erections (Part 1 of 3) */ Add external link.

{{GraphicWarning}}
[[Image:Restoration before after.JPG |thumbnail|right|300px| A human penis circumcised at birth, before and after 42 months of non-surgical restoration.]]

'''Foreskin restoration''' refers to the process of expanding the residual [[skin]] on the [[circumcised]] [[penis]] by non-surgical means in order to recreate the [[foreskin]] which was removed in [[circumcision]].<ref name="wisdom">{{REFjournal
|last=Wisdom
|first=Travis
|init=T
|author-link=Travis Wisdom
|etal=no
|title=Constructing phallic beauty: Foreskin restoration, genital cutting and circumcisionism
|journal=Brill
|location=
|date=2014
|volume=
|issue=
|pages=93-134
|url=https://www.academia.edu/7648223/Constructing_Phallic_Beauty_Foreskin_Restoration_Genital_Cutting_and_Circumcisionism?email_work_card=view-paper
|archived=
|quote=
|pubmedID=
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=10.1163/9781848881259_007
|accessdate=2020-08-16
}}</ref> It can also refer to the process of [[Tissue expansion| expanding existing skin]] on an [[intact]] [[penis]] whose foreskin is abnormally short or non-existent (see [[aposthia]]).<ref name="collier2011">{{REFjournal
|last=Collier
|first=Roger
|init=R
|author-link=
|title=Whole again: the practice of foreskin restoration
|journal=CMAJ
|date=2011
|volume=183
|issue=18
|pages=2092-3
|url=https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3255154/
|quote=
|pubmedID=3255154
|pubmedCID=22083672
|DOI=10.1503/cmaj.109-4009
|accessdate=2023-10-10
}}</ref>

Foreskin restoration can be achieved via surgical and/or non-surgical means.<ref name="kennedy2015">{{REFjournal
|last=Kennedy
|first=
|init=A
|author-link=Amanda Kennedy
|etal=no
|title=Masculinity and Embodiment in the Practice of Foreskin Restoration
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal=International Journal of Men's Health
|location=
|date=2015
|season=Spring
|volume=14
|issue=1
|article=
|page=
|pages=38-54
|url=https://www.arclaw.org/wp-content/uploads/Kennedy-Embodiment-and-Restoration-IJMH-2015.pdf
|archived=
|quote=
|pubmedID=
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=10.3149/jmh.1401.38
|format=PDF
|accessdate=2024-12-31
}}</ref> Men take up foreskin restoration to restore [[Dekeratinization| sensation]] to the [[glans penis]] and to restore the [[gliding action]] of the natural [[penis]]. Another reason for restoring is a desire to create the natural appearance of an [[intact]] penis with the [[foreskin]] covering the [[glans penis]]. [[Jim Bigelow]] (1995) listed aesthetics, sensitivity of the glans, sexual stimulation and sexual function of a restored foreskin, and sense of wholeness as reasons that men give for desiring foreskin restoration.<ref>{{REFbook
|last=Bigelow
|first=Jim
|author-link=Jim Bigelow
|year=1994
|title=The Joy of Uncircumcising!: Exploring Circumcision: History, Myths, Psychology, Restoration, Sexual Pleasure, and Human Rights
|url=https://www.amazon.com/Joy-Uncircumcising-Circumcision-Psychology-Restoration/dp/093406122X
|editor=
|edition=2
|volume=
|chapter=Why Men Today Want to Uncircumcise
|pages=113-4
|location=
|publisher=Hourglass Book Pub
|isbn=978-0934061223
}}</ref> Foreskin restoration techniques are most commonly undertaken by men who resent having been [[circumcised]] as children, or who have sustained an injury.<ref name="ozer2020">{{REFjournal
|last=Özer
|first=
|init=M
|author-link=
|last2=Timmermans
|first2=Floyd W.
|init2=FW
|author2-link=
|etal=no
|title=An insight into circumcised men seeking foreskin reconstruction: a prospective cohort study
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal=Int J Impot Res
|location=
|date=2020-11
|season=
|volume=32
|issue=6
|article=
|page=
|pages=611-6
|url=https://www.nature.com/articles/s41443-019-0223-y
|archived=
|quote=
|pubmedID=31896833
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=10.1038/s41443-019-0223-y
|accessdate=2022-10-14
}}</ref> <ref>{{REFweb
|url=https://intactamerica.org/foreskin-restoration-journey/
|title=Taking Back What Was Stolen: A Foreskin Restoration Journey
|last=Alissa
|first=Kristel
|init=
|author-link=Kristel Alissa
|publisher=Intact America
|date=2025-02-26
|accessdate=2025-02-28
}}</ref> They are also used by [[regret men]] and by [[foreskinned]] men who simply desire a longer [[foreskin]].

== History ==
=== Ancient history ===
Foreskin [[stretching]] (called "uncircumcision," or ''[[epispasm]]'') appears to have been a common practice among Hellenized Jewish men in Hellenistic and Roman societies,<ref name="Rubin">{{REFjournal
|last=Rubin
|first=Jody P.
|init=JP
|title=Celsus's Decircumcision Operation
|journal=Urology
|volume=16
|issue=1
|pages=121-24
|url=http://www.cirp.org/library/restoration/rubin/
|quote=
|pubmedID=6994325
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=10.1016/0090-4295(80)90354-4
|date=1980-07
|accessdate=
}}</ref> from at least as early as the 2nd century {{#tip-text:BCE|Before Common Era, an alternative to BC}}.<ref>{{REFbook
|last=Glick
|first=Leonard B.
|init=LB
|author-link=Leonard B. Glick
|year=2005
|title=Marked in Your Flesh
|url=
|editor=
|edition=
|volume=
|chapter="This Is My Covenant", Circumcision in the World of Temple Judaism
|page=31
|location=New York, NY
|publisher={{UNI|Oxford University|Oxon}} Press
|isbn=0-19-517674-X
|quote=Foreskin [[stretching]] (called "uncircumcision," or epispasm) appears to have been a common practice among Hellenized Jewish men...
|accessdate=2011-09-23
|note=
}}</ref>

Key features of Hellenistic culture were athletic exercises in gymnasia and athletic performances in public arenas, where men appeared in the nude. While the [[penis]] sheathed in an [[intact]] foreskin was normal and acceptable, ancient Greeks and their Hellenistic successors considered the [[circumcised]] penis to be offensive, as it was perceived as a vulgar imitation of [[erection]], unfit for public display.<ref name="kennedy2015" /> The ancient Greeks and their Hellenistic successors considered the "ideal prepuce" to be long, tapered, and "well-proportioned." Removing it was considered [[mutilation]]. Men with a short [[foreskin]], a condition known as ''lypodermos'', would wear a leather cord called a ''kynodesme'' to prevent its accidental exposure.<ref>{{REFjournal
|last=Hodges
|first=Frederick M.
|init=FM
|author-link=Frederick M. Hodges
|title=The Ideal Prepuce in Ancient Greece and Rome: Male Genital Aesthetics and Their Relation to Lipodermos, Circumcision, Foreskin Restoration, and the Kynodesme
|journal=Bulletin of the History of Medicine
|date=2001-09
|note=Fall 2001
|volume=75
|issue=3
|pages=375-405
|url=http://www.cirp.org/library/history/hodges2/
|quote=
|pubmedID=11568485
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=
|accessdate=2019-09-30
}}</ref>

The sight of [[circumcised]] genitals at public baths or gymnasia would inspire laughter and ridicule. Jewish men who wished to gain acceptance in the larger social world gave themselves a presentable appearance by pulling the remaining [[foreskin]] forward as far as possible, and keeping it under enough tension to encourage permanent [[stretching]] toward its original length. Using a fibular pin or a cord, they pierced the front of the remaining foreskin, drew it forward, and fixed it in place; sometimes they would attach a weight to maintain tension. Over time the foreskin stretched and restored at least some of the appearance of an [[intact]] organ.<ref>{{REFbook
|last=Glick
|first=Leonard B.
|init=LB
|author-link=Leonard B. Glick
|year=2005
|title=Marked in Your Flesh
|url=
|editor=
|edition=
|volume=
|chapter="This Is My Covenant", Circumcision in the World of Temple Judaism
|page=31
|location=New York, NY
|publisher={{UNI|Oxford University|Oxon}} Press
|isbn=0-19-517674-X
|quote=...some, eager for acceptance in the larger social world, gave themselves a presentable appearance by pulling the remaining foreskin forward...
|accessdate=2011-09-23
|note=
}}</ref> Up until the 2th century, [[Jewish circumcision]] involved only partial foreskin removal. Rabbis of the 2th century mandated ''[[Periah| peri’ah]]'', or the complete ablation of the [[foreskin]] in order to prevent Jewish men from engaging in foreskin restoration.<ref>{{REFbook
|last=Glick
|first=Leonard B.
|init=LB
|author-link=Leonard B. Glick
|year=2005
|title=Marked in Your Flesh
|url=
|editor=
|edition=
|volume=
|chapter="This Is My Covenant", Circumcision in the World of Temple Judaism
|page=31
|location=New York, NY
|publisher={{UNI|Oxford University|Oxon}} Press
|isbn=0-19-517674-X
|quote=For obvious reasons this was anathema to the rabbis: tantamount to rejection of Judaism and defiance of rabbinic authority.
|accessdate=2011-09-23
|note=
}}</ref>

=== Modern history ===
During World War II, some European Jews sought out underground foreskin restoration operations as a way to escape Nazi persecution.<ref name="Tushmet">{{REFjournal
|last=Tushmet
|first=Leonard
|init=L
|title=Uncircumcision
|journal=Medical Times
|volume=93
|issue=6
|pages=588-593
|url=http://www.cirp.org/library/restoration/tushmet1/
|quote=
|pubmedID=
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=
|date=1965
|accessdate=
}}</ref>

The practice of foreskin restoration was revived in the late twentieth century using modern materials and techniques. In 1982 a group called Brothers United for Future Foreskins ([[BUFF]]) was formed,<ref name="kennedy2015" /> which publicized the use of tape in non-surgical restoration methods. Later, in 1991, another group called UnCircumcising Information and Resources Centers ([[UNCIRC]]) was formed.<ref name="Bigelow - uncirc">{{REFjournal
|last=Bigelow
|first=Jim
|init=J
|author-link=Jim Bigelow
|title=Uncircumcising: undoing the effects of an ancient practice in a modern world
|journal=Mothering
|volume=Summer
|issue=
|pages=121-124
|url=http://www.cirp.org/library/restoration/bigelow1/
|quote=
|pubmedID=
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=
|date=1994
|accessdate=2024-06-13
}}</ref>

The National Organization of Restoring Men ([[NORM]]) was founded in 1989 in San Francisco, as a non-profit support group for men restoring the appearance of a [[foreskin]]. It was originally known as RECAP, an acronym for the phrase Recover A Penis. In 1994 UNCIRC was incorporated into this group.<ref name="NORM history">{{REFweb
|quote=
|url=http://www.norm.org/history.html
|title=NORM - History
|last=Griffiths
|first=R. Wayne
|author-link=R. Wayne Griffiths
|publisher=
|date=2006
|accessdate=2019-09-30
}}</ref> Since its founding, several NORM chapters have been founded throughout the [[United States]], as well as internationally in [[Canada]], the [[United Kingdom]], [[Australia]], [[New Zealand]], and Germany.

== Surgical techniques ==

Surgical techniques of foreskin restoration are historical. They are seldom, if ever, used today because they have not given good results.

Surgical methods of foreskin restoration, sometimes known as foreskin reconstruction, usually involve a method of grafting skin onto the distal portion of the penile shaft. The grafted skin is typically taken from the scrotum, which contains the same smooth muscle (known as [[dartos|dartos fascia]]) as does the skin of the penis. One method involves a four stage procedure in which the shaft is buried in the scrotum for a period of time.<ref name="Greer">{{REFjournal
|last=Greer
|first=Donald M.
|init=DM
|last2=Mohl
|first2=Paul C.
|init2=PC
|last3=Sheley
|first3=Kathy A.
|init3=KA
|title=A technique for foreskin reconstruction and some preliminary results
|journal=The Journal of Sex Research
|volume=18
|issue=4
|pages=324-330
|url=http://www.cirp.org/library/restoration/greer1/
|quote=
|pubmedID=
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=10.1080/00224498209551158
|date=1982
|accessdate=
}}</ref> Such techniques are costly, and have the potential to produce unsatisfactory results or serious complications related to the skin graft.

British Columbia resident [[Paul Tinari]] was held down and [[circumcised]] at eight years old, in what he stated was "a routine form of punishment" for [[masturbation]] at [https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/metis-experiences-at-residential-school residential schools]. Following a lawsuit, Tinari's surgical foreskin restoration was covered by the British Columbia Ministry of Health. The plastic surgeon who performed the restoration was the first in [[Canada]] to have done such an operation, and used a technique similar to that described above.<ref name="Tyee article">{{REFjournal
|last=Euringer
|first=Amanda
|init=A
|title=BC Health Pays to Restore Man's Foreskin
|journal=The Tyee
|volume=
|issue=
|pages=
|url=http://thetyee.ca/News/2006/07/25/Circumcision/
|quote=
|pubmedID=
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=
|date=2006-07-25
|accessdate=
}}</ref><ref name="NRM article">{{REFjournal
|last=Laliberté
|first=Jennifer
|init=J
|title=BC man's foreskin op a success
|journal=National Review of Medicine
|volume=3
|issue=12
|pages=
|url=http://www.nationalreviewofmedicine.com/issue/2006/06_30/3_patients_practice01_12.html
|quote=
|pubmedID=
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=
|date=2006-06-30
|accessdate=
}}</ref>

See also: [[Surgical foreskin restoration]]

=== Results ===

Results of surgical foreskin restoration are much faster, but are often described as unsatisfactory, and most restoration groups advise against them.

== Nonsurgical techniques ==

[[Image:Foreskin restoration diagram.jpg ‎|thumbnail|right|550px| A series of steps for non-surgical foreskin restoration. ]]

Nonsurgical foreskin restoration is the most commonly used method of foreskin restoration. It is accomplished through [[tissue expansion]] and involves pulling on the remnants of the [[foreskin]].<ref>{{REFjournal
|last=Zöllner
|first=
|init=AM
|author-link=
|last2=Holland
|first2=
|init2=MA
|author2-link=
|last3=
|first3=Honda
|init3=KS
|author3-link=
|last4=Gonain
|first4=
|init4=Ak
|author4-link=
|last5=Kuhl
|first5=
|init5=E
|author5-link=
|etal=no
|title=Growth on demand: Reviewing the mechanobiology of stretched skin
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal=J Mech Behav Biomed Mater.
|date=2013-12
|volume=28
|pages=495-509
|url=
|archived=
|quote=
|pubmedID=23623569
|pubmedCID=3758413
|DOI=10.1016/j.jmbbm.2013.03.018
|accessdate=2024-08-09
}}</ref> Both the skin of the penile shaft and the [[mucosa]]l inner lining of the [[foreskin]], if any remains after [[circumcision]], may be expanded. The skin is pulled forward over the [[glans]], and tension is applied manually, by using weights or elastic straps. In the latter two cases a device must be attached to the skin; surgical tape is often used.

[[Image:Tlctugger applied.jpg|thumbnail|left|150px| TLCTugger device applied to a [[circumcised]] penis for non-surgical foreskin restoration.]]

An example of a device using elastic straps is the T-Tape method, which was developed in the 1990s with the idea of enabling restoration to take place more rapidly. Many specialized [http://intactwiki.org/wiki/Category:Foreskin_restoration_devices restoration devices] (like the [[TLC-X|TLC Tugger]] shown in the picture) that grip the [[skin]] with or without tape are also commercially available. Tension from these devices may be applied by weights or elastic straps, by pushing the skin forward on the [[penis]], or by a combination of these methods.

The amount of tension produced by any method must be adjusted to avoid injury, pain or discomfort, and provides a limit on the rate at which new tissue can be grown. There is a risk of damaging tissues if excessive tension is used, or if tension is applied for too long. Websites about foreskin restoration vary in their recommendations, from suggesting a regimen of moderate amounts of tension applied for several hours a day,<ref name="NORM regimen">{{REFweb
|quote=
|url=http://www.norm.org/regimen.html
|title=NORM - Recommended Restoration Regimen
|last=Griffiths
|first=R. Wayne
|author-link=R. Wayne Griffiths
|publisher=
|date=
|accessdate=2006-08-27
}}</ref> to recommending periods of higher tension applied for only a few minutes per day.<ref name="FRC manual">{{REFweb
|quote=
|url=http://foreskinrestorationchat.info/manualtugging.html
|title=Foreskin Restoration Chat Manual Restoration Method and Guide
|last=
|first=
|publisher=
|date=
|accessdate=2006-08-27
}}</ref><ref name="Doug's site">{{REFweb
|quote=
|url=http://pages.suddenlink.net/manual_methods/
|title=Manual Methods of Foreskin Restoration
|last=
|first=
|publisher=
|date=
|accessdate=2007-07-19
}}</ref>

Applying tension to tissue has long been known to stimulate [[mitosis]], and research shows that expanded human tissues have the attributes of the original tissue.<ref name="Cordes">{{REFjournal
|last=Cordes
|first=Stephanie
|init=S
|last2=Calhoun
|first2=Karen H.
|init2=KH
|last3=Quinn
|first3=Francis B.
|init3=FB
|title=Tissue Expanders
|journal={{UNI|University of Texas Medical Branch|UTMB}} Department of Otolaryngology Grand Rounds
|volume=
|issue=
|pages=
|url=http://www.utmb.edu/otoref/Grnds/tissue-expand.html
|quote=
|pubmedID=
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=
|date=1997-10-15
|accessdate=
}}</ref> Unlike conventional skin expansion techniques, however, the process of nonsurgical foreskin restoration may take several years to complete. The time required depends on the amount of [[skin]] available to expand, the amount of skin desired in the end, and the regimen of [[stretching]] methods used. Patience and dedication are needed; support groups exist to help with these (see External links section). The act of [[stretching]] the skin is often described informally as "tugging" in these groups, especially those on the Internet.

[[Intact]] men who would like to have a longer [[foreskin]] may use these same techniques of [[tissue expansion]] to lengthen a short [[foreskin]]. Benefits include improved protection of the [[glans penis]], improved [[gliding action]], and improved physical appearance.

It is impossible to predict how long it will take one to restore because there are many variables. The time is measured in years, but the time to enjoy one’s restored foreskin is measured in decades.

See also: [[Basics of foreskin restoration]].

===Results===

Results of non-surgical methods vary widely, and depend on such factors as the amount of skin present at the start of the restoration, degree of commitment, technique, and the individual's body. Foreskin restoration by [[tissue expansion]] successfully restores sensitivity to [[glans penis]] and restores the [[gliding action]]. Certain parts of the natural [[foreskin]] cannot be reformed. In particular, the [[ridged band]], a nerve-bearing tissue structure extending around the [[penis]] just inside the tip of the foreskin,<ref name="Taylor interview">{{REFweb
|quote=
|url=http://www.intact.ca/taylor.html
|title=Interview with John Taylor
|last=Taylor
|first=John R.
|init=JR
|author-link=John R. Taylor
|publisher=
|date=1997-02-04
|accessdate=2007-08-26
}}</ref><ref name=Joy-frenar>{{REFbook
|last=Bigelow
|first=Jim
|init=J
|author-link=Jim Bigelow
|year=
|title=The Joy of Uncircumcising!
|url=
|editor=
|edition=
|volume=
|chapter=
|page=13
|location=
|publisher=
|isbn=096304821X
|quote=
|accessdate=
|note=
}}</ref> cannot be recreated. Restored foreskins can appear much looser at the tip and some men report difficulty in keeping the [[glans]] covered. Surgical "touch-up" procedures exist to reduce the orifice of the restored foreskin, recreating the tightening function of the band of muscle fibers near the tip of the foreskin, though they have not proven successful in every case.<ref name=Joy-touchup>{{REFbook
|last=Bigelow
|first=Jim
|init=J
|author-link=Jim Bigelow
|year=
|title=The Joy of Uncircumcising!
|url=
|editor=
|edition=1998
|volume=
|chapter=
|pages=188-192
|location=
|publisher=
|isbn=096304821X
|quote=
|accessdate=
|note=
}}</ref> A loose effect can also be alleviated by creating increased length, but requires a longer commitment to the restoration program. In addition, several websites claim that the use of O-rings during the restoration program can train the skin to maintain a puckered shape.

If the [[frenulum]] was excised during the [[foreskin]] [[amputation]], it cannot be regrown.

As the [[shaft skin]] expands and gets longer the [[circumcision scar]] will travel down toward the tip and eventually turn under and be concealed inside the restored foreskin, thus producing a very natural appearance.

Reports indicate that some men have restored their [[foreskin]] to the degree that their [[glans penis]] will remain covered, even during [[erection]]. This is called CI-10 on the [https://www.restoringforeskin.org/coverage-index/CI-chart.htm coverage index].

When the [[glans penis]] is habitually covered by the regrown foreskin, the increase in protection, plus moisture and oil from [[transudation]] provided by the new [[foreskin]], will result in [[Keratinization#De-keratinization_treatment| de-keratinization]] of the [[glans penis]], an increase in sensation, a smoother, more glossy texture, and usually a more purplish color in Caucasian men.

The recreation of the foreskin also results in the creation of a [[preputial sac]].

====Moving the goal====
[[Circumcised]] men who start to restore usually establish a set amount of new foreskin that they would like to restore. However, as they restore, they become so delighted with the results that they move the goal to create more [[foreskin]] than originally planned.

== Physical aspects ==

The natural foreskin has three principal components, in addition to blood vessels, nerves and connective tissue: [[skin]], which is exposed exteriorely; [[mucosa]], which is the inside surface in contact with the [[glans penis]] when the [[penis]] is flaccid; and a layer of [[Dartos| muscle]] fibers under the foreskin. The [[ridged band]] is just inside the tip of the [[foreskin]].

Generally, the skin grows more readily in response to [[stretching]] than does the mucous membrane. The ring of muscle which normally holds the foreskin closed is completely removed in the majority of circumcisions and cannot be regrown, so the covering resulting from [[stretching]] techniques is usually looser than that of a natural foreskin. According to some observers it is difficult to distinguish a restored foreskin from a natural foreskin because restoration produces a "nearly normal-appearing prepuce."<ref name="Goodwin">{{REFjournal
|last=Goodwin
|first=Willard E.
|init=WE
|title=Uncircumcision: A Technique For Plastic Reconstruction of a Prepuce After Circumcision
|journal=J Urol
|volume=144
|issue=5
|pages=1203-1205
|url=http://www.cirp.org/library/restoration/goodwin1/
|quote=
|pubmedID=2231896
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=
|date=1990
|accessdate=
}}</ref>

Nonsurgical foreskin restoration does not restore portions of the [[Frenulum| frenulum]] or the [[ridged band]] excised during [[circumcision]]. Although not commonly performed, there are surgical [http://intactwiki.org/wiki/Category:Foreskin_restoration_touch-up_surgeries "touch-up" techniques] that can re-create some of the functionality of the frenulum and dartos muscle.<ref>{{REFbook
|last=Bigelow
|first=Jim
|init=J
|author-link=Jim Bigelow
|year=
|title=The Joy of Uncircumcising!
|url=
|work=
|editor=
|edition=
|volume=
|chapter=
|pages=188-191
|location=
|publisher=
|isbn=
|quote=
|accessdate=
|note=
}}</ref>

The process of foreskin restoration seeks to regenerate some of the tissue removed by [[circumcision]] by [[Tissue expansion| expansion of residual tissue]], as well as providing coverage of the [[glans]]. According to research, the [[foreskin]] comprises over one-half of the skin and [[mucosa]] of the human penis.<ref>{{TaylorJR LockwoodAP TaylorAJ 1996}}</ref>

By growing more [[penile skin]], foreskin restorers recover the skin mobility that was destroyed by their circumcision. The ability to [[gliding action|glide the skin of the penis over the glans]] constitutes a mechanical component of the stimulation mechanism of the [[penis]].

In some men, foreskin restoration may alleviate certain problems they attribute to their [[circumcision]]. Such problems, as reported to an anti-circumcision group by men [[circumcised]] in infancy or childhood, include prominent [[Circumcision scar|scarring]] (33%), insufficient [[penile skin]] for comfortable [[erection]] (27%), erectile curvature from uneven skin loss (16%), and pain and [[bleeding]] upon [[erection]]/manipulation (17%). The poll also asked about awareness of or involvement in foreskin restoration, and included an open comment section. Many respondents and their wives "reported that restoration resolved the unnatural dryness of the circumcised penis, which caused abrasion, pain or [[bleeding]] during intercourse, and that restoration offered unique pleasures, which enhanced sexual intimacy."<ref name="Hammond">{{REFjournal
|last=Hammond
|init=T
|author-link=Tim Hammond
|title=A Preliminary Poll of Men Circumcised in Infancy or Childhood
|journal=BJU Int
|volume=83
|issue=Suppl. 1
|pages=85-92
|url=http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/cgi-bin/fulltext/119091408/PDFSTART
|quote=
|pubmedID=10349419
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=10.1046/j.1464-410x.1999.0830s1085.x
|date=1999
|accessdate=
}}</ref>

Men who have undertaken foreskin restoration usually report a visibly smoother [[glans]], which is attributed to [[dekeratinization]] following restoration.


Sorrells (2007) et al. and Yang et al. (2008) have reported empirical data that proves there is more sensation in [[intact]] males.<ref name="sorrels">{{Sorrells etal 2007}}</ref><ref name="yang">{{REFjournal
|last=Yang
|init=DM
|last2=Lin
|init2=H
|last3=Zhang
|init3=B
|last4=Guo
|init4=W
|title=Circumcision affects glans penis vibration perception threshold
|journal=Zhonghua Nan Ke Xue
|volume=14
|issue=4
|pages=328-330
|url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/5370953_Circumcision_affects_glans_penis_vibration_perception_threshold
|quote=
|pubmedID=18481425
|date=2008-09-14
|accessdate=2019-09-30
}}</ref>

==Generally recognized benefits of foreskin restoration==
# ''Reduction'' of the [[trauma]] of [[foreskin]] [[amputation]].<ref name="andersen2025">{{REFjournal
|last=Andersen-Giberson
|init=D
|author-link=Dale Andersen
|url=https://cdd.journals.yorku.ca/index.php/cdd/article/view/39786/36016
|title=Circumcision and forced disability: Routine male neonatal circumcision and the consequences of amputation within a critical disability studies framework
|journal=Critical Disability Discourses
|date=2025-12
|volume=10
|issue=2
|pages=1-37
|URL=https://cdd.journals.yorku.ca/index.php/cdd/article/view/39786/36016
|DOI=https://doi.org/10.25071/1918-6215.39786
|accessdate=2026-03-12
|quote=In a critical disability studies framework, it is argued that the act of amputating healthy erogenous tissue and the consequences of that amputation cause disability, particularly from a counter-hegemonic lens.
|format=PDF
|accessdate=2026-03-14
}}</ref>
# ''An end to tight and painful [[erection]]s''. Increasing the quantity of skin results in longer skin and less tension when the [[penis]] is erect.
# ''Gliding mechanism'': the [[gliding action]] is beneficial because it facilitates [[masturbation]] and sex by reducing friction and providing a stimulating sheath that pleasurably slips back and forth over the [[glans]], thereby decreasing the need for artificial lubrication. This provides for more enjoyable intercourse for both partners and avoids problems with vaginal dryness.<ref name="warren1994">{{REFjournal
|last=Warren
|first=John
|init=J
|author-link=John Warren
|last2=Bigelow
|first2=Jim
|init2=J
|author2-link=Jim Bigelow
|etal=no
|title=The case against circumcision
|trans-title=
|language=English
|journal=Br J Sex Med
|location=
|date=1994-09
|volume=
|issue=
|pages=6-8
|url=http://www.cirp.org/library/general/warren2/
|archived=
|quote=
|pubmedID=
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=
|accessdate=2021-05-13
}}
</ref> The motion of the [[penile skin]] by the [[gliding action]] stimulates the [[Meissner's corpuscles| nerves in the skin]] which are sensitive to motion and [[stretching]].
# ''Moist glans penis'': A restored foreskin keeps the [[glans penis]] moist and oily by [[transudation]] in the same manner as a natural [[foreskin]].
# ''Appearing and Feeling whole'': The [[circumcision scar]] has turned under the restored foreskin and is invisible. The presence of the restored foreskin causes one to look and feel [[intact]], whole, complete, and normal.
# ''Coverage of the glans'': this is beneficial because (a) it protects the [[glans]] from uncomfortably rubbing up against things, and (b) by keeping the glans moist and protected, it leads to [[dekeratinization]], which subsequently increases sensation. Many men report a desire to have the [[glans]] covered at all times, even when [[erection]] occurs.<ref>{{REFweb
|url=https://www.reddit.com/r/uncircumcised_talk/comments/1kx5iv2/men_with_long_foreskin/
|title=Men with long foreskin
|last=Anonymous
|first=
|init=
|author-link=
|publisher=REDDIT
|date=2025-05-27
|accessdate=2025-06-07
}}</ref>
# ''More sensation'': It is true that non-surgical foreskin restoration cannot restore the [[ridged band]] or the [[frenulum]], but a restored foreskin does have some nerves in it. Those nerves are stimulated by the [[Gliding action| gliding]] of the foreskin, so it is quite pleasurable to have a restored foreskin. Some men who were [[circumcised]] as adults and subsequently restored have estimated that they got back about 80 percent of what they had lost in sensation.
# ''Increased comfort'': The head of one's [[penis]] is protected by [[foreskin]] as nature intended.
# ''Decreased'' [[keratinization]] of the [[glans penis]].
# ''Esthetics'': One's penis approaches the Greek ideal of male beauty.<ref>{{REFweb
|url=http://acroposthion.com/ancient-greeks-and-the-foreskin/
|title=Ancient Greeks & the Foreskin
|website=Acroposthion
|date=2017
|accessdate=2010-10-02
|quote=The ancient Greeks were against the practice of circumcising their males and possessing a generous foreskin was a significantly important part of their culture.
}}</ref> The [[circumcision scar]] is now completely concealed by the longer skin which relocates the scar to the inside. As the restored foreskin gets longer and extends beyond the [[glans penis]], the [[acroposthion]] is reformed.
# The presence of a foreskin and [[gliding action]] usually provides a more satisfactory [[Vagina| intra-vaginal experience]] for the female partner.

See also [https://drive.google.com/file/d/1_eBZN-MBow5XrMIN_PdM4JPU4nFqMrtp/view BENEFITS OF FORESKIN RESTORATION].

== Emotional, psychological, and psychiatric benefits ==

Foreskin restoration has been reported as having beneficial emotional results in [[circumcised]] men.<ref name="Greer"/><ref name="Goodwin"/><ref name="Penn">{{REFjournal
|last=Penn
|first=Jack
|init=P
|title=Penile Reform
|journal=British Journal of Plastic Surgery
|volume=16
|issue=
|pages=287-8
|url=http://www.cirp.org/library/restoration/penn1/
|quote=The result was satisfactory physically and the patient was completely rehabilitated psychologically.
|pubmedID=14042759
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=10.1016/S0007-1226(63)80123-X
|date=1963
|accessdate=2019-09-29
}}</ref><ref name="Boyle">{{BoyleGJ GoldmanR SvobodaJS FernandezE 2002}}</ref> Watson & Golden (2017) recommended non-surgical foreskin restoration as a treatment for negative feelings in many adult men about their involuntary infant [[circumcision]].<ref name="watson2017">{{REFjournal
|last=Watson
|first=Lindsay R.
|init=LR
|author-link=Lindsay R. Watson
|last2=Golden
|first2=Tom
|init2=T
|author2-link=
|etal=no
|title=Male circumcision grief: effective and ineffective therapeutic approaches
|journal=New Male Studies: An International Journal
|location=
|date=2017
|volume=6
|issue=2
|pages=109-25
|url=http://newmalestudies.com/OJS/index.php/nms/article/view/261/317
|quote=
|pubmedID=
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=
|accessdate=2019-12-12
}}</ref> While foreskin restoration is not a perfect substute for the amputated [[foreskin]], many [[circumcised]] men who have restored report a reduction in feelings of resentment, anger, and depression.
==Stigma==
Joshua Hartelt has reported a stigma with foreskin restoration. Men who are restoring their [[foreskin]] do not want to be identified as depraved "nut cases", so many men restore privately and say nothing about their restoration to anyone.<ref name="hartelt2018.>{{REFdocument
|title="I Don't Want to Hear About Your Dick": Communicatively"I Don't Want to Hear About Your Dick":
|trans-title=
|language=
|url=https://openprairie.sdstate.edu/etd/2475
|archived=
|contribution=
|quote=
|trans-quote=
|quote-lang=
|last=Hartelt
|first=Joshua
|author-link=
|publisher=South Dakota State University
|location=Brookings, South Dakota
|format=
|date=2018
|accessdate=2026-06-23
}}</ref>

The desire of many men to restore privately gives a false impression to the public. The actual number of men who have restored their [[foreskin]] is much higher than appearances indicate.

== Foreskin coverage indexes ==

In an effort to provide men partaking in foreskin restoration a reference to the extent of their circumcision skin loss, various foreskin coverage indexes have been created. Coverage indexes may be used by both [[circumcised]] and [[intact]] men to describe the extent of their coverage. All three systems are in use.

===Original coverage index===

The first coverage index (2008) comes to us from [[Australia]]. It is still online at [https://archive.is/20121231212745/http://www.newforeskin.biz/CI/CIchart.htm Coverage Index].

===Real coverage index===

The original coverage index was not completely satisfactory and was supplemented by the [http://www.restoringforeskin.org/public/foreskin-restoration-real-coverage-index-rci Real Coverage Index], which lacked illustrations.

===Advanced Devices coverage index===

The latest and most complete example is the [https://foreskinrestoration.men/foreskin-restoration-coverage-index/ ADI Coverage Index] (2020). The index depicts a range of penises in both the flaccid and erect state from 0 to 10, with 0 being the tightest [[circumcision]] and 10 the longest [[foreskin]]. Men undergoing foreskin restoration can chart their progress using the coverage index (CI).

===Forced erect coverage===

Forced erect coverage is yet another way to measure one's amount of skin.<ref>{{REFweb
|url=https://tlctugger.com/forced-erect-coverage/
|title=Forced Erect Coverage
|last=
|first=
|accessdate=2020-12-19
}}</ref>

== Literature ==

Books, websites and numerous articles have been published about foreskin restoration. See our compiled list of [[literature about foreskin restoration]].

== Regeneration of the foreskin ==

Recently [[Foreskin regeneration| there has been growing interest in regenerative medicine]] as a means to regenerate the human male [[foreskin]]. This is a completely different process from foreskin restoration by [[tissue expansion]] as described above. This option, if successful, unlike non-surgical foreskin restoration, would result in a true human male [[foreskin]] being regenerated.

In early 2010, [[Foregen]], a non-profit organization dedicated to funding a clinical trial for the purposes of regrowing the human male foreskin, had been founded. A clinical trial had been scheduled for late 2010, but there were insufficient donations to follow through.<ref>{{REFweb
|title=Foregen
|url=http://www.foregen.org/blog/?p=84
|publisher=[[Foregen]]
|date=2010-09-21
|accessdate=2010-11-28
}}</ref>

The proposed method would involve placing the patient under general anesthesia. The [[penile skin]] would be opened at the [[circumcision scar]], while the scar tissue is surgically debrided. A biomedical solution would then be applied to both ends of the wound, causing the foreskin to regenerate with the DNA in the patient's own cells. A biodegradable scaffold would be used to offer support for the regenerating foreskin.<ref>{{REFweb
|title=Clinical Regen Trial
|url=http://www.foregen.org/projects/
|publisher=[[Foregen]]
|date=2010-06-23
|accessdate=2010-06-23
}}</ref>

In 2018, [[Foregen]] announced the creation of a "decellularized extracellular matrix–based biomaterial scaffold" for the purpose of regenerating human foreskin.<ref>{{REFjournal
|last=Purpura
|init=V
|last2=Bondioli
|init2=E
|last3=Cunningham
|init3=EJ
|etal=yes
|title=The development of a decellularized extracellular matrix–based biomaterial scaffold derived from human foreskin for the purpose of foreskin reconstruction in circumcised males
|journal=Journal of Tissue Engineering
|date=2018
|volume=9
|issue=
|pages=1-11
|url=https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/2041731418812613
|quote=
|pubmedID=30622692
|pubmedCID=PMC6304708
|DOI=10.1177/2041731418812613
|accessdate=2019-09-25
}}</ref>

[[Foreskin regeneration]] is only theoretical as of {{CURRENTYEAR}}. No foreskin has ever been regenerated. There is no assurance that foreskin regeneration would actually be successful, if attempted.

[[Foregen]] had announced its desire to conduct trials on human volunteers in 2025.<ref>{{REFweb
|url=https://www.foregen.org/research
|title=Research
|last=
|first=
|publisher=[[Foregen]]
|date=2021
|accessdate=2022-03-24
}}</ref>

== Conclusion ==

Timmermans et al. (2021) reported that "non-surgical foreskin restoration methods yield good results."<ref name="timmermans2021">{{REFjournal
|last=Timmermans
|first=
|init=FW
|author-link=
|last2=Mokken
|first2=
|init2=SE
|author2-link=
|last3=Poor Toulabi
|first3=
|init3=SCZ
|author3-link=
|etal=yes
|title=A review on the history of and treatment options for foreskin reconstruction after circumcision
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal= Int J Impot Res
|location=
|date=2021-04-14
|season=
|volume=
|issue=
|article=
|page=
|pages=
|url=https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Floyd-Timmermans/publication/350881409_A_review_on_the_history_of_and_treatment_options_for_foreskin_reconstruction_after_circumcision/links/607d5ae9881fa114b41189e1/A-review-on-the-history-of-and-treatment-options-for-foreskin-reconstruction-after-circumcision.pdf
|archived=
|quote=Nonsurgical methods of reconstruction are rarely mentioned in literature. Nonetheless, nonsurgical methods, such as manual [[stretching]] and device-assisted tissue expansion, are commonplace among those who pursue foreskin reconstruction. Although the nonsurgical methods have yielded good results with minimal adverse effects, no proper medical research has been performed to quantify these outcomes.
|pubmedID=33854205
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=10.1038/s41443-021-00438-3
|format=PDF
|accessdate=2022-06-09
}}
</ref>

== Videos ==
=== Wayne Griffiths - Foreskin Restoration & Human Rights ===
[[R. Wayne Griffiths]], {{MS}}, co-founder of [[NORM]], discusses foreskin restoration and human rights in 2009.
<youtube>v=qWIyipxe2uE</youtube>

===Circumcised at 46===
<youtube>v=pZ3n8CtcmRY</youtube>

=== Foreskin Restoration ===
[[Ron Low]], a manufacturer of a foreskin restoration device, discussed foreskin restoration.
<youtube>v=7B98RAGbJkc</youtube>

===Why some men cannot orgasm after being circumcised - tight cut versus regular cut===
<youtube>v=xGRpOFSrDes</youtube>

===Medical malpractice leads to painful erections (Part 1 of 3)===
<youtube>v=xKNWoUCpatk</youtube>

{{SEEALSO}}
* [[Basics of foreskin restoration]]
* [[:Category:Film about foreskin restoration]]
* [[:Category:Foreskin restoration device]]
* [[Circumcision]]
* [[Dekeratinization]]
* [[Epispasm]]
* [[Foreskin]]
* [[Foreskin play]]
* [[Foreskin Restoration - video]]
* [[Foreskin restoration information for circumcised teens]]
* [[Foreskin Restoration Intactivist Network]]
* [[Gliding action]]
* [[Intact Again Podcast]]
* [[Literature about foreskin restoration]]
* [[Manual tugging]]
* [[Medical literature about foreskin restoration#Articles 2|Medical articles]]
* [[Penis]]
* [[Psychological issues of male circumcision]]
* [[Restoration]]
* [[RestoringMan]]
* [[Restoring for Men]]
* [[Ridged band]]
* [[Surgical foreskin restoration]]
* [[Tissue expansion]]
* [[Trauma]]
* [[Uncircumcised]]

{{LINKS}}
* {{URLwikipedia|Foreskin_restoration|Foreskin restoration|2025-08-17}}
* [http://www.norm.org NORM - National Organization of Restoring Men (U.S.)]
* [https://www.cirp.org/pages/restore.php CIRP Foreskin restoration for circumcised males]
* {{REFnews
|title=The Great Uncircumcision Debate
|url=https://www.cirp.org/news/2007/2007-11-02_time_b.php
|last=Lee-St. John
|first=Jeninne
|init=
|author-link=
|publisher=Time Magazine
|website=
|date=2007-11-11
|accessdate=2024-07-28
|quote=As the number of newborn American boys who get circumcised appears to be declining, the number of men uncircumcising themselves seems to be rising.
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://www.wikihow.com/Regrow-Foreskin
|title=How to Regrow Foreskin
|last=Main
|first=Cheyenne
|init=
|author-link=
|publisher=WikiHow
|date=2024-09-20
|accessdate=2024-11-29
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=http://www.savingsons.org/2009/10/foreskin-restoration.html
|title=Foreskin restoration
|publisher=Saving Our Sons
|accessdate=2023-12-17
}}
* [https://foreskinrestoration.men/ Foreskin restoration information website]
* [https://drive.google.com/file/d/1_eBZN-MBow5XrMIN_PdM4JPU4nFqMrtp/view Benefits of Foreskin Restoration]
* {{REFweb
|url=https://www.restoringforeskin.org/beginners-guide-foreskin-restoration
|title=Beginner's Guide to Foreskin Restoration
|last=Tally
|first=Restoring
|init=
|publisher=Restoring for Men
|date=
|accessdate=2022-11-30
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://drive.google.com/file/d/1jFXHq45OB8Jbu176xHeD6tCkW8nY23ti/view
|title=Foreskin Restoration
|last=Anonymous
|first=
|init=
|publisher=Google
|date=
|accessdate=2023-05-25
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://www.foreskinrestore.com/Inner_outer.html
|title=Inner and outer skin development
|website=ForeskinRestore.com
|last=
|first=
|accessdate=2021-06-15
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://drive.google.com/file/d/1jFXHq45OB8Jbu176xHeD6tCkW8nY23ti/view
|title=Foreskin Restoration
|last=Anonymous
|first=
|init=
|publisher=
|format=PDF
|date=
|accessdate=2023-05-05
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://www.doctorsopposingcircumcision.org/for-professionals/foreskin-restoration/
|title=Non-surgical foreskin restoration
|last=
|first=
|publisher=
|website=[[Doctors Opposing Circumcision (D.O.C.)]]
|date=2019-02
|accessdate=2019-09-28
|format=
|quote=
}}
* [http://www.norm-uk.org NORM-UK - National Organization of Restoring Men (UK)]
* {{REFjournal
|last=Anonymous
|first=
|author-link=
|etal=no
|title=The joy of uncircumcising
|journal=BMJ
|location=
|date=1994-09-10
|volume=309
|issue=
|pages=676-7
|url=http://www.cirp.org/library/restoration/anonymous1/
|quote=
|pubmedID=
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=10.1136/bmj.309.6955.676a
|accessdate=2019-11-26
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://www.reddit.com/r/foreskin_restoration/comments/zw9ejb/anyone_else_aiming_at_partial_coverage_as_their/?rdt=49190
|title=Anyone else aiming at partial coverage as their end goal ? (Post-voluntary circumcision issues)
|last=Anonymous
|first=
|init=
|author-link=
|publisher=REDDIT
|date=2023
|accessdate=2024-06-08
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://www.foreskinrestore.com/
|title=Enter ForeskinRestore.com (NSFW website)
|last=
|first=
|accessdate=2021-05-05
}}
* {{REFnews
|title=Many men bitterly regret being circumcised. A new method allows them to repair the damage.
|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/health-news/how-to-reverse-the-irreversible-1338650.html
|last=Carter
|first=Rica
|last2=Rockhall
|first2=Anna
|publisher=The Independent
|website=www.independent.co.uk
|date=1996-06-25
|accessdate=2020-06-23
|quote=Foreskin restoration is a slow process of [[stretching]] the [[penile skin]] over the naked glans, and can take several years. Many men, however, report an improvement in comfort and sensitivity after only a couple of weeks.
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://www.yourwholebaby.org/restoration
|archived=
|title=Restoration
|trans-title=
|language=
|last=
|first=
|author-link=
|publisher=Your Whole Baby
|website=www.yourwholebaby.org
|date=
|accessdate=2020-05-20
|format=
|quote=
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=http://www.iomfats.org/resources/restoring/media/restoring_faq.pdf
|title=My responses to a few Frequently Asked Questions about Non-Surgical Foreskin Restoration
|last=Payne
|first=Roy M.
|last2=Fryer
|first2=Leo
|format=PDF
|date=2001-03
}}
* {{REFjournal
|last=Brandes
|init=SB
|last2=McAninch
|init2=JW
|title=Surgical methods of restoring the prepuce: a critical review
|journal=BJU Int
|volume=83
|issue=Suppl. 1
|pages=109-113
|url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1046/j.1464-410x.1999.0830s1109.x
|quote=
|pubmedID=10349422
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=10.1046/j.1464-410x.1999.0830s1109.x
|date=1999
|accessdate=2019-09-30
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://tlctugger.com/benefits-of-foreskin-restoration/
|title=Benefits of Foreskin Restoration
|last=Low
|first=Ron
|init=R
|author-link=Ron Low
|publisher=[[TLC Tugger]], Inc
|date=2009
|accessdate=2022-12-16
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://www.reddit.com/r/foreskin_restoration/
|title=REDDIT foreskin restoration sub-reddit
|last=
|first=
|accessdate=2019-11-16
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=http://wasnotmychoice.com/foreskin-restoration/
|archived=
|title=Foreskin Restoration
|trans-title=
|language=English
|last=
|first=
|author-link=
|publisher=
|website=http://wasnotmychoice.com
|date=
|accessdate=2020-08-28
|format=
|quote=
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/18mtkxhelCtdxKQ6lgQpYoQc9GXoo-BWwsCPh7KW2c0o/edit#slide=id.p
|archived=
|title=Circumcision and Foreskin Restoration
|last=
|first=
|author-link=
|publisher=
|website=docs.google.com
|date=2020-12
|accessdate=2020-12-23
|format=
|quote=
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://www.restoringmenlifecoaching.com/foreskin-restoration-resources
|archived=
|title=Foreskin Restoration Resources
|trans-title=
|language=English
|last=
|first=Robert
|author-link=
|publisher=Restoring Men Life Coaching
|website=/www.restoringmenlifecoaching.com
|date=2020
|accessdate=2021-01-03
|format=
|quote=
}}
* {{REFnews
|title=Regrowing my foreskin: How I’m overcoming the trauma of infant circumcision
|url=https://www.queensjournal.ca/story/2021-01-21/postscript/regrowing-my-foreskin/
|last=Anonymous
|first=
|coauthors=
|publisher={{UNI|Queen's University|Queen's}} Journal
|website=
|date=2021-01-21
|accessdate=2021-02-18
|quote=
}}
* {{REFjournal
|last=Timmermans
|first=Floyd Wilhermus
|init=FW
|author-link=
|last2=Makken
|first2=Sterre Elisabeth
|init2=SE
|author2-link=
|last3=Toulabi
|first3=
|init3=SCZP
|author3-link=
|last4=Bouman
|first4=
|init4=MB
|author4-link=
|last5=Özer
|first5=Müjde
|init5=M
|author5-link=
|etal=no
|title=A review on the history of and treatment options for foreskin reconstruction after circumcision
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal=Int J Impot Res
|location=
|date=2022-08
|season=
|volume=34
|issue=5
|article=
|page=
|pages=424-33
|url=https://www.nature.com/articles/s41443-021-00438-3
|archived=
|quote=
|pubmedID=33854205
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=10.1038/s41443-021-00438-3
|accessdate=2022-10-14
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://getmegiddy.com/foreskin-restoration
|title=Foreskin Restoration: Can It Be Done?
|last=Lalonde
|first=Tim
|init=
|publisher=Giddy
|date=2023-01-05
|accessdate=2023-01-08
}}
* {{REFjournal
|last=Wallace
|first=
|init=WG
|author-link=
|etal=no
|title=An undeniable need for recognition: What do you call a man who has undergone foreskin restoration? “Uncircumcised”? “Restored”? How about just BRAVE? A response to Hill (2015)
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal=Clin Anat
|location=
|date=2015-07-24
|volume=28
|issue=8
|pages=962-3
|url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/ca.22600
|archived=
|quote=
|pubmedID=26208297
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=10.1002/ca.22600
|accessdate=2022-05-02
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://www.darboninstitute.org/foreskin_restoration
|title=Foreskin restoration
|last=
|first=
|init=
|author-link=
|publisher=Darbon Institute
|date=
|accessdate=2024-09-12
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://foreskinned.com/pages/foreskin-restoration-frequently-asked-questions
|title=Foreskin restoration - Frequently Asked Questions
|last=Anonymous
|first=
|init=
|author-link=
|publisher=Foreskinned Air
|date=2024
|accessdate=2024-09-24
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=http://pages.suddenlink.net/manual_methods/index.html
|title=Manual Methods of Foreskin restoration
|last=Anonymous
|first=
|init=
|author-link=
|publisher=
|date=
|accessdate=2025-11-16
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://intactamerica.org/foreskin-restoration-journey/
|title=Taking Back What Was Stolen: A Foreskin Restoration Journey
|last=Alissa
|first=
|init=K
|author-link=Kristel Alissa
|publisher=Intact America
|date=2025-02-26
|accessdate=2025-11-23
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://intactamerica.org/foreskin-restoration-tiktok-trend/
|title=TikTokers Are Talking About Foreskin Restoration—Here’s What They’re Not Saying
|last=Alissa
|first=Kristel
|init=A
|author-link=Kristel Alissa
|publisher=Intact America
|date=2025-07-03
|accessdate=2025-07-06
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://www.reddit.com/r/foreskin_restoration/comments/1mzug2p/why_restore/?chainedPosts=t3_1n06r5s%2Ct3_1mzbtb1%2Ct3_1n12ly5%2Ct3_1n0u1l4%2Ct3_1mz1zdg
|title=Why restore?
|last=Anonymous
|first=
|init=
|author-link=
|publisher=REDDIT
|date=2025-08-25
|accessdate=2025-08-27
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://www.reddit.com/r/uncircumcised_talk/comments/1o4kvc4/comment/nj3bkac/
|title=Learning to love my foreskin
|last=Anonymous
|publisher=REDDIT
|date=2025-10-12
|accessdate=2025-10-14
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://www.reddit.com/r/foreskin_restoration/comments/1phhp0x/and_then_suddenly_one_day_you_have_a_foreskin/?chainedPosts=t3_1piqqbe
|title=......and then: Suddenly one day you have a foreskin.
|last=Anonymous
|publisher=REDDIT
|date=2025-12-08
|accessdate=2025-12-11
}}
* {{REFnews
|title=Ho, Ho, Ho! I’m Regrowing My Foreskin!
|url=https://theonion.com/ho-ho-ho-im-regrowing-my-foreskin-2/
|last=Claus
|first=Santa
|init=
|author-link=
|publisher=The Onion
|website=
|date=2025-12-22
|season=Christmas
|accessdate=2025-12-25
|format=
|quote=Many, many years ago, something terrible happened to your old friend Santa. Like so many beautiful babies, I was born with a gift between my legs that was wrapped in very sensitive paper called the frenulum. But soon after, some naughty doctors tore it off, exposed my glans, and hurt my penis very badly!
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://www.reddit.com/r/foreskin_restoration/comments/1v0f5sv/the_female_opinion_on_foreskin_restoration/
|title=The female opinion on foreskin restoration
|last=Anonymous
|publisher=Reddit
|date=2026-07-18
|accessdate=2026-07-20
}}
{{ABBR}}
{{REF}}

[[Category:Foregen]]
[[Category:Foreskin restoration]]
[[Category:Greece]]
[[Category:Judaism]]
[[Category:Lawsuit]]
[[Category:Film about foreskin restoration]]
[[Category:Penis]]

[[Category:From IntactWiki]]
[[Category:From Intactipedia]]

[[de:Vorhautrestaurierung]]

Vagina

2026-07-20T22:46:41Z

WikiModEn2: /* Conclusion */ Add external link.

The '''vagina''' is the elastic, muscular part of the female genital tract. It extends from the [[vulva]] to the [[cervix]]. The outer vaginal opening is normally partly covered by a membrane called the hymen. At the deep end, the [[cervix]] (neck of the [[uterus]]) bulges into the vagina. The vagina is lined with mucosal tissue. The vagina is moisturized and lubricated by Bartholin's glands.<ref>{{REFweb
|url=https://medical-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/Bartholin%27s+glands
|title=Bartholin's glands
|last=
|first=
|init=
|publisher=The Free Dictionary by Farlex
|date=2005
|accessdate=2023-01-09
}}</ref> The vagina allows for sexual intercourse and birth. The vagina is lined with mucosal tissue and is moist from the Bartholin's glands, so the sensitive [[glans penis]] of an [[intact]] partner is comfortable in the vagina.

The vagina receives the [[penis]] during [[sexual intercourse]]. To accommodate smoother penetration of the vagina during sexual intercourse or other sexual activity, vaginal moisture increases during sexual arousal in human females. This increase in moisture provides vaginal lubrication, which reduces friction. The texture of the vaginal walls creates friction for the [[penis]] during sexual intercourse and stimulates it toward [[ejaculation]], enabling fertilization.
==History==
Knowledge of the overwhelming superiority of the [[intact]], [[foreskinned]] [[penis]] over the [[circumcised]] penis in assuring the pleasure and orgasm of the female partner is of long standing. Rabbi Isaac ben Yedaiah, who lived in Southern France in the late 13th century, wrote effusively of the pleasures that the [[foreskin]] provided to the woman. Marc Saperstein (1980) provided a translation:
<blockquote>
A man uncircumcised in the flesh desires to lie with a beautiful-looking woman who speaks seductively to attract him. He vexes his mind to be with her day after day, growing weary in his attempt to fulfil his desire through lovemaking with her.

She too will court the man who is uncircumcised in the flesh and lie against his breast with great passion, for he thrusts inside her a long time because of his foreskin, which is a barrier against ejaculation in intercourse. Thus she feels pleasure and reaches an orgasm first. When an uncircumcised man sleeps with her, and then resolves to return to his home, she brazenly grabs him, holding on to his genitals and says to him, "Come back, make love to me." This is because of the pleasure that she finds in intercourse with him, from the sinews of his testicles—sinew of iron—and from his ejaculation—that of a horse which he shoots like an arrow into her womb. They are united without separating, and he makes love twice and three times in one night, yet the appetite is not filled.<ref>{{REFweb
|url=http://www.cirp.org/library/cultural/yedaiah1/
|title=Decoding the Rabbis: A Thirteenth-Century Commentary on the Aggadah
|last=Saperstein
|first=Marc
|init=
|publisher=Harvard University Press
|date=1980
|accessdate=2023-03-07
}}</ref>
</blockquote>

==Function of the male foreskin==

Warren & Bigelow (1994) reported the [[foreskin]] "provides slack [[shaft skin|skin on the shaft]] of the erect [[penis]] allowing it to [[Gliding action| glide]] within its own sheath of [[skin]] during intercourse, one effect of which is to conserve vaginal lubrication. The [[gliding action]] of the foreskin facilitates penetration<ref name="taves2002">{{REFjournal
|last=Taves
|init=D
|author-link=
|title=The intromission function of the foreskin
|journal=Med Hypotheses
|date=2002
|volume=59
|issue=2
|pages=180
|url=http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0306987702002505
|quote=
|pubmedID=12208206
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=10.1016/s0306-9877(02)00250-5
|accessdate=2023-06-18
}}</ref> and provides for more enjoyable intercourse for both partners and avoids problems with vaginal dryness."<ref name="warren1994">{{REFjournal
|last=Warren
|first=John
|init=J
|author-link=John Warren
|last2=Bigelow
|first2=Jim
|init2=J
|author2-link=Jim Bigelow
|etal=no
|title=The case against circumcision
|trans-title=
|language=English
|journal=Br J Sex Med
|location=
|date=1994-09
|volume=
|issue=
|pages=6-8
|url=http://www.cirp.org/library/general/warren2/
|archived=
|quote=
|pubmedID=
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=
|accessdate=2020-10-18
}}</ref>

Frisch et al (2011) reported that women have "a range of frequent sexual difficulties, notably orgasm difficulties, dyspareunia and a sense of incomplete sexual needs fulfilment."<ref name="frisch2011">{{REFjournal
|last=Frisch
|first=
|init=M
|author-link=Morten Frisch
|last2=Lindholm
|first2=
|init2=M
|author2-link=
|last3=Grønbæk
|first3=
|init3=M
|author3-link=
|etal=no
|title=Male circumcision and sexual function in men and women: a survey-based, cross-sectional study in Denmark
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal=Int J Epidemiol
|date=2022-06-14
|volume=40
|issue=5
|pages=1367-81
|url=https://academic.oup.com/ije/article-abstract/40/5/1367/658163?redirectedFrom=fulltext
|archived=
|quote=
|pubmedID=21672947
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=10.1093/ije/dyr104
|accessdate=2024-12-26
}}</ref>

==Effect of the male foreskin on female sexual pleasure==

O'Hara & O'Hara (1999) obtained surveys from 139 sexually experienced women. One survey was excluded. Of the 138 women included in the survey, 118 (85%} preferred their male partner to have a complete [[penis]].<ref name="ohara1999">{{REFjournal
|last=O'Hara
|init=K
|author-link=Kristen O'Hara
|last2=O'Hara
|init2=
|author2-link=
|etal=no
|title=The effect of male circumcision on the sexual enjoyment of the female partner
|trans-title=
|language=English
|journal=BJU Int
|location=
|date=1999-01-01
|volume=83 Supple 1
|issue=
|pages=79-84
|url=https://www.cirp.org/library/anatomy/ohara/
|archived=
|quote=
|pubmedID=10349418
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=10.1046/j.1464-410x.1999.0830s1079.x
|access date=2021-09-16}}</ref>

The authors reported:
<blockquote>
When the anatomically complete [[penis]] thrusts in the vagina, it does not slide, but rather glides on its own 'bedding' of movable [[skin]], in much the same way that a turtle's neck glides in and out of the folder layers of [[skin]] surrounding it. The underlying corpus cavernosa and corpus spongiosum slide within the [[penile skin]], while the [[skin]] juxtaposed agaist the vaginal wall moves very little. This sheath-within-a-sheath alignment allows penile movement, and vaginal and penile stimulation, with minimal friction or loss of secretions. When the penile shaft is withdrawn slightly from the vagina, the [[foreskin]] bunches up behind the corona in a manner that allows the tip of the [[foreskin]] which contains the highest density of fine-touch neuroreceptors in the [[penis]] to contact the corona of the [[glans]] which has the highest concentration of fine-touch receptors on the glans. This intense stimulation discourages the penile shaft from further withdrawal, explaining the short thrusting style that women noted in their unaltered partners.<ref name="ohara1999" />
</blockquote>

The authors explained the loss of vaginal lubrication:
<blockquote>
As stated, circumcision removes 33-50% of the [[penile skin]]. With this [[skin]] missing, there is less tissue for the swollen corpus cavernosa and corpus spongiosum to slide against. Instead the [[skin]] of the [[circumcised]] penis rubs against the vaginal wall, increasing friction, abrasion and the need for artificial lubrication. Because of the tight [[penile skin]], the corona of the glans, which is configured as a one-way valve pulls the vaginal secretions from the vagina when the shaft is withdrawn.<ref name="ohara1999" />
</blockquote>

=== Female Sexual Arousal Disorder ===
Female sexual arousal disorder (FSAD) occurs when a woman is continually unable to attain or maintain arousal and lubrication during intercourse, is unable to reach orgasm, or has no desire for sexual intercourse. FSAD occurs in up to 25 percent of American women.<ref>{{REFweb
|url=https://medical-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/Female+sexual+arousal+disorder
|title=Female sexual arousal disorder
|last=Anonymous
|first=
|init=
|publisher=The Free Dictionary by Farley
|date=2009
|accessdate=2023-12-18
}}</ref> Peter Moore (2015) reported that 62 percent of all American males reported being [[circumcised]],<ref name="moore2015">{{REFweb
|url=https://today.yougov.com/topics/lifestyle/articles-reports/2015/02/03/younger-americans-circumcision
|title=Young Americans less supportive of circumcision at birth
|last=Moore
|first=Peter
|date=2015-02-03
|accessdate=2022-02-07
}}</ref>
Bensley & Boyle (2003) suggested that [[circumcision]] of the male partner and the loss of vaginal lubrication may be a factor in the diagnosis of female arousal disorder.<ref name="bensley2003">{{REFjournal
|last=Bensley
|first=Gillian
|init=G
|author-link=
|last2=Boyle
|first2=Gregory
|init2=G
|author2-link=Gregory J. Boyle
|etal=no
|title=Effects of male circumcision on female arousal and orgasm
|trans-title=
|language=English
|journal=New Zealand Medical Journal
|location=
|date=2003-09-12
|volume=116
|issue=1181
|pages=U595
|url=https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Gregory_J_Boyle/publication/272500101_Effects_of_male_circumcision_on_female_arousal_and_orgasm/links/54e735790cf2cd2e02919599/Effects-of-male-circumcision-on-female-arousal-and-orgasm.pdf
|archived=
|quote=
|pubmedID=14581975
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=
|accessdate=2020-10-18}}</ref>

== Videos ==
===What Happens to Your Vagina As You Age? Doctor Explains===
<youtube>v=davO2lJtjtE</youtube>
 
===Women's experiences with Intact men are awesome!===
<youtube>v=B06omcHgfmo</youtube>
=== I love foreskin ===
<youtube>JbTdkWV89Ak</youtube>
===I love foreskin!===
<youtube>v=6BPEWw2Fi5Q</youtube>
===Disadvantages of male circumcision to a woman===
<youtube>v=UH_2uOrqFB0&t=6s</youtube>
===Did you know that circumcision causes lack of sensitivity?===
<youtube>v=2VBiVGG3vUk</youtube>
===No Foreskin (Johnny’s Song)===
<youtube>v=ZmNZQcgw7m8</youtube>

== Conclusion ==
It is now clear that the [[foreskin]] works within the vagina, to improve erogenous sensation, reduce friction, and conserve vaginal lubrication.<ref name="milos2022-05-09">{{REFweb
|url=https://intactamerica.org/ask-marilyn-why-is-sex-with-my-husband-painful/
|title=Ask Marilyn – Why Is Sex with My Husband Painful?
|last=Milos
|first=
|init=MF
|author-link=Marilyn Fayre Milos
|publisher=Intact America
|date=2022-05-09
|accessdate=2024-10-24
}}</ref>

American women are increasingly likely to meet a [[foreskinned]] man. The incidence of [[circumcision of the newborn]] in the [[United States]] has been slowly decreasing since 1965. The [[intactivism]] movement really got started about 1990 and the percentage of boys with an [[intact]] [[foreskin]] has slowly but progressively increased, so the younger age groups of American men have a higher and higher percentage chance of being [[foreskinned]]. More than 1/2 of the boys born since 2022 left the birth facility [[intact]].<ref name="yang2025">{{REFjournal
|last=Yang
|first=
|init=P
|author-link=
|last2=Zhu
|first2=
|init2=X
|author2-link=
|last3=Patel
|first3=
|init3=EU
|author3-link=
|last4=Quin
|first4=
|init4=PC
|author4-link=
|last5=Grabowski
|first5=
|init5=MK
|author5-link=
|last6=Tobian
|first6=
|init6=AAR
|author6-link=Aaron Tobian
|etal=no
|title=Trends in Circumcision Among Newborn Males in the US
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal=JAMA Pediatrics
|location=
|date=2025-09-15
|season=
|volume=
|issue=
|article=e252464
|page=
|pages=
|url=https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapediatrics/fullarticle/2838312
|archived=
|quote=
|pubmedID=40952753
|pubmedCID=12439174
|DOI=10.1001/jamapediatrics.2025.2464
|accessdate=2026-03-04
}}</ref>

{{SEEALSO}}
* [[Dyspareunia]]
* [[Gliding action]]
* [[Penis]]
* [[Pre-ejaculate]]
* [[Sexual effects of circumcision]]

* [[The Benefits of Foreskin]]
* [[Women Affected By Male Circumcision]]

{{LINKS}}
* {{URLwikipedia|Vagina|Vagina}}
*{{REFweb
|url=http://www.sexasnatureintendedit.com/
|title=Sex as nature intended it.
|last=O'Hara
|first=Kristen
|date=
|accessdate=2022-05-25
}}
* NSFW{{REFweb
|url=http://acroposthion.com/sexual-intercourse/
|title=Sexual Intercourse
|publisher=Acroposthion
|last=
|first=
|accessdate=2020-12-26
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=http://www.drmomma.org/2009/07/how-male-circumcision-impacts-women.html
|title=Male Circumcision and Women's Sexual Health
|last=
|first=
|init=
|website=Peaceful Parenting
|date=
|accessdate=2022-08-26
}}
* {{REFnews
|title=A Cut Below
|url=https://www.cirp.org/news/2007/2007-07-15_SFChronicle.php
|last=Guthmann
|first=Edward
|init=
|author-link=
|publisher=San Francisco Chronicle
|website=
|date=2007-07-15
|accessdate=2024-07-28
|quote=People are vociferous on the [[foreskin]] question, none more than Kristen O'Hara, the author of "Sex as Nature Intended It" (2002), in which she claims women are more likely to enjoy intercourse if their male partner is uncircumcised.
}}
* {{REFnews
|title=Circumcision: Social, Sexual, Psychological Realities
|url=https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/moral-landscapes/201109/circumcision-social-sexual-psychological-realities
|last=Darvaez
|first=
|init=DF
|author-link=
|publisher=Psychology Today
|website=
|date=2011-08-18
|accessdate=2024-05-09
|format=
|quote=
}}
* {{REFnews
|title=Dicks (uncut)
|url=https://www.dailycal.org/2016/04/12/352616
|last=Mehraban
|first=Trixie
|init=
|author-link=
|publisher=The Daily Californian
|website=
|date=2016-04-12
|accessdate=2023-05-06
|format=
|quote=
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://www.reddit.com/r/unpopularopinion/comments/f3f83n/foreskin_matters_for_female_pleasure_too/
|title=Foreskin matters for female pleasure too
|last=Anonymous
|first=
|init=
|author-link=
|publisher=REDDIT
|date=2019
|accessdate=2025-08-06
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://www.bolde.com/what-learned-dating-uncircumcised-guy/
|title=What I Learned From Dating An Uncircumcised Guy
|last=Straight
|first=Kara
|publisher=Bolde
|date=2018-09-03
|accessdate=2023-01-25
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://getmegiddy.com/foreskin-guide-for-women?fd=5037708678751712|5178657338629138&lp=/foreskin-restoration
|title=The Foreskin: A Guide for Women
|last=Williams
|first=Madeleine
|init=
|publisher=Giddy
|date=2021-02-15
|accessdate=2023-01-08
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://intactamerica.org/circumcision-dating-intimacy/
|title=Dating, Sex, and the Unspoken Pressure of Circumcision
|last=Alissa
|first=Kristel
|init=
|author-link=Kristel Alissa
|publisher=Intact America
|date=2025-01-23
|accessdate=025-01-28
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://www.reddit.com/r/DebunkingCircumcision/comments/1omzxb2/reasons_why_circumcision_hurts_vaginal_intercourse/
|title=Reasons why circumcision hurts vaginal intercourse
|last=Anonymous
|publisher=REDDIT
|date=2025-10
|accessdate=2026-01-23
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://www.reddit.com/r/uncircumcised_talk/comments/1u8g5ja/what_does_your_foreskin_do_during_penetration/
|title=What does your foreskin do during penetration?
|last=Anonymous
|publisher=Reddit
|date=2026-02-17
|accessdate=2026-06-22
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://www.reddit.com/r/foreskin_restoration/comments/1v0f5sv/the_female_opinion_on_foreskin_restoration/
|title=The female opinion on foreskin restoration
|last=Anonymous
|first=
|init=
|author-link=
|publisher=Reddit
|date=2026-07-18
|accessdate=2026-07-20
}}
{{REF}}

[[Category:Education]]
[[Category:Medical term]]
[[Category:Physiology]]
[[Category:Female sexuality]]
[[Category:Sexuality]]

[[de:Vagina]]

Masturbation

2026-07-20T13:33:52Z

WikiModEn2: Add text and Wikify.

'''Masturbation''' is the sexual stimulation of one's own genitals for sexual arousal or other sexual pleasure, usually to the point of orgasm.<ref name="webmd">{{REFweb
|first=Jennifer
|last=Robinson
|url=http://www.webmd.com/sex-relationships/guide/masturbation-guide
|title=Masturbation – Is Masturbation Normal or Harmful? Who Masturbates? Why Do People Masturbate?
|publisher=WebMD
|date=2010-03-04
|accessdate=2011-08-17
}}</ref><ref name="Lehmiller">{{REFbook
|last=Lehmiller
|first=J.J.
|init=JJ
|title=The Psychology of Human Sexuality
|publisher=John Wiley & Sons
|isbn=978-1119164708
|year=2017
|page=402
|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ytk5DwAAQBAJ&pg=PT402
|quote=Masturbation refers to all solo forms of self-stimulation focusing on the genitals. Masturbation practices vary widely depending upon the individual's body and personal preferences. For instance, masturbation among women may involve manipulation of the [[clitoris]] and labia, stimulation of the breasts, or vaginal penetration with a sex toy. [...] Among men, masturbation most frequently involves using one or both hands to stimulate the penis. Of course, men sometimes utilize sex toys too (e.g., masturbation sleeves, butt-plugs, etc.).
}}</ref><ref name="Nadal">{{REFbook
|last=Nadal
|first=K.L.
|init=KL
|title=The SAGE Encyclopedia of Psychology and Gender
|publisher=SAGE
|isbn=978-1483384276
|year=2017
|page=1123
|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lVYoDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA1123
|quote=Masturbation is the act of touching or otherwise stimulating one's own body, particularly one's genitals, for the purpose of sexual pleasure and/or orgasm. The term is most commonly used to describe solitary masturbation, in which people provide themselves with sexual stimulation while they are physically alone. Mutual masturbation is when two or more people manually stimulate their own body or each other's bodies.
}}</ref> The stimulation may involve hands, fingers, everyday objects, sex toys such as vibrators, or combinations of these.<ref name="webmd"/><ref name="Lehmiller"/> Mutual masturbation is masturbation with a sexual partner,<ref name="Nadal"/><ref name="Bruess">{{REFbook
|last=Bruess
|first=C.E.
|init=CE
|last2=Schroeder
|first2=E.
|init2=E
|title=Sexuality Education Theory And Practice
|publisher=Jones & Bartlett Publishers
|isbn=978-1449649289
|year=2013
|page=151
|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WWFW6-kkAVoC&pg=PA151
}}</ref> and may include manual stimulation of a partner's genitals (fingering or a handjob),<ref name="Bruess"/> or be used as a form of non-penetrative sex.<ref name="Upton">{{REFbook
|last=Upton
|first=D.
|init=D
|title=Nursing & Health Survival Guide: Health Promotion
|publisher=Routledge
|isbn=978-1317906179
|year=2014
|page=52
|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VnvJAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA52
}}</ref> Masturbation is benign and harmless. Recently a German health insurance company even recommended masturbation as a sleep aid!<ref>{{REFweb
|url=https://www.spiegel.de/gesundheit/sex/barmer-krankenkasse-empfiehlt-selbstbefriedigung-als-einschlafhilfe-a-1279049.html
|title=Barmer Krankenkasse empfiehlt Masturbation zum Einschlafen
|trans-title=Barmer health insurance recommends masturbation to sleep
|language=German
|publisher=Spiegel
|date=2019-07-25
|accessdate=2020-05-01
}}</ref>

Masturbation is normal, natural, and healthy. It is common in both sexes and at any age. Various medical and psychological benefits have been attributed to a healthy attitude toward sexual activity in general and to masturbation in particular. No causal relationship is known between masturbation and any form of mental or physical disorder.<ref>{{REFbook
|last=Coleman
|first=Eli
|init=E
|year=2012
|orig-year=2002
|url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150722160223/http://samples.sainsburysebooks.co.uk/9781317787587_sample_833458.pdf
|editors=Bockting, Walter O. & Coleman, Eli
|title=Masturbation as a Means of Achieving Sexual Health
|location=New York
|publisher=Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group
|page=7
|isbn=978-0-7890-2047-5
|oclc=50913590
|quote=Despite the scientific evidence indicating that masturbation is generally a normal variant of sexual expression and that it does not seem to have a causal relationship with sexual pathology, negative attitudes about masturbation persist and it remains stigmatized.
}}</ref> <ref name="link2022">{{REFweb
|url=https://www.healthline.com/health/masturbation-side-effects
|title=Masturbation — How Does It Affect Your Health?
|last=Link
|first=Rachel
|init=
|publisher=Healthline
|date=2022-05-06
|accessdate=2022-12-17
}}
</ref> In the Western world, masturbation in private or with a partner is generally considered a normal and healthy part of sexual enjoyment.

Medical science has not established any limits on the quantity or frequency of masturbation. One is free to do it as much and as often as one desires. There is no minimum or maximum age for masturbation. Interest in masturbation typically increases with the onset of [[puberty]].

Masturbation may help with:
* Reducing anxiety.
* Reducing [[Nocturnal emission| nocturnal emissions]].
* Maintaining sexual function.
* Supporting overall emotional well-being.<ref>{{REFweb
|url=https://goit.science/masturbation-secrets-old-men-wish-they-knew-sooner/
|title=Is Masturbation Harmful to Men Over 70? Dr. Stefan Buntrock Explains
|last=Buntrock
|first=
|init=S
|author-link=
|publisher=Go It
|date=2025-01-02
|accessdate=2025-08-05
}}</ref>

==Male masturbation==
Masturbation to orgasm before bed is very relaxing and contributes to sleeping. Moreover, it prevents overfilled [[seminal vesicles]] and [[nocturnal emission| nocturnal emissions]] (wet dreams}. Masturbation to orgasm in the morning may help a teen to get through the school day.

The manner of male masturbation tends to be controlled by the [[circumcision]] status of the individual. How one masturbates depends on whether one has an [[intact]], internally-lubricated, movable erogenous [[foreskin]] that [[gliding action| glides]] up and down the shaft of the [[penis]] or whether one has been [[circumcised]] and has restricted or non-existent skin mobility and loss of [[gliding action]].<ref>{{REFweb
|url=https://www.reddit.com/user/C4Charkey/comments/1jumd8x/the_accidental_intactivist_manifesto_ii_the_myth/
|title=Section II. The Myth of the Foreskin: Deconstructing the Label, Understanding the Whole
|last=C4Charkey
|first=
|init=
|author-link=C4Charkey
|publisher=REDDIT
|date=2025-04-08
|accessdate=2025-04-13
}}</ref>

Masturbation may be helpful in reducing a persistent [[erection]].

Andersen-Giberson (2025) states:
<blockquote>
Regarding masturbation, the elimination of the foreskin presents a radically different version of self-pleasure than with an intact penis, where there is no foreskin to use for the rhythmic gliding action of masturbation.<ref name="andersen2025">{{REFjournal
|last=Andersen-Giberson
|init=D
|author-link=Dale Andersen
|url=https://cdd.journals.yorku.ca/index.php/cdd/article/view/39786/36016
|title=Circumcision and forced disability: Routine male neonatal circumcision and the consequences of amputation within a critical disability studies framework
|journal=Critical Disability Discourses
|date=2025-12
|volume=10
|issue=2
|pages=1-37
|URL=https://cdd.journals.yorku.ca/index.php/cdd/article/view/39786/36016
|DOI=https://doi.org/10.25071/1918-6215.39786
|accessdate=2026-03-12
|quote=In a critical disability studies framework, it is argued that the act of amputating healthy erogenous tissue and the consequences of that amputation cause disability, particularly from a counter-hegemonic lens.
|format=PDF
|accessdate=2026-03-12
}}</ref>
</blockquote>

There is no minimum age for masturbation. Young adolescents may experience dry orgasms until secretion of [[semen]] commences.
===Reduction of incidence of prostate cancer===
Rider et al. (2016) report that frequent [[ejaculation]] is associated with a reduced incidence of [[prostate cancer]].<ref>{{REFjournal
|last=Rider
|first=
|init=JR
|author-link=
|last2=Wilson
|first2=
|init2=KM
|author2-link=
|last3=Sinnot
|first3=
|init3=JA
|author3-link=
|last4=Kelly
|first4=
|init4=RS
|author4-link=
|last5=Mucci
|first5=
|init5=LA
|author5-link=
|last6=Gionvannucci
|first6=
|init6=EL
|author6-link=
|etal=no
|title=Ejaculation Frequency and Risk of Prostate Cancer: Updated Results with an Additional Decade of Follow-up
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal=Eur Urol
|location=
|date=2016-12
|volume=70
|issue=6
|pages=974-82
|url=https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5040619/
|archived=
|quote=These findings provide additional evidence of a beneficial role of more frequent ejaculation throughout adult life in the etiology of PCa, particularly for low-risk disease.
|pubmedID=27033442
|pubmedCID=5040619
|DOI=10.1016/j.eururo.2016.03.027
|accessdate=2025-01-06
}}</ref> Masturbation is helpful in providing frequent [[ejaculation]].

=== Intact [[penis]] ===
===Masturbation with foreskin===
The movable, internally-lubricated, [[Ridged band| nerve-laden]] erogenous [[foreskin]] and its [[gliding action]] is an important aid to masturbation.<ref name="kimpang2007">{{KimDS PangMG 2007}}</ref> [[Intact]] males simply use their hand to glide the [[foreskin]] back and forth.<ref>{{REFweb
|url=https://www.reddit.com/r/uncircumcised_talk/comments/1lysu09/i_cant_cum_if_i_am_not_touching_my_foreskin/
|title=I cant cum if i am not touching my foreskin
|last=Anonymous
|first=
|init=
|author-link=
|publisher=REDDIT
|date=2025-07-13
|accessdate=2025-07-25
}}</ref> It is ''not'' necessary to retract the [[foreskin]] while masturbating. If the foreskin is of adequate length, then the [[foreskinned]] male will usually keep it forward for additional stimulation. Keeping the head covered by the [[foreskin]] also protects the sensitive [[mucosa]] covering the [[glans penis| head]]. The motion of the foreskin, as in [[gliding action]], stimulates the nerves ([[Meissner's corpuscles]]) in the [[foreskin]].<ref name="garcía-mesa2021">{{REFjournal
|last=García-Mesa
|first=Yolanda
|init=
|author-link=
|last2=García-Piqueras
|first2=Jorge
|init2=
|author2-link=
|last3=Cobo
|first3=Ramón
|init3=
|author3-link=
|last4=Martín-Cruces
|first4=José
|init4=
|author4-link=
|last5=Suazo
|first5=Iván
|init5=
|author5-link=
|last6=García-Suárez
|first6=Olivia
|init6=
|author6-link=
|last7=Feito
|first7=Jorge
|init7=
|author7-link=
|last8=
|first8=Vega
|init8=José A.
|author8-link=
|etal=no
|title=Sensory innervation of the human male prepuce: Meissner's corpuscles predominate
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal=Journal of Anatomy
|location=
|date=2021-10
|volume=239
|issue=4
|article=
|page=
|pages=892-902
|url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/joa.13481
|pubmedID=34120333
|pubmedCID=8450466
|DOI=10.1111/joa.13481
|accessdate=2025-09-09
}}</ref> Foreskins naturally vary greatly in length and tightness, so men report different experiences, however every [[foreskin]] offers a [[ridged band]] and [[gliding action]]. There are many variations in technque.<ref>{{REFweb
|url=http://jackinworld.com/techniques/jackinexpert-collection/foreskin-fun
|title=Foreskin Fun
|last=
|first=
|init=
|publisher=JackinWorld
|date=
|accessdate=2024-02-25
}}</ref> <ref>{{REFweb
|url=https://www.reddit.com/r/uncircumcised_talk/comments/1o3843x/masturbating/?chainedPosts=t3_1o4xmmq
|title=Masturbating
|last=Anonymous
|publisher=REDDIT
|date=2025-10-12
|accessdate=2025-10-13
}}</ref>

Prolonged and/or vigorous masturbation occasionally causes [[lymphoedema]] of the [[foreskin]], which causes temporary swelling of the [[foreskin]]. The condition is painless and harmless. It usually resolves within about 24 hours.<ref>{{REFweb
|url=https://www.reddit.com/r/hardflaccidresearch/comments/1k393ff/foreskin_swelling_after_masturbating/
|title=Foreskin swelling after masturbating
|last=Anonymous
|first=
|init=
|author-link=
|publisher=REDDIT
|date=2025-04
|accessdate=2025-05-12
}}</ref>

[[Sclerosing lymphangitis]] is a rare condition that is associated with vigorous masturbation.<ref name="rosen2003">{{REFjournal
|last=Rosen
|first=
|init=T
|author-link=
|last2=Hwong
|first2=
|init2=H
|author2-link=
|etal=no
|title=Sclerosing lymphangitis of the penis
|trans-title=
|journal= J Am Acad Dermatol
|date=2003-11
|season=
|volume=49
|issue=5
|article=
|pages=916-8
|url=https://www.jaad.org/article/S0190-9622(03)00464-X/abstract
|archived=
|quote=
|pubmedID=14576679
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=10.1016/s0190-9622(03)00464-x
|accessdate=2025-02-10
}}</ref> <ref name="babu2014">{{REFjournal
|last=Babu
|first=
|init=AK
|author-link=
|last2=Krishnan
|first2=
|init2=P
|author2-link=
|last3=Andezuth
|first3=
|init3=DD
|author3-link=
|etal=no
|title=Sclerosing lymphangitis of penis—literature review and report of 2 cases
|trans-title=
|journal= Dermatol Online J
|date=2014-07-15
|season=
|volume=20
|issue=7
|pages=13030/qt7gq9h1v9
|url=https://escholarship.org/uc/item/7gq9h1v9
|archived=
|quote=
|pubmedID=25046462
|pubmedCID=
|accessdate=2025-02-10
}}</ref>

Many believe that [[foreskinned]] men tend to produce more [[pre-ejaculate]] than [[circumcised]] men, perhaps because of better erogenous stimulation.
====Lubrication====
Lubrication is a crutch for men crippled by [[circumcision]]. Use of lubrication is optional for [[intact]] males as the mobile [[gliding action]] of the [[foreskin]] renders lubrication unnecessary.<ref>{{REFweb
|url=https://www.reddit.com/r/uncircumcised_talk/comments/1nwnl9c/i_use_my_foreskin_as_lube/
|title=I use my foreskin as lube
|last=Anonymous
|first=
|init=
|author-link=
|publisher=REDDIT
|date=2025-10-03
|accessdate=2025-10-05
}}</ref> An informal online survey of [[intact]] and restored males in 2024 found use of lubricant is unnecessary and unpopular with almost no use of lubricant, although a few [[intact]] men enjoy the sensation produced by lubrication.<ref name="survey2025">{{REFweb
|url=https://www.reddit.com/r/uncircumcised_talk/comments/1hs49xk/do_you_use_lubricant_when_masturbating/
|title=Do you use lubricant when masturbating?
|last=Anonymous
|first=
|init=
|author-link=
|publisher=REDDIT
|date=2025-01-02
|accessdate=2025-01-05
}}</ref>

====Masturbation with phimosis====
[[Phimosis]] or tight [[foreskin]] generally does not create any kind of difficulty with masturbation. It is ''not'' necessary to retract the [[foreskin]] while masturbating. The outer layer of foreskin may be [[Gliding_action| glided]] without retraction. Phimosed men may pull their non-retractile [[foreskin]] away from the body. There is some anecdotal evidence that phimosed males will stimulate their [[acroposthion]] more than non-phimosed males. Some claim that men with phimosis are more aroused and have a greater desire to masturbate.<ref>{{REFweb
|url=https://www.reddit.com/r/uncircumcised_talk/comments/1kjqhh8/comment/mrsogrc/?context=3
|title=Whenever I'm erect, the tight encasement of my glans feels fantastic!
|last=
|first=
|init=
|author-link=
|publisher=REDDIT
|date=
|accessdate=2025-05-12
}}</ref>

Beaugé (1997) stated that adult [[phimosis]] is caused by unusual methods of masturbation that fail to [[Stretching| stretch]] the narrow [[foreskin]] of childhood. According to Beaugé, the condition may be treated by changing one's method of masturbation so that the foreskin is pulled back against the head of the [[penis]] causing the [[foreskin]] to stretch.<ref name="beauge1997">{{REFjournal
|last=Beaugé
|init=M
|author-link=
|url=http://www.cirp.org/library/treatment/phimosis/beauge2/
|title=The causes of adolescent phimosis.
|journal=Br J Sex Med
|date=1997-10
|volume=
|issue=
|pages=26
|accessdate=2023-06-24
}}</ref>

====Masturbation for intact teens====
Milos (2022) advises regarding a 14-year-old [[intact]] teen:
<blockquote>
I am happy that you and your son can talk candidly about sex. You can explain to him that, just as you cautioned him not to forcibly retract his [[foreskin]], he needs to be careful with his foreskin when he masturbates. Here’s why: One or two millimeters under the penile skin is a smooth muscle sheath called the [[dartos]] fascia. The dartos fascia covers the shaft of the [[penis]] and extends to the tip. The dartos fascia muscle fibers near the tip of the foreskin form a sphincter-like structure—or a ring—that acts like a one-way valve and shields the urinary opening.

The muscle fibers of the ring will become elastic over time as your son’s foreskin loosens with the hormones of [[puberty]] and eventually fully retracts. Until then, tell your son to masturbate gently to slowly widen the opening. If he masturbates too vigorously, he can force the head of the penis through the opening and tear the ring, causing bleeding as well as pain. Gentleness is always important when the genitals are involved.<ref name="milos2022-07-25">{{REFweb
|url=https://intactamerica.org/ask-marilyn-why-is-vigorous-masturbation-painful-for-this-intact-teen/
|title=Ask Marilyn—Why Is Vigorous Masturbation Painful for this Intact Teen?
|last=Milos
|first=
|init=MF
|publisher=Intact America
|date=2022-07-25
|accessdate=2024-05-04
}}</ref>
</blockquote>

===Circumcised penis===
====Masturbation without foreskin====

Circumcised men are sexually handicapped,<ref name="andesen2025">{{REFjournal
|last=Andersen-Ghiberson
|first=Dale
|init=
|author-link=
|etal=no
|title=Circumcision and forced disability: Routine male neonatal circumcision and the consequences of amputation within a critical disability studies framework
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal=Critical Disability Discourses
|location=
|url=https://cdd.journals.yorku.ca/index.php/cdd/article/view/39786/36016
|date=2025-12-19
|accessdate=2026-07-01
}}</ref> so adjustments to masturbation technique may be required.

Nineteenth century physicians falsely believed that masturbation caused many diseases, including epilepsy, so they thought of ways to prevent masturbation. Bauer (1878) recommended infibulation,<ref name="bauer1878">{{REFjournal
|last=Bauer
|init=L
|url=
|title=Dementia brought on by excessive self-abuse: cure by infibulation
|journal=St Louis Clin Record
|date=1878
|volume=4
|issue=
|pages=271-3
|accessdate=2023-10-30
}}</ref> <ref name="bauer1879">{{REFjournal
|last=Bauer
|init=L
|author-link=
|url=
|title=Infibulation as a remedy for epilepsy and seminal losses
|journal=St Louis Clin Record
|date=1879
|volume=6
|issue=
|pages=163-5
|accessdate=2023-10-30
}}</ref> but circumcision was the favored treatment.<ref name="schultheiss2003">{{REFjournal
|last=Schultheiss
|first=
|init=D
|author-link=
|last2=Mattelaer
|first2=
|init2=JJ
|author2-link=
|last3=Hodges
|first3=
|init3=FM
|author3-link=Frederick M. Hodges
|etal=no
|title=Preputial infibulation: from ancient medicine to modern genital piercing
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal=BJU Int
|location=
|date=2003-11
|volume=92
|issue=7
|article=
|page=
|pages=758-63
|url=https://bjui-journals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1046/j.1464-410X.2003.04490.x
|archived=
|quote=
|pubmedID=14616462
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=10.1046/j.1464-410x.2003.04490.x
|doi=
|accessdate=2023-10-30
}}</ref> <ref>{{REFweb
|url=https://www.reddit.com/r/Pro_Male_Collective/comments/1nglucz/male_circumcision_is_intended_to_prevent/
|title=Male circumcision is intended to prevent masturbation
|last=Anonymous
|first=
|init=
|author-link=
|publisher=REDDIT
|date=2025-09
|accessdate=2025-10-16
}}</ref>

[[Circumcision]] was introduced in English-speaking nations in Victorian times (19th century) to un-[[foreskin]] the [[penis]], tighten the [[skin]] to make it immovable, and make it impossible for [[circumcised]] guys to masturbate.<ref name="moses1871">{{Moses1871}}</ref> It failed to stop masturbation, but it made it harder to do and less enjoyable. [[E. J. Spratling]] (1895) gave instructions on doing circumcisions to other doctors:

<blockquote>
In all cases [of masturbation] circumcision is undoubtedly the physicians' closest friend and ally ... To obtain the best results one must cut away enough [[skin]] and [[Mucosa| mucous membrane]] to rather put it on the stretch when erections come later. There must be no play in the [[skin]] after the wound has thoroughly healed, but it must fit tightly over the [[penis]], for should there be any play the patient will be found to readily resume his practice, not begrudging the time and extra energy required to produce the orgasm. It is true, however, that the longer it takes to have an orgasm, the less frequently it will be attempted, consequently the greater the benefit gained ... The younger the patient operated upon the more pronounced the benefit, though occasionally we find patients who were [[circumcised]] before [[puberty]] that require a resection of the [[skin]], as it has grown loose and pliant after that epoch.<ref name="spratling1895">{{REFjournal
|last=Spratling
|init=EJ
|author-link=
|url=https://www.historyofcircumcision.com/templates/pages/treating_masturbation_1895.html
|title=Masturbation in the Adult
|journal=Medical Record
|date=1895-09-28
|volume=48
|issue=
|pages=442-3
|accessdate=2021-11-02
}}</ref>
</blockquote>

Kim & Pang (2007) reported that masturbatory pleasure decreased in 48% of the respondents and increased in 8%, while difficulty increased in 63% but was easier in 37%. They concluded that there was a decrease in masturbatory pleasure after [[circumcision]].<ref name="kimpang2007" />

Looking at male masturbation in erotic videos, it is noticeable that a [[penis]] without a [[foreskin]] is often stimulated by hand as if a [[foreskin]] were present. Even without a [[foreskin]], the hand is pushed back and forth along the [[Shaft skin|shaft]] of the [[penis]], perhaps to simulate the stimulating movement of the (non-existent) [[foreskin]] over the [[glans]].

====Lubrication====

[[Circumcised]] males found that they could still practice [[masturbation]], if they used lubrication to overcome the crippling handicap of being [[circumcised]].<ref name="spratling1895" /> Lubrication has been characterized as a "prosthesis" used to overcome the impairment induced by amputation of a functional body part. Ravi Kumar (2017) reports:
<blockquote>
The disadvantages mainly lie in the removal of the foreskin, which constitutes almost half the skin on the penis. The foreskin provides natural lubrication and protection. It is well-known that a circumcised man cannot indulge in masturbation without a lubricant – which makes the act much more difficult and time-consuming.<ref>{{REFweb
|url=https://www.youthkiawaaz.com/2017/02/the-stigma-of-circumcision-in-india
|title=Stop Body-Shaming Me Just Because I Am Circumcised
|last=Kumar
|first=Ravi
|init=
|author-link=
|publisher=Youth Ki Awaaz
|date=2017-02-14
|accessdate=2025-06-19
}}</ref></blockquote>
Most, but not all, [[circumcised]] males need lubrication to avoid friction irritation and reach orgasm.<ref name="techniques2022">{{REFweb
|url=http://www.jackinworld.com/techniques/the-basics/lubrication
|title=Lubrication
|last=
|first=
|date=
|accessdate=2022-04-24
}}</ref> Some [[circumcised]] males who have a loose cut and some [[gliding action]] find it is enough to support masturbation without lubrication.

''Substances with harsh or irritant chemicals should not be used for lubrication.''<ref>{{REFweb
|url=http://www.jackinworld.com/questions-answered/troubleshooting-faq/male-masturbation-semen-or-ejaculation/lubes/what-kinds-lubr-0
|title=What kinds of lubrication do you not recommend?
|last=
|first=
|date=
|accessdate=2022-04-24
}}</ref>

One may use various personal lubricants that are sold for sexual lubrication<ref>{{REFweb
|url=http://www.jackinworld.com/questions-answered/troubleshooting-faq/male-masturbation-semen-or-ejaculation/lubes/what-kinds-lubri
|title=What kinds of lubrication do you recommend?
|last=
|first=
|date=
|accessdate=2022-04-24
}}</ref> or one may use such substances as baby oil, coconut oil, [[jojoba]] oil, other vegetable oils, or saliva. Saliva dries rapidly so it must be replenished frequently, but it is always available.

====Death grip masturbation====
Many commenters on death grip syndrome seem profoundly ignorant of the effects of circumcision ([[MGM]]). Their comments are not helpful. Death grip masturbation may be regarded as a late complication of circumcision.

[[Circumcision]] excises about 15-square-inches of highly-innervated erogenous tissue<ref name="winklemann1959">{{WinkelmannRK 1959}}</ref> from the [[penis]], reduces or eliminates the [[gliding action]], and severely reduces [[Foreskin sensitivity| penile sensation]].<ref name="taylor1996">{{TaylorJR LockwoodAP TaylorAJ 1996}}</ref> [[Circumcised]] men, with their desensitized [[penis]], in an attempt to restore lost sensation, are more likely to try using a very tight grip when they masturbate. This technique is referred to by the slang term ''death grip masturbation''.<ref name="savage2019">{{REFweb
|url=https://www.joseph4gi.com/2019/11/death-grip-and-circumcision-is-there.html?m=1
|title=Death Grip and Circumcision: Is There a Correlation?
|last=Savage
|first=Dan
|init=
|publisher=Joseph4GI
|date=2019-11-17
|accessdate=2024-05-13
}}</ref>

Practitioners of death grip masturbation may do better by using lubrication and a lighter grip.<ref>{{REFweb
|url=https://www.menshealth.com/sex-women/a27044367/death-grip-masturbation/
|title=Are You Using a 'Death Grip' During Masturbation? It Could Be Messing With Your Sex Life
|last=Engle
|first=Gigi
|init=
|publisher=Men's Health
|date=2019-04-04
|accessdate=2023-08-13
}}</ref> <ref>{{REFweb
|url=https://www.forhims.com/blog/death-grip-syndrome
|title=Death Grip Syndrome: What It Is & How to Treat It
|last=Hagerty
|first=Katelyn
|init=
|publisher=hims
|date=2023-07-27
|accessdate=2023-08-13
}}</ref> For the longer term, non-surgical [[foreskin restoration]] may help to improve sensation.<ref>{{REFbook
|last=Bigelow, Ph.D
|first=Jim
|init=
|author-link=Jim Bigelow
|year=1995
|title=The Joy of Uncircumcising
|url=
|work=
|editor=
|edition=Second Edition
|volume=
|chapter=Why Men Today Want to Uncircumcise
|scope=
|page=
|pages=113-4
|location=Aptos
|publisher=Hourglass
|ISBN=0-934061-22-X
|quote=
|accessdate=2023-08-13
|note=
}}</ref>

The presence of the [[foreskin]], with its high degree of [[Foreskin sensitivity| sensitivity]] and easy [[gliding action]], eliminates any need or desire for death grip masturbation among [[intact]] men.<ref name="savage2019" /> It appears to be impossible for a [[foreskinned]] man to practice death grip masturbation.

====Improving the masturbation experience====
[[Circumcised]] males are pitied by some [[intact]] males.<ref>{{REFweb
|url=https://www.reddit.com/r/uncircumcised_talk/comments/1m8yps6/i_feel_sorry_for_circumsised_guys/
|title=I feel sorry for circumsised guys
|last=Anonymous
|first=
|init=
|author-link=
|publisher=REDDIT
|date=2025-07-25
|accessdate=2025-07-26
}}</ref> [[Circumcised]] males who are not satisfied with the quality of their masturbation experience may wish to consider non-surgical [[foreskin restoration]]. It takes some time and effort to restore a missing foreskin, but once it is done, it will last the rest of one's life.

===Restored penis===
[[Circumcision]] (foreskin amputation) was promoted in the nineteenth century to stop masturbation.<ref name="bigelow1995">{{REFbook
|last=Bigelow
|first=Jim
|author-link=Jim Bigelow
|year=1995
|title=The Joy of Uncircumcising!: Exploring Circumcision: History, Myths, Psychology, Restoration, Sexual Pleasure, and Human Rights
|url=https://www.amazon.com/Joy-Uncircumcising-Circumcision-Psychology-Restoration/dp/093406122X
|editor=
|edition=2
|volume=
|chapter=America's 100-year Infatuation with Circumcision
|page=70
|location=
|publisher=Hourglass Book Publishing
|isbn=978-0934061223
}}</ref> It follows that restoration of the [[foreskin]] would facilitate and improve masturbation.

Many men who practice [[foreskin restoration]] report a substantial improvement in their masturbation experience with their [[restored]] [[penis]] as compared with their previous [[circumcised]] penis. Notably, they typically report an improvement in [[gliding action]], in [[Foreskin sensitivity| sensation]], and a reduction or elimination of the need for lubrication with their [[restored foreskin]].

==Refractory period==

After a wet or dry orgasm, one immediately goes into the refractory period.<ref>{{REFweb
|url=https://medical-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/refractory+period
|archived=
|title=Refractory period
|trans-title=
|language=
|last=
|first=
|author-link=
|publisher=Segen's Medical Dictionary
|website=thefreedictionary.com
|date=2012
|accessdate=2020-05-29
|format=
|quote=
}}</ref> The [[glans penis]] becomes hyper-sensitive and further masturbation becomes impossible for a variable period of time.

In human sexuality, the refractory period is usually the recovery phase after orgasm during which it is physiologically impossible for a man to have additional orgasms. This phase begins immediately after [[ejaculation]] and lasts until the excitement phase of the human sexual response cycle begins anew with low level response.

==Gooning==
''Gooning'' is an old slang word with many various meanings, but teens are now applying it to male masturbation.<ref>{{REFweb
|url=https://grammarverb.com/gooning/
|title=What does "gooning" mean
|last=Anonymous
|publisher=grammarverb.com
|date=2025-12-13
|accessdate=2026-03-14
}}</ref>

== Video ==
 
===Video for boys===
<youtube>v=4wRxbx0YfRU</youtube>
 
===Masturbation myths===
<youtube>v=xIFsNsf86KY</youtube>
 
===Is masturbation good or bad for you?===
[[Dr Bret Palmer]] explains.
<youtube>v=9O9Q8spuqcQ</youtube>

{{SEEALSO}}
* [[Body pleasure]]
* [[Erogenous sensation of the foreskin]]
* [[Foreskin play]]
* [[Gliding action]]
* [[Lymph]]
* [[Lymphoedema]]
* [[Manual tugging]]
* [[Penis]]
* [[Pre-ejaculate]]
* [[Sclerosing lymphangitis]]
* [[Semen]]
* [[Sexual effects of circumcision]]

{{LINKS}}
* {{URLwikipedia|Masturbation|Masturbation}}
* {{REFjournal
|last=Darby
|first=
|init=R
|author-link=Robert Darby
|etal=no
|title=The masturbation taboo and the rise of routine male circumcision: a review of the historiography
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal=J Soc Hist
|location=
|date=2003
|season=Spring
|volume=36
|issue=3
|pages=737-57
|url=https://d1wqtxts1xzle7.cloudfront.net/33685508/RD-MastJSH03-libre.pdf?1399951512=&response-content-disposition=inline%3B+filename%3DThe_Masturbation_Taboo_and_the_Rise_of_R.pdf&Expires=1757870104&Signature=bz--MK9BHuiaGORLq~xcaziD4~G48joTevxi8JRARGRATdRNMG0NLPtgLkxj3jg1TxDLh8f5iSPKQg4WDL9RSwMUyI4uj7TJ3VmhgaPEXy5G9hr6F7TRVAT17ngXtVPruoUdb3856nzIS-8psUIEZYTwZiA9oH24Y1KzLF6DWCFwJxAkLKo18KW0tG4s93Tojs1BafuF7APGIEmmMUcgOFuwha9y4H4CpJaAYojGr1F0X85NwMdduV5PXBPVynEcq79GZmLriKvr-MW47cqABEEWUdptDKtSk6MKQ1m4aHLGg8QYUKhsfE6hSnNkmOsBD8Vp33juU4BfBSgfYY6Esw__&Key-Pair-Id=APKAJLOHF5GGSLRBV4ZA
|archived=
|quote=
|format=PDF
|accessdate=2025-09-14
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://www.reddit.com/r/masturbation/comments/9m82v9/comment/e7etecv/
|title=Answers to questions about foreskin masturbation
|last=Anonymous
|first=
|init=
|author-link=
|publisher=REDDIT
|date=2018
|accessdate=2025-12-02
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=http://web.archive.org/web/20200824042005/https://www.reddit.com/r/masturbationquestions/wiki/howmale
|archived=yes
|title=How to masturbate with a penis
|last=
|first=
|accessdate=2021-07-20
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=http://acroposthion.com/masturbation-deterrent/
|archived=
|title=Masturbation Deterrent?
|trans-title=
|language=
|last=
|first=
|author-link=
|publisher=Acroposthion
|website=
|date=
|accessdate=2021-07-20
|format=
|quote=
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://www.healthline.com/health/masturbation-side-effects
|title=Masturbation — How Does It Affect Your Health?
|last=Link
|first=Rachel
|init=
|publisher=Healthline
|date=2022-05-06
|accessdate=2022-12-17
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://intactamerica.org/ask-marilyn-why-is-vigorous-masturbation-painful-for-this-intact-teen/
|title=Ask Marilyn—Why Is Vigorous Masturbation Painful for this Intact Teen?
|last=Milos
|first=Marilyn
|init=
|author-link=Marilyn Fayre Milos
|publisher=Intact America
|date=2022-07-25
|accessdate=2024-06-21
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://www.plannedparenthood.org/learn/sex-pleasure-and-sexual-dysfunction/masturbation
|title=Masturbation
|publisher=Planned Parenthood
|date=
|accessdate=2023-01-16
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://intactamerica.org/dyk-may-masturbation/
|title=“Do You Know?” May Is Masturbation Month
|last=Chapin
|first=
|init=G
|author-link=Georganne Chapin
|publisher=Intact America
|date=2023-06-23
|accessdate=2025-10-19
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://www.reddit.com/r/FriendsOfTheFrenulum/comments/1ma5zqc/the_data_is_in_the_silence_is_broken_a_first_look/
|title=The Data is In. The Silence is Broken. A First Look at Our Survey's Staggering Results.
|last=Intactivist
|first=Accidental
|init=
|author-link=
|publisher=REDDIT
|date=2025-07-26
|accessdate=2025-07-27
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://www.reddit.com/r/Puberty/comments/1n2psn4/do_uncut_guys_need_lube_too/
|title=Do uncut guys need lube too?
|last=Anonymous
|publisher=REDDIT
|date=2025-08-28
|accessdate=2025-08-29
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://www.reddit.com/r/uncircumcised_talk/comments/1n0cnh2/how_do_you_play_with_your_foreskin_not_sexually/
|title=How do you play with your foreskin? Not sexually, just casually
|last=Anonymous
|publisher=REDDIT
|date=2025-08-25
|accessdate=2025-09-04
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://www.reddit.com/r/uncircumcised_talk/comments/1n9vc90/jo/
|title=How to masturbate with a long foreskin
|last=Anonymous
|publisher=REDDIT
|date=2025-09-06
|accessdate=2025-09-09
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://www.reddit.com/r/uncircumcised_talk/comments/1nqur98/how_did_you_masturbate_before_you_could_retract/?chainedPosts=t3_1nrtpcb
|title=How did you masturbate before you could retract your foreskin?
|last=Anonymous
|publisher=REDDIT
|date=2025-09-26
|accessdate=2025-09-27
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://www.reddit.com/r/uncircumcised_talk/comments/1ooxau8/masturbation_with_foreskin/?chainedPosts=t3_1osfbjg
|title=Masturbation with foreskin
|last=Anonymous
|publisher=REDDIT
|date=2025-11-04
|accessdate=2025-11-09
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://www.reddit.com/r/Intactivists/comments/1o03x02/if_im_circumcised_why_do_i_still_feel_pleasure/
|title=If im circumcised, why do I still feel pleasure?
|last=Anonymous
|publisher=REDDIT
|date=2025-09
|accessdate=2025-11-22
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://www.reddit.com/r/uncircumcised_talk/comments/1p8c7js/do_you_prefer_to_orgasm_with_it_pulled_back_or/?sort=old
|title=Do you prefer to orgasm with it pulled back or forward? Does it make a difference?
|last=Anonymous
|publisher=REDDIT
|date=2025-11-27
|accessdate=2025-11-28
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://www.reddit.com/r/uncircumcised_talk/comments/1pmkb1x/foreskins_role_in_masturbating/
|title=Foreskin’s role in masturbating.
|last=Anonymous
|publisher=REDDIT
|date=2025-12-14
|accessdate=2025-12-14
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://www.reddit.com/r/uncircumcised_talk/comments/1q588k5/being_intact_and_multiple_orgasms/
|title=Being intact and multiple orgasms
|last=Anonymous
|publisher=REDDIT
|date=2026-01-05
|accessdate=2026-01-23
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://www.reddit.com/r/uncircumcised_talk/comments/1qjs9g1/if_ure_moving_foreskin_back_and_forth_over_glans/
|title=If ure moving foreskin back and forth over glans retracting and covering it to masturbate, can u do it smoothly dry without any external lubricant or spit also? Doesn’t inner foreskin and glans stick together if it’s dry?
|last=Anonymous
|publisher=REDDIT
|date=2026-01-22
|accessdate=2026-01-26
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://www.reddit.com/r/uncircumcised_talk/comments/1s1a8ey/foreskin_length/
|title=Foreskin length
|last=Anonymous
|first=
|init=
|author-link=
|publisher=Reddit
|date=2026-03-23
|accessdate=2026-03-23
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://www.reddit.com/r/uncircumcised_talk/comments/1uxpt04/masturbation/
|title=Masturbation?
|last=Anonymous
|publisher=Reddit
|date=2026-07-15
|accessdate=2026-07-19
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://www.reddit.com/r/uncircumcised_talk/comments/1v0k3an/masturbation_tips/
|title=Masturbation Tips
|last=Anonymous
|publisher=Reddit
|date=2026-07-19
|accessdate=2026-07-19
}}
{{REF}}

[[Category:Term]]
[[Category:Foreskinned life]]
[[Category:Male circumcision]]
[[Category:Sexuality]]
[[Category:Male sexuality]]
[[Category:Female sexuality]]
[[Category:Penis]]
[[Category:Teen]]

[[de:Masturbation]]

Masturbation

2026-07-20T01:48:28Z

WikiModEn2: /* Is masturbation good or bad for you? */ Add external links.

'''Masturbation''' is the sexual stimulation of one's own genitals for sexual arousal or other sexual pleasure, usually to the point of orgasm.<ref name="webmd">{{REFweb
|first=Jennifer
|last=Robinson
|url=http://www.webmd.com/sex-relationships/guide/masturbation-guide
|title=Masturbation – Is Masturbation Normal or Harmful? Who Masturbates? Why Do People Masturbate?
|publisher=WebMD
|date=2010-03-04
|accessdate=2011-08-17
}}</ref><ref name="Lehmiller">{{REFbook
|last=Lehmiller
|first=J.J.
|init=JJ
|title=The Psychology of Human Sexuality
|publisher=John Wiley & Sons
|isbn=978-1119164708
|year=2017
|page=402
|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ytk5DwAAQBAJ&pg=PT402
|quote=Masturbation refers to all solo forms of self-stimulation focusing on the genitals. Masturbation practices vary widely depending upon the individual's body and personal preferences. For instance, masturbation among women may involve manipulation of the [[clitoris]] and labia, stimulation of the breasts, or vaginal penetration with a sex toy. [...] Among men, masturbation most frequently involves using one or both hands to stimulate the penis. Of course, men sometimes utilize sex toys too (e.g., masturbation sleeves, butt-plugs, etc.).
}}</ref><ref name="Nadal">{{REFbook
|last=Nadal
|first=K.L.
|init=KL
|title=The SAGE Encyclopedia of Psychology and Gender
|publisher=SAGE
|isbn=978-1483384276
|year=2017
|page=1123
|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lVYoDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA1123
|quote=Masturbation is the act of touching or otherwise stimulating one's own body, particularly one's genitals, for the purpose of sexual pleasure and/or orgasm. The term is most commonly used to describe solitary masturbation, in which people provide themselves with sexual stimulation while they are physically alone. Mutual masturbation is when two or more people manually stimulate their own body or each other's bodies.
}}</ref> The stimulation may involve hands, fingers, everyday objects, sex toys such as vibrators, or combinations of these.<ref name="webmd"/><ref name="Lehmiller"/> Mutual masturbation is masturbation with a sexual partner,<ref name="Nadal"/><ref name="Bruess">{{REFbook
|last=Bruess
|first=C.E.
|init=CE
|last2=Schroeder
|first2=E.
|init2=E
|title=Sexuality Education Theory And Practice
|publisher=Jones & Bartlett Publishers
|isbn=978-1449649289
|year=2013
|page=151
|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WWFW6-kkAVoC&pg=PA151
}}</ref> and may include manual stimulation of a partner's genitals (fingering or a handjob),<ref name="Bruess"/> or be used as a form of non-penetrative sex.<ref name="Upton">{{REFbook
|last=Upton
|first=D.
|init=D
|title=Nursing & Health Survival Guide: Health Promotion
|publisher=Routledge
|isbn=978-1317906179
|year=2014
|page=52
|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VnvJAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA52
}}</ref> Masturbation is benign and harmless. Recently a German health insurance company even recommended masturbation as a sleep aid!<ref>{{REFweb
|url=https://www.spiegel.de/gesundheit/sex/barmer-krankenkasse-empfiehlt-selbstbefriedigung-als-einschlafhilfe-a-1279049.html
|title=Barmer Krankenkasse empfiehlt Masturbation zum Einschlafen
|trans-title=Barmer health insurance recommends masturbation to sleep
|language=German
|publisher=Spiegel
|date=2019-07-25
|accessdate=2020-05-01
}}</ref>

Masturbation is normal, natural, and healthy. It is common in both sexes and at any age. Various medical and psychological benefits have been attributed to a healthy attitude toward sexual activity in general and to masturbation in particular. No causal relationship is known between masturbation and any form of mental or physical disorder.<ref>{{REFbook
|last=Coleman
|first=Eli
|init=E
|year=2012
|orig-year=2002
|url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150722160223/http://samples.sainsburysebooks.co.uk/9781317787587_sample_833458.pdf
|editors=Bockting, Walter O. & Coleman, Eli
|title=Masturbation as a Means of Achieving Sexual Health
|location=New York
|publisher=Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group
|page=7
|isbn=978-0-7890-2047-5
|oclc=50913590
|quote=Despite the scientific evidence indicating that masturbation is generally a normal variant of sexual expression and that it does not seem to have a causal relationship with sexual pathology, negative attitudes about masturbation persist and it remains stigmatized.
}}</ref> <ref name="link2022">{{REFweb
|url=https://www.healthline.com/health/masturbation-side-effects
|title=Masturbation — How Does It Affect Your Health?
|last=Link
|first=Rachel
|init=
|publisher=Healthline
|date=2022-05-06
|accessdate=2022-12-17
}}
</ref> In the Western world, masturbation in private or with a partner is generally considered a normal and healthy part of sexual enjoyment.

Medical science has not established any limits on the quantity or frequency of masturbation. One is free to do it as much and as often as one desires. There is no minimum or maximum age for masturbation. Interest in masturbation typically increases with the onset of [[puberty]].

Masturbation may help with:
* Reducing anxiety.
* Maintaining sexual function.
* Supporting overall emotional well-being.<ref>{{REFweb
|url=https://goit.science/masturbation-secrets-old-men-wish-they-knew-sooner/
|title=Is Masturbation Harmful to Men Over 70? Dr. Stefan Buntrock Explains
|last=Buntrock
|first=
|init=S
|author-link=
|publisher=Go It
|date=2025-01-02
|accessdate=2025-08-05
}}</ref>

==Male masturbation==
Masturbation to orgasm before bed is very relaxing and contributes to sleeping. Moreover, it prevents overfilled [[seminal vesicles]] and [[nocturnal emission| nocturnal emissions]] (wet dreams}. Masturbation to orgasm in the morning may help a teen to get through the school day.

The manner of male masturbation tends to be controlled by the [[circumcision]] status of the individual. How one masturbates depends on whether one has an [[intact]], internally-lubricated, movable erogenous [[foreskin]] that [[gliding action| glides]] up and down the shaft of the [[penis]] or whether one has been [[circumcised]] and has restricted or non-existent skin mobility and loss of [[gliding action]].<ref>{{REFweb
|url=https://www.reddit.com/user/C4Charkey/comments/1jumd8x/the_accidental_intactivist_manifesto_ii_the_myth/
|title=Section II. The Myth of the Foreskin: Deconstructing the Label, Understanding the Whole
|last=C4Charkey
|first=
|init=
|author-link=C4Charkey
|publisher=REDDIT
|date=2025-04-08
|accessdate=2025-04-13
}}</ref>

Masturbation may be helpful in reducing a persistent [[erection]].

Andersen-Giberson (2025) states:
<blockquote>
Regarding masturbation, the elimination of the foreskin presents a radically different version of self-pleasure than with an intact penis, where there is no foreskin to use for the rhythmic gliding action of masturbation.<ref name="andersen2025">{{REFjournal
|last=Andersen-Giberson
|init=D
|author-link=Dale Andersen
|url=https://cdd.journals.yorku.ca/index.php/cdd/article/view/39786/36016
|title=Circumcision and forced disability: Routine male neonatal circumcision and the consequences of amputation within a critical disability studies framework
|journal=Critical Disability Discourses
|date=2025-12
|volume=10
|issue=2
|pages=1-37
|URL=https://cdd.journals.yorku.ca/index.php/cdd/article/view/39786/36016
|DOI=https://doi.org/10.25071/1918-6215.39786
|accessdate=2026-03-12
|quote=In a critical disability studies framework, it is argued that the act of amputating healthy erogenous tissue and the consequences of that amputation cause disability, particularly from a counter-hegemonic lens.
|format=PDF
|accessdate=2026-03-12
}}</ref>
</blockquote>

There is no minimum age for masturbation. Young adolescents may experience dry orgasms until secretion of [[semen]] commences.
===Reduction of incidence of prostate cancer===
Rider et al. (2016) report that frequent [[ejaculation]] is associated with a reduced incidence of [[prostate cancer]].<ref>{{REFjournal
|last=Rider
|first=
|init=JR
|author-link=
|last2=Wilson
|first2=
|init2=KM
|author2-link=
|last3=Sinnot
|first3=
|init3=JA
|author3-link=
|last4=Kelly
|first4=
|init4=RS
|author4-link=
|last5=Mucci
|first5=
|init5=LA
|author5-link=
|last6=Gionvannucci
|first6=
|init6=EL
|author6-link=
|etal=no
|title=Ejaculation Frequency and Risk of Prostate Cancer: Updated Results with an Additional Decade of Follow-up
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal=Eur Urol
|location=
|date=2016-12
|volume=70
|issue=6
|pages=974-82
|url=https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5040619/
|archived=
|quote=These findings provide additional evidence of a beneficial role of more frequent ejaculation throughout adult life in the etiology of PCa, particularly for low-risk disease.
|pubmedID=27033442
|pubmedCID=5040619
|DOI=10.1016/j.eururo.2016.03.027
|accessdate=2025-01-06
}}</ref> Masturbation is helpful in providing frequent [[ejaculation]].

=== Intact [[penis]] ===
===Masturbation with foreskin===
The movable, internally-lubricated, [[Ridged band| nerve-laden]] erogenous [[foreskin]] and its [[gliding action]] is an important aid to masturbation.<ref name="kimpang2007">{{KimDS PangMG 2007}}</ref> [[Intact]] males simply use their hand to glide the [[foreskin]] back and forth.<ref>{{REFweb
|url=https://www.reddit.com/r/uncircumcised_talk/comments/1lysu09/i_cant_cum_if_i_am_not_touching_my_foreskin/
|title=I cant cum if i am not touching my foreskin
|last=Anonymous
|first=
|init=
|author-link=
|publisher=REDDIT
|date=2025-07-13
|accessdate=2025-07-25
}}</ref> It is ''not'' necessary to retract the [[foreskin]] while masturbating. If the foreskin is of adequate length, then the [[foreskinned]] male will usually keep it forward for additional stimulation. Keeping the head covered by the [[foreskin]] also protects the sensitive [[mucosa]] covering the [[glans penis| head]]. The motion of the foreskin, as in [[gliding action]], stimulates the nerves ([[Meissner's corpuscles]]) in the [[foreskin]].<ref name="garcía-mesa2021">{{REFjournal
|last=García-Mesa
|first=Yolanda
|init=
|author-link=
|last2=García-Piqueras
|first2=Jorge
|init2=
|author2-link=
|last3=Cobo
|first3=Ramón
|init3=
|author3-link=
|last4=Martín-Cruces
|first4=José
|init4=
|author4-link=
|last5=Suazo
|first5=Iván
|init5=
|author5-link=
|last6=García-Suárez
|first6=Olivia
|init6=
|author6-link=
|last7=Feito
|first7=Jorge
|init7=
|author7-link=
|last8=
|first8=Vega
|init8=José A.
|author8-link=
|etal=no
|title=Sensory innervation of the human male prepuce: Meissner's corpuscles predominate
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal=Journal of Anatomy
|location=
|date=2021-10
|volume=239
|issue=4
|article=
|page=
|pages=892-902
|url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/joa.13481
|pubmedID=34120333
|pubmedCID=8450466
|DOI=10.1111/joa.13481
|accessdate=2025-09-09
}}</ref> Foreskins naturally vary greatly in length and tightness, so men report different experiences, however every [[foreskin]] offers a [[ridged band]] and [[gliding action]]. There are many variations in technque.<ref>{{REFweb
|url=http://jackinworld.com/techniques/jackinexpert-collection/foreskin-fun
|title=Foreskin Fun
|last=
|first=
|init=
|publisher=JackinWorld
|date=
|accessdate=2024-02-25
}}</ref> <ref>{{REFweb
|url=https://www.reddit.com/r/uncircumcised_talk/comments/1o3843x/masturbating/?chainedPosts=t3_1o4xmmq
|title=Masturbating
|last=Anonymous
|publisher=REDDIT
|date=2025-10-12
|accessdate=2025-10-13
}}</ref>

Prolonged and/or vigorous masturbation occasionally causes [[lymphoedema]] of the [[foreskin]], which causes temporary swelling of the [[foreskin]]. The condition is painless and harmless. It usually resolves within about 24 hours.<ref>{{REFweb
|url=https://www.reddit.com/r/hardflaccidresearch/comments/1k393ff/foreskin_swelling_after_masturbating/
|title=Foreskin swelling after masturbating
|last=Anonymous
|first=
|init=
|author-link=
|publisher=REDDIT
|date=2025-04
|accessdate=2025-05-12
}}</ref>

[[Sclerosing lymphangitis]] is a rare condition that is associated with vigorous masturbation.<ref name="rosen2003">{{REFjournal
|last=Rosen
|first=
|init=T
|author-link=
|last2=Hwong
|first2=
|init2=H
|author2-link=
|etal=no
|title=Sclerosing lymphangitis of the penis
|trans-title=
|journal= J Am Acad Dermatol
|date=2003-11
|season=
|volume=49
|issue=5
|article=
|pages=916-8
|url=https://www.jaad.org/article/S0190-9622(03)00464-X/abstract
|archived=
|quote=
|pubmedID=14576679
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=10.1016/s0190-9622(03)00464-x
|accessdate=2025-02-10
}}</ref> <ref name="babu2014">{{REFjournal
|last=Babu
|first=
|init=AK
|author-link=
|last2=Krishnan
|first2=
|init2=P
|author2-link=
|last3=Andezuth
|first3=
|init3=DD
|author3-link=
|etal=no
|title=Sclerosing lymphangitis of penis—literature review and report of 2 cases
|trans-title=
|journal= Dermatol Online J
|date=2014-07-15
|season=
|volume=20
|issue=7
|pages=13030/qt7gq9h1v9
|url=https://escholarship.org/uc/item/7gq9h1v9
|archived=
|quote=
|pubmedID=25046462
|pubmedCID=
|accessdate=2025-02-10
}}</ref>

Many believe that [[foreskinned]] men tend to produce more [[pre-ejaculate]] than [[circumcised]] men, perhaps because of better erogenous stimulation.
====Lubrication====
Lubrication is a crutch for men crippled by [[circumcision]]. Use of lubrication is optional for [[intact]] males as the mobile [[gliding action]] of the [[foreskin]] renders lubrication unnecessary.<ref>{{REFweb
|url=https://www.reddit.com/r/uncircumcised_talk/comments/1nwnl9c/i_use_my_foreskin_as_lube/
|title=I use my foreskin as lube
|last=Anonymous
|first=
|init=
|author-link=
|publisher=REDDIT
|date=2025-10-03
|accessdate=2025-10-05
}}</ref> An informal online survey of [[intact]] and restored males in 2024 found use of lubricant is unnecessary and unpopular with almost no use of lubricant, although a few [[intact]] men enjoy the sensation produced by lubrication.<ref name="survey2025">{{REFweb
|url=https://www.reddit.com/r/uncircumcised_talk/comments/1hs49xk/do_you_use_lubricant_when_masturbating/
|title=Do you use lubricant when masturbating?
|last=Anonymous
|first=
|init=
|author-link=
|publisher=REDDIT
|date=2025-01-02
|accessdate=2025-01-05
}}</ref>

====Masturbation with phimosis====
[[Phimosis]] or tight [[foreskin]] generally does not create any kind of difficulty with masturbation. It is ''not'' necessary to retract the [[foreskin]] while masturbating. The outer layer of foreskin may be [[Gliding_action| glided]] without retraction. Phimosed men may pull their non-retractile [[foreskin]] away from the body. There is some anecdotal evidence that phimosed males will stimulate their [[acroposthion]] more than non-phimosed males. Some claim that men with phimosis are more aroused and have a greater desire to masturbate.<ref>{{REFweb
|url=https://www.reddit.com/r/uncircumcised_talk/comments/1kjqhh8/comment/mrsogrc/?context=3
|title=Whenever I'm erect, the tight encasement of my glans feels fantastic!
|last=
|first=
|init=
|author-link=
|publisher=REDDIT
|date=
|accessdate=2025-05-12
}}</ref>

Beaugé (1997) stated that adult [[phimosis]] is caused by unusual methods of masturbation that fail to [[Stretching| stretch]] the narrow [[foreskin]] of childhood. According to Beaugé, the condition may be treated by changing one's method of masturbation so that the foreskin is pulled back against the head of the [[penis]] causing the [[foreskin]] to stretch.<ref name="beauge1997">{{REFjournal
|last=Beaugé
|init=M
|author-link=
|url=http://www.cirp.org/library/treatment/phimosis/beauge2/
|title=The causes of adolescent phimosis.
|journal=Br J Sex Med
|date=1997-10
|volume=
|issue=
|pages=26
|accessdate=2023-06-24
}}</ref>

====Masturbation for intact teens====
Milos (2022) advises regarding a 14-year-old [[intact]] teen:
<blockquote>
I am happy that you and your son can talk candidly about sex. You can explain to him that, just as you cautioned him not to forcibly retract his [[foreskin]], he needs to be careful with his foreskin when he masturbates. Here’s why: One or two millimeters under the penile skin is a smooth muscle sheath called the [[dartos]] fascia. The dartos fascia covers the shaft of the [[penis]] and extends to the tip. The dartos fascia muscle fibers near the tip of the foreskin form a sphincter-like structure—or a ring—that acts like a one-way valve and shields the urinary opening.

The muscle fibers of the ring will become elastic over time as your son’s foreskin loosens with the hormones of [[puberty]] and eventually fully retracts. Until then, tell your son to masturbate gently to slowly widen the opening. If he masturbates too vigorously, he can force the head of the penis through the opening and tear the ring, causing bleeding as well as pain. Gentleness is always important when the genitals are involved.<ref name="milos2022-07-25">{{REFweb
|url=https://intactamerica.org/ask-marilyn-why-is-vigorous-masturbation-painful-for-this-intact-teen/
|title=Ask Marilyn—Why Is Vigorous Masturbation Painful for this Intact Teen?
|last=Milos
|first=
|init=MF
|publisher=Intact America
|date=2022-07-25
|accessdate=2024-05-04
}}</ref>
</blockquote>

===Circumcised penis===
====Masturbation without foreskin====

Circumcised men are sexually handicapped,<ref name="andesen2025">{{REFjournal
|last=Andersen-Ghiberson
|first=Dale
|init=
|author-link=
|etal=no
|title=Circumcision and forced disability: Routine male neonatal circumcision and the consequences of amputation within a critical disability studies framework
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal=Critical Disability Discourses
|location=
|url=https://cdd.journals.yorku.ca/index.php/cdd/article/view/39786/36016
|date=2025-12-19
|accessdate=2026-07-01
}}</ref> so adjustments to masturbation technique may be required.

Nineteenth century physicians falsely believed that masturbation caused many diseases, including epilepsy, so they thought of ways to prevent masturbation. Bauer (1878) recommended infibulation,<ref name="bauer1878">{{REFjournal
|last=Bauer
|init=L
|url=
|title=Dementia brought on by excessive self-abuse: cure by infibulation
|journal=St Louis Clin Record
|date=1878
|volume=4
|issue=
|pages=271-3
|accessdate=2023-10-30
}}</ref> <ref name="bauer1879">{{REFjournal
|last=Bauer
|init=L
|author-link=
|url=
|title=Infibulation as a remedy for epilepsy and seminal losses
|journal=St Louis Clin Record
|date=1879
|volume=6
|issue=
|pages=163-5
|accessdate=2023-10-30
}}</ref> but circumcision was the favored treatment.<ref name="schultheiss2003">{{REFjournal
|last=Schultheiss
|first=
|init=D
|author-link=
|last2=Mattelaer
|first2=
|init2=JJ
|author2-link=
|last3=Hodges
|first3=
|init3=FM
|author3-link=Frederick M. Hodges
|etal=no
|title=Preputial infibulation: from ancient medicine to modern genital piercing
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal=BJU Int
|location=
|date=2003-11
|volume=92
|issue=7
|article=
|page=
|pages=758-63
|url=https://bjui-journals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1046/j.1464-410X.2003.04490.x
|archived=
|quote=
|pubmedID=14616462
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=10.1046/j.1464-410x.2003.04490.x
|doi=
|accessdate=2023-10-30
}}</ref> <ref>{{REFweb
|url=https://www.reddit.com/r/Pro_Male_Collective/comments/1nglucz/male_circumcision_is_intended_to_prevent/
|title=Male circumcision is intended to prevent masturbation
|last=Anonymous
|first=
|init=
|author-link=
|publisher=REDDIT
|date=2025-09
|accessdate=2025-10-16
}}</ref>

[[Circumcision]] was introduced in English-speaking nations in Victorian times (19th century) to un-[[foreskin]] the [[penis]], tighten the [[skin]] to make it immovable, and make it impossible for [[circumcised]] guys to masturbate.<ref name="moses1871">{{Moses1871}}</ref> It failed to stop masturbation, but it made it harder to do and less enjoyable. [[E. J. Spratling]] (1895) gave instructions on doing circumcisions to other doctors:

<blockquote>
In all cases [of masturbation] circumcision is undoubtedly the physicians' closest friend and ally ... To obtain the best results one must cut away enough [[skin]] and [[Mucosa| mucous membrane]] to rather put it on the stretch when erections come later. There must be no play in the [[skin]] after the wound has thoroughly healed, but it must fit tightly over the [[penis]], for should there be any play the patient will be found to readily resume his practice, not begrudging the time and extra energy required to produce the orgasm. It is true, however, that the longer it takes to have an orgasm, the less frequently it will be attempted, consequently the greater the benefit gained ... The younger the patient operated upon the more pronounced the benefit, though occasionally we find patients who were [[circumcised]] before [[puberty]] that require a resection of the [[skin]], as it has grown loose and pliant after that epoch.<ref name="spratling1895">{{REFjournal
|last=Spratling
|init=EJ
|author-link=
|url=https://www.historyofcircumcision.com/templates/pages/treating_masturbation_1895.html
|title=Masturbation in the Adult
|journal=Medical Record
|date=1895-09-28
|volume=48
|issue=
|pages=442-3
|accessdate=2021-11-02
}}</ref>
</blockquote>

Kim & Pang (2007) reported that masturbatory pleasure decreased in 48% of the respondents and increased in 8%, while difficulty increased in 63% but was easier in 37%. They concluded that there was a decrease in masturbatory pleasure after [[circumcision]].<ref name="kimpang2007" />

Looking at male masturbation in erotic videos, it is noticeable that a [[penis]] without a [[foreskin]] is often stimulated by hand as if a [[foreskin]] were present. Even without a [[foreskin]], the hand is pushed back and forth along the [[Shaft skin|shaft]] of the [[penis]], perhaps to simulate the stimulating movement of the (non-existent) [[foreskin]] over the [[glans]].

====Lubrication====

[[Circumcised]] males found that they could still practice [[masturbation]], if they used lubrication to overcome the crippling handicap of being [[circumcised]].<ref name="spratling1895" /> Lubrication has been characterized as a "prosthesis" used to overcome the impairment induced by amputation of a functional body part. Ravi Kumar (2017) reports:
<blockquote>
The disadvantages mainly lie in the removal of the foreskin, which constitutes almost half the skin on the penis. The foreskin provides natural lubrication and protection. It is well-known that a circumcised man cannot indulge in masturbation without a lubricant – which makes the act much more difficult and time-consuming.<ref>{{REFweb
|url=https://www.youthkiawaaz.com/2017/02/the-stigma-of-circumcision-in-india
|title=Stop Body-Shaming Me Just Because I Am Circumcised
|last=Kumar
|first=Ravi
|init=
|author-link=
|publisher=Youth Ki Awaaz
|date=2017-02-14
|accessdate=2025-06-19
}}</ref></blockquote>
Most, but not all, [[circumcised]] males need lubrication to avoid friction irritation and reach orgasm.<ref name="techniques2022">{{REFweb
|url=http://www.jackinworld.com/techniques/the-basics/lubrication
|title=Lubrication
|last=
|first=
|date=
|accessdate=2022-04-24
}}</ref> Some [[circumcised]] males who have a loose cut and some [[gliding action]] find it is enough to support masturbation without lubrication.

''Substances with harsh or irritant chemicals should not be used for lubrication.''<ref>{{REFweb
|url=http://www.jackinworld.com/questions-answered/troubleshooting-faq/male-masturbation-semen-or-ejaculation/lubes/what-kinds-lubr-0
|title=What kinds of lubrication do you not recommend?
|last=
|first=
|date=
|accessdate=2022-04-24
}}</ref>

One may use various personal lubricants that are sold for sexual lubrication<ref>{{REFweb
|url=http://www.jackinworld.com/questions-answered/troubleshooting-faq/male-masturbation-semen-or-ejaculation/lubes/what-kinds-lubri
|title=What kinds of lubrication do you recommend?
|last=
|first=
|date=
|accessdate=2022-04-24
}}</ref> or one may use such substances as baby oil, coconut oil, [[jojoba]] oil, other vegetable oils, or saliva. Saliva dries rapidly so it must be replenished frequently, but it is always available.

====Death grip masturbation====
Many commenters on death grip syndrome seem profoundly ignorant of the effects of circumcision ([[MGM]]). Their comments are not helpful. Death grip masturbation may be regarded as a late complication of circumcision.

[[Circumcision]] excises about 15-square-inches of highly-innervated erogenous tissue<ref name="winklemann1959">{{WinkelmannRK 1959}}</ref> from the [[penis]], reduces or eliminates the [[gliding action]], and severely reduces [[Foreskin sensitivity| penile sensation]].<ref name="taylor1996">{{TaylorJR LockwoodAP TaylorAJ 1996}}</ref> [[Circumcised]] men, with their desensitized [[penis]], in an attempt to restore lost sensation, are more likely to try using a very tight grip when they masturbate. This technique is referred to by the slang term ''death grip masturbation''.<ref name="savage2019">{{REFweb
|url=https://www.joseph4gi.com/2019/11/death-grip-and-circumcision-is-there.html?m=1
|title=Death Grip and Circumcision: Is There a Correlation?
|last=Savage
|first=Dan
|init=
|publisher=Joseph4GI
|date=2019-11-17
|accessdate=2024-05-13
}}</ref>

Practitioners of death grip masturbation may do better by using lubrication and a lighter grip.<ref>{{REFweb
|url=https://www.menshealth.com/sex-women/a27044367/death-grip-masturbation/
|title=Are You Using a 'Death Grip' During Masturbation? It Could Be Messing With Your Sex Life
|last=Engle
|first=Gigi
|init=
|publisher=Men's Health
|date=2019-04-04
|accessdate=2023-08-13
}}</ref> <ref>{{REFweb
|url=https://www.forhims.com/blog/death-grip-syndrome
|title=Death Grip Syndrome: What It Is & How to Treat It
|last=Hagerty
|first=Katelyn
|init=
|publisher=hims
|date=2023-07-27
|accessdate=2023-08-13
}}</ref> For the longer term, non-surgical [[foreskin restoration]] may help to improve sensation.<ref>{{REFbook
|last=Bigelow, Ph.D
|first=Jim
|init=
|author-link=Jim Bigelow
|year=1995
|title=The Joy of Uncircumcising
|url=
|work=
|editor=
|edition=Second Edition
|volume=
|chapter=Why Men Today Want to Uncircumcise
|scope=
|page=
|pages=113-4
|location=Aptos
|publisher=Hourglass
|ISBN=0-934061-22-X
|quote=
|accessdate=2023-08-13
|note=
}}</ref>

The presence of the [[foreskin]], with its high degree of [[Foreskin sensitivity| sensitivity]] and easy [[gliding action]], eliminates any need or desire for death grip masturbation among [[intact]] men.<ref name="savage2019" /> It appears to be impossible for a [[foreskinned]] man to practice death grip masturbation.

====Improving the masturbation experience====
[[Circumcised]] males are pitied by some [[intact]] males.<ref>{{REFweb
|url=https://www.reddit.com/r/uncircumcised_talk/comments/1m8yps6/i_feel_sorry_for_circumsised_guys/
|title=I feel sorry for circumsised guys
|last=Anonymous
|first=
|init=
|author-link=
|publisher=REDDIT
|date=2025-07-25
|accessdate=2025-07-26
}}</ref> [[Circumcised]] males who are not satisfied with the quality of their masturbation experience may wish to consider non-surgical [[foreskin restoration]]. It takes some time and effort to restore a missing foreskin, but once it is done, it will last the rest of one's life.

===Restored penis===
[[Circumcision]] (foreskin amputation) was promoted in the nineteenth century to stop masturbation.<ref name="bigelow1995">{{REFbook
|last=Bigelow
|first=Jim
|author-link=Jim Bigelow
|year=1995
|title=The Joy of Uncircumcising!: Exploring Circumcision: History, Myths, Psychology, Restoration, Sexual Pleasure, and Human Rights
|url=https://www.amazon.com/Joy-Uncircumcising-Circumcision-Psychology-Restoration/dp/093406122X
|editor=
|edition=2
|volume=
|chapter=America's 100-year Infatuation with Circumcision
|page=70
|location=
|publisher=Hourglass Book Publishing
|isbn=978-0934061223
}}</ref> It follows that restoration of the [[foreskin]] would facilitate and improve masturbation.

Many men who practice [[foreskin restoration]] report a substantial improvement in their masturbation experience with their [[restored]] [[penis]] as compared with their previous [[circumcised]] penis. Notably, they typically report an improvement in [[gliding action]], in [[Foreskin sensitivity| sensation]], and a reduction or elimination of the need for lubrication with their [[restored foreskin]].

==Refractory period==

After a wet or dry orgasm, one immediately goes into the refractory period.<ref>{{REFweb
|url=https://medical-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/refractory+period
|archived=
|title=Refractory period
|trans-title=
|language=
|last=
|first=
|author-link=
|publisher=Segen's Medical Dictionary
|website=thefreedictionary.com
|date=2012
|accessdate=2020-05-29
|format=
|quote=
}}</ref> The [[glans penis]] becomes hyper-sensitive and further masturbation becomes impossible for a variable period of time.

In human sexuality, the refractory period is usually the recovery phase after orgasm during which it is physiologically impossible for a man to have additional orgasms. This phase begins immediately after [[ejaculation]] and lasts until the excitement phase of the human sexual response cycle begins anew with low level response.

==Gooning==
''Gooning'' is an old slang word with many various meanings, but teens are now applying it to male masturbation.<ref>{{REFweb
|url=https://grammarverb.com/gooning/
|title=What does "gooning" mean
|last=Anonymous
|publisher=grammarverb.com
|date=2025-12-13
|accessdate=2026-03-14
}}</ref>

== Video ==
 
===Video for boys===
<youtube>v=4wRxbx0YfRU</youtube>
 
===Masturbation myths===
<youtube>v=xIFsNsf86KY</youtube>
 
===Is masturbation good or bad for you?===
[[Dr Bret Palmer]] explains.
<youtube>v=9O9Q8spuqcQ</youtube>

{{SEEALSO}}
* [[Body pleasure]]
* [[Erogenous sensation of the foreskin]]
* [[Foreskin play]]
* [[Gliding action]]
* [[Lymph]]
* [[Lymphoedema]]
* [[Manual tugging]]
* [[Penis]]
* [[Pre-ejaculate]]
* [[Sclerosing lymphangitis]]
* [[Semen]]
* [[Sexual effects of circumcision]]

{{LINKS}}
* {{URLwikipedia|Masturbation|Masturbation}}
* {{REFjournal
|last=Darby
|first=
|init=R
|author-link=Robert Darby
|etal=no
|title=The masturbation taboo and the rise of routine male circumcision: a review of the historiography
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal=J Soc Hist
|location=
|date=2003
|season=Spring
|volume=36
|issue=3
|pages=737-57
|url=https://d1wqtxts1xzle7.cloudfront.net/33685508/RD-MastJSH03-libre.pdf?1399951512=&response-content-disposition=inline%3B+filename%3DThe_Masturbation_Taboo_and_the_Rise_of_R.pdf&Expires=1757870104&Signature=bz--MK9BHuiaGORLq~xcaziD4~G48joTevxi8JRARGRATdRNMG0NLPtgLkxj3jg1TxDLh8f5iSPKQg4WDL9RSwMUyI4uj7TJ3VmhgaPEXy5G9hr6F7TRVAT17ngXtVPruoUdb3856nzIS-8psUIEZYTwZiA9oH24Y1KzLF6DWCFwJxAkLKo18KW0tG4s93Tojs1BafuF7APGIEmmMUcgOFuwha9y4H4CpJaAYojGr1F0X85NwMdduV5PXBPVynEcq79GZmLriKvr-MW47cqABEEWUdptDKtSk6MKQ1m4aHLGg8QYUKhsfE6hSnNkmOsBD8Vp33juU4BfBSgfYY6Esw__&Key-Pair-Id=APKAJLOHF5GGSLRBV4ZA
|archived=
|quote=
|format=PDF
|accessdate=2025-09-14
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://www.reddit.com/r/masturbation/comments/9m82v9/comment/e7etecv/
|title=Answers to questions about foreskin masturbation
|last=Anonymous
|first=
|init=
|author-link=
|publisher=REDDIT
|date=2018
|accessdate=2025-12-02
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=http://web.archive.org/web/20200824042005/https://www.reddit.com/r/masturbationquestions/wiki/howmale
|archived=yes
|title=How to masturbate with a penis
|last=
|first=
|accessdate=2021-07-20
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=http://acroposthion.com/masturbation-deterrent/
|archived=
|title=Masturbation Deterrent?
|trans-title=
|language=
|last=
|first=
|author-link=
|publisher=Acroposthion
|website=
|date=
|accessdate=2021-07-20
|format=
|quote=
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://www.healthline.com/health/masturbation-side-effects
|title=Masturbation — How Does It Affect Your Health?
|last=Link
|first=Rachel
|init=
|publisher=Healthline
|date=2022-05-06
|accessdate=2022-12-17
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://intactamerica.org/ask-marilyn-why-is-vigorous-masturbation-painful-for-this-intact-teen/
|title=Ask Marilyn—Why Is Vigorous Masturbation Painful for this Intact Teen?
|last=Milos
|first=Marilyn
|init=
|author-link=Marilyn Fayre Milos
|publisher=Intact America
|date=2022-07-25
|accessdate=2024-06-21
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://www.plannedparenthood.org/learn/sex-pleasure-and-sexual-dysfunction/masturbation
|title=Masturbation
|publisher=Planned Parenthood
|date=
|accessdate=2023-01-16
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://intactamerica.org/dyk-may-masturbation/
|title=“Do You Know?” May Is Masturbation Month
|last=Chapin
|first=
|init=G
|author-link=Georganne Chapin
|publisher=Intact America
|date=2023-06-23
|accessdate=2025-10-19
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://www.reddit.com/r/FriendsOfTheFrenulum/comments/1ma5zqc/the_data_is_in_the_silence_is_broken_a_first_look/
|title=The Data is In. The Silence is Broken. A First Look at Our Survey's Staggering Results.
|last=Intactivist
|first=Accidental
|init=
|author-link=
|publisher=REDDIT
|date=2025-07-26
|accessdate=2025-07-27
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://www.reddit.com/r/Puberty/comments/1n2psn4/do_uncut_guys_need_lube_too/
|title=Do uncut guys need lube too?
|last=Anonymous
|publisher=REDDIT
|date=2025-08-28
|accessdate=2025-08-29
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://www.reddit.com/r/uncircumcised_talk/comments/1n0cnh2/how_do_you_play_with_your_foreskin_not_sexually/
|title=How do you play with your foreskin? Not sexually, just casually
|last=Anonymous
|publisher=REDDIT
|date=2025-08-25
|accessdate=2025-09-04
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://www.reddit.com/r/uncircumcised_talk/comments/1n9vc90/jo/
|title=How to masturbate with a long foreskin
|last=Anonymous
|publisher=REDDIT
|date=2025-09-06
|accessdate=2025-09-09
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://www.reddit.com/r/uncircumcised_talk/comments/1nqur98/how_did_you_masturbate_before_you_could_retract/?chainedPosts=t3_1nrtpcb
|title=How did you masturbate before you could retract your foreskin?
|last=Anonymous
|publisher=REDDIT
|date=2025-09-26
|accessdate=2025-09-27
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://www.reddit.com/r/uncircumcised_talk/comments/1ooxau8/masturbation_with_foreskin/?chainedPosts=t3_1osfbjg
|title=Masturbation with foreskin
|last=Anonymous
|publisher=REDDIT
|date=2025-11-04
|accessdate=2025-11-09
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://www.reddit.com/r/Intactivists/comments/1o03x02/if_im_circumcised_why_do_i_still_feel_pleasure/
|title=If im circumcised, why do I still feel pleasure?
|last=Anonymous
|publisher=REDDIT
|date=2025-09
|accessdate=2025-11-22
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://www.reddit.com/r/uncircumcised_talk/comments/1p8c7js/do_you_prefer_to_orgasm_with_it_pulled_back_or/?sort=old
|title=Do you prefer to orgasm with it pulled back or forward? Does it make a difference?
|last=Anonymous
|publisher=REDDIT
|date=2025-11-27
|accessdate=2025-11-28
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://www.reddit.com/r/uncircumcised_talk/comments/1pmkb1x/foreskins_role_in_masturbating/
|title=Foreskin’s role in masturbating.
|last=Anonymous
|publisher=REDDIT
|date=2025-12-14
|accessdate=2025-12-14
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://www.reddit.com/r/uncircumcised_talk/comments/1q588k5/being_intact_and_multiple_orgasms/
|title=Being intact and multiple orgasms
|last=Anonymous
|publisher=REDDIT
|date=2026-01-05
|accessdate=2026-01-23
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://www.reddit.com/r/uncircumcised_talk/comments/1qjs9g1/if_ure_moving_foreskin_back_and_forth_over_glans/
|title=If ure moving foreskin back and forth over glans retracting and covering it to masturbate, can u do it smoothly dry without any external lubricant or spit also? Doesn’t inner foreskin and glans stick together if it’s dry?
|last=Anonymous
|publisher=REDDIT
|date=2026-01-22
|accessdate=2026-01-26
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://www.reddit.com/r/uncircumcised_talk/comments/1s1a8ey/foreskin_length/
|title=Foreskin length
|last=Anonymous
|first=
|init=
|author-link=
|publisher=Reddit
|date=2026-03-23
|accessdate=2026-03-23
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://www.reddit.com/r/uncircumcised_talk/comments/1uxpt04/masturbation/
|title=Masturbation?
|last=Anonymous
|publisher=Reddit
|date=2026-07-15
|accessdate=2026-07-19
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://www.reddit.com/r/uncircumcised_talk/comments/1v0k3an/masturbation_tips/
|title=Masturbation Tips
|last=Anonymous
|publisher=Reddit
|date=2026-07-19
|accessdate=2026-07-19
}}
{{REF}}

[[Category:Term]]
[[Category:Foreskinned life]]
[[Category:Male circumcision]]
[[Category:Sexuality]]
[[Category:Male sexuality]]
[[Category:Female sexuality]]
[[Category:Penis]]
[[Category:Teen]]

[[de:Masturbation]]

Masturbation

2026-07-20T01:44:34Z

WikiModEn2: /* Is masturbation good or bad for you? */

'''Masturbation''' is the sexual stimulation of one's own genitals for sexual arousal or other sexual pleasure, usually to the point of orgasm.<ref name="webmd">{{REFweb
|first=Jennifer
|last=Robinson
|url=http://www.webmd.com/sex-relationships/guide/masturbation-guide
|title=Masturbation – Is Masturbation Normal or Harmful? Who Masturbates? Why Do People Masturbate?
|publisher=WebMD
|date=2010-03-04
|accessdate=2011-08-17
}}</ref><ref name="Lehmiller">{{REFbook
|last=Lehmiller
|first=J.J.
|init=JJ
|title=The Psychology of Human Sexuality
|publisher=John Wiley & Sons
|isbn=978-1119164708
|year=2017
|page=402
|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ytk5DwAAQBAJ&pg=PT402
|quote=Masturbation refers to all solo forms of self-stimulation focusing on the genitals. Masturbation practices vary widely depending upon the individual's body and personal preferences. For instance, masturbation among women may involve manipulation of the [[clitoris]] and labia, stimulation of the breasts, or vaginal penetration with a sex toy. [...] Among men, masturbation most frequently involves using one or both hands to stimulate the penis. Of course, men sometimes utilize sex toys too (e.g., masturbation sleeves, butt-plugs, etc.).
}}</ref><ref name="Nadal">{{REFbook
|last=Nadal
|first=K.L.
|init=KL
|title=The SAGE Encyclopedia of Psychology and Gender
|publisher=SAGE
|isbn=978-1483384276
|year=2017
|page=1123
|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lVYoDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA1123
|quote=Masturbation is the act of touching or otherwise stimulating one's own body, particularly one's genitals, for the purpose of sexual pleasure and/or orgasm. The term is most commonly used to describe solitary masturbation, in which people provide themselves with sexual stimulation while they are physically alone. Mutual masturbation is when two or more people manually stimulate their own body or each other's bodies.
}}</ref> The stimulation may involve hands, fingers, everyday objects, sex toys such as vibrators, or combinations of these.<ref name="webmd"/><ref name="Lehmiller"/> Mutual masturbation is masturbation with a sexual partner,<ref name="Nadal"/><ref name="Bruess">{{REFbook
|last=Bruess
|first=C.E.
|init=CE
|last2=Schroeder
|first2=E.
|init2=E
|title=Sexuality Education Theory And Practice
|publisher=Jones & Bartlett Publishers
|isbn=978-1449649289
|year=2013
|page=151
|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WWFW6-kkAVoC&pg=PA151
}}</ref> and may include manual stimulation of a partner's genitals (fingering or a handjob),<ref name="Bruess"/> or be used as a form of non-penetrative sex.<ref name="Upton">{{REFbook
|last=Upton
|first=D.
|init=D
|title=Nursing & Health Survival Guide: Health Promotion
|publisher=Routledge
|isbn=978-1317906179
|year=2014
|page=52
|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VnvJAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA52
}}</ref> Masturbation is benign and harmless. Recently a German health insurance company even recommended masturbation as a sleep aid!<ref>{{REFweb
|url=https://www.spiegel.de/gesundheit/sex/barmer-krankenkasse-empfiehlt-selbstbefriedigung-als-einschlafhilfe-a-1279049.html
|title=Barmer Krankenkasse empfiehlt Masturbation zum Einschlafen
|trans-title=Barmer health insurance recommends masturbation to sleep
|language=German
|publisher=Spiegel
|date=2019-07-25
|accessdate=2020-05-01
}}</ref>

Masturbation is normal, natural, and healthy. It is common in both sexes and at any age. Various medical and psychological benefits have been attributed to a healthy attitude toward sexual activity in general and to masturbation in particular. No causal relationship is known between masturbation and any form of mental or physical disorder.<ref>{{REFbook
|last=Coleman
|first=Eli
|init=E
|year=2012
|orig-year=2002
|url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150722160223/http://samples.sainsburysebooks.co.uk/9781317787587_sample_833458.pdf
|editors=Bockting, Walter O. & Coleman, Eli
|title=Masturbation as a Means of Achieving Sexual Health
|location=New York
|publisher=Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group
|page=7
|isbn=978-0-7890-2047-5
|oclc=50913590
|quote=Despite the scientific evidence indicating that masturbation is generally a normal variant of sexual expression and that it does not seem to have a causal relationship with sexual pathology, negative attitudes about masturbation persist and it remains stigmatized.
}}</ref> <ref name="link2022">{{REFweb
|url=https://www.healthline.com/health/masturbation-side-effects
|title=Masturbation — How Does It Affect Your Health?
|last=Link
|first=Rachel
|init=
|publisher=Healthline
|date=2022-05-06
|accessdate=2022-12-17
}}
</ref> In the Western world, masturbation in private or with a partner is generally considered a normal and healthy part of sexual enjoyment.

Medical science has not established any limits on the quantity or frequency of masturbation. One is free to do it as much and as often as one desires. There is no minimum or maximum age for masturbation. Interest in masturbation typically increases with the onset of [[puberty]].

Masturbation may help with:
* Reducing anxiety.
* Maintaining sexual function.
* Supporting overall emotional well-being.<ref>{{REFweb
|url=https://goit.science/masturbation-secrets-old-men-wish-they-knew-sooner/
|title=Is Masturbation Harmful to Men Over 70? Dr. Stefan Buntrock Explains
|last=Buntrock
|first=
|init=S
|author-link=
|publisher=Go It
|date=2025-01-02
|accessdate=2025-08-05
}}</ref>

==Male masturbation==
Masturbation to orgasm before bed is very relaxing and contributes to sleeping. Moreover, it prevents overfilled [[seminal vesicles]] and [[nocturnal emission| nocturnal emissions]] (wet dreams}. Masturbation to orgasm in the morning may help a teen to get through the school day.

The manner of male masturbation tends to be controlled by the [[circumcision]] status of the individual. How one masturbates depends on whether one has an [[intact]], internally-lubricated, movable erogenous [[foreskin]] that [[gliding action| glides]] up and down the shaft of the [[penis]] or whether one has been [[circumcised]] and has restricted or non-existent skin mobility and loss of [[gliding action]].<ref>{{REFweb
|url=https://www.reddit.com/user/C4Charkey/comments/1jumd8x/the_accidental_intactivist_manifesto_ii_the_myth/
|title=Section II. The Myth of the Foreskin: Deconstructing the Label, Understanding the Whole
|last=C4Charkey
|first=
|init=
|author-link=C4Charkey
|publisher=REDDIT
|date=2025-04-08
|accessdate=2025-04-13
}}</ref>

Masturbation may be helpful in reducing a persistent [[erection]].

Andersen-Giberson (2025) states:
<blockquote>
Regarding masturbation, the elimination of the foreskin presents a radically different version of self-pleasure than with an intact penis, where there is no foreskin to use for the rhythmic gliding action of masturbation.<ref name="andersen2025">{{REFjournal
|last=Andersen-Giberson
|init=D
|author-link=Dale Andersen
|url=https://cdd.journals.yorku.ca/index.php/cdd/article/view/39786/36016
|title=Circumcision and forced disability: Routine male neonatal circumcision and the consequences of amputation within a critical disability studies framework
|journal=Critical Disability Discourses
|date=2025-12
|volume=10
|issue=2
|pages=1-37
|URL=https://cdd.journals.yorku.ca/index.php/cdd/article/view/39786/36016
|DOI=https://doi.org/10.25071/1918-6215.39786
|accessdate=2026-03-12
|quote=In a critical disability studies framework, it is argued that the act of amputating healthy erogenous tissue and the consequences of that amputation cause disability, particularly from a counter-hegemonic lens.
|format=PDF
|accessdate=2026-03-12
}}</ref>
</blockquote>

There is no minimum age for masturbation. Young adolescents may experience dry orgasms until secretion of [[semen]] commences.
===Reduction of incidence of prostate cancer===
Rider et al. (2016) report that frequent [[ejaculation]] is associated with a reduced incidence of [[prostate cancer]].<ref>{{REFjournal
|last=Rider
|first=
|init=JR
|author-link=
|last2=Wilson
|first2=
|init2=KM
|author2-link=
|last3=Sinnot
|first3=
|init3=JA
|author3-link=
|last4=Kelly
|first4=
|init4=RS
|author4-link=
|last5=Mucci
|first5=
|init5=LA
|author5-link=
|last6=Gionvannucci
|first6=
|init6=EL
|author6-link=
|etal=no
|title=Ejaculation Frequency and Risk of Prostate Cancer: Updated Results with an Additional Decade of Follow-up
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal=Eur Urol
|location=
|date=2016-12
|volume=70
|issue=6
|pages=974-82
|url=https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5040619/
|archived=
|quote=These findings provide additional evidence of a beneficial role of more frequent ejaculation throughout adult life in the etiology of PCa, particularly for low-risk disease.
|pubmedID=27033442
|pubmedCID=5040619
|DOI=10.1016/j.eururo.2016.03.027
|accessdate=2025-01-06
}}</ref> Masturbation is helpful in providing frequent [[ejaculation]].

=== Intact [[penis]] ===
===Masturbation with foreskin===
The movable, internally-lubricated, [[Ridged band| nerve-laden]] erogenous [[foreskin]] and its [[gliding action]] is an important aid to masturbation.<ref name="kimpang2007">{{KimDS PangMG 2007}}</ref> [[Intact]] males simply use their hand to glide the [[foreskin]] back and forth.<ref>{{REFweb
|url=https://www.reddit.com/r/uncircumcised_talk/comments/1lysu09/i_cant_cum_if_i_am_not_touching_my_foreskin/
|title=I cant cum if i am not touching my foreskin
|last=Anonymous
|first=
|init=
|author-link=
|publisher=REDDIT
|date=2025-07-13
|accessdate=2025-07-25
}}</ref> It is ''not'' necessary to retract the [[foreskin]] while masturbating. If the foreskin is of adequate length, then the [[foreskinned]] male will usually keep it forward for additional stimulation. Keeping the head covered by the [[foreskin]] also protects the sensitive [[mucosa]] covering the [[glans penis| head]]. The motion of the foreskin, as in [[gliding action]], stimulates the nerves ([[Meissner's corpuscles]]) in the [[foreskin]].<ref name="garcía-mesa2021">{{REFjournal
|last=García-Mesa
|first=Yolanda
|init=
|author-link=
|last2=García-Piqueras
|first2=Jorge
|init2=
|author2-link=
|last3=Cobo
|first3=Ramón
|init3=
|author3-link=
|last4=Martín-Cruces
|first4=José
|init4=
|author4-link=
|last5=Suazo
|first5=Iván
|init5=
|author5-link=
|last6=García-Suárez
|first6=Olivia
|init6=
|author6-link=
|last7=Feito
|first7=Jorge
|init7=
|author7-link=
|last8=
|first8=Vega
|init8=José A.
|author8-link=
|etal=no
|title=Sensory innervation of the human male prepuce: Meissner's corpuscles predominate
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal=Journal of Anatomy
|location=
|date=2021-10
|volume=239
|issue=4
|article=
|page=
|pages=892-902
|url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/joa.13481
|pubmedID=34120333
|pubmedCID=8450466
|DOI=10.1111/joa.13481
|accessdate=2025-09-09
}}</ref> Foreskins naturally vary greatly in length and tightness, so men report different experiences, however every [[foreskin]] offers a [[ridged band]] and [[gliding action]]. There are many variations in technque.<ref>{{REFweb
|url=http://jackinworld.com/techniques/jackinexpert-collection/foreskin-fun
|title=Foreskin Fun
|last=
|first=
|init=
|publisher=JackinWorld
|date=
|accessdate=2024-02-25
}}</ref> <ref>{{REFweb
|url=https://www.reddit.com/r/uncircumcised_talk/comments/1o3843x/masturbating/?chainedPosts=t3_1o4xmmq
|title=Masturbating
|last=Anonymous
|publisher=REDDIT
|date=2025-10-12
|accessdate=2025-10-13
}}</ref>

Prolonged and/or vigorous masturbation occasionally causes [[lymphoedema]] of the [[foreskin]], which causes temporary swelling of the [[foreskin]]. The condition is painless and harmless. It usually resolves within about 24 hours.<ref>{{REFweb
|url=https://www.reddit.com/r/hardflaccidresearch/comments/1k393ff/foreskin_swelling_after_masturbating/
|title=Foreskin swelling after masturbating
|last=Anonymous
|first=
|init=
|author-link=
|publisher=REDDIT
|date=2025-04
|accessdate=2025-05-12
}}</ref>

[[Sclerosing lymphangitis]] is a rare condition that is associated with vigorous masturbation.<ref name="rosen2003">{{REFjournal
|last=Rosen
|first=
|init=T
|author-link=
|last2=Hwong
|first2=
|init2=H
|author2-link=
|etal=no
|title=Sclerosing lymphangitis of the penis
|trans-title=
|journal= J Am Acad Dermatol
|date=2003-11
|season=
|volume=49
|issue=5
|article=
|pages=916-8
|url=https://www.jaad.org/article/S0190-9622(03)00464-X/abstract
|archived=
|quote=
|pubmedID=14576679
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=10.1016/s0190-9622(03)00464-x
|accessdate=2025-02-10
}}</ref> <ref name="babu2014">{{REFjournal
|last=Babu
|first=
|init=AK
|author-link=
|last2=Krishnan
|first2=
|init2=P
|author2-link=
|last3=Andezuth
|first3=
|init3=DD
|author3-link=
|etal=no
|title=Sclerosing lymphangitis of penis—literature review and report of 2 cases
|trans-title=
|journal= Dermatol Online J
|date=2014-07-15
|season=
|volume=20
|issue=7
|pages=13030/qt7gq9h1v9
|url=https://escholarship.org/uc/item/7gq9h1v9
|archived=
|quote=
|pubmedID=25046462
|pubmedCID=
|accessdate=2025-02-10
}}</ref>

Many believe that [[foreskinned]] men tend to produce more [[pre-ejaculate]] than [[circumcised]] men, perhaps because of better erogenous stimulation.
====Lubrication====
Lubrication is a crutch for men crippled by [[circumcision]]. Use of lubrication is optional for [[intact]] males as the mobile [[gliding action]] of the [[foreskin]] renders lubrication unnecessary.<ref>{{REFweb
|url=https://www.reddit.com/r/uncircumcised_talk/comments/1nwnl9c/i_use_my_foreskin_as_lube/
|title=I use my foreskin as lube
|last=Anonymous
|first=
|init=
|author-link=
|publisher=REDDIT
|date=2025-10-03
|accessdate=2025-10-05
}}</ref> An informal online survey of [[intact]] and restored males in 2024 found use of lubricant is unnecessary and unpopular with almost no use of lubricant, although a few [[intact]] men enjoy the sensation produced by lubrication.<ref name="survey2025">{{REFweb
|url=https://www.reddit.com/r/uncircumcised_talk/comments/1hs49xk/do_you_use_lubricant_when_masturbating/
|title=Do you use lubricant when masturbating?
|last=Anonymous
|first=
|init=
|author-link=
|publisher=REDDIT
|date=2025-01-02
|accessdate=2025-01-05
}}</ref>

====Masturbation with phimosis====
[[Phimosis]] or tight [[foreskin]] generally does not create any kind of difficulty with masturbation. It is ''not'' necessary to retract the [[foreskin]] while masturbating. The outer layer of foreskin may be [[Gliding_action| glided]] without retraction. Phimosed men may pull their non-retractile [[foreskin]] away from the body. There is some anecdotal evidence that phimosed males will stimulate their [[acroposthion]] more than non-phimosed males. Some claim that men with phimosis are more aroused and have a greater desire to masturbate.<ref>{{REFweb
|url=https://www.reddit.com/r/uncircumcised_talk/comments/1kjqhh8/comment/mrsogrc/?context=3
|title=Whenever I'm erect, the tight encasement of my glans feels fantastic!
|last=
|first=
|init=
|author-link=
|publisher=REDDIT
|date=
|accessdate=2025-05-12
}}</ref>

Beaugé (1997) stated that adult [[phimosis]] is caused by unusual methods of masturbation that fail to [[Stretching| stretch]] the narrow [[foreskin]] of childhood. According to Beaugé, the condition may be treated by changing one's method of masturbation so that the foreskin is pulled back against the head of the [[penis]] causing the [[foreskin]] to stretch.<ref name="beauge1997">{{REFjournal
|last=Beaugé
|init=M
|author-link=
|url=http://www.cirp.org/library/treatment/phimosis/beauge2/
|title=The causes of adolescent phimosis.
|journal=Br J Sex Med
|date=1997-10
|volume=
|issue=
|pages=26
|accessdate=2023-06-24
}}</ref>

====Masturbation for intact teens====
Milos (2022) advises regarding a 14-year-old [[intact]] teen:
<blockquote>
I am happy that you and your son can talk candidly about sex. You can explain to him that, just as you cautioned him not to forcibly retract his [[foreskin]], he needs to be careful with his foreskin when he masturbates. Here’s why: One or two millimeters under the penile skin is a smooth muscle sheath called the [[dartos]] fascia. The dartos fascia covers the shaft of the [[penis]] and extends to the tip. The dartos fascia muscle fibers near the tip of the foreskin form a sphincter-like structure—or a ring—that acts like a one-way valve and shields the urinary opening.

The muscle fibers of the ring will become elastic over time as your son’s foreskin loosens with the hormones of [[puberty]] and eventually fully retracts. Until then, tell your son to masturbate gently to slowly widen the opening. If he masturbates too vigorously, he can force the head of the penis through the opening and tear the ring, causing bleeding as well as pain. Gentleness is always important when the genitals are involved.<ref name="milos2022-07-25">{{REFweb
|url=https://intactamerica.org/ask-marilyn-why-is-vigorous-masturbation-painful-for-this-intact-teen/
|title=Ask Marilyn—Why Is Vigorous Masturbation Painful for this Intact Teen?
|last=Milos
|first=
|init=MF
|publisher=Intact America
|date=2022-07-25
|accessdate=2024-05-04
}}</ref>
</blockquote>

===Circumcised penis===
====Masturbation without foreskin====

Circumcised men are sexually handicapped,<ref name="andesen2025">{{REFjournal
|last=Andersen-Ghiberson
|first=Dale
|init=
|author-link=
|etal=no
|title=Circumcision and forced disability: Routine male neonatal circumcision and the consequences of amputation within a critical disability studies framework
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal=Critical Disability Discourses
|location=
|url=https://cdd.journals.yorku.ca/index.php/cdd/article/view/39786/36016
|date=2025-12-19
|accessdate=2026-07-01
}}</ref> so adjustments to masturbation technique may be required.

Nineteenth century physicians falsely believed that masturbation caused many diseases, including epilepsy, so they thought of ways to prevent masturbation. Bauer (1878) recommended infibulation,<ref name="bauer1878">{{REFjournal
|last=Bauer
|init=L
|url=
|title=Dementia brought on by excessive self-abuse: cure by infibulation
|journal=St Louis Clin Record
|date=1878
|volume=4
|issue=
|pages=271-3
|accessdate=2023-10-30
}}</ref> <ref name="bauer1879">{{REFjournal
|last=Bauer
|init=L
|author-link=
|url=
|title=Infibulation as a remedy for epilepsy and seminal losses
|journal=St Louis Clin Record
|date=1879
|volume=6
|issue=
|pages=163-5
|accessdate=2023-10-30
}}</ref> but circumcision was the favored treatment.<ref name="schultheiss2003">{{REFjournal
|last=Schultheiss
|first=
|init=D
|author-link=
|last2=Mattelaer
|first2=
|init2=JJ
|author2-link=
|last3=Hodges
|first3=
|init3=FM
|author3-link=Frederick M. Hodges
|etal=no
|title=Preputial infibulation: from ancient medicine to modern genital piercing
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal=BJU Int
|location=
|date=2003-11
|volume=92
|issue=7
|article=
|page=
|pages=758-63
|url=https://bjui-journals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1046/j.1464-410X.2003.04490.x
|archived=
|quote=
|pubmedID=14616462
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=10.1046/j.1464-410x.2003.04490.x
|doi=
|accessdate=2023-10-30
}}</ref> <ref>{{REFweb
|url=https://www.reddit.com/r/Pro_Male_Collective/comments/1nglucz/male_circumcision_is_intended_to_prevent/
|title=Male circumcision is intended to prevent masturbation
|last=Anonymous
|first=
|init=
|author-link=
|publisher=REDDIT
|date=2025-09
|accessdate=2025-10-16
}}</ref>

[[Circumcision]] was introduced in English-speaking nations in Victorian times (19th century) to un-[[foreskin]] the [[penis]], tighten the [[skin]] to make it immovable, and make it impossible for [[circumcised]] guys to masturbate.<ref name="moses1871">{{Moses1871}}</ref> It failed to stop masturbation, but it made it harder to do and less enjoyable. [[E. J. Spratling]] (1895) gave instructions on doing circumcisions to other doctors:

<blockquote>
In all cases [of masturbation] circumcision is undoubtedly the physicians' closest friend and ally ... To obtain the best results one must cut away enough [[skin]] and [[Mucosa| mucous membrane]] to rather put it on the stretch when erections come later. There must be no play in the [[skin]] after the wound has thoroughly healed, but it must fit tightly over the [[penis]], for should there be any play the patient will be found to readily resume his practice, not begrudging the time and extra energy required to produce the orgasm. It is true, however, that the longer it takes to have an orgasm, the less frequently it will be attempted, consequently the greater the benefit gained ... The younger the patient operated upon the more pronounced the benefit, though occasionally we find patients who were [[circumcised]] before [[puberty]] that require a resection of the [[skin]], as it has grown loose and pliant after that epoch.<ref name="spratling1895">{{REFjournal
|last=Spratling
|init=EJ
|author-link=
|url=https://www.historyofcircumcision.com/templates/pages/treating_masturbation_1895.html
|title=Masturbation in the Adult
|journal=Medical Record
|date=1895-09-28
|volume=48
|issue=
|pages=442-3
|accessdate=2021-11-02
}}</ref>
</blockquote>

Kim & Pang (2007) reported that masturbatory pleasure decreased in 48% of the respondents and increased in 8%, while difficulty increased in 63% but was easier in 37%. They concluded that there was a decrease in masturbatory pleasure after [[circumcision]].<ref name="kimpang2007" />

Looking at male masturbation in erotic videos, it is noticeable that a [[penis]] without a [[foreskin]] is often stimulated by hand as if a [[foreskin]] were present. Even without a [[foreskin]], the hand is pushed back and forth along the [[Shaft skin|shaft]] of the [[penis]], perhaps to simulate the stimulating movement of the (non-existent) [[foreskin]] over the [[glans]].

====Lubrication====

[[Circumcised]] males found that they could still practice [[masturbation]], if they used lubrication to overcome the crippling handicap of being [[circumcised]].<ref name="spratling1895" /> Lubrication has been characterized as a "prosthesis" used to overcome the impairment induced by amputation of a functional body part. Ravi Kumar (2017) reports:
<blockquote>
The disadvantages mainly lie in the removal of the foreskin, which constitutes almost half the skin on the penis. The foreskin provides natural lubrication and protection. It is well-known that a circumcised man cannot indulge in masturbation without a lubricant – which makes the act much more difficult and time-consuming.<ref>{{REFweb
|url=https://www.youthkiawaaz.com/2017/02/the-stigma-of-circumcision-in-india
|title=Stop Body-Shaming Me Just Because I Am Circumcised
|last=Kumar
|first=Ravi
|init=
|author-link=
|publisher=Youth Ki Awaaz
|date=2017-02-14
|accessdate=2025-06-19
}}</ref></blockquote>
Most, but not all, [[circumcised]] males need lubrication to avoid friction irritation and reach orgasm.<ref name="techniques2022">{{REFweb
|url=http://www.jackinworld.com/techniques/the-basics/lubrication
|title=Lubrication
|last=
|first=
|date=
|accessdate=2022-04-24
}}</ref> Some [[circumcised]] males who have a loose cut and some [[gliding action]] find it is enough to support masturbation without lubrication.

''Substances with harsh or irritant chemicals should not be used for lubrication.''<ref>{{REFweb
|url=http://www.jackinworld.com/questions-answered/troubleshooting-faq/male-masturbation-semen-or-ejaculation/lubes/what-kinds-lubr-0
|title=What kinds of lubrication do you not recommend?
|last=
|first=
|date=
|accessdate=2022-04-24
}}</ref>

One may use various personal lubricants that are sold for sexual lubrication<ref>{{REFweb
|url=http://www.jackinworld.com/questions-answered/troubleshooting-faq/male-masturbation-semen-or-ejaculation/lubes/what-kinds-lubri
|title=What kinds of lubrication do you recommend?
|last=
|first=
|date=
|accessdate=2022-04-24
}}</ref> or one may use such substances as baby oil, coconut oil, [[jojoba]] oil, other vegetable oils, or saliva. Saliva dries rapidly so it must be replenished frequently, but it is always available.

====Death grip masturbation====
Many commenters on death grip syndrome seem profoundly ignorant of the effects of circumcision ([[MGM]]). Their comments are not helpful. Death grip masturbation may be regarded as a late complication of circumcision.

[[Circumcision]] excises about 15-square-inches of highly-innervated erogenous tissue<ref name="winklemann1959">{{WinkelmannRK 1959}}</ref> from the [[penis]], reduces or eliminates the [[gliding action]], and severely reduces [[Foreskin sensitivity| penile sensation]].<ref name="taylor1996">{{TaylorJR LockwoodAP TaylorAJ 1996}}</ref> [[Circumcised]] men, with their desensitized [[penis]], in an attempt to restore lost sensation, are more likely to try using a very tight grip when they masturbate. This technique is referred to by the slang term ''death grip masturbation''.<ref name="savage2019">{{REFweb
|url=https://www.joseph4gi.com/2019/11/death-grip-and-circumcision-is-there.html?m=1
|title=Death Grip and Circumcision: Is There a Correlation?
|last=Savage
|first=Dan
|init=
|publisher=Joseph4GI
|date=2019-11-17
|accessdate=2024-05-13
}}</ref>

Practitioners of death grip masturbation may do better by using lubrication and a lighter grip.<ref>{{REFweb
|url=https://www.menshealth.com/sex-women/a27044367/death-grip-masturbation/
|title=Are You Using a 'Death Grip' During Masturbation? It Could Be Messing With Your Sex Life
|last=Engle
|first=Gigi
|init=
|publisher=Men's Health
|date=2019-04-04
|accessdate=2023-08-13
}}</ref> <ref>{{REFweb
|url=https://www.forhims.com/blog/death-grip-syndrome
|title=Death Grip Syndrome: What It Is & How to Treat It
|last=Hagerty
|first=Katelyn
|init=
|publisher=hims
|date=2023-07-27
|accessdate=2023-08-13
}}</ref> For the longer term, non-surgical [[foreskin restoration]] may help to improve sensation.<ref>{{REFbook
|last=Bigelow, Ph.D
|first=Jim
|init=
|author-link=Jim Bigelow
|year=1995
|title=The Joy of Uncircumcising
|url=
|work=
|editor=
|edition=Second Edition
|volume=
|chapter=Why Men Today Want to Uncircumcise
|scope=
|page=
|pages=113-4
|location=Aptos
|publisher=Hourglass
|ISBN=0-934061-22-X
|quote=
|accessdate=2023-08-13
|note=
}}</ref>

The presence of the [[foreskin]], with its high degree of [[Foreskin sensitivity| sensitivity]] and easy [[gliding action]], eliminates any need or desire for death grip masturbation among [[intact]] men.<ref name="savage2019" /> It appears to be impossible for a [[foreskinned]] man to practice death grip masturbation.

====Improving the masturbation experience====
[[Circumcised]] males are pitied by some [[intact]] males.<ref>{{REFweb
|url=https://www.reddit.com/r/uncircumcised_talk/comments/1m8yps6/i_feel_sorry_for_circumsised_guys/
|title=I feel sorry for circumsised guys
|last=Anonymous
|first=
|init=
|author-link=
|publisher=REDDIT
|date=2025-07-25
|accessdate=2025-07-26
}}</ref> [[Circumcised]] males who are not satisfied with the quality of their masturbation experience may wish to consider non-surgical [[foreskin restoration]]. It takes some time and effort to restore a missing foreskin, but once it is done, it will last the rest of one's life.

===Restored penis===
[[Circumcision]] (foreskin amputation) was promoted in the nineteenth century to stop masturbation.<ref name="bigelow1995">{{REFbook
|last=Bigelow
|first=Jim
|author-link=Jim Bigelow
|year=1995
|title=The Joy of Uncircumcising!: Exploring Circumcision: History, Myths, Psychology, Restoration, Sexual Pleasure, and Human Rights
|url=https://www.amazon.com/Joy-Uncircumcising-Circumcision-Psychology-Restoration/dp/093406122X
|editor=
|edition=2
|volume=
|chapter=America's 100-year Infatuation with Circumcision
|page=70
|location=
|publisher=Hourglass Book Publishing
|isbn=978-0934061223
}}</ref> It follows that restoration of the [[foreskin]] would facilitate and improve masturbation.

Many men who practice [[foreskin restoration]] report a substantial improvement in their masturbation experience with their [[restored]] [[penis]] as compared with their previous [[circumcised]] penis. Notably, they typically report an improvement in [[gliding action]], in [[Foreskin sensitivity| sensation]], and a reduction or elimination of the need for lubrication with their [[restored foreskin]].

==Refractory period==

After a wet or dry orgasm, one immediately goes into the refractory period.<ref>{{REFweb
|url=https://medical-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/refractory+period
|archived=
|title=Refractory period
|trans-title=
|language=
|last=
|first=
|author-link=
|publisher=Segen's Medical Dictionary
|website=thefreedictionary.com
|date=2012
|accessdate=2020-05-29
|format=
|quote=
}}</ref> The [[glans penis]] becomes hyper-sensitive and further masturbation becomes impossible for a variable period of time.

In human sexuality, the refractory period is usually the recovery phase after orgasm during which it is physiologically impossible for a man to have additional orgasms. This phase begins immediately after [[ejaculation]] and lasts until the excitement phase of the human sexual response cycle begins anew with low level response.

==Gooning==
''Gooning'' is an old slang word with many various meanings, but teens are now applying it to male masturbation.<ref>{{REFweb
|url=https://grammarverb.com/gooning/
|title=What does "gooning" mean
|last=Anonymous
|publisher=grammarverb.com
|date=2025-12-13
|accessdate=2026-03-14
}}</ref>

== Video ==
 
===Video for boys===
<youtube>v=4wRxbx0YfRU</youtube>
 
===Masturbation myths===
<youtube>v=xIFsNsf86KY</youtube>
 
===Is masturbation good or bad for you?===
[[Dr Bret Palmer]] explains.
<youtube>v=9O9Q8spuqcQ</youtube>

{{SEEALSO}}
* [[Body pleasure]]
* [[Erogenous sensation of the foreskin]]
* [[Foreskin play]]
* [[Gliding action]]
* [[Lymph]]
* [[Lymphoedema]]
* [[Manual tugging]]
* [[Penis]]
* [[Pre-ejaculate]]
* [[Sclerosing lymphangitis]]
* [[Semen]]
* [[Sexual effects of circumcision]]

{{LINKS}}
* {{URLwikipedia|Masturbation|Masturbation}}
* {{REFjournal
|last=Darby
|first=
|init=R
|author-link=Robert Darby
|etal=no
|title=The masturbation taboo and the rise of routine male circumcision: a review of the historiography
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal=J Soc Hist
|location=
|date=2003
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|archived=
|quote=
|format=PDF
|accessdate=2025-09-14
}}
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}}
{{REF}}

[[Category:Term]]
[[Category:Foreskinned life]]
[[Category:Male circumcision]]
[[Category:Sexuality]]
[[Category:Male sexuality]]
[[Category:Female sexuality]]
[[Category:Penis]]
[[Category:Teen]]

[[de:Masturbation]]

Child circumcision

2026-07-19T20:06:16Z

WikiModEn2: /* This should be a crime. */ Add external link.

"Male '''circumcision''' (from Latin ''circumcidere'', meaning "to cut around") is the surgical removal or [[amputation]] of the [[foreskin]] (prepuce), a major part of the human [[penis]]. Circumcision amputates ''more than fifty percent'' of the epithelium of the [[penis]].<ref name="taylor1996">{{TaylorJR LockwoodAP TaylorAJ 1996}}</ref> When the "cutting around" is performed, the foreskin falls off, so [[amputation]] and [[mutilation]] is the result, leaving the delicate and sensitive mucosa of the [[glans penis]] exposed and unprotected against [[trauma]] and [[infection]]. The amputation destroys the [[Foreskin#Physiological_functions| many protective, immunological, sexual, and sensory physiological functions]] of the foreskin, so it is a very harmful and [[Pain| painful]] surgery.<ref name="garrett2023-11-10">{{REFweb
|url=https://intactamerica.org/pros-and-cons-of-circumcision/
|title=Pros and Cons of Circumcision (Spoiler: You’ve Been Lied to)
|last=Garrett
|first=Connor
|init=
|author-link=Connor Judson Garrett
|publisher=Intact America
|date=2023-11-10
|accessdate=2024-06-02
}}</ref>

Child circumcision is a harmful, unethical, and highly profitable medical practice.

Circumcision of boys in the [[United States]] hit its high point in 1965 and has been slowly declining in popularity ever since. Less than 1/2 of the newborn boys in the United States were [[circumcised]] in 2022. Yang et al. (2025) reported the rate of decline in the incidence of infant circumcision in their study period was 5/10s of one percent per year.<ref name="yang2025">{{REFjournal
|last=Yang
|first=
|init=P
|author-link=
|last2=Zhu
|first2=
|init2=X
|author2-link=
|last3=Patel
|first3=
|init3=EU
|author3-link=
|last4=Quin
|first4=
|init4=PC
|author4-link=
|last5=Grabowski
|first5=
|init5=MK
|author5-link=
|last6=Tobian
|first6=
|init6=AAR
|author6-link=Aaron Tobian
|etal=no
|title=Trends in Circumcision Among Newborn Males in the US
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal=JAMA Pediatrics
|location=
|date=2025-10-02
|season=
|volume=
|issue=
|article=e252464
|page=
|pages=
|url=https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapediatrics/fullarticle/2838312
|archived=
|quote=
|pubmedID=40952753
|pubmedCID=12439174
|DOI=10.1001/jamapediatrics.2025.2464
|accessdate=2025-09-17
}}</ref> That long-term declining trend is believed to have continued.

'''[[Posthectomy]]''' is the more accurate medical term that more accurately reflects the injury and loss of functional body tissue, but the Biblical [[euphemism]], ''circumcision'', is more commonly used.
With reference to involuntary, non-therapeutic circumcision of children, [[Child Genital Cutting (CGC)]] is a newer term that has been introduced to avoid issues associated with more traditional terms. [[Dan Bollinger| Bollinger]] (2023) identifed CGC as an [[Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs)| adverse childhood experience]].<ref name="bollinger2023">{{REFjournal
|last=Bollinger
|init=D
|author-link=Dan Bollinger
|last2=
|init2=
|author2-link=
|url=https://kindredmedia.org/2023/02/adverse-childhood-experiences-dysfunctional-households-and-circumcision/
|title=Adverse Childhood Experiences, Dysfunctional Households, And Circumcision.
|journal=Kindred
|date=2023-02-28
|volume=
|issue=
|pages=
|accessdate=2023-03-01
}}</ref>

Tye & Sardi (2022) concluded that parents must consider "psychological or psychosocial effects of circumcision,"<ref name="tye2022"> {{REFjournal
|last=Tye
|first=
|init=MC
|author-link=
|last2=Sardi
|first2=
|init2=LM
|author2-link=Lauren Sardi
|etal=no
|title=Psychological, psychosocial, and psychosexual aspects of penile circumcision
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal=Int J Impot Res
|date=2023-05
|volume=35
|issue=3
|pages=242-8
|url=https://www.galdef.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/Tye-Sardi-Psycho-Aspects-of-Penile-Circumcision-IJIR-2022.pdf
|archived=
|quote=
|pubmedID=35347302
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=10.1038/s41443-022-00553-9
|format=PDF
|accessdate=2024-12-18
}}</ref>

Deacon & Muir (2022) have reviewed the evidence and concluded that "there is no medical justification for performing a circumcision prior to an age that he can assess the known risks and potential benefits, and choose to give or withhold [[informed consent]] himself."<ref name="deacon2022">{{REFjournal
|last=Deacon
|first=Matthew
|init=M
|author-link=
|last2=Muir
|first2=Gordon
|init2=G
|author2-link=
|etal=no
|title=What is the medical evidence on non-therapeutic child circumcision?
|journal= Int J Impot Res
|date=2022-01-08
|url=https://www.nature.com/articles/s41443-021-00502-y
|pubmedID=34997197
|DOI=10.1038/s41443-021-00502-y
|accessdate=2022-01-30
}}</ref>

Fendereski et al. (2024) reported a massive study using data from a private insurance company database that found that [[circumcised]] boys have three times as many penile issues as compared with [[intact]] boys through age 5. This study matched 852,051 [[circumcised]] boys with 852,051 [[intact]] boys who served as controls.<ref name=fendereski2024">{{REFjournal
|last=Fendereski
|first=
|init=K
|author-link=
|last2=Horns
|first2=
|init2=JJ
|author2-link=
|last3=Driggs
|first3=
|init3=N
|author3-link=
|last4=Lau
|first4=
|init4=G
|author4-link=
|last5=Shaeffer
|first5=
|init5=AJ
|author5-link=
|etal=no
|title=Comparing Penile Problems in Circumcised vs. Uncircumcised Boys: Insights From a Large Commercial Claims Database With a Focus on Provider Type Performing Circumcision
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal=J Pediatr Surg
|date=2024-11
|volume=59
|issue=11
|article=161614
|url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S002234682400407X
|archived=
|quote=
|pubmedID=39084960
|pubmedCID=11486584
|DOI=10.1016/j.jpedsurg.2024.06.022
|accessdate=2025-01-03
}}</ref> These findings are not surprising since the human [[foreskin]] provides both [[Immunological and protective function of the foreskin| protective and immunological functions]] against both physical [[trauma]] and [[infection]]. Obviously, [[circumcised]] boys lack these protections.

[[Dan Bollinger]] (2025) enumerated the many harms and injuries caused by medically-unnecessary, non-therapeutic [[circumcision of the newborn]], its inherent violation of [[human rights]] and its degradation of health and well-being.<ref name="bollinger2025-08-27">{{REFdocument
|title=Policy Paper: Newborn Circumcision as a Negative Wellness Factor
|url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/394517060_Policy_Paper_Newborn_Circumcision_as_a_Negative_Wellness_Factor
|contribution=
|last=Bollinger
|first=Dan
|publisher=Research Gate
|format=PDF
|date=2025-08
|accessdate=2025-08-29
}}</ref>

[[Dale Andersen| Andersen-Giberson]] (2025) discussed the disability caused by [[amputation]] of the functional [[foreskin]].<ref name="andersen2025">{{REFjournal
|last=Andersen-Giberson
|init=D
|author-link=Dale Andersen
|url=https://cdd.journals.yorku.ca/index.php/cdd/article/view/39786/36016
|title=Circumcision and forced disability: Routine male neonatal circumcision and the consequences of amputation within a critical disability studies framework
|journal=Critical Disability Discourses
|date=2025-12
|volume=10
|issue=2
|pages=1-37
|URL=https://cdd.journals.yorku.ca/index.php/cdd/article/view/39786/36016
|DOI=https://doi.org/10.25071/1918-6215.39786
|quote=In a critical disability studies framework, it is argued that the act of amputating healthy erogenous tissue and the consequences of that amputation cause disability, particularly from a counter-hegemonic lens.
|format=PDF
|accessdate=2026-03-14
}}</ref>

Boys who are protected from circumcision will not need to do [[foreskin restoration]].

==Design of circumcision procedure==
The circumcision procedure carried out by medical doctors today is essentially the same as that mandated by Jewish rabbis in about 140 C.E.

The original Jewish circumcision as mandated by Joshua at [[Gilgal]] consisted only of cutting off the overhanging portion of the [[foreskin]] that protruded beyond the [[glans penis]] with the aid of a protective device to prevent cutting the glans penis.

Jewish men who wished to appear as Greeks found that they could restore their natural covered appearance of their [[penis]] by a process called [[epispasm]]. This angered the rabbis who then developed a second stage of the ritual circumcision procedure called ''periah''.

[[Periah]] according to James Peron (2000):

<blockquote>
Periah consists of tearing and stripping back the remaining inner mucosal lining of the foreskin from the glans and then, by use of a sharp finger nail or implement, removing all of the inner mucosal tissue, including the excising and removal of the [[frenulum]] from the underside of the [[glans]]. The objective was to insure that no part of the remaining penile skin would rest against the glans corona. If any shreds of the mucosal [[foreskin]] tissue remained, or rejoined to the underside of the glans, the child was to be re-circumcised.<ref name="peron2000">{{REFjournal
|last=Peron
|init=JE
|author-link=James Peron
|url=https://cirp.org/library/history/peron2/
|title=Circumcision: then and now
|journal=Many Blessings
|date=2000
|season=Spring
|volume=III
|issue=
|pages=41-2
|accessdate=2023-08-23
}}</ref>
</blockquote>

The objective was to increase the loss of tissue and amount in harm and injury to the point where it would be impossible to recover the [[glans penis]]. This procedure, which caused maximum injury and harm, was the procedure adopted by the medical profession in the nineteenth century and is still used today by medical doctors.

==Condemnation of child circumcision==
[[Alfonso Cepeda-Emiliani| Cepeda-Emiliani]] et al. {2025) stated:
<blockquote>
Our results reinforce the relevance of [https://www.cirp.org/library/anatomy/cold-taylor/ Cold and Taylor’s 11 1999 conclusions] (p. 42), which now seem more pertinent than ever: “The prepuce
is a specialized, specific erogenous tissue in both males and females.
Therefore, surgical excision should be restricted to lesions that are
unresponsive to medical therapy. . . Preputial plasty should be considered in place of circumcision whenever possible, so as to preserve
the corpuscular sensory receptors, dartos muscle, penile mucosa and
complete function of the penis. . . Although a Fourcroy grade 1 female
circumcision would excise less tissue than in a male, this comparison cannot be used to justify female circumcision. Excision of normal,
erogenous genital tissue from healthy male or female children cannot
be condoned, as the histology confirms that the external genitalia are
specialized sensory tissues. . . Removal of normal genital anatomy in
children and infants should be deferred until the individual can make an
informed decision. If external genital tissue must be excised to combat
a disease process that threatens the child’s health, and is unresponsive
to medical therapy, then the amount of tissue should be limited so as to
preserve the anatomy and function of the external genitalia.”<ref name="cepeda2025">{{REFjournal
|last=Cepeda-Emiliani
|first=
|init=A
|author-link=Alfonso Cepeda-Emiliani
|last2=Otero-Alén
|first2=
|init2=M
|author2-link=
|last3=Suárez-Quintanilla
|first3=
|init3=J
|author3-link=
|last4=Gándara-Cortés
|first4=
|init4=M
|author4-link=
|last5=García-Caballero
|first5=
|init5=T
|author5-link=
|last6=García-Caballero
|first6=
|init6=R
|author6-link=
|last7=García-Caballero
|first7=
|init7=L
|author7-link=
|etal=no
|title=The sensory penis: A comprehensive immunohistological and ontogenetic exploration of human penile innervation
|trans-title=
|journal=Andrology
|date=2025-09-19
|volume=
|issue=
|article=
|pages=1-41
|url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/andr.70118
|archived=
|quote=
|pubmedID=40970806
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=10.1111/andr.70118
|accessdate=2025-10-01
}}</ref>
</blockquote>

==History==
Circumcision was popularized in English-speaking nations in the nineteenth century. The practice of non-therapeutic circumcision of boys now has greatly declined in [[Australia]], [[Canada]], [[New Zealand]] and the [[United Kingdom]]. It has been gradually declining since 1980 in the [[United States]]. It has ''never'' been a popular practice in other western nations. Circumcision of boys is not done in the Russian Federation, Latin America, or [[China]]. In [[India]] only the minority Muslim population does circumcision of children. In Europe it is only done for religious reasons by Muslims and Jews.

Circumcision is classified as a form of [[genital mutilation]].


===Cultural===

Many cultures perform circumcision as a rite of passage into manhood. This is common in the Middle East and amongst some indigenous African and Southeast Asian peoples.

The [[United States]] and [[Israel]] are the only industrialized countries in the world to have a high incidence of non-therapeutic infant male circumcision. The vast majority of infant circumcisions performed in the [[United States]] are for non-religious, non-medical reasons. See [[History of circumcision]].

=== No medical indication ===
There are no [[medical indication| medical indications]] for [[circumcision of the newborn]].<ref name="aap1971">{{REFbook
|last=American Academy of Pediatrics, Committee on Fetus and Newborn
|first=
|init=
|year=1971
|title=Standards and Recommendation for Hospital Care of Newborn infants
|url=https://www.cirp.org/library/statements/aap/#a1971
|scope=
|location=Evanston
|publisher=American Academy of Pediatrics
|ISBN=
|accessdate=2025-03-13
}}</ref> The [[circumcision industry]] promotes [[circumcision of the newborn]] to the public because of the [[financial incentive]] to the doctor and to the maternity hospital.

The form of circumcision adopted by the medical community essentially was equivalent to the Jewish form with ''[[periah]]'', so it inflicts the maximum injury and physical [[trauma]].

In a few cases with older patients, circumcision is legitimately indicated; a patient may be suffering recurring [[infection]], and other methods of treatment have failed. In other cases, a patient may be suffering from a severe case of [[phimosis]]. Overall, the actual medical necessity for circumcision is extremely rare since many conditions respond to conservative treatment. All circumcisions injure the patient by amputating the [[foreskin]] its with many protective, immunological, sensory, and sexual [[Foreskin#Physiological_functions| functions]].

# '''Deformed or malformed foreskin'''. A foreskin so deformed or malformed that it does not function properly may be excised by circumcision.

# '''Traumatically injured foreskin'''. A foreskin so traumatically damaged that it cannot be surgically repaired is a valid medical reason for circumcision.

# '''Diseased foreskin.''' A foreskin that is diseased may be a valid indication for circumcision. Some diseases that qualify are [[gangrene]], malignancy, lichen sclerosis, [[Balanitis#Diabetic_males| yeast infection in men with diabetes]], and recurrent [[balanoposthitis]].

In such cases, the benefit of removing the problem foreskin may exceed the maleficial harms of tissue and function destruction.

====Arguments of prophylaxia====
Though the practice of ritual circumcision of males, both consenting and non-consenting, has existed for millenia, the search for "potential medical benefits" began relatively recently. {''Potential'' means to exist in possibility, but not in actuality, so a "''potential'' benefit" is not a genuine proven benefit.) The discussion of circumcision in the Ninth Edition of the ''Encyclopǽdia Britannica'' (1876) made no mention of any prophylactic, medical, or therapeutic value or function.<ref>{{REFweb
|url=https://www.cirp.org/library/history/encyclopaediabritannica1876/
|title=Circumcision
|last=Cheyne
|first=T. K.
|author-link=
|publisher=Encyclopǽdia Brittanica
|website=Circumcision Reference Library
|date=1876
|accessdate=2019-11-10
|format=
|quote=
}}</ref>

Initially, circumcision was adopted in the 19th century as a way to stop boys and men from masturbating, when [[masturbation]] was claimed to be the cause for many diseases. As the myth that circumcision prevented masturbation became debunked, advocates of circumcision began the great search to find the "medical benefits" of circumcision.

Male and female circumcision involves the removal and disruption of normal anatomical structures that are primary areas of sexual sensation.<ref name="taylor1996"/> In the past, some advocates of mass circumcision have considered the [[prepuce]] to be a "mistake of nature," but this notion has no validity because the prepuce is ubiquitous in primates and because it provides functional advantages.<ref name="cold-mcgrath1995">{{REFbook
|last=Cold
|first=Christopher
|init=C
|last2=McGrath
|first2=Kenneth
|init2=K
|author2-link=Ken McGrath
|year=1999
|title=Male and female circumcision: medical, legal, and ethical considerations in pediatric practice
|url=https://www.cirp.org/library/anatomy/cold-mcgrath/
|work=
|editor=
|edition=
|volume=
|chapter=Anatomy and histology of the penile and clitoral prepuce in primates
|pages=
|location=New York
|publisher=
|isbn=0306461315
|quote=
|accessdate=2019-10-12
|note=
}}</ref>

All claims that circumcision prevents future disease are false.<ref>{{REFweb
|url=https://www.doctorsopposingcircumcision.org/for-professionals/alleged-medical-benefits/conclusions-and-references/
|title=Conclusions
|last=Anonymous
|first=
|init=
|publisher=Doctors Opposing Circumcision
|date=2016
|accessdate=2023-10-22
}}</ref> They are made to enable a physician to perform circumcision and collect a fee.


=== Prophylactic claims are false ===

Some people claim that circumcision has prophylactic benefits. Especially in the [[USA]] those arguments have persisted for more then a 100 years, with ever changing diseases circumcision is said to protect against. At first, these were diseases where [[masturbation]] was believed to be the cause. After bacteria and viruses had been discovered, arguments changed, and one after another miscellaneous diseases were cited.

* [[Phimosis]]: as mentioned earlier, true [[phimosis]] is rare and can be treated effectively without surgery. According to a study by Blalock et al. (2003)<ref name="blalock2003">{{REFjournal
|last=Blalock
|init=HJ
|last2=Vemulakonda
|init2=V
|last3=Ritchey
|init3=ML
|last4=Ribbeck
|init4=M
|title=Outpatient management of [[phimosis]] Following newborn circumcision
|journal=J Urol
|date=2003
|volume=169
|issue=6
|pages=2332-4
|url=https://www.cirp.org/library/complications/blalock1/
|accessdate=2019-11-07
}}</ref>, 2.9% of those circumcised develop a post-operative [[phimosis]], in which the circumcision scar constricts. In [[intact]] patients, the rate of [[phimosis]] is only 1% (see also the study by [[Jakob Øster]]). Therefore, circumcision is not a preventive measure for [[phimosis]].
* Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STDs): a vast number of studies has been conducted on the subject of transmission of STDs.
* First, it has to be noted that any form of protection against these diseases only affects people who are sexually active. Circumcision in childhood cannot be justified on these grounds, since any assumed protective effect will not occur before the boy is already old enough to decide about circumcision for himself.
* As mentioned above, the [[foreskin]] keeps the [[Glans penis|glans]] moist. This subpreputial moisture contains, among other substances, the enzyme lysozyme, which breaks up the cell wall of bacteria, thereby providing a natural antibacterial screen. This explains the results of several studies, such as Laumann et al.<ref>{{REFjournal
|last=Laumann
|init=EO
|last2=Masi
|init2=CM
|last3=Zuckerman
|init3=EW
|title=Circumcision in the United States: prevalence, prophylactic effects, and sexual practice
|journal=JAMA
|date=1997
|volume=277
|issue=
|pages=1052-7
|url=https://www.cirp.org/library/general/laumann/
|accessdate=2019-11-06
}}</ref>, which found a higher rate of infection with bacterial venereal diseases in [[circumcised]] than in [[intact]] men.
* The studies by Fleiss et al. (1998) support this.<ref name="fleiss-hodges-vanhowe1998">{{FleissP HodgesF VanHoweRS 1998}}</ref> According to the [[AAP]], the general sexual behaviour of the male — such as frequent change in partners and the use of condoms — has a much higher impact on sexually transmitted diseases then the circumcision status.<ref>{{REFjournal
|last=Task Force on Circumcision
|first=
|title=Circumcision policy statement
|journal=Pediatrics
|date=1999
|volume=103
|issue=3
|pages=686-93
|url=https://www.cirp.org/library/statements/aap1999/
|accessdate=2019-11-15
}}</ref>
* [[HIV]] / [[AIDS]]: in the recent past, the argument that circumcision could help to contain the spread of [[HIV]] has been stated numerous times.
*:First, two notes: for one, the use of condoms is still by far the most effective protection against an infection. During intercourse with that preventive measure, circumcision status does not make a difference.
*:Secondly, the assumed protection would only affect healthy men who have intercourse with an infected woman. An infected man can infect a women by transmission of his bodily fluids, so that his circumcision status is irrelevant. Therefore, the use of condoms remains vital in containing the spread of [[HIV]], which in return renders circumcision unnecessary
* Due to the inevitable loss of sensitivity as a result of circumcision, there is also the temptation to go without condoms, in order not to lose even more sensitivity.<ref>{{REFjournal
|last=Hooykaas
|init=C
|last2=van der Velde
|init2=FW
|last3=van der Linden
|init3=MM
|etal=yes
|title=The importance of ethnicity as a risk factor for STDs and sexual behaviour among heterosexuals
|journal=Genitourin Med
|date=1991
|volume=67
|issue=5
|pages=378-83
|url=https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1194736/pdf/genitmed00041-0022.pdf
|accessdate=2019-11-15
}}</ref><ref>{{REFjournal
|last=Michael
|init=RT
|last2=Wadsworth
|init2=J
|last3=Feinleib
|init3=J
|etal=yes
|title=Private sexual behavior, public opinion, and public health policy related to sexually transmitted diseases: a US-British comparison
|journal=Am J Public Health
|date=1998
|volume=88
|issue=5
|pages=749-54
|url=https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1508929/pdf/amjph00017-0039.pdf
|accessdate=2019-11-15
}}</ref><ref>{{REFjournal
|last=Laumann
|init=EO
|last2=Masi
|init2=CM
|last3=Zuckerman
|init3=EW
|title=Circumcision in the United States: prevalence, prophylactic effects, and sexual practice
|journal=JAMA
|date=1997
|volume=277
|issue=
|pages=1052-7
|url=https://www.cirp.org/library/general/laumann/
|accessdate=2019-11-06
}}</ref>
* Two studies that have been published in early 2007<ref>{{RCT Gray et al 2007}}</ref><ref>{{RCT Bailey et al 2007}}</ref>, which investigated the effectiveness of circumcision as a means of reducing the spread of [[HIV]] from infected women to heterosexual men in African high risk areas, have been repeatedly subjected to strong criticism. Both studies were ended prematurely, which distorted the results. The men who had been [[circumcised]] for the study had to stay sexually inactive during the wound healing, which gave the intact control group more relative opportunity to become infected. These African randomized clinical trials have been demonstrated to have very serious methodological and statistical errors that distort the results in favor of circumcision.<ref name="boyle-hill2011">{{BoyleGJ HillG 2011}}</ref>

The fact that the [[USA]] has both the highest percentage of [[circumcised]] males in the western world, as well as the highest [[HIV]] infection rate, makes the studies look dubious. Besides that, several other studies concluded that circumcision does not have a significant impact on the risk of infection with [[HIV]].<ref>{{REFjournal
|last=Grosskurth
|init=H
|last2=Mosha
|init2=F
|last3=Todd
|init3=J
|etal=yes
|title=A community trial of the impact of improved sexually transmitted disease treatment on the HIV epidemic in rural Tanzania: 2. Baseline survey results
|journal=AIDS
|date=1995
|volume=9
|issue=8
|pages=927-34
|url=https://insights.ovid.com/aids/aids/1995/08/000/community-trial-impact-improved-sexually/15/00002030
|accessdate=2019-11-15
}}</ref><ref>{{REFjournal
|last=Barongo
|init=LR
|last2=Borgdorff
|init2=MW
|last3=Mosha
|init3=FF
|etal=yes
|title=The epidemiology of HIV-1 infection in urban areas, roadside settlements and rural villages in Mwanza Region, Tanzania
|journal=AIDS
|date=1992
|volume=6
|issue=12
|pages=1521-8
|url=https://journals.lww.com/aidsonline/abstract/1992/12000/the_epidemiology_of_hiv_1_infection_in_urban.16.aspx
|accessdate=2025-03-17
}}</ref> <ref>{{REFconference
|last=Changedia SM, Gilada IS
|first=
|title=Role of male circumcision in HIV transmission insignificant in conjugal relationship (abstract no. ThPeC7420)
|url=
|place=Barcelona, Spain
|source=Presented at the Fourteenth International AIDS Conference
|datefrom=2002-07-07
|dateto=2002-07-12
|accessdate=
}}</ref><ref>{{REFconference
|last=Connolly CA, Shishana O, Simbayi L, Colvin M
|first=
|title=HIV and circumcision in South Africa (Abstract No. MoPeC3491)
|url=
|place=Bangkok, Thailand
|source=Presented at the 15th International AIDS Conference
|datefrom=2004-07-11
|dateto=2004-07-16
|accessdate=
}}</ref><ref>{{REFconference
|last=Thomas AG, Bakhireva LN, Brodine SK, Shaffer RA
|first=
|title=Prevalence of male circumcision and its association with HIV and sexually transmitted infections in a U.S. navy population (Abstract no. TuPeC4861)
|url=https://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/document?repid=rep1&type=pdf&doi=e0f66eb069de9330e88295e6280a8a47a22b74ed
|place=Bangkok, Thailand
|source=Presented at the 15th International AIDS Conference
|datefrom=2004-07-11
|dateto=2004-07-16
|format=PDF
|accessdate=2019-11-15
}}</ref>
* Urinary tract infections (UTI): a [[UTI]] can be effectively treated with antibiotics, this was also proven by studies.<ref>{{REFjournal
|last=McCracken
|init=G
|title=Options in antimicrobial management of urinary tract infections in infants and children
|journal=Pediatr Infect Dis J
|date=1989
|volume=8
|issue=8
|pages=552-5
|url=https://www.cirp.org/library/disease/UTI/mccracken/
|accessdate=2019-11-19
}}</ref><ref>{{REFjournal
|last=Larcombe
|init=J
|title=Urinary tract infection in children
|journal=BMJ
|date=1999
|volume=319
|issue=
|pages=1173-5
|url=
|accessdate=
}}</ref> A Swedish study<ref>{{REFjournal
|last=Mårild
|init=S
|last2=Jodal
|init2=U
|title=Incidence rate of first–time symptomatic urinary tract infection in children under 6 years of age
|journal=Acta Paediatr
|date=1998
|volume=87
|issue=5
|pages=549-52
|url=
|accessdate=
}}</ref> found that, during the first 6 years of life, the incidence of [[UTI]]s in boys was 1.8%, but in girls was 6.6%. UTIs are less common in boys after the first year of life. Mueller et al. <ref>{{REFjournal
|last=Mueller
|init=ER
|last2=Steinhardt
|init2=G
|last3=Naseer
|init3=S
|title=The incidence of genitourinary abnormalities in [[circumcised]] and [[uncircumcised]] boys presenting with an initial urinary tract infection by 6 months of age
|journal=Pediatrics
|date=1997
|volume=100 (Supplement)
|issue=
|page=580
|url=
|accessdate=
}}</ref> did not find a significant difference in UTI rates between [[circumcised]] and [[intact]] boys with normal urinary tract anatomy.
* Other studies suggest that circumcision is more likely to raise than to lower the generally low risk of acquiring UTI: multiple studies from [[Israel]] showed a strong correlation between ritual circumcision on the 8th day of life and postoperative UTI.<ref>{{REFjournal
|last=Menahem
|init=S
|title=Complications arising from ritual circumcision: pathogenesis and possible prevention
|journal=Isr J Med Sci
|date=1981
|volume=17
|issue=1
|pages=45-8
|url=
|accessdate=
}}</ref><ref>{{REFjournal
|last=Cohen
|init=HA
|last2=Drucker
|init2=MM
|last3=Vainer
|init3=S
|etal=yes
|title=Postcircumcision urinary tract infection
|journal=Clin Pediatr
|date=1992
|volume=31
|issue=6
|pages=322-4
|url=
|accessdate=
}}</ref><ref>{{REFjournal
|last=Goldman
|init=M
|last2=Barr
|init2=J
|last3=Bistritzer
|init3=T
|last4=Aladjem
|init4=M
|title=Urinary tract infection following ritual Jewish circumcision
|journal=Isr J Med Sci
|date=1996
|volume=32
|issue=
|pages=1098-1102
|url=
|accessdate=
}}</ref>
* It can be concluded that circumcision is ineffective as a preventive measure against [[UTI]].
* Penile and cervical cancer / HPV: first studies on those diseases and their assumed prevention by circumcision date back to 1932, a time when the cause for those illnesses was not yet fully understood.<ref>{{Wolbarst1932}}</ref> Today, it is known that sexually transmitted human papillomavirus (HPV) is a major risk factor<ref>{{REFjournal
|last=McCance
|init=DJ
|last2=Kalache
|init2=A
|last3=Ashdown
|init3=K
|etal=yes
|title=Human papillomavirus types 16 and 18 in carcinomas of the penis from Brazil
|journal=Int J Cancer
|date=1986
|volume=37
|issue=1
|pages=55-9
|url=
|accessdate=
}}</ref>, as well as smoking<ref>{{REFjournal
|last=Harish
|init=K
|last2=Ravi
|init2=R
|title=The role of tobacco in penile carcinoma
|journal=Brit J Urol
|date=1995
|volume=75
|issue=3
|pages=375-7
|url=https://www.cirp.org/library/disease/cancer/harish/
|accessdate=2025-03-18
}}</ref>. Studies have shown that there is no significant difference in the risk of getting penile cancer between [[circumcised]] and [[intact]] men. To prevent a single case of penile cancer, it would statistically take 600 to 900 circumcisions<ref>{{REFdocument
|title=Position Paper on Neonatal Circumcision
|url=
|contribution=
|last=
|first=
|publisher=American Academy of Family Physicians (Leawood, Kansas)
|format=
|date=2002-02-14
|accessdate=
}}</ref>. The influence of circumcision on the infection risk of the female partner with cervical cancer has been refuted several times as well. HPV vaccination is an effective measure against carcinoma of the cervix.
====Conclusion====
In conclusion, circumcision does not provide any proven benefits in preventive medicine.

== Pain ==
It is too dangerous to administer general anesthesia to newborn infants, so infant boys experience severe [[pain]] during circumcision.<ref name="garrett2024-01-09">{{REFweb
|url=https://intactamerica.org/disadvantages-of-circumcision/
|title=10 Disadvantages of Circumcision & Horrifying Facts
|last=Garrett
|first=Connor
|init=
|author-link=Connor Judson Garrett
|publisher=Intact America
|date=2024-01-09
|accessdate=3034-06-04
}}</ref>
In the past, advocates of circumcision claimed that a newborn child's nerve system was not yet fully developed, and that as a result, the child felt no [[pain]] during the circumcision procedure. This antique view has now been completely disproved. [[Kanwaljeet J. Singh Anand| Anand]] & Hickey (1987) have shown that newborn children do in fact feel [[pain]], and more acutely than adults.<ref name="anand-hickey1987">{{REFjournal
|last=Anand
|first=KJS
|author-link=Kanwaljeet J. Singh Anand
|last2=Hickey
|first2=PR
|author2-link=
|etal=no
|title=Pain and its effects in the human neonate and fetus
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal=New Engl J Med
|location=
|date=1987-11-19
|volume=317
|issue=21
|pages=1321-9
|url=https://www.cirp.org/library/pain/anand/
|quote=However, in decisions about the use of these techniques, current knowledge suggests that humane considerations should apply as forcefully to the care of neonates and young, nonverbal infants as they do to children and adults in similar painful and stressful situations.
|pubmedID=3317037
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=10.1056/NEJM198711193172105
|accessdate=2019-11-08
}}</ref> This has led American health associations to recommend doctors take measures to reduce the [[pain]] of circumcision in infants.

The [https://www.cirp.org/library/statements/aap1999/|AAP Circumcision Policy Statement] (1999) states quite clearly that ''"There is considerable evidence that newborns who are [[circumcised]] without analgesia experience pain and physiologic stress"''. Furthermore, the pain is quite severe, and requires injections for proper pain management. Sucrose and Acetaminophen ''"cannot be recommended as the sole method of analgesia"''. Topical cream is no longer thought sufficient as ''"the analgesic effect is limited during the phases associated with extensive tissue trauma such as...tightening of the clamp"''.<ref>{{REFjournal
|last=
|first=
|title=American Academy of Pediatrics: Circumcision Policy Statement; Task Force on Circumcision
|journal=Pediatrics
|date=1999-03
|volume=103
|issue=3
|pages=686-93
|url=https://www.cirp.org/library/statements/aap1999/
|accessdate=2025-03-14
|note=Statement Reaffirmed Sept. 1, 2005
}}</ref>

The [[AAFP]] (2023) states quite simply in their [https://www.cirp.org/library/statements/aafp2002/| position paper], ''"Neonates who undergo circumcision should be provided analgesia, most commonly in the form of a nerve block.".''<ref>{{REFweb
|title=Neonatal Circumcision
|website=Official American Academy of Family Physicians Website
|url=https://www.cirp.org/library/statements/aap1999/
|accessdate=2023-10
}}</ref> This is not a debatable fact, and yet, it is not widely accepted, even by some doctors. It might be hard for some doctors to accept, as they may have been taught that the infant does not feel [[pain]], and may have performed countless circumcisions with this idea. Usage of analgesia for infant circumcision is still by no means the rule.

Penile injections of local anesthetic are now recommended by all of the major medical institutions if a circumcision is to be performed. In their [http://www.ama-assn.org/ama/no-index/about-ama/13585.shtml Report 10 of the Council on Scientific Affairs], the AMA states ''"When the decision is made to proceed with circumcision, local anesthesia should be provided for the procedure. [[Ring block]] or [[dorsal penile nerve block]] [injections] are most effective. [[EMLA]] cream has limited utility"''. Alarmingly, ''"Despite the clear evidence that newborn males generate brisk pain responses during circumcision, a recent survey of residency training programs found that 26% of programs that taught circumcision provided no instruction on the use of local anesthesia". The AMA reports that "Of physicians performing circumcision, 45% use anesthesia, 71% of pediatricians, 56% of family practitioners, and 25% of obstetricians"''.<ref>{{REFweb
|title=Report 10 of the Council on Scientific Affairs (I-99): Neonatal Circumcision
|website=American Medical Association Official Website
|url=http://www.ama-assn.org/ama/no-index/about-ama/13585.shtml
|accessdate=2011-05-04
}}</ref>

The AAP's [http://www.healthychildren.org/English/ages-stages/prenatal/decisions-to-make/pages/Where-We-Stand-Circumcision.aspx Heatlhy Children website] suggests ''"Your pediatrician (or your obstetrician) should discuss the forms of analgesia that are available"''.<ref>{{REFweb
|title=Where We Stand: Circumcision
|publisher=[[AAP]]
|date=2011-03-23
|url=http://www.healthychildren.org/English/ages-stages/prenatal/decisions-to-make/pages/Where-We-Stand-Circumcision.aspx
|accessdate=2019-10-12
}}</ref> Be that as it may, few forms of analgesia are recommended. There are basically two types of injections to choose from, and the website does not go into the difference between a 'dorsal nerve block' and a 'ring block' injection.<ref>The AAP is a master at promoting unnecessary circumcision for the profit of its members. Here it states, "The American Academy of Pediatrics believes that circumcision has potential medical benefits and advantages, as well as risks." What they don't tell parents is that the "potential" means to exist in possibilty, but not in reality, so a "potential benefit" is not an actual benefit.</ref>

Given what is known from aforementioned official documents, the AAP website would be more informative and effective if it said ''"Make sure your doctor knows of the ineffectiveness of anything short of local anesthesia, and make sure your baby is given an injection. This is your responsibility, because your doctor may or may not be up to date on the latest understandings of infant sensitivity to [[pain]] during circumcision."'' The AAP may be holding back, however, perhaps because this would upset the doctor/parent power relationship, and may cause too much questioning of doctors in general. One may not expect to find this kind of advice on such a website, and yet, anything less than this is a dangerously weak statement.

To control [[pain]], some physicians that circumcise use Tylenol, sugar,<ref>{{REFweb
|quote=To calm the baby during the procedure, a sugar filled gauze pacifier soaked with sweet juice is used, and soothing music is played in the room.
|url=http://www.pollockclinics.com/circumcision/circumcision-guide.html
|title=Parents' Guide to Circumcision
|last=
|first=
|publisher=
|date=
|accessdate=2011-04-08
}}</ref><ref>{{REFweb
|quote=During the circumcision, your son will receive sugar pacifiers to suck on which reduce his pain perceptions.
|url=http://www.pollockclinics.com/circumcision/circumcision-before.html
|title=Before the Circumcision
|last=
|first=
|publisher=
|date=2011-04-08
|accessdate=2011-04-08
}}</ref> a topical cream,<ref>{{REFweb
|quote=Then in our office, he will have topical anesthetic applied to his penis.
|url=http://www.pollockclinics.com/circumcision/circumcision-before.html
|title=Before the Circumcision
|last=
|first=
|publisher=
|date=2011-04-08
|accessdate=2011-04-08
}}</ref> and/or a local anaesthetic injection called a dorsal penile ring block.<ref>{{REFweb
|quote=We use extensive pain control methods including Tylenol, a sugar solution (to reduce pain perceptions), a topical freezing cream, and a local anesthetic injection.
|url=http://www.pollockclinics.com/circumcision/circumcision-guide.html
|title=Parents' Guide to Circumcision
|last=
|first=
|publisher=
|date=
|accessdate=2011-04-08
}}</ref> Topical anaesthetic only serves to numb the area to lessen the pain of the injection, but studies have shown that a [[dorsal penile nerve block]] is only partially effective in stopping the [[Pain| pain of circumcision]].<ref name="Journal of Perinatology April/May 2002">{{REFjournal
|last=Taeusch
|first=H. William
|init=HW
|last2=Martinez
|first2=Alma M.
|init2=AM
|last3=Partridge
|first3=J. Colin
|init3=JC
|last4=Sniderman
|first4=Susan
|init4=S
|last5=Armstrong-Wells
|first5=Jennifer
|init5=J
|last6=Fuentes-Afflick
|first6=Elena
|init6=E
|title=Pain During Mogen or Plastibell Circumcision
|journal=Journal of Perinatology
|volume=22
|issue=3
|pages=214-8
|url=http://www.nature.com/jp/journal/v22/n3/full/7210653a.html
|quote=...more than half of the study group had what we considered excessive pain/discomfort over the course of the entire procedure.
|pubmedID=
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=
|note=April/May 2002
|date=2002-04
|accessdate=2011-04-08
}}</ref><ref name="Clinical Pediatrics August 1986">{{REFjournal
|last=Williamson
|first=Paul S.
|init=PS
|last2=Evans
|first2=Nolan Donovan
|init2=ND
|title=Neonatal Cortisol Response to Circumcision with Anesthesia
|journal=Clinical Pediatrics
|volume=25
|issue=8
|pages=412-6
|url=http://cpj.sagepub.com/content/25/8/412.abstract
|quote=The adrenal cortisol response to surgery was not significantly reduced by the administration of lidocaine.
|pubmedID=
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=
|date=1986-08
|accessdate=2011-04-08
}}</ref> During circumcision, somp physicians give children sugar pacifiers to "reduce the perception of pain", but in at least one study, data shows that giving sugar to a child doesn't help to reduce the perception of pain in the child.<ref name="Lancet, The 2010-10-09">{{REFjournal
|last=Slater
|first=Rebeccah
|init=R
|first2=Laura
|init2=L
|last2=Cornelissen
|first3=Lorenzo
|init3=L
|last3=Fabrizi
|first4=Debbie
|init4=D
|last4=Patten
|first5=Jan
|init5=J
|last5=Yoxen
|first6=Alan
|init6=A
|last6=Worley
|first7=Stewart
|init7=S
|last7=Boyd
|first8=Judith
|init8=J
|last8=Meek
|first9=Maria
|init9=M
|last9=Prof. Fitzgerald
|title=Oral sucrose as an analgesic drug for procedural pain in newborn infants: a randomised controlled trial
|journal=The Lancet
|volume=376
|issue=9748
|pages=1225-32
|url=http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736%2810%2961303-7/fulltext
|quote=Our data suggest that oral sucrose does not significantly affect activity in neonatal brain or spinal cord nociceptive circuits, and therefore might not be an effective analgesic drug. The ability of sucrose to reduce clinical observational scores after noxious events in newborn infants should not be interpreted as pain relief.
|pubmedID=
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=
|date=2010-10-09
|accessdate=2011-04-08
}}</ref> Post-operative pain and the pain the child must endure during recovery is hardly, if ever, addressed by professionals.<ref>The use of sweets reduces crying because the infant boy cannot cry and suck at the same time. It does not reduce the [[pain]] experienced.</ref> [[Circumcised]] boys will be very uncomfortable and fussy when compared with [[intact]] boys and girls.<ref>{{REFweb
|url=https://thewholetruth.data.blog/2025/06/25/fussy-boys-calm-girls-how-circumcision-distorts-our-view-of-gender-behavior/
|title=Fussy Boys & Calm Girls: How Circumcision Distorts Our View of Gender Behavior
|last=Barrett
|first=
|init=JL
|author-link=
|publisher=The Whole Truth
|date=2025-06-25
|accessdate=2025-06-26
}}</ref>

It has been shown that an infant's response to [[pain]] can be altered for years as a consequence of circumcision.<ref>{{TaddioA etal 1995}}</ref><ref>{{TaddioA KatzJ IlersichAL KorenG 1997}}</ref>

{{Box|Boxtext=<big>However, none of the above three procedures totally eliminate pain. A baby boy will still experience some pain despite any of those analgesic procedures. Prevention of [[pain]] requires protecting a boy from elective neonatal non-therapeutic circumcision. Only boys who are protected from the medically unnecessary circumcision surgery experience no [[pain]] or [[trauma]].</big>}}

== Risks and effects ==
Just like tonsil or appendix surgery, circumcision is a surgical intervention and brings the usual risks related to surgical operations, alongside several specific risks of complications and late effects.<ref name="garrett2024-01-09" /> Uberoi et al. (2022) report "some men are experiencing a complex negative constellation of psychological, physical, and sexual associations that lead to significant emotional distress directed both internally and externally. The posts also reveal a discovery phenomenon wherein men discover the physical and psychological manifestations of the decisions made by others to modify their genitals."<ref name ="uberoi2022">{{REFjournal
|last=Uberoi
|first=
|init=M
|author-link=
|last2=Abdulcadir
|first2=
|init2=J
|author2-link=
|last3=Ohi
|first3=
|init3=DA
|author3-link=
|last4=Santiago
|first4=
|init4=JE
|author4-link=
|last5=
|first5=
|init5=
|author5-link=
|last6=
|first6=
|init6=
|author6-link=
|last7=
|first7=
|init7=
|author7-link=
|last8=
|first8=
|init8=
|author8-link=
|last9=
|first9=
|init9=
|author9-link=
|etal=yes
|title=Potentially under-recognized late-stage physical and psychosexual complications of non-therapeutic neonatal penile circumcision: a qualitative and quantitative analysis of self-reports from an online community forum
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal=Int J Impot Res
|location=
|date=2022-10-23
|volume=
|issue=
|article=
|page=
|pages=
|url=https://www.nature.com/articles/s41443-022-00619-8
|archived=
|quote=
|pubmedID=36274189
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=10.1038/s41443-022-00619-8
|accessdate=2023-01-08
}}</ref>
=== Physical effects ===
* [[Bodily harm]]
* [[Circumcision scar]] is an invariable effect.
* [https://intactamerica.org/ask-marilyn-is-it-normal-to-have-hair-on-your-penis/ Hair on the penis] is a common effect because hair-bearing skin is dragged onto the shaft of the [[penis]].
* An unavoidable effect of any circumcision is the permanent loss of sexual sensitivity.<ref name="garrett2024-01-09" /> This is partly due to the removal of sensory tissue. The [[foreskin]] contains very many nerve endings and touch receptors, which account for the major part of male sexual sensation. If the [[foreskin]] is removed, they can no longer provide sexual stimulation. It is also partly due to the fact that the surface of the [[Glans penis|glans]] reacts to the missing protection from friction and drying out by developing a callus layer. This reduces the sensitivity of the remaining nerves in the [[Glans penis|glans]] gradually over the years. The study conducted by Sorrells et al.<ref>{{Sorrells etal 2007}}</ref> found a significant reduction of sensitivity to touch for [[circumcised]] compared to [[intact]] [[penis]]es in adult males. Other studies revealed that [[circumcised]] men use condoms significantly less often than [[intact]] men, since they further limit the sexual sensitivity (see above).

* Painful tension can occur when there is too little reserve [[skin]] left to support a full [[erection]]<ref name="taylor1996"/>. This risk is partly dependent on the anatomy of the [[penis]]. While some [[penis]]es already have the majority of their full size when flaccid ([[Flesh Penis]], or "[[shower]]"), others are rather short when flaccid and double or more their size during an [[erection]] ([[Blood Penis]], or "[[grower]]"). Especially in children's circumcision, where the [[penis]] is not yet fully developed, the amount of reserve [[skin]] needed in adulthood cannot be estimated.

* Erectile dysfunction: Both the damage inflicted to the blood vessels in the [[foreskin]] and the reduced sexual sensitivity can be causes for reduced erectile function with advancing age.<ref>{{REFjournal
|last=Money
|init=J
|last2=Davison
|init2=J
|title=Adult penile circumcision: Erotosexual and cosmetic sequelae
|journal=Journal of Sex Research
|date=1983
|volume=19
|issue=
|pages=289-92
|url=
|accessdate=
}}</ref>

* Orgasm problems: In the wake of reduced sexual sensitivity, due to the loss of erogenous sensory tissue and gradual [[keratinization]] of the surface of the [[Glans penis|glans]], orgasm problems may develop with increasing age. In this case, the sexual arousal created by intercourse or [[masturbation]] is not enough to achieve orgasm. A preliminary stage of this late effect is the prolonged time [[circumcised]]] men need to reach an orgasm. This is often fielded as the "cut men have more endurance" argument for circumcision.
* Vaginal dryness: Due to the loss of the natural [[gliding action]], which comes from the mobility of the [[foreskin]] and [[shaft skin]], a much increased friction between [[penis]] and [[vagina]] occurs during intercourse. This can make intercourse painful for both partners and lead to abrasions<ref>{{FrischM LindholmM GroenbaekM 2011}}</ref><ref>{{REFjournal
|last=Cortés-González
|init=J
|last2=Arratia-Maqueo
|init2=J
|last3=Gómez-Guerra
|init3=L
|title=Does circumcision has an effect on female's perception of sexual satisfaction?
|journal=Rev Invest Clin
|date=2008
|volume=60
|issue=3
|page=227
|url=
|pubmedID=18807735
|accessdate=
}}</ref> The prolonged time it takes [[circumcised]] men to reach orgasm, as well as the often longer and more vigorous thrusting movements — compared to [[intact]] men — play a part in this.<ref name="ColdCJ TaylorJR 1999">{{ColdCJ TaylorJR 1999}}</ref><ref>{{REFjournal
|last=Fink
|init=KS
|last2=Carson
|init2=CC
|last3=DeVellis
|init3=RF
|title=Adult Circumcision Outcomes Study: Effect on Erectile Function, Penile Sensitivity, Sexual Activity and Satisfaction
|journal=J Urol
|date=2002
|volume=167
|issue=5
|pages=2113-6
|url=
|accessdate=
}}</ref>

* [[Lymphoedema]] of the penis is a normal and expected complication of male circumcision.

* [[Meatal stenosis]], a pathological narrowing of the opening of the [[urethra]], which mostly occurs in infancy and early childhood. It is one of the most common complications of infant circumcision. A study from 2006 found meatal stenosis exclusively in previously [[circumcised]] boys. The incidence rate after a circumcision is approximately 10 to 20 percent.<ref name="vanhowe2006">{{REFjournal
|last=Van Howe
|init=RS
|author-link=Robert S. Van Howe
|title=Incidence of meatal stenosis following neonatal circumcision in a primary care setting
|journal=Clin Pediatr (Phila)
|note=Jan-Feb 2006
|date=2006-01
|volume=45
|issue=1
|pages=49-54
|url=https://www.academia.edu/6992015/Incidence_of_Meatal_Stenosis_following_Neonatal_Circumcision_in_a_Primary_Care_Setting
|accessdate=2019-12-15
}}</ref><ref>{{REFjournal
|last=Stenram
|init=A
|last2=Malmfors
|init2=G
|last3=Okmian
|init3=L
|title=Circumcision for [[phimosis]]: a follow-up study
|journal=Scandinavian journal of urology and nephrology
|date=1986
|volume=20
|issue=2
|page=89
|url=
|pubmedID=3749823
|accessdate=
}}</ref><ref>{{REFweb
|url=http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/1016016-overview
|title=Meatal Stenosis
|publisher=Medscape
|accessdate=2019-10-11
}}</ref>

* Shorter adult penile length was reported by Park et al. (2016) as a result of NMC (newborn male circumcision).
{{Citation
|Title=
|Text=In conclusion, second to fourth digit ratio, flaccid penile length, and age of circumcision were significant predictive factors for erectile penile length. Furthermore, the penile lengths of the NMC group were shorter than those of the non-NMC group.
|Author=Park et al.
|Source=
|ref=<ref>{{REFjournal
|last=Park
|first=
|init=JK
|author-link=
|last2=Doo
|first2=
|init2=AR
|author2-link=
|last3=Kim
|first3=
|init3=JH
|author3-link=
|last4=Park
|first4=
|init4=HS
|author4-link=
|etal=yes
|title=Prospective investigation of penile length with newborn male circumcision and second to fourth digit ratio.
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal=Can Urol Assoc J
|location=
|date=2016-09
|season=
|volume=10
|issue=9-10
|article=
|page=
|pages=
|url=https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5028213/
|archived=
|quote=
|pubmedID=27695583
|pubmedCID=5028213
|DOI=10.5489/cuaj.3590
|accessdate=2022-09-04
}}</ref>
}}
===Health effects===
The [[foreskin]] provides both [[Immunological and protective function of the foreskin| physical protection and protection from infection]], so [[foreskinned]] boys and men tend to have better health than [[circumcised]] boys and men.<ref name=fendereski2024" /> <ref name="bollinger2025-08-27" /> <ref name="vanhowe2006" />

=== Sexual effects ===
Cepeda-Emiliani et al (2023) cited six reports in the literature of detrimental effects of circumcision, including erectile function, sensation, masturbatory pleasure, orgasm, and sexual satisfaction. The authors also cited three studies of severe distress in [[circumcised]] men, due to their infant circumcision, with complaints of [[glans]] insensitivity, delayed [[ejaculation]], and unpleasant sensation.<ref name="cepeda2023">{{REFjournal
|last=Cepe da-Emiliani
|first=
|init=A
|author-link=Alfonso Cepeda-Emiliani
|last2=Gándara-Cortés
|first2=
|init2=M
|author2-link=
|last3=Otero-Alén
|first3=
|init3=M
|author3-link=
|last4=García
|first4=
|init4=H
|author4-link=
|last5=Suárez-Quintanilla
|first5=
|init5=J
|author5-link=
|last6=García-Caballero
|first6=
|init6=T
|author6-link=
|last7=Gallego
|first7=
|init7=R
|author7-link=
|last8=García-Caballero
|first8=
|init8=R
|author8-link=
|etal=no
|title=Immunohistological study of the density and distribution of human penile neural tissue: gradient hypothesis
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal= Int J Impot Res
|location=
|date=2023-05-02
|volume=35
|issue=3
|article=
|page=
|pages=286-305
|url=https://www.nature.com/articles/s41443-022-00561-9
|archived=
|quote=
|pubmedID=35501394
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=10.1038/s41443-022-00561-9
|accessdate=2023-11-26
}}</ref>

Circumcision and frenectomy remove tissues with heightened erogenous sensitivity.<ref name="garrett2024-01-09" /><ref name="cepeda2023" /> <ref name="winkleman1959">{{WinkelmannRK 1959}}</ref> They concluded, "Evidence has also started to accumulate that male circumcision may result in lifelong physical, sexual, and sometimes psychological harm as well."

The [[amputation]] of the prepuce results in the loss of the majority of fine-touch neuroreceptors found in the [[penis]], leaving only the uninhibited protopathic sensibility of the artificially externalized [[glans penis]]. The imbalance caused by not having the input from the now ablated fine-touch receptors may be a leading cause of the changes in sexual behavior noted in [[circumcised]] human males.<ref>{{REFjournal
|last=Van Howe
|init=RS
|author-link=Robert S. Van Howe
|last2=Cold
|init2=CJ
|title=Advantages and Disadvantages of Neonatal Circumcision
|journal=The Journal of the American Medical Association
|volume=277
|issue=13
|pages=1052-7
|url=http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9218663
|quote=
|pubmedID=9218663
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=
|date=1997-04-02
|accessdate=
}}</ref>

Histology of the male circumcision scar shows [[amputation]] neuromas, Schwann cell proliferation and the bulbous collection of variably sized neurites. [[Amputation]] neuromas do not mediate normal sensation and are notorious for generating pain.<ref name="ColdCJ TaylorJR 1999"/> Cepeda-Emiliani et al. (2023) commented:
<blockquote>
Taking the sleve technique as an example of surgical flexibility during circumcision, to the extent that this technique is of such versatility that it allows highly variable quantities of cutaneous and subcutaneous tissue to be excised directly from the penile body, and to the extent that the prepuce is still conceived by segments of the medical community as "just a small piece of skin", we are concerned that aggressive circumcisions are intentionally or unintentionally being performed in pediatric and adult patients in the belief that "redundant" or " extra" tissue is being excised, or in the belief that "excesive sensitivity" is being reduced to augment ejaculatory latency time.<ref name="cepeda2023" />
</blockquote>
The un-anesthetized and un-sedated newborn infant is restrained by being strapped to a special plastic board called the [[circumstraint]]. The procedure is most often an elective, non-therapeutic surgery without [[medical indication]] performed on neonates and children for religious and cultural reasons in violation of the child's [[human rights]] to [[physical integrity]], but in older patients may be rarely indicated for therapeutic reasons. It is a radical treatment option for pathological [[phimosis]], refractory [[balanoposthitis]] and chronic [[urinary tract infection]]s (UTIs); it is contraindicated in cases of certain genital structure abnormalities or poor general health.

See [[Sexual effects of circumcision]] for more information.

=== Psychological effects ===
[[Psychological_issues_of_male_circumcision#Circumcision_trauma_in_adults| Psychological late effects]] are also likely after a circumcision, especially if the operation was carried out in childhood.<ref name="garrett2024-01-09" /> On this occasion a variety of [[trauma]] may occur, which depend, among others, on age and circumstances of the circumcision. For example, whether the circumcision took place with or without sufficient anaesthesia, if the individual has been informed about the operation beforehand, if he was [[circumcised]] against his will or without his consent, and also, in the case of infant circumcision, if he was told about it during childhood or had to find it out coincidentally on his own.

The psychological late effects of circumcision are not yet fully researched, and many studies took place on rather a small scale. This situation needs to be rectified, because the available studies, as well as the histories of negatively affected men, suggest that these late effects may have more impact than previously assumed.

* It was observed that infants, following circumcision without [[pain]] control, had a disturbed bond with their mother<ref>{{REFjournal
|last=Marshall
|init=RE
|last2=Porter
|init2=FL
|last3=Rogers
|init3=AG
|etal=yes
|title=Circumcision: II effects upon mother-infant interaction
|journal=Early Hum Dev
|date=1982
|volume=7
|issue=4
|pages=367-74
|url=https://www.cirp.org/library/birth/marshall2/
|accessdate=2020-02-01
}}</ref>, as well as problems with nurturing, up to the point of refusal to be fed. The sleeping habits of these babies were also disturbed, with prolonged non-REM sleep and increased waking.

* In boys [[circumcised]] in childhood, [[post-traumatic stress disorder]] ([[PTSD]]) could be diagnosed. In a study on Philippine boys, in whom no [[PTSD]] was found prior to the operation, 69% of the boys [[circumcised]] in the traditional ritual and 51% of those [[circumcised]] by standard medical procedures (including anaesthesia) fulfilled the DSM-IV criteria for PTSD following the operation.<ref>{{REFbook
|last=Ramos
|init=S
|last2=Boyle
|init2=GJ
|year=2001
|title=Understanding circumcision: A Multi-Disciplinary Approach to a Multi-Dimensional Problem
|url=https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-1-4757-3351-8_14
|work=
|editors=[[George C. Denniston]], [[Frederick M. Hodges]], [[Marilyn Fayre Milos]]
|edition=
|volume=
|chapter=Ritual and medical circumcision among Filipino boys: evidence of post-traumatic stress disorder
|pages=253-70
|location=New York
|publisher=Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publishers
|isbn=
|quote=
|accessdate=
|note=
}}</ref>
* Circumcisions, especially those that happen without consent, can spark feelings of helplessness and alienation, which can persist as [[trauma]]. These feeling can also be triggered later, when someone [[circumcised]] as an infant becomes aware of his circumcision. In an online study, interviewed men stated they felt betrayed - 55% by the mother, 50% by the father, and 58% by the doctor, and 73% felt that their [[human rights]] had been violated.<ref name="GSoCH">{{REFweb
|url=http://www.circumcisionharm.org/
|title=Global Survey of Circumcision Harm
|accessdate=2019-10-12
}}</ref>
* It can frequently be found that the loss is denied, much as happens with the loss of other body parts. This denial can lead to fathers having their sons [[circumcised]] in order not to be reminded of their own loss. In this process, their own body is defined as "normal" and the [[foreskin]] redefined as a foreign object. Their own parents are seen as "good", so that this image is projected onto the circumcision their parents carried out as well, in order to keep the positive emotion intact. The father wants to be a "good" father later in life as well, and so, following an idealised image of his own parents, circumcision, which has been redefined as a "good thing", is passed on to his son by having him [[circumcised]] as well.<ref>{{VanderKolkBA 1989}}</ref><ref>{{REFjournal
|last=Goldman
|init=R
|author-link=Ronald Goldman
|url=https://www.cirp.org/library/psych/goldman1/
|title=The psychological impact of circumcision
|journal=BJU Int
|date=1999
|volume=83
|issue=Suppl. 1
|pages=93-103
|accessdate=2019-10-12
}}</ref>
* If the [[circumcised]] male feels incomplete, or due to the missing [[foreskin]] disadvantaged compared to [[intact]] males, an inferiority complex and [[depression]] may occur. This can be accompanied by conscious recognition of his own incompleteness, or the deficiency may remain completely subconscious<ref>{{REFjournal
|last=Rhinehart
|init=J
|url=https://www.cirp.org/library/psych/rhinehart1/
|title=Neonatal circumcision reconsidered
|journal=Transactional Analysis J
|date=1999
|volume=29
|issue=3
|pages=215-21
|accessdate=2019-10-12
}}</ref>. In an online study, 75% of those interviewed stated that they felt incomplete, and 66% said they felt inferior compared with [[intact]] males.<ref name="GSoCH"/>
* Cases in which children felt ill treated or punished have been documented as well. G. Cansever found in her study on 12 boys aged between 4 and 7 years, who had previously been prepared for their impending circumcision, that the children experienced the operation as an aggressive assault on their bodies.<ref>{{REFjournal
|last=Cansever
|init=G
|date=1965
|url=https://www.cirp.org/library/psych/cansever/
|title=Psychological effects of circumcision
|journal=Brit. J. Med. Psychol
|volume=38
|pages=321-31
|pubmedID=5322308
|DOI=10.1111/j.2044-8341.1965.tb01314.x
|accessdate=2019-10-12
}}</ref>
* Fear of being alone or darkness.<ref name="Levy1945">{{REFjournal
|last=Levy
|first=David M.
|init=DM
|url=https://www.cirp.org/library/psych/levy1/
|title=Psychic trauma of operations in children; and a note on combat neurosis
|journal=American Journal of Diseases of Children
|volume=69
|date=1945
|pages=7-25
|accessdate=2019-10-12
}}</ref>
* Fear of doctors, clinics, and also closed rooms.<ref name="Levy1945"/>
* Relapse into the state of bed-wetting, even if the child was already dry before.<ref name="Levy1945"/>
* [[Circumcised]] males who become fathers frequently manifest [[adamant father syndrome]].

[[Intact America]] (2019) called circumcision an [[Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs)| adverse childhood experience]],<ref name-"bollinger2019">{{REFdocument
|title=Child genital cutting as an adverse childhood experience
|url=http://adversechildhoodexperiences.net/CGC_as_an_ACE.pdf
|last=Bollinger
|first=Dan
|author-link=Dan Bollinger
|last2=Chapin
|first2=Georganne
|author2-link=Georganne Chapin
|publisher=Intact America
|location=Tarrytown
|format=PDF
|date=2019-08
|accessdate=2021-11-02
}}</ref>

== Complications ==
=== Possible operative and postoperative complications ===
Circumcision is surgery. Surgical complications of circumcision generally may be classified as [[Bleeding| hemorrhage]], [[infection]], or surgical misadventure up to and including loss of the penis and [[death]].<ref name="deacon2022" /><ref name="williams-kapilla1993">{{REFjournal
|last=Williams
|init=N
|author-link=
|last2=Kapilla
|init2=L
|author2-link=
|etal=no
|title=Complications of circumcision
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal=Brit J Surg
|location=
|date=1993-10
|volume=80
|issue=10
|pages=1231-6
|url=https://www.cirp.org/library/complications/williams-kapila/
|quote=
|pubmedID=8242285
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=10.1002/bjs.1800801005
|accessdate=2019-11-27
}}</ref>

* Intolerance or allergic reactions to the narcotics used.
* Especially in newborns, where the bodily pain reduction mechanisms are not yet fully developed, local anaesthesia is often insufficient for the operation. Even in conjunction with regional anaesthesia of the dorsal nerve of the [[penis]], the rate of failure to provide sufficient anaesthetic even for experienced anaesthetists is still 5-10%. The general anaesthesia that would be needed for newborns, however, poses significant risks for the child, and, therefore, is only likely to be used in emergencies. A surgical operation without proper [[pain]] control can lead to the development of a specific pain memory<ref>{{REFweb
|url=http://www.spiegel.de/spiegel/vorab/experte-warnt-rituelle-beschneidung-veraendert-das-gehirn-der-kinder-a-849534.html
|title=Kinderschmerz-Experte warnt: Rituelle Beschneidung verändert das Gehirn der Kinder
|trans-title=Children's pain expert warns: Ritual circumcision changes the brain of children
|language=German
|last=Prof. Dr. med. Boris Zernikow
|first=
|publisher=Spiegel Online
|website=
|date=2012-08-12
|accessdate=2019-10-11
|format=
|quote=
}}</ref>. In unsedated and partially sedated infants increased secretion of the stress hormone cortisol could be observed for months after the operation. Overall, their pain threshold was lower and the risk of chronic pain increased. Regardless of these findings, infant circumcisions with insufficient or no anaesthetic are still common practice<ref>{{REFjournal
|last=Garry
|init=T
|title=Circumcision: a survey of fees and practices
|journal=OBG Management
|date=1994
|volume=October
|issue=
|pages=34-6
|url=
|accessdate=
}}</ref><ref>{{REFjournal
|last=Howard
|init=CR
|last2=Howard
|init2=FM
|last3=Garfunkel
|init3=LC
|last4=de Blieck
|init4=EA
|last5=Weitzman
|init5=M
|title=Neonatal circumcision and pain relief: current training practices
|journal=Pediatrics
|date=1998
|volume=101
|issue=
|pages=423-8
|url=
|accessdate=
}}</ref><ref>{{REFjournal
|last=Stang
|init=HJ
|last2=Snellman
|init2=LW
|title=Circumcision practice patterns in the United States
|journal=Pediatrics
|date=1998
|volume=101
|issue=e5
|pages=
|url=
|accessdate=
|note=Link to [[AAP]] website
}}</ref>. During procedures which take several minutes, babies tend to fall into a state of stupor, which in the past was falsely interpreted as peaceful sleep, nurturing the belief that babies felt no pain. Measurements taken in those cases revealed a typically 3- to 4-fold increase in cortisol levels, which equals a state of severe [[shock]].<ref>{{REFjournal
|last=Gunnar
|init=MR
|last2=Fisch
|init2=RO
|last3=Korsvik
|init3=S
|last4=Donhowe
|init4=JM
|title=The effects of circumcision on serum cortisol and behavior
|journal=Psychoneuroendocrinology
|date=1981
|volume=6
|issue=3
|pages=269-75
|url=https://www.cirp.org/library/pain/gunnar/
|accessdate=2019-11-26
}}</ref>
* Postoperative wound pain, in the case of children's circumcisions conceivably worsened by the forceful breaking of the preputial adhesions.
* Postoperative pain from the exposure of the sensitive glans penis to clothing. This pain will endure for several weeks or even longer in some cases.
* Postoperative [[bleeding]] of the wound. This can have severe consequences especially for very young infants, if they are not treated promptly. Their blood volume is only about 85 ml per kilogram of body weight, and even moderate blood loss can lead to hypovolaemia, hypovolaemic [[shock]] and even death.<ref>{{REFbook
|last=
|first=
|year=2000
|title=Paediatric Handbook
|url=
|work=
|editors=Smart J, Nolan T.
|edition=6
|volume=
|chapter=
|page=82
|location={{AUSC|VIC}}, Australia
|publisher=Blackwell Science Asia
|isbn=
|quote=
|accessdate=
|note=
}}</ref><ref>{{REFdocument
|title=Autopsy of Demetrius Manker
|url=
|contribution=Case 93-1711
|last=Wetli
|first=CV
|publisher=Miami: Dade County Medical Examiner Department
|format=
|date=1993-06-23
|accessdate=
}}</ref> <ref>{{REFjournal
|last=Hiss
|init=J
|last2=Horowitz
|init2=A
|last3=Kahana
|init3=T
|title=Fatal haemorrhage following male ritual circumcision
|journal=J Clin Forensic Med
|date=2000
|volume=7
|issue=
|pages=32-4
|url=https://www.cirp.org/library/death/hiss1/
|accessdate=2019-11-06
}}</ref><ref>{{REFdocument
|title=Judgement of inquiry into the death of McWillis, Ryleigh Roman Bryan
|url=http://www.circumstitions.com/death-exsang.html
|contribution=
|last=Newell
|first=TEC
|publisher=Burnaby, B.C.: B.C. Coroner's Service
|format=
|date=2004-01-19
|accessdate=2019-11-26
}}</ref>
* Post operative [[lymphoedema]].
* Postoperative [[Infection| infections]]. This includes both local infections, which can be treated with local therapy, and systemic infections, requiring systemic antibiotic treatment.<ref>{{REFconference
|last=Dr. med. Hartmann
|first=Wolfgang
|url=
|place=Rechtsausschuss des Bundestages [Legal Committee of the Bundestag] (German)
|title=Stellungnahme zur Anhörung am 26. November 2012 [Opinion on the hearing on 26 November 2012] (German)
|date=2012-11-26
|accessdate=
}}</ref>
* [[Wound dehiscence]], meaning the separation of the edges of the wound or the tissue after suturing.
* Adhesion between the surface or rim of the [[Glans penis|glans]] with the neighbouring [[penile skin]], causing [[skin]] pockets and bridges, as well as visually unpleasant results like uneven scars, which make a re-circumcision necessary.
* Postoperative [[phimosis]]: a phimotic ring can develop during scarring, which makes a re-circumcision necessary. According to a study by Blalock et al.<ref>{{REFjournal
|last=Blalock
|init=HJ
|last2=Vemulakonda
|init2=V
|last3=Ritchey
|init3=ML
|last4=Ribbeck
|init4=M
|title=Outpatient management of [[phimosis]] Following newborn circumcision
|journal=J Urol
|date=2003
|volume=169
|issue=6
|pages=2332-4
|url=https://www.cirp.org/library/complications/blalock1/
|accessdate=2019-11-26
}}</ref>, the prevalence is 2.9%, according to Leitch<ref>{{REFjournal
|last=Leitch
|init=IOW
|title=Circumcision - a continuing enigma
|journal=Aust Paediatr J
|date=1970
|volume=6
|issue=
|pages=59-65
|url=https://www.cirp.org/library/general/leitch1/
|accessdate=2019-12-15
}}</ref> 5.5%.
* [[Sudden Infant Death Syndrome]] (SIDS).
* Knot formation of the veins. If the dorsal vein, which originates in the tip of the [[foreskin]], is cut during circumcision without being clamped and sutured at its origin separately, it starts to develop new branches over time, which can lead to the development of knots.
* Possible deformities due to circumcision include hypoplasia of the [[penis]] (micro-penis) and induratio [[penis]] plastica (skewed penis).
* Medical malpractice can also not be ruled out. Injuries, partly or entirely severing the [[Glans penis|glans]] or the [[penis]] can occur.
* In rare cases, [[necrosis]], gangrene, ischaemia, keloid formation, and circulatory problems may also occur.
* When the circumcision is followed by the ultra-orthodox Jewish ritual of Metzitzah B'Peh (which consists of sucking blood from the wound with the mouth), there is a risk of infection with [[herpes]] simplex type 1, which can lead to brain damage or [[death]].<ref>{{REFweb
|url=http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/08/nyregion/infants-death-renews-debate-over-a-circumcision-ritual.html?_r=0
|title=Baby’s Death Renews Debate Over a Circumcision Ritual
|last=Robbins
|first=Liz
|date=2012-03-07
|accessdate=2019-10-11
}}</ref>
=== Death ===
There is indeed a risk of [[death]] from non-therapeutic neonatal circumcision,<ref name="garrett2024-01-09" /> although the [[circumcision industry]] takes care to not reveal it.
A study in 2010 estimated approximately 117 neonatal circumcision-related [[Death| deaths]] occur annually in the [[United States]], about one out of every 77 male neonatal deaths, more than suffocation, auto accidents, or even [[SIDS]].<ref name="Bollinger 2010">{{REFjournal
|last=Bollinger
|first=Dan
|init=D
|author-link=Dan Bollinger
|last2=Boy's Health Advisory
|title=Lost Boys: An Estimate of U.S. Circumcision-Related Infant Deaths
|journal=Thymos: Journal of Boyhood Studies
|volume=4
|issue=1
|pages=78-90
|url=http://www.mensstudies.com/content/b64n267w47m333x0/?p=7ebbd6b446d940cbbd4274c095754b12π=5
|quote=
|pubmedID=
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=10.3149/thy.0401.78
|date=2010-04-26
|accessdate=2019-10-12
}}</ref><ref>{{REFweb
|url=http://www.icgi.org/2010/04/infant-circumcision-causes-100-deaths-each-year-in-us
|title=Infant circumcision causes 100 deaths each year in US
|last=
|first=
|publisher=ICGI
|website=[[International Coalition for Genital Integrity]]
|date=2010-04-26
|accessdate=
}}</ref> See also the list of [[fatalities]].

== Forced circumcision ==

=== Non-therapeutic circumcision of male children ===

Human babies, because they are not yet in possession of language, are incapable of giving or refusing consent to be [[circumcised]]. The element of force has led some scholars to view the circumcision of baby boys as a category of forced circumcision.<ref>For example, Frederick M. Hodges, a medical historian, writes: "In the late 1970s, as the Americans were growing increasingly aware of the abuses of power rampant throughout the nation's social institutions, influential grass-roots movements protesting the forced circumcision of American children sprang up nationwide." F. Hodges, "A Short History," p. 31; see also [[Leonard B. Glick|Glick]], ''Marked in Your Flesh'', pp. 273-281.</ref> There are, however, physicians in the United States who argue strongly for non-therapeutic circumcision of newborn babies; and circumcision is widely accepted as a postnatal procedure in American hospitals.<ref>{{REFbook
|last=Fletcher
|first=Christopher R.
|init=CR
|year=1999
|title=Circumcision in America in 1998: Attitudes, Beliefs, and Charges of American Physicians
|url=http://www.springerlink.com/content/h2150v731233m177/
|work=Male and Female Circumcision
|editors=[[George C. Denniston]], [[Frederick M. Hodges]], [[Marilyn Fayre Milos]]
|edition=
|volume=
|chapter=Section 5
|pages=259-71
|location=New York
|publisher=Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publishers
|isbn=
|quote=
|accessdate=2019-10-12
|note=ID 10.1007/978-0-585-39937-9_19
}}</ref> Parental consent is required.<ref>See, e.g., Shephard and Shephard, ''The Complete Guide'', p. 125.</ref> A statement published by the [[American Academy of Pediatrics]] in 1999 claimed that "parents should determine what is in the best interest of the child... It is legitimate for parents to take into account cultural, religious, and ethnic traditions, in additions to the medical factors, when making a decision."<ref>Lannon and Bailey, "Circumcision Policy Statement," p. 691.</ref> however surrogate consent for non-therapeutic circumcision is now viewed as unethical.<ref name-"myers2020">{{REFjournal
|last=Myers
|first=
|init=A
|author-link=Alex Myers
|last2=Earp
|first2=
|init2=BD
|author2-link=Brian D. Earp
|etal=no
|title=What is the best age to circumcise? A medical and ethical analysis
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal=Bioethics
|location=
|date=2020
|volume=34
|issue=7
|pages=645-63
|url=https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Brian-Earp-2/publication/337720859_What_Is_the_Best_Age_to_Circumcise_A_Medical_and_Ethical_Analysis/links/5f815f61a6fdccfd7b555395/What-Is-the-Best-Age-to-Circumcise-A-Medical-and-Ethical-Analysis.pdf
|archived=
|quote=Based on a careful consideration of the relevant evidence, arguments and counterarguments, we conclude that medically unnecessary penile circumcision-like other medically unnecessary genital procedures, such as 'cosmetic' labiaplasty-should not be performed on individuals who are too young (or otherwise unable) to provide meaningful consent to the procedure.
|pubmedID=32068898
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=
|doi=10.1111/bioe.12714
|format=PDF
|accessdate=2026-02-03
}}</ref>

In the [[United Kingdom]], where non-therapeutic circumcision has now become far less prevalent than in the [[United States]], the written consent of both parents is required, if a physician is to perform a non-therapeutic circumcision of a child.<ref>{{REFjournal
|last=
|first=
|title=Re J (child's religious upbringing and circumcision)
|journal=Family Court Reports
|date=2000
|volume=1
|issue=
|pages=307-14
|url=https://www.cirp.org/library/legal/Re_J/2000.html
|accessdate=2019-10-12
}}</ref> (The National Health Service does not provide non-therapeutic circumcision.)

In recent years, legal writers in several English-speaking countries have been questioning the practice of acceding to parental wishes.<ref>See, e.g., [[Margaret A. Somerville|Somerville]], "Therapeutic and Non-Therapeutic Medical Procedures"; Poulter, ''English Criminal Law''; [[Abbie Chessler|Chessler]], "Justifying the Unjustifiable"; Smith, "Male Circumcision."</ref> For example, critics have pointed out that, in the [[United States]], more than 1.3% of male neonatal deaths are attributable to the complications of non-therapeutic circumcision surgery.<ref name="Bollinger 2010"/>

==Recommendations of medical authorities==
* [[George Hill| Hill]] (2007) said:
<blockquote>
Male circumcision is harmful because it excises healthy tissue and permanently destroys beneﬁcial, protective, immunonological, sexual, and sensory physiological functions. Male circumcision also causes psychological problems that tend to perpetuate the cycle of abuse. Male circumcision is a costly diversion of medical resources away from beneﬁcial services. Male circumcision violates legal rights, [[human rights]], and ethical standards. Finally, we must remember that males are the more vulnerable and sensitive of the two genders and, therefore, deserve the greater degree of protection from traumatic, invasive, injurious,and unnecessary surgery. For all of these reasons the non-therapeutic circumcision of boys should not be performed and the [[genital integrity]] of all children should be respected and protected.<ref name="hill2007">{{REFjournal
|last=Hill
|first=George
|init=G
|author-link=George Hill
|title=The case against circumcision
|journal=Journal of Men's Health and Gender
|date=2007
|volume=4
|issue=3
|pages=318-23
|url=https://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/document?repid=rep1&type=pdf&doi=04ace5046cc27f01b8fbe4aa359c059778983912
|quote=
|pubmedID=
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=
|format=PDF
|accessdate=2025-04-22
}}</ref>
</blockquote>
* Andrew E. MacNeiiy, Head, Division of Pediatric Urology, Department of Urological Sciences, {{UNI|University of British Columbia|UBC}}, Vancouver, BC, (2008) said:
<blockquote>
Newborn circumcision remains an area of controversy. Social, cultural, aesthetic and religious pressures form the most common reasons for non-therapeutic circumcision. Although penile cancer and UTIs are reduced compared with uncircumcised males, the incidence of such illness is so low that circumcision cannot be justified as prophylaxis. The role of the foreskin in [[HIV]] transmission in developed countries is unclear, and safe sexual practice remains the cornerstone of prevention. There remains a lack of knowledge regarding what constitutes the normal foreskin both among parents and among primary care providers. This lack of knowledge results in a burden of costs to our health care system in the form of unnecessary urological referrals, expansion of wait times and circumcisions. Routine circumcision of all infants is not justified from a health or cost-benefit perspective.<ref>{{REFjournal
|last=MacNeily
|first=Andrew
|init=
|author-link=
|etal=no
|title=Routine circumcision: the opposing view
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal=Can Urol Assoc J
|location=
|date=2007-11
|volume=1
|issue=4
|article=
|page=
|pages=395-7
|url=http://europepmc.org/article/PMC/2422979
|pubmedID=18542825
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=10.5489/cuaj.455
|accessdate=2021-11-08
}}</ref>
</blockquote>

* The [[Royal Dutch Medical Association]] (KNMG) (2010) said:

<blockquote>
The official viewpoint of KNMG and other related medical/scientific organisations is that non-therapeutic circumcision of male minors is a violation of children’s rights to autonomy and physical integrity. Contrary to popular belief, circumcision can cause complications – [[bleeding]], infection, [[urethra]]l stricture and panic attacks are particularly common. KNMG is therefore urging a strong policy of deterrence. KNMG is calling upon doctors to actively and insistently inform parents who are considering the procedure of the absence of medical benefits and the danger of complications.<ref>{{REFdocument
|title=Non-therapeutic circumcision of male minors
|url=https://www.doctorsopposingcircumcision.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/knmg-non-therapeutic-circumcision-of-male-minors-27-05-2010.pdf
|contribution=
|last=
|first=
|publisher=Royal Dutch Medical Association
|format=PDF
|date=2010
|accessdate=2021-11-08
}}</ref>
</blockquote>

* The [[Royal Australasian College of Physicians]] (2010) said:

<blockquote>
Ethical and [[human rights]] concerns have been raised regarding elective infant male
circumcision because it is recognised that the foreskin has a functional role, the operation
is non-therapeutic and the infant is unable to consent.

After reviewing the currently available evidence, the RACP believes that the frequency of
diseases modifiable by circumcision, the level of protection offered by circumcision and the
complication rates of circumcision do not warrant routine infant circumcision in Australia
and New Zealand. However it is reasonable for parents to weigh the benefits and risks of
circumcision and to make the decision whether or not to circumcise their sons.<ref name="racp2010">{{REFdocument
|title=Circumcision of Infant Males
|url=https://www.racp.edu.au//docs/default-source/advocacy-library/circumcision-of-infant-males.pdf
|contribution=
|last=
|first=
|publisher=The Royal Australasian College of Physicians
|format=PDF
|date=2010-09-01
|accessdate=2021-11-08
}}</ref>
</blockquote>

* The [[American Academy of Pediatrics]] (AAP) has not re-affirmed its disastrous, failed 2012 Circumcision Policy Statement, which expired in 2017, so currently has no position on child circumcision.

* Medical historian [[Robert Darby]] (2014) wrote simply:
<blockquote>
"To avoid circumcision complications, avoid circumcision."<ref>{{REFjournal
|last=Darby
|first=
|init=R
|author-link=Robert Darby
|etal=no
|title=To avoid circumcision complications, avoid circumcision
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal=Can Urol Assoc J
|location=
|date=2014-08-14
|volume=8
|issue=7-8
|article=
|page=231
|pages=
|url=https://cuaj.ca/index.php/journal/article/view/1709/1823
|archived=
|quote=
|pubmedID=
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=10.5489/cuaj.1709
|accessdate=2022-12-16
}}</ref>
</blockquote>
* The [[Canadian Paediatric Society]] (CPS) (2015) said:

<blockquote>In most jurisdictions, authority is limited only to interventions deemed to be medically necessary. In cases in which medical necessity is not established or a proposed treatment is based on personal preference, interventions should be deferred until the individual concerned is able to make their own choices.<ref name="CPS2015">{{REFjournal
|last=Sorokin
|first=S. Todd
|init=ST
|author-link=
|last2=Finlay
|first2=JC
|author2-link=
|last3=Jeffries
|first3=AL
|author3-link=
|etal=yes
|title=Newborn male circumcision
|journal=Paediatr Child Health
|location=
|date=2015-08
|volume=20
|issue=6
|pages=311-20
|url=https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4578472/
|quote=
|pubmedID=26435672
|pubmedCID=4578472
|DOI=10.1093/pch/20.6.311
|accessdate=2019-10-27
}}
</ref></blockquote>

* The [[Canadian Urological Association]] (CUA) considered the matter of circumcision and issued a statement in February 2018. The CUA concluded:

<blockquote>"Given the socioeconomic, educational status, and health demographics of our population, universal neonatal circumcision cannot be justified based on the current evidence available.<ref name="cua2018">{{REFjournal
|last=Dave
|first=Sumit
|init=S
|author-link=
|etal=yes
|title=Canadian Urological Association guideline on the care of the normal foreskin and neonatal circumcision in Canadian infants (abridged version)
|journal=Can Urol Assoc J
|location=
|date=2018-02
|volume=12
|issue=2
|pages=18-28
|url=https://cuaj.ca/index.php/journal/article/view/5034/3470
|quote=
|pubmedID=
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=
|accessdate=2021-11-09
}}</ref></blockquote>

==British family court opinion==
The issue of non-therapeutic circumcision of male children came before the court in the case of ''[[Re B and G (children) (No 2) EWFC 3]] (2015)'' . In that case, Judge Sir James Munby ruled that circumcision of male children caused ''significant harm''.
== Rights and ethics ==

The [[Rights situation on circumcision|rights situation]] is discussed in a separate article.

[[Image:Intact vs circumcised.JPG |thumbnail|right|300px| The intact and circumcised human penis, side by side.]]

The term "circumcision" without a gender qualifier refers specifically to male circumcision. It means "to cut around," and it refers to the [[excision]] of the [[foreskin]] from the penis. The term is inaccurate and a euphemism because the operation actually cuts off or [[amputation| amputates]] the [[foreskin]], which in adults comprises about fifteen square inches of highly functional erogenous tissue.

Circumcision is most often performed in healthy males for [[Religion and Culture|religious or cultural]] reasons. The procedure may be performed on consenting adults, but it is most often performed on non-consenting minors, particularly newborn children, which is why the ritual is so controversial. Opponents of circumcision consider the circumcision of non-consenting minors to be unethical and a [[human rights]] violation, unless there is concrete [[medical indication]].
=== Consent by surrogates ===
Medical ethics has long recognized limitations on the power of consent by surrogates.<ref>{{REFjournal
|last=Committee on Bioethics, American Academy of Pediatrics
|etal=no
|title= Informed consent, parental permission, and assent in pediatric practice
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal=Pediatrics
|location=
|date=1995
|volume=95
|issue=2
|article=
|page=
|pages=314-17
|url=https://www.cirp.org/library/ethics/AAP/
|archived=
|quote=
|pubmedID=7478854
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=
|accessdate=2023-05-21
}}</ref> <ref>{{REFjournal
|last=Committee on Bioethics
|etal=no
|title=Informed Consent in Decision-Making in Pediatric Practice
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal=Pediatrics
|location=
|date=2016-08
|volume=138
|issue=2
|article=
|page=e20161485
|pages=
|url=https://watermark.silverchair.com/peds_20161485.pdf?token=AQECAHi208BE49Ooan9kkhW_Ercy7Dm3ZL_9Cf3qfKAc485ysgAAApwwggKYBgkqhkiG9w0BBwagggKJMIIChQIBADCCAn4GCSqGSIb3DQEHATAeBglghkgBZQMEAS4wEQQM8zYHFd0Ylu9Annq_AgEQgIICT24ikc839aJMYOiypqC2G9f7_yKGAGkAekzzbCtck5TElALWVCGNoVSOaA6rDA_dOkQ_LyJnxYlZ88J9-uk15tvlIBbE82_aNyYfq5e9xmEfqD2vh374q3Naz57dxZaUbgxUkKX4PqsiLmYHLvVrr7bQK2MZuuUOKiQU8JZy7lLjkp-PjJO1U9cyIplTAgs_EdvgK8MWWoIsj-X-ZUDImAG63-rlj_qLsy5dYwytmxfCuVa47RdZseLSr2_bdDpwKAKGhq_Ly9rlHZeW_f7fYktVfF_sFTgcJziAlvEQmdyWIw0qf-hlO31Qb3sH6kDdcvHAbm7llY5xa34XLYIt8QR0YFIimgDGFliN4-ce2vjvvrwS85WeeNFhpn-Ywn4Qjpy06hPuLDL-MtI2Z3BZbBsKq4dp8qGu1q9GlXaKw193riTFG9G5bF5GCKmxmt0nCQTthrb_CcK2UhKjZwPekC9zkIUHPZ9BXJt0SM03F_g-GgqbE0hTYKMqNdJ3sHDQu2luFrJ9JEiMzxtP28gJoYh20d2APA0xrRbXBYsFdAlr50gb1BSAbNJhTyx-Kh3geoSHsAYMjPaG7cIbh0jd42pWCUx30vjlAGK8zXTuf7-31oi81CLbHTAJLuzK3NT4Whi17jVq1SbXsIXlWpKc_d-HujCvlb74rkZQ6RG9wkxW7gAKaDqtKv5zTOTMBD9vLVxgp8lDmVA8PFB59Bqd6w-fi86tW132oWQM-mTfwdIBXFbUFXkeTUC5RYyqJQIXAEwLJSRm1RX-LRbKRzgaRQ
|archived=
|quote=
|pubmedID=27456510
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=10.1542/peds.2016-1485
|format=PDF
|accessdate=2023-05-21
}}</ref> <ref>{{REFjournal
|last=Committee on Bioethics
||etal=no
|title=Informed Consent in Decision-Making in Pediatric Practice
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal=Pediatrics
|location=
|date=2016-08
|volume=138
|issue=2
|article=
|page=e20161484
|pages=
|url=https://watermark.silverchair.com/peds_20161484.pdf?token=AQECAHi208BE49Ooan9kkhW_Ercy7Dm3ZL_9Cf3qfKAc485ysgAAApwwggKYBgkqhkiG9w0BBwagggKJMIIChQIBADCCAn4GCSqGSIb3DQEHATAeBglghkgBZQMEAS4wEQQMYv3coRY-UCYMgTaqAgEQgIICT4di03qn2Hbho3i8Li_78lod0lNMunch25nx1rKvaM_aeFerz5eN6_k8VVeNv-DLocZp28whQr1x4WYDVwSs4uF73vZpYZYuDphYQkwxV1HHgMbZAbHBFuE8QyCHyDvSY-fhQcUl-JrYxa3TbhYgd4bKiU9zfIyXUsCnItroCc9iNrMicPg0v_A0AJJlhxioOlAU-im6OPI06OcCBj78yqkPO0J4nMTN1FLochsOyvZZdtFQQzLhrnM_Gey8K75lFYIBJHA7uzMmP2o5KZ-FTGUkEA_eSpEIpwv2WI4SbtrA8WYk3cQqXOmLIWjkSs9CTELD7CQP29xarr1ANrF_id4CiCX7zIomC2Ciz9lHBEgz8EH2i9Woke_YuZeLax52_6JpdhH1qdMQyF1bByjP8mU98V5_B4BPPiBpKt4pVA_UgtaABRHL8oPv6SwOUQZ2Bc-0_E2tod0VIF1FJBwZRZJm2ZkJPgBSKUo8VBe5Pz_6Vpt2DqLzwqVUYscPsIJMvxl09mMtvJrsBa8yVoTRWj4Rd0OBTMV7zhZskDnYYyrAZ6sHMk0MzvbHilPNbNgU5o7mXmcbFGDgGgWbqrIdT6sVSSfPJm4TnR0HSWbc_EnHhhyye7tVlFGjAsR0R46_DSwEMz8M5DkSln8xfKtX_so9rjCvYeq45wqn09g8DqtV-WHEA9PIrcw5kTcz5I0JkNuW4-vKVU1Xz9XHiYi4Zqbq0vx9NWLdNSYHQSOGMZ1MCAxT152evQdipQB5wokR8Q4rICoJYII5bsmRMYd7JQ
|archived=
|quote=
|pubmedID=27456514
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=10.1542/peds.2016-1484
|format=PDF
|accessdate=2023-05-21
}}</ref>

Two ethicists, Myers & Earp (2020), have conducted a detailed review and analysis of the claimed medical benefits of ''non-therapeutic'' [[circumcision]]. They have determined than the alleged benefits are not material, so they do not support granting of consent by a surrogate. In other words, ''Non-therapeutic'' circumcision is not truly healthcare. Moreover, they comment that even the most perfectly executed surgery produces [[trauma]] and harm to the patient. Circumcision also produces tissue loss and loss of function, therefore, circumcision should be performed only after the individual reaches the age of consent. Consent by a surrogate for a ''non-therapeutic'' circumcision of a minor child is an unethical practice.<ref name="myers2020">{{REFjournal
|last=Myers
|first=
|init=A
|author-link=
|last2=Earp
|first2=
|init2=BD
|author2-link=Brian D. Earp
|etal=no
|title=What is the best age to circumcise? A medical and ethical analysis
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal=J Biosoc Sci
|location=
|date=2020-09
|volume=34
|issue=7
|pages=560-72
|url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/bioe.12714
|archived=
|quote=
|pubmedID=32068898
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=10.1111/bioe.12714
|accessdate=2023-05-18
}}</ref>
== Tipping point ==
[[Intact America]] (2024) points out the need for reform in the American media false portrayal of infant circumcision as a benign procedure.<ref>{{REFweb
|url=https://intactamerica.org/truth-about-circumcision-media/
|title=The Dark Side of Circumcision: Why the Media Needs to Speak Up
|last=Alissa
|first=Kristel
|init=
|author-link=
|publisher=Intact America
|date=2024-09-12
|accessdate=2024-09-13
}}</ref>

Jacobsen et al. (2021) used data from 2003 through 2016 from the Kid's Inpatient Database of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality to compare [[intact]] with [[circumcised]] boys in the first 28 days of life. The authors reported a gradual declining trend in the incidence of neonatal non-therapeutic [[circumcision]] throughout the study period. The overall incidence of circumcision decreased from 57.4 percent in 2003 to 52.1 percent in 2016 over the 13-year study period or 5.3 percentage points for an average decrease of 0.4 percentage point per year. The authors noted "neonatal circumcision rates decreased significantly over time."<ref name="jacobson2021">{{REFjournal
|last=Jacobson
|first=Deborah L.
|init=
|author-link=
|last2=Balmert
|first2=Lauren C.
|init2=
|author2-link=
|last3=Holl
|first3=Jane L.
|init3=
|author3-link=
|last4=Rosoklija
|first4=Ilina
|init4=
|author4-link=
|last5=Davis
|first5=Matthew M.
|init5=
|author5-link=
|last6=Johnson
|first6Emilie K.
|init6=
|author6-link=
|etal=no
|title=Nationwide Circumcision Trends: 2003 to 2016
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal=J Urol
|location=
|date=2021-01
|volume=205
|issue=1
|pages=257-63
|url=https://www.auajournals.org/doi/abs/10.1097/JU.0000000000001316
|pubmedID=32716676
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=10.1097/JU.0000000000001316
|accessdate=2025-10-02
}}</ref>

Yang et al. (2025) report a "significant" decline in the incidence of circumcision over a ten-year period and that only a minority of American boys are being [[circumcised]] in the newborn period since 2022. The authors reported a decline of 1/2 of one percent per year. <ref name="yang2025" /> Although the incidence of [[circumcision of the newborn]] has been gradually declining for decades, this is the first study to report an overall incidence of less than fifty percent. Based on this new information, we can now report that [[intactness]] is now the NORM among the newborn boys of America. The decline in circumcision popularity is expected to continue.

[[Intact America]] is tracking the opposition to [[circumcision]] in the [[United States]]. It reports [https://www.instagram.com/p/DKVZQGTRl77/ steadily increasing opposition] to [[child circumcision]].

We note that [[Australia]] reported a significant improvement in child health when the incidence of circumcision declined in that nation.<ref>{{REFweb
|url=https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/children-youth/australias-children-in-brief/summary
|title=Australia’s children: in brief
|last=Anonymous
|first=
|init=
|author-link=
|publisher=Australian Institute of Health and Welfare
|pubmedID=
ISBN=978-1-76054-659-5
|DOI=10.25816/5e152818d082c
|date=2019-12-17
|accessdate=2025-09-17
}}</ref>

==Video==
===This should be a crime.===
<youtube>v=ob4OADNIidc</youtube>
{{SEEALSO}}
* [[Aggravated battery]]
* [[Circumcision bullet-points for parents]]
* [[Foreskin comment]]
* [[Fusions and adhesions]]
* [[Neurotomy]]
{{LINKS}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://www.prweb.com/releases/new-survey-parents-lack-basic-understanding-about-circumcision-dangers-skin-in-the-game-campaign-launches-to-raise-awareness-about-this-unnecessary-medical-practice-301987509.html
|title=New Survey: Parents Lack Basic Understanding About Circumcision Dangers; 'Skin in the Game' Campaign Launches to Raise Awareness About This Unnecessary Medical Practice
|last=Anonymous
|first=
|init=
|author-link=
|publisher=Intact America
|date=2023-11-14
|accessdate=2025-12-07
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://www.reddit.com/r/NewBorn/comments/u9c5og/questions_for_baby_boi_do_you_circumcised_your/
|title=Questions for baby boi do you circumcised your baby or leave it?
|last=Anonymous
|publisher=REDDIT
|date=2021
|accessdate=2025-11-22
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://www.reddit.com/r/self/comments/ljwpfe/why_i_hate_being_circumcised/
|title=Why I hate being circumcised
|last=Anonymous
|first=
|init=
|author-link=
|publisher=REDDIT
|date=2020
|accessdate=2025-11-01
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://www.reddit.com/r/foreskin_restoration/comments/1pjzoqz/circumcision_will_end_this_century/
|title=Circumcision will end this century
|last=Anonymous
|publisher=REDDIT
|date=2025-12-11
|accessdate=2025-12-11
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://www.reddit.com/r/intactinfo/comments/1qe1kkl/the_neurological_cost_of_circumcision_a_breakdown/
|title=The Neurological Cost of Circumcision, A Breakdown of What's Removed
|last=Anonymous
|first=
|init=
|author-link=
|publisher=REDDIT
|date=2026-01-15
|accessdate=2026-01-16
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://www.reddit.com/r/uncircumcised_talk/comments/1rawx5e/my_wife_and_i_agree_to_leave_our_son_intact/
|title=My wife and I agree - to leave our son intact
|last=Anonymous
|publisher=REDDIT
|date=2026-02-21
|accessdate=2026-02-21
}}
The following external link is of especial interest. Hundreds of contemporary parents have expressed their views in the comments regarding non-therapeutic circumcision of newborn infant boys:
* {{REFweb
|url=https://www.reddit.com/r/NewDads/comments/1u3wcun/circumcision/
|title=Circumcision
|last=Anonymous
|publisher=REDDIT
|date=2026-06-12
|accessdate=2026-06-17
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://www.reddit.com/r/uncircumcised_talk/comments/1v0u3r2/on_the_fence_about_having_my_baby_circumcised/
|title=On the fence about having my baby circumcised.
|last=Anonymous
|publisher=Reddit
|date=2026-07-19
|accessdate=2026-07-19
}}
{{REF}}

[[Category:Body modification]]
[[Category:Circumcision]]
[[Category:Education]]
[[Category:Foreskin anatomy]]
[[Category:Parental information]]
[[Category:Sociology]]

Michel Hervé Bertaux-Navoiseau

2026-07-19T19:41:08Z

WikiModEn2:

[[File:Michel_Herve_Navoiseau-Bertaux.jpg|thumb|Michel Hervé Bertaux-Navoiseau]]
'''{{FULLPAGENAME}}''' ({{LifeData|birth=1947-04-05|birthplace=Villefranche-sur-Saône|birthcountry=France}}), is a Paris-based sociopsychoanalyst, psycho-historian, [[intactivist]], and author. A specialist of feminine and masculine sexual mutilation, he opposes it both for minors and adults.

Bertaux-Navoiseau writes articles in both French and English.

{{PUB}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://www.academia.edu/2629456/Freud_a_victim_and_opponent_of_circumcision_chronicle_of_an_unconscious_trauma_updated_05_07_2023_
|title=Freud, a victim and opponent of circumcision: chronicle of an unconscious trauma (updated 05.07.2023)
|last=Bertaux-Navoiseau
|first=Michel
|init=
|publisher=Academia Premium
|date=2023-05-07
|accessdate=2023-06-03
}}
* {{REFbook
|last=Bertaux-Navoiseau
|first=Michel Hervé
|init=MH
|author-link=Michel Hervé Bertaux-Navoiseau
|url=https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BXN9G4G7
|title=History of the Hebrews and of the birth of Judaism
|year=2023
|isbn=9798386664060
|scope=97
|accessdate=2023-05-26
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/circumcision-sexological-damage-erogenous-lip-tool-michel-herv%C3%A9
|title=Circumcision, the sexological damage (an erogenous lip, protective of erogeneity and the tool of autosexuality, the foreskin is a sexual organ)
|last=Bertaux-Navoiseau
|first=Michel Hervé
|init=MH
|author-link=Michel Hervé Bertaux-Navoiseau
|publisher=Linkedin
|date=2022-11-06
|accessdate=2022-11-16
}}
* ''Feminine and masculine sexual mutilation, the greatest crime against humanity (human sciences against sexual mutilation)'', Academia.edu<ref>[https://www.academia.edu/2095540/Feminine_and_masculine_sexual_mutilation_the_greatest_crime_against_humanity_human_sciences_against_sexual_mutilation_updated_08.13.2018_ Online version at Academia.edu]</ref>
* ''The birth of Judaism, between exegesis and Egyptology'', [[KDP]]<ref>https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07SDC5RN9</ref>
* ''Circumcision, racism, and violence'', Academia.edu><ref>https://www.academia.edu/35534200/Circumcision_racism_and_violence_updated_08.20.2018_</ref>
* numerous articles against sexual mutilation, available on academia.edu<ref>http://univ-paris8.academia.edu/MBertauxNavoiseau</ref>
==Video==
===Top Researcher on the Harms of Circumcision===
<youtube>v=5kLZYqNWRPU</youtube>
{{SEEALSO}}
* [[Alice Miller]]
* [[Sigmund Freud]]
{{LINKS}}
* {{URL-FBprofile|id=100007159870114|2019-09-16}}
* [http://mutil-abolition-droit-au-corps.blogspot.com/ Blog "Mutil-abolition - Droit au corps"]
* [https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Michel_Bertaux-Navoiseau Collection of articles on ResearchGate]
* [https://www.amazon.com/Michel-Hervé-Bertaux-Navoiseau/e/B07F86FQ4F Author page at Amazon]

{{REF}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:BertauxNavoiseau, Michel Herve}}

[[Category:Person]]
[[Category:Male]]

[[Category:Author]]
[[Category:Intactivist]]
[[Category:Judaism]]

[[Category:France]]

[[de:{{FULLPAGENAME}}]]
[[es:{{FULLPAGENAME}}]]
[[fr:{{FULLPAGENAME}}]]

Aggravated battery

2026-07-18T15:22:20Z

WikiModEn2: /* Mens rea */ add text.

'''{{FULLPAGENAME}}''' is the legal term for an [https://legaldictionary.net/battery/ act of battery], when it "is committed with intent to do serious harm or murder", or when it is done with a dangerous weapon. A weapon is considered dangerous whenever the purpose for using it is to cause death or serious harm. State statutes define aggravated battery in various ways—such as assault with intent to kill. Under such statutes, assault means both battery and assault. It is punishable as a [https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/felony felony] in all states."<ref>{{REFweb
|url=https://legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/Aggravated+battery
|title=Battery
|last=Anonymous
|first=
|init=
|publisher=The Free Dictionary by Farlex
|date=
|accessdate=2026-07-11
}}</ref>

Samantha-Rae Tuthil (2023) commented:
<blockquote>
"Aggravated battery This is a much more serious charge. Like a simple battery, the prosecution must prove that you intended to make contact with the victim, that the victim did not consent, and that the victim suffered some kind of harm. In addition, they will usually need to prove that you intended to cause harm. An even more serious degree of aggravated battery will require great bodily harm. Permanent disfigurement, serious bodily injury, permanent disability, or possible risk of death are some of the ways an injury is considered great bodily harm. Sometimes, if you use a dangerous weapon or a deadly weapon like a gun or a knife in the battery, it will automatically count as aggravated, even without grave bodily harm. If the circumstances are severe enough, you could face an attempted murder charge or a sentencing enhancement."<ref name="tuthil2023">{{REFweb
|url=https://www.lawinfo.com/resources/criminal-defense/aggravated-battery/
|title=Aggravated Battery
|last=Tuthil
|first=Samantha-Rae
|init=
|author-link=
|publisher=LawInfo
|website=https://www.lawinfo.com
|date=2023-12-21
|accessdate=2026-07-11
}}</ref>
</blockquote>
==Circumcision?==
Does the medically-not-indicated, non-therapeutic [[amputation]] of a healthy [[foreskin]] from the [[penis]] of a minor boy without his consent constitute aggravated battery?

Circumcision is the Biblical euphemism used by the [[circumcision industry]] to promote the harmful, irreversible surgical excision and [[amputation]] of the [[foreskin]] (AKA prepuce) of the [[penis]] of a human male. The harmful amputation causes [[MGM| genital mutilation]], permanent disfigurement, and permanent loss of function,<ref name="andersen2025">{{REFjournal
|last=Andersen-Giberson
|init=D
|author-link=Dale Andersen
|url=https://cdd.journals.yorku.ca/index.php/cdd/article/view/39786/36016
|title=Circumcision and forced disability: Routine male neonatal circumcision and the consequences of amputation within a critical disability studies framework
|journal=Critical Disability Discourses
|date=2025-12
|volume=10
|issue=2
|pages=1-37
|URL=https://cdd.journals.yorku.ca/index.php/cdd/article/view/39786/36016
|DOI=https://doi.org/10.25071/1918-6215.39786
|quote=In a critical disability studies framework, it is argued that the act of amputating healthy erogenous tissue and the consequences of that amputation cause disability, particularly from a counter-hegemonic lens.
|format=PDF
|accessdate=2026-07-12
}}</ref> which causes an increase in medical issues,<ref name="fendereski2024">{{REFjournal
|last=Fendereski
|first=
|init=K
|author-link=
|last2=Horns
|first2=
|init2=JJ
|author2-link=
|last3=Driggs
|first3=
|init3=N
|author3-link=
|last4=Lau
|first4=
|init4=G
|author4-link=
|last5=Shaeffer
|first5=
|init5=AJ
|author5-link=
|etal=no
|title=Comparing Penile Problems in Circumcised vs. Uncircumcised Boys: Insights From a Large Commercial Claims Database With a Focus on Provider Type Performing Circumcision
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal=J Pediatr Surg
|date=2024-11
|volume=59
|issue=11
|article=161614
|url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S002234682400407X
|archived=
|quote=
|pubmedID=39084960
|pubmedCID=11486584
|DOI=10.1016/j.jpedsurg.2024.06.022
|accessdate=2025-01-03
}}</ref> degrades normal physiological sexual function,<ref name="cepeda2025">{{REFjournal
|last=Cepeda-Emiliani
|first=
|init=A
|author-link=Alfonso Cepeda-Emiliani
|last2=Otero-Alén
|first2=
|init2=M
|author2-link=
|last3=Suárez-Quintanilla
|first3=
|init3=J
|author3-link=
|last4=Gándara-Cortés
|first4=
|init4=M
|author4-link=
|last5=García-Caballero
|first5=
|init5=T
|author5-link=
|last6=García-Caballero
|first6=
|init6=R
|author6-link=
|last7=García-Caballero
|first7=
|init7=L
|author7-link=
|etal=no
|title=The sensory penis: A comprehensive immunohistological and ontogenetic exploration of human penile innervation
|trans-title=
|journal=Andrology
|date=2025-09-19
|volume=
|issue=
|article=
|pages=1-41
|url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/andr.70118
|archived=
|quote=
|pubmedID=40970806
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=10.1111/andr.70118
|accessdate=2026-07-12
}}</ref> and causes psychological issues.<ref name="tye2022"> {{REFjournal
|last=Tye
|first=
|init=MC
|author-link=
|last2=Sardi
|first2=
|init2=LM
|author2-link=Lauren Sardi
|etal=no
|title=Psychological, psychosocial, and psychosexual aspects of penile circumcision
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal=Int J Impot Res
|date=2023-05
|volume=35
|issue=3
|pages=242-8
|url=https://www.galdef.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/Tye-Sardi-Psycho-Aspects-of-Penile-Circumcision-IJIR-2022.pdf
|archived=
|quote=
|pubmedID=35347302
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=10.1038/s41443-022-00553-9
|format=PDF
|accessdate=2026-07-12
}}</ref>

Since boys are too young to grant consent, the American [[circumcision industry]] has traditionally relied on [[surrogate consent]], granted by a parental surrogate, for [[circumcision]], not the actual child victim, however parents do not have the right to harm their children, since the Supreme Court of the United States of America (1944) ruled:
<blockquote>
Parents may be free to become martyrs themselves. But it does not follow they are free, in identical circumstances, to make martyrs of their children before they have reached the age of full and legal discretion when they can make that choice for themselves.<ref>[https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/321/158/ Prince v Massachusetts], 21 U.S. 158, 159-60 (1944).</ref>
</blockquote>
Parental surrogates are denied the right to make that harmful choice for their children.<ref name="aap1995">{{REFjournal
|last=Committee on Bioethics
|etal=no
|title=Informed consent, parental permission, and assent in pediatric practice
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal=Pediatrics
|location=
|date=1995-02
|volume=95
|issue=2
|article=
|page=
|pages=314-7
|url=http://www.cirp.org/library/ethics/AAP/
|archived=
|quote=
|pubmedID=7838658
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=
|accessdate=2026-07-12
}}</ref><ref name="aviva2016">{{REFjournal
|last=Committee on Bioethics
|etal-no
|title=Informed Consent in Decision-Making in Pediatric Practice
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal=Pediatrics
|location=
|date=2016-08
|volume=138
|issue=2
|article=
|page=e20161484.
|pages=
|url=https://publications.aap.org/pediatrics/article/138/2/e20161484/52512/Informed-Consent-in-Decision-Making-in-Pediatric?autologincheck=redirected
|archived=
|quote=Continuing limits on the widespread use of pediatric assent/refusal makes this review and restatement of AAP policy important.
|pubmedID=27456514
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=
|doi=10.1542/peds.2016-1484
|accessdate=2026-07-12
}}</ref> [[Surrogate consent]] cannot be used to legalize or excuse the harmful aggravated battery of foreskin amputation.

If a non-therapeutic circumcision is to be done, then it must wait until the child patient reaches the legal age at which he can grant consent for himself.<ref name-"myers2020">{{REFjournal
|last=Myers
|first=
|init=A
|author-link=Alex Myers
|last2=Earp
|first2=
|init2=BD
|author2-link=Brian D. Earp
|etal=no
|title=What is the best age to circumcise? A medical and ethical analysis
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal=Bioethics
|location=
|date=2020
|volume=34
|issue=7
|pages=645-63
|url=https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Brian-Earp-2/publication/337720859_What_Is_the_Best_Age_to_Circumcise_A_Medical_and_Ethical_Analysis/links/5f815f61a6fdccfd7b555395/What-Is-the-Best-Age-to-Circumcise-A-Medical-and-Ethical-Analysis.pdf
|archived=
|quote=Based on a careful consideration of the relevant evidence, arguments and counterarguments, we conclude that medically unnecessary penile circumcision-like other medically unnecessary genital procedures, such as 'cosmetic' labiaplasty-should not be performed on individuals who are too young (or otherwise unable) to provide meaningful consent to the procedure.
|pubmedID=32068898
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=
|doi=10.1111/bioe.12714
|format=PDF
|accessdate=2026-07-12
}}</ref>
==Mens rea==
Mens rea is the state of mind statutorily required in order to convict a particular defendant of a particular crime.<ref>{{REFweb
|url=https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/mens_rea
|title=Mens rea
|last=
|first=
|init=
|author-link=
|publisher=Cornell Law School
|date=
|accessdate=2026-07-13
}}</ref>

Non-therapeutic circumcision of boys is, as stated above, a very harmful act. The [[medical trade association| medical trade associations]] of the [[United States]] have, for more than a century, published false claims of alleged health benefits from non-therapeutic male circumcision. Some operators may actually believe that [[child circumcision]] is a beneficial act.

This may make proving mens rea very challenging for public prosecutors who are seeking a conviction for aggravated battery.

==Rethinking circumcision policy==
* {{REFjournal
|last=Buckler
|first=
|init=M
|author-link=
|etal=no
|title=As controversies mount, circumcision policies need a rethink
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal=Journal of Medical Ethics
|location=
|date=2025-11
|season=
|volume=
|issue=
|article=111357
|page=
|pages=
|url=https://www.galdef.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/Buckler-Controversies-rethink-JME-2025.pdf
|archived=
|quote=
|pubmedID=41207714
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=10.1136/jme-2025-111357
|accessdate=2026-07-14
}}

==European precedents==
* [[Cologne circumcision court judgment]] (2012)
* [[Re B and G (children) (No 2) EWFC 3]] (2015)
{{SEEALSO}}
* [[Informed consent]]
* [[William Stowell]]
* [[Wrongful circumcision]]
{{LINKS}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://uslawexplained.com/aggravated_battery
|title=Aggravated Battery: The Ultimate Guide to a Serious Violent Crime
|last=Anonymous
|publisher=US Law Explained
|website=https://uslawexplained.com/start
|accessdate=2026-07-11
}}
==Conclusion==
Circumcision of male children is a mutilation of genital tissue that permanently destroys the [[foreskin]] (prepuce) of a male child. It also irreversibly destroys the [[Foreskin#Physiological_functions_of_the_foreskin| protective, immunological, sensory, and sexual functions]] of the foreskin, leaving the male patient at increased risk of disease.<ref name="fendereski2024" /> It is mutilating and causes permanent disfigurement of the [[penis]]. Circumcision of male children clearly meets all tests for aggravated battery. It cannot be legalized or excused by patient or surrogate consent because no one has the legal capacity to grant consent for the aggravated battery of non-therapeutic child circumcision.<ref name="hill2003">{{REFjournal
|last=Hill
|first=George
|init=G
|author-link=George Hill
|title=Can anyone authorize the nontherapeutic permanent alteration of a child's body?
|journal=The American Journal of Bioethics
|date=2003
|season=Spring
|volume=3
|issue=2
|pages=16-8
|url=https://www.researchgate.net/profile/George-Hill-3/publication/371599857_Can_Anyone_Authorize_the_Nontherapeutic_Permanent_Alteration_of_a_Child's_Body/links/648b8819c41fb852dd0949be/Can-Anyone-Authorize-the-Nontherapeutic-Permanent-Alteration-of-a-Childs-Body.pdf
|quote=
|pubmedID=14635628
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=10.1162/152651603766436342
|accessdate=2026-07-11
}}</ref>
{{REF}}

[[Category:Law: USA]]
[[Category:Litigation over circumcision]]
[[Category:USA]]

John V. Geisheker

2026-07-18T12:27:37Z

WikiModEn2: Add category.

[[File:DOC_john-geisheker.jpg|thumb|John V. Geisheker]]
[[John V. Geisheker]], {{JD}}, {{LLM}}, a native of [[New Zealand]], is Executive Director and General Counsel of [[Doctors Opposing Circumcision (D.O.C.)]]. He has assisted over 1,200 families whose child was injured by forcible [[Retraction of the foreskin|foreskin retraction]] and has published several articles<ref>https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/moral-landscapes/201110/what-is-the-greatest-danger-uncircumcised-boy</ref> on this widespread problem. John is very proud that, in the 1960s, [[New Zealand| his native land]] fully abandoned ‘medicalized’ infant [[circumcision]].<ref>{{REFweb
|quote=
|url=https://www.doctorsopposingcircumcision.org/about-us/#board-directors
|title=Board of Directors and Advisors
|last=
|first=
|publisher=[[D.O.C.]]
|work=
|date=2019
|accessdate=2019-09-18
}}</ref> He is also member of the Board of Directors<ref>{{REFweb
|url=https://www.yourwholebaby.org/board-of-directors
|title=Your Whole Baby - Board of Directors
|accessdate=2019-10-29
}}</ref> at [[Your Whole Baby]].

== Award for intactivism ==
Geisheker was chosen "[[Intactivist of the Month]]" by [[Intact America]].

== Videos ==
===Doctors Opposing Circumcision===
<youtube>DKCQIVC4rwg</youtube>
===Circumcision Accidents===
<youtube>jaWiBzZYG9Y</youtube>
===Circumcision: Infant and Child Deaths.===
<youtube>SyiBdP4GfO8</youtube>
===Do not retract your child's foreskin.===
<youtube>kAJxyvDXeLQ</youtube>
===John Geisheker @ Intact 2022 Symposium, Atlanta, Georgia - August 27, 2022===
<youtube>v=WGSDr9X04O4&list=PLUiUHQRcs8VvDezDnDqpLVju_spLqqNlm&index=16</youtube>
===David and John on harms of male "circumcision"===
<youtube>v=MfJ8fpi16Dc</youtube>
===Physicians on the Legal Front John Geisheker Doctors Opposing Circumcision at IntactGlobal.org 2025===
<youtube>v=ukmoGplk7ks</youtube>
===Intact Global News Conference: John Geisheker Speech (03-31-25)===
<youtube>v=HTdcICQeBQY</youtube>
John V. Geisheker is featured in this video:
* {{REFweb
|url=https://archive.org/details/AmericanCircumcision
|title=American Circumcision.
|last=Marotta
|first=Brendon
|init=
|author-link=Brendon Marotta
|publisher=Brendon Marotta
|date=2017-08-31
|accessdate=2025-06-07
}}

== Amicus curiae briefs ==
* {{REFdocument
|title=Brief of ''Amicus Curiae'', Doctors Opposing Circumcision, in Support of the Petition for Review
|url=https://pool.intactiwiki.org/images/2007-04_BoldtReviewBrief.pdf
|contribution=
|last=Geisheker
|first=John V.
|author-link=John V. Geisheker
|publisher=[[Doctors Opposing Circumcision (D.O.C.)]]
|format=PDF
|date=2007-04
|accessdate=2020-05-07
}}
* {{REFdocument
|title=Brief on the Merits of ''Amicus Curiae'', Doctors Opposing Circumcision
|url=https://pool.intactiwiki.org/images/2007-07-31_BoldtAmicusBriefMerits.pdf
|contribution=
|last=Geisheker
|first=John V.
|author-link=John V. Geisheker
|publisher=[[Doctors Opposing Circumcision (D.O.C.)]]
|format=PDF
|date=2007-07
|accessdate=2020-05-07
}}

{{PUB}}
* {{REFjournal
|last=Geisheker
|first=
|init=JV
|author-link=John V. Geisheker
|last2=Hill
|first2=
|init2=G
|author2-link=George Hill
|etal=no
|title=US bioethics fall short of world standards
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal=Arch Dis Child Fetal Neonatal Ed
|location=
|date=2004-11
|volume=89
|issue=6
|article=
|page=F563
|pages=
|url=https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1721797/pdf/v089p0F563a.pdf
|archived=
|quote=
|pubmedID=15499158
|pubmedCID=1721797
|DOI=10.1136/adc.2003.047373
|doi=
|format=PDF
|accessdate=2024-05-17
}}
*{{REFjournal
|last=Hill
|first=George
|init=G
|author-link=George Hill
|last2=Geisheker
|first2=John V.
|init2=JV
|author2-link=John V. Geisheker
|etal=no
|title=Edgar Schoen does not represent the North American view of male circumcision
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal=Arch Dis Child
|location=
|date=2006-01
|volume=91
|issue=1
|pages=92
|url=https://adc.bmj.com/content/91/1/92?int_source=trendmd&int_medium=cpc&int_campaign=usage-042019
|quote=
|pubmedID=16371387
|pubmedCID=2083089
|DOI=
|accessdate=2019-10-23
}}
* {{REFjournal
|last=Geisheker
|first=John V.
|init=JV
|author-link=John V. Geisheker |url=https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/moral-landscapes/201110/doctor-ignorance-male-anatomy-harms-boys
|title=Doctor ignorance of male anatomy harms boys: What you can do to protect boys from medical interference
|journal=Psychology Today
|date=2011-10-20
|accessdate=2021-07-18
}}
* {{REFjournal
|last=Geisheker
|init=JV
|author-link=John V. Geisheker
|url=https://newmalestudies.com/OJS/index.php/nms/article/view/60/60
|title=The Completely Unregulaced Practice of Male Circumcision: Human Rights’ Abuse Enshrined in Law?
|journal=New Male Studies
|date=2013
|volume=2
|issue=1
|pages=18-45
|format=PDF
|accessdate=2024-02-02
}}
* {{REFjournal
|last=Geisheker
|first=John V.
|init=JV
|author-link=John V. Geisheker
|url=https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/moral-landscapes/201506/practical-tips-men-distressed-their-circumcision
|title=Practical Tips for Men Distressed by their circumcision
|journal=Psychology Today
|date=2015-06-21
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://www.reddit.com/r/allaboutconspiracies/comments/53twas/circumcision_at_the_intersection_of_religion/
|title=Circumcision: At the intersection of Religion, Medicine, and Human Rights - John Geisheker
|last=Geisheker
|first=
|init=JV
|author-link=John V. Geisheker
|publisher=REDDIT
|date=2016
|accessdate=2025-10-20
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://www.reddit.com/r/MensRights/comments/8pmapj/john_geisheker_jd_llm_discusses_forced_retraction/
|title=John Geisheker, JD, LL.M discusses forced retraction
|last=Geisheker
|first=
|init=JV
|author-link=John V. Geisheker
|publisher=REDDIT
|date=2018
|accessdate=2025-10-20
}}
* {{REFweb
|title=2,000 boys statewide suffering an injury you’ve never heard of
|url=https://wibm.us/2000-boys-statewide-suffering-injury-youve-never-heard-of/
|archived=
|trans-title=
|language=
|last=Geisheker
|first=John
|init=
|author-link=John V. Geisheker
|publisher=Washington Initiative for Boys and Men
|website=
|date=2021-02-16
|accessdate=2024-04-27
|format=
|quote=
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://equalityforboysandmen.org/astonishing-facts-about-circumcision-in-washington-state/
|archived=
|title=These facts about circumcision from a Seattle attorney may astonish you
|trans-title=
|language=English
|last=Geisheker
|first=John V.
|author-link=John V. Geisheker
|publisher=Equality for Boys and Men
|website=https://equalityforboysandmen.org/
|date=2021-05-11
|accessdate=2021-05-11
|format=
|quote=
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://www.reddit.com/r/uncircumcised_talk/comments/1oaqc4e/comment/nkcxcv2/
|title=Who else got theirs pulled back by the doctor
|last=Geisheker
|first=
|init=JV
|author-link=John V. Geisheker
|publisher=REDDIT
|date=2025-10-19
|accessdate=2025-10-20
}}
{{SEEALSO}}
* [[Doctors Opposing Circumcision (D.O.C.)]]
* [[Your Whole Baby]]
* [[United States of America]]
{{LINKS}}
* {{URL-FBprofile|john.geisheker|2019-09-18}}

{{ABBR}}
{{REF}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Geisheker, John V.}}

[[Category:Person]]
[[Category:Male]]

[[Category:Intactivist]]
[[Category:Attorney]]
[[Category:Legal scholar]]
[[Category:Your Whole Baby]]
[[Category:Author]]

[[Category:New Zealand]]
[[Category:USA]]

[[Category:From IntactWiki]]

[[de:{{FULLPAGENAME}}]]

Regret men

2026-07-17T17:21:28Z

WikiModEn2: Add external link.

'''{{FULLPAGENAME}}''' are formerly [[intact]] men who, as an adolescent or adult, voluntarily elected to submit to [[Adolescent and adult circumcision| adult circumcision]].

Regret men usually had thoughtful and loving parents who actively protected the legal and [[human rights]] of their son to [[physical integrity]] and the enjoyment of a whole and complete [[intact]] [[penis]] with a functional [[foreskin]]. Such parents properly reserve the decision regarding [[circumcision]] for the boy to make for himself.
==Reasons for circumcision==
Most [[intact]] males are very content with their status, however a few are not and choose the [[Adolescent_and_adult_circumcision| circumcision]] option.

1. Regret men may have been reared in a society where most men are [[circumcised]] and they chose to follow the perceived norm.

2. Other regret men may have been persuaded by an ignorant and selfish girlfriend or ex-girlfriend to get [[Adolescent and adult circumcision| circumcised]].

3. Others may have consulted a rapacious urologist for a minor medical condition who recommended the most expensive procedure, ([[adult circumcision]]), instead of conservative [[foreskin]]-conserving treatment.<ref name="masood2005">{{REFjournal
|last=Masood
|init=S
|last2=Patel
|first2=
|init2=HRH
|author2-link=
|last3=Himpson
|first3=
|init3=RC
|author3-link=
|etal=yes
|title=Penile sensitivity and sexual satisfaction after circumcision: are we informing men correctly?
|journal=Urol Int
|date=2005
|volume=75
|issue=1
|pages=62-6
|url=http://www.cirp.org/library/sex_function/masood1/
|pubmedID=16037710
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=10.1159/000085930
|accessdate=2022-11-08
}}</ref>

== Reasons for regret ==
After their [[adult circumcision]], regret men commonly complain of the discomfort of an exposed [[glans penis]], dryness, and of extreme loss of [[Foreskin sensitivity| sexual sensation]] after the excision of the nerve-laden, protective [[foreskin]], which has been known to be erogenous tissue for decades,<ref name="winklemann1959">{{WinkelmannRK 1959}}</ref> and come to regret their decision to be [[circumcised]].

==Options for treatment of lost foreskin==
The options for treatment are few. [[Surgical foreskin restoration]] has been tried but is no longer recommended. Men, seeking to undo the unfortunate results of their circumcision, may opt for non-surgical [[foreskin restoration]], which uses [[tissue expansion]] to elongate the residual shaft skin to form a new foreskin. It is claimed that it restores about 80 percent of the lost sensation.

Watson & Golden (2017) recommend that [[circumcised]] men "embrace the anguish and try to feel it as strongly as they can." They also recommend non-surgical [[foreskin restoration]] "since it empowers the patient."<ref name="watson2017">{{REFjournal
|last=Watson
|first=Lindsay R.
|init=LR
|author-link=Lindsay R. Watson
|last2=Golden
|first2=Tom
|init2=T
|author2-link=
|etal=no
|title=Male circumcision grief: effective and ineffective therapeutic approaches
|journal=New Male Studies: An International Journal
|location=
|date=2017
|volume=6
|issue=2
|pages=109-25
|url=http://newmalestudies.com/OJS/index.php/nms/article/view/261/317
|quote=
|pubmedID=
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=
|accessdate=2024-06-11
}}</ref>

Other regret men are awaiting the hoped for success of [[Foregen]] to regenerate a missing [[foreskin]] as a salamander regenerates its lost tail, however this is not yet a proven procedure.

==Other classes of regret men==
Other classes of regret men include the [[regret dad]], the male [[regret doctor]] who regrets the circumcisions he formerly performed, and [[cut (circumcised) dads with intact sons]].
==Video==
===Circumcised at 46===
<youtube>v=pZ3n8CtcmRY</youtube>
===Why I Regret Getting Circumcised At 19===
<youtube>v=7AaUb63NLLw</youtube>
{{SEEALSO}}
* [[Adolescent_and_adult_circumcision]]
* [[Circumcised men who complain]]
* [[Foreskin restoration]]
* [[Gliding action]]
* [[Issues with American urologists and the practice of male circumcision]]
{{LINKS}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://intactamerica.org/emotional-weight-of-circumcision/
|title=The Emotional Weight of Circumcision: Beyond the Physical Cut
|last=Alissa
|first=Kristel
|init=
|author-link=Kristel Alissa
|publisher=Intact America
|date=2024-12-22
|accessdate=2024-12-30
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://www.reddit.com/r/foreskin_restoration/comments/1ptxzrh/i_regret_getting_an_adult_circumcision/?chainedPosts=t3_1p67xlp
|title=I regret getting an adult circumcision
|last=Anonymous
|publisher=REDDIT
|date=12-12-23
|accessdate=2025-12-29
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://www.reddit.com/r/Intactivists/comments/1pgj49h/men_tell_me_all_the_time_that_they_secretly/
|title=Men tell me all the time that they secretly regret their circumcision
|last=Anonymous
|first=
|init=
|author-link=
|publisher=REDDIT
|date=2025-12
|accessdate=2026-01-12
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://www.reddit.com/r/CircumcisionRegret/
|title=Circumcision Regret
|last=Anonymous
|first=
|init=
|author-link=
|publisher=Reddit
|date=
|accessdate=2026-04-26
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://www.reddit.com/r/foreskin_restoration/comments/1uvw9dw/any_restorers_here_in_the_psychiatric_mental/
|title=Any restorers here in the psychiatric, mental health/therapy field?
|last=Anonymous
|first=
|init=
|author-link=
|publisher=Reddit
|date=2026-07-13
|accessdate=2026-07-17
}}
{{REF}}

[[Category:Regret]]
[[Category:Term]]
[[Category:Intactivism]]
[[Category:Intactivism term]]

[[de:Bedauernde Männer]]

Foreskinned

2026-07-17T17:13:39Z

WikiModEn2: /* Swedish manufacturing company */

'''Foreskinned''' is an adjective that means "having a [[foreskin]]"; being [[intact]].<ref>{{REFweb
|url=https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/foreskinned
|archived=
|title=foreskinned
|trans-title=
|language=
|last=
|first=
|author-link=
|publisher=Wiktionary
|website=
|date=2019-10-01
|accessdate=2021-08-22
|format=
|quote=
}}</ref> <ref>{{REFweb
|url=https://www.yourdictionary.com/foreskinned
|archived=
|title=Foreskinned
|trans-title=
|language=
|last=
|first=
|author-link=
|publisher=Your Dictionary
|website=
|date=
|accessdate=2021-08-22
|format=
|quote=
}}</ref> ''Foreskinned'' is a positive term, which are favored.<ref>{{REFweb
|title=2025 Terminology Survey
|url=https://intactamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/2015-Terminology-Survey.pdf
|archived=
|trans-title=
|language=
|last=Anonymous
|publisher=Intact America
|website=https://intactamerica.org
|date=2024
|accessdate=2026-01-07
|format=PDF
|quote=94% found the word intact effective; it was ranked highest overall.
}}</ref> ''Foreskinned'' is an antonym to ''circumcised''.

A ''foreskinned'' penis is an ''intact'' [[penis]].
== Foreskinned males ==
Almost every boy is born with a [[foreskin]] (see [[Aposthia]] for exceptions). Being born without a [[foreskin]] is neither the norm nor an indication of being a religious prophet, but simply a rare anomaly of nature. Foreskinned males have a complete [[penis]] and a [[preputial sac]] and enjoy the full range of penile functions.<ref>{{REFweb
|url=https://intactaus.org/information/functions-of-the-foreskin/
|title=Functions of the foreskin
|last=Hely
|first=Lou
|init=
|author-link=
|publisher=Intact Australia
|date=
|accessdate=2024-05-18
}}</ref> A normal penis is foreskinned.

Foreskinned males are becoming much more common in [[Australia]], [[Canada]], and the [[United States]]. Foreskinned males are also known as [[intact]] males.

The [[foreskin]] and its functions are an ever present comfort to foreskinned males.<ref name="tye2023">{{REFjournal
|last=Tye
|first=
|init=MC
|author-link=
|last2=Sardi
|first2=
|init2=LM
|author2-link=Lauren Sardi
|etal=no
|title=Psychological, psychosocial, and psychosexual aspects of penile circumcision
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal=Int J Impot Res
|date=2023-05
|volume=35
|issue=3
|article=
|page=
|pages=242-8
|url=https://www.galdef.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/Tye-Sardi-Psycho-Aspects-of-Penile-Circumcision-IJIR-2022.pdf
|archived=
|quote=
|pubmedID=35347302
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=10.1038/s41443-022-00553-9
|format=PDF
|accessdate=2024-12-17
}}</ref> <ref>{{REFweb
|url=https://www.reddit.com/r/penisquestion/comments/1md58l6/touching_your_penis/
|title=Touching Your Penis
|last=Anonymous
|first=
|init=
|publisher=REDDIT
|date=2025-07-30
|accessdate=2025-08-23
}}</ref> Foreskinned males enjoy a [[Preputial_sac#Foreskin_fragrance| pleasant musky fragrence]] from their [[foreskin]] [[pheromone]].

A foreskinned male may prove to be a special treat for his female partner due to the action of the [[foreskin]] within the [[vagina]].

===Natural variation===
There is enormous natural variation among foreskinned males in the length and tightness of the [[foreskin]], so men report a wide range of different experiences with their foreskin in [[urination]] and sexual activity.

==Examples==
The Wictionary offers examples of the use of the word ''foreskinned''.<ref>{{REFweb
|url=https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Citations:foreskinned
|title=Citations:foreskinned
|last=
|first=
|init=
|author-link=
|publisher=Wikipedia
|date=
|accessdate=2025-01-26
}}</ref>

==Antonym==
The antonym is ''circumcised''.<ref>[[https://wikidiff.com/foreskinned/foreskin Foreskin vs Foreskinned - What's the difference?]]</ref>

==Swedish manufacturing company==
A Swedish manufacturer of [[foreskin restoration]] devices has adopted the name "[[Foreskinned air]]" as the name of the company. The devices are used by [[circumcised]] men to lessen the harmful injury caused by [[circumcision]].

{{SEEALSO}}
* [[Foreskin]]
* [[Foreskinned air]]
* [[Intact]]
* [[Intactness]]
* [[Living with a foreskin in circumcised America]]
* [[Penis]]
* [[Sweden]]

{{LINKS}}
* {{URLwebsite|https://www.foreskinned.com/}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://www.wordsense.eu/foreskinned/
|title=foreskinned
|publisher=WordSense Online Dictionary
|date=
|accessdate=2022-10-13
}}[https://www.wordsense.eu/foreskinned/ foreskinned]
* {{REFweb
|url=https://www.reddit.com/r/foreskin_restoration/comments/1kln4py/foreskinned_where_weve_been_whats_next/
|title=Foreskinned – 📢 Where we’ve been, what’s next 📢
|last=Anonymous
|publisher=Reddit
|date=2025
|accessdate=2026-07-17
}}
{{REF}}

[[Category:Culture]]
[[Category:Education]]
[[Category:Circumcision term]]
[[Category:Foreskinned life]]
[[Category:Term]]
[[Category:Penile anatomy]]
[[Category:Foreskin restoration device]]

[[Category:Sweden]]

[[de:Vorhäutig]]

Immunological and protective function of the foreskin

2026-07-16T21:40:45Z

WikiModEn2: /* Conclusion */

Although Jewish circumcision promoter [[Abraham L. Wolbarst]] (1914} once claimed that the human [[foreskin]] was filthy and harbored disease and [[infection]],<ref name="wolbarst1914">{{REFjournal
|last=Wolbarst
|first=Abraham L.
|init=AL
|author-link=Abraham L. Wolbarst
|title=Universal Circumcision as a Sanitary Measure
|journal=JAMA
|date=1914-1-10
|volume=62
|issue=2
|pages=92-97
|url=https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/article-abstract/453164
|accessdate=2022-08-11
}}</ref> in reality the opposite is true. The [[foreskin]] is designed by nature to be self-cleaning and to provide significant natural '''immunological and protective function''' against all types of [[infection]], including [[HIV]].

[[Connor Judson Garrett| Connor Garrett]] (2024) demolishes the myths falsely claiming health benefits of circumcision that have been promoted by the [[circumcision industry]] and cites the health, psychological, and sexual benefits of [[intactness]].<ref name="garrett2024-03-09">{{REFweb
|url=https://intactamerica.org/intact-penis-care/
|title=Intact Penis Care: Embracing Natural Well-being
|last=Garrett
|first=Connor
|init=
|author-link=Connor Judson Garrett
|publisher=Intact America
|date=2024-03-09
|accessdate=2024-05-15
}}</ref>

The efficacy of these various protective functions of the [[foreskin]] have now been demonstrated. Fendereski et al. (2024) reported a massive study using data from a private insurance company database that found that [[circumcised]] boys have three times as many penile issues as compared with [[intact]] boys through age 5. This study matched 852,051 [[circumcised]] boys with 852,051 [[intact]] boys who served as controls,<ref name="fendereski2024">{{REFjournal
|last=Fendereski
|first=
|init=K
|author-link=
|last2=Horns
|first2=
|init2=JJ
|author2-link=
|last3=Driggs
|first3=
|init3=N
|author3-link=
|last4=Lau
|first4=
|init4=G
|author4-link=
|last5=Shaeffer
|first5=
|init5=AJ
|author5-link=
|etal=no
|title=Comparing Penile Problems in Circumcised vs. Uncircumcised Boys: Insights From a Large Commercial Claims Database With a Focus on Provider Type Performing Circumcision
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal=J Pediatr Surg
|date=2024-11
|volume=59
|issue=11
|article=161614
|url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S002234682400407X
|archived=
|quote=
|pubmedID=39084960
|pubmedCID=11486584
|DOI=10.1016/j.jpedsurg.2024.06.022
|accessdate=2025-01-03
}}</ref> so it is very strong statistically.

== The protective and hygienic function of the foreskin ==

The [[foreskin]], like the eyelid, also serves an important protective and hygienic function. The [[foreskin]] provides physical protection of the delicate [[glans]] of the [[penis]] and puts the [[urethra]] at a distance from its environment, protecting it from foreign pathogens and contaminants of all kinds while simultaneously shielding the [[penis]] from traumatic injury.<ref name="fleiss-hodges-vanhowe1998">{{FleissP HodgesF VanHoweRS 1998}}</ref> The [[foreskin]] protects the infant [[glans penis]] from ammonia in diapers (nappies) and prevents meatal ulcer and [[meatal stenosis]].<ref>{{GairdnerDM 1949}}</ref> <ref name="vanhowe2006">{{REFjournal
|last=Van Howe
|init=RS
|author-link=
|title=Incidence of meatal stenosis following neonatal circumcision in a primary care setting
|journal=Clin Pediatr (Phila)
|volume=45
|issue=1
|pages=49-54
|url=https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/000992280604500108?url_ver=Z39.88-2003&rfr_id=ori:rid:crossref.org&rfr_dat=cr_pub%20%200pubmed
|quote=
|pubmedID=16429216
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=10.1177/000992280604500108
|date=2006-01
|accessdate=2020-01-09
|note=Jan-Feb 2006
}}</ref> It is a double fold of [[skin]] which offers two layers of protection to prevent [[keratinization]] and maintain sensitivity.

At birth, the [[foreskin]] is usually fused with the [[glans]] (head) of the [[penis]] by a [[synechia]], akin to how a fingernail is attached to a finger.<ref>{{REFjournal
|last=Deibert
|init=GA
|author-link=
|title=The separation of the prepuce in the human penis
|url=http://www.cirp.org/library/anatomy/deibert/
|journal=Anatomical Record
|date=1933-11
|volume=57
|issue=4
|pages=387-9
|accessdate=2019-10-20
}}</ref> The [[preputial sac]] is sealed by the synechia so it cannot be infected.

In infancy, the foreskin's tubular neck (prepucial orifice) is often long and narrow while the [[Dartos]] sphincter muscle in the tip of the [[foreskin]] keeps its opening closed. This acts as an extension of the [[urethra]].<ref>{{REFjournal
|last=Hunter
|init=RH
|url=https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1249280/pdf/janat00534-0090.pdf
|title=Notes on the development of the prepuce
|journal=Journal of Anatomy
|date=1935-10
|volume=70
|issue=1
|pages=6875
|format=PDF
|accessdate=2019-10-20
}}</ref><ref>{{REFjournal
|last=Glenister
|init=TW
|url=https://bjui-journals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1464-410X.1956.tb04763.x
|title=A consideration of their process involved in the development of the prepuce in man
|journal=Br J Urol
|date=1956-09
|volume=28
|issue=3
|pages=243-249
}}</ref>
Together, these properties prevent the entry of pathogens and contaminants.<ref name="fleiss-hodges-vanhowe1998" /> <ref>{{REFjournal
|last=Upadhyay
|init=V
|author-link=
|last2=Hammodat
|init2=HM
|author2-link=
|last3=Pease
|init3=PW
|author3-link=
|etal=no
|title=Post circumcision meatal stenosis
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal=N Z Med J
|location=
|date=1998-02-27
|volume=111
|issue=1060
|pages=57-8
|url=http://www.cirp.org/library/complications/upadhyay1/
|quote=
|pubmedID=9539919
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=
|accessdate=2020-01-10
}}</ref>

Natural secretions of oil are achieved by sebaceous glands which are abound in the [[foreskin]]'s inner lining, these are not present in the [[glans penis]].<ref name="hyman-brownstein1969">{{REFjournal
|last=Hyman
|init=AB
|last2=Brownstein
|init2=MH
|url=https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamadermatology/article-abstract/530842
|title=Tyson's "glands": ectopic sebaceous glands and papillomatosis penis
|journal=Arch Dermatol
|date=1969-01
|volume=99
|issue=1
|pages=31-36
|accessdate=2019-10-20
}}</ref> They are also present in the eyelid and perform the same function in both places. They secrete the oils necessary to keep the [[glans]] surface soft, moist, smooth, warm, sensitive, and with a healthy glistening red or purple color. This moisturizer also maintains PH balance, and optimal cleanliness. This is required to keep the surface of the glans healthy and clean via the cleaning effects of mucous secretions. Again, this function is analogous to the eye lid. The [[glans penis]] is meant to be an internal organ covered and protected from the outside world.

In the genitally [[intact]] [[penis]] the [[urine]] stream flushes out the [[urethra]] and [[foreskin]] of foreign microbes. In healthy individuals, [[urine]] is sterile and has a disinfectant quality. Researchers have demonstrated that the swirling action of [[urine]] as it rushes through the [[foreskin]] flushes it out effortlessly and naturally.<ref name="parkash-jeykumar1973">{{REFjournal
|last=Parkash
|init=S
|last2=Jeykumar
|init2=S
|last3=Subramanyan
|init3=K
|last4=Chaudhuri
|init4=S
|url=http://www.cirp.org/library/anatomy/parkash/
|title=Human subpreputial collection: its nature and formation
|journal=J Urol
|date=1973-08
|volume=110
|issue=2
|pages=211-212
|accessdate=2019-10-20
}}</ref>

Though [[urine]] passes through the [[foreskin]] every day, the inner foreskin is remarkably free of urea — a by-product of liver metabolism that is secreted in [[urine]]. Studies demonstrate that washings from the foreskin are rich in fructose, acid phosphatase, and mucin, but never urea. It appears that the secretions of [[seminal vesicles]], prostate, and [[urethra]]l mucous glands, collectively or individually, keep the foreskin clear and clean as well.<ref>{{REFjournal
|last=Parkash
|init=S
|title=Penis: some facts and fancies
|journal=Journal of Physician's Association of Madras
|date=1982-06
|pages=1-13
}}</ref>

The idea that the foreskin is "dirty" or "unclean" is a scientifically unfounded superstition. The [[intact]] [[penis]] is naturally clean and maintains a level of hygiene that is optimal when compared to an uncovered, exposed [[penis]] that has been altered by [[circumcision]].<ref name="fleiss-hodges-vanhowe1998"/>

In comparison, due to the open wounds and raw [[bleeding]] flesh in a diaper, the [[circumcised]] [[penis]] needs much more care after [[circumcision]]. The surgically externalized [[glans]] is dirty rather then clean because of constant exposure to dirt, abrasion, pathogens, and contaminants.<ref name="vanhowe1997">{{REFjournal
|last=Van Howe
|init=RS
|author-link=Robert Van Howe
|url=https://bjui-journals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1046/j.1464-410X.1997.00467.x
|title=Variability in penile appearance and penile findings: a prospective study
|journal=Br J Urol
|date=1997
|volume=80
|pages=776-782
|DOI=10.1046/j.1464-410X.1997.00467.x
|accessdate=2019-10-20
}}</ref> [[Circumcised]] boys are also found to be more likely to develop [[balanitis]], [[meatitis]], [[Skin bridge| coronal adhesions]], and [[meatal stenosis]].<ref name="vanhowe1997"/> Fendereski et al. (2024) reported a massive study using data from a private insurance company database that found that [[circumcised]] boys have three times as many penile issues as compared with [[intact]] boys through age 5.<ref name=fendereski2024">{{REFjournal
|last=Fendereski
|first=
|init=K
|author-link=
|last2=Horns
|first2=
|init2=JJ
|author2-link=
|last3=Driggs
|first3=
|init3=N
|author3-link=
|last4=Lau
|first4=
|init4=G
|author4-link=
|last5=Shaeffer
|first5=
|init5=AJ
|author5-link=
|etal=no
|title=Comparing Penile Problems in Circumcised vs. Uncircumcised Boys: Insights From a Large Commercial Claims Database With a Focus on Provider Type Performing Circumcision
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal=J Pediatr Surg
|date=2024-11
|volume=59
|issue=11
|article=161614
|url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S002234682400407X
|archived=
|quote=
|pubmedID=39084960
|pubmedCID=11486584
|DOI=10.1016/j.jpedsurg.2024.06.022
|accessdate=2025-01-03
}}</ref>

After retraction commences, excessive washing and the use of soap inside the [[foreskin]] should be avoided.<ref name="birley1993">{{REFjournal
|last=Birley
|init=HDL
|author-link=
|last2=Walker
|init2=MM
|author2-link=
|last3=Luzzi
|init3=GA
|author3-link=
|last4=Bell
|init4=R
|author4-link=
|etal=yes
|title=Clinical Features and management of recurrent balanitis; association with atopy and genital washing]
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal=Genitourin Med
|location=
|date=1993-10
|volume=69
|issue=5
|pages=400-3
|url=https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1195128/pdf/genitmed00029-0074.pdf
|quote=
|pubmedID=8244363
|pubmedCID=1195128
|DOI=10.1136/sti.69.5.400
|accessdate=2021-03-20
}}</ref>

== The immunological function of the foreskin ==

The foreskin's inner fold and the [[glans]] of the [[penis]] are comprised of [[Preputial mucosa|mucous membrane]] tissue. These are also present in your eyes, mouth, and all other bodily orifices including the female genitals. These are the first line of immunological defense for the body's orifices. These mucous membranes perform many immunological and hygienic functions.

Certain components such as [[Langerhans cells]],<ref>{{REFjournal
|last=Weiss
|init=GN
|last2=Sanders
|init2=M
|last3=Westbrook
|init3=KC
|url=http://www.circumstitions.com/Langerhans.html
|title=The distribution and density of Langerhans cells in the human prepuce: site of diminished immune response?
|journal=Isr J Med Sci
|date=1993-01
|volume=29
|issue=1
|pages=42-43
|accessdate=2019-10-20
}}</ref> plasma cells,<ref name="flower1983">{{REFjournal
|last=Flower
|init=PJ
|last2=Ladds
|init2=PW
|last3=Thomas
|init3=AD
|last4=Watson
|init4=DL
|url=https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/030098588302000206
|title=An immunopathologic study on the bovine prepuce
|journal=Vet Pathol
|date=1983-03
|volume=20
|issue=2
|pages=189-201
|accessdate=2019-10-20
}}</ref> apocrine glands,<ref>{{REFjournal
|last=Ahmed
|init=A
|last2=Jones
|init2=AW
|url=https://www.academia.edu/5687437/APOCRINE_CYSTADENOMA_A_REPORT_OF_TWO_CASES_OCCURRING_ON_THE_PREPUCE
|title=Apocrine Cystadenoma: a report of two cases occurring on the prepuce
|journal=Br J Dermatol
|date=1969-12
|volume=81
|issue=12
|pages=899-901
|accessdate=2019-10-20
}}</ref> and sebaceous glands,<ref>{{REFjournal
|last=Hyman
|init=AB
|last2=Brownstein
|init2=MH
|title=Tyson's "glands": ectopic sebaceous glands and papillomatosis penis
|journal=Arch Dermatol
|date=1969-01
|volume=99
|issue=1
|pages=31-36
|accessdate=2019-10-20
}}</ref><ref>{{REFjournal
|last=Delbanco
|init=E
|title=Über das gehäufte Auftreten von freien Talgdrüsen an der Innenfläche des Präputiums
|trans-title=About the increased occurrence of free sebaceous glands on the inner surface of the prepuce
|language=German
|journal=Monatshefte für praktische Dermatologie
|date=1904
|volume=38
|pages=536-538
|accessdate=2019-10-20
}}</ref><ref>{{REFjournal
|last=Piccinno
|init=R
|last2=Carrel
|first2=Ch.-F.
|init2=CF
|last3=Menni
|init3=S
|etal=yes
|title=sebacous glands mimicking molluscum contagiosum
|journal=Acta Derm Venerol
|date=1990
|volume=70
|pages=344-345
}}</ref><ref>{{REFjournal
|last=Krompecher
|first=St.
|init=S
|title=Die Histologie der Absonderung des Smegma praeputii
|trans-title=Histology of allocation of a smegma praeputii
|language=German
|journal=Anatomischer Anzeiger
|date=1932
|volume=75
|pages=170-176
}}</ref>, collectively secrete emollient lubricants.<ref name="parkash-jeykumar1973"/> Apocrine glands perform a crucial function by secreting enzymes such as lysosomal enzymes, cathepsin B, chymotrypsin, and neutrophil elastase.<ref>{{REFjournal
|last=Frohlich
|init=E
|last2=Shamburg-Lever
|init2=G
|last3=Klesses
|init3=C
|title=Immunelectron microscopic localization of cathepsin B in human apocrine glands
|journal=J Cutan Pathol
|date=1993-02
|volume=20
|issue=1
|pages=54-60
}}</ref>

There is also some research to suggest that lysozyme protects against [[HIV]] infection.<ref>{{REFweb
|first=George
|last=Hill
|author-link=George Hill
|url=https://www.cirp.org/library/disease/HIV/hill1/
|title=Summary of evidence that the foreskin and lysozyme may protect against HIV infection
|date=2003-09-07
|accessdate=2019-10-20
}}</ref><ref name="fleiss-hodges-vanhowe1998"/>

Apocrine glands also produce cytokine,<ref>{{REFjournal
|last=Ahmed
|init=AA
|last2=Nordlind
|init2=K
|last3=Schultzberd
|init3=M
|last4=Liden
|init4=S
|url=https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2FBF01105803
|title=Immunohistochemical localization of IL-1 alpha-, IL-1 beta-, IL-6- and TNF-alpha-like immunoreactivities in human apocrine glands
|journal=Arch Dermatol Res
|date=1995
|volume=287
|issue=8
|pages=764-766
|accessdate=2019-10-20
}}</ref> which is a very important non-antibody protein that generates immune response when in contact with specific agents. Plasma cells which increase in number in response to pathogens levels, secrete immunoglobulin.<ref name="flower1983"/>
It is also very important to note that [[Langerhans cells]] that are present in the [[foreskin]] produce ''Langerin'', a substance that has been proven to kill human immunodeficiency virus ([[HIV]]) on contact.<ref>{{DeWitte etal 2007}}</ref>

All of these function to sequester and “digest” foreign pathogens. All these substances play an important role in protecting the penis from viral and bacterial pathogens. The immunological functions of the human prepuce have been extensively documented by respected researchers for quite some time.<ref name="fleiss-hodges-vanhowe1998" />

[[Breastfeeding]] provides additional protection against [[urinary tract infection]].

{{SEEALSO}}
* [[Balanitis]]
* [[Breastfeeding]]
* [[Care of intact, foreskinned boys]]
* [[Circumcision and HIV]]
* [[Circumcision and STDs]]
* [[Development of retractable foreskin]]
* [[Foreskin]]
* [[Foreskin sensitivity]]
* [[Immunological protection of breastfeeding]]
* [[Jojoba]]
* [[Keratinization]]
* [[Penis]]
* [[Pheromone]]
* [[Preputial sac]]
* [[Smegma]]
* [[Transudation]]

{{LINKS}}
* {{REFweb
|url=http://www.intactaus.org/information/functionsoftheforeskin/
|title=Functions of the Foreskin
|last=Helard
|first=Lou
|author-link=Lou Helard
|publisher=Intact Australia
|website=http://www.intactaus.org
|date=2014-08-01
|accessdate=2020-06-05
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://www.cirp.org/library/hygiene/
|title=Penile hygiene in the intact non-circumcised male
|last=Anonymous
|first=
|init=
|author-link=
|publisher=Circumcision Information Reference Library
|date=2013
|accessdate=2025-03-01
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://intactamerica.org/science-of-skin-and-foreskin/
|title=The Science Behind Skin and Its Role in Protecting Our Bodies
|last=Cartwright-Smith
|first=Jeffrey
|init=
|author-link=Jeffrey Cartwright-Smith
|publisher=[[Intact America]]
|date=2025-09-18
|accessdate=2025-10-02
}}

==Conclusion==
Male mammals have a foreskin. The [[foreskin]] evolved over millions of years to provide protection in difficult environments against [[trauma]] and [[infection]]. The various protections described in this article work best when the foreskin is of sufficient length to securely cover and protect the [[penis]] with the tip of the foreskin puckered closed by the [[dartos]] fascia at all times to protect against entry of irritants and pathogens. Urine has a healthy microbiome<ref name="cold-taylor1999">{{ColdCJ TaylorJR 1999}}</ref> when it leaves the urethra and is helpful for flushing out the [[foreskin]] and keeping it clean.

Many ill-informed sources will advise [[foreskinned]] men to retract their [[foreskin]] and wash their [[penis]] at least daily. This advice ignores the findings of medical science.<ref name="birley1993"/> Retraction of the foreskin provides an opportunity for pathogens to enter. Washing removes the protective substances found in the [[preputial sac]].

Washing with warm water is recommended before and after a sexual encounter and as necessary to remove accumulated [[smegma]]. The use of soap, body wash, and shampoo in the [[preputial sac]] should be avoided.

{{REF}}

[[Category:Education]]
[[Category:Foreskin anatomy]]
[[Category:Foreskinned life]]
[[Category:Immunology]]
[[Category:Parental information]]
[[Category:Physiology]]

[[Category:From Intactipedia]]
[[Category:From IntactWiki]]

[[de:Immunologische und Schutzfunktion der Vorhaut]]

Immunological and protective function of the foreskin

2026-07-16T21:23:30Z

WikiModEn2: /* The immunological function of the foreskin */

Although Jewish circumcision promoter [[Abraham L. Wolbarst]] (1914} once claimed that the human [[foreskin]] was filthy and harbored disease and [[infection]],<ref name="wolbarst1914">{{REFjournal
|last=Wolbarst
|first=Abraham L.
|init=AL
|author-link=Abraham L. Wolbarst
|title=Universal Circumcision as a Sanitary Measure
|journal=JAMA
|date=1914-1-10
|volume=62
|issue=2
|pages=92-97
|url=https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/article-abstract/453164
|accessdate=2022-08-11
}}</ref> in reality the opposite is true. The [[foreskin]] is designed by nature to be self-cleaning and to provide significant natural '''immunological and protective function''' against all types of [[infection]], including [[HIV]].

[[Connor Judson Garrett| Connor Garrett]] (2024) demolishes the myths falsely claiming health benefits of circumcision that have been promoted by the [[circumcision industry]] and cites the health, psychological, and sexual benefits of [[intactness]].<ref name="garrett2024-03-09">{{REFweb
|url=https://intactamerica.org/intact-penis-care/
|title=Intact Penis Care: Embracing Natural Well-being
|last=Garrett
|first=Connor
|init=
|author-link=Connor Judson Garrett
|publisher=Intact America
|date=2024-03-09
|accessdate=2024-05-15
}}</ref>

The efficacy of these various protective functions of the [[foreskin]] have now been demonstrated. Fendereski et al. (2024) reported a massive study using data from a private insurance company database that found that [[circumcised]] boys have three times as many penile issues as compared with [[intact]] boys through age 5. This study matched 852,051 [[circumcised]] boys with 852,051 [[intact]] boys who served as controls,<ref name="fendereski2024">{{REFjournal
|last=Fendereski
|first=
|init=K
|author-link=
|last2=Horns
|first2=
|init2=JJ
|author2-link=
|last3=Driggs
|first3=
|init3=N
|author3-link=
|last4=Lau
|first4=
|init4=G
|author4-link=
|last5=Shaeffer
|first5=
|init5=AJ
|author5-link=
|etal=no
|title=Comparing Penile Problems in Circumcised vs. Uncircumcised Boys: Insights From a Large Commercial Claims Database With a Focus on Provider Type Performing Circumcision
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal=J Pediatr Surg
|date=2024-11
|volume=59
|issue=11
|article=161614
|url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S002234682400407X
|archived=
|quote=
|pubmedID=39084960
|pubmedCID=11486584
|DOI=10.1016/j.jpedsurg.2024.06.022
|accessdate=2025-01-03
}}</ref> so it is very strong statistically.

== The protective and hygienic function of the foreskin ==

The [[foreskin]], like the eyelid, also serves an important protective and hygienic function. The [[foreskin]] provides physical protection of the delicate [[glans]] of the [[penis]] and puts the [[urethra]] at a distance from its environment, protecting it from foreign pathogens and contaminants of all kinds while simultaneously shielding the [[penis]] from traumatic injury.<ref name="fleiss-hodges-vanhowe1998">{{FleissP HodgesF VanHoweRS 1998}}</ref> The [[foreskin]] protects the infant [[glans penis]] from ammonia in diapers (nappies) and prevents meatal ulcer and [[meatal stenosis]].<ref>{{GairdnerDM 1949}}</ref> <ref name="vanhowe2006">{{REFjournal
|last=Van Howe
|init=RS
|author-link=
|title=Incidence of meatal stenosis following neonatal circumcision in a primary care setting
|journal=Clin Pediatr (Phila)
|volume=45
|issue=1
|pages=49-54
|url=https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/000992280604500108?url_ver=Z39.88-2003&rfr_id=ori:rid:crossref.org&rfr_dat=cr_pub%20%200pubmed
|quote=
|pubmedID=16429216
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=10.1177/000992280604500108
|date=2006-01
|accessdate=2020-01-09
|note=Jan-Feb 2006
}}</ref> It is a double fold of [[skin]] which offers two layers of protection to prevent [[keratinization]] and maintain sensitivity.

At birth, the [[foreskin]] is usually fused with the [[glans]] (head) of the [[penis]] by a [[synechia]], akin to how a fingernail is attached to a finger.<ref>{{REFjournal
|last=Deibert
|init=GA
|author-link=
|title=The separation of the prepuce in the human penis
|url=http://www.cirp.org/library/anatomy/deibert/
|journal=Anatomical Record
|date=1933-11
|volume=57
|issue=4
|pages=387-9
|accessdate=2019-10-20
}}</ref> The [[preputial sac]] is sealed by the synechia so it cannot be infected.

In infancy, the foreskin's tubular neck (prepucial orifice) is often long and narrow while the [[Dartos]] sphincter muscle in the tip of the [[foreskin]] keeps its opening closed. This acts as an extension of the [[urethra]].<ref>{{REFjournal
|last=Hunter
|init=RH
|url=https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1249280/pdf/janat00534-0090.pdf
|title=Notes on the development of the prepuce
|journal=Journal of Anatomy
|date=1935-10
|volume=70
|issue=1
|pages=6875
|format=PDF
|accessdate=2019-10-20
}}</ref><ref>{{REFjournal
|last=Glenister
|init=TW
|url=https://bjui-journals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1464-410X.1956.tb04763.x
|title=A consideration of their process involved in the development of the prepuce in man
|journal=Br J Urol
|date=1956-09
|volume=28
|issue=3
|pages=243-249
}}</ref>
Together, these properties prevent the entry of pathogens and contaminants.<ref name="fleiss-hodges-vanhowe1998" /> <ref>{{REFjournal
|last=Upadhyay
|init=V
|author-link=
|last2=Hammodat
|init2=HM
|author2-link=
|last3=Pease
|init3=PW
|author3-link=
|etal=no
|title=Post circumcision meatal stenosis
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal=N Z Med J
|location=
|date=1998-02-27
|volume=111
|issue=1060
|pages=57-8
|url=http://www.cirp.org/library/complications/upadhyay1/
|quote=
|pubmedID=9539919
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=
|accessdate=2020-01-10
}}</ref>

Natural secretions of oil are achieved by sebaceous glands which are abound in the [[foreskin]]'s inner lining, these are not present in the [[glans penis]].<ref name="hyman-brownstein1969">{{REFjournal
|last=Hyman
|init=AB
|last2=Brownstein
|init2=MH
|url=https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamadermatology/article-abstract/530842
|title=Tyson's "glands": ectopic sebaceous glands and papillomatosis penis
|journal=Arch Dermatol
|date=1969-01
|volume=99
|issue=1
|pages=31-36
|accessdate=2019-10-20
}}</ref> They are also present in the eyelid and perform the same function in both places. They secrete the oils necessary to keep the [[glans]] surface soft, moist, smooth, warm, sensitive, and with a healthy glistening red or purple color. This moisturizer also maintains PH balance, and optimal cleanliness. This is required to keep the surface of the glans healthy and clean via the cleaning effects of mucous secretions. Again, this function is analogous to the eye lid. The [[glans penis]] is meant to be an internal organ covered and protected from the outside world.

In the genitally [[intact]] [[penis]] the [[urine]] stream flushes out the [[urethra]] and [[foreskin]] of foreign microbes. In healthy individuals, [[urine]] is sterile and has a disinfectant quality. Researchers have demonstrated that the swirling action of [[urine]] as it rushes through the [[foreskin]] flushes it out effortlessly and naturally.<ref name="parkash-jeykumar1973">{{REFjournal
|last=Parkash
|init=S
|last2=Jeykumar
|init2=S
|last3=Subramanyan
|init3=K
|last4=Chaudhuri
|init4=S
|url=http://www.cirp.org/library/anatomy/parkash/
|title=Human subpreputial collection: its nature and formation
|journal=J Urol
|date=1973-08
|volume=110
|issue=2
|pages=211-212
|accessdate=2019-10-20
}}</ref>

Though [[urine]] passes through the [[foreskin]] every day, the inner foreskin is remarkably free of urea — a by-product of liver metabolism that is secreted in [[urine]]. Studies demonstrate that washings from the foreskin are rich in fructose, acid phosphatase, and mucin, but never urea. It appears that the secretions of [[seminal vesicles]], prostate, and [[urethra]]l mucous glands, collectively or individually, keep the foreskin clear and clean as well.<ref>{{REFjournal
|last=Parkash
|init=S
|title=Penis: some facts and fancies
|journal=Journal of Physician's Association of Madras
|date=1982-06
|pages=1-13
}}</ref>

The idea that the foreskin is "dirty" or "unclean" is a scientifically unfounded superstition. The [[intact]] [[penis]] is naturally clean and maintains a level of hygiene that is optimal when compared to an uncovered, exposed [[penis]] that has been altered by [[circumcision]].<ref name="fleiss-hodges-vanhowe1998"/>

In comparison, due to the open wounds and raw [[bleeding]] flesh in a diaper, the [[circumcised]] [[penis]] needs much more care after [[circumcision]]. The surgically externalized [[glans]] is dirty rather then clean because of constant exposure to dirt, abrasion, pathogens, and contaminants.<ref name="vanhowe1997">{{REFjournal
|last=Van Howe
|init=RS
|author-link=Robert Van Howe
|url=https://bjui-journals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1046/j.1464-410X.1997.00467.x
|title=Variability in penile appearance and penile findings: a prospective study
|journal=Br J Urol
|date=1997
|volume=80
|pages=776-782
|DOI=10.1046/j.1464-410X.1997.00467.x
|accessdate=2019-10-20
}}</ref> [[Circumcised]] boys are also found to be more likely to develop [[balanitis]], [[meatitis]], [[Skin bridge| coronal adhesions]], and [[meatal stenosis]].<ref name="vanhowe1997"/> Fendereski et al. (2024) reported a massive study using data from a private insurance company database that found that [[circumcised]] boys have three times as many penile issues as compared with [[intact]] boys through age 5.<ref name=fendereski2024">{{REFjournal
|last=Fendereski
|first=
|init=K
|author-link=
|last2=Horns
|first2=
|init2=JJ
|author2-link=
|last3=Driggs
|first3=
|init3=N
|author3-link=
|last4=Lau
|first4=
|init4=G
|author4-link=
|last5=Shaeffer
|first5=
|init5=AJ
|author5-link=
|etal=no
|title=Comparing Penile Problems in Circumcised vs. Uncircumcised Boys: Insights From a Large Commercial Claims Database With a Focus on Provider Type Performing Circumcision
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal=J Pediatr Surg
|date=2024-11
|volume=59
|issue=11
|article=161614
|url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S002234682400407X
|archived=
|quote=
|pubmedID=39084960
|pubmedCID=11486584
|DOI=10.1016/j.jpedsurg.2024.06.022
|accessdate=2025-01-03
}}</ref>

After retraction commences, excessive washing and the use of soap inside the [[foreskin]] should be avoided.<ref name="birley1993">{{REFjournal
|last=Birley
|init=HDL
|author-link=
|last2=Walker
|init2=MM
|author2-link=
|last3=Luzzi
|init3=GA
|author3-link=
|last4=Bell
|init4=R
|author4-link=
|etal=yes
|title=Clinical Features and management of recurrent balanitis; association with atopy and genital washing]
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal=Genitourin Med
|location=
|date=1993-10
|volume=69
|issue=5
|pages=400-3
|url=https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1195128/pdf/genitmed00029-0074.pdf
|quote=
|pubmedID=8244363
|pubmedCID=1195128
|DOI=10.1136/sti.69.5.400
|accessdate=2021-03-20
}}</ref>

== The immunological function of the foreskin ==

The foreskin's inner fold and the [[glans]] of the [[penis]] are comprised of [[Preputial mucosa|mucous membrane]] tissue. These are also present in your eyes, mouth, and all other bodily orifices including the female genitals. These are the first line of immunological defense for the body's orifices. These mucous membranes perform many immunological and hygienic functions.

Certain components such as [[Langerhans cells]],<ref>{{REFjournal
|last=Weiss
|init=GN
|last2=Sanders
|init2=M
|last3=Westbrook
|init3=KC
|url=http://www.circumstitions.com/Langerhans.html
|title=The distribution and density of Langerhans cells in the human prepuce: site of diminished immune response?
|journal=Isr J Med Sci
|date=1993-01
|volume=29
|issue=1
|pages=42-43
|accessdate=2019-10-20
}}</ref> plasma cells,<ref name="flower1983">{{REFjournal
|last=Flower
|init=PJ
|last2=Ladds
|init2=PW
|last3=Thomas
|init3=AD
|last4=Watson
|init4=DL
|url=https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/030098588302000206
|title=An immunopathologic study on the bovine prepuce
|journal=Vet Pathol
|date=1983-03
|volume=20
|issue=2
|pages=189-201
|accessdate=2019-10-20
}}</ref> apocrine glands,<ref>{{REFjournal
|last=Ahmed
|init=A
|last2=Jones
|init2=AW
|url=https://www.academia.edu/5687437/APOCRINE_CYSTADENOMA_A_REPORT_OF_TWO_CASES_OCCURRING_ON_THE_PREPUCE
|title=Apocrine Cystadenoma: a report of two cases occurring on the prepuce
|journal=Br J Dermatol
|date=1969-12
|volume=81
|issue=12
|pages=899-901
|accessdate=2019-10-20
}}</ref> and sebaceous glands,<ref>{{REFjournal
|last=Hyman
|init=AB
|last2=Brownstein
|init2=MH
|title=Tyson's "glands": ectopic sebaceous glands and papillomatosis penis
|journal=Arch Dermatol
|date=1969-01
|volume=99
|issue=1
|pages=31-36
|accessdate=2019-10-20
}}</ref><ref>{{REFjournal
|last=Delbanco
|init=E
|title=Über das gehäufte Auftreten von freien Talgdrüsen an der Innenfläche des Präputiums
|trans-title=About the increased occurrence of free sebaceous glands on the inner surface of the prepuce
|language=German
|journal=Monatshefte für praktische Dermatologie
|date=1904
|volume=38
|pages=536-538
|accessdate=2019-10-20
}}</ref><ref>{{REFjournal
|last=Piccinno
|init=R
|last2=Carrel
|first2=Ch.-F.
|init2=CF
|last3=Menni
|init3=S
|etal=yes
|title=sebacous glands mimicking molluscum contagiosum
|journal=Acta Derm Venerol
|date=1990
|volume=70
|pages=344-345
}}</ref><ref>{{REFjournal
|last=Krompecher
|first=St.
|init=S
|title=Die Histologie der Absonderung des Smegma praeputii
|trans-title=Histology of allocation of a smegma praeputii
|language=German
|journal=Anatomischer Anzeiger
|date=1932
|volume=75
|pages=170-176
}}</ref>, collectively secrete emollient lubricants.<ref name="parkash-jeykumar1973"/> Apocrine glands perform a crucial function by secreting enzymes such as lysosomal enzymes, cathepsin B, chymotrypsin, and neutrophil elastase.<ref>{{REFjournal
|last=Frohlich
|init=E
|last2=Shamburg-Lever
|init2=G
|last3=Klesses
|init3=C
|title=Immunelectron microscopic localization of cathepsin B in human apocrine glands
|journal=J Cutan Pathol
|date=1993-02
|volume=20
|issue=1
|pages=54-60
}}</ref>

There is also some research to suggest that lysozyme protects against [[HIV]] infection.<ref>{{REFweb
|first=George
|last=Hill
|author-link=George Hill
|url=https://www.cirp.org/library/disease/HIV/hill1/
|title=Summary of evidence that the foreskin and lysozyme may protect against HIV infection
|date=2003-09-07
|accessdate=2019-10-20
}}</ref><ref name="fleiss-hodges-vanhowe1998"/>

Apocrine glands also produce cytokine,<ref>{{REFjournal
|last=Ahmed
|init=AA
|last2=Nordlind
|init2=K
|last3=Schultzberd
|init3=M
|last4=Liden
|init4=S
|url=https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2FBF01105803
|title=Immunohistochemical localization of IL-1 alpha-, IL-1 beta-, IL-6- and TNF-alpha-like immunoreactivities in human apocrine glands
|journal=Arch Dermatol Res
|date=1995
|volume=287
|issue=8
|pages=764-766
|accessdate=2019-10-20
}}</ref> which is a very important non-antibody protein that generates immune response when in contact with specific agents. Plasma cells which increase in number in response to pathogens levels, secrete immunoglobulin.<ref name="flower1983"/>
It is also very important to note that [[Langerhans cells]] that are present in the [[foreskin]] produce ''Langerin'', a substance that has been proven to kill human immunodeficiency virus ([[HIV]]) on contact.<ref>{{DeWitte etal 2007}}</ref>

All of these function to sequester and “digest” foreign pathogens. All these substances play an important role in protecting the penis from viral and bacterial pathogens. The immunological functions of the human prepuce have been extensively documented by respected researchers for quite some time.<ref name="fleiss-hodges-vanhowe1998" />

[[Breastfeeding]] provides additional protection against [[urinary tract infection]].

{{SEEALSO}}
* [[Balanitis]]
* [[Breastfeeding]]
* [[Care of intact, foreskinned boys]]
* [[Circumcision and HIV]]
* [[Circumcision and STDs]]
* [[Development of retractable foreskin]]
* [[Foreskin]]
* [[Foreskin sensitivity]]
* [[Immunological protection of breastfeeding]]
* [[Jojoba]]
* [[Keratinization]]
* [[Penis]]
* [[Pheromone]]
* [[Preputial sac]]
* [[Smegma]]
* [[Transudation]]

{{LINKS}}
* {{REFweb
|url=http://www.intactaus.org/information/functionsoftheforeskin/
|title=Functions of the Foreskin
|last=Helard
|first=Lou
|author-link=Lou Helard
|publisher=Intact Australia
|website=http://www.intactaus.org
|date=2014-08-01
|accessdate=2020-06-05
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://www.cirp.org/library/hygiene/
|title=Penile hygiene in the intact non-circumcised male
|last=Anonymous
|first=
|init=
|author-link=
|publisher=Circumcision Information Reference Library
|date=2013
|accessdate=2025-03-01
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://intactamerica.org/science-of-skin-and-foreskin/
|title=The Science Behind Skin and Its Role in Protecting Our Bodies
|last=Cartwright-Smith
|first=Jeffrey
|init=
|author-link=Jeffrey Cartwright-Smith
|publisher=[[Intact America]]
|date=2025-09-18
|accessdate=2025-10-02
}}

==Conclusion==
Most mammals have a foreskin. The [[foreskin]] evolved over millions of years to provide protection in difficult environments against [[trauma]] and [[infection]]. The various protections described in this article work best when the foreskin is of sufficient length to securely cover and protect the [[penis]] with the tip of the foreskin puckered closed by the [[dartos]] fascia at all times to protect against entry of irritants and pathogens. Urine has a healthy microbiome<ref name="cold-taylor1999">{{ColdCJ TaylorJR 1999}}</ref> when it leaves the urethra and is helpful for flushing out the [[foreskin]] and keeping it clean.

Many ill-informed sources will advise [[foreskinned]] men to retract their [[foreskin]] and wash their [[penis]] at least daily. This advice ignores the findings of medical science.<ref name="birley1993"/> Retraction of the foreskin provides an opportunity for pathogens to enter. Washing removes the protective substances found in the [[preputial sac]].

Washing with warm water is recommended before and after a sexual encounter and as necessary to remove accumulated [[smegma]]. The use of soap, body wash, and shampoo in the [[preputial sac]] should be avoided.

{{REF}}

[[Category:Education]]
[[Category:Foreskin anatomy]]
[[Category:Foreskinned life]]
[[Category:Immunology]]
[[Category:Parental information]]
[[Category:Physiology]]

[[Category:From Intactipedia]]
[[Category:From IntactWiki]]

[[de:Immunologische und Schutzfunktion der Vorhaut]]

Circumcision industry

2026-07-16T18:36:14Z

WikiModEn2: /* This should be a crime. */ Add external link.

[[Image:Money.jpg|right|thumb|]]
'''{{FULLPAGENAME}}''' is the term used to identify the collection of American medical trade associations, state medical societies, hospitals, physicians, and medical journals that promote medically unnecessary, non-therapeutic male [[circumcision]] in the [[United States]], and who financially profit from the performance thereof.

== Medical trade associations ==

The [[medical trade association| medical trade associations]] are primarily the American Medical Association, the [[American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists]], the [[American Academy of Pediatrics]], the [[American Academy of Family Physicians]], and the [[American Urological Association]].

Medical trade associations whose members profit from the performance of [[circumcision]] usually issue [[bias| biased]] [[Medical_trade_association#Statements_regarding_male_circumcision| statements]] to promote non-therapeutic male [[circumcision]].

== State medical societies ==
[https://physicianpracticespecialists.com/state-specific-services/state-medical-societies/ State medical societies] work behind the scenes within their own state to remove any impediments to the practice of medically unnecessary, non-therapeutic [[circumcision]] and to maintain [[third-party payment]] insurance coverage.
== Hospitals ==
Non-therapeutic [[circumcision]] of the newborn is regarded as a [https://www.investopedia.com/terms/p/profitcentre.asp profit center], therefore most maternity hospitals promote and profit from the practice of medically unnecessary, non-therapeutic circumcision, by allowing and encouraging its practice, by automatically providing a circumcision consent form in the package of forms provided to an expectant mother in labor on admission, and by directing nurses to repeatedly inquire of mothers if a [[circumcision]] is desired.<ref>{{REFweb
|url=https://www.prweb.com/releases/having-a-baby-boy-intact-america-warns-get-ready-for-the-circumcision-sellers--807966573.html
|title=Having a Baby Boy? Intact America Warns, ‘Get Ready for the Circumcision Sellers!'
|last=Chapin
|first=Georganne
|author-link=Georganne Chapin
|publisher=Intact America
|website=prweb
|date=2019-11-18
|accessdate=2023-11-12
|quote=Each year, an estimated 1.4 million baby boys are circumcised in American medical settings. [[Intact America]] estimates that if circumcision solicitations were to cease, 600,000 boys—and the men they will become—would be spared every year from the [[trauma]] and lifelong consequences of the procedure.
}}</ref>

Mansfield et al. (1995) studied the use of medical resources related to non-therapeutic infant [[circumcision]]. They discovered that mother and baby remain in hospital an average of one-fourth of a day longer when the newborn boy is to be circumcised.<ref name="mansfield1995">{{REFjournal
|last=Mansfield
|first=
|init=CJ
|author-link=
|last2=Hueston
|first2=
|init2=WJ
|author2-link=
|last3=Rudy
|first3=
|init3=M
|author3-link=
|etal=no
|title=Neonatal circumcision: associated factors and length of hospital stay
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal=J Fam Pract
|location=
|date=1995-10
|volume=41
|article=4
|pages=370-6
|url=https://www.cirp.org/library/procedure/mansfield/
|archived=
|quote=
|pubmedID=7561711
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=
|doi=
|accessdate=2023-11-14
}}</ref> During this time, all room and other charges increase, so a circumcision is a real windfall for the hospital. Not only does the hospital collect a facility fee for the circumcision set up, it also gets to collect additional room and other charges.

Hospitals are also believed to sell the tissue from the excised infant foreskins to the bioengineering and cosmetics industries for a substantial profit.<ref>{{REFweb
|url=https://beautyproductsaremycardio.com/uncovering-the-truth-are-foreskins-really-used-in-cosmetics-the-shocking-story-and-essential-information-you-need-to-know/
|title=Uncovering the Truth: Are Foreskins Really Used in Cosmetics? [The Shocking Story and Essential Information You Need to Know]
|last=Anonymous
|first=
|init=
|publisher=Beautyproductsaremycardio.com
|date=2023
|accessdate=2023-11-14
}}</ref> <ref>{{REFweb
|url=http://acroposthion.com/the-foreskin-industry/
|title=The foreskin industry
|last=Anonymous
|first=
|init=
|publisher=Acroposthion.com
|date=2023
|accessdate=2023-11-14
}}</ref>

== Physicians ==
The physicians are primarily those who practice in the areas of general practice, obstetrics, pediatrics, or urology and who [[financial incentive| financially benefit]] from the performance of the [[pain| painful]] and [[trauma| traumatic]] non-therapeutic [[amputation]].

[[Issues_with_American_urologists_and_the_practice_of_male_circumcision| Urologists]] focus on adolescent and adult [[intact]] males who escaped [[circumcision]] of the newborn.

== Medical journals ==
Medical journals are mostly those journals which focus on obstetrics, pediatrics, family practice, or urology and publish [[bias| biased]] articles to promote the practice.<ref name="fleiss1999">{{REFbook
|last=Fleiss
|first=Paul M.
|init=PM
|author-link=Paul M. Fleiss
|year=1999
|title=An Analysis of Bias Regarding Circumcision in American Medical Literature
|url=https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=ljZZ9ZvD_kQC&oi=fnd&pg=PA379&ots=GA2KpzMECk&sig=jFqDYQhV0sqAWil6LDZWXnQdJO8#v=onepage&q&f=false
|work=Male and Female Circumcision: Medical, Legal, and Ethical Considerations in Pediatric Practice
|editor=Denniston, George C., Hodges, Frederick Mansfield, Milos, Marilyn
|edition=
|volume=
|chapter=
|pages=379-401
|location=New York
|publisher=Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publishers
|isbn=0-306-46131-5
|quote=
|accessdate=2023-11-12
|note=
}}</ref> and to secure [[third-party payment]] insurance coverage of the medically-unnecessary, non-therapeutic surgery.

==Profits==
Professor Morgan (1967), in his classic article — ''Penile plunder'' — accurately described the only real reason for the performance of non-therapeutic circumcision as — ''chronic remunerative surgery'' — meaning long-lasting recurring compensation to the surgeon.<ref>{{REFjournal
|last=Morgan
|first=
|init=WKC
|author-link=William Keith Campbell Morgan
|etal=NO
|title=Penile plunder
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal=Med J Aust
|location=
|date=1967-05-27
|volume=1
|issue=21
|article=
|page=
|pages=1102-3
|url=https://www.cirp.org/library/general/morgan2/
|archived=
|quote=
|pubmedID=4226264
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=10.5694/j.1326-5377.1967.tb20892.x
|doi=
|accessdate=2023-11-15
}}</ref>

The profits are amazingly large. Bollinger (2012) estimated annual intake from the performance of medically-unnecessary, non-therapeutic [[circumcision]] to be $3,640,000,000.<ref name="bollinger2012">{{REFweb
|url=https://www.academia.edu/6442587/High_Cost_of_Circumcision_3.6_Billion_Annually
|title=High Cost of Circumcision: $3.6 Billion Annually
|last=Bollinger
|first=Dan
|author-link=Dan Bollinger
|publisher=Academia
|website=https://www.academia.edu
|date=2012
|accessdate=2023-11-12
|format=
|quote=As the saying goes, follow the money. Now you know why neither the [[American Academy of Pediatrics]], American Medical Association, [[American Academy of Family Physicians]], or the [[American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists]] haven’t condemned this unnecessary surgery, and why their physician members are quick to recommend the procedure to expectant parents.
}}</ref>
==Video==
===This should be a crime.===
<youtube>v=ob4OADNIidc</youtube>
{{SEEALSO}}
* [[Financial incentive]]
* [[United States of America]]
{{LINKS}}
* {{REFweb
|url=http://acroposthion.com/the-foreskin-industry/
|title=The Foreskin Industry
|website=Acroposthion
|accessdate=2020-03-02
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://intactamerica.org/circumcision-cleanliness-myth/
|title=“Clean” vs. “Natural”: When Language Becomes a Weapon
|last=Alissa
|first=
|init=K
|author-link=Kristel Alissa
|publisher=Intact America
|date=2025-05-21
|accessdate=2025-05-22
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://www.reddit.com/r/uncircumcised_talk/comments/1ohrt48/i_had_never_heard_of_a_foreskin_industry/
|title=I had never heard of a foreskin industry...
|last=Anonymous
|publisher=Reddit
|date=2025-11
|accessdate=2026-07-16
}}
{{REF}}

[[Category:Term]]
[[Category:Business]]
[[Category:Industry]]
[[Category:Promoter]]
[[Category:Sociology]]
[[Category:USA]]

[[de:Beschneidungsindustrie]]

United States of America

2026-07-16T11:41:44Z

WikiModEn2: /* Second quarter */ Add text and citation.

[[File:Flag_of_USA.svg|thumb|150px|Flag of the United States of America (USA)]]
The '''United States of America''' are also known as the '''United States''' or simply '''America''' or by initialism such as '''USA''' or '''US''' or '''U.S.A.''' or '''U.S.''' (Please note that ''America'' also is the name of two geological continents: ''North America'' and ''South America'' which include many more countries than just the ''United States of America'' which are the topic of this article. See also: [[:Category:Americas]].)

America is predominantly an English-speaking nation. As in other English-speaking nations, non-therapeutic [[circumcision]] of boys was popularized in the late nineteenth century. Due to the rates of infant circumcision that formerly approached 90 percent, the vast majority of [[Circumcised doctors| male doctors were neonatally circumcised]] and have no real knowledge of a normal body part. Such doctors frequently give poor advice to parents on the care of the [[intact]] [[penis]].<ref name="goldman2005">{{REFjournal
|last=Goldman
|first=Ronald
|init=R
|author-link=Ronald Goldman
|etal=no
|title=Circumcision policy: a psychosocial perspective
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal=Paediatrics & Child Health (Ottawa)
|location=
|date=2005-11
|volume=9
|issue=9
|pages=630-3
|url=https://academic.oup.com/pch/article/9/9/630/2648566?login=true
|quote=
|pubmedID=19675851
|pubmedCID=2724127
|DOI=10.1093/pch/9.9.630
|accessdate=2020-03-16
}}</ref> They are also much more likely to injure [[intact]] boys during office visits by premature [[Forced foreskin retraction| forcible foreskin retraction]] (PFFR).<ref>{{REFjournal
|last=Narvaez
|first=Darcia
|init=D
|author-link=
|last2=Geisheker
|first2=John V.
|init2=JV
|author2-link=John V. Geisheker
|url=https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/moral-landscapes/201110/what-is-the-greatest-danger-uncircumcised-boy
|title=What Is the Greatest Danger for an Uncircumcised Boy?
|journal=Psychology Today
|date=2011-10-23
|volume=
|issue=
|pages=
|accessdate=2021-10-31
}}</ref>

The United States is unique in having a [[circumcision industry]] that aggressively promotes the practice of medically-unnecessary, non-therapeutic, harmful, infant [[circumcision]]. The decline of the unnecessary practice has been slowed by payments for unnecessary circumcision by various government heath programs and by continual encouragement and promotion of circumcision by the [[circumcision industry]]. However, the practice of non-therapeutic [[circumcision]] of newborn boys has been in gradual decline for several decades.

Despite the financially self-serving promotional efforts of the [[circumcision industry]], Jacobson et al. (2021) reported the incidence of non-therapeutic [[circumcision]] of newborn infant boys was reported to have continued its slow decline to 52.1 percent in 2016.<ref name="jacobson2021">{{REFjournal
|last=Jacobson
|first=Deborah L.
|init=
|author-link=
|last2=Balmert
|first2=Lauren C.
|init2=
|author2-link=
|last3=Holl
|first3=Jane L.
|init3=
|author3-link=
|last4=Rosoklija
|first4=Ilina
|init4=
|author4-link=
|last5=Davis
|first5=Matthew M.
|init5=
|author5-link=
|last6=Johnson
|first6Emilie K.
|init6=
|author6-link=
|etal=no
|title=Nationwide Circumcision Trends: 2003 to 2016
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal=J Urol
|location=
|date=2021-01
|volume=205
|issue=1
|pages=257-63
|url=https://www.auajournals.org/doi/abs/10.1097/JU.0000000000001316
|pubmedID=32716676
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=10.1097/JU.0000000000001316
|accessdate=2021-10-15
}}</ref> Yang et al. (2025) reported the incidenec of circumcision of the newborn had declined to 49.3 percent in 2022, making non-circumcision or [[intactness]] the new NORM among America's newborn boys. Yang et al. studied a ten-ear period during which the incidence of circumcision declined at a rate of 0.5% per year.<ref name="yang2025">{{REFjournal
|last=Yang
|first=
|init=P
|author-link=
|last2=Zhu
|first2=
|init2=X
|author2-link=
|last3=Patel
|first3=
|init3=EU
|author3-link=
|last4=Quin
|first4=
|init4=PC
|author4-link=
|last5=Grabowski
|first5=
|init5=MK
|author5-link=
|last6=Tobian
|first6=
|init6=AAR
|author6-link=Aaron Tobian
|etal=no
|title=Trends in Circumcision Among Newborn Males in the US
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal=JAMA Pediatrics
|location=
|date=2025-09-15
|season=
|volume=
|issue=
|article=e252464
|page=
|pages=
|url=https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapediatrics/fullarticle/2838312
|archived=
|quote=
|pubmedID=40952753
|pubmedCID=12439174
|DOI=10.1001/jamapediatrics.2025.2464
|accessdate=2025-09-17
}}</ref>

The United States is unusual among nations in that osteopathic physicians (DOs) enjoy equal standing with allopathic physicians (MDs)<ref>{{REFweb
|url=https://www.ama-assn.org/press-center/ama-press-releases/aoa-and-ama-stand-against-misrepresentation-osteopathic-physicians#:~:text=The%20American%20Osteopathic%20Association%20%28AOA%29%20and%20the%20American,of%20osteopathic%20medicine%20by%20media%2C%20celebrities%20and%20companies.
|title=AOA and AMA stand against misrepresentation of osteopathic physicians
|last=Anonymous
|first=
|init=
|author-link=
|publisher=American Medical Association
|date=2020-11-04
|accessdate=2026-03-22
}}</ref> Osteopathic physicians observe four [[Tenets of Osteopathic Medicine]] in their practice.

==History==
===Colonial and early 19th century===
Jews have lived in America since before the Revolutionary War. They have always practiced [[Jewish circumcision| ritual circumcision]], ([[Brit Milah]]), of boys on the eighth day of life in accordance with the [[Abrahamic covenant]], however this was only for a very small percentage of the population.<ref name="self2016">{{REFjournal
|url=https://journals.troy.edu/index.php/test/article/view/386/302
|title=The Rise of Circumcision in Victorian America
|first=Eleanor
|last=Self
|author-link=Eleanor Self
|journal=The Alexandrian
|volume=5
|issue=1
|date=2016
|accessdate=2022-09-02
|format=PDF
}}
</ref>

One may be certain that the eighteenth century [https://www.nationalgeographic.org/article/founding-fathers/ Founding Fathers of the United States] of America were men with [[intact]] [[foreskin]]s as were the [[foreskinned]] men who fought the American Civil War (1861-1865).

Non-therapeutic [[circumcision]] of males for non-religious reasons originated with [[Claude François Lallemand]] in 1836 in France but soon spread to the [[United Kingdom]] in the early nineteenth century, from which it eventually spread to other English-speaking nations.<ref name="hodges1997">[[Frederick M. Hodges| Hodges FM]]. [https://lust-for-life.org/Lust-For-Life/_Textual/GeorgeCDenniston-MarilynFayreMilos-editors_JamesDeMeo_SexualMutilations-AHumanTragedy_1997_235pp/GeorgeCDenniston-MarilynFayreMilos-editors_JamesDeMeo_SexualMutilations-AHumanTragedy_1997_235pp.pdf#page=28 A short history of the institutionalization of involuntary sexual mutilations in the United States]. in: Denniston GC, Milos MF (eds.), Sexual Mutilations: A Human Tragedy (New York: Plenum Publishing, 1997), pp. 17-40. (ISBN 0-306-45589-7)</ref>

Edward Dixon (1847) recommended circumcision to prevent the spread of syphilis.<ref name="self2016" />

===Late nineteenth century===
====First quarter====
The late nineteenth century was characterized by prominent medical doctors advancing all sorts of absurd reasons for the performance of non-therapeutic [[circumcision]], including the prevention of venereal disease.<ref name="self2016" />

The first recorded non-religious circumcision of a boy in the United States occurred in 1870 when [[Lewis Albert Sayre]], a prominent New York City doctor, [[circumcised]] a boy of five years of age for paralysis.<ref name="gollaher1994">{{GollaherDL 1994}}</ref> [[Lewis Albert Sayre|Sayre]] then continued to advocate circumcision for numerous reasons until his death in 1900. According to [[Lewis Albert Sayre|Sayre]], circumcision was recommended for paralysis, epilepsy, hernia, lunacy, curvature of the spine, and clubfoot.

[[M. J. Moses]] (1871) advocated [[circumcision]] to prevent [[masturbation]].<ref name="moses1871">{{Moses1871}}</ref>
====Second quarter====
[[H. H. Kane]] (1879) 'discovers' that [[circumcision]] cures nocturnal emissions and abdominal neuralgia.<ref>{{Kane1879}}</ref>

Seventh-day Adventist [[John Harvey Kellogg]], {{MD}}, of Battle Creek, Michigan, was an important 19th century promoter of male circumcision. Although masturbation is never mentioned in the Bible, Dr. Kellogg believed that [[masturbation]] was immoral, sinful, and caused one to dream "impure dreams", which he believed was harmful to the mental faculties, resulting in mental disorders, such as "feeblemindness".<ref name="kellogg1888">{{Kellogg1888}}</ref> He believed that the urge to masturbate could be prevented by eating bland foods, for which purpose, he and his brother invented corn flakes.<ref name="self2016" />

Dr. Kellogg (1879) also recommended [[circumcision]] in cases "in which irritation is produced by retained secretions".<ref name="kellogg1888"/>

Dr. Kellogg perhaps is most famous for his book, ''Plain facts for young and old'' (1879), in which he advocated circumcision of boys as punishment for masturbation.<ref name="kellogg1888"/>

[[William G. Eggleston]], {{MA}}, {{MD}}, from Chicaco, {{USSC|IL}}, (1886) stated that [[foreskin]] of minors and the natural "phimosis" in minors would cause crossed eyes.<ref name="eggleston1886">{{Eggleston1886}}
</ref>

Dr. [[William D. Gentry]] (1890) alleged that [[Retraction of the foreskin| phimosis in boys]] produces serious nervous derangements.<ref name="gentry1890">{{REFjournal
|last=Gentry
|first=William D.
|init=WD
|author-link=William D. Gentry
|title=Nervous Derangements Produced by Sexual Irregularities in Boys
|journal=Medical Current
|date=1890-07
|volume=6
|issue=7
|pages=268-74
}}</ref>

[[Elizabeth Blackwell]], {{MD}}, ({{LifeData|1821|1910}}), was born in England, but attended medical school in the United States. She was the first woman to become a medical doctor in the United States. Blackwell thought [[masturbation]] was immoral but that [[circumcision]] was not the way to correct it. She wrote against it in her 1894 book:
<blockquote>Appeals to the fears of uninstructed parents on the grounds of cleanliness or of hardening the part are entirely fallacious and unsupported by evidence. It is a physiological fact that the natural lubricating secretion of every healthy part is beneficial, not injurious to the part thus protected, and that no attempt to render a sensitive part insensitive is either practicable or justifiable. The protection which nature affords to these parts is an aid to physical purity by affording necessary protection against constant external contact of a part which necessarily remains keenly sensitive; and bad habits in boys and girls cannot by prevented by surgical operations. Where no malformation exists, bad habits can only be forestalled by healthy moral and physical education.<ref>{{REFbook
|last=Blackwell
|first=Elizabeth
|init=E
|author-link=Elizabeth Blackwell
|title=The Human Element in Sex; being a Medical Inquiry into the Relation of Sexual Physiology to Christian Morality
|url=https://archive.org/details/B20442622/page/n9/mode/2up
|edition=2
|year=1894
|pages=35-6
|location=London
|publisher=J.& A. Churchill
}}</ref></blockquote>

[[Peter Charles Remondino]], {{MD}},<ref name="gollaher1994" /> was a San Diego, California physician, who was born in Turin (''Torino'') in 1846, but migrated with his family to the United States at the age of eight. There is some reason to believe that he was of Sephardic Jewish descent and had been [[circumcised]] while still in Turin, however this is uncertain.

Remondino clearly was highly intelligent. He mastered English, started medical school at age 17, treated wounded soldiers during the Civil War, and later moved to San Diego for his health.

After moving to San Diego, he practiced medicine, served as an officer of several medical societies, and other regulatory agencies.

Remondino is famous for his 346 page book, ''The History of Circumcision'' (1891).<ref name="remondino1891">{{REFbook
|last=Remondino
|first=Peter Charles
|init=PC
|author-link=Peter Charles Remondino
|year=1891
|title=History of Circumcision
|url=https://www.gutenberg.org/files/23135/23135-h/23135-h.htm
|pages=
|location=Philadelphia
|publisher=F. A. Davis
|website=Welcome Collection
|accessdate=2021-09-29
}}</ref> <ref name="gollaher1994" />

When Remondino discussed the [[foreskin]], he used the most horrific, derogatory, and disparaging language. He devoted thirteen chapters to the alleged evils and faults of the foreskin. It is not clear why he had such an extreme dislike for a natural and functional body part. His recommendation, of course, was for [[Adolescent and adult circumcision| circumcision]].

[[H. L. Rosenberry]], {{MD}}, (1894) published a paper "proving" that circumcision cures urinary and rectal incontinence.<ref name="self2016" /> <ref name="rosenberry1894">{{Rosenberry1894}}</ref>

Dr. [[E. J. Spratling]] (1895) provided information for other doctors.<ref name="self2016" />He gaved a detailed explanation of how a circumcision is to be done so as to make it as difficult as possible to achieve orgasm by [[masturbation]].<ref>{{REFjournal
|last=Spratling
|init=EJ
|title=Masturbation in the Adult
|journal=Medical Record
|volume=24
|issue=
|pages=442-443
|url=https://www.proquest.com/openview/9a247c3410d34390e418dc970faa3b87/1?pq-origsite=gscholar&cbl=40146
|quote=
|date=1895
|accessdate=2022-08-30
}}</ref>

By the end of the nineteenth century, America had at least one prominent physician and surgeon on the east coast promoting circumcision and another prominent physician and surgeon on the west coast promoting circumcision. There was no real medical science with which to dispute and discredit their false claims. Non-therapeutic [[circumcision]] of males was now well-established in the United States.

===Early twentieth century===
====First quarter====
The early twentieth century is characterized by advocacy of circumcision based on false claims to prevent cancer and sexually transmitted (venereal) disease; and by the involvement of the United States military services in the promotion of circumcision.

[[Ernest G. Mark]] (1901) noted that the "pleasurable sensations that are elicited from the extremely sensitive" [[Ridged band|inner lining]] of the [[foreskin]] may encourage a child to [[Masturbation|masturbate]], which is why he recommended circumcision since it "lessens the sensitiveness of the organ".<ref>{{Mark1901}}</ref>

Brimhall (1902) reported an [[amputation]] of a [[penis]] after circumcision.<ref name="brimhall1902">{{REFjournal
|last=Brimhall
|init=JB
|author-link=
|last2=
|init2=
|author2-link=
|url=
|title=Amputation of the penis following a unique method of preventing hemorrhage after circumcision
|journal=St. Paul Med J.
|date=1902
|volume=4
|issue=
|page=490
|accessdate=2021-10-05
}}</ref>

[[Roswell Park]] (1902) published a paper 'proving' that foreskin causes epilepsy and that circumcision cures it.<ref>{{Park1902}}</ref>

[[L. Emmett Holt]] (1913) reported that tubercular [[mohel]]s were infecting infant Jewish boys with tuberculosis during [[Brit Milah| ritual circumcision]].<ref>{{REFjournal
|last=Holt
|init=LE
|author-link=L. Emmett Holt
|url=http://www.cirp.org/library/complications/holt1/
|title=Tuberculosis acquired through ritual circumcision
|journal=JAMA
|date=1913-07-12
|volume=LXI
|issue=2
|pages=99-102
|accessdate=2021-10-04
}}</ref>

[[Abraham L. Wolbarst]], {{MD}}, a Jewish New York doctor, apparently considered [[L. Emmett Holt|Holt]]'s paper to be an attack on [[Brit Milah| ritual circumcision]] or perhaps [[Judaism]] itself. He collected ''opinions'' from other doctors of the alleged value of [[circumcision]] for health and published those ''opinions'' as ''scientific fact'' in a 1914 ''JAMA'' article.<ref name="wolbarst1914">{{REFjournal
|last=Wolbarst entitled ''Universal circumcision as as sanitary measure]].
|first=Abraham L.
|init=AL
|author-link=Abraham L. Wolbarst
|title=Universal circumcision as a sanitary measure
|journal=JAMA
|date=1914-1-10
|volume=62
|issue=2
|pages=92-7
|url=https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/article-abstract/453164
|accessdate=2021-10-04
}}</ref> Wolbarst's paper appeared shortly before the start of World War I. It is thought that Wolbarst's false claims inspired some military commanders to require men under their command to be [[circumcised]] so as to reduce venereal disease (VD).

M. S. Reuben (1916) (1917) reported additional cases of tuberculosis after ritual circumcision.<ref name="reuben1916">{{REFjournal
|last=Reuben
|init=MS
|author-link=
|last2=
|init2=
|author2-link=
|url=http://www.cirp.org/library/complications/reuben1/
|title=Tuberculosis from ritual circumcision
|journal=Proceedings of the New York Academy of Medicine
|date=1916-12-15
|volume=
|issue=
|pages=333-4
|accessdate=2021-10-04
}}</ref><ref name="ruben1917">{{REFjournal
|last=Reuben
|init=MS
|author-link=
|last2=
|init2=
|author2-link=
|url=http://www.cirp.org/library/complications/reuben2/
|title=Tuberculosis following ritual circumcision
|journal=Arch Pediatr
|date=1917-03
|volume=XXXIV
|issue=
|pages=186-90
|accessdate=2021-10-04
}}</ref>

J. Brennermann (1921) reported that [[Meatal stenosis| meatal disease]] occurs only in [[circumcised]] boys who lack the protection of the [[foreskin]].<ref name="brennermann2021>{{REFjournal
|last=Brennermann
|init=J
|author-link=
|last2=
|init2=
|author2-link=
|url=http://www.cirp.org/library/complications/brennemann1/
|title=The ulcerated meatus in the circumcised child
|journal=Am J Dis Child
|date=1921
|volume=21
|issue=
|pages=38-47
|accessdate=2021-10-04
}}</ref>
====Second quarter====
[[Abraham L. Wolbarst|Wolbarst]] (1926) made his claim for the first time that male circumcision prevents [[penile cancer]].<ref name="wolbarst1926!>{{REFjournal
|last=Wolbarst
|first=Abraham L.
|init=AL
|author-link=Abraham L. Wolbarst
|title=Is circumcision a prophylactic against penis cancer?
|journal=Cancer
|date=1926-07
|volume=3
|issue=4
|pages=301-10
}}</ref>

[[Abraham L. Wolbarst|Wolbarst]] (1932) put forward his claim again that [[circumcision]] would prevent [[penile cancer]] in the British journal, ''The Lancet''.<ref name="Wolbarst 1932">{{Wolbarst1932}}</ref> In those long ago days, the true causes of cancer were unknown so it was impossible to disprove Wolbarst's falsehoods.

Laumann et al., writing in 1997, reported an incidence of circumcision of 31 percent in 1933.<ref name="laumann1997">{{REFjournal
|last=Laumann
|first=Edward O.
|init=
|author-link=
|last2=Masi
|first2=christopher M.
|init2=
|author2-link=
|last3=Zuckerman
|first3=Ezra W.
|init3=
|author3-link=
|etal=no
|title=Circumcision in the United States
|journal=JAMA
|location=
|date=1997-04-02
|volume=277
|issue=13
|article=
|pages=1052-7
|url=http://www.cirp.org/library/general/laumann/
|pubmedID=9091693
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=
|accessdate=2021-10-05
}}</ref>

[[Hiram S. Yellen]] and [[Aaron Goldstein]] invented the [[Gomco]] clamp in 1934-1935. The clamp, by crushing the foreskin in an intensely painful procedure, reduced the risk of hemorrhage,<ref name="yellen1935">{{GoldsteinYellen1935}}</ref> but increased the [[pain]].<ref name="sinkey2015">{{REFjournal
|url=https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25794628?dopt=Abstract
|title=The GoMo study: a randomized clinical trial assessing neonatal pain with Gomco vs Mogen clamp circumcision
|last=Sinkey
|init=RG
|last2=Eschenbacher
|init2=MA
|last3=Walsh
|init3=PM
|last4=Doerger
|init4=RG
|last5=Lambers
|init5=DS
|last6=Sibai
|init6=BM
|last7=Habli
|init7=MA
|journal=Am J Obstet Gynecol
|date=2015-05
|volume=212
|issue=5
|pages=664.e1-8
|pubmedID=25794628
|DOI=10.1016/j.ajog.2015.03.029
|accessdate=2021-10-05
}}</ref> The availability of the Gomco clamp increased the popularity of non-therapeutic infant circumcision.

Brown (1937) reported restoration of the [[skin]] of the [[penis]] after a denudation complication of circumcision.<ref name="brown1837">{{REFjournal
|last=Brown
|init=JB
|author-link=
|url=
|title=Restoration of the entire skin of the penis
|journal=Surg Gynecol Obstetr
|date=1937
|volume=65
|issue=362-5
|pages=
|accessdate=2021-10-05
}}</ref>

Laumann et al. (1997) reported an incidence of circumcision of 53 percent in 1941.<ref name="laumann1997" />

World War II. America entered the war after the Empire of Japan attacked the American naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii on 7 December 1941. This was followed by Germany declaring war on the United States.

The information on military circumcision in WWII is sketchy and anecdotal. It appears that many [[foreskinned]] American men were encouraged and, in some cases, forced to be [[circumcised]]. It seems that the American military's [[foreskin]]-phobia and circumcision policy persisted through the Korean War (1950-52) but was discontinued by a change in policy thereafter.

The "Sand Myth" circulated among English-speaking armies. According to the [http://www.circumstitions.com/sand.htm Sand Myth], [[foreskinned]] men who fought in the Saharan desert had medical issues due to sand collecting under the [[foreskin]]. [[Intact]] Italian and German men who fought in the same desert had no such problems.<ref>{{REFjournal
|last=Darby
|first=Robert
|init=
|author-link=Robert Darby
|etal=no
|title=The riddle of the sands: circumcision, history, and myth
|journal=NZ Med J
|location=
|date=2005-07-15
|volume=118
|issue=1218
|article=
|page=U1564
|url=https://www.academia.edu/9899840/The_riddle_of_the_sands_Circumcision_history_and_myth
|pubmedID=16027753
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=
|accessdate=2021-10-05
}}</ref>

[[Abraham Ravich]] (1942) falsely claimed that circumcision prevents [[prostate cancer]].<ref name="ravich1942">{{Ravich1942}}</ref>

'''Post-war era.''' In the post-war era after WWII, the popularity of non-therapeutic [[circumcision]] increased, driven by medical promotion by doctors seeking a nice [[Financial incentive| surgical fee]] as an alleged preventive of penile cancer and by the [Adamant father syndrome| adamant request of circumcised men home from the war who became fathers]].

Non-therapeutic, medically-unnecessary [[circumcision]] of boys had become a "routine" surgical operation that usually was performed automatically on newborn boys even without consent from anyone.

Laumann et al. (1997) reported an incidence of non-therapeutic circumcision of boys of 85 percent in 1948.<ref name="laumann1997" />

[[Eugene H. Hand]], {{MD}}, (1949) falsely claimed that circumcision would prevent cancer of the tongue and [[Circumcision and STDs| venereal disease]].<ref name="HandEH1949">{{REFjournal
|last=Hand
|first=Eugene H.
|init=EH
|author-link=Eugene H. Hand
|url=https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18135844/
|title=Circumcision and venereal disease
|journal=Archives of Dermatology and Syphilology
|date=1949-09
|volume=60
|issue=3
|pages341-6
|pubmedID=18135844
|DOI=10.1001/archderm.1949.01530030037004
|accessdate=2021-10-08
}}</ref>

The publication of a landmark article by [[Douglas Gairdner]] (1949) in the [[United Kingdom]] showing that infant circumcision is non-therapeutic, unnecessary, causes deaths, and which called for preservation of the [[foreskin]]<ref name="gairdner1949">{{GairdnerDM 1949}}</ref> was totally ignored by the [[circumcision industry]] in the United States.

===Late twentieth century===
====Third quarter====
The late twentieth century was characterized by increasing opposition to non-therapeutic circumcision of boys by [[intactivists]] and increasing efforts by the [[circumcision industry]] to protect [[third-party payment]] for performance of non-therapeutic [[circumcision]] of non-consenting boys; and by increasing recognition that newborn boys intensely feel [[pain]] and that non-therapeutic male [[circumcision]] is a [[trauma| horribly traumatic experience]].

[[Abraham Ravich]] (1951) falsely claimed that [[circumcision]] prevents [[cervical cancer]] in women.<ref name="ravitch1951">{{Ravich1951}}</ref>

Hollister, Inc. formally introduced the [[Plastibell]] circumcision device in 1953.<ref name=MillerSnyder1953>{{MillerSnyder1953}}</ref>

[[Ernest L. Wynder]] (1954) promoted male circumcision to prevent cervical cancer in women.<ref name="wynder1954">{{Wynder1954}}</ref>

The Congress of the United States created the [https://www.medicaid.gov/ Medicaid program] in 1965. Medicaid is a joint federal/state program that pays the medical expenses of low-income Americans. Medicaid covers about 45 percent of births in the United States. Medicaid pays for medically-unnecessary, non-therapeutic circumcision in 37 states, although it appears to be a violation of law to do so.<ref name="adler2011">{{REFjournal
|last=Adler
|first=Peter W.
|init=PW
|author-link=Peter W. Adler
|title=It is lawful to use Medicaid to pay for circumcision?
|journal=Journal of Law and Medicine
|date=2011
|volume=19
|issue=
|pages=335-53
|url=https://www.arclaw.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/is-it-lawful-to-use-medicaid-to-pay-for-circumcision.pdf
|quote=
|accessdate=2021-10-05
}}</ref>

W. K. C. Morgan, a Canadian medical doctor, then on the faculty of the {{UNI|University of Maryland|UMD}} [https://www.medschool.umaryland.edu/ School of Medicine], in a highly critcal letter pubished by ''JAMA'' (1965), slammed the practice of non-therapeutic circumcision of boys as it had developed in the United States.<ref>{{REFjournal
|last=Morgan
|first=
|init=WKC
|author-link=
|etal=no
|title=The rape of the phallus
|journal=JAMA
|location=
|date=1965-07-19
|volume=193
|issue=
|article=
|pages=223-4
|url=http://www.cirp.org/library/general/morgan/
|pubmedID=14310332
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=jama.1965.03090030045013
|accessdate=2021-10-05
}}</ref>

Preston (1970) considered the matter of infant [[circumcision]]. He examined and debunked claims that male circumcision could prevent cancer of the [[cervix]] in women, cancer of the [[penis]] and cancer of the prostate in men. Preston concluded:

<blockquote>Routine circumcision of the newborn is an unnecessary procedure. It provides questionable benefits and is associated with a small but definite incidence of complications and hazards. These risks are preventable if the operation is not performed unless truly medically indicated. Circumcision of the newborn is a procedure that should no longer be considered routine.<ref>{{REFjournal
|last=Preston
|first=E. Noel
|init=
|author-link=
||etal=no
|title=Whither the foreskin? A consideration of routine neonatal circumcision.
|journal=JAMA
|location=
|date=1970-09-14
|volume=213
|issue=11
|article=
|pages=1853-8
|url=http://www.cirp.org/library/general/preston/
|pubmedID=5468911
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=10.1001/jama.213.11.1853
|accessdate=2021-10-05
}}</ref></blockquote>

Preston's paper elicited a response from C. J. Falliers, {{MD}}, (1970) who cited the "sensory pleasure induced by tactile stimulation of the foreskin."<ref name="falliers1970">{{REFjournal
|last=Falliers
|first=
|init=CJ
|author-link=
|etal=
|title=Circumcision (letter)
|journal=JAMA
|location=
|date=1970-12-21
|volume=214
|issue=12
|article=
|page=2194
|url=http://www.cirp.org/library/general/falliers1/
|accessdate=2021-10-05
}}</ref>

[[Abraham Ravich]] (1971) falsely claims that circumcision prevents cancer of the bladder and the rectum.<ref name="ravich1971">{{Ravich1971}}</ref>

Laumann et al. reported an incidence of newborn circumcision of 78 percent in 1971.

The [[American Academy of Pediatrics]] (AAP) is not an "academy" at all. It is a [[medical trade association]] that protects and advances the business and financial interests of its pediatrician "fellows". Influenced by Preston's paper, the AAP published a manual on the hospital care of newborn infants in 1971. The manual included the statement:
<blockquote>
There are no valid medical indications for circumcision in the neonatal period.<ref>{{REFbook
|year=1971
|title=Standards and Recommendation for Hospital Care of Newborn infants
|url=http://www.cirp.org/library/statements/aap/#a1971
|page=110
|location=Evanston, {{USSC|IL}}
|publisher=American Academy of Pediatrics
|isbn=
|accessdate=2021-10-05
}}</ref>
</blockquote>

====Fourth quarter====
The statement in the 1971 manual was good medical science, then and now, but it did not sit well with the membership of the AAP because it provided no basis on which to promote non-therapeutic circumcision for profit. A four-member "ad hoc" task force was formed to produce a new statement to 'walk-back' the earlier statement to fit the desires of the membership, which was published in ''Pediatrics'' in 1975.<ref name="aap1975">{{REFjournal
|last=Thompson
|first=
|init=HC
|author-link=
|last2=King
|first2=
|init2=LR
|author2-link=
|last3=Knox
|first3=
|init3=E
|author3-link=
|last4=Korones
|first4=
|init4=SH
|author4-link=
|etal=no
|title=Report of the Ad Hoc Task Force on Circumcision
|journal=Pediatrics
|location=
|date=1975-10
|volume=56
|issue=3
|article=
|page=
|pages=610-11
|url=http://www.cirp.org/library/statements/aap/#a1975
|pubmedID=1174384
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=
|accessdate=2021-10-06
}}</ref> The new statement had not a single citation of any other document. While it recognized the validity of the 1971 statement, It claimed without any basis that parents had a right to circumcise a newborn infant boy for "traditional, cultural, and religious factors".<ref name="aap1975" />

The statement falsely claimed facilitation of hygiene, prevention of [[phimosis]], and prevention of [[penile cancer]] as reasons that parents may elect non-therapeutic infant circumcision.<ref name="aap1975" />

The statement expressed no concern for the [[pain]] and [[trauma]] of circumcision, nor did it provide information on the functions and value of the [[foreskin]] nor did it recognize the child as a person with domestic and international rights to self-determination and [[physical integrity]]. The statement carefully avoided recommending [[circumcision]] and placed the responsibility for the certain [[amputation]] injury on the parents rather than on the attending physician.<ref name="aap1975" />

The 1975 statement served as the AAP's position statement until 1989.

The AAP supplemented the 1975 statement in 1977 by stating:
<blockquote>There are no medical indications for [[Routine Infant Circumcision|routine circumcisions]], and the procedure cannot be considered an essential component of health care. If an infant is circumcised, the procedure must be delayed until the infant is at least 24 hours old and stable, without [[bleeding]] tendency or any other illness. Circumcision must never be done at time of delivery.<ref>{{REFbook
|year=1977
|title=Standards and Recommendations for Hospital Care of Newborn Infants. Sixth Edition
|url=http://www.cirp.org/library/statements/aap/#a1977
|pages=66-7
|location=Evanston, {{USSC|IL}}
|publisher=American Academy of Pediatrics
|isbn=
|accessdate=2021-10-05
}}</ref>
</blockquote>

Infant circumcision traditionally had been carried out without any kind of anesthesia or analgesia because of the false belief that infants could not feel [[pain]]. Researchers started to investigate the [[Pain| pain of circumcision]] in the 1970s.

The American Cancer Society estimated that there are about 460 deaths per year in the United States from penile cancer.<ref>{{REFweb
|url=https://www.cancer.org/cancer/penile-cancer/about/key-statistics.html
|title=Key Statistics for Penile Cancer
|last=
|first=
|date=2021-01-12
|accessdate=2021-10-17
}}</ref> Sidney S. Gellis, {{MD}} (1978) estimated that the number of deaths from infant circumcision exceeded the number of deaths from [[penile cancer]].<ref name="gellis1978">{{REFjournal
|last=Gellis
|first=
|init=
|author-link=
|etal=no
|title=Circumcision
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal=Am J Dis Child
|location=
|date=1978-12
|volume=132
|issue=
|article=
|page=
|pages=1168-9
|url=http://www.cirp.org/library/general/gellis1/
|pubmedID=717329
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=10.1001/archpedi.1978.02120370016003
|accessdate=2021-10-17
}}</ref>

David Grimes, {{MD}}, (1978), recognized the increasing controversy regarding the practice of non-therapeutic infant [[circumcision]]. Grimes discussed several concerns including:

* Irrational patient selection.
* Lack of information prior to consent.
* Pain and anesthesia management.
* Improper surgical objectives.
* Lack of cost-effectiveness.<ref name="grimes1978">{{REFjournal
|last=Grimes
|first=David
|init=
|author-link=
|etal=no
|title=Routine circumcision of the newborn: a reappraisal
|journal=Am J Obstet Gynecol
|location=
|date=1978-01-15
|volume=130
|issue=2
|article=
|pages=125-9
|url=http://www.cirp.org/library/general/grimes/
|pubmedID=413435
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=10.1016/0002-9378(78)90353-8
|accessdate=2021-10-05
}}</ref>

Grimes concluded:
<blockquote> However, until the benefits of [[Routine Infant Circumcision| routine circumcision]] of the neonate can be proved worth the risk and cost, medical resources probably should be allocated to measures of demonstrated value.<ref name="grimes1978" />
</blockquote>
The American circumcision industry appears to have totally ignored Grimes' concerns.

It was at about this time that several small organizations that opposed non-therapeutic circumcision of boys started to appear. They were the first [[intactivists]], although that word had not yet been coined. One such organization was the Remain Intact Organization of Larchwood, Iowa, which was lead by Rev. [[George Zangger| Russell George Zangger]]. From the 1970s to the 1990s Zangger sent out cards with New Testament quotations that said the outward sign of circumcision is of no value. [[Jeffrey R. Wood]] formed [[INTACT Educational Foundation| INTACT]] (Infants Need to Avoid Circumcision [[Trauma]]), founded in 1976 as a local resource serving Western Massachusetts, and "Dedicated to Preserving Freedom of Choice." The organization gained recognition and had members across the nation.

Boczko & Freed (1979) collected cases of [[penile cancer]] in [[circumcised]] men and by so doing, disproved the false belief propagated since 1932 by [[Abraham L. Wolbarst]] that circumcision was protective against penile cancer.<ref name="boczko1979">{{REFjournal
|last=Boczo
|first=Stanley
|init=
|author-link=
|last2=Freed
|first2=Selwyn
|init2=
|author2-link=
|etal=no
|title=Penile carcinoma in circumcised males
|journal=N Y State J Med
|location=
|date=1979-11
|volume=79
|issue=12
|article=
|pages=1903-4
|url=http://www.cirp.org/library/disease/cancer/boczko/
|pubmedID=292845
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=
|accessdate=2021-10-07
}}</ref>

Robert Leon Baker, {{MD}} (1979) estimated 229 [[Death| deaths]] per year in the United States from circumcision complications.<ref name="baker1979">{{REFjournal
|last=Baker
|first=Robert L.
|init=
|author-link=
|etal=no
|title=Newborn male circumcision: needless and dangerous
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal=Sexual Medicine Today
|location=
|date=1979
|volume=3
|issue=11
|article=
|pages=35-6
|url=http://www.cirp.org/library/general/baker1/
|accessdate=2021-10-17
}}</ref>

[[Edward Wallerstein]] (1980) published his book, ''[[Circumcision: An American Health Fallacy]]''.<ref name="wallerstein1980">{{WallersteinE 1980}}</ref>

Bollinger (2017) reported the incidence of infant non-therapeutic circumcision peaked at about 85 percent of all infant boys in 1982.<ref name="bollinger2017">{{REFweb
|url=https://www.academia.edu/23494197/Infant_Male_Genital_Cutting_Incidence_Worldwide
|title=Infant male genital cutting incidence worldwide
|last=Bollinger
|first=Dan
|author-link=Dan Bollinger
|publisher=Academia
|website=
|date=2017-05-19
|accessdate=2021-10-27
|format=PDF
|quote=
}}</ref>

[[John A. Erickson]] (1982) started to work individually to advance [[genital integrity]].

Professor Lowell R. King (1982), who had been a member of the 1975 "ad hoc" task force on circumcision of the AAP, felt compelled to defend the reasoning of the task force.<ref name="king1982">{{REFjournal
|last=King
|first=Lowell R.
|init=
|author-link=
|etal=no
|title=Neonatal circumcision in the United States in 1982
|journal=J Urol
|location=
|date=1982-11
|volume=128
|issue=5
|article=
|pages=1135-6
|url=http://www.cirp.org/library/general/king1982/
|pubmedID=7176044
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=10.1016/s0022-5347(17)53361-3
|accessdate=2021-10-11
}}</ref>

[[BUFF| Brothers United for Future Foreskins]] (1982) revived the practice of [[epispasm]] (non-surgical [[foreskin restoration]]) that had not been praticed since antiquity.

[[Marilyn Fayre Milos]], {{RN}}, while a nursing student at [https://www.mymarinhealth.org/locations/medical-center/ Marin General Hospital], witnessed an unanesthetized circumcision of a newborn boy in 1979. Shocked by the extreme [[pain]] and horror of it, she became an opponent of infant circumcision and was forced to resign in 1985 from her nursing position at Marin General Hospital where infant non-therapeutic circumcision is a profit center and promoted to parents. She immediately created the National Organization of Circumcision Information Resource Centers ([[NOCIRC]]) in 1985.

[[Rosemary Romberg]] (1985) published Circumcision: The Painful Dilemma.

[[Edward Wallerstein]] (1985) pointed out that the American way of practicing non-religious circumcision of boys is without parallel anywhere else in the world.<ref>{{REFjournal
|last=Wallerstein
|first=Edward
|init=
|author-link=Edward Wallerstein
|etal=no
|title=Is Nonreligious Circumcision Necessary?
|journal=Urol Clin North Am
|location=
|date=1985-05
|volume=12
|issue=1
|pages=123-32
|url=http://www.cirp.org/library/general/wallerstein/
|quote=
|pubmedID=
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=
|accessdate=2021-10-06
}}</ref>

American lawyer William E. Brigman (1985) used new medical evidence to argue that circumcision is child abuse, and discussed possible legal remedies. Recent medical articles have documented the actual injury of circumcision, to make it possible for an attorney to win damages for wrongful circumcision, he said. Brigman suggested civil rights class action suits against hospitals.<ref name="brigman1985">{{REFjournal
|last=Brigman
|first=William E.
|init=WE
|author-link=
|title=Circumcision as Child Abuse: The Legal and Constitutional Issues
|journal=J Fam Law
|date=1985
|volume=23
|issue=3
|page=337
|url=http://www.cirp.org/library/legal/brigman/
|accessdate=2021-10-07
}}</ref>

Anand & Hickey (1987) published a paper in the ''New England Journal of Medicine'' that conclusively proved that newborn infants are capable of feeling [[pain]]. After publication of this landmark paper, no doubt about the existence of pain sensation in infants remained. The article stated:
<blockquote>
Numerous lines of evidence suggest that even in the human [[fetus]], pain pathways as well as cortical and subcortical centers necessary for pain perception are well developed late in gestation, and the neurochemical systems now known to be associated with pain transmission and modulation are intact and functional. Physiologic responses to painful stimuli have been well documented in neonates of various gestational ages and are reflected in hormonal, metabolic, and cardiorespiratory changes similar to but greater than those observed in adult subjects. Other responses in newborn infants are suggestive of integrated emotional and behavioral responses to pain and are retained in memory long enough to modify subsequent behavior patterns.<ref name="anand1987">{{REFjournal
|last=Anand
|init=KJS
|author-link=
|last2=Hickey
|init2=PR
|author2-link=
|etal=yes
|title=Pain and its effects in the human neonate and fetus
|journal=N Engl J Med
|location=
|date=1987-11-19
|volume=317
|issue=21
|pages=1321-9
|url=http://www.cirp.org/library/pain/anand/
|pubmedID=3317037
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=10.1056/NEJM198711193172105
|accessdate=2021-10-07
}}</ref>
</blockquote>

[[NOCIRC]] sponsored the [[First International Symposium]] on Circumcision which was held in Anaheim, California, USA on 1-3 March 1989.

The July/August 1989 edition of [[The Truth Seeker]] was dedicated to circumcision. It featured the core proceedings from the First International Symposium.

The [[American Academy of Pediatrics]]' 1975 circumcision promotional statement<ref name="aap1975" /> was now getting long in the tooth so a newer statement was desired. The AAP appointed the late [[Edgar J. Schoen]], {{MD}}, of Oakland, California, who had written a humorous poem about circumcision as the chairman of a new task force on circumcision. The task force had six members of whom five (83%), including Schoen, were believed to be Jewish, although Jews constitute only 1.9 percent of the population.

Schoen's task force produced the AAP's [[American_Academy_of_Pediatrics#Third_policy_.281989.29| third circumcision policy statement]] which was published in ''Pediatrics'' in November 1979.<ref name="aap1989">{{REFjournal
|last=Schoen
|first=Edgar J.
|init=EJ
|author-link=Edgar J. Schoen
|last2=Anderson
|first2=Glenn
|init2=G
|author2-link=
|last3=Bohon
|first3=Constance
|init3=C
|author3-link=
|last4=Hinman
|first4=Frank
|init4=F
|author4-link=
|last5=Poland
|first5=Ronald
|init5=R
|author5-link=
|last6=Wakeman
|first6=E. Maurice
|init6=EM
|author6-link=
|etal=no
|title=Report of the Task Force of Circumcision.
|journal=Pediatrics
|location=
|date=1989-11
|volume=84
|issue=4
|pages=388-91
|url=http://www.cirp.org/library/statements/aap/#a1989
|pubmedID=2664697
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=
|accessdate=2021-10-10
}}</ref>

The statement, which was intended to promote the practice of non-therapeutic circumcision for the benefit of the fellows of the AAP, had a high degree of [[bias]] and had many serious deficiences. Some more notable deficiences included:

* failure to recognize the child as a person with legal rights to bodily integrity.
* failure to provide information on the nature and functions of the human [[foreskin]].
* failure to call for analgesia to ease the intense [[pain]] of the [[amputation]].
* inclusion of [[Thomas E. Wiswell]]'s methodologically-flawed papers on [[urinary tract infection]] (UTI).
* failure to inform parents that UTI is properly treated with antibiotics.
* use of the misleading word ''potential'' to describe speculative medical benefits that do not actually exist.
* attempting to shift responsibility for the performance of an injurious and harmful [[amputation]] from the medical operator to the parents.

The advocacy of [[circumcision]] to prevent [[UTI]] spurred a debate in the medical literature until the AAP published a new statement in 1999 that softened the claims.

[[Charles A. Bonner|Bonner]] & Kinane (1989) discussed the legal and constitutional issues of non-therapeutic male circumcision under United States and California law.<ref name="bonner1989">{{REFjournal
|last=Bonner
|first=Charles
|init=C
|author-link=Charles A. Bonner
|last2=Kinane
|first2=Michael
|init2=M
|author2-link=
|title=The Legal and Constitutional Issues
|journal=The Truth Seeker
|date=1989-07
|url=http://www.noharmm.org/bonner.htm
|accessdate=2021-10-10
}}</ref>

Professor Ronald Poland (1990), who had served on the task force with [[Edgar J. Schoen]] that produced the 1989 AAP Circumcision Policy Statement, strongly objected to the use of methodologically flawed UTI studies. Professor Poland concluded that infant non-therapeutic circumcision should not be "a part of routine medical care."<ref name="poland1990">{{REFjournal
|last=Poland
|first=Ronald L.
|init=
|author-link=
|etal=no
|title=The question of routine neonatal circumcision
|journal=N Eng J Med
|location=
|date=1990-05-03
|volume=322
|issue=18
|article=
|pages=1312-5
|url=http://www.cirp.org/library/general/poland/
|pubmedID=2183058
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=10.1056/NEJM199005033221811
|accessdate=2021-10-11
}}</ref>

The [[Second International Symposium]] on Circumcision convened at the Hotel Kabuki in San Francisco, California, USA on April 30 through May 3, 1991.

[[Ronald Goldman]], {{PhD}}, founded the [[Circumcision Resource Center]] in 1991.

[[Tim Hammond]] organized the [http://www.noharmm.org/ National Organization to Halt the Abuse and Routine Mutilation of Males] in 1992.

[[John A. Erickson]] (1992) self-published ''Making America Safe for Foreskins''<ref> {{REFbook
|last=Erickson
|first=John A.
|init=JA
|author-link=John A. Erickson
|title=Making America Safe for Foreskins
|publisher=Self-published (42 page pamphlet)
|location=Biloxi, Mississippi
|date=1992-01
}}</ref>

Lynn E. Lebit (1992) discussed issues with the substituted judgment doctrine.<ref name="lebit1992">{{REFjournal
|last=Lebit
|first=Lynn E.
|init=LE
|author-link=
|etal=no
|title=Compelled Medical Procedures Involving Minors and Incompetents and Misapplication of the Substituted Judgment Doctrine
|journal=Journal of Law and Medicine
|location=
|date=1992
|volume=7
|issue=
|page=107
|url=http://engagedscholarship.csuohio.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1304&context=jlh
|pubmedID=11659623
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=
|accessdate=2021-10-10
}}</ref>

Professor [[George C. Denniston]], {{MD}}, {{MPH}}, explained some [[Foreskin#Physiological_functions| functions of the foreskin]], said circumcision was both unnecessary and harmful because of the deprivation of functions, so should not be performed.<ref name-"denniston1992">
{{REFjournal
|last=Denniston
|first=George C.
|init=
|author-link=George C. Denniston
|etal=no
|title=Unnecessary Circumcision
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal=Female Patient
|location=
|date=1992-07
|volume=17
|issue=
|article=
|pages=13-4
|url=
|accessdate=
}}</ref>

The [[Third International Symposium]] on Circumcision convened at the {{UNI|University of Maryland|UMD}}, College Park, {{USSC|MD}}, USA on 23-25 May 1994.

Professor [[George C. Denniston]], {{MD}}, {{MPH}}, organized [[Doctors Opposing Circumcision (D.O.C.)]] in 1995.

Three registered nurses in Santa Fe, {{USSC|NM}}, who conscientiously objected to assisting with foreskin [[amputation]] operations, formed [[Nurses for the Rights of the Child]] in 1995.

A group of [[intactivist]]s assembled at Evanston, {{USSC|IL}} in 1996 for a meeting and then protested and demonstrated before the AAP convention in nearby Chicago.

[[John A. Erickson]] (1996) self-published ''Deeper into Circumcision: A Invitation to Awareness'' (196 pages).<ref name="erickson1996">{{REFbook
|last=Erickson
|first=John A.
|init=JA
|author-link=John A. Erickson
|year=1996
|title=Deeper into Circumcision: An Invitation to Awareness
|url=http://www.foreskin.org/je-dic.htm
|publisher=Self-published (196 page pamphlet)
|location=Biloxi, Mississippi
}}</ref>

[[Geoffrey T. Falk]] created the [http://www.cirp.org/ Circumcision Information and Resources Pages] in 1996 to take advantage of the newly-available Internet.

[[Ronald Goldman]], Ph.D., (1997) conducted a thorough review of the effect of the American practice of [[child circumcision]] on American society.<ref name="goldman1997">{{REFbook
|last=Goldman
|first=Ronald
|year=1997
|title=Circumcision: The Hidden Trauma
|url=https://circumcision.org/circumcision-the-hidden-trauma/
|chapter=7. The impact of circumcision on American society
|pages=139-75
|location=Boston
|publisher=Vanguard
|ISBN=0-9644895-3-8
|accessdate=2026-07-15
}}</ref>

Ross Povenmire (1998) questioned the authority of parents to grant consent for non-therapeutic circumcision of children.<ref name="povenmire1998">{{REFjournal
|last=Povenmire
|init=R
|author-link=
|last2=
|init2=
|author2-link=
|url=http://www.cirp.org/library/legal/povenmire/
|title=Do Parents Have the Legal Authority to Consent to the Surgical Amputation of Normal, Healthy Tissue From Their Infant Children?: The Practice of Circumcision in the United States
|journal=Journal of Gender, Social Policy & the Law
|date=1998
|volume=7
|issue=
|page=87
|accessdate=2021-10-14
}}</ref>

[[Christopher Fletcher]], M.D., (1998) conducted a survey of doctors in the United States who perform non-therapeutic circumcision of boys. Dr. Fletcher concluded his report in part:
<blockquote>
This study reveals that, across the country, American specialties that perform circumcisions are ignorant of the medical facts regarding the penile foreskin and in conjunction with hospitals and misinformed patients, attempt to justify and rationalise newborn male circumcision. In many cases, despite personal beliefs that circumcision is more harmful than beneficial, some physicians are unwilling to give up their participation in this almost uniquely American custom which many of them have personally experienced as infants.<ref name="fletcher1998!>{{REFbook
|last=Fletcher
|first=Christopher R.
|init=CR
|url=https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-0-585-39937-9_19
|chapter=[https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-0-585-39937-9_19 Circumcision in America in 1998: Attitudes, Beliefs and Charges of American Physicians]
|publisher=Kluwer/Plenum
|title=Male and Female Circumcision
|pages=259-71
|editors=George C. Denniston, Frederick Mansfield Hodges, Marilyn Fayre Milos
|year=1998
|accessdate=2021-10-21
}}</ref>
</blockquote>
The American Academy of Pediatrics had been acutely embarrassed by the faults of [[Edgar J. Schoen]]'s [http://www.cirp.org/library/statements/aap/#a1989 horrific circumcision policy statement], so a new task force was convened under the direction of Carole Marie Lannon, {{MD}}, {{MPH}}, to produce a new, more appropriate, and less embarrassing policy statement on non-therapeutic child circumcision. The new task force produced the [[American_Academy_of_Pediatrics#Fourth_policy_.281999.29|Fourth Circumcision Policy Statement]].<ref name="aap1999">{{REFjournal
|last=Lannon
|first=Carole Marie
|init=CM
|author-link=
|last2=Bailey
|first2=Ann Geryl Doll
|init2=AGD
|author2-link=
|last3=Fleishman
|first3=Alan R.
|init3=AR
|author3-link=
|last4=Kaplan
|first4=George W.
|init4=GW
|author4-link=George W. Kaplan
|last5=Shoemaker
|first5=Craig T.
|init5=CT
|author5-link=
|last6=Swanson
|first6=Jack T.
|init6=JT
|author6-link=
|last7=Coustan
|first7=Donald
|init7=D
|author7-link=
|etal=no
|title=Circumcision Policy Statement
|journal=Pediatrics
|location=
|date=1999-09
|volume=103
|issue=3
|article=
|pages=686-93
|url=http://www.cirp.org/library/statements/aap1999/
|pubmedID= 22926180
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=10.1542/peds.2012-1989
|accessdate=2021-10-10
}}</ref> The 1999 circumcision statement advocated analgesia for pain relief of the extreme circumcision [pain], admitted that the [[foreskin]] contains [[Ridged band| nerves]], softened the claims made for [[UTI]] prevention, recognized the effectiveness of breastfeeding at reducing UTI in infants and declared non-therapeutic infant circumcision to be an ''elective'' surgical procedure. Other than that, it shared the much the same faults as the 1989 statement.

Rhinehart (1999) was a practicing psychiatrist who described his patients later-life problems stemming from the psychic [[trauma]] of their neonatal [[circumcision]].<ref name="rhinehart1999">{{REFjournal
|last=Rhinehart
|first=John W.
|init=JW
|author-link=
|etal=no
|title=Neonatal Circumcision Reconsidered
|journal=Transactional Analysis Journal
|location=
|date=1999-07
|volume=29
|issue=3
|pages=215-21
|url=http://www.cirp.org/library/psych/rhinehart1/
|quote=
|pubmedID=
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=10.
|accessdate=2021-10-14
}}</ref>

===Late twentieth century history video===
 
<youtube>o25MjZsmvGY</youtube>
 

===Early twenty-first century===
====First Quarter====
The twenty-first century has been characterized by greater opposition to non-therapeutic circumcision of boys in the general population, the utter failure of the circumcision industry's vaunted new circumcision policy, and much more attention to legal and ethical issues relating to non-therapeutic circumcision of boys.

Giannetti (2000) argued that scientific misconduct in the [[American Academy of Pediatrics]] circumcision policy statements should expose the AAP to trade association liability.<ref name="gianetti2000">{{REFjournal
|last=Giannetti
|first=Matthew
|init=M
|author-link=
|title=Circumcision and the American Academy of Pediatrics: Should Scientific Misconduct Result in Trade Association Liability
|journal=Iowa Law Rev
|date=2000
|volume=85
|issue=4
|pages=1507-68
|url=https://www.doctorsopposingcircumcision.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/Gianetti-AAP-Misconduct-Trade-Assn-Iowa-Law-Rev-2000.pdf
|accessdate=2020-05-09
}}</ref>

[[J. Steven Svoboda|Svoboda]], [[Robert S. Van Howe|Van Howe]] & [[James G. Dwyer|Dwyer]] (2000) discussed legal issues inherent with consent for non-therapeutic circumcision of boys.<ref name="svoboda2000">{{REFjournal
|last=Svoboda
|first=J. Steven
|init=JS
|author-link=J. Steven Svoboda
|last2=Van Howe
|first2=Robert S.
|init2=RS
|author2-link=Robert S. Van Howe
|last3=Dwyer
|first3=James G.
|init3=JG
|author3-link=James G. Dwyer
|etal=no
|title=Informed Consent for Neonatal Circumcision: An Ethical and Legal Conundrum
|journal=J Contemporary Health Law Policy
|location=
|date=2000-09
|volume=17
|issue=1
|pages=61-133
|url=https://scholarship.law.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1255&context=jchlp
|pubmedID=11216345
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=
|accessdate=2021-10-11
}}</ref>

[[J. Steven Svoboda]] (2001) discussed the limits of the law.<ref name="svoboda2001">{{REFbook
|last=Svoboda
|first=J. Steven
|init=JS
|author-link=J. Steven Svoboda
|year=2001
|title=Limits of the law: Comparative analysis of legal and extralegal methods.
|url=https://www.arclaw.org/wp-content/uploads/Limits-of-the-Law-Comparative-Analysis-of-Legal-and-Extralegal-Methods.pdf
|work=Understanding Circumcision: A Multi-Disciplinary Approach to a Multi-Dimensional Problem
|editor=[[George C. Denniston]], [[Frederick M. Hodges]], and [[Marilyn Fayre Milos]]
|edition=
|volume=
|chapter=
|pages=297-365
|location=
|publisher=Springer
|isbn=978-1-4419-3375-1.
|quote=
|accessdate=2021-10-11
|note=
}}</ref>

[[Geoffrey P. Miller]] (2002) discussed the impact of American culture on the law of circumcision.<ref name="miller2002">{{REFjournal
|last=Miller
|first=Geoffrey P.
|init=GP
|author-link=
|title=Circumcision: Cultural-Legal Analysis
|journal=Virginia Journal of Social Policy & the Law.
|date=2002-3
|volume=9
|issue=
|pages=497-585
|url=http://www.cirp.org/library/legal/miller1/
|accessdate=2020-07-29
}}</ref>

[[George Hill]] (2003) questioned the authority of anyone to grant consent for the non-therapeutic alteration of a child's body.<ref name="hill2010">{{REFjournal
|last=Hill
|first=George
|init=
|author-link=George Hill
|etal=no
|title=Can Anyone Authorize the Nontherapeutic Permanent Alteration of a Child's Body?
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal=Am J Bioeth
|location=
|date=2003-03
|volume=3
|issue=2
|article=
|page=W6
|url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1162/152651603766436342
|pubmedID=14635628
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=10.1162/152651603766436342
|accessdate=2021-10-14
}}</ref>

[[Petrina Fadel]] founded [[Catholics Against Circumcision]].

Thomas et al. (2004) studied the incidence of [[HIV]] in circumcision and intact men in a United States Navy population. A slightly higher incidence of [[HIV]] infection was found in circumcised men (84.9%) as compared with intact men (81.8%). The authors concluded:
<blockquote>
Although there may be other medical or cultural reasons for male circumcision, it is not associated with [[HIV]] or STI prevention in this U.S. military population.<ref name="thomas2004">Thomas AG, Bakhireva LN, Brodine SK, Shaffer RA. [http://www.cirp.org/library/disease/HIV/thomas1/ Prevalence of male circumcision and its association with [[HIV]] and sexually transmitted infections in a U.S. Navy population]. Abstract no. TuPeC4861. Presented at the XV International [[AIDS]] Conference, Bangkok, Thailand, July 11-16, 2004.</ref>
</blockquote>

[[Saving Our Sons (SoS)]], an [[intactivist]] organization, commenced operations online in 2007.

[[Dr. Momma - peaceful parenting]], an [[intactivist]] organization, started in 2007.

[[Doctors Opposing Circumcision (D.O.C.)]] included this commentary on the law of circumcision of boys in their June 2008 Genital Integrity Statement. It has since been later amended by another party to include a reference to Adler (2013) that was not available at the time of writing.<ref>{{REFbook
|last=Hill
|first=George
|init=G
|author-link=George Hill
|year=2008
|title=Ch. 10: American Law and the Circumcision of Children
|url=
|work=Genital Integrity Policy
|editor=
|edition=
|volume=
|chapter=
|pages=
|location=Seattle
|publisher=[[Doctors Opposing Circumcision (D.O.C.)]]
|isbn=
|quote=
|accessdate=2021-10-11
|note=
}}</ref>

[[Doctors Opposing Circumcision (D.O.C.)]] issued a Genital Integrity Policy in June 2008.<ref name-"doc2008">{{REFdocument
|title=Genital Integrity Policy
|url=
|contribution=
|last=Hill
|first=George
|author-link=George Hill
|publisher=[[Doctors Opposing Circumcision (D.O.C.)]]
|format=PDF
|date=2008-06
|accessdate=2021-10-11
}}</ref>

[[Georganne Chapin]] founded [[Intact America]] in 2008 with the aid of a grant from Texas philanthropist Dean Pisani.

[[Robert S. Van Howe|Van Howe]] & Svoboda (2008) said of the American practice of medically-unnecessary, non-therapeutic infant circumcision:
<blockquote>
Once all factors are revealed, it
is impossible to consider circumcision a minor issue,
but rather circumcision comes to symbolize one of the
greatest ongoing systemic ethical violations for which
modern medicine has been responsible.<ref name="vanhowe2008">{{REFjournal
|last=Van Howe
|first=Robert S.
|init=RS
|author-link=Robert S. Van Howe
|last2=Svoboda
|first2=J. Steven
|init2=JS
|author2-link=J. Steven Svoboda
|etal=no
|title=Neonatal pain relief and the Helsinki Declaration
|journal=Journal of Law, Medicine, and Ethics
|location=
|date=2008-12
|volume=36
|issue=4
|article=
|pages=803-23
|url=https://www.academia.edu/download/33981944/27_Van_Howe.pdf
|pubmedID=19094008
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=10.1111/j.1748-720X.2008.00339.x
|accessdate=2021-10-31
}}</ref>
</blockquote>

The British journal, ''The Lancet'', published reports of two randomized controlled trials (RCTs) that were carried out in sub-Saharan Africa which purported to prove that male circumcision was protective against infection with [[HIV]]. The [[American Academy of Pediatrics]] consulted with the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists ([[ACOG]]) and the American College of Family Physicians ([[AAFP]]) (those being the [[medical trade association| medical trade associations]] that represent the specialties that perform most non-therapeutic infant circumcisions and make most of the money from the performance of the non-therapeutic [[amputation]]). The three associations determined to make common cause to produce a position statement that would promote male circumcision based on its alleged protection against [[HIV]] infection. The [[AAP]] was to take the lead, but ACOG and AAFP provided representatives to the new [[AAP Circumcision Task Force 2012| AAP task force]], of which New York Jewess [[Susan Blank]], {{MD}}, {{MPH}}, was the chairwoman. This new task force did not publish a statement until 2012. The AAP declined to re-affirm the statement so it expired in August 2017.

[[Dan Bollinger|Bollinger]] (2010) estimated approximately 117 neonatal circumcision-related deaths occur annually in the United States.<ref name="bollinger2010">{{BollingerD 2010}}</ref>

[[Anthony Losquadro]] formed [[Intaction]], an [[intactivist]] organization in 2010.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ([[CDC]]) reported an incidence of newborn circumcision of 58.3 percent in 2010.<ref name="cdc2015">{{REFweb
|url=https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/hestat/circumcision_2013/circumcision_2013.htm
|title=Trends in Circumcision for Male Newborns in U.S. Hospitals: 1979–2010
|publisher=Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
|website=cdc.gov
|date=2015-11-06
|accessdate=2021-10-16
}}</ref>

Professor [[Peter W. Adler]], J. D., (2011) argued that it is unlawful for United States Medicaid to pay for non-therapeutic circumcision.<ref name="adler2011" />

[[Brother K]] formed the [[Bloodstained Men]] in 2012.

The [[AAP]], lead by the [[AAP Circumcision Task Force 2012]], finally published the [[American_Academy_of_Pediatrics#Fifth_policy_.282012.29| fifth circumcision policy statement]] in the September 2012 issue of ''Pediatrics''. The [[American_Academy_of_Pediatrics#Criticism| adverse criticism]] was overwhelming.

[[Dan Bollinger|Bollinger]] (2012) estimated that the total cost of non-therapeutic male circumcision, including hospital costs, repair of botched circumcisions, treatment of complications, and so on is more than $3 billion per year,<ref name="bollinger2012">{{REFweb
|url=https://www.academia.edu/6442587/High_Cost_of_Circumcision_3.6_Billion_Annually
|title=High Cost of Circumcision: $3.6 Billion Annually
|last=Bollinger
|first=Dan
|author-link=Dan Bollinger
|publisher=Academia
|date=2012
|accessdate=2020-11-25
}}</ref> of which the beneficiary is the American circumcision industry.

[[Doctors Opposing Circumcision (D.O.C.)]] (2013) provided evidence that the purpose of the 2012 AAP Circumcision Policy Statement was to get more money for doctors,<ref name="doc2013">{{REFdocument
|title=Commentary on American Academy of Pediatrics 2012 Circumcision Policy Statemeni
|url=https://www.doctorsopposingcircumcision.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/commentary-on-american-academy-of-pediatrics-2012-circumcision-policy-statement.pdf
|contribution=
|last=
|first=
|publisher=[[Doctors Opposing Circumcision (D.O.C.)]]
|format=PDF
|date=2013-04-01
|accessdate=2021-10-21
}}</ref>

Professor [[Peter W. Adler]], {{JD}}, (2013) argued that non-therapeutic circumcision of boys is unlawful.<ref name="adler2013">{{REFjournal
|last=Adler
|first=Peter W.
|init=PW
|author-link=Peter W. Adler
|title=Is circumcision legal?
|journal=Richmond Journal of Law and the Public Interest
|date=2013
|volume=16
|issue=3
|pages=439-86
|url=https://scholarship.richmond.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1265&context=jolpi
|accessdate=2020-05-08
}}</ref>

[[Robert S. Van Howe|Van Howe]] & [[J. Steven Svoboda|Svoboda]] (2013) criticized the 2012 AAP statement because it failed to include important points, inaccurately analyzed and interpreted current medical literature, and made unsupported conclusions.<ref name="vanhowe2013">{{REFjournal
|last=Van Howe
|first=Robert S.
|init=RS
|author-link=Robert S. Van Howe
|last2=Svoboda
|first2=J. Steven
|init2=JS
|author2-link=J. Steven Svoboda
|date=2013-07-01
|title=Out of step: fatal flaws in the latest AAP policy report on neonatal circumcision
|url=https://jme.bmj.com/content/39/7/434
|journal=Journal of Medical Ethics
|language=en
|volume=39
|issue=7
|pages=434-41
|DOI=10.1136/medethics-2013-101346
|issn=0306-6800
|pubmedID=23508208
}}</ref>

[[Jen Williams]] organized [[Your Whole Baby]] in 2014.

The infamous [[Nebus v. Hironimus]] Florida [[circumcision]] case culminated after five years of litigation with Florida Family Court Judge [[Jeffrey Dana Gillen]] arrested the mother, [[Heather Hironimus]], and forced her to sign a consent for harmful, [[pain| painful]] circumcision in open court while handcuffed.
 
Heather Hironimus signs consent form for circumcision of 4 and 1/2 year old son under extreme duress
<youtube>Btxl4UGBdpc</youtube>

[[Doctors Opposing Circumcision (D.O.C.)]] commissioned a [https://www,doctorsopposingcircumcision.org new website] in 2016.

[[J. Steven Svoboda]] argued against non-therapeutic circumcision.<ref name="svoboda2017">{{REFjournal
|date=2017-08-01
|title=Nontherapeutic Circumcision of Minors as an Ethically Problematic Form of Iatrogenic Injury
|journal=AMA Journal of Ethics
|language=en
|volume=19
|issue=8
|pages=815-24
|DOI=10.1001/journalofethics.2017.19.8.msoc2-1708
|pubmedID=28846521
|issn=2376-6980
|last1=Svoboda
|first1=J.S.
}}</ref> He stated that this decision should be considered in the context of benefit vs risk of harm, rather than simply risk-benefit due to the non-therapeutic nature of the procedure.<ref name="svoboda2017"/> He states that benefits do not outweigh the risks, and also claims that foreskin removal should be considered a sexual harm.<ref name="svoboda2017"/> He also went on to conclude that non-therapeutic circumcision largely violates the physician's duty to respect a patient's autonomy since many procedures take place before a patient is able to freely give consent himself.<ref name="svoboda2017"/>

Reis-Dennis & Reis (2017) asked if physicians should be blamed for harm resulting from unnecessary genital surgeries, including infant circumcision.<ref name="reis-dennis2017">{{REFjournal
|last=Reis-Dennis
|first=
|init=
|author-link=
|last2=Reis
|first2=
|init2=
|author2-link=
|etal=no
|title=Are Physicians Blameworthy for Iatrogenic Harm Resulting from Unnecessary Genital Surgeries?
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal=AMA Journal of Ethics
|location=
|date=2017
|volume=19
|issue=8
|article=
|pages=825-33
|url=
|pubmedID=28846522
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=10.1001/journalofethics.2017.19.8.msoc3-1708
|accessdate=2021-10-14
}}</ref>

The ill-fated, embarrassing 2012 [[AAP]] Circumcision Policy Statement expired on August 31, 2017 in accordance with AAP policy, because it was not reaffirmed. The AAP has had ''no'' official circumcision policy since that time.

[[Doctors Opposing Circumcision]] released a special report on circumcision for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.<ref name="doc2019">{{REFdocument
|title=Male Circumcision: A special report to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
|url=https://pool.intactiwiki.org/w/images/Male_Circumcision_DOC_2019-02-01.pdf
|contribution=
|last=Anonymous
|first=
|publisher=Doctors Opposing Circumcision
|format=PDF
|date=2019-02-01
|accessdate=2025-12-08
}}</ref>

[[Dan Bollinger|Bollinger]] (2019) discussed circumcision as an adverse childhood experience,<ref name-"bollinger2019">{{REFdocument
|title=Child genital cutting as an adverse childhood experience
|url=http://adversechildhoodexperiences.net/CGC_as_an_ACE.pdf
|last=Bollinger
|first=Dan
|author-link=Dan Bollinger
|last2=Chapin
|first2=Georganne
|author2-link=Georganne Chapin
|publisher=Intact America
|location=Tarrytown
|format=PDF
|date=2019-08
|accessdate=2021-04-02
}}</ref>

[[Peter W. Adler|Adler]], [[Robert S. Van Howe|Van Howe]], Wisdom & Daase (2020) examined male non-therapeutic circumcision as fraud.<ref name="adler2020">{{REFjournal
|last=Adler
|first=Peter W.
|init=PW
|author-link=Peter W. Adler
|last2=Van Howe
|first2=Robert S.
|init2=RS
|author2-link=Robert S. Van Howe
|last3=Wisdom
|first3=Travis
|init3=T
|author3-link=
|last4=Daase
|first4=Felix
|init4=F
|author4-link=Felix Daase
|etal=no
|title=Is circumcision a fraud?
|journal=Cornell Journal of Law and Public Policy
|location=
|date=2020-11
|volume=30
|issue=1
|pages=45-107
|url=https://www.lawschool.cornell.edu/research/JLPP/upload/Adler-et-al-final.pdf
}}
</ref>

Adler & Daase (2020) reviewed the American debate on non-therapeutic child circumcision for a French-speaking audience.<ref name="adlerB2020>{{REFjournal
|last=Adler
|first=Peter W.
|init=PW
|author-link=Peter W. Adler
|last2=Daase
|first2=Felix
|init2=F
|author2-link=Felix Daase
|etal=no
|title=Actualié du débat sur la circoncision aux États-Unis: Is the Circumcision Debate Over?
|journal=Droit et Cultures
|location=
|date=2020
|volume=79
|issue=1
|pages=207-22
|url=https://journals.openedition.org/droitcultures/6276?lang=en
|accessdate=2021-06-19
}}</ref>

[[Ronald Goldman]] led a group of Massachusetts taxpayers who filed a suit against [https://www.mass.gov/topics/masshealth MassHealth] (Massachusetts Medicaid), which is unlawfully paying for non-therapeutic circumcisions with public funds.<ref>{{REFweb
|url=https://circumcision.org/taxpayers-sue-massachusetts-medicaid-about-circumcisions/
|title=Taxpayers Sue Massachusetts Medicaid About Circumcisions
|first=Ronald
|last=Goldman
|author-link=Ronald Goldman
|publisher=[[Circumcision Resource Center]]
|date=2020-07-22
|accessdate=2021-10-13
}}</ref>

Navia et al. (2020) surveyed the incidence of non-therapeutic neonatal circumcision in four states. The incidence of circumcision in 2016 was found to have declined to 54.5 percent, which translates to an increase in [[genital integrity]] and wholeness rate to 45.5 percent.<ref>{{REFjournal
|last=Navia
|first=Mateo Zambrano
|init=
|author-link=
|last2=Jacobson
|first2=Deborah L.
|init2=
|author2-link=
|last3=Balmert
|first3=Lauren C.
|init3=
|author3-link=
|last4=Rosoklija
|first4=Ilina
|init4=
|author4-link=
|last5=Holl
|first5=Jane L.
|init5=
|author5-link=
|last6=Davis
|first6=Matthew M.
|init6=
|author6-link=
|last7=Johnson
|first7=Emilie K
|init7=
|author7-link=
|etal=no
|title=State-Level Public Insurance Coverage and Neonatal Circumcision Rates
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal=Pediatrics
|location=
|date=2020-11
|volume=146
|issue=5
|article=
|page=e20201475
|url=https://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/146/5/e20201475
|pubmedID=33055226
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=10.1542/peds.2020-1475
|accessdate=2021-10-13
}}</ref>

The Lavine family of New Jersey has brought a lawsuit against a New Jersey practitioner and the [[American Academy of Pediatrics]] that alleges fraud.<ref>{{REFweb
|url=https://www.circumcisionisafraud.com/docket-mer-l-000272-21
|title=Circumcision is a Fraud
|last=
|first=
|accessdate=2021-10-13
}}</ref>

A study by [[Intact America]] (2020) reveals how hospitals pressure mothers into granting consent for unneeded and unwanted injurious non-therapeutic [[circumcision]] of a newborn boy.<ref>{{REFweb
|url=https://www.prweb.com/printer/17552844.htm
|title=Having a Baby Boy? Intact America Warns, ‘Get Ready for the Circumcision Sellers!
|last=Chapin
|first=Georganne
|author-link=Georganne Chapin
|publisher=Intact America
|website=prweb
|date=2020-11-18
|accessdate=2021-10-13
|format=
|quote=
}}</ref> Infant circumcision is a profit center for many American hospitals so parents are pushed to circumcise.

[[Intact America]] (2024) called child circumcision "an outdated practice in desperate need of reevaluation",<ref name="alissa2024-12-16">{{REFweb
|url=https://intactamerica.org/circumcision-reevaluation/
|title=Circumcision: An Outdated Practice in Desperate Need of Re-Evaluation
|last=Alissa
|first=Kristel
|init=
|author-link=
|publisher=Intact America
|date=2024-12-16
|accessdate=2024-12-23
}}</ref> and exposed the propaganda that has promoted the harmful but profitable practice of child circumcision.<ref>{{REFweb
|url=https://intactamerica.org/exposing-circumcision-propaganda/
|title=The Unkindest Cut: Exposing the Propaganda That Normalized Circumcision—and How We Reclaim the Truth
|last=Alissa
|first=Kristel
|init=
|author-link=
|publisher=Intact America
|date=2024-11-19
|accessdate=2024-12-23
}}</ref>

[[Intact America]] (2024) reports a rapid increase in the percentage of Americans who oppose the harmful [[circumcision]] of boys.<ref>{{REFweb
|url=https://www.instagram.com/p/DKVZQGTRl77/?igsh=MWV1aW90MzBpd2dzdA%3D%3D
|title=Opposition to circumcision overtime.
|last=Anonymous
|first=
|init=
|author-link=
|publisher=Intact America
|date=2024
|accessdate=2025-06-01
}}</ref>
[[Intact America]] (2024) is tracking the opposition to [[circumcision]] in the [[United States]]. It reports [https://www.instagram.com/p/DKVZQGTRl77/ steadily increasing opposition] to [[child circumcision]].

[[Eric Clopper]] organized [[Intact Global]] in 2024, which has the goal of litigating in numerous states to ensure that boys will enjoy "the equal protection of the law".

====Second quarter====
[[PEPFAR]] (2025) has scrapped its costly, ineffective, and harmful "voluntary male medical circumcision" ([[VMMC]]) program after 15 years and at least 27,000,000 harmful and useless [[foreskin]] amputations.<ref name="gwarisa2025">{{REFnews
|title=New PEPFAR Waiver Scraps Voluntary Medical Male Circumcision Program
|url=https://healthtimes.co.zw/2025/02/07/new-pepfar-waiver-scraps-voluntary-medical-male-circumcision-program/
|last=Gwarisa
|first=Michael
|init=
|author-link=
|publisher=Healthtimes
|website=
|date=2025-02-07
|accessdate=2025-02-15
|format=
|quote=
}}</ref> Numerous studies have demonstrated that [[adult circumcision]] is not effective in preventing [[HIV]] [[infection]]. Child [[circumcision]] had previously been discontinued.

President Donald J. Trump appointment of [[Robert Francis Kennedy, Jr.]] to be Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services was approved by the United States Senate was ratified by the United States Senate on 13 February 2025. Kennedy wants to reform healthcare in the United States.

Intact Global instituted a suit against the state of Oregon in March 2025.<ref>{{REFdocument
|title=Hadachek et al. v. Oregon Complaint
|url=https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/66119b8c4d0c10f1951590fc/67e6d9785f82dc54c6513cb7_2025-03-28%20-%20Hadachek%20v.%20Oregon%20-%20Amended%20Complaint%20(Conformed).pdf
|contribution=
|last=Clopper
|first=Eric
|publisher=Intact Global
|format=PDF
|date=2025-03-27
|accessdate=2025-04-01
}}</ref> [[Intact Global]] also filed suit against the state of Colorado in June 2026.<ref name="rubane2026">{{REFdocument
|title=Tristan Huff and Adam Schwartz, Plaintiffs, v. The State of Colorado
|trans-title=
|language=
|url=https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/66119b8c4d0c10f195159122/6a3185315bbad632a188ed5f_2026-06-09---Huff-v.-Colorado-Complaint---Equal-Protection-Challenge-(Conformed)---For-Press.pdf
|archived=
|contribution=
|quote=
|trans-quote=
|quote-lang=
|last=RuBane
|first=Thomas F.
|author-link=
|last2=Clopper
|first2=Eric
|author2-link=
|format=PDF
|date=2026-06-09
|accessdate=2026-06-17
}}</ref>

Data Panda has reported the incidence of non-therapeutic circumcision by state on 24 May 2025. The incidence ranged from a low of 10 percent in Washington to a high of 91 percent in West Virginia.<ref>{{REFweb
|url=https://www.datapandas.org/ranking/circumcision-rate-by-state
|title=Circumcision Rate by State
|last=Anonymous
|first=
|init=
|author-link=
|publisher=Data Panda
|date=2025-05-24
|accessdate=2025-09-19
}}</ref>

[[Jake Tran]] has produced a [[This should be a crime| video]] about the practice of [[child circumcision]] in the United States.

In a milestone for [[intactivism]], Microsoft Network (MSN) (2025) reported that the incidence of [[child circumcision]] in the United States has declined below 50 percent, which makes non-circumcision or [[genital integrity]] the new NORM in the United States among newborn boys.<ref name="msn2025">{{REFnews
|title=Less Than Half of U.S. Boys Now Circumcised
|url=https://www.msn.com/en-us/health/other/less-than-half-of-us-boys-now-circumcised/ar-AA1MBjzN
|last=Anonymous
|publisher=Microsoft Network
|website=
|date=2025-09-17
|accessdate=2025-09-29
|quote=From 2012 to 2022, the prevalence of circumcision during hospitalization of male neonates age 0 to 28 days decreased significantly by nearly 5 percentage points, from 54.1% to 49.3%,
}}</ref>

Max Buckler published an article on need to rethink [[child circumcision]].<ref name="buckler2025">{{REFjournal
|last=Buckler
|first=
|init=M
|author-link=
|etal=no
|title=As controversies mount, circumcision policies need a rethink
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal=J Med Ethics
|location=
|date=2025-11-13
|volume=
|issue=
|article=jme-2025-111357
|page=
|pages=
|url=https://www.galdef.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/Buckler-Controversies-rethink-JME-2025.pdf
|archived=
|quote=f trust in the scientific community is to be sustained, scientific institutions must adhere to the highest standards for policy-making, apply ethical guidelines consistently, and demonstrate an eagerness to improve and correct ill thought-out positions.
|pubmedID=41207714
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=10.1136/jme-2025-111357
|accessdate=2026-07-16
}}</ref>

==Government financial support for non-therapeutic circumcision==
The United States government provides [[financial incentive]] for medically-unnecessary, non-therapeutic [[circumcision]] by [[third-party payment]] through numerous government health insurance programs:

* [https://www.medicaid.gov/ Medicaid] — About 45 percent of births are under Medicaid.
* [https://www.healthcare.gov/medicaid-chip/childrens-health-insurance-program/ Child Health Insurance Program (CHIP)] — Covers children whose family income is higher.
* [https://www.ihs.gov/ Indian Health Service] — Covers the indigenous population.
* [https://www.tricare.mil/ Tricare] — Covers military dependents.
* [https://www.benefits.gov/benefit/4440 Federal Employees Health Benefits (FEHB) Program] — Covers federal employees and families.
* [https://www.medicare.gov/ Medicare] − Covers persons who have reached 65 years of age.

==The second term of President Donald J. Trump==
The second term of President Donald J. Trump commenced on 21 January 2025. President Trump has promised far-reaching reforms of the executive branch of the government of the United States. It is not clear at this time (9 February 2025) how this will affect the practice of male [[circumcision]] in the United States. We note that the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief ([[PEPFAR]]) has been paused. The performance of ineffective [[genital mutilation]] (male circumcision) on African males may have stopped.<ref>{{REFnews
|title=Trump's Foreign Aid Freeze
|url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/trump-rubio-pepfar-prep-usaid_n_67a65f98e4b0682fe26ceb1f
|last=Cohn
|first=Jonathan
|init=
|author-link=
|last2=
|init2=
|author2-link=
|publisher=Huffpost
|website=
|date=2025-02-07
|season=
|accessdate=2025-02-09
|format=
|quote=
}}</ref>

== Statistical data ==
The National Center for Health Statistics (2013) reported that the incidence of child [[circumcision]] has been declining for thirty years.<ref>{{REFweb
|url=https://blogs.cdc.gov/nchs/2013/08/22/1667/
|title=Male Newborn Circumcision on a Three Decade Decline
|last=
|first=
|init=
|author-link=
|publisher=National Center for Health Statistics
|date=2013-08-22
|accessdate=2025-01-19
}}</ref>
=== Prevalence of circumcision ===
'''Prevalence of circumcision''' is the percentage of all males of all ages in the population who have been [[circumcised]].

[[Intact America]] carried out a survey in 2022 that claims that 73 percent of all American men were [[circumcised]],<ref>{{REFweb
|url=https://www.intactamerica.org/newsroom-gender-equality/
|title=Intact Facts
|last=
|first=
|init=
|publisher=Intact America
|date=2022
|accessdate=2023-03-29
}}</ref> however no documentation has been provided so it is not clear in what region it was carried out or what age groups were surveyed. The prevalence of [[circumcision]] varies by age, region, race, and religion. On another webpage, [[Intact America]] claims 78 percent are circumcised so Intact America is uncertain of its claims.

Peter Moore (2015) reported that 62 percent of all American males reported being [[circumcised]],<ref name="moore2015">{{REFweb
|url=https://today.yougov.com/topics/lifestyle/articles-reports/2015/02/03/younger-americans-circumcision
|title=Young Americans less supportive of circumcision at birth
|last=Moore
|first=Peter
|date=2015-02-03
|accessdate=2022-02-07
}}</ref> which increases the prevalence of [[intact]] [[foreskin]] to 38 percent of living American males of all ages. This percentage is expected to gradually but constantly decline, while the percentage of males who are [[intact]] due to the declining incidence of newborn boys receiving medically-unnecessary, non-therapeutic [[circumcision]] is expected to increase. The percentage of males with [[intact]] [[foreskin]] is lowest with senior citizens and highest in the youngest age groups.

=== Incidence of circumcision ===
'''Incidence of circumcision''' is the percentage of newborn boys who currently are being [[circumcised]].
====Long-term declining trend====
The incidence of non-therapeutic neonatal [[circumcision]] hit its peak at 85-90 percent in 1965.<ref name="laumann1997" /> It has been slowly declining ever since.

Peter Moore (2015) reported that the incidence of circumcision was 55 percent.<ref name="moore2015"/>

Jacobsen et al. (2021) used data from 2003 through 2016 from the Kid's Inpatient Database of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality to compare [[intact]] with [[circumcised]] boys in the first 28 days of life. The authors reported a gradual declining trend in the incidence of neonatal non-therapeutic [[circumcision]] throughout the study period. The overall incidence of circumcision decreased from 57.4 percent in 2003 to 52.1 percent in 2016 over the 13 year study period or 5.3 percentage points for an average decrease of 0.4 percentage point per year. The authors noted "neonatal circumcision rates decreased significantly over time."<ref name="jacobson2021" />

There was significant variation in the incidence of circumcision by region with the Midwest reporting an incidence of 75 percent (three out of four) for the period, while boys in the West were most likely to preserve their [[foreskin]] as the West reported an incidence of only 25.9 percent or about 1 boy in 4 being [[circumcised]].<ref name="jacobson2021" />

One should also note that the [[American Academy of Pediatrics]] [[medical trade association]] vacated its fraudulent 2012 Circumcision Policy Statement by allowing it to expire in 2017 without being re-affirmed.

[https://150.jhu.edu/ Johns Hopkins University] and the Jewish-funded [https://publichealth.jhu.edu/ Bloomberg School of Public Health] have long been outlier advocates of male [[circumcision]]. However, they (2025) are now reporting that the incidence of circumcision has declined "significantly" between 2012 and 2022. The overall decline was from 54.1% to 49.3% — a decline of 4.8 percentage points or 0.048 precentage points per year. The 4.8 percentage point represents a decline of 8.8 percent (4.8/54.1 = 8.8%)<ref name="yang2025" /> Although the incidence of [[circumcision of the newborn]] has been gradually declining for decades, this is the first study to report an overall incidence of less than fifty percent. Based on this new information, we can now report that [[intactness]] is now the NORM among the newborn boys of America. We note that [[Australia]] reported a significant improvement in child health when the incidence of circumcision declined in that nation.<ref>{{REFweb
|url=https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/children-youth/australias-children-in-brief/summary
|title=Australia’s children: in brief
|last=Anonymous
|first=
|init=
|author-link=
|publisher=Australian Institute of Health and Welfare
|pubmedID=
ISBN=978-1-76054-659-5
|DOI=10.25816/5e152818d082c
|date=2019-12-17
|accessdate=2025-09-17
}}</ref> Any circumcisions performed after the newborn period would not be captured by these statistics.

====Midwest====
The Midwest has been called the 'circumcision capital of America' because of its higher rates of circumcision. Nevertheless, the popularity of circumcision is declining even in the Midwest.

In the Midwest, the incidence of [[circumcision]] has declined to 75 percent, which translates to a [[genital integrity]] rate increase to 25 percent or 1 in 4 boys having an [[intact]] foreskin.<ref name="jacobson2021" /> The previous report from 2010 was one boy in five being intact,<ref name="bollinger2017" /> and before that it was 1 in 10 boys being [[intact]], so this in an increase of 250 percent (0.25/0.10 X 100 = 250%) in the rate of [[Intact| intactness]] for the Midwest. The still high incidence of circumcision in the Midwest is counterbalanced by the low incidence in the West.

=== Intactness is the new norm! ===

[[Intactness]] had previously been shamed in the United States,<ref name="garrett2023-12-21">{{REFweb
|url=https://intactamerica.org/foreskin-phobia-intact-penis-shamed/
|title=Foreskin Phobia: How The Intact Penis Has Been Shamed
|last=Garrett
|first=Connor
|init=
|author-link=Connor Judson Garrett
|publisher=Intact America
|date=2023-12-21
|accessdate=2024-05-15
}}</ref> but that era has ended.

[[Intact America]] called attention to the existence of a "tipping point",<ref>{{REFbook
|last=Gladwell
|first=Malcomb
|init=
|year=2002
|title=The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference
|url=https://www.amazon.com/Tipping-Point-Little-Things-Difference/dp/0316346624?s=books
|scope=
|location=
|publisher=Back Bay Books
|pages=301
|ISBN=SBN-10 0316346624
|accessdate=2025-12-01
}}</ref> when public opinion would shift toward [[intactness]] in 2016.<ref>{{REFweb
|url=https://intactamerica.org/do-you-know-about-the-tipping-point/
|title=Do You Know: About the “Tipping Point?
|last=Chapin
|first=Georganne
|init=
|author-link=Georganne Chapin
|publisher=Intact America
|date=2016-11-01
|accessdate=2024-06-03
}}</ref> Public opinion in the United States in 2024 has now reached that tipping point.

The percentage of American boys being [[circumcised]] has been slowly but progressively declining for a long time, while the number of boys with [[intact]] [[foreskin]] has correspondingly increased.<ref name="jacobson2021" /> The percentage of [[intact]] newborn boys has exceeded the percentage of [[circumcised]] newborn boys since 2022.<ref name="yang2025" />

As the present trend continues, [[intactness]] is becoming the more usual, normal, and expected condition among newborn infant boys in America. The incidence of [[circumcision]] varies geographically so some locations will report higher percentages [[circumcised]].

==Forecast future incidence of child circumcision==

The incidence of harmful, unnecessary, nontherapeutic [[circumcision]] of newborn boys declines at the rate of 0.5 of one percentage point per year or one percentage point every two years.<ref name="yang2025" />

Based on this historical rate of decline and assuming that it continues, we can forecast the future incidence of harmful [[child circumcision]] in the United States to be:

* 2023: 49.2%
* 2024: 48.7%
* 2025: 48.2%
* 2026: 47.7%
* 2027: 47.2%
* 2028: 46.7%
* 2029: 46.2%
* 2030: 45.7%

The declining incidence of [[circumcision]] correlates and coincides with the reported decline in the incidence of murder in the United States.<ref>{{REFnews
|title=U.S. murder rate approaches a record low
|url=https://www.npr.org/2026/06/30/nx-s1-5866810/us-murder-rate-record-low-crime-homicide
|last=Kaste
|first=Martin
|init=
|author-link=
|publisher=National Public Radio
|website=https://www.npr.org/
|date=2026-06-30
|accessdate=2026-06-30
|format=
|quote="The United States almost certainly had the lowest murder rate ever recorded in 2025, with the FBI having data back to 1960," says crime data analyst Jeff Asher. "And the available evidence suggests that we're going to go even lower this year."
}}</ref>

==American [[genital integrity]] organizations==

The United States of America now have numerous [[genital integrity]] ([[intactivist]]) organizations working to promote and encourage the protection of the [[physical integrity]] of American boys.

{{SEEALSO}}
* [[Financial incentive]]
* [[Intact-friendly]]
* [https://en.intactiwiki.org/index.php/Main_Page Home page]
* [[Living with a foreskin in circumcised America]]
{{LINKS}}
* {{URLwikipedia|United_States|United States}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://www.cirp.org/library/legal/USA/
|title=Legality of Circumcision: The United States of America
|last=Hill
|first=George
|init=
|publisher=Circumcision Reference Library
|date=2013-07-31
|accessdate=2023-08-26
}}
These documents by [[Dan Bollinger]] are included here because they contain significant information about the United States:
* {{REFweb
|url=https://www.academia.edu/23494197/Infant_Male_Genital_Cutting_Incidence_Worldwide
|title=Infant Male Genital Cutting Incidence Worldwide
|last=Bollinger
|first=Dan
|author-link=Dan Bollinger
|publisher=Academia
|date=2017-05-19
|accessdate=2021-10-21
|format=PDF
}}
* {{REFjournal
|last=Bollinger
|init=D
|author-link=Dan Bollinger
|url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/321837170_Origins_of_the_Intactivist_Movement_A_Masculine_Foundation
|title=Origins of the intactivist movement: A masculine foundation
|journal=
|date=2017-11-17
|accessdate=2021-10-14
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://intactamerica.org/circumcision-rates/
|title=Circumcision Rates by Country: Why America Is the Outlier
|last=Alissa
|first=Kristel
|init=
|author-link=Kristel Alissa
|publisher=Intact America
|date=2025-07-03
|accessdate=2025-8-03
}}
{{ABBR}}
{{REF}}

[[Category:BSM]]
[[Category:English-speaking nation]]
[[Category:Circumcision]]
[[Category:Country]]
[[Category:Male circumcision]]
[[Category:History]]

[[Category:USA]]

[[de:Vereinigte Staaten von Amerika]]

United States of America

2026-07-16T11:18:16Z

WikiModEn2: /* Early twenty-first century */ Relocate text.

[[File:Flag_of_USA.svg|thumb|150px|Flag of the United States of America (USA)]]
The '''United States of America''' are also known as the '''United States''' or simply '''America''' or by initialism such as '''USA''' or '''US''' or '''U.S.A.''' or '''U.S.''' (Please note that ''America'' also is the name of two geological continents: ''North America'' and ''South America'' which include many more countries than just the ''United States of America'' which are the topic of this article. See also: [[:Category:Americas]].)

America is predominantly an English-speaking nation. As in other English-speaking nations, non-therapeutic [[circumcision]] of boys was popularized in the late nineteenth century. Due to the rates of infant circumcision that formerly approached 90 percent, the vast majority of [[Circumcised doctors| male doctors were neonatally circumcised]] and have no real knowledge of a normal body part. Such doctors frequently give poor advice to parents on the care of the [[intact]] [[penis]].<ref name="goldman2005">{{REFjournal
|last=Goldman
|first=Ronald
|init=R
|author-link=Ronald Goldman
|etal=no
|title=Circumcision policy: a psychosocial perspective
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal=Paediatrics & Child Health (Ottawa)
|location=
|date=2005-11
|volume=9
|issue=9
|pages=630-3
|url=https://academic.oup.com/pch/article/9/9/630/2648566?login=true
|quote=
|pubmedID=19675851
|pubmedCID=2724127
|DOI=10.1093/pch/9.9.630
|accessdate=2020-03-16
}}</ref> They are also much more likely to injure [[intact]] boys during office visits by premature [[Forced foreskin retraction| forcible foreskin retraction]] (PFFR).<ref>{{REFjournal
|last=Narvaez
|first=Darcia
|init=D
|author-link=
|last2=Geisheker
|first2=John V.
|init2=JV
|author2-link=John V. Geisheker
|url=https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/moral-landscapes/201110/what-is-the-greatest-danger-uncircumcised-boy
|title=What Is the Greatest Danger for an Uncircumcised Boy?
|journal=Psychology Today
|date=2011-10-23
|volume=
|issue=
|pages=
|accessdate=2021-10-31
}}</ref>

The United States is unique in having a [[circumcision industry]] that aggressively promotes the practice of medically-unnecessary, non-therapeutic, harmful, infant [[circumcision]]. The decline of the unnecessary practice has been slowed by payments for unnecessary circumcision by various government heath programs and by continual encouragement and promotion of circumcision by the [[circumcision industry]]. However, the practice of non-therapeutic [[circumcision]] of newborn boys has been in gradual decline for several decades.

Despite the financially self-serving promotional efforts of the [[circumcision industry]], Jacobson et al. (2021) reported the incidence of non-therapeutic [[circumcision]] of newborn infant boys was reported to have continued its slow decline to 52.1 percent in 2016.<ref name="jacobson2021">{{REFjournal
|last=Jacobson
|first=Deborah L.
|init=
|author-link=
|last2=Balmert
|first2=Lauren C.
|init2=
|author2-link=
|last3=Holl
|first3=Jane L.
|init3=
|author3-link=
|last4=Rosoklija
|first4=Ilina
|init4=
|author4-link=
|last5=Davis
|first5=Matthew M.
|init5=
|author5-link=
|last6=Johnson
|first6Emilie K.
|init6=
|author6-link=
|etal=no
|title=Nationwide Circumcision Trends: 2003 to 2016
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal=J Urol
|location=
|date=2021-01
|volume=205
|issue=1
|pages=257-63
|url=https://www.auajournals.org/doi/abs/10.1097/JU.0000000000001316
|pubmedID=32716676
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=10.1097/JU.0000000000001316
|accessdate=2021-10-15
}}</ref> Yang et al. (2025) reported the incidenec of circumcision of the newborn had declined to 49.3 percent in 2022, making non-circumcision or [[intactness]] the new NORM among America's newborn boys. Yang et al. studied a ten-ear period during which the incidence of circumcision declined at a rate of 0.5% per year.<ref name="yang2025">{{REFjournal
|last=Yang
|first=
|init=P
|author-link=
|last2=Zhu
|first2=
|init2=X
|author2-link=
|last3=Patel
|first3=
|init3=EU
|author3-link=
|last4=Quin
|first4=
|init4=PC
|author4-link=
|last5=Grabowski
|first5=
|init5=MK
|author5-link=
|last6=Tobian
|first6=
|init6=AAR
|author6-link=Aaron Tobian
|etal=no
|title=Trends in Circumcision Among Newborn Males in the US
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal=JAMA Pediatrics
|location=
|date=2025-09-15
|season=
|volume=
|issue=
|article=e252464
|page=
|pages=
|url=https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapediatrics/fullarticle/2838312
|archived=
|quote=
|pubmedID=40952753
|pubmedCID=12439174
|DOI=10.1001/jamapediatrics.2025.2464
|accessdate=2025-09-17
}}</ref>

The United States is unusual among nations in that osteopathic physicians (DOs) enjoy equal standing with allopathic physicians (MDs)<ref>{{REFweb
|url=https://www.ama-assn.org/press-center/ama-press-releases/aoa-and-ama-stand-against-misrepresentation-osteopathic-physicians#:~:text=The%20American%20Osteopathic%20Association%20%28AOA%29%20and%20the%20American,of%20osteopathic%20medicine%20by%20media%2C%20celebrities%20and%20companies.
|title=AOA and AMA stand against misrepresentation of osteopathic physicians
|last=Anonymous
|first=
|init=
|author-link=
|publisher=American Medical Association
|date=2020-11-04
|accessdate=2026-03-22
}}</ref> Osteopathic physicians observe four [[Tenets of Osteopathic Medicine]] in their practice.

==History==
===Colonial and early 19th century===
Jews have lived in America since before the Revolutionary War. They have always practiced [[Jewish circumcision| ritual circumcision]], ([[Brit Milah]]), of boys on the eighth day of life in accordance with the [[Abrahamic covenant]], however this was only for a very small percentage of the population.<ref name="self2016">{{REFjournal
|url=https://journals.troy.edu/index.php/test/article/view/386/302
|title=The Rise of Circumcision in Victorian America
|first=Eleanor
|last=Self
|author-link=Eleanor Self
|journal=The Alexandrian
|volume=5
|issue=1
|date=2016
|accessdate=2022-09-02
|format=PDF
}}
</ref>

One may be certain that the eighteenth century [https://www.nationalgeographic.org/article/founding-fathers/ Founding Fathers of the United States] of America were men with [[intact]] [[foreskin]]s as were the [[foreskinned]] men who fought the American Civil War (1861-1865).

Non-therapeutic [[circumcision]] of males for non-religious reasons originated with [[Claude François Lallemand]] in 1836 in France but soon spread to the [[United Kingdom]] in the early nineteenth century, from which it eventually spread to other English-speaking nations.<ref name="hodges1997">[[Frederick M. Hodges| Hodges FM]]. [https://lust-for-life.org/Lust-For-Life/_Textual/GeorgeCDenniston-MarilynFayreMilos-editors_JamesDeMeo_SexualMutilations-AHumanTragedy_1997_235pp/GeorgeCDenniston-MarilynFayreMilos-editors_JamesDeMeo_SexualMutilations-AHumanTragedy_1997_235pp.pdf#page=28 A short history of the institutionalization of involuntary sexual mutilations in the United States]. in: Denniston GC, Milos MF (eds.), Sexual Mutilations: A Human Tragedy (New York: Plenum Publishing, 1997), pp. 17-40. (ISBN 0-306-45589-7)</ref>

Edward Dixon (1847) recommended circumcision to prevent the spread of syphilis.<ref name="self2016" />

===Late nineteenth century===
====First quarter====
The late nineteenth century was characterized by prominent medical doctors advancing all sorts of absurd reasons for the performance of non-therapeutic [[circumcision]], including the prevention of venereal disease.<ref name="self2016" />

The first recorded non-religious circumcision of a boy in the United States occurred in 1870 when [[Lewis Albert Sayre]], a prominent New York City doctor, [[circumcised]] a boy of five years of age for paralysis.<ref name="gollaher1994">{{GollaherDL 1994}}</ref> [[Lewis Albert Sayre|Sayre]] then continued to advocate circumcision for numerous reasons until his death in 1900. According to [[Lewis Albert Sayre|Sayre]], circumcision was recommended for paralysis, epilepsy, hernia, lunacy, curvature of the spine, and clubfoot.

[[M. J. Moses]] (1871) advocated [[circumcision]] to prevent [[masturbation]].<ref name="moses1871">{{Moses1871}}</ref>
====Second quarter====
[[H. H. Kane]] (1879) 'discovers' that [[circumcision]] cures nocturnal emissions and abdominal neuralgia.<ref>{{Kane1879}}</ref>

Seventh-day Adventist [[John Harvey Kellogg]], {{MD}}, of Battle Creek, Michigan, was an important 19th century promoter of male circumcision. Although masturbation is never mentioned in the Bible, Dr. Kellogg believed that [[masturbation]] was immoral, sinful, and caused one to dream "impure dreams", which he believed was harmful to the mental faculties, resulting in mental disorders, such as "feeblemindness".<ref name="kellogg1888">{{Kellogg1888}}</ref> He believed that the urge to masturbate could be prevented by eating bland foods, for which purpose, he and his brother invented corn flakes.<ref name="self2016" />

Dr. Kellogg (1879) also recommended [[circumcision]] in cases "in which irritation is produced by retained secretions".<ref name="kellogg1888"/>

Dr. Kellogg perhaps is most famous for his book, ''Plain facts for young and old'' (1879), in which he advocated circumcision of boys as punishment for masturbation.<ref name="kellogg1888"/>

[[William G. Eggleston]], {{MA}}, {{MD}}, from Chicaco, {{USSC|IL}}, (1886) stated that [[foreskin]] of minors and the natural "phimosis" in minors would cause crossed eyes.<ref name="eggleston1886">{{Eggleston1886}}
</ref>

Dr. [[William D. Gentry]] (1890) alleged that [[Retraction of the foreskin| phimosis in boys]] produces serious nervous derangements.<ref name="gentry1890">{{REFjournal
|last=Gentry
|first=William D.
|init=WD
|author-link=William D. Gentry
|title=Nervous Derangements Produced by Sexual Irregularities in Boys
|journal=Medical Current
|date=1890-07
|volume=6
|issue=7
|pages=268-74
}}</ref>

[[Elizabeth Blackwell]], {{MD}}, ({{LifeData|1821|1910}}), was born in England, but attended medical school in the United States. She was the first woman to become a medical doctor in the United States. Blackwell thought [[masturbation]] was immoral but that [[circumcision]] was not the way to correct it. She wrote against it in her 1894 book:
<blockquote>Appeals to the fears of uninstructed parents on the grounds of cleanliness or of hardening the part are entirely fallacious and unsupported by evidence. It is a physiological fact that the natural lubricating secretion of every healthy part is beneficial, not injurious to the part thus protected, and that no attempt to render a sensitive part insensitive is either practicable or justifiable. The protection which nature affords to these parts is an aid to physical purity by affording necessary protection against constant external contact of a part which necessarily remains keenly sensitive; and bad habits in boys and girls cannot by prevented by surgical operations. Where no malformation exists, bad habits can only be forestalled by healthy moral and physical education.<ref>{{REFbook
|last=Blackwell
|first=Elizabeth
|init=E
|author-link=Elizabeth Blackwell
|title=The Human Element in Sex; being a Medical Inquiry into the Relation of Sexual Physiology to Christian Morality
|url=https://archive.org/details/B20442622/page/n9/mode/2up
|edition=2
|year=1894
|pages=35-6
|location=London
|publisher=J.& A. Churchill
}}</ref></blockquote>

[[Peter Charles Remondino]], {{MD}},<ref name="gollaher1994" /> was a San Diego, California physician, who was born in Turin (''Torino'') in 1846, but migrated with his family to the United States at the age of eight. There is some reason to believe that he was of Sephardic Jewish descent and had been [[circumcised]] while still in Turin, however this is uncertain.

Remondino clearly was highly intelligent. He mastered English, started medical school at age 17, treated wounded soldiers during the Civil War, and later moved to San Diego for his health.

After moving to San Diego, he practiced medicine, served as an officer of several medical societies, and other regulatory agencies.

Remondino is famous for his 346 page book, ''The History of Circumcision'' (1891).<ref name="remondino1891">{{REFbook
|last=Remondino
|first=Peter Charles
|init=PC
|author-link=Peter Charles Remondino
|year=1891
|title=History of Circumcision
|url=https://www.gutenberg.org/files/23135/23135-h/23135-h.htm
|pages=
|location=Philadelphia
|publisher=F. A. Davis
|website=Welcome Collection
|accessdate=2021-09-29
}}</ref> <ref name="gollaher1994" />

When Remondino discussed the [[foreskin]], he used the most horrific, derogatory, and disparaging language. He devoted thirteen chapters to the alleged evils and faults of the foreskin. It is not clear why he had such an extreme dislike for a natural and functional body part. His recommendation, of course, was for [[Adolescent and adult circumcision| circumcision]].

[[H. L. Rosenberry]], {{MD}}, (1894) published a paper "proving" that circumcision cures urinary and rectal incontinence.<ref name="self2016" /> <ref name="rosenberry1894">{{Rosenberry1894}}</ref>

Dr. [[E. J. Spratling]] (1895) provided information for other doctors.<ref name="self2016" />He gaved a detailed explanation of how a circumcision is to be done so as to make it as difficult as possible to achieve orgasm by [[masturbation]].<ref>{{REFjournal
|last=Spratling
|init=EJ
|title=Masturbation in the Adult
|journal=Medical Record
|volume=24
|issue=
|pages=442-443
|url=https://www.proquest.com/openview/9a247c3410d34390e418dc970faa3b87/1?pq-origsite=gscholar&cbl=40146
|quote=
|date=1895
|accessdate=2022-08-30
}}</ref>

By the end of the nineteenth century, America had at least one prominent physician and surgeon on the east coast promoting circumcision and another prominent physician and surgeon on the west coast promoting circumcision. There was no real medical science with which to dispute and discredit their false claims. Non-therapeutic [[circumcision]] of males was now well-established in the United States.

===Early twentieth century===
====First quarter====
The early twentieth century is characterized by advocacy of circumcision based on false claims to prevent cancer and sexually transmitted (venereal) disease; and by the involvement of the United States military services in the promotion of circumcision.

[[Ernest G. Mark]] (1901) noted that the "pleasurable sensations that are elicited from the extremely sensitive" [[Ridged band|inner lining]] of the [[foreskin]] may encourage a child to [[Masturbation|masturbate]], which is why he recommended circumcision since it "lessens the sensitiveness of the organ".<ref>{{Mark1901}}</ref>

Brimhall (1902) reported an [[amputation]] of a [[penis]] after circumcision.<ref name="brimhall1902">{{REFjournal
|last=Brimhall
|init=JB
|author-link=
|last2=
|init2=
|author2-link=
|url=
|title=Amputation of the penis following a unique method of preventing hemorrhage after circumcision
|journal=St. Paul Med J.
|date=1902
|volume=4
|issue=
|page=490
|accessdate=2021-10-05
}}</ref>

[[Roswell Park]] (1902) published a paper 'proving' that foreskin causes epilepsy and that circumcision cures it.<ref>{{Park1902}}</ref>

[[L. Emmett Holt]] (1913) reported that tubercular [[mohel]]s were infecting infant Jewish boys with tuberculosis during [[Brit Milah| ritual circumcision]].<ref>{{REFjournal
|last=Holt
|init=LE
|author-link=L. Emmett Holt
|url=http://www.cirp.org/library/complications/holt1/
|title=Tuberculosis acquired through ritual circumcision
|journal=JAMA
|date=1913-07-12
|volume=LXI
|issue=2
|pages=99-102
|accessdate=2021-10-04
}}</ref>

[[Abraham L. Wolbarst]], {{MD}}, a Jewish New York doctor, apparently considered [[L. Emmett Holt|Holt]]'s paper to be an attack on [[Brit Milah| ritual circumcision]] or perhaps [[Judaism]] itself. He collected ''opinions'' from other doctors of the alleged value of [[circumcision]] for health and published those ''opinions'' as ''scientific fact'' in a 1914 ''JAMA'' article.<ref name="wolbarst1914">{{REFjournal
|last=Wolbarst entitled ''Universal circumcision as as sanitary measure]].
|first=Abraham L.
|init=AL
|author-link=Abraham L. Wolbarst
|title=Universal circumcision as a sanitary measure
|journal=JAMA
|date=1914-1-10
|volume=62
|issue=2
|pages=92-7
|url=https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/article-abstract/453164
|accessdate=2021-10-04
}}</ref> Wolbarst's paper appeared shortly before the start of World War I. It is thought that Wolbarst's false claims inspired some military commanders to require men under their command to be [[circumcised]] so as to reduce venereal disease (VD).

M. S. Reuben (1916) (1917) reported additional cases of tuberculosis after ritual circumcision.<ref name="reuben1916">{{REFjournal
|last=Reuben
|init=MS
|author-link=
|last2=
|init2=
|author2-link=
|url=http://www.cirp.org/library/complications/reuben1/
|title=Tuberculosis from ritual circumcision
|journal=Proceedings of the New York Academy of Medicine
|date=1916-12-15
|volume=
|issue=
|pages=333-4
|accessdate=2021-10-04
}}</ref><ref name="ruben1917">{{REFjournal
|last=Reuben
|init=MS
|author-link=
|last2=
|init2=
|author2-link=
|url=http://www.cirp.org/library/complications/reuben2/
|title=Tuberculosis following ritual circumcision
|journal=Arch Pediatr
|date=1917-03
|volume=XXXIV
|issue=
|pages=186-90
|accessdate=2021-10-04
}}</ref>

J. Brennermann (1921) reported that [[Meatal stenosis| meatal disease]] occurs only in [[circumcised]] boys who lack the protection of the [[foreskin]].<ref name="brennermann2021>{{REFjournal
|last=Brennermann
|init=J
|author-link=
|last2=
|init2=
|author2-link=
|url=http://www.cirp.org/library/complications/brennemann1/
|title=The ulcerated meatus in the circumcised child
|journal=Am J Dis Child
|date=1921
|volume=21
|issue=
|pages=38-47
|accessdate=2021-10-04
}}</ref>
====Second quarter====
[[Abraham L. Wolbarst|Wolbarst]] (1926) made his claim for the first time that male circumcision prevents [[penile cancer]].<ref name="wolbarst1926!>{{REFjournal
|last=Wolbarst
|first=Abraham L.
|init=AL
|author-link=Abraham L. Wolbarst
|title=Is circumcision a prophylactic against penis cancer?
|journal=Cancer
|date=1926-07
|volume=3
|issue=4
|pages=301-10
}}</ref>

[[Abraham L. Wolbarst|Wolbarst]] (1932) put forward his claim again that [[circumcision]] would prevent [[penile cancer]] in the British journal, ''The Lancet''.<ref name="Wolbarst 1932">{{Wolbarst1932}}</ref> In those long ago days, the true causes of cancer were unknown so it was impossible to disprove Wolbarst's falsehoods.

Laumann et al., writing in 1997, reported an incidence of circumcision of 31 percent in 1933.<ref name="laumann1997">{{REFjournal
|last=Laumann
|first=Edward O.
|init=
|author-link=
|last2=Masi
|first2=christopher M.
|init2=
|author2-link=
|last3=Zuckerman
|first3=Ezra W.
|init3=
|author3-link=
|etal=no
|title=Circumcision in the United States
|journal=JAMA
|location=
|date=1997-04-02
|volume=277
|issue=13
|article=
|pages=1052-7
|url=http://www.cirp.org/library/general/laumann/
|pubmedID=9091693
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=
|accessdate=2021-10-05
}}</ref>

[[Hiram S. Yellen]] and [[Aaron Goldstein]] invented the [[Gomco]] clamp in 1934-1935. The clamp, by crushing the foreskin in an intensely painful procedure, reduced the risk of hemorrhage,<ref name="yellen1935">{{GoldsteinYellen1935}}</ref> but increased the [[pain]].<ref name="sinkey2015">{{REFjournal
|url=https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25794628?dopt=Abstract
|title=The GoMo study: a randomized clinical trial assessing neonatal pain with Gomco vs Mogen clamp circumcision
|last=Sinkey
|init=RG
|last2=Eschenbacher
|init2=MA
|last3=Walsh
|init3=PM
|last4=Doerger
|init4=RG
|last5=Lambers
|init5=DS
|last6=Sibai
|init6=BM
|last7=Habli
|init7=MA
|journal=Am J Obstet Gynecol
|date=2015-05
|volume=212
|issue=5
|pages=664.e1-8
|pubmedID=25794628
|DOI=10.1016/j.ajog.2015.03.029
|accessdate=2021-10-05
}}</ref> The availability of the Gomco clamp increased the popularity of non-therapeutic infant circumcision.

Brown (1937) reported restoration of the [[skin]] of the [[penis]] after a denudation complication of circumcision.<ref name="brown1837">{{REFjournal
|last=Brown
|init=JB
|author-link=
|url=
|title=Restoration of the entire skin of the penis
|journal=Surg Gynecol Obstetr
|date=1937
|volume=65
|issue=362-5
|pages=
|accessdate=2021-10-05
}}</ref>

Laumann et al. (1997) reported an incidence of circumcision of 53 percent in 1941.<ref name="laumann1997" />

World War II. America entered the war after the Empire of Japan attacked the American naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii on 7 December 1941. This was followed by Germany declaring war on the United States.

The information on military circumcision in WWII is sketchy and anecdotal. It appears that many [[foreskinned]] American men were encouraged and, in some cases, forced to be [[circumcised]]. It seems that the American military's [[foreskin]]-phobia and circumcision policy persisted through the Korean War (1950-52) but was discontinued by a change in policy thereafter.

The "Sand Myth" circulated among English-speaking armies. According to the [http://www.circumstitions.com/sand.htm Sand Myth], [[foreskinned]] men who fought in the Saharan desert had medical issues due to sand collecting under the [[foreskin]]. [[Intact]] Italian and German men who fought in the same desert had no such problems.<ref>{{REFjournal
|last=Darby
|first=Robert
|init=
|author-link=Robert Darby
|etal=no
|title=The riddle of the sands: circumcision, history, and myth
|journal=NZ Med J
|location=
|date=2005-07-15
|volume=118
|issue=1218
|article=
|page=U1564
|url=https://www.academia.edu/9899840/The_riddle_of_the_sands_Circumcision_history_and_myth
|pubmedID=16027753
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=
|accessdate=2021-10-05
}}</ref>

[[Abraham Ravich]] (1942) falsely claimed that circumcision prevents [[prostate cancer]].<ref name="ravich1942">{{Ravich1942}}</ref>

'''Post-war era.''' In the post-war era after WWII, the popularity of non-therapeutic [[circumcision]] increased, driven by medical promotion by doctors seeking a nice [[Financial incentive| surgical fee]] as an alleged preventive of penile cancer and by the [Adamant father syndrome| adamant request of circumcised men home from the war who became fathers]].

Non-therapeutic, medically-unnecessary [[circumcision]] of boys had become a "routine" surgical operation that usually was performed automatically on newborn boys even without consent from anyone.

Laumann et al. (1997) reported an incidence of non-therapeutic circumcision of boys of 85 percent in 1948.<ref name="laumann1997" />

[[Eugene H. Hand]], {{MD}}, (1949) falsely claimed that circumcision would prevent cancer of the tongue and [[Circumcision and STDs| venereal disease]].<ref name="HandEH1949">{{REFjournal
|last=Hand
|first=Eugene H.
|init=EH
|author-link=Eugene H. Hand
|url=https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18135844/
|title=Circumcision and venereal disease
|journal=Archives of Dermatology and Syphilology
|date=1949-09
|volume=60
|issue=3
|pages341-6
|pubmedID=18135844
|DOI=10.1001/archderm.1949.01530030037004
|accessdate=2021-10-08
}}</ref>

The publication of a landmark article by [[Douglas Gairdner]] (1949) in the [[United Kingdom]] showing that infant circumcision is non-therapeutic, unnecessary, causes deaths, and which called for preservation of the [[foreskin]]<ref name="gairdner1949">{{GairdnerDM 1949}}</ref> was totally ignored by the [[circumcision industry]] in the United States.

===Late twentieth century===
====Third quarter====
The late twentieth century was characterized by increasing opposition to non-therapeutic circumcision of boys by [[intactivists]] and increasing efforts by the [[circumcision industry]] to protect [[third-party payment]] for performance of non-therapeutic [[circumcision]] of non-consenting boys; and by increasing recognition that newborn boys intensely feel [[pain]] and that non-therapeutic male [[circumcision]] is a [[trauma| horribly traumatic experience]].

[[Abraham Ravich]] (1951) falsely claimed that [[circumcision]] prevents [[cervical cancer]] in women.<ref name="ravitch1951">{{Ravich1951}}</ref>

Hollister, Inc. formally introduced the [[Plastibell]] circumcision device in 1953.<ref name=MillerSnyder1953>{{MillerSnyder1953}}</ref>

[[Ernest L. Wynder]] (1954) promoted male circumcision to prevent cervical cancer in women.<ref name="wynder1954">{{Wynder1954}}</ref>

The Congress of the United States created the [https://www.medicaid.gov/ Medicaid program] in 1965. Medicaid is a joint federal/state program that pays the medical expenses of low-income Americans. Medicaid covers about 45 percent of births in the United States. Medicaid pays for medically-unnecessary, non-therapeutic circumcision in 37 states, although it appears to be a violation of law to do so.<ref name="adler2011">{{REFjournal
|last=Adler
|first=Peter W.
|init=PW
|author-link=Peter W. Adler
|title=It is lawful to use Medicaid to pay for circumcision?
|journal=Journal of Law and Medicine
|date=2011
|volume=19
|issue=
|pages=335-53
|url=https://www.arclaw.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/is-it-lawful-to-use-medicaid-to-pay-for-circumcision.pdf
|quote=
|accessdate=2021-10-05
}}</ref>

W. K. C. Morgan, a Canadian medical doctor, then on the faculty of the {{UNI|University of Maryland|UMD}} [https://www.medschool.umaryland.edu/ School of Medicine], in a highly critcal letter pubished by ''JAMA'' (1965), slammed the practice of non-therapeutic circumcision of boys as it had developed in the United States.<ref>{{REFjournal
|last=Morgan
|first=
|init=WKC
|author-link=
|etal=no
|title=The rape of the phallus
|journal=JAMA
|location=
|date=1965-07-19
|volume=193
|issue=
|article=
|pages=223-4
|url=http://www.cirp.org/library/general/morgan/
|pubmedID=14310332
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=jama.1965.03090030045013
|accessdate=2021-10-05
}}</ref>

Preston (1970) considered the matter of infant [[circumcision]]. He examined and debunked claims that male circumcision could prevent cancer of the [[cervix]] in women, cancer of the [[penis]] and cancer of the prostate in men. Preston concluded:

<blockquote>Routine circumcision of the newborn is an unnecessary procedure. It provides questionable benefits and is associated with a small but definite incidence of complications and hazards. These risks are preventable if the operation is not performed unless truly medically indicated. Circumcision of the newborn is a procedure that should no longer be considered routine.<ref>{{REFjournal
|last=Preston
|first=E. Noel
|init=
|author-link=
||etal=no
|title=Whither the foreskin? A consideration of routine neonatal circumcision.
|journal=JAMA
|location=
|date=1970-09-14
|volume=213
|issue=11
|article=
|pages=1853-8
|url=http://www.cirp.org/library/general/preston/
|pubmedID=5468911
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=10.1001/jama.213.11.1853
|accessdate=2021-10-05
}}</ref></blockquote>

Preston's paper elicited a response from C. J. Falliers, {{MD}}, (1970) who cited the "sensory pleasure induced by tactile stimulation of the foreskin."<ref name="falliers1970">{{REFjournal
|last=Falliers
|first=
|init=CJ
|author-link=
|etal=
|title=Circumcision (letter)
|journal=JAMA
|location=
|date=1970-12-21
|volume=214
|issue=12
|article=
|page=2194
|url=http://www.cirp.org/library/general/falliers1/
|accessdate=2021-10-05
}}</ref>

[[Abraham Ravich]] (1971) falsely claims that circumcision prevents cancer of the bladder and the rectum.<ref name="ravich1971">{{Ravich1971}}</ref>

Laumann et al. reported an incidence of newborn circumcision of 78 percent in 1971.

The [[American Academy of Pediatrics]] (AAP) is not an "academy" at all. It is a [[medical trade association]] that protects and advances the business and financial interests of its pediatrician "fellows". Influenced by Preston's paper, the AAP published a manual on the hospital care of newborn infants in 1971. The manual included the statement:
<blockquote>
There are no valid medical indications for circumcision in the neonatal period.<ref>{{REFbook
|year=1971
|title=Standards and Recommendation for Hospital Care of Newborn infants
|url=http://www.cirp.org/library/statements/aap/#a1971
|page=110
|location=Evanston, {{USSC|IL}}
|publisher=American Academy of Pediatrics
|isbn=
|accessdate=2021-10-05
}}</ref>
</blockquote>

====Fourth quarter====
The statement in the 1971 manual was good medical science, then and now, but it did not sit well with the membership of the AAP because it provided no basis on which to promote non-therapeutic circumcision for profit. A four-member "ad hoc" task force was formed to produce a new statement to 'walk-back' the earlier statement to fit the desires of the membership, which was published in ''Pediatrics'' in 1975.<ref name="aap1975">{{REFjournal
|last=Thompson
|first=
|init=HC
|author-link=
|last2=King
|first2=
|init2=LR
|author2-link=
|last3=Knox
|first3=
|init3=E
|author3-link=
|last4=Korones
|first4=
|init4=SH
|author4-link=
|etal=no
|title=Report of the Ad Hoc Task Force on Circumcision
|journal=Pediatrics
|location=
|date=1975-10
|volume=56
|issue=3
|article=
|page=
|pages=610-11
|url=http://www.cirp.org/library/statements/aap/#a1975
|pubmedID=1174384
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=
|accessdate=2021-10-06
}}</ref> The new statement had not a single citation of any other document. While it recognized the validity of the 1971 statement, It claimed without any basis that parents had a right to circumcise a newborn infant boy for "traditional, cultural, and religious factors".<ref name="aap1975" />

The statement falsely claimed facilitation of hygiene, prevention of [[phimosis]], and prevention of [[penile cancer]] as reasons that parents may elect non-therapeutic infant circumcision.<ref name="aap1975" />

The statement expressed no concern for the [[pain]] and [[trauma]] of circumcision, nor did it provide information on the functions and value of the [[foreskin]] nor did it recognize the child as a person with domestic and international rights to self-determination and [[physical integrity]]. The statement carefully avoided recommending [[circumcision]] and placed the responsibility for the certain [[amputation]] injury on the parents rather than on the attending physician.<ref name="aap1975" />

The 1975 statement served as the AAP's position statement until 1989.

The AAP supplemented the 1975 statement in 1977 by stating:
<blockquote>There are no medical indications for [[Routine Infant Circumcision|routine circumcisions]], and the procedure cannot be considered an essential component of health care. If an infant is circumcised, the procedure must be delayed until the infant is at least 24 hours old and stable, without [[bleeding]] tendency or any other illness. Circumcision must never be done at time of delivery.<ref>{{REFbook
|year=1977
|title=Standards and Recommendations for Hospital Care of Newborn Infants. Sixth Edition
|url=http://www.cirp.org/library/statements/aap/#a1977
|pages=66-7
|location=Evanston, {{USSC|IL}}
|publisher=American Academy of Pediatrics
|isbn=
|accessdate=2021-10-05
}}</ref>
</blockquote>

Infant circumcision traditionally had been carried out without any kind of anesthesia or analgesia because of the false belief that infants could not feel [[pain]]. Researchers started to investigate the [[Pain| pain of circumcision]] in the 1970s.

The American Cancer Society estimated that there are about 460 deaths per year in the United States from penile cancer.<ref>{{REFweb
|url=https://www.cancer.org/cancer/penile-cancer/about/key-statistics.html
|title=Key Statistics for Penile Cancer
|last=
|first=
|date=2021-01-12
|accessdate=2021-10-17
}}</ref> Sidney S. Gellis, {{MD}} (1978) estimated that the number of deaths from infant circumcision exceeded the number of deaths from [[penile cancer]].<ref name="gellis1978">{{REFjournal
|last=Gellis
|first=
|init=
|author-link=
|etal=no
|title=Circumcision
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal=Am J Dis Child
|location=
|date=1978-12
|volume=132
|issue=
|article=
|page=
|pages=1168-9
|url=http://www.cirp.org/library/general/gellis1/
|pubmedID=717329
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=10.1001/archpedi.1978.02120370016003
|accessdate=2021-10-17
}}</ref>

David Grimes, {{MD}}, (1978), recognized the increasing controversy regarding the practice of non-therapeutic infant [[circumcision]]. Grimes discussed several concerns including:

* Irrational patient selection.
* Lack of information prior to consent.
* Pain and anesthesia management.
* Improper surgical objectives.
* Lack of cost-effectiveness.<ref name="grimes1978">{{REFjournal
|last=Grimes
|first=David
|init=
|author-link=
|etal=no
|title=Routine circumcision of the newborn: a reappraisal
|journal=Am J Obstet Gynecol
|location=
|date=1978-01-15
|volume=130
|issue=2
|article=
|pages=125-9
|url=http://www.cirp.org/library/general/grimes/
|pubmedID=413435
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=10.1016/0002-9378(78)90353-8
|accessdate=2021-10-05
}}</ref>

Grimes concluded:
<blockquote> However, until the benefits of [[Routine Infant Circumcision| routine circumcision]] of the neonate can be proved worth the risk and cost, medical resources probably should be allocated to measures of demonstrated value.<ref name="grimes1978" />
</blockquote>
The American circumcision industry appears to have totally ignored Grimes' concerns.

It was at about this time that several small organizations that opposed non-therapeutic circumcision of boys started to appear. They were the first [[intactivists]], although that word had not yet been coined. One such organization was the Remain Intact Organization of Larchwood, Iowa, which was lead by Rev. [[George Zangger| Russell George Zangger]]. From the 1970s to the 1990s Zangger sent out cards with New Testament quotations that said the outward sign of circumcision is of no value. [[Jeffrey R. Wood]] formed [[INTACT Educational Foundation| INTACT]] (Infants Need to Avoid Circumcision [[Trauma]]), founded in 1976 as a local resource serving Western Massachusetts, and "Dedicated to Preserving Freedom of Choice." The organization gained recognition and had members across the nation.

Boczko & Freed (1979) collected cases of [[penile cancer]] in [[circumcised]] men and by so doing, disproved the false belief propagated since 1932 by [[Abraham L. Wolbarst]] that circumcision was protective against penile cancer.<ref name="boczko1979">{{REFjournal
|last=Boczo
|first=Stanley
|init=
|author-link=
|last2=Freed
|first2=Selwyn
|init2=
|author2-link=
|etal=no
|title=Penile carcinoma in circumcised males
|journal=N Y State J Med
|location=
|date=1979-11
|volume=79
|issue=12
|article=
|pages=1903-4
|url=http://www.cirp.org/library/disease/cancer/boczko/
|pubmedID=292845
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=
|accessdate=2021-10-07
}}</ref>

Robert Leon Baker, {{MD}} (1979) estimated 229 [[Death| deaths]] per year in the United States from circumcision complications.<ref name="baker1979">{{REFjournal
|last=Baker
|first=Robert L.
|init=
|author-link=
|etal=no
|title=Newborn male circumcision: needless and dangerous
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal=Sexual Medicine Today
|location=
|date=1979
|volume=3
|issue=11
|article=
|pages=35-6
|url=http://www.cirp.org/library/general/baker1/
|accessdate=2021-10-17
}}</ref>

[[Edward Wallerstein]] (1980) published his book, ''[[Circumcision: An American Health Fallacy]]''.<ref name="wallerstein1980">{{WallersteinE 1980}}</ref>

Bollinger (2017) reported the incidence of infant non-therapeutic circumcision peaked at about 85 percent of all infant boys in 1982.<ref name="bollinger2017">{{REFweb
|url=https://www.academia.edu/23494197/Infant_Male_Genital_Cutting_Incidence_Worldwide
|title=Infant male genital cutting incidence worldwide
|last=Bollinger
|first=Dan
|author-link=Dan Bollinger
|publisher=Academia
|website=
|date=2017-05-19
|accessdate=2021-10-27
|format=PDF
|quote=
}}</ref>

[[John A. Erickson]] (1982) started to work individually to advance [[genital integrity]].

Professor Lowell R. King (1982), who had been a member of the 1975 "ad hoc" task force on circumcision of the AAP, felt compelled to defend the reasoning of the task force.<ref name="king1982">{{REFjournal
|last=King
|first=Lowell R.
|init=
|author-link=
|etal=no
|title=Neonatal circumcision in the United States in 1982
|journal=J Urol
|location=
|date=1982-11
|volume=128
|issue=5
|article=
|pages=1135-6
|url=http://www.cirp.org/library/general/king1982/
|pubmedID=7176044
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=10.1016/s0022-5347(17)53361-3
|accessdate=2021-10-11
}}</ref>

[[BUFF| Brothers United for Future Foreskins]] (1982) revived the practice of [[epispasm]] (non-surgical [[foreskin restoration]]) that had not been praticed since antiquity.

[[Marilyn Fayre Milos]], {{RN}}, while a nursing student at [https://www.mymarinhealth.org/locations/medical-center/ Marin General Hospital], witnessed an unanesthetized circumcision of a newborn boy in 1979. Shocked by the extreme [[pain]] and horror of it, she became an opponent of infant circumcision and was forced to resign in 1985 from her nursing position at Marin General Hospital where infant non-therapeutic circumcision is a profit center and promoted to parents. She immediately created the National Organization of Circumcision Information Resource Centers ([[NOCIRC]]) in 1985.

[[Rosemary Romberg]] (1985) published Circumcision: The Painful Dilemma.

[[Edward Wallerstein]] (1985) pointed out that the American way of practicing non-religious circumcision of boys is without parallel anywhere else in the world.<ref>{{REFjournal
|last=Wallerstein
|first=Edward
|init=
|author-link=Edward Wallerstein
|etal=no
|title=Is Nonreligious Circumcision Necessary?
|journal=Urol Clin North Am
|location=
|date=1985-05
|volume=12
|issue=1
|pages=123-32
|url=http://www.cirp.org/library/general/wallerstein/
|quote=
|pubmedID=
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=
|accessdate=2021-10-06
}}</ref>

American lawyer William E. Brigman (1985) used new medical evidence to argue that circumcision is child abuse, and discussed possible legal remedies. Recent medical articles have documented the actual injury of circumcision, to make it possible for an attorney to win damages for wrongful circumcision, he said. Brigman suggested civil rights class action suits against hospitals.<ref name="brigman1985">{{REFjournal
|last=Brigman
|first=William E.
|init=WE
|author-link=
|title=Circumcision as Child Abuse: The Legal and Constitutional Issues
|journal=J Fam Law
|date=1985
|volume=23
|issue=3
|page=337
|url=http://www.cirp.org/library/legal/brigman/
|accessdate=2021-10-07
}}</ref>

Anand & Hickey (1987) published a paper in the ''New England Journal of Medicine'' that conclusively proved that newborn infants are capable of feeling [[pain]]. After publication of this landmark paper, no doubt about the existence of pain sensation in infants remained. The article stated:
<blockquote>
Numerous lines of evidence suggest that even in the human [[fetus]], pain pathways as well as cortical and subcortical centers necessary for pain perception are well developed late in gestation, and the neurochemical systems now known to be associated with pain transmission and modulation are intact and functional. Physiologic responses to painful stimuli have been well documented in neonates of various gestational ages and are reflected in hormonal, metabolic, and cardiorespiratory changes similar to but greater than those observed in adult subjects. Other responses in newborn infants are suggestive of integrated emotional and behavioral responses to pain and are retained in memory long enough to modify subsequent behavior patterns.<ref name="anand1987">{{REFjournal
|last=Anand
|init=KJS
|author-link=
|last2=Hickey
|init2=PR
|author2-link=
|etal=yes
|title=Pain and its effects in the human neonate and fetus
|journal=N Engl J Med
|location=
|date=1987-11-19
|volume=317
|issue=21
|pages=1321-9
|url=http://www.cirp.org/library/pain/anand/
|pubmedID=3317037
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=10.1056/NEJM198711193172105
|accessdate=2021-10-07
}}</ref>
</blockquote>

[[NOCIRC]] sponsored the [[First International Symposium]] on Circumcision which was held in Anaheim, California, USA on 1-3 March 1989.

The July/August 1989 edition of [[The Truth Seeker]] was dedicated to circumcision. It featured the core proceedings from the First International Symposium.

The [[American Academy of Pediatrics]]' 1975 circumcision promotional statement<ref name="aap1975" /> was now getting long in the tooth so a newer statement was desired. The AAP appointed the late [[Edgar J. Schoen]], {{MD}}, of Oakland, California, who had written a humorous poem about circumcision as the chairman of a new task force on circumcision. The task force had six members of whom five (83%), including Schoen, were believed to be Jewish, although Jews constitute only 1.9 percent of the population.

Schoen's task force produced the AAP's [[American_Academy_of_Pediatrics#Third_policy_.281989.29| third circumcision policy statement]] which was published in ''Pediatrics'' in November 1979.<ref name="aap1989">{{REFjournal
|last=Schoen
|first=Edgar J.
|init=EJ
|author-link=Edgar J. Schoen
|last2=Anderson
|first2=Glenn
|init2=G
|author2-link=
|last3=Bohon
|first3=Constance
|init3=C
|author3-link=
|last4=Hinman
|first4=Frank
|init4=F
|author4-link=
|last5=Poland
|first5=Ronald
|init5=R
|author5-link=
|last6=Wakeman
|first6=E. Maurice
|init6=EM
|author6-link=
|etal=no
|title=Report of the Task Force of Circumcision.
|journal=Pediatrics
|location=
|date=1989-11
|volume=84
|issue=4
|pages=388-91
|url=http://www.cirp.org/library/statements/aap/#a1989
|pubmedID=2664697
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=
|accessdate=2021-10-10
}}</ref>

The statement, which was intended to promote the practice of non-therapeutic circumcision for the benefit of the fellows of the AAP, had a high degree of [[bias]] and had many serious deficiences. Some more notable deficiences included:

* failure to recognize the child as a person with legal rights to bodily integrity.
* failure to provide information on the nature and functions of the human [[foreskin]].
* failure to call for analgesia to ease the intense [[pain]] of the [[amputation]].
* inclusion of [[Thomas E. Wiswell]]'s methodologically-flawed papers on [[urinary tract infection]] (UTI).
* failure to inform parents that UTI is properly treated with antibiotics.
* use of the misleading word ''potential'' to describe speculative medical benefits that do not actually exist.
* attempting to shift responsibility for the performance of an injurious and harmful [[amputation]] from the medical operator to the parents.

The advocacy of [[circumcision]] to prevent [[UTI]] spurred a debate in the medical literature until the AAP published a new statement in 1999 that softened the claims.

[[Charles A. Bonner|Bonner]] & Kinane (1989) discussed the legal and constitutional issues of non-therapeutic male circumcision under United States and California law.<ref name="bonner1989">{{REFjournal
|last=Bonner
|first=Charles
|init=C
|author-link=Charles A. Bonner
|last2=Kinane
|first2=Michael
|init2=M
|author2-link=
|title=The Legal and Constitutional Issues
|journal=The Truth Seeker
|date=1989-07
|url=http://www.noharmm.org/bonner.htm
|accessdate=2021-10-10
}}</ref>

Professor Ronald Poland (1990), who had served on the task force with [[Edgar J. Schoen]] that produced the 1989 AAP Circumcision Policy Statement, strongly objected to the use of methodologically flawed UTI studies. Professor Poland concluded that infant non-therapeutic circumcision should not be "a part of routine medical care."<ref name="poland1990">{{REFjournal
|last=Poland
|first=Ronald L.
|init=
|author-link=
|etal=no
|title=The question of routine neonatal circumcision
|journal=N Eng J Med
|location=
|date=1990-05-03
|volume=322
|issue=18
|article=
|pages=1312-5
|url=http://www.cirp.org/library/general/poland/
|pubmedID=2183058
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=10.1056/NEJM199005033221811
|accessdate=2021-10-11
}}</ref>

The [[Second International Symposium]] on Circumcision convened at the Hotel Kabuki in San Francisco, California, USA on April 30 through May 3, 1991.

[[Ronald Goldman]], {{PhD}}, founded the [[Circumcision Resource Center]] in 1991.

[[Tim Hammond]] organized the [http://www.noharmm.org/ National Organization to Halt the Abuse and Routine Mutilation of Males] in 1992.

[[John A. Erickson]] (1992) self-published ''Making America Safe for Foreskins''<ref> {{REFbook
|last=Erickson
|first=John A.
|init=JA
|author-link=John A. Erickson
|title=Making America Safe for Foreskins
|publisher=Self-published (42 page pamphlet)
|location=Biloxi, Mississippi
|date=1992-01
}}</ref>

Lynn E. Lebit (1992) discussed issues with the substituted judgment doctrine.<ref name="lebit1992">{{REFjournal
|last=Lebit
|first=Lynn E.
|init=LE
|author-link=
|etal=no
|title=Compelled Medical Procedures Involving Minors and Incompetents and Misapplication of the Substituted Judgment Doctrine
|journal=Journal of Law and Medicine
|location=
|date=1992
|volume=7
|issue=
|page=107
|url=http://engagedscholarship.csuohio.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1304&context=jlh
|pubmedID=11659623
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=
|accessdate=2021-10-10
}}</ref>

Professor [[George C. Denniston]], {{MD}}, {{MPH}}, explained some [[Foreskin#Physiological_functions| functions of the foreskin]], said circumcision was both unnecessary and harmful because of the deprivation of functions, so should not be performed.<ref name-"denniston1992">
{{REFjournal
|last=Denniston
|first=George C.
|init=
|author-link=George C. Denniston
|etal=no
|title=Unnecessary Circumcision
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal=Female Patient
|location=
|date=1992-07
|volume=17
|issue=
|article=
|pages=13-4
|url=
|accessdate=
}}</ref>

The [[Third International Symposium]] on Circumcision convened at the {{UNI|University of Maryland|UMD}}, College Park, {{USSC|MD}}, USA on 23-25 May 1994.

Professor [[George C. Denniston]], {{MD}}, {{MPH}}, organized [[Doctors Opposing Circumcision (D.O.C.)]] in 1995.

Three registered nurses in Santa Fe, {{USSC|NM}}, who conscientiously objected to assisting with foreskin [[amputation]] operations, formed [[Nurses for the Rights of the Child]] in 1995.

A group of [[intactivist]]s assembled at Evanston, {{USSC|IL}} in 1996 for a meeting and then protested and demonstrated before the AAP convention in nearby Chicago.

[[John A. Erickson]] (1996) self-published ''Deeper into Circumcision: A Invitation to Awareness'' (196 pages).<ref name="erickson1996">{{REFbook
|last=Erickson
|first=John A.
|init=JA
|author-link=John A. Erickson
|year=1996
|title=Deeper into Circumcision: An Invitation to Awareness
|url=http://www.foreskin.org/je-dic.htm
|publisher=Self-published (196 page pamphlet)
|location=Biloxi, Mississippi
}}</ref>

[[Geoffrey T. Falk]] created the [http://www.cirp.org/ Circumcision Information and Resources Pages] in 1996 to take advantage of the newly-available Internet.

[[Ronald Goldman]], Ph.D., (1997) conducted a thorough review of the effect of the American practice of [[child circumcision]] on American society.<ref name="goldman1997">{{REFbook
|last=Goldman
|first=Ronald
|year=1997
|title=Circumcision: The Hidden Trauma
|url=https://circumcision.org/circumcision-the-hidden-trauma/
|chapter=7. The impact of circumcision on American society
|pages=139-75
|location=Boston
|publisher=Vanguard
|ISBN=0-9644895-3-8
|accessdate=2026-07-15
}}</ref>

Ross Povenmire (1998) questioned the authority of parents to grant consent for non-therapeutic circumcision of children.<ref name="povenmire1998">{{REFjournal
|last=Povenmire
|init=R
|author-link=
|last2=
|init2=
|author2-link=
|url=http://www.cirp.org/library/legal/povenmire/
|title=Do Parents Have the Legal Authority to Consent to the Surgical Amputation of Normal, Healthy Tissue From Their Infant Children?: The Practice of Circumcision in the United States
|journal=Journal of Gender, Social Policy & the Law
|date=1998
|volume=7
|issue=
|page=87
|accessdate=2021-10-14
}}</ref>

[[Christopher Fletcher]], M.D., (1998) conducted a survey of doctors in the United States who perform non-therapeutic circumcision of boys. Dr. Fletcher concluded his report in part:
<blockquote>
This study reveals that, across the country, American specialties that perform circumcisions are ignorant of the medical facts regarding the penile foreskin and in conjunction with hospitals and misinformed patients, attempt to justify and rationalise newborn male circumcision. In many cases, despite personal beliefs that circumcision is more harmful than beneficial, some physicians are unwilling to give up their participation in this almost uniquely American custom which many of them have personally experienced as infants.<ref name="fletcher1998!>{{REFbook
|last=Fletcher
|first=Christopher R.
|init=CR
|url=https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-0-585-39937-9_19
|chapter=[https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-0-585-39937-9_19 Circumcision in America in 1998: Attitudes, Beliefs and Charges of American Physicians]
|publisher=Kluwer/Plenum
|title=Male and Female Circumcision
|pages=259-71
|editors=George C. Denniston, Frederick Mansfield Hodges, Marilyn Fayre Milos
|year=1998
|accessdate=2021-10-21
}}</ref>
</blockquote>
The American Academy of Pediatrics had been acutely embarrassed by the faults of [[Edgar J. Schoen]]'s [http://www.cirp.org/library/statements/aap/#a1989 horrific circumcision policy statement], so a new task force was convened under the direction of Carole Marie Lannon, {{MD}}, {{MPH}}, to produce a new, more appropriate, and less embarrassing policy statement on non-therapeutic child circumcision. The new task force produced the [[American_Academy_of_Pediatrics#Fourth_policy_.281999.29|Fourth Circumcision Policy Statement]].<ref name="aap1999">{{REFjournal
|last=Lannon
|first=Carole Marie
|init=CM
|author-link=
|last2=Bailey
|first2=Ann Geryl Doll
|init2=AGD
|author2-link=
|last3=Fleishman
|first3=Alan R.
|init3=AR
|author3-link=
|last4=Kaplan
|first4=George W.
|init4=GW
|author4-link=George W. Kaplan
|last5=Shoemaker
|first5=Craig T.
|init5=CT
|author5-link=
|last6=Swanson
|first6=Jack T.
|init6=JT
|author6-link=
|last7=Coustan
|first7=Donald
|init7=D
|author7-link=
|etal=no
|title=Circumcision Policy Statement
|journal=Pediatrics
|location=
|date=1999-09
|volume=103
|issue=3
|article=
|pages=686-93
|url=http://www.cirp.org/library/statements/aap1999/
|pubmedID= 22926180
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=10.1542/peds.2012-1989
|accessdate=2021-10-10
}}</ref> The 1999 circumcision statement advocated analgesia for pain relief of the extreme circumcision [pain], admitted that the [[foreskin]] contains [[Ridged band| nerves]], softened the claims made for [[UTI]] prevention, recognized the effectiveness of breastfeeding at reducing UTI in infants and declared non-therapeutic infant circumcision to be an ''elective'' surgical procedure. Other than that, it shared the much the same faults as the 1989 statement.

Rhinehart (1999) was a practicing psychiatrist who described his patients later-life problems stemming from the psychic [[trauma]] of their neonatal [[circumcision]].<ref name="rhinehart1999">{{REFjournal
|last=Rhinehart
|first=John W.
|init=JW
|author-link=
|etal=no
|title=Neonatal Circumcision Reconsidered
|journal=Transactional Analysis Journal
|location=
|date=1999-07
|volume=29
|issue=3
|pages=215-21
|url=http://www.cirp.org/library/psych/rhinehart1/
|quote=
|pubmedID=
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=10.
|accessdate=2021-10-14
}}</ref>

===Late twentieth century history video===
 
<youtube>o25MjZsmvGY</youtube>
 

===Early twenty-first century===
====First Quarter====
The twenty-first century has been characterized by greater opposition to non-therapeutic circumcision of boys in the general population, the utter failure of the circumcision industry's vaunted new circumcision policy, and much more attention to legal and ethical issues relating to non-therapeutic circumcision of boys.

Giannetti (2000) argued that scientific misconduct in the [[American Academy of Pediatrics]] circumcision policy statements should expose the AAP to trade association liability.<ref name="gianetti2000">{{REFjournal
|last=Giannetti
|first=Matthew
|init=M
|author-link=
|title=Circumcision and the American Academy of Pediatrics: Should Scientific Misconduct Result in Trade Association Liability
|journal=Iowa Law Rev
|date=2000
|volume=85
|issue=4
|pages=1507-68
|url=https://www.doctorsopposingcircumcision.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/Gianetti-AAP-Misconduct-Trade-Assn-Iowa-Law-Rev-2000.pdf
|accessdate=2020-05-09
}}</ref>

[[J. Steven Svoboda|Svoboda]], [[Robert S. Van Howe|Van Howe]] & [[James G. Dwyer|Dwyer]] (2000) discussed legal issues inherent with consent for non-therapeutic circumcision of boys.<ref name="svoboda2000">{{REFjournal
|last=Svoboda
|first=J. Steven
|init=JS
|author-link=J. Steven Svoboda
|last2=Van Howe
|first2=Robert S.
|init2=RS
|author2-link=Robert S. Van Howe
|last3=Dwyer
|first3=James G.
|init3=JG
|author3-link=James G. Dwyer
|etal=no
|title=Informed Consent for Neonatal Circumcision: An Ethical and Legal Conundrum
|journal=J Contemporary Health Law Policy
|location=
|date=2000-09
|volume=17
|issue=1
|pages=61-133
|url=https://scholarship.law.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1255&context=jchlp
|pubmedID=11216345
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=
|accessdate=2021-10-11
}}</ref>

[[J. Steven Svoboda]] (2001) discussed the limits of the law.<ref name="svoboda2001">{{REFbook
|last=Svoboda
|first=J. Steven
|init=JS
|author-link=J. Steven Svoboda
|year=2001
|title=Limits of the law: Comparative analysis of legal and extralegal methods.
|url=https://www.arclaw.org/wp-content/uploads/Limits-of-the-Law-Comparative-Analysis-of-Legal-and-Extralegal-Methods.pdf
|work=Understanding Circumcision: A Multi-Disciplinary Approach to a Multi-Dimensional Problem
|editor=[[George C. Denniston]], [[Frederick M. Hodges]], and [[Marilyn Fayre Milos]]
|edition=
|volume=
|chapter=
|pages=297-365
|location=
|publisher=Springer
|isbn=978-1-4419-3375-1.
|quote=
|accessdate=2021-10-11
|note=
}}</ref>

[[Geoffrey P. Miller]] (2002) discussed the impact of American culture on the law of circumcision.<ref name="miller2002">{{REFjournal
|last=Miller
|first=Geoffrey P.
|init=GP
|author-link=
|title=Circumcision: Cultural-Legal Analysis
|journal=Virginia Journal of Social Policy & the Law.
|date=2002-3
|volume=9
|issue=
|pages=497-585
|url=http://www.cirp.org/library/legal/miller1/
|accessdate=2020-07-29
}}</ref>

[[George Hill]] (2003) questioned the authority of anyone to grant consent for the non-therapeutic alteration of a child's body.<ref name="hill2010">{{REFjournal
|last=Hill
|first=George
|init=
|author-link=George Hill
|etal=no
|title=Can Anyone Authorize the Nontherapeutic Permanent Alteration of a Child's Body?
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal=Am J Bioeth
|location=
|date=2003-03
|volume=3
|issue=2
|article=
|page=W6
|url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1162/152651603766436342
|pubmedID=14635628
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=10.1162/152651603766436342
|accessdate=2021-10-14
}}</ref>

[[Petrina Fadel]] founded [[Catholics Against Circumcision]].

Thomas et al. (2004) studied the incidence of [[HIV]] in circumcision and intact men in a United States Navy population. A slightly higher incidence of [[HIV]] infection was found in circumcised men (84.9%) as compared with intact men (81.8%). The authors concluded:
<blockquote>
Although there may be other medical or cultural reasons for male circumcision, it is not associated with [[HIV]] or STI prevention in this U.S. military population.<ref name="thomas2004">Thomas AG, Bakhireva LN, Brodine SK, Shaffer RA. [http://www.cirp.org/library/disease/HIV/thomas1/ Prevalence of male circumcision and its association with [[HIV]] and sexually transmitted infections in a U.S. Navy population]. Abstract no. TuPeC4861. Presented at the XV International [[AIDS]] Conference, Bangkok, Thailand, July 11-16, 2004.</ref>
</blockquote>

[[Saving Our Sons (SoS)]], an [[intactivist]] organization, commenced operations online in 2007.

[[Dr. Momma - peaceful parenting]], an [[intactivist]] organization, started in 2007.

[[Doctors Opposing Circumcision (D.O.C.)]] included this commentary on the law of circumcision of boys in their June 2008 Genital Integrity Statement. It has since been later amended by another party to include a reference to Adler (2013) that was not available at the time of writing.<ref>{{REFbook
|last=Hill
|first=George
|init=G
|author-link=George Hill
|year=2008
|title=Ch. 10: American Law and the Circumcision of Children
|url=
|work=Genital Integrity Policy
|editor=
|edition=
|volume=
|chapter=
|pages=
|location=Seattle
|publisher=[[Doctors Opposing Circumcision (D.O.C.)]]
|isbn=
|quote=
|accessdate=2021-10-11
|note=
}}</ref>

[[Doctors Opposing Circumcision (D.O.C.)]] issued a Genital Integrity Policy in June 2008.<ref name-"doc2008">{{REFdocument
|title=Genital Integrity Policy
|url=
|contribution=
|last=Hill
|first=George
|author-link=George Hill
|publisher=[[Doctors Opposing Circumcision (D.O.C.)]]
|format=PDF
|date=2008-06
|accessdate=2021-10-11
}}</ref>

[[Georganne Chapin]] founded [[Intact America]] in 2008 with the aid of a grant from Texas philanthropist Dean Pisani.

[[Robert S. Van Howe|Van Howe]] & Svoboda (2008) said of the American practice of medically-unnecessary, non-therapeutic infant circumcision:
<blockquote>
Once all factors are revealed, it
is impossible to consider circumcision a minor issue,
but rather circumcision comes to symbolize one of the
greatest ongoing systemic ethical violations for which
modern medicine has been responsible.<ref name="vanhowe2008">{{REFjournal
|last=Van Howe
|first=Robert S.
|init=RS
|author-link=Robert S. Van Howe
|last2=Svoboda
|first2=J. Steven
|init2=JS
|author2-link=J. Steven Svoboda
|etal=no
|title=Neonatal pain relief and the Helsinki Declaration
|journal=Journal of Law, Medicine, and Ethics
|location=
|date=2008-12
|volume=36
|issue=4
|article=
|pages=803-23
|url=https://www.academia.edu/download/33981944/27_Van_Howe.pdf
|pubmedID=19094008
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=10.1111/j.1748-720X.2008.00339.x
|accessdate=2021-10-31
}}</ref>
</blockquote>

The British journal, ''The Lancet'', published reports of two randomized controlled trials (RCTs) that were carried out in sub-Saharan Africa which purported to prove that male circumcision was protective against infection with [[HIV]]. The [[American Academy of Pediatrics]] consulted with the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists ([[ACOG]]) and the American College of Family Physicians ([[AAFP]]) (those being the [[medical trade association| medical trade associations]] that represent the specialties that perform most non-therapeutic infant circumcisions and make most of the money from the performance of the non-therapeutic [[amputation]]). The three associations determined to make common cause to produce a position statement that would promote male circumcision based on its alleged protection against [[HIV]] infection. The [[AAP]] was to take the lead, but ACOG and AAFP provided representatives to the new [[AAP Circumcision Task Force 2012| AAP task force]], of which New York Jewess [[Susan Blank]], {{MD}}, {{MPH}}, was the chairwoman. This new task force did not publish a statement until 2012. The AAP declined to re-affirm the statement so it expired in August 2017.

[[Dan Bollinger|Bollinger]] (2010) estimated approximately 117 neonatal circumcision-related deaths occur annually in the United States.<ref name="bollinger2010">{{BollingerD 2010}}</ref>

[[Anthony Losquadro]] formed [[Intaction]], an [[intactivist]] organization in 2010.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ([[CDC]]) reported an incidence of newborn circumcision of 58.3 percent in 2010.<ref name="cdc2015">{{REFweb
|url=https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/hestat/circumcision_2013/circumcision_2013.htm
|title=Trends in Circumcision for Male Newborns in U.S. Hospitals: 1979–2010
|publisher=Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
|website=cdc.gov
|date=2015-11-06
|accessdate=2021-10-16
}}</ref>

Professor [[Peter W. Adler]], J. D., (2011) argued that it is unlawful for United States Medicaid to pay for non-therapeutic circumcision.<ref name="adler2011" />

[[Brother K]] formed the [[Bloodstained Men]] in 2012.

The [[AAP]], lead by the [[AAP Circumcision Task Force 2012]], finally published the [[American_Academy_of_Pediatrics#Fifth_policy_.282012.29| fifth circumcision policy statement]] in the September 2012 issue of ''Pediatrics''. The [[American_Academy_of_Pediatrics#Criticism| adverse criticism]] was overwhelming.

[[Dan Bollinger|Bollinger]] (2012) estimated that the total cost of non-therapeutic male circumcision, including hospital costs, repair of botched circumcisions, treatment of complications, and so on is more than $3 billion per year,<ref name="bollinger2012">{{REFweb
|url=https://www.academia.edu/6442587/High_Cost_of_Circumcision_3.6_Billion_Annually
|title=High Cost of Circumcision: $3.6 Billion Annually
|last=Bollinger
|first=Dan
|author-link=Dan Bollinger
|publisher=Academia
|date=2012
|accessdate=2020-11-25
}}</ref> of which the beneficiary is the American circumcision industry.

[[Doctors Opposing Circumcision (D.O.C.)]] (2013) provided evidence that the purpose of the 2012 AAP Circumcision Policy Statement was to get more money for doctors,<ref name="doc2013">{{REFdocument
|title=Commentary on American Academy of Pediatrics 2012 Circumcision Policy Statemeni
|url=https://www.doctorsopposingcircumcision.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/commentary-on-american-academy-of-pediatrics-2012-circumcision-policy-statement.pdf
|contribution=
|last=
|first=
|publisher=[[Doctors Opposing Circumcision (D.O.C.)]]
|format=PDF
|date=2013-04-01
|accessdate=2021-10-21
}}</ref>

Professor [[Peter W. Adler]], {{JD}}, (2013) argued that non-therapeutic circumcision of boys is unlawful.<ref name="adler2013">{{REFjournal
|last=Adler
|first=Peter W.
|init=PW
|author-link=Peter W. Adler
|title=Is circumcision legal?
|journal=Richmond Journal of Law and the Public Interest
|date=2013
|volume=16
|issue=3
|pages=439-86
|url=https://scholarship.richmond.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1265&context=jolpi
|accessdate=2020-05-08
}}</ref>

[[Robert S. Van Howe|Van Howe]] & [[J. Steven Svoboda|Svoboda]] (2013) criticized the 2012 AAP statement because it failed to include important points, inaccurately analyzed and interpreted current medical literature, and made unsupported conclusions.<ref name="vanhowe2013">{{REFjournal
|last=Van Howe
|first=Robert S.
|init=RS
|author-link=Robert S. Van Howe
|last2=Svoboda
|first2=J. Steven
|init2=JS
|author2-link=J. Steven Svoboda
|date=2013-07-01
|title=Out of step: fatal flaws in the latest AAP policy report on neonatal circumcision
|url=https://jme.bmj.com/content/39/7/434
|journal=Journal of Medical Ethics
|language=en
|volume=39
|issue=7
|pages=434-41
|DOI=10.1136/medethics-2013-101346
|issn=0306-6800
|pubmedID=23508208
}}</ref>

[[Jen Williams]] organized [[Your Whole Baby]] in 2014.

The infamous [[Nebus v. Hironimus]] Florida [[circumcision]] case culminated after five years of litigation with Florida Family Court Judge [[Jeffrey Dana Gillen]] arrested the mother, [[Heather Hironimus]], and forced her to sign a consent for harmful, [[pain| painful]] circumcision in open court while handcuffed.
 
Heather Hironimus signs consent form for circumcision of 4 and 1/2 year old son under extreme duress
<youtube>Btxl4UGBdpc</youtube>

[[Doctors Opposing Circumcision (D.O.C.)]] commissioned a [https://www,doctorsopposingcircumcision.org new website] in 2016.

[[J. Steven Svoboda]] argued against non-therapeutic circumcision.<ref name="svoboda2017">{{REFjournal
|date=2017-08-01
|title=Nontherapeutic Circumcision of Minors as an Ethically Problematic Form of Iatrogenic Injury
|journal=AMA Journal of Ethics
|language=en
|volume=19
|issue=8
|pages=815-24
|DOI=10.1001/journalofethics.2017.19.8.msoc2-1708
|pubmedID=28846521
|issn=2376-6980
|last1=Svoboda
|first1=J.S.
}}</ref> He stated that this decision should be considered in the context of benefit vs risk of harm, rather than simply risk-benefit due to the non-therapeutic nature of the procedure.<ref name="svoboda2017"/> He states that benefits do not outweigh the risks, and also claims that foreskin removal should be considered a sexual harm.<ref name="svoboda2017"/> He also went on to conclude that non-therapeutic circumcision largely violates the physician's duty to respect a patient's autonomy since many procedures take place before a patient is able to freely give consent himself.<ref name="svoboda2017"/>

Reis-Dennis & Reis (2017) asked if physicians should be blamed for harm resulting from unnecessary genital surgeries, including infant circumcision.<ref name="reis-dennis2017">{{REFjournal
|last=Reis-Dennis
|first=
|init=
|author-link=
|last2=Reis
|first2=
|init2=
|author2-link=
|etal=no
|title=Are Physicians Blameworthy for Iatrogenic Harm Resulting from Unnecessary Genital Surgeries?
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal=AMA Journal of Ethics
|location=
|date=2017
|volume=19
|issue=8
|article=
|pages=825-33
|url=
|pubmedID=28846522
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=10.1001/journalofethics.2017.19.8.msoc3-1708
|accessdate=2021-10-14
}}</ref>

The ill-fated, embarrassing 2012 [[AAP]] Circumcision Policy Statement expired on August 31, 2017 in accordance with AAP policy, because it was not reaffirmed. The AAP has had ''no'' official circumcision policy since that time.

[[Doctors Opposing Circumcision]] released a special report on circumcision for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.<ref name="doc2019">{{REFdocument
|title=Male Circumcision: A special report to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
|url=https://pool.intactiwiki.org/w/images/Male_Circumcision_DOC_2019-02-01.pdf
|contribution=
|last=Anonymous
|first=
|publisher=Doctors Opposing Circumcision
|format=PDF
|date=2019-02-01
|accessdate=2025-12-08
}}</ref>

[[Dan Bollinger|Bollinger]] (2019) discussed circumcision as an adverse childhood experience,<ref name-"bollinger2019">{{REFdocument
|title=Child genital cutting as an adverse childhood experience
|url=http://adversechildhoodexperiences.net/CGC_as_an_ACE.pdf
|last=Bollinger
|first=Dan
|author-link=Dan Bollinger
|last2=Chapin
|first2=Georganne
|author2-link=Georganne Chapin
|publisher=Intact America
|location=Tarrytown
|format=PDF
|date=2019-08
|accessdate=2021-04-02
}}</ref>

[[Peter W. Adler|Adler]], [[Robert S. Van Howe|Van Howe]], Wisdom & Daase (2020) examined male non-therapeutic circumcision as fraud.<ref name="adler2020">{{REFjournal
|last=Adler
|first=Peter W.
|init=PW
|author-link=Peter W. Adler
|last2=Van Howe
|first2=Robert S.
|init2=RS
|author2-link=Robert S. Van Howe
|last3=Wisdom
|first3=Travis
|init3=T
|author3-link=
|last4=Daase
|first4=Felix
|init4=F
|author4-link=Felix Daase
|etal=no
|title=Is circumcision a fraud?
|journal=Cornell Journal of Law and Public Policy
|location=
|date=2020-11
|volume=30
|issue=1
|pages=45-107
|url=https://www.lawschool.cornell.edu/research/JLPP/upload/Adler-et-al-final.pdf
}}
</ref>

Adler & Daase (2020) reviewed the American debate on non-therapeutic child circumcision for a French-speaking audience.<ref name="adlerB2020>{{REFjournal
|last=Adler
|first=Peter W.
|init=PW
|author-link=Peter W. Adler
|last2=Daase
|first2=Felix
|init2=F
|author2-link=Felix Daase
|etal=no
|title=Actualié du débat sur la circoncision aux États-Unis: Is the Circumcision Debate Over?
|journal=Droit et Cultures
|location=
|date=2020
|volume=79
|issue=1
|pages=207-22
|url=https://journals.openedition.org/droitcultures/6276?lang=en
|accessdate=2021-06-19
}}</ref>

[[Ronald Goldman]] led a group of Massachusetts taxpayers who filed a suit against [https://www.mass.gov/topics/masshealth MassHealth] (Massachusetts Medicaid), which is unlawfully paying for non-therapeutic circumcisions with public funds.<ref>{{REFweb
|url=https://circumcision.org/taxpayers-sue-massachusetts-medicaid-about-circumcisions/
|title=Taxpayers Sue Massachusetts Medicaid About Circumcisions
|first=Ronald
|last=Goldman
|author-link=Ronald Goldman
|publisher=[[Circumcision Resource Center]]
|date=2020-07-22
|accessdate=2021-10-13
}}</ref>

Navia et al. (2020) surveyed the incidence of non-therapeutic neonatal circumcision in four states. The incidence of circumcision in 2016 was found to have declined to 54.5 percent, which translates to an increase in [[genital integrity]] and wholeness rate to 45.5 percent.<ref>{{REFjournal
|last=Navia
|first=Mateo Zambrano
|init=
|author-link=
|last2=Jacobson
|first2=Deborah L.
|init2=
|author2-link=
|last3=Balmert
|first3=Lauren C.
|init3=
|author3-link=
|last4=Rosoklija
|first4=Ilina
|init4=
|author4-link=
|last5=Holl
|first5=Jane L.
|init5=
|author5-link=
|last6=Davis
|first6=Matthew M.
|init6=
|author6-link=
|last7=Johnson
|first7=Emilie K
|init7=
|author7-link=
|etal=no
|title=State-Level Public Insurance Coverage and Neonatal Circumcision Rates
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal=Pediatrics
|location=
|date=2020-11
|volume=146
|issue=5
|article=
|page=e20201475
|url=https://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/146/5/e20201475
|pubmedID=33055226
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=10.1542/peds.2020-1475
|accessdate=2021-10-13
}}</ref>

The Lavine family of New Jersey has brought a lawsuit against a New Jersey practitioner and the [[American Academy of Pediatrics]] that alleges fraud.<ref>{{REFweb
|url=https://www.circumcisionisafraud.com/docket-mer-l-000272-21
|title=Circumcision is a Fraud
|last=
|first=
|accessdate=2021-10-13
}}</ref>

A study by [[Intact America]] (2020) reveals how hospitals pressure mothers into granting consent for unneeded and unwanted injurious non-therapeutic [[circumcision]] of a newborn boy.<ref>{{REFweb
|url=https://www.prweb.com/printer/17552844.htm
|title=Having a Baby Boy? Intact America Warns, ‘Get Ready for the Circumcision Sellers!
|last=Chapin
|first=Georganne
|author-link=Georganne Chapin
|publisher=Intact America
|website=prweb
|date=2020-11-18
|accessdate=2021-10-13
|format=
|quote=
}}</ref> Infant circumcision is a profit center for many American hospitals so parents are pushed to circumcise.

[[Intact America]] (2024) called child circumcision "an outdated practice in desperate need of reevaluation",<ref name="alissa2024-12-16">{{REFweb
|url=https://intactamerica.org/circumcision-reevaluation/
|title=Circumcision: An Outdated Practice in Desperate Need of Re-Evaluation
|last=Alissa
|first=Kristel
|init=
|author-link=
|publisher=Intact America
|date=2024-12-16
|accessdate=2024-12-23
}}</ref> and exposed the propaganda that has promoted the harmful but profitable practice of child circumcision.<ref>{{REFweb
|url=https://intactamerica.org/exposing-circumcision-propaganda/
|title=The Unkindest Cut: Exposing the Propaganda That Normalized Circumcision—and How We Reclaim the Truth
|last=Alissa
|first=Kristel
|init=
|author-link=
|publisher=Intact America
|date=2024-11-19
|accessdate=2024-12-23
}}</ref>

[[Intact America]] (2024) reports a rapid increase in the percentage of Americans who oppose the harmful [[circumcision]] of boys.<ref>{{REFweb
|url=https://www.instagram.com/p/DKVZQGTRl77/?igsh=MWV1aW90MzBpd2dzdA%3D%3D
|title=Opposition to circumcision overtime.
|last=Anonymous
|first=
|init=
|author-link=
|publisher=Intact America
|date=2024
|accessdate=2025-06-01
}}</ref>
[[Intact America]] (2024) is tracking the opposition to [[circumcision]] in the [[United States]]. It reports [https://www.instagram.com/p/DKVZQGTRl77/ steadily increasing opposition] to [[child circumcision]].

[[Eric Clopper]] organized [[Intact Global]] in 2024, which has the goal of litigating in numerous states to ensure that boys will enjoy "the equal protection of the law".

====Second quarter====
[[PEPFAR]] (2025) has scrapped its costly, ineffective, and harmful "voluntary male medical circumcision" ([[VMMC]]) program after 15 years and at least 27,000,000 harmful and useless [[foreskin]] amputations.<ref name="gwarisa2025">{{REFnews
|title=New PEPFAR Waiver Scraps Voluntary Medical Male Circumcision Program
|url=https://healthtimes.co.zw/2025/02/07/new-pepfar-waiver-scraps-voluntary-medical-male-circumcision-program/
|last=Gwarisa
|first=Michael
|init=
|author-link=
|publisher=Healthtimes
|website=
|date=2025-02-07
|accessdate=2025-02-15
|format=
|quote=
}}</ref> Numerous studies have demonstrated that [[adult circumcision]] is not effective in preventing [[HIV]] [[infection]]. Child [[circumcision]] had previously been discontinued.

President Donald J. Trump appointment of [[Robert Francis Kennedy, Jr.]] to be Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services was approved by the United States Senate was ratified by the United States Senate on 13 February 2025. Kennedy wants to reform healthcare in the United States.

Intact Global instituted a suit against the state of Oregon in March 2025.<ref>{{REFdocument
|title=Hadachek et al. v. Oregon Complaint
|url=https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/66119b8c4d0c10f1951590fc/67e6d9785f82dc54c6513cb7_2025-03-28%20-%20Hadachek%20v.%20Oregon%20-%20Amended%20Complaint%20(Conformed).pdf
|contribution=
|last=Clopper
|first=Eric
|publisher=Intact Global
|format=PDF
|date=2025-03-27
|accessdate=2025-04-01
}}</ref> [[Intact Global]] also filed suit against the state of Colorado in June 2026.<ref name="rubane2026">{{REFdocument
|title=Tristan Huff and Adam Schwartz, Plaintiffs, v. The State of Colorado
|trans-title=
|language=
|url=https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/66119b8c4d0c10f195159122/6a3185315bbad632a188ed5f_2026-06-09---Huff-v.-Colorado-Complaint---Equal-Protection-Challenge-(Conformed)---For-Press.pdf
|archived=
|contribution=
|quote=
|trans-quote=
|quote-lang=
|last=RuBane
|first=Thomas F.
|author-link=
|last2=Clopper
|first2=Eric
|author2-link=
|format=PDF
|date=2026-06-09
|accessdate=2026-06-17
}}</ref>

Data Panda has reported the incidence of non-therapeutic circumcision by state on 24 May 2025. The incidence ranged from a low of 10 percent in Washington to a high of 91 percent in West Virginia.<ref>{{REFweb
|url=https://www.datapandas.org/ranking/circumcision-rate-by-state
|title=Circumcision Rate by State
|last=Anonymous
|first=
|init=
|author-link=
|publisher=Data Panda
|date=2025-05-24
|accessdate=2025-09-19
}}</ref>

[[Jake Tran]] has produced a [[This should be a crime| video]] about the practice of [[child circumcision]] in the United States.

In a milestone for [[intactivism]], Microsoft Network (MSN) (2025) reported that the incidence of [[child circumcision]] in the United States has declined below 50 percent, which makes non-circumcision or [[genital integrity]] the new NORM in the United States among newborn boys.<ref name="msn2025">{{REFnews
|title=Less Than Half of U.S. Boys Now Circumcised
|url=https://www.msn.com/en-us/health/other/less-than-half-of-us-boys-now-circumcised/ar-AA1MBjzN
|last=Anonymous
|publisher=Microsoft Network
|website=
|date=2025-09-17
|accessdate=2025-09-29
|quote=From 2012 to 2022, the prevalence of circumcision during hospitalization of male neonates age 0 to 28 days decreased significantly by nearly 5 percentage points, from 54.1% to 49.3%,
}}</ref>

==Government financial support for non-therapeutic circumcision==
The United States government provides [[financial incentive]] for medically-unnecessary, non-therapeutic [[circumcision]] by [[third-party payment]] through numerous government health insurance programs:

* [https://www.medicaid.gov/ Medicaid] — About 45 percent of births are under Medicaid.
* [https://www.healthcare.gov/medicaid-chip/childrens-health-insurance-program/ Child Health Insurance Program (CHIP)] — Covers children whose family income is higher.
* [https://www.ihs.gov/ Indian Health Service] — Covers the indigenous population.
* [https://www.tricare.mil/ Tricare] — Covers military dependents.
* [https://www.benefits.gov/benefit/4440 Federal Employees Health Benefits (FEHB) Program] — Covers federal employees and families.
* [https://www.medicare.gov/ Medicare] − Covers persons who have reached 65 years of age.

==The second term of President Donald J. Trump==
The second term of President Donald J. Trump commenced on 21 January 2025. President Trump has promised far-reaching reforms of the executive branch of the government of the United States. It is not clear at this time (9 February 2025) how this will affect the practice of male [[circumcision]] in the United States. We note that the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief ([[PEPFAR]]) has been paused. The performance of ineffective [[genital mutilation]] (male circumcision) on African males may have stopped.<ref>{{REFnews
|title=Trump's Foreign Aid Freeze
|url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/trump-rubio-pepfar-prep-usaid_n_67a65f98e4b0682fe26ceb1f
|last=Cohn
|first=Jonathan
|init=
|author-link=
|last2=
|init2=
|author2-link=
|publisher=Huffpost
|website=
|date=2025-02-07
|season=
|accessdate=2025-02-09
|format=
|quote=
}}</ref>

== Statistical data ==
The National Center for Health Statistics (2013) reported that the incidence of child [[circumcision]] has been declining for thirty years.<ref>{{REFweb
|url=https://blogs.cdc.gov/nchs/2013/08/22/1667/
|title=Male Newborn Circumcision on a Three Decade Decline
|last=
|first=
|init=
|author-link=
|publisher=National Center for Health Statistics
|date=2013-08-22
|accessdate=2025-01-19
}}</ref>
=== Prevalence of circumcision ===
'''Prevalence of circumcision''' is the percentage of all males of all ages in the population who have been [[circumcised]].

[[Intact America]] carried out a survey in 2022 that claims that 73 percent of all American men were [[circumcised]],<ref>{{REFweb
|url=https://www.intactamerica.org/newsroom-gender-equality/
|title=Intact Facts
|last=
|first=
|init=
|publisher=Intact America
|date=2022
|accessdate=2023-03-29
}}</ref> however no documentation has been provided so it is not clear in what region it was carried out or what age groups were surveyed. The prevalence of [[circumcision]] varies by age, region, race, and religion. On another webpage, [[Intact America]] claims 78 percent are circumcised so Intact America is uncertain of its claims.

Peter Moore (2015) reported that 62 percent of all American males reported being [[circumcised]],<ref name="moore2015">{{REFweb
|url=https://today.yougov.com/topics/lifestyle/articles-reports/2015/02/03/younger-americans-circumcision
|title=Young Americans less supportive of circumcision at birth
|last=Moore
|first=Peter
|date=2015-02-03
|accessdate=2022-02-07
}}</ref> which increases the prevalence of [[intact]] [[foreskin]] to 38 percent of living American males of all ages. This percentage is expected to gradually but constantly decline, while the percentage of males who are [[intact]] due to the declining incidence of newborn boys receiving medically-unnecessary, non-therapeutic [[circumcision]] is expected to increase. The percentage of males with [[intact]] [[foreskin]] is lowest with senior citizens and highest in the youngest age groups.

=== Incidence of circumcision ===
'''Incidence of circumcision''' is the percentage of newborn boys who currently are being [[circumcised]].
====Long-term declining trend====
The incidence of non-therapeutic neonatal [[circumcision]] hit its peak at 85-90 percent in 1965.<ref name="laumann1997" /> It has been slowly declining ever since.

Peter Moore (2015) reported that the incidence of circumcision was 55 percent.<ref name="moore2015"/>

Jacobsen et al. (2021) used data from 2003 through 2016 from the Kid's Inpatient Database of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality to compare [[intact]] with [[circumcised]] boys in the first 28 days of life. The authors reported a gradual declining trend in the incidence of neonatal non-therapeutic [[circumcision]] throughout the study period. The overall incidence of circumcision decreased from 57.4 percent in 2003 to 52.1 percent in 2016 over the 13 year study period or 5.3 percentage points for an average decrease of 0.4 percentage point per year. The authors noted "neonatal circumcision rates decreased significantly over time."<ref name="jacobson2021" />

There was significant variation in the incidence of circumcision by region with the Midwest reporting an incidence of 75 percent (three out of four) for the period, while boys in the West were most likely to preserve their [[foreskin]] as the West reported an incidence of only 25.9 percent or about 1 boy in 4 being [[circumcised]].<ref name="jacobson2021" />

One should also note that the [[American Academy of Pediatrics]] [[medical trade association]] vacated its fraudulent 2012 Circumcision Policy Statement by allowing it to expire in 2017 without being re-affirmed.

[https://150.jhu.edu/ Johns Hopkins University] and the Jewish-funded [https://publichealth.jhu.edu/ Bloomberg School of Public Health] have long been outlier advocates of male [[circumcision]]. However, they (2025) are now reporting that the incidence of circumcision has declined "significantly" between 2012 and 2022. The overall decline was from 54.1% to 49.3% — a decline of 4.8 percentage points or 0.048 precentage points per year. The 4.8 percentage point represents a decline of 8.8 percent (4.8/54.1 = 8.8%)<ref name="yang2025" /> Although the incidence of [[circumcision of the newborn]] has been gradually declining for decades, this is the first study to report an overall incidence of less than fifty percent. Based on this new information, we can now report that [[intactness]] is now the NORM among the newborn boys of America. We note that [[Australia]] reported a significant improvement in child health when the incidence of circumcision declined in that nation.<ref>{{REFweb
|url=https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/children-youth/australias-children-in-brief/summary
|title=Australia’s children: in brief
|last=Anonymous
|first=
|init=
|author-link=
|publisher=Australian Institute of Health and Welfare
|pubmedID=
ISBN=978-1-76054-659-5
|DOI=10.25816/5e152818d082c
|date=2019-12-17
|accessdate=2025-09-17
}}</ref> Any circumcisions performed after the newborn period would not be captured by these statistics.

====Midwest====
The Midwest has been called the 'circumcision capital of America' because of its higher rates of circumcision. Nevertheless, the popularity of circumcision is declining even in the Midwest.

In the Midwest, the incidence of [[circumcision]] has declined to 75 percent, which translates to a [[genital integrity]] rate increase to 25 percent or 1 in 4 boys having an [[intact]] foreskin.<ref name="jacobson2021" /> The previous report from 2010 was one boy in five being intact,<ref name="bollinger2017" /> and before that it was 1 in 10 boys being [[intact]], so this in an increase of 250 percent (0.25/0.10 X 100 = 250%) in the rate of [[Intact| intactness]] for the Midwest. The still high incidence of circumcision in the Midwest is counterbalanced by the low incidence in the West.

=== Intactness is the new norm! ===

[[Intactness]] had previously been shamed in the United States,<ref name="garrett2023-12-21">{{REFweb
|url=https://intactamerica.org/foreskin-phobia-intact-penis-shamed/
|title=Foreskin Phobia: How The Intact Penis Has Been Shamed
|last=Garrett
|first=Connor
|init=
|author-link=Connor Judson Garrett
|publisher=Intact America
|date=2023-12-21
|accessdate=2024-05-15
}}</ref> but that era has ended.

[[Intact America]] called attention to the existence of a "tipping point",<ref>{{REFbook
|last=Gladwell
|first=Malcomb
|init=
|year=2002
|title=The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference
|url=https://www.amazon.com/Tipping-Point-Little-Things-Difference/dp/0316346624?s=books
|scope=
|location=
|publisher=Back Bay Books
|pages=301
|ISBN=SBN-10 0316346624
|accessdate=2025-12-01
}}</ref> when public opinion would shift toward [[intactness]] in 2016.<ref>{{REFweb
|url=https://intactamerica.org/do-you-know-about-the-tipping-point/
|title=Do You Know: About the “Tipping Point?
|last=Chapin
|first=Georganne
|init=
|author-link=Georganne Chapin
|publisher=Intact America
|date=2016-11-01
|accessdate=2024-06-03
}}</ref> Public opinion in the United States in 2024 has now reached that tipping point.

The percentage of American boys being [[circumcised]] has been slowly but progressively declining for a long time, while the number of boys with [[intact]] [[foreskin]] has correspondingly increased.<ref name="jacobson2021" /> The percentage of [[intact]] newborn boys has exceeded the percentage of [[circumcised]] newborn boys since 2022.<ref name="yang2025" />

As the present trend continues, [[intactness]] is becoming the more usual, normal, and expected condition among newborn infant boys in America. The incidence of [[circumcision]] varies geographically so some locations will report higher percentages [[circumcised]].

==Forecast future incidence of child circumcision==

The incidence of harmful, unnecessary, nontherapeutic [[circumcision]] of newborn boys declines at the rate of 0.5 of one percentage point per year or one percentage point every two years.<ref name="yang2025" />

Based on this historical rate of decline and assuming that it continues, we can forecast the future incidence of harmful [[child circumcision]] in the United States to be:

* 2023: 49.2%
* 2024: 48.7%
* 2025: 48.2%
* 2026: 47.7%
* 2027: 47.2%
* 2028: 46.7%
* 2029: 46.2%
* 2030: 45.7%

The declining incidence of [[circumcision]] correlates and coincides with the reported decline in the incidence of murder in the United States.<ref>{{REFnews
|title=U.S. murder rate approaches a record low
|url=https://www.npr.org/2026/06/30/nx-s1-5866810/us-murder-rate-record-low-crime-homicide
|last=Kaste
|first=Martin
|init=
|author-link=
|publisher=National Public Radio
|website=https://www.npr.org/
|date=2026-06-30
|accessdate=2026-06-30
|format=
|quote="The United States almost certainly had the lowest murder rate ever recorded in 2025, with the FBI having data back to 1960," says crime data analyst Jeff Asher. "And the available evidence suggests that we're going to go even lower this year."
}}</ref>

==American [[genital integrity]] organizations==

The United States of America now have numerous [[genital integrity]] ([[intactivist]]) organizations working to promote and encourage the protection of the [[physical integrity]] of American boys.

{{SEEALSO}}
* [[Financial incentive]]
* [[Intact-friendly]]
* [https://en.intactiwiki.org/index.php/Main_Page Home page]
* [[Living with a foreskin in circumcised America]]
{{LINKS}}
* {{URLwikipedia|United_States|United States}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://www.cirp.org/library/legal/USA/
|title=Legality of Circumcision: The United States of America
|last=Hill
|first=George
|init=
|publisher=Circumcision Reference Library
|date=2013-07-31
|accessdate=2023-08-26
}}
These documents by [[Dan Bollinger]] are included here because they contain significant information about the United States:
* {{REFweb
|url=https://www.academia.edu/23494197/Infant_Male_Genital_Cutting_Incidence_Worldwide
|title=Infant Male Genital Cutting Incidence Worldwide
|last=Bollinger
|first=Dan
|author-link=Dan Bollinger
|publisher=Academia
|date=2017-05-19
|accessdate=2021-10-21
|format=PDF
}}
* {{REFjournal
|last=Bollinger
|init=D
|author-link=Dan Bollinger
|url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/321837170_Origins_of_the_Intactivist_Movement_A_Masculine_Foundation
|title=Origins of the intactivist movement: A masculine foundation
|journal=
|date=2017-11-17
|accessdate=2021-10-14
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://intactamerica.org/circumcision-rates/
|title=Circumcision Rates by Country: Why America Is the Outlier
|last=Alissa
|first=Kristel
|init=
|author-link=Kristel Alissa
|publisher=Intact America
|date=2025-07-03
|accessdate=2025-8-03
}}
{{ABBR}}
{{REF}}

[[Category:BSM]]
[[Category:English-speaking nation]]
[[Category:Circumcision]]
[[Category:Country]]
[[Category:Male circumcision]]
[[Category:History]]

[[Category:USA]]

[[de:Vereinigte Staaten von Amerika]]

Genital Autonomy Legal Defense and Education Fund

2026-07-15T22:31:15Z

WikiModEn2: /* Legal Defense and Education Fund */ Add text and citation.

[[File:GALDEF-Trans-Teal-TM (official) copy.jpg|thumb|GALDEF logo]]
'''{{FULLPAGENAME}}''' (GALDEF) is a non-profit, membership-based [[genital autonomy]] legal group, founded by pioneering activist [[Tim Hammond]], along with [[John Adkison]] and other spirited [[human rights]] advocates.

== Purpose ==
GALDEF raises funds for "impact litigation" to establish legal precedents for recognition of children's rights to [[Physical integrity| bodily integrity]] and [[genital autonomy]] regardless of gender, but especially for those not already protected by law (e.g. those assigned male at birth or [[intersex]]).

GALDEF trains attorneys on the complexities involved in winning such cases and with the hope of building a coalition of attorneys who are prepared to bring viable cases to U.S. courts of law.

GALDEF is compiling resources — both educational and financial — to assist a new generation of attorneys to bring successful cases challenging inadequate [[circumcision]] consent forms, hospitals and doctors who aggressively solicit parents for harmful infant [[circumcision]], [[forced foreskin retraction]], and state Medicaid payments for medically unnecessary [[circumcision]]s.

GALDEF seeks individuals for the Board of Directors, Board of Advisors, the Grant Review Committee, and other positions (media/social media, fundraising, graphics/website design, etc). GALDEF will emphasize being an inclusive and welcoming organization to ensure diversity with regard to sex/gender, race, religion and sexual orientation/gender identity within its board, officers and membership.

Please read more about GALDEF and consider offering your time, skills, talents and passion to create this new and vitally needed organization.

== Legal Defense and Education Fund ==
In the history of civil and [[human rights]] movements in the [[USA]], LDEFs have been instrumental in advancing legal recognition of the rights of women, blacks, LGBTQIA+ people, the disabled and other groups in need of greater protection under the law. Examples include Lambda Legal, GLAD, NAACP, and NOW.

GALDEF offers [https://www.galdef.org/resources-for-attorneys/ resources for attorneys] who plan to file a circumcision lawsuit.

== Early endorsers of the GALDEF ==
* [[Peter W. Adler]], Prof. of International Law, {{UNI|Univ. of MA|UMass}}
* [[David J. Llewellyn]], Attorney
* [[J. Steven Svoboda]], Exec. Dir., [[ARC – Attorneys for the Rights of the Child]]
* [[George C. Denniston]], founder of [[Doctors Opposing Circumcision (D.O.C.)]]

== Videos ==
=== Circumcision and Sexual Justice: What Can We Do? ===
<youtube>T_1YapOqpAQ</youtube>

=== Kane Law & GALDEF's Equal Protection Project: Litigation ===
<youtube>7GU2jTiKauA</youtube>

{{SEEALSO}}
* [[Intact Global]]
* [[United States of America]]

{{LINKS}}
* {{URLwebsite|https://www.galdef.org/|2022-11-05}}
* {{URL-FBpage|102168028963252|2021-12-20}}

[[Category:Acronym]]
[[Category:Fund]]
[[Category:Intactivism organization]]
[[Category:Intersex]]
[[Category:Lawsuit]]
[[Category:Litigation]]
[[Category:Litigation over circumcision]]

[[Category:USA]]

[[de:GALDEF]]

United States of America

2026-07-15T21:56:46Z

WikiModEn2: /* Second quarter */

[[File:Flag_of_USA.svg|thumb|150px|Flag of the United States of America (USA)]]
The '''United States of America''' are also known as the '''United States''' or simply '''America''' or by initialism such as '''USA''' or '''US''' or '''U.S.A.''' or '''U.S.''' (Please note that ''America'' also is the name of two geological continents: ''North America'' and ''South America'' which include many more countries than just the ''United States of America'' which are the topic of this article. See also: [[:Category:Americas]].)

America is predominantly an English-speaking nation. As in other English-speaking nations, non-therapeutic [[circumcision]] of boys was popularized in the late nineteenth century. Due to the rates of infant circumcision that formerly approached 90 percent, the vast majority of [[Circumcised doctors| male doctors were neonatally circumcised]] and have no real knowledge of a normal body part. Such doctors frequently give poor advice to parents on the care of the [[intact]] [[penis]].<ref name="goldman2005">{{REFjournal
|last=Goldman
|first=Ronald
|init=R
|author-link=Ronald Goldman
|etal=no
|title=Circumcision policy: a psychosocial perspective
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal=Paediatrics & Child Health (Ottawa)
|location=
|date=2005-11
|volume=9
|issue=9
|pages=630-3
|url=https://academic.oup.com/pch/article/9/9/630/2648566?login=true
|quote=
|pubmedID=19675851
|pubmedCID=2724127
|DOI=10.1093/pch/9.9.630
|accessdate=2020-03-16
}}</ref> They are also much more likely to injure [[intact]] boys during office visits by premature [[Forced foreskin retraction| forcible foreskin retraction]] (PFFR).<ref>{{REFjournal
|last=Narvaez
|first=Darcia
|init=D
|author-link=
|last2=Geisheker
|first2=John V.
|init2=JV
|author2-link=John V. Geisheker
|url=https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/moral-landscapes/201110/what-is-the-greatest-danger-uncircumcised-boy
|title=What Is the Greatest Danger for an Uncircumcised Boy?
|journal=Psychology Today
|date=2011-10-23
|volume=
|issue=
|pages=
|accessdate=2021-10-31
}}</ref>

The United States is unique in having a [[circumcision industry]] that aggressively promotes the practice of medically-unnecessary, non-therapeutic, harmful, infant [[circumcision]]. The decline of the unnecessary practice has been slowed by payments for unnecessary circumcision by various government heath programs and by continual encouragement and promotion of circumcision by the [[circumcision industry]]. However, the practice of non-therapeutic [[circumcision]] of newborn boys has been in gradual decline for several decades.

Despite the financially self-serving promotional efforts of the [[circumcision industry]], Jacobson et al. (2021) reported the incidence of non-therapeutic [[circumcision]] of newborn infant boys was reported to have continued its slow decline to 52.1 percent in 2016.<ref name="jacobson2021">{{REFjournal
|last=Jacobson
|first=Deborah L.
|init=
|author-link=
|last2=Balmert
|first2=Lauren C.
|init2=
|author2-link=
|last3=Holl
|first3=Jane L.
|init3=
|author3-link=
|last4=Rosoklija
|first4=Ilina
|init4=
|author4-link=
|last5=Davis
|first5=Matthew M.
|init5=
|author5-link=
|last6=Johnson
|first6Emilie K.
|init6=
|author6-link=
|etal=no
|title=Nationwide Circumcision Trends: 2003 to 2016
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal=J Urol
|location=
|date=2021-01
|volume=205
|issue=1
|pages=257-63
|url=https://www.auajournals.org/doi/abs/10.1097/JU.0000000000001316
|pubmedID=32716676
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=10.1097/JU.0000000000001316
|accessdate=2021-10-15
}}</ref> Yang et al. (2025) reported the incidenec of circumcision of the newborn had declined to 49.3 percent in 2022, making non-circumcision or [[intactness]] the new NORM among America's newborn boys. Yang et al. studied a ten-ear period during which the incidence of circumcision declined at a rate of 0.5% per year.<ref name="yang2025">{{REFjournal
|last=Yang
|first=
|init=P
|author-link=
|last2=Zhu
|first2=
|init2=X
|author2-link=
|last3=Patel
|first3=
|init3=EU
|author3-link=
|last4=Quin
|first4=
|init4=PC
|author4-link=
|last5=Grabowski
|first5=
|init5=MK
|author5-link=
|last6=Tobian
|first6=
|init6=AAR
|author6-link=Aaron Tobian
|etal=no
|title=Trends in Circumcision Among Newborn Males in the US
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal=JAMA Pediatrics
|location=
|date=2025-09-15
|season=
|volume=
|issue=
|article=e252464
|page=
|pages=
|url=https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapediatrics/fullarticle/2838312
|archived=
|quote=
|pubmedID=40952753
|pubmedCID=12439174
|DOI=10.1001/jamapediatrics.2025.2464
|accessdate=2025-09-17
}}</ref>

The United States is unusual among nations in that osteopathic physicians (DOs) enjoy equal standing with allopathic physicians (MDs)<ref>{{REFweb
|url=https://www.ama-assn.org/press-center/ama-press-releases/aoa-and-ama-stand-against-misrepresentation-osteopathic-physicians#:~:text=The%20American%20Osteopathic%20Association%20%28AOA%29%20and%20the%20American,of%20osteopathic%20medicine%20by%20media%2C%20celebrities%20and%20companies.
|title=AOA and AMA stand against misrepresentation of osteopathic physicians
|last=Anonymous
|first=
|init=
|author-link=
|publisher=American Medical Association
|date=2020-11-04
|accessdate=2026-03-22
}}</ref> Osteopathic physicians observe four [[Tenets of Osteopathic Medicine]] in their practice.

==History==
===Colonial and early 19th century===
Jews have lived in America since before the Revolutionary War. They have always practiced [[Jewish circumcision| ritual circumcision]], ([[Brit Milah]]), of boys on the eighth day of life in accordance with the [[Abrahamic covenant]], however this was only for a very small percentage of the population.<ref name="self2016">{{REFjournal
|url=https://journals.troy.edu/index.php/test/article/view/386/302
|title=The Rise of Circumcision in Victorian America
|first=Eleanor
|last=Self
|author-link=Eleanor Self
|journal=The Alexandrian
|volume=5
|issue=1
|date=2016
|accessdate=2022-09-02
|format=PDF
}}
</ref>

One may be certain that the eighteenth century [https://www.nationalgeographic.org/article/founding-fathers/ Founding Fathers of the United States] of America were men with [[intact]] [[foreskin]]s as were the [[foreskinned]] men who fought the American Civil War (1861-1865).

Non-therapeutic [[circumcision]] of males for non-religious reasons originated with [[Claude François Lallemand]] in 1836 in France but soon spread to the [[United Kingdom]] in the early nineteenth century, from which it eventually spread to other English-speaking nations.<ref name="hodges1997">[[Frederick M. Hodges| Hodges FM]]. [https://lust-for-life.org/Lust-For-Life/_Textual/GeorgeCDenniston-MarilynFayreMilos-editors_JamesDeMeo_SexualMutilations-AHumanTragedy_1997_235pp/GeorgeCDenniston-MarilynFayreMilos-editors_JamesDeMeo_SexualMutilations-AHumanTragedy_1997_235pp.pdf#page=28 A short history of the institutionalization of involuntary sexual mutilations in the United States]. in: Denniston GC, Milos MF (eds.), Sexual Mutilations: A Human Tragedy (New York: Plenum Publishing, 1997), pp. 17-40. (ISBN 0-306-45589-7)</ref>

Edward Dixon (1847) recommended circumcision to prevent the spread of syphilis.<ref name="self2016" />

===Late nineteenth century===
====First quarter====
The late nineteenth century was characterized by prominent medical doctors advancing all sorts of absurd reasons for the performance of non-therapeutic [[circumcision]], including the prevention of venereal disease.<ref name="self2016" />

The first recorded non-religious circumcision of a boy in the United States occurred in 1870 when [[Lewis Albert Sayre]], a prominent New York City doctor, [[circumcised]] a boy of five years of age for paralysis.<ref name="gollaher1994">{{GollaherDL 1994}}</ref> [[Lewis Albert Sayre|Sayre]] then continued to advocate circumcision for numerous reasons until his death in 1900. According to [[Lewis Albert Sayre|Sayre]], circumcision was recommended for paralysis, epilepsy, hernia, lunacy, curvature of the spine, and clubfoot.

[[M. J. Moses]] (1871) advocated [[circumcision]] to prevent [[masturbation]].<ref name="moses1871">{{Moses1871}}</ref>
====Second quarter====
[[H. H. Kane]] (1879) 'discovers' that [[circumcision]] cures nocturnal emissions and abdominal neuralgia.<ref>{{Kane1879}}</ref>

Seventh-day Adventist [[John Harvey Kellogg]], {{MD}}, of Battle Creek, Michigan, was an important 19th century promoter of male circumcision. Although masturbation is never mentioned in the Bible, Dr. Kellogg believed that [[masturbation]] was immoral, sinful, and caused one to dream "impure dreams", which he believed was harmful to the mental faculties, resulting in mental disorders, such as "feeblemindness".<ref name="kellogg1888">{{Kellogg1888}}</ref> He believed that the urge to masturbate could be prevented by eating bland foods, for which purpose, he and his brother invented corn flakes.<ref name="self2016" />

Dr. Kellogg (1879) also recommended [[circumcision]] in cases "in which irritation is produced by retained secretions".<ref name="kellogg1888"/>

Dr. Kellogg perhaps is most famous for his book, ''Plain facts for young and old'' (1879), in which he advocated circumcision of boys as punishment for masturbation.<ref name="kellogg1888"/>

[[William G. Eggleston]], {{MA}}, {{MD}}, from Chicaco, {{USSC|IL}}, (1886) stated that [[foreskin]] of minors and the natural "phimosis" in minors would cause crossed eyes.<ref name="eggleston1886">{{Eggleston1886}}
</ref>

Dr. [[William D. Gentry]] (1890) alleged that [[Retraction of the foreskin| phimosis in boys]] produces serious nervous derangements.<ref name="gentry1890">{{REFjournal
|last=Gentry
|first=William D.
|init=WD
|author-link=William D. Gentry
|title=Nervous Derangements Produced by Sexual Irregularities in Boys
|journal=Medical Current
|date=1890-07
|volume=6
|issue=7
|pages=268-74
}}</ref>

[[Elizabeth Blackwell]], {{MD}}, ({{LifeData|1821|1910}}), was born in England, but attended medical school in the United States. She was the first woman to become a medical doctor in the United States. Blackwell thought [[masturbation]] was immoral but that [[circumcision]] was not the way to correct it. She wrote against it in her 1894 book:
<blockquote>Appeals to the fears of uninstructed parents on the grounds of cleanliness or of hardening the part are entirely fallacious and unsupported by evidence. It is a physiological fact that the natural lubricating secretion of every healthy part is beneficial, not injurious to the part thus protected, and that no attempt to render a sensitive part insensitive is either practicable or justifiable. The protection which nature affords to these parts is an aid to physical purity by affording necessary protection against constant external contact of a part which necessarily remains keenly sensitive; and bad habits in boys and girls cannot by prevented by surgical operations. Where no malformation exists, bad habits can only be forestalled by healthy moral and physical education.<ref>{{REFbook
|last=Blackwell
|first=Elizabeth
|init=E
|author-link=Elizabeth Blackwell
|title=The Human Element in Sex; being a Medical Inquiry into the Relation of Sexual Physiology to Christian Morality
|url=https://archive.org/details/B20442622/page/n9/mode/2up
|edition=2
|year=1894
|pages=35-6
|location=London
|publisher=J.& A. Churchill
}}</ref></blockquote>

[[Peter Charles Remondino]], {{MD}},<ref name="gollaher1994" /> was a San Diego, California physician, who was born in Turin (''Torino'') in 1846, but migrated with his family to the United States at the age of eight. There is some reason to believe that he was of Sephardic Jewish descent and had been [[circumcised]] while still in Turin, however this is uncertain.

Remondino clearly was highly intelligent. He mastered English, started medical school at age 17, treated wounded soldiers during the Civil War, and later moved to San Diego for his health.

After moving to San Diego, he practiced medicine, served as an officer of several medical societies, and other regulatory agencies.

Remondino is famous for his 346 page book, ''The History of Circumcision'' (1891).<ref name="remondino1891">{{REFbook
|last=Remondino
|first=Peter Charles
|init=PC
|author-link=Peter Charles Remondino
|year=1891
|title=History of Circumcision
|url=https://www.gutenberg.org/files/23135/23135-h/23135-h.htm
|pages=
|location=Philadelphia
|publisher=F. A. Davis
|website=Welcome Collection
|accessdate=2021-09-29
}}</ref> <ref name="gollaher1994" />

When Remondino discussed the [[foreskin]], he used the most horrific, derogatory, and disparaging language. He devoted thirteen chapters to the alleged evils and faults of the foreskin. It is not clear why he had such an extreme dislike for a natural and functional body part. His recommendation, of course, was for [[Adolescent and adult circumcision| circumcision]].

[[H. L. Rosenberry]], {{MD}}, (1894) published a paper "proving" that circumcision cures urinary and rectal incontinence.<ref name="self2016" /> <ref name="rosenberry1894">{{Rosenberry1894}}</ref>

Dr. [[E. J. Spratling]] (1895) provided information for other doctors.<ref name="self2016" />He gaved a detailed explanation of how a circumcision is to be done so as to make it as difficult as possible to achieve orgasm by [[masturbation]].<ref>{{REFjournal
|last=Spratling
|init=EJ
|title=Masturbation in the Adult
|journal=Medical Record
|volume=24
|issue=
|pages=442-443
|url=https://www.proquest.com/openview/9a247c3410d34390e418dc970faa3b87/1?pq-origsite=gscholar&cbl=40146
|quote=
|date=1895
|accessdate=2022-08-30
}}</ref>

By the end of the nineteenth century, America had at least one prominent physician and surgeon on the east coast promoting circumcision and another prominent physician and surgeon on the west coast promoting circumcision. There was no real medical science with which to dispute and discredit their false claims. Non-therapeutic [[circumcision]] of males was now well-established in the United States.

===Early twentieth century===
====First quarter====
The early twentieth century is characterized by advocacy of circumcision based on false claims to prevent cancer and sexually transmitted (venereal) disease; and by the involvement of the United States military services in the promotion of circumcision.

[[Ernest G. Mark]] (1901) noted that the "pleasurable sensations that are elicited from the extremely sensitive" [[Ridged band|inner lining]] of the [[foreskin]] may encourage a child to [[Masturbation|masturbate]], which is why he recommended circumcision since it "lessens the sensitiveness of the organ".<ref>{{Mark1901}}</ref>

Brimhall (1902) reported an [[amputation]] of a [[penis]] after circumcision.<ref name="brimhall1902">{{REFjournal
|last=Brimhall
|init=JB
|author-link=
|last2=
|init2=
|author2-link=
|url=
|title=Amputation of the penis following a unique method of preventing hemorrhage after circumcision
|journal=St. Paul Med J.
|date=1902
|volume=4
|issue=
|page=490
|accessdate=2021-10-05
}}</ref>

[[Roswell Park]] (1902) published a paper 'proving' that foreskin causes epilepsy and that circumcision cures it.<ref>{{Park1902}}</ref>

[[L. Emmett Holt]] (1913) reported that tubercular [[mohel]]s were infecting infant Jewish boys with tuberculosis during [[Brit Milah| ritual circumcision]].<ref>{{REFjournal
|last=Holt
|init=LE
|author-link=L. Emmett Holt
|url=http://www.cirp.org/library/complications/holt1/
|title=Tuberculosis acquired through ritual circumcision
|journal=JAMA
|date=1913-07-12
|volume=LXI
|issue=2
|pages=99-102
|accessdate=2021-10-04
}}</ref>

[[Abraham L. Wolbarst]], {{MD}}, a Jewish New York doctor, apparently considered [[L. Emmett Holt|Holt]]'s paper to be an attack on [[Brit Milah| ritual circumcision]] or perhaps [[Judaism]] itself. He collected ''opinions'' from other doctors of the alleged value of [[circumcision]] for health and published those ''opinions'' as ''scientific fact'' in a 1914 ''JAMA'' article.<ref name="wolbarst1914">{{REFjournal
|last=Wolbarst entitled ''Universal circumcision as as sanitary measure]].
|first=Abraham L.
|init=AL
|author-link=Abraham L. Wolbarst
|title=Universal circumcision as a sanitary measure
|journal=JAMA
|date=1914-1-10
|volume=62
|issue=2
|pages=92-7
|url=https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/article-abstract/453164
|accessdate=2021-10-04
}}</ref> Wolbarst's paper appeared shortly before the start of World War I. It is thought that Wolbarst's false claims inspired some military commanders to require men under their command to be [[circumcised]] so as to reduce venereal disease (VD).

M. S. Reuben (1916) (1917) reported additional cases of tuberculosis after ritual circumcision.<ref name="reuben1916">{{REFjournal
|last=Reuben
|init=MS
|author-link=
|last2=
|init2=
|author2-link=
|url=http://www.cirp.org/library/complications/reuben1/
|title=Tuberculosis from ritual circumcision
|journal=Proceedings of the New York Academy of Medicine
|date=1916-12-15
|volume=
|issue=
|pages=333-4
|accessdate=2021-10-04
}}</ref><ref name="ruben1917">{{REFjournal
|last=Reuben
|init=MS
|author-link=
|last2=
|init2=
|author2-link=
|url=http://www.cirp.org/library/complications/reuben2/
|title=Tuberculosis following ritual circumcision
|journal=Arch Pediatr
|date=1917-03
|volume=XXXIV
|issue=
|pages=186-90
|accessdate=2021-10-04
}}</ref>

J. Brennermann (1921) reported that [[Meatal stenosis| meatal disease]] occurs only in [[circumcised]] boys who lack the protection of the [[foreskin]].<ref name="brennermann2021>{{REFjournal
|last=Brennermann
|init=J
|author-link=
|last2=
|init2=
|author2-link=
|url=http://www.cirp.org/library/complications/brennemann1/
|title=The ulcerated meatus in the circumcised child
|journal=Am J Dis Child
|date=1921
|volume=21
|issue=
|pages=38-47
|accessdate=2021-10-04
}}</ref>
====Second quarter====
[[Abraham L. Wolbarst|Wolbarst]] (1926) made his claim for the first time that male circumcision prevents [[penile cancer]].<ref name="wolbarst1926!>{{REFjournal
|last=Wolbarst
|first=Abraham L.
|init=AL
|author-link=Abraham L. Wolbarst
|title=Is circumcision a prophylactic against penis cancer?
|journal=Cancer
|date=1926-07
|volume=3
|issue=4
|pages=301-10
}}</ref>

[[Abraham L. Wolbarst|Wolbarst]] (1932) put forward his claim again that [[circumcision]] would prevent [[penile cancer]] in the British journal, ''The Lancet''.<ref name="Wolbarst 1932">{{Wolbarst1932}}</ref> In those long ago days, the true causes of cancer were unknown so it was impossible to disprove Wolbarst's falsehoods.

Laumann et al., writing in 1997, reported an incidence of circumcision of 31 percent in 1933.<ref name="laumann1997">{{REFjournal
|last=Laumann
|first=Edward O.
|init=
|author-link=
|last2=Masi
|first2=christopher M.
|init2=
|author2-link=
|last3=Zuckerman
|first3=Ezra W.
|init3=
|author3-link=
|etal=no
|title=Circumcision in the United States
|journal=JAMA
|location=
|date=1997-04-02
|volume=277
|issue=13
|article=
|pages=1052-7
|url=http://www.cirp.org/library/general/laumann/
|pubmedID=9091693
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=
|accessdate=2021-10-05
}}</ref>

[[Hiram S. Yellen]] and [[Aaron Goldstein]] invented the [[Gomco]] clamp in 1934-1935. The clamp, by crushing the foreskin in an intensely painful procedure, reduced the risk of hemorrhage,<ref name="yellen1935">{{GoldsteinYellen1935}}</ref> but increased the [[pain]].<ref name="sinkey2015">{{REFjournal
|url=https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25794628?dopt=Abstract
|title=The GoMo study: a randomized clinical trial assessing neonatal pain with Gomco vs Mogen clamp circumcision
|last=Sinkey
|init=RG
|last2=Eschenbacher
|init2=MA
|last3=Walsh
|init3=PM
|last4=Doerger
|init4=RG
|last5=Lambers
|init5=DS
|last6=Sibai
|init6=BM
|last7=Habli
|init7=MA
|journal=Am J Obstet Gynecol
|date=2015-05
|volume=212
|issue=5
|pages=664.e1-8
|pubmedID=25794628
|DOI=10.1016/j.ajog.2015.03.029
|accessdate=2021-10-05
}}</ref> The availability of the Gomco clamp increased the popularity of non-therapeutic infant circumcision.

Brown (1937) reported restoration of the [[skin]] of the [[penis]] after a denudation complication of circumcision.<ref name="brown1837">{{REFjournal
|last=Brown
|init=JB
|author-link=
|url=
|title=Restoration of the entire skin of the penis
|journal=Surg Gynecol Obstetr
|date=1937
|volume=65
|issue=362-5
|pages=
|accessdate=2021-10-05
}}</ref>

Laumann et al. (1997) reported an incidence of circumcision of 53 percent in 1941.<ref name="laumann1997" />

World War II. America entered the war after the Empire of Japan attacked the American naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii on 7 December 1941. This was followed by Germany declaring war on the United States.

The information on military circumcision in WWII is sketchy and anecdotal. It appears that many [[foreskinned]] American men were encouraged and, in some cases, forced to be [[circumcised]]. It seems that the American military's [[foreskin]]-phobia and circumcision policy persisted through the Korean War (1950-52) but was discontinued by a change in policy thereafter.

The "Sand Myth" circulated among English-speaking armies. According to the [http://www.circumstitions.com/sand.htm Sand Myth], [[foreskinned]] men who fought in the Saharan desert had medical issues due to sand collecting under the [[foreskin]]. [[Intact]] Italian and German men who fought in the same desert had no such problems.<ref>{{REFjournal
|last=Darby
|first=Robert
|init=
|author-link=Robert Darby
|etal=no
|title=The riddle of the sands: circumcision, history, and myth
|journal=NZ Med J
|location=
|date=2005-07-15
|volume=118
|issue=1218
|article=
|page=U1564
|url=https://www.academia.edu/9899840/The_riddle_of_the_sands_Circumcision_history_and_myth
|pubmedID=16027753
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=
|accessdate=2021-10-05
}}</ref>

[[Abraham Ravich]] (1942) falsely claimed that circumcision prevents [[prostate cancer]].<ref name="ravich1942">{{Ravich1942}}</ref>

'''Post-war era.''' In the post-war era after WWII, the popularity of non-therapeutic [[circumcision]] increased, driven by medical promotion by doctors seeking a nice [[Financial incentive| surgical fee]] as an alleged preventive of penile cancer and by the [Adamant father syndrome| adamant request of circumcised men home from the war who became fathers]].

Non-therapeutic, medically-unnecessary [[circumcision]] of boys had become a "routine" surgical operation that usually was performed automatically on newborn boys even without consent from anyone.

Laumann et al. (1997) reported an incidence of non-therapeutic circumcision of boys of 85 percent in 1948.<ref name="laumann1997" />

[[Eugene H. Hand]], {{MD}}, (1949) falsely claimed that circumcision would prevent cancer of the tongue and [[Circumcision and STDs| venereal disease]].<ref name="HandEH1949">{{REFjournal
|last=Hand
|first=Eugene H.
|init=EH
|author-link=Eugene H. Hand
|url=https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18135844/
|title=Circumcision and venereal disease
|journal=Archives of Dermatology and Syphilology
|date=1949-09
|volume=60
|issue=3
|pages341-6
|pubmedID=18135844
|DOI=10.1001/archderm.1949.01530030037004
|accessdate=2021-10-08
}}</ref>

The publication of a landmark article by [[Douglas Gairdner]] (1949) in the [[United Kingdom]] showing that infant circumcision is non-therapeutic, unnecessary, causes deaths, and which called for preservation of the [[foreskin]]<ref name="gairdner1949">{{GairdnerDM 1949}}</ref> was totally ignored by the [[circumcision industry]] in the United States.

===Late twentieth century===
====Third quarter====
The late twentieth century was characterized by increasing opposition to non-therapeutic circumcision of boys by [[intactivists]] and increasing efforts by the [[circumcision industry]] to protect [[third-party payment]] for performance of non-therapeutic [[circumcision]] of non-consenting boys; and by increasing recognition that newborn boys intensely feel [[pain]] and that non-therapeutic male [[circumcision]] is a [[trauma| horribly traumatic experience]].

[[Abraham Ravich]] (1951) falsely claimed that [[circumcision]] prevents [[cervical cancer]] in women.<ref name="ravitch1951">{{Ravich1951}}</ref>

Hollister, Inc. formally introduced the [[Plastibell]] circumcision device in 1953.<ref name=MillerSnyder1953>{{MillerSnyder1953}}</ref>

[[Ernest L. Wynder]] (1954) promoted male circumcision to prevent cervical cancer in women.<ref name="wynder1954">{{Wynder1954}}</ref>

The Congress of the United States created the [https://www.medicaid.gov/ Medicaid program] in 1965. Medicaid is a joint federal/state program that pays the medical expenses of low-income Americans. Medicaid covers about 45 percent of births in the United States. Medicaid pays for medically-unnecessary, non-therapeutic circumcision in 37 states, although it appears to be a violation of law to do so.<ref name="adler2011">{{REFjournal
|last=Adler
|first=Peter W.
|init=PW
|author-link=Peter W. Adler
|title=It is lawful to use Medicaid to pay for circumcision?
|journal=Journal of Law and Medicine
|date=2011
|volume=19
|issue=
|pages=335-53
|url=https://www.arclaw.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/is-it-lawful-to-use-medicaid-to-pay-for-circumcision.pdf
|quote=
|accessdate=2021-10-05
}}</ref>

W. K. C. Morgan, a Canadian medical doctor, then on the faculty of the {{UNI|University of Maryland|UMD}} [https://www.medschool.umaryland.edu/ School of Medicine], in a highly critcal letter pubished by ''JAMA'' (1965), slammed the practice of non-therapeutic circumcision of boys as it had developed in the United States.<ref>{{REFjournal
|last=Morgan
|first=
|init=WKC
|author-link=
|etal=no
|title=The rape of the phallus
|journal=JAMA
|location=
|date=1965-07-19
|volume=193
|issue=
|article=
|pages=223-4
|url=http://www.cirp.org/library/general/morgan/
|pubmedID=14310332
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=jama.1965.03090030045013
|accessdate=2021-10-05
}}</ref>

Preston (1970) considered the matter of infant [[circumcision]]. He examined and debunked claims that male circumcision could prevent cancer of the [[cervix]] in women, cancer of the [[penis]] and cancer of the prostate in men. Preston concluded:

<blockquote>Routine circumcision of the newborn is an unnecessary procedure. It provides questionable benefits and is associated with a small but definite incidence of complications and hazards. These risks are preventable if the operation is not performed unless truly medically indicated. Circumcision of the newborn is a procedure that should no longer be considered routine.<ref>{{REFjournal
|last=Preston
|first=E. Noel
|init=
|author-link=
||etal=no
|title=Whither the foreskin? A consideration of routine neonatal circumcision.
|journal=JAMA
|location=
|date=1970-09-14
|volume=213
|issue=11
|article=
|pages=1853-8
|url=http://www.cirp.org/library/general/preston/
|pubmedID=5468911
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=10.1001/jama.213.11.1853
|accessdate=2021-10-05
}}</ref></blockquote>

Preston's paper elicited a response from C. J. Falliers, {{MD}}, (1970) who cited the "sensory pleasure induced by tactile stimulation of the foreskin."<ref name="falliers1970">{{REFjournal
|last=Falliers
|first=
|init=CJ
|author-link=
|etal=
|title=Circumcision (letter)
|journal=JAMA
|location=
|date=1970-12-21
|volume=214
|issue=12
|article=
|page=2194
|url=http://www.cirp.org/library/general/falliers1/
|accessdate=2021-10-05
}}</ref>

[[Abraham Ravich]] (1971) falsely claims that circumcision prevents cancer of the bladder and the rectum.<ref name="ravich1971">{{Ravich1971}}</ref>

Laumann et al. reported an incidence of newborn circumcision of 78 percent in 1971.

The [[American Academy of Pediatrics]] (AAP) is not an "academy" at all. It is a [[medical trade association]] that protects and advances the business and financial interests of its pediatrician "fellows". Influenced by Preston's paper, the AAP published a manual on the hospital care of newborn infants in 1971. The manual included the statement:
<blockquote>
There are no valid medical indications for circumcision in the neonatal period.<ref>{{REFbook
|year=1971
|title=Standards and Recommendation for Hospital Care of Newborn infants
|url=http://www.cirp.org/library/statements/aap/#a1971
|page=110
|location=Evanston, {{USSC|IL}}
|publisher=American Academy of Pediatrics
|isbn=
|accessdate=2021-10-05
}}</ref>
</blockquote>

====Fourth quarter====
The statement in the 1971 manual was good medical science, then and now, but it did not sit well with the membership of the AAP because it provided no basis on which to promote non-therapeutic circumcision for profit. A four-member "ad hoc" task force was formed to produce a new statement to 'walk-back' the earlier statement to fit the desires of the membership, which was published in ''Pediatrics'' in 1975.<ref name="aap1975">{{REFjournal
|last=Thompson
|first=
|init=HC
|author-link=
|last2=King
|first2=
|init2=LR
|author2-link=
|last3=Knox
|first3=
|init3=E
|author3-link=
|last4=Korones
|first4=
|init4=SH
|author4-link=
|etal=no
|title=Report of the Ad Hoc Task Force on Circumcision
|journal=Pediatrics
|location=
|date=1975-10
|volume=56
|issue=3
|article=
|page=
|pages=610-11
|url=http://www.cirp.org/library/statements/aap/#a1975
|pubmedID=1174384
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=
|accessdate=2021-10-06
}}</ref> The new statement had not a single citation of any other document. While it recognized the validity of the 1971 statement, It claimed without any basis that parents had a right to circumcise a newborn infant boy for "traditional, cultural, and religious factors".<ref name="aap1975" />

The statement falsely claimed facilitation of hygiene, prevention of [[phimosis]], and prevention of [[penile cancer]] as reasons that parents may elect non-therapeutic infant circumcision.<ref name="aap1975" />

The statement expressed no concern for the [[pain]] and [[trauma]] of circumcision, nor did it provide information on the functions and value of the [[foreskin]] nor did it recognize the child as a person with domestic and international rights to self-determination and [[physical integrity]]. The statement carefully avoided recommending [[circumcision]] and placed the responsibility for the certain [[amputation]] injury on the parents rather than on the attending physician.<ref name="aap1975" />

The 1975 statement served as the AAP's position statement until 1989.

The AAP supplemented the 1975 statement in 1977 by stating:
<blockquote>There are no medical indications for [[Routine Infant Circumcision|routine circumcisions]], and the procedure cannot be considered an essential component of health care. If an infant is circumcised, the procedure must be delayed until the infant is at least 24 hours old and stable, without [[bleeding]] tendency or any other illness. Circumcision must never be done at time of delivery.<ref>{{REFbook
|year=1977
|title=Standards and Recommendations for Hospital Care of Newborn Infants. Sixth Edition
|url=http://www.cirp.org/library/statements/aap/#a1977
|pages=66-7
|location=Evanston, {{USSC|IL}}
|publisher=American Academy of Pediatrics
|isbn=
|accessdate=2021-10-05
}}</ref>
</blockquote>

Infant circumcision traditionally had been carried out without any kind of anesthesia or analgesia because of the false belief that infants could not feel [[pain]]. Researchers started to investigate the [[Pain| pain of circumcision]] in the 1970s.

The American Cancer Society estimated that there are about 460 deaths per year in the United States from penile cancer.<ref>{{REFweb
|url=https://www.cancer.org/cancer/penile-cancer/about/key-statistics.html
|title=Key Statistics for Penile Cancer
|last=
|first=
|date=2021-01-12
|accessdate=2021-10-17
}}</ref> Sidney S. Gellis, {{MD}} (1978) estimated that the number of deaths from infant circumcision exceeded the number of deaths from [[penile cancer]].<ref name="gellis1978">{{REFjournal
|last=Gellis
|first=
|init=
|author-link=
|etal=no
|title=Circumcision
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal=Am J Dis Child
|location=
|date=1978-12
|volume=132
|issue=
|article=
|page=
|pages=1168-9
|url=http://www.cirp.org/library/general/gellis1/
|pubmedID=717329
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=10.1001/archpedi.1978.02120370016003
|accessdate=2021-10-17
}}</ref>

David Grimes, {{MD}}, (1978), recognized the increasing controversy regarding the practice of non-therapeutic infant [[circumcision]]. Grimes discussed several concerns including:

* Irrational patient selection.
* Lack of information prior to consent.
* Pain and anesthesia management.
* Improper surgical objectives.
* Lack of cost-effectiveness.<ref name="grimes1978">{{REFjournal
|last=Grimes
|first=David
|init=
|author-link=
|etal=no
|title=Routine circumcision of the newborn: a reappraisal
|journal=Am J Obstet Gynecol
|location=
|date=1978-01-15
|volume=130
|issue=2
|article=
|pages=125-9
|url=http://www.cirp.org/library/general/grimes/
|pubmedID=413435
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=10.1016/0002-9378(78)90353-8
|accessdate=2021-10-05
}}</ref>

Grimes concluded:
<blockquote> However, until the benefits of [[Routine Infant Circumcision| routine circumcision]] of the neonate can be proved worth the risk and cost, medical resources probably should be allocated to measures of demonstrated value.<ref name="grimes1978" />
</blockquote>
The American circumcision industry appears to have totally ignored Grimes' concerns.

It was at about this time that several small organizations that opposed non-therapeutic circumcision of boys started to appear. They were the first [[intactivists]], although that word had not yet been coined. One such organization was the Remain Intact Organization of Larchwood, Iowa, which was lead by Rev. [[George Zangger| Russell George Zangger]]. From the 1970s to the 1990s Zangger sent out cards with New Testament quotations that said the outward sign of circumcision is of no value. [[Jeffrey R. Wood]] formed [[INTACT Educational Foundation| INTACT]] (Infants Need to Avoid Circumcision [[Trauma]]), founded in 1976 as a local resource serving Western Massachusetts, and "Dedicated to Preserving Freedom of Choice." The organization gained recognition and had members across the nation.

Boczko & Freed (1979) collected cases of [[penile cancer]] in [[circumcised]] men and by so doing, disproved the false belief propagated since 1932 by [[Abraham L. Wolbarst]] that circumcision was protective against penile cancer.<ref name="boczko1979">{{REFjournal
|last=Boczo
|first=Stanley
|init=
|author-link=
|last2=Freed
|first2=Selwyn
|init2=
|author2-link=
|etal=no
|title=Penile carcinoma in circumcised males
|journal=N Y State J Med
|location=
|date=1979-11
|volume=79
|issue=12
|article=
|pages=1903-4
|url=http://www.cirp.org/library/disease/cancer/boczko/
|pubmedID=292845
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=
|accessdate=2021-10-07
}}</ref>

Robert Leon Baker, {{MD}} (1979) estimated 229 [[Death| deaths]] per year in the United States from circumcision complications.<ref name="baker1979">{{REFjournal
|last=Baker
|first=Robert L.
|init=
|author-link=
|etal=no
|title=Newborn male circumcision: needless and dangerous
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal=Sexual Medicine Today
|location=
|date=1979
|volume=3
|issue=11
|article=
|pages=35-6
|url=http://www.cirp.org/library/general/baker1/
|accessdate=2021-10-17
}}</ref>

[[Edward Wallerstein]] (1980) published his book, ''[[Circumcision: An American Health Fallacy]]''.<ref name="wallerstein1980">{{WallersteinE 1980}}</ref>

Bollinger (2017) reported the incidence of infant non-therapeutic circumcision peaked at about 85 percent of all infant boys in 1982.<ref name="bollinger2017">{{REFweb
|url=https://www.academia.edu/23494197/Infant_Male_Genital_Cutting_Incidence_Worldwide
|title=Infant male genital cutting incidence worldwide
|last=Bollinger
|first=Dan
|author-link=Dan Bollinger
|publisher=Academia
|website=
|date=2017-05-19
|accessdate=2021-10-27
|format=PDF
|quote=
}}</ref>

[[John A. Erickson]] (1982) started to work individually to advance [[genital integrity]].

Professor Lowell R. King (1982), who had been a member of the 1975 "ad hoc" task force on circumcision of the AAP, felt compelled to defend the reasoning of the task force.<ref name="king1982">{{REFjournal
|last=King
|first=Lowell R.
|init=
|author-link=
|etal=no
|title=Neonatal circumcision in the United States in 1982
|journal=J Urol
|location=
|date=1982-11
|volume=128
|issue=5
|article=
|pages=1135-6
|url=http://www.cirp.org/library/general/king1982/
|pubmedID=7176044
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=10.1016/s0022-5347(17)53361-3
|accessdate=2021-10-11
}}</ref>

[[BUFF| Brothers United for Future Foreskins]] (1982) revived the practice of [[epispasm]] (non-surgical [[foreskin restoration]]) that had not been praticed since antiquity.

[[Marilyn Fayre Milos]], {{RN}}, while a nursing student at [https://www.mymarinhealth.org/locations/medical-center/ Marin General Hospital], witnessed an unanesthetized circumcision of a newborn boy in 1979. Shocked by the extreme [[pain]] and horror of it, she became an opponent of infant circumcision and was forced to resign in 1985 from her nursing position at Marin General Hospital where infant non-therapeutic circumcision is a profit center and promoted to parents. She immediately created the National Organization of Circumcision Information Resource Centers ([[NOCIRC]]) in 1985.

[[Rosemary Romberg]] (1985) published Circumcision: The Painful Dilemma.

[[Edward Wallerstein]] (1985) pointed out that the American way of practicing non-religious circumcision of boys is without parallel anywhere else in the world.<ref>{{REFjournal
|last=Wallerstein
|first=Edward
|init=
|author-link=Edward Wallerstein
|etal=no
|title=Is Nonreligious Circumcision Necessary?
|journal=Urol Clin North Am
|location=
|date=1985-05
|volume=12
|issue=1
|pages=123-32
|url=http://www.cirp.org/library/general/wallerstein/
|quote=
|pubmedID=
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=
|accessdate=2021-10-06
}}</ref>

American lawyer William E. Brigman (1985) used new medical evidence to argue that circumcision is child abuse, and discussed possible legal remedies. Recent medical articles have documented the actual injury of circumcision, to make it possible for an attorney to win damages for wrongful circumcision, he said. Brigman suggested civil rights class action suits against hospitals.<ref name="brigman1985">{{REFjournal
|last=Brigman
|first=William E.
|init=WE
|author-link=
|title=Circumcision as Child Abuse: The Legal and Constitutional Issues
|journal=J Fam Law
|date=1985
|volume=23
|issue=3
|page=337
|url=http://www.cirp.org/library/legal/brigman/
|accessdate=2021-10-07
}}</ref>

Anand & Hickey (1987) published a paper in the ''New England Journal of Medicine'' that conclusively proved that newborn infants are capable of feeling [[pain]]. After publication of this landmark paper, no doubt about the existence of pain sensation in infants remained. The article stated:
<blockquote>
Numerous lines of evidence suggest that even in the human [[fetus]], pain pathways as well as cortical and subcortical centers necessary for pain perception are well developed late in gestation, and the neurochemical systems now known to be associated with pain transmission and modulation are intact and functional. Physiologic responses to painful stimuli have been well documented in neonates of various gestational ages and are reflected in hormonal, metabolic, and cardiorespiratory changes similar to but greater than those observed in adult subjects. Other responses in newborn infants are suggestive of integrated emotional and behavioral responses to pain and are retained in memory long enough to modify subsequent behavior patterns.<ref name="anand1987">{{REFjournal
|last=Anand
|init=KJS
|author-link=
|last2=Hickey
|init2=PR
|author2-link=
|etal=yes
|title=Pain and its effects in the human neonate and fetus
|journal=N Engl J Med
|location=
|date=1987-11-19
|volume=317
|issue=21
|pages=1321-9
|url=http://www.cirp.org/library/pain/anand/
|pubmedID=3317037
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=10.1056/NEJM198711193172105
|accessdate=2021-10-07
}}</ref>
</blockquote>

[[NOCIRC]] sponsored the [[First International Symposium]] on Circumcision which was held in Anaheim, California, USA on 1-3 March 1989.

The July/August 1989 edition of [[The Truth Seeker]] was dedicated to circumcision. It featured the core proceedings from the First International Symposium.

The [[American Academy of Pediatrics]]' 1975 circumcision promotional statement<ref name="aap1975" /> was now getting long in the tooth so a newer statement was desired. The AAP appointed the late [[Edgar J. Schoen]], {{MD}}, of Oakland, California, who had written a humorous poem about circumcision as the chairman of a new task force on circumcision. The task force had six members of whom five (83%), including Schoen, were believed to be Jewish, although Jews constitute only 1.9 percent of the population.

Schoen's task force produced the AAP's [[American_Academy_of_Pediatrics#Third_policy_.281989.29| third circumcision policy statement]] which was published in ''Pediatrics'' in November 1979.<ref name="aap1989">{{REFjournal
|last=Schoen
|first=Edgar J.
|init=EJ
|author-link=Edgar J. Schoen
|last2=Anderson
|first2=Glenn
|init2=G
|author2-link=
|last3=Bohon
|first3=Constance
|init3=C
|author3-link=
|last4=Hinman
|first4=Frank
|init4=F
|author4-link=
|last5=Poland
|first5=Ronald
|init5=R
|author5-link=
|last6=Wakeman
|first6=E. Maurice
|init6=EM
|author6-link=
|etal=no
|title=Report of the Task Force of Circumcision.
|journal=Pediatrics
|location=
|date=1989-11
|volume=84
|issue=4
|pages=388-91
|url=http://www.cirp.org/library/statements/aap/#a1989
|pubmedID=2664697
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=
|accessdate=2021-10-10
}}</ref>

The statement, which was intended to promote the practice of non-therapeutic circumcision for the benefit of the fellows of the AAP, had a high degree of [[bias]] and had many serious deficiences. Some more notable deficiences included:

* failure to recognize the child as a person with legal rights to bodily integrity.
* failure to provide information on the nature and functions of the human [[foreskin]].
* failure to call for analgesia to ease the intense [[pain]] of the [[amputation]].
* inclusion of [[Thomas E. Wiswell]]'s methodologically-flawed papers on [[urinary tract infection]] (UTI).
* failure to inform parents that UTI is properly treated with antibiotics.
* use of the misleading word ''potential'' to describe speculative medical benefits that do not actually exist.
* attempting to shift responsibility for the performance of an injurious and harmful [[amputation]] from the medical operator to the parents.

The advocacy of [[circumcision]] to prevent [[UTI]] spurred a debate in the medical literature until the AAP published a new statement in 1999 that softened the claims.

[[Charles A. Bonner|Bonner]] & Kinane (1989) discussed the legal and constitutional issues of non-therapeutic male circumcision under United States and California law.<ref name="bonner1989">{{REFjournal
|last=Bonner
|first=Charles
|init=C
|author-link=Charles A. Bonner
|last2=Kinane
|first2=Michael
|init2=M
|author2-link=
|title=The Legal and Constitutional Issues
|journal=The Truth Seeker
|date=1989-07
|url=http://www.noharmm.org/bonner.htm
|accessdate=2021-10-10
}}</ref>

Professor Ronald Poland (1990), who had served on the task force with [[Edgar J. Schoen]] that produced the 1989 AAP Circumcision Policy Statement, strongly objected to the use of methodologically flawed UTI studies. Professor Poland concluded that infant non-therapeutic circumcision should not be "a part of routine medical care."<ref name="poland1990">{{REFjournal
|last=Poland
|first=Ronald L.
|init=
|author-link=
|etal=no
|title=The question of routine neonatal circumcision
|journal=N Eng J Med
|location=
|date=1990-05-03
|volume=322
|issue=18
|article=
|pages=1312-5
|url=http://www.cirp.org/library/general/poland/
|pubmedID=2183058
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=10.1056/NEJM199005033221811
|accessdate=2021-10-11
}}</ref>

The [[Second International Symposium]] on Circumcision convened at the Hotel Kabuki in San Francisco, California, USA on April 30 through May 3, 1991.

[[Ronald Goldman]], {{PhD}}, founded the [[Circumcision Resource Center]] in 1991.

[[Tim Hammond]] organized the [http://www.noharmm.org/ National Organization to Halt the Abuse and Routine Mutilation of Males] in 1992.

[[John A. Erickson]] (1992) self-published ''Making America Safe for Foreskins''<ref> {{REFbook
|last=Erickson
|first=John A.
|init=JA
|author-link=John A. Erickson
|title=Making America Safe for Foreskins
|publisher=Self-published (42 page pamphlet)
|location=Biloxi, Mississippi
|date=1992-01
}}</ref>

Lynn E. Lebit (1992) discussed issues with the substituted judgment doctrine.<ref name="lebit1992">{{REFjournal
|last=Lebit
|first=Lynn E.
|init=LE
|author-link=
|etal=no
|title=Compelled Medical Procedures Involving Minors and Incompetents and Misapplication of the Substituted Judgment Doctrine
|journal=Journal of Law and Medicine
|location=
|date=1992
|volume=7
|issue=
|page=107
|url=http://engagedscholarship.csuohio.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1304&context=jlh
|pubmedID=11659623
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=
|accessdate=2021-10-10
}}</ref>

Professor [[George C. Denniston]], {{MD}}, {{MPH}}, explained some [[Foreskin#Physiological_functions| functions of the foreskin]], said circumcision was both unnecessary and harmful because of the deprivation of functions, so should not be performed.<ref name-"denniston1992">
{{REFjournal
|last=Denniston
|first=George C.
|init=
|author-link=George C. Denniston
|etal=no
|title=Unnecessary Circumcision
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal=Female Patient
|location=
|date=1992-07
|volume=17
|issue=
|article=
|pages=13-4
|url=
|accessdate=
}}</ref>

The [[Third International Symposium]] on Circumcision convened at the {{UNI|University of Maryland|UMD}}, College Park, {{USSC|MD}}, USA on 23-25 May 1994.

Professor [[George C. Denniston]], {{MD}}, {{MPH}}, organized [[Doctors Opposing Circumcision (D.O.C.)]] in 1995.

Three registered nurses in Santa Fe, {{USSC|NM}}, who conscientiously objected to assisting with foreskin [[amputation]] operations, formed [[Nurses for the Rights of the Child]] in 1995.

A group of [[intactivist]]s assembled at Evanston, {{USSC|IL}} in 1996 for a meeting and then protested and demonstrated before the AAP convention in nearby Chicago.

[[John A. Erickson]] (1996) self-published ''Deeper into Circumcision: A Invitation to Awareness'' (196 pages).<ref name="erickson1996">{{REFbook
|last=Erickson
|first=John A.
|init=JA
|author-link=John A. Erickson
|year=1996
|title=Deeper into Circumcision: An Invitation to Awareness
|url=http://www.foreskin.org/je-dic.htm
|publisher=Self-published (196 page pamphlet)
|location=Biloxi, Mississippi
}}</ref>

[[Geoffrey T. Falk]] created the [http://www.cirp.org/ Circumcision Information and Resources Pages] in 1996 to take advantage of the newly-available Internet.

[[Ronald Goldman]], Ph.D., (1997) conducted a thorough review of the effect of the American practice of [[child circumcision]] on American society.<ref name="goldman1997">{{REFbook
|last=Goldman
|first=Ronald
|year=1997
|title=Circumcision: The Hidden Trauma
|url=https://circumcision.org/circumcision-the-hidden-trauma/
|chapter=7. The impact of circumcision on American society
|pages=139-75
|location=Boston
|publisher=Vanguard
|ISBN=0-9644895-3-8
|accessdate=2026-07-15
}}</ref>

Ross Povenmire (1998) questioned the authority of parents to grant consent for non-therapeutic circumcision of children.<ref name="povenmire1998">{{REFjournal
|last=Povenmire
|init=R
|author-link=
|last2=
|init2=
|author2-link=
|url=http://www.cirp.org/library/legal/povenmire/
|title=Do Parents Have the Legal Authority to Consent to the Surgical Amputation of Normal, Healthy Tissue From Their Infant Children?: The Practice of Circumcision in the United States
|journal=Journal of Gender, Social Policy & the Law
|date=1998
|volume=7
|issue=
|page=87
|accessdate=2021-10-14
}}</ref>

[[Christopher Fletcher]], M.D., (1998) conducted a survey of doctors in the United States who perform non-therapeutic circumcision of boys. Dr. Fletcher concluded his report in part:
<blockquote>
This study reveals that, across the country, American specialties that perform circumcisions are ignorant of the medical facts regarding the penile foreskin and in conjunction with hospitals and misinformed patients, attempt to justify and rationalise newborn male circumcision. In many cases, despite personal beliefs that circumcision is more harmful than beneficial, some physicians are unwilling to give up their participation in this almost uniquely American custom which many of them have personally experienced as infants.<ref name="fletcher1998!>{{REFbook
|last=Fletcher
|first=Christopher R.
|init=CR
|url=https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-0-585-39937-9_19
|chapter=[https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-0-585-39937-9_19 Circumcision in America in 1998: Attitudes, Beliefs and Charges of American Physicians]
|publisher=Kluwer/Plenum
|title=Male and Female Circumcision
|pages=259-71
|editors=George C. Denniston, Frederick Mansfield Hodges, Marilyn Fayre Milos
|year=1998
|accessdate=2021-10-21
}}</ref>
</blockquote>
The American Academy of Pediatrics had been acutely embarrassed by the faults of [[Edgar J. Schoen]]'s [http://www.cirp.org/library/statements/aap/#a1989 horrific circumcision policy statement], so a new task force was convened under the direction of Carole Marie Lannon, {{MD}}, {{MPH}}, to produce a new, more appropriate, and less embarrassing policy statement on non-therapeutic child circumcision. The new task force produced the [[American_Academy_of_Pediatrics#Fourth_policy_.281999.29|Fourth Circumcision Policy Statement]].<ref name="aap1999">{{REFjournal
|last=Lannon
|first=Carole Marie
|init=CM
|author-link=
|last2=Bailey
|first2=Ann Geryl Doll
|init2=AGD
|author2-link=
|last3=Fleishman
|first3=Alan R.
|init3=AR
|author3-link=
|last4=Kaplan
|first4=George W.
|init4=GW
|author4-link=George W. Kaplan
|last5=Shoemaker
|first5=Craig T.
|init5=CT
|author5-link=
|last6=Swanson
|first6=Jack T.
|init6=JT
|author6-link=
|last7=Coustan
|first7=Donald
|init7=D
|author7-link=
|etal=no
|title=Circumcision Policy Statement
|journal=Pediatrics
|location=
|date=1999-09
|volume=103
|issue=3
|article=
|pages=686-93
|url=http://www.cirp.org/library/statements/aap1999/
|pubmedID= 22926180
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=10.1542/peds.2012-1989
|accessdate=2021-10-10
}}</ref> The 1999 circumcision statement advocated analgesia for pain relief of the extreme circumcision [pain], admitted that the [[foreskin]] contains [[Ridged band| nerves]], softened the claims made for [[UTI]] prevention, recognized the effectiveness of breastfeeding at reducing UTI in infants and declared non-therapeutic infant circumcision to be an ''elective'' surgical procedure. Other than that, it shared the much the same faults as the 1989 statement.

Rhinehart (1999) was a practicing psychiatrist who described his patients later-life problems stemming from the psychic [[trauma]] of their neonatal [[circumcision]].<ref name="rhinehart1999">{{REFjournal
|last=Rhinehart
|first=John W.
|init=JW
|author-link=
|etal=no
|title=Neonatal Circumcision Reconsidered
|journal=Transactional Analysis Journal
|location=
|date=1999-07
|volume=29
|issue=3
|pages=215-21
|url=http://www.cirp.org/library/psych/rhinehart1/
|quote=
|pubmedID=
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=10.
|accessdate=2021-10-14
}}</ref>

===Late twentieth century history video===
 
<youtube>o25MjZsmvGY</youtube>
 

===Early twenty-first century===
====First Quarter====
The twenty-first century has been characterized by greater opposition to non-therapeutic circumcision of boys in the general population, the utter failure of the circumcision industry's vaunted new circumcision policy, and much more attention to legal and ethical issues relating to non-therapeutic circumcision of boys.

Giannetti (2000) argued that scientific misconduct in the [[American Academy of Pediatrics]] circumcision policy statements should expose the AAP to trade association liability.<ref name="gianetti2000">{{REFjournal
|last=Giannetti
|first=Matthew
|init=M
|author-link=
|title=Circumcision and the American Academy of Pediatrics: Should Scientific Misconduct Result in Trade Association Liability
|journal=Iowa Law Rev
|date=2000
|volume=85
|issue=4
|pages=1507-68
|url=https://www.doctorsopposingcircumcision.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/Gianetti-AAP-Misconduct-Trade-Assn-Iowa-Law-Rev-2000.pdf
|accessdate=2020-05-09
}}</ref>

[[J. Steven Svoboda|Svoboda]], [[Robert S. Van Howe|Van Howe]] & [[James G. Dwyer|Dwyer]] (2000) discussed legal issues inherent with consent for non-therapeutic circumcision of boys.<ref name="svoboda2000">{{REFjournal
|last=Svoboda
|first=J. Steven
|init=JS
|author-link=J. Steven Svoboda
|last2=Van Howe
|first2=Robert S.
|init2=RS
|author2-link=Robert S. Van Howe
|last3=Dwyer
|first3=James G.
|init3=JG
|author3-link=James G. Dwyer
|etal=no
|title=Informed Consent for Neonatal Circumcision: An Ethical and Legal Conundrum
|journal=J Contemporary Health Law Policy
|location=
|date=2000-09
|volume=17
|issue=1
|pages=61-133
|url=https://scholarship.law.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1255&context=jchlp
|pubmedID=11216345
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=
|accessdate=2021-10-11
}}</ref>

[[J. Steven Svoboda]] (2001) discussed the limits of the law.<ref name="svoboda2001">{{REFbook
|last=Svoboda
|first=J. Steven
|init=JS
|author-link=J. Steven Svoboda
|year=2001
|title=Limits of the law: Comparative analysis of legal and extralegal methods.
|url=https://www.arclaw.org/wp-content/uploads/Limits-of-the-Law-Comparative-Analysis-of-Legal-and-Extralegal-Methods.pdf
|work=Understanding Circumcision: A Multi-Disciplinary Approach to a Multi-Dimensional Problem
|editor=[[George C. Denniston]], [[Frederick M. Hodges]], and [[Marilyn Fayre Milos]]
|edition=
|volume=
|chapter=
|pages=297-365
|location=
|publisher=Springer
|isbn=978-1-4419-3375-1.
|quote=
|accessdate=2021-10-11
|note=
}}</ref>

[[Geoffrey P. Miller]] (2002) discussed the impact of American culture on the law of circumcision.<ref name="miller2002">{{REFjournal
|last=Miller
|first=Geoffrey P.
|init=GP
|author-link=
|title=Circumcision: Cultural-Legal Analysis
|journal=Virginia Journal of Social Policy & the Law.
|date=2002-3
|volume=9
|issue=
|pages=497-585
|url=http://www.cirp.org/library/legal/miller1/
|accessdate=2020-07-29
}}</ref>

[[George Hill]] (2003) questioned the authority of anyone to grant consent for the non-therapeutic alteration of a child's body.<ref name="hill2010">{{REFjournal
|last=Hill
|first=George
|init=
|author-link=George Hill
|etal=no
|title=Can Anyone Authorize the Nontherapeutic Permanent Alteration of a Child's Body?
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal=Am J Bioeth
|location=
|date=2003-03
|volume=3
|issue=2
|article=
|page=W6
|url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1162/152651603766436342
|pubmedID=14635628
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=10.1162/152651603766436342
|accessdate=2021-10-14
}}</ref>

[[Petrina Fadel]] founded [[Catholics Against Circumcision]].

Thomas et al. (2004) studied the incidence of [[HIV]] in circumcision and intact men in a United States Navy population. A slightly higher incidence of [[HIV]] infection was found in circumcised men (84.9%) as compared with intact men (81.8%). The authors concluded:
<blockquote>
Although there may be other medical or cultural reasons for male circumcision, it is not associated with [[HIV]] or STI prevention in this U.S. military population.<ref name="thomas2004">Thomas AG, Bakhireva LN, Brodine SK, Shaffer RA. [http://www.cirp.org/library/disease/HIV/thomas1/ Prevalence of male circumcision and its association with [[HIV]] and sexually transmitted infections in a U.S. Navy population]. Abstract no. TuPeC4861. Presented at the XV International [[AIDS]] Conference, Bangkok, Thailand, July 11-16, 2004.</ref>
</blockquote>

[[Saving Our Sons (SoS)]], an [[intactivist]] organization, commenced operations online in 2007.

[[Dr. Momma - peaceful parenting]], an [[intactivist]] organization, started in 2007.

[[Doctors Opposing Circumcision (D.O.C.)]] included this commentary on the law of circumcision of boys in their June 2008 Genital Integrity Statement. It has since been later amended by another party to include a reference to Adler (2013) that was not available at the time of writing.<ref>{{REFbook
|last=Hill
|first=George
|init=G
|author-link=George Hill
|year=2008
|title=Ch. 10: American Law and the Circumcision of Children
|url=
|work=Genital Integrity Policy
|editor=
|edition=
|volume=
|chapter=
|pages=
|location=Seattle
|publisher=[[Doctors Opposing Circumcision (D.O.C.)]]
|isbn=
|quote=
|accessdate=2021-10-11
|note=
}}</ref>

[[Doctors Opposing Circumcision (D.O.C.)]] issued a Genital Integrity Policy in June 2008.<ref name-"doc2008">{{REFdocument
|title=Genital Integrity Policy
|url=
|contribution=
|last=Hill
|first=George
|author-link=George Hill
|publisher=[[Doctors Opposing Circumcision (D.O.C.)]]
|format=PDF
|date=2008-06
|accessdate=2021-10-11
}}</ref>

[[Georganne Chapin]] founded [[Intact America]] in 2008 with the aid of a grant from Texas philanthropist Dean Pisani.

[[Robert S. Van Howe|Van Howe]] & Svoboda (2008) said of the American practice of medically-unnecessary, non-therapeutic infant circumcision:
<blockquote>
Once all factors are revealed, it
is impossible to consider circumcision a minor issue,
but rather circumcision comes to symbolize one of the
greatest ongoing systemic ethical violations for which
modern medicine has been responsible.<ref name="vanhowe2008">{{REFjournal
|last=Van Howe
|first=Robert S.
|init=RS
|author-link=Robert S. Van Howe
|last2=Svoboda
|first2=J. Steven
|init2=JS
|author2-link=J. Steven Svoboda
|etal=no
|title=Neonatal pain relief and the Helsinki Declaration
|journal=Journal of Law, Medicine, and Ethics
|location=
|date=2008-12
|volume=36
|issue=4
|article=
|pages=803-23
|url=https://www.academia.edu/download/33981944/27_Van_Howe.pdf
|pubmedID=19094008
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=10.1111/j.1748-720X.2008.00339.x
|accessdate=2021-10-31
}}</ref>
</blockquote>

The British journal, ''The Lancet'', published reports of two randomized controlled trials (RCTs) that were carried out in sub-Saharan Africa which purported to prove that male circumcision was protective against infection with [[HIV]]. The [[American Academy of Pediatrics]] consulted with the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists ([[ACOG]]) and the American College of Family Physicians ([[AAFP]]) (those being the [[medical trade association| medical trade associations]] that represent the specialties that perform most non-therapeutic infant circumcisions and make most of the money from the performance of the non-therapeutic [[amputation]]). The three associations determined to make common cause to produce a position statement that would promote male circumcision based on its alleged protection against [[HIV]] infection. The [[AAP]] was to take the lead, but ACOG and AAFP provided representatives to the new [[AAP Circumcision Task Force 2012| AAP task force]], of which New York Jewess [[Susan Blank]], {{MD}}, {{MPH}}, was the chairwoman. This new task force did not publish a statement until 2012. The AAP declined to re-affirm the statement so it expired in August 2017.

[[Dan Bollinger|Bollinger]] (2010) estimated approximately 117 neonatal circumcision-related deaths occur annually in the United States.<ref name="bollinger2010">{{BollingerD 2010}}</ref>

[[Anthony Losquadro]] formed [[Intaction]], an [[intactivist]] organization in 2010.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ([[CDC]]) reported an incidence of newborn circumcision of 58.3 percent in 2010.<ref name="cdc2015">{{REFweb
|url=https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/hestat/circumcision_2013/circumcision_2013.htm
|title=Trends in Circumcision for Male Newborns in U.S. Hospitals: 1979–2010
|publisher=Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
|website=cdc.gov
|date=2015-11-06
|accessdate=2021-10-16
}}</ref>

Professor [[Peter W. Adler]], J. D., (2011) argued that it is unlawful for United States Medicaid to pay for non-therapeutic circumcision.<ref name="adler2011" />

[[Brother K]] formed the [[Bloodstained Men]] in 2012.

The [[AAP]], lead by the [[AAP Circumcision Task Force 2012]], finally published the [[American_Academy_of_Pediatrics#Fifth_policy_.282012.29| fifth circumcision policy statement]] in the September 2012 issue of ''Pediatrics''. The [[American_Academy_of_Pediatrics#Criticism| adverse criticism]] was overwhelming.

[[Dan Bollinger|Bollinger]] (2012) estimated that the total cost of non-therapeutic male circumcision, including hospital costs, repair of botched circumcisions, treatment of complications, and so on is more than $3 billion per year,<ref name="bollinger2012">{{REFweb
|url=https://www.academia.edu/6442587/High_Cost_of_Circumcision_3.6_Billion_Annually
|title=High Cost of Circumcision: $3.6 Billion Annually
|last=Bollinger
|first=Dan
|author-link=Dan Bollinger
|publisher=Academia
|date=2012
|accessdate=2020-11-25
}}</ref> of which the beneficiary is the American circumcision industry.

[[Doctors Opposing Circumcision (D.O.C.)]] (2013) provided evidence that the purpose of the 2012 AAP Circumcision Policy Statement was to get more money for doctors,<ref name="doc2013">{{REFdocument
|title=Commentary on American Academy of Pediatrics 2012 Circumcision Policy Statemeni
|url=https://www.doctorsopposingcircumcision.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/commentary-on-american-academy-of-pediatrics-2012-circumcision-policy-statement.pdf
|contribution=
|last=
|first=
|publisher=[[Doctors Opposing Circumcision (D.O.C.)]]
|format=PDF
|date=2013-04-01
|accessdate=2021-10-21
}}</ref>

Professor [[Peter W. Adler]], {{JD}}, (2013) argued that non-therapeutic circumcision of boys is unlawful.<ref name="adler2013">{{REFjournal
|last=Adler
|first=Peter W.
|init=PW
|author-link=Peter W. Adler
|title=Is circumcision legal?
|journal=Richmond Journal of Law and the Public Interest
|date=2013
|volume=16
|issue=3
|pages=439-86
|url=https://scholarship.richmond.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1265&context=jolpi
|accessdate=2020-05-08
}}</ref>

[[Robert S. Van Howe|Van Howe]] & [[J. Steven Svoboda|Svoboda]] (2013) criticized the 2012 AAP statement because it failed to include important points, inaccurately analyzed and interpreted current medical literature, and made unsupported conclusions.<ref name="vanhowe2013">{{REFjournal
|last=Van Howe
|first=Robert S.
|init=RS
|author-link=Robert S. Van Howe
|last2=Svoboda
|first2=J. Steven
|init2=JS
|author2-link=J. Steven Svoboda
|date=2013-07-01
|title=Out of step: fatal flaws in the latest AAP policy report on neonatal circumcision
|url=https://jme.bmj.com/content/39/7/434
|journal=Journal of Medical Ethics
|language=en
|volume=39
|issue=7
|pages=434-41
|DOI=10.1136/medethics-2013-101346
|issn=0306-6800
|pubmedID=23508208
}}</ref>

[[Jen Williams]] organized [[Your Whole Baby]] in 2014.

The infamous [[Nebus v. Hironimus]] Florida [[circumcision]] case culminated after five years of litigation with Florida Family Court Judge [[Jeffrey Dana Gillen]] arrested the mother, [[Heather Hironimus]], and forced her to sign a consent for harmful, [[pain| painful]] circumcision in open court while handcuffed.
 
Heather Hironimus signs consent form for circumcision of 4 and 1/2 year old son under extreme duress
<youtube>Btxl4UGBdpc</youtube>

[[Doctors Opposing Circumcision (D.O.C.)]] commissioned a [https://www,doctorsopposingcircumcision.org new website] in 2016.

[[J. Steven Svoboda]] argued against non-therapeutic circumcision.<ref name="svoboda2017">{{REFjournal
|date=2017-08-01
|title=Nontherapeutic Circumcision of Minors as an Ethically Problematic Form of Iatrogenic Injury
|journal=AMA Journal of Ethics
|language=en
|volume=19
|issue=8
|pages=815-24
|DOI=10.1001/journalofethics.2017.19.8.msoc2-1708
|pubmedID=28846521
|issn=2376-6980
|last1=Svoboda
|first1=J.S.
}}</ref> He stated that this decision should be considered in the context of benefit vs risk of harm, rather than simply risk-benefit due to the non-therapeutic nature of the procedure.<ref name="svoboda2017"/> He states that benefits do not outweigh the risks, and also claims that foreskin removal should be considered a sexual harm.<ref name="svoboda2017"/> He also went on to conclude that non-therapeutic circumcision largely violates the physician's duty to respect a patient's autonomy since many procedures take place before a patient is able to freely give consent himself.<ref name="svoboda2017"/>

Reis-Dennis & Reis (2017) asked if physicians should be blamed for harm resulting from unnecessary genital surgeries, including infant circumcision.<ref name="reis-dennis2017">{{REFjournal
|last=Reis-Dennis
|first=
|init=
|author-link=
|last2=Reis
|first2=
|init2=
|author2-link=
|etal=no
|title=Are Physicians Blameworthy for Iatrogenic Harm Resulting from Unnecessary Genital Surgeries?
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal=AMA Journal of Ethics
|location=
|date=2017
|volume=19
|issue=8
|article=
|pages=825-33
|url=
|pubmedID=28846522
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=10.1001/journalofethics.2017.19.8.msoc3-1708
|accessdate=2021-10-14
}}</ref>

The ill-fated, embarrassing 2012 [[AAP]] Circumcision Policy Statement expired on August 31, 2017 in accordance with AAP policy, because it was not reaffirmed. The AAP has had ''no'' official circumcision policy since that time.

[[Doctors Opposing Circumcision]] released a special report on circumcision for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.<ref name="doc2019">{{REFdocument
|title=Male Circumcision: A special report to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
|url=https://pool.intactiwiki.org/w/images/Male_Circumcision_DOC_2019-02-01.pdf
|contribution=
|last=Anonymous
|first=
|publisher=Doctors Opposing Circumcision
|format=PDF
|date=2019-02-01
|accessdate=2025-12-08
}}</ref>

[[Dan Bollinger|Bollinger]] (2019) discussed circumcision as an adverse childhood experience,<ref name-"bollinger2019">{{REFdocument
|title=Child genital cutting as an adverse childhood experience
|url=http://adversechildhoodexperiences.net/CGC_as_an_ACE.pdf
|last=Bollinger
|first=Dan
|author-link=Dan Bollinger
|last2=Chapin
|first2=Georganne
|author2-link=Georganne Chapin
|publisher=Intact America
|location=Tarrytown
|format=PDF
|date=2019-08
|accessdate=2021-04-02
}}</ref>

[[Peter W. Adler|Adler]], [[Robert S. Van Howe|Van Howe]], Wisdom & Daase (2020) examined male non-therapeutic circumcision as fraud.<ref name="adler2020">{{REFjournal
|last=Adler
|first=Peter W.
|init=PW
|author-link=Peter W. Adler
|last2=Van Howe
|first2=Robert S.
|init2=RS
|author2-link=Robert S. Van Howe
|last3=Wisdom
|first3=Travis
|init3=T
|author3-link=
|last4=Daase
|first4=Felix
|init4=F
|author4-link=Felix Daase
|etal=no
|title=Is circumcision a fraud?
|journal=Cornell Journal of Law and Public Policy
|location=
|date=2020-11
|volume=30
|issue=1
|pages=45-107
|url=https://www.lawschool.cornell.edu/research/JLPP/upload/Adler-et-al-final.pdf
}}
</ref>

Adler & Daase (2020) reviewed the American debate on non-therapeutic child circumcision for a French-speaking audience.<ref name="adlerB2020>{{REFjournal
|last=Adler
|first=Peter W.
|init=PW
|author-link=Peter W. Adler
|last2=Daase
|first2=Felix
|init2=F
|author2-link=Felix Daase
|etal=no
|title=Actualié du débat sur la circoncision aux États-Unis: Is the Circumcision Debate Over?
|journal=Droit et Cultures
|location=
|date=2020
|volume=79
|issue=1
|pages=207-22
|url=https://journals.openedition.org/droitcultures/6276?lang=en
|accessdate=2021-06-19
}}</ref>

[[Ronald Goldman]] led a group of Massachusetts taxpayers who filed a suit against [https://www.mass.gov/topics/masshealth MassHealth] (Massachusetts Medicaid), which is unlawfully paying for non-therapeutic circumcisions with public funds.<ref>{{REFweb
|url=https://circumcision.org/taxpayers-sue-massachusetts-medicaid-about-circumcisions/
|title=Taxpayers Sue Massachusetts Medicaid About Circumcisions
|first=Ronald
|last=Goldman
|author-link=Ronald Goldman
|publisher=[[Circumcision Resource Center]]
|date=2020-07-22
|accessdate=2021-10-13
}}</ref>

Navia et al. (2020) surveyed the incidence of non-therapeutic neonatal circumcision in four states. The incidence of circumcision in 2016 was found to have declined to 54.5 percent, which translates to an increase in [[genital integrity]] and wholeness rate to 45.5 percent.<ref>{{REFjournal
|last=Navia
|first=Mateo Zambrano
|init=
|author-link=
|last2=Jacobson
|first2=Deborah L.
|init2=
|author2-link=
|last3=Balmert
|first3=Lauren C.
|init3=
|author3-link=
|last4=Rosoklija
|first4=Ilina
|init4=
|author4-link=
|last5=Holl
|first5=Jane L.
|init5=
|author5-link=
|last6=Davis
|first6=Matthew M.
|init6=
|author6-link=
|last7=Johnson
|first7=Emilie K
|init7=
|author7-link=
|etal=no
|title=State-Level Public Insurance Coverage and Neonatal Circumcision Rates
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal=Pediatrics
|location=
|date=2020-11
|volume=146
|issue=5
|article=
|page=e20201475
|url=https://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/146/5/e20201475
|pubmedID=33055226
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=10.1542/peds.2020-1475
|accessdate=2021-10-13
}}</ref>

The Lavine family of New Jersey has brought a lawsuit against a New Jersey practitioner and the [[American Academy of Pediatrics]] that alleges fraud.<ref>{{REFweb
|url=https://www.circumcisionisafraud.com/docket-mer-l-000272-21
|title=Circumcision is a Fraud
|last=
|first=
|accessdate=2021-10-13
}}</ref>

A study by [[Intact America]] (2020) reveals how hospitals pressure mothers into granting consent for unneeded and unwanted injurious non-therapeutic [[circumcision]] of a newborn boy.<ref>{{REFweb
|url=https://www.prweb.com/printer/17552844.htm
|title=Having a Baby Boy? Intact America Warns, ‘Get Ready for the Circumcision Sellers!
|last=Chapin
|first=Georganne
|author-link=Georganne Chapin
|publisher=Intact America
|website=prweb
|date=2020-11-18
|accessdate=2021-10-13
|format=
|quote=
}}</ref> Infant circumcision is a profit center for many American hospitals so parents are pushed to circumcise.

[[Intact America]] (2024) called child circumcision "an outdated practice in desperate need of reevaluation",<ref name="alissa2024-12-16">{{REFweb
|url=https://intactamerica.org/circumcision-reevaluation/
|title=Circumcision: An Outdated Practice in Desperate Need of Re-Evaluation
|last=Alissa
|first=Kristel
|init=
|author-link=
|publisher=Intact America
|date=2024-12-16
|accessdate=2024-12-23
}}</ref> and exposed the propaganda that has promoted the harmful but profitable practice of child circumcision.<ref>{{REFweb
|url=https://intactamerica.org/exposing-circumcision-propaganda/
|title=The Unkindest Cut: Exposing the Propaganda That Normalized Circumcision—and How We Reclaim the Truth
|last=Alissa
|first=Kristel
|init=
|author-link=
|publisher=Intact America
|date=2024-11-19
|accessdate=2024-12-23
}}</ref>

[[Intact America]] (2024) reports a rapid increase in the percentage of Americans who oppose the harmful [[circumcision]] of boys.<ref>{{REFweb
|url=https://www.instagram.com/p/DKVZQGTRl77/?igsh=MWV1aW90MzBpd2dzdA%3D%3D
|title=Opposition to circumcision overtime.
|last=Anonymous
|first=
|init=
|author-link=
|publisher=Intact America
|date=2024
|accessdate=2025-06-01
}}</ref>

====Second quarter====
[[PEPFAR]] (2025) has scrapped its costly, ineffective, and harmful "voluntary male medical circumcision" ([[VMMC]]) program after 15 years and at least 27,000,000 harmful and useless [[foreskin]] amputations.<ref name="gwarisa2025">{{REFnews
|title=New PEPFAR Waiver Scraps Voluntary Medical Male Circumcision Program
|url=https://healthtimes.co.zw/2025/02/07/new-pepfar-waiver-scraps-voluntary-medical-male-circumcision-program/
|last=Gwarisa
|first=Michael
|init=
|author-link=
|publisher=Healthtimes
|website=
|date=2025-02-07
|accessdate=2025-02-15
|format=
|quote=
}}</ref> Numerous studies have demonstrated that [[adult circumcision]] is not effective in preventing [[HIV]] [[infection]]. Child [[circumcision]] had previously been discontinued.

[[Intact America]] (2024) is tracking the opposition to [[circumcision]] in the [[United States]]. It reports [https://www.instagram.com/p/DKVZQGTRl77/ steadily increasing opposition] to [[child circumcision]].

President Donald J. Trump appointment of [[Robert Francis Kennedy, Jr.]] to be Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services was approved by the United States Senate was ratified by the United States Senate on 13 February 2025. Kennedy wants to reform healthcare in the United States.

[[Eric Clopper]] has organized [[Intact Global]] in 2024, which has the goal of litigating in numerous states to ensure that boys will enjoy "the equal protection of the law". Intact Global instituted a suit against the state of Oregon in March 2025.<ref>{{REFdocument
|title=Hadachek et al. v. Oregon Complaint
|url=https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/66119b8c4d0c10f1951590fc/67e6d9785f82dc54c6513cb7_2025-03-28%20-%20Hadachek%20v.%20Oregon%20-%20Amended%20Complaint%20(Conformed).pdf
|contribution=
|last=Clopper
|first=Eric
|publisher=Intact Global
|format=PDF
|date=2025-03-27
|accessdate=2025-04-01
}}</ref> [[Intact Global]] also filed suit against the state of Colorado in June 2026.<ref name="rubane2026">{{REFdocument
|title=Tristan Huff and Adam Schwartz, Plaintiffs, v. The State of Colorado
|trans-title=
|language=
|url=https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/66119b8c4d0c10f195159122/6a3185315bbad632a188ed5f_2026-06-09---Huff-v.-Colorado-Complaint---Equal-Protection-Challenge-(Conformed)---For-Press.pdf
|archived=
|contribution=
|quote=
|trans-quote=
|quote-lang=
|last=RuBane
|first=Thomas F.
|author-link=
|last2=Clopper
|first2=Eric
|author2-link=
|format=PDF
|date=2026-06-09
|accessdate=2026-06-17
}}</ref>

Data Panda has reported the incidence of non-therapeutic circumcision by state on 24 May 2025. The incidence ranged from a low of 10 percent in Washington to a high of 91 percent in West Virginia.<ref>{{REFweb
|url=https://www.datapandas.org/ranking/circumcision-rate-by-state
|title=Circumcision Rate by State
|last=Anonymous
|first=
|init=
|author-link=
|publisher=Data Panda
|date=2025-05-24
|accessdate=2025-09-19
}}</ref>

[[Jake Tran]] has produced a [[This should be a crime| video]] about the practice of [[child circumcision]] in the United States.

In a milestone for [[intactivism]], Microsoft Network (MSN) (2025) reported that the incidence of [[child circumcision]] in the United States has declined below 50 percent, which makes non-circumcision or [[genital integrity]] the new NORM in the United States among newborn boys.<ref name="msn2025">{{REFnews
|title=Less Than Half of U.S. Boys Now Circumcised
|url=https://www.msn.com/en-us/health/other/less-than-half-of-us-boys-now-circumcised/ar-AA1MBjzN
|last=Anonymous
|publisher=Microsoft Network
|website=
|date=2025-09-17
|accessdate=2025-09-29
|quote=From 2012 to 2022, the prevalence of circumcision during hospitalization of male neonates age 0 to 28 days decreased significantly by nearly 5 percentage points, from 54.1% to 49.3%,
}}</ref>

==Government financial support for non-therapeutic circumcision==
The United States government provides [[financial incentive]] for medically-unnecessary, non-therapeutic [[circumcision]] by [[third-party payment]] through numerous government health insurance programs:

* [https://www.medicaid.gov/ Medicaid] — About 45 percent of births are under Medicaid.
* [https://www.healthcare.gov/medicaid-chip/childrens-health-insurance-program/ Child Health Insurance Program (CHIP)] — Covers children whose family income is higher.
* [https://www.ihs.gov/ Indian Health Service] — Covers the indigenous population.
* [https://www.tricare.mil/ Tricare] — Covers military dependents.
* [https://www.benefits.gov/benefit/4440 Federal Employees Health Benefits (FEHB) Program] — Covers federal employees and families.
* [https://www.medicare.gov/ Medicare] − Covers persons who have reached 65 years of age.

==The second term of President Donald J. Trump==
The second term of President Donald J. Trump commenced on 21 January 2025. President Trump has promised far-reaching reforms of the executive branch of the government of the United States. It is not clear at this time (9 February 2025) how this will affect the practice of male [[circumcision]] in the United States. We note that the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief ([[PEPFAR]]) has been paused. The performance of ineffective [[genital mutilation]] (male circumcision) on African males may have stopped.<ref>{{REFnews
|title=Trump's Foreign Aid Freeze
|url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/trump-rubio-pepfar-prep-usaid_n_67a65f98e4b0682fe26ceb1f
|last=Cohn
|first=Jonathan
|init=
|author-link=
|last2=
|init2=
|author2-link=
|publisher=Huffpost
|website=
|date=2025-02-07
|season=
|accessdate=2025-02-09
|format=
|quote=
}}</ref>

== Statistical data ==
The National Center for Health Statistics (2013) reported that the incidence of child [[circumcision]] has been declining for thirty years.<ref>{{REFweb
|url=https://blogs.cdc.gov/nchs/2013/08/22/1667/
|title=Male Newborn Circumcision on a Three Decade Decline
|last=
|first=
|init=
|author-link=
|publisher=National Center for Health Statistics
|date=2013-08-22
|accessdate=2025-01-19
}}</ref>
=== Prevalence of circumcision ===
'''Prevalence of circumcision''' is the percentage of all males of all ages in the population who have been [[circumcised]].

[[Intact America]] carried out a survey in 2022 that claims that 73 percent of all American men were [[circumcised]],<ref>{{REFweb
|url=https://www.intactamerica.org/newsroom-gender-equality/
|title=Intact Facts
|last=
|first=
|init=
|publisher=Intact America
|date=2022
|accessdate=2023-03-29
}}</ref> however no documentation has been provided so it is not clear in what region it was carried out or what age groups were surveyed. The prevalence of [[circumcision]] varies by age, region, race, and religion. On another webpage, [[Intact America]] claims 78 percent are circumcised so Intact America is uncertain of its claims.

Peter Moore (2015) reported that 62 percent of all American males reported being [[circumcised]],<ref name="moore2015">{{REFweb
|url=https://today.yougov.com/topics/lifestyle/articles-reports/2015/02/03/younger-americans-circumcision
|title=Young Americans less supportive of circumcision at birth
|last=Moore
|first=Peter
|date=2015-02-03
|accessdate=2022-02-07
}}</ref> which increases the prevalence of [[intact]] [[foreskin]] to 38 percent of living American males of all ages. This percentage is expected to gradually but constantly decline, while the percentage of males who are [[intact]] due to the declining incidence of newborn boys receiving medically-unnecessary, non-therapeutic [[circumcision]] is expected to increase. The percentage of males with [[intact]] [[foreskin]] is lowest with senior citizens and highest in the youngest age groups.

=== Incidence of circumcision ===
'''Incidence of circumcision''' is the percentage of newborn boys who currently are being [[circumcised]].
====Long-term declining trend====
The incidence of non-therapeutic neonatal [[circumcision]] hit its peak at 85-90 percent in 1965.<ref name="laumann1997" /> It has been slowly declining ever since.

Peter Moore (2015) reported that the incidence of circumcision was 55 percent.<ref name="moore2015"/>

Jacobsen et al. (2021) used data from 2003 through 2016 from the Kid's Inpatient Database of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality to compare [[intact]] with [[circumcised]] boys in the first 28 days of life. The authors reported a gradual declining trend in the incidence of neonatal non-therapeutic [[circumcision]] throughout the study period. The overall incidence of circumcision decreased from 57.4 percent in 2003 to 52.1 percent in 2016 over the 13 year study period or 5.3 percentage points for an average decrease of 0.4 percentage point per year. The authors noted "neonatal circumcision rates decreased significantly over time."<ref name="jacobson2021" />

There was significant variation in the incidence of circumcision by region with the Midwest reporting an incidence of 75 percent (three out of four) for the period, while boys in the West were most likely to preserve their [[foreskin]] as the West reported an incidence of only 25.9 percent or about 1 boy in 4 being [[circumcised]].<ref name="jacobson2021" />

One should also note that the [[American Academy of Pediatrics]] [[medical trade association]] vacated its fraudulent 2012 Circumcision Policy Statement by allowing it to expire in 2017 without being re-affirmed.

[https://150.jhu.edu/ Johns Hopkins University] and the Jewish-funded [https://publichealth.jhu.edu/ Bloomberg School of Public Health] have long been outlier advocates of male [[circumcision]]. However, they (2025) are now reporting that the incidence of circumcision has declined "significantly" between 2012 and 2022. The overall decline was from 54.1% to 49.3% — a decline of 4.8 percentage points or 0.048 precentage points per year. The 4.8 percentage point represents a decline of 8.8 percent (4.8/54.1 = 8.8%)<ref name="yang2025" /> Although the incidence of [[circumcision of the newborn]] has been gradually declining for decades, this is the first study to report an overall incidence of less than fifty percent. Based on this new information, we can now report that [[intactness]] is now the NORM among the newborn boys of America. We note that [[Australia]] reported a significant improvement in child health when the incidence of circumcision declined in that nation.<ref>{{REFweb
|url=https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/children-youth/australias-children-in-brief/summary
|title=Australia’s children: in brief
|last=Anonymous
|first=
|init=
|author-link=
|publisher=Australian Institute of Health and Welfare
|pubmedID=
ISBN=978-1-76054-659-5
|DOI=10.25816/5e152818d082c
|date=2019-12-17
|accessdate=2025-09-17
}}</ref> Any circumcisions performed after the newborn period would not be captured by these statistics.

====Midwest====
The Midwest has been called the 'circumcision capital of America' because of its higher rates of circumcision. Nevertheless, the popularity of circumcision is declining even in the Midwest.

In the Midwest, the incidence of [[circumcision]] has declined to 75 percent, which translates to a [[genital integrity]] rate increase to 25 percent or 1 in 4 boys having an [[intact]] foreskin.<ref name="jacobson2021" /> The previous report from 2010 was one boy in five being intact,<ref name="bollinger2017" /> and before that it was 1 in 10 boys being [[intact]], so this in an increase of 250 percent (0.25/0.10 X 100 = 250%) in the rate of [[Intact| intactness]] for the Midwest. The still high incidence of circumcision in the Midwest is counterbalanced by the low incidence in the West.

=== Intactness is the new norm! ===

[[Intactness]] had previously been shamed in the United States,<ref name="garrett2023-12-21">{{REFweb
|url=https://intactamerica.org/foreskin-phobia-intact-penis-shamed/
|title=Foreskin Phobia: How The Intact Penis Has Been Shamed
|last=Garrett
|first=Connor
|init=
|author-link=Connor Judson Garrett
|publisher=Intact America
|date=2023-12-21
|accessdate=2024-05-15
}}</ref> but that era has ended.

[[Intact America]] called attention to the existence of a "tipping point",<ref>{{REFbook
|last=Gladwell
|first=Malcomb
|init=
|year=2002
|title=The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference
|url=https://www.amazon.com/Tipping-Point-Little-Things-Difference/dp/0316346624?s=books
|scope=
|location=
|publisher=Back Bay Books
|pages=301
|ISBN=SBN-10 0316346624
|accessdate=2025-12-01
}}</ref> when public opinion would shift toward [[intactness]] in 2016.<ref>{{REFweb
|url=https://intactamerica.org/do-you-know-about-the-tipping-point/
|title=Do You Know: About the “Tipping Point?
|last=Chapin
|first=Georganne
|init=
|author-link=Georganne Chapin
|publisher=Intact America
|date=2016-11-01
|accessdate=2024-06-03
}}</ref> Public opinion in the United States in 2024 has now reached that tipping point.

The percentage of American boys being [[circumcised]] has been slowly but progressively declining for a long time, while the number of boys with [[intact]] [[foreskin]] has correspondingly increased.<ref name="jacobson2021" /> The percentage of [[intact]] newborn boys has exceeded the percentage of [[circumcised]] newborn boys since 2022.<ref name="yang2025" />

As the present trend continues, [[intactness]] is becoming the more usual, normal, and expected condition among newborn infant boys in America. The incidence of [[circumcision]] varies geographically so some locations will report higher percentages [[circumcised]].

==Forecast future incidence of child circumcision==

The incidence of harmful, unnecessary, nontherapeutic [[circumcision]] of newborn boys declines at the rate of 0.5 of one percentage point per year or one percentage point every two years.<ref name="yang2025" />

Based on this historical rate of decline and assuming that it continues, we can forecast the future incidence of harmful [[child circumcision]] in the United States to be:

* 2023: 49.2%
* 2024: 48.7%
* 2025: 48.2%
* 2026: 47.7%
* 2027: 47.2%
* 2028: 46.7%
* 2029: 46.2%
* 2030: 45.7%

The declining incidence of [[circumcision]] correlates and coincides with the reported decline in the incidence of murder in the United States.<ref>{{REFnews
|title=U.S. murder rate approaches a record low
|url=https://www.npr.org/2026/06/30/nx-s1-5866810/us-murder-rate-record-low-crime-homicide
|last=Kaste
|first=Martin
|init=
|author-link=
|publisher=National Public Radio
|website=https://www.npr.org/
|date=2026-06-30
|accessdate=2026-06-30
|format=
|quote="The United States almost certainly had the lowest murder rate ever recorded in 2025, with the FBI having data back to 1960," says crime data analyst Jeff Asher. "And the available evidence suggests that we're going to go even lower this year."
}}</ref>

==American [[genital integrity]] organizations==

The United States of America now have numerous [[genital integrity]] ([[intactivist]]) organizations working to promote and encourage the protection of the [[physical integrity]] of American boys.

{{SEEALSO}}
* [[Financial incentive]]
* [[Intact-friendly]]
* [https://en.intactiwiki.org/index.php/Main_Page Home page]
* [[Living with a foreskin in circumcised America]]
{{LINKS}}
* {{URLwikipedia|United_States|United States}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://www.cirp.org/library/legal/USA/
|title=Legality of Circumcision: The United States of America
|last=Hill
|first=George
|init=
|publisher=Circumcision Reference Library
|date=2013-07-31
|accessdate=2023-08-26
}}
These documents by [[Dan Bollinger]] are included here because they contain significant information about the United States:
* {{REFweb
|url=https://www.academia.edu/23494197/Infant_Male_Genital_Cutting_Incidence_Worldwide
|title=Infant Male Genital Cutting Incidence Worldwide
|last=Bollinger
|first=Dan
|author-link=Dan Bollinger
|publisher=Academia
|date=2017-05-19
|accessdate=2021-10-21
|format=PDF
}}
* {{REFjournal
|last=Bollinger
|init=D
|author-link=Dan Bollinger
|url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/321837170_Origins_of_the_Intactivist_Movement_A_Masculine_Foundation
|title=Origins of the intactivist movement: A masculine foundation
|journal=
|date=2017-11-17
|accessdate=2021-10-14
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://intactamerica.org/circumcision-rates/
|title=Circumcision Rates by Country: Why America Is the Outlier
|last=Alissa
|first=Kristel
|init=
|author-link=Kristel Alissa
|publisher=Intact America
|date=2025-07-03
|accessdate=2025-8-03
}}
{{ABBR}}
{{REF}}

[[Category:BSM]]
[[Category:English-speaking nation]]
[[Category:Circumcision]]
[[Category:Country]]
[[Category:Male circumcision]]
[[Category:History]]

[[Category:USA]]

[[de:Vereinigte Staaten von Amerika]]

United States of America

2026-07-15T21:42:53Z

WikiModEn2: /* Third quarter */ Wikify.

[[File:Flag_of_USA.svg|thumb|150px|Flag of the United States of America (USA)]]
The '''United States of America''' are also known as the '''United States''' or simply '''America''' or by initialism such as '''USA''' or '''US''' or '''U.S.A.''' or '''U.S.''' (Please note that ''America'' also is the name of two geological continents: ''North America'' and ''South America'' which include many more countries than just the ''United States of America'' which are the topic of this article. See also: [[:Category:Americas]].)

America is predominantly an English-speaking nation. As in other English-speaking nations, non-therapeutic [[circumcision]] of boys was popularized in the late nineteenth century. Due to the rates of infant circumcision that formerly approached 90 percent, the vast majority of [[Circumcised doctors| male doctors were neonatally circumcised]] and have no real knowledge of a normal body part. Such doctors frequently give poor advice to parents on the care of the [[intact]] [[penis]].<ref name="goldman2005">{{REFjournal
|last=Goldman
|first=Ronald
|init=R
|author-link=Ronald Goldman
|etal=no
|title=Circumcision policy: a psychosocial perspective
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal=Paediatrics & Child Health (Ottawa)
|location=
|date=2005-11
|volume=9
|issue=9
|pages=630-3
|url=https://academic.oup.com/pch/article/9/9/630/2648566?login=true
|quote=
|pubmedID=19675851
|pubmedCID=2724127
|DOI=10.1093/pch/9.9.630
|accessdate=2020-03-16
}}</ref> They are also much more likely to injure [[intact]] boys during office visits by premature [[Forced foreskin retraction| forcible foreskin retraction]] (PFFR).<ref>{{REFjournal
|last=Narvaez
|first=Darcia
|init=D
|author-link=
|last2=Geisheker
|first2=John V.
|init2=JV
|author2-link=John V. Geisheker
|url=https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/moral-landscapes/201110/what-is-the-greatest-danger-uncircumcised-boy
|title=What Is the Greatest Danger for an Uncircumcised Boy?
|journal=Psychology Today
|date=2011-10-23
|volume=
|issue=
|pages=
|accessdate=2021-10-31
}}</ref>

The United States is unique in having a [[circumcision industry]] that aggressively promotes the practice of medically-unnecessary, non-therapeutic, harmful, infant [[circumcision]]. The decline of the unnecessary practice has been slowed by payments for unnecessary circumcision by various government heath programs and by continual encouragement and promotion of circumcision by the [[circumcision industry]]. However, the practice of non-therapeutic [[circumcision]] of newborn boys has been in gradual decline for several decades.

Despite the financially self-serving promotional efforts of the [[circumcision industry]], Jacobson et al. (2021) reported the incidence of non-therapeutic [[circumcision]] of newborn infant boys was reported to have continued its slow decline to 52.1 percent in 2016.<ref name="jacobson2021">{{REFjournal
|last=Jacobson
|first=Deborah L.
|init=
|author-link=
|last2=Balmert
|first2=Lauren C.
|init2=
|author2-link=
|last3=Holl
|first3=Jane L.
|init3=
|author3-link=
|last4=Rosoklija
|first4=Ilina
|init4=
|author4-link=
|last5=Davis
|first5=Matthew M.
|init5=
|author5-link=
|last6=Johnson
|first6Emilie K.
|init6=
|author6-link=
|etal=no
|title=Nationwide Circumcision Trends: 2003 to 2016
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal=J Urol
|location=
|date=2021-01
|volume=205
|issue=1
|pages=257-63
|url=https://www.auajournals.org/doi/abs/10.1097/JU.0000000000001316
|pubmedID=32716676
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=10.1097/JU.0000000000001316
|accessdate=2021-10-15
}}</ref> Yang et al. (2025) reported the incidenec of circumcision of the newborn had declined to 49.3 percent in 2022, making non-circumcision or [[intactness]] the new NORM among America's newborn boys. Yang et al. studied a ten-ear period during which the incidence of circumcision declined at a rate of 0.5% per year.<ref name="yang2025">{{REFjournal
|last=Yang
|first=
|init=P
|author-link=
|last2=Zhu
|first2=
|init2=X
|author2-link=
|last3=Patel
|first3=
|init3=EU
|author3-link=
|last4=Quin
|first4=
|init4=PC
|author4-link=
|last5=Grabowski
|first5=
|init5=MK
|author5-link=
|last6=Tobian
|first6=
|init6=AAR
|author6-link=Aaron Tobian
|etal=no
|title=Trends in Circumcision Among Newborn Males in the US
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal=JAMA Pediatrics
|location=
|date=2025-09-15
|season=
|volume=
|issue=
|article=e252464
|page=
|pages=
|url=https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapediatrics/fullarticle/2838312
|archived=
|quote=
|pubmedID=40952753
|pubmedCID=12439174
|DOI=10.1001/jamapediatrics.2025.2464
|accessdate=2025-09-17
}}</ref>

The United States is unusual among nations in that osteopathic physicians (DOs) enjoy equal standing with allopathic physicians (MDs)<ref>{{REFweb
|url=https://www.ama-assn.org/press-center/ama-press-releases/aoa-and-ama-stand-against-misrepresentation-osteopathic-physicians#:~:text=The%20American%20Osteopathic%20Association%20%28AOA%29%20and%20the%20American,of%20osteopathic%20medicine%20by%20media%2C%20celebrities%20and%20companies.
|title=AOA and AMA stand against misrepresentation of osteopathic physicians
|last=Anonymous
|first=
|init=
|author-link=
|publisher=American Medical Association
|date=2020-11-04
|accessdate=2026-03-22
}}</ref> Osteopathic physicians observe four [[Tenets of Osteopathic Medicine]] in their practice.

==History==
===Colonial and early 19th century===
Jews have lived in America since before the Revolutionary War. They have always practiced [[Jewish circumcision| ritual circumcision]], ([[Brit Milah]]), of boys on the eighth day of life in accordance with the [[Abrahamic covenant]], however this was only for a very small percentage of the population.<ref name="self2016">{{REFjournal
|url=https://journals.troy.edu/index.php/test/article/view/386/302
|title=The Rise of Circumcision in Victorian America
|first=Eleanor
|last=Self
|author-link=Eleanor Self
|journal=The Alexandrian
|volume=5
|issue=1
|date=2016
|accessdate=2022-09-02
|format=PDF
}}
</ref>

One may be certain that the eighteenth century [https://www.nationalgeographic.org/article/founding-fathers/ Founding Fathers of the United States] of America were men with [[intact]] [[foreskin]]s as were the [[foreskinned]] men who fought the American Civil War (1861-1865).

Non-therapeutic [[circumcision]] of males for non-religious reasons originated with [[Claude François Lallemand]] in 1836 in France but soon spread to the [[United Kingdom]] in the early nineteenth century, from which it eventually spread to other English-speaking nations.<ref name="hodges1997">[[Frederick M. Hodges| Hodges FM]]. [https://lust-for-life.org/Lust-For-Life/_Textual/GeorgeCDenniston-MarilynFayreMilos-editors_JamesDeMeo_SexualMutilations-AHumanTragedy_1997_235pp/GeorgeCDenniston-MarilynFayreMilos-editors_JamesDeMeo_SexualMutilations-AHumanTragedy_1997_235pp.pdf#page=28 A short history of the institutionalization of involuntary sexual mutilations in the United States]. in: Denniston GC, Milos MF (eds.), Sexual Mutilations: A Human Tragedy (New York: Plenum Publishing, 1997), pp. 17-40. (ISBN 0-306-45589-7)</ref>

Edward Dixon (1847) recommended circumcision to prevent the spread of syphilis.<ref name="self2016" />

===Late nineteenth century===
====First quarter====
The late nineteenth century was characterized by prominent medical doctors advancing all sorts of absurd reasons for the performance of non-therapeutic [[circumcision]], including the prevention of venereal disease.<ref name="self2016" />

The first recorded non-religious circumcision of a boy in the United States occurred in 1870 when [[Lewis Albert Sayre]], a prominent New York City doctor, [[circumcised]] a boy of five years of age for paralysis.<ref name="gollaher1994">{{GollaherDL 1994}}</ref> [[Lewis Albert Sayre|Sayre]] then continued to advocate circumcision for numerous reasons until his death in 1900. According to [[Lewis Albert Sayre|Sayre]], circumcision was recommended for paralysis, epilepsy, hernia, lunacy, curvature of the spine, and clubfoot.

[[M. J. Moses]] (1871) advocated [[circumcision]] to prevent [[masturbation]].<ref name="moses1871">{{Moses1871}}</ref>
====Second quarter====
[[H. H. Kane]] (1879) 'discovers' that [[circumcision]] cures nocturnal emissions and abdominal neuralgia.<ref>{{Kane1879}}</ref>

Seventh-day Adventist [[John Harvey Kellogg]], {{MD}}, of Battle Creek, Michigan, was an important 19th century promoter of male circumcision. Although masturbation is never mentioned in the Bible, Dr. Kellogg believed that [[masturbation]] was immoral, sinful, and caused one to dream "impure dreams", which he believed was harmful to the mental faculties, resulting in mental disorders, such as "feeblemindness".<ref name="kellogg1888">{{Kellogg1888}}</ref> He believed that the urge to masturbate could be prevented by eating bland foods, for which purpose, he and his brother invented corn flakes.<ref name="self2016" />

Dr. Kellogg (1879) also recommended [[circumcision]] in cases "in which irritation is produced by retained secretions".<ref name="kellogg1888"/>

Dr. Kellogg perhaps is most famous for his book, ''Plain facts for young and old'' (1879), in which he advocated circumcision of boys as punishment for masturbation.<ref name="kellogg1888"/>

[[William G. Eggleston]], {{MA}}, {{MD}}, from Chicaco, {{USSC|IL}}, (1886) stated that [[foreskin]] of minors and the natural "phimosis" in minors would cause crossed eyes.<ref name="eggleston1886">{{Eggleston1886}}
</ref>

Dr. [[William D. Gentry]] (1890) alleged that [[Retraction of the foreskin| phimosis in boys]] produces serious nervous derangements.<ref name="gentry1890">{{REFjournal
|last=Gentry
|first=William D.
|init=WD
|author-link=William D. Gentry
|title=Nervous Derangements Produced by Sexual Irregularities in Boys
|journal=Medical Current
|date=1890-07
|volume=6
|issue=7
|pages=268-74
}}</ref>

[[Elizabeth Blackwell]], {{MD}}, ({{LifeData|1821|1910}}), was born in England, but attended medical school in the United States. She was the first woman to become a medical doctor in the United States. Blackwell thought [[masturbation]] was immoral but that [[circumcision]] was not the way to correct it. She wrote against it in her 1894 book:
<blockquote>Appeals to the fears of uninstructed parents on the grounds of cleanliness or of hardening the part are entirely fallacious and unsupported by evidence. It is a physiological fact that the natural lubricating secretion of every healthy part is beneficial, not injurious to the part thus protected, and that no attempt to render a sensitive part insensitive is either practicable or justifiable. The protection which nature affords to these parts is an aid to physical purity by affording necessary protection against constant external contact of a part which necessarily remains keenly sensitive; and bad habits in boys and girls cannot by prevented by surgical operations. Where no malformation exists, bad habits can only be forestalled by healthy moral and physical education.<ref>{{REFbook
|last=Blackwell
|first=Elizabeth
|init=E
|author-link=Elizabeth Blackwell
|title=The Human Element in Sex; being a Medical Inquiry into the Relation of Sexual Physiology to Christian Morality
|url=https://archive.org/details/B20442622/page/n9/mode/2up
|edition=2
|year=1894
|pages=35-6
|location=London
|publisher=J.& A. Churchill
}}</ref></blockquote>

[[Peter Charles Remondino]], {{MD}},<ref name="gollaher1994" /> was a San Diego, California physician, who was born in Turin (''Torino'') in 1846, but migrated with his family to the United States at the age of eight. There is some reason to believe that he was of Sephardic Jewish descent and had been [[circumcised]] while still in Turin, however this is uncertain.

Remondino clearly was highly intelligent. He mastered English, started medical school at age 17, treated wounded soldiers during the Civil War, and later moved to San Diego for his health.

After moving to San Diego, he practiced medicine, served as an officer of several medical societies, and other regulatory agencies.

Remondino is famous for his 346 page book, ''The History of Circumcision'' (1891).<ref name="remondino1891">{{REFbook
|last=Remondino
|first=Peter Charles
|init=PC
|author-link=Peter Charles Remondino
|year=1891
|title=History of Circumcision
|url=https://www.gutenberg.org/files/23135/23135-h/23135-h.htm
|pages=
|location=Philadelphia
|publisher=F. A. Davis
|website=Welcome Collection
|accessdate=2021-09-29
}}</ref> <ref name="gollaher1994" />

When Remondino discussed the [[foreskin]], he used the most horrific, derogatory, and disparaging language. He devoted thirteen chapters to the alleged evils and faults of the foreskin. It is not clear why he had such an extreme dislike for a natural and functional body part. His recommendation, of course, was for [[Adolescent and adult circumcision| circumcision]].

[[H. L. Rosenberry]], {{MD}}, (1894) published a paper "proving" that circumcision cures urinary and rectal incontinence.<ref name="self2016" /> <ref name="rosenberry1894">{{Rosenberry1894}}</ref>

Dr. [[E. J. Spratling]] (1895) provided information for other doctors.<ref name="self2016" />He gaved a detailed explanation of how a circumcision is to be done so as to make it as difficult as possible to achieve orgasm by [[masturbation]].<ref>{{REFjournal
|last=Spratling
|init=EJ
|title=Masturbation in the Adult
|journal=Medical Record
|volume=24
|issue=
|pages=442-443
|url=https://www.proquest.com/openview/9a247c3410d34390e418dc970faa3b87/1?pq-origsite=gscholar&cbl=40146
|quote=
|date=1895
|accessdate=2022-08-30
}}</ref>

By the end of the nineteenth century, America had at least one prominent physician and surgeon on the east coast promoting circumcision and another prominent physician and surgeon on the west coast promoting circumcision. There was no real medical science with which to dispute and discredit their false claims. Non-therapeutic [[circumcision]] of males was now well-established in the United States.

===Early twentieth century===
====First quarter====
The early twentieth century is characterized by advocacy of circumcision based on false claims to prevent cancer and sexually transmitted (venereal) disease; and by the involvement of the United States military services in the promotion of circumcision.

[[Ernest G. Mark]] (1901) noted that the "pleasurable sensations that are elicited from the extremely sensitive" [[Ridged band|inner lining]] of the [[foreskin]] may encourage a child to [[Masturbation|masturbate]], which is why he recommended circumcision since it "lessens the sensitiveness of the organ".<ref>{{Mark1901}}</ref>

Brimhall (1902) reported an [[amputation]] of a [[penis]] after circumcision.<ref name="brimhall1902">{{REFjournal
|last=Brimhall
|init=JB
|author-link=
|last2=
|init2=
|author2-link=
|url=
|title=Amputation of the penis following a unique method of preventing hemorrhage after circumcision
|journal=St. Paul Med J.
|date=1902
|volume=4
|issue=
|page=490
|accessdate=2021-10-05
}}</ref>

[[Roswell Park]] (1902) published a paper 'proving' that foreskin causes epilepsy and that circumcision cures it.<ref>{{Park1902}}</ref>

[[L. Emmett Holt]] (1913) reported that tubercular [[mohel]]s were infecting infant Jewish boys with tuberculosis during [[Brit Milah| ritual circumcision]].<ref>{{REFjournal
|last=Holt
|init=LE
|author-link=L. Emmett Holt
|url=http://www.cirp.org/library/complications/holt1/
|title=Tuberculosis acquired through ritual circumcision
|journal=JAMA
|date=1913-07-12
|volume=LXI
|issue=2
|pages=99-102
|accessdate=2021-10-04
}}</ref>

[[Abraham L. Wolbarst]], {{MD}}, a Jewish New York doctor, apparently considered [[L. Emmett Holt|Holt]]'s paper to be an attack on [[Brit Milah| ritual circumcision]] or perhaps [[Judaism]] itself. He collected ''opinions'' from other doctors of the alleged value of [[circumcision]] for health and published those ''opinions'' as ''scientific fact'' in a 1914 ''JAMA'' article.<ref name="wolbarst1914">{{REFjournal
|last=Wolbarst entitled ''Universal circumcision as as sanitary measure]].
|first=Abraham L.
|init=AL
|author-link=Abraham L. Wolbarst
|title=Universal circumcision as a sanitary measure
|journal=JAMA
|date=1914-1-10
|volume=62
|issue=2
|pages=92-7
|url=https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/article-abstract/453164
|accessdate=2021-10-04
}}</ref> Wolbarst's paper appeared shortly before the start of World War I. It is thought that Wolbarst's false claims inspired some military commanders to require men under their command to be [[circumcised]] so as to reduce venereal disease (VD).

M. S. Reuben (1916) (1917) reported additional cases of tuberculosis after ritual circumcision.<ref name="reuben1916">{{REFjournal
|last=Reuben
|init=MS
|author-link=
|last2=
|init2=
|author2-link=
|url=http://www.cirp.org/library/complications/reuben1/
|title=Tuberculosis from ritual circumcision
|journal=Proceedings of the New York Academy of Medicine
|date=1916-12-15
|volume=
|issue=
|pages=333-4
|accessdate=2021-10-04
}}</ref><ref name="ruben1917">{{REFjournal
|last=Reuben
|init=MS
|author-link=
|last2=
|init2=
|author2-link=
|url=http://www.cirp.org/library/complications/reuben2/
|title=Tuberculosis following ritual circumcision
|journal=Arch Pediatr
|date=1917-03
|volume=XXXIV
|issue=
|pages=186-90
|accessdate=2021-10-04
}}</ref>

J. Brennermann (1921) reported that [[Meatal stenosis| meatal disease]] occurs only in [[circumcised]] boys who lack the protection of the [[foreskin]].<ref name="brennermann2021>{{REFjournal
|last=Brennermann
|init=J
|author-link=
|last2=
|init2=
|author2-link=
|url=http://www.cirp.org/library/complications/brennemann1/
|title=The ulcerated meatus in the circumcised child
|journal=Am J Dis Child
|date=1921
|volume=21
|issue=
|pages=38-47
|accessdate=2021-10-04
}}</ref>
====Second quarter====
[[Abraham L. Wolbarst|Wolbarst]] (1926) made his claim for the first time that male circumcision prevents [[penile cancer]].<ref name="wolbarst1926!>{{REFjournal
|last=Wolbarst
|first=Abraham L.
|init=AL
|author-link=Abraham L. Wolbarst
|title=Is circumcision a prophylactic against penis cancer?
|journal=Cancer
|date=1926-07
|volume=3
|issue=4
|pages=301-10
}}</ref>

[[Abraham L. Wolbarst|Wolbarst]] (1932) put forward his claim again that [[circumcision]] would prevent [[penile cancer]] in the British journal, ''The Lancet''.<ref name="Wolbarst 1932">{{Wolbarst1932}}</ref> In those long ago days, the true causes of cancer were unknown so it was impossible to disprove Wolbarst's falsehoods.

Laumann et al., writing in 1997, reported an incidence of circumcision of 31 percent in 1933.<ref name="laumann1997">{{REFjournal
|last=Laumann
|first=Edward O.
|init=
|author-link=
|last2=Masi
|first2=christopher M.
|init2=
|author2-link=
|last3=Zuckerman
|first3=Ezra W.
|init3=
|author3-link=
|etal=no
|title=Circumcision in the United States
|journal=JAMA
|location=
|date=1997-04-02
|volume=277
|issue=13
|article=
|pages=1052-7
|url=http://www.cirp.org/library/general/laumann/
|pubmedID=9091693
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=
|accessdate=2021-10-05
}}</ref>

[[Hiram S. Yellen]] and [[Aaron Goldstein]] invented the [[Gomco]] clamp in 1934-1935. The clamp, by crushing the foreskin in an intensely painful procedure, reduced the risk of hemorrhage,<ref name="yellen1935">{{GoldsteinYellen1935}}</ref> but increased the [[pain]].<ref name="sinkey2015">{{REFjournal
|url=https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25794628?dopt=Abstract
|title=The GoMo study: a randomized clinical trial assessing neonatal pain with Gomco vs Mogen clamp circumcision
|last=Sinkey
|init=RG
|last2=Eschenbacher
|init2=MA
|last3=Walsh
|init3=PM
|last4=Doerger
|init4=RG
|last5=Lambers
|init5=DS
|last6=Sibai
|init6=BM
|last7=Habli
|init7=MA
|journal=Am J Obstet Gynecol
|date=2015-05
|volume=212
|issue=5
|pages=664.e1-8
|pubmedID=25794628
|DOI=10.1016/j.ajog.2015.03.029
|accessdate=2021-10-05
}}</ref> The availability of the Gomco clamp increased the popularity of non-therapeutic infant circumcision.

Brown (1937) reported restoration of the [[skin]] of the [[penis]] after a denudation complication of circumcision.<ref name="brown1837">{{REFjournal
|last=Brown
|init=JB
|author-link=
|url=
|title=Restoration of the entire skin of the penis
|journal=Surg Gynecol Obstetr
|date=1937
|volume=65
|issue=362-5
|pages=
|accessdate=2021-10-05
}}</ref>

Laumann et al. (1997) reported an incidence of circumcision of 53 percent in 1941.<ref name="laumann1997" />

World War II. America entered the war after the Empire of Japan attacked the American naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii on 7 December 1941. This was followed by Germany declaring war on the United States.

The information on military circumcision in WWII is sketchy and anecdotal. It appears that many [[foreskinned]] American men were encouraged and, in some cases, forced to be [[circumcised]]. It seems that the American military's [[foreskin]]-phobia and circumcision policy persisted through the Korean War (1950-52) but was discontinued by a change in policy thereafter.

The "Sand Myth" circulated among English-speaking armies. According to the [http://www.circumstitions.com/sand.htm Sand Myth], [[foreskinned]] men who fought in the Saharan desert had medical issues due to sand collecting under the [[foreskin]]. [[Intact]] Italian and German men who fought in the same desert had no such problems.<ref>{{REFjournal
|last=Darby
|first=Robert
|init=
|author-link=Robert Darby
|etal=no
|title=The riddle of the sands: circumcision, history, and myth
|journal=NZ Med J
|location=
|date=2005-07-15
|volume=118
|issue=1218
|article=
|page=U1564
|url=https://www.academia.edu/9899840/The_riddle_of_the_sands_Circumcision_history_and_myth
|pubmedID=16027753
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=
|accessdate=2021-10-05
}}</ref>

[[Abraham Ravich]] (1942) falsely claimed that circumcision prevents [[prostate cancer]].<ref name="ravich1942">{{Ravich1942}}</ref>

'''Post-war era.''' In the post-war era after WWII, the popularity of non-therapeutic [[circumcision]] increased, driven by medical promotion by doctors seeking a nice [[Financial incentive| surgical fee]] as an alleged preventive of penile cancer and by the [Adamant father syndrome| adamant request of circumcised men home from the war who became fathers]].

Non-therapeutic, medically-unnecessary [[circumcision]] of boys had become a "routine" surgical operation that usually was performed automatically on newborn boys even without consent from anyone.

Laumann et al. (1997) reported an incidence of non-therapeutic circumcision of boys of 85 percent in 1948.<ref name="laumann1997" />

[[Eugene H. Hand]], {{MD}}, (1949) falsely claimed that circumcision would prevent cancer of the tongue and [[Circumcision and STDs| venereal disease]].<ref name="HandEH1949">{{REFjournal
|last=Hand
|first=Eugene H.
|init=EH
|author-link=Eugene H. Hand
|url=https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18135844/
|title=Circumcision and venereal disease
|journal=Archives of Dermatology and Syphilology
|date=1949-09
|volume=60
|issue=3
|pages341-6
|pubmedID=18135844
|DOI=10.1001/archderm.1949.01530030037004
|accessdate=2021-10-08
}}</ref>

The publication of a landmark article by [[Douglas Gairdner]] (1949) in the [[United Kingdom]] showing that infant circumcision is non-therapeutic, unnecessary, causes deaths, and which called for preservation of the [[foreskin]]<ref name="gairdner1949">{{GairdnerDM 1949}}</ref> was totally ignored by the [[circumcision industry]] in the United States.

===Late twentieth century===
====Third quarter====
The late twentieth century was characterized by increasing opposition to non-therapeutic circumcision of boys by [[intactivists]] and increasing efforts by the [[circumcision industry]] to protect [[third-party payment]] for performance of non-therapeutic [[circumcision]] of non-consenting boys; and by increasing recognition that newborn boys intensely feel [[pain]] and that non-therapeutic male [[circumcision]] is a [[trauma| horribly traumatic experience]].

[[Abraham Ravich]] (1951) falsely claimed that [[circumcision]] prevents [[cervical cancer]] in women.<ref name="ravitch1951">{{Ravich1951}}</ref>

Hollister, Inc. formally introduced the [[Plastibell]] circumcision device in 1953.<ref name=MillerSnyder1953>{{MillerSnyder1953}}</ref>

[[Ernest L. Wynder]] (1954) promoted male circumcision to prevent cervical cancer in women.<ref name="wynder1954">{{Wynder1954}}</ref>

The Congress of the United States created the [https://www.medicaid.gov/ Medicaid program] in 1965. Medicaid is a joint federal/state program that pays the medical expenses of low-income Americans. Medicaid covers about 45 percent of births in the United States. Medicaid pays for medically-unnecessary, non-therapeutic circumcision in 37 states, although it appears to be a violation of law to do so.<ref name="adler2011">{{REFjournal
|last=Adler
|first=Peter W.
|init=PW
|author-link=Peter W. Adler
|title=It is lawful to use Medicaid to pay for circumcision?
|journal=Journal of Law and Medicine
|date=2011
|volume=19
|issue=
|pages=335-53
|url=https://www.arclaw.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/is-it-lawful-to-use-medicaid-to-pay-for-circumcision.pdf
|quote=
|accessdate=2021-10-05
}}</ref>

W. K. C. Morgan, a Canadian medical doctor, then on the faculty of the {{UNI|University of Maryland|UMD}} [https://www.medschool.umaryland.edu/ School of Medicine], in a highly critcal letter pubished by ''JAMA'' (1965), slammed the practice of non-therapeutic circumcision of boys as it had developed in the United States.<ref>{{REFjournal
|last=Morgan
|first=
|init=WKC
|author-link=
|etal=no
|title=The rape of the phallus
|journal=JAMA
|location=
|date=1965-07-19
|volume=193
|issue=
|article=
|pages=223-4
|url=http://www.cirp.org/library/general/morgan/
|pubmedID=14310332
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=jama.1965.03090030045013
|accessdate=2021-10-05
}}</ref>

Preston (1970) considered the matter of infant [[circumcision]]. He examined and debunked claims that male circumcision could prevent cancer of the [[cervix]] in women, cancer of the [[penis]] and cancer of the prostate in men. Preston concluded:

<blockquote>Routine circumcision of the newborn is an unnecessary procedure. It provides questionable benefits and is associated with a small but definite incidence of complications and hazards. These risks are preventable if the operation is not performed unless truly medically indicated. Circumcision of the newborn is a procedure that should no longer be considered routine.<ref>{{REFjournal
|last=Preston
|first=E. Noel
|init=
|author-link=
||etal=no
|title=Whither the foreskin? A consideration of routine neonatal circumcision.
|journal=JAMA
|location=
|date=1970-09-14
|volume=213
|issue=11
|article=
|pages=1853-8
|url=http://www.cirp.org/library/general/preston/
|pubmedID=5468911
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=10.1001/jama.213.11.1853
|accessdate=2021-10-05
}}</ref></blockquote>

Preston's paper elicited a response from C. J. Falliers, {{MD}}, (1970) who cited the "sensory pleasure induced by tactile stimulation of the foreskin."<ref name="falliers1970">{{REFjournal
|last=Falliers
|first=
|init=CJ
|author-link=
|etal=
|title=Circumcision (letter)
|journal=JAMA
|location=
|date=1970-12-21
|volume=214
|issue=12
|article=
|page=2194
|url=http://www.cirp.org/library/general/falliers1/
|accessdate=2021-10-05
}}</ref>

[[Abraham Ravich]] (1971) falsely claims that circumcision prevents cancer of the bladder and the rectum.<ref name="ravich1971">{{Ravich1971}}</ref>

Laumann et al. reported an incidence of newborn circumcision of 78 percent in 1971.

The [[American Academy of Pediatrics]] (AAP) is not an "academy" at all. It is a [[medical trade association]] that protects and advances the business and financial interests of its pediatrician "fellows". Influenced by Preston's paper, the AAP published a manual on the hospital care of newborn infants in 1971. The manual included the statement:
<blockquote>
There are no valid medical indications for circumcision in the neonatal period.<ref>{{REFbook
|year=1971
|title=Standards and Recommendation for Hospital Care of Newborn infants
|url=http://www.cirp.org/library/statements/aap/#a1971
|page=110
|location=Evanston, {{USSC|IL}}
|publisher=American Academy of Pediatrics
|isbn=
|accessdate=2021-10-05
}}</ref>
</blockquote>

====Fourth quarter====
The statement in the 1971 manual was good medical science, then and now, but it did not sit well with the membership of the AAP because it provided no basis on which to promote non-therapeutic circumcision for profit. A four-member "ad hoc" task force was formed to produce a new statement to 'walk-back' the earlier statement to fit the desires of the membership, which was published in ''Pediatrics'' in 1975.<ref name="aap1975">{{REFjournal
|last=Thompson
|first=
|init=HC
|author-link=
|last2=King
|first2=
|init2=LR
|author2-link=
|last3=Knox
|first3=
|init3=E
|author3-link=
|last4=Korones
|first4=
|init4=SH
|author4-link=
|etal=no
|title=Report of the Ad Hoc Task Force on Circumcision
|journal=Pediatrics
|location=
|date=1975-10
|volume=56
|issue=3
|article=
|page=
|pages=610-11
|url=http://www.cirp.org/library/statements/aap/#a1975
|pubmedID=1174384
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=
|accessdate=2021-10-06
}}</ref> The new statement had not a single citation of any other document. While it recognized the validity of the 1971 statement, It claimed without any basis that parents had a right to circumcise a newborn infant boy for "traditional, cultural, and religious factors".<ref name="aap1975" />

The statement falsely claimed facilitation of hygiene, prevention of [[phimosis]], and prevention of [[penile cancer]] as reasons that parents may elect non-therapeutic infant circumcision.<ref name="aap1975" />

The statement expressed no concern for the [[pain]] and [[trauma]] of circumcision, nor did it provide information on the functions and value of the [[foreskin]] nor did it recognize the child as a person with domestic and international rights to self-determination and [[physical integrity]]. The statement carefully avoided recommending [[circumcision]] and placed the responsibility for the certain [[amputation]] injury on the parents rather than on the attending physician.<ref name="aap1975" />

The 1975 statement served as the AAP's position statement until 1989.

The AAP supplemented the 1975 statement in 1977 by stating:
<blockquote>There are no medical indications for [[Routine Infant Circumcision|routine circumcisions]], and the procedure cannot be considered an essential component of health care. If an infant is circumcised, the procedure must be delayed until the infant is at least 24 hours old and stable, without [[bleeding]] tendency or any other illness. Circumcision must never be done at time of delivery.<ref>{{REFbook
|year=1977
|title=Standards and Recommendations for Hospital Care of Newborn Infants. Sixth Edition
|url=http://www.cirp.org/library/statements/aap/#a1977
|pages=66-7
|location=Evanston, {{USSC|IL}}
|publisher=American Academy of Pediatrics
|isbn=
|accessdate=2021-10-05
}}</ref>
</blockquote>

Infant circumcision traditionally had been carried out without any kind of anesthesia or analgesia because of the false belief that infants could not feel [[pain]]. Researchers started to investigate the [[Pain| pain of circumcision]] in the 1970s.

The American Cancer Society estimated that there are about 460 deaths per year in the United States from penile cancer.<ref>{{REFweb
|url=https://www.cancer.org/cancer/penile-cancer/about/key-statistics.html
|title=Key Statistics for Penile Cancer
|last=
|first=
|date=2021-01-12
|accessdate=2021-10-17
}}</ref> Sidney S. Gellis, {{MD}} (1978) estimated that the number of deaths from infant circumcision exceeded the number of deaths from [[penile cancer]].<ref name="gellis1978">{{REFjournal
|last=Gellis
|first=
|init=
|author-link=
|etal=no
|title=Circumcision
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal=Am J Dis Child
|location=
|date=1978-12
|volume=132
|issue=
|article=
|page=
|pages=1168-9
|url=http://www.cirp.org/library/general/gellis1/
|pubmedID=717329
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=10.1001/archpedi.1978.02120370016003
|accessdate=2021-10-17
}}</ref>

David Grimes, {{MD}}, (1978), recognized the increasing controversy regarding the practice of non-therapeutic infant [[circumcision]]. Grimes discussed several concerns including:

* Irrational patient selection.
* Lack of information prior to consent.
* Pain and anesthesia management.
* Improper surgical objectives.
* Lack of cost-effectiveness.<ref name="grimes1978">{{REFjournal
|last=Grimes
|first=David
|init=
|author-link=
|etal=no
|title=Routine circumcision of the newborn: a reappraisal
|journal=Am J Obstet Gynecol
|location=
|date=1978-01-15
|volume=130
|issue=2
|article=
|pages=125-9
|url=http://www.cirp.org/library/general/grimes/
|pubmedID=413435
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=10.1016/0002-9378(78)90353-8
|accessdate=2021-10-05
}}</ref>

Grimes concluded:
<blockquote> However, until the benefits of [[Routine Infant Circumcision| routine circumcision]] of the neonate can be proved worth the risk and cost, medical resources probably should be allocated to measures of demonstrated value.<ref name="grimes1978" />
</blockquote>
The American circumcision industry appears to have totally ignored Grimes' concerns.

It was at about this time that several small organizations that opposed non-therapeutic circumcision of boys started to appear. They were the first [[intactivists]], although that word had not yet been coined. One such organization was the Remain Intact Organization of Larchwood, Iowa, which was lead by Rev. [[George Zangger| Russell George Zangger]]. From the 1970s to the 1990s Zangger sent out cards with New Testament quotations that said the outward sign of circumcision is of no value. [[Jeffrey R. Wood]] formed [[INTACT Educational Foundation| INTACT]] (Infants Need to Avoid Circumcision [[Trauma]]), founded in 1976 as a local resource serving Western Massachusetts, and "Dedicated to Preserving Freedom of Choice." The organization gained recognition and had members across the nation.

Boczko & Freed (1979) collected cases of [[penile cancer]] in [[circumcised]] men and by so doing, disproved the false belief propagated since 1932 by [[Abraham L. Wolbarst]] that circumcision was protective against penile cancer.<ref name="boczko1979">{{REFjournal
|last=Boczo
|first=Stanley
|init=
|author-link=
|last2=Freed
|first2=Selwyn
|init2=
|author2-link=
|etal=no
|title=Penile carcinoma in circumcised males
|journal=N Y State J Med
|location=
|date=1979-11
|volume=79
|issue=12
|article=
|pages=1903-4
|url=http://www.cirp.org/library/disease/cancer/boczko/
|pubmedID=292845
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=
|accessdate=2021-10-07
}}</ref>

Robert Leon Baker, {{MD}} (1979) estimated 229 [[Death| deaths]] per year in the United States from circumcision complications.<ref name="baker1979">{{REFjournal
|last=Baker
|first=Robert L.
|init=
|author-link=
|etal=no
|title=Newborn male circumcision: needless and dangerous
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal=Sexual Medicine Today
|location=
|date=1979
|volume=3
|issue=11
|article=
|pages=35-6
|url=http://www.cirp.org/library/general/baker1/
|accessdate=2021-10-17
}}</ref>

[[Edward Wallerstein]] (1980) published his book, ''[[Circumcision: An American Health Fallacy]]''.<ref name="wallerstein1980">{{WallersteinE 1980}}</ref>

Bollinger (2017) reported the incidence of infant non-therapeutic circumcision peaked at about 85 percent of all infant boys in 1982.<ref name="bollinger2017">{{REFweb
|url=https://www.academia.edu/23494197/Infant_Male_Genital_Cutting_Incidence_Worldwide
|title=Infant male genital cutting incidence worldwide
|last=Bollinger
|first=Dan
|author-link=Dan Bollinger
|publisher=Academia
|website=
|date=2017-05-19
|accessdate=2021-10-27
|format=PDF
|quote=
}}</ref>

[[John A. Erickson]] (1982) started to work individually to advance [[genital integrity]].

Professor Lowell R. King (1982), who had been a member of the 1975 "ad hoc" task force on circumcision of the AAP, felt compelled to defend the reasoning of the task force.<ref name="king1982">{{REFjournal
|last=King
|first=Lowell R.
|init=
|author-link=
|etal=no
|title=Neonatal circumcision in the United States in 1982
|journal=J Urol
|location=
|date=1982-11
|volume=128
|issue=5
|article=
|pages=1135-6
|url=http://www.cirp.org/library/general/king1982/
|pubmedID=7176044
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=10.1016/s0022-5347(17)53361-3
|accessdate=2021-10-11
}}</ref>

[[BUFF| Brothers United for Future Foreskins]] (1982) revived the practice of [[epispasm]] (non-surgical [[foreskin restoration]]) that had not been praticed since antiquity.

[[Marilyn Fayre Milos]], {{RN}}, while a nursing student at [https://www.mymarinhealth.org/locations/medical-center/ Marin General Hospital], witnessed an unanesthetized circumcision of a newborn boy in 1979. Shocked by the extreme [[pain]] and horror of it, she became an opponent of infant circumcision and was forced to resign in 1985 from her nursing position at Marin General Hospital where infant non-therapeutic circumcision is a profit center and promoted to parents. She immediately created the National Organization of Circumcision Information Resource Centers ([[NOCIRC]]) in 1985.

[[Rosemary Romberg]] (1985) published Circumcision: The Painful Dilemma.

[[Edward Wallerstein]] (1985) pointed out that the American way of practicing non-religious circumcision of boys is without parallel anywhere else in the world.<ref>{{REFjournal
|last=Wallerstein
|first=Edward
|init=
|author-link=Edward Wallerstein
|etal=no
|title=Is Nonreligious Circumcision Necessary?
|journal=Urol Clin North Am
|location=
|date=1985-05
|volume=12
|issue=1
|pages=123-32
|url=http://www.cirp.org/library/general/wallerstein/
|quote=
|pubmedID=
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=
|accessdate=2021-10-06
}}</ref>

American lawyer William E. Brigman (1985) used new medical evidence to argue that circumcision is child abuse, and discussed possible legal remedies. Recent medical articles have documented the actual injury of circumcision, to make it possible for an attorney to win damages for wrongful circumcision, he said. Brigman suggested civil rights class action suits against hospitals.<ref name="brigman1985">{{REFjournal
|last=Brigman
|first=William E.
|init=WE
|author-link=
|title=Circumcision as Child Abuse: The Legal and Constitutional Issues
|journal=J Fam Law
|date=1985
|volume=23
|issue=3
|page=337
|url=http://www.cirp.org/library/legal/brigman/
|accessdate=2021-10-07
}}</ref>

Anand & Hickey (1987) published a paper in the ''New England Journal of Medicine'' that conclusively proved that newborn infants are capable of feeling [[pain]]. After publication of this landmark paper, no doubt about the existence of pain sensation in infants remained. The article stated:
<blockquote>
Numerous lines of evidence suggest that even in the human [[fetus]], pain pathways as well as cortical and subcortical centers necessary for pain perception are well developed late in gestation, and the neurochemical systems now known to be associated with pain transmission and modulation are intact and functional. Physiologic responses to painful stimuli have been well documented in neonates of various gestational ages and are reflected in hormonal, metabolic, and cardiorespiratory changes similar to but greater than those observed in adult subjects. Other responses in newborn infants are suggestive of integrated emotional and behavioral responses to pain and are retained in memory long enough to modify subsequent behavior patterns.<ref name="anand1987">{{REFjournal
|last=Anand
|init=KJS
|author-link=
|last2=Hickey
|init2=PR
|author2-link=
|etal=yes
|title=Pain and its effects in the human neonate and fetus
|journal=N Engl J Med
|location=
|date=1987-11-19
|volume=317
|issue=21
|pages=1321-9
|url=http://www.cirp.org/library/pain/anand/
|pubmedID=3317037
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=10.1056/NEJM198711193172105
|accessdate=2021-10-07
}}</ref>
</blockquote>

[[NOCIRC]] sponsored the [[First International Symposium]] on Circumcision which was held in Anaheim, California, USA on 1-3 March 1989.

The July/August 1989 edition of [[The Truth Seeker]] was dedicated to circumcision. It featured the core proceedings from the First International Symposium.

The [[American Academy of Pediatrics]]' 1975 circumcision promotional statement<ref name="aap1975" /> was now getting long in the tooth so a newer statement was desired. The AAP appointed the late [[Edgar J. Schoen]], {{MD}}, of Oakland, California, who had written a humorous poem about circumcision as the chairman of a new task force on circumcision. The task force had six members of whom five (83%), including Schoen, were believed to be Jewish, although Jews constitute only 1.9 percent of the population.

Schoen's task force produced the AAP's [[American_Academy_of_Pediatrics#Third_policy_.281989.29| third circumcision policy statement]] which was published in ''Pediatrics'' in November 1979.<ref name="aap1989">{{REFjournal
|last=Schoen
|first=Edgar J.
|init=EJ
|author-link=Edgar J. Schoen
|last2=Anderson
|first2=Glenn
|init2=G
|author2-link=
|last3=Bohon
|first3=Constance
|init3=C
|author3-link=
|last4=Hinman
|first4=Frank
|init4=F
|author4-link=
|last5=Poland
|first5=Ronald
|init5=R
|author5-link=
|last6=Wakeman
|first6=E. Maurice
|init6=EM
|author6-link=
|etal=no
|title=Report of the Task Force of Circumcision.
|journal=Pediatrics
|location=
|date=1989-11
|volume=84
|issue=4
|pages=388-91
|url=http://www.cirp.org/library/statements/aap/#a1989
|pubmedID=2664697
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=
|accessdate=2021-10-10
}}</ref>

The statement, which was intended to promote the practice of non-therapeutic circumcision for the benefit of the fellows of the AAP, had a high degree of [[bias]] and had many serious deficiences. Some more notable deficiences included:

* failure to recognize the child as a person with legal rights to bodily integrity.
* failure to provide information on the nature and functions of the human [[foreskin]].
* failure to call for analgesia to ease the intense [[pain]] of the [[amputation]].
* inclusion of [[Thomas E. Wiswell]]'s methodologically-flawed papers on [[urinary tract infection]] (UTI).
* failure to inform parents that UTI is properly treated with antibiotics.
* use of the misleading word ''potential'' to describe speculative medical benefits that do not actually exist.
* attempting to shift responsibility for the performance of an injurious and harmful [[amputation]] from the medical operator to the parents.

The advocacy of [[circumcision]] to prevent [[UTI]] spurred a debate in the medical literature until the AAP published a new statement in 1999 that softened the claims.

[[Charles A. Bonner|Bonner]] & Kinane (1989) discussed the legal and constitutional issues of non-therapeutic male circumcision under United States and California law.<ref name="bonner1989">{{REFjournal
|last=Bonner
|first=Charles
|init=C
|author-link=Charles A. Bonner
|last2=Kinane
|first2=Michael
|init2=M
|author2-link=
|title=The Legal and Constitutional Issues
|journal=The Truth Seeker
|date=1989-07
|url=http://www.noharmm.org/bonner.htm
|accessdate=2021-10-10
}}</ref>

Professor Ronald Poland (1990), who had served on the task force with [[Edgar J. Schoen]] that produced the 1989 AAP Circumcision Policy Statement, strongly objected to the use of methodologically flawed UTI studies. Professor Poland concluded that infant non-therapeutic circumcision should not be "a part of routine medical care."<ref name="poland1990">{{REFjournal
|last=Poland
|first=Ronald L.
|init=
|author-link=
|etal=no
|title=The question of routine neonatal circumcision
|journal=N Eng J Med
|location=
|date=1990-05-03
|volume=322
|issue=18
|article=
|pages=1312-5
|url=http://www.cirp.org/library/general/poland/
|pubmedID=2183058
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=10.1056/NEJM199005033221811
|accessdate=2021-10-11
}}</ref>

The [[Second International Symposium]] on Circumcision convened at the Hotel Kabuki in San Francisco, California, USA on April 30 through May 3, 1991.

[[Ronald Goldman]], {{PhD}}, founded the [[Circumcision Resource Center]] in 1991.

[[Tim Hammond]] organized the [http://www.noharmm.org/ National Organization to Halt the Abuse and Routine Mutilation of Males] in 1992.

[[John A. Erickson]] (1992) self-published ''Making America Safe for Foreskins''<ref> {{REFbook
|last=Erickson
|first=John A.
|init=JA
|author-link=John A. Erickson
|title=Making America Safe for Foreskins
|publisher=Self-published (42 page pamphlet)
|location=Biloxi, Mississippi
|date=1992-01
}}</ref>

Lynn E. Lebit (1992) discussed issues with the substituted judgment doctrine.<ref name="lebit1992">{{REFjournal
|last=Lebit
|first=Lynn E.
|init=LE
|author-link=
|etal=no
|title=Compelled Medical Procedures Involving Minors and Incompetents and Misapplication of the Substituted Judgment Doctrine
|journal=Journal of Law and Medicine
|location=
|date=1992
|volume=7
|issue=
|page=107
|url=http://engagedscholarship.csuohio.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1304&context=jlh
|pubmedID=11659623
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=
|accessdate=2021-10-10
}}</ref>

Professor [[George C. Denniston]], {{MD}}, {{MPH}}, explained some [[Foreskin#Physiological_functions| functions of the foreskin]], said circumcision was both unnecessary and harmful because of the deprivation of functions, so should not be performed.<ref name-"denniston1992">
{{REFjournal
|last=Denniston
|first=George C.
|init=
|author-link=George C. Denniston
|etal=no
|title=Unnecessary Circumcision
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal=Female Patient
|location=
|date=1992-07
|volume=17
|issue=
|article=
|pages=13-4
|url=
|accessdate=
}}</ref>

The [[Third International Symposium]] on Circumcision convened at the {{UNI|University of Maryland|UMD}}, College Park, {{USSC|MD}}, USA on 23-25 May 1994.

Professor [[George C. Denniston]], {{MD}}, {{MPH}}, organized [[Doctors Opposing Circumcision (D.O.C.)]] in 1995.

Three registered nurses in Santa Fe, {{USSC|NM}}, who conscientiously objected to assisting with foreskin [[amputation]] operations, formed [[Nurses for the Rights of the Child]] in 1995.

A group of [[intactivist]]s assembled at Evanston, {{USSC|IL}} in 1996 for a meeting and then protested and demonstrated before the AAP convention in nearby Chicago.

[[John A. Erickson]] (1996) self-published ''Deeper into Circumcision: A Invitation to Awareness'' (196 pages).<ref name="erickson1996">{{REFbook
|last=Erickson
|first=John A.
|init=JA
|author-link=John A. Erickson
|year=1996
|title=Deeper into Circumcision: An Invitation to Awareness
|url=http://www.foreskin.org/je-dic.htm
|publisher=Self-published (196 page pamphlet)
|location=Biloxi, Mississippi
}}</ref>

[[Geoffrey T. Falk]] created the [http://www.cirp.org/ Circumcision Information and Resources Pages] in 1996 to take advantage of the newly-available Internet.

[[Ronald Goldman]], Ph.D., (1997) conducted a thorough review of the effect of the American practice of [[child circumcision]] on American society.<ref name="goldman1997">{{REFbook
|last=Goldman
|first=Ronald
|year=1997
|title=Circumcision: The Hidden Trauma
|url=https://circumcision.org/circumcision-the-hidden-trauma/
|chapter=7. The impact of circumcision on American society
|pages=139-75
|location=Boston
|publisher=Vanguard
|ISBN=0-9644895-3-8
|accessdate=2026-07-15
}}</ref>

Ross Povenmire (1998) questioned the authority of parents to grant consent for non-therapeutic circumcision of children.<ref name="povenmire1998">{{REFjournal
|last=Povenmire
|init=R
|author-link=
|last2=
|init2=
|author2-link=
|url=http://www.cirp.org/library/legal/povenmire/
|title=Do Parents Have the Legal Authority to Consent to the Surgical Amputation of Normal, Healthy Tissue From Their Infant Children?: The Practice of Circumcision in the United States
|journal=Journal of Gender, Social Policy & the Law
|date=1998
|volume=7
|issue=
|page=87
|accessdate=2021-10-14
}}</ref>

[[Christopher Fletcher]], M.D., (1998) conducted a survey of doctors in the United States who perform non-therapeutic circumcision of boys. Dr. Fletcher concluded his report in part:
<blockquote>
This study reveals that, across the country, American specialties that perform circumcisions are ignorant of the medical facts regarding the penile foreskin and in conjunction with hospitals and misinformed patients, attempt to justify and rationalise newborn male circumcision. In many cases, despite personal beliefs that circumcision is more harmful than beneficial, some physicians are unwilling to give up their participation in this almost uniquely American custom which many of them have personally experienced as infants.<ref name="fletcher1998!>{{REFbook
|last=Fletcher
|first=Christopher R.
|init=CR
|url=https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-0-585-39937-9_19
|chapter=[https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-0-585-39937-9_19 Circumcision in America in 1998: Attitudes, Beliefs and Charges of American Physicians]
|publisher=Kluwer/Plenum
|title=Male and Female Circumcision
|pages=259-71
|editors=George C. Denniston, Frederick Mansfield Hodges, Marilyn Fayre Milos
|year=1998
|accessdate=2021-10-21
}}</ref>
</blockquote>
The American Academy of Pediatrics had been acutely embarrassed by the faults of [[Edgar J. Schoen]]'s [http://www.cirp.org/library/statements/aap/#a1989 horrific circumcision policy statement], so a new task force was convened under the direction of Carole Marie Lannon, {{MD}}, {{MPH}}, to produce a new, more appropriate, and less embarrassing policy statement on non-therapeutic child circumcision. The new task force produced the [[American_Academy_of_Pediatrics#Fourth_policy_.281999.29|Fourth Circumcision Policy Statement]].<ref name="aap1999">{{REFjournal
|last=Lannon
|first=Carole Marie
|init=CM
|author-link=
|last2=Bailey
|first2=Ann Geryl Doll
|init2=AGD
|author2-link=
|last3=Fleishman
|first3=Alan R.
|init3=AR
|author3-link=
|last4=Kaplan
|first4=George W.
|init4=GW
|author4-link=George W. Kaplan
|last5=Shoemaker
|first5=Craig T.
|init5=CT
|author5-link=
|last6=Swanson
|first6=Jack T.
|init6=JT
|author6-link=
|last7=Coustan
|first7=Donald
|init7=D
|author7-link=
|etal=no
|title=Circumcision Policy Statement
|journal=Pediatrics
|location=
|date=1999-09
|volume=103
|issue=3
|article=
|pages=686-93
|url=http://www.cirp.org/library/statements/aap1999/
|pubmedID= 22926180
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=10.1542/peds.2012-1989
|accessdate=2021-10-10
}}</ref> The 1999 circumcision statement advocated analgesia for pain relief of the extreme circumcision [pain], admitted that the [[foreskin]] contains [[Ridged band| nerves]], softened the claims made for [[UTI]] prevention, recognized the effectiveness of breastfeeding at reducing UTI in infants and declared non-therapeutic infant circumcision to be an ''elective'' surgical procedure. Other than that, it shared the much the same faults as the 1989 statement.

Rhinehart (1999) was a practicing psychiatrist who described his patients later-life problems stemming from the psychic [[trauma]] of their neonatal [[circumcision]].<ref name="rhinehart1999">{{REFjournal
|last=Rhinehart
|first=John W.
|init=JW
|author-link=
|etal=no
|title=Neonatal Circumcision Reconsidered
|journal=Transactional Analysis Journal
|location=
|date=1999-07
|volume=29
|issue=3
|pages=215-21
|url=http://www.cirp.org/library/psych/rhinehart1/
|quote=
|pubmedID=
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=10.
|accessdate=2021-10-14
}}</ref>

===Late twentieth century history video===
 
<youtube>o25MjZsmvGY</youtube>
 

===Early twenty-first century===
====First Quarter====
The twenty-first century has been characterized by greater opposition to non-therapeutic circumcision of boys in the general population, the utter failure of the circumcision industry's vaunted new circumcision policy, and much more attention to legal and ethical issues relating to non-therapeutic circumcision of boys.

Giannetti (2000) argued that scientific misconduct in the [[American Academy of Pediatrics]] circumcision policy statements should expose the AAP to trade association liability.<ref name="gianetti2000">{{REFjournal
|last=Giannetti
|first=Matthew
|init=M
|author-link=
|title=Circumcision and the American Academy of Pediatrics: Should Scientific Misconduct Result in Trade Association Liability
|journal=Iowa Law Rev
|date=2000
|volume=85
|issue=4
|pages=1507-68
|url=https://www.doctorsopposingcircumcision.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/Gianetti-AAP-Misconduct-Trade-Assn-Iowa-Law-Rev-2000.pdf
|accessdate=2020-05-09
}}</ref>

[[J. Steven Svoboda|Svoboda]], [[Robert S. Van Howe|Van Howe]] & [[James G. Dwyer|Dwyer]] (2000) discussed legal issues inherent with consent for non-therapeutic circumcision of boys.<ref name="svoboda2000">{{REFjournal
|last=Svoboda
|first=J. Steven
|init=JS
|author-link=J. Steven Svoboda
|last2=Van Howe
|first2=Robert S.
|init2=RS
|author2-link=Robert S. Van Howe
|last3=Dwyer
|first3=James G.
|init3=JG
|author3-link=James G. Dwyer
|etal=no
|title=Informed Consent for Neonatal Circumcision: An Ethical and Legal Conundrum
|journal=J Contemporary Health Law Policy
|location=
|date=2000-09
|volume=17
|issue=1
|pages=61-133
|url=https://scholarship.law.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1255&context=jchlp
|pubmedID=11216345
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=
|accessdate=2021-10-11
}}</ref>

[[J. Steven Svoboda]] (2001) discussed the limits of the law.<ref name="svoboda2001">{{REFbook
|last=Svoboda
|first=J. Steven
|init=JS
|author-link=J. Steven Svoboda
|year=2001
|title=Limits of the law: Comparative analysis of legal and extralegal methods.
|url=https://www.arclaw.org/wp-content/uploads/Limits-of-the-Law-Comparative-Analysis-of-Legal-and-Extralegal-Methods.pdf
|work=Understanding Circumcision: A Multi-Disciplinary Approach to a Multi-Dimensional Problem
|editor=[[George C. Denniston]], [[Frederick M. Hodges]], and [[Marilyn Fayre Milos]]
|edition=
|volume=
|chapter=
|pages=297-365
|location=
|publisher=Springer
|isbn=978-1-4419-3375-1.
|quote=
|accessdate=2021-10-11
|note=
}}</ref>

[[Geoffrey P. Miller]] (2002) discussed the impact of American culture on the law of circumcision.<ref name="miller2002">{{REFjournal
|last=Miller
|first=Geoffrey P.
|init=GP
|author-link=
|title=Circumcision: Cultural-Legal Analysis
|journal=Virginia Journal of Social Policy & the Law.
|date=2002-3
|volume=9
|issue=
|pages=497-585
|url=http://www.cirp.org/library/legal/miller1/
|accessdate=2020-07-29
}}</ref>

[[George Hill]] (2003) questioned the authority of anyone to grant consent for the non-therapeutic alteration of a child's body.<ref name="hill2010">{{REFjournal
|last=Hill
|first=George
|init=
|author-link=George Hill
|etal=no
|title=Can Anyone Authorize the Nontherapeutic Permanent Alteration of a Child's Body?
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal=Am J Bioeth
|location=
|date=2003-03
|volume=3
|issue=2
|article=
|page=W6
|url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1162/152651603766436342
|pubmedID=14635628
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=10.1162/152651603766436342
|accessdate=2021-10-14
}}</ref>

[[Petrina Fadel]] founded [[Catholics Against Circumcision]].

Thomas et al. (2004) studied the incidence of [[HIV]] in circumcision and intact men in a United States Navy population. A slightly higher incidence of [[HIV]] infection was found in circumcised men (84.9%) as compared with intact men (81.8%). The authors concluded:
<blockquote>
Although there may be other medical or cultural reasons for male circumcision, it is not associated with [[HIV]] or STI prevention in this U.S. military population.<ref name="thomas2004">Thomas AG, Bakhireva LN, Brodine SK, Shaffer RA. [http://www.cirp.org/library/disease/HIV/thomas1/ Prevalence of male circumcision and its association with [[HIV]] and sexually transmitted infections in a U.S. Navy population]. Abstract no. TuPeC4861. Presented at the XV International [[AIDS]] Conference, Bangkok, Thailand, July 11-16, 2004.</ref>
</blockquote>

[[Saving Our Sons (SoS)]], an [[intactivist]] organization, commenced operations online in 2007.

[[Dr. Momma - peaceful parenting]], an [[intactivist]] organization, started in 2007.

[[Doctors Opposing Circumcision (D.O.C.)]] included this commentary on the law of circumcision of boys in their June 2008 Genital Integrity Statement. It has since been later amended by another party to include a reference to Adler (2013) that was not available at the time of writing.<ref>{{REFbook
|last=Hill
|first=George
|init=G
|author-link=George Hill
|year=2008
|title=Ch. 10: American Law and the Circumcision of Children
|url=
|work=Genital Integrity Policy
|editor=
|edition=
|volume=
|chapter=
|pages=
|location=Seattle
|publisher=[[Doctors Opposing Circumcision (D.O.C.)]]
|isbn=
|quote=
|accessdate=2021-10-11
|note=
}}</ref>

[[Doctors Opposing Circumcision (D.O.C.)]] issued a Genital Integrity Policy in June 2008.<ref name-"doc2008">{{REFdocument
|title=Genital Integrity Policy
|url=
|contribution=
|last=Hill
|first=George
|author-link=George Hill
|publisher=[[Doctors Opposing Circumcision (D.O.C.)]]
|format=PDF
|date=2008-06
|accessdate=2021-10-11
}}</ref>

[[Georganne Chapin]] founded [[Intact America]] in 2008 with the aid of a grant from Texas philanthropist Dean Pisani.

[[Robert S. Van Howe|Van Howe]] & Svoboda (2008) said of the American practice of medically-unnecessary, non-therapeutic infant circumcision:
<blockquote>
Once all factors are revealed, it
is impossible to consider circumcision a minor issue,
but rather circumcision comes to symbolize one of the
greatest ongoing systemic ethical violations for which
modern medicine has been responsible.<ref name="vanhowe2008">{{REFjournal
|last=Van Howe
|first=Robert S.
|init=RS
|author-link=Robert S. Van Howe
|last2=Svoboda
|first2=J. Steven
|init2=JS
|author2-link=J. Steven Svoboda
|etal=no
|title=Neonatal pain relief and the Helsinki Declaration
|journal=Journal of Law, Medicine, and Ethics
|location=
|date=2008-12
|volume=36
|issue=4
|article=
|pages=803-23
|url=https://www.academia.edu/download/33981944/27_Van_Howe.pdf
|pubmedID=19094008
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=10.1111/j.1748-720X.2008.00339.x
|accessdate=2021-10-31
}}</ref>
</blockquote>

The British journal, ''The Lancet'', published reports of two randomized controlled trials (RCTs) that were carried out in sub-Saharan Africa which purported to prove that male circumcision was protective against infection with [[HIV]]. The [[American Academy of Pediatrics]] consulted with the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists ([[ACOG]]) and the American College of Family Physicians ([[AAFP]]) (those being the [[medical trade association| medical trade associations]] that represent the specialties that perform most non-therapeutic infant circumcisions and make most of the money from the performance of the non-therapeutic [[amputation]]). The three associations determined to make common cause to produce a position statement that would promote male circumcision based on its alleged protection against [[HIV]] infection. The [[AAP]] was to take the lead, but ACOG and AAFP provided representatives to the new [[AAP Circumcision Task Force 2012| AAP task force]], of which New York Jewess [[Susan Blank]], {{MD}}, {{MPH}}, was the chairwoman. This new task force did not publish a statement until 2012. The AAP declined to re-affirm the statement so it expired in August 2017.

[[Dan Bollinger|Bollinger]] (2010) estimated approximately 117 neonatal circumcision-related deaths occur annually in the United States.<ref name="bollinger2010">{{BollingerD 2010}}</ref>

[[Anthony Losquadro]] formed [[Intaction]], an [[intactivist]] organization in 2010.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ([[CDC]]) reported an incidence of newborn circumcision of 58.3 percent in 2010.<ref name="cdc2015">{{REFweb
|url=https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/hestat/circumcision_2013/circumcision_2013.htm
|title=Trends in Circumcision for Male Newborns in U.S. Hospitals: 1979–2010
|publisher=Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
|website=cdc.gov
|date=2015-11-06
|accessdate=2021-10-16
}}</ref>

Professor [[Peter W. Adler]], J. D., (2011) argued that it is unlawful for United States Medicaid to pay for non-therapeutic circumcision.<ref name="adler2011" />

[[Brother K]] formed the [[Bloodstained Men]] in 2012.

The [[AAP]], lead by the [[AAP Circumcision Task Force 2012]], finally published the [[American_Academy_of_Pediatrics#Fifth_policy_.282012.29| fifth circumcision policy statement]] in the September 2012 issue of ''Pediatrics''. The [[American_Academy_of_Pediatrics#Criticism| adverse criticism]] was overwhelming.

[[Dan Bollinger|Bollinger]] (2012) estimated that the total cost of non-therapeutic male circumcision, including hospital costs, repair of botched circumcisions, treatment of complications, and so on is more than $3 billion per year,<ref name="bollinger2012">{{REFweb
|url=https://www.academia.edu/6442587/High_Cost_of_Circumcision_3.6_Billion_Annually
|title=High Cost of Circumcision: $3.6 Billion Annually
|last=Bollinger
|first=Dan
|author-link=Dan Bollinger
|publisher=Academia
|date=2012
|accessdate=2020-11-25
}}</ref> of which the beneficiary is the American circumcision industry.

[[Doctors Opposing Circumcision (D.O.C.)]] (2013) provided evidence that the purpose of the 2012 AAP Circumcision Policy Statement was to get more money for doctors,<ref name="doc2013">{{REFdocument
|title=Commentary on American Academy of Pediatrics 2012 Circumcision Policy Statemeni
|url=https://www.doctorsopposingcircumcision.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/commentary-on-american-academy-of-pediatrics-2012-circumcision-policy-statement.pdf
|contribution=
|last=
|first=
|publisher=[[Doctors Opposing Circumcision (D.O.C.)]]
|format=PDF
|date=2013-04-01
|accessdate=2021-10-21
}}</ref>

Professor [[Peter W. Adler]], {{JD}}, (2013) argued that non-therapeutic circumcision of boys is unlawful.<ref name="adler2013">{{REFjournal
|last=Adler
|first=Peter W.
|init=PW
|author-link=Peter W. Adler
|title=Is circumcision legal?
|journal=Richmond Journal of Law and the Public Interest
|date=2013
|volume=16
|issue=3
|pages=439-86
|url=https://scholarship.richmond.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1265&context=jolpi
|accessdate=2020-05-08
}}</ref>

[[Robert S. Van Howe|Van Howe]] & [[J. Steven Svoboda|Svoboda]] (2013) criticized the 2012 AAP statement because it failed to include important points, inaccurately analyzed and interpreted current medical literature, and made unsupported conclusions.<ref name="vanhowe2013">{{REFjournal
|last=Van Howe
|first=Robert S.
|init=RS
|author-link=Robert S. Van Howe
|last2=Svoboda
|first2=J. Steven
|init2=JS
|author2-link=J. Steven Svoboda
|date=2013-07-01
|title=Out of step: fatal flaws in the latest AAP policy report on neonatal circumcision
|url=https://jme.bmj.com/content/39/7/434
|journal=Journal of Medical Ethics
|language=en
|volume=39
|issue=7
|pages=434-41
|DOI=10.1136/medethics-2013-101346
|issn=0306-6800
|pubmedID=23508208
}}</ref>

[[Jen Williams]] organized [[Your Whole Baby]] in 2014.

The infamous [[Nebus v. Hironimus]] Florida [[circumcision]] case culminated after five years of litigation with Florida Family Court Judge [[Jeffrey Dana Gillen]] arrested the mother, [[Heather Hironimus]], and forced her to sign a consent for harmful, [[pain| painful]] circumcision in open court while handcuffed.
 
Heather Hironimus signs consent form for circumcision of 4 and 1/2 year old son under extreme duress
<youtube>Btxl4UGBdpc</youtube>

[[Doctors Opposing Circumcision (D.O.C.)]] commissioned a [https://www,doctorsopposingcircumcision.org new website] in 2016.

[[J. Steven Svoboda]] argued against non-therapeutic circumcision.<ref name="svoboda2017">{{REFjournal
|date=2017-08-01
|title=Nontherapeutic Circumcision of Minors as an Ethically Problematic Form of Iatrogenic Injury
|journal=AMA Journal of Ethics
|language=en
|volume=19
|issue=8
|pages=815-24
|DOI=10.1001/journalofethics.2017.19.8.msoc2-1708
|pubmedID=28846521
|issn=2376-6980
|last1=Svoboda
|first1=J.S.
}}</ref> He stated that this decision should be considered in the context of benefit vs risk of harm, rather than simply risk-benefit due to the non-therapeutic nature of the procedure.<ref name="svoboda2017"/> He states that benefits do not outweigh the risks, and also claims that foreskin removal should be considered a sexual harm.<ref name="svoboda2017"/> He also went on to conclude that non-therapeutic circumcision largely violates the physician's duty to respect a patient's autonomy since many procedures take place before a patient is able to freely give consent himself.<ref name="svoboda2017"/>

Reis-Dennis & Reis (2017) asked if physicians should be blamed for harm resulting from unnecessary genital surgeries, including infant circumcision.<ref name="reis-dennis2017">{{REFjournal
|last=Reis-Dennis
|first=
|init=
|author-link=
|last2=Reis
|first2=
|init2=
|author2-link=
|etal=no
|title=Are Physicians Blameworthy for Iatrogenic Harm Resulting from Unnecessary Genital Surgeries?
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal=AMA Journal of Ethics
|location=
|date=2017
|volume=19
|issue=8
|article=
|pages=825-33
|url=
|pubmedID=28846522
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=10.1001/journalofethics.2017.19.8.msoc3-1708
|accessdate=2021-10-14
}}</ref>

The ill-fated, embarrassing 2012 [[AAP]] Circumcision Policy Statement expired on August 31, 2017 in accordance with AAP policy, because it was not reaffirmed. The AAP has had ''no'' official circumcision policy since that time.

[[Doctors Opposing Circumcision]] released a special report on circumcision for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.<ref name="doc2019">{{REFdocument
|title=Male Circumcision: A special report to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
|url=https://pool.intactiwiki.org/w/images/Male_Circumcision_DOC_2019-02-01.pdf
|contribution=
|last=Anonymous
|first=
|publisher=Doctors Opposing Circumcision
|format=PDF
|date=2019-02-01
|accessdate=2025-12-08
}}</ref>

[[Dan Bollinger|Bollinger]] (2019) discussed circumcision as an adverse childhood experience,<ref name-"bollinger2019">{{REFdocument
|title=Child genital cutting as an adverse childhood experience
|url=http://adversechildhoodexperiences.net/CGC_as_an_ACE.pdf
|last=Bollinger
|first=Dan
|author-link=Dan Bollinger
|last2=Chapin
|first2=Georganne
|author2-link=Georganne Chapin
|publisher=Intact America
|location=Tarrytown
|format=PDF
|date=2019-08
|accessdate=2021-04-02
}}</ref>

[[Peter W. Adler|Adler]], [[Robert S. Van Howe|Van Howe]], Wisdom & Daase (2020) examined male non-therapeutic circumcision as fraud.<ref name="adler2020">{{REFjournal
|last=Adler
|first=Peter W.
|init=PW
|author-link=Peter W. Adler
|last2=Van Howe
|first2=Robert S.
|init2=RS
|author2-link=Robert S. Van Howe
|last3=Wisdom
|first3=Travis
|init3=T
|author3-link=
|last4=Daase
|first4=Felix
|init4=F
|author4-link=Felix Daase
|etal=no
|title=Is circumcision a fraud?
|journal=Cornell Journal of Law and Public Policy
|location=
|date=2020-11
|volume=30
|issue=1
|pages=45-107
|url=https://www.lawschool.cornell.edu/research/JLPP/upload/Adler-et-al-final.pdf
}}
</ref>

Adler & Daase (2020) reviewed the American debate on non-therapeutic child circumcision for a French-speaking audience.<ref name="adlerB2020>{{REFjournal
|last=Adler
|first=Peter W.
|init=PW
|author-link=Peter W. Adler
|last2=Daase
|first2=Felix
|init2=F
|author2-link=Felix Daase
|etal=no
|title=Actualié du débat sur la circoncision aux États-Unis: Is the Circumcision Debate Over?
|journal=Droit et Cultures
|location=
|date=2020
|volume=79
|issue=1
|pages=207-22
|url=https://journals.openedition.org/droitcultures/6276?lang=en
|accessdate=2021-06-19
}}</ref>

[[Ronald Goldman]] led a group of Massachusetts taxpayers who filed a suit against [https://www.mass.gov/topics/masshealth MassHealth] (Massachusetts Medicaid), which is unlawfully paying for non-therapeutic circumcisions with public funds.<ref>{{REFweb
|url=https://circumcision.org/taxpayers-sue-massachusetts-medicaid-about-circumcisions/
|title=Taxpayers Sue Massachusetts Medicaid About Circumcisions
|first=Ronald
|last=Goldman
|author-link=Ronald Goldman
|publisher=[[Circumcision Resource Center]]
|date=2020-07-22
|accessdate=2021-10-13
}}</ref>

Navia et al. (2020) surveyed the incidence of non-therapeutic neonatal circumcision in four states. The incidence of circumcision in 2016 was found to have declined to 54.5 percent, which translates to an increase in [[genital integrity]] and wholeness rate to 45.5 percent.<ref>{{REFjournal
|last=Navia
|first=Mateo Zambrano
|init=
|author-link=
|last2=Jacobson
|first2=Deborah L.
|init2=
|author2-link=
|last3=Balmert
|first3=Lauren C.
|init3=
|author3-link=
|last4=Rosoklija
|first4=Ilina
|init4=
|author4-link=
|last5=Holl
|first5=Jane L.
|init5=
|author5-link=
|last6=Davis
|first6=Matthew M.
|init6=
|author6-link=
|last7=Johnson
|first7=Emilie K
|init7=
|author7-link=
|etal=no
|title=State-Level Public Insurance Coverage and Neonatal Circumcision Rates
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal=Pediatrics
|location=
|date=2020-11
|volume=146
|issue=5
|article=
|page=e20201475
|url=https://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/146/5/e20201475
|pubmedID=33055226
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=10.1542/peds.2020-1475
|accessdate=2021-10-13
}}</ref>

The Lavine family of New Jersey has brought a lawsuit against a New Jersey practitioner and the [[American Academy of Pediatrics]] that alleges fraud.<ref>{{REFweb
|url=https://www.circumcisionisafraud.com/docket-mer-l-000272-21
|title=Circumcision is a Fraud
|last=
|first=
|accessdate=2021-10-13
}}</ref>

A study by [[Intact America]] (2020) reveals how hospitals pressure mothers into granting consent for unneeded and unwanted injurious non-therapeutic [[circumcision]] of a newborn boy.<ref>{{REFweb
|url=https://www.prweb.com/printer/17552844.htm
|title=Having a Baby Boy? Intact America Warns, ‘Get Ready for the Circumcision Sellers!
|last=Chapin
|first=Georganne
|author-link=Georganne Chapin
|publisher=Intact America
|website=prweb
|date=2020-11-18
|accessdate=2021-10-13
|format=
|quote=
}}</ref> Infant circumcision is a profit center for many American hospitals so parents are pushed to circumcise.

[[Intact America]] (2024) called child circumcision "an outdated practice in desperate need of reevaluation",<ref name="alissa2024-12-16">{{REFweb
|url=https://intactamerica.org/circumcision-reevaluation/
|title=Circumcision: An Outdated Practice in Desperate Need of Re-Evaluation
|last=Alissa
|first=Kristel
|init=
|author-link=
|publisher=Intact America
|date=2024-12-16
|accessdate=2024-12-23
}}</ref> and exposed the propaganda that has promoted the harmful but profitable practice of child circumcision.<ref>{{REFweb
|url=https://intactamerica.org/exposing-circumcision-propaganda/
|title=The Unkindest Cut: Exposing the Propaganda That Normalized Circumcision—and How We Reclaim the Truth
|last=Alissa
|first=Kristel
|init=
|author-link=
|publisher=Intact America
|date=2024-11-19
|accessdate=2024-12-23
}}</ref>

[[Intact America]] (2024) reports a rapid increase in the percentage of Americans who oppose the harmful [[circumcision]] of boys.<ref>{{REFweb
|url=https://www.instagram.com/p/DKVZQGTRl77/?igsh=MWV1aW90MzBpd2dzdA%3D%3D
|title=Opposition to circumcision overtime.
|last=Anonymous
|first=
|init=
|author-link=
|publisher=Intact America
|date=2024
|accessdate=2025-06-01
}}</ref>

====Second quarter====
[[PEPFAR]] (2025) has scrapped its costly, ineffective, and harmful "voluntary male medical circumcision" ([[VMMC]]) program after 15 years and at least 27,000,000 harmful and useless [[foreskin]] amputations.<ref name="gwarisa2025">{{REFnews
|title=New PEPFAR Waiver Scraps Voluntary Medical Male Circumcision Program
|url=https://healthtimes.co.zw/2025/02/07/new-pepfar-waiver-scraps-voluntary-medical-male-circumcision-program/
|last=Gwarisa
|first=Michael
|init=
|author-link=
|publisher=Healthtimes
|website=
|date=2025-02-07
|accessdate=2025-02-15
|format=
|quote=
}}</ref> Numerous studies have demonstrated that [[adult circumcision]] is not effective in preventing [[HIV]] [[infection]]. Child [[circumcision]] had previously been discontinued.

[[Intact America]] (2024) is tracking the opposition to [[circumcision]] in the [[United States]]. It reports [https://www.instagram.com/p/DKVZQGTRl77/ steadily increasing opposition] to [[child circumcision]].

President Donald J. Trump appointment of [[Robert Francis Kennedy, Jr.]] to be Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services was approved by the United States Senate was ratified by the United States Senate on 13 February 2025. Kennedy wants to reform healthcare in the United States.

[[Eric Clopper]] has organized [[Intact Global]] in 2024, which has the goal of litigating in numerous states to ensure that boys will enjoy "the equal protection of the law". Intact Global instituted a suit against the state of Oregon in March 2025.<ref>{{REFdocument
|title=Hadachek et al. v. Oregon Complaint
|url=https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/66119b8c4d0c10f1951590fc/67e6d9785f82dc54c6513cb7_2025-03-28%20-%20Hadachek%20v.%20Oregon%20-%20Amended%20Complaint%20(Conformed).pdf
|contribution=
|last=Clopper
|first=Eric
|publisher=Intact Global
|format=PDF
|date=2025-03-27
|accessdate=2025-04-01
}}</ref> [[Intact Global]] also filed suit against the state of Colorado in June 2026.<ref name="rubane2026">{{REFdocument
|title=Tristan Huff and Adam Schwartz, Plaintiffs, v. The State of Colorado
|trans-title=
|language=
|url=https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/66119b8c4d0c10f195159122/6a3185315bbad632a188ed5f_2026-06-09---Huff-v.-Colorado-Complaint---Equal-Protection-Challenge-(Conformed)---For-Press.pdf
|archived=
|contribution=
|quote=
|trans-quote=
|quote-lang=
|last=RuBane
|first=Thomas F.
|author-link=
|last2=Clopper
|first2=Eric
|author2-link=
|format=PDF
|date=2026-06-09
|accessdate=2026-06-17
}}</ref>

Data Panda has reported the incidence of non-therapeutic circumcision by state on 24 May 2025. The incidence ranged from a low of 10 percent in Washington to a high of 91 percent in West Virginia.<ref>{{REFweb
|url=https://www.datapandas.org/ranking/circumcision-rate-by-state
|title=Circumcision Rate by State
|last=Anonymous
|first=
|init=
|author-link=
|publisher=Data Panda
|date=2025-05-24
|accessdate=2025-09-19
}}</ref>

[[Jake Tran]] has produced a [[This should be a crime| video]] about the practice of [[child circumcision]] in the United States.

In a milestone for [[intactivism]], Microsoft Network (MSN) reported that the incidence of [[child circumcision]] in the United States has declined below 50 percent, which makes non-circumcision or [[genital integrity]] the new NORM in the United States among newborn boys.<ref name="msn2025">{{REFnews
|title=Less Than Half of U.S. Boys Now Circumcised
|url=https://www.msn.com/en-us/health/other/less-than-half-of-us-boys-now-circumcised/ar-AA1MBjzN
|last=Anonymous
|publisher=Microsoft Network
|website=
|date=2025-09-17
|accessdate=2025-09-29
|quote=From 2012 to 2022, the prevalence of circumcision during hospitalization of male neonates age 0 to 28 days decreased significantly by nearly 5 percentage points, from 54.1% to 49.3%,
}}</ref>

==Government financial support for non-therapeutic circumcision==
The United States government provides [[financial incentive]] for medically-unnecessary, non-therapeutic [[circumcision]] by [[third-party payment]] through numerous government health insurance programs:

* [https://www.medicaid.gov/ Medicaid] — About 45 percent of births are under Medicaid.
* [https://www.healthcare.gov/medicaid-chip/childrens-health-insurance-program/ Child Health Insurance Program (CHIP)] — Covers children whose family income is higher.
* [https://www.ihs.gov/ Indian Health Service] — Covers the indigenous population.
* [https://www.tricare.mil/ Tricare] — Covers military dependents.
* [https://www.benefits.gov/benefit/4440 Federal Employees Health Benefits (FEHB) Program] — Covers federal employees and families.
* [https://www.medicare.gov/ Medicare] − Covers persons who have reached 65 years of age.

==The second term of President Donald J. Trump==
The second term of President Donald J. Trump commenced on 21 January 2025. President Trump has promised far-reaching reforms of the executive branch of the government of the United States. It is not clear at this time (9 February 2025) how this will affect the practice of male [[circumcision]] in the United States. We note that the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief ([[PEPFAR]]) has been paused. The performance of ineffective [[genital mutilation]] (male circumcision) on African males may have stopped.<ref>{{REFnews
|title=Trump's Foreign Aid Freeze
|url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/trump-rubio-pepfar-prep-usaid_n_67a65f98e4b0682fe26ceb1f
|last=Cohn
|first=Jonathan
|init=
|author-link=
|last2=
|init2=
|author2-link=
|publisher=Huffpost
|website=
|date=2025-02-07
|season=
|accessdate=2025-02-09
|format=
|quote=
}}</ref>

== Statistical data ==
The National Center for Health Statistics (2013) reported that the incidence of child [[circumcision]] has been declining for thirty years.<ref>{{REFweb
|url=https://blogs.cdc.gov/nchs/2013/08/22/1667/
|title=Male Newborn Circumcision on a Three Decade Decline
|last=
|first=
|init=
|author-link=
|publisher=National Center for Health Statistics
|date=2013-08-22
|accessdate=2025-01-19
}}</ref>
=== Prevalence of circumcision ===
'''Prevalence of circumcision''' is the percentage of all males of all ages in the population who have been [[circumcised]].

[[Intact America]] carried out a survey in 2022 that claims that 73 percent of all American men were [[circumcised]],<ref>{{REFweb
|url=https://www.intactamerica.org/newsroom-gender-equality/
|title=Intact Facts
|last=
|first=
|init=
|publisher=Intact America
|date=2022
|accessdate=2023-03-29
}}</ref> however no documentation has been provided so it is not clear in what region it was carried out or what age groups were surveyed. The prevalence of [[circumcision]] varies by age, region, race, and religion. On another webpage, [[Intact America]] claims 78 percent are circumcised so Intact America is uncertain of its claims.

Peter Moore (2015) reported that 62 percent of all American males reported being [[circumcised]],<ref name="moore2015">{{REFweb
|url=https://today.yougov.com/topics/lifestyle/articles-reports/2015/02/03/younger-americans-circumcision
|title=Young Americans less supportive of circumcision at birth
|last=Moore
|first=Peter
|date=2015-02-03
|accessdate=2022-02-07
}}</ref> which increases the prevalence of [[intact]] [[foreskin]] to 38 percent of living American males of all ages. This percentage is expected to gradually but constantly decline, while the percentage of males who are [[intact]] due to the declining incidence of newborn boys receiving medically-unnecessary, non-therapeutic [[circumcision]] is expected to increase. The percentage of males with [[intact]] [[foreskin]] is lowest with senior citizens and highest in the youngest age groups.

=== Incidence of circumcision ===
'''Incidence of circumcision''' is the percentage of newborn boys who currently are being [[circumcised]].
====Long-term declining trend====
The incidence of non-therapeutic neonatal [[circumcision]] hit its peak at 85-90 percent in 1965.<ref name="laumann1997" /> It has been slowly declining ever since.

Peter Moore (2015) reported that the incidence of circumcision was 55 percent.<ref name="moore2015"/>

Jacobsen et al. (2021) used data from 2003 through 2016 from the Kid's Inpatient Database of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality to compare [[intact]] with [[circumcised]] boys in the first 28 days of life. The authors reported a gradual declining trend in the incidence of neonatal non-therapeutic [[circumcision]] throughout the study period. The overall incidence of circumcision decreased from 57.4 percent in 2003 to 52.1 percent in 2016 over the 13 year study period or 5.3 percentage points for an average decrease of 0.4 percentage point per year. The authors noted "neonatal circumcision rates decreased significantly over time."<ref name="jacobson2021" />

There was significant variation in the incidence of circumcision by region with the Midwest reporting an incidence of 75 percent (three out of four) for the period, while boys in the West were most likely to preserve their [[foreskin]] as the West reported an incidence of only 25.9 percent or about 1 boy in 4 being [[circumcised]].<ref name="jacobson2021" />

One should also note that the [[American Academy of Pediatrics]] [[medical trade association]] vacated its fraudulent 2012 Circumcision Policy Statement by allowing it to expire in 2017 without being re-affirmed.

[https://150.jhu.edu/ Johns Hopkins University] and the Jewish-funded [https://publichealth.jhu.edu/ Bloomberg School of Public Health] have long been outlier advocates of male [[circumcision]]. However, they (2025) are now reporting that the incidence of circumcision has declined "significantly" between 2012 and 2022. The overall decline was from 54.1% to 49.3% — a decline of 4.8 percentage points or 0.048 precentage points per year. The 4.8 percentage point represents a decline of 8.8 percent (4.8/54.1 = 8.8%)<ref name="yang2025" /> Although the incidence of [[circumcision of the newborn]] has been gradually declining for decades, this is the first study to report an overall incidence of less than fifty percent. Based on this new information, we can now report that [[intactness]] is now the NORM among the newborn boys of America. We note that [[Australia]] reported a significant improvement in child health when the incidence of circumcision declined in that nation.<ref>{{REFweb
|url=https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/children-youth/australias-children-in-brief/summary
|title=Australia’s children: in brief
|last=Anonymous
|first=
|init=
|author-link=
|publisher=Australian Institute of Health and Welfare
|pubmedID=
ISBN=978-1-76054-659-5
|DOI=10.25816/5e152818d082c
|date=2019-12-17
|accessdate=2025-09-17
}}</ref> Any circumcisions performed after the newborn period would not be captured by these statistics.

====Midwest====
The Midwest has been called the 'circumcision capital of America' because of its higher rates of circumcision. Nevertheless, the popularity of circumcision is declining even in the Midwest.

In the Midwest, the incidence of [[circumcision]] has declined to 75 percent, which translates to a [[genital integrity]] rate increase to 25 percent or 1 in 4 boys having an [[intact]] foreskin.<ref name="jacobson2021" /> The previous report from 2010 was one boy in five being intact,<ref name="bollinger2017" /> and before that it was 1 in 10 boys being [[intact]], so this in an increase of 250 percent (0.25/0.10 X 100 = 250%) in the rate of [[Intact| intactness]] for the Midwest. The still high incidence of circumcision in the Midwest is counterbalanced by the low incidence in the West.

=== Intactness is the new norm! ===

[[Intactness]] had previously been shamed in the United States,<ref name="garrett2023-12-21">{{REFweb
|url=https://intactamerica.org/foreskin-phobia-intact-penis-shamed/
|title=Foreskin Phobia: How The Intact Penis Has Been Shamed
|last=Garrett
|first=Connor
|init=
|author-link=Connor Judson Garrett
|publisher=Intact America
|date=2023-12-21
|accessdate=2024-05-15
}}</ref> but that era has ended.

[[Intact America]] called attention to the existence of a "tipping point",<ref>{{REFbook
|last=Gladwell
|first=Malcomb
|init=
|year=2002
|title=The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference
|url=https://www.amazon.com/Tipping-Point-Little-Things-Difference/dp/0316346624?s=books
|scope=
|location=
|publisher=Back Bay Books
|pages=301
|ISBN=SBN-10 0316346624
|accessdate=2025-12-01
}}</ref> when public opinion would shift toward [[intactness]] in 2016.<ref>{{REFweb
|url=https://intactamerica.org/do-you-know-about-the-tipping-point/
|title=Do You Know: About the “Tipping Point?
|last=Chapin
|first=Georganne
|init=
|author-link=Georganne Chapin
|publisher=Intact America
|date=2016-11-01
|accessdate=2024-06-03
}}</ref> Public opinion in the United States in 2024 has now reached that tipping point.

The percentage of American boys being [[circumcised]] has been slowly but progressively declining for a long time, while the number of boys with [[intact]] [[foreskin]] has correspondingly increased.<ref name="jacobson2021" /> The percentage of [[intact]] newborn boys has exceeded the percentage of [[circumcised]] newborn boys since 2022.<ref name="yang2025" />

As the present trend continues, [[intactness]] is becoming the more usual, normal, and expected condition among newborn infant boys in America. The incidence of [[circumcision]] varies geographically so some locations will report higher percentages [[circumcised]].

==Forecast future incidence of child circumcision==

The incidence of harmful, unnecessary, nontherapeutic [[circumcision]] of newborn boys declines at the rate of 0.5 of one percentage point per year or one percentage point every two years.<ref name="yang2025" />

Based on this historical rate of decline and assuming that it continues, we can forecast the future incidence of harmful [[child circumcision]] in the United States to be:

* 2023: 49.2%
* 2024: 48.7%
* 2025: 48.2%
* 2026: 47.7%
* 2027: 47.2%
* 2028: 46.7%
* 2029: 46.2%
* 2030: 45.7%

The declining incidence of [[circumcision]] correlates and coincides with the reported decline in the incidence of murder in the United States.<ref>{{REFnews
|title=U.S. murder rate approaches a record low
|url=https://www.npr.org/2026/06/30/nx-s1-5866810/us-murder-rate-record-low-crime-homicide
|last=Kaste
|first=Martin
|init=
|author-link=
|publisher=National Public Radio
|website=https://www.npr.org/
|date=2026-06-30
|accessdate=2026-06-30
|format=
|quote="The United States almost certainly had the lowest murder rate ever recorded in 2025, with the FBI having data back to 1960," says crime data analyst Jeff Asher. "And the available evidence suggests that we're going to go even lower this year."
}}</ref>

==American [[genital integrity]] organizations==

The United States of America now have numerous [[genital integrity]] ([[intactivist]]) organizations working to promote and encourage the protection of the [[physical integrity]] of American boys.

{{SEEALSO}}
* [[Financial incentive]]
* [[Intact-friendly]]
* [https://en.intactiwiki.org/index.php/Main_Page Home page]
* [[Living with a foreskin in circumcised America]]
{{LINKS}}
* {{URLwikipedia|United_States|United States}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://www.cirp.org/library/legal/USA/
|title=Legality of Circumcision: The United States of America
|last=Hill
|first=George
|init=
|publisher=Circumcision Reference Library
|date=2013-07-31
|accessdate=2023-08-26
}}
These documents by [[Dan Bollinger]] are included here because they contain significant information about the United States:
* {{REFweb
|url=https://www.academia.edu/23494197/Infant_Male_Genital_Cutting_Incidence_Worldwide
|title=Infant Male Genital Cutting Incidence Worldwide
|last=Bollinger
|first=Dan
|author-link=Dan Bollinger
|publisher=Academia
|date=2017-05-19
|accessdate=2021-10-21
|format=PDF
}}
* {{REFjournal
|last=Bollinger
|init=D
|author-link=Dan Bollinger
|url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/321837170_Origins_of_the_Intactivist_Movement_A_Masculine_Foundation
|title=Origins of the intactivist movement: A masculine foundation
|journal=
|date=2017-11-17
|accessdate=2021-10-14
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://intactamerica.org/circumcision-rates/
|title=Circumcision Rates by Country: Why America Is the Outlier
|last=Alissa
|first=Kristel
|init=
|author-link=Kristel Alissa
|publisher=Intact America
|date=2025-07-03
|accessdate=2025-8-03
}}
{{ABBR}}
{{REF}}

[[Category:BSM]]
[[Category:English-speaking nation]]
[[Category:Circumcision]]
[[Category:Country]]
[[Category:Male circumcision]]
[[Category:History]]

[[Category:USA]]

[[de:Vereinigte Staaten von Amerika]]

United States of America

2026-07-15T21:36:37Z

WikiModEn2: /* First Quarter */ Wikify.

[[File:Flag_of_USA.svg|thumb|150px|Flag of the United States of America (USA)]]
The '''United States of America''' are also known as the '''United States''' or simply '''America''' or by initialism such as '''USA''' or '''US''' or '''U.S.A.''' or '''U.S.''' (Please note that ''America'' also is the name of two geological continents: ''North America'' and ''South America'' which include many more countries than just the ''United States of America'' which are the topic of this article. See also: [[:Category:Americas]].)

America is predominantly an English-speaking nation. As in other English-speaking nations, non-therapeutic [[circumcision]] of boys was popularized in the late nineteenth century. Due to the rates of infant circumcision that formerly approached 90 percent, the vast majority of [[Circumcised doctors| male doctors were neonatally circumcised]] and have no real knowledge of a normal body part. Such doctors frequently give poor advice to parents on the care of the [[intact]] [[penis]].<ref name="goldman2005">{{REFjournal
|last=Goldman
|first=Ronald
|init=R
|author-link=Ronald Goldman
|etal=no
|title=Circumcision policy: a psychosocial perspective
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal=Paediatrics & Child Health (Ottawa)
|location=
|date=2005-11
|volume=9
|issue=9
|pages=630-3
|url=https://academic.oup.com/pch/article/9/9/630/2648566?login=true
|quote=
|pubmedID=19675851
|pubmedCID=2724127
|DOI=10.1093/pch/9.9.630
|accessdate=2020-03-16
}}</ref> They are also much more likely to injure [[intact]] boys during office visits by premature [[Forced foreskin retraction| forcible foreskin retraction]] (PFFR).<ref>{{REFjournal
|last=Narvaez
|first=Darcia
|init=D
|author-link=
|last2=Geisheker
|first2=John V.
|init2=JV
|author2-link=John V. Geisheker
|url=https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/moral-landscapes/201110/what-is-the-greatest-danger-uncircumcised-boy
|title=What Is the Greatest Danger for an Uncircumcised Boy?
|journal=Psychology Today
|date=2011-10-23
|volume=
|issue=
|pages=
|accessdate=2021-10-31
}}</ref>

The United States is unique in having a [[circumcision industry]] that aggressively promotes the practice of medically-unnecessary, non-therapeutic, harmful, infant [[circumcision]]. The decline of the unnecessary practice has been slowed by payments for unnecessary circumcision by various government heath programs and by continual encouragement and promotion of circumcision by the [[circumcision industry]]. However, the practice of non-therapeutic [[circumcision]] of newborn boys has been in gradual decline for several decades.

Despite the financially self-serving promotional efforts of the [[circumcision industry]], Jacobson et al. (2021) reported the incidence of non-therapeutic [[circumcision]] of newborn infant boys was reported to have continued its slow decline to 52.1 percent in 2016.<ref name="jacobson2021">{{REFjournal
|last=Jacobson
|first=Deborah L.
|init=
|author-link=
|last2=Balmert
|first2=Lauren C.
|init2=
|author2-link=
|last3=Holl
|first3=Jane L.
|init3=
|author3-link=
|last4=Rosoklija
|first4=Ilina
|init4=
|author4-link=
|last5=Davis
|first5=Matthew M.
|init5=
|author5-link=
|last6=Johnson
|first6Emilie K.
|init6=
|author6-link=
|etal=no
|title=Nationwide Circumcision Trends: 2003 to 2016
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal=J Urol
|location=
|date=2021-01
|volume=205
|issue=1
|pages=257-63
|url=https://www.auajournals.org/doi/abs/10.1097/JU.0000000000001316
|pubmedID=32716676
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=10.1097/JU.0000000000001316
|accessdate=2021-10-15
}}</ref> Yang et al. (2025) reported the incidenec of circumcision of the newborn had declined to 49.3 percent in 2022, making non-circumcision or [[intactness]] the new NORM among America's newborn boys. Yang et al. studied a ten-ear period during which the incidence of circumcision declined at a rate of 0.5% per year.<ref name="yang2025">{{REFjournal
|last=Yang
|first=
|init=P
|author-link=
|last2=Zhu
|first2=
|init2=X
|author2-link=
|last3=Patel
|first3=
|init3=EU
|author3-link=
|last4=Quin
|first4=
|init4=PC
|author4-link=
|last5=Grabowski
|first5=
|init5=MK
|author5-link=
|last6=Tobian
|first6=
|init6=AAR
|author6-link=Aaron Tobian
|etal=no
|title=Trends in Circumcision Among Newborn Males in the US
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal=JAMA Pediatrics
|location=
|date=2025-09-15
|season=
|volume=
|issue=
|article=e252464
|page=
|pages=
|url=https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapediatrics/fullarticle/2838312
|archived=
|quote=
|pubmedID=40952753
|pubmedCID=12439174
|DOI=10.1001/jamapediatrics.2025.2464
|accessdate=2025-09-17
}}</ref>

The United States is unusual among nations in that osteopathic physicians (DOs) enjoy equal standing with allopathic physicians (MDs)<ref>{{REFweb
|url=https://www.ama-assn.org/press-center/ama-press-releases/aoa-and-ama-stand-against-misrepresentation-osteopathic-physicians#:~:text=The%20American%20Osteopathic%20Association%20%28AOA%29%20and%20the%20American,of%20osteopathic%20medicine%20by%20media%2C%20celebrities%20and%20companies.
|title=AOA and AMA stand against misrepresentation of osteopathic physicians
|last=Anonymous
|first=
|init=
|author-link=
|publisher=American Medical Association
|date=2020-11-04
|accessdate=2026-03-22
}}</ref> Osteopathic physicians observe four [[Tenets of Osteopathic Medicine]] in their practice.

==History==
===Colonial and early 19th century===
Jews have lived in America since before the Revolutionary War. They have always practiced [[Jewish circumcision| ritual circumcision]], ([[Brit Milah]]), of boys on the eighth day of life in accordance with the [[Abrahamic covenant]], however this was only for a very small percentage of the population.<ref name="self2016">{{REFjournal
|url=https://journals.troy.edu/index.php/test/article/view/386/302
|title=The Rise of Circumcision in Victorian America
|first=Eleanor
|last=Self
|author-link=Eleanor Self
|journal=The Alexandrian
|volume=5
|issue=1
|date=2016
|accessdate=2022-09-02
|format=PDF
}}
</ref>

One may be certain that the eighteenth century [https://www.nationalgeographic.org/article/founding-fathers/ Founding Fathers of the United States] of America were men with [[intact]] [[foreskin]]s as were the [[foreskinned]] men who fought the American Civil War (1861-1865).

Non-therapeutic [[circumcision]] of males for non-religious reasons originated with [[Claude François Lallemand]] in 1836 in France but soon spread to the [[United Kingdom]] in the early nineteenth century, from which it eventually spread to other English-speaking nations.<ref name="hodges1997">[[Frederick M. Hodges| Hodges FM]]. [https://lust-for-life.org/Lust-For-Life/_Textual/GeorgeCDenniston-MarilynFayreMilos-editors_JamesDeMeo_SexualMutilations-AHumanTragedy_1997_235pp/GeorgeCDenniston-MarilynFayreMilos-editors_JamesDeMeo_SexualMutilations-AHumanTragedy_1997_235pp.pdf#page=28 A short history of the institutionalization of involuntary sexual mutilations in the United States]. in: Denniston GC, Milos MF (eds.), Sexual Mutilations: A Human Tragedy (New York: Plenum Publishing, 1997), pp. 17-40. (ISBN 0-306-45589-7)</ref>

Edward Dixon (1847) recommended circumcision to prevent the spread of syphilis.<ref name="self2016" />

===Late nineteenth century===
====First quarter====
The late nineteenth century was characterized by prominent medical doctors advancing all sorts of absurd reasons for the performance of non-therapeutic [[circumcision]], including the prevention of venereal disease.<ref name="self2016" />

The first recorded non-religious circumcision of a boy in the United States occurred in 1870 when [[Lewis Albert Sayre]], a prominent New York City doctor, [[circumcised]] a boy of five years of age for paralysis.<ref name="gollaher1994">{{GollaherDL 1994}}</ref> [[Lewis Albert Sayre|Sayre]] then continued to advocate circumcision for numerous reasons until his death in 1900. According to [[Lewis Albert Sayre|Sayre]], circumcision was recommended for paralysis, epilepsy, hernia, lunacy, curvature of the spine, and clubfoot.

[[M. J. Moses]] (1871) advocated [[circumcision]] to prevent [[masturbation]].<ref name="moses1871">{{Moses1871}}</ref>
====Second quarter====
[[H. H. Kane]] (1879) 'discovers' that [[circumcision]] cures nocturnal emissions and abdominal neuralgia.<ref>{{Kane1879}}</ref>

Seventh-day Adventist [[John Harvey Kellogg]], {{MD}}, of Battle Creek, Michigan, was an important 19th century promoter of male circumcision. Although masturbation is never mentioned in the Bible, Dr. Kellogg believed that [[masturbation]] was immoral, sinful, and caused one to dream "impure dreams", which he believed was harmful to the mental faculties, resulting in mental disorders, such as "feeblemindness".<ref name="kellogg1888">{{Kellogg1888}}</ref> He believed that the urge to masturbate could be prevented by eating bland foods, for which purpose, he and his brother invented corn flakes.<ref name="self2016" />

Dr. Kellogg (1879) also recommended [[circumcision]] in cases "in which irritation is produced by retained secretions".<ref name="kellogg1888"/>

Dr. Kellogg perhaps is most famous for his book, ''Plain facts for young and old'' (1879), in which he advocated circumcision of boys as punishment for masturbation.<ref name="kellogg1888"/>

[[William G. Eggleston]], {{MA}}, {{MD}}, from Chicaco, {{USSC|IL}}, (1886) stated that [[foreskin]] of minors and the natural "phimosis" in minors would cause crossed eyes.<ref name="eggleston1886">{{Eggleston1886}}
</ref>

Dr. [[William D. Gentry]] (1890) alleged that [[Retraction of the foreskin| phimosis in boys]] produces serious nervous derangements.<ref name="gentry1890">{{REFjournal
|last=Gentry
|first=William D.
|init=WD
|author-link=William D. Gentry
|title=Nervous Derangements Produced by Sexual Irregularities in Boys
|journal=Medical Current
|date=1890-07
|volume=6
|issue=7
|pages=268-74
}}</ref>

[[Elizabeth Blackwell]], {{MD}}, ({{LifeData|1821|1910}}), was born in England, but attended medical school in the United States. She was the first woman to become a medical doctor in the United States. Blackwell thought [[masturbation]] was immoral but that [[circumcision]] was not the way to correct it. She wrote against it in her 1894 book:
<blockquote>Appeals to the fears of uninstructed parents on the grounds of cleanliness or of hardening the part are entirely fallacious and unsupported by evidence. It is a physiological fact that the natural lubricating secretion of every healthy part is beneficial, not injurious to the part thus protected, and that no attempt to render a sensitive part insensitive is either practicable or justifiable. The protection which nature affords to these parts is an aid to physical purity by affording necessary protection against constant external contact of a part which necessarily remains keenly sensitive; and bad habits in boys and girls cannot by prevented by surgical operations. Where no malformation exists, bad habits can only be forestalled by healthy moral and physical education.<ref>{{REFbook
|last=Blackwell
|first=Elizabeth
|init=E
|author-link=Elizabeth Blackwell
|title=The Human Element in Sex; being a Medical Inquiry into the Relation of Sexual Physiology to Christian Morality
|url=https://archive.org/details/B20442622/page/n9/mode/2up
|edition=2
|year=1894
|pages=35-6
|location=London
|publisher=J.& A. Churchill
}}</ref></blockquote>

[[Peter Charles Remondino]], {{MD}},<ref name="gollaher1994" /> was a San Diego, California physician, who was born in Turin (''Torino'') in 1846, but migrated with his family to the United States at the age of eight. There is some reason to believe that he was of Sephardic Jewish descent and had been [[circumcised]] while still in Turin, however this is uncertain.

Remondino clearly was highly intelligent. He mastered English, started medical school at age 17, treated wounded soldiers during the Civil War, and later moved to San Diego for his health.

After moving to San Diego, he practiced medicine, served as an officer of several medical societies, and other regulatory agencies.

Remondino is famous for his 346 page book, ''The History of Circumcision'' (1891).<ref name="remondino1891">{{REFbook
|last=Remondino
|first=Peter Charles
|init=PC
|author-link=Peter Charles Remondino
|year=1891
|title=History of Circumcision
|url=https://www.gutenberg.org/files/23135/23135-h/23135-h.htm
|pages=
|location=Philadelphia
|publisher=F. A. Davis
|website=Welcome Collection
|accessdate=2021-09-29
}}</ref> <ref name="gollaher1994" />

When Remondino discussed the [[foreskin]], he used the most horrific, derogatory, and disparaging language. He devoted thirteen chapters to the alleged evils and faults of the foreskin. It is not clear why he had such an extreme dislike for a natural and functional body part. His recommendation, of course, was for [[Adolescent and adult circumcision| circumcision]].

[[H. L. Rosenberry]], {{MD}}, (1894) published a paper "proving" that circumcision cures urinary and rectal incontinence.<ref name="self2016" /> <ref name="rosenberry1894">{{Rosenberry1894}}</ref>

Dr. [[E. J. Spratling]] (1895) provided information for other doctors.<ref name="self2016" />He gaved a detailed explanation of how a circumcision is to be done so as to make it as difficult as possible to achieve orgasm by [[masturbation]].<ref>{{REFjournal
|last=Spratling
|init=EJ
|title=Masturbation in the Adult
|journal=Medical Record
|volume=24
|issue=
|pages=442-443
|url=https://www.proquest.com/openview/9a247c3410d34390e418dc970faa3b87/1?pq-origsite=gscholar&cbl=40146
|quote=
|date=1895
|accessdate=2022-08-30
}}</ref>

By the end of the nineteenth century, America had at least one prominent physician and surgeon on the east coast promoting circumcision and another prominent physician and surgeon on the west coast promoting circumcision. There was no real medical science with which to dispute and discredit their false claims. Non-therapeutic [[circumcision]] of males was now well-established in the United States.

===Early twentieth century===
====First quarter====
The early twentieth century is characterized by advocacy of circumcision based on false claims to prevent cancer and sexually transmitted (venereal) disease; and by the involvement of the United States military services in the promotion of circumcision.

[[Ernest G. Mark]] (1901) noted that the "pleasurable sensations that are elicited from the extremely sensitive" [[Ridged band|inner lining]] of the [[foreskin]] may encourage a child to [[Masturbation|masturbate]], which is why he recommended circumcision since it "lessens the sensitiveness of the organ".<ref>{{Mark1901}}</ref>

Brimhall (1902) reported an [[amputation]] of a [[penis]] after circumcision.<ref name="brimhall1902">{{REFjournal
|last=Brimhall
|init=JB
|author-link=
|last2=
|init2=
|author2-link=
|url=
|title=Amputation of the penis following a unique method of preventing hemorrhage after circumcision
|journal=St. Paul Med J.
|date=1902
|volume=4
|issue=
|page=490
|accessdate=2021-10-05
}}</ref>

[[Roswell Park]] (1902) published a paper 'proving' that foreskin causes epilepsy and that circumcision cures it.<ref>{{Park1902}}</ref>

[[L. Emmett Holt]] (1913) reported that tubercular [[mohel]]s were infecting infant Jewish boys with tuberculosis during [[Brit Milah| ritual circumcision]].<ref>{{REFjournal
|last=Holt
|init=LE
|author-link=L. Emmett Holt
|url=http://www.cirp.org/library/complications/holt1/
|title=Tuberculosis acquired through ritual circumcision
|journal=JAMA
|date=1913-07-12
|volume=LXI
|issue=2
|pages=99-102
|accessdate=2021-10-04
}}</ref>

[[Abraham L. Wolbarst]], {{MD}}, a Jewish New York doctor, apparently considered [[L. Emmett Holt|Holt]]'s paper to be an attack on [[Brit Milah| ritual circumcision]] or perhaps [[Judaism]] itself. He collected ''opinions'' from other doctors of the alleged value of [[circumcision]] for health and published those ''opinions'' as ''scientific fact'' in a 1914 ''JAMA'' article.<ref name="wolbarst1914">{{REFjournal
|last=Wolbarst entitled ''Universal circumcision as as sanitary measure]].
|first=Abraham L.
|init=AL
|author-link=Abraham L. Wolbarst
|title=Universal circumcision as a sanitary measure
|journal=JAMA
|date=1914-1-10
|volume=62
|issue=2
|pages=92-7
|url=https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/article-abstract/453164
|accessdate=2021-10-04
}}</ref> Wolbarst's paper appeared shortly before the start of World War I. It is thought that Wolbarst's false claims inspired some military commanders to require men under their command to be [[circumcised]] so as to reduce venereal disease (VD).

M. S. Reuben (1916) (1917) reported additional cases of tuberculosis after ritual circumcision.<ref name="reuben1916">{{REFjournal
|last=Reuben
|init=MS
|author-link=
|last2=
|init2=
|author2-link=
|url=http://www.cirp.org/library/complications/reuben1/
|title=Tuberculosis from ritual circumcision
|journal=Proceedings of the New York Academy of Medicine
|date=1916-12-15
|volume=
|issue=
|pages=333-4
|accessdate=2021-10-04
}}</ref><ref name="ruben1917">{{REFjournal
|last=Reuben
|init=MS
|author-link=
|last2=
|init2=
|author2-link=
|url=http://www.cirp.org/library/complications/reuben2/
|title=Tuberculosis following ritual circumcision
|journal=Arch Pediatr
|date=1917-03
|volume=XXXIV
|issue=
|pages=186-90
|accessdate=2021-10-04
}}</ref>

J. Brennermann (1921) reported that [[Meatal stenosis| meatal disease]] occurs only in [[circumcised]] boys who lack the protection of the [[foreskin]].<ref name="brennermann2021>{{REFjournal
|last=Brennermann
|init=J
|author-link=
|last2=
|init2=
|author2-link=
|url=http://www.cirp.org/library/complications/brennemann1/
|title=The ulcerated meatus in the circumcised child
|journal=Am J Dis Child
|date=1921
|volume=21
|issue=
|pages=38-47
|accessdate=2021-10-04
}}</ref>
====Second quarter====
[[Abraham L. Wolbarst|Wolbarst]] (1926) made his claim for the first time that male circumcision prevents [[penile cancer]].<ref name="wolbarst1926!>{{REFjournal
|last=Wolbarst
|first=Abraham L.
|init=AL
|author-link=Abraham L. Wolbarst
|title=Is circumcision a prophylactic against penis cancer?
|journal=Cancer
|date=1926-07
|volume=3
|issue=4
|pages=301-10
}}</ref>

[[Abraham L. Wolbarst|Wolbarst]] (1932) put forward his claim again that [[circumcision]] would prevent [[penile cancer]] in the British journal, ''The Lancet''.<ref name="Wolbarst 1932">{{Wolbarst1932}}</ref> In those long ago days, the true causes of cancer were unknown so it was impossible to disprove Wolbarst's falsehoods.

Laumann et al., writing in 1997, reported an incidence of circumcision of 31 percent in 1933.<ref name="laumann1997">{{REFjournal
|last=Laumann
|first=Edward O.
|init=
|author-link=
|last2=Masi
|first2=christopher M.
|init2=
|author2-link=
|last3=Zuckerman
|first3=Ezra W.
|init3=
|author3-link=
|etal=no
|title=Circumcision in the United States
|journal=JAMA
|location=
|date=1997-04-02
|volume=277
|issue=13
|article=
|pages=1052-7
|url=http://www.cirp.org/library/general/laumann/
|pubmedID=9091693
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=
|accessdate=2021-10-05
}}</ref>

[[Hiram S. Yellen]] and [[Aaron Goldstein]] invented the [[Gomco]] clamp in 1934-1935. The clamp, by crushing the foreskin in an intensely painful procedure, reduced the risk of hemorrhage,<ref name="yellen1935">{{GoldsteinYellen1935}}</ref> but increased the [[pain]].<ref name="sinkey2015">{{REFjournal
|url=https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25794628?dopt=Abstract
|title=The GoMo study: a randomized clinical trial assessing neonatal pain with Gomco vs Mogen clamp circumcision
|last=Sinkey
|init=RG
|last2=Eschenbacher
|init2=MA
|last3=Walsh
|init3=PM
|last4=Doerger
|init4=RG
|last5=Lambers
|init5=DS
|last6=Sibai
|init6=BM
|last7=Habli
|init7=MA
|journal=Am J Obstet Gynecol
|date=2015-05
|volume=212
|issue=5
|pages=664.e1-8
|pubmedID=25794628
|DOI=10.1016/j.ajog.2015.03.029
|accessdate=2021-10-05
}}</ref> The availability of the Gomco clamp increased the popularity of non-therapeutic infant circumcision.

Brown (1937) reported restoration of the [[skin]] of the [[penis]] after a denudation complication of circumcision.<ref name="brown1837">{{REFjournal
|last=Brown
|init=JB
|author-link=
|url=
|title=Restoration of the entire skin of the penis
|journal=Surg Gynecol Obstetr
|date=1937
|volume=65
|issue=362-5
|pages=
|accessdate=2021-10-05
}}</ref>

Laumann et al. (1997) reported an incidence of circumcision of 53 percent in 1941.<ref name="laumann1997" />

World War II. America entered the war after the Empire of Japan attacked the American naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii on 7 December 1941. This was followed by Germany declaring war on the United States.

The information on military circumcision in WWII is sketchy and anecdotal. It appears that many [[foreskinned]] American men were encouraged and, in some cases, forced to be [[circumcised]]. It seems that the American military's [[foreskin]]-phobia and circumcision policy persisted through the Korean War (1950-52) but was discontinued by a change in policy thereafter.

The "Sand Myth" circulated among English-speaking armies. According to the [http://www.circumstitions.com/sand.htm Sand Myth], [[foreskinned]] men who fought in the Saharan desert had medical issues due to sand collecting under the [[foreskin]]. [[Intact]] Italian and German men who fought in the same desert had no such problems.<ref>{{REFjournal
|last=Darby
|first=Robert
|init=
|author-link=Robert Darby
|etal=no
|title=The riddle of the sands: circumcision, history, and myth
|journal=NZ Med J
|location=
|date=2005-07-15
|volume=118
|issue=1218
|article=
|page=U1564
|url=https://www.academia.edu/9899840/The_riddle_of_the_sands_Circumcision_history_and_myth
|pubmedID=16027753
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=
|accessdate=2021-10-05
}}</ref>

[[Abraham Ravich]] (1942) falsely claimed that circumcision prevents [[prostate cancer]].<ref name="ravich1942">{{Ravich1942}}</ref>

'''Post-war era.''' In the post-war era after WWII, the popularity of non-therapeutic [[circumcision]] increased, driven by medical promotion by doctors seeking a nice [[Financial incentive| surgical fee]] as an alleged preventive of penile cancer and by the [Adamant father syndrome| adamant request of circumcised men home from the war who became fathers]].

Non-therapeutic, medically-unnecessary [[circumcision]] of boys had become a "routine" surgical operation that usually was performed automatically on newborn boys even without consent from anyone.

Laumann et al. (1997) reported an incidence of non-therapeutic circumcision of boys of 85 percent in 1948.<ref name="laumann1997" />

[[Eugene H. Hand]], {{MD}}, (1949) falsely claimed that circumcision would prevent cancer of the tongue and [[Circumcision and STDs| venereal disease]].<ref name="HandEH1949">{{REFjournal
|last=Hand
|first=Eugene H.
|init=EH
|author-link=Eugene H. Hand
|url=https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18135844/
|title=Circumcision and venereal disease
|journal=Archives of Dermatology and Syphilology
|date=1949-09
|volume=60
|issue=3
|pages341-6
|pubmedID=18135844
|DOI=10.1001/archderm.1949.01530030037004
|accessdate=2021-10-08
}}</ref>

The publication of a landmark article by [[Douglas Gairdner]] (1949) in the [[United Kingdom]] showing that infant circumcision is non-therapeutic, unnecessary, causes deaths, and which called for preservation of the [[foreskin]]<ref name="gairdner1949">{{GairdnerDM 1949}}</ref> was totally ignored by the [[circumcision industry]] in the United States.

===Late twentieth century===
====Third quarter====
The late twentieth century was characterized by increasing opposition to non-therapeutic circumcision of boys by [[intactivists]] and increasing efforts by the circumcision industry to protect [[third-party payment]] for performance of non-therapeutic circumcision of non-consenting boys; and by increasing recognition that newborn boys intensely feel [[pain]] and that non-therapeutic male [[circumcision]] is a [[trauma| horribly traumatic experience]].

[[Abraham Ravich]] (1951) falsely claimed that [[circumcision]] prevents [[cervical cancer]] in women.<ref name="ravitch1951">{{Ravich1951}}</ref>

Hollister, Inc. formally introduced the [[Plastibell]] circumcision device in 1953.<ref name=MillerSnyder1953>{{MillerSnyder1953}}</ref>

[[Ernest L. Wynder]] (1954) promoted male circumcision to prevent cervical cancer in women.<ref name="wynder1954">{{Wynder1954}}</ref>

The Congress of the United States created the [https://www.medicaid.gov/ Medicaid program] in 1965. Medicaid is a joint federal/state program that pays the medical expenses of low-income Americans. Medicaid covers about 45 percent of births in the United States. Medicaid pays for medically-unnecessary, non-therapeutic circumcision in 32 states, although it appears to be a violation of law to do so.<ref name="adler2011">{{REFjournal
|last=Adler
|first=Peter W.
|init=PW
|author-link=Peter W. Adler
|title=It is lawful to use Medicaid to pay for circumcision?
|journal=Journal of Law and Medicine
|date=2011
|volume=19
|issue=
|pages=335-53
|url=https://www.arclaw.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/is-it-lawful-to-use-medicaid-to-pay-for-circumcision.pdf
|quote=
|accessdate=2021-10-05
}}</ref>

W. K. C. Morgan, a Canadian medical doctor, then on the faculty of the {{UNI|University of Maryland|UMD}} [https://www.medschool.umaryland.edu/ School of Medicine], in a highly critcal letter pubished by ''JAMA'' (1965), slammed the practice of non-therapeutic circumcision of boys as it had developed in the United States.<ref>{{REFjournal
|last=Morgan
|first=
|init=WKC
|author-link=
|etal=no
|title=The rape of the phallus
|journal=JAMA
|location=
|date=1965-07-19
|volume=193
|issue=
|article=
|pages=223-4
|url=http://www.cirp.org/library/general/morgan/
|pubmedID=14310332
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=jama.1965.03090030045013
|accessdate=2021-10-05
}}</ref>

Preston (1970) considered the matter of infant [[circumcision]]. He examined and debunked claims that male circumcision could prevent cancer of the [[cervix]] in women, cancer of the [[penis]] and cancer of the prostate in men. Preston concluded:

<blockquote>Routine circumcision of the newborn is an unnecessary procedure. It provides questionable benefits and is associated with a small but definite incidence of complications and hazards. These risks are preventable if the operation is not performed unless truly medically indicated. Circumcision of the newborn is a procedure that should no longer be considered routine.<ref>{{REFjournal
|last=Preston
|first=E. Noel
|init=
|author-link=
||etal=no
|title=Whither the foreskin? A consideration of routine neonatal circumcision.
|journal=JAMA
|location=
|date=1970-09-14
|volume=213
|issue=11
|article=
|pages=1853-8
|url=http://www.cirp.org/library/general/preston/
|pubmedID=5468911
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=10.1001/jama.213.11.1853
|accessdate=2021-10-05
}}</ref></blockquote>

Preston's paper elicited a response from C. J. Falliers, {{MD}}, (1970) who cited the "sensory pleasure induced by tactile stimulation of the foreskin."<ref name="falliers1970">{{REFjournal
|last=Falliers
|first=
|init=CJ
|author-link=
|etal=
|title=Circumcision (letter)
|journal=JAMA
|location=
|date=1970-12-21
|volume=214
|issue=12
|article=
|page=2194
|url=http://www.cirp.org/library/general/falliers1/
|accessdate=2021-10-05
}}</ref>

[[Abraham Ravich]] (1971) falsely claims that circumcision prevents cancer of the bladder and the rectum.<ref name="ravich1971">{{Ravich1971}}</ref>

Laumann et al. reported an incidence of newborn circumcision of 78 percent in 1971.

The [[American Academy of Pediatrics]] (AAP) is not an "academy" at all. It is a [[medical trade association]] that protects and advances the business and financial interests of its pediatrician "fellows". Influenced by Preston's paper, the AAP published a manual on the hospital care of newborn infants in 1971. The manual included the statement:
<blockquote>
There are no valid medical indications for circumcision in the neonatal period.<ref>{{REFbook
|year=1971
|title=Standards and Recommendation for Hospital Care of Newborn infants
|url=http://www.cirp.org/library/statements/aap/#a1971
|page=110
|location=Evanston, {{USSC|IL}}
|publisher=American Academy of Pediatrics
|isbn=
|accessdate=2021-10-05
}}</ref>
</blockquote>
====Fourth quarter====
The statement in the 1971 manual was good medical science, then and now, but it did not sit well with the membership of the AAP because it provided no basis on which to promote non-therapeutic circumcision for profit. A four-member "ad hoc" task force was formed to produce a new statement to 'walk-back' the earlier statement to fit the desires of the membership, which was published in ''Pediatrics'' in 1975.<ref name="aap1975">{{REFjournal
|last=Thompson
|first=
|init=HC
|author-link=
|last2=King
|first2=
|init2=LR
|author2-link=
|last3=Knox
|first3=
|init3=E
|author3-link=
|last4=Korones
|first4=
|init4=SH
|author4-link=
|etal=no
|title=Report of the Ad Hoc Task Force on Circumcision
|journal=Pediatrics
|location=
|date=1975-10
|volume=56
|issue=3
|article=
|page=
|pages=610-11
|url=http://www.cirp.org/library/statements/aap/#a1975
|pubmedID=1174384
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=
|accessdate=2021-10-06
}}</ref> The new statement had not a single citation of any other document. While it recognized the validity of the 1971 statement, It claimed without any basis that parents had a right to circumcise a newborn infant boy for "traditional, cultural, and religious factors".<ref name="aap1975" />

The statement falsely claimed facilitation of hygiene, prevention of [[phimosis]], and prevention of [[penile cancer]] as reasons that parents may elect non-therapeutic infant circumcision.<ref name="aap1975" />

The statement expressed no concern for the [[pain]] and [[trauma]] of circumcision, nor did it provide information on the functions and value of the [[foreskin]] nor did it recognize the child as a person with domestic and international rights to self-determination and [[physical integrity]]. The statement carefully avoided recommending [[circumcision]] and placed the responsibility for the certain [[amputation]] injury on the parents rather than on the attending physician.<ref name="aap1975" />

The 1975 statement served as the AAP's position statement until 1989.

The AAP supplemented the 1975 statement in 1977 by stating:
<blockquote>There are no medical indications for [[Routine Infant Circumcision|routine circumcisions]], and the procedure cannot be considered an essential component of health care. If an infant is circumcised, the procedure must be delayed until the infant is at least 24 hours old and stable, without [[bleeding]] tendency or any other illness. Circumcision must never be done at time of delivery.<ref>{{REFbook
|year=1977
|title=Standards and Recommendations for Hospital Care of Newborn Infants. Sixth Edition
|url=http://www.cirp.org/library/statements/aap/#a1977
|pages=66-7
|location=Evanston, {{USSC|IL}}
|publisher=American Academy of Pediatrics
|isbn=
|accessdate=2021-10-05
}}</ref>
</blockquote>

Infant circumcision traditionally had been carried out without any kind of anesthesia or analgesia because of the false belief that infants could not feel [[pain]]. Researchers started to investigate the [[Pain| pain of circumcision]] in the 1970s.

The American Cancer Society estimated that there are about 460 deaths per year in the United States from penile cancer.<ref>{{REFweb
|url=https://www.cancer.org/cancer/penile-cancer/about/key-statistics.html
|title=Key Statistics for Penile Cancer
|last=
|first=
|date=2021-01-12
|accessdate=2021-10-17
}}</ref> Sidney S. Gellis, {{MD}} (1978) estimated that the number of deaths from infant circumcision exceeded the number of deaths from [[penile cancer]].<ref name="gellis1978">{{REFjournal
|last=Gellis
|first=
|init=
|author-link=
|etal=no
|title=Circumcision
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal=Am J Dis Child
|location=
|date=1978-12
|volume=132
|issue=
|article=
|page=
|pages=1168-9
|url=http://www.cirp.org/library/general/gellis1/
|pubmedID=717329
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=10.1001/archpedi.1978.02120370016003
|accessdate=2021-10-17
}}</ref>

David Grimes, {{MD}}, (1978), recognized the increasing controversy regarding the practice of non-therapeutic infant [[circumcision]]. Grimes discussed several concerns including:

* Irrational patient selection.
* Lack of information prior to consent.
* Pain and anesthesia management.
* Improper surgical objectives.
* Lack of cost-effectiveness.<ref name="grimes1978">{{REFjournal
|last=Grimes
|first=David
|init=
|author-link=
|etal=no
|title=Routine circumcision of the newborn: a reappraisal
|journal=Am J Obstet Gynecol
|location=
|date=1978-01-15
|volume=130
|issue=2
|article=
|pages=125-9
|url=http://www.cirp.org/library/general/grimes/
|pubmedID=413435
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=10.1016/0002-9378(78)90353-8
|accessdate=2021-10-05
}}</ref>

Grimes concluded:
<blockquote> However, until the benefits of [[Routine Infant Circumcision| routine circumcision]] of the neonate can be proved worth the risk and cost, medical resources probably should be allocated to measures of demonstrated value.<ref name="grimes1978" />
</blockquote>
The American circumcision industry appears to have totally ignored Grimes' concerns.

It was at about this time that several small organizations that opposed non-therapeutic circumcision of boys started to appear. They were the first [[intactivists]], although that word had not yet been coined. One such organization was the Remain Intact Organization of Larchwood, Iowa, which was lead by Rev. [[George Zangger| Russell George Zangger]]. From the 1970s to the 1990s Zangger sent out cards with New Testament quotations that said the outward sign of circumcision is of no value. [[Jeffrey R. Wood]] formed [[INTACT Educational Foundation| INTACT]] (Infants Need to Avoid Circumcision [[Trauma]]), founded in 1976 as a local resource serving Western Massachusetts, and "Dedicated to Preserving Freedom of Choice." The organization gained recognition and had members across the nation.

Boczko & Freed (1979) collected cases of [[penile cancer]] in [[circumcised]] men and by so doing, disproved the false belief propagated since 1932 by [[Abraham L. Wolbarst]] that circumcision was protective against penile cancer.<ref name="boczko1979">{{REFjournal
|last=Boczo
|first=Stanley
|init=
|author-link=
|last2=Freed
|first2=Selwyn
|init2=
|author2-link=
|etal=no
|title=Penile carcinoma in circumcised males
|journal=N Y State J Med
|location=
|date=1979-11
|volume=79
|issue=12
|article=
|pages=1903-4
|url=http://www.cirp.org/library/disease/cancer/boczko/
|pubmedID=292845
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=
|accessdate=2021-10-07
}}</ref>

Robert Leon Baker, {{MD}} (1979) estimated 229 [[Death| deaths]] per year in the United States from circumcision complications.<ref name="baker1979">{{REFjournal
|last=Baker
|first=Robert L.
|init=
|author-link=
|etal=no
|title=Newborn male circumcision: needless and dangerous
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal=Sexual Medicine Today
|location=
|date=1979
|volume=3
|issue=11
|article=
|pages=35-6
|url=http://www.cirp.org/library/general/baker1/
|accessdate=2021-10-17
}}</ref>

[[Edward Wallerstein]] (1980) published his book, ''[[Circumcision: An American Health Fallacy]]''.<ref name="wallerstein1980">{{WallersteinE 1980}}</ref>

Bollinger (2017) reported the incidence of infant non-therapeutic circumcision peaked at about 85 percent of all infant boys in 1982.<ref name="bollinger2017">{{REFweb
|url=https://www.academia.edu/23494197/Infant_Male_Genital_Cutting_Incidence_Worldwide
|title=Infant male genital cutting incidence worldwide
|last=Bollinger
|first=Dan
|author-link=Dan Bollinger
|publisher=Academia
|website=
|date=2017-05-19
|accessdate=2021-10-27
|format=PDF
|quote=
}}</ref>

[[John A. Erickson]] (1982) started to work individually to advance [[genital integrity]].

Professor Lowell R. King (1982), who had been a member of the 1975 "ad hoc" task force on circumcision of the AAP, felt compelled to defend the reasoning of the task force.<ref name="king1982">{{REFjournal
|last=King
|first=Lowell R.
|init=
|author-link=
|etal=no
|title=Neonatal circumcision in the United States in 1982
|journal=J Urol
|location=
|date=1982-11
|volume=128
|issue=5
|article=
|pages=1135-6
|url=http://www.cirp.org/library/general/king1982/
|pubmedID=7176044
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=10.1016/s0022-5347(17)53361-3
|accessdate=2021-10-11
}}</ref>

[[BUFF| Brothers United for Future Foreskins]] (1982) revived the practice of [[epispasm]] (non-surgical [[foreskin restoration]]) that had not been praticed since antiquity.

[[Marilyn Fayre Milos]], {{RN}}, while a nursing student at [https://www.mymarinhealth.org/locations/medical-center/ Marin General Hospital], witnessed an unanesthetized circumcision of a newborn boy in 1979. Shocked by the extreme [[pain]] and horror of it, she became an opponent of infant circumcision and was forced to resign in 1985 from her nursing position at Marin General Hospital where infant non-therapeutic circumcision is a profit center and promoted to parents. She immediately created the National Organization of Circumcision Information Resource Centers ([[NOCIRC]]) in 1985.

[[Rosemary Romberg]] (1985) published Circumcision: The Painful Dilemma.

[[Edward Wallerstein]] (1985) pointed out that the American way of practicing non-religious circumcision of boys is without parallel anywhere else in the world.<ref>{{REFjournal
|last=Wallerstein
|first=Edward
|init=
|author-link=Edward Wallerstein
|etal=no
|title=Is Nonreligious Circumcision Necessary?
|journal=Urol Clin North Am
|location=
|date=1985-05
|volume=12
|issue=1
|pages=123-32
|url=http://www.cirp.org/library/general/wallerstein/
|quote=
|pubmedID=
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=
|accessdate=2021-10-06
}}</ref>

American lawyer William E. Brigman (1985) used new medical evidence to argue that circumcision is child abuse, and discussed possible legal remedies. Recent medical articles have documented the actual injury of circumcision, to make it possible for an attorney to win damages for wrongful circumcision, he said. Brigman suggested civil rights class action suits against hospitals.<ref name="brigman1985">{{REFjournal
|last=Brigman
|first=William E.
|init=WE
|author-link=
|title=Circumcision as Child Abuse: The Legal and Constitutional Issues
|journal=J Fam Law
|date=1985
|volume=23
|issue=3
|page=337
|url=http://www.cirp.org/library/legal/brigman/
|accessdate=2021-10-07
}}</ref>

Anand & Hickey (1987) published a paper in the ''New England Journal of Medicine'' that conclusively proved that newborn infants are capable of feeling [[pain]]. After publication of this landmark paper, no doubt about the existence of pain sensation in infants remained. The article stated:
<blockquote>
Numerous lines of evidence suggest that even in the human [[fetus]], pain pathways as well as cortical and subcortical centers necessary for pain perception are well developed late in gestation, and the neurochemical systems now known to be associated with pain transmission and modulation are intact and functional. Physiologic responses to painful stimuli have been well documented in neonates of various gestational ages and are reflected in hormonal, metabolic, and cardiorespiratory changes similar to but greater than those observed in adult subjects. Other responses in newborn infants are suggestive of integrated emotional and behavioral responses to pain and are retained in memory long enough to modify subsequent behavior patterns.<ref name="anand1987">{{REFjournal
|last=Anand
|init=KJS
|author-link=
|last2=Hickey
|init2=PR
|author2-link=
|etal=yes
|title=Pain and its effects in the human neonate and fetus
|journal=N Engl J Med
|location=
|date=1987-11-19
|volume=317
|issue=21
|pages=1321-9
|url=http://www.cirp.org/library/pain/anand/
|pubmedID=3317037
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=10.1056/NEJM198711193172105
|accessdate=2021-10-07
}}</ref>
</blockquote>

[[NOCIRC]] sponsored the [[First International Symposium]] on Circumcision which was held in Anaheim, California, USA on 1-3 March 1989.

The July/August 1989 edition of [[The Truth Seeker]] was dedicated to circumcision. It featured the core proceedings from the First International Symposium.

The [[American Academy of Pediatrics]]' 1975 circumcision promotional statement<ref name="aap1975" /> was now getting long in the tooth so a newer statement was desired. The AAP appointed the late [[Edgar J. Schoen]], {{MD}}, of Oakland, California, who had written a humorous poem about circumcision as the chairman of a new task force on circumcision. The task force had six members of whom five (83%), including Schoen, were believed to be Jewish, although Jews constitute only 1.9 percent of the population.

Schoen's task force produced the AAP's [[American_Academy_of_Pediatrics#Third_policy_.281989.29| third circumcision policy statement]] which was published in ''Pediatrics'' in November 1979.<ref name="aap1989">{{REFjournal
|last=Schoen
|first=Edgar J.
|init=EJ
|author-link=Edgar J. Schoen
|last2=Anderson
|first2=Glenn
|init2=G
|author2-link=
|last3=Bohon
|first3=Constance
|init3=C
|author3-link=
|last4=Hinman
|first4=Frank
|init4=F
|author4-link=
|last5=Poland
|first5=Ronald
|init5=R
|author5-link=
|last6=Wakeman
|first6=E. Maurice
|init6=EM
|author6-link=
|etal=no
|title=Report of the Task Force of Circumcision.
|journal=Pediatrics
|location=
|date=1989-11
|volume=84
|issue=4
|pages=388-91
|url=http://www.cirp.org/library/statements/aap/#a1989
|pubmedID=2664697
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=
|accessdate=2021-10-10
}}</ref>

The statement, which was intended to promote the practice of non-therapeutic circumcision for the benefit of the fellows of the AAP, had a high degree of [[bias]] and had many serious deficiences. Some more notable deficiences included:

* failure to recognize the child as a person with legal rights to bodily integrity.
* failure to provide information on the nature and functions of the human [[foreskin]].
* failure to call for analgesia to ease the intense [[pain]] of the [[amputation]].
* inclusion of [[Thomas E. Wiswell]]'s methodologically-flawed papers on [[urinary tract infection]] (UTI).
* failure to inform parents that UTI is properly treated with antibiotics.
* use of the misleading word ''potential'' to describe speculative medical benefits that do not actually exist.
* attempting to shift responsibility for the performance of an injurious and harmful [[amputation]] from the medical operator to the parents.

The advocacy of [[circumcision]] to prevent [[UTI]] spurred a debate in the medical literature until the AAP published a new statement in 1999 that softened the claims.

[[Charles A. Bonner|Bonner]] & Kinane (1989) discussed the legal and constitutional issues of non-therapeutic male circumcision under United States and California law.<ref name="bonner1989">{{REFjournal
|last=Bonner
|first=Charles
|init=C
|author-link=Charles A. Bonner
|last2=Kinane
|first2=Michael
|init2=M
|author2-link=
|title=The Legal and Constitutional Issues
|journal=The Truth Seeker
|date=1989-07
|url=http://www.noharmm.org/bonner.htm
|accessdate=2021-10-10
}}</ref>

Professor Ronald Poland (1990), who had served on the task force with [[Edgar J. Schoen]] that produced the 1989 AAP Circumcision Policy Statement, strongly objected to the use of methodologically flawed UTI studies. Professor Poland concluded that infant non-therapeutic circumcision should not be "a part of routine medical care."<ref name="poland1990">{{REFjournal
|last=Poland
|first=Ronald L.
|init=
|author-link=
|etal=no
|title=The question of routine neonatal circumcision
|journal=N Eng J Med
|location=
|date=1990-05-03
|volume=322
|issue=18
|article=
|pages=1312-5
|url=http://www.cirp.org/library/general/poland/
|pubmedID=2183058
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=10.1056/NEJM199005033221811
|accessdate=2021-10-11
}}</ref>

The [[Second International Symposium]] on Circumcision convened at the Hotel Kabuki in San Francisco, California, USA on April 30 through May 3, 1991.

[[Ronald Goldman]], {{PhD}}, founded the [[Circumcision Resource Center]] in 1991.

[[Tim Hammond]] organized the [http://www.noharmm.org/ National Organization to Halt the Abuse and Routine Mutilation of Males] in 1992.

[[John A. Erickson]] (1992) self-published ''Making America Safe for Foreskins''<ref> {{REFbook
|last=Erickson
|first=John A.
|init=JA
|author-link=John A. Erickson
|title=Making America Safe for Foreskins
|publisher=Self-published (42 page pamphlet)
|location=Biloxi, Mississippi
|date=1992-01
}}</ref>

Lynn E. Lebit (1992) discussed issues with the substituted judgment doctrine.<ref name="lebit1992">{{REFjournal
|last=Lebit
|first=Lynn E.
|init=LE
|author-link=
|etal=no
|title=Compelled Medical Procedures Involving Minors and Incompetents and Misapplication of the Substituted Judgment Doctrine
|journal=Journal of Law and Medicine
|location=
|date=1992
|volume=7
|issue=
|page=107
|url=http://engagedscholarship.csuohio.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1304&context=jlh
|pubmedID=11659623
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=
|accessdate=2021-10-10
}}</ref>

Professor [[George C. Denniston]], {{MD}}, {{MPH}}, explained some [[Foreskin#Physiological_functions| functions of the foreskin]], said circumcision was both unnecessary and harmful because of the deprivation of functions, so should not be performed.<ref name-"denniston1992">
{{REFjournal
|last=Denniston
|first=George C.
|init=
|author-link=George C. Denniston
|etal=no
|title=Unnecessary Circumcision
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal=Female Patient
|location=
|date=1992-07
|volume=17
|issue=
|article=
|pages=13-4
|url=
|accessdate=
}}</ref>

The [[Third International Symposium]] on Circumcision convened at the {{UNI|University of Maryland|UMD}}, College Park, {{USSC|MD}}, USA on 23-25 May 1994.

Professor [[George C. Denniston]], {{MD}}, {{MPH}}, organized [[Doctors Opposing Circumcision (D.O.C.)]] in 1995.

Three registered nurses in Santa Fe, {{USSC|NM}}, who conscientiously objected to assisting with foreskin [[amputation]] operations, formed [[Nurses for the Rights of the Child]] in 1995.

A group of [[intactivist]]s assembled at Evanston, {{USSC|IL}} in 1996 for a meeting and then protested and demonstrated before the AAP convention in nearby Chicago.

[[John A. Erickson]] (1996) self-published ''Deeper into Circumcision: A Invitation to Awareness'' (196 pages).<ref name="erickson1996">{{REFbook
|last=Erickson
|first=John A.
|init=JA
|author-link=John A. Erickson
|year=1996
|title=Deeper into Circumcision: An Invitation to Awareness
|url=http://www.foreskin.org/je-dic.htm
|publisher=Self-published (196 page pamphlet)
|location=Biloxi, Mississippi
}}</ref>

[[Geoffrey T. Falk]] created the [http://www.cirp.org/ Circumcision Information and Resources Pages] in 1996 to take advantage of the newly-available Internet.

[[Ronald Goldman]], Ph.D., (1997) conducted a thorough review of the effect of the American practice of [[child circumcision]] on American society.<ref name="goldman1997">{{REFbook
|last=Goldman
|first=Ronald
|year=1997
|title=Circumcision: The Hidden Trauma
|url=https://circumcision.org/circumcision-the-hidden-trauma/
|chapter=7. The impact of circumcision on American society
|pages=139-75
|location=Boston
|publisher=Vanguard
|ISBN=0-9644895-3-8
|accessdate=2026-07-15
}}</ref>

Ross Povenmire (1998) questioned the authority of parents to grant consent for non-therapeutic circumcision of children.<ref name="povenmire1998">{{REFjournal
|last=Povenmire
|init=R
|author-link=
|last2=
|init2=
|author2-link=
|url=http://www.cirp.org/library/legal/povenmire/
|title=Do Parents Have the Legal Authority to Consent to the Surgical Amputation of Normal, Healthy Tissue From Their Infant Children?: The Practice of Circumcision in the United States
|journal=Journal of Gender, Social Policy & the Law
|date=1998
|volume=7
|issue=
|page=87
|accessdate=2021-10-14
}}</ref>

[[Christopher Fletcher]], M.D., (1998) conducted a survey of doctors in the United States who perform non-therapeutic circumcision of boys. Dr. Fletcher concluded his report in part:
<blockquote>
This study reveals that, across the country, American specialties that perform circumcisions are ignorant of the medical facts regarding the penile foreskin and in conjunction with hospitals and misinformed patients, attempt to justify and rationalise newborn male circumcision. In many cases, despite personal beliefs that circumcision is more harmful than beneficial, some physicians are unwilling to give up their participation in this almost uniquely American custom which many of them have personally experienced as infants.<ref name="fletcher1998!>{{REFbook
|last=Fletcher
|first=Christopher R.
|init=CR
|url=https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-0-585-39937-9_19
|chapter=[https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-0-585-39937-9_19 Circumcision in America in 1998: Attitudes, Beliefs and Charges of American Physicians]
|publisher=Kluwer/Plenum
|title=Male and Female Circumcision
|pages=259-71
|editors=George C. Denniston, Frederick Mansfield Hodges, Marilyn Fayre Milos
|year=1998
|accessdate=2021-10-21
}}</ref>
</blockquote>
The American Academy of Pediatrics had been acutely embarrassed by the faults of [[Edgar J. Schoen]]'s [http://www.cirp.org/library/statements/aap/#a1989 horrific circumcision policy statement], so a new task force was convened under the direction of Carole Marie Lannon, {{MD}}, {{MPH}}, to produce a new, more appropriate, and less embarrassing policy statement on non-therapeutic child circumcision. The new task force produced the [[American_Academy_of_Pediatrics#Fourth_policy_.281999.29|Fourth Circumcision Policy Statement]].<ref name="aap1999">{{REFjournal
|last=Lannon
|first=Carole Marie
|init=CM
|author-link=
|last2=Bailey
|first2=Ann Geryl Doll
|init2=AGD
|author2-link=
|last3=Fleishman
|first3=Alan R.
|init3=AR
|author3-link=
|last4=Kaplan
|first4=George W.
|init4=GW
|author4-link=George W. Kaplan
|last5=Shoemaker
|first5=Craig T.
|init5=CT
|author5-link=
|last6=Swanson
|first6=Jack T.
|init6=JT
|author6-link=
|last7=Coustan
|first7=Donald
|init7=D
|author7-link=
|etal=no
|title=Circumcision Policy Statement
|journal=Pediatrics
|location=
|date=1999-09
|volume=103
|issue=3
|article=
|pages=686-93
|url=http://www.cirp.org/library/statements/aap1999/
|pubmedID= 22926180
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=10.1542/peds.2012-1989
|accessdate=2021-10-10
}}</ref> The 1999 circumcision statement advocated analgesia for pain relief of the extreme circumcision [pain], admitted that the [[foreskin]] contains [[Ridged band| nerves]], softened the claims made for [[UTI]] prevention, recognized the effectiveness of breastfeeding at reducing UTI in infants and declared non-therapeutic infant circumcision to be an ''elective'' surgical procedure. Other than that, it shared the much the same faults as the 1989 statement.

Rhinehart (1999) was a practicing psychiatrist who described his patients later-life problems stemming from the psychic [[trauma]] of their neonatal [[circumcision]].<ref name="rhinehart1999">{{REFjournal
|last=Rhinehart
|first=John W.
|init=JW
|author-link=
|etal=no
|title=Neonatal Circumcision Reconsidered
|journal=Transactional Analysis Journal
|location=
|date=1999-07
|volume=29
|issue=3
|pages=215-21
|url=http://www.cirp.org/library/psych/rhinehart1/
|quote=
|pubmedID=
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=10.
|accessdate=2021-10-14
}}</ref>

===Late twentieth century history video===
 
<youtube>o25MjZsmvGY</youtube>
 

===Early twenty-first century===
====First Quarter====
The twenty-first century has been characterized by greater opposition to non-therapeutic circumcision of boys in the general population, the utter failure of the circumcision industry's vaunted new circumcision policy, and much more attention to legal and ethical issues relating to non-therapeutic circumcision of boys.

Giannetti (2000) argued that scientific misconduct in the [[American Academy of Pediatrics]] circumcision policy statements should expose the AAP to trade association liability.<ref name="gianetti2000">{{REFjournal
|last=Giannetti
|first=Matthew
|init=M
|author-link=
|title=Circumcision and the American Academy of Pediatrics: Should Scientific Misconduct Result in Trade Association Liability
|journal=Iowa Law Rev
|date=2000
|volume=85
|issue=4
|pages=1507-68
|url=https://www.doctorsopposingcircumcision.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/Gianetti-AAP-Misconduct-Trade-Assn-Iowa-Law-Rev-2000.pdf
|accessdate=2020-05-09
}}</ref>

[[J. Steven Svoboda|Svoboda]], [[Robert S. Van Howe|Van Howe]] & [[James G. Dwyer|Dwyer]] (2000) discussed legal issues inherent with consent for non-therapeutic circumcision of boys.<ref name="svoboda2000">{{REFjournal
|last=Svoboda
|first=J. Steven
|init=JS
|author-link=J. Steven Svoboda
|last2=Van Howe
|first2=Robert S.
|init2=RS
|author2-link=Robert S. Van Howe
|last3=Dwyer
|first3=James G.
|init3=JG
|author3-link=James G. Dwyer
|etal=no
|title=Informed Consent for Neonatal Circumcision: An Ethical and Legal Conundrum
|journal=J Contemporary Health Law Policy
|location=
|date=2000-09
|volume=17
|issue=1
|pages=61-133
|url=https://scholarship.law.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1255&context=jchlp
|pubmedID=11216345
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=
|accessdate=2021-10-11
}}</ref>

[[J. Steven Svoboda]] (2001) discussed the limits of the law.<ref name="svoboda2001">{{REFbook
|last=Svoboda
|first=J. Steven
|init=JS
|author-link=J. Steven Svoboda
|year=2001
|title=Limits of the law: Comparative analysis of legal and extralegal methods.
|url=https://www.arclaw.org/wp-content/uploads/Limits-of-the-Law-Comparative-Analysis-of-Legal-and-Extralegal-Methods.pdf
|work=Understanding Circumcision: A Multi-Disciplinary Approach to a Multi-Dimensional Problem
|editor=[[George C. Denniston]], [[Frederick M. Hodges]], and [[Marilyn Fayre Milos]]
|edition=
|volume=
|chapter=
|pages=297-365
|location=
|publisher=Springer
|isbn=978-1-4419-3375-1.
|quote=
|accessdate=2021-10-11
|note=
}}</ref>

[[Geoffrey P. Miller]] (2002) discussed the impact of American culture on the law of circumcision.<ref name="miller2002">{{REFjournal
|last=Miller
|first=Geoffrey P.
|init=GP
|author-link=
|title=Circumcision: Cultural-Legal Analysis
|journal=Virginia Journal of Social Policy & the Law.
|date=2002-3
|volume=9
|issue=
|pages=497-585
|url=http://www.cirp.org/library/legal/miller1/
|accessdate=2020-07-29
}}</ref>

[[George Hill]] (2003) questioned the authority of anyone to grant consent for the non-therapeutic alteration of a child's body.<ref name="hill2010">{{REFjournal
|last=Hill
|first=George
|init=
|author-link=George Hill
|etal=no
|title=Can Anyone Authorize the Nontherapeutic Permanent Alteration of a Child's Body?
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal=Am J Bioeth
|location=
|date=2003-03
|volume=3
|issue=2
|article=
|page=W6
|url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1162/152651603766436342
|pubmedID=14635628
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=10.1162/152651603766436342
|accessdate=2021-10-14
}}</ref>

[[Petrina Fadel]] founded [[Catholics Against Circumcision]].

Thomas et al. (2004) studied the incidence of [[HIV]] in circumcision and intact men in a United States Navy population. A slightly higher incidence of [[HIV]] infection was found in circumcised men (84.9%) as compared with intact men (81.8%). The authors concluded:
<blockquote>
Although there may be other medical or cultural reasons for male circumcision, it is not associated with [[HIV]] or STI prevention in this U.S. military population.<ref name="thomas2004">Thomas AG, Bakhireva LN, Brodine SK, Shaffer RA. [http://www.cirp.org/library/disease/HIV/thomas1/ Prevalence of male circumcision and its association with [[HIV]] and sexually transmitted infections in a U.S. Navy population]. Abstract no. TuPeC4861. Presented at the XV International [[AIDS]] Conference, Bangkok, Thailand, July 11-16, 2004.</ref>
</blockquote>

[[Saving Our Sons (SoS)]], an [[intactivist]] organization, commenced operations online in 2007.

[[Dr. Momma - peaceful parenting]], an [[intactivist]] organization, started in 2007.

[[Doctors Opposing Circumcision (D.O.C.)]] included this commentary on the law of circumcision of boys in their June 2008 Genital Integrity Statement. It has since been later amended by another party to include a reference to Adler (2013) that was not available at the time of writing.<ref>{{REFbook
|last=Hill
|first=George
|init=G
|author-link=George Hill
|year=2008
|title=Ch. 10: American Law and the Circumcision of Children
|url=
|work=Genital Integrity Policy
|editor=
|edition=
|volume=
|chapter=
|pages=
|location=Seattle
|publisher=[[Doctors Opposing Circumcision (D.O.C.)]]
|isbn=
|quote=
|accessdate=2021-10-11
|note=
}}</ref>

[[Doctors Opposing Circumcision (D.O.C.)]] issued a Genital Integrity Policy in June 2008.<ref name-"doc2008">{{REFdocument
|title=Genital Integrity Policy
|url=
|contribution=
|last=Hill
|first=George
|author-link=George Hill
|publisher=[[Doctors Opposing Circumcision (D.O.C.)]]
|format=PDF
|date=2008-06
|accessdate=2021-10-11
}}</ref>

[[Georganne Chapin]] founded [[Intact America]] in 2008 with the aid of a grant from Texas philanthropist Dean Pisani.

[[Robert S. Van Howe|Van Howe]] & Svoboda (2008) said of the American practice of medically-unnecessary, non-therapeutic infant circumcision:
<blockquote>
Once all factors are revealed, it
is impossible to consider circumcision a minor issue,
but rather circumcision comes to symbolize one of the
greatest ongoing systemic ethical violations for which
modern medicine has been responsible.<ref name="vanhowe2008">{{REFjournal
|last=Van Howe
|first=Robert S.
|init=RS
|author-link=Robert S. Van Howe
|last2=Svoboda
|first2=J. Steven
|init2=JS
|author2-link=J. Steven Svoboda
|etal=no
|title=Neonatal pain relief and the Helsinki Declaration
|journal=Journal of Law, Medicine, and Ethics
|location=
|date=2008-12
|volume=36
|issue=4
|article=
|pages=803-23
|url=https://www.academia.edu/download/33981944/27_Van_Howe.pdf
|pubmedID=19094008
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=10.1111/j.1748-720X.2008.00339.x
|accessdate=2021-10-31
}}</ref>
</blockquote>

The British journal, ''The Lancet'', published reports of two randomized controlled trials (RCTs) that were carried out in sub-Saharan Africa which purported to prove that male circumcision was protective against infection with [[HIV]]. The [[American Academy of Pediatrics]] consulted with the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists ([[ACOG]]) and the American College of Family Physicians ([[AAFP]]) (those being the [[medical trade association| medical trade associations]] that represent the specialties that perform most non-therapeutic infant circumcisions and make most of the money from the performance of the non-therapeutic [[amputation]]). The three associations determined to make common cause to produce a position statement that would promote male circumcision based on its alleged protection against [[HIV]] infection. The [[AAP]] was to take the lead, but ACOG and AAFP provided representatives to the new [[AAP Circumcision Task Force 2012| AAP task force]], of which New York Jewess [[Susan Blank]], {{MD}}, {{MPH}}, was the chairwoman. This new task force did not publish a statement until 2012. The AAP declined to re-affirm the statement so it expired in August 2017.

[[Dan Bollinger|Bollinger]] (2010) estimated approximately 117 neonatal circumcision-related deaths occur annually in the United States.<ref name="bollinger2010">{{BollingerD 2010}}</ref>

[[Anthony Losquadro]] formed [[Intaction]], an [[intactivist]] organization in 2010.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ([[CDC]]) reported an incidence of newborn circumcision of 58.3 percent in 2010.<ref name="cdc2015">{{REFweb
|url=https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/hestat/circumcision_2013/circumcision_2013.htm
|title=Trends in Circumcision for Male Newborns in U.S. Hospitals: 1979–2010
|publisher=Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
|website=cdc.gov
|date=2015-11-06
|accessdate=2021-10-16
}}</ref>

Professor [[Peter W. Adler]], J. D., (2011) argued that it is unlawful for United States Medicaid to pay for non-therapeutic circumcision.<ref name="adler2011" />

[[Brother K]] formed the [[Bloodstained Men]] in 2012.

The [[AAP]], lead by the [[AAP Circumcision Task Force 2012]], finally published the [[American_Academy_of_Pediatrics#Fifth_policy_.282012.29| fifth circumcision policy statement]] in the September 2012 issue of ''Pediatrics''. The [[American_Academy_of_Pediatrics#Criticism| adverse criticism]] was overwhelming.

[[Dan Bollinger|Bollinger]] (2012) estimated that the total cost of non-therapeutic male circumcision, including hospital costs, repair of botched circumcisions, treatment of complications, and so on is more than $3 billion per year,<ref name="bollinger2012">{{REFweb
|url=https://www.academia.edu/6442587/High_Cost_of_Circumcision_3.6_Billion_Annually
|title=High Cost of Circumcision: $3.6 Billion Annually
|last=Bollinger
|first=Dan
|author-link=Dan Bollinger
|publisher=Academia
|date=2012
|accessdate=2020-11-25
}}</ref> of which the beneficiary is the American circumcision industry.

[[Doctors Opposing Circumcision (D.O.C.)]] (2013) provided evidence that the purpose of the 2012 AAP Circumcision Policy Statement was to get more money for doctors,<ref name="doc2013">{{REFdocument
|title=Commentary on American Academy of Pediatrics 2012 Circumcision Policy Statemeni
|url=https://www.doctorsopposingcircumcision.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/commentary-on-american-academy-of-pediatrics-2012-circumcision-policy-statement.pdf
|contribution=
|last=
|first=
|publisher=[[Doctors Opposing Circumcision (D.O.C.)]]
|format=PDF
|date=2013-04-01
|accessdate=2021-10-21
}}</ref>

Professor [[Peter W. Adler]], {{JD}}, (2013) argued that non-therapeutic circumcision of boys is unlawful.<ref name="adler2013">{{REFjournal
|last=Adler
|first=Peter W.
|init=PW
|author-link=Peter W. Adler
|title=Is circumcision legal?
|journal=Richmond Journal of Law and the Public Interest
|date=2013
|volume=16
|issue=3
|pages=439-86
|url=https://scholarship.richmond.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1265&context=jolpi
|accessdate=2020-05-08
}}</ref>

[[Robert S. Van Howe|Van Howe]] & [[J. Steven Svoboda|Svoboda]] (2013) criticized the 2012 AAP statement because it failed to include important points, inaccurately analyzed and interpreted current medical literature, and made unsupported conclusions.<ref name="vanhowe2013">{{REFjournal
|last=Van Howe
|first=Robert S.
|init=RS
|author-link=Robert S. Van Howe
|last2=Svoboda
|first2=J. Steven
|init2=JS
|author2-link=J. Steven Svoboda
|date=2013-07-01
|title=Out of step: fatal flaws in the latest AAP policy report on neonatal circumcision
|url=https://jme.bmj.com/content/39/7/434
|journal=Journal of Medical Ethics
|language=en
|volume=39
|issue=7
|pages=434-41
|DOI=10.1136/medethics-2013-101346
|issn=0306-6800
|pubmedID=23508208
}}</ref>

[[Jen Williams]] organized [[Your Whole Baby]] in 2014.

The infamous [[Nebus v. Hironimus]] Florida [[circumcision]] case culminated after five years of litigation with Florida Family Court Judge [[Jeffrey Dana Gillen]] arrested the mother, [[Heather Hironimus]], and forced her to sign a consent for harmful, [[pain| painful]] circumcision in open court while handcuffed.
 
Heather Hironimus signs consent form for circumcision of 4 and 1/2 year old son under extreme duress
<youtube>Btxl4UGBdpc</youtube>

[[Doctors Opposing Circumcision (D.O.C.)]] commissioned a [https://www,doctorsopposingcircumcision.org new website] in 2016.

[[J. Steven Svoboda]] argued against non-therapeutic circumcision.<ref name="svoboda2017">{{REFjournal
|date=2017-08-01
|title=Nontherapeutic Circumcision of Minors as an Ethically Problematic Form of Iatrogenic Injury
|journal=AMA Journal of Ethics
|language=en
|volume=19
|issue=8
|pages=815-24
|DOI=10.1001/journalofethics.2017.19.8.msoc2-1708
|pubmedID=28846521
|issn=2376-6980
|last1=Svoboda
|first1=J.S.
}}</ref> He stated that this decision should be considered in the context of benefit vs risk of harm, rather than simply risk-benefit due to the non-therapeutic nature of the procedure.<ref name="svoboda2017"/> He states that benefits do not outweigh the risks, and also claims that foreskin removal should be considered a sexual harm.<ref name="svoboda2017"/> He also went on to conclude that non-therapeutic circumcision largely violates the physician's duty to respect a patient's autonomy since many procedures take place before a patient is able to freely give consent himself.<ref name="svoboda2017"/>

Reis-Dennis & Reis (2017) asked if physicians should be blamed for harm resulting from unnecessary genital surgeries, including infant circumcision.<ref name="reis-dennis2017">{{REFjournal
|last=Reis-Dennis
|first=
|init=
|author-link=
|last2=Reis
|first2=
|init2=
|author2-link=
|etal=no
|title=Are Physicians Blameworthy for Iatrogenic Harm Resulting from Unnecessary Genital Surgeries?
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal=AMA Journal of Ethics
|location=
|date=2017
|volume=19
|issue=8
|article=
|pages=825-33
|url=
|pubmedID=28846522
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=10.1001/journalofethics.2017.19.8.msoc3-1708
|accessdate=2021-10-14
}}</ref>

The ill-fated, embarrassing 2012 [[AAP]] Circumcision Policy Statement expired on August 31, 2017 in accordance with AAP policy, because it was not reaffirmed. The AAP has had ''no'' official circumcision policy since that time.

[[Doctors Opposing Circumcision]] released a special report on circumcision for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.<ref name="doc2019">{{REFdocument
|title=Male Circumcision: A special report to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
|url=https://pool.intactiwiki.org/w/images/Male_Circumcision_DOC_2019-02-01.pdf
|contribution=
|last=Anonymous
|first=
|publisher=Doctors Opposing Circumcision
|format=PDF
|date=2019-02-01
|accessdate=2025-12-08
}}</ref>

[[Dan Bollinger|Bollinger]] (2019) discussed circumcision as an adverse childhood experience,<ref name-"bollinger2019">{{REFdocument
|title=Child genital cutting as an adverse childhood experience
|url=http://adversechildhoodexperiences.net/CGC_as_an_ACE.pdf
|last=Bollinger
|first=Dan
|author-link=Dan Bollinger
|last2=Chapin
|first2=Georganne
|author2-link=Georganne Chapin
|publisher=Intact America
|location=Tarrytown
|format=PDF
|date=2019-08
|accessdate=2021-04-02
}}</ref>

[[Peter W. Adler|Adler]], [[Robert S. Van Howe|Van Howe]], Wisdom & Daase (2020) examined male non-therapeutic circumcision as fraud.<ref name="adler2020">{{REFjournal
|last=Adler
|first=Peter W.
|init=PW
|author-link=Peter W. Adler
|last2=Van Howe
|first2=Robert S.
|init2=RS
|author2-link=Robert S. Van Howe
|last3=Wisdom
|first3=Travis
|init3=T
|author3-link=
|last4=Daase
|first4=Felix
|init4=F
|author4-link=Felix Daase
|etal=no
|title=Is circumcision a fraud?
|journal=Cornell Journal of Law and Public Policy
|location=
|date=2020-11
|volume=30
|issue=1
|pages=45-107
|url=https://www.lawschool.cornell.edu/research/JLPP/upload/Adler-et-al-final.pdf
}}
</ref>

Adler & Daase (2020) reviewed the American debate on non-therapeutic child circumcision for a French-speaking audience.<ref name="adlerB2020>{{REFjournal
|last=Adler
|first=Peter W.
|init=PW
|author-link=Peter W. Adler
|last2=Daase
|first2=Felix
|init2=F
|author2-link=Felix Daase
|etal=no
|title=Actualié du débat sur la circoncision aux États-Unis: Is the Circumcision Debate Over?
|journal=Droit et Cultures
|location=
|date=2020
|volume=79
|issue=1
|pages=207-22
|url=https://journals.openedition.org/droitcultures/6276?lang=en
|accessdate=2021-06-19
}}</ref>

[[Ronald Goldman]] led a group of Massachusetts taxpayers who filed a suit against [https://www.mass.gov/topics/masshealth MassHealth] (Massachusetts Medicaid), which is unlawfully paying for non-therapeutic circumcisions with public funds.<ref>{{REFweb
|url=https://circumcision.org/taxpayers-sue-massachusetts-medicaid-about-circumcisions/
|title=Taxpayers Sue Massachusetts Medicaid About Circumcisions
|first=Ronald
|last=Goldman
|author-link=Ronald Goldman
|publisher=[[Circumcision Resource Center]]
|date=2020-07-22
|accessdate=2021-10-13
}}</ref>

Navia et al. (2020) surveyed the incidence of non-therapeutic neonatal circumcision in four states. The incidence of circumcision in 2016 was found to have declined to 54.5 percent, which translates to an increase in [[genital integrity]] and wholeness rate to 45.5 percent.<ref>{{REFjournal
|last=Navia
|first=Mateo Zambrano
|init=
|author-link=
|last2=Jacobson
|first2=Deborah L.
|init2=
|author2-link=
|last3=Balmert
|first3=Lauren C.
|init3=
|author3-link=
|last4=Rosoklija
|first4=Ilina
|init4=
|author4-link=
|last5=Holl
|first5=Jane L.
|init5=
|author5-link=
|last6=Davis
|first6=Matthew M.
|init6=
|author6-link=
|last7=Johnson
|first7=Emilie K
|init7=
|author7-link=
|etal=no
|title=State-Level Public Insurance Coverage and Neonatal Circumcision Rates
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal=Pediatrics
|location=
|date=2020-11
|volume=146
|issue=5
|article=
|page=e20201475
|url=https://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/146/5/e20201475
|pubmedID=33055226
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=10.1542/peds.2020-1475
|accessdate=2021-10-13
}}</ref>

The Lavine family of New Jersey has brought a lawsuit against a New Jersey practitioner and the [[American Academy of Pediatrics]] that alleges fraud.<ref>{{REFweb
|url=https://www.circumcisionisafraud.com/docket-mer-l-000272-21
|title=Circumcision is a Fraud
|last=
|first=
|accessdate=2021-10-13
}}</ref>

A study by [[Intact America]] (2020) reveals how hospitals pressure mothers into granting consent for unneeded and unwanted injurious non-therapeutic [[circumcision]] of a newborn boy.<ref>{{REFweb
|url=https://www.prweb.com/printer/17552844.htm
|title=Having a Baby Boy? Intact America Warns, ‘Get Ready for the Circumcision Sellers!
|last=Chapin
|first=Georganne
|author-link=Georganne Chapin
|publisher=Intact America
|website=prweb
|date=2020-11-18
|accessdate=2021-10-13
|format=
|quote=
}}</ref> Infant circumcision is a profit center for many American hospitals so parents are pushed to circumcise.

[[Intact America]] (2024) called child circumcision "an outdated practice in desperate need of reevaluation",<ref name="alissa2024-12-16">{{REFweb
|url=https://intactamerica.org/circumcision-reevaluation/
|title=Circumcision: An Outdated Practice in Desperate Need of Re-Evaluation
|last=Alissa
|first=Kristel
|init=
|author-link=
|publisher=Intact America
|date=2024-12-16
|accessdate=2024-12-23
}}</ref> and exposed the propaganda that has promoted the harmful but profitable practice of child circumcision.<ref>{{REFweb
|url=https://intactamerica.org/exposing-circumcision-propaganda/
|title=The Unkindest Cut: Exposing the Propaganda That Normalized Circumcision—and How We Reclaim the Truth
|last=Alissa
|first=Kristel
|init=
|author-link=
|publisher=Intact America
|date=2024-11-19
|accessdate=2024-12-23
}}</ref>

[[Intact America]] (2024) reports a rapid increase in the percentage of Americans who oppose the harmful [[circumcision]] of boys.<ref>{{REFweb
|url=https://www.instagram.com/p/DKVZQGTRl77/?igsh=MWV1aW90MzBpd2dzdA%3D%3D
|title=Opposition to circumcision overtime.
|last=Anonymous
|first=
|init=
|author-link=
|publisher=Intact America
|date=2024
|accessdate=2025-06-01
}}</ref>

====Second quarter====
[[PEPFAR]] (2025) has scrapped its costly, ineffective, and harmful "voluntary male medical circumcision" ([[VMMC]]) program after 15 years and at least 27,000,000 harmful and useless [[foreskin]] amputations.<ref name="gwarisa2025">{{REFnews
|title=New PEPFAR Waiver Scraps Voluntary Medical Male Circumcision Program
|url=https://healthtimes.co.zw/2025/02/07/new-pepfar-waiver-scraps-voluntary-medical-male-circumcision-program/
|last=Gwarisa
|first=Michael
|init=
|author-link=
|publisher=Healthtimes
|website=
|date=2025-02-07
|accessdate=2025-02-15
|format=
|quote=
}}</ref> Numerous studies have demonstrated that [[adult circumcision]] is not effective in preventing [[HIV]] [[infection]]. Child [[circumcision]] had previously been discontinued.

[[Intact America]] (2024) is tracking the opposition to [[circumcision]] in the [[United States]]. It reports [https://www.instagram.com/p/DKVZQGTRl77/ steadily increasing opposition] to [[child circumcision]].

President Donald J. Trump appointment of [[Robert Francis Kennedy, Jr.]] to be Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services was approved by the United States Senate was ratified by the United States Senate on 13 February 2025. Kennedy wants to reform healthcare in the United States.

[[Eric Clopper]] has organized [[Intact Global]] in 2024, which has the goal of litigating in numerous states to ensure that boys will enjoy "the equal protection of the law". Intact Global instituted a suit against the state of Oregon in March 2025.<ref>{{REFdocument
|title=Hadachek et al. v. Oregon Complaint
|url=https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/66119b8c4d0c10f1951590fc/67e6d9785f82dc54c6513cb7_2025-03-28%20-%20Hadachek%20v.%20Oregon%20-%20Amended%20Complaint%20(Conformed).pdf
|contribution=
|last=Clopper
|first=Eric
|publisher=Intact Global
|format=PDF
|date=2025-03-27
|accessdate=2025-04-01
}}</ref> [[Intact Global]] also filed suit against the state of Colorado in June 2026.<ref name="rubane2026">{{REFdocument
|title=Tristan Huff and Adam Schwartz, Plaintiffs, v. The State of Colorado
|trans-title=
|language=
|url=https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/66119b8c4d0c10f195159122/6a3185315bbad632a188ed5f_2026-06-09---Huff-v.-Colorado-Complaint---Equal-Protection-Challenge-(Conformed)---For-Press.pdf
|archived=
|contribution=
|quote=
|trans-quote=
|quote-lang=
|last=RuBane
|first=Thomas F.
|author-link=
|last2=Clopper
|first2=Eric
|author2-link=
|format=PDF
|date=2026-06-09
|accessdate=2026-06-17
}}</ref>

Data Panda has reported the incidence of non-therapeutic circumcision by state on 24 May 2025. The incidence ranged from a low of 10 percent in Washington to a high of 91 percent in West Virginia.<ref>{{REFweb
|url=https://www.datapandas.org/ranking/circumcision-rate-by-state
|title=Circumcision Rate by State
|last=Anonymous
|first=
|init=
|author-link=
|publisher=Data Panda
|date=2025-05-24
|accessdate=2025-09-19
}}</ref>

[[Jake Tran]] has produced a [[This should be a crime| video]] about the practice of [[child circumcision]] in the United States.

In a milestone for [[intactivism]], Microsoft Network (MSN) reported that the incidence of [[child circumcision]] in the United States has declined below 50 percent, which makes non-circumcision or [[genital integrity]] the new NORM in the United States among newborn boys.<ref name="msn2025">{{REFnews
|title=Less Than Half of U.S. Boys Now Circumcised
|url=https://www.msn.com/en-us/health/other/less-than-half-of-us-boys-now-circumcised/ar-AA1MBjzN
|last=Anonymous
|publisher=Microsoft Network
|website=
|date=2025-09-17
|accessdate=2025-09-29
|quote=From 2012 to 2022, the prevalence of circumcision during hospitalization of male neonates age 0 to 28 days decreased significantly by nearly 5 percentage points, from 54.1% to 49.3%,
}}</ref>

==Government financial support for non-therapeutic circumcision==
The United States government provides [[financial incentive]] for medically-unnecessary, non-therapeutic [[circumcision]] by [[third-party payment]] through numerous government health insurance programs:

* [https://www.medicaid.gov/ Medicaid] — About 45 percent of births are under Medicaid.
* [https://www.healthcare.gov/medicaid-chip/childrens-health-insurance-program/ Child Health Insurance Program (CHIP)] — Covers children whose family income is higher.
* [https://www.ihs.gov/ Indian Health Service] — Covers the indigenous population.
* [https://www.tricare.mil/ Tricare] — Covers military dependents.
* [https://www.benefits.gov/benefit/4440 Federal Employees Health Benefits (FEHB) Program] — Covers federal employees and families.
* [https://www.medicare.gov/ Medicare] − Covers persons who have reached 65 years of age.

==The second term of President Donald J. Trump==
The second term of President Donald J. Trump commenced on 21 January 2025. President Trump has promised far-reaching reforms of the executive branch of the government of the United States. It is not clear at this time (9 February 2025) how this will affect the practice of male [[circumcision]] in the United States. We note that the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief ([[PEPFAR]]) has been paused. The performance of ineffective [[genital mutilation]] (male circumcision) on African males may have stopped.<ref>{{REFnews
|title=Trump's Foreign Aid Freeze
|url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/trump-rubio-pepfar-prep-usaid_n_67a65f98e4b0682fe26ceb1f
|last=Cohn
|first=Jonathan
|init=
|author-link=
|last2=
|init2=
|author2-link=
|publisher=Huffpost
|website=
|date=2025-02-07
|season=
|accessdate=2025-02-09
|format=
|quote=
}}</ref>

== Statistical data ==
The National Center for Health Statistics (2013) reported that the incidence of child [[circumcision]] has been declining for thirty years.<ref>{{REFweb
|url=https://blogs.cdc.gov/nchs/2013/08/22/1667/
|title=Male Newborn Circumcision on a Three Decade Decline
|last=
|first=
|init=
|author-link=
|publisher=National Center for Health Statistics
|date=2013-08-22
|accessdate=2025-01-19
}}</ref>
=== Prevalence of circumcision ===
'''Prevalence of circumcision''' is the percentage of all males of all ages in the population who have been [[circumcised]].

[[Intact America]] carried out a survey in 2022 that claims that 73 percent of all American men were [[circumcised]],<ref>{{REFweb
|url=https://www.intactamerica.org/newsroom-gender-equality/
|title=Intact Facts
|last=
|first=
|init=
|publisher=Intact America
|date=2022
|accessdate=2023-03-29
}}</ref> however no documentation has been provided so it is not clear in what region it was carried out or what age groups were surveyed. The prevalence of [[circumcision]] varies by age, region, race, and religion. On another webpage, [[Intact America]] claims 78 percent are circumcised so Intact America is uncertain of its claims.

Peter Moore (2015) reported that 62 percent of all American males reported being [[circumcised]],<ref name="moore2015">{{REFweb
|url=https://today.yougov.com/topics/lifestyle/articles-reports/2015/02/03/younger-americans-circumcision
|title=Young Americans less supportive of circumcision at birth
|last=Moore
|first=Peter
|date=2015-02-03
|accessdate=2022-02-07
}}</ref> which increases the prevalence of [[intact]] [[foreskin]] to 38 percent of living American males of all ages. This percentage is expected to gradually but constantly decline, while the percentage of males who are [[intact]] due to the declining incidence of newborn boys receiving medically-unnecessary, non-therapeutic [[circumcision]] is expected to increase. The percentage of males with [[intact]] [[foreskin]] is lowest with senior citizens and highest in the youngest age groups.

=== Incidence of circumcision ===
'''Incidence of circumcision''' is the percentage of newborn boys who currently are being [[circumcised]].
====Long-term declining trend====
The incidence of non-therapeutic neonatal [[circumcision]] hit its peak at 85-90 percent in 1965.<ref name="laumann1997" /> It has been slowly declining ever since.

Peter Moore (2015) reported that the incidence of circumcision was 55 percent.<ref name="moore2015"/>

Jacobsen et al. (2021) used data from 2003 through 2016 from the Kid's Inpatient Database of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality to compare [[intact]] with [[circumcised]] boys in the first 28 days of life. The authors reported a gradual declining trend in the incidence of neonatal non-therapeutic [[circumcision]] throughout the study period. The overall incidence of circumcision decreased from 57.4 percent in 2003 to 52.1 percent in 2016 over the 13 year study period or 5.3 percentage points for an average decrease of 0.4 percentage point per year. The authors noted "neonatal circumcision rates decreased significantly over time."<ref name="jacobson2021" />

There was significant variation in the incidence of circumcision by region with the Midwest reporting an incidence of 75 percent (three out of four) for the period, while boys in the West were most likely to preserve their [[foreskin]] as the West reported an incidence of only 25.9 percent or about 1 boy in 4 being [[circumcised]].<ref name="jacobson2021" />

One should also note that the [[American Academy of Pediatrics]] [[medical trade association]] vacated its fraudulent 2012 Circumcision Policy Statement by allowing it to expire in 2017 without being re-affirmed.

[https://150.jhu.edu/ Johns Hopkins University] and the Jewish-funded [https://publichealth.jhu.edu/ Bloomberg School of Public Health] have long been outlier advocates of male [[circumcision]]. However, they (2025) are now reporting that the incidence of circumcision has declined "significantly" between 2012 and 2022. The overall decline was from 54.1% to 49.3% — a decline of 4.8 percentage points or 0.048 precentage points per year. The 4.8 percentage point represents a decline of 8.8 percent (4.8/54.1 = 8.8%)<ref name="yang2025" /> Although the incidence of [[circumcision of the newborn]] has been gradually declining for decades, this is the first study to report an overall incidence of less than fifty percent. Based on this new information, we can now report that [[intactness]] is now the NORM among the newborn boys of America. We note that [[Australia]] reported a significant improvement in child health when the incidence of circumcision declined in that nation.<ref>{{REFweb
|url=https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/children-youth/australias-children-in-brief/summary
|title=Australia’s children: in brief
|last=Anonymous
|first=
|init=
|author-link=
|publisher=Australian Institute of Health and Welfare
|pubmedID=
ISBN=978-1-76054-659-5
|DOI=10.25816/5e152818d082c
|date=2019-12-17
|accessdate=2025-09-17
}}</ref> Any circumcisions performed after the newborn period would not be captured by these statistics.

====Midwest====
The Midwest has been called the 'circumcision capital of America' because of its higher rates of circumcision. Nevertheless, the popularity of circumcision is declining even in the Midwest.

In the Midwest, the incidence of [[circumcision]] has declined to 75 percent, which translates to a [[genital integrity]] rate increase to 25 percent or 1 in 4 boys having an [[intact]] foreskin.<ref name="jacobson2021" /> The previous report from 2010 was one boy in five being intact,<ref name="bollinger2017" /> and before that it was 1 in 10 boys being [[intact]], so this in an increase of 250 percent (0.25/0.10 X 100 = 250%) in the rate of [[Intact| intactness]] for the Midwest. The still high incidence of circumcision in the Midwest is counterbalanced by the low incidence in the West.

=== Intactness is the new norm! ===

[[Intactness]] had previously been shamed in the United States,<ref name="garrett2023-12-21">{{REFweb
|url=https://intactamerica.org/foreskin-phobia-intact-penis-shamed/
|title=Foreskin Phobia: How The Intact Penis Has Been Shamed
|last=Garrett
|first=Connor
|init=
|author-link=Connor Judson Garrett
|publisher=Intact America
|date=2023-12-21
|accessdate=2024-05-15
}}</ref> but that era has ended.

[[Intact America]] called attention to the existence of a "tipping point",<ref>{{REFbook
|last=Gladwell
|first=Malcomb
|init=
|year=2002
|title=The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference
|url=https://www.amazon.com/Tipping-Point-Little-Things-Difference/dp/0316346624?s=books
|scope=
|location=
|publisher=Back Bay Books
|pages=301
|ISBN=SBN-10 0316346624
|accessdate=2025-12-01
}}</ref> when public opinion would shift toward [[intactness]] in 2016.<ref>{{REFweb
|url=https://intactamerica.org/do-you-know-about-the-tipping-point/
|title=Do You Know: About the “Tipping Point?
|last=Chapin
|first=Georganne
|init=
|author-link=Georganne Chapin
|publisher=Intact America
|date=2016-11-01
|accessdate=2024-06-03
}}</ref> Public opinion in the United States in 2024 has now reached that tipping point.

The percentage of American boys being [[circumcised]] has been slowly but progressively declining for a long time, while the number of boys with [[intact]] [[foreskin]] has correspondingly increased.<ref name="jacobson2021" /> The percentage of [[intact]] newborn boys has exceeded the percentage of [[circumcised]] newborn boys since 2022.<ref name="yang2025" />

As the present trend continues, [[intactness]] is becoming the more usual, normal, and expected condition among newborn infant boys in America. The incidence of [[circumcision]] varies geographically so some locations will report higher percentages [[circumcised]].

==Forecast future incidence of child circumcision==

The incidence of harmful, unnecessary, nontherapeutic [[circumcision]] of newborn boys declines at the rate of 0.5 of one percentage point per year or one percentage point every two years.<ref name="yang2025" />

Based on this historical rate of decline and assuming that it continues, we can forecast the future incidence of harmful [[child circumcision]] in the United States to be:

* 2023: 49.2%
* 2024: 48.7%
* 2025: 48.2%
* 2026: 47.7%
* 2027: 47.2%
* 2028: 46.7%
* 2029: 46.2%
* 2030: 45.7%

The declining incidence of [[circumcision]] correlates and coincides with the reported decline in the incidence of murder in the United States.<ref>{{REFnews
|title=U.S. murder rate approaches a record low
|url=https://www.npr.org/2026/06/30/nx-s1-5866810/us-murder-rate-record-low-crime-homicide
|last=Kaste
|first=Martin
|init=
|author-link=
|publisher=National Public Radio
|website=https://www.npr.org/
|date=2026-06-30
|accessdate=2026-06-30
|format=
|quote="The United States almost certainly had the lowest murder rate ever recorded in 2025, with the FBI having data back to 1960," says crime data analyst Jeff Asher. "And the available evidence suggests that we're going to go even lower this year."
}}</ref>

==American [[genital integrity]] organizations==

The United States of America now have numerous [[genital integrity]] ([[intactivist]]) organizations working to promote and encourage the protection of the [[physical integrity]] of American boys.

{{SEEALSO}}
* [[Financial incentive]]
* [[Intact-friendly]]
* [https://en.intactiwiki.org/index.php/Main_Page Home page]
* [[Living with a foreskin in circumcised America]]
{{LINKS}}
* {{URLwikipedia|United_States|United States}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://www.cirp.org/library/legal/USA/
|title=Legality of Circumcision: The United States of America
|last=Hill
|first=George
|init=
|publisher=Circumcision Reference Library
|date=2013-07-31
|accessdate=2023-08-26
}}
These documents by [[Dan Bollinger]] are included here because they contain significant information about the United States:
* {{REFweb
|url=https://www.academia.edu/23494197/Infant_Male_Genital_Cutting_Incidence_Worldwide
|title=Infant Male Genital Cutting Incidence Worldwide
|last=Bollinger
|first=Dan
|author-link=Dan Bollinger
|publisher=Academia
|date=2017-05-19
|accessdate=2021-10-21
|format=PDF
}}
* {{REFjournal
|last=Bollinger
|init=D
|author-link=Dan Bollinger
|url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/321837170_Origins_of_the_Intactivist_Movement_A_Masculine_Foundation
|title=Origins of the intactivist movement: A masculine foundation
|journal=
|date=2017-11-17
|accessdate=2021-10-14
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://intactamerica.org/circumcision-rates/
|title=Circumcision Rates by Country: Why America Is the Outlier
|last=Alissa
|first=Kristel
|init=
|author-link=Kristel Alissa
|publisher=Intact America
|date=2025-07-03
|accessdate=2025-8-03
}}
{{ABBR}}
{{REF}}

[[Category:BSM]]
[[Category:English-speaking nation]]
[[Category:Circumcision]]
[[Category:Country]]
[[Category:Male circumcision]]
[[Category:History]]

[[Category:USA]]

[[de:Vereinigte Staaten von Amerika]]

United States of America

2026-07-15T21:07:46Z

WikiModEn2: /* Fourth quarter */ Add text and citation.

[[File:Flag_of_USA.svg|thumb|150px|Flag of the United States of America (USA)]]
The '''United States of America''' are also known as the '''United States''' or simply '''America''' or by initialism such as '''USA''' or '''US''' or '''U.S.A.''' or '''U.S.''' (Please note that ''America'' also is the name of two geological continents: ''North America'' and ''South America'' which include many more countries than just the ''United States of America'' which are the topic of this article. See also: [[:Category:Americas]].)

America is predominantly an English-speaking nation. As in other English-speaking nations, non-therapeutic [[circumcision]] of boys was popularized in the late nineteenth century. Due to the rates of infant circumcision that formerly approached 90 percent, the vast majority of [[Circumcised doctors| male doctors were neonatally circumcised]] and have no real knowledge of a normal body part. Such doctors frequently give poor advice to parents on the care of the [[intact]] [[penis]].<ref name="goldman2005">{{REFjournal
|last=Goldman
|first=Ronald
|init=R
|author-link=Ronald Goldman
|etal=no
|title=Circumcision policy: a psychosocial perspective
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal=Paediatrics & Child Health (Ottawa)
|location=
|date=2005-11
|volume=9
|issue=9
|pages=630-3
|url=https://academic.oup.com/pch/article/9/9/630/2648566?login=true
|quote=
|pubmedID=19675851
|pubmedCID=2724127
|DOI=10.1093/pch/9.9.630
|accessdate=2020-03-16
}}</ref> They are also much more likely to injure [[intact]] boys during office visits by premature [[Forced foreskin retraction| forcible foreskin retraction]] (PFFR).<ref>{{REFjournal
|last=Narvaez
|first=Darcia
|init=D
|author-link=
|last2=Geisheker
|first2=John V.
|init2=JV
|author2-link=John V. Geisheker
|url=https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/moral-landscapes/201110/what-is-the-greatest-danger-uncircumcised-boy
|title=What Is the Greatest Danger for an Uncircumcised Boy?
|journal=Psychology Today
|date=2011-10-23
|volume=
|issue=
|pages=
|accessdate=2021-10-31
}}</ref>

The United States is unique in having a [[circumcision industry]] that aggressively promotes the practice of medically-unnecessary, non-therapeutic, harmful, infant [[circumcision]]. The decline of the unnecessary practice has been slowed by payments for unnecessary circumcision by various government heath programs and by continual encouragement and promotion of circumcision by the [[circumcision industry]]. However, the practice of non-therapeutic [[circumcision]] of newborn boys has been in gradual decline for several decades.

Despite the financially self-serving promotional efforts of the [[circumcision industry]], Jacobson et al. (2021) reported the incidence of non-therapeutic [[circumcision]] of newborn infant boys was reported to have continued its slow decline to 52.1 percent in 2016.<ref name="jacobson2021">{{REFjournal
|last=Jacobson
|first=Deborah L.
|init=
|author-link=
|last2=Balmert
|first2=Lauren C.
|init2=
|author2-link=
|last3=Holl
|first3=Jane L.
|init3=
|author3-link=
|last4=Rosoklija
|first4=Ilina
|init4=
|author4-link=
|last5=Davis
|first5=Matthew M.
|init5=
|author5-link=
|last6=Johnson
|first6Emilie K.
|init6=
|author6-link=
|etal=no
|title=Nationwide Circumcision Trends: 2003 to 2016
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal=J Urol
|location=
|date=2021-01
|volume=205
|issue=1
|pages=257-63
|url=https://www.auajournals.org/doi/abs/10.1097/JU.0000000000001316
|pubmedID=32716676
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=10.1097/JU.0000000000001316
|accessdate=2021-10-15
}}</ref> Yang et al. (2025) reported the incidenec of circumcision of the newborn had declined to 49.3 percent in 2022, making non-circumcision or [[intactness]] the new NORM among America's newborn boys. Yang et al. studied a ten-ear period during which the incidence of circumcision declined at a rate of 0.5% per year.<ref name="yang2025">{{REFjournal
|last=Yang
|first=
|init=P
|author-link=
|last2=Zhu
|first2=
|init2=X
|author2-link=
|last3=Patel
|first3=
|init3=EU
|author3-link=
|last4=Quin
|first4=
|init4=PC
|author4-link=
|last5=Grabowski
|first5=
|init5=MK
|author5-link=
|last6=Tobian
|first6=
|init6=AAR
|author6-link=Aaron Tobian
|etal=no
|title=Trends in Circumcision Among Newborn Males in the US
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal=JAMA Pediatrics
|location=
|date=2025-09-15
|season=
|volume=
|issue=
|article=e252464
|page=
|pages=
|url=https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapediatrics/fullarticle/2838312
|archived=
|quote=
|pubmedID=40952753
|pubmedCID=12439174
|DOI=10.1001/jamapediatrics.2025.2464
|accessdate=2025-09-17
}}</ref>

The United States is unusual among nations in that osteopathic physicians (DOs) enjoy equal standing with allopathic physicians (MDs)<ref>{{REFweb
|url=https://www.ama-assn.org/press-center/ama-press-releases/aoa-and-ama-stand-against-misrepresentation-osteopathic-physicians#:~:text=The%20American%20Osteopathic%20Association%20%28AOA%29%20and%20the%20American,of%20osteopathic%20medicine%20by%20media%2C%20celebrities%20and%20companies.
|title=AOA and AMA stand against misrepresentation of osteopathic physicians
|last=Anonymous
|first=
|init=
|author-link=
|publisher=American Medical Association
|date=2020-11-04
|accessdate=2026-03-22
}}</ref> Osteopathic physicians observe four [[Tenets of Osteopathic Medicine]] in their practice.

==History==
===Colonial and early 19th century===
Jews have lived in America since before the Revolutionary War. They have always practiced [[Jewish circumcision| ritual circumcision]], ([[Brit Milah]]), of boys on the eighth day of life in accordance with the [[Abrahamic covenant]], however this was only for a very small percentage of the population.<ref name="self2016">{{REFjournal
|url=https://journals.troy.edu/index.php/test/article/view/386/302
|title=The Rise of Circumcision in Victorian America
|first=Eleanor
|last=Self
|author-link=Eleanor Self
|journal=The Alexandrian
|volume=5
|issue=1
|date=2016
|accessdate=2022-09-02
|format=PDF
}}
</ref>

One may be certain that the eighteenth century [https://www.nationalgeographic.org/article/founding-fathers/ Founding Fathers of the United States] of America were men with [[intact]] [[foreskin]]s as were the [[foreskinned]] men who fought the American Civil War (1861-1865).

Non-therapeutic [[circumcision]] of males for non-religious reasons originated with [[Claude François Lallemand]] in 1836 in France but soon spread to the [[United Kingdom]] in the early nineteenth century, from which it eventually spread to other English-speaking nations.<ref name="hodges1997">[[Frederick M. Hodges| Hodges FM]]. [https://lust-for-life.org/Lust-For-Life/_Textual/GeorgeCDenniston-MarilynFayreMilos-editors_JamesDeMeo_SexualMutilations-AHumanTragedy_1997_235pp/GeorgeCDenniston-MarilynFayreMilos-editors_JamesDeMeo_SexualMutilations-AHumanTragedy_1997_235pp.pdf#page=28 A short history of the institutionalization of involuntary sexual mutilations in the United States]. in: Denniston GC, Milos MF (eds.), Sexual Mutilations: A Human Tragedy (New York: Plenum Publishing, 1997), pp. 17-40. (ISBN 0-306-45589-7)</ref>

Edward Dixon (1847) recommended circumcision to prevent the spread of syphilis.<ref name="self2016" />

===Late nineteenth century===
====First quarter====
The late nineteenth century was characterized by prominent medical doctors advancing all sorts of absurd reasons for the performance of non-therapeutic [[circumcision]], including the prevention of venereal disease.<ref name="self2016" />

The first recorded non-religious circumcision of a boy in the United States occurred in 1870 when [[Lewis Albert Sayre]], a prominent New York City doctor, [[circumcised]] a boy of five years of age for paralysis.<ref name="gollaher1994">{{GollaherDL 1994}}</ref> [[Lewis Albert Sayre|Sayre]] then continued to advocate circumcision for numerous reasons until his death in 1900. According to [[Lewis Albert Sayre|Sayre]], circumcision was recommended for paralysis, epilepsy, hernia, lunacy, curvature of the spine, and clubfoot.

[[M. J. Moses]] (1871) advocated [[circumcision]] to prevent [[masturbation]].<ref name="moses1871">{{Moses1871}}</ref>
====Second quarter====
[[H. H. Kane]] (1879) 'discovers' that [[circumcision]] cures nocturnal emissions and abdominal neuralgia.<ref>{{Kane1879}}</ref>

Seventh-day Adventist [[John Harvey Kellogg]], {{MD}}, of Battle Creek, Michigan, was an important 19th century promoter of male circumcision. Although masturbation is never mentioned in the Bible, Dr. Kellogg believed that [[masturbation]] was immoral, sinful, and caused one to dream "impure dreams", which he believed was harmful to the mental faculties, resulting in mental disorders, such as "feeblemindness".<ref name="kellogg1888">{{Kellogg1888}}</ref> He believed that the urge to masturbate could be prevented by eating bland foods, for which purpose, he and his brother invented corn flakes.<ref name="self2016" />

Dr. Kellogg (1879) also recommended [[circumcision]] in cases "in which irritation is produced by retained secretions".<ref name="kellogg1888"/>

Dr. Kellogg perhaps is most famous for his book, ''Plain facts for young and old'' (1879), in which he advocated circumcision of boys as punishment for masturbation.<ref name="kellogg1888"/>

[[William G. Eggleston]], {{MA}}, {{MD}}, from Chicaco, {{USSC|IL}}, (1886) stated that [[foreskin]] of minors and the natural "phimosis" in minors would cause crossed eyes.<ref name="eggleston1886">{{Eggleston1886}}
</ref>

Dr. [[William D. Gentry]] (1890) alleged that [[Retraction of the foreskin| phimosis in boys]] produces serious nervous derangements.<ref name="gentry1890">{{REFjournal
|last=Gentry
|first=William D.
|init=WD
|author-link=William D. Gentry
|title=Nervous Derangements Produced by Sexual Irregularities in Boys
|journal=Medical Current
|date=1890-07
|volume=6
|issue=7
|pages=268-74
}}</ref>

[[Elizabeth Blackwell]], {{MD}}, ({{LifeData|1821|1910}}), was born in England, but attended medical school in the United States. She was the first woman to become a medical doctor in the United States. Blackwell thought [[masturbation]] was immoral but that [[circumcision]] was not the way to correct it. She wrote against it in her 1894 book:
<blockquote>Appeals to the fears of uninstructed parents on the grounds of cleanliness or of hardening the part are entirely fallacious and unsupported by evidence. It is a physiological fact that the natural lubricating secretion of every healthy part is beneficial, not injurious to the part thus protected, and that no attempt to render a sensitive part insensitive is either practicable or justifiable. The protection which nature affords to these parts is an aid to physical purity by affording necessary protection against constant external contact of a part which necessarily remains keenly sensitive; and bad habits in boys and girls cannot by prevented by surgical operations. Where no malformation exists, bad habits can only be forestalled by healthy moral and physical education.<ref>{{REFbook
|last=Blackwell
|first=Elizabeth
|init=E
|author-link=Elizabeth Blackwell
|title=The Human Element in Sex; being a Medical Inquiry into the Relation of Sexual Physiology to Christian Morality
|url=https://archive.org/details/B20442622/page/n9/mode/2up
|edition=2
|year=1894
|pages=35-6
|location=London
|publisher=J.& A. Churchill
}}</ref></blockquote>

[[Peter Charles Remondino]], {{MD}},<ref name="gollaher1994" /> was a San Diego, California physician, who was born in Turin (''Torino'') in 1846, but migrated with his family to the United States at the age of eight. There is some reason to believe that he was of Sephardic Jewish descent and had been [[circumcised]] while still in Turin, however this is uncertain.

Remondino clearly was highly intelligent. He mastered English, started medical school at age 17, treated wounded soldiers during the Civil War, and later moved to San Diego for his health.

After moving to San Diego, he practiced medicine, served as an officer of several medical societies, and other regulatory agencies.

Remondino is famous for his 346 page book, ''The History of Circumcision'' (1891).<ref name="remondino1891">{{REFbook
|last=Remondino
|first=Peter Charles
|init=PC
|author-link=Peter Charles Remondino
|year=1891
|title=History of Circumcision
|url=https://www.gutenberg.org/files/23135/23135-h/23135-h.htm
|pages=
|location=Philadelphia
|publisher=F. A. Davis
|website=Welcome Collection
|accessdate=2021-09-29
}}</ref> <ref name="gollaher1994" />

When Remondino discussed the [[foreskin]], he used the most horrific, derogatory, and disparaging language. He devoted thirteen chapters to the alleged evils and faults of the foreskin. It is not clear why he had such an extreme dislike for a natural and functional body part. His recommendation, of course, was for [[Adolescent and adult circumcision| circumcision]].

[[H. L. Rosenberry]], {{MD}}, (1894) published a paper "proving" that circumcision cures urinary and rectal incontinence.<ref name="self2016" /> <ref name="rosenberry1894">{{Rosenberry1894}}</ref>

Dr. [[E. J. Spratling]] (1895) provided information for other doctors.<ref name="self2016" />He gaved a detailed explanation of how a circumcision is to be done so as to make it as difficult as possible to achieve orgasm by [[masturbation]].<ref>{{REFjournal
|last=Spratling
|init=EJ
|title=Masturbation in the Adult
|journal=Medical Record
|volume=24
|issue=
|pages=442-443
|url=https://www.proquest.com/openview/9a247c3410d34390e418dc970faa3b87/1?pq-origsite=gscholar&cbl=40146
|quote=
|date=1895
|accessdate=2022-08-30
}}</ref>

By the end of the nineteenth century, America had at least one prominent physician and surgeon on the east coast promoting circumcision and another prominent physician and surgeon on the west coast promoting circumcision. There was no real medical science with which to dispute and discredit their false claims. Non-therapeutic [[circumcision]] of males was now well-established in the United States.

===Early twentieth century===
====First quarter====
The early twentieth century is characterized by advocacy of circumcision based on false claims to prevent cancer and sexually transmitted (venereal) disease; and by the involvement of the United States military services in the promotion of circumcision.

[[Ernest G. Mark]] (1901) noted that the "pleasurable sensations that are elicited from the extremely sensitive" [[Ridged band|inner lining]] of the [[foreskin]] may encourage a child to [[Masturbation|masturbate]], which is why he recommended circumcision since it "lessens the sensitiveness of the organ".<ref>{{Mark1901}}</ref>

Brimhall (1902) reported an [[amputation]] of a [[penis]] after circumcision.<ref name="brimhall1902">{{REFjournal
|last=Brimhall
|init=JB
|author-link=
|last2=
|init2=
|author2-link=
|url=
|title=Amputation of the penis following a unique method of preventing hemorrhage after circumcision
|journal=St. Paul Med J.
|date=1902
|volume=4
|issue=
|page=490
|accessdate=2021-10-05
}}</ref>

[[Roswell Park]] (1902) published a paper 'proving' that foreskin causes epilepsy and that circumcision cures it.<ref>{{Park1902}}</ref>

[[L. Emmett Holt]] (1913) reported that tubercular [[mohel]]s were infecting infant Jewish boys with tuberculosis during [[Brit Milah| ritual circumcision]].<ref>{{REFjournal
|last=Holt
|init=LE
|author-link=L. Emmett Holt
|url=http://www.cirp.org/library/complications/holt1/
|title=Tuberculosis acquired through ritual circumcision
|journal=JAMA
|date=1913-07-12
|volume=LXI
|issue=2
|pages=99-102
|accessdate=2021-10-04
}}</ref>

[[Abraham L. Wolbarst]], {{MD}}, a Jewish New York doctor, apparently considered [[L. Emmett Holt|Holt]]'s paper to be an attack on [[Brit Milah| ritual circumcision]] or perhaps [[Judaism]] itself. He collected ''opinions'' from other doctors of the alleged value of [[circumcision]] for health and published those ''opinions'' as ''scientific fact'' in a 1914 ''JAMA'' article.<ref name="wolbarst1914">{{REFjournal
|last=Wolbarst entitled ''Universal circumcision as as sanitary measure]].
|first=Abraham L.
|init=AL
|author-link=Abraham L. Wolbarst
|title=Universal circumcision as a sanitary measure
|journal=JAMA
|date=1914-1-10
|volume=62
|issue=2
|pages=92-7
|url=https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/article-abstract/453164
|accessdate=2021-10-04
}}</ref> Wolbarst's paper appeared shortly before the start of World War I. It is thought that Wolbarst's false claims inspired some military commanders to require men under their command to be [[circumcised]] so as to reduce venereal disease (VD).

M. S. Reuben (1916) (1917) reported additional cases of tuberculosis after ritual circumcision.<ref name="reuben1916">{{REFjournal
|last=Reuben
|init=MS
|author-link=
|last2=
|init2=
|author2-link=
|url=http://www.cirp.org/library/complications/reuben1/
|title=Tuberculosis from ritual circumcision
|journal=Proceedings of the New York Academy of Medicine
|date=1916-12-15
|volume=
|issue=
|pages=333-4
|accessdate=2021-10-04
}}</ref><ref name="ruben1917">{{REFjournal
|last=Reuben
|init=MS
|author-link=
|last2=
|init2=
|author2-link=
|url=http://www.cirp.org/library/complications/reuben2/
|title=Tuberculosis following ritual circumcision
|journal=Arch Pediatr
|date=1917-03
|volume=XXXIV
|issue=
|pages=186-90
|accessdate=2021-10-04
}}</ref>

J. Brennermann (1921) reported that [[Meatal stenosis| meatal disease]] occurs only in [[circumcised]] boys who lack the protection of the [[foreskin]].<ref name="brennermann2021>{{REFjournal
|last=Brennermann
|init=J
|author-link=
|last2=
|init2=
|author2-link=
|url=http://www.cirp.org/library/complications/brennemann1/
|title=The ulcerated meatus in the circumcised child
|journal=Am J Dis Child
|date=1921
|volume=21
|issue=
|pages=38-47
|accessdate=2021-10-04
}}</ref>
====Second quarter====
[[Abraham L. Wolbarst|Wolbarst]] (1926) made his claim for the first time that male circumcision prevents [[penile cancer]].<ref name="wolbarst1926!>{{REFjournal
|last=Wolbarst
|first=Abraham L.
|init=AL
|author-link=Abraham L. Wolbarst
|title=Is circumcision a prophylactic against penis cancer?
|journal=Cancer
|date=1926-07
|volume=3
|issue=4
|pages=301-10
}}</ref>

[[Abraham L. Wolbarst|Wolbarst]] (1932) put forward his claim again that [[circumcision]] would prevent [[penile cancer]] in the British journal, ''The Lancet''.<ref name="Wolbarst 1932">{{Wolbarst1932}}</ref> In those long ago days, the true causes of cancer were unknown so it was impossible to disprove Wolbarst's falsehoods.

Laumann et al., writing in 1997, reported an incidence of circumcision of 31 percent in 1933.<ref name="laumann1997">{{REFjournal
|last=Laumann
|first=Edward O.
|init=
|author-link=
|last2=Masi
|first2=christopher M.
|init2=
|author2-link=
|last3=Zuckerman
|first3=Ezra W.
|init3=
|author3-link=
|etal=no
|title=Circumcision in the United States
|journal=JAMA
|location=
|date=1997-04-02
|volume=277
|issue=13
|article=
|pages=1052-7
|url=http://www.cirp.org/library/general/laumann/
|pubmedID=9091693
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=
|accessdate=2021-10-05
}}</ref>

[[Hiram S. Yellen]] and [[Aaron Goldstein]] invented the [[Gomco]] clamp in 1934-1935. The clamp, by crushing the foreskin in an intensely painful procedure, reduced the risk of hemorrhage,<ref name="yellen1935">{{GoldsteinYellen1935}}</ref> but increased the [[pain]].<ref name="sinkey2015">{{REFjournal
|url=https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25794628?dopt=Abstract
|title=The GoMo study: a randomized clinical trial assessing neonatal pain with Gomco vs Mogen clamp circumcision
|last=Sinkey
|init=RG
|last2=Eschenbacher
|init2=MA
|last3=Walsh
|init3=PM
|last4=Doerger
|init4=RG
|last5=Lambers
|init5=DS
|last6=Sibai
|init6=BM
|last7=Habli
|init7=MA
|journal=Am J Obstet Gynecol
|date=2015-05
|volume=212
|issue=5
|pages=664.e1-8
|pubmedID=25794628
|DOI=10.1016/j.ajog.2015.03.029
|accessdate=2021-10-05
}}</ref> The availability of the Gomco clamp increased the popularity of non-therapeutic infant circumcision.

Brown (1937) reported restoration of the [[skin]] of the [[penis]] after a denudation complication of circumcision.<ref name="brown1837">{{REFjournal
|last=Brown
|init=JB
|author-link=
|url=
|title=Restoration of the entire skin of the penis
|journal=Surg Gynecol Obstetr
|date=1937
|volume=65
|issue=362-5
|pages=
|accessdate=2021-10-05
}}</ref>

Laumann et al. (1997) reported an incidence of circumcision of 53 percent in 1941.<ref name="laumann1997" />

World War II. America entered the war after the Empire of Japan attacked the American naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii on 7 December 1941. This was followed by Germany declaring war on the United States.

The information on military circumcision in WWII is sketchy and anecdotal. It appears that many [[foreskinned]] American men were encouraged and, in some cases, forced to be [[circumcised]]. It seems that the American military's [[foreskin]]-phobia and circumcision policy persisted through the Korean War (1950-52) but was discontinued by a change in policy thereafter.

The "Sand Myth" circulated among English-speaking armies. According to the [http://www.circumstitions.com/sand.htm Sand Myth], [[foreskinned]] men who fought in the Saharan desert had medical issues due to sand collecting under the [[foreskin]]. [[Intact]] Italian and German men who fought in the same desert had no such problems.<ref>{{REFjournal
|last=Darby
|first=Robert
|init=
|author-link=Robert Darby
|etal=no
|title=The riddle of the sands: circumcision, history, and myth
|journal=NZ Med J
|location=
|date=2005-07-15
|volume=118
|issue=1218
|article=
|page=U1564
|url=https://www.academia.edu/9899840/The_riddle_of_the_sands_Circumcision_history_and_myth
|pubmedID=16027753
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=
|accessdate=2021-10-05
}}</ref>

[[Abraham Ravich]] (1942) falsely claimed that circumcision prevents [[prostate cancer]].<ref name="ravich1942">{{Ravich1942}}</ref>

'''Post-war era.''' In the post-war era after WWII, the popularity of non-therapeutic [[circumcision]] increased, driven by medical promotion by doctors seeking a nice [[Financial incentive| surgical fee]] as an alleged preventive of penile cancer and by the [Adamant father syndrome| adamant request of circumcised men home from the war who became fathers]].

Non-therapeutic, medically-unnecessary [[circumcision]] of boys had become a "routine" surgical operation that usually was performed automatically on newborn boys even without consent from anyone.

Laumann et al. (1997) reported an incidence of non-therapeutic circumcision of boys of 85 percent in 1948.<ref name="laumann1997" />

[[Eugene H. Hand]], {{MD}}, (1949) falsely claimed that circumcision would prevent cancer of the tongue and [[Circumcision and STDs| venereal disease]].<ref name="HandEH1949">{{REFjournal
|last=Hand
|first=Eugene H.
|init=EH
|author-link=Eugene H. Hand
|url=https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18135844/
|title=Circumcision and venereal disease
|journal=Archives of Dermatology and Syphilology
|date=1949-09
|volume=60
|issue=3
|pages341-6
|pubmedID=18135844
|DOI=10.1001/archderm.1949.01530030037004
|accessdate=2021-10-08
}}</ref>

The publication of a landmark article by [[Douglas Gairdner]] (1949) in the [[United Kingdom]] showing that infant circumcision is non-therapeutic, unnecessary, causes deaths, and which called for preservation of the [[foreskin]]<ref name="gairdner1949">{{GairdnerDM 1949}}</ref> was totally ignored by the [[circumcision industry]] in the United States.

===Late twentieth century===
====Third quarter====
The late twentieth century was characterized by increasing opposition to non-therapeutic circumcision of boys by [[intactivists]] and increasing efforts by the circumcision industry to protect [[third-party payment]] for performance of non-therapeutic circumcision of non-consenting boys; and by increasing recognition that newborn boys intensely feel [[pain]] and that non-therapeutic male [[circumcision]] is a [[trauma| horribly traumatic experience]].

[[Abraham Ravich]] (1951) falsely claimed that [[circumcision]] prevents [[cervical cancer]] in women.<ref name="ravitch1951">{{Ravich1951}}</ref>

Hollister, Inc. formally introduced the [[Plastibell]] circumcision device in 1953.<ref name=MillerSnyder1953>{{MillerSnyder1953}}</ref>

[[Ernest L. Wynder]] (1954) promoted male circumcision to prevent cervical cancer in women.<ref name="wynder1954">{{Wynder1954}}</ref>

The Congress of the United States created the [https://www.medicaid.gov/ Medicaid program] in 1965. Medicaid is a joint federal/state program that pays the medical expenses of low-income Americans. Medicaid covers about 45 percent of births in the United States. Medicaid pays for medically-unnecessary, non-therapeutic circumcision in 32 states, although it appears to be a violation of law to do so.<ref name="adler2011">{{REFjournal
|last=Adler
|first=Peter W.
|init=PW
|author-link=Peter W. Adler
|title=It is lawful to use Medicaid to pay for circumcision?
|journal=Journal of Law and Medicine
|date=2011
|volume=19
|issue=
|pages=335-53
|url=https://www.arclaw.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/is-it-lawful-to-use-medicaid-to-pay-for-circumcision.pdf
|quote=
|accessdate=2021-10-05
}}</ref>

W. K. C. Morgan, a Canadian medical doctor, then on the faculty of the {{UNI|University of Maryland|UMD}} [https://www.medschool.umaryland.edu/ School of Medicine], in a highly critcal letter pubished by ''JAMA'' (1965), slammed the practice of non-therapeutic circumcision of boys as it had developed in the United States.<ref>{{REFjournal
|last=Morgan
|first=
|init=WKC
|author-link=
|etal=no
|title=The rape of the phallus
|journal=JAMA
|location=
|date=1965-07-19
|volume=193
|issue=
|article=
|pages=223-4
|url=http://www.cirp.org/library/general/morgan/
|pubmedID=14310332
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=jama.1965.03090030045013
|accessdate=2021-10-05
}}</ref>

Preston (1970) considered the matter of infant [[circumcision]]. He examined and debunked claims that male circumcision could prevent cancer of the [[cervix]] in women, cancer of the [[penis]] and cancer of the prostate in men. Preston concluded:

<blockquote>Routine circumcision of the newborn is an unnecessary procedure. It provides questionable benefits and is associated with a small but definite incidence of complications and hazards. These risks are preventable if the operation is not performed unless truly medically indicated. Circumcision of the newborn is a procedure that should no longer be considered routine.<ref>{{REFjournal
|last=Preston
|first=E. Noel
|init=
|author-link=
||etal=no
|title=Whither the foreskin? A consideration of routine neonatal circumcision.
|journal=JAMA
|location=
|date=1970-09-14
|volume=213
|issue=11
|article=
|pages=1853-8
|url=http://www.cirp.org/library/general/preston/
|pubmedID=5468911
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=10.1001/jama.213.11.1853
|accessdate=2021-10-05
}}</ref></blockquote>

Preston's paper elicited a response from C. J. Falliers, {{MD}}, (1970) who cited the "sensory pleasure induced by tactile stimulation of the foreskin."<ref name="falliers1970">{{REFjournal
|last=Falliers
|first=
|init=CJ
|author-link=
|etal=
|title=Circumcision (letter)
|journal=JAMA
|location=
|date=1970-12-21
|volume=214
|issue=12
|article=
|page=2194
|url=http://www.cirp.org/library/general/falliers1/
|accessdate=2021-10-05
}}</ref>

[[Abraham Ravich]] (1971) falsely claims that circumcision prevents cancer of the bladder and the rectum.<ref name="ravich1971">{{Ravich1971}}</ref>

Laumann et al. reported an incidence of newborn circumcision of 78 percent in 1971.

The [[American Academy of Pediatrics]] (AAP) is not an "academy" at all. It is a [[medical trade association]] that protects and advances the business and financial interests of its pediatrician "fellows". Influenced by Preston's paper, the AAP published a manual on the hospital care of newborn infants in 1971. The manual included the statement:
<blockquote>
There are no valid medical indications for circumcision in the neonatal period.<ref>{{REFbook
|year=1971
|title=Standards and Recommendation for Hospital Care of Newborn infants
|url=http://www.cirp.org/library/statements/aap/#a1971
|page=110
|location=Evanston, {{USSC|IL}}
|publisher=American Academy of Pediatrics
|isbn=
|accessdate=2021-10-05
}}</ref>
</blockquote>
====Fourth quarter====
The statement in the 1971 manual was good medical science, then and now, but it did not sit well with the membership of the AAP because it provided no basis on which to promote non-therapeutic circumcision for profit. A four-member "ad hoc" task force was formed to produce a new statement to 'walk-back' the earlier statement to fit the desires of the membership, which was published in ''Pediatrics'' in 1975.<ref name="aap1975">{{REFjournal
|last=Thompson
|first=
|init=HC
|author-link=
|last2=King
|first2=
|init2=LR
|author2-link=
|last3=Knox
|first3=
|init3=E
|author3-link=
|last4=Korones
|first4=
|init4=SH
|author4-link=
|etal=no
|title=Report of the Ad Hoc Task Force on Circumcision
|journal=Pediatrics
|location=
|date=1975-10
|volume=56
|issue=3
|article=
|page=
|pages=610-11
|url=http://www.cirp.org/library/statements/aap/#a1975
|pubmedID=1174384
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=
|accessdate=2021-10-06
}}</ref> The new statement had not a single citation of any other document. While it recognized the validity of the 1971 statement, It claimed without any basis that parents had a right to circumcise a newborn infant boy for "traditional, cultural, and religious factors".<ref name="aap1975" />

The statement falsely claimed facilitation of hygiene, prevention of [[phimosis]], and prevention of [[penile cancer]] as reasons that parents may elect non-therapeutic infant circumcision.<ref name="aap1975" />

The statement expressed no concern for the [[pain]] and [[trauma]] of circumcision, nor did it provide information on the functions and value of the [[foreskin]] nor did it recognize the child as a person with domestic and international rights to self-determination and [[physical integrity]]. The statement carefully avoided recommending [[circumcision]] and placed the responsibility for the certain [[amputation]] injury on the parents rather than on the attending physician.<ref name="aap1975" />

The 1975 statement served as the AAP's position statement until 1989.

The AAP supplemented the 1975 statement in 1977 by stating:
<blockquote>There are no medical indications for [[Routine Infant Circumcision|routine circumcisions]], and the procedure cannot be considered an essential component of health care. If an infant is circumcised, the procedure must be delayed until the infant is at least 24 hours old and stable, without [[bleeding]] tendency or any other illness. Circumcision must never be done at time of delivery.<ref>{{REFbook
|year=1977
|title=Standards and Recommendations for Hospital Care of Newborn Infants. Sixth Edition
|url=http://www.cirp.org/library/statements/aap/#a1977
|pages=66-7
|location=Evanston, {{USSC|IL}}
|publisher=American Academy of Pediatrics
|isbn=
|accessdate=2021-10-05
}}</ref>
</blockquote>

Infant circumcision traditionally had been carried out without any kind of anesthesia or analgesia because of the false belief that infants could not feel [[pain]]. Researchers started to investigate the [[Pain| pain of circumcision]] in the 1970s.

The American Cancer Society estimated that there are about 460 deaths per year in the United States from penile cancer.<ref>{{REFweb
|url=https://www.cancer.org/cancer/penile-cancer/about/key-statistics.html
|title=Key Statistics for Penile Cancer
|last=
|first=
|date=2021-01-12
|accessdate=2021-10-17
}}</ref> Sidney S. Gellis, {{MD}} (1978) estimated that the number of deaths from infant circumcision exceeded the number of deaths from [[penile cancer]].<ref name="gellis1978">{{REFjournal
|last=Gellis
|first=
|init=
|author-link=
|etal=no
|title=Circumcision
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal=Am J Dis Child
|location=
|date=1978-12
|volume=132
|issue=
|article=
|page=
|pages=1168-9
|url=http://www.cirp.org/library/general/gellis1/
|pubmedID=717329
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=10.1001/archpedi.1978.02120370016003
|accessdate=2021-10-17
}}</ref>

David Grimes, {{MD}}, (1978), recognized the increasing controversy regarding the practice of non-therapeutic infant [[circumcision]]. Grimes discussed several concerns including:

* Irrational patient selection.
* Lack of information prior to consent.
* Pain and anesthesia management.
* Improper surgical objectives.
* Lack of cost-effectiveness.<ref name="grimes1978">{{REFjournal
|last=Grimes
|first=David
|init=
|author-link=
|etal=no
|title=Routine circumcision of the newborn: a reappraisal
|journal=Am J Obstet Gynecol
|location=
|date=1978-01-15
|volume=130
|issue=2
|article=
|pages=125-9
|url=http://www.cirp.org/library/general/grimes/
|pubmedID=413435
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=10.1016/0002-9378(78)90353-8
|accessdate=2021-10-05
}}</ref>

Grimes concluded:
<blockquote> However, until the benefits of [[Routine Infant Circumcision| routine circumcision]] of the neonate can be proved worth the risk and cost, medical resources probably should be allocated to measures of demonstrated value.<ref name="grimes1978" />
</blockquote>
The American circumcision industry appears to have totally ignored Grimes' concerns.

It was at about this time that several small organizations that opposed non-therapeutic circumcision of boys started to appear. They were the first [[intactivists]], although that word had not yet been coined. One such organization was the Remain Intact Organization of Larchwood, Iowa, which was lead by Rev. [[George Zangger| Russell George Zangger]]. From the 1970s to the 1990s Zangger sent out cards with New Testament quotations that said the outward sign of circumcision is of no value. [[Jeffrey R. Wood]] formed [[INTACT Educational Foundation| INTACT]] (Infants Need to Avoid Circumcision [[Trauma]]), founded in 1976 as a local resource serving Western Massachusetts, and "Dedicated to Preserving Freedom of Choice." The organization gained recognition and had members across the nation.

Boczko & Freed (1979) collected cases of [[penile cancer]] in [[circumcised]] men and by so doing, disproved the false belief propagated since 1932 by [[Abraham L. Wolbarst]] that circumcision was protective against penile cancer.<ref name="boczko1979">{{REFjournal
|last=Boczo
|first=Stanley
|init=
|author-link=
|last2=Freed
|first2=Selwyn
|init2=
|author2-link=
|etal=no
|title=Penile carcinoma in circumcised males
|journal=N Y State J Med
|location=
|date=1979-11
|volume=79
|issue=12
|article=
|pages=1903-4
|url=http://www.cirp.org/library/disease/cancer/boczko/
|pubmedID=292845
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=
|accessdate=2021-10-07
}}</ref>

Robert Leon Baker, {{MD}} (1979) estimated 229 [[Death| deaths]] per year in the United States from circumcision complications.<ref name="baker1979">{{REFjournal
|last=Baker
|first=Robert L.
|init=
|author-link=
|etal=no
|title=Newborn male circumcision: needless and dangerous
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal=Sexual Medicine Today
|location=
|date=1979
|volume=3
|issue=11
|article=
|pages=35-6
|url=http://www.cirp.org/library/general/baker1/
|accessdate=2021-10-17
}}</ref>

[[Edward Wallerstein]] (1980) published his book, ''[[Circumcision: An American Health Fallacy]]''.<ref name="wallerstein1980">{{WallersteinE 1980}}</ref>

Bollinger (2017) reported the incidence of infant non-therapeutic circumcision peaked at about 85 percent of all infant boys in 1982.<ref name="bollinger2017">{{REFweb
|url=https://www.academia.edu/23494197/Infant_Male_Genital_Cutting_Incidence_Worldwide
|title=Infant male genital cutting incidence worldwide
|last=Bollinger
|first=Dan
|author-link=Dan Bollinger
|publisher=Academia
|website=
|date=2017-05-19
|accessdate=2021-10-27
|format=PDF
|quote=
}}</ref>

[[John A. Erickson]] (1982) started to work individually to advance [[genital integrity]].

Professor Lowell R. King (1982), who had been a member of the 1975 "ad hoc" task force on circumcision of the AAP, felt compelled to defend the reasoning of the task force.<ref name="king1982">{{REFjournal
|last=King
|first=Lowell R.
|init=
|author-link=
|etal=no
|title=Neonatal circumcision in the United States in 1982
|journal=J Urol
|location=
|date=1982-11
|volume=128
|issue=5
|article=
|pages=1135-6
|url=http://www.cirp.org/library/general/king1982/
|pubmedID=7176044
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=10.1016/s0022-5347(17)53361-3
|accessdate=2021-10-11
}}</ref>

[[BUFF| Brothers United for Future Foreskins]] (1982) revived the practice of [[epispasm]] (non-surgical [[foreskin restoration]]) that had not been praticed since antiquity.

[[Marilyn Fayre Milos]], {{RN}}, while a nursing student at [https://www.mymarinhealth.org/locations/medical-center/ Marin General Hospital], witnessed an unanesthetized circumcision of a newborn boy in 1979. Shocked by the extreme [[pain]] and horror of it, she became an opponent of infant circumcision and was forced to resign in 1985 from her nursing position at Marin General Hospital where infant non-therapeutic circumcision is a profit center and promoted to parents. She immediately created the National Organization of Circumcision Information Resource Centers ([[NOCIRC]]) in 1985.

[[Rosemary Romberg]] (1985) published Circumcision: The Painful Dilemma.

[[Edward Wallerstein]] (1985) pointed out that the American way of practicing non-religious circumcision of boys is without parallel anywhere else in the world.<ref>{{REFjournal
|last=Wallerstein
|first=Edward
|init=
|author-link=Edward Wallerstein
|etal=no
|title=Is Nonreligious Circumcision Necessary?
|journal=Urol Clin North Am
|location=
|date=1985-05
|volume=12
|issue=1
|pages=123-32
|url=http://www.cirp.org/library/general/wallerstein/
|quote=
|pubmedID=
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=
|accessdate=2021-10-06
}}</ref>

American lawyer William E. Brigman (1985) used new medical evidence to argue that circumcision is child abuse, and discussed possible legal remedies. Recent medical articles have documented the actual injury of circumcision, to make it possible for an attorney to win damages for wrongful circumcision, he said. Brigman suggested civil rights class action suits against hospitals.<ref name="brigman1985">{{REFjournal
|last=Brigman
|first=William E.
|init=WE
|author-link=
|title=Circumcision as Child Abuse: The Legal and Constitutional Issues
|journal=J Fam Law
|date=1985
|volume=23
|issue=3
|page=337
|url=http://www.cirp.org/library/legal/brigman/
|accessdate=2021-10-07
}}</ref>

Anand & Hickey (1987) published a paper in the ''New England Journal of Medicine'' that conclusively proved that newborn infants are capable of feeling [[pain]]. After publication of this landmark paper, no doubt about the existence of pain sensation in infants remained. The article stated:
<blockquote>
Numerous lines of evidence suggest that even in the human [[fetus]], pain pathways as well as cortical and subcortical centers necessary for pain perception are well developed late in gestation, and the neurochemical systems now known to be associated with pain transmission and modulation are intact and functional. Physiologic responses to painful stimuli have been well documented in neonates of various gestational ages and are reflected in hormonal, metabolic, and cardiorespiratory changes similar to but greater than those observed in adult subjects. Other responses in newborn infants are suggestive of integrated emotional and behavioral responses to pain and are retained in memory long enough to modify subsequent behavior patterns.<ref name="anand1987">{{REFjournal
|last=Anand
|init=KJS
|author-link=
|last2=Hickey
|init2=PR
|author2-link=
|etal=yes
|title=Pain and its effects in the human neonate and fetus
|journal=N Engl J Med
|location=
|date=1987-11-19
|volume=317
|issue=21
|pages=1321-9
|url=http://www.cirp.org/library/pain/anand/
|pubmedID=3317037
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=10.1056/NEJM198711193172105
|accessdate=2021-10-07
}}</ref>
</blockquote>

[[NOCIRC]] sponsored the [[First International Symposium]] on Circumcision which was held in Anaheim, California, USA on 1-3 March 1989.

The July/August 1989 edition of [[The Truth Seeker]] was dedicated to circumcision. It featured the core proceedings from the First International Symposium.

The [[American Academy of Pediatrics]]' 1975 circumcision promotional statement<ref name="aap1975" /> was now getting long in the tooth so a newer statement was desired. The AAP appointed the late [[Edgar J. Schoen]], {{MD}}, of Oakland, California, who had written a humorous poem about circumcision as the chairman of a new task force on circumcision. The task force had six members of whom five (83%), including Schoen, were believed to be Jewish, although Jews constitute only 1.9 percent of the population.

Schoen's task force produced the AAP's [[American_Academy_of_Pediatrics#Third_policy_.281989.29| third circumcision policy statement]] which was published in ''Pediatrics'' in November 1979.<ref name="aap1989">{{REFjournal
|last=Schoen
|first=Edgar J.
|init=EJ
|author-link=Edgar J. Schoen
|last2=Anderson
|first2=Glenn
|init2=G
|author2-link=
|last3=Bohon
|first3=Constance
|init3=C
|author3-link=
|last4=Hinman
|first4=Frank
|init4=F
|author4-link=
|last5=Poland
|first5=Ronald
|init5=R
|author5-link=
|last6=Wakeman
|first6=E. Maurice
|init6=EM
|author6-link=
|etal=no
|title=Report of the Task Force of Circumcision.
|journal=Pediatrics
|location=
|date=1989-11
|volume=84
|issue=4
|pages=388-91
|url=http://www.cirp.org/library/statements/aap/#a1989
|pubmedID=2664697
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=
|accessdate=2021-10-10
}}</ref>

The statement, which was intended to promote the practice of non-therapeutic circumcision for the benefit of the fellows of the AAP, had a high degree of [[bias]] and had many serious deficiences. Some more notable deficiences included:

* failure to recognize the child as a person with legal rights to bodily integrity.
* failure to provide information on the nature and functions of the human [[foreskin]].
* failure to call for analgesia to ease the intense [[pain]] of the [[amputation]].
* inclusion of [[Thomas E. Wiswell]]'s methodologically-flawed papers on [[urinary tract infection]] (UTI).
* failure to inform parents that UTI is properly treated with antibiotics.
* use of the misleading word ''potential'' to describe speculative medical benefits that do not actually exist.
* attempting to shift responsibility for the performance of an injurious and harmful [[amputation]] from the medical operator to the parents.

The advocacy of [[circumcision]] to prevent [[UTI]] spurred a debate in the medical literature until the AAP published a new statement in 1999 that softened the claims.

[[Charles A. Bonner|Bonner]] & Kinane (1989) discussed the legal and constitutional issues of non-therapeutic male circumcision under United States and California law.<ref name="bonner1989">{{REFjournal
|last=Bonner
|first=Charles
|init=C
|author-link=Charles A. Bonner
|last2=Kinane
|first2=Michael
|init2=M
|author2-link=
|title=The Legal and Constitutional Issues
|journal=The Truth Seeker
|date=1989-07
|url=http://www.noharmm.org/bonner.htm
|accessdate=2021-10-10
}}</ref>

Professor Ronald Poland (1990), who had served on the task force with [[Edgar J. Schoen]] that produced the 1989 AAP Circumcision Policy Statement, strongly objected to the use of methodologically flawed UTI studies. Professor Poland concluded that infant non-therapeutic circumcision should not be "a part of routine medical care."<ref name="poland1990">{{REFjournal
|last=Poland
|first=Ronald L.
|init=
|author-link=
|etal=no
|title=The question of routine neonatal circumcision
|journal=N Eng J Med
|location=
|date=1990-05-03
|volume=322
|issue=18
|article=
|pages=1312-5
|url=http://www.cirp.org/library/general/poland/
|pubmedID=2183058
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=10.1056/NEJM199005033221811
|accessdate=2021-10-11
}}</ref>

The [[Second International Symposium]] on Circumcision convened at the Hotel Kabuki in San Francisco, California, USA on April 30 through May 3, 1991.

[[Ronald Goldman]], {{PhD}}, founded the [[Circumcision Resource Center]] in 1991.

[[Tim Hammond]] organized the [http://www.noharmm.org/ National Organization to Halt the Abuse and Routine Mutilation of Males] in 1992.

[[John A. Erickson]] (1992) self-published ''Making America Safe for Foreskins''<ref> {{REFbook
|last=Erickson
|first=John A.
|init=JA
|author-link=John A. Erickson
|title=Making America Safe for Foreskins
|publisher=Self-published (42 page pamphlet)
|location=Biloxi, Mississippi
|date=1992-01
}}</ref>

Lynn E. Lebit (1992) discussed issues with the substituted judgment doctrine.<ref name="lebit1992">{{REFjournal
|last=Lebit
|first=Lynn E.
|init=LE
|author-link=
|etal=no
|title=Compelled Medical Procedures Involving Minors and Incompetents and Misapplication of the Substituted Judgment Doctrine
|journal=Journal of Law and Medicine
|location=
|date=1992
|volume=7
|issue=
|page=107
|url=http://engagedscholarship.csuohio.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1304&context=jlh
|pubmedID=11659623
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=
|accessdate=2021-10-10
}}</ref>

Professor [[George C. Denniston]], {{MD}}, {{MPH}}, explained some [[Foreskin#Physiological_functions| functions of the foreskin]], said circumcision was both unnecessary and harmful because of the deprivation of functions, so should not be performed.<ref name-"denniston1992">
{{REFjournal
|last=Denniston
|first=George C.
|init=
|author-link=George C. Denniston
|etal=no
|title=Unnecessary Circumcision
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal=Female Patient
|location=
|date=1992-07
|volume=17
|issue=
|article=
|pages=13-4
|url=
|accessdate=
}}</ref>

The [[Third International Symposium]] on Circumcision convened at the {{UNI|University of Maryland|UMD}}, College Park, {{USSC|MD}}, USA on 23-25 May 1994.

Professor [[George C. Denniston]], {{MD}}, {{MPH}}, organized [[Doctors Opposing Circumcision (D.O.C.)]] in 1995.

Three registered nurses in Santa Fe, {{USSC|NM}}, who conscientiously objected to assisting with foreskin [[amputation]] operations, formed [[Nurses for the Rights of the Child]] in 1995.

A group of [[intactivist]]s assembled at Evanston, {{USSC|IL}} in 1996 for a meeting and then protested and demonstrated before the AAP convention in nearby Chicago.

[[John A. Erickson]] (1996) self-published ''Deeper into Circumcision: A Invitation to Awareness'' (196 pages).<ref name="erickson1996">{{REFbook
|last=Erickson
|first=John A.
|init=JA
|author-link=John A. Erickson
|year=1996
|title=Deeper into Circumcision: An Invitation to Awareness
|url=http://www.foreskin.org/je-dic.htm
|publisher=Self-published (196 page pamphlet)
|location=Biloxi, Mississippi
}}</ref>

[[Geoffrey T. Falk]] created the [http://www.cirp.org/ Circumcision Information and Resources Pages] in 1996 to take advantage of the newly-available Internet.

[[Ronald Goldman]], Ph.D., (1997) conducted a thorough review of the effect of the American practice of [[child circumcision]] on American society.<ref name="goldman1997">{{REFbook
|last=Goldman
|first=Ronald
|year=1997
|title=Circumcision: The Hidden Trauma
|url=https://circumcision.org/circumcision-the-hidden-trauma/
|chapter=7. The impact of circumcision on American society
|pages=139-75
|location=Boston
|publisher=Vanguard
|ISBN=0-9644895-3-8
|accessdate=2026-07-15
}}</ref>

Ross Povenmire (1998) questioned the authority of parents to grant consent for non-therapeutic circumcision of children.<ref name="povenmire1998">{{REFjournal
|last=Povenmire
|init=R
|author-link=
|last2=
|init2=
|author2-link=
|url=http://www.cirp.org/library/legal/povenmire/
|title=Do Parents Have the Legal Authority to Consent to the Surgical Amputation of Normal, Healthy Tissue From Their Infant Children?: The Practice of Circumcision in the United States
|journal=Journal of Gender, Social Policy & the Law
|date=1998
|volume=7
|issue=
|page=87
|accessdate=2021-10-14
}}</ref>

[[Christopher Fletcher]], M.D., (1998) conducted a survey of doctors in the United States who perform non-therapeutic circumcision of boys. Dr. Fletcher concluded his report in part:
<blockquote>
This study reveals that, across the country, American specialties that perform circumcisions are ignorant of the medical facts regarding the penile foreskin and in conjunction with hospitals and misinformed patients, attempt to justify and rationalise newborn male circumcision. In many cases, despite personal beliefs that circumcision is more harmful than beneficial, some physicians are unwilling to give up their participation in this almost uniquely American custom which many of them have personally experienced as infants.<ref name="fletcher1998!>{{REFbook
|last=Fletcher
|first=Christopher R.
|init=CR
|url=https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-0-585-39937-9_19
|chapter=[https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-0-585-39937-9_19 Circumcision in America in 1998: Attitudes, Beliefs and Charges of American Physicians]
|publisher=Kluwer/Plenum
|title=Male and Female Circumcision
|pages=259-71
|editors=George C. Denniston, Frederick Mansfield Hodges, Marilyn Fayre Milos
|year=1998
|accessdate=2021-10-21
}}</ref>
</blockquote>
The American Academy of Pediatrics had been acutely embarrassed by the faults of [[Edgar J. Schoen]]'s [http://www.cirp.org/library/statements/aap/#a1989 horrific circumcision policy statement], so a new task force was convened under the direction of Carole Marie Lannon, {{MD}}, {{MPH}}, to produce a new, more appropriate, and less embarrassing policy statement on non-therapeutic child circumcision. The new task force produced the [[American_Academy_of_Pediatrics#Fourth_policy_.281999.29|Fourth Circumcision Policy Statement]].<ref name="aap1999">{{REFjournal
|last=Lannon
|first=Carole Marie
|init=CM
|author-link=
|last2=Bailey
|first2=Ann Geryl Doll
|init2=AGD
|author2-link=
|last3=Fleishman
|first3=Alan R.
|init3=AR
|author3-link=
|last4=Kaplan
|first4=George W.
|init4=GW
|author4-link=George W. Kaplan
|last5=Shoemaker
|first5=Craig T.
|init5=CT
|author5-link=
|last6=Swanson
|first6=Jack T.
|init6=JT
|author6-link=
|last7=Coustan
|first7=Donald
|init7=D
|author7-link=
|etal=no
|title=Circumcision Policy Statement
|journal=Pediatrics
|location=
|date=1999-09
|volume=103
|issue=3
|article=
|pages=686-93
|url=http://www.cirp.org/library/statements/aap1999/
|pubmedID= 22926180
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=10.1542/peds.2012-1989
|accessdate=2021-10-10
}}</ref> The 1999 circumcision statement advocated analgesia for pain relief of the extreme circumcision [pain], admitted that the [[foreskin]] contains [[Ridged band| nerves]], softened the claims made for [[UTI]] prevention, recognized the effectiveness of breastfeeding at reducing UTI in infants and declared non-therapeutic infant circumcision to be an ''elective'' surgical procedure. Other than that, it shared the much the same faults as the 1989 statement.

Rhinehart (1999) was a practicing psychiatrist who described his patients later-life problems stemming from the psychic [[trauma]] of their neonatal [[circumcision]].<ref name="rhinehart1999">{{REFjournal
|last=Rhinehart
|first=John W.
|init=JW
|author-link=
|etal=no
|title=Neonatal Circumcision Reconsidered
|journal=Transactional Analysis Journal
|location=
|date=1999-07
|volume=29
|issue=3
|pages=215-21
|url=http://www.cirp.org/library/psych/rhinehart1/
|quote=
|pubmedID=
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=10.
|accessdate=2021-10-14
}}</ref>

===Late twentieth century history video===
 
<youtube>o25MjZsmvGY</youtube>
 

===Early twenty-first century===
====First Quarter====
The twenty-first century has been characterized by greater opposition to non-therapeutic circumcision of boys in the general population, the utter failure of the circumcision industry's vaunted new circumcision policy, and much more attention to legal and ethical issues relating to non-therapeutic circumcision of boys.

Giannetti (2000) argued that scientific misconduct in the [[American Academy of Pediatrics]] circumcision policy statements should expose the AAP to trade association liability.<ref name="gianetti2000">{{REFjournal
|last=Giannetti
|first=Matthew
|init=M
|author-link=
|title=Circumcision and the American Academy of Pediatrics: Should Scientific Misconduct Result in Trade Association Liability
|journal=Iowa Law Rev
|date=2000
|volume=85
|issue=4
|pages=1507-68
|url=https://www.doctorsopposingcircumcision.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/Gianetti-AAP-Misconduct-Trade-Assn-Iowa-Law-Rev-2000.pdf
|accessdate=2020-05-09
}}</ref>

[[J. Steven Svoboda|Svoboda]], [[Robert S. Van Howe|Van Howe]] & [[James G. Dwyer|Dwyer]] (2000) discussed legal issues inherent with consent for non-therapeutic circumcision of boys.<ref name="svoboda2000">{{REFjournal
|last=Svoboda
|first=J. Steven
|init=JS
|author-link=J. Steven Svoboda
|last2=Van Howe
|first2=Robert S.
|init2=RS
|author2-link=Robert S. Van Howe
|last3=Dwyer
|first3=James G.
|init3=JG
|author3-link=James G. Dwyer
|etal=no
|title=Informed Consent for Neonatal Circumcision: An Ethical and Legal Conundrum
|journal=J Contemporary Health Law Policy
|location=
|date=2000-09
|volume=17
|issue=1
|pages=61-133
|url=https://scholarship.law.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1255&context=jchlp
|pubmedID=11216345
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=
|accessdate=2021-10-11
}}</ref>

[[J. Steven Svoboda]] (2001) discussed the limits of the law.<ref name="svoboda2001">{{REFbook
|last=Svoboda
|first=J. Steven
|init=JS
|author-link=J. Steven Svoboda
|year=2001
|title=Limits of the law: Comparative analysis of legal and extralegal methods.
|url=https://www.arclaw.org/wp-content/uploads/Limits-of-the-Law-Comparative-Analysis-of-Legal-and-Extralegal-Methods.pdf
|work=Understanding Circumcision: A Multi-Disciplinary Approach to a Multi-Dimensional Problem
|editor=[[George C. Denniston]], [[Frederick M. Hodges]], and [[Marilyn Fayre Milos]]
|edition=
|volume=
|chapter=
|pages=297-365
|location=
|publisher=Springer
|isbn=978-1-4419-3375-1.
|quote=
|accessdate=2021-10-11
|note=
}}</ref>

[[Geoffrey P. Miller]] (2002) discussed the impact of American culture on the law of circumcision.<ref name="miller2002">{{REFjournal
|last=Miller
|first=Geoffrey P.
|init=GP
|author-link=
|title=Circumcision: Cultural-Legal Analysis
|journal=Virginia Journal of Social Policy & the Law.
|date=2002-3
|volume=9
|issue=
|pages=497-585
|url=http://www.cirp.org/library/legal/miller1/
|accessdate=2020-07-29
}}</ref>

[[George Hill]] (2003) questioned the authority of anyone to grant consent for the non-therapeutic alteration of a child's body.<ref name="hill2010">{{REFjournal
|last=Hill
|first=George
|init=
|author-link=George Hill
|etal=no
|title=Can Anyone Authorize the Nontherapeutic Permanent Alteration of a Child's Body?
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal=Am J Bioeth
|location=
|date=2003-03
|volume=3
|issue=2
|article=
|page=W6
|url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1162/152651603766436342
|pubmedID=14635628
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=10.1162/152651603766436342
|accessdate=2021-10-14
}}</ref>

[[Petrina Fadel]] founded [[Catholics Against Circumcision]].

Thomas et al. (2004) studied the incidence of [[HIV]] in circumcision and intact men in a United States Navy population. A slightly higher incidence of [[HIV]] infection was found in circumcised men (84.9%) as compared with intact men (81.8%). The authors concluded:
<blockquote>
Although there may be other medical or cultural reasons for male circumcision, it is not associated with [[HIV]] or STI prevention in this U.S. military population.<ref name="thomas2004">Thomas AG, Bakhireva LN, Brodine SK, Shaffer RA. [http://www.cirp.org/library/disease/HIV/thomas1/ Prevalence of male circumcision and its association with [[HIV]] and sexually transmitted infections in a U.S. Navy population]. Abstract no. TuPeC4861. Presented at the XV International [[AIDS]] Conference, Bangkok, Thailand, July 11-16, 2004.</ref>
</blockquote>

[[Saving Our Sons (SoS)]], an [[intactivist]] organization, commenced operations online in 2007.

[[Dr. Momma - peaceful parenting]], an [[intactivist]] organization, started in 2007.

[[Doctors Opposing Circumcision (D.O.C.)]] included this commentary on the law of circumcision of boys in their June 2008 Genital Integrity Statement. It has since been later amended by another party to include a reference to Adler (2013) that was not available at the time of writing.<ref>{{REFbook
|last=Hill
|first=George
|init=G
|author-link=George Hill
|year=2008
|title=Ch. 10: American Law and the Circumcision of Children
|url=
|work=Genital Integrity Policy
|editor=
|edition=
|volume=
|chapter=
|pages=
|location=Seattle
|publisher=[[Doctors Opposing Circumcision (D.O.C.)]]
|isbn=
|quote=
|accessdate=2021-10-11
|note=
}}</ref>

[[Doctors Opposing Circumcision (D.O.C.)]] issued a Genital Integrity Policy in June 2008.<ref name-"doc2008">{{REFdocument
|title=Genital Integrity Policy
|url=
|contribution=
|last=Hill
|first=George
|author-link=George Hill
|publisher=[[Doctors Opposing Circumcision (D.O.C.)]]
|format=PDF
|date=2008-06
|accessdate=2021-10-11
}}</ref>

[[Georganne Chapin]] founded [[Intact America]] in 2008 with the aid of a grant from Texas philanthropist Dean Pisani.

[[Robert S. Van Howe|Van Howe]] & Svoboda (2008) said of the American practice of medically-unnecessary, non-therapeutic infant circumcision:
<blockquote>
Once all factors are revealed, it
is impossible to consider circumcision a minor issue,
but rather circumcision comes to symbolize one of the
greatest ongoing systemic ethical violations for which
modern medicine has been responsible.<ref name="vanhowe2008">{{REFjournal
|last=Van Howe
|first=Robert S.
|init=RS
|author-link=Robert S. Van Howe
|last2=Svoboda
|first2=J. Steven
|init2=JS
|author2-link=J. Steven Svoboda
|etal=no
|title=Neonatal pain relief and the Helsinki Declaration
|journal=Journal of Law, Medicine, and Ethics
|location=
|date=2008-12
|volume=36
|issue=4
|article=
|pages=803-23
|url=https://www.academia.edu/download/33981944/27_Van_Howe.pdf
|pubmedID=19094008
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=10.1111/j.1748-720X.2008.00339.x
|accessdate=2021-10-31
}}</ref>
</blockquote>

The British journal, ''The Lancet'', published reports of two randomized controlled trials (RCTs) that were carried out in sub-Saharan Africa which purported to prove that male circumcision was protective against infection with [[HIV]]. The American Academy of Pediatrics consulted with the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists ([[ACOG]]) and the American College of Family Physicians ([[AAFP]]) (those being the medical trade associations that represent the specialties that perform most non-therapeutic infant circumcisions and make most of the money from the performance of the non-therapeutic [[amputation]]). The three associations determined to make common cause to produce a position statement that would promote male circumcision based on its alleged protection against [[HIV]] infection. The AAP was to take the lead, but ACOG and AAFP provided representatives to the new [[AAP Circumcision Task Force 2012| AAP task force]], of which New York Jewess [[Susan Blank]], {{MD}}, {{MPH}}, was the chairwoman. This new task force did not publish a statement until 2012. The AAP declined to re-affirm the statement so it expired in August 2017.

[[Dan Bollinger|Bollinger]] (2010) estimated approximately 117 neonatal circumcision-related deaths occur annually in the United States.<ref name="bollinger2010">{{BollingerD 2010}}</ref>

[[Anthony Losquadro]] formed [[Intaction]], an [[intactivist]] organization in 2010.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ([[CDC]]) reported an incidence of newborn circumcision of 58.3 percent in 2010.<ref name="cdc2015">{{REFweb
|url=https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/hestat/circumcision_2013/circumcision_2013.htm
|title=Trends in Circumcision for Male Newborns in U.S. Hospitals: 1979–2010
|publisher=Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
|website=cdc.gov
|date=2015-11-06
|accessdate=2021-10-16
}}</ref>

Professor [[Peter W. Adler]], J. D., (2011) argued that it is unlawful for United States Medicaid to pay for non-therapeutic circumcision.<ref name="adler2011" />

[[Brother K]] formed the [[Bloodstained Men]] in 2012.

The AAP, lead by the [[AAP Circumcision Task Force 2012]], finally published the [[American_Academy_of_Pediatrics#Fifth_policy_.282012.29| fifth circumcision policy statement]] in the September 2012 issue of ''Pediatrics''. The [[American_Academy_of_Pediatrics#Criticism| adverse criticism]] was overwhelming.

[[Dan Bollinger|Bollinger]] (2012) estimated that the total cost of non-therapeutic male circumcision, including hospital costs, repair of botched circumcisions, treatment of complications, and so on is more than $3 billion per year,<ref name="bollinger2012">{{REFweb
|url=https://www.academia.edu/6442587/High_Cost_of_Circumcision_3.6_Billion_Annually
|title=High Cost of Circumcision: $3.6 Billion Annually
|last=Bollinger
|first=Dan
|author-link=Dan Bollinger
|publisher=Academia
|date=2012
|accessdate=2020-11-25
}}</ref> of which the beneficiary is the American circumcision industry.

[[Doctors Opposing Circumcision (D.O.C.)]] (2013) provided evidence that the purpose of the 2012 AAP Circumcision Policy Statement was to get more money for doctors,<ref name="doc2013">{{REFdocument
|title=Commentary on American Academy of Pediatrics 2012 Circumcision Policy Statemeni
|url=https://www.doctorsopposingcircumcision.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/commentary-on-american-academy-of-pediatrics-2012-circumcision-policy-statement.pdf
|contribution=
|last=
|first=
|publisher=[[Doctors Opposing Circumcision (D.O.C.)]]
|format=PDF
|date=2013-04-01
|accessdate=2021-10-21
}}</ref>

Professor [[Peter W. Adler]], {{JD}}, (2013) argued that non-therapeutic circumcision of boys is unlawful.<ref name="adler2013">{{REFjournal
|last=Adler
|first=Peter W.
|init=PW
|author-link=Peter W. Adler
|title=Is circumcision legal?
|journal=Richmond Journal of Law and the Public Interest
|date=2013
|volume=16
|issue=3
|pages=439-86
|url=https://scholarship.richmond.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1265&context=jolpi
|accessdate=2020-05-08
}}</ref>

[[Robert S. Van Howe|Van Howe]] & [[J. Steven Svoboda|Svoboda]] (2013) criticized the 2012 AAP statement because it failed to include important points, inaccurately analyzed and interpreted current medical literature, and made unsupported conclusions.<ref name="vanhowe2013">{{REFjournal
|last=Van Howe
|first=Robert S.
|init=RS
|author-link=Robert S. Van Howe
|last2=Svoboda
|first2=J. Steven
|init2=JS
|author2-link=J. Steven Svoboda
|date=2013-07-01
|title=Out of step: fatal flaws in the latest AAP policy report on neonatal circumcision
|url=https://jme.bmj.com/content/39/7/434
|journal=Journal of Medical Ethics
|language=en
|volume=39
|issue=7
|pages=434-41
|DOI=10.1136/medethics-2013-101346
|issn=0306-6800
|pubmedID=23508208
}}</ref>

[[Jen Williams]] organized [[Your Whole Baby]] in 2014.

The infamous [[Nebus v. Hironimus]] Florida [[circumcision]] case culminated after five years of litigation with Florida Family Court Judge [[Jeffrey Dana Gillen]] arrested the mother, [[Heather Hironimus]], and forced her to sign a consent for harmful, [[pain| painful]] circumcision in open court while handcuffed.
 
Heather Hironimus signs consent form for circumcision of 4 and 1/2 year old son under extreme duress
<youtube>Btxl4UGBdpc</youtube>

[[Doctors Opposing Circumcision (D.O.C.)]] commissioned a [https://www,doctorsopposingcircumcision.org new website] in 2016.

[[J. Steven Svoboda]] argued against non-therapeutic circumcision.<ref name="svoboda2017">{{REFjournal
|date=2017-08-01
|title=Nontherapeutic Circumcision of Minors as an Ethically Problematic Form of Iatrogenic Injury
|journal=AMA Journal of Ethics
|language=en
|volume=19
|issue=8
|pages=815-24
|DOI=10.1001/journalofethics.2017.19.8.msoc2-1708
|pubmedID=28846521
|issn=2376-6980
|last1=Svoboda
|first1=J.S.
}}</ref> He stated that this decision should be considered in the context of benefit vs risk of harm, rather than simply risk-benefit due to the non-therapeutic nature of the procedure.<ref name="svoboda2017"/> He states that benefits do not outweigh the risks, and also claims that foreskin removal should be considered a sexual harm.<ref name="svoboda2017"/> He also went on to conclude that non-therapeutic circumcision largely violates the physician's duty to respect a patient's autonomy since many procedures take place before a patient is able to freely give consent himself.<ref name="svoboda2017"/>

Reis-Dennis & Reis (2017) asked if physicians should be blamed for harm resulting from unnecessary genital surgeries, including infant circumcision.<ref name="reis-dennis2017">{{REFjournal
|last=Reis-Dennis
|first=
|init=
|author-link=
|last2=Reis
|first2=
|init2=
|author2-link=
|etal=no
|title=Are Physicians Blameworthy for Iatrogenic Harm Resulting from Unnecessary Genital Surgeries?
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal=AMA Journal of Ethics
|location=
|date=2017
|volume=19
|issue=8
|article=
|pages=825-33
|url=
|pubmedID=28846522
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=10.1001/journalofethics.2017.19.8.msoc3-1708
|accessdate=2021-10-14
}}</ref>

The ill-fated, embarrassing 2012 [[AAP]] Circumcision Policy Statement expired on August 31, 2017 in accordance with AAP policy, because it was not reaffirmed. The AAP has had ''no'' official circumcision policy since that time.

[[Doctors Opposing Circumcision]] released a special report on circumcision for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.<ref name="doc2019">{{REFdocument
|title=Male Circumcision: A special report to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
|url=https://pool.intactiwiki.org/w/images/Male_Circumcision_DOC_2019-02-01.pdf
|contribution=
|last=Anonymous
|first=
|publisher=Doctors Opposing Circumcision
|format=PDF
|date=2019-02-01
|accessdate=2025-12-08
}}</ref>

[[Dan Bollinger|Bollinger]] (2019) discussed circumcision as an adverse childhood experience,<ref name-"bollinger2019">{{REFdocument
|title=Child genital cutting as an adverse childhood experience
|url=http://adversechildhoodexperiences.net/CGC_as_an_ACE.pdf
|last=Bollinger
|first=Dan
|author-link=Dan Bollinger
|last2=Chapin
|first2=Georganne
|author2-link=Georganne Chapin
|publisher=Intact America
|location=Tarrytown
|format=PDF
|date=2019-08
|accessdate=2021-04-02
}}</ref>

[[Peter W. Adler|Adler]], [[Robert S. Van Howe|Van Howe]], Wisdom & Daase (2020) examined male non-therapeutic circumcision as fraud.<ref name="adler2020">{{REFjournal
|last=Adler
|first=Peter W.
|init=PW
|author-link=Peter W. Adler
|last2=Van Howe
|first2=Robert S.
|init2=RS
|author2-link=Robert S. Van Howe
|last3=Wisdom
|first3=Travis
|init3=T
|author3-link=
|last4=Daase
|first4=Felix
|init4=F
|author4-link=Felix Daase
|etal=no
|title=Is circumcision a fraud?
|journal=Cornell Journal of Law and Public Policy
|location=
|date=2020-11
|volume=30
|issue=1
|pages=45-107
|url=https://www.lawschool.cornell.edu/research/JLPP/upload/Adler-et-al-final.pdf
}}
</ref>

Adler & Daase (2020) reviewed the American debate on non-therapeutic child circumcision for a French-speaking audience.<ref name="adlerB2020>{{REFjournal
|last=Adler
|first=Peter W.
|init=PW
|author-link=Peter W. Adler
|last2=Daase
|first2=Felix
|init2=F
|author2-link=Felix Daase
|etal=no
|title=Actualié du débat sur la circoncision aux États-Unis: Is the Circumcision Debate Over?
|journal=Droit et Cultures
|location=
|date=2020
|volume=79
|issue=1
|pages=207-22
|url=https://journals.openedition.org/droitcultures/6276?lang=en
|accessdate=2021-06-19
}}</ref>

[[Ronald Goldman]] led a group of Massachusetts taxpayers who filed a suit against [https://www.mass.gov/topics/masshealth MassHealth] (Massachusetts Medicaid), which is unlawfully paying for non-therapeutic circumcisions with public funds.<ref>{{REFweb
|url=https://circumcision.org/taxpayers-sue-massachusetts-medicaid-about-circumcisions/
|title=Taxpayers Sue Massachusetts Medicaid About Circumcisions
|first=Ronald
|last=Goldman
|author-link=Ronald Goldman
|publisher=[[Circumcision Resource Center]]
|date=2020-07-22
|accessdate=2021-10-13
}}</ref>

Navia et al. (2020) surveyed the incidence of non-therapeutic neonatal circumcision in four states. The incidence of circumcision in 2016 was found to have declined to 54.5 percent, which translates to an increase in [[genital integrity]] and wholeness rate to 45.5 percent.<ref>{{REFjournal
|last=Navia
|first=Mateo Zambrano
|init=
|author-link=
|last2=Jacobson
|first2=Deborah L.
|init2=
|author2-link=
|last3=Balmert
|first3=Lauren C.
|init3=
|author3-link=
|last4=Rosoklija
|first4=Ilina
|init4=
|author4-link=
|last5=Holl
|first5=Jane L.
|init5=
|author5-link=
|last6=Davis
|first6=Matthew M.
|init6=
|author6-link=
|last7=Johnson
|first7=Emilie K
|init7=
|author7-link=
|etal=no
|title=State-Level Public Insurance Coverage and Neonatal Circumcision Rates
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal=Pediatrics
|location=
|date=2020-11
|volume=146
|issue=5
|article=
|page=e20201475
|url=https://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/146/5/e20201475
|pubmedID=33055226
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=10.1542/peds.2020-1475
|accessdate=2021-10-13
}}</ref>

The Lavine family of New Jersey has brought a lawsuit against a New Jersey practitioner and the [[American Academy of Pediatrics]] that alleges fraud.<ref>{{REFweb
|url=https://www.circumcisionisafraud.com/docket-mer-l-000272-21
|title=Circumcision is a Fraud
|last=
|first=
|accessdate=2021-10-13
}}</ref>

A study by [[Intact America]] (2020) reveals how hospitals pressure mothers into granting consent for unneeded and unwanted injurious non-therapeutic [[circumcision]] of a newborn boy.<ref>{{REFweb
|url=https://www.prweb.com/printer/17552844.htm
|title=Having a Baby Boy? Intact America Warns, ‘Get Ready for the Circumcision Sellers!
|last=Chapin
|first=Georganne
|author-link=Georganne Chapin
|publisher=Intact America
|website=prweb
|date=2020-11-18
|accessdate=2021-10-13
|format=
|quote=
}}</ref> Infant circumcision is a profit center for many American hospitals so parents are pushed to circumcise.

[[Intact America]] (2024) called child circumcision "an outdated practice in desperate need of reevaluation",<ref name="alissa2024-12-16">{{REFweb
|url=https://intactamerica.org/circumcision-reevaluation/
|title=Circumcision: An Outdated Practice in Desperate Need of Re-Evaluation
|last=Alissa
|first=Kristel
|init=
|author-link=
|publisher=Intact America
|date=2024-12-16
|accessdate=2024-12-23
}}</ref> and exposed the propaganda that has promoted the harmful but profitable practice of child circumcision.<ref>{{REFweb
|url=https://intactamerica.org/exposing-circumcision-propaganda/
|title=The Unkindest Cut: Exposing the Propaganda That Normalized Circumcision—and How We Reclaim the Truth
|last=Alissa
|first=Kristel
|init=
|author-link=
|publisher=Intact America
|date=2024-11-19
|accessdate=2024-12-23
}}</ref>

[[Intact America]] (2024) reports a rapid increase in the percentage of Americans who oppose the harmful [[circumcision]] of boys.<ref>{{REFweb
|url=https://www.instagram.com/p/DKVZQGTRl77/?igsh=MWV1aW90MzBpd2dzdA%3D%3D
|title=Opposition to circumcision overtime.
|last=Anonymous
|first=
|init=
|author-link=
|publisher=Intact America
|date=2024
|accessdate=2025-06-01
}}</ref>

====Second quarter====
[[PEPFAR]] (2025) has scrapped its costly, ineffective, and harmful "voluntary male medical circumcision" ([[VMMC]]) program after 15 years and at least 27,000,000 harmful and useless [[foreskin]] amputations.<ref name="gwarisa2025">{{REFnews
|title=New PEPFAR Waiver Scraps Voluntary Medical Male Circumcision Program
|url=https://healthtimes.co.zw/2025/02/07/new-pepfar-waiver-scraps-voluntary-medical-male-circumcision-program/
|last=Gwarisa
|first=Michael
|init=
|author-link=
|publisher=Healthtimes
|website=
|date=2025-02-07
|accessdate=2025-02-15
|format=
|quote=
}}</ref> Numerous studies have demonstrated that [[adult circumcision]] is not effective in preventing [[HIV]] [[infection]]. Child [[circumcision]] had previously been discontinued.

[[Intact America]] (2024) is tracking the opposition to [[circumcision]] in the [[United States]]. It reports [https://www.instagram.com/p/DKVZQGTRl77/ steadily increasing opposition] to [[child circumcision]].

President Donald J. Trump appointment of [[Robert Francis Kennedy, Jr.]] to be Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services was approved by the United States Senate was ratified by the United States Senate on 13 February 2025. Kennedy wants to reform healthcare in the United States.

[[Eric Clopper]] has organized [[Intact Global]] in 2024, which has the goal of litigating in numerous states to ensure that boys will enjoy "the equal protection of the law". Intact Global instituted a suit against the state of Oregon in March 2025.<ref>{{REFdocument
|title=Hadachek et al. v. Oregon Complaint
|url=https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/66119b8c4d0c10f1951590fc/67e6d9785f82dc54c6513cb7_2025-03-28%20-%20Hadachek%20v.%20Oregon%20-%20Amended%20Complaint%20(Conformed).pdf
|contribution=
|last=Clopper
|first=Eric
|publisher=Intact Global
|format=PDF
|date=2025-03-27
|accessdate=2025-04-01
}}</ref> [[Intact Global]] also filed suit against the state of Colorado in June 2026.<ref name="rubane2026">{{REFdocument
|title=Tristan Huff and Adam Schwartz, Plaintiffs, v. The State of Colorado
|trans-title=
|language=
|url=https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/66119b8c4d0c10f195159122/6a3185315bbad632a188ed5f_2026-06-09---Huff-v.-Colorado-Complaint---Equal-Protection-Challenge-(Conformed)---For-Press.pdf
|archived=
|contribution=
|quote=
|trans-quote=
|quote-lang=
|last=RuBane
|first=Thomas F.
|author-link=
|last2=Clopper
|first2=Eric
|author2-link=
|format=PDF
|date=2026-06-09
|accessdate=2026-06-17
}}</ref>

Data Panda has reported the incidence of non-therapeutic circumcision by state on 24 May 2025. The incidence ranged from a low of 10 percent in Washington to a high of 91 percent in West Virginia.<ref>{{REFweb
|url=https://www.datapandas.org/ranking/circumcision-rate-by-state
|title=Circumcision Rate by State
|last=Anonymous
|first=
|init=
|author-link=
|publisher=Data Panda
|date=2025-05-24
|accessdate=2025-09-19
}}</ref>

[[Jake Tran]] has produced a [[This should be a crime| video]] about the practice of [[child circumcision]] in the United States.

In a milestone for [[intactivism]], Microsoft Network (MSN) reported that the incidence of [[child circumcision]] in the United States has declined below 50 percent, which makes non-circumcision or [[genital integrity]] the new NORM in the United States among newborn boys.<ref name="msn2025">{{REFnews
|title=Less Than Half of U.S. Boys Now Circumcised
|url=https://www.msn.com/en-us/health/other/less-than-half-of-us-boys-now-circumcised/ar-AA1MBjzN
|last=Anonymous
|publisher=Microsoft Network
|website=
|date=2025-09-17
|accessdate=2025-09-29
|quote=From 2012 to 2022, the prevalence of circumcision during hospitalization of male neonates age 0 to 28 days decreased significantly by nearly 5 percentage points, from 54.1% to 49.3%,
}}</ref>

==Government financial support for non-therapeutic circumcision==
The United States government provides [[financial incentive]] for medically-unnecessary, non-therapeutic [[circumcision]] by [[third-party payment]] through numerous government health insurance programs:

* [https://www.medicaid.gov/ Medicaid] — About 45 percent of births are under Medicaid.
* [https://www.healthcare.gov/medicaid-chip/childrens-health-insurance-program/ Child Health Insurance Program (CHIP)] — Covers children whose family income is higher.
* [https://www.ihs.gov/ Indian Health Service] — Covers the indigenous population.
* [https://www.tricare.mil/ Tricare] — Covers military dependents.
* [https://www.benefits.gov/benefit/4440 Federal Employees Health Benefits (FEHB) Program] — Covers federal employees and families.
* [https://www.medicare.gov/ Medicare] − Covers persons who have reached 65 years of age.

==The second term of President Donald J. Trump==
The second term of President Donald J. Trump commenced on 21 January 2025. President Trump has promised far-reaching reforms of the executive branch of the government of the United States. It is not clear at this time (9 February 2025) how this will affect the practice of male [[circumcision]] in the United States. We note that the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief ([[PEPFAR]]) has been paused. The performance of ineffective [[genital mutilation]] (male circumcision) on African males may have stopped.<ref>{{REFnews
|title=Trump's Foreign Aid Freeze
|url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/trump-rubio-pepfar-prep-usaid_n_67a65f98e4b0682fe26ceb1f
|last=Cohn
|first=Jonathan
|init=
|author-link=
|last2=
|init2=
|author2-link=
|publisher=Huffpost
|website=
|date=2025-02-07
|season=
|accessdate=2025-02-09
|format=
|quote=
}}</ref>

== Statistical data ==
The National Center for Health Statistics (2013) reported that the incidence of child [[circumcision]] has been declining for thirty years.<ref>{{REFweb
|url=https://blogs.cdc.gov/nchs/2013/08/22/1667/
|title=Male Newborn Circumcision on a Three Decade Decline
|last=
|first=
|init=
|author-link=
|publisher=National Center for Health Statistics
|date=2013-08-22
|accessdate=2025-01-19
}}</ref>
=== Prevalence of circumcision ===
'''Prevalence of circumcision''' is the percentage of all males of all ages in the population who have been [[circumcised]].

[[Intact America]] carried out a survey in 2022 that claims that 73 percent of all American men were [[circumcised]],<ref>{{REFweb
|url=https://www.intactamerica.org/newsroom-gender-equality/
|title=Intact Facts
|last=
|first=
|init=
|publisher=Intact America
|date=2022
|accessdate=2023-03-29
}}</ref> however no documentation has been provided so it is not clear in what region it was carried out or what age groups were surveyed. The prevalence of [[circumcision]] varies by age, region, race, and religion. On another webpage, [[Intact America]] claims 78 percent are circumcised so Intact America is uncertain of its claims.

Peter Moore (2015) reported that 62 percent of all American males reported being [[circumcised]],<ref name="moore2015">{{REFweb
|url=https://today.yougov.com/topics/lifestyle/articles-reports/2015/02/03/younger-americans-circumcision
|title=Young Americans less supportive of circumcision at birth
|last=Moore
|first=Peter
|date=2015-02-03
|accessdate=2022-02-07
}}</ref> which increases the prevalence of [[intact]] [[foreskin]] to 38 percent of living American males of all ages. This percentage is expected to gradually but constantly decline, while the percentage of males who are [[intact]] due to the declining incidence of newborn boys receiving medically-unnecessary, non-therapeutic [[circumcision]] is expected to increase. The percentage of males with [[intact]] [[foreskin]] is lowest with senior citizens and highest in the youngest age groups.

=== Incidence of circumcision ===
'''Incidence of circumcision''' is the percentage of newborn boys who currently are being [[circumcised]].
====Long-term declining trend====
The incidence of non-therapeutic neonatal [[circumcision]] hit its peak at 85-90 percent in 1965.<ref name="laumann1997" /> It has been slowly declining ever since.

Peter Moore (2015) reported that the incidence of circumcision was 55 percent.<ref name="moore2015"/>

Jacobsen et al. (2021) used data from 2003 through 2016 from the Kid's Inpatient Database of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality to compare [[intact]] with [[circumcised]] boys in the first 28 days of life. The authors reported a gradual declining trend in the incidence of neonatal non-therapeutic [[circumcision]] throughout the study period. The overall incidence of circumcision decreased from 57.4 percent in 2003 to 52.1 percent in 2016 over the 13 year study period or 5.3 percentage points for an average decrease of 0.4 percentage point per year. The authors noted "neonatal circumcision rates decreased significantly over time."<ref name="jacobson2021" />

There was significant variation in the incidence of circumcision by region with the Midwest reporting an incidence of 75 percent (three out of four) for the period, while boys in the West were most likely to preserve their [[foreskin]] as the West reported an incidence of only 25.9 percent or about 1 boy in 4 being [[circumcised]].<ref name="jacobson2021" />

One should also note that the [[American Academy of Pediatrics]] [[medical trade association]] vacated its fraudulent 2012 Circumcision Policy Statement by allowing it to expire in 2017 without being re-affirmed.

[https://150.jhu.edu/ Johns Hopkins University] and the Jewish-funded [https://publichealth.jhu.edu/ Bloomberg School of Public Health] have long been outlier advocates of male [[circumcision]]. However, they (2025) are now reporting that the incidence of circumcision has declined "significantly" between 2012 and 2022. The overall decline was from 54.1% to 49.3% — a decline of 4.8 percentage points or 0.048 precentage points per year. The 4.8 percentage point represents a decline of 8.8 percent (4.8/54.1 = 8.8%)<ref name="yang2025" /> Although the incidence of [[circumcision of the newborn]] has been gradually declining for decades, this is the first study to report an overall incidence of less than fifty percent. Based on this new information, we can now report that [[intactness]] is now the NORM among the newborn boys of America. We note that [[Australia]] reported a significant improvement in child health when the incidence of circumcision declined in that nation.<ref>{{REFweb
|url=https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/children-youth/australias-children-in-brief/summary
|title=Australia’s children: in brief
|last=Anonymous
|first=
|init=
|author-link=
|publisher=Australian Institute of Health and Welfare
|pubmedID=
ISBN=978-1-76054-659-5
|DOI=10.25816/5e152818d082c
|date=2019-12-17
|accessdate=2025-09-17
}}</ref> Any circumcisions performed after the newborn period would not be captured by these statistics.

====Midwest====
The Midwest has been called the 'circumcision capital of America' because of its higher rates of circumcision. Nevertheless, the popularity of circumcision is declining even in the Midwest.

In the Midwest, the incidence of [[circumcision]] has declined to 75 percent, which translates to a [[genital integrity]] rate increase to 25 percent or 1 in 4 boys having an [[intact]] foreskin.<ref name="jacobson2021" /> The previous report from 2010 was one boy in five being intact,<ref name="bollinger2017" /> and before that it was 1 in 10 boys being [[intact]], so this in an increase of 250 percent (0.25/0.10 X 100 = 250%) in the rate of [[Intact| intactness]] for the Midwest. The still high incidence of circumcision in the Midwest is counterbalanced by the low incidence in the West.

=== Intactness is the new norm! ===

[[Intactness]] had previously been shamed in the United States,<ref name="garrett2023-12-21">{{REFweb
|url=https://intactamerica.org/foreskin-phobia-intact-penis-shamed/
|title=Foreskin Phobia: How The Intact Penis Has Been Shamed
|last=Garrett
|first=Connor
|init=
|author-link=Connor Judson Garrett
|publisher=Intact America
|date=2023-12-21
|accessdate=2024-05-15
}}</ref> but that era has ended.

[[Intact America]] called attention to the existence of a "tipping point",<ref>{{REFbook
|last=Gladwell
|first=Malcomb
|init=
|year=2002
|title=The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference
|url=https://www.amazon.com/Tipping-Point-Little-Things-Difference/dp/0316346624?s=books
|scope=
|location=
|publisher=Back Bay Books
|pages=301
|ISBN=SBN-10 0316346624
|accessdate=2025-12-01
}}</ref> when public opinion would shift toward [[intactness]] in 2016.<ref>{{REFweb
|url=https://intactamerica.org/do-you-know-about-the-tipping-point/
|title=Do You Know: About the “Tipping Point?
|last=Chapin
|first=Georganne
|init=
|author-link=Georganne Chapin
|publisher=Intact America
|date=2016-11-01
|accessdate=2024-06-03
}}</ref> Public opinion in the United States in 2024 has now reached that tipping point.

The percentage of American boys being [[circumcised]] has been slowly but progressively declining for a long time, while the number of boys with [[intact]] [[foreskin]] has correspondingly increased.<ref name="jacobson2021" /> The percentage of [[intact]] newborn boys has exceeded the percentage of [[circumcised]] newborn boys since 2022.<ref name="yang2025" />

As the present trend continues, [[intactness]] is becoming the more usual, normal, and expected condition among newborn infant boys in America. The incidence of [[circumcision]] varies geographically so some locations will report higher percentages [[circumcised]].

==Forecast future incidence of child circumcision==

The incidence of harmful, unnecessary, nontherapeutic [[circumcision]] of newborn boys declines at the rate of 0.5 of one percentage point per year or one percentage point every two years.<ref name="yang2025" />

Based on this historical rate of decline and assuming that it continues, we can forecast the future incidence of harmful [[child circumcision]] in the United States to be:

* 2023: 49.2%
* 2024: 48.7%
* 2025: 48.2%
* 2026: 47.7%
* 2027: 47.2%
* 2028: 46.7%
* 2029: 46.2%
* 2030: 45.7%

The declining incidence of [[circumcision]] correlates and coincides with the reported decline in the incidence of murder in the United States.<ref>{{REFnews
|title=U.S. murder rate approaches a record low
|url=https://www.npr.org/2026/06/30/nx-s1-5866810/us-murder-rate-record-low-crime-homicide
|last=Kaste
|first=Martin
|init=
|author-link=
|publisher=National Public Radio
|website=https://www.npr.org/
|date=2026-06-30
|accessdate=2026-06-30
|format=
|quote="The United States almost certainly had the lowest murder rate ever recorded in 2025, with the FBI having data back to 1960," says crime data analyst Jeff Asher. "And the available evidence suggests that we're going to go even lower this year."
}}</ref>

==American [[genital integrity]] organizations==

The United States of America now have numerous [[genital integrity]] ([[intactivist]]) organizations working to promote and encourage the protection of the [[physical integrity]] of American boys.

{{SEEALSO}}
* [[Financial incentive]]
* [[Intact-friendly]]
* [https://en.intactiwiki.org/index.php/Main_Page Home page]
* [[Living with a foreskin in circumcised America]]
{{LINKS}}
* {{URLwikipedia|United_States|United States}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://www.cirp.org/library/legal/USA/
|title=Legality of Circumcision: The United States of America
|last=Hill
|first=George
|init=
|publisher=Circumcision Reference Library
|date=2013-07-31
|accessdate=2023-08-26
}}
These documents by [[Dan Bollinger]] are included here because they contain significant information about the United States:
* {{REFweb
|url=https://www.academia.edu/23494197/Infant_Male_Genital_Cutting_Incidence_Worldwide
|title=Infant Male Genital Cutting Incidence Worldwide
|last=Bollinger
|first=Dan
|author-link=Dan Bollinger
|publisher=Academia
|date=2017-05-19
|accessdate=2021-10-21
|format=PDF
}}
* {{REFjournal
|last=Bollinger
|init=D
|author-link=Dan Bollinger
|url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/321837170_Origins_of_the_Intactivist_Movement_A_Masculine_Foundation
|title=Origins of the intactivist movement: A masculine foundation
|journal=
|date=2017-11-17
|accessdate=2021-10-14
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://intactamerica.org/circumcision-rates/
|title=Circumcision Rates by Country: Why America Is the Outlier
|last=Alissa
|first=Kristel
|init=
|author-link=Kristel Alissa
|publisher=Intact America
|date=2025-07-03
|accessdate=2025-8-03
}}
{{ABBR}}
{{REF}}

[[Category:BSM]]
[[Category:English-speaking nation]]
[[Category:Circumcision]]
[[Category:Country]]
[[Category:Male circumcision]]
[[Category:History]]

[[Category:USA]]

[[de:Vereinigte Staaten von Amerika]]

Circumcision and violence

2026-07-15T20:59:52Z

WikiModEn2: /* Circumcision and violence in American society */

The relationship of '''{{FULLPAGENAME}}''' is becoming clear. Violence is defined as "behavior or treatment in which physical force is exerted for the purpose of causing damage or injury",<ref>{{REFweb
|url=https://www.thefreedictionary.com/violence
|title=Violence
|publisher=The Free Dictionary by Farlex
|date=2016
|accessdate=2022-11-05
}}</ref>

The first recorded use of [[circumcision]] to cause violence was at [[Gilgal]] (1406 BCE), where Joshua ordered the Israelites to be [[circumcised]].<ref>{{REFweb
|url=https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Joshua%205&version=HCSB
|title=Joshua 5
|last=
|first=
|init=
|author-link=
|publisher=Bible Gateway
|date=
|accessdate=2026-06-02
}}</ref> The [[adult circumcision| circumcision]] event occured just before the military action to take possession of the land of Canaan.<ref>{{REFweb
|url=https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Joshua%207&version=HCSB
|title=joshua 7
|last=
|first=
|init=
|author-link=
|publisher=Bible Gateway
|date=
|accessdate=2026-06-02
}}</ref>

The New York Times (1995) reported:
<blockquote>
Several strands of findings presented by researchers at the weekend conference pointed to the same conclusion: brutality and cruelty to children can leave a clear mark on the chemistry of the brain. And those changes in brain chemistry may be the route by which a brutalized child becomes a violent adult.<ref name="goleman1995">{{REFnews
|title=Early Violence Leaves Its Mark on the Brain
|url=https://www.cirp.org/library/psych/goleman/
|last=Goleman
|first=Daniel
|init=
|author-link=
|publisher=New York Times
|website=CIRP
|date=1995-10-03
|accessdate=2025-05-24
|format=
|quote=
}}</ref>
</blockquote>

It is clear that unwanted [[circumcision]] makes men very angry.<ref name="chapin2022">{{REFweb
|url=https://intactamerica.org/what-is-making-these-guys-so-angry/
|title=“What Is Making These Guys So Angry”
|last=Chapin
|first=Georganne
|init=
|author-link=Georganne Chapin
|publisher=Intact America
|date=2022-06-15
|quote=But we need to listen to the growing number of men speaking out about having been violated as babies when an essential (i.e., of its essence) part of their penis was forcibly severed. And we must ask ourselves whether the nearly ubiquitous violation of baby boys as a class of people and the assembly-line acts of violence carried out upon individual newborns might be responsible for at least some of the rage, pain and feelings of impotence that underlie the epidemic of mass killings we are witnessing today.
|accessdate=2024-08-16
}}</ref>

[[Alice Miller]] said:
<blockquote>
"We do not need books about psychology in order to learn to respect our children. What we need is a total revision of the methods of child rearing and our traditional view about it.<ref>{{REFweb
|title=Alice Miller Interview: The Roots of Violence
|url=https://www.naturalchild.org/articles/alice_miller/roots_violence.html
|archived=
|trans-title=
|language=
|last=Conners
|first=Diane
|init=
|author-link=
|publisher=The Natural Child Project
|website=https://www.naturalchild.org
|date=1987-03
|accessdate=2026-05-26
|format=
|quote=
}}</ref>
</blockquote>

==Violence due to loss of body pleasure==
The human [[prepuce]] is highly innervated tissue<ref name="cold-taylor1999">{{ColdCJ TaylorJR 1999}}</ref> and has long been known for its erogenous quality.<ref name="ErogenousZones">{{WinkelmannRK 1959}}</ref> Falliers (1970) commented on the "sensory pleasure induced by tactile stimulation of the [[foreskin]]."<ref name="falliers1970">{{REFjournal
|last=Falliers
|first=
|init=CJ
|author-link=
|etal=no
|title=Circumcision
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal=JAMA
|location=
|date=1970-12
|volume=214
|issue=12
|article=
|page=2194
|pages=
|url=http://www.cirp.org/library/general/falliers1/
|archived=
|quote=
|pubmedID=5536586
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=
|accessdate=2022-11-05
}}</ref> Excision of the foreskin by [[circumcision]] necessarily reduces the pleasurable sensations emanating from the [[foreskin]].

The late developmental neuropsychologist [[James W. Prescott]], {{PhD}}, (1975) connected loss of sensory [[body pleasure]] to increases in violent behavior. According to Dr. Prescott:
<blockquote>
''As a developmental neuropsychologist I have devoted a great deal of study to the peculiar relationship between violence and pleasure. I am now convinced that the deprivation of physical sensory pleasure is the principal root cause of violence. Laboratory experiments with animals show that pleasure and violence have a reciprocal relationship, that is, the presence of one inhibits the other. A raging, violent animal will abruptly calm down when electrodes stimulate the pleasure centers of its brain. Likewise, stimulating the violence centers in the brain can terminate the animal's sensual pleasure and peaceful behavior. When the brain's pleasure circuits are 'on,' the violence circuits are 'off,' and vice versa. Among human beings, a pleasure-prone personality rarely displays violence or aggressive behaviors, and a violent personality has little ability to tolerate, experience, or enjoy sensuously pleasing activities. As either violence or pleasure goes up, the other goes down.''<ref name="prescott1975">{{REFjournal
|last=Prescott
|init=JW
|author-link=James W. Prescott
|url=http://www.violence.de/prescott/bulletin/article.html
|title=Body Pleasure and the Origins of Violence
|journal=Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists
|date=1975-11
|volume=
|issue=
|pages=10-20
|accessdate=2022-11-05
}}</ref>
</blockquote>

==Adult reenactment==
Famed trauma expert [[Bessel van der Kolk]], {{MD}} (1989) reported that traumatized persons tend to repeat the [[trauma]] on themselves or others, resulting in self-harm, harm to others, harm to self, or being re-victimized. He writes:
<blockquote>
''Some traumatized people remain preoccupied with the [[trauma]] at the expense of other life experiences and continue to re-create it in some form for themselves or for others.''<ref name="vanderkolk1989">{{VanderKolkBA 1989}}</ref>
</blockquote>

[https://psychohistory.us/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/5.-Final-Elovitz-on-LLoyd-deMauses-Contributions-to-Psycohhistory.pdf Lloyd deMause] (1996) argued that early childhood [[trauma]] results in aggressive adult behavior.
<blockquote>
''That America has arranged to have more people on welfare'' – ''Gingrich’s dreaded “underclass”'' – ''than any other industrialized country is a clue to why nations need poor people to punish for their prosperity. Since it is prosperity and threats of intolerable individuation that trigger the restaging of trauma, it makes psychohistorical sense that America today'' – ''the most prosperous and freest nation of any in history'' – ''has more women and children living in poverty than any other industrialized nation. Nor is it coincidental that the world’s wealthiest country has the highest child homicide rate and the most newborn boys [[circumcised]], both indices of society’s hostility towards children.''<ref name="demause1996">{{REFjournal
|last=deMause
|first=Lloyd
|init=
|author-link=
|etal=no
|title=Restaging Fetal Traumas in War and Social Violence
|journal=Pre- and Perinatal Psychology Journal
|location=
|date=1996
|volume=23
|issue=4
|pages=344-92
|url=http://www.mattes.de/buecher/praenatale_psychologie/PP_PDF/PP_08_2_deMause.pdf
|archived=
|quote=
|pubmedID=11609155
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=
|accessdate=2022-11-05
}}</ref></blockquote>
==Circumcision and violence in American society==
[[Ronald Goldman]], Ph.D., (1997) conducted a thorough review of the effect of the American practice of [[child circumcision]] on American society. He reported greatly increased levels of adult male violence, domestic violence, rape, child sexual abuse, suicide, theft, and warfare.<ref name="goldman1997">{{REFbook
|last=Goldman
|first=Ronald
|year=1997
|title=Circumcision: The Hidden Trauma
|url=https://circumcision.org/circumcision-the-hidden-trauma/
|chapter=7. The impact of circumcision on American society
|pages=157-75
|location=Boston
|publisher=Vanguard
|ISBN=0-9644895-3-8
|accessdate=2026-07-15
}}</ref>

==Is circumcision itself violence?==
The performance of a circumcision operation takes minimal physical force, but it makes up for the lack of force by the great damage to the [[penis]] and its many protective, immunological, sensory, and sexual functions,<ref name="goldman1992">{{REFweb
|url=http://www.intactaus.org/information/functionsoftheforeskin/
|title=Functions of the Foreskin
|last=Helard
|first=Lou
|author-link=
|publisher=Intact Australia
|website=
|date=2014-08-01
|accessdate=2022-11-07
|format=
|quote=
}}</ref> and also by the extreme [[Pain| pain and trauma]] that it inflicts. Ramos & Boyle (2001) studied the psychological effects of [[circumcision]] on Filipino boys. They reported that sixty-nine percent of traditionally circumcised boys and fifty-one percent of medically [[circumcised]] boys subsequently met the criteria for a diagnosis of post-traumatic stress disorder ([[PTSD]]).<ref name="ramos-boyle2001">{{REFbook
|last=Ramos
|first=Samuel
|init=S
|author-link=
|last2=Boyle
|first2=Gregory J.
|init2=GJ
|author2-link=Gregory J. Boyle
|year=2001
|title=Ritual and medical circumcision among Filipino boys: evidence of post-traumatic stress disorder
|url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/300649237_Ritual_and_Medical_Circumcision_among_Filipino_Boys
|work=Understanding circumcision: A Multi-Disciplinary Approach to a Multi-Dimensional Problem
|editor=Denniston GC, Hodges FM, Milos M
|edition=
|volume=
|chapter=
|pages=253-70
|location=New York
|publisher=Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publishers
|isbn=
|quote=
|accessdate=2022-11-05
|note=
}}</ref>

==Religious circumcision and violence==
===Judaism===
It is not clear when the Jews started circumcision, but is clear that it was done in 1406 BCE at [[Gilgal]] in what must have been a highly traumatic event. Michael Glass (2003) observed that the circumcisions at Gilgal were to create warriors. He saw a connection between circumcision and violence.<ref name="glass2003">{{REFweb
|url=http://www.cirp.org/pages/cultural/glass3/
|title=What the Bible Reveals About Circumcision and Sexual Violence
|last=Glass
|first=Michael
|init=
|author-link=Michael Glass
|publisher=Circumcision Reference Library
|date=2003-04
|accessdate=2022-11-11
}}</ref>

According to the late Professor [[Leonard Glick]], Chapter 17 (containing the alleged [[Abrahamic covenant]]) was not added to the book of Genesis until after the Babylonian captivity, which ended in 538 BCE.

The [[Brit Milah]] in which a [[circumcised]] [[mohel]] reenacts his own traumatic circumcision upon a newborn boy on the eighth day of life is a standard feature of [[Judaism]].

Jewish philosophers [[Philo]] and [[Moses Maimonides]] both believed that reduction of [[body pleasure]] was a positive attribute of [[Brit Milah| circumcision]].

===Islam===
Although [[circumcision]] is never mentioned in the Qur'an, male circumcision is deeply rooted in the Muslim tradition. Muhammad is reported to have prescribed cutting the [[foreskin]] as a ''fitrah'', a measure of personal cleanliness. Modern Muslims see circumcision as essential to their faith, although they have also come to lean on arguments of "medical benefits." A conference of Islamic scholars in 1987 stated that modern circumcision studies “[reflect] the wisdom of the Islamic statements”.<ref>{{GollaherDL 2000}}</ref>

The Muslim code of religious law (AKA Shariah) recommends performance of [[circumcision]] at the age of seven days. In practice, however, Muslim boys are [[circumcised]] by circumcised men at varying ages before [[puberty]],<ref>{{REFbook
|last=Morgenstern
|first=Julian
|init=J
|title=Rites of Birth, Marriage, Death and Kindred Occasions among the Semites
|location=Chicago
|publisher=Quadrangle Books
|year=1966
|pages=48-66
|quote=...in modern Moslem practice the rite is performed generally between the ages of two and seven years... as late as the thirteenth year.
}}</ref><ref>{{REFbook
|last=Mehta
|first=Depak
|chapter=Circumcision, Body, Masculinity
|title=Violence and Subjectivity
|editors=Veena Das, Arthur Kleinman, et al.
|location=Berkeley
|publisher={{UNI|University of California|UCBE}} Press
|year=2000
|page=82
|quote=...two to six years.
}}</ref> however, it is no less injurious or traumatic and it still deprives the individual of body pleasure.

[[Islam]] has a long, violent tradition of using the sword to advance Islam. The ''jihad'' is a so-called "holy war" to advance Islam against "infidels".<ref>{{REFweb
|url=https://probe.org/islam-and-the-sword/
|title=Islam and the Sword
|last=Closson
|first=Don
|init=
|publisher=Probe Ministries
|date=2002-05-27
|accessdate=2022-11-05
}}</ref> Beheadings (decapitations) may be carried out by (circumcised) Islamic warriors against infidels (non-Muslims).<ref>{{REFweb
|url=https://www.meforum.org/4807/beheading-infidels-how-allah-heals-the-hearts
|title=Beheading Infidels: How Allah 'Heals the Hearts of Believers'
|last=Ibrahim
|first=Raymond
|init=
|publisher=Middle East Forum
|date=2014-09-11
|accessdate=2022-11-07
}}</ref> We should not forget that the violent attack on the [[United States]] on 11 September 2001 that caused 2,996 deaths and about 25,000 injuries was allegedly led and orchestrated by a [[circumcised]] Saudi Muslim named Osama bin Laden.<ref>{{REFweb
|url=https://military.id.me/news/exposed-hillary-email-touches-upon-osama-bin-ladens-circumcision/
|title=Exposed Hillary Email Touches Upon Osama Bin Laden’s Circumcision
|last=Hall
|first=Blake
|init=
|publisher=The Sit Rep
|date=2015-10-02
|accessdate=2022-11-07
}}</ref> <ref>{{REFweb
|url=https://www.the-sun.com/news/3600036/how-many-people-died-9-11-attacks/
|title=How many people died in the 9-11 attacks
|last=Roback
|first=Jennifer
|init=
|publisher=U.S. Sun
|date=2022-09-11
|accessdate=2022-11-07
}}</ref>

==A survey of nations==
Independent researcher [[Michel Hervé Bertaux-Navoiseau]] (2022) divided nations by the prevalence of [[circumcision]]. He placed nations where more than 50 percent of males are [[circumcised]] in the first category. He placed nations where less than 50 percent of males are circumcised in the second category. He collected statistical data on death penalty, wars, tortures, and excisions by nation. He found a higher rate of these items in the nations where circumcision is the practice. He also reported an "almost absolute" correlation between the practice of circumcision and [[genocide]].<ref name="bertaux-Navoiseau2022">{{REFdocument
|title=Violence and Circumcision
|url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/358044554_Violence_circumcision
|contribution=
|last=Bertaux-Navoiseau
|first=Michel H.
|author-link=Michel Hervé Bertaux-Navoiseau
|publisher=Research Gate
|format=
|date=2022-01
|accessdate=2022-11-09
}}</ref>

{{SEEALSO}}
* [[Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs)]]
* [[Alice Miller]]
* [[Body pleasure]]
* [[Injury]]
* [[Physical abuse]]
* [[Trauma]]
{{LINKS}}
* {{REFweb
|url=http://www.cirp.org/pages/cultural/glass3/
|title=What the Bible Reveals About Circumcision and Sexual Violence
|last=Glass
|first=Michael
|init=
|author-link=Michael Glass
|publisher=Circumcision Reference Library
|date=2003-04
|accessdate=2022-11-08
}}
* {{REFconference
|last=Boyle
|first=G. J.
|init=GJ
|author-link=Gregory J. Boyle
|datefrom=2000-10-06
|dateto=2000-10-07
|url=http://www.cirp.org/library/psych/boyle2/
|title=El trastorno por estrés postraumático (PTSD) de larga duración como resultado de la cirugía genital de los menores
|trans-title=Long-term post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) as a result of genital surgery on minors.
|#=Invited Keynote Address:
|place=San Salvador, El Salvador, Central America
|publisher=III Congreso Nacional de Psicología "Violencia y Salud Mental"
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://www.reddit.com/r/Intactivism/comments/qbpzqr/trained_medical_professionals_restrain_infant_to/
|archived=
|title=Trained medical professionals restrain infant to amputate part of its body while baby kicks and screams in pain
|trans-title=
|language=
|last=
|first=
|author-link=
|publisher=
|website=
|date=
|accessdate=2023-09-19
|format=
|quote=
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://www.reddit.com/r/CircumcisionGrief/comments/1pbm2zq/the_pain_of_circumcision_turning_into_anger_and/
|title=The pain of circumcision turning into anger and violence.
|last=Anonymous
|publisher=REDDIT
|date=2025-12-01
|accessdate=2025-12-07
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://www.reddit.com/r/Intactivists/comments/1sfbllc/the_violence_in_the_middle_east_forced/
|title=The violence in the Middle East. Forced circumcision. Could there be a connection?
|last=Anonymous
|publisher=Reddit
|date=2026-04-07
|accessdate=2026-04-15
}}
{{ABBR}}
{{REF}}

[[Category:Term]]
[[Category:Psychology]]
[[Category:Judaism]]
[[Category:Islam]]
[[Category:Sociology]]
[[Category:Violence]]

[[de:Beschneidung und Gewalt]]

Circumcision and violence

2026-07-15T19:02:32Z

WikiModEn2: /* Circumcision and violence in American society */

The relationship of '''{{FULLPAGENAME}}''' is becoming clear. Violence is defined as "behavior or treatment in which physical force is exerted for the purpose of causing damage or injury",<ref>{{REFweb
|url=https://www.thefreedictionary.com/violence
|title=Violence
|publisher=The Free Dictionary by Farlex
|date=2016
|accessdate=2022-11-05
}}</ref>

The first recorded use of [[circumcision]] to cause violence was at [[Gilgal]] (1406 BCE), where Joshua ordered the Israelites to be [[circumcised]].<ref>{{REFweb
|url=https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Joshua%205&version=HCSB
|title=Joshua 5
|last=
|first=
|init=
|author-link=
|publisher=Bible Gateway
|date=
|accessdate=2026-06-02
}}</ref> The [[adult circumcision| circumcision]] event occured just before the military action to take possession of the land of Canaan.<ref>{{REFweb
|url=https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Joshua%207&version=HCSB
|title=joshua 7
|last=
|first=
|init=
|author-link=
|publisher=Bible Gateway
|date=
|accessdate=2026-06-02
}}</ref>

The New York Times (1995) reported:
<blockquote>
Several strands of findings presented by researchers at the weekend conference pointed to the same conclusion: brutality and cruelty to children can leave a clear mark on the chemistry of the brain. And those changes in brain chemistry may be the route by which a brutalized child becomes a violent adult.<ref name="goleman1995">{{REFnews
|title=Early Violence Leaves Its Mark on the Brain
|url=https://www.cirp.org/library/psych/goleman/
|last=Goleman
|first=Daniel
|init=
|author-link=
|publisher=New York Times
|website=CIRP
|date=1995-10-03
|accessdate=2025-05-24
|format=
|quote=
}}</ref>
</blockquote>

It is clear that unwanted [[circumcision]] makes men very angry.<ref name="chapin2022">{{REFweb
|url=https://intactamerica.org/what-is-making-these-guys-so-angry/
|title=“What Is Making These Guys So Angry”
|last=Chapin
|first=Georganne
|init=
|author-link=Georganne Chapin
|publisher=Intact America
|date=2022-06-15
|quote=But we need to listen to the growing number of men speaking out about having been violated as babies when an essential (i.e., of its essence) part of their penis was forcibly severed. And we must ask ourselves whether the nearly ubiquitous violation of baby boys as a class of people and the assembly-line acts of violence carried out upon individual newborns might be responsible for at least some of the rage, pain and feelings of impotence that underlie the epidemic of mass killings we are witnessing today.
|accessdate=2024-08-16
}}</ref>

[[Alice Miller]] said:
<blockquote>
"We do not need books about psychology in order to learn to respect our children. What we need is a total revision of the methods of child rearing and our traditional view about it.<ref>{{REFweb
|title=Alice Miller Interview: The Roots of Violence
|url=https://www.naturalchild.org/articles/alice_miller/roots_violence.html
|archived=
|trans-title=
|language=
|last=Conners
|first=Diane
|init=
|author-link=
|publisher=The Natural Child Project
|website=https://www.naturalchild.org
|date=1987-03
|accessdate=2026-05-26
|format=
|quote=
}}</ref>
</blockquote>

==Violence due to loss of body pleasure==
The human [[prepuce]] is highly innervated tissue<ref name="cold-taylor1999">{{ColdCJ TaylorJR 1999}}</ref> and has long been known for its erogenous quality.<ref name="ErogenousZones">{{WinkelmannRK 1959}}</ref> Falliers (1970) commented on the "sensory pleasure induced by tactile stimulation of the [[foreskin]]."<ref name="falliers1970">{{REFjournal
|last=Falliers
|first=
|init=CJ
|author-link=
|etal=no
|title=Circumcision
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal=JAMA
|location=
|date=1970-12
|volume=214
|issue=12
|article=
|page=2194
|pages=
|url=http://www.cirp.org/library/general/falliers1/
|archived=
|quote=
|pubmedID=5536586
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=
|accessdate=2022-11-05
}}</ref> Excision of the foreskin by [[circumcision]] necessarily reduces the pleasurable sensations emanating from the [[foreskin]].

The late developmental neuropsychologist [[James W. Prescott]], {{PhD}}, (1975) connected loss of sensory [[body pleasure]] to increases in violent behavior. According to Dr. Prescott:
<blockquote>
''As a developmental neuropsychologist I have devoted a great deal of study to the peculiar relationship between violence and pleasure. I am now convinced that the deprivation of physical sensory pleasure is the principal root cause of violence. Laboratory experiments with animals show that pleasure and violence have a reciprocal relationship, that is, the presence of one inhibits the other. A raging, violent animal will abruptly calm down when electrodes stimulate the pleasure centers of its brain. Likewise, stimulating the violence centers in the brain can terminate the animal's sensual pleasure and peaceful behavior. When the brain's pleasure circuits are 'on,' the violence circuits are 'off,' and vice versa. Among human beings, a pleasure-prone personality rarely displays violence or aggressive behaviors, and a violent personality has little ability to tolerate, experience, or enjoy sensuously pleasing activities. As either violence or pleasure goes up, the other goes down.''<ref name="prescott1975">{{REFjournal
|last=Prescott
|init=JW
|author-link=James W. Prescott
|url=http://www.violence.de/prescott/bulletin/article.html
|title=Body Pleasure and the Origins of Violence
|journal=Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists
|date=1975-11
|volume=
|issue=
|pages=10-20
|accessdate=2022-11-05
}}</ref>
</blockquote>

==Adult reenactment==
Famed trauma expert [[Bessel van der Kolk]], {{MD}} (1989) reported that traumatized persons tend to repeat the [[trauma]] on themselves or others, resulting in self-harm, harm to others, harm to self, or being re-victimized. He writes:
<blockquote>
''Some traumatized people remain preoccupied with the [[trauma]] at the expense of other life experiences and continue to re-create it in some form for themselves or for others.''<ref name="vanderkolk1989">{{VanderKolkBA 1989}}</ref>
</blockquote>

[https://psychohistory.us/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/5.-Final-Elovitz-on-LLoyd-deMauses-Contributions-to-Psycohhistory.pdf Lloyd deMause] (1996) argued that early childhood [[trauma]] results in aggressive adult behavior.
<blockquote>
''That America has arranged to have more people on welfare'' – ''Gingrich’s dreaded “underclass”'' – ''than any other industrialized country is a clue to why nations need poor people to punish for their prosperity. Since it is prosperity and threats of intolerable individuation that trigger the restaging of trauma, it makes psychohistorical sense that America today'' – ''the most prosperous and freest nation of any in history'' – ''has more women and children living in poverty than any other industrialized nation. Nor is it coincidental that the world’s wealthiest country has the highest child homicide rate and the most newborn boys [[circumcised]], both indices of society’s hostility towards children.''<ref name="demause1996">{{REFjournal
|last=deMause
|first=Lloyd
|init=
|author-link=
|etal=no
|title=Restaging Fetal Traumas in War and Social Violence
|journal=Pre- and Perinatal Psychology Journal
|location=
|date=1996
|volume=23
|issue=4
|pages=344-92
|url=http://www.mattes.de/buecher/praenatale_psychologie/PP_PDF/PP_08_2_deMause.pdf
|archived=
|quote=
|pubmedID=11609155
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=
|accessdate=2022-11-05
}}</ref></blockquote>
==Circumcision and violence in American society==
[[Ronald Goldman]], Ph.D., (1997) conducted a thorough review of the effect of the American practice of [[child circumcision]] on American society. He reported greatly increased levels of adult male violence, domestic violence, rape, child sexual abuse, suicide, theft, and warfare.<ref>{{REFbook
|last=Goldman
|first=Ronald
|year=1997
|title=Circumcision: The Hidden Trauma
|url=https://circumcision.org/circumcision-the-hidden-trauma/
|chapter=7. The impact of circumcision on American society
|pages=157-75
|location=Boston
|publisher=Vanguard
|ISBN=0-9644895-3-8
|accessdate=2026-07-15
}}</ref>

==Is circumcision itself violence?==
The performance of a circumcision operation takes minimal physical force, but it makes up for the lack of force by the great damage to the [[penis]] and its many protective, immunological, sensory, and sexual functions,<ref name="goldman1992">{{REFweb
|url=http://www.intactaus.org/information/functionsoftheforeskin/
|title=Functions of the Foreskin
|last=Helard
|first=Lou
|author-link=
|publisher=Intact Australia
|website=
|date=2014-08-01
|accessdate=2022-11-07
|format=
|quote=
}}</ref> and also by the extreme [[Pain| pain and trauma]] that it inflicts. Ramos & Boyle (2001) studied the psychological effects of [[circumcision]] on Filipino boys. They reported that sixty-nine percent of traditionally circumcised boys and fifty-one percent of medically [[circumcised]] boys subsequently met the criteria for a diagnosis of post-traumatic stress disorder ([[PTSD]]).<ref name="ramos-boyle2001">{{REFbook
|last=Ramos
|first=Samuel
|init=S
|author-link=
|last2=Boyle
|first2=Gregory J.
|init2=GJ
|author2-link=Gregory J. Boyle
|year=2001
|title=Ritual and medical circumcision among Filipino boys: evidence of post-traumatic stress disorder
|url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/300649237_Ritual_and_Medical_Circumcision_among_Filipino_Boys
|work=Understanding circumcision: A Multi-Disciplinary Approach to a Multi-Dimensional Problem
|editor=Denniston GC, Hodges FM, Milos M
|edition=
|volume=
|chapter=
|pages=253-70
|location=New York
|publisher=Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publishers
|isbn=
|quote=
|accessdate=2022-11-05
|note=
}}</ref>

==Religious circumcision and violence==
===Judaism===
It is not clear when the Jews started circumcision, but is clear that it was done in 1406 BCE at [[Gilgal]] in what must have been a highly traumatic event. Michael Glass (2003) observed that the circumcisions at Gilgal were to create warriors. He saw a connection between circumcision and violence.<ref name="glass2003">{{REFweb
|url=http://www.cirp.org/pages/cultural/glass3/
|title=What the Bible Reveals About Circumcision and Sexual Violence
|last=Glass
|first=Michael
|init=
|author-link=Michael Glass
|publisher=Circumcision Reference Library
|date=2003-04
|accessdate=2022-11-11
}}</ref>

According to the late Professor [[Leonard Glick]], Chapter 17 (containing the alleged [[Abrahamic covenant]]) was not added to the book of Genesis until after the Babylonian captivity, which ended in 538 BCE.

The [[Brit Milah]] in which a [[circumcised]] [[mohel]] reenacts his own traumatic circumcision upon a newborn boy on the eighth day of life is a standard feature of [[Judaism]].

Jewish philosophers [[Philo]] and [[Moses Maimonides]] both believed that reduction of [[body pleasure]] was a positive attribute of [[Brit Milah| circumcision]].

===Islam===
Although [[circumcision]] is never mentioned in the Qur'an, male circumcision is deeply rooted in the Muslim tradition. Muhammad is reported to have prescribed cutting the [[foreskin]] as a ''fitrah'', a measure of personal cleanliness. Modern Muslims see circumcision as essential to their faith, although they have also come to lean on arguments of "medical benefits." A conference of Islamic scholars in 1987 stated that modern circumcision studies “[reflect] the wisdom of the Islamic statements”.<ref>{{GollaherDL 2000}}</ref>

The Muslim code of religious law (AKA Shariah) recommends performance of [[circumcision]] at the age of seven days. In practice, however, Muslim boys are [[circumcised]] by circumcised men at varying ages before [[puberty]],<ref>{{REFbook
|last=Morgenstern
|first=Julian
|init=J
|title=Rites of Birth, Marriage, Death and Kindred Occasions among the Semites
|location=Chicago
|publisher=Quadrangle Books
|year=1966
|pages=48-66
|quote=...in modern Moslem practice the rite is performed generally between the ages of two and seven years... as late as the thirteenth year.
}}</ref><ref>{{REFbook
|last=Mehta
|first=Depak
|chapter=Circumcision, Body, Masculinity
|title=Violence and Subjectivity
|editors=Veena Das, Arthur Kleinman, et al.
|location=Berkeley
|publisher={{UNI|University of California|UCBE}} Press
|year=2000
|page=82
|quote=...two to six years.
}}</ref> however, it is no less injurious or traumatic and it still deprives the individual of body pleasure.

[[Islam]] has a long, violent tradition of using the sword to advance Islam. The ''jihad'' is a so-called "holy war" to advance Islam against "infidels".<ref>{{REFweb
|url=https://probe.org/islam-and-the-sword/
|title=Islam and the Sword
|last=Closson
|first=Don
|init=
|publisher=Probe Ministries
|date=2002-05-27
|accessdate=2022-11-05
}}</ref> Beheadings (decapitations) may be carried out by (circumcised) Islamic warriors against infidels (non-Muslims).<ref>{{REFweb
|url=https://www.meforum.org/4807/beheading-infidels-how-allah-heals-the-hearts
|title=Beheading Infidels: How Allah 'Heals the Hearts of Believers'
|last=Ibrahim
|first=Raymond
|init=
|publisher=Middle East Forum
|date=2014-09-11
|accessdate=2022-11-07
}}</ref> We should not forget that the violent attack on the [[United States]] on 11 September 2001 that caused 2,996 deaths and about 25,000 injuries was allegedly led and orchestrated by a [[circumcised]] Saudi Muslim named Osama bin Laden.<ref>{{REFweb
|url=https://military.id.me/news/exposed-hillary-email-touches-upon-osama-bin-ladens-circumcision/
|title=Exposed Hillary Email Touches Upon Osama Bin Laden’s Circumcision
|last=Hall
|first=Blake
|init=
|publisher=The Sit Rep
|date=2015-10-02
|accessdate=2022-11-07
}}</ref> <ref>{{REFweb
|url=https://www.the-sun.com/news/3600036/how-many-people-died-9-11-attacks/
|title=How many people died in the 9-11 attacks
|last=Roback
|first=Jennifer
|init=
|publisher=U.S. Sun
|date=2022-09-11
|accessdate=2022-11-07
}}</ref>

==A survey of nations==
Independent researcher [[Michel Hervé Bertaux-Navoiseau]] (2022) divided nations by the prevalence of [[circumcision]]. He placed nations where more than 50 percent of males are [[circumcised]] in the first category. He placed nations where less than 50 percent of males are circumcised in the second category. He collected statistical data on death penalty, wars, tortures, and excisions by nation. He found a higher rate of these items in the nations where circumcision is the practice. He also reported an "almost absolute" correlation between the practice of circumcision and [[genocide]].<ref name="bertaux-Navoiseau2022">{{REFdocument
|title=Violence and Circumcision
|url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/358044554_Violence_circumcision
|contribution=
|last=Bertaux-Navoiseau
|first=Michel H.
|author-link=Michel Hervé Bertaux-Navoiseau
|publisher=Research Gate
|format=
|date=2022-01
|accessdate=2022-11-09
}}</ref>

{{SEEALSO}}
* [[Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs)]]
* [[Alice Miller]]
* [[Body pleasure]]
* [[Injury]]
* [[Physical abuse]]
* [[Trauma]]
{{LINKS}}
* {{REFweb
|url=http://www.cirp.org/pages/cultural/glass3/
|title=What the Bible Reveals About Circumcision and Sexual Violence
|last=Glass
|first=Michael
|init=
|author-link=Michael Glass
|publisher=Circumcision Reference Library
|date=2003-04
|accessdate=2022-11-08
}}
* {{REFconference
|last=Boyle
|first=G. J.
|init=GJ
|author-link=Gregory J. Boyle
|datefrom=2000-10-06
|dateto=2000-10-07
|url=http://www.cirp.org/library/psych/boyle2/
|title=El trastorno por estrés postraumático (PTSD) de larga duración como resultado de la cirugía genital de los menores
|trans-title=Long-term post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) as a result of genital surgery on minors.
|#=Invited Keynote Address:
|place=San Salvador, El Salvador, Central America
|publisher=III Congreso Nacional de Psicología "Violencia y Salud Mental"
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://www.reddit.com/r/Intactivism/comments/qbpzqr/trained_medical_professionals_restrain_infant_to/
|archived=
|title=Trained medical professionals restrain infant to amputate part of its body while baby kicks and screams in pain
|trans-title=
|language=
|last=
|first=
|author-link=
|publisher=
|website=
|date=
|accessdate=2023-09-19
|format=
|quote=
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://www.reddit.com/r/CircumcisionGrief/comments/1pbm2zq/the_pain_of_circumcision_turning_into_anger_and/
|title=The pain of circumcision turning into anger and violence.
|last=Anonymous
|publisher=REDDIT
|date=2025-12-01
|accessdate=2025-12-07
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://www.reddit.com/r/Intactivists/comments/1sfbllc/the_violence_in_the_middle_east_forced/
|title=The violence in the Middle East. Forced circumcision. Could there be a connection?
|last=Anonymous
|publisher=Reddit
|date=2026-04-07
|accessdate=2026-04-15
}}
{{ABBR}}
{{REF}}

[[Category:Term]]
[[Category:Psychology]]
[[Category:Judaism]]
[[Category:Islam]]
[[Category:Sociology]]
[[Category:Violence]]

[[de:Beschneidung und Gewalt]]

Circumcision and violence

2026-07-15T18:46:05Z

WikiModEn2: Add text and citation.

The relationship of '''{{FULLPAGENAME}}''' is becoming clear. Violence is defined as "behavior or treatment in which physical force is exerted for the purpose of causing damage or injury",<ref>{{REFweb
|url=https://www.thefreedictionary.com/violence
|title=Violence
|publisher=The Free Dictionary by Farlex
|date=2016
|accessdate=2022-11-05
}}</ref>

The first recorded use of [[circumcision]] to cause violence was at [[Gilgal]] (1406 BCE), where Joshua ordered the Israelites to be [[circumcised]].<ref>{{REFweb
|url=https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Joshua%205&version=HCSB
|title=Joshua 5
|last=
|first=
|init=
|author-link=
|publisher=Bible Gateway
|date=
|accessdate=2026-06-02
}}</ref> The [[adult circumcision| circumcision]] event occured just before the military action to take possession of the land of Canaan.<ref>{{REFweb
|url=https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Joshua%207&version=HCSB
|title=joshua 7
|last=
|first=
|init=
|author-link=
|publisher=Bible Gateway
|date=
|accessdate=2026-06-02
}}</ref>

The New York Times (1995) reported:
<blockquote>
Several strands of findings presented by researchers at the weekend conference pointed to the same conclusion: brutality and cruelty to children can leave a clear mark on the chemistry of the brain. And those changes in brain chemistry may be the route by which a brutalized child becomes a violent adult.<ref name="goleman1995">{{REFnews
|title=Early Violence Leaves Its Mark on the Brain
|url=https://www.cirp.org/library/psych/goleman/
|last=Goleman
|first=Daniel
|init=
|author-link=
|publisher=New York Times
|website=CIRP
|date=1995-10-03
|accessdate=2025-05-24
|format=
|quote=
}}</ref>
</blockquote>

It is clear that unwanted [[circumcision]] makes men very angry.<ref name="chapin2022">{{REFweb
|url=https://intactamerica.org/what-is-making-these-guys-so-angry/
|title=“What Is Making These Guys So Angry”
|last=Chapin
|first=Georganne
|init=
|author-link=Georganne Chapin
|publisher=Intact America
|date=2022-06-15
|quote=But we need to listen to the growing number of men speaking out about having been violated as babies when an essential (i.e., of its essence) part of their penis was forcibly severed. And we must ask ourselves whether the nearly ubiquitous violation of baby boys as a class of people and the assembly-line acts of violence carried out upon individual newborns might be responsible for at least some of the rage, pain and feelings of impotence that underlie the epidemic of mass killings we are witnessing today.
|accessdate=2024-08-16
}}</ref>

[[Alice Miller]] said:
<blockquote>
"We do not need books about psychology in order to learn to respect our children. What we need is a total revision of the methods of child rearing and our traditional view about it.<ref>{{REFweb
|title=Alice Miller Interview: The Roots of Violence
|url=https://www.naturalchild.org/articles/alice_miller/roots_violence.html
|archived=
|trans-title=
|language=
|last=Conners
|first=Diane
|init=
|author-link=
|publisher=The Natural Child Project
|website=https://www.naturalchild.org
|date=1987-03
|accessdate=2026-05-26
|format=
|quote=
}}</ref>
</blockquote>

==Violence due to loss of body pleasure==
The human [[prepuce]] is highly innervated tissue<ref name="cold-taylor1999">{{ColdCJ TaylorJR 1999}}</ref> and has long been known for its erogenous quality.<ref name="ErogenousZones">{{WinkelmannRK 1959}}</ref> Falliers (1970) commented on the "sensory pleasure induced by tactile stimulation of the [[foreskin]]."<ref name="falliers1970">{{REFjournal
|last=Falliers
|first=
|init=CJ
|author-link=
|etal=no
|title=Circumcision
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal=JAMA
|location=
|date=1970-12
|volume=214
|issue=12
|article=
|page=2194
|pages=
|url=http://www.cirp.org/library/general/falliers1/
|archived=
|quote=
|pubmedID=5536586
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=
|accessdate=2022-11-05
}}</ref> Excision of the foreskin by [[circumcision]] necessarily reduces the pleasurable sensations emanating from the [[foreskin]].

The late developmental neuropsychologist [[James W. Prescott]], {{PhD}}, (1975) connected loss of sensory [[body pleasure]] to increases in violent behavior. According to Dr. Prescott:
<blockquote>
''As a developmental neuropsychologist I have devoted a great deal of study to the peculiar relationship between violence and pleasure. I am now convinced that the deprivation of physical sensory pleasure is the principal root cause of violence. Laboratory experiments with animals show that pleasure and violence have a reciprocal relationship, that is, the presence of one inhibits the other. A raging, violent animal will abruptly calm down when electrodes stimulate the pleasure centers of its brain. Likewise, stimulating the violence centers in the brain can terminate the animal's sensual pleasure and peaceful behavior. When the brain's pleasure circuits are 'on,' the violence circuits are 'off,' and vice versa. Among human beings, a pleasure-prone personality rarely displays violence or aggressive behaviors, and a violent personality has little ability to tolerate, experience, or enjoy sensuously pleasing activities. As either violence or pleasure goes up, the other goes down.''<ref name="prescott1975">{{REFjournal
|last=Prescott
|init=JW
|author-link=James W. Prescott
|url=http://www.violence.de/prescott/bulletin/article.html
|title=Body Pleasure and the Origins of Violence
|journal=Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists
|date=1975-11
|volume=
|issue=
|pages=10-20
|accessdate=2022-11-05
}}</ref>
</blockquote>

==Adult reenactment==
Famed trauma expert [[Bessel van der Kolk]], {{MD}} (1989) reported that traumatized persons tend to repeat the [[trauma]] on themselves or others, resulting in self-harm, harm to others, harm to self, or being re-victimized. He writes:
<blockquote>
''Some traumatized people remain preoccupied with the [[trauma]] at the expense of other life experiences and continue to re-create it in some form for themselves or for others.''<ref name="vanderkolk1989">{{VanderKolkBA 1989}}</ref>
</blockquote>

[https://psychohistory.us/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/5.-Final-Elovitz-on-LLoyd-deMauses-Contributions-to-Psycohhistory.pdf Lloyd deMause] (1996) argued that early childhood [[trauma]] results in aggressive adult behavior.
<blockquote>
''That America has arranged to have more people on welfare'' – ''Gingrich’s dreaded “underclass”'' – ''than any other industrialized country is a clue to why nations need poor people to punish for their prosperity. Since it is prosperity and threats of intolerable individuation that trigger the restaging of trauma, it makes psychohistorical sense that America today'' – ''the most prosperous and freest nation of any in history'' – ''has more women and children living in poverty than any other industrialized nation. Nor is it coincidental that the world’s wealthiest country has the highest child homicide rate and the most newborn boys [[circumcised]], both indices of society’s hostility towards children.''<ref name="demause1996">{{REFjournal
|last=deMause
|first=Lloyd
|init=
|author-link=
|etal=no
|title=Restaging Fetal Traumas in War and Social Violence
|journal=Pre- and Perinatal Psychology Journal
|location=
|date=1996
|volume=23
|issue=4
|pages=344-92
|url=http://www.mattes.de/buecher/praenatale_psychologie/PP_PDF/PP_08_2_deMause.pdf
|archived=
|quote=
|pubmedID=11609155
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=
|accessdate=2022-11-05
}}</ref></blockquote>
==Circumcision and violence in American society==
[[Ronald Goldman]], Ph.D., (1997) conducted a thorough review of the effect of the American practice of [[child circumcision]] on American society. He reported greatly increased levels of adult male violence, domestic violence, rape, child sexual abuse, suicide, theft, and warfare.<ref>{{REFbook
|last=Goldman
|first=Ronald
|year=1997
|title=Circumcision: The Hidden Trauma
|url=https://circumcision.org/circumcision-the-hidden-trauma/
|chapter=The impact of circumcision on American society
|pages=157-75
|location=Boston
|publisher=Vanguard
|ISBN=0-9644895-3-8
|accessdate=2026-07-15
}}</ref>
==Is circumcision itself violence?==
The performance of a circumcision operation takes minimal physical force, but it makes up for the lack of force by the great damage to the [[penis]] and its many protective, immunological, sensory, and sexual functions,<ref name="goldman1992">{{REFweb
|url=http://www.intactaus.org/information/functionsoftheforeskin/
|title=Functions of the Foreskin
|last=Helard
|first=Lou
|author-link=
|publisher=Intact Australia
|website=
|date=2014-08-01
|accessdate=2022-11-07
|format=
|quote=
}}</ref> and also by the extreme [[Pain| pain and trauma]] that it inflicts. Ramos & Boyle (2001) studied the psychological effects of [[circumcision]] on Filipino boys. They reported that sixty-nine percent of traditionally circumcised boys and fifty-one percent of medically [[circumcised]] boys subsequently met the criteria for a diagnosis of post-traumatic stress disorder ([[PTSD]]).<ref name="ramos-boyle2001">{{REFbook
|last=Ramos
|first=Samuel
|init=S
|author-link=
|last2=Boyle
|first2=Gregory J.
|init2=GJ
|author2-link=Gregory J. Boyle
|year=2001
|title=Ritual and medical circumcision among Filipino boys: evidence of post-traumatic stress disorder
|url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/300649237_Ritual_and_Medical_Circumcision_among_Filipino_Boys
|work=Understanding circumcision: A Multi-Disciplinary Approach to a Multi-Dimensional Problem
|editor=Denniston GC, Hodges FM, Milos M
|edition=
|volume=
|chapter=
|pages=253-70
|location=New York
|publisher=Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publishers
|isbn=
|quote=
|accessdate=2022-11-05
|note=
}}</ref>

==Religious circumcision and violence==
===Judaism===
It is not clear when the Jews started circumcision, but is clear that it was done in 1406 BCE at [[Gilgal]] in what must have been a highly traumatic event. Michael Glass (2003) observed that the circumcisions at Gilgal were to create warriors. He saw a connection between circumcision and violence.<ref name="glass2003">{{REFweb
|url=http://www.cirp.org/pages/cultural/glass3/
|title=What the Bible Reveals About Circumcision and Sexual Violence
|last=Glass
|first=Michael
|init=
|author-link=Michael Glass
|publisher=Circumcision Reference Library
|date=2003-04
|accessdate=2022-11-11
}}</ref>

According to the late Professor [[Leonard Glick]], Chapter 17 (containing the alleged [[Abrahamic covenant]]) was not added to the book of Genesis until after the Babylonian captivity, which ended in 538 BCE.

The [[Brit Milah]] in which a [[circumcised]] [[mohel]] reenacts his own traumatic circumcision upon a newborn boy on the eighth day of life is a standard feature of [[Judaism]].

Jewish philosophers [[Philo]] and [[Moses Maimonides]] both believed that reduction of [[body pleasure]] was a positive attribute of [[Brit Milah| circumcision]].

===Islam===
Although [[circumcision]] is never mentioned in the Qur'an, male circumcision is deeply rooted in the Muslim tradition. Muhammad is reported to have prescribed cutting the [[foreskin]] as a ''fitrah'', a measure of personal cleanliness. Modern Muslims see circumcision as essential to their faith, although they have also come to lean on arguments of "medical benefits." A conference of Islamic scholars in 1987 stated that modern circumcision studies “[reflect] the wisdom of the Islamic statements”.<ref>{{GollaherDL 2000}}</ref>

The Muslim code of religious law (AKA Shariah) recommends performance of [[circumcision]] at the age of seven days. In practice, however, Muslim boys are [[circumcised]] by circumcised men at varying ages before [[puberty]],<ref>{{REFbook
|last=Morgenstern
|first=Julian
|init=J
|title=Rites of Birth, Marriage, Death and Kindred Occasions among the Semites
|location=Chicago
|publisher=Quadrangle Books
|year=1966
|pages=48-66
|quote=...in modern Moslem practice the rite is performed generally between the ages of two and seven years... as late as the thirteenth year.
}}</ref><ref>{{REFbook
|last=Mehta
|first=Depak
|chapter=Circumcision, Body, Masculinity
|title=Violence and Subjectivity
|editors=Veena Das, Arthur Kleinman, et al.
|location=Berkeley
|publisher={{UNI|University of California|UCBE}} Press
|year=2000
|page=82
|quote=...two to six years.
}}</ref> however, it is no less injurious or traumatic and it still deprives the individual of body pleasure.

[[Islam]] has a long, violent tradition of using the sword to advance Islam. The ''jihad'' is a so-called "holy war" to advance Islam against "infidels".<ref>{{REFweb
|url=https://probe.org/islam-and-the-sword/
|title=Islam and the Sword
|last=Closson
|first=Don
|init=
|publisher=Probe Ministries
|date=2002-05-27
|accessdate=2022-11-05
}}</ref> Beheadings (decapitations) may be carried out by (circumcised) Islamic warriors against infidels (non-Muslims).<ref>{{REFweb
|url=https://www.meforum.org/4807/beheading-infidels-how-allah-heals-the-hearts
|title=Beheading Infidels: How Allah 'Heals the Hearts of Believers'
|last=Ibrahim
|first=Raymond
|init=
|publisher=Middle East Forum
|date=2014-09-11
|accessdate=2022-11-07
}}</ref> We should not forget that the violent attack on the [[United States]] on 11 September 2001 that caused 2,996 deaths and about 25,000 injuries was allegedly led and orchestrated by a [[circumcised]] Saudi Muslim named Osama bin Laden.<ref>{{REFweb
|url=https://military.id.me/news/exposed-hillary-email-touches-upon-osama-bin-ladens-circumcision/
|title=Exposed Hillary Email Touches Upon Osama Bin Laden’s Circumcision
|last=Hall
|first=Blake
|init=
|publisher=The Sit Rep
|date=2015-10-02
|accessdate=2022-11-07
}}</ref> <ref>{{REFweb
|url=https://www.the-sun.com/news/3600036/how-many-people-died-9-11-attacks/
|title=How many people died in the 9-11 attacks
|last=Roback
|first=Jennifer
|init=
|publisher=U.S. Sun
|date=2022-09-11
|accessdate=2022-11-07
}}</ref>

==A survey of nations==
Independent researcher [[Michel Hervé Bertaux-Navoiseau]] (2022) divided nations by the prevalence of [[circumcision]]. He placed nations where more than 50 percent of males are [[circumcised]] in the first category. He placed nations where less than 50 percent of males are circumcised in the second category. He collected statistical data on death penalty, wars, tortures, and excisions by nation. He found a higher rate of these items in the nations where circumcision is the practice. He also reported an "almost absolute" correlation between the practice of circumcision and [[genocide]].<ref name="bertaux-Navoiseau2022">{{REFdocument
|title=Violence and Circumcision
|url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/358044554_Violence_circumcision
|contribution=
|last=Bertaux-Navoiseau
|first=Michel H.
|author-link=Michel Hervé Bertaux-Navoiseau
|publisher=Research Gate
|format=
|date=2022-01
|accessdate=2022-11-09
}}</ref>

{{SEEALSO}}
* [[Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs)]]
* [[Alice Miller]]
* [[Body pleasure]]
* [[Injury]]
* [[Physical abuse]]
* [[Trauma]]
{{LINKS}}
* {{REFweb
|url=http://www.cirp.org/pages/cultural/glass3/
|title=What the Bible Reveals About Circumcision and Sexual Violence
|last=Glass
|first=Michael
|init=
|author-link=Michael Glass
|publisher=Circumcision Reference Library
|date=2003-04
|accessdate=2022-11-08
}}
* {{REFconference
|last=Boyle
|first=G. J.
|init=GJ
|author-link=Gregory J. Boyle
|datefrom=2000-10-06
|dateto=2000-10-07
|url=http://www.cirp.org/library/psych/boyle2/
|title=El trastorno por estrés postraumático (PTSD) de larga duración como resultado de la cirugía genital de los menores
|trans-title=Long-term post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) as a result of genital surgery on minors.
|#=Invited Keynote Address:
|place=San Salvador, El Salvador, Central America
|publisher=III Congreso Nacional de Psicología "Violencia y Salud Mental"
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://www.reddit.com/r/Intactivism/comments/qbpzqr/trained_medical_professionals_restrain_infant_to/
|archived=
|title=Trained medical professionals restrain infant to amputate part of its body while baby kicks and screams in pain
|trans-title=
|language=
|last=
|first=
|author-link=
|publisher=
|website=
|date=
|accessdate=2023-09-19
|format=
|quote=
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://www.reddit.com/r/CircumcisionGrief/comments/1pbm2zq/the_pain_of_circumcision_turning_into_anger_and/
|title=The pain of circumcision turning into anger and violence.
|last=Anonymous
|publisher=REDDIT
|date=2025-12-01
|accessdate=2025-12-07
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://www.reddit.com/r/Intactivists/comments/1sfbllc/the_violence_in_the_middle_east_forced/
|title=The violence in the Middle East. Forced circumcision. Could there be a connection?
|last=Anonymous
|publisher=Reddit
|date=2026-04-07
|accessdate=2026-04-15
}}
{{ABBR}}
{{REF}}

[[Category:Term]]
[[Category:Psychology]]
[[Category:Judaism]]
[[Category:Islam]]
[[Category:Sociology]]
[[Category:Violence]]

[[de:Beschneidung und Gewalt]]

Ethics of non-therapeutic child circumcision

2026-07-15T00:03:10Z

WikiModEn2: /* The Times They Are A-Changing */

Human dignity is the term given to the principle that humans and human life are entitled to respect. The United Nations has developed many [[human rights]] instruments that provide general guidance on protecting human dignity ."<ref>{{REFbook
|last=President's Council on Bioethics
|first=
|init=
|year=2008-03
|title=Human Dignity and Bioethics
|url=https://bioethicsarchive.georgetown.edu/pcbe/reports/human_dignity/
|scope=
|location=Washington, DC
|publisher=President's Council on Bioethics
|ISBN=
|accessdate=2025-06-28
}}</ref> Medical doctors have a general duty to respect the [[human rights]] of their patients.

Ethics is defined as "the principles of conduct governing an individual or a group". Medical ethics or bioethics provide guidance on protecting the human dignity of patients in medical treatment.

Male circumcisions are usually performed by medical doctors for profit, so the more specific principles of medical ethics or bioethics are applicable to the practice of [[circumcision]].
Male [[circumcision]] is the surgical removal of the [[foreskin]] (prepuce) from the human [[penis]].<ref name=sawyer_2011>{{REFbook
|last=Sawyer
|init=S
|title=Pediatric Physical Examination & Health Assessment
|pages=555-556
|date=2011-11
|publisher=Jones & Bartlett Publishers
|isbn=978-1-4496-7600-1
|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=W6eRUtlujbkC&pg=PA555
}}</ref> The foreskin has [[Foreskin#Physiological_functions| protective, immunological, sensory, and sexual functions]], which are irreversibly destroyed and cease to function after the [[amputation]] of the foreskin by circumcision, imposing a lifetime loss of functional tissue and loss of function upon the patient. The '''ethics of non-therapeutic child circumcision''' being imposed on unconsenting minors (babies and children) has been a source of ongoing controversy.<ref name="bma2006">Committee on Medical Ethics. [https://www.bma.org.uk/advice/employment/ethics/children-and-young-people/non-therapeutic-male-circumcision-of-children-ethics-toolkit The law and ethics of male circumcision: Guidance for doctors]. London: British Medical Association 2006.</ref>

The concern about the ongoing practice of [[child circumcision]] has spurred the publication of numerous articles in journals of medical ethics.
==The Times They Are A-Changing==
The policies regarding the circumcision of male chilren are being rethought.<ref>{{REFjournal
|last=Buckler
|first=
|init=M
|author-link=
|etal=no
|title=As controversies mount, circumcision policies need a rethink
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal=Journal of Medical Ethics
|location=
|date=2025-11
|article=111357
|page=
|pages=
|url=https://www.galdef.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/Buckler-Controversies-rethink-JME-2025.pdf
|archived=
|quote=
|pubmedID=41207714
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=10.1136/jme-2025-111357
|accessdate=2026-07-14
}}</ref>

==Ethics journals ==

===Journal of Medical Ethics circumcision issue, July 2013===
The ''Journal of Medical Ethics'' devoted the entire July 2013 issue to the controversial issue of non-therapeutic circumcision of male children.<ref>{{REFjournal
|title=The issue of male circumcision
|journal=Journal of Medical Ethics
|date=2013
|volume=39
|issue=7
|url=http://jme.bmj.com/content/39/7.toc
}}</ref> The numerous articles represent a diverse variety of views.<ref>{{REFjournal
|last=Foddy
|init=B
|title=The concise argument: Medical, religious and social reasons for and against an ancient rite
|journal=Journal of Medical Ethics
|date=2013
|volume=39
|issue=7
|page=415
|url=http://jme.bmj.com/content/39/7/415.full
|DOI=10.1136/medethics-2013-101605
|pubmedID=23781076
}}</ref><ref>{{REFjournal
|last=Earp
|init=BD
|author-link=Brian D. Earp
|title=The ethics of infant male circumcision
|journal=Journal of Medical Ethics
|date=2013
|volume=39
|issue=7
|pages=418-420
|url=https://www.academia.edu/3430963/The_ethics_of_infant_male_circumcision
|DOI=10.1136/medethics-2013-101517
|pubmedID=23781078
}}</ref>
===American Medical Association Journal of Ethics===
In August 2017, the American Medical Association ''Journal of Ethics'' featured two separate articles challenging the morality of performing non-therapeutic infant circumcision.

[[J. Steven Svoboda| Svoboda]] (2017) argues against non-therapeutic circumcision.<ref name="svoboda2017">{{REFjournal
|date=2017-08-01
|title=Nontherapeutic Circumcision of Minors as an Ethically Problematic Form of Iatrogenic Injury
|journal=AMA Journal of Ethics
|language=en
|volume=19
|issue=8
|pages=815-24
|DOI=10.1001/journalofethics.2017.19.8.msoc2-1708
|pubmedID=28846521
|issn=2376-6980
|last1=Svoboda
|first1=J.S.
}}</ref> He states that this decision should be considered in the context of benefit vs risk of harm, rather than simply risk-benefit due to the non-therapeutic nature of the procedure.<ref name="svoboda2017"/> He states that benefits do not outweigh the risks, and also claims that foreskin removal should be considered a sexual harm.<ref name="svoboda2017"/> He also goes on to conclude that non-therapeutic circumcision largely violates the physician's duty to respect a patient's autonomy since many procedures take place before a patient is able to freely give consent himself.<ref name="svoboda2017"/>

Reis and Reis's article (2017) explore the role physicians play in neonatal circumcision.<ref name="reis-reis2017">{{REFjournal
|date=2017-08-01
|title=Are Physicians Blameworthy for Iatrogenic Harm Resulting from Unnecessary Genital Surgeries?
|journal=AMA Journal of Ethics
|language=en
|volume=19
|issue=8
|pages=825-833
|DOI=10.1001/journalofethics.2017.19.8.msoc3-1708
|pubmedID=28846522
|issn=2376-6980
|last=Reis-Dennis
|first=S.
|last2=Reis
|first2=E.
}}</ref> They state that if physicians outline all the currently known risks and benefits of the procedure to the parents and believes the procedure is indeed medically indicated, they cannot be held accountable for any harm from the procedure.<ref name="reis-reis2017"/> However, they still advise against physicians recommending unnecessary, irreversible surgeries, which is a category circumcision falls in frequently.<ref name="reis-reis2017"/>

==Principles of medical ethics==
===Cardinal principles===
The five cardinal principles of medical ethics are:
* Autonomy (respecting a patient's right to make their own decisions),
* Beneficence (acting in the best interest of the patient),
* Non-maleficence (avoiding harm to the patient), and
* Justice (ensuring fair treatment for all patients).<ref name="beautchamp1999">{{REFbook
|last=Beauchamp
|first=
|init=TL
|author-link=
|last2=
|first2=
|init2=
|author2-link=
|year=1999
|title=Contemporary Issues in Bioethics
|url=
|work=
|editor=Beauchamp TL, Walters L
|edition=
|volume=
|chapter=Chapter One
|scope=
|page=
|pages=18-22
|location=New York
|publisher=Wadsworth Publishing Company
|ISBN=0-534-50176-0
|quote=
|accessdate=2025-06-27
|note=
}}</ref>
* Proportionality. (having benefits that are proportionate to the risks and losses.)
These principles guide healthcare professionals in making ethical decisions in patient care.

===Secondary principles===
There are also a number of secondary principles of medical ethics that include:
* Provision of futile, ineffective, or unnecessary treatment.
* Misuse of medical resources.
* Surrogate consent. (See below.)
* Informed consent. Informed consent is required by law. See [[Informed consent]].
* Patient exploitation. (See below.)
* Duties to child-patients. The Committee on Bioethics of the American Academy of Pediatrics stated that pediatric health care providers 'have legal and ethical duties to their child patients to render competent medical care based on what the patient needs, not what someone else expresses. Although impasses regarding the interests of minors and the expressed wishes of their parents or guardians are rare, the pediatrician's responsibilities to his or her patient exist independent of parental desires or proxy consent."<ref name="aapcp1995">{{REFjournal
|last=American Academy of Pediatrics Committee on Bioethics
|first=
|init=
|author-link=
|etal=no
|title=Informed Consent, Parental Permission, and Assent in Pediatric Practice
|journal=Pediatrics
||date=1995-11
|volume=96
|issue=5 Pt 1
|pages=981-2
|url=https://www.cirp.org/library/ethics/AAP/
|archived=
|quote=
|pubmedID=7478854
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=
|doi=
|accessdate=2025-06-30
}}</ref>
* Preservation of the child’s right to an open future.<ref>{{REFweb
|url=https://www.doctorsopposingcircumcision.org/for-professionals/medical-ethics/
|title=Medical Ethics and the Non-therapeutic Circumcision of Male Children
|last=Anonymous
|first=
|init=
|author-link=
|publisher=Doctors Opposing Circumcision
|date=2020-08
|accessdate=2025-06-30
}}</ref>
Circumcision ([[MGM]]) of male minors violates every one of these principles of medical ethics.<ref>{{REFweb
|url=https://www.doctorsopposingcircumcision.org/for-professionals/medical-ethics/
|title=Medical Ethics and the Non-therapeutic Circumcision of Male Children
|last=Anonymous
|first=
|init=
|author-link=
|publisher=Doctors Opposing Circumcision
|date=2020-08
|accessdate=2025-06-29
}}
</ref>

There is no disease present in the newborn [[penis]] and no medical indication exists for [[circumcision of the newborn]].<ref>{{GairdnerDM 1949}}</ref> <ref>{{REFjournal
|last=Wright
|first=
|init=JE
|author-link=
|etal=no
|title=Non-therapeutic circumcision
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal=MJA
|date=1967-05-27
|volume=1
|issue=21
|pages=1083-6
|url=https://www.cirp.org/library/general/wright4/
|archived=
|quote=
|pubmedID=6028342
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=10.5694/j.1326-5377.1967.tb20877.x
|accessdate=2025-06-27
}}</ref> <ref>{{REFjournal
|last=Preston
|first=
|init=EN
|author-link=
|etal=no
|title=Whither The Foreskin?
|journal=JAMA
|date=1970-09-14
|volume=213
|issue=11
|pages=1853-8
|url=https://www.cirp.org/library/general/preston/
|archived=
|quote=
|pubmedID=5468911
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=10.1001/jama.213.11.1853
|accessdate=2025-06-27
}}</ref> <ref>{{REFbook
|last=Committee on Fetus and the Newborn
|first=
|init=
|year=1971
|title=Standards and Recommendation for Hospital Care of Newborn infants
|url=
|scope=
|location=Evanston, IL
|publisher=American Academy of Pediatrics
|ISBN=
|accessdate=2025-06-27
}}</ref>
<ref name="mansfield1995">{{REFjournal
|last=Mansfield
|first=
|init=CJ
|author-link=
|last2=Hueston
|first2=
|init2=WJ
|author2-link=
|last3=Rudy
|first3=
|init3=M
|author3-link=
|etal=no
|title=Neonatal Circumcision: Associated Factors and Length of Hospital Stay
|journal=J Fam Pract
|date=1995-10
|volume=41
|issue=4
|pages=370-6
|url=https://www.cirp.org/library/procedure/mansfield/
|archived=
|quote=
|pubmedID=7561711
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=
|doi=
|accessdate=2025-06-29
}}</ref>

==Autonomy==
Patient autonomy is the first principle of medical ethics.<ref>{{REFbook
|last=Beauchamp
|first=Tom L.
|init=TL
|last2=Childress
|first2=James F.
|init2=JF
|title=Principles of Biomedical Ethics
|publisher=New York: {{UNI|Oxford University|Oxon}} Press
|date=2001
}}</ref> Consent for a non-therapeutic operation offends the principle of autonomy, when granted by a surrogate.<ref name="myers2020">{{REFjournal
|last=Myers
|first=
|init=A
|author-link=Alex Myers
|last2=Earp
|first2=
|init2=BD
|author2-link=Brian D. Earp
|etal=no
|title=What is the best age to circumcise? A medical and ethical analysis
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal= Bioethics
|location=
|date=2020
|volume=34
|issue=7
|pages=645-63
|url=https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Brian-Earp-2/publication/337720859_What_Is_the_Best_Age_to_Circumcise_A_Medical_and_Ethical_Analysis/links/5f815f61a6fdccfd7b555395/What-Is-the-Best-Age-to-Circumcise-A-Medical-and-Ethical-Analysis.pdf
|quote=Based on a careful consideration of the relevant evidence, arguments and counterarguments, we conclude that medically unnecessary penile circumcision-like other medically unnecessary genital procedures, such as 'cosmetic' labiaplasty-should not be performed on individuals who are too young (or otherwise unable) to provide meaningful consent to the procedure.
|pubmedID=32068898
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=
|doi=10.1111/bioe.12714
|format=PDF
|accessdate=2025-06-28
}}</ref>

Since children, and especially infants, are legally incompetent to grant [[informed consent]] for medical or surgical treatment, that consent must be granted by a surrogate — someone designated to act on behalf of the child-patient, if treatment is to occur.<ref name="conundrum">{{REFjournal
|last=Svoboda
|first=J. Steven
|init=JS
|author-link=J. Steven Svoboda
|last2=Van Howe
|first2=Robert S.
|init2=RS
|author2-link=Robert S. Van Howe
|last3=Dwyer
|first3=James G.
|init3=JG
|author3-link=James G. Dwyer
|title=Informed Consent for Neonatal Circumcision: An Ethical and Legal Conundrum
|url=https://scholarship.law.wm.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1166&context=facpubs
|pages=60-133
|journal=J Contemp Health Law & Policy
|volume=17
|date=2000
}}</ref>

A surrogate's powers to grant consent are more circumscribed than the powers granted to a competent individual acting on his own behalf.<ref name="conundrum" /> <ref name="aapcp1995" /> A surrogate may only act in the best interests of the patient.<ref name="conundrum"/> A surrogate may not put a child at risk for religious reasons.<ref name="conundrum"/> A surrogate may grant consent for a medical procedure that has ''no'' [[medical indication]] ''only'' if it is the child's best interests.<ref name="conundrum"/>

The attending physician must provide the surrogate with all material information concerning the proposed benefits, risks, advantages, and drawbacks of the proposed treatment or procedure.<ref name="conundrum"/> <ref name="aapcp1995" />

The Committee on Bioethics of the AAP (1995) states that parents may only grant surrogate informed permission for ''diagnosis and treatment'' with the assent of the child whenever appropriate.<ref name="aapcp1995" />

There was an unresolved question whether surrogates may grant effective consent for non-therapeutic child circumcision.<ref name="povenmire">{{REFjournal
|last=Povenmire
|init=R
|authorlink=
|date=
|note=1998–1999
|title=Do Parents Have the Legal Authority to Consent to the Surgical Amputation of Normal, Healthy Tissue From Their Infant Children?: The Practice of Circumcision in the United States
|journal=Journal of Gender, Social Policy and the Law
|volume=7
|issue=1
|pages=87-123
|pubmedID=16526136
|url=http://www.cirp.org/library/legal/povenmire/
|accessdate=2013-11-25
}}</ref>

<ref name="conundrum"/> Richards (1996) argues that parents may only consent to medical care, so are not empowered to grant consent for non-therapeutic circumcision of a child because it is not medical care.<ref name="richards">{{REFjournal
|last=Richards
|init=D
|authorlink=
|date=1996-05
|title=Male Circumcision: Medical or Ritual?
|journal=Journal of Law and Medicine
|volume=3
|issue=4
|pages=371-376
|url=http://www.cirp.org/library/legal/richards/
|accessdate=2008-04-11
}}</ref> The [[Canadian Paediatric Society]] (2015) recommends that circumcisions done in the absence of a [[medical indication]] or for personal reasons "should be deferred until the individual concerned is able to make their own choices."<ref name="mayan2021">{{REFjournal
|last=Mayan
|first=Madhur
|init=
|author-link=
|last2=Hamilton
|first2=Robert J.
|init2=
|author2-link=
|last3=Juurlink
|first3=David N.
|init3=
|author3-link=
|last4=Austin
|first4=Peter C.
|init4=
|author4-link=
|last5=Jarvi
|first5=Keith A.
|init5=
|author5-link=
|etal=no
|title=Circumcision and Risk of HIV Among Males From Ontario, Canada
|journal=J Urol
|location=
|date=2023-06-08
|volume=
|issue=
|article=
|page=
|pages=
|url=https://www.auajournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1097/JU.0000000000002234
|quote=We found that circumcision was not independently associated with the risk of acquiring [[HIV]] among men from Ontario, Canada.
|pubmedID=34551593
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=10.1097/JU.0000000000002234
|accessdate=2025-06-29
}}</ref>

Regardless of these issues, the unethical general practice of the medical community in the [[United States]] is to receive surrogate informed consent or permission from parents or legal guardians for non-therapeutic circumcision of children.<ref name="povenmire"/><ref name="conundrum" />

=== The emerging consensus on surrogate consent for non-therapeutic newborn, infant, and child circumcision ===
The power of parents and other surrogates to grant consent is dependent upon the existence of a physical or medical condition in a minor child that requires diagnostic and/or treatment.<ref name="richards"/> <ref name="aapcp1995" /> The right to grant surrogate consent cannot exist in the absence of such a condition. The AAP Committee on Bioethics (2016) now states: "A parent’s authority is not absolute but constrained by respect for the child."<ref name="aviva2016">{{REFjournal
|last=Committee on Bioethics
|etal-no
|title=Informed Consent in Decision-Making in Pediatric Practice
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal=Pediatrics
|location=
|date=2016-08
|volume=138
|issue=2
|article=
|page=e20161484.
|pages=
|url=https://publications.aap.org/pediatrics/article/138/2/e20161484/52512/Informed-Consent-in-Decision-Making-in-Pediatric?autologincheck=redirected
|archived=
|quote=
|pubmedID=27456514
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=
|doi=10.1542/peds.2016-1484
|accessdate=2023-05-27
}}</ref> This may mean that the AAP now recognizes the child as a person with legal rights of his/her own.

Boys are born with a healthy [[foreskin]] that is free of disease. The [[medical trade association| medical trade associations]] and other promoters have put forward various alleged benefits from neonatal circumcision for decades to develop business for their physican-members, but they are not valid. There are no medical indications for a neonatal [[circumcision]].

The validity of surrogate consent for non-therapeutic circumcision of boys has been questioned for decades.<ref name="povenmire"/> <ref name="richards" /> <ref name="hill2003">{{REFjournal
|last=Hill
|first=
|init=G
|author-link=George Hill
|title=Can anyone authorize the nontherapeutic permanent alteration of a child's body?
|journal=The American Journal of Bioethics
|date=2003
|volume=3
|issue=2
|pages=16-8
|url=https://www.researchgate.net/profile/George-Hill-3/publication/371599857_Can_Anyone_Authorize_the_Nontherapeutic_Permanent_Alteration_of_a_Child's_Body/links/648b8819c41fb852dd0949be/Can-Anyone-Authorize-the-Nontherapeutic-Permanent-Alteration-of-a-Childs-Body.pdf
|quote=
|pubmedID=14635628
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=10.1162/152651603766436342
|format=PDF
|accessdate=2023-07-11
}}</ref>

Bioethicists Myers & Earp (2020) exhaustively reviewed the evidence for and against the alleged health benefits to a healthy person claimed for non-therapeutic circumcision of a neonate, infant or child. They balanced this against the [[pain]], [[trauma]], and loss of body tissue and function. They concluded the claimed health benefits are insufficient to support surrogate consent for non-therapeutic circumcision. Given this, only the subject can grant consent for a non-therapeutic circumcision, after he reaches the right age for circumcision, which does not occurs until a male reaches the age of consent in his jurisdiction, which may vary from 16 to 18 years of age. The present practice in the [[United States]] and elsewhere of parental consent for non-therapeutic circumcision is entirely unethical.<ref name-"myers2020">{{REFjournal
|last=Myers
|first=
|init=A
|author-link=Alex Myers
|last2=Earp
|first2=
|init2=BD
|author2-link=Brian D. Earp
|etal=no
|title=What is the best age to circumcise? A medical and ethical analysis
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal=Bioethics
|location=
|date=2020
|volume=34
|issue=7
|pages=645-63
|url=https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Brian-Earp-2/publication/337720859_What_Is_the_Best_Age_to_Circumcise_A_Medical_and_Ethical_Analysis/links/5f815f61a6fdccfd7b555395/What-Is-the-Best-Age-to-Circumcise-A-Medical-and-Ethical-Analysis.pdf
|archived=
|quote=Based on a careful consideration of the relevant evidence, arguments and counterarguments, we conclude that medically unnecessary penile circumcision-like other medically unnecessary genital procedures, such as 'cosmetic' labiaplasty-should not be performed on individuals who are too young (or otherwise unable) to provide meaningful consent to the procedure.
|pubmedID=32068898
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=
|doi=10.1111/bioe.12714
|format=PDF
|accessdate=2020-05-27
}}</ref>

Moreover, non-therapeutic circumcision of boys may also be unlawful,<ref name="Adler">{{REFjournal
|last=Adler
|first=Peter W.
|init=PW
|author-link=Peter W. Adler
|url=https://scholarship.richmond.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1265&context=jolpi
|title=Is Circumcision Legal?
|volume=16
|issue=3
|journal=Richmond J. L. & Pub. Int.
|page=439
|date=2013
}}</ref> if a court should accept Adler's arguments.


==Other views==
Povenmire (1988) argued that parents should not have the power to consent to neonatal non-therapeutic circumcision.<ref name="povenmire"/>

Richards (1996) argued that parents only have power to consent to therapeutic procedures.<ref name="richards"/>

[[Margaret A. Somerville|Somerville]] (2000) argues that the nature of the medical benefits cited as a justification for infant circumcision are such that the potential medical problems can be avoided or, if they occur, treated in far less invasive ways than circumcision. She states that the removal of healthy genital tissue from a minor should not be subject to parental discretion, or that physicians who perform the procedure are not acting in accordance with their ethical duties to the patient, regardless of parental consent.<ref name="Somerville2000">{{REFbook
|last=Somerville
|first=Margaret A.
|init=M
|author-link=Margaret A. Somerville
|title=The ethical canary: science, society, and the human spirit
|accessdate=2007-02-12
|date=2000-11
|publisher=Viking Press|Viking Penguin Canada
|location=New York, NY
|isbn=0-670-89302-1
|pages=202-219
|chapter=Altering Baby Boys’ Bodies: The Ethics of Infant Male Circumcision
|url=https://www.academia.edu/654017/Altering_baby_boys_bodies_the_ethics_of_infant_male_circumcision
|lccn=2001369341
}}</ref>

[[Margaret A. Somerville|Somerville]] argues that because of a lack of credible information about male circumcision in some societies, the ability for the caregiver to grant [[informed consent]] on behalf of their child is compromised. This may be especially true of caregivers from a religious or cultural tradition that is particularly biased towards or against circumcising infants.<ref name="Somerville2000"/>

Canning (2002) commented that "[i]f circumcision becomes less commonly performed in North America ... the legal system may no longer be able to ignore the conflict between the practice of circumcision and the legal and ethical duties of medical specialists."<ref name="Canning">{{REFjournal
|last=Canning
|init=DA
|title=Informed consent for neonatal circumcision: an ethical and legal conundrum
|journal=J Urol
|url=http://www.cirp.org/library/legal/canning1/
|date=2002
|volume=168
|issue=4 Pt 1
|pages=1650-1651
|DOI=10.1016/S0022-5347(05)64535-1
|pubmedID=12356070
}}</ref>

The Committee on Medical Ethics of the [[British Medical Association]] (2003) published a paper to guide doctors on the law and ethics of circumcision. It advises medical doctors to proceed on a case by case basis to determine the best interests of the child before deciding to perform a circumcision. The doctor must consider the child's legal and [[human rights]] in making his or her determination. It states that a physician has a right to refuse to perform a non-therapeutic circumcision.<ref name="bma2006"/> The College of Physicians and Surgeons of British Columbia took a similar position.<ref name="cpsbc">{{REFweb
|last=College of Physicians & Surgeons of British Columbia
|title=Circumcision (Infant Male)
|date=2007
|accessdate=2013-12-06
|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070928050441/https://www.cpsbc.ca/cps/physician_resources/publications/resource_manual/malecircum
}}</ref>

Fox and Thomson (2005) state that in the absence of "unequivocal evidence of medical benefit", it is "ethically inappropriate to subject a child to the acknowledged risks of infant male circumcision." Thus, they believe, "the emerging consensus, whereby parental choice holds sway, appears ethically indefensible".<ref name="fox-thomson">{{REFjournal
|last=Fox
|init=M
|last2=Thomson
|init2=M
|title=A covenant with the status quo? Male circumcision and the new BMA guidance to doctors
|journal=Journal of Medical Ethics
|date=2005
|volume=31
|issue=8
|pages=463-469
|url=http://jme.bmj.com/content/31/8/463.full
|DOI=10.1136/jme.2004.009340
|pubmedID=16076971
|pubmedCID=1734197
}}</ref>

The Belgian Consultative Committee for Bioethics (''[[:fr:Comité consultatif de Bioéthique de Belgique|Comité Consultatif de Bioéthique de Belgique]]'') (2017), after a three-year study, has ruled that circumcision of male children for non-therapeutic purposes is unethical in Belgium.<ref> {{REFweb
|last=Comité Consultif de Bioéthique de Belgique
|website=SPF Santé Publique
|title=Opinion no. 70 of 8 May 2017on the ethical aspects of nonmedical circumcision
|url=https://www.health.belgium.be/sites/default/files/uploads/fields/fpshealth_theme_file/opinion_70_web.pdf
|date=2017-05-08
|accessdate=2019-11-03
}}</ref><ref name="bulletin2017">{{REFnews
|title=Ethics committee rules against infant circumcision
|url=http://www.xpats.com/ethics-committee-rules-against-infant-circumcision
|work=The Bulletin
|date=2017
|quote=As circumcision is irreversible and therefore a radical operation, we find the physical integrity of the child takes precedence over the belief system of the parents.
}}</ref> The process is irreversible, has no medical justification in most cases, and is performed on minors unable to give their own permission, according to the committee. Paul Schotsmans of the {{UNI|University of Leuven|UCLouvain}}, on behalf of the committee, noted "the child’s right to physical integrity, which is protected by the Convention on the Rights of the Child, and in particular its protection from physical injury." The committee found that the child's right to physical integrity is greater than a parent's religious right to circumcise.<ref name="bulletin2017"/>

The Belgian minister of health replied that the Federal Institute for Health Insurance cannot check and know whether in (individual cases) a circumcision is medically justified or not and that she will continue to reimburse circumcision of minors as the safety of the child is her primary concern and she wants to avoid botched circumcisions by non-medical circumcisers.

== Patient exploitation ==

The non-therapeutic [[circumcision industry]] in the [[United States]] costs more than $3.6 billion annually.<ref name="bollinger2012">{{REFweb
|url=https://www.academia.edu/6442587/High_Cost_of_Circumcision_3.6_Billion_Annually
|title=High Cost of Circumcision: $3.6 Billion Annually
|last=Bollinger
|first=Dan
|author-link=Dan Bollinger
|publisher=Academia
|website=https://www.academia.edu
|date=2012
|accessdate=2021-11-12
|format=PDF
|quote=As the saying goes, follow the money.}}

Now you know why neither the [[American Academy of Pediatrics]], American Medical Association, [[American Academy of Family Physicians]], or the [[American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists| American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists]] haven’t condemned this unnecessary surgery, and why their physician members are quick to recommend the procedure to expectant parents.
}}</ref>

[[Third-party payment]] is a major support to the performance of this injurious medically-unnecessary surgery. If parents could not grant consent for non-therapeutic circumcision, then no one could grant consent for the non-therapeutic circumcision of a child, so the $3.6 billion annual business would collapse. The American [[Medical trade association| medical trade associations]], more than those of other nations, have been unwilling to recognize the child's [[human rights]] to [[physical integrity]], to security of the person, and the right to personal autonomy.

The performance of harmful, medically not indicated [[circumcision]] upon a child simply to collect a surgical fee must be regarded as patient exploitation.<ref>Principle 13, [https://www.cfpc.ca/CFPC/media/Resources/Education/CMA-Code-of-Ethics.pdf CMA Code of Ethics]. Ottawa: Canadian Medical Association; updated 2004.</ref>

==Is circumcision without valid consent battery?==
Boyle et al. (2004) argued that non-therapeutic circumcision of boys is "assault",<ref>{{BoyleGJ SvobodaJS PriceCP TurnerJN 2000}}</ref> but is it actually battery?
Simple battery is defined as:
<blockquote>
At common law, an intentional unpermitted act causing harmful or offensive contact with the "person" of another.<ref>{{REFweb
|url=https://legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/battery
|title=Battery
|last=Anonymous
|first=
|init=
|author-link=
|publisher=The Free Legal Dictionary
|date=
|accessdate=2025-06-20
}}</ref>
</blockquote>

Aggravated battery is defined as:
<blockquote>
[[Aggravated battery]] is one of the most serious forms of battery. It usually involves a physical act or contact with another person without that person's consent and with an intention to cause harm. Usually, this involves some form of serious injury. Aggravated battery can result in temporary disfigurement, permanent disfigurement, irreparable harm, greater bodily harm, serious risk of death, loss of a limb or body part requiring surgery.

When an individual uses a “deadly weapon” during an attack, this will usually be interpreted by most states as [[aggravated battery]]. Deadly weapons include guns, knives, rocks, bricks, and even boots. They refer to any weapons that are able to cause harm. A person who has committed an aggravated battery will be charged with a high level misdemeanor or felony.<ref>{{REFweb
|url=https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/aggravated_battery
|title=aggravated battery
|last=
|first=
|init=
|author-link=
|publisher=Legal Information Institute
|date=2025-02
|accessdate=2025-06-29
}}</ref>
</blockquote>
A scapel actually is a specialized knife, designed to cut human flesh, so a court may regard a scapel as a weapon.
{{SEEALSO}}
* [[Aggravated battery]]
* [[Brian D. Earp]]
* [[Brussels Collaboration on Bodily Integrity]]
* [[Human rights]]
* [[Informed consent]]
* [[Jurisprudence]]
* [[Surrogate consent]]
{{LINKS}}
* {{REFjournal
|last=Goodman
|init=J
|author-link=Jenny Goodman
|url=https://www.cirp.org/library/cultural/goodman1999/
|title=Jewish circumcision: an alternative perspective
|journal=BJU Int
|date=1999
|volume=83 Suppl. 1
|pages=22-7
|DOI=10.1046/j.1464-410x.1999.0830s1022.x
|pubmedID=10349411
|accessdate=2023-05-27
}}</ref>
* {{REFjournal
|last=Domashevskiy
|first=
|init=JA
|last2=Domashevskiy
|first2=
|init2=AV
|etal=no
|title=Ethics pertaining to the legalities of male routine infant circumcision and surrogate consent to non-therapeutic
surgery
|journal=J Clin Res Bioeth
|date=2016
|volume=7
|issue=4
|article=1000276
|url=https://academicworks.cuny.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1244&context=jj_pubs
|archived=
|quote=
|doi=10.4172/2155-9627.1000276
|accessdate=2026-06-23
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://www.reddit.com/r/bioethics/comments/1in2lv6/the_bioethics_of_infant_circumcision/
|title=The Bioethics of Infant Circumcision
|last=Anonymous
|publisher=REDDIT
|date=2025-02
|accessdate=2025-11-06
}}
The author of the following paper has improperly labelled surrogate consent as proxy consent.
* {{REFjournal
|last=Bonyai
|first=
|init=J
|author-link=
|etal=no
|title=Why Bioethics Matters in the Debate Over Routine Infant Circumcision
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal=Ethics Today
|location=
|date=2026-04-05
|volume=
|issue=
|article=
|page=
|pages=
|url=https://bioethicstoday.org/blog/why-bioethics-matters-in-the-debate-over-routine-infant-circumcision/#
|archived=
|quote=Circumcision is a surgical intervention, and like all surgeries, it carries inherent risks. These include pain, bleeding, infection, and, in rare cases, more serious complications. While many procedures occur without major incident, the ethical question is not simply whether harm is common, but whether the risk of harm is justified at all
|pubmedID=
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=
|doi=10.4172/2155-9627.1000276
|accessdate=2026-06-11
}}

{{REF}}

[[Category:Criminal circumcision]]
[[Category:Education]]
[[Category:Human rights]]
[[Category:Medical ethics]]
[[Category:Parental information]]

Ethics of non-therapeutic child circumcision

2026-07-15T00:02:11Z

WikiModEn2: Add section and citation.

Aggravated battery

2026-07-14T23:10:02Z

WikiModEn2: /* Rethinking circumcision policy */

'''{{FULLPAGENAME}}''' is the legal term for an [https://legaldictionary.net/battery/ act of battery], when it "is committed with intent to do serious harm or murder", or when it is done with a dangerous weapon. A weapon is considered dangerous whenever the purpose for using it is to cause death or serious harm. State statutes define aggravated battery in various ways—such as assault with intent to kill. Under such statutes, assault means both battery and assault. It is punishable as a [https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/felony felony] in all states."<ref>{{REFweb
|url=https://legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/Aggravated+battery
|title=Battery
|last=Anonymous
|first=
|init=
|publisher=The Free Dictionary by Farlex
|date=
|accessdate=2026-07-11
}}</ref>

Samantha-Rae Tuthil (2023) commented:
<blockquote>
"Aggravated battery This is a much more serious charge. Like a simple battery, the prosecution must prove that you intended to make contact with the victim, that the victim did not consent, and that the victim suffered some kind of harm. In addition, they will usually need to prove that you intended to cause harm. An even more serious degree of aggravated battery will require great bodily harm. Permanent disfigurement, serious bodily injury, permanent disability, or possible risk of death are some of the ways an injury is considered great bodily harm. Sometimes, if you use a dangerous weapon or a deadly weapon like a gun or a knife in the battery, it will automatically count as aggravated, even without grave bodily harm. If the circumstances are severe enough, you could face an attempted murder charge or a sentencing enhancement."<ref name="tuthil2023">{{REFweb
|url=https://www.lawinfo.com/resources/criminal-defense/aggravated-battery/
|title=Aggravated Battery
|last=Tuthil
|first=Samantha-Rae
|init=
|author-link=
|publisher=LawInfo
|website=https://www.lawinfo.com
|date=2023-12-21
|accessdate=2026-07-11
}}</ref>
</blockquote>
==Circumcision?==
Does the medically-not-indicated, non-therapeutic [[amputation]] of a healthy [[foreskin]] from the [[penis]] of a minor boy without his consent constitute aggravated battery?

Circumcision is the Biblical euphemism used by the [[circumcision industry]] to promote the harmful, irreversible surgical excision and [[amputation]] of the [[foreskin]] (AKA prepuce) of the [[penis]] of a human male. The harmful amputation causes [[MGM| genital mutilation]], permanent disfigurement, and permanent loss of function,<ref name="andersen2025">{{REFjournal
|last=Andersen-Giberson
|init=D
|author-link=Dale Andersen
|url=https://cdd.journals.yorku.ca/index.php/cdd/article/view/39786/36016
|title=Circumcision and forced disability: Routine male neonatal circumcision and the consequences of amputation within a critical disability studies framework
|journal=Critical Disability Discourses
|date=2025-12
|volume=10
|issue=2
|pages=1-37
|URL=https://cdd.journals.yorku.ca/index.php/cdd/article/view/39786/36016
|DOI=https://doi.org/10.25071/1918-6215.39786
|quote=In a critical disability studies framework, it is argued that the act of amputating healthy erogenous tissue and the consequences of that amputation cause disability, particularly from a counter-hegemonic lens.
|format=PDF
|accessdate=2026-07-12
}}</ref> which causes an increase in medical issues,<ref name="fendereski2024">{{REFjournal
|last=Fendereski
|first=
|init=K
|author-link=
|last2=Horns
|first2=
|init2=JJ
|author2-link=
|last3=Driggs
|first3=
|init3=N
|author3-link=
|last4=Lau
|first4=
|init4=G
|author4-link=
|last5=Shaeffer
|first5=
|init5=AJ
|author5-link=
|etal=no
|title=Comparing Penile Problems in Circumcised vs. Uncircumcised Boys: Insights From a Large Commercial Claims Database With a Focus on Provider Type Performing Circumcision
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal=J Pediatr Surg
|date=2024-11
|volume=59
|issue=11
|article=161614
|url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S002234682400407X
|archived=
|quote=
|pubmedID=39084960
|pubmedCID=11486584
|DOI=10.1016/j.jpedsurg.2024.06.022
|accessdate=2025-01-03
}}</ref> degrades normal physiological sexual function,<ref name="cepeda2025">{{REFjournal
|last=Cepeda-Emiliani
|first=
|init=A
|author-link=Alfonso Cepeda-Emiliani
|last2=Otero-Alén
|first2=
|init2=M
|author2-link=
|last3=Suárez-Quintanilla
|first3=
|init3=J
|author3-link=
|last4=Gándara-Cortés
|first4=
|init4=M
|author4-link=
|last5=García-Caballero
|first5=
|init5=T
|author5-link=
|last6=García-Caballero
|first6=
|init6=R
|author6-link=
|last7=García-Caballero
|first7=
|init7=L
|author7-link=
|etal=no
|title=The sensory penis: A comprehensive immunohistological and ontogenetic exploration of human penile innervation
|trans-title=
|journal=Andrology
|date=2025-09-19
|volume=
|issue=
|article=
|pages=1-41
|url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/andr.70118
|archived=
|quote=
|pubmedID=40970806
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=10.1111/andr.70118
|accessdate=2026-07-12
}}</ref> and causes psychological issues.<ref name="tye2022"> {{REFjournal
|last=Tye
|first=
|init=MC
|author-link=
|last2=Sardi
|first2=
|init2=LM
|author2-link=Lauren Sardi
|etal=no
|title=Psychological, psychosocial, and psychosexual aspects of penile circumcision
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal=Int J Impot Res
|date=2023-05
|volume=35
|issue=3
|pages=242-8
|url=https://www.galdef.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/Tye-Sardi-Psycho-Aspects-of-Penile-Circumcision-IJIR-2022.pdf
|archived=
|quote=
|pubmedID=35347302
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=10.1038/s41443-022-00553-9
|format=PDF
|accessdate=2026-07-12
}}</ref>

Since boys are too young to grant consent, the American [[circumcision industry]] has traditionally relied on [[surrogate consent]], granted by a parental surrogate, for [[circumcision]], not the actual child victim, however parents do not have the right to harm their children, since the Supreme Court of the United States of America (1944) ruled:
<blockquote>
Parents may be free to become martyrs themselves. But it does not follow they are free, in identical circumstances, to make martyrs of their children before they have reached the age of full and legal discretion when they can make that choice for themselves.<ref>[https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/321/158/ Prince v Massachusetts], 21 U.S. 158, 159-60 (1944).</ref>
</blockquote>
Parental surrogates are denied the right to make that harmful choice for their children.<ref name="aap1995">{{REFjournal
|last=Committee on Bioethics
|etal=no
|title=Informed consent, parental permission, and assent in pediatric practice
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal=Pediatrics
|location=
|date=1995-02
|volume=95
|issue=2
|article=
|page=
|pages=314-7
|url=http://www.cirp.org/library/ethics/AAP/
|archived=
|quote=
|pubmedID=7838658
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=
|accessdate=2026-07-12
}}</ref><ref name="aviva2016">{{REFjournal
|last=Committee on Bioethics
|etal-no
|title=Informed Consent in Decision-Making in Pediatric Practice
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal=Pediatrics
|location=
|date=2016-08
|volume=138
|issue=2
|article=
|page=e20161484.
|pages=
|url=https://publications.aap.org/pediatrics/article/138/2/e20161484/52512/Informed-Consent-in-Decision-Making-in-Pediatric?autologincheck=redirected
|archived=
|quote=Continuing limits on the widespread use of pediatric assent/refusal makes this review and restatement of AAP policy important.
|pubmedID=27456514
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=
|doi=10.1542/peds.2016-1484
|accessdate=2026-07-12
}}</ref> [[Surrogate consent]] cannot be used to legalize or excuse the harmful aggravated battery of foreskin amputation.

If a non-therapeutic circumcision is to be done, then it must wait until the child patient reaches the legal age at which he can grant consent for himself.<ref name-"myers2020">{{REFjournal
|last=Myers
|first=
|init=A
|author-link=Alex Myers
|last2=Earp
|first2=
|init2=BD
|author2-link=Brian D. Earp
|etal=no
|title=What is the best age to circumcise? A medical and ethical analysis
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal=Bioethics
|location=
|date=2020
|volume=34
|issue=7
|pages=645-63
|url=https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Brian-Earp-2/publication/337720859_What_Is_the_Best_Age_to_Circumcise_A_Medical_and_Ethical_Analysis/links/5f815f61a6fdccfd7b555395/What-Is-the-Best-Age-to-Circumcise-A-Medical-and-Ethical-Analysis.pdf
|archived=
|quote=Based on a careful consideration of the relevant evidence, arguments and counterarguments, we conclude that medically unnecessary penile circumcision-like other medically unnecessary genital procedures, such as 'cosmetic' labiaplasty-should not be performed on individuals who are too young (or otherwise unable) to provide meaningful consent to the procedure.
|pubmedID=32068898
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=
|doi=10.1111/bioe.12714
|format=PDF
|accessdate=2026-07-12
}}</ref>
==Mens rea==
Mens rea is the state of mind statutorily required in order to convict a particular defendant of a particular crime.<ref>{{REFweb
|url=https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/mens_rea
|title=Mens rea
|last=
|first=
|init=
|author-link=
|publisher=Cornell Law School
|date=
|accessdate=2026-07-13
}}</ref>

Non-therapeutic circumcision of boys is, as stated above, a very harmful act. The [[medical trade association| medical trade associations]] of the [[United States]] have, for more than a century, published false claims of alleged health benefits from non-therapeutic male circumcision. Some operators may actually believe that [[child circumcision]] is a beneficial act.

This may make proving mens rea very challenging for public prosecutors.

==Rethinking circumcision policy==
* {{REFjournal
|last=Buckler
|first=
|init=M
|author-link=
|etal=no
|title=As controversies mount, circumcision policies need a rethink
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal=Journal of Medical Ethics
|location=
|date=2025-11
|season=
|volume=
|issue=
|article=111357
|page=
|pages=
|url=https://www.galdef.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/Buckler-Controversies-rethink-JME-2025.pdf
|archived=
|quote=
|pubmedID=41207714
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=10.1136/jme-2025-111357
|accessdate=2026-07-14
}}

==European precedents==
* [[Cologne circumcision court judgment]] (2012)
* [[Re B and G (children) (No 2) EWFC 3]] (2015)
{{SEEALSO}}
* [[Informed consent]]
* [[William Stowell]]
* [[Wrongful circumcision]]
{{LINKS}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://uslawexplained.com/aggravated_battery
|title=Aggravated Battery: The Ultimate Guide to a Serious Violent Crime
|last=Anonymous
|publisher=US Law Explained
|website=https://uslawexplained.com/start
|accessdate=2026-07-11
}}
==Conclusion==
Circumcision of male children is a mutilation of genital tissue that permanently destroys the [[foreskin]] (prepuce) of a male child. It also irreversibly destroys the [[Foreskin#Physiological_functions_of_the_foreskin| protective, immunological, sensory, and sexual functions]] of the foreskin, leaving the male patient at increased risk of disease.<ref name="fendereski2024" /> It is mutilating and causes permanent disfigurement of the [[penis]]. Circumcision of male children clearly meets all tests for aggravated battery. It cannot be legalized or excused by patient or surrogate consent because no one has the legal capacity to grant consent for the aggravated battery of non-therapeutic child circumcision.<ref name="hill2003">{{REFjournal
|last=Hill
|first=George
|init=G
|author-link=George Hill
|title=Can anyone authorize the nontherapeutic permanent alteration of a child's body?
|journal=The American Journal of Bioethics
|date=2003
|season=Spring
|volume=3
|issue=2
|pages=16-8
|url=https://www.researchgate.net/profile/George-Hill-3/publication/371599857_Can_Anyone_Authorize_the_Nontherapeutic_Permanent_Alteration_of_a_Child's_Body/links/648b8819c41fb852dd0949be/Can-Anyone-Authorize-the-Nontherapeutic-Permanent-Alteration-of-a-Childs-Body.pdf
|quote=
|pubmedID=14635628
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=10.1162/152651603766436342
|accessdate=2026-07-11
}}</ref>
{{REF}}

[[Category:Law: USA]]
[[Category:Litigation over circumcision]]
[[Category:USA]]

Aggravated battery

2026-07-14T22:32:42Z

WikiModEn2: Add text and citation.

'''{{FULLPAGENAME}}''' is the legal term for an [https://legaldictionary.net/battery/ act of battery], when it "is committed with intent to do serious harm or murder", or when it is done with a dangerous weapon. A weapon is considered dangerous whenever the purpose for using it is to cause death or serious harm. State statutes define aggravated battery in various ways—such as assault with intent to kill. Under such statutes, assault means both battery and assault. It is punishable as a [https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/felony felony] in all states."<ref>{{REFweb
|url=https://legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/Aggravated+battery
|title=Battery
|last=Anonymous
|first=
|init=
|publisher=The Free Dictionary by Farlex
|date=
|accessdate=2026-07-11
}}</ref>

Samantha-Rae Tuthil (2023) commented:
<blockquote>
"Aggravated battery This is a much more serious charge. Like a simple battery, the prosecution must prove that you intended to make contact with the victim, that the victim did not consent, and that the victim suffered some kind of harm. In addition, they will usually need to prove that you intended to cause harm. An even more serious degree of aggravated battery will require great bodily harm. Permanent disfigurement, serious bodily injury, permanent disability, or possible risk of death are some of the ways an injury is considered great bodily harm. Sometimes, if you use a dangerous weapon or a deadly weapon like a gun or a knife in the battery, it will automatically count as aggravated, even without grave bodily harm. If the circumstances are severe enough, you could face an attempted murder charge or a sentencing enhancement."<ref name="tuthil2023">{{REFweb
|url=https://www.lawinfo.com/resources/criminal-defense/aggravated-battery/
|title=Aggravated Battery
|last=Tuthil
|first=Samantha-Rae
|init=
|author-link=
|publisher=LawInfo
|website=https://www.lawinfo.com
|date=2023-12-21
|accessdate=2026-07-11
}}</ref>
</blockquote>
==Circumcision?==
Does the medically-not-indicated, non-therapeutic [[amputation]] of a healthy [[foreskin]] from the [[penis]] of a minor boy without his consent constitute aggravated battery?

Circumcision is the Biblical euphemism used by the [[circumcision industry]] to promote the harmful, irreversible surgical excision and [[amputation]] of the [[foreskin]] (AKA prepuce) of the [[penis]] of a human male. The harmful amputation causes [[MGM| genital mutilation]], permanent disfigurement, and permanent loss of function,<ref name="andersen2025">{{REFjournal
|last=Andersen-Giberson
|init=D
|author-link=Dale Andersen
|url=https://cdd.journals.yorku.ca/index.php/cdd/article/view/39786/36016
|title=Circumcision and forced disability: Routine male neonatal circumcision and the consequences of amputation within a critical disability studies framework
|journal=Critical Disability Discourses
|date=2025-12
|volume=10
|issue=2
|pages=1-37
|URL=https://cdd.journals.yorku.ca/index.php/cdd/article/view/39786/36016
|DOI=https://doi.org/10.25071/1918-6215.39786
|quote=In a critical disability studies framework, it is argued that the act of amputating healthy erogenous tissue and the consequences of that amputation cause disability, particularly from a counter-hegemonic lens.
|format=PDF
|accessdate=2026-07-12
}}</ref> which causes an increase in medical issues,<ref name="fendereski2024">{{REFjournal
|last=Fendereski
|first=
|init=K
|author-link=
|last2=Horns
|first2=
|init2=JJ
|author2-link=
|last3=Driggs
|first3=
|init3=N
|author3-link=
|last4=Lau
|first4=
|init4=G
|author4-link=
|last5=Shaeffer
|first5=
|init5=AJ
|author5-link=
|etal=no
|title=Comparing Penile Problems in Circumcised vs. Uncircumcised Boys: Insights From a Large Commercial Claims Database With a Focus on Provider Type Performing Circumcision
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal=J Pediatr Surg
|date=2024-11
|volume=59
|issue=11
|article=161614
|url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S002234682400407X
|archived=
|quote=
|pubmedID=39084960
|pubmedCID=11486584
|DOI=10.1016/j.jpedsurg.2024.06.022
|accessdate=2025-01-03
}}</ref> degrades normal physiological sexual function,<ref name="cepeda2025">{{REFjournal
|last=Cepeda-Emiliani
|first=
|init=A
|author-link=Alfonso Cepeda-Emiliani
|last2=Otero-Alén
|first2=
|init2=M
|author2-link=
|last3=Suárez-Quintanilla
|first3=
|init3=J
|author3-link=
|last4=Gándara-Cortés
|first4=
|init4=M
|author4-link=
|last5=García-Caballero
|first5=
|init5=T
|author5-link=
|last6=García-Caballero
|first6=
|init6=R
|author6-link=
|last7=García-Caballero
|first7=
|init7=L
|author7-link=
|etal=no
|title=The sensory penis: A comprehensive immunohistological and ontogenetic exploration of human penile innervation
|trans-title=
|journal=Andrology
|date=2025-09-19
|volume=
|issue=
|article=
|pages=1-41
|url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/andr.70118
|archived=
|quote=
|pubmedID=40970806
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=10.1111/andr.70118
|accessdate=2026-07-12
}}</ref> and causes psychological issues.<ref name="tye2022"> {{REFjournal
|last=Tye
|first=
|init=MC
|author-link=
|last2=Sardi
|first2=
|init2=LM
|author2-link=Lauren Sardi
|etal=no
|title=Psychological, psychosocial, and psychosexual aspects of penile circumcision
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal=Int J Impot Res
|date=2023-05
|volume=35
|issue=3
|pages=242-8
|url=https://www.galdef.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/Tye-Sardi-Psycho-Aspects-of-Penile-Circumcision-IJIR-2022.pdf
|archived=
|quote=
|pubmedID=35347302
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=10.1038/s41443-022-00553-9
|format=PDF
|accessdate=2026-07-12
}}</ref>

Since boys are too young to grant consent, the American [[circumcision industry]] has traditionally relied on [[surrogate consent]], granted by a parental surrogate, for [[circumcision]], not the actual child victim, however parents do not have the right to harm their children, since the Supreme Court of the United States of America (1944) ruled:
<blockquote>
Parents may be free to become martyrs themselves. But it does not follow they are free, in identical circumstances, to make martyrs of their children before they have reached the age of full and legal discretion when they can make that choice for themselves.<ref>[https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/321/158/ Prince v Massachusetts], 21 U.S. 158, 159-60 (1944).</ref>
</blockquote>
Parental surrogates are denied the right to make that harmful choice for their children.<ref name="aap1995">{{REFjournal
|last=Committee on Bioethics
|etal=no
|title=Informed consent, parental permission, and assent in pediatric practice
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal=Pediatrics
|location=
|date=1995-02
|volume=95
|issue=2
|article=
|page=
|pages=314-7
|url=http://www.cirp.org/library/ethics/AAP/
|archived=
|quote=
|pubmedID=7838658
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=
|accessdate=2026-07-12
}}</ref><ref name="aviva2016">{{REFjournal
|last=Committee on Bioethics
|etal-no
|title=Informed Consent in Decision-Making in Pediatric Practice
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal=Pediatrics
|location=
|date=2016-08
|volume=138
|issue=2
|article=
|page=e20161484.
|pages=
|url=https://publications.aap.org/pediatrics/article/138/2/e20161484/52512/Informed-Consent-in-Decision-Making-in-Pediatric?autologincheck=redirected
|archived=
|quote=Continuing limits on the widespread use of pediatric assent/refusal makes this review and restatement of AAP policy important.
|pubmedID=27456514
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=
|doi=10.1542/peds.2016-1484
|accessdate=2026-07-12
}}</ref> [[Surrogate consent]] cannot be used to legalize or excuse the harmful aggravated battery of foreskin amputation.

If a non-therapeutic circumcision is to be done, then it must wait until the child patient reaches the legal age at which he can grant consent for himself.<ref name-"myers2020">{{REFjournal
|last=Myers
|first=
|init=A
|author-link=Alex Myers
|last2=Earp
|first2=
|init2=BD
|author2-link=Brian D. Earp
|etal=no
|title=What is the best age to circumcise? A medical and ethical analysis
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal=Bioethics
|location=
|date=2020
|volume=34
|issue=7
|pages=645-63
|url=https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Brian-Earp-2/publication/337720859_What_Is_the_Best_Age_to_Circumcise_A_Medical_and_Ethical_Analysis/links/5f815f61a6fdccfd7b555395/What-Is-the-Best-Age-to-Circumcise-A-Medical-and-Ethical-Analysis.pdf
|archived=
|quote=Based on a careful consideration of the relevant evidence, arguments and counterarguments, we conclude that medically unnecessary penile circumcision-like other medically unnecessary genital procedures, such as 'cosmetic' labiaplasty-should not be performed on individuals who are too young (or otherwise unable) to provide meaningful consent to the procedure.
|pubmedID=32068898
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=
|doi=10.1111/bioe.12714
|format=PDF
|accessdate=2026-07-12
}}</ref>
==Mens rea==
Mens rea is the state of mind statutorily required in order to convict a particular defendant of a particular crime.<ref>{{REFweb
|url=https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/mens_rea
|title=Mens rea
|last=
|first=
|init=
|author-link=
|publisher=Cornell Law School
|date=
|accessdate=2026-07-13
}}</ref>

Non-therapeutic circumcision of boys is, as stated above, a very harmful act. The [[medical trade association| medical trade associations]] of the [[United States]] have, for more than a century, published false claims of alleged health benefits from non-therapeutic male circumcision. Some operators may actually believe that [[child circumcision]] is a beneficial act.

This may make proving mens rea very challenging for public prosecutors.

==Rethinking circumcision policy==
* {{REFjournal
|last=Buckler
|first=
|init=M
|author-link=
|etal=no
|title=As controversies mount, circumcision policies need a rethink
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal=Journal of Medical Ethics
|location=
|date=2025-11
|season=
|volume=
|issue=
|article=
|page=
|pages=
|url=https://www.galdef.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/Buckler-Controversies-rethink-JME-2025.pdf
|archived=
|quote=
|pubmedID=41207714
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=10.1136/jme-2025-111357
|accessdate=2026-07-14
}}

==European precedents==
* [[Cologne circumcision court judgment]] (2012)
* [[Re B and G (children) (No 2) EWFC 3]] (2015)
{{SEEALSO}}
* [[Informed consent]]
* [[William Stowell]]
* [[Wrongful circumcision]]
{{LINKS}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://uslawexplained.com/aggravated_battery
|title=Aggravated Battery: The Ultimate Guide to a Serious Violent Crime
|last=Anonymous
|publisher=US Law Explained
|website=https://uslawexplained.com/start
|accessdate=2026-07-11
}}
==Conclusion==
Circumcision of male children is a mutilation of genital tissue that permanently destroys the [[foreskin]] (prepuce) of a male child. It also irreversibly destroys the [[Foreskin#Physiological_functions_of_the_foreskin| protective, immunological, sensory, and sexual functions]] of the foreskin, leaving the male patient at increased risk of disease.<ref name="fendereski2024" /> It is mutilating and causes permanent disfigurement of the [[penis]]. Circumcision of male children clearly meets all tests for aggravated battery. It cannot be legalized or excused by patient or surrogate consent because no one has the legal capacity to grant consent for the aggravated battery of non-therapeutic child circumcision.<ref name="hill2003">{{REFjournal
|last=Hill
|first=George
|init=G
|author-link=George Hill
|title=Can anyone authorize the nontherapeutic permanent alteration of a child's body?
|journal=The American Journal of Bioethics
|date=2003
|season=Spring
|volume=3
|issue=2
|pages=16-8
|url=https://www.researchgate.net/profile/George-Hill-3/publication/371599857_Can_Anyone_Authorize_the_Nontherapeutic_Permanent_Alteration_of_a_Child's_Body/links/648b8819c41fb852dd0949be/Can-Anyone-Authorize-the-Nontherapeutic-Permanent-Alteration-of-a-Childs-Body.pdf
|quote=
|pubmedID=14635628
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=10.1162/152651603766436342
|accessdate=2026-07-11
}}</ref>
{{REF}}

[[Category:Law: USA]]
[[Category:Litigation over circumcision]]
[[Category:USA]]

Foreskin

2026-07-14T18:46:25Z

WikiModEn2: /* Part Five: The Common Narratives Debunked */ Add external link.

<div class='res-img'>[[File:Infographic Foreskin.jpg|Foreskin - Anatomy and function]]</div>

The word ''foreskin'' is a cognate of the German word ''Vorhaut''. The word ''prepuce'' is a cognate of the French word ''prépuce'', which is derived from Latin ''praeputium''. ''Foreskin'' is more commonally used in speech, while ''prepuce'' is more commonly seen in scientific literature.

The '''foreskin''' or '''prepuce''' is the double-layered fold of smooth muscle tissue, blood vessels, neurons, [[skin]], and [[mucosa| mucous membrane]] part of the [[penis]] that creates the [[preputial sac]], while covering and protecting the [[glans penis]] and the [[urinary meatus]].

The nature of the prepuce or foreskin, which is [[Amputation| amputated]] and destroyed by circumcision, must be considered and fully understood in any discussion of male [[circumcision]].<ref name="cold-taylor1999">{{ColdCJ TaylorJR 1999}}</ref>

Purpura et al. (2018) described the foreskin as follows:
<blockquote>
Few parts of the human anatomy can compare to the incredibly multifaceted nature of the human foreskin. At times dismissed as “just [[skin]],” the adult foreskin is, in fact, a highly vascularized and densely innervated bilayer tissue, with a surface area of up to 90 cm, and potentially larger. On average, the foreskin accounts for 51% of the total length of the penile [[shaft skin]] and serves a multitude of functions. The tissue is highly dynamic and biomechanically functions like a roller bearing; during intercourse, the foreskin “unfolds” and glides as abrasive friction is reduced and lubricating fluids are retained. The sensitive foreskin is considered to be the primary erogenous zone of the male [[penis]] and is divided into four subsections: [[Preputial mucosa|inner mucosa]], [[ridged band]], [[frenulum]], and outer foreskin; each section contributes to a vast spectrum of sensory pleasure through the [[gliding action]] of the foreskin, which mechanically stretches and stimulates the densely packed corpuscular receptors. Specialized immunological properties should be noted by the presence of [[Langerhans cells]] and other lytic materials, which defend against common microbes, and there is robust evidence supporting [[HIV]] protection. The [[glans penis| glans]] and inner [[mucosa]] are physically protected against external irritation and contaminants while maintaining a healthy, moist surface. The foreskin is also immensely vascularized and acts as a conduit for essential blood vessels within the [[penis]], such as supplying the [[glans]] via the frenular artery.<ref>{{REFjournal
|last=Purpura
|first=Valeria
|init=V
|author-link=
|last2=Bondioli
|first2=Elena
|init2=E
|author2-link=
|last3=Cunningham
|first3=Eric J.
|init3=EC
|author3-link=
|etal=yes
|title=The development of a decellularized extracellular matrix–based biomaterial scaffold derived from human foreskin for the purpose of foreskin reconstruction in circumcised males
|journal=J Tissue Eng
|location=
|date=2018-12-22
|volume=
|issue=
|pages=
|url=https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/2041731418812613
|quote=
|pubmedID=30622692
|pubmedCID=6304708
|DOI=10.1177/2041731418812613
|accessdate=2020-02-09
}}</ref></blockquote>
==Origin==
[[Evolution of the foreskin]] over hundreds of thousands of years by natural selection provided better fitness for survival.<ref name="darwin1859">{{REFbook
|last=Darwin
|first=Charles
|init=
|author-link=
|year=1859
|title=The Origin of Species
|url=https://www.gutenberg.org/files/1228/1228-h/1228-h.htm#chap04
|work=
|editor=
|edition=
|volume=
|chapter=Chapter Four: Natural Selection
|scope=
|page=
|pages=
|location=London
|publisher=John Murray
|ISBN=
|quote=
|accessdate=2024-12-18
|note=
}}</ref> Evolution provided protective functions that protect the [[penis]] from [[trauma]], [[infection]],<ref name="fleiss-hodges-vanhowe1998"></ref> and also provided functions that promote reproduction.<ref name="cold-taylor1999" />

== Structure ==

The medical community usually omits information on the nature and functions of the foreskin from information provided to the public and to parents.

The foreskin is considered to have three parts:
* The outer foreskin which is covered with true [[skin]].
* The inner foreskin and [[ridged band]] which is covered with mucosal membrane. ([[Mucosa]])
* The [[frenulum]] which connects the foreskin to the [[glans penis]] and usually limits retraction.

The inner and outer adult foreskin together contain about 15 square inches of skin.

The foreskin is not redundant tissue.<ref name="andersen2025">{{REFjournal
|last=Andersen-Giberson
|init=D
|author-link=Dale Andersen
|url=https://cdd.journals.yorku.ca/index.php/cdd/article/view/39786/36016
|title=Circumcision and forced disability: Routine male neonatal circumcision and the consequences of amputation within a critical disability studies framework
|journal=Critical Disability Discourses
|date=2025-12
|volume=10
|issue=2
|pages=1-37
|URL=https://cdd.journals.yorku.ca/index.php/cdd/article/view/39786/36016
|DOI=https://doi.org/10.25071/1918-6215.39786
|accessdate=2026-03-12
|quote=In a critical disability studies framework, it is argued that the act of amputating healthy erogenous tissue and the consequences of that amputation cause disability, particularly from a counter-hegemonic lens.
|format=PDF
|accessdate=2026-03-12
}}</ref>

===Foreskin in infancy and childhood===
Baby boys are born with the foreskin fused with the [[glans penis]] by the balanopreputial lamina, a [[synechia| synechial membrane]], which prevents retraction. The [[preputial sac]] is closed by the synechia and cannot be infected.<ref name="fleiss-hodges-vanhowe1998"/> The synechia breaks down over a widely variable period of years to release the foreskin and allow retraction.

In addition, the tip of the foreskin ([[acroposthion]]) is usually too narrow to allow [[retraction of the foreskin]], but usually widens as [[puberty]] approaches to permit retraction.

Forcible attempts to retract the foreskin result in injury to the boy, so should be avoided. The first person to retract the foreskin should be the boy himself since he will not retract if it is painful.<ref name="Wright1994">{{REFjournal
|last=Wright
|init=JE
|title=Further to the "Further Fate of the Foreskin"
|journal=Med J Aust
|volume=160
|issue=
|pages=134-135
|url=http://www.cirp.org/library/normal/wright2/
|quote=
|pubmedID=8295581
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=
|date=1994-02-07
|accessdate=2020-05-16
}}</ref>

Thorvaldsen & Meyhoff (2005) conducted a survey of 4,000 boys in [[Denmark]]. They reported that the mean age of first foreskin retraction is 10.4 years in [[Denmark]].<ref name="Thorvaldsen-meyhoff2005">{{REFjournal
|last=Thorvaldsen
|init=MA
|last2=Meyhoff
|init2=H
|title=Patologisk eller fysiologisk fimose?
|trans-title=Pathological or physiological phimosis?
|language=Danish
|journal=Ugeskr Læger
|volume=167
|issue=17
|pages=1858-1862
|url=http://www.cirp.org/library/normal/thorvaldsen1/
|quote=
|pubmedID=
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=
|date=2005
|accessdate=2019-11-14
}}</ref>

===Foreskin in adolescence===
The foreskin is in a transitional state during [[puberty]] and adolescence, in which it is changing from the non-retractile foreskin of childhood to the fully retractable foreskin of adulthood. Many adolescents complain of a non-retractable foreskin. Many teens need to do manual [[stretching]] to widen the tip of their foreskin if they wish it to retract. They usually achieve full retraction by age 16. The foreskin facilitates normal [[masturbation]].

===Foreskin in adulthood===

The foreskin may be retractable or non-retractable. Most men have a retractable foreskin, but about two to five percent have a longer, tighter, non-retractable foreskin, which is a normal variant.

The foreskin (also known as the ''prepuce'') is the layered fold of smooth muscle tissue, blood vessels, neurons, [[skin]], and [[Preputial mucosa|mucous membrane]] part of the [[penis]] that covers and protects the [[glans penis]] and the urinary meatus.<ref name="cold-taylor1999"/> There are four layers of tissue in the foreskin. The top layer is either epidermis in the outer foreskin or [[mucosa]], in the inner foreskin. The second layer is the lamina propria. The third layer is the [[dartos]]. The fourth layer is the dermis.

It is normal for the genital organs to become darker in color than the rest of one's body after [[puberty]]. This condition is called hyperpigmentation. Some white men have an almost black penis.

The adult foreskin measures about 3 inches by 5 inches or [[The Foreskin: 15 Square Inches of Erogenous Tissue| 15 square inches]].<ref name="taylor1996">{{TaylorJR LockwoodAP TaylorAJ 1996}}</ref> The foreskin creates the [[preputial sac]]. The two foreskin layers provide a [[skin]] reserve. When the penis becomes erect, the foreskin may wholly or partially unfold to provide the necessary [[skin]] to allow for expansion of the penis during [[erection]].

The foreskin is the movable part of the [[penis]]. The foreskin is not attached to the underlying structure and is free to [[gliding action| glide back and forth]].<ref name="lakshmanan-prakash1980">{{REFjournal
|last=Lakshmanan
|init=S
|author-link=
|last2=Prakash
|init2=S
|title=Human prepuce: some aspects of structure and function
|journal=Indian J Surg
|date=1980
|volume=44
|issue=
|pages=134-7
|url=http://www.cirp.org/library/anatomy/lakshmanan/
|quote=
|accessdate=
}}</ref> The foreskin is internally lubricated between the inner and outer layer by [[lymph]], so it can move without friction. The [[gliding action]] reduces the friction of intercourse and helps to prevent abrasions, while conserving vaginal lubrication and moisture.<ref name="warren-bigelow1994">{{REFjournal
|last=Warren
|first=John
|init=J
|author-link=John Warren
|last2=Bigelow
|first2=Jim
|init2=J
|author2-link=Jim Bigelow
|title=The case against circumcision
|journal=Brit J Sex Med
|date=1994-09
|url=http://www.cirp.org/library/general/warren2/
|quote=
|pubmedID=
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=
|accessdate=2019-10-28
}}</ref> The foreskin is attached to the [[glans penis]] on the ventral side by the [[frenulum]], which usually limits [[Retraction of the foreskin| retraction]] to a widely variable degree. The [[ridged band]] emanates from the frenulum.<ref name="cold-taylor1999" />

The epithelium of the outer layer of the foreskin is true [[skin]] while the epithelium of the inner layer is [[Preputial mucosa|mucosal membrane]]. There is a mucocutaneous boundary at the tip of the foreskin. The mucocutaneous junction is a specific erogenous zone,<ref name="winklemann1959">{{WinkelmannRK 1959}}</ref> Taylor et al. reported:
<blockquote>
The vascular ridges of the `ridged band' and its [[Meissner's corpuscles]] firmly separate preputial epithelium from true [[skin]] and place preputial [[mucosa]] amongst other mucocutaneous [[mucosa]]e. Winkelmann emphasized the structural and functional importance of junctional regions of the body and focused on mucocutaneous end-organs, or `genital corpuscles', of the [[glans penis]] and prepuce. Some of these end-organs resemble Krause end-bulbs; others resemble [[Meissner's corpuscles]]. … [[Meissner's corpuscles]] of the prepuce may be compared with similar nerve-endings in the finger-tips and lips, which respond in a fraction of a second to contact with light objects that bring about deformation of their capsules. … The prepuce provides a large and important platform for several nerves and nerve endings. The innervation of the outer [[skin]] of the prepuce is impressive; its sensitivity to light touch and pain are similar to that of the [[skin]] of the penis as a whole.<ref name="taylor1996" />
</blockquote>

The highly innervated [[ridged band]] area is found at the mucocutaneous junction. The ridged band area is characterized by rete ridges with [[Meissner's corpuscles]] in the ridges.<ref name="taylor1996"/>

As with other neurologic structures such as the brain, the tip of the prepuce is richly supplied with blood by important vascular structures.<ref name="taylor1996"/> The prepuce serves as a conduit for several important veins.<ref name="fleiss-hodges-vanhowe1998">{{FleissP HodgesF VanHoweRS 1998}}</ref> The [[glans penis]] receives blood through the frenular artery.<ref>{{REFjournal
|last=Persad
|init=R
|author-link=
|last2=Sharma
|init2=S
|author2-link=
|last3=McTavish
|init3=J
|author3-link=
|etal=yes
|title=Clinical presentation and pathophysiology of meatal stenosis following circumcision
|journal=Brit J Urol
|date=1995
|volume=75
|issue=1
|pages=91-3
|url=https://www.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1464-410X.1995.tb07242.x
|quote=
|pubmedID=7850308
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=10.1111/j.1464-410x.1995.tb07242.x
|accessdate=2019-10-15
}}</ref> The adult foreskin frequently has prominent visible veins.

The layer of [[dartos]] muscle is contained within the foreskin.<ref name="cold-taylor1999 /> It makes the foreskin rather stretchy. The dartos muscle keeps the foreskin snugly against the [[glans]]. The fibers of the [[dartos]] muscle form a whorl at the tip that functions as a sphincter. The sphincter opens to allow [[urine]] to flow out, but closes to protect the [[penis]] from foreign matter, contaminants, and pathogens.<ref name="lakshmanan-prakash1980"/><ref>{{REFjournal
|last=Jefferson
|first=
|author-link=
|title=The peripenic muscle; some observations on the anatomy of phimosis
|journal=Surgery, Gynecology, and Obstetrics (Chicago)
|date=1916
|volume=23
|issue=2
|pages=177-81
|url=http://www.cirp.org/library/anatomy/jefferson/
|quote=
|pubmedID=
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=
|accessdate=2019-10-14
}}</ref>

About two to five percent of men have a foreskin that did not become retractable in adulthood. That condition is called [[phimosis]] and is a normal variant that does not require treatment. Some believe that the longer foreskins may not get naturally stretched by [[erection]], so are more likely to remain tight and non-retractable. Treatment is optional. Many men happily live out their lives with a non-retractable foreskin.

The outer foreskin usually becomes somewhat darker after [[puberty]] due to increased melanin.<ref>{{REFweb
|url=https://medical-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/hyperpigmentation
|title=hyperpigmentation
|last=
|first=
|init=
|author-link=
|publisher=Medical Dictionary for the Dental Professions
|date=2012
|accessdate=2024-09-25
}}</ref> The color may vary from slightly darker than the other skin to (rarely) almost black.

===Foreskin length===
Natural foreskins are found in all lengths from very short to very long. Most appear to fall near the center of the range with very few at the two extremes in accordance with the rules for [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Normal_distribution normal distribution]. [[Long foreskins]] appear to perform their [[Immunological and protective function of the foreskin| protective and immunological function]] more satisfactorily. A short or inadequate foreskin may be lengthened by [[tissue expansion]] to improve function and aesthetics.

The tapered tip of [[long foreskins]] that extends beyond the [[glans penis]] is known as the ''[[acroposthion]]''. A very few of the longest foreskins will not remain retracted when released, but will spontaneously [[Gliding action| glide]] forward to recover the [[glans penis]]. [[Long foreskins]] improve protection and [[gliding action]] and do not usually create an issue. There is no recognized definition of an excessively long or so-called "redundant" foreskin.<ref name="tip2022">{{REFweb
|url=http://acroposthion.com/the-tip-at-the-end/
|title=The ‘Tip’ At The End
|last=
|first=
|publisher=Acroposthion
|date=2022
|accessdate=2022-06-21
}}</ref> It appears that [[Longer foreskin is favored| longer foreskins have been favored]] by men through the centuries.
===Kinsey study of foreskin length===
Sex researcher Alfred C. Kinsey (1963) carried out a study of the amount of the [[glans penis]] covered by the foreskin in white college men. Kinsey measured foreskin length by the extent of coverage and protection of the [[glans penis]]. He reported:
* None, foreskin kept retracted: 11.2%
* Foreskin just covers corona: 16.5%
* Most of head covered, tip shows: 17.6%
* Head completely covered: 48.4%
* Foreskin extends beyond head: 6.4%<ref>Gebhard, P. H., Johnson, A. B., & Kinsey, A. C. (1998). Table 81. In: The Kinsey Data: Marginal Tabulations of the 1938–1963 Interviews Conducted by the Institute for Sex Research. Indiana University Press. </ref>

Please note that the last two categories, totalling 54.8%, provide complete coverage of the [[glans penis]].

See [[Development_of_retractable_foreskin#Adult_foreskin| Adult foreskin]].

==Physiological functions of the foreskin==

Antique research by Alfred Kinsey (1948)<ref>{{REFbook
|last=Kinsey
|first=Alfred C.
|init=
|year=1948
|title=Sexual behavior in the human male
|url=
|scope=
|ISBN=
|accessdate=2022-06-16
}}</ref> and Masters & Johnson (1966)<ref>{{REFbook
|last=Masters
|first=William
|init=
|year=1966
|title=Human sexual response
|url=
|scope=
|ISBN=978-0-553-20429-2
|accessdate=2022-06-16
}}</ref> misled medical science into believing that the foreskin had no function. This meant the foreskin could be excised without doing harm. In actuality, the foreskin has many functions,<ref name="connors2024-02-19">{{REFweb
|url=https://intactamerica.org/intact-penis/
|title=6 Things You Need to Know About The Intact Penis
|last=Garrett
|first=Connor
|init=
|author-link=Connor Judson Garrett
|publisher=Intact America
|date=2024-02-19
|accessdate=2024-10-21
}}</ref> so its [[amputation]] does [[Bodily harm| great harm]].<ref name="hill2017">{{REFjournal
|last=Hill
|first=
|init=G
|author-link=George Hill
|title=The case against circumcision
|journal=Journal of Men's Health and Gender
|date=2007
|volume=4
|issue=3
|pages=318-323
|url=https://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/document?repid=rep1&type=pdf&doi=04ace5046cc27f01b8fbe4aa359c059778983912
|quote=
|format=PDF
|accessdate=2023-10-01
}}</ref> <ref>{{REFdocument
|title=Policy Paper: Newborn Circumcision as a Negative Wellness Factor
|url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/394517060_Policy_Paper_Newborn_Circumcision_as_a_Negative_Wellness_Factor
|contribution=
|last=Bollinger
|first=Dan
|publisher=Research Gate
|format=PDF
|date=2025-08
|accessdate=2025-08-29
}}</ref>

The human race evolved over perhaps 700 millenia. The foreskin evolved its physiological functions that improve fitness for survival during that time.<ref>{{URLwikipedia|Evolution|Evolution}}</ref>
=== Urination functions ===
The foreskin functions as a hose nozzle during [[urination]]. It confines and consolidates the multiple urine streams from the [[urethra]] into one stream that can easily be controlled and aimed as necessary.

[[Foreskinned]] men advise that [[Urination by foreskinned men| the foreskin should be stretched out to its full length]] to remove wrinkles before commencing [[urination]].

=== Erection functions ===
When [[erection]] of the [[penis]] occurs, the penis also expands in both circumference and length, so more skin is needed to cover it and allow painless erection. The foreskin unfolds to provide additional skin and permits [[intact]] men to enjoy painless erection, unlike many [[circumcised]] men who experience very tight, painful skin when [[erection]] occurs.

=== Protective functions ===

The foreskin provides physical protection to the [[glans penis]] and inner [[mucosa]],<ref>{{REFjournal
|last=Morgan
|first=
|init=WKC
|author-link=William Keith Campbell Morgan
|etal=no
|title=The rape of the phallus
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal=JAMA
|location=
|date=1965-07-19
|volume=193
|issue=3
|pages=123-4
|url=https://www.cirp.org/library/general/morgan/
|archived=
|quote=This ritual, however, has become so widespread in the [[United States]] that it is no longer much of a status symbol, and a situation has arisen where any recently delivered mother who is eccentric enough to wish her child to retain his [[prepuce]], would be well advised to maintain permanent guard over it until such time as they both leave the hospital.
|pubmedID=14310332
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=10.1001/jama.1965.03090030045013
|accessdate=2024-05-21
}}</ref> supplying moisture and natural oils by [[transudation]], while protecting the [[mucosa]]l tissue from pathogens, pollutants, friction, injury, [[keratinization]], de-sensitization, and drying out. The foreskin protects the glans penis and meatus of infant boys from abrasion and irritation from ammoniacal diapers to prevent [[meatal stenosis]].<ref name="gairdner1949">{{GairdnerDM 1949}}</ref> <ref name="dobanavacki2012">{{REFjournal
|last=Dobanavacki
|init=D
|author-link=
|last2=Lucić Prostran
|init2=B
|author2-link=
|last3=Sarac
|init3=D
|author3-link=
|etal=yes
|title=Prepuce in boys and adolescents: what when, and how?
|journal=Med Pregl
|date=2012
|volume=65
|issue=7-8
|pages=295-300
|url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/230746332_Prepuce_in_boys_and_adolescents_What_when_and_how
|quote=
|pubmedID=22924249
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=10.2298/MPNS1208295D
|accessdate=2019-10-14
}}</ref>

In the absence of the foreskin about ten to twenty percent of [[circumcised]] boys suffer urethral stricture ([[meatal stenosis]]) requiring further treatment.<ref name="frisch2016">{{REFjournal
|last=Frisch
|first=Morten
|init=M
|author-link=Morten Frisch
|last2=Simonsen
|init2=J
|author2-link=
|title=Cultural background, non-therapeutic circumcision and the risk of meatal stenosis and other urethral stricture disease: Two nationwide register-based cohort studies in Denmark 1977-2013
|journal=The Surgeon
|date=2016-04-01
|volume=16
|issue=2
|pages=107-18
|url=http://www.thesurgeon.net/article/S1479-666X(16)30179-2/pdf
|quote=
|pubmedID=28017691
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=10.1016/j.surge.2016.11.002
|accessdate=2019-10-23
}}</ref> Frisch & Simonsen (2016) reported the incidence of meatal stenosis to be 3.7 times higher in [[circumcised]] boys.<ref name="frisch2016"/> Fendereski et al. (2024) carried out a massive study to compare intact boys to circumcised boys. The authors reported that [[intact]] ([[foreskinned]]) boys have only one-third as many penile problems as do [[circumcised]] boys.<ref name=fendereski2024">{{REFjournal
|last=Fendereski
|first=
|init=K
|author-link=
|last2=Horns
|first2=
|init2=JJ
|author2-link=
|last3=Driggs
|first3=
|init3=N
|author3-link=
|last4=Lau
|first4=
|init4=G
|author4-link=
|last5=Shaeffer
|first5=
|init5=AJ
|author5-link=
|etal=no
|title=Comparing Penile Problems in Circumcised vs. Uncircumcised Boys: Insights From a Large Commercial Claims Database With a Focus on Provider Type Performing Circumcision
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal=J Pediatr Surg
|date=2024-11
|volume=59
|issue=11
|article=161614
|url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S002234682400407X
|archived=
|quote=
|pubmedID=39084960
|pubmedCID=11486584
|DOI=10.1016/j.jpedsurg.2024.06.022
|accessdate=2025-01-06
}}</ref>

The foreskin continues to protect the [[glans penis]] throughout life, keeping it smooth, glossy, moist, [[Foreskin sensitivity| sensitive]], and free from [[keratinization]] and loss of sensation. Nature intended the glans penis to be an internal organ that is only exposed briefly. Many men prefer having a foreskin that fully covers and protects the sensitive [[mucosa]] of the glans penis.

=== Immunological functions ===

Fleiss et al. (1998) have listed numerous immunological functions of the foreskin that help to protect the human body against [[infection]]. The foreskin maintains the moistness of the [[preputial mucosa]] and the [[glans penis]] by [[transudation]]. The sub-preputial moisture contains cathepsin B, chymotrypsin, neutrophil elastase, cytokines, and lysozyme, which has the capacity to destroy the cell walls of bacteria. The preputial muscles keep the tip of the foreskin closed to keep moisture in, while also keeping pathogens and other contaminants out.<ref name="fleiss-hodges-vanhowe1998"/>

The foreskin is highly vascularized. The high rate of blood flow helps to prevent infection.<ref name="fleiss-hodges-vanhowe1998"/>

Although claims have been made that the presence of the foreskin increases the risk of infection with [[Circumcision and HIV|human immune deficiency virus]] ([[HIV]]), that is not correct. The claims are based on the reported findings of three randomized clinical trials (RCTs) that were carried out more than a decade ago in Africa. Boyle & Hill (2011) have shown these RCTs to be have significant methodological flaws and statistical errors that render their claims invalid.<ref name="boyle-hill2011">{{BoyleGJ HillG 2011}}</ref> [[HIV#Population-based_studies| Two massive population studies]] published in 2021 found that [[circumcision]] provided no protective effect.

Fleiss et al. noted the presence of [[Langerhans cells]] in the prepuce.<ref name="fleiss-hodges-vanhowe1998"/> De Witte et al. (2007) have discovered that Langerhans cells produce ''Langerin'', which is a "natural barrier to [[HIV]] infection".<ref>{{DeWitte etal 2007}}</ref>

For more information, see [[Immunological and protective function of the foreskin]].

=== Sexual functions ===

The foreskin is a sexual organ.<ref name="hill2017" /> It provides both mechanical and erogenous functions in [[masturbation]] and sexual intercourse,<ref name="connors2024-02-19" /> as well as [[pheromone| pheromones]] for the excitement and arousal of the partner.<ref name="fleiss-hodges-vanhowe1998"/> Winkelmann (1959) classified the foreskin as ''specific erogenous tissue''.<ref name="winklemann1959" /> When the [[penis]] becomes [[Erection| erect]], the foreskin unfolds to provide the skin necessary to allow the [[penis]] to expand to full size and length.

The [[gliding action]] provides stimulation and facilitates intromission.<ref name="warren-bigelow1994"/><ref name="morgan1965">{{REFjournal
|last=Morgan
|init=WKC
|author-link=
|title=The rape of the phallus
|journal=JAMA
|date=1965
|volume=193
|issue=
|pages=123-4
|url=https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/article-abstract/656072
|quote=
|pubmedID=14310332
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=10.1001/jama.1965.03090030045013
|accessdate=2019-10-15
}}</ref> <ref name="taves2002">{{REFjournal
|last=Taves
|init=D
|author-link=
|title=The intromission function of the foreskin
|journal=Med Hypotheses
|date=2002
|volume=59
|issue=2
|pages=180
|url=http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0306987702002505
|quote=
|pubmedID=12208206
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=10.1016/s0306-9877(02)00250-5
|accessdate=2019-10-15
}}</ref> At times of sexual arousal, the foreskin may be lubricated by [[pre-ejaculate]]. During the thrusting of sexual congress, the [[gliding action]] reduces abrasions and irritation in the [[Vagina| female partner]] and avoids problems with vaginal dryness.<ref name="warren-bigelow1994"/><ref name="morgan1965"/> The foreskin may protect the corona glandis from hyper-stimulation and prevent [[premature ejaculation]].

===Sensory functions===

Nature designed the foreskin to be an [[Foreskin sensitivity| erogenous sensory organ]].<ref name="hill2017" /> Hill (2003) commented the foreskin has a layer of muscle called the [[dartos]] muscle sheath that provides the foreskin with elasticity, flexibility, and stretchiness, which allows full stimulation of the nerves in the [[ridged band]] that sense movement and [[stretching]] to provide [[foreskin sensitivity]].<ref name="hill2003">{{REFjournal
|last=Hill
|init=G
|author-link=George Hill
|url=https://www.bmj.com/rapid-response/2011/10/30/foreskin-motion-generates-meissner-corpuscle-stimulation
|title=Foreskin motion generates Meissner corpuscle stimulation
|journal=BMJ
|date=2003-12-16
|volume=309
|issue=
|pages=679
|accessdate=2024-12-06
}}</ref> There is a mucocutaneous region at the tip of the foreskin where outer skin changes to inner [[mucosa]]. Winkelmann (1959) identified the foreskin as a ''specific erogenous zone'' (meaning an area of acute erogenous sensation). Winklemann reported rete ridges in the foreskin with nerves set close to the surface with closely set networks.<ref name="winklemann1959"/>

Lakshamanan & Prakash (1980) report the "prepuce covers the [[glans]] completely and snugly like a hosiered material and continues to do so through the entire span of life of the male", which they explain as being caused by the smooth muscle fibers within the prepuce. The prepuce is free to [[gliding action| glide back and forth]]. When it does, it must stretch to go over the glans penis.<ref name="lakshmanan-prakash1980" />

Taylor et al. (1996) carried out a histological study of the foreskin. (Histology is the microscopic examination of cells and tissues.) Taylor et al. found an area of rete ridges just inside the tip of the foreskin that he called the [[ridged band]]. The ridges were found to have nerve endings at the top of the ridges. They report that the ridged band area moves to the shaft of the penis when the penis becomes erect where the nerves are subject to stimulation. They stated:
<blockquote>
The prepuce provides a large and important platform for several nerves and nerve endings. The innervation of the outer skin of the prepuce is impressive; its sensitivity to light touch and pain are similar to that of the skin of the penis as a whole.<ref name="taylor1996" />
</blockquote>

Sorrells et al. (2007) conducted a fine-touch study of the penis of both [[circumcised]] and [[intact]] men. Sorrells et al. concluded:
<blockquote>
In conclusion, circumcision removes the most sensitive parts of the [[penis]] and decreases the fine-touch pressure sensitivity of glans penis. The most sensitive regions in the [[uncircumcised]] penis are those parts ablated by circumcision. When compared to the most sensitive area of the circumcised penis, several locations on the [[uncircumcised]] penis (the rim of the preputial orifice, dorsal and ventral, the frenulum near the ridged band, and the frenulum at the muco-cutaneous junction) that are missing from the circumcised penis were significantly more sensitive.<ref>{{Sorrells etal 2007}}</ref>
</blockquote>

Bronselaer et al. (2013) surveyed a large group of [[intact]] and [[circumcised]] men in Belgium. They reported:
<blockquote>
Of the men in Group A [intact males], 90.6% rated the sexual pleasure provided when the foreskin was stimulated by themselves or their partners from ‘mild’ to ‘very strong’ and 61.9% the respective orgasm from ‘mild’ to ‘very strong’.

For the [[glans penis]], men in Group B [circumcised males] reported significantly less sexual pleasure than men in Group A at the dorsal side (P ≤ 0.001), and the lateral (P ≤ 0.001) and ventral sides (P = 0.02). Orgasm was less intense in Group B at the dorsal side (P = 0.006) and at the lateral sides (P = 0.02). Group B required more effort in achieving orgasm at the lateral sides (P = 0.04). Furthermore, a larger percentage of men in this group reported numbness at the dorsal, lateral, and ventral sides (all P ≤ 0.001), as well as unusual sensations (burning, prickling, itching, or tingling) at the lateral sides (P = 0.02) and at the ventral side (P = 0.003) of the glans.<ref>{{REFjournal
|last=Bronselaer
|first=Guy
|init=G
|author-link=
|last2=Schoeber
|first2=Justine M.
|init2=JM
|author2-link=
|last3=Meyer-Bahlburg
|init3=HM
|author3-link=
|last4=T'Sjoen
|first4=Guy
|init4=G
|author4-link=
|last5=Vlietinck
|first5=Robert
|init5=R
|author5-link=
|last6=Hoebeke
|first6=Piet B.
|init6=PB
|author6-link=
|etal=no
|title=Male circumcision decreases penile sensitivity as measured in a large cohort
|journal=BJU Int
|location=
|date=2013-05
|volume=111
|issue=5
|pages=820-7
|url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/j.1464-410X.2012.11761.x
|quote=
|pubmedID=
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=10.1111/j.1464-410X.2012.11761.x
|accessdate=2019-10-23
}}</ref>
</blockquote>

García-Mesa et al. (2021) reported the foreskin has an abundance of [[Meissner's corpuscles]] which provide pleasant sexual sensation when mechanically stimulated by motion of the foreskin.<ref name="garcía-mesa2021">{{REFjournal
|last=García-Mesa
|first=Yolanda
|init=
|author-link=
|last2=García-Piqueras
|first2=Jorge
|init2=
|author2-link=
|last3=Cobo
|first3=Ramón
|init3=
|author3-link=
|last4=Martín-Cruces
|first4=José
|init4=
|author4-link=
|last5=Suazo
|first5=Iván
|init5=
|author5-link=
|last6=García-Suárez
|first6=Olivia
|init6=
|author6-link=
|last7=Feito
|first7=Jorge
|init7=
|author7-link=
|last8=
|first8=Vega
|init8=José A.
|author8-link=
|etal=no
|title=Sensory innervation of the human male prepuce: Meissner's corpuscles predominate
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal=Journal of Anatomy
|location=
|date=2021-10
|volume=239
|issue=4
|article=
|page=
|pages=892-902
|url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/joa.13481
|pubmedID=34120333
|pubmedCID=8450466
|DOI=10.1111/joa.13481
|accessdate=2021-11-15
}}</ref>

Vega et al. (2025) reported that the number of Meissner's corpuscles vary with age with the highest number being found between the ages of 20 and 40.<ref>{{REFjournal
|last=Vega
|first=
|init=JA
|author-link=
|last2=Aiello
|first2=
|init2=V
|author2-link=Vincenzo Aiello
|last3=Martin-Cruces
|first3=
|init3=J
|author3-link=
|last4=Suazo
|first4=
|init4=I
|author4-link=
|last5=Jones
|first5=
|init5=R
|author5-link=
|last6=Musa
|first6=
|init6=W
|author6-link=
|last7=Szebeni-Varga
|first7=
|init7=B
|author7-link=
|last8=Garcia-Suảrez
|first8=
|init8=O
|author8-link=
|last9=Garcỉa-Mesa
|first9=
|init9=Y
|author9-link=
|etal=no
|title=Sexual Mechanosensitivity: Age-Related Changes in the Innervation of the Human Prepuce
|trans-title=
|journal=J Clin Med
|location=
|date=2025-07-04
|volume=14
|issue=13
|page=4730
|url=https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0383/14/13/4730
|archived=
|quote=
|pubmedID=40649104
|pubmedCID=12250474
|DOI=10.3390/jcm14134730
|accessdate=2025-07-31
}}</ref>

Many [[foreskinned]] men find the functions of their foreskin to be very endearing.

== Sexual behavior ==
The foreskin is a source of [[Body pleasure| comfort]] to [[foreskinned]] men that is not available to [[circumcised]] men.

Laumann et al. (1997) reported that men who lack a foreskin "engage in a somewhat more elaborated set of sexual practices than do men who are not [[circumcised]]. For each of the practices examined, lifetime experience of various forms of oral and anal sex and [[masturbation]] frequency in the past year, [[circumcised]] men engaged in these behaviors at greater rates. The difference between [[circumcised]] men was greatest for [[masturbation]] — ironically, a practice that [[circumcision]] was once thought to limit. A total of 47% of circumcised men reported masturbating at least once a month vs 34% for their [[uncircumcised]] peers."<ref name="laumann1997>{{REFjournal
|last=Laumann
|init=EO
|author-link=
|last2=Masi
|init2=CM
|author2-link=
|last3=Zuckerman
|init3=CW
|author3-link=
|etal=no
|title=Circumcision in the United States
|journal=JAMA
|location=
|date=1997-04-02
|volume=277
|issue=13
|pages=1052-7
|url=http://www.cirp.org/library/general/laumann/
|quote=
|pubmedID=9091693
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=
|accessdate=2019-10-23
}}</ref> Dave et al. (2003) reported that men without foreskins "were more likely to report having had homosexual partner(s) (7.5% v 5.3%, p =0.012) and partners from abroad (19.7% v 13.1%, p...0.001)."<ref name="dave2003">{{REFjournal
|last=Dave
|init=SS
|author-link=
|last2=Johnson
|init2=AM
|author2-link=
|last3=Fenton
|init3=KA
|author3-link=
|last4=Mercer
|init4=CH
|author4-link=
|last5=Erens
|init5=B
|author5-link=
|last6=Wellings
|init6=K
|author6-link=
|etal=no
|title=Male circumcision in Britain: findings from a national probability sample survey
|journal=Sex Trans Infect
|location=
|date=2003-12
|volume=79
|issue=
|pages=499-500
|url=http://www.cirp.org/library/general/dave1/
|quote=
|pubmedID=14663134
|pubmedCID=1744763
|DOI=10.1136/sti.79.6.499
|accessdate=2019-10-29
}}</ref>

Cold & Taylor (1999) commented, "The increased frequency of [[masturbation]], anal intercourse and fellatio reported by [[circumcised]] men in the [[United States of America| USA]] may possibly be due to the sensory imbalance caused by [[circumcision]]. Clearly, [[amputation]] of the prepuce causes changes in sexual behaviour in human males and females."<ref name="cold-taylor1999" />

Frisch et al. (2011) surveyed the sexual function and behavior of a large group of [[intact]] and [[circumcised]] men in [[Denmark]]. They reported that "[[circumcised]] men were more likely (38%) than [[uncircumcised]] men (28%) to report ≥10 sex partners."<ref name="frisch lindholm groenbaek 2011">{{FrischM LindholmM GroenbaekM 2011}}</ref>

==The role of the foreskin in heterosexual relations==

The knowledge of the important of the [[intact]] [[penis]] in heterosexual relations long has been known to the Jews who give us our earliest evidence of the value of the [[foreskin]] to the female partner.

Moses Maimonides, a Jewish rabbi and physician, stated in the 12th century:
{{Citation
|Text=It is hard for a woman with whom an [[uncircumcised]] man has had sexual intercourse to separate from him.
|Author=[[Moses Maimonides]]
|ref=<ref>{{REFbook
|last=Maimonides
|first=Moses
|init=M
|author-link=Moses Maimonides
|year=1963
|title=The Guide of the Perplexed
|url=http://www.cirp.org/library/cultural/maimonides/
|page=609
|isbn=
|accessdate=2019-10-11
}}</ref>
}}

According to the Rabbi Isaac ben Yedaiah, who lived in Southern France in the late 13th century:
<blockquote>
''She too will court the man who is [[uncircumcised]] in the flesh and lie against his breast with great passion, for he thrusts inside her a long time because of his foreskin, which is a barrier against ejaculation in intercourse. Thus she feels pleasure and reaches an orgasm first. When an [[uncircumcised]] man sleeps with her, and then resolves to return to his home, she brazenly grabs him, holding on to his genitals and says to him, "Come back, make love to me." This is because of the pleasure that she finds in intercourse with him, from the sinews of his testicles—sinew of iron—and from his ejaculation—that of a horse which he shoots like an arrow into her womb. They are united without separating, and he makes love twice and three times in one night, yet the appetite is not filled.''<ref name="saperstein1980">{{REFbook
|last=Saperstein
|first=Marc
|init=M
|year=1980
|title= Decoding the Rabbis: A Thirteenth-Century Commentary on the Aggadah
|url=http://www.cirp.org/library/cultural/yedaiah1/
|pages=
|isbn=
|accessdate=2019-10-22
}}</ref>
</blockquote>
As previously reported, the foreskin reduces the force required for penetration of the female partner's [[vagina]] by as much as ninety percent.<ref name="taves2002"/> The [[gliding action]] of the foreskin reduces friction and abrasion, while conserving vaginal lubrication.<ref name="warren-bigelow1994"/>

In a first of its kind, O'Hara & O'Hara (1999) carried out a retrospective survey of 138 women with experience of both [[intact]] and [[circumcised]] partners. The women overwhelmingly concurred that the mechanics of [[sexual intercouse| coitus]] was different for the two groups of men. Of the women, 73% reported that [[circumcised]] men tend to thrust harder and deeper, using elongated strokes, while unaltered men by comparison tended to thrust more gently, to have shorter thrusts, and tended to be in contact with the mons pubis and [[clitoris]] more, according to 71% of the respondents. Women with [[intact]] partners had a higher rate of orgasms than women with [[circumcised]] partners. O'Hara & O'Hara concluded:
<blockquote>Clearly, the anatomically complete penis offers a more rewarding experience for the female partner during coitus. While this study has some obvious methodological flaws, all the differences cannot be attributed to them. It is important that these findings be confirmed by a prospective study of a randomly selected population of women with experience with both types of men. It would be useful to examine the role of the foreskin in other sexual activities. Because these findings are of interest, the negative effect of circumcision on the sexual enjoyment of the female partner needs to be part of any discussions providing '[[informed consent]]' before circumcision.<ref name="ohara1998">{{REFjournal
|last=O'Hara
|init=K
|author-link=
|last2=O'Hara
|init2=J
|author2-link=
|etal=yes
|title=The effect of male circumcision on the sexual enjoyment of the female partner
|journal=BJU Int
|location=
|date=1999
|volume=83 Suppl 1
|issue=
|pages=79-84
|url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1046/j.1464-410x.1999.0830s1079.x
|quote=
|pubmedID=10349418
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=10.1046/j.1464-410x.1999.0830s1079.x
|accessdate=2019-10-22
}}</ref>
</blockquote>

[[Gregory J. Boyle| Boyle]] (2004) reported significant adverse effects of [[circumcision]] both for the [[circumcised]] male and his female partner.<ref>{{REFjournal
|last=Boyle
|first=
|init=GJ
|author-link=Gregory J. Boyle
|etal=no
|title=Circumcision in Adults: Effect on Sexual Function
|trans-title=
|journal=Urology
|location=
|date=2004-12
|volume=64
|issue=6
|pages=1267-8
|url=https://www.cirp.org/library/sex_function/boyle2004/
|archived=
|quote=Circumcised men also expressed significantly greater dissatisfaction with their sex lives than did genitally intact men.
|pubmedID=15596220
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=10.1016/j.urology.2004.03.060
|accessdate=2025-04-14
}}</ref>

Solinis & Yiannaki (2007) concluded; "[t]here was a decrease in couple’s sexual life after circumcision indicating that [[Adolescent_and_adult_circumcision|adult circumcision]] adversely affects sexual function in many men or/and their partners, possibly because of complications of surgery and loss of nerve endings."<ref name="solinis-yiannaki2005">{{REFjournal
|last=Solinis
|first=
|author-link=
|last2=Yiannaki
|first2=
|author2-link=
|etal=no
|title=Does circumcision improve couple's sex life?
|journal=Journal of Men's Health and Gender
|location=
|date=2007-09
|volume=4
|issue=3
|pages=361
|url=http://www.cirp.org/library/sex_function/solinis2007/
|quote=
|pubmedID=
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=
|accessdate=2019-10-23
}}</ref>

Frisch et al. (2011) surveyed a very large group of men and women in [[Denmark]]. They concluded:
<blockquote>
"Circumcision was associated with frequent orgasm difficulties in Danish men and with a range of frequent sexual difficulties in women, notably orgasm difficulties, dyspareunia and a sense of incomplete sexual needs fulfilment."<ref name="frisch lindholm groenbaek 2011"/>
</blockquote>
Cold & Taylor (1999) declared, "[t]he prepuce is primary, erogenous tissue necessary for
normal sexual function."<ref name="cold-taylor1999">{{ColdCJ TaylorJR 1999}}</ref> This statement was affirmed by Cepeda-Emiliani et al. in 2025.<ref name="cepeda2025">{{REFjournal
|last=Cepeda-Emiliani
|first=
|init=A
|author-link=Alfonso Cepeda-Emiliani
|last2=Otero-Alén
|first2=
|init2=M
|author2-link=
|last3=Suárez-Quintanilla
|first3=
|init3=J
|author3-link=
|last4=Gándara-Cortés
|first4=
|init4=M
|author4-link=
|last5=García-Caballero
|first5=
|init5=T
|author5-link=
|last6=García-Caballero
|first6=
|init6=R
|author6-link=
|last7=García-Caballero
|first7=
|init7=L
|author7-link=
|etal=no
|title=The sensory penis: A comprehensive immunohistological and ontogenetic exploration of human penile innervation
|trans-title=
|journal=Andrology
|date=2025-09-19
|volume=
|issue=
|article=
|pages=1-41
|url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/andr.70118
|archived=
|quote=
|pubmedID=40970806
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=10.1111/andr.70118
|accessdate=2025-09-30
}}</ref>


==Comparison with other primates==
The results of a fascinating study conducted by Dr. [[Christopher J. Cold]] and Dr. [[Ken McGrath|Kenneth A. McGrath]] demonstrate that the human foreskin is an evolutionary advancement over the foreskins of other primates. The human foreskin is far more sophisticated and responsive, as their comparative anatomy studies prove. This is seen most clearly in the evolutionary increase in corpuscular innervation and simultaneous decrease in corpuscular receptors in the human [[glans]] relative to the innervation of the foreskin and glans of lower primates.<ref>Cold CJ, [[Ken McGrath|McGrath KA]]. [https://www.cirp.org/library/anatomy/cold-mcgrath/ Anatomy and histology of the penile and clitoral prepuce in primates: an evolutionary perspective of the specializes sensory tissue of the external genitalia]. In: Denniston GC, Hodges MF, Milos FM (eds). ''Male and female circumcision: Medical, Legal, and Ethical Considerations in Pediatric Practice''. New York: Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publishers, 1999. pp. 19-29</ref>

In other words, in monkeys and apes, the [[glans]] is more sensitive than the foreskin. In humans, this is reversed, so that the foreskin is more sensitive than the [[glans]].
==Popularity==
There has been a sharp increase in the popularity of the foreskin in the [[United States]] as indicated by the decrease in the incidence of [[circumcision]].<ref name="jacobson2021">{{REFjournal
|last=Jacobson
|first=Deborah L.
|init=
|author-link=
|last2=Balmert
|first2=Lauren C.
|init2=
|author2-link=
|last3=Holl
|first3=Jane L.
|init3=
|author3-link=
|last4=Rosoklija
|first4=Ilina
|init4=
|author4-link=
|last5=Davis
|first5=Matthew M.
|init5=
|author5-link=
|last6=Johnson
|first6Emilie K.
|init6=
|author6-link=
|etal=no
|title=Nationwide Circumcision Trends: 2003 to 2016
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal=J Urol
|location=
|date=2021-01
|volume=205
|issue=1
|pages=257-63
|url=https://www.auajournals.org/doi/abs/10.1097/JU.0000000000001316
|pubmedID=32716676
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=10.1097/JU.0000000000001316
|accessdate=2025-11-13
}}</ref> <ref name="yang2025">{{REFjournal
|last=Yang
|first=
|init=P
|author-link=
|last2=Zhu
|first2=
|init2=X
|author2-link=
|last3=Patel
|first3=
|init3=EU
|author3-link=
|last4=Quin
|first4=
|init4=PC
|author4-link=
|last5=Grabowski
|first5=
|init5=MK
|author5-link=
|last6=Tobian
|first6=
|init6=AAR
|author6-link=Aaron Tobian
|etal=no
|title=Trends in Circumcision Among Newborn Males in the US
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal=JAMA Pediatrics
|location=
|date=2025-09-15
|season=
|volume=
|issue=
|article=e252464
|page=
|pages=
|url=https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapediatrics/fullarticle/2838312
|archived=
|quote=
|pubmedID=40952753
|pubmedCID=12439174
|DOI=10.1001/jamapediatrics.2025.2464
|accessdate=2025-11-23
}}</ref>

This has been noticed in the online discussions.<ref>{{REFweb
|url=https://www.reddit.com/r/uncircumcised_talk/comments/1p1i35o/recent_growing_foreskin_love/
|title=Recent growing Foreskin love
|last=Anonymous
|publisher=REDDIT
|date=2025-11-19
|accessdate=2025-11-23
}}</ref>

==Videos==
===The Prepuce: Anatomy and Physiology of the Foreskin===
<youtube>v=luDqvvGbhzU</youtube>

===Why you need to pull back your foreskin.===
<youtube>v=PcxwW4KH3Wg</youtube>
Dr. Palmer's advice applies to adults, NOT pre-pubescent boys.

===Male Foreskin is Important - Here's Why===
<youtube>v=EtIYx8WnOvg</youtube>

=== Anatomy of the Penis: Penile and Foreskin Neurology ===
Pathologist [[Ken McGrath]], Senior Lecturer in Pathology at the Faculty of Health, [https://www.aut.ac.nz/ Auckland University of Technology] and Member of the New Zealand Institute of Medical Laboratory Scientists, discusses the neurological structures in the foreskin:
<youtube>v=lmToXLVrZ7c</youtube>

===Take care of your foreskin===
<youtube>v=OfeK75HWW7k</youtube>

===Part Five: The Common Narratives Debunked===
<youtube>v=exQPABHKjRo</youtube>

{{SEEALSO}}
* [[Acroposthion]]
* [[Care of intact, foreskinned boys]]
* [[Circumcision: Effect upon erectile function]]
* [[Circumcision - Penis SensitivityTest]]
* [[Erogenous sensation of the foreskin]]
* [[Foreskin comment]]
* [[Foreskin in Motion]]
* [[Frenulum]]
* [[Fusions and adhesions]]
* [[Gliding action]]
* [[Immunological and protective function of the foreskin]]
* [[Jojoba]]
* [[Living with a foreskin in circumcised America]]
* [[Long foreskins]]
* [[Longer foreskin is favored]]
* [[Pre-ejaculate]]
* [[Preputial sac]]
* [[Retraction of the foreskin]]
* [[Ridged band]]
* [[The Foreskin and Why You Should Keep It (book)]]
* [[Vagina]]

{{LINKS}}
* {{REFdocument
|title=When Your Baby Boy is Not Circumcised
|url=https://pool.intactiwiki.org/w/images/1982-02_Wallerstein-WhenYourBabyBoyIsNotCircumcised.pdf
|language=English
|last=Wallerstein
|first=Edward
|author-link=Edward Wallerstein
|publisher=Pennypress
|location=Seattle
|format=Four-page pamphlet
|date=1982-02
|accessdate=2021-05-30
}}
* {{REFjournal
|last=Fleiss
|first=Paul
|init=P
|author-link=
|title=The foreskin is necessary
|journal=Mothering
|date=1997-01
|volume=
|issue=
|pages=36-45
|url=http://www.noharmm.org/mothering.htm
|accessdate=2020-06-29
}}
* {{REFbook
|last=Scott
|first=Steve
|init=S
|author-link=Steve Scott
|year=1999
|title=The anatomy and physiology of the human prepuce
|url=https://www.coloradonocirc.org/files/handouts/Anatomy_and_Physiology.pdf
|work=Male and Female Circumcision
|editor=[[George C. Denniston|Denniston]] et al.
|edition=
|volume=
|chapter=
|scope=
|page=
|pages=9-18
|location=New York
|publisher=Kluwer Academic / Plenum Publishers
|ISBN=
|quote=
|accessdate=2022-08-03
|note=
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://www.cirp.org/pages/anatomy/
|title=Anatomy of the Penis and Mechanics of Intercourse
|last=Anonymous
|first=
|init=
|author-link=
|publisher=Circumcision Information Pages
|date=2004
|accessdate=2025-08-23
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://pool.intactiwiki.org/images/2008_Genital_Integrity_Policy_Statement.pdf
|title=Ch. 2: The Prepuce (DOC Genital Integrity Statement)
|last=Hill
|first=George
|author-link=George Hill
|publisher=[[Doctors Opposing Circumcision (D.O.C.)]]
|website=Research Hub
|date=2008-06-14
|accessdate=2019-12-15
|format=PDF
|quote=Several writers have commented on the sensitivity of the prepuce. Winkelmann (1956) wrote, “…it is
a region of great sensitivity and possessed of an abundant nerve supply,”11 and later (1959) identified the
prepuce as a specific erogenous zone.13 Falliers (1970) noted the “sensory pleasure associated with tactile
stimulation of the foreskin.”15 A landmark study by Sorrells et al. (2007) of the fine-touch sensitivity of
the penis finds that the areas most sensitive to fine touch are on the foreskin.16 Circumcision, therefore,
amputates the most sensitive areas of the penis.
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=http://www.circumstitions.com/Works.html
|title=NSFW Video: How the foreskin works
|last=Young
|first=Hugh
|author-link=Hugh Young
|publisher=Circumstitions
|website=
|date=2010
|accessdate=2019-10-25
|format=
|quote=
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://madsciencewriter.blogspot.com/2013/05/the-foreskin-why-is-it-such-secret-in.html?m=1
|title=The foreskin: Why is it such a secret in North America?
|last=Quine
|first=Spoony
|author-link=
|publisher=Mad Science Writer
|website=
|date=2013-05-08
|accessdate=2020-04-19
|format=
|quote=
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://www.cirp.org/library/sex_function/
|title=Foreskin Sexual Function/Circumcision Sexual Dysfunction
|last=Hill
|first=
|init=G
|author-link=George Hill
|publisher=CIRP
|date=2013
|accessdate=2024-11-04
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=http://www.noharmm.org/advantage.htm
|title=The Foreskin Advantage
|last=Harryman
|first=Gary L.
|author-link=
|publisher=
|website=NOHARMM
|date=2013-11-22
|accessdate=2021-09-02
|format=
|quote=
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://www.noharmm.org/advantage.htm
|title=The Foreskin Advantage
|last=
|first=
|init=
|author-link=
|publisher=NOHARMM
|date=2013-11-24
|accessdate=2025-07-04
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=http://www.intactaus.org/information/functionsoftheforeskin/
|title=Functions of the Foreskin
|last=Helard
|first=Lou
|author-link=
|publisher=Intact Australia
|website=
|date=2014-08-01
|accessdate=2020-05-29
|format=
|quote=
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://circumcision.org/functions-of-the-foreskin/
|title=Functions of the Foreskin
|last=Goldman
|first=Ronald
|author-link=Ronald Goldman
|publisher=Circumcision Resource Center
|website=circumcision.org
|date=
|accessdate=2020-07-01
|format=
|quote=
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://www.doctorsopposingcircumcision.org/for-professionals/the-prepuce/
|title=The prepuce
|last=
|first=
|author-link=
|publisher=Doctors Opposing Circumccision
|website=
|date=2016-07
|accessdate=2019-10-16
|format=
|quote=To provide informed, respectful care to males with intact genitals, and to fully understand the harms of circumcision, health professionals must have a thorough grasp of the anatomy, development, and functions of the foreskin (also known as the prepuce).
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=http://www.noharmm.org/advantage.htm
|title=The Foreskin Advantage
|first=Gary L
|last=Harryman
|publisher=NORM/Southern California
|website=[[NOHARMM]]
|accessdate=2020-06-30
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://intactamerica.org/promoting-the-prepuce/
|title=Promoting the Prepuce
|last=Chapin
|first=Georganne
|author-link=
|publisher=Intact America
|website=
|date=2016-05-13
|accessdate=2021-04-02
|format=
|quote=
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://15square.org.uk/male-foreskin-is-functional-5-amazing-facts/
|archived=
|title=Male Foreskin is Functional – 5 Amazing Facts
|trans-title=
|language=
|last=Troy
|first=Louise
|author-link=
|publisher=15 Square
|website=
|date=2022-05-24
|accessdate=2022-05-24
|format=
|quote=The foreskin is the primary fine-touch sensory tissue of the penis.
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/circumcision-sexological-damage-erogenous-lip-tool-michel-herv%C3%A9
|title=Circumcision, the sexological damage (an erogenous lip, protective of erogeneity and the tool of autosexuality, the foreskin is a sexual organ)
|last=Bertaux-Navoiseau
|first=Michel Hervé
|init=
|author-link=Michel Hervé Bertaux-Navoiseau
|publisher=Linkedin
|date=2022-11-06
|accessdate=2022-11-16
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=09gW4TclGqY
|title=The Amazing Foreskin: Learn Integral Anatomy with Gil Hedley
|last=Headley
|first=Gil
|init=
|publisher=
|date=2022
|accessdate=2022-12-03
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://wikionlymen.com/does-foreskin-grow-with-age/
|title=Does Foreskin Grow With Age?
|last=
|first=
|init=
|author-link=
|publisher=Wiki Only Men
|date=2022-06-12
|accessdate=2024-10-05
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=http://www.savingsons.org/2015/09/foreskin-and-its-16-functions-not-just.html
|title=Foreskin and its 16+ Functions: Not 'Just Skin'
|last=Anonymous
|publisher=Saving Our Sons
|date=
|accessdate=2025-11-30
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://www.scarleteen.com/read/bodies/my-foreskin-normal-how-does-it-work
|title=Is my foreskin normal? How does it work?
|last=Corinna
|first=Heather
|init=
|author-link=
|publisher=Scarleteen
|date=2024-04-19
|accessdate=2024-11-06
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://anatomy.co.uk/foreskin/
|title=Foreskin
|last=Anonymous
|first=
|init=
|author-link=
|publisher=Anatomy.co.uk
|date=2024-11-07
|accessdate=2024-11-26
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://www.reddit.com/user/C4Charkey/comments/1jumd8x/the_accidental_intactivist_manifesto_ii_the_myth/
|title=Section II. The Myth of the Foreskin: Deconstructing the Label, Understanding the Whole
|last=C4Charkey
|first=
|init=
|author-link=C4Charkey
|publisher=REDDIT
|date=2025-04-08
|accessdate=2025-04-12
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://archive.md/Au7cV#selection-98.0-707.8
|title=Unjustifiable reason 1: Parents are clueless about the functions of the foreskin
|last=Anonymous
|first=
|init=
|author-link=
|publisher=REDDIT Intactivism
|date=2025-06-17
|accessdate=2025-06-24
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://intactamerica.org/foreskin-functions-you-were-never-told/
|title=The Penis You Were Supposed to Have: 10 Functions of the Foreskin You Were Never Taught
|last=Alissa
|first=
|init=K
|author-link=Kristel Alissa
|publisher=Intact America
|date=2025-07-03
|accessdate=2025-09-06
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/body/23175-foreskin
|title=Foreskin
|last=Anonymous
|publisher=Cleveland Clinic
|date=2025-08-04
|accessdate=2026-04-27
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://www.reddit.com/r/Pro_Male_Collective/comments/1nnaycl/the_importance_of_the_foreskin/
|title=The importance of the foreskin
|last=Anonymous
|first=
|init=
|author-link=
|publisher=REDDIT
|date=2025-09-21
|accessdate=2025-09-24
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://www.reddit.com/r/foreskininfo/comments/1oh0za3/the_foreskin_is_more_than_just_extra_skin_here/
|title=The foreskin is more than just "extra skin." Here are 5 of its functional benefits
|last=Anonymous
|first=
|init=
|author-link=
|publisher=REDDIT
|date=2025-10-26
|accessdate=2025-11-03
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://www.reddit.com/r/uncircumcised_talk/comments/1pmkb1x/foreskins_role_in_masturbating/
|title=Foreskin’s role in masturbating.
|last=Anonymous
|publisher=REDDIT
|date=2025-12-14
|accessdate=2025-12-14
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://www.reddit.com/r/uncircumcised_talk/comments/1pwvms4/whats_something_about_foreskin_that_more_people/
|title=What's something about foreskin that more people should know?
|last=Anonymous
|publisher=REDDIT
|date=2005-12-27
|accessdate=2025-12-29
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://www.foreskin.day/factsandfallacies.html
|title=Foreskin Facts and Phallacies
|last=Anonymous
|first=
|init=
|author-link=
|publisher=Intact America
|date=2026-04-04
|accessdate=2026-04-04
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://www.reddit.com/r/uncircumcised_talk/comments/1uvz7h8/how_common_is_foreskin_envy/
|title=How common is Foreskin Envy?
|last=Anonymous
|date=2026-07-13
|accessdate=2026-07-14
}}
{{REF}}

[[Category:Education]]
[[Category:Foreskin anatomy]]
[[Category:Foreskinned life]]
[[Category:Genital]]
[[Category:Parental information]]
[[Category:Penile anatomy]]
[[Category:Physiology]]
[[Category:Male sexuality]]

[[Category:Teen]]

[[Category:From Intactipedia]]

[[de:Vorhaut]]

Aggravated battery

2026-07-14T13:56:21Z

WikiModEn2: /* Mens rea */ Add text and Wikify.

'''{{FULLPAGENAME}}''' is the legal term for an [https://legaldictionary.net/battery/ act of battery], when it "is committed with intent to do serious harm or murder", or when it is done with a dangerous weapon. A weapon is considered dangerous whenever the purpose for using it is to cause death or serious harm. State statutes define aggravated battery in various ways—such as assault with intent to kill. Under such statutes, assault means both battery and assault. It is punishable as a [https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/felony felony] in all states."<ref>{{REFweb
|url=https://legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/Aggravated+battery
|title=Battery
|last=Anonymous
|first=
|init=
|publisher=The Free Dictionary by Farlex
|date=
|accessdate=2026-07-11
}}</ref>

Samantha-Rae Tuthil (2023) commented:
<blockquote>
"Aggravated battery This is a much more serious charge. Like a simple battery, the prosecution must prove that you intended to make contact with the victim, that the victim did not consent, and that the victim suffered some kind of harm. In addition, they will usually need to prove that you intended to cause harm. An even more serious degree of aggravated battery will require great bodily harm. Permanent disfigurement, serious bodily injury, permanent disability, or possible risk of death are some of the ways an injury is considered great bodily harm. Sometimes, if you use a dangerous weapon or a deadly weapon like a gun or a knife in the battery, it will automatically count as aggravated, even without grave bodily harm. If the circumstances are severe enough, you could face an attempted murder charge or a sentencing enhancement."<ref name="tuthil2023">{{REFweb
|url=https://www.lawinfo.com/resources/criminal-defense/aggravated-battery/
|title=Aggravated Battery
|last=Tuthil
|first=Samantha-Rae
|init=
|author-link=
|publisher=LawInfo
|website=https://www.lawinfo.com
|date=2023-12-21
|accessdate=2026-07-11
}}</ref>
</blockquote>
==Circumcision?==
Does the medically-not-indicated, non-therapeutic [[amputation]] of a healthy [[foreskin]] from the [[penis]] of a minor boy without his consent constitute aggravated battery?

Circumcision is the Biblical euphemism used by the [[circumcision industry]] to promote the harmful, irreversible surgical excision and [[amputation]] of the [[foreskin]] (AKA prepuce) of the [[penis]] of a human male. The harmful amputation causes [[MGM| genital mutilation]], permanent disfigurement, and permanent loss of function,<ref name="andersen2025">{{REFjournal
|last=Andersen-Giberson
|init=D
|author-link=Dale Andersen
|url=https://cdd.journals.yorku.ca/index.php/cdd/article/view/39786/36016
|title=Circumcision and forced disability: Routine male neonatal circumcision and the consequences of amputation within a critical disability studies framework
|journal=Critical Disability Discourses
|date=2025-12
|volume=10
|issue=2
|pages=1-37
|URL=https://cdd.journals.yorku.ca/index.php/cdd/article/view/39786/36016
|DOI=https://doi.org/10.25071/1918-6215.39786
|quote=In a critical disability studies framework, it is argued that the act of amputating healthy erogenous tissue and the consequences of that amputation cause disability, particularly from a counter-hegemonic lens.
|format=PDF
|accessdate=2026-07-12
}}</ref> which causes an increase in medical issues,<ref name="fendereski2024">{{REFjournal
|last=Fendereski
|first=
|init=K
|author-link=
|last2=Horns
|first2=
|init2=JJ
|author2-link=
|last3=Driggs
|first3=
|init3=N
|author3-link=
|last4=Lau
|first4=
|init4=G
|author4-link=
|last5=Shaeffer
|first5=
|init5=AJ
|author5-link=
|etal=no
|title=Comparing Penile Problems in Circumcised vs. Uncircumcised Boys: Insights From a Large Commercial Claims Database With a Focus on Provider Type Performing Circumcision
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal=J Pediatr Surg
|date=2024-11
|volume=59
|issue=11
|article=161614
|url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S002234682400407X
|archived=
|quote=
|pubmedID=39084960
|pubmedCID=11486584
|DOI=10.1016/j.jpedsurg.2024.06.022
|accessdate=2025-01-03
}}</ref> degrades normal physiological sexual function,<ref name="cepeda2025">{{REFjournal
|last=Cepeda-Emiliani
|first=
|init=A
|author-link=Alfonso Cepeda-Emiliani
|last2=Otero-Alén
|first2=
|init2=M
|author2-link=
|last3=Suárez-Quintanilla
|first3=
|init3=J
|author3-link=
|last4=Gándara-Cortés
|first4=
|init4=M
|author4-link=
|last5=García-Caballero
|first5=
|init5=T
|author5-link=
|last6=García-Caballero
|first6=
|init6=R
|author6-link=
|last7=García-Caballero
|first7=
|init7=L
|author7-link=
|etal=no
|title=The sensory penis: A comprehensive immunohistological and ontogenetic exploration of human penile innervation
|trans-title=
|journal=Andrology
|date=2025-09-19
|volume=
|issue=
|article=
|pages=1-41
|url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/andr.70118
|archived=
|quote=
|pubmedID=40970806
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=10.1111/andr.70118
|accessdate=2026-07-12
}}</ref> and causes psychological issues.<ref name="tye2022"> {{REFjournal
|last=Tye
|first=
|init=MC
|author-link=
|last2=Sardi
|first2=
|init2=LM
|author2-link=Lauren Sardi
|etal=no
|title=Psychological, psychosocial, and psychosexual aspects of penile circumcision
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal=Int J Impot Res
|date=2023-05
|volume=35
|issue=3
|pages=242-8
|url=https://www.galdef.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/Tye-Sardi-Psycho-Aspects-of-Penile-Circumcision-IJIR-2022.pdf
|archived=
|quote=
|pubmedID=35347302
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=10.1038/s41443-022-00553-9
|format=PDF
|accessdate=2026-07-12
}}</ref>

Since boys are too young to grant consent, the American [[circumcision industry]] has traditionally relied on [[surrogate consent]], granted by a parental surrogate, for [[circumcision]], not the actual child victim, however parents do not have the right to harm their children, since the Supreme Court of the United States of America (1944) ruled:
<blockquote>
Parents may be free to become martyrs themselves. But it does not follow they are free, in identical circumstances, to make martyrs of their children before they have reached the age of full and legal discretion when they can make that choice for themselves.<ref>[https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/321/158/ Prince v Massachusetts], 21 U.S. 158, 159-60 (1944).</ref>
</blockquote>
Parental surrogates are denied the right to make that harmful choice for their children.<ref name="aap1995">{{REFjournal
|last=Committee on Bioethics
|etal=no
|title=Informed consent, parental permission, and assent in pediatric practice
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal=Pediatrics
|location=
|date=1995-02
|volume=95
|issue=2
|article=
|page=
|pages=314-7
|url=http://www.cirp.org/library/ethics/AAP/
|archived=
|quote=
|pubmedID=7838658
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=
|accessdate=2026-07-12
}}</ref><ref name="aviva2016">{{REFjournal
|last=Committee on Bioethics
|etal-no
|title=Informed Consent in Decision-Making in Pediatric Practice
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal=Pediatrics
|location=
|date=2016-08
|volume=138
|issue=2
|article=
|page=e20161484.
|pages=
|url=https://publications.aap.org/pediatrics/article/138/2/e20161484/52512/Informed-Consent-in-Decision-Making-in-Pediatric?autologincheck=redirected
|archived=
|quote=Continuing limits on the widespread use of pediatric assent/refusal makes this review and restatement of AAP policy important.
|pubmedID=27456514
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=
|doi=10.1542/peds.2016-1484
|accessdate=2026-07-12
}}</ref> [[Surrogate consent]] cannot be used to legalize or excuse the harmful aggravated battery of foreskin amputation.

If a non-therapeutic circumcision is to be done, then it must wait until the child patient reaches the legal age at which he can grant consent for himself.<ref name-"myers2020">{{REFjournal
|last=Myers
|first=
|init=A
|author-link=Alex Myers
|last2=Earp
|first2=
|init2=BD
|author2-link=Brian D. Earp
|etal=no
|title=What is the best age to circumcise? A medical and ethical analysis
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal=Bioethics
|location=
|date=2020
|volume=34
|issue=7
|pages=645-63
|url=https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Brian-Earp-2/publication/337720859_What_Is_the_Best_Age_to_Circumcise_A_Medical_and_Ethical_Analysis/links/5f815f61a6fdccfd7b555395/What-Is-the-Best-Age-to-Circumcise-A-Medical-and-Ethical-Analysis.pdf
|archived=
|quote=Based on a careful consideration of the relevant evidence, arguments and counterarguments, we conclude that medically unnecessary penile circumcision-like other medically unnecessary genital procedures, such as 'cosmetic' labiaplasty-should not be performed on individuals who are too young (or otherwise unable) to provide meaningful consent to the procedure.
|pubmedID=32068898
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=
|doi=10.1111/bioe.12714
|format=PDF
|accessdate=2026-07-12
}}</ref>
==Mens rea==
Mens rea is the state of mind statutorily required in order to convict a particular defendant of a particular crime.<ref>{{REFweb
|url=https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/mens_rea
|title=Mens rea
|last=
|first=
|init=
|author-link=
|publisher=Cornell Law School
|date=
|accessdate=2026-07-13
}}</ref>

Non-therapeutic circumcision of boys is, as stated above, a very harmful act. The [[medical trade association| medical trade associations]] of the [[United States]] have, for more than a century, published false claims of alleged health benefits from non-therapeutic male circumcision. Some operators may actually believe that [[child circumcision]] is a beneficial act.

This may make proving mens rea very challenging for public prosecutors.

==European precedents==
* [[Cologne circumcision court judgment]] (2012)
* [[Re B and G (children) (No 2) EWFC 3]] (2015)
{{SEEALSO}}
* [[Informed consent]]
* [[William Stowell]]
* [[Wrongful circumcision]]
{{LINKS}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://uslawexplained.com/aggravated_battery
|title=Aggravated Battery: The Ultimate Guide to a Serious Violent Crime
|last=Anonymous
|publisher=US Law Explained
|website=https://uslawexplained.com/start
|accessdate=2026-07-11
}}
==Conclusion==
Circumcision of male children is a mutilation of genital tissue that permanently destroys the [[foreskin]] (prepuce) of a male child. It also irreversibly destroys the [[Foreskin#Physiological_functions_of_the_foreskin| protective, immunological, sensory, and sexual functions]] of the foreskin, leaving the male patient at increased risk of disease.<ref name="fendereski2024" /> It is mutilating and causes permanent disfigurement of the [[penis]]. Circumcision of male children clearly meets all tests for aggravated battery. It cannot be legalized or excused by patient or surrogate consent because no one has the legal capacity to grant consent for the aggravated battery of non-therapeutic child circumcision.<ref name="hill2003">{{REFjournal
|last=Hill
|first=George
|init=G
|author-link=George Hill
|title=Can anyone authorize the nontherapeutic permanent alteration of a child's body?
|journal=The American Journal of Bioethics
|date=2003
|season=Spring
|volume=3
|issue=2
|pages=16-8
|url=https://www.researchgate.net/profile/George-Hill-3/publication/371599857_Can_Anyone_Authorize_the_Nontherapeutic_Permanent_Alteration_of_a_Child's_Body/links/648b8819c41fb852dd0949be/Can-Anyone-Authorize-the-Nontherapeutic-Permanent-Alteration-of-a-Childs-Body.pdf
|quote=
|pubmedID=14635628
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=10.1162/152651603766436342
|accessdate=2026-07-11
}}</ref>
{{REF}}

[[Category:Law: USA]]
[[Category:Litigation over circumcision]]
[[Category:USA]]

Circumcision: The Whole Story

2026-07-14T01:44:16Z

WikiModEn2: Add external link.

'''Circumcision: The Whole Story''' is an informational video about the culture of circumcision.
==Video==
 
<youtube>HUdNTT7ny-8</youtube>
 
Dr. [[Christopher Guest]], founder of the [[Children's Health & Human Rights Partnership]], explores the historical origins of [[circumcision]], the [http://www.intactaus.org/information/functionsoftheforeskin/ physical function] of the [[foreskin]], commonly believed myths surrounding this issue, frequently asked questions, and scientific truths.

This video was made possible with the assistance of the [https://barriemidwives.com/ Barrie Midwives], Dr. [[Christopher Guest]], and many Midwifery practices in Ontario, [[Canada]].

For more information regarding this topic, please visit [[CHHRP]].
{{SEEALSO}}
* [[Canada]]
{{LINKS}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://www.reddit.com/r/CircumcisionGrief/comments/1uql99n/being_circumcised_and_a_gay_man_in_brazil_they/
|title=Being circumcised and a gay man in Brazil (they hate it)
|last=Anonymous
|publisher=Reddit
|date=2026-07-07
|accessdate=2026-07-13
}}



[[Category:Film]]
[[Category:Film about circumcision and intactivism]]

[[Category:Canada]]

[[Category:From IntactWiki]]

[[de:{{FULLPAGENAME}}]]

Urination by foreskinned men

2026-07-13T23:06:10Z

WikiModEn2: /* Use of urinal */ Add external link.

The aggressive promotion of [[circumcision]] by the [[circumcision industry]] in the [[United States]] for well over a century has resulted in the loss by much of the population of normal folk knowledge of a beneficial natural, normal, heathy, functional, and protective body part. This article is an attempt to partially restore basic folk knowledge. Foreskins vary in length and tightness, so it is normal for [[intact]] men to report different experiences with [[urination]].

[[Foreskinned]] men sometimes ask, "do I have to retract my [[foreskin]] for [[urination]]?"<ref>Some men with abundant overhanging [[foreskin]] find it awkward and difficult to retract and keep retracted their [[foreskin]] because the foreskin is constantly pushing to glide forward to return to its normal position of covering and protecting the [[glans penis]].</ref> They may have been heard myths that it is unhealthy to have [[urine]] inside the [[foreskin]], however there is no factual basis for that claim. Urine has a healthy microbiome<ref name="cold-taylor1999">{{ColdCJ TaylorJR 1999}}</ref> when it leaves the urethra and is helpful for flushing out the [[foreskin]] and keeping it clean. The presence of [[urine]] in the preputial sac is ''not'' unsanitary and does not do harm. Nature has planned for this condition by lining the [[preputial sac]] with [[mucosa]], instead of [[skin]]. Boys by necessity pee through their [[foreskin]] because the juvenile foreskin does not retract and men with [[phimosis]] also pee through their [[foreskin]] because the foreskin does not retract. [[Urine]] does no harm so it is not necessary to pull back when one pees. One [[foreskinned]] man posted:
<blockquote>
Well, I’ve got a little under 2 inches of [[foreskin]] overhang, and I just pee through it every time. I give it a quick tug to make sure it’s pointing in a straight line and then start peeing. When I’m done I pull my foreskin back to shake it off, and if I’m at a toilet sometimes I’ll wipe the tip of my foreskin if it’s still soaking wet.

So, as a guy with a long overhang, it’s just natural to pee through it. Besides, even if I pulled it back when standing, it’s pretty much impossible for me to keep it rolled back the entire time I’m sitting down to pee.<ref>{{REFweb
|url=https://www.reddit.com/r/uncircumcised_talk/comments/1c7lw5t/comment/l0dd8od/?context=3
|title=Peeing with a long foreskin
|last=
|first=
|init=
|author-link=
|publisher=REDDIT
|date=2024
|accessdate=2025-07-25
}}</ref>
</blockquote>

The epithelium of all tissue in the [[preputial sac]] is [[Mucosa| mucosal membrane]] (similar to the inside of your mouth), which likes to be wet, so no damage or threat to health or well-being is caused by having [[urine]] inside the [[foreskin]]. The sphincter action of the preputial orifice functions as a one-way valve, blocking the entry of contaminants and pathogens while allowing the passage of urine.<ref name="fleiss1998">{{FleissP HodgesF VanHoweRS 1998}}</ref> The [[urine]] will serve to flush contaminants and pathogens out of the [[foreskin]]. A few individuals may experience [[ballooning of the foreskin]], which is harmless.

The [[foreskin]] overhang or [[acroposthion]] may be used as a hose nozzle to control and direct the stream and may be adjusted as necessary to achieve a smooth stream. It may help to stretch one's [[foreskin]] out from one's body. One man said, "When I need to pee, I open my fly, pull my foreskin out and give it a tug to get any wrinkles out, then I hold my foreskin with the thumb and forefinger of both hands and use the overhang of my foreskin as a nozzle to direct my stream. When I finish, I milk it a bit to get any residual pee out of my [[penis]]."

[[Foreskinned]] men report enjoying feeling a pleasant tickling sensation as the [[urine]] flows out through their [[acroposthion]].<ref>{{NSFW}} {{REFweb
|url=https://acroposthion.com/foreskin-4play/
|title=Foreskin 4Play
|last=
|first=
|init=
|author-link=
|publisher=Acroposthion
|date=
|accessdate=2025-09-24
}}</ref> <ref>{{REFweb
|url=https://www.reddit.com/r/uncircumcised_talk/comments/17r7znz/uncut_pee/
|title=Uncut Pee
|last=Anonymous
|first=
|init=
|author-link=
|publisher=REDDIT
|date=2023
|accessdate=2025-06-15
}}</ref>
One may retract or not retract for [[urination]]. The human [[foreskin]] is highly flexible and stretchable. It may be [[Stretching| stretched]] as desired laterally and/or lengthwise to cause [[mitosis]] and [[tissue expansion]] to resolve issues.

There is enormous natural variation among [[foreskinned]] males in the length and tightness of the [[foreskin]], so men report a wide range of different experiences with their [[foreskin]] in [[urination]]. What works best depends to great extent on individual anatomy. Either way is okay.<ref>{{REFweb
|url=https://www.reddit.com/r/uncircumcised_talk/comments/1d77ukr/pissing_through_your_foreskin_question_for_those/
|title=Pissing through your foreskin. Question for those guys who don't pull their skin back when they piss.....what do you do after you've finished peeing? Pull skin back and forth, stretch it out, shake it, dab with a tissue, etc??
|last=Anonymous
|first=
|init=
|author-link=
|publisher=REDDIT
|date=2024
|accessdate=2025-06-15
}}</ref> <ref>{{REFweb
|url=https://www.reddit.com/r/uncircumcised_talk/comments/1kdrkp5/do_you_retract_to_pee_or_keep_the_foreskin_over/
|title=Do you retract to pee or keep the foreskin over the tip
|last=Anonymous
|first=
|init=
|author-link=
|publisher=REDDIT
|date=2025-05
|accessdate=205-07-04
}}</ref>

===Use of urinal===
A plastic urinal that one may purchase from a drug store can be helpful in extreme cases. One may insert one's [[penis]] into the urinal prior to urinating. The walls of the urinal will catch any errant drops or streams of [[urine]]. The urinal may be emptied and rinsed after each use.

{{SEEALSO}}
* [[Foreskin play]]
* [[Immunological and protective function of the foreskin]]
* [[Living with a foreskin in circumcised America]]
* [[Microbiome]]
* [[Penis]]
* [[Preputial sac]]
* [[United States of America]]
{{LINKS}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://www.reddit.com/r/uncircumcised_talk/comments/17r7znz/uncut_pee/
|title=Uncut Pee
|last=Anonymous
|publisher=REDDIT
|date=2024
|accessdate=2026-03-28
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://www.reddit.com/r/uncircumcised_talk/comments/1fwnz6b/is_it_fair_to_say_that_it_is_more_comfortable/
|title=Is it fair to say that it is more comfortable peeing with foreskin forward unless you are aiming for something in the toilet?
|last=Anonymous
|publisher=REDDIT
|date=2025-03
|accessdate=2026-03-28
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://www.reddit.com/r/uncircumcised_talk/comments/1o4d183/what_do_you_do_with_your_foreskin_when_you_pee/
|title=What do you do with your foreskin when you pee?
|last=Anonymous
|first=
|init=
|author-link=
|publisher=REDDIT
|date=2025-10-12
|accessdate=2025-10-13
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://www.reddit.com/r/uncircumcised_talk/comments/1onwl69/how_do_you_pee_do_you_retract_every_time_have_you/
|title=How do you pee? Do you retract every time? Have you noticed any difference or benefit either way?
|last=Anonymous
|first=
|init=
|author-link=
|publisher=REDDIT
|date=2025-11-03
|accessdate=2025-11-04
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://www.reddit.com/r/uncircumcised_talk/comments/1sconjc/do_you_pull_back_to_pee_are_we_supposed_to/
|title=Do you pull back to pee? Are we supposed to?
|last=Anonymous
|publisher=Reddit
|date=2026-04-04
|accessdate=2026-04-13
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://www.reddit.com/r/uncircumcised_talk/comments/1td93r9/does_foreskin_change_the_sensation_of_peeing/
|title=Does foreskin change the sensation of peeing?
|last=Anonymous
|publisher=Reddit
|date=2026-05-14
|accessdate=2026-05-15
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://www.reddit.com/r/uncircumcised_talk/comments/1unuoas/how_do_you_pee/
|title=How do you pee?
|last=Anonymous
|publisher=Reddit
|date=2026-07-04
|accessdate=2026-07-08
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://www.reddit.com/r/uncircumcised_talk/comments/1uu3tgn/men_who_dont_pull_their_foreskin_back_when_they/
|title=Men who don’t pull their foreskin back when they pee….
|last=Anonymous
|publisher=Reddit
|date=2026-07-11
|accessdate=2026-07-12
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://www.reddit.com/r/uncircumcised_talk/comments/1uunsyk/do_you_guys_peel_off_your_foreskin_while_pee/
|title=Do you guys peel off your foreskin while pee
|last=Anonymous
|publisher=Reddit
|date=2026-07-12
|accessdate=2026-07-13
}}
{{REF}}

[[Category:Education]]
[[Category:Foreskin anatomy]]
[[Category:Foreskinned life]]
[[Category:Physiology]]
[[Category:USA]]

Foreskin play

2026-07-13T21:36:17Z

WikiModEn2: Add external link.

'''{{FULLPAGENAME}}''' is the name given to the common practice of [[foreskinned]] males of gently manipulating their [[foreskin]] to obtain [[body pleasure]] and comfort while relaxing privately. The practice is distinguished from [[masturbation]], as it does not include stimulating an [[erection]] and/or [[ejaculation]].

The practice originates in early childhood, as it is well known that [[Care_of_intact,_foreskinned_boys#Behavior_of_young_intact_boys| young intact boys will tug and play]] with their [[foreskin]].<ref name="4play">{{REFweb
|url=http://acroposthion.com/foreskin-4play/
|title=Foreskin 4Play
|last=Anonymous
|first=
|init=
|author-link=
|publisher=Acroposthion
|date=
|accessdate=2025-10-28
}}</ref> The practice among adults of using the foreskin as a toy or plaything<ref name="4play" /> is becoming better known due to anonymous discussions on social media,<ref>See LINKS section.</ref> however, the extent of the practice among [[intact]] men is unknown.

The pleasant sensations produced by the [[foreskin]] have long been reported in the medical literature.<ref name="morgan1967">{{REFjournal
|last=Morgan
|first=William Keith C.
|init=WKC
|author-link=William Keith Campbell Morgan
|etal=No
|title=Penile Plunder
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal=Med J Aust
|location=
|date=1967-05-27
|volume=1
|issue=21
|pages=1102-3
|url=http://www.cirp.org/library/general/morgan2/
|quote=
|pubmedID=4226264
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=
|accessdate=2025-10-27
}}</ref> <ref name="falliers1970">{{REFjournal
|last=Falliers
|first=
|init=CJ
|author-link=
|etal=no
|title=Circumcision
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal=JAMA
|location=
|date=1970-12
|volume=214
|issue=12
|article=
|page=2194
|pages=
|url=http://www.cirp.org/library/general/falliers1/
|archived=
|quote=
|pubmedID=5536586
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=
|accessdate=2025-10-27
}}</ref>

[[James W. Prescott| Prescott]] (1975) suggested lack of body pleasure is a cause of violence.<ref name="prescott1975">{{REFjournal
|last=Prescott
|init=JW
|author-link=James W. Prescott
|url=http://www.violence.de/prescott/bulletin/article.html
|title=Body Pleasure and the Origins of Violence
|journal=Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists
|date=1975-11
|volume=
|issue=
|pages=10-20
|accessdate=2022-11-05
}}</ref>

[[Amputation]] of the [[foreskin]] by [[circumcision]] disables foreskin play and receipt of [[body pleasure]] from the foreskin.<ref name="andersen2025">{{REFjournal
|last=Andersen-Giberson
|init=D
|author-link=Dale Andersen
|url=https://cdd.journals.yorku.ca/index.php/cdd/article/view/39786/36016
|title=Circumcision and forced disability: Routine male neonatal circumcision and the consequences of amputation within a critical disability studies framework
|journal=Critical Disability Discourses
|date=2025-12
|volume=10
|issue=2
|pages=1-37
|URL=https://cdd.journals.yorku.ca/index.php/cdd/article/view/39786/36016
|DOI=https://doi.org/10.25071/1918-6215.39786
|accessdate=2026-03-12
|quote=In a critical disability studies framework, it is argued that the act of amputating healthy erogenous tissue and the consequences of that amputation cause disability, particularly from a counter-hegemonic lens.
|format=PDF
|accessdate=2026-03-13
}}
</ref>
{{SEEALSO}}
* [[Acroposthion]]
* [[Body pleasure]]
* [[Circumcision and violence]]
* [[Erogenous sensation of the foreskin]]
* [[Living with a foreskin in circumcised America]]
* [[Manual tugging]]
* [[Meissner's corpuscles]]
* [[Ridged band]]
* [[Urination by foreskinned men]]
{{LINKS}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://www.reddit.com/r/uncircumcised_talk/comments/1lnpn1m/12th_way_in_which_my_foreskin_gives_me_tons_of/
|title=12th. way in which my foreskin gives me tons of pleasure and fun
|last=Anonymous
|publisher=REDDIT
|date=2025-05
|accessdate=2025-10-27
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://www.reddit.com/r/uncircumcised_talk/comments/1n0cnh2/how_do_you_play_with_your_foreskin_not_sexually/
|title=How do you play with your foreskin? Not sexually, just casually
|last=Anonymous
|publisher=REDDIT
|date=2025-08
|accessdate=2025-10-27
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://www.reddit.com/r/uncircumcised_talk/comments/1odmhfz/did_you_ever_fidget_by_rolling_your_foreskin/
|title=Did you ever fidget by rolling your foreskin overhang back and forth?
|last=Anonymous
|publisher=REDDIT
|date=2025-10-22
|accessdate=2025-10-27
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://www.reddit.com/r/uncircumcised_talk/comments/1sutv11/do_you_ever_absentmindedly_mess_with_your/
|title=Do you ever absentmindedly mess with your foreskin during the day?
|last=Anonymous
|publisher=REDDIT
|date=2026-04-24
|accessdate=2026-04-25
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://www.reddit.com/r/uncircumcised_talk/comments/1uu3ozo/gliding_exercise/
|title=Gliding exercise
|last=Anonymous
|publisher=Reddit
|date=2026-07-11
|accessdate=2026-07-13
}}
{{REF}}

[[Category:Education]]
[[Category:Foreskinned life]]
[[Category:Male sexuality]]
[[Category:Sexuality]]
[[Category:Teen]]

Aggravated battery

2026-07-13T14:39:53Z

WikiModEn2:

'''{{FULLPAGENAME}}''' is the legal term for an [https://legaldictionary.net/battery/ act of battery], when it "is committed with intent to do serious harm or murder", or when it is done with a dangerous weapon. A weapon is considered dangerous whenever the purpose for using it is to cause death or serious harm. State statutes define aggravated battery in various ways—such as assault with intent to kill. Under such statutes, assault means both battery and assault. It is punishable as a [https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/felony felony] in all states."<ref>{{REFweb
|url=https://legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/Aggravated+battery
|title=Battery
|last=Anonymous
|first=
|init=
|publisher=The Free Dictionary by Farlex
|date=
|accessdate=2026-07-11
}}</ref>

Samantha-Rae Tuthil (2023) commented:
<blockquote>
"Aggravated battery This is a much more serious charge. Like a simple battery, the prosecution must prove that you intended to make contact with the victim, that the victim did not consent, and that the victim suffered some kind of harm. In addition, they will usually need to prove that you intended to cause harm. An even more serious degree of aggravated battery will require great bodily harm. Permanent disfigurement, serious bodily injury, permanent disability, or possible risk of death are some of the ways an injury is considered great bodily harm. Sometimes, if you use a dangerous weapon or a deadly weapon like a gun or a knife in the battery, it will automatically count as aggravated, even without grave bodily harm. If the circumstances are severe enough, you could face an attempted murder charge or a sentencing enhancement."<ref name="tuthil2023">{{REFweb
|url=https://www.lawinfo.com/resources/criminal-defense/aggravated-battery/
|title=Aggravated Battery
|last=Tuthil
|first=Samantha-Rae
|init=
|author-link=
|publisher=LawInfo
|website=https://www.lawinfo.com
|date=2023-12-21
|accessdate=2026-07-11
}}</ref>
</blockquote>
==Circumcision?==
Does the medically-not-indicated, non-therapeutic [[amputation]] of a healthy [[foreskin]] from the [[penis]] of a minor boy without his consent constitute aggravated battery?

Circumcision is the Biblical euphemism used by the [[circumcision industry]] to promote the harmful, irreversible surgical excision and [[amputation]] of the [[foreskin]] (AKA prepuce) of the [[penis]] of a human male. The harmful amputation causes [[MGM| genital mutilation]], permanent disfigurement, and permanent loss of function,<ref name="andersen2025">{{REFjournal
|last=Andersen-Giberson
|init=D
|author-link=Dale Andersen
|url=https://cdd.journals.yorku.ca/index.php/cdd/article/view/39786/36016
|title=Circumcision and forced disability: Routine male neonatal circumcision and the consequences of amputation within a critical disability studies framework
|journal=Critical Disability Discourses
|date=2025-12
|volume=10
|issue=2
|pages=1-37
|URL=https://cdd.journals.yorku.ca/index.php/cdd/article/view/39786/36016
|DOI=https://doi.org/10.25071/1918-6215.39786
|quote=In a critical disability studies framework, it is argued that the act of amputating healthy erogenous tissue and the consequences of that amputation cause disability, particularly from a counter-hegemonic lens.
|format=PDF
|accessdate=2026-07-12
}}</ref> which causes an increase in medical issues,<ref name="fendereski2024">{{REFjournal
|last=Fendereski
|first=
|init=K
|author-link=
|last2=Horns
|first2=
|init2=JJ
|author2-link=
|last3=Driggs
|first3=
|init3=N
|author3-link=
|last4=Lau
|first4=
|init4=G
|author4-link=
|last5=Shaeffer
|first5=
|init5=AJ
|author5-link=
|etal=no
|title=Comparing Penile Problems in Circumcised vs. Uncircumcised Boys: Insights From a Large Commercial Claims Database With a Focus on Provider Type Performing Circumcision
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal=J Pediatr Surg
|date=2024-11
|volume=59
|issue=11
|article=161614
|url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S002234682400407X
|archived=
|quote=
|pubmedID=39084960
|pubmedCID=11486584
|DOI=10.1016/j.jpedsurg.2024.06.022
|accessdate=2025-01-03
}}</ref> degrades normal physiological sexual function,<ref name="cepeda2025">{{REFjournal
|last=Cepeda-Emiliani
|first=
|init=A
|author-link=Alfonso Cepeda-Emiliani
|last2=Otero-Alén
|first2=
|init2=M
|author2-link=
|last3=Suárez-Quintanilla
|first3=
|init3=J
|author3-link=
|last4=Gándara-Cortés
|first4=
|init4=M
|author4-link=
|last5=García-Caballero
|first5=
|init5=T
|author5-link=
|last6=García-Caballero
|first6=
|init6=R
|author6-link=
|last7=García-Caballero
|first7=
|init7=L
|author7-link=
|etal=no
|title=The sensory penis: A comprehensive immunohistological and ontogenetic exploration of human penile innervation
|trans-title=
|journal=Andrology
|date=2025-09-19
|volume=
|issue=
|article=
|pages=1-41
|url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/andr.70118
|archived=
|quote=
|pubmedID=40970806
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=10.1111/andr.70118
|accessdate=2026-07-12
}}</ref> and causes psychological issues.<ref name="tye2022"> {{REFjournal
|last=Tye
|first=
|init=MC
|author-link=
|last2=Sardi
|first2=
|init2=LM
|author2-link=Lauren Sardi
|etal=no
|title=Psychological, psychosocial, and psychosexual aspects of penile circumcision
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal=Int J Impot Res
|date=2023-05
|volume=35
|issue=3
|pages=242-8
|url=https://www.galdef.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/Tye-Sardi-Psycho-Aspects-of-Penile-Circumcision-IJIR-2022.pdf
|archived=
|quote=
|pubmedID=35347302
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=10.1038/s41443-022-00553-9
|format=PDF
|accessdate=2026-07-12
}}</ref>

Since boys are too young to grant consent, the American [[circumcision industry]] has traditionally relied on [[surrogate consent]], granted by a parental surrogate, for [[circumcision]], not the actual child victim, however parents do not have the right to harm their children, since the Supreme Court of the United States of America (1944) ruled:
<blockquote>
Parents may be free to become martyrs themselves. But it does not follow they are free, in identical circumstances, to make martyrs of their children before they have reached the age of full and legal discretion when they can make that choice for themselves.<ref>[https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/321/158/ Prince v Massachusetts], 21 U.S. 158, 159-60 (1944).</ref>
</blockquote>
Parental surrogates are denied the right to make that harmful choice for their children.<ref name="aap1995">{{REFjournal
|last=Committee on Bioethics
|etal=no
|title=Informed consent, parental permission, and assent in pediatric practice
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal=Pediatrics
|location=
|date=1995-02
|volume=95
|issue=2
|article=
|page=
|pages=314-7
|url=http://www.cirp.org/library/ethics/AAP/
|archived=
|quote=
|pubmedID=7838658
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=
|accessdate=2026-07-12
}}</ref><ref name="aviva2016">{{REFjournal
|last=Committee on Bioethics
|etal-no
|title=Informed Consent in Decision-Making in Pediatric Practice
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal=Pediatrics
|location=
|date=2016-08
|volume=138
|issue=2
|article=
|page=e20161484.
|pages=
|url=https://publications.aap.org/pediatrics/article/138/2/e20161484/52512/Informed-Consent-in-Decision-Making-in-Pediatric?autologincheck=redirected
|archived=
|quote=Continuing limits on the widespread use of pediatric assent/refusal makes this review and restatement of AAP policy important.
|pubmedID=27456514
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=
|doi=10.1542/peds.2016-1484
|accessdate=2026-07-12
}}</ref> [[Surrogate consent]] cannot be used to legalize or excuse the harmful aggravated battery of foreskin amputation.

If a non-therapeutic circumcision is to be done, then it must wait until the child patient reaches the legal age at which he can grant consent for himself.<ref name-"myers2020">{{REFjournal
|last=Myers
|first=
|init=A
|author-link=Alex Myers
|last2=Earp
|first2=
|init2=BD
|author2-link=Brian D. Earp
|etal=no
|title=What is the best age to circumcise? A medical and ethical analysis
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal=Bioethics
|location=
|date=2020
|volume=34
|issue=7
|pages=645-63
|url=https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Brian-Earp-2/publication/337720859_What_Is_the_Best_Age_to_Circumcise_A_Medical_and_Ethical_Analysis/links/5f815f61a6fdccfd7b555395/What-Is-the-Best-Age-to-Circumcise-A-Medical-and-Ethical-Analysis.pdf
|archived=
|quote=Based on a careful consideration of the relevant evidence, arguments and counterarguments, we conclude that medically unnecessary penile circumcision-like other medically unnecessary genital procedures, such as 'cosmetic' labiaplasty-should not be performed on individuals who are too young (or otherwise unable) to provide meaningful consent to the procedure.
|pubmedID=32068898
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=
|doi=10.1111/bioe.12714
|format=PDF
|accessdate=2026-07-12
}}</ref>
==Mens rea==
Mens rea is the state of mind statutorily required in order to convict a particular defendant of a particular crime.<ref>{{REFweb
|url=https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/mens_rea
|title=Mens rea
|last=
|first=
|init=
|author-link=
|publisher=Cornell Law School
|date=
|accessdate=2026-07-13
}}</ref>
==European precedents==
* [[Cologne circumcision court judgment]] (2012)
* [[Re B and G (children) (No 2) EWFC 3]] (2015)
{{SEEALSO}}
* [[Informed consent]]
* [[William Stowell]]
* [[Wrongful circumcision]]
{{LINKS}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://uslawexplained.com/aggravated_battery
|title=Aggravated Battery: The Ultimate Guide to a Serious Violent Crime
|last=Anonymous
|publisher=US Law Explained
|website=https://uslawexplained.com/start
|accessdate=2026-07-11
}}
==Conclusion==
Circumcision of male children is a mutilation of genital tissue that permanently destroys the [[foreskin]] (prepuce) of a male child. It also irreversibly destroys the [[Foreskin#Physiological_functions_of_the_foreskin| protective, immunological, sensory, and sexual functions]] of the foreskin, leaving the male patient at increased risk of disease.<ref name="fendereski2024" /> It is mutilating and causes permanent disfigurement of the [[penis]]. Circumcision of male children clearly meets all tests for aggravated battery. It cannot be legalized or excused by patient or surrogate consent because no one has the legal capacity to grant consent for the aggravated battery of non-therapeutic child circumcision.<ref name="hill2003">{{REFjournal
|last=Hill
|first=George
|init=G
|author-link=George Hill
|title=Can anyone authorize the nontherapeutic permanent alteration of a child's body?
|journal=The American Journal of Bioethics
|date=2003
|season=Spring
|volume=3
|issue=2
|pages=16-8
|url=https://www.researchgate.net/profile/George-Hill-3/publication/371599857_Can_Anyone_Authorize_the_Nontherapeutic_Permanent_Alteration_of_a_Child's_Body/links/648b8819c41fb852dd0949be/Can-Anyone-Authorize-the-Nontherapeutic-Permanent-Alteration-of-a-Childs-Body.pdf
|quote=
|pubmedID=14635628
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=10.1162/152651603766436342
|accessdate=2026-07-11
}}</ref>
{{REF}}

[[Category:Law: USA]]
[[Category:Litigation over circumcision]]
[[Category:USA]]

Child circumcision

2026-07-12T21:07:47Z

WikiModEn2: /* This should be a crime. */ Add link in SEEALSO section.

"Male '''circumcision''' (from Latin ''circumcidere'', meaning "to cut around") is the surgical removal or [[amputation]] of the [[foreskin]] (prepuce), a major part of the human [[penis]]. Circumcision amputates ''more than fifty percent'' of the epithelium of the [[penis]].<ref name="taylor1996">{{TaylorJR LockwoodAP TaylorAJ 1996}}</ref> When the "cutting around" is performed, the foreskin falls off, so [[amputation]] and [[mutilation]] is the result, leaving the delicate and sensitive mucosa of the [[glans penis]] exposed and unprotected against [[trauma]] and [[infection]]. The amputation destroys the [[Foreskin#Physiological_functions| many protective, immunological, sexual, and sensory physiological functions]] of the foreskin, so it is a very harmful and [[Pain| painful]] surgery.<ref name="garrett2023-11-10">{{REFweb
|url=https://intactamerica.org/pros-and-cons-of-circumcision/
|title=Pros and Cons of Circumcision (Spoiler: You’ve Been Lied to)
|last=Garrett
|first=Connor
|init=
|author-link=Connor Judson Garrett
|publisher=Intact America
|date=2023-11-10
|accessdate=2024-06-02
}}</ref>

Child circumcision is a harmful, unethical, and highly profitable medical practice.

Circumcision of boys in the [[United States]] hit its high point in 1965 and has been slowly declining in popularity ever since. Less than 1/2 of the newborn boys in the United States were [[circumcised]] in 2022. Yang et al. (2025) reported the rate of decline in the incidence of infant circumcision in their study period was 5/10s of one percent per year.<ref name="yang2025">{{REFjournal
|last=Yang
|first=
|init=P
|author-link=
|last2=Zhu
|first2=
|init2=X
|author2-link=
|last3=Patel
|first3=
|init3=EU
|author3-link=
|last4=Quin
|first4=
|init4=PC
|author4-link=
|last5=Grabowski
|first5=
|init5=MK
|author5-link=
|last6=Tobian
|first6=
|init6=AAR
|author6-link=Aaron Tobian
|etal=no
|title=Trends in Circumcision Among Newborn Males in the US
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal=JAMA Pediatrics
|location=
|date=2025-10-02
|season=
|volume=
|issue=
|article=e252464
|page=
|pages=
|url=https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapediatrics/fullarticle/2838312
|archived=
|quote=
|pubmedID=40952753
|pubmedCID=12439174
|DOI=10.1001/jamapediatrics.2025.2464
|accessdate=2025-09-17
}}</ref> That long-term declining trend is believed to have continued.

'''[[Posthectomy]]''' is the more accurate medical term that more accurately reflects the injury and loss of functional body tissue, but the Biblical [[euphemism]], ''circumcision'', is more commonly used.
With reference to involuntary, non-therapeutic circumcision of children, [[Child Genital Cutting (CGC)]] is a newer term that has been introduced to avoid issues associated with more traditional terms. [[Dan Bollinger| Bollinger]] (2023) identifed CGC as an [[Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs)| adverse childhood experience]].<ref name="bollinger2023">{{REFjournal
|last=Bollinger
|init=D
|author-link=Dan Bollinger
|last2=
|init2=
|author2-link=
|url=https://kindredmedia.org/2023/02/adverse-childhood-experiences-dysfunctional-households-and-circumcision/
|title=Adverse Childhood Experiences, Dysfunctional Households, And Circumcision.
|journal=Kindred
|date=2023-02-28
|volume=
|issue=
|pages=
|accessdate=2023-03-01
}}</ref>

Tye & Sardi (2022) concluded that parents must consider "psychological or psychosocial effects of circumcision,"<ref name="tye2022"> {{REFjournal
|last=Tye
|first=
|init=MC
|author-link=
|last2=Sardi
|first2=
|init2=LM
|author2-link=Lauren Sardi
|etal=no
|title=Psychological, psychosocial, and psychosexual aspects of penile circumcision
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal=Int J Impot Res
|date=2023-05
|volume=35
|issue=3
|pages=242-8
|url=https://www.galdef.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/Tye-Sardi-Psycho-Aspects-of-Penile-Circumcision-IJIR-2022.pdf
|archived=
|quote=
|pubmedID=35347302
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=10.1038/s41443-022-00553-9
|format=PDF
|accessdate=2024-12-18
}}</ref>

Deacon & Muir (2022) have reviewed the evidence and concluded that "there is no medical justification for performing a circumcision prior to an age that he can assess the known risks and potential benefits, and choose to give or withhold [[informed consent]] himself."<ref name="deacon2022">{{REFjournal
|last=Deacon
|first=Matthew
|init=M
|author-link=
|last2=Muir
|first2=Gordon
|init2=G
|author2-link=
|etal=no
|title=What is the medical evidence on non-therapeutic child circumcision?
|journal= Int J Impot Res
|date=2022-01-08
|url=https://www.nature.com/articles/s41443-021-00502-y
|pubmedID=34997197
|DOI=10.1038/s41443-021-00502-y
|accessdate=2022-01-30
}}</ref>

Fendereski et al. (2024) reported a massive study using data from a private insurance company database that found that [[circumcised]] boys have three times as many penile issues as compared with [[intact]] boys through age 5. This study matched 852,051 [[circumcised]] boys with 852,051 [[intact]] boys who served as controls.<ref name=fendereski2024">{{REFjournal
|last=Fendereski
|first=
|init=K
|author-link=
|last2=Horns
|first2=
|init2=JJ
|author2-link=
|last3=Driggs
|first3=
|init3=N
|author3-link=
|last4=Lau
|first4=
|init4=G
|author4-link=
|last5=Shaeffer
|first5=
|init5=AJ
|author5-link=
|etal=no
|title=Comparing Penile Problems in Circumcised vs. Uncircumcised Boys: Insights From a Large Commercial Claims Database With a Focus on Provider Type Performing Circumcision
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal=J Pediatr Surg
|date=2024-11
|volume=59
|issue=11
|article=161614
|url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S002234682400407X
|archived=
|quote=
|pubmedID=39084960
|pubmedCID=11486584
|DOI=10.1016/j.jpedsurg.2024.06.022
|accessdate=2025-01-03
}}</ref> These findings are not surprising since the human [[foreskin]] provides both [[Immunological and protective function of the foreskin| protective and immunological functions]] against both physical [[trauma]] and [[infection]]. Obviously, [[circumcised]] boys lack these protections.

[[Dan Bollinger]] (2025) enumerated the many harms and injuries caused by medically-unnecessary, non-therapeutic [[circumcision of the newborn]], its inherent violation of [[human rights]] and its degradation of health and well-being.<ref name="bollinger2025-08-27">{{REFdocument
|title=Policy Paper: Newborn Circumcision as a Negative Wellness Factor
|url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/394517060_Policy_Paper_Newborn_Circumcision_as_a_Negative_Wellness_Factor
|contribution=
|last=Bollinger
|first=Dan
|publisher=Research Gate
|format=PDF
|date=2025-08
|accessdate=2025-08-29
}}</ref>

[[Dale Andersen| Andersen-Giberson]] (2025) discussed the disability caused by [[amputation]] of the functional [[foreskin]].<ref name="andersen2025">{{REFjournal
|last=Andersen-Giberson
|init=D
|author-link=Dale Andersen
|url=https://cdd.journals.yorku.ca/index.php/cdd/article/view/39786/36016
|title=Circumcision and forced disability: Routine male neonatal circumcision and the consequences of amputation within a critical disability studies framework
|journal=Critical Disability Discourses
|date=2025-12
|volume=10
|issue=2
|pages=1-37
|URL=https://cdd.journals.yorku.ca/index.php/cdd/article/view/39786/36016
|DOI=https://doi.org/10.25071/1918-6215.39786
|quote=In a critical disability studies framework, it is argued that the act of amputating healthy erogenous tissue and the consequences of that amputation cause disability, particularly from a counter-hegemonic lens.
|format=PDF
|accessdate=2026-03-14
}}</ref>

Boys who are protected from circumcision will not need to do [[foreskin restoration]].

==Design of circumcision procedure==
The circumcision procedure carried out by medical doctors today is essentially the same as that mandated by Jewish rabbis in about 140 C.E.

The original Jewish circumcision as mandated by Joshua at [[Gilgal]] consisted only of cutting off the overhanging portion of the [[foreskin]] that protruded beyond the [[glans penis]] with the aid of a protective device to prevent cutting the glans penis.

Jewish men who wished to appear as Greeks found that they could restore their natural covered appearance of their [[penis]] by a process called [[epispasm]]. This angered the rabbis who then developed a second stage of the ritual circumcision procedure called ''periah''.

[[Periah]] according to James Peron (2000):

<blockquote>
Periah consists of tearing and stripping back the remaining inner mucosal lining of the foreskin from the glans and then, by use of a sharp finger nail or implement, removing all of the inner mucosal tissue, including the excising and removal of the [[frenulum]] from the underside of the [[glans]]. The objective was to insure that no part of the remaining penile skin would rest against the glans corona. If any shreds of the mucosal [[foreskin]] tissue remained, or rejoined to the underside of the glans, the child was to be re-circumcised.<ref name="peron2000">{{REFjournal
|last=Peron
|init=JE
|author-link=James Peron
|url=https://cirp.org/library/history/peron2/
|title=Circumcision: then and now
|journal=Many Blessings
|date=2000
|season=Spring
|volume=III
|issue=
|pages=41-2
|accessdate=2023-08-23
}}</ref>
</blockquote>

The objective was to increase the loss of tissue and amount in harm and injury to the point where it would be impossible to recover the [[glans penis]]. This procedure, which caused maximum injury and harm, was the procedure adopted by the medical profession in the nineteenth century and is still used today by medical doctors.

==Condemnation of child circumcision==
[[Alfonso Cepeda-Emiliani| Cepeda-Emiliani]] et al. {2025) stated:
<blockquote>
Our results reinforce the relevance of [https://www.cirp.org/library/anatomy/cold-taylor/ Cold and Taylor’s 11 1999 conclusions] (p. 42), which now seem more pertinent than ever: “The prepuce
is a specialized, specific erogenous tissue in both males and females.
Therefore, surgical excision should be restricted to lesions that are
unresponsive to medical therapy. . . Preputial plasty should be considered in place of circumcision whenever possible, so as to preserve
the corpuscular sensory receptors, dartos muscle, penile mucosa and
complete function of the penis. . . Although a Fourcroy grade 1 female
circumcision would excise less tissue than in a male, this comparison cannot be used to justify female circumcision. Excision of normal,
erogenous genital tissue from healthy male or female children cannot
be condoned, as the histology confirms that the external genitalia are
specialized sensory tissues. . . Removal of normal genital anatomy in
children and infants should be deferred until the individual can make an
informed decision. If external genital tissue must be excised to combat
a disease process that threatens the child’s health, and is unresponsive
to medical therapy, then the amount of tissue should be limited so as to
preserve the anatomy and function of the external genitalia.”<ref name="cepeda2025">{{REFjournal
|last=Cepeda-Emiliani
|first=
|init=A
|author-link=Alfonso Cepeda-Emiliani
|last2=Otero-Alén
|first2=
|init2=M
|author2-link=
|last3=Suárez-Quintanilla
|first3=
|init3=J
|author3-link=
|last4=Gándara-Cortés
|first4=
|init4=M
|author4-link=
|last5=García-Caballero
|first5=
|init5=T
|author5-link=
|last6=García-Caballero
|first6=
|init6=R
|author6-link=
|last7=García-Caballero
|first7=
|init7=L
|author7-link=
|etal=no
|title=The sensory penis: A comprehensive immunohistological and ontogenetic exploration of human penile innervation
|trans-title=
|journal=Andrology
|date=2025-09-19
|volume=
|issue=
|article=
|pages=1-41
|url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/andr.70118
|archived=
|quote=
|pubmedID=40970806
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=10.1111/andr.70118
|accessdate=2025-10-01
}}</ref>
</blockquote>

==History==
Circumcision was popularized in English-speaking nations in the nineteenth century. The practice of non-therapeutic circumcision of boys now has greatly declined in [[Australia]], [[Canada]], [[New Zealand]] and the [[United Kingdom]]. It has been gradually declining since 1980 in the [[United States]]. It has ''never'' been a popular practice in other western nations. Circumcision of boys is not done in the Russian Federation, Latin America, or [[China]]. In [[India]] only the minority Muslim population does circumcision of children. In Europe it is only done for religious reasons by Muslims and Jews.

Circumcision is classified as a form of [[genital mutilation]].


===Cultural===

Many cultures perform circumcision as a rite of passage into manhood. This is common in the Middle East and amongst some indigenous African and Southeast Asian peoples.

The [[United States]] and [[Israel]] are the only industrialized countries in the world to have a high incidence of non-therapeutic infant male circumcision. The vast majority of infant circumcisions performed in the [[United States]] are for non-religious, non-medical reasons. See [[History of circumcision]].

=== No medical indication ===
There are no [[medical indication| medical indications]] for [[circumcision of the newborn]].<ref name="aap1971">{{REFbook
|last=American Academy of Pediatrics, Committee on Fetus and Newborn
|first=
|init=
|year=1971
|title=Standards and Recommendation for Hospital Care of Newborn infants
|url=https://www.cirp.org/library/statements/aap/#a1971
|scope=
|location=Evanston
|publisher=American Academy of Pediatrics
|ISBN=
|accessdate=2025-03-13
}}</ref> The [[circumcision industry]] promotes [[circumcision of the newborn]] to the public because of the [[financial incentive]] to the doctor and to the maternity hospital.

The form of circumcision adopted by the medical community essentially was equivalent to the Jewish form with ''[[periah]]'', so it inflicts the maximum injury and physical [[trauma]].

In a few cases with older patients, circumcision is legitimately indicated; a patient may be suffering recurring [[infection]], and other methods of treatment have failed. In other cases, a patient may be suffering from a severe case of [[phimosis]]. Overall, the actual medical necessity for circumcision is extremely rare since many conditions respond to conservative treatment. All circumcisions injure the patient by amputating the [[foreskin]] its with many protective, immunological, sensory, and sexual [[Foreskin#Physiological_functions| functions]].

# '''Deformed or malformed foreskin'''. A foreskin so deformed or malformed that it does not function properly may be excised by circumcision.

# '''Traumatically injured foreskin'''. A foreskin so traumatically damaged that it cannot be surgically repaired is a valid medical reason for circumcision.

# '''Diseased foreskin.''' A foreskin that is diseased may be a valid indication for circumcision. Some diseases that qualify are [[gangrene]], malignancy, lichen sclerosis, [[Balanitis#Diabetic_males| yeast infection in men with diabetes]], and recurrent [[balanoposthitis]].

In such cases, the benefit of removing the problem foreskin may exceed the maleficial harms of tissue and function destruction.

====Arguments of prophylaxia====
Though the practice of ritual circumcision of males, both consenting and non-consenting, has existed for millenia, the search for "potential medical benefits" began relatively recently. {''Potential'' means to exist in possibility, but not in actuality, so a "''potential'' benefit" is not a genuine proven benefit.) The discussion of circumcision in the Ninth Edition of the ''Encyclopǽdia Britannica'' (1876) made no mention of any prophylactic, medical, or therapeutic value or function.<ref>{{REFweb
|url=https://www.cirp.org/library/history/encyclopaediabritannica1876/
|title=Circumcision
|last=Cheyne
|first=T. K.
|author-link=
|publisher=Encyclopǽdia Brittanica
|website=Circumcision Reference Library
|date=1876
|accessdate=2019-11-10
|format=
|quote=
}}</ref>

Initially, circumcision was adopted in the 19th century as a way to stop boys and men from masturbating, when [[masturbation]] was claimed to be the cause for many diseases. As the myth that circumcision prevented masturbation became debunked, advocates of circumcision began the great search to find the "medical benefits" of circumcision.

Male and female circumcision involves the removal and disruption of normal anatomical structures that are primary areas of sexual sensation.<ref name="taylor1996"/> In the past, some advocates of mass circumcision have considered the [[prepuce]] to be a "mistake of nature," but this notion has no validity because the prepuce is ubiquitous in primates and because it provides functional advantages.<ref name="cold-mcgrath1995">{{REFbook
|last=Cold
|first=Christopher
|init=C
|last2=McGrath
|first2=Kenneth
|init2=K
|author2-link=Ken McGrath
|year=1999
|title=Male and female circumcision: medical, legal, and ethical considerations in pediatric practice
|url=https://www.cirp.org/library/anatomy/cold-mcgrath/
|work=
|editor=
|edition=
|volume=
|chapter=Anatomy and histology of the penile and clitoral prepuce in primates
|pages=
|location=New York
|publisher=
|isbn=0306461315
|quote=
|accessdate=2019-10-12
|note=
}}</ref>

All claims that circumcision prevents future disease are false.<ref>{{REFweb
|url=https://www.doctorsopposingcircumcision.org/for-professionals/alleged-medical-benefits/conclusions-and-references/
|title=Conclusions
|last=Anonymous
|first=
|init=
|publisher=Doctors Opposing Circumcision
|date=2016
|accessdate=2023-10-22
}}</ref> They are made to enable a physician to perform circumcision and collect a fee.


=== Prophylactic claims are false ===

Some people claim that circumcision has prophylactic benefits. Especially in the [[USA]] those arguments have persisted for more then a 100 years, with ever changing diseases circumcision is said to protect against. At first, these were diseases where [[masturbation]] was believed to be the cause. After bacteria and viruses had been discovered, arguments changed, and one after another miscellaneous diseases were cited.

* [[Phimosis]]: as mentioned earlier, true [[phimosis]] is rare and can be treated effectively without surgery. According to a study by Blalock et al. (2003)<ref name="blalock2003">{{REFjournal
|last=Blalock
|init=HJ
|last2=Vemulakonda
|init2=V
|last3=Ritchey
|init3=ML
|last4=Ribbeck
|init4=M
|title=Outpatient management of [[phimosis]] Following newborn circumcision
|journal=J Urol
|date=2003
|volume=169
|issue=6
|pages=2332-4
|url=https://www.cirp.org/library/complications/blalock1/
|accessdate=2019-11-07
}}</ref>, 2.9% of those circumcised develop a post-operative [[phimosis]], in which the circumcision scar constricts. In [[intact]] patients, the rate of [[phimosis]] is only 1% (see also the study by [[Jakob Øster]]). Therefore, circumcision is not a preventive measure for [[phimosis]].
* Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STDs): a vast number of studies has been conducted on the subject of transmission of STDs.
* First, it has to be noted that any form of protection against these diseases only affects people who are sexually active. Circumcision in childhood cannot be justified on these grounds, since any assumed protective effect will not occur before the boy is already old enough to decide about circumcision for himself.
* As mentioned above, the [[foreskin]] keeps the [[Glans penis|glans]] moist. This subpreputial moisture contains, among other substances, the enzyme lysozyme, which breaks up the cell wall of bacteria, thereby providing a natural antibacterial screen. This explains the results of several studies, such as Laumann et al.<ref>{{REFjournal
|last=Laumann
|init=EO
|last2=Masi
|init2=CM
|last3=Zuckerman
|init3=EW
|title=Circumcision in the United States: prevalence, prophylactic effects, and sexual practice
|journal=JAMA
|date=1997
|volume=277
|issue=
|pages=1052-7
|url=https://www.cirp.org/library/general/laumann/
|accessdate=2019-11-06
}}</ref>, which found a higher rate of infection with bacterial venereal diseases in [[circumcised]] than in [[intact]] men.
* The studies by Fleiss et al. (1998) support this.<ref name="fleiss-hodges-vanhowe1998">{{FleissP HodgesF VanHoweRS 1998}}</ref> According to the [[AAP]], the general sexual behaviour of the male — such as frequent change in partners and the use of condoms — has a much higher impact on sexually transmitted diseases then the circumcision status.<ref>{{REFjournal
|last=Task Force on Circumcision
|first=
|title=Circumcision policy statement
|journal=Pediatrics
|date=1999
|volume=103
|issue=3
|pages=686-93
|url=https://www.cirp.org/library/statements/aap1999/
|accessdate=2019-11-15
}}</ref>
* [[HIV]] / [[AIDS]]: in the recent past, the argument that circumcision could help to contain the spread of [[HIV]] has been stated numerous times.
*:First, two notes: for one, the use of condoms is still by far the most effective protection against an infection. During intercourse with that preventive measure, circumcision status does not make a difference.
*:Secondly, the assumed protection would only affect healthy men who have intercourse with an infected woman. An infected man can infect a women by transmission of his bodily fluids, so that his circumcision status is irrelevant. Therefore, the use of condoms remains vital in containing the spread of [[HIV]], which in return renders circumcision unnecessary
* Due to the inevitable loss of sensitivity as a result of circumcision, there is also the temptation to go without condoms, in order not to lose even more sensitivity.<ref>{{REFjournal
|last=Hooykaas
|init=C
|last2=van der Velde
|init2=FW
|last3=van der Linden
|init3=MM
|etal=yes
|title=The importance of ethnicity as a risk factor for STDs and sexual behaviour among heterosexuals
|journal=Genitourin Med
|date=1991
|volume=67
|issue=5
|pages=378-83
|url=https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1194736/pdf/genitmed00041-0022.pdf
|accessdate=2019-11-15
}}</ref><ref>{{REFjournal
|last=Michael
|init=RT
|last2=Wadsworth
|init2=J
|last3=Feinleib
|init3=J
|etal=yes
|title=Private sexual behavior, public opinion, and public health policy related to sexually transmitted diseases: a US-British comparison
|journal=Am J Public Health
|date=1998
|volume=88
|issue=5
|pages=749-54
|url=https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1508929/pdf/amjph00017-0039.pdf
|accessdate=2019-11-15
}}</ref><ref>{{REFjournal
|last=Laumann
|init=EO
|last2=Masi
|init2=CM
|last3=Zuckerman
|init3=EW
|title=Circumcision in the United States: prevalence, prophylactic effects, and sexual practice
|journal=JAMA
|date=1997
|volume=277
|issue=
|pages=1052-7
|url=https://www.cirp.org/library/general/laumann/
|accessdate=2019-11-06
}}</ref>
* Two studies that have been published in early 2007<ref>{{RCT Gray et al 2007}}</ref><ref>{{RCT Bailey et al 2007}}</ref>, which investigated the effectiveness of circumcision as a means of reducing the spread of [[HIV]] from infected women to heterosexual men in African high risk areas, have been repeatedly subjected to strong criticism. Both studies were ended prematurely, which distorted the results. The men who had been [[circumcised]] for the study had to stay sexually inactive during the wound healing, which gave the intact control group more relative opportunity to become infected. These African randomized clinical trials have been demonstrated to have very serious methodological and statistical errors that distort the results in favor of circumcision.<ref name="boyle-hill2011">{{BoyleGJ HillG 2011}}</ref>

The fact that the [[USA]] has both the highest percentage of [[circumcised]] males in the western world, as well as the highest [[HIV]] infection rate, makes the studies look dubious. Besides that, several other studies concluded that circumcision does not have a significant impact on the risk of infection with [[HIV]].<ref>{{REFjournal
|last=Grosskurth
|init=H
|last2=Mosha
|init2=F
|last3=Todd
|init3=J
|etal=yes
|title=A community trial of the impact of improved sexually transmitted disease treatment on the HIV epidemic in rural Tanzania: 2. Baseline survey results
|journal=AIDS
|date=1995
|volume=9
|issue=8
|pages=927-34
|url=https://insights.ovid.com/aids/aids/1995/08/000/community-trial-impact-improved-sexually/15/00002030
|accessdate=2019-11-15
}}</ref><ref>{{REFjournal
|last=Barongo
|init=LR
|last2=Borgdorff
|init2=MW
|last3=Mosha
|init3=FF
|etal=yes
|title=The epidemiology of HIV-1 infection in urban areas, roadside settlements and rural villages in Mwanza Region, Tanzania
|journal=AIDS
|date=1992
|volume=6
|issue=12
|pages=1521-8
|url=https://journals.lww.com/aidsonline/abstract/1992/12000/the_epidemiology_of_hiv_1_infection_in_urban.16.aspx
|accessdate=2025-03-17
}}</ref> <ref>{{REFconference
|last=Changedia SM, Gilada IS
|first=
|title=Role of male circumcision in HIV transmission insignificant in conjugal relationship (abstract no. ThPeC7420)
|url=
|place=Barcelona, Spain
|source=Presented at the Fourteenth International AIDS Conference
|datefrom=2002-07-07
|dateto=2002-07-12
|accessdate=
}}</ref><ref>{{REFconference
|last=Connolly CA, Shishana O, Simbayi L, Colvin M
|first=
|title=HIV and circumcision in South Africa (Abstract No. MoPeC3491)
|url=
|place=Bangkok, Thailand
|source=Presented at the 15th International AIDS Conference
|datefrom=2004-07-11
|dateto=2004-07-16
|accessdate=
}}</ref><ref>{{REFconference
|last=Thomas AG, Bakhireva LN, Brodine SK, Shaffer RA
|first=
|title=Prevalence of male circumcision and its association with HIV and sexually transmitted infections in a U.S. navy population (Abstract no. TuPeC4861)
|url=https://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/document?repid=rep1&type=pdf&doi=e0f66eb069de9330e88295e6280a8a47a22b74ed
|place=Bangkok, Thailand
|source=Presented at the 15th International AIDS Conference
|datefrom=2004-07-11
|dateto=2004-07-16
|format=PDF
|accessdate=2019-11-15
}}</ref>
* Urinary tract infections (UTI): a [[UTI]] can be effectively treated with antibiotics, this was also proven by studies.<ref>{{REFjournal
|last=McCracken
|init=G
|title=Options in antimicrobial management of urinary tract infections in infants and children
|journal=Pediatr Infect Dis J
|date=1989
|volume=8
|issue=8
|pages=552-5
|url=https://www.cirp.org/library/disease/UTI/mccracken/
|accessdate=2019-11-19
}}</ref><ref>{{REFjournal
|last=Larcombe
|init=J
|title=Urinary tract infection in children
|journal=BMJ
|date=1999
|volume=319
|issue=
|pages=1173-5
|url=
|accessdate=
}}</ref> A Swedish study<ref>{{REFjournal
|last=Mårild
|init=S
|last2=Jodal
|init2=U
|title=Incidence rate of first–time symptomatic urinary tract infection in children under 6 years of age
|journal=Acta Paediatr
|date=1998
|volume=87
|issue=5
|pages=549-52
|url=
|accessdate=
}}</ref> found that, during the first 6 years of life, the incidence of [[UTI]]s in boys was 1.8%, but in girls was 6.6%. UTIs are less common in boys after the first year of life. Mueller et al. <ref>{{REFjournal
|last=Mueller
|init=ER
|last2=Steinhardt
|init2=G
|last3=Naseer
|init3=S
|title=The incidence of genitourinary abnormalities in [[circumcised]] and [[uncircumcised]] boys presenting with an initial urinary tract infection by 6 months of age
|journal=Pediatrics
|date=1997
|volume=100 (Supplement)
|issue=
|page=580
|url=
|accessdate=
}}</ref> did not find a significant difference in UTI rates between [[circumcised]] and [[intact]] boys with normal urinary tract anatomy.
* Other studies suggest that circumcision is more likely to raise than to lower the generally low risk of acquiring UTI: multiple studies from [[Israel]] showed a strong correlation between ritual circumcision on the 8th day of life and postoperative UTI.<ref>{{REFjournal
|last=Menahem
|init=S
|title=Complications arising from ritual circumcision: pathogenesis and possible prevention
|journal=Isr J Med Sci
|date=1981
|volume=17
|issue=1
|pages=45-8
|url=
|accessdate=
}}</ref><ref>{{REFjournal
|last=Cohen
|init=HA
|last2=Drucker
|init2=MM
|last3=Vainer
|init3=S
|etal=yes
|title=Postcircumcision urinary tract infection
|journal=Clin Pediatr
|date=1992
|volume=31
|issue=6
|pages=322-4
|url=
|accessdate=
}}</ref><ref>{{REFjournal
|last=Goldman
|init=M
|last2=Barr
|init2=J
|last3=Bistritzer
|init3=T
|last4=Aladjem
|init4=M
|title=Urinary tract infection following ritual Jewish circumcision
|journal=Isr J Med Sci
|date=1996
|volume=32
|issue=
|pages=1098-1102
|url=
|accessdate=
}}</ref>
* It can be concluded that circumcision is ineffective as a preventive measure against [[UTI]].
* Penile and cervical cancer / HPV: first studies on those diseases and their assumed prevention by circumcision date back to 1932, a time when the cause for those illnesses was not yet fully understood.<ref>{{Wolbarst1932}}</ref> Today, it is known that sexually transmitted human papillomavirus (HPV) is a major risk factor<ref>{{REFjournal
|last=McCance
|init=DJ
|last2=Kalache
|init2=A
|last3=Ashdown
|init3=K
|etal=yes
|title=Human papillomavirus types 16 and 18 in carcinomas of the penis from Brazil
|journal=Int J Cancer
|date=1986
|volume=37
|issue=1
|pages=55-9
|url=
|accessdate=
}}</ref>, as well as smoking<ref>{{REFjournal
|last=Harish
|init=K
|last2=Ravi
|init2=R
|title=The role of tobacco in penile carcinoma
|journal=Brit J Urol
|date=1995
|volume=75
|issue=3
|pages=375-7
|url=https://www.cirp.org/library/disease/cancer/harish/
|accessdate=2025-03-18
}}</ref>. Studies have shown that there is no significant difference in the risk of getting penile cancer between [[circumcised]] and [[intact]] men. To prevent a single case of penile cancer, it would statistically take 600 to 900 circumcisions<ref>{{REFdocument
|title=Position Paper on Neonatal Circumcision
|url=
|contribution=
|last=
|first=
|publisher=American Academy of Family Physicians (Leawood, Kansas)
|format=
|date=2002-02-14
|accessdate=
}}</ref>. The influence of circumcision on the infection risk of the female partner with cervical cancer has been refuted several times as well. HPV vaccination is an effective measure against carcinoma of the cervix.
====Conclusion====
In conclusion, circumcision does not provide any proven benefits in preventive medicine.

== Pain ==
It is too dangerous to administer general anesthesia to newborn infants, so infant boys experience severe [[pain]] during circumcision.<ref name="garrett2024-01-09">{{REFweb
|url=https://intactamerica.org/disadvantages-of-circumcision/
|title=10 Disadvantages of Circumcision & Horrifying Facts
|last=Garrett
|first=Connor
|init=
|author-link=Connor Judson Garrett
|publisher=Intact America
|date=2024-01-09
|accessdate=3034-06-04
}}</ref>
In the past, advocates of circumcision claimed that a newborn child's nerve system was not yet fully developed, and that as a result, the child felt no [[pain]] during the circumcision procedure. This antique view has now been completely disproved. [[Kanwaljeet J. Singh Anand| Anand]] & Hickey (1987) have shown that newborn children do in fact feel [[pain]], and more acutely than adults.<ref name="anand-hickey1987">{{REFjournal
|last=Anand
|first=KJS
|author-link=Kanwaljeet J. Singh Anand
|last2=Hickey
|first2=PR
|author2-link=
|etal=no
|title=Pain and its effects in the human neonate and fetus
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal=New Engl J Med
|location=
|date=1987-11-19
|volume=317
|issue=21
|pages=1321-9
|url=https://www.cirp.org/library/pain/anand/
|quote=However, in decisions about the use of these techniques, current knowledge suggests that humane considerations should apply as forcefully to the care of neonates and young, nonverbal infants as they do to children and adults in similar painful and stressful situations.
|pubmedID=3317037
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=10.1056/NEJM198711193172105
|accessdate=2019-11-08
}}</ref> This has led American health associations to recommend doctors take measures to reduce the [[pain]] of circumcision in infants.

The [https://www.cirp.org/library/statements/aap1999/|AAP Circumcision Policy Statement] (1999) states quite clearly that ''"There is considerable evidence that newborns who are [[circumcised]] without analgesia experience pain and physiologic stress"''. Furthermore, the pain is quite severe, and requires injections for proper pain management. Sucrose and Acetaminophen ''"cannot be recommended as the sole method of analgesia"''. Topical cream is no longer thought sufficient as ''"the analgesic effect is limited during the phases associated with extensive tissue trauma such as...tightening of the clamp"''.<ref>{{REFjournal
|last=
|first=
|title=American Academy of Pediatrics: Circumcision Policy Statement; Task Force on Circumcision
|journal=Pediatrics
|date=1999-03
|volume=103
|issue=3
|pages=686-93
|url=https://www.cirp.org/library/statements/aap1999/
|accessdate=2025-03-14
|note=Statement Reaffirmed Sept. 1, 2005
}}</ref>

The [[AAFP]] (2023) states quite simply in their [https://www.cirp.org/library/statements/aafp2002/| position paper], ''"Neonates who undergo circumcision should be provided analgesia, most commonly in the form of a nerve block.".''<ref>{{REFweb
|title=Neonatal Circumcision
|website=Official American Academy of Family Physicians Website
|url=https://www.cirp.org/library/statements/aap1999/
|accessdate=2023-10
}}</ref> This is not a debatable fact, and yet, it is not widely accepted, even by some doctors. It might be hard for some doctors to accept, as they may have been taught that the infant does not feel [[pain]], and may have performed countless circumcisions with this idea. Usage of analgesia for infant circumcision is still by no means the rule.

Penile injections of local anesthetic are now recommended by all of the major medical institutions if a circumcision is to be performed. In their [http://www.ama-assn.org/ama/no-index/about-ama/13585.shtml Report 10 of the Council on Scientific Affairs], the AMA states ''"When the decision is made to proceed with circumcision, local anesthesia should be provided for the procedure. [[Ring block]] or [[dorsal penile nerve block]] [injections] are most effective. [[EMLA]] cream has limited utility"''. Alarmingly, ''"Despite the clear evidence that newborn males generate brisk pain responses during circumcision, a recent survey of residency training programs found that 26% of programs that taught circumcision provided no instruction on the use of local anesthesia". The AMA reports that "Of physicians performing circumcision, 45% use anesthesia, 71% of pediatricians, 56% of family practitioners, and 25% of obstetricians"''.<ref>{{REFweb
|title=Report 10 of the Council on Scientific Affairs (I-99): Neonatal Circumcision
|website=American Medical Association Official Website
|url=http://www.ama-assn.org/ama/no-index/about-ama/13585.shtml
|accessdate=2011-05-04
}}</ref>

The AAP's [http://www.healthychildren.org/English/ages-stages/prenatal/decisions-to-make/pages/Where-We-Stand-Circumcision.aspx Heatlhy Children website] suggests ''"Your pediatrician (or your obstetrician) should discuss the forms of analgesia that are available"''.<ref>{{REFweb
|title=Where We Stand: Circumcision
|publisher=[[AAP]]
|date=2011-03-23
|url=http://www.healthychildren.org/English/ages-stages/prenatal/decisions-to-make/pages/Where-We-Stand-Circumcision.aspx
|accessdate=2019-10-12
}}</ref> Be that as it may, few forms of analgesia are recommended. There are basically two types of injections to choose from, and the website does not go into the difference between a 'dorsal nerve block' and a 'ring block' injection.<ref>The AAP is a master at promoting unnecessary circumcision for the profit of its members. Here it states, "The American Academy of Pediatrics believes that circumcision has potential medical benefits and advantages, as well as risks." What they don't tell parents is that the "potential" means to exist in possibilty, but not in reality, so a "potential benefit" is not an actual benefit.</ref>

Given what is known from aforementioned official documents, the AAP website would be more informative and effective if it said ''"Make sure your doctor knows of the ineffectiveness of anything short of local anesthesia, and make sure your baby is given an injection. This is your responsibility, because your doctor may or may not be up to date on the latest understandings of infant sensitivity to [[pain]] during circumcision."'' The AAP may be holding back, however, perhaps because this would upset the doctor/parent power relationship, and may cause too much questioning of doctors in general. One may not expect to find this kind of advice on such a website, and yet, anything less than this is a dangerously weak statement.

To control [[pain]], some physicians that circumcise use Tylenol, sugar,<ref>{{REFweb
|quote=To calm the baby during the procedure, a sugar filled gauze pacifier soaked with sweet juice is used, and soothing music is played in the room.
|url=http://www.pollockclinics.com/circumcision/circumcision-guide.html
|title=Parents' Guide to Circumcision
|last=
|first=
|publisher=
|date=
|accessdate=2011-04-08
}}</ref><ref>{{REFweb
|quote=During the circumcision, your son will receive sugar pacifiers to suck on which reduce his pain perceptions.
|url=http://www.pollockclinics.com/circumcision/circumcision-before.html
|title=Before the Circumcision
|last=
|first=
|publisher=
|date=2011-04-08
|accessdate=2011-04-08
}}</ref> a topical cream,<ref>{{REFweb
|quote=Then in our office, he will have topical anesthetic applied to his penis.
|url=http://www.pollockclinics.com/circumcision/circumcision-before.html
|title=Before the Circumcision
|last=
|first=
|publisher=
|date=2011-04-08
|accessdate=2011-04-08
}}</ref> and/or a local anaesthetic injection called a dorsal penile ring block.<ref>{{REFweb
|quote=We use extensive pain control methods including Tylenol, a sugar solution (to reduce pain perceptions), a topical freezing cream, and a local anesthetic injection.
|url=http://www.pollockclinics.com/circumcision/circumcision-guide.html
|title=Parents' Guide to Circumcision
|last=
|first=
|publisher=
|date=
|accessdate=2011-04-08
}}</ref> Topical anaesthetic only serves to numb the area to lessen the pain of the injection, but studies have shown that a [[dorsal penile nerve block]] is only partially effective in stopping the [[Pain| pain of circumcision]].<ref name="Journal of Perinatology April/May 2002">{{REFjournal
|last=Taeusch
|first=H. William
|init=HW
|last2=Martinez
|first2=Alma M.
|init2=AM
|last3=Partridge
|first3=J. Colin
|init3=JC
|last4=Sniderman
|first4=Susan
|init4=S
|last5=Armstrong-Wells
|first5=Jennifer
|init5=J
|last6=Fuentes-Afflick
|first6=Elena
|init6=E
|title=Pain During Mogen or Plastibell Circumcision
|journal=Journal of Perinatology
|volume=22
|issue=3
|pages=214-8
|url=http://www.nature.com/jp/journal/v22/n3/full/7210653a.html
|quote=...more than half of the study group had what we considered excessive pain/discomfort over the course of the entire procedure.
|pubmedID=
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=
|note=April/May 2002
|date=2002-04
|accessdate=2011-04-08
}}</ref><ref name="Clinical Pediatrics August 1986">{{REFjournal
|last=Williamson
|first=Paul S.
|init=PS
|last2=Evans
|first2=Nolan Donovan
|init2=ND
|title=Neonatal Cortisol Response to Circumcision with Anesthesia
|journal=Clinical Pediatrics
|volume=25
|issue=8
|pages=412-6
|url=http://cpj.sagepub.com/content/25/8/412.abstract
|quote=The adrenal cortisol response to surgery was not significantly reduced by the administration of lidocaine.
|pubmedID=
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=
|date=1986-08
|accessdate=2011-04-08
}}</ref> During circumcision, somp physicians give children sugar pacifiers to "reduce the perception of pain", but in at least one study, data shows that giving sugar to a child doesn't help to reduce the perception of pain in the child.<ref name="Lancet, The 2010-10-09">{{REFjournal
|last=Slater
|first=Rebeccah
|init=R
|first2=Laura
|init2=L
|last2=Cornelissen
|first3=Lorenzo
|init3=L
|last3=Fabrizi
|first4=Debbie
|init4=D
|last4=Patten
|first5=Jan
|init5=J
|last5=Yoxen
|first6=Alan
|init6=A
|last6=Worley
|first7=Stewart
|init7=S
|last7=Boyd
|first8=Judith
|init8=J
|last8=Meek
|first9=Maria
|init9=M
|last9=Prof. Fitzgerald
|title=Oral sucrose as an analgesic drug for procedural pain in newborn infants: a randomised controlled trial
|journal=The Lancet
|volume=376
|issue=9748
|pages=1225-32
|url=http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736%2810%2961303-7/fulltext
|quote=Our data suggest that oral sucrose does not significantly affect activity in neonatal brain or spinal cord nociceptive circuits, and therefore might not be an effective analgesic drug. The ability of sucrose to reduce clinical observational scores after noxious events in newborn infants should not be interpreted as pain relief.
|pubmedID=
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=
|date=2010-10-09
|accessdate=2011-04-08
}}</ref> Post-operative pain and the pain the child must endure during recovery is hardly, if ever, addressed by professionals.<ref>The use of sweets reduces crying because the infant boy cannot cry and suck at the same time. It does not reduce the [[pain]] experienced.</ref> [[Circumcised]] boys will be very uncomfortable and fussy when compared with [[intact]] boys and girls.<ref>{{REFweb
|url=https://thewholetruth.data.blog/2025/06/25/fussy-boys-calm-girls-how-circumcision-distorts-our-view-of-gender-behavior/
|title=Fussy Boys & Calm Girls: How Circumcision Distorts Our View of Gender Behavior
|last=Barrett
|first=
|init=JL
|author-link=
|publisher=The Whole Truth
|date=2025-06-25
|accessdate=2025-06-26
}}</ref>

It has been shown that an infant's response to [[pain]] can be altered for years as a consequence of circumcision.<ref>{{TaddioA etal 1995}}</ref><ref>{{TaddioA KatzJ IlersichAL KorenG 1997}}</ref>

{{Box|Boxtext=<big>However, none of the above three procedures totally eliminate pain. A baby boy will still experience some pain despite any of those analgesic procedures. Prevention of [[pain]] requires protecting a boy from elective neonatal non-therapeutic circumcision. Only boys who are protected from the medically unnecessary circumcision surgery experience no [[pain]] or [[trauma]].</big>}}

== Risks and effects ==
Just like tonsil or appendix surgery, circumcision is a surgical intervention and brings the usual risks related to surgical operations, alongside several specific risks of complications and late effects.<ref name="garrett2024-01-09" /> Uberoi et al. (2022) report "some men are experiencing a complex negative constellation of psychological, physical, and sexual associations that lead to significant emotional distress directed both internally and externally. The posts also reveal a discovery phenomenon wherein men discover the physical and psychological manifestations of the decisions made by others to modify their genitals."<ref name ="uberoi2022">{{REFjournal
|last=Uberoi
|first=
|init=M
|author-link=
|last2=Abdulcadir
|first2=
|init2=J
|author2-link=
|last3=Ohi
|first3=
|init3=DA
|author3-link=
|last4=Santiago
|first4=
|init4=JE
|author4-link=
|last5=
|first5=
|init5=
|author5-link=
|last6=
|first6=
|init6=
|author6-link=
|last7=
|first7=
|init7=
|author7-link=
|last8=
|first8=
|init8=
|author8-link=
|last9=
|first9=
|init9=
|author9-link=
|etal=yes
|title=Potentially under-recognized late-stage physical and psychosexual complications of non-therapeutic neonatal penile circumcision: a qualitative and quantitative analysis of self-reports from an online community forum
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal=Int J Impot Res
|location=
|date=2022-10-23
|volume=
|issue=
|article=
|page=
|pages=
|url=https://www.nature.com/articles/s41443-022-00619-8
|archived=
|quote=
|pubmedID=36274189
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=10.1038/s41443-022-00619-8
|accessdate=2023-01-08
}}</ref>
=== Physical effects ===
* [[Bodily harm]]
* [[Circumcision scar]] is an invariable effect.
* [https://intactamerica.org/ask-marilyn-is-it-normal-to-have-hair-on-your-penis/ Hair on the penis] is a common effect because hair-bearing skin is dragged onto the shaft of the [[penis]].
* An unavoidable effect of any circumcision is the permanent loss of sexual sensitivity.<ref name="garrett2024-01-09" /> This is partly due to the removal of sensory tissue. The [[foreskin]] contains very many nerve endings and touch receptors, which account for the major part of male sexual sensation. If the [[foreskin]] is removed, they can no longer provide sexual stimulation. It is also partly due to the fact that the surface of the [[Glans penis|glans]] reacts to the missing protection from friction and drying out by developing a callus layer. This reduces the sensitivity of the remaining nerves in the [[Glans penis|glans]] gradually over the years. The study conducted by Sorrells et al.<ref>{{Sorrells etal 2007}}</ref> found a significant reduction of sensitivity to touch for [[circumcised]] compared to [[intact]] [[penis]]es in adult males. Other studies revealed that [[circumcised]] men use condoms significantly less often than [[intact]] men, since they further limit the sexual sensitivity (see above).

* Painful tension can occur when there is too little reserve [[skin]] left to support a full [[erection]]<ref name="taylor1996"/>. This risk is partly dependent on the anatomy of the [[penis]]. While some [[penis]]es already have the majority of their full size when flaccid ([[Flesh Penis]], or "[[shower]]"), others are rather short when flaccid and double or more their size during an [[erection]] ([[Blood Penis]], or "[[grower]]"). Especially in children's circumcision, where the [[penis]] is not yet fully developed, the amount of reserve [[skin]] needed in adulthood cannot be estimated.

* Erectile dysfunction: Both the damage inflicted to the blood vessels in the [[foreskin]] and the reduced sexual sensitivity can be causes for reduced erectile function with advancing age.<ref>{{REFjournal
|last=Money
|init=J
|last2=Davison
|init2=J
|title=Adult penile circumcision: Erotosexual and cosmetic sequelae
|journal=Journal of Sex Research
|date=1983
|volume=19
|issue=
|pages=289-92
|url=
|accessdate=
}}</ref>

* Orgasm problems: In the wake of reduced sexual sensitivity, due to the loss of erogenous sensory tissue and gradual [[keratinization]] of the surface of the [[Glans penis|glans]], orgasm problems may develop with increasing age. In this case, the sexual arousal created by intercourse or [[masturbation]] is not enough to achieve orgasm. A preliminary stage of this late effect is the prolonged time [[circumcised]]] men need to reach an orgasm. This is often fielded as the "cut men have more endurance" argument for circumcision.
* Vaginal dryness: Due to the loss of the natural [[gliding action]], which comes from the mobility of the [[foreskin]] and [[shaft skin]], a much increased friction between [[penis]] and [[vagina]] occurs during intercourse. This can make intercourse painful for both partners and lead to abrasions<ref>{{FrischM LindholmM GroenbaekM 2011}}</ref><ref>{{REFjournal
|last=Cortés-González
|init=J
|last2=Arratia-Maqueo
|init2=J
|last3=Gómez-Guerra
|init3=L
|title=Does circumcision has an effect on female's perception of sexual satisfaction?
|journal=Rev Invest Clin
|date=2008
|volume=60
|issue=3
|page=227
|url=
|pubmedID=18807735
|accessdate=
}}</ref> The prolonged time it takes [[circumcised]] men to reach orgasm, as well as the often longer and more vigorous thrusting movements — compared to [[intact]] men — play a part in this.<ref name="ColdCJ TaylorJR 1999">{{ColdCJ TaylorJR 1999}}</ref><ref>{{REFjournal
|last=Fink
|init=KS
|last2=Carson
|init2=CC
|last3=DeVellis
|init3=RF
|title=Adult Circumcision Outcomes Study: Effect on Erectile Function, Penile Sensitivity, Sexual Activity and Satisfaction
|journal=J Urol
|date=2002
|volume=167
|issue=5
|pages=2113-6
|url=
|accessdate=
}}</ref>

* [[Lymphoedema]] of the penis is a normal and expected complication of male circumcision.

* [[Meatal stenosis]], a pathological narrowing of the opening of the [[urethra]], which mostly occurs in infancy and early childhood. It is one of the most common complications of infant circumcision. A study from 2006 found meatal stenosis exclusively in previously [[circumcised]] boys. The incidence rate after a circumcision is approximately 10 to 20 percent.<ref name="vanhowe2006">{{REFjournal
|last=Van Howe
|init=RS
|author-link=Robert S. Van Howe
|title=Incidence of meatal stenosis following neonatal circumcision in a primary care setting
|journal=Clin Pediatr (Phila)
|note=Jan-Feb 2006
|date=2006-01
|volume=45
|issue=1
|pages=49-54
|url=https://www.academia.edu/6992015/Incidence_of_Meatal_Stenosis_following_Neonatal_Circumcision_in_a_Primary_Care_Setting
|accessdate=2019-12-15
}}</ref><ref>{{REFjournal
|last=Stenram
|init=A
|last2=Malmfors
|init2=G
|last3=Okmian
|init3=L
|title=Circumcision for [[phimosis]]: a follow-up study
|journal=Scandinavian journal of urology and nephrology
|date=1986
|volume=20
|issue=2
|page=89
|url=
|pubmedID=3749823
|accessdate=
}}</ref><ref>{{REFweb
|url=http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/1016016-overview
|title=Meatal Stenosis
|publisher=Medscape
|accessdate=2019-10-11
}}</ref>

* Shorter adult penile length was reported by Park et al. (2016) as a result of NMC (newborn male circumcision).
{{Citation
|Title=
|Text=In conclusion, second to fourth digit ratio, flaccid penile length, and age of circumcision were significant predictive factors for erectile penile length. Furthermore, the penile lengths of the NMC group were shorter than those of the non-NMC group.
|Author=Park et al.
|Source=
|ref=<ref>{{REFjournal
|last=Park
|first=
|init=JK
|author-link=
|last2=Doo
|first2=
|init2=AR
|author2-link=
|last3=Kim
|first3=
|init3=JH
|author3-link=
|last4=Park
|first4=
|init4=HS
|author4-link=
|etal=yes
|title=Prospective investigation of penile length with newborn male circumcision and second to fourth digit ratio.
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal=Can Urol Assoc J
|location=
|date=2016-09
|season=
|volume=10
|issue=9-10
|article=
|page=
|pages=
|url=https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5028213/
|archived=
|quote=
|pubmedID=27695583
|pubmedCID=5028213
|DOI=10.5489/cuaj.3590
|accessdate=2022-09-04
}}</ref>
}}
===Health effects===
The [[foreskin]] provides both [[Immunological and protective function of the foreskin| physical protection and protection from infection]], so [[foreskinned]] boys and men tend to have better health than [[circumcised]] boys and men.<ref name=fendereski2024" /> <ref name="bollinger2025-08-27" /> <ref name="vanhowe2006" />

=== Sexual effects ===
Cepeda-Emiliani et al (2023) cited six reports in the literature of detrimental effects of circumcision, including erectile function, sensation, masturbatory pleasure, orgasm, and sexual satisfaction. The authors also cited three studies of severe distress in [[circumcised]] men, due to their infant circumcision, with complaints of [[glans]] insensitivity, delayed [[ejaculation]], and unpleasant sensation.<ref name="cepeda2023">{{REFjournal
|last=Cepe da-Emiliani
|first=
|init=A
|author-link=Alfonso Cepeda-Emiliani
|last2=Gándara-Cortés
|first2=
|init2=M
|author2-link=
|last3=Otero-Alén
|first3=
|init3=M
|author3-link=
|last4=García
|first4=
|init4=H
|author4-link=
|last5=Suárez-Quintanilla
|first5=
|init5=J
|author5-link=
|last6=García-Caballero
|first6=
|init6=T
|author6-link=
|last7=Gallego
|first7=
|init7=R
|author7-link=
|last8=García-Caballero
|first8=
|init8=R
|author8-link=
|etal=no
|title=Immunohistological study of the density and distribution of human penile neural tissue: gradient hypothesis
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal= Int J Impot Res
|location=
|date=2023-05-02
|volume=35
|issue=3
|article=
|page=
|pages=286-305
|url=https://www.nature.com/articles/s41443-022-00561-9
|archived=
|quote=
|pubmedID=35501394
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=10.1038/s41443-022-00561-9
|accessdate=2023-11-26
}}</ref>

Circumcision and frenectomy remove tissues with heightened erogenous sensitivity.<ref name="garrett2024-01-09" /><ref name="cepeda2023" /> <ref name="winkleman1959">{{WinkelmannRK 1959}}</ref> They concluded, "Evidence has also started to accumulate that male circumcision may result in lifelong physical, sexual, and sometimes psychological harm as well."

The [[amputation]] of the prepuce results in the loss of the majority of fine-touch neuroreceptors found in the [[penis]], leaving only the uninhibited protopathic sensibility of the artificially externalized [[glans penis]]. The imbalance caused by not having the input from the now ablated fine-touch receptors may be a leading cause of the changes in sexual behavior noted in [[circumcised]] human males.<ref>{{REFjournal
|last=Van Howe
|init=RS
|author-link=Robert S. Van Howe
|last2=Cold
|init2=CJ
|title=Advantages and Disadvantages of Neonatal Circumcision
|journal=The Journal of the American Medical Association
|volume=277
|issue=13
|pages=1052-7
|url=http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9218663
|quote=
|pubmedID=9218663
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=
|date=1997-04-02
|accessdate=
}}</ref>

Histology of the male circumcision scar shows [[amputation]] neuromas, Schwann cell proliferation and the bulbous collection of variably sized neurites. [[Amputation]] neuromas do not mediate normal sensation and are notorious for generating pain.<ref name="ColdCJ TaylorJR 1999"/> Cepeda-Emiliani et al. (2023) commented:
<blockquote>
Taking the sleve technique as an example of surgical flexibility during circumcision, to the extent that this technique is of such versatility that it allows highly variable quantities of cutaneous and subcutaneous tissue to be excised directly from the penile body, and to the extent that the prepuce is still conceived by segments of the medical community as "just a small piece of skin", we are concerned that aggressive circumcisions are intentionally or unintentionally being performed in pediatric and adult patients in the belief that "redundant" or " extra" tissue is being excised, or in the belief that "excesive sensitivity" is being reduced to augment ejaculatory latency time.<ref name="cepeda2023" />
</blockquote>
The un-anesthetized and un-sedated newborn infant is restrained by being strapped to a special plastic board called the [[circumstraint]]. The procedure is most often an elective, non-therapeutic surgery without [[medical indication]] performed on neonates and children for religious and cultural reasons in violation of the child's [[human rights]] to [[physical integrity]], but in older patients may be rarely indicated for therapeutic reasons. It is a radical treatment option for pathological [[phimosis]], refractory [[balanoposthitis]] and chronic [[urinary tract infection]]s (UTIs); it is contraindicated in cases of certain genital structure abnormalities or poor general health.

See [[Sexual effects of circumcision]] for more information.

=== Psychological effects ===
[[Psychological_issues_of_male_circumcision#Circumcision_trauma_in_adults| Psychological late effects]] are also likely after a circumcision, especially if the operation was carried out in childhood.<ref name="garrett2024-01-09" /> On this occasion a variety of [[trauma]] may occur, which depend, among others, on age and circumstances of the circumcision. For example, whether the circumcision took place with or without sufficient anaesthesia, if the individual has been informed about the operation beforehand, if he was [[circumcised]] against his will or without his consent, and also, in the case of infant circumcision, if he was told about it during childhood or had to find it out coincidentally on his own.

The psychological late effects of circumcision are not yet fully researched, and many studies took place on rather a small scale. This situation needs to be rectified, because the available studies, as well as the histories of negatively affected men, suggest that these late effects may have more impact than previously assumed.

* It was observed that infants, following circumcision without [[pain]] control, had a disturbed bond with their mother<ref>{{REFjournal
|last=Marshall
|init=RE
|last2=Porter
|init2=FL
|last3=Rogers
|init3=AG
|etal=yes
|title=Circumcision: II effects upon mother-infant interaction
|journal=Early Hum Dev
|date=1982
|volume=7
|issue=4
|pages=367-74
|url=https://www.cirp.org/library/birth/marshall2/
|accessdate=2020-02-01
}}</ref>, as well as problems with nurturing, up to the point of refusal to be fed. The sleeping habits of these babies were also disturbed, with prolonged non-REM sleep and increased waking.

* In boys [[circumcised]] in childhood, [[post-traumatic stress disorder]] ([[PTSD]]) could be diagnosed. In a study on Philippine boys, in whom no [[PTSD]] was found prior to the operation, 69% of the boys [[circumcised]] in the traditional ritual and 51% of those [[circumcised]] by standard medical procedures (including anaesthesia) fulfilled the DSM-IV criteria for PTSD following the operation.<ref>{{REFbook
|last=Ramos
|init=S
|last2=Boyle
|init2=GJ
|year=2001
|title=Understanding circumcision: A Multi-Disciplinary Approach to a Multi-Dimensional Problem
|url=https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-1-4757-3351-8_14
|work=
|editors=[[George C. Denniston]], [[Frederick M. Hodges]], [[Marilyn Fayre Milos]]
|edition=
|volume=
|chapter=Ritual and medical circumcision among Filipino boys: evidence of post-traumatic stress disorder
|pages=253-70
|location=New York
|publisher=Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publishers
|isbn=
|quote=
|accessdate=
|note=
}}</ref>
* Circumcisions, especially those that happen without consent, can spark feelings of helplessness and alienation, which can persist as [[trauma]]. These feeling can also be triggered later, when someone [[circumcised]] as an infant becomes aware of his circumcision. In an online study, interviewed men stated they felt betrayed - 55% by the mother, 50% by the father, and 58% by the doctor, and 73% felt that their [[human rights]] had been violated.<ref name="GSoCH">{{REFweb
|url=http://www.circumcisionharm.org/
|title=Global Survey of Circumcision Harm
|accessdate=2019-10-12
}}</ref>
* It can frequently be found that the loss is denied, much as happens with the loss of other body parts. This denial can lead to fathers having their sons [[circumcised]] in order not to be reminded of their own loss. In this process, their own body is defined as "normal" and the [[foreskin]] redefined as a foreign object. Their own parents are seen as "good", so that this image is projected onto the circumcision their parents carried out as well, in order to keep the positive emotion intact. The father wants to be a "good" father later in life as well, and so, following an idealised image of his own parents, circumcision, which has been redefined as a "good thing", is passed on to his son by having him [[circumcised]] as well.<ref>{{VanderKolkBA 1989}}</ref><ref>{{REFjournal
|last=Goldman
|init=R
|author-link=Ronald Goldman
|url=https://www.cirp.org/library/psych/goldman1/
|title=The psychological impact of circumcision
|journal=BJU Int
|date=1999
|volume=83
|issue=Suppl. 1
|pages=93-103
|accessdate=2019-10-12
}}</ref>
* If the [[circumcised]] male feels incomplete, or due to the missing [[foreskin]] disadvantaged compared to [[intact]] males, an inferiority complex and [[depression]] may occur. This can be accompanied by conscious recognition of his own incompleteness, or the deficiency may remain completely subconscious<ref>{{REFjournal
|last=Rhinehart
|init=J
|url=https://www.cirp.org/library/psych/rhinehart1/
|title=Neonatal circumcision reconsidered
|journal=Transactional Analysis J
|date=1999
|volume=29
|issue=3
|pages=215-21
|accessdate=2019-10-12
}}</ref>. In an online study, 75% of those interviewed stated that they felt incomplete, and 66% said they felt inferior compared with [[intact]] males.<ref name="GSoCH"/>
* Cases in which children felt ill treated or punished have been documented as well. G. Cansever found in her study on 12 boys aged between 4 and 7 years, who had previously been prepared for their impending circumcision, that the children experienced the operation as an aggressive assault on their bodies.<ref>{{REFjournal
|last=Cansever
|init=G
|date=1965
|url=https://www.cirp.org/library/psych/cansever/
|title=Psychological effects of circumcision
|journal=Brit. J. Med. Psychol
|volume=38
|pages=321-31
|pubmedID=5322308
|DOI=10.1111/j.2044-8341.1965.tb01314.x
|accessdate=2019-10-12
}}</ref>
* Fear of being alone or darkness.<ref name="Levy1945">{{REFjournal
|last=Levy
|first=David M.
|init=DM
|url=https://www.cirp.org/library/psych/levy1/
|title=Psychic trauma of operations in children; and a note on combat neurosis
|journal=American Journal of Diseases of Children
|volume=69
|date=1945
|pages=7-25
|accessdate=2019-10-12
}}</ref>
* Fear of doctors, clinics, and also closed rooms.<ref name="Levy1945"/>
* Relapse into the state of bed-wetting, even if the child was already dry before.<ref name="Levy1945"/>
* [[Circumcised]] males who become fathers frequently manifest [[adamant father syndrome]].

[[Intact America]] (2019) called circumcision an [[Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs)| adverse childhood experience]],<ref name-"bollinger2019">{{REFdocument
|title=Child genital cutting as an adverse childhood experience
|url=http://adversechildhoodexperiences.net/CGC_as_an_ACE.pdf
|last=Bollinger
|first=Dan
|author-link=Dan Bollinger
|last2=Chapin
|first2=Georganne
|author2-link=Georganne Chapin
|publisher=Intact America
|location=Tarrytown
|format=PDF
|date=2019-08
|accessdate=2021-11-02
}}</ref>

== Complications ==
=== Possible operative and postoperative complications ===
Circumcision is surgery. Surgical complications of circumcision generally may be classified as [[Bleeding| hemorrhage]], [[infection]], or surgical misadventure up to and including loss of the penis and [[death]].<ref name="deacon2022" /><ref name="williams-kapilla1993">{{REFjournal
|last=Williams
|init=N
|author-link=
|last2=Kapilla
|init2=L
|author2-link=
|etal=no
|title=Complications of circumcision
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal=Brit J Surg
|location=
|date=1993-10
|volume=80
|issue=10
|pages=1231-6
|url=https://www.cirp.org/library/complications/williams-kapila/
|quote=
|pubmedID=8242285
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=10.1002/bjs.1800801005
|accessdate=2019-11-27
}}</ref>

* Intolerance or allergic reactions to the narcotics used.
* Especially in newborns, where the bodily pain reduction mechanisms are not yet fully developed, local anaesthesia is often insufficient for the operation. Even in conjunction with regional anaesthesia of the dorsal nerve of the [[penis]], the rate of failure to provide sufficient anaesthetic even for experienced anaesthetists is still 5-10%. The general anaesthesia that would be needed for newborns, however, poses significant risks for the child, and, therefore, is only likely to be used in emergencies. A surgical operation without proper [[pain]] control can lead to the development of a specific pain memory<ref>{{REFweb
|url=http://www.spiegel.de/spiegel/vorab/experte-warnt-rituelle-beschneidung-veraendert-das-gehirn-der-kinder-a-849534.html
|title=Kinderschmerz-Experte warnt: Rituelle Beschneidung verändert das Gehirn der Kinder
|trans-title=Children's pain expert warns: Ritual circumcision changes the brain of children
|language=German
|last=Prof. Dr. med. Boris Zernikow
|first=
|publisher=Spiegel Online
|website=
|date=2012-08-12
|accessdate=2019-10-11
|format=
|quote=
}}</ref>. In unsedated and partially sedated infants increased secretion of the stress hormone cortisol could be observed for months after the operation. Overall, their pain threshold was lower and the risk of chronic pain increased. Regardless of these findings, infant circumcisions with insufficient or no anaesthetic are still common practice<ref>{{REFjournal
|last=Garry
|init=T
|title=Circumcision: a survey of fees and practices
|journal=OBG Management
|date=1994
|volume=October
|issue=
|pages=34-6
|url=
|accessdate=
}}</ref><ref>{{REFjournal
|last=Howard
|init=CR
|last2=Howard
|init2=FM
|last3=Garfunkel
|init3=LC
|last4=de Blieck
|init4=EA
|last5=Weitzman
|init5=M
|title=Neonatal circumcision and pain relief: current training practices
|journal=Pediatrics
|date=1998
|volume=101
|issue=
|pages=423-8
|url=
|accessdate=
}}</ref><ref>{{REFjournal
|last=Stang
|init=HJ
|last2=Snellman
|init2=LW
|title=Circumcision practice patterns in the United States
|journal=Pediatrics
|date=1998
|volume=101
|issue=e5
|pages=
|url=
|accessdate=
|note=Link to [[AAP]] website
}}</ref>. During procedures which take several minutes, babies tend to fall into a state of stupor, which in the past was falsely interpreted as peaceful sleep, nurturing the belief that babies felt no pain. Measurements taken in those cases revealed a typically 3- to 4-fold increase in cortisol levels, which equals a state of severe [[shock]].<ref>{{REFjournal
|last=Gunnar
|init=MR
|last2=Fisch
|init2=RO
|last3=Korsvik
|init3=S
|last4=Donhowe
|init4=JM
|title=The effects of circumcision on serum cortisol and behavior
|journal=Psychoneuroendocrinology
|date=1981
|volume=6
|issue=3
|pages=269-75
|url=https://www.cirp.org/library/pain/gunnar/
|accessdate=2019-11-26
}}</ref>
* Postoperative wound pain, in the case of children's circumcisions conceivably worsened by the forceful breaking of the preputial adhesions.
* Postoperative pain from the exposure of the sensitive glans penis to clothing. This pain will endure for several weeks or even longer in some cases.
* Postoperative [[bleeding]] of the wound. This can have severe consequences especially for very young infants, if they are not treated promptly. Their blood volume is only about 85 ml per kilogram of body weight, and even moderate blood loss can lead to hypovolaemia, hypovolaemic [[shock]] and even death.<ref>{{REFbook
|last=
|first=
|year=2000
|title=Paediatric Handbook
|url=
|work=
|editors=Smart J, Nolan T.
|edition=6
|volume=
|chapter=
|page=82
|location={{AUSC|VIC}}, Australia
|publisher=Blackwell Science Asia
|isbn=
|quote=
|accessdate=
|note=
}}</ref><ref>{{REFdocument
|title=Autopsy of Demetrius Manker
|url=
|contribution=Case 93-1711
|last=Wetli
|first=CV
|publisher=Miami: Dade County Medical Examiner Department
|format=
|date=1993-06-23
|accessdate=
}}</ref> <ref>{{REFjournal
|last=Hiss
|init=J
|last2=Horowitz
|init2=A
|last3=Kahana
|init3=T
|title=Fatal haemorrhage following male ritual circumcision
|journal=J Clin Forensic Med
|date=2000
|volume=7
|issue=
|pages=32-4
|url=https://www.cirp.org/library/death/hiss1/
|accessdate=2019-11-06
}}</ref><ref>{{REFdocument
|title=Judgement of inquiry into the death of McWillis, Ryleigh Roman Bryan
|url=http://www.circumstitions.com/death-exsang.html
|contribution=
|last=Newell
|first=TEC
|publisher=Burnaby, B.C.: B.C. Coroner's Service
|format=
|date=2004-01-19
|accessdate=2019-11-26
}}</ref>
* Post operative [[lymphoedema]].
* Postoperative [[Infection| infections]]. This includes both local infections, which can be treated with local therapy, and systemic infections, requiring systemic antibiotic treatment.<ref>{{REFconference
|last=Dr. med. Hartmann
|first=Wolfgang
|url=
|place=Rechtsausschuss des Bundestages [Legal Committee of the Bundestag] (German)
|title=Stellungnahme zur Anhörung am 26. November 2012 [Opinion on the hearing on 26 November 2012] (German)
|date=2012-11-26
|accessdate=
}}</ref>
* [[Wound dehiscence]], meaning the separation of the edges of the wound or the tissue after suturing.
* Adhesion between the surface or rim of the [[Glans penis|glans]] with the neighbouring [[penile skin]], causing [[skin]] pockets and bridges, as well as visually unpleasant results like uneven scars, which make a re-circumcision necessary.
* Postoperative [[phimosis]]: a phimotic ring can develop during scarring, which makes a re-circumcision necessary. According to a study by Blalock et al.<ref>{{REFjournal
|last=Blalock
|init=HJ
|last2=Vemulakonda
|init2=V
|last3=Ritchey
|init3=ML
|last4=Ribbeck
|init4=M
|title=Outpatient management of [[phimosis]] Following newborn circumcision
|journal=J Urol
|date=2003
|volume=169
|issue=6
|pages=2332-4
|url=https://www.cirp.org/library/complications/blalock1/
|accessdate=2019-11-26
}}</ref>, the prevalence is 2.9%, according to Leitch<ref>{{REFjournal
|last=Leitch
|init=IOW
|title=Circumcision - a continuing enigma
|journal=Aust Paediatr J
|date=1970
|volume=6
|issue=
|pages=59-65
|url=https://www.cirp.org/library/general/leitch1/
|accessdate=2019-12-15
}}</ref> 5.5%.
* [[Sudden Infant Death Syndrome]] (SIDS).
* Knot formation of the veins. If the dorsal vein, which originates in the tip of the [[foreskin]], is cut during circumcision without being clamped and sutured at its origin separately, it starts to develop new branches over time, which can lead to the development of knots.
* Possible deformities due to circumcision include hypoplasia of the [[penis]] (micro-penis) and induratio [[penis]] plastica (skewed penis).
* Medical malpractice can also not be ruled out. Injuries, partly or entirely severing the [[Glans penis|glans]] or the [[penis]] can occur.
* In rare cases, [[necrosis]], gangrene, ischaemia, keloid formation, and circulatory problems may also occur.
* When the circumcision is followed by the ultra-orthodox Jewish ritual of Metzitzah B'Peh (which consists of sucking blood from the wound with the mouth), there is a risk of infection with [[herpes]] simplex type 1, which can lead to brain damage or [[death]].<ref>{{REFweb
|url=http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/08/nyregion/infants-death-renews-debate-over-a-circumcision-ritual.html?_r=0
|title=Baby’s Death Renews Debate Over a Circumcision Ritual
|last=Robbins
|first=Liz
|date=2012-03-07
|accessdate=2019-10-11
}}</ref>
=== Death ===
There is indeed a risk of [[death]] from non-therapeutic neonatal circumcision,<ref name="garrett2024-01-09" /> although the [[circumcision industry]] takes care to not reveal it.
A study in 2010 estimated approximately 117 neonatal circumcision-related [[Death| deaths]] occur annually in the [[United States]], about one out of every 77 male neonatal deaths, more than suffocation, auto accidents, or even [[SIDS]].<ref name="Bollinger 2010">{{REFjournal
|last=Bollinger
|first=Dan
|init=D
|author-link=Dan Bollinger
|last2=Boy's Health Advisory
|title=Lost Boys: An Estimate of U.S. Circumcision-Related Infant Deaths
|journal=Thymos: Journal of Boyhood Studies
|volume=4
|issue=1
|pages=78-90
|url=http://www.mensstudies.com/content/b64n267w47m333x0/?p=7ebbd6b446d940cbbd4274c095754b12π=5
|quote=
|pubmedID=
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=10.3149/thy.0401.78
|date=2010-04-26
|accessdate=2019-10-12
}}</ref><ref>{{REFweb
|url=http://www.icgi.org/2010/04/infant-circumcision-causes-100-deaths-each-year-in-us
|title=Infant circumcision causes 100 deaths each year in US
|last=
|first=
|publisher=ICGI
|website=[[International Coalition for Genital Integrity]]
|date=2010-04-26
|accessdate=
}}</ref> See also the list of [[fatalities]].

== Forced circumcision ==

=== Non-therapeutic circumcision of male children ===

Human babies, because they are not yet in possession of language, are incapable of giving or refusing consent to be [[circumcised]]. The element of force has led some scholars to view the circumcision of baby boys as a category of forced circumcision.<ref>For example, Frederick M. Hodges, a medical historian, writes: "In the late 1970s, as the Americans were growing increasingly aware of the abuses of power rampant throughout the nation's social institutions, influential grass-roots movements protesting the forced circumcision of American children sprang up nationwide." F. Hodges, "A Short History," p. 31; see also [[Leonard B. Glick|Glick]], ''Marked in Your Flesh'', pp. 273-281.</ref> There are, however, physicians in the United States who argue strongly for non-therapeutic circumcision of newborn babies; and circumcision is widely accepted as a postnatal procedure in American hospitals.<ref>{{REFbook
|last=Fletcher
|first=Christopher R.
|init=CR
|year=1999
|title=Circumcision in America in 1998: Attitudes, Beliefs, and Charges of American Physicians
|url=http://www.springerlink.com/content/h2150v731233m177/
|work=Male and Female Circumcision
|editors=[[George C. Denniston]], [[Frederick M. Hodges]], [[Marilyn Fayre Milos]]
|edition=
|volume=
|chapter=Section 5
|pages=259-71
|location=New York
|publisher=Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publishers
|isbn=
|quote=
|accessdate=2019-10-12
|note=ID 10.1007/978-0-585-39937-9_19
}}</ref> Parental consent is required.<ref>See, e.g., Shephard and Shephard, ''The Complete Guide'', p. 125.</ref> A statement published by the [[American Academy of Pediatrics]] in 1999 claimed that "parents should determine what is in the best interest of the child... It is legitimate for parents to take into account cultural, religious, and ethnic traditions, in additions to the medical factors, when making a decision."<ref>Lannon and Bailey, "Circumcision Policy Statement," p. 691.</ref> however surrogate consent for non-therapeutic circumcision is now viewed as unethical.<ref name-"myers2020">{{REFjournal
|last=Myers
|first=
|init=A
|author-link=Alex Myers
|last2=Earp
|first2=
|init2=BD
|author2-link=Brian D. Earp
|etal=no
|title=What is the best age to circumcise? A medical and ethical analysis
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal=Bioethics
|location=
|date=2020
|volume=34
|issue=7
|pages=645-63
|url=https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Brian-Earp-2/publication/337720859_What_Is_the_Best_Age_to_Circumcise_A_Medical_and_Ethical_Analysis/links/5f815f61a6fdccfd7b555395/What-Is-the-Best-Age-to-Circumcise-A-Medical-and-Ethical-Analysis.pdf
|archived=
|quote=Based on a careful consideration of the relevant evidence, arguments and counterarguments, we conclude that medically unnecessary penile circumcision-like other medically unnecessary genital procedures, such as 'cosmetic' labiaplasty-should not be performed on individuals who are too young (or otherwise unable) to provide meaningful consent to the procedure.
|pubmedID=32068898
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=
|doi=10.1111/bioe.12714
|format=PDF
|accessdate=2026-02-03
}}</ref>

In the [[United Kingdom]], where non-therapeutic circumcision has now become far less prevalent than in the [[United States]], the written consent of both parents is required, if a physician is to perform a non-therapeutic circumcision of a child.<ref>{{REFjournal
|last=
|first=
|title=Re J (child's religious upbringing and circumcision)
|journal=Family Court Reports
|date=2000
|volume=1
|issue=
|pages=307-14
|url=https://www.cirp.org/library/legal/Re_J/2000.html
|accessdate=2019-10-12
}}</ref> (The National Health Service does not provide non-therapeutic circumcision.)

In recent years, legal writers in several English-speaking countries have been questioning the practice of acceding to parental wishes.<ref>See, e.g., [[Margaret A. Somerville|Somerville]], "Therapeutic and Non-Therapeutic Medical Procedures"; Poulter, ''English Criminal Law''; [[Abbie Chessler|Chessler]], "Justifying the Unjustifiable"; Smith, "Male Circumcision."</ref> For example, critics have pointed out that, in the [[United States]], more than 1.3% of male neonatal deaths are attributable to the complications of non-therapeutic circumcision surgery.<ref name="Bollinger 2010"/>

==Recommendations of medical authorities==
* [[George Hill| Hill]] (2007) said:
<blockquote>
Male circumcision is harmful because it excises healthy tissue and permanently destroys beneﬁcial, protective, immunonological, sexual, and sensory physiological functions. Male circumcision also causes psychological problems that tend to perpetuate the cycle of abuse. Male circumcision is a costly diversion of medical resources away from beneﬁcial services. Male circumcision violates legal rights, [[human rights]], and ethical standards. Finally, we must remember that males are the more vulnerable and sensitive of the two genders and, therefore, deserve the greater degree of protection from traumatic, invasive, injurious,and unnecessary surgery. For all of these reasons the non-therapeutic circumcision of boys should not be performed and the [[genital integrity]] of all children should be respected and protected.<ref name="hill2007">{{REFjournal
|last=Hill
|first=George
|init=G
|author-link=George Hill
|title=The case against circumcision
|journal=Journal of Men's Health and Gender
|date=2007
|volume=4
|issue=3
|pages=318-23
|url=https://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/document?repid=rep1&type=pdf&doi=04ace5046cc27f01b8fbe4aa359c059778983912
|quote=
|pubmedID=
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=
|format=PDF
|accessdate=2025-04-22
}}</ref>
</blockquote>
* Andrew E. MacNeiiy, Head, Division of Pediatric Urology, Department of Urological Sciences, {{UNI|University of British Columbia|UBC}}, Vancouver, BC, (2008) said:
<blockquote>
Newborn circumcision remains an area of controversy. Social, cultural, aesthetic and religious pressures form the most common reasons for non-therapeutic circumcision. Although penile cancer and UTIs are reduced compared with uncircumcised males, the incidence of such illness is so low that circumcision cannot be justified as prophylaxis. The role of the foreskin in [[HIV]] transmission in developed countries is unclear, and safe sexual practice remains the cornerstone of prevention. There remains a lack of knowledge regarding what constitutes the normal foreskin both among parents and among primary care providers. This lack of knowledge results in a burden of costs to our health care system in the form of unnecessary urological referrals, expansion of wait times and circumcisions. Routine circumcision of all infants is not justified from a health or cost-benefit perspective.<ref>{{REFjournal
|last=MacNeily
|first=Andrew
|init=
|author-link=
|etal=no
|title=Routine circumcision: the opposing view
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal=Can Urol Assoc J
|location=
|date=2007-11
|volume=1
|issue=4
|article=
|page=
|pages=395-7
|url=http://europepmc.org/article/PMC/2422979
|pubmedID=18542825
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=10.5489/cuaj.455
|accessdate=2021-11-08
}}</ref>
</blockquote>

* The [[Royal Dutch Medical Association]] (KNMG) (2010) said:

<blockquote>
The official viewpoint of KNMG and other related medical/scientific organisations is that non-therapeutic circumcision of male minors is a violation of children’s rights to autonomy and physical integrity. Contrary to popular belief, circumcision can cause complications – [[bleeding]], infection, [[urethra]]l stricture and panic attacks are particularly common. KNMG is therefore urging a strong policy of deterrence. KNMG is calling upon doctors to actively and insistently inform parents who are considering the procedure of the absence of medical benefits and the danger of complications.<ref>{{REFdocument
|title=Non-therapeutic circumcision of male minors
|url=https://www.doctorsopposingcircumcision.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/knmg-non-therapeutic-circumcision-of-male-minors-27-05-2010.pdf
|contribution=
|last=
|first=
|publisher=Royal Dutch Medical Association
|format=PDF
|date=2010
|accessdate=2021-11-08
}}</ref>
</blockquote>

* The [[Royal Australasian College of Physicians]] (2010) said:

<blockquote>
Ethical and [[human rights]] concerns have been raised regarding elective infant male
circumcision because it is recognised that the foreskin has a functional role, the operation
is non-therapeutic and the infant is unable to consent.

After reviewing the currently available evidence, the RACP believes that the frequency of
diseases modifiable by circumcision, the level of protection offered by circumcision and the
complication rates of circumcision do not warrant routine infant circumcision in Australia
and New Zealand. However it is reasonable for parents to weigh the benefits and risks of
circumcision and to make the decision whether or not to circumcise their sons.<ref name="racp2010">{{REFdocument
|title=Circumcision of Infant Males
|url=https://www.racp.edu.au//docs/default-source/advocacy-library/circumcision-of-infant-males.pdf
|contribution=
|last=
|first=
|publisher=The Royal Australasian College of Physicians
|format=PDF
|date=2010-09-01
|accessdate=2021-11-08
}}</ref>
</blockquote>

* The [[American Academy of Pediatrics]] (AAP) has not re-affirmed its disastrous, failed 2012 Circumcision Policy Statement, which expired in 2017, so currently has no position on child circumcision.

* Medical historian [[Robert Darby]] (2014) wrote simply:
<blockquote>
"To avoid circumcision complications, avoid circumcision."<ref>{{REFjournal
|last=Darby
|first=
|init=R
|author-link=Robert Darby
|etal=no
|title=To avoid circumcision complications, avoid circumcision
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal=Can Urol Assoc J
|location=
|date=2014-08-14
|volume=8
|issue=7-8
|article=
|page=231
|pages=
|url=https://cuaj.ca/index.php/journal/article/view/1709/1823
|archived=
|quote=
|pubmedID=
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=10.5489/cuaj.1709
|accessdate=2022-12-16
}}</ref>
</blockquote>
* The [[Canadian Paediatric Society]] (CPS) (2015) said:

<blockquote>In most jurisdictions, authority is limited only to interventions deemed to be medically necessary. In cases in which medical necessity is not established or a proposed treatment is based on personal preference, interventions should be deferred until the individual concerned is able to make their own choices.<ref name="CPS2015">{{REFjournal
|last=Sorokin
|first=S. Todd
|init=ST
|author-link=
|last2=Finlay
|first2=JC
|author2-link=
|last3=Jeffries
|first3=AL
|author3-link=
|etal=yes
|title=Newborn male circumcision
|journal=Paediatr Child Health
|location=
|date=2015-08
|volume=20
|issue=6
|pages=311-20
|url=https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4578472/
|quote=
|pubmedID=26435672
|pubmedCID=4578472
|DOI=10.1093/pch/20.6.311
|accessdate=2019-10-27
}}
</ref></blockquote>

* The [[Canadian Urological Association]] (CUA) considered the matter of circumcision and issued a statement in February 2018. The CUA concluded:

<blockquote>"Given the socioeconomic, educational status, and health demographics of our population, universal neonatal circumcision cannot be justified based on the current evidence available.<ref name="cua2018">{{REFjournal
|last=Dave
|first=Sumit
|init=S
|author-link=
|etal=yes
|title=Canadian Urological Association guideline on the care of the normal foreskin and neonatal circumcision in Canadian infants (abridged version)
|journal=Can Urol Assoc J
|location=
|date=2018-02
|volume=12
|issue=2
|pages=18-28
|url=https://cuaj.ca/index.php/journal/article/view/5034/3470
|quote=
|pubmedID=
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=
|accessdate=2021-11-09
}}</ref></blockquote>

==British family court opinion==
The issue of non-therapeutic circumcision of male children came before the court in the case of ''[[Re B and G (children) (No 2) EWFC 3]] (2015)'' . In that case, Judge Sir James Munby ruled that circumcision of male children caused ''significant harm''.
== Rights and ethics ==

The [[Rights situation on circumcision|rights situation]] is discussed in a separate article.

[[Image:Intact vs circumcised.JPG |thumbnail|right|300px| The intact and circumcised human penis, side by side.]]

The term "circumcision" without a gender qualifier refers specifically to male circumcision. It means "to cut around," and it refers to the [[excision]] of the [[foreskin]] from the penis. The term is inaccurate and a euphemism because the operation actually cuts off or [[amputation| amputates]] the [[foreskin]], which in adults comprises about fifteen square inches of highly functional erogenous tissue.

Circumcision is most often performed in healthy males for [[Religion and Culture|religious or cultural]] reasons. The procedure may be performed on consenting adults, but it is most often performed on non-consenting minors, particularly newborn children, which is why the ritual is so controversial. Opponents of circumcision consider the circumcision of non-consenting minors to be unethical and a [[human rights]] violation, unless there is concrete [[medical indication]].
=== Consent by surrogates ===
Medical ethics has long recognized limitations on the power of consent by surrogates.<ref>{{REFjournal
|last=Committee on Bioethics, American Academy of Pediatrics
|etal=no
|title= Informed consent, parental permission, and assent in pediatric practice
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal=Pediatrics
|location=
|date=1995
|volume=95
|issue=2
|article=
|page=
|pages=314-17
|url=https://www.cirp.org/library/ethics/AAP/
|archived=
|quote=
|pubmedID=7478854
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=
|accessdate=2023-05-21
}}</ref> <ref>{{REFjournal
|last=Committee on Bioethics
|etal=no
|title=Informed Consent in Decision-Making in Pediatric Practice
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal=Pediatrics
|location=
|date=2016-08
|volume=138
|issue=2
|article=
|page=e20161485
|pages=
|url=https://watermark.silverchair.com/peds_20161485.pdf?token=AQECAHi208BE49Ooan9kkhW_Ercy7Dm3ZL_9Cf3qfKAc485ysgAAApwwggKYBgkqhkiG9w0BBwagggKJMIIChQIBADCCAn4GCSqGSIb3DQEHATAeBglghkgBZQMEAS4wEQQM8zYHFd0Ylu9Annq_AgEQgIICT24ikc839aJMYOiypqC2G9f7_yKGAGkAekzzbCtck5TElALWVCGNoVSOaA6rDA_dOkQ_LyJnxYlZ88J9-uk15tvlIBbE82_aNyYfq5e9xmEfqD2vh374q3Naz57dxZaUbgxUkKX4PqsiLmYHLvVrr7bQK2MZuuUOKiQU8JZy7lLjkp-PjJO1U9cyIplTAgs_EdvgK8MWWoIsj-X-ZUDImAG63-rlj_qLsy5dYwytmxfCuVa47RdZseLSr2_bdDpwKAKGhq_Ly9rlHZeW_f7fYktVfF_sFTgcJziAlvEQmdyWIw0qf-hlO31Qb3sH6kDdcvHAbm7llY5xa34XLYIt8QR0YFIimgDGFliN4-ce2vjvvrwS85WeeNFhpn-Ywn4Qjpy06hPuLDL-MtI2Z3BZbBsKq4dp8qGu1q9GlXaKw193riTFG9G5bF5GCKmxmt0nCQTthrb_CcK2UhKjZwPekC9zkIUHPZ9BXJt0SM03F_g-GgqbE0hTYKMqNdJ3sHDQu2luFrJ9JEiMzxtP28gJoYh20d2APA0xrRbXBYsFdAlr50gb1BSAbNJhTyx-Kh3geoSHsAYMjPaG7cIbh0jd42pWCUx30vjlAGK8zXTuf7-31oi81CLbHTAJLuzK3NT4Whi17jVq1SbXsIXlWpKc_d-HujCvlb74rkZQ6RG9wkxW7gAKaDqtKv5zTOTMBD9vLVxgp8lDmVA8PFB59Bqd6w-fi86tW132oWQM-mTfwdIBXFbUFXkeTUC5RYyqJQIXAEwLJSRm1RX-LRbKRzgaRQ
|archived=
|quote=
|pubmedID=27456510
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=10.1542/peds.2016-1485
|format=PDF
|accessdate=2023-05-21
}}</ref> <ref>{{REFjournal
|last=Committee on Bioethics
||etal=no
|title=Informed Consent in Decision-Making in Pediatric Practice
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal=Pediatrics
|location=
|date=2016-08
|volume=138
|issue=2
|article=
|page=e20161484
|pages=
|url=https://watermark.silverchair.com/peds_20161484.pdf?token=AQECAHi208BE49Ooan9kkhW_Ercy7Dm3ZL_9Cf3qfKAc485ysgAAApwwggKYBgkqhkiG9w0BBwagggKJMIIChQIBADCCAn4GCSqGSIb3DQEHATAeBglghkgBZQMEAS4wEQQMYv3coRY-UCYMgTaqAgEQgIICT4di03qn2Hbho3i8Li_78lod0lNMunch25nx1rKvaM_aeFerz5eN6_k8VVeNv-DLocZp28whQr1x4WYDVwSs4uF73vZpYZYuDphYQkwxV1HHgMbZAbHBFuE8QyCHyDvSY-fhQcUl-JrYxa3TbhYgd4bKiU9zfIyXUsCnItroCc9iNrMicPg0v_A0AJJlhxioOlAU-im6OPI06OcCBj78yqkPO0J4nMTN1FLochsOyvZZdtFQQzLhrnM_Gey8K75lFYIBJHA7uzMmP2o5KZ-FTGUkEA_eSpEIpwv2WI4SbtrA8WYk3cQqXOmLIWjkSs9CTELD7CQP29xarr1ANrF_id4CiCX7zIomC2Ciz9lHBEgz8EH2i9Woke_YuZeLax52_6JpdhH1qdMQyF1bByjP8mU98V5_B4BPPiBpKt4pVA_UgtaABRHL8oPv6SwOUQZ2Bc-0_E2tod0VIF1FJBwZRZJm2ZkJPgBSKUo8VBe5Pz_6Vpt2DqLzwqVUYscPsIJMvxl09mMtvJrsBa8yVoTRWj4Rd0OBTMV7zhZskDnYYyrAZ6sHMk0MzvbHilPNbNgU5o7mXmcbFGDgGgWbqrIdT6sVSSfPJm4TnR0HSWbc_EnHhhyye7tVlFGjAsR0R46_DSwEMz8M5DkSln8xfKtX_so9rjCvYeq45wqn09g8DqtV-WHEA9PIrcw5kTcz5I0JkNuW4-vKVU1Xz9XHiYi4Zqbq0vx9NWLdNSYHQSOGMZ1MCAxT152evQdipQB5wokR8Q4rICoJYII5bsmRMYd7JQ
|archived=
|quote=
|pubmedID=27456514
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=10.1542/peds.2016-1484
|format=PDF
|accessdate=2023-05-21
}}</ref>

Two ethicists, Myers & Earp (2020), have conducted a detailed review and analysis of the claimed medical benefits of ''non-therapeutic'' [[circumcision]]. They have determined than the alleged benefits are not material, so they do not support granting of consent by a surrogate. In other words, ''Non-therapeutic'' circumcision is not truly healthcare. Moreover, they comment that even the most perfectly executed surgery produces [[trauma]] and harm to the patient. Circumcision also produces tissue loss and loss of function, therefore, circumcision should be performed only after the individual reaches the age of consent. Consent by a surrogate for a ''non-therapeutic'' circumcision of a minor child is an unethical practice.<ref name="myers2020">{{REFjournal
|last=Myers
|first=
|init=A
|author-link=
|last2=Earp
|first2=
|init2=BD
|author2-link=Brian D. Earp
|etal=no
|title=What is the best age to circumcise? A medical and ethical analysis
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal=J Biosoc Sci
|location=
|date=2020-09
|volume=34
|issue=7
|pages=560-72
|url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/bioe.12714
|archived=
|quote=
|pubmedID=32068898
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=10.1111/bioe.12714
|accessdate=2023-05-18
}}</ref>
== Tipping point ==
[[Intact America]] (2024) points out the need for reform in the American media false portrayal of infant circumcision as a benign procedure.<ref>{{REFweb
|url=https://intactamerica.org/truth-about-circumcision-media/
|title=The Dark Side of Circumcision: Why the Media Needs to Speak Up
|last=Alissa
|first=Kristel
|init=
|author-link=
|publisher=Intact America
|date=2024-09-12
|accessdate=2024-09-13
}}</ref>

Jacobsen et al. (2021) used data from 2003 through 2016 from the Kid's Inpatient Database of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality to compare [[intact]] with [[circumcised]] boys in the first 28 days of life. The authors reported a gradual declining trend in the incidence of neonatal non-therapeutic [[circumcision]] throughout the study period. The overall incidence of circumcision decreased from 57.4 percent in 2003 to 52.1 percent in 2016 over the 13-year study period or 5.3 percentage points for an average decrease of 0.4 percentage point per year. The authors noted "neonatal circumcision rates decreased significantly over time."<ref name="jacobson2021">{{REFjournal
|last=Jacobson
|first=Deborah L.
|init=
|author-link=
|last2=Balmert
|first2=Lauren C.
|init2=
|author2-link=
|last3=Holl
|first3=Jane L.
|init3=
|author3-link=
|last4=Rosoklija
|first4=Ilina
|init4=
|author4-link=
|last5=Davis
|first5=Matthew M.
|init5=
|author5-link=
|last6=Johnson
|first6Emilie K.
|init6=
|author6-link=
|etal=no
|title=Nationwide Circumcision Trends: 2003 to 2016
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal=J Urol
|location=
|date=2021-01
|volume=205
|issue=1
|pages=257-63
|url=https://www.auajournals.org/doi/abs/10.1097/JU.0000000000001316
|pubmedID=32716676
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=10.1097/JU.0000000000001316
|accessdate=2025-10-02
}}</ref>

Yang et al. (2025) report a "significant" decline in the incidence of circumcision over a ten-year period and that only a minority of American boys are being [[circumcised]] in the newborn period since 2022. The authors reported a decline of 1/2 of one percent per year. <ref name="yang2025" /> Although the incidence of [[circumcision of the newborn]] has been gradually declining for decades, this is the first study to report an overall incidence of less than fifty percent. Based on this new information, we can now report that [[intactness]] is now the NORM among the newborn boys of America. The decline in circumcision popularity is expected to continue.

[[Intact America]] is tracking the opposition to [[circumcision]] in the [[United States]]. It reports [https://www.instagram.com/p/DKVZQGTRl77/ steadily increasing opposition] to [[child circumcision]].

We note that [[Australia]] reported a significant improvement in child health when the incidence of circumcision declined in that nation.<ref>{{REFweb
|url=https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/children-youth/australias-children-in-brief/summary
|title=Australia’s children: in brief
|last=Anonymous
|first=
|init=
|author-link=
|publisher=Australian Institute of Health and Welfare
|pubmedID=
ISBN=978-1-76054-659-5
|DOI=10.25816/5e152818d082c
|date=2019-12-17
|accessdate=2025-09-17
}}</ref>

==Video==
===This should be a crime.===
<youtube>v=ob4OADNIidc</youtube>
{{SEEALSO}}
* [[Aggravated battery]]
* [[Circumcision bullet-points for parents]]
* [[Foreskin comment]]
* [[Fusions and adhesions]]
* [[Neurotomy]]
{{LINKS}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://www.prweb.com/releases/new-survey-parents-lack-basic-understanding-about-circumcision-dangers-skin-in-the-game-campaign-launches-to-raise-awareness-about-this-unnecessary-medical-practice-301987509.html
|title=New Survey: Parents Lack Basic Understanding About Circumcision Dangers; 'Skin in the Game' Campaign Launches to Raise Awareness About This Unnecessary Medical Practice
|last=Anonymous
|first=
|init=
|author-link=
|publisher=Intact America
|date=2023-11-14
|accessdate=2025-12-07
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://www.reddit.com/r/NewBorn/comments/u9c5og/questions_for_baby_boi_do_you_circumcised_your/
|title=Questions for baby boi do you circumcised your baby or leave it?
|last=Anonymous
|publisher=REDDIT
|date=2021
|accessdate=2025-11-22
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://www.reddit.com/r/self/comments/ljwpfe/why_i_hate_being_circumcised/
|title=Why I hate being circumcised
|last=Anonymous
|first=
|init=
|author-link=
|publisher=REDDIT
|date=2020
|accessdate=2025-11-01
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://www.reddit.com/r/foreskin_restoration/comments/1pjzoqz/circumcision_will_end_this_century/
|title=Circumcision will end this century
|last=Anonymous
|publisher=REDDIT
|date=2025-12-11
|accessdate=2025-12-11
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://www.reddit.com/r/intactinfo/comments/1qe1kkl/the_neurological_cost_of_circumcision_a_breakdown/
|title=The Neurological Cost of Circumcision, A Breakdown of What's Removed
|last=Anonymous
|first=
|init=
|author-link=
|publisher=REDDIT
|date=2026-01-15
|accessdate=2026-01-16
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://www.reddit.com/r/uncircumcised_talk/comments/1rawx5e/my_wife_and_i_agree_to_leave_our_son_intact/
|title=My wife and I agree - to leave our son intact
|last=Anonymous
|publisher=REDDIT
|date=2026-02-21
|accessdate=2026-02-21
}}
The following external link is of especial interest. Hundreds of contemporary parents have expressed their views in the comments regarding non-therapeutic circumcision of newborn infant boys:
* {{REFweb
|url=https://www.reddit.com/r/NewDads/comments/1u3wcun/circumcision/
|title=Circumcision
|last=Anonymous
|publisher=REDDIT
|date=2026-06-12
|accessdate=2026-06-17
}}
{{REF}}

[[Category:Body modification]]
[[Category:Circumcision]]
[[Category:Education]]
[[Category:Foreskin anatomy]]
[[Category:Parental information]]
[[Category:Sociology]]

Aggravated battery

2026-07-12T20:00:00Z

WikiModEn2: /* Circumcision? */ Add citations.

'''{{FULLPAGENAME}}''' is the legal term for an [https://legaldictionary.net/battery/ act of battery], when it "is committed with intent to do serious harm or murder", or when it is done with a dangerous weapon. A weapon is considered dangerous whenever the purpose for using it is to cause death or serious harm. State statutes define aggravated battery in various ways—such as assault with intent to kill. Under such statutes, assault means both battery and assault. It is punishable as a [https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/felony felony] in all states."<ref>{{REFweb
|url=https://legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/Aggravated+battery
|title=Battery
|last=Anonymous
|first=
|init=
|publisher=The Free Dictionary by Farlex
|date=
|accessdate=2026-07-11
}}</ref>

Samantha-Rae Tuthil (2023) commented:
<blockquote>
"Aggravated battery This is a much more serious charge. Like a simple battery, the prosecution must prove that you intended to make contact with the victim, that the victim did not consent, and that the victim suffered some kind of harm. In addition, they will usually need to prove that you intended to cause harm. An even more serious degree of aggravated battery will require great bodily harm. Permanent disfigurement, serious bodily injury, permanent disability, or possible risk of death are some of the ways an injury is considered great bodily harm. Sometimes, if you use a dangerous weapon or a deadly weapon like a gun or a knife in the battery, it will automatically count as aggravated, even without grave bodily harm. If the circumstances are severe enough, you could face an attempted murder charge or a sentencing enhancement."<ref name="tuthil2023">{{REFweb
|url=https://www.lawinfo.com/resources/criminal-defense/aggravated-battery/
|title=Aggravated Battery
|last=Tuthil
|first=Samantha-Rae
|init=
|author-link=
|publisher=LawInfo
|website=https://www.lawinfo.com
|date=2023-12-21
|accessdate=2026-07-11
}}</ref>
</blockquote>
==Circumcision?==
Does the medically-not-indicated, non-therapeutic [[amputation]] of a healthy [[foreskin]] from the [[penis]] of a minor boy without his consent constitute aggravated battery?

Circumcision is the Biblical euphemism used by the [[circumcision industry]] to promote the harmful, irreversible surgical excision and [[amputation]] of the [[foreskin]] (AKA prepuce) of the [[penis]] of a human male. The harmful amputation causes [[MGM| genital mutilation]], permanent disfigurement, and permanent loss of function,<ref name="andersen2025">{{REFjournal
|last=Andersen-Giberson
|init=D
|author-link=Dale Andersen
|url=https://cdd.journals.yorku.ca/index.php/cdd/article/view/39786/36016
|title=Circumcision and forced disability: Routine male neonatal circumcision and the consequences of amputation within a critical disability studies framework
|journal=Critical Disability Discourses
|date=2025-12
|volume=10
|issue=2
|pages=1-37
|URL=https://cdd.journals.yorku.ca/index.php/cdd/article/view/39786/36016
|DOI=https://doi.org/10.25071/1918-6215.39786
|quote=In a critical disability studies framework, it is argued that the act of amputating healthy erogenous tissue and the consequences of that amputation cause disability, particularly from a counter-hegemonic lens.
|format=PDF
|accessdate=2026-07-12
}}</ref> which causes an increase in medical issues,<ref name="fendereski2024">{{REFjournal
|last=Fendereski
|first=
|init=K
|author-link=
|last2=Horns
|first2=
|init2=JJ
|author2-link=
|last3=Driggs
|first3=
|init3=N
|author3-link=
|last4=Lau
|first4=
|init4=G
|author4-link=
|last5=Shaeffer
|first5=
|init5=AJ
|author5-link=
|etal=no
|title=Comparing Penile Problems in Circumcised vs. Uncircumcised Boys: Insights From a Large Commercial Claims Database With a Focus on Provider Type Performing Circumcision
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal=J Pediatr Surg
|date=2024-11
|volume=59
|issue=11
|article=161614
|url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S002234682400407X
|archived=
|quote=
|pubmedID=39084960
|pubmedCID=11486584
|DOI=10.1016/j.jpedsurg.2024.06.022
|accessdate=2025-01-03
}}</reF> degrades normal physiological sexual function,<ref name="cepeda2025">{{REFjournal
|last=Cepeda-Emiliani
|first=
|init=A
|author-link=Alfonso Cepeda-Emiliani
|last2=Otero-Alén
|first2=
|init2=M
|author2-link=
|last3=Suárez-Quintanilla
|first3=
|init3=J
|author3-link=
|last4=Gándara-Cortés
|first4=
|init4=M
|author4-link=
|last5=García-Caballero
|first5=
|init5=T
|author5-link=
|last6=García-Caballero
|first6=
|init6=R
|author6-link=
|last7=García-Caballero
|first7=
|init7=L
|author7-link=
|etal=no
|title=The sensory penis: A comprehensive immunohistological and ontogenetic exploration of human penile innervation
|trans-title=
|journal=Andrology
|date=2025-09-19
|volume=
|issue=
|article=
|pages=1-41
|url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/andr.70118
|archived=
|quote=
|pubmedID=40970806
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=10.1111/andr.70118
|accessdate=2026-07-12
}}</ref> and causes psychological issues.<ref name="tye2022"> {{REFjournal
|last=Tye
|first=
|init=MC
|author-link=
|last2=Sardi
|first2=
|init2=LM
|author2-link=Lauren Sardi
|etal=no
|title=Psychological, psychosocial, and psychosexual aspects of penile circumcision
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal=Int J Impot Res
|date=2023-05
|volume=35
|issue=3
|pages=242-8
|url=https://www.galdef.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/Tye-Sardi-Psycho-Aspects-of-Penile-Circumcision-IJIR-2022.pdf
|archived=
|quote=
|pubmedID=35347302
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=10.1038/s41443-022-00553-9
|format=PDF
|accessdate=2026-07-12
}}</ref>

Since boys are too young to grant consent, the American [[circumcision industry]] has traditionally relied on [[surrogate consent]], granted by a parental surrogate, for [[circumcision]], not the actual child victim, however parents do not have the right to harm their children, since the Supreme Court of the United States of America (1944) ruled:
<blockquote>
Parents may be free to become martyrs themselves. But it does not follow they are free, in identical circumstances, to make martyrs of their children before they have reached the age of full and legal discretion when they can make that choice for themselves.<ref>[https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/321/158/ Prince v Massachusetts], 21 U.S. 158, 159-60 (1944).</ref>
</blockquote>
Parental surrogates are denied the right to make that harmful choice for their children.<ref name="aap1995">{{REFjournal
|last=Committee on Bioethics
|etal=no
|title=Informed consent, parental permission, and assent in pediatric practice
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal=Pediatrics
|location=
|date=1995-02
|volume=95
|issue=2
|article=
|page=
|pages=314-7
|url=http://www.cirp.org/library/ethics/AAP/
|archived=
|quote=
|pubmedID=7838658
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=
|accessdate=2026-07-12
}}</ref><ref name="aviva2016">{{REFjournal
|last=Committee on Bioethics
|etal-no
|title=Informed Consent in Decision-Making in Pediatric Practice
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal=Pediatrics
|location=
|date=2016-08
|volume=138
|issue=2
|article=
|page=e20161484.
|pages=
|url=https://publications.aap.org/pediatrics/article/138/2/e20161484/52512/Informed-Consent-in-Decision-Making-in-Pediatric?autologincheck=redirected
|archived=
|quote=Continuing limits on the widespread use of pediatric assent/refusal makes this review and restatement of AAP policy important.
|pubmedID=27456514
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=
|doi=10.1542/peds.2016-1484
|accessdate=2026-07-12
}}</ref> [[Surrogate consent]] cannot be used to legalize or excuse the harmful aggravated battery of foreskin amputation.

If a non-therapeutic circumcision is to be done, then it must wait until the child patient reaches the legal age at which he can grant consent for himself.<ref name-"myers2020">{{REFjournal
|last=Myers
|first=
|init=A
|author-link=Alex Myers
|last2=Earp
|first2=
|init2=BD
|author2-link=Brian D. Earp
|etal=no
|title=What is the best age to circumcise? A medical and ethical analysis
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal=Bioethics
|location=
|date=2020
|volume=34
|issue=7
|pages=645-63
|url=https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Brian-Earp-2/publication/337720859_What_Is_the_Best_Age_to_Circumcise_A_Medical_and_Ethical_Analysis/links/5f815f61a6fdccfd7b555395/What-Is-the-Best-Age-to-Circumcise-A-Medical-and-Ethical-Analysis.pdf
|archived=
|quote=Based on a careful consideration of the relevant evidence, arguments and counterarguments, we conclude that medically unnecessary penile circumcision-like other medically unnecessary genital procedures, such as 'cosmetic' labiaplasty-should not be performed on individuals who are too young (or otherwise unable) to provide meaningful consent to the procedure.
|pubmedID=32068898
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=
|doi=10.1111/bioe.12714
|format=PDF
|accessdate=2026-07-12
}}</ref>

==European precedents==
* [[Cologne circumcision court judgment]] (2012)
* [[Re B and G (children) (No 2) EWFC 3]] (2015)
{{SEEALSO}}
* [[Informed consent]]
* [[William Stowell]]
* [[Wrongful circumcision]]
{{LINKS}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://uslawexplained.com/aggravated_battery
|title=Aggravated Battery: The Ultimate Guide to a Serious Violent Crime
|last=Anonymous
|publisher=US Law Explained
|website=https://uslawexplained.com/start
|accessdate=2026-07-11
}}
==Conclusion==
Circumcision of male children is a mutilation of genital tissue that permanently destroys the [[foreskin]] (prepuce) of a male child. It also irreversibly destroys the [[Foreskin#Physiological_functions_of_the_foreskin| protective, immunological, sensory, and sexual functions]] of the foreskin, leaving the male patient at increased risk of disease.<ref name="fendereski2024" /> It is mutilating and causes permanent disfigurement of the [[penis]]. Circumcision of male children clearly meets all tests for aggravated battery. It cannot be legalized or excused by patient or surrogate consent because no one has the legal capacity to grant consent for the aggravated battery of non-therapeutic child circumcision.<ref name="hill2003">{{REFjournal
|last=Hill
|first=George
|init=G
|author-link=George Hill
|title=Can anyone authorize the nontherapeutic permanent alteration of a child's body?
|journal=The American Journal of Bioethics
|date=2003
|season=Spring
|volume=3
|issue=2
|pages=16-8
|url=https://www.researchgate.net/profile/George-Hill-3/publication/371599857_Can_Anyone_Authorize_the_Nontherapeutic_Permanent_Alteration_of_a_Child's_Body/links/648b8819c41fb852dd0949be/Can-Anyone-Authorize-the-Nontherapeutic-Permanent-Alteration-of-a-Childs-Body.pdf
|quote=
|pubmedID=14635628
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=10.1162/152651603766436342
|accessdate=2026-07-11
}}</ref>
{{REF}}

[[Category:Law: USA]]
[[Category:Litigation over circumcision]]
[[Category:USA]]

Urination by foreskinned men

2026-07-12T17:07:14Z

WikiModEn2:

The aggressive promotion of [[circumcision]] by the [[circumcision industry]] in the [[United States]] for well over a century has resulted in the loss by much of the population of normal folk knowledge of a beneficial natural, normal, heathy, functional, and protective body part. This article is an attempt to partially restore basic folk knowledge. Foreskins vary in length and tightness, so it is normal for [[intact]] men to report different experiences with [[urination]].

[[Foreskinned]] men sometimes ask, "do I have to retract my [[foreskin]] for [[urination]]?"<ref>Some men with abundant overhanging [[foreskin]] find it awkward and difficult to retract and keep retracted their [[foreskin]] because the foreskin is constantly pushing to glide forward to return to its normal position of covering and protecting the [[glans penis]].</ref> They may have been heard myths that it is unhealthy to have [[urine]] inside the [[foreskin]], however there is no factual basis for that claim. Urine has a healthy microbiome<ref name="cold-taylor1999">{{ColdCJ TaylorJR 1999}}</ref> when it leaves the urethra and is helpful for flushing out the [[foreskin]] and keeping it clean. The presence of [[urine]] in the preputial sac is ''not'' unsanitary and does not do harm. Nature has planned for this condition by lining the [[preputial sac]] with [[mucosa]], instead of [[skin]]. Boys by necessity pee through their [[foreskin]] because the juvenile foreskin does not retract and men with [[phimosis]] also pee through their [[foreskin]] because the foreskin does not retract. [[Urine]] does no harm so it is not necessary to pull back when one pees. One [[foreskinned]] man posted:
<blockquote>
Well, I’ve got a little under 2 inches of [[foreskin]] overhang, and I just pee through it every time. I give it a quick tug to make sure it’s pointing in a straight line and then start peeing. When I’m done I pull my foreskin back to shake it off, and if I’m at a toilet sometimes I’ll wipe the tip of my foreskin if it’s still soaking wet.

So, as a guy with a long overhang, it’s just natural to pee through it. Besides, even if I pulled it back when standing, it’s pretty much impossible for me to keep it rolled back the entire time I’m sitting down to pee.<ref>{{REFweb
|url=https://www.reddit.com/r/uncircumcised_talk/comments/1c7lw5t/comment/l0dd8od/?context=3
|title=Peeing with a long foreskin
|last=
|first=
|init=
|author-link=
|publisher=REDDIT
|date=2024
|accessdate=2025-07-25
}}</ref>
</blockquote>

The epithelium of all tissue in the [[preputial sac]] is [[Mucosa| mucosal membrane]] (similar to the inside of your mouth), which likes to be wet, so no damage or threat to health or well-being is caused by having [[urine]] inside the [[foreskin]]. The sphincter action of the preputial orifice functions as a one-way valve, blocking the entry of contaminants and pathogens while allowing the passage of urine.<ref name="fleiss1998">{{FleissP HodgesF VanHoweRS 1998}}</ref> The [[urine]] will serve to flush contaminants and pathogens out of the [[foreskin]]. A few individuals may experience [[ballooning of the foreskin]], which is harmless.

The [[foreskin]] overhang or [[acroposthion]] may be used as a hose nozzle to control and direct the stream and may be adjusted as necessary to achieve a smooth stream. It may help to stretch one's [[foreskin]] out from one's body. One man said, "When I need to pee, I open my fly, pull my foreskin out and give it a tug to get any wrinkles out, then I hold my foreskin with the thumb and forefinger of both hands and use the overhang of my foreskin as a nozzle to direct my stream. When I finish, I milk it a bit to get any residual pee out of my [[penis]]."

[[Foreskinned]] men report enjoying feeling a pleasant tickling sensation as the [[urine]] flows out through their [[acroposthion]].<ref>{{NSFW}} {{REFweb
|url=https://acroposthion.com/foreskin-4play/
|title=Foreskin 4Play
|last=
|first=
|init=
|author-link=
|publisher=Acroposthion
|date=
|accessdate=2025-09-24
}}</ref> <ref>{{REFweb
|url=https://www.reddit.com/r/uncircumcised_talk/comments/17r7znz/uncut_pee/
|title=Uncut Pee
|last=Anonymous
|first=
|init=
|author-link=
|publisher=REDDIT
|date=2023
|accessdate=2025-06-15
}}</ref>
One may retract or not retract for [[urination]]. The human [[foreskin]] is highly flexible and stretchable. It may be [[Stretching| stretched]] as desired laterally and/or lengthwise to cause [[mitosis]] and [[tissue expansion]] to resolve issues.

There is enormous natural variation among [[foreskinned]] males in the length and tightness of the [[foreskin]], so men report a wide range of different experiences with their [[foreskin]] in [[urination]]. What works best depends to great extent on individual anatomy. Either way is okay.<ref>{{REFweb
|url=https://www.reddit.com/r/uncircumcised_talk/comments/1d77ukr/pissing_through_your_foreskin_question_for_those/
|title=Pissing through your foreskin. Question for those guys who don't pull their skin back when they piss.....what do you do after you've finished peeing? Pull skin back and forth, stretch it out, shake it, dab with a tissue, etc??
|last=Anonymous
|first=
|init=
|author-link=
|publisher=REDDIT
|date=2024
|accessdate=2025-06-15
}}</ref> <ref>{{REFweb
|url=https://www.reddit.com/r/uncircumcised_talk/comments/1kdrkp5/do_you_retract_to_pee_or_keep_the_foreskin_over/
|title=Do you retract to pee or keep the foreskin over the tip
|last=Anonymous
|first=
|init=
|author-link=
|publisher=REDDIT
|date=2025-05
|accessdate=205-07-04
}}</ref>

===Use of urinal===
A plastic urinal that one may purchase from a drug store can be helpful in extreme cases. One may insert one's [[penis]] into the urinal prior to urinating. The walls of the urinal will catch any errant drops or streams of [[urine]]. The urinal may be emptied and rinsed after each use.

{{SEEALSO}}
* [[Foreskin play]]
* [[Immunological and protective function of the foreskin]]
* [[Living with a foreskin in circumcised America]]
* [[Microbiome]]
* [[Penis]]
* [[Preputial sac]]
* [[United States of America]]
{{LINKS}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://www.reddit.com/r/uncircumcised_talk/comments/17r7znz/uncut_pee/
|title=Uncut Pee
|last=Anonymous
|publisher=REDDIT
|date=2024
|accessdate=2026-03-28
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://www.reddit.com/r/uncircumcised_talk/comments/1fwnz6b/is_it_fair_to_say_that_it_is_more_comfortable/
|title=Is it fair to say that it is more comfortable peeing with foreskin forward unless you are aiming for something in the toilet?
|last=Anonymous
|publisher=REDDIT
|date=2025-03
|accessdate=2026-03-28
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://www.reddit.com/r/uncircumcised_talk/comments/1o4d183/what_do_you_do_with_your_foreskin_when_you_pee/
|title=What do you do with your foreskin when you pee?
|last=Anonymous
|first=
|init=
|author-link=
|publisher=REDDIT
|date=2025-10-12
|accessdate=2025-10-13
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://www.reddit.com/r/uncircumcised_talk/comments/1onwl69/how_do_you_pee_do_you_retract_every_time_have_you/
|title=How do you pee? Do you retract every time? Have you noticed any difference or benefit either way?
|last=Anonymous
|first=
|init=
|author-link=
|publisher=REDDIT
|date=2025-11-03
|accessdate=2025-11-04
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://www.reddit.com/r/uncircumcised_talk/comments/1sconjc/do_you_pull_back_to_pee_are_we_supposed_to/
|title=Do you pull back to pee? Are we supposed to?
|last=Anonymous
|publisher=Reddit
|date=2026-04-04
|accessdate=2026-04-13
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://www.reddit.com/r/uncircumcised_talk/comments/1td93r9/does_foreskin_change_the_sensation_of_peeing/
|title=Does foreskin change the sensation of peeing?
|last=Anonymous
|publisher=Reddit
|date=2026-05-14
|accessdate=2026-05-15
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://www.reddit.com/r/uncircumcised_talk/comments/1unuoas/how_do_you_pee/
|title=How do you pee?
|last=Anonymous
|publisher=Reddit
|date=2026-07-04
|accessdate=2026-07-08
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://www.reddit.com/r/uncircumcised_talk/comments/1uu3tgn/men_who_dont_pull_their_foreskin_back_when_they/
|title=Men who don’t pull their foreskin back when they pee….
|last=Anonymous
|publisher=Reddit
|date=2026-07-11
|accessdate=2026-07-12
}}

{{REF}}

[[Category:Education]]
[[Category:Foreskin anatomy]]
[[Category:Foreskinned life]]
[[Category:Physiology]]
[[Category:USA]]

Urination by foreskinned men

2026-07-12T16:57:37Z

WikiModEn2: /* Use of urinal */ Add external link.

The aggressive promotion of [[circumcision]] by the [[circumcision industry]] in the [[United States]] for well over a century has resulted in the loss by much of the population of normal folk knowledge of a beneficial natural, normal, heathy, functional, and protective body part. This article is an attempt to partially restore basic folk knowledge. Foreskins vary in length and tightness, so it is normal for [[intact]] men to report different experiences with [[urination]].

[[Foreskinned]] men sometimes ask, "do I have to retract my [[foreskin]] for [[urination]]?"<ref>Some men with abundant overhanging foreskin find it awkward and difficult to retract and keep retracted their [[foreskin]] because the foreskin is constantly pushing to glide forward to return to its normal position of covering and protecting the [[glans penis]].</ref> They may have been heard myths that it is unhealthy to have [[urine]] inside the [[foreskin]], however there is no factual basis for that claim. Urine has a healthy microbiome<ref name="cold-taylor1999">{{ColdCJ TaylorJR 1999}}</ref> when it leaves the urethra and is helpful for flushing out the [[foreskin]] and keeping it clean. The presence of urine in the preputial sac is ''not'' unsanitary and does not do harm. Nature has planned for this condition by lining the [[preputial sac]] with [[mucosa]], instead of [[skin]]. Boys by necessity pee through their [[foreskin]] because the juvenile foreskin does not retract and men with [[phimosis]] also pee through their [[foreskin]] because the foreskin does not retract. [[Urine]] does no harm so it is not necessary to pull back when one pees. One [[foreskinned]] man posted:
<blockquote>
Well, I’ve got a little under 2 inches of foreskin overhang, and I just pee through it every time. I give it a quick tug to make sure it’s pointing in a straight line and then start peeing. When I’m done I pull my foreskin back to shake it off, and if I’m at a toilet sometimes I’ll wipe the tip of my foreskin if it’s still soaking wet.

So, as a guy with a long overhang, it’s just natural to pee through it. Besides, even if I pulled it back when standing, it’s pretty much impossible for me to keep it rolled back the entire time I’m sitting down to pee.<ref>{{REFweb
|url=https://www.reddit.com/r/uncircumcised_talk/comments/1c7lw5t/comment/l0dd8od/?context=3
|title=Peeing with a long foreskin
|last=
|first=
|init=
|author-link=
|publisher=REDDIT
|date=2024
|accessdate=2025-07-25
}}</ref>
</blockquote>

The epithelium of all tissue in the [[preputial sac]] is [[Mucosa| mucosal membrane]] (similar to the inside of your mouth), which likes to be wet, so no damage or threat to health or well-being is caused by having [[urine]] inside the [[foreskin]]. The sphincter action of the preputial orifice functions as a one-way valve, blocking the entry of contaminants and pathogens while allowing the passage of urine.<ref name="fleiss1998">{{FleissP HodgesF VanHoweRS 1998}}</ref> The [[urine]] will serve to flush contaminants and pathogens out of the [[foreskin]]. A few individuals may experience [[ballooning of the foreskin]], which is harmless.

The [[foreskin]] overhang or [[acroposthion]] may be used as a hose nozzle to control and direct the stream and may be adjusted as necessary to achieve a smooth stream. It may help to stretch one's [[foreskin]] out from one's body. One man said, "When I need to pee, I open my fly, pull my foreskin out and give it a tug to get any wrinkles out, then I hold my foreskin with the thumb and forefinger of both hands and use the overhang of my foreskin as a nozzle to direct my stream. When I finish, I milk it a bit to get any residual pee out of my [[penis]]."

[[Foreskinned]] men report enjoying feeling a pleasant tickling sensation as the [[urine]] flows out through their [[acroposthion]].<ref>{{NSFW}} {{REFweb
|url=https://acroposthion.com/foreskin-4play/
|title=Foreskin 4Play
|last=
|first=
|init=
|author-link=
|publisher=Acroposthion
|date=
|accessdate=2025-09-24
}}</ref> <ref>{{REFweb
|url=https://www.reddit.com/r/uncircumcised_talk/comments/17r7znz/uncut_pee/
|title=Uncut Pee
|last=Anonymous
|first=
|init=
|author-link=
|publisher=REDDIT
|date=2023
|accessdate=2025-06-15
}}</ref>
One may retract or not retract for [[urination]]. The human [[foreskin]] is highly flexible and stretchable. It may be [[Stretching| stretched]] as desired laterally and/or lengthwise to cause [[mitosis]] and [[tissue expansion]] to resolve issues.

There is enormous natural variation among [[foreskinned]] males in the length and tightness of the [[foreskin]], so men report a wide range of different experiences with their [[foreskin]] in [[urination]]. What works best depends to great extent on individual anatomy. Either way is okay.<ref>{{REFweb
|url=https://www.reddit.com/r/uncircumcised_talk/comments/1d77ukr/pissing_through_your_foreskin_question_for_those/
|title=Pissing through your foreskin. Question for those guys who don't pull their skin back when they piss.....what do you do after you've finished peeing? Pull skin back and forth, stretch it out, shake it, dab with a tissue, etc??
|last=Anonymous
|first=
|init=
|author-link=
|publisher=REDDIT
|date=2024
|accessdate=2025-06-15
}}</ref> <ref>{{REFweb
|url=https://www.reddit.com/r/uncircumcised_talk/comments/1kdrkp5/do_you_retract_to_pee_or_keep_the_foreskin_over/
|title=Do you retract to pee or keep the foreskin over the tip
|last=Anonymous
|first=
|init=
|author-link=
|publisher=REDDIT
|date=2025-05
|accessdate=205-07-04
}}</ref>

===Use of urinal===
A plastic urinal that one may purchase from a drug store can be helpful in extreme cases. One may insert one's [[penis]] into the urinal prior to urinating. The walls of the urinal will catch any errant drops or streams of [[urine]]. The urinal may be emptied and rinsed after each use.

{{SEEALSO}}
* [[Foreskin play]]
* [[Immunological and protective function of the foreskin]]
* [[Living with a foreskin in circumcised America]]
* [[Microbiome]]
* [[Penis]]
* [[Preputial sac]]
* [[United States of America]]
{{LINKS}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://www.reddit.com/r/uncircumcised_talk/comments/17r7znz/uncut_pee/
|title=Uncut Pee
|last=Anonymous
|publisher=REDDIT
|date=2024
|accessdate=2026-03-28
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://www.reddit.com/r/uncircumcised_talk/comments/1fwnz6b/is_it_fair_to_say_that_it_is_more_comfortable/
|title=Is it fair to say that it is more comfortable peeing with foreskin forward unless you are aiming for something in the toilet?
|last=Anonymous
|publisher=REDDIT
|date=2025-03
|accessdate=2026-03-28
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://www.reddit.com/r/uncircumcised_talk/comments/1o4d183/what_do_you_do_with_your_foreskin_when_you_pee/
|title=What do you do with your foreskin when you pee?
|last=Anonymous
|first=
|init=
|author-link=
|publisher=REDDIT
|date=2025-10-12
|accessdate=2025-10-13
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://www.reddit.com/r/uncircumcised_talk/comments/1onwl69/how_do_you_pee_do_you_retract_every_time_have_you/
|title=How do you pee? Do you retract every time? Have you noticed any difference or benefit either way?
|last=Anonymous
|first=
|init=
|author-link=
|publisher=REDDIT
|date=2025-11-03
|accessdate=2025-11-04
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://www.reddit.com/r/uncircumcised_talk/comments/1sconjc/do_you_pull_back_to_pee_are_we_supposed_to/
|title=Do you pull back to pee? Are we supposed to?
|last=Anonymous
|publisher=Reddit
|date=2026-04-04
|accessdate=2026-04-13
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://www.reddit.com/r/uncircumcised_talk/comments/1td93r9/does_foreskin_change_the_sensation_of_peeing/
|title=Does foreskin change the sensation of peeing?
|last=Anonymous
|publisher=Reddit
|date=2026-05-14
|accessdate=2026-05-15
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://www.reddit.com/r/uncircumcised_talk/comments/1unuoas/how_do_you_pee/
|title=How do you pee?
|last=Anonymous
|publisher=Reddit
|date=2026-07-04
|accessdate=2026-07-08
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://www.reddit.com/r/uncircumcised_talk/comments/1uu3tgn/men_who_dont_pull_their_foreskin_back_when_they/
|title=Men who don’t pull their foreskin back when they pee….
|last=Anonymous
|publisher=Reddit
|date=2026-07-11
|accessdate=2026-07-12
}}

{{REF}}

[[Category:Education]]
[[Category:Foreskin anatomy]]
[[Category:Foreskinned life]]
[[Category:Physiology]]
[[Category:USA]]

Child circumcision

2026-07-12T15:38:53Z

WikiModEn2: Wikify.

"Male '''circumcision''' (from Latin ''circumcidere'', meaning "to cut around") is the surgical removal or [[amputation]] of the [[foreskin]] (prepuce), a major part of the human [[penis]]. Circumcision amputates ''more than fifty percent'' of the epithelium of the [[penis]].<ref name="taylor1996">{{TaylorJR LockwoodAP TaylorAJ 1996}}</ref> When the "cutting around" is performed, the foreskin falls off, so [[amputation]] and [[mutilation]] is the result, leaving the delicate and sensitive mucosa of the [[glans penis]] exposed and unprotected against [[trauma]] and [[infection]]. The amputation destroys the [[Foreskin#Physiological_functions| many protective, immunological, sexual, and sensory physiological functions]] of the foreskin, so it is a very harmful and [[Pain| painful]] surgery.<ref name="garrett2023-11-10">{{REFweb
|url=https://intactamerica.org/pros-and-cons-of-circumcision/
|title=Pros and Cons of Circumcision (Spoiler: You’ve Been Lied to)
|last=Garrett
|first=Connor
|init=
|author-link=Connor Judson Garrett
|publisher=Intact America
|date=2023-11-10
|accessdate=2024-06-02
}}</ref>

Child circumcision is a harmful, unethical, and highly profitable medical practice.

Circumcision of boys in the [[United States]] hit its high point in 1965 and has been slowly declining in popularity ever since. Less than 1/2 of the newborn boys in the United States were [[circumcised]] in 2022. Yang et al. (2025) reported the rate of decline in the incidence of infant circumcision in their study period was 5/10s of one percent per year.<ref name="yang2025">{{REFjournal
|last=Yang
|first=
|init=P
|author-link=
|last2=Zhu
|first2=
|init2=X
|author2-link=
|last3=Patel
|first3=
|init3=EU
|author3-link=
|last4=Quin
|first4=
|init4=PC
|author4-link=
|last5=Grabowski
|first5=
|init5=MK
|author5-link=
|last6=Tobian
|first6=
|init6=AAR
|author6-link=Aaron Tobian
|etal=no
|title=Trends in Circumcision Among Newborn Males in the US
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal=JAMA Pediatrics
|location=
|date=2025-10-02
|season=
|volume=
|issue=
|article=e252464
|page=
|pages=
|url=https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapediatrics/fullarticle/2838312
|archived=
|quote=
|pubmedID=40952753
|pubmedCID=12439174
|DOI=10.1001/jamapediatrics.2025.2464
|accessdate=2025-09-17
}}</ref> That long-term declining trend is believed to have continued.

'''[[Posthectomy]]''' is the more accurate medical term that more accurately reflects the injury and loss of functional body tissue, but the Biblical [[euphemism]], ''circumcision'', is more commonly used.
With reference to involuntary, non-therapeutic circumcision of children, [[Child Genital Cutting (CGC)]] is a newer term that has been introduced to avoid issues associated with more traditional terms. [[Dan Bollinger| Bollinger]] (2023) identifed CGC as an [[Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs)| adverse childhood experience]].<ref name="bollinger2023">{{REFjournal
|last=Bollinger
|init=D
|author-link=Dan Bollinger
|last2=
|init2=
|author2-link=
|url=https://kindredmedia.org/2023/02/adverse-childhood-experiences-dysfunctional-households-and-circumcision/
|title=Adverse Childhood Experiences, Dysfunctional Households, And Circumcision.
|journal=Kindred
|date=2023-02-28
|volume=
|issue=
|pages=
|accessdate=2023-03-01
}}</ref>

Tye & Sardi (2022) concluded that parents must consider "psychological or psychosocial effects of circumcision,"<ref name="tye2022"> {{REFjournal
|last=Tye
|first=
|init=MC
|author-link=
|last2=Sardi
|first2=
|init2=LM
|author2-link=Lauren Sardi
|etal=no
|title=Psychological, psychosocial, and psychosexual aspects of penile circumcision
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal=Int J Impot Res
|date=2023-05
|volume=35
|issue=3
|pages=242-8
|url=https://www.galdef.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/Tye-Sardi-Psycho-Aspects-of-Penile-Circumcision-IJIR-2022.pdf
|archived=
|quote=
|pubmedID=35347302
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=10.1038/s41443-022-00553-9
|format=PDF
|accessdate=2024-12-18
}}</ref>

Deacon & Muir (2022) have reviewed the evidence and concluded that "there is no medical justification for performing a circumcision prior to an age that he can assess the known risks and potential benefits, and choose to give or withhold [[informed consent]] himself."<ref name="deacon2022">{{REFjournal
|last=Deacon
|first=Matthew
|init=M
|author-link=
|last2=Muir
|first2=Gordon
|init2=G
|author2-link=
|etal=no
|title=What is the medical evidence on non-therapeutic child circumcision?
|journal= Int J Impot Res
|date=2022-01-08
|url=https://www.nature.com/articles/s41443-021-00502-y
|pubmedID=34997197
|DOI=10.1038/s41443-021-00502-y
|accessdate=2022-01-30
}}</ref>

Fendereski et al. (2024) reported a massive study using data from a private insurance company database that found that [[circumcised]] boys have three times as many penile issues as compared with [[intact]] boys through age 5. This study matched 852,051 [[circumcised]] boys with 852,051 [[intact]] boys who served as controls.<ref name=fendereski2024">{{REFjournal
|last=Fendereski
|first=
|init=K
|author-link=
|last2=Horns
|first2=
|init2=JJ
|author2-link=
|last3=Driggs
|first3=
|init3=N
|author3-link=
|last4=Lau
|first4=
|init4=G
|author4-link=
|last5=Shaeffer
|first5=
|init5=AJ
|author5-link=
|etal=no
|title=Comparing Penile Problems in Circumcised vs. Uncircumcised Boys: Insights From a Large Commercial Claims Database With a Focus on Provider Type Performing Circumcision
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal=J Pediatr Surg
|date=2024-11
|volume=59
|issue=11
|article=161614
|url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S002234682400407X
|archived=
|quote=
|pubmedID=39084960
|pubmedCID=11486584
|DOI=10.1016/j.jpedsurg.2024.06.022
|accessdate=2025-01-03
}}</ref> These findings are not surprising since the human [[foreskin]] provides both [[Immunological and protective function of the foreskin| protective and immunological functions]] against both physical [[trauma]] and [[infection]]. Obviously, [[circumcised]] boys lack these protections.

[[Dan Bollinger]] (2025) enumerated the many harms and injuries caused by medically-unnecessary, non-therapeutic [[circumcision of the newborn]], its inherent violation of [[human rights]] and its degradation of health and well-being.<ref name="bollinger2025-08-27">{{REFdocument
|title=Policy Paper: Newborn Circumcision as a Negative Wellness Factor
|url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/394517060_Policy_Paper_Newborn_Circumcision_as_a_Negative_Wellness_Factor
|contribution=
|last=Bollinger
|first=Dan
|publisher=Research Gate
|format=PDF
|date=2025-08
|accessdate=2025-08-29
}}</ref>

[[Dale Andersen| Andersen-Giberson]] (2025) discussed the disability caused by [[amputation]] of the functional [[foreskin]].<ref name="andersen2025">{{REFjournal
|last=Andersen-Giberson
|init=D
|author-link=Dale Andersen
|url=https://cdd.journals.yorku.ca/index.php/cdd/article/view/39786/36016
|title=Circumcision and forced disability: Routine male neonatal circumcision and the consequences of amputation within a critical disability studies framework
|journal=Critical Disability Discourses
|date=2025-12
|volume=10
|issue=2
|pages=1-37
|URL=https://cdd.journals.yorku.ca/index.php/cdd/article/view/39786/36016
|DOI=https://doi.org/10.25071/1918-6215.39786
|quote=In a critical disability studies framework, it is argued that the act of amputating healthy erogenous tissue and the consequences of that amputation cause disability, particularly from a counter-hegemonic lens.
|format=PDF
|accessdate=2026-03-14
}}</ref>

Boys who are protected from circumcision will not need to do [[foreskin restoration]].

==Design of circumcision procedure==
The circumcision procedure carried out by medical doctors today is essentially the same as that mandated by Jewish rabbis in about 140 C.E.

The original Jewish circumcision as mandated by Joshua at [[Gilgal]] consisted only of cutting off the overhanging portion of the [[foreskin]] that protruded beyond the [[glans penis]] with the aid of a protective device to prevent cutting the glans penis.

Jewish men who wished to appear as Greeks found that they could restore their natural covered appearance of their [[penis]] by a process called [[epispasm]]. This angered the rabbis who then developed a second stage of the ritual circumcision procedure called ''periah''.

[[Periah]] according to James Peron (2000):

<blockquote>
Periah consists of tearing and stripping back the remaining inner mucosal lining of the foreskin from the glans and then, by use of a sharp finger nail or implement, removing all of the inner mucosal tissue, including the excising and removal of the [[frenulum]] from the underside of the [[glans]]. The objective was to insure that no part of the remaining penile skin would rest against the glans corona. If any shreds of the mucosal [[foreskin]] tissue remained, or rejoined to the underside of the glans, the child was to be re-circumcised.<ref name="peron2000">{{REFjournal
|last=Peron
|init=JE
|author-link=James Peron
|url=https://cirp.org/library/history/peron2/
|title=Circumcision: then and now
|journal=Many Blessings
|date=2000
|season=Spring
|volume=III
|issue=
|pages=41-2
|accessdate=2023-08-23
}}</ref>
</blockquote>

The objective was to increase the loss of tissue and amount in harm and injury to the point where it would be impossible to recover the [[glans penis]]. This procedure, which caused maximum injury and harm, was the procedure adopted by the medical profession in the nineteenth century and is still used today by medical doctors.

==Condemnation of child circumcision==
[[Alfonso Cepeda-Emiliani| Cepeda-Emiliani]] et al. {2025) stated:
<blockquote>
Our results reinforce the relevance of [https://www.cirp.org/library/anatomy/cold-taylor/ Cold and Taylor’s 11 1999 conclusions] (p. 42), which now seem more pertinent than ever: “The prepuce
is a specialized, specific erogenous tissue in both males and females.
Therefore, surgical excision should be restricted to lesions that are
unresponsive to medical therapy. . . Preputial plasty should be considered in place of circumcision whenever possible, so as to preserve
the corpuscular sensory receptors, dartos muscle, penile mucosa and
complete function of the penis. . . Although a Fourcroy grade 1 female
circumcision would excise less tissue than in a male, this comparison cannot be used to justify female circumcision. Excision of normal,
erogenous genital tissue from healthy male or female children cannot
be condoned, as the histology confirms that the external genitalia are
specialized sensory tissues. . . Removal of normal genital anatomy in
children and infants should be deferred until the individual can make an
informed decision. If external genital tissue must be excised to combat
a disease process that threatens the child’s health, and is unresponsive
to medical therapy, then the amount of tissue should be limited so as to
preserve the anatomy and function of the external genitalia.”<ref name="cepeda2025">{{REFjournal
|last=Cepeda-Emiliani
|first=
|init=A
|author-link=Alfonso Cepeda-Emiliani
|last2=Otero-Alén
|first2=
|init2=M
|author2-link=
|last3=Suárez-Quintanilla
|first3=
|init3=J
|author3-link=
|last4=Gándara-Cortés
|first4=
|init4=M
|author4-link=
|last5=García-Caballero
|first5=
|init5=T
|author5-link=
|last6=García-Caballero
|first6=
|init6=R
|author6-link=
|last7=García-Caballero
|first7=
|init7=L
|author7-link=
|etal=no
|title=The sensory penis: A comprehensive immunohistological and ontogenetic exploration of human penile innervation
|trans-title=
|journal=Andrology
|date=2025-09-19
|volume=
|issue=
|article=
|pages=1-41
|url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/andr.70118
|archived=
|quote=
|pubmedID=40970806
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=10.1111/andr.70118
|accessdate=2025-10-01
}}</ref>
</blockquote>

==History==
Circumcision was popularized in English-speaking nations in the nineteenth century. The practice of non-therapeutic circumcision of boys now has greatly declined in [[Australia]], [[Canada]], [[New Zealand]] and the [[United Kingdom]]. It has been gradually declining since 1980 in the [[United States]]. It has ''never'' been a popular practice in other western nations. Circumcision of boys is not done in the Russian Federation, Latin America, or [[China]]. In [[India]] only the minority Muslim population does circumcision of children. In Europe it is only done for religious reasons by Muslims and Jews.

Circumcision is classified as a form of [[genital mutilation]].


===Cultural===

Many cultures perform circumcision as a rite of passage into manhood. This is common in the Middle East and amongst some indigenous African and Southeast Asian peoples.

The [[United States]] and [[Israel]] are the only industrialized countries in the world to have a high incidence of non-therapeutic infant male circumcision. The vast majority of infant circumcisions performed in the [[United States]] are for non-religious, non-medical reasons. See [[History of circumcision]].

=== No medical indication ===
There are no [[medical indication| medical indications]] for [[circumcision of the newborn]].<ref name="aap1971">{{REFbook
|last=American Academy of Pediatrics, Committee on Fetus and Newborn
|first=
|init=
|year=1971
|title=Standards and Recommendation for Hospital Care of Newborn infants
|url=https://www.cirp.org/library/statements/aap/#a1971
|scope=
|location=Evanston
|publisher=American Academy of Pediatrics
|ISBN=
|accessdate=2025-03-13
}}</ref> The [[circumcision industry]] promotes [[circumcision of the newborn]] to the public because of the [[financial incentive]] to the doctor and to the maternity hospital.

The form of circumcision adopted by the medical community essentially was equivalent to the Jewish form with ''[[periah]]'', so it inflicts the maximum injury and physical [[trauma]].

In a few cases with older patients, circumcision is legitimately indicated; a patient may be suffering recurring [[infection]], and other methods of treatment have failed. In other cases, a patient may be suffering from a severe case of [[phimosis]]. Overall, the actual medical necessity for circumcision is extremely rare since many conditions respond to conservative treatment. All circumcisions injure the patient by amputating the [[foreskin]] its with many protective, immunological, sensory, and sexual [[Foreskin#Physiological_functions| functions]].

# '''Deformed or malformed foreskin'''. A foreskin so deformed or malformed that it does not function properly may be excised by circumcision.

# '''Traumatically injured foreskin'''. A foreskin so traumatically damaged that it cannot be surgically repaired is a valid medical reason for circumcision.

# '''Diseased foreskin.''' A foreskin that is diseased may be a valid indication for circumcision. Some diseases that qualify are [[gangrene]], malignancy, lichen sclerosis, [[Balanitis#Diabetic_males| yeast infection in men with diabetes]], and recurrent [[balanoposthitis]].

In such cases, the benefit of removing the problem foreskin may exceed the maleficial harms of tissue and function destruction.

====Arguments of prophylaxia====
Though the practice of ritual circumcision of males, both consenting and non-consenting, has existed for millenia, the search for "potential medical benefits" began relatively recently. {''Potential'' means to exist in possibility, but not in actuality, so a "''potential'' benefit" is not a genuine proven benefit.) The discussion of circumcision in the Ninth Edition of the ''Encyclopǽdia Britannica'' (1876) made no mention of any prophylactic, medical, or therapeutic value or function.<ref>{{REFweb
|url=https://www.cirp.org/library/history/encyclopaediabritannica1876/
|title=Circumcision
|last=Cheyne
|first=T. K.
|author-link=
|publisher=Encyclopǽdia Brittanica
|website=Circumcision Reference Library
|date=1876
|accessdate=2019-11-10
|format=
|quote=
}}</ref>

Initially, circumcision was adopted in the 19th century as a way to stop boys and men from masturbating, when [[masturbation]] was claimed to be the cause for many diseases. As the myth that circumcision prevented masturbation became debunked, advocates of circumcision began the great search to find the "medical benefits" of circumcision.

Male and female circumcision involves the removal and disruption of normal anatomical structures that are primary areas of sexual sensation.<ref name="taylor1996"/> In the past, some advocates of mass circumcision have considered the [[prepuce]] to be a "mistake of nature," but this notion has no validity because the prepuce is ubiquitous in primates and because it provides functional advantages.<ref name="cold-mcgrath1995">{{REFbook
|last=Cold
|first=Christopher
|init=C
|last2=McGrath
|first2=Kenneth
|init2=K
|author2-link=Ken McGrath
|year=1999
|title=Male and female circumcision: medical, legal, and ethical considerations in pediatric practice
|url=https://www.cirp.org/library/anatomy/cold-mcgrath/
|work=
|editor=
|edition=
|volume=
|chapter=Anatomy and histology of the penile and clitoral prepuce in primates
|pages=
|location=New York
|publisher=
|isbn=0306461315
|quote=
|accessdate=2019-10-12
|note=
}}</ref>

All claims that circumcision prevents future disease are false.<ref>{{REFweb
|url=https://www.doctorsopposingcircumcision.org/for-professionals/alleged-medical-benefits/conclusions-and-references/
|title=Conclusions
|last=Anonymous
|first=
|init=
|publisher=Doctors Opposing Circumcision
|date=2016
|accessdate=2023-10-22
}}</ref> They are made to enable a physician to perform circumcision and collect a fee.


=== Prophylactic claims are false ===

Some people claim that circumcision has prophylactic benefits. Especially in the [[USA]] those arguments have persisted for more then a 100 years, with ever changing diseases circumcision is said to protect against. At first, these were diseases where [[masturbation]] was believed to be the cause. After bacteria and viruses had been discovered, arguments changed, and one after another miscellaneous diseases were cited.

* [[Phimosis]]: as mentioned earlier, true [[phimosis]] is rare and can be treated effectively without surgery. According to a study by Blalock et al. (2003)<ref name="blalock2003">{{REFjournal
|last=Blalock
|init=HJ
|last2=Vemulakonda
|init2=V
|last3=Ritchey
|init3=ML
|last4=Ribbeck
|init4=M
|title=Outpatient management of [[phimosis]] Following newborn circumcision
|journal=J Urol
|date=2003
|volume=169
|issue=6
|pages=2332-4
|url=https://www.cirp.org/library/complications/blalock1/
|accessdate=2019-11-07
}}</ref>, 2.9% of those circumcised develop a post-operative [[phimosis]], in which the circumcision scar constricts. In [[intact]] patients, the rate of [[phimosis]] is only 1% (see also the study by [[Jakob Øster]]). Therefore, circumcision is not a preventive measure for [[phimosis]].
* Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STDs): a vast number of studies has been conducted on the subject of transmission of STDs.
* First, it has to be noted that any form of protection against these diseases only affects people who are sexually active. Circumcision in childhood cannot be justified on these grounds, since any assumed protective effect will not occur before the boy is already old enough to decide about circumcision for himself.
* As mentioned above, the [[foreskin]] keeps the [[Glans penis|glans]] moist. This subpreputial moisture contains, among other substances, the enzyme lysozyme, which breaks up the cell wall of bacteria, thereby providing a natural antibacterial screen. This explains the results of several studies, such as Laumann et al.<ref>{{REFjournal
|last=Laumann
|init=EO
|last2=Masi
|init2=CM
|last3=Zuckerman
|init3=EW
|title=Circumcision in the United States: prevalence, prophylactic effects, and sexual practice
|journal=JAMA
|date=1997
|volume=277
|issue=
|pages=1052-7
|url=https://www.cirp.org/library/general/laumann/
|accessdate=2019-11-06
}}</ref>, which found a higher rate of infection with bacterial venereal diseases in [[circumcised]] than in [[intact]] men.
* The studies by Fleiss et al. (1998) support this.<ref name="fleiss-hodges-vanhowe1998">{{FleissP HodgesF VanHoweRS 1998}}</ref> According to the [[AAP]], the general sexual behaviour of the male — such as frequent change in partners and the use of condoms — has a much higher impact on sexually transmitted diseases then the circumcision status.<ref>{{REFjournal
|last=Task Force on Circumcision
|first=
|title=Circumcision policy statement
|journal=Pediatrics
|date=1999
|volume=103
|issue=3
|pages=686-93
|url=https://www.cirp.org/library/statements/aap1999/
|accessdate=2019-11-15
}}</ref>
* [[HIV]] / [[AIDS]]: in the recent past, the argument that circumcision could help to contain the spread of [[HIV]] has been stated numerous times.
*:First, two notes: for one, the use of condoms is still by far the most effective protection against an infection. During intercourse with that preventive measure, circumcision status does not make a difference.
*:Secondly, the assumed protection would only affect healthy men who have intercourse with an infected woman. An infected man can infect a women by transmission of his bodily fluids, so that his circumcision status is irrelevant. Therefore, the use of condoms remains vital in containing the spread of [[HIV]], which in return renders circumcision unnecessary
* Due to the inevitable loss of sensitivity as a result of circumcision, there is also the temptation to go without condoms, in order not to lose even more sensitivity.<ref>{{REFjournal
|last=Hooykaas
|init=C
|last2=van der Velde
|init2=FW
|last3=van der Linden
|init3=MM
|etal=yes
|title=The importance of ethnicity as a risk factor for STDs and sexual behaviour among heterosexuals
|journal=Genitourin Med
|date=1991
|volume=67
|issue=5
|pages=378-83
|url=https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1194736/pdf/genitmed00041-0022.pdf
|accessdate=2019-11-15
}}</ref><ref>{{REFjournal
|last=Michael
|init=RT
|last2=Wadsworth
|init2=J
|last3=Feinleib
|init3=J
|etal=yes
|title=Private sexual behavior, public opinion, and public health policy related to sexually transmitted diseases: a US-British comparison
|journal=Am J Public Health
|date=1998
|volume=88
|issue=5
|pages=749-54
|url=https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1508929/pdf/amjph00017-0039.pdf
|accessdate=2019-11-15
}}</ref><ref>{{REFjournal
|last=Laumann
|init=EO
|last2=Masi
|init2=CM
|last3=Zuckerman
|init3=EW
|title=Circumcision in the United States: prevalence, prophylactic effects, and sexual practice
|journal=JAMA
|date=1997
|volume=277
|issue=
|pages=1052-7
|url=https://www.cirp.org/library/general/laumann/
|accessdate=2019-11-06
}}</ref>
* Two studies that have been published in early 2007<ref>{{RCT Gray et al 2007}}</ref><ref>{{RCT Bailey et al 2007}}</ref>, which investigated the effectiveness of circumcision as a means of reducing the spread of [[HIV]] from infected women to heterosexual men in African high risk areas, have been repeatedly subjected to strong criticism. Both studies were ended prematurely, which distorted the results. The men who had been [[circumcised]] for the study had to stay sexually inactive during the wound healing, which gave the intact control group more relative opportunity to become infected. These African randomized clinical trials have been demonstrated to have very serious methodological and statistical errors that distort the results in favor of circumcision.<ref name="boyle-hill2011">{{BoyleGJ HillG 2011}}</ref>

The fact that the [[USA]] has both the highest percentage of [[circumcised]] males in the western world, as well as the highest [[HIV]] infection rate, makes the studies look dubious. Besides that, several other studies concluded that circumcision does not have a significant impact on the risk of infection with [[HIV]].<ref>{{REFjournal
|last=Grosskurth
|init=H
|last2=Mosha
|init2=F
|last3=Todd
|init3=J
|etal=yes
|title=A community trial of the impact of improved sexually transmitted disease treatment on the HIV epidemic in rural Tanzania: 2. Baseline survey results
|journal=AIDS
|date=1995
|volume=9
|issue=8
|pages=927-34
|url=https://insights.ovid.com/aids/aids/1995/08/000/community-trial-impact-improved-sexually/15/00002030
|accessdate=2019-11-15
}}</ref><ref>{{REFjournal
|last=Barongo
|init=LR
|last2=Borgdorff
|init2=MW
|last3=Mosha
|init3=FF
|etal=yes
|title=The epidemiology of HIV-1 infection in urban areas, roadside settlements and rural villages in Mwanza Region, Tanzania
|journal=AIDS
|date=1992
|volume=6
|issue=12
|pages=1521-8
|url=https://journals.lww.com/aidsonline/abstract/1992/12000/the_epidemiology_of_hiv_1_infection_in_urban.16.aspx
|accessdate=2025-03-17
}}</ref> <ref>{{REFconference
|last=Changedia SM, Gilada IS
|first=
|title=Role of male circumcision in HIV transmission insignificant in conjugal relationship (abstract no. ThPeC7420)
|url=
|place=Barcelona, Spain
|source=Presented at the Fourteenth International AIDS Conference
|datefrom=2002-07-07
|dateto=2002-07-12
|accessdate=
}}</ref><ref>{{REFconference
|last=Connolly CA, Shishana O, Simbayi L, Colvin M
|first=
|title=HIV and circumcision in South Africa (Abstract No. MoPeC3491)
|url=
|place=Bangkok, Thailand
|source=Presented at the 15th International AIDS Conference
|datefrom=2004-07-11
|dateto=2004-07-16
|accessdate=
}}</ref><ref>{{REFconference
|last=Thomas AG, Bakhireva LN, Brodine SK, Shaffer RA
|first=
|title=Prevalence of male circumcision and its association with HIV and sexually transmitted infections in a U.S. navy population (Abstract no. TuPeC4861)
|url=https://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/document?repid=rep1&type=pdf&doi=e0f66eb069de9330e88295e6280a8a47a22b74ed
|place=Bangkok, Thailand
|source=Presented at the 15th International AIDS Conference
|datefrom=2004-07-11
|dateto=2004-07-16
|format=PDF
|accessdate=2019-11-15
}}</ref>
* Urinary tract infections (UTI): a [[UTI]] can be effectively treated with antibiotics, this was also proven by studies.<ref>{{REFjournal
|last=McCracken
|init=G
|title=Options in antimicrobial management of urinary tract infections in infants and children
|journal=Pediatr Infect Dis J
|date=1989
|volume=8
|issue=8
|pages=552-5
|url=https://www.cirp.org/library/disease/UTI/mccracken/
|accessdate=2019-11-19
}}</ref><ref>{{REFjournal
|last=Larcombe
|init=J
|title=Urinary tract infection in children
|journal=BMJ
|date=1999
|volume=319
|issue=
|pages=1173-5
|url=
|accessdate=
}}</ref> A Swedish study<ref>{{REFjournal
|last=Mårild
|init=S
|last2=Jodal
|init2=U
|title=Incidence rate of first–time symptomatic urinary tract infection in children under 6 years of age
|journal=Acta Paediatr
|date=1998
|volume=87
|issue=5
|pages=549-52
|url=
|accessdate=
}}</ref> found that, during the first 6 years of life, the incidence of [[UTI]]s in boys was 1.8%, but in girls was 6.6%. UTIs are less common in boys after the first year of life. Mueller et al. <ref>{{REFjournal
|last=Mueller
|init=ER
|last2=Steinhardt
|init2=G
|last3=Naseer
|init3=S
|title=The incidence of genitourinary abnormalities in [[circumcised]] and [[uncircumcised]] boys presenting with an initial urinary tract infection by 6 months of age
|journal=Pediatrics
|date=1997
|volume=100 (Supplement)
|issue=
|page=580
|url=
|accessdate=
}}</ref> did not find a significant difference in UTI rates between [[circumcised]] and [[intact]] boys with normal urinary tract anatomy.
* Other studies suggest that circumcision is more likely to raise than to lower the generally low risk of acquiring UTI: multiple studies from [[Israel]] showed a strong correlation between ritual circumcision on the 8th day of life and postoperative UTI.<ref>{{REFjournal
|last=Menahem
|init=S
|title=Complications arising from ritual circumcision: pathogenesis and possible prevention
|journal=Isr J Med Sci
|date=1981
|volume=17
|issue=1
|pages=45-8
|url=
|accessdate=
}}</ref><ref>{{REFjournal
|last=Cohen
|init=HA
|last2=Drucker
|init2=MM
|last3=Vainer
|init3=S
|etal=yes
|title=Postcircumcision urinary tract infection
|journal=Clin Pediatr
|date=1992
|volume=31
|issue=6
|pages=322-4
|url=
|accessdate=
}}</ref><ref>{{REFjournal
|last=Goldman
|init=M
|last2=Barr
|init2=J
|last3=Bistritzer
|init3=T
|last4=Aladjem
|init4=M
|title=Urinary tract infection following ritual Jewish circumcision
|journal=Isr J Med Sci
|date=1996
|volume=32
|issue=
|pages=1098-1102
|url=
|accessdate=
}}</ref>
* It can be concluded that circumcision is ineffective as a preventive measure against [[UTI]].
* Penile and cervical cancer / HPV: first studies on those diseases and their assumed prevention by circumcision date back to 1932, a time when the cause for those illnesses was not yet fully understood.<ref>{{Wolbarst1932}}</ref> Today, it is known that sexually transmitted human papillomavirus (HPV) is a major risk factor<ref>{{REFjournal
|last=McCance
|init=DJ
|last2=Kalache
|init2=A
|last3=Ashdown
|init3=K
|etal=yes
|title=Human papillomavirus types 16 and 18 in carcinomas of the penis from Brazil
|journal=Int J Cancer
|date=1986
|volume=37
|issue=1
|pages=55-9
|url=
|accessdate=
}}</ref>, as well as smoking<ref>{{REFjournal
|last=Harish
|init=K
|last2=Ravi
|init2=R
|title=The role of tobacco in penile carcinoma
|journal=Brit J Urol
|date=1995
|volume=75
|issue=3
|pages=375-7
|url=https://www.cirp.org/library/disease/cancer/harish/
|accessdate=2025-03-18
}}</ref>. Studies have shown that there is no significant difference in the risk of getting penile cancer between [[circumcised]] and [[intact]] men. To prevent a single case of penile cancer, it would statistically take 600 to 900 circumcisions<ref>{{REFdocument
|title=Position Paper on Neonatal Circumcision
|url=
|contribution=
|last=
|first=
|publisher=American Academy of Family Physicians (Leawood, Kansas)
|format=
|date=2002-02-14
|accessdate=
}}</ref>. The influence of circumcision on the infection risk of the female partner with cervical cancer has been refuted several times as well. HPV vaccination is an effective measure against carcinoma of the cervix.
====Conclusion====
In conclusion, circumcision does not provide any proven benefits in preventive medicine.

== Pain ==
It is too dangerous to administer general anesthesia to newborn infants, so infant boys experience severe [[pain]] during circumcision.<ref name="garrett2024-01-09">{{REFweb
|url=https://intactamerica.org/disadvantages-of-circumcision/
|title=10 Disadvantages of Circumcision & Horrifying Facts
|last=Garrett
|first=Connor
|init=
|author-link=Connor Judson Garrett
|publisher=Intact America
|date=2024-01-09
|accessdate=3034-06-04
}}</ref>
In the past, advocates of circumcision claimed that a newborn child's nerve system was not yet fully developed, and that as a result, the child felt no [[pain]] during the circumcision procedure. This antique view has now been completely disproved. [[Kanwaljeet J. Singh Anand| Anand]] & Hickey (1987) have shown that newborn children do in fact feel [[pain]], and more acutely than adults.<ref name="anand-hickey1987">{{REFjournal
|last=Anand
|first=KJS
|author-link=Kanwaljeet J. Singh Anand
|last2=Hickey
|first2=PR
|author2-link=
|etal=no
|title=Pain and its effects in the human neonate and fetus
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal=New Engl J Med
|location=
|date=1987-11-19
|volume=317
|issue=21
|pages=1321-9
|url=https://www.cirp.org/library/pain/anand/
|quote=However, in decisions about the use of these techniques, current knowledge suggests that humane considerations should apply as forcefully to the care of neonates and young, nonverbal infants as they do to children and adults in similar painful and stressful situations.
|pubmedID=3317037
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=10.1056/NEJM198711193172105
|accessdate=2019-11-08
}}</ref> This has led American health associations to recommend doctors take measures to reduce the [[pain]] of circumcision in infants.

The [https://www.cirp.org/library/statements/aap1999/|AAP Circumcision Policy Statement] (1999) states quite clearly that ''"There is considerable evidence that newborns who are [[circumcised]] without analgesia experience pain and physiologic stress"''. Furthermore, the pain is quite severe, and requires injections for proper pain management. Sucrose and Acetaminophen ''"cannot be recommended as the sole method of analgesia"''. Topical cream is no longer thought sufficient as ''"the analgesic effect is limited during the phases associated with extensive tissue trauma such as...tightening of the clamp"''.<ref>{{REFjournal
|last=
|first=
|title=American Academy of Pediatrics: Circumcision Policy Statement; Task Force on Circumcision
|journal=Pediatrics
|date=1999-03
|volume=103
|issue=3
|pages=686-93
|url=https://www.cirp.org/library/statements/aap1999/
|accessdate=2025-03-14
|note=Statement Reaffirmed Sept. 1, 2005
}}</ref>

The [[AAFP]] (2023) states quite simply in their [https://www.cirp.org/library/statements/aafp2002/| position paper], ''"Neonates who undergo circumcision should be provided analgesia, most commonly in the form of a nerve block.".''<ref>{{REFweb
|title=Neonatal Circumcision
|website=Official American Academy of Family Physicians Website
|url=https://www.cirp.org/library/statements/aap1999/
|accessdate=2023-10
}}</ref> This is not a debatable fact, and yet, it is not widely accepted, even by some doctors. It might be hard for some doctors to accept, as they may have been taught that the infant does not feel [[pain]], and may have performed countless circumcisions with this idea. Usage of analgesia for infant circumcision is still by no means the rule.

Penile injections of local anesthetic are now recommended by all of the major medical institutions if a circumcision is to be performed. In their [http://www.ama-assn.org/ama/no-index/about-ama/13585.shtml Report 10 of the Council on Scientific Affairs], the AMA states ''"When the decision is made to proceed with circumcision, local anesthesia should be provided for the procedure. [[Ring block]] or [[dorsal penile nerve block]] [injections] are most effective. [[EMLA]] cream has limited utility"''. Alarmingly, ''"Despite the clear evidence that newborn males generate brisk pain responses during circumcision, a recent survey of residency training programs found that 26% of programs that taught circumcision provided no instruction on the use of local anesthesia". The AMA reports that "Of physicians performing circumcision, 45% use anesthesia, 71% of pediatricians, 56% of family practitioners, and 25% of obstetricians"''.<ref>{{REFweb
|title=Report 10 of the Council on Scientific Affairs (I-99): Neonatal Circumcision
|website=American Medical Association Official Website
|url=http://www.ama-assn.org/ama/no-index/about-ama/13585.shtml
|accessdate=2011-05-04
}}</ref>

The AAP's [http://www.healthychildren.org/English/ages-stages/prenatal/decisions-to-make/pages/Where-We-Stand-Circumcision.aspx Heatlhy Children website] suggests ''"Your pediatrician (or your obstetrician) should discuss the forms of analgesia that are available"''.<ref>{{REFweb
|title=Where We Stand: Circumcision
|publisher=[[AAP]]
|date=2011-03-23
|url=http://www.healthychildren.org/English/ages-stages/prenatal/decisions-to-make/pages/Where-We-Stand-Circumcision.aspx
|accessdate=2019-10-12
}}</ref> Be that as it may, few forms of analgesia are recommended. There are basically two types of injections to choose from, and the website does not go into the difference between a 'dorsal nerve block' and a 'ring block' injection.<ref>The AAP is a master at promoting unnecessary circumcision for the profit of its members. Here it states, "The American Academy of Pediatrics believes that circumcision has potential medical benefits and advantages, as well as risks." What they don't tell parents is that the "potential" means to exist in possibilty, but not in reality, so a "potential benefit" is not an actual benefit.</ref>

Given what is known from aforementioned official documents, the AAP website would be more informative and effective if it said ''"Make sure your doctor knows of the ineffectiveness of anything short of local anesthesia, and make sure your baby is given an injection. This is your responsibility, because your doctor may or may not be up to date on the latest understandings of infant sensitivity to [[pain]] during circumcision."'' The AAP may be holding back, however, perhaps because this would upset the doctor/parent power relationship, and may cause too much questioning of doctors in general. One may not expect to find this kind of advice on such a website, and yet, anything less than this is a dangerously weak statement.

To control [[pain]], some physicians that circumcise use Tylenol, sugar,<ref>{{REFweb
|quote=To calm the baby during the procedure, a sugar filled gauze pacifier soaked with sweet juice is used, and soothing music is played in the room.
|url=http://www.pollockclinics.com/circumcision/circumcision-guide.html
|title=Parents' Guide to Circumcision
|last=
|first=
|publisher=
|date=
|accessdate=2011-04-08
}}</ref><ref>{{REFweb
|quote=During the circumcision, your son will receive sugar pacifiers to suck on which reduce his pain perceptions.
|url=http://www.pollockclinics.com/circumcision/circumcision-before.html
|title=Before the Circumcision
|last=
|first=
|publisher=
|date=2011-04-08
|accessdate=2011-04-08
}}</ref> a topical cream,<ref>{{REFweb
|quote=Then in our office, he will have topical anesthetic applied to his penis.
|url=http://www.pollockclinics.com/circumcision/circumcision-before.html
|title=Before the Circumcision
|last=
|first=
|publisher=
|date=2011-04-08
|accessdate=2011-04-08
}}</ref> and/or a local anaesthetic injection called a dorsal penile ring block.<ref>{{REFweb
|quote=We use extensive pain control methods including Tylenol, a sugar solution (to reduce pain perceptions), a topical freezing cream, and a local anesthetic injection.
|url=http://www.pollockclinics.com/circumcision/circumcision-guide.html
|title=Parents' Guide to Circumcision
|last=
|first=
|publisher=
|date=
|accessdate=2011-04-08
}}</ref> Topical anaesthetic only serves to numb the area to lessen the pain of the injection, but studies have shown that a [[dorsal penile nerve block]] is only partially effective in stopping the [[Pain| pain of circumcision]].<ref name="Journal of Perinatology April/May 2002">{{REFjournal
|last=Taeusch
|first=H. William
|init=HW
|last2=Martinez
|first2=Alma M.
|init2=AM
|last3=Partridge
|first3=J. Colin
|init3=JC
|last4=Sniderman
|first4=Susan
|init4=S
|last5=Armstrong-Wells
|first5=Jennifer
|init5=J
|last6=Fuentes-Afflick
|first6=Elena
|init6=E
|title=Pain During Mogen or Plastibell Circumcision
|journal=Journal of Perinatology
|volume=22
|issue=3
|pages=214-8
|url=http://www.nature.com/jp/journal/v22/n3/full/7210653a.html
|quote=...more than half of the study group had what we considered excessive pain/discomfort over the course of the entire procedure.
|pubmedID=
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=
|note=April/May 2002
|date=2002-04
|accessdate=2011-04-08
}}</ref><ref name="Clinical Pediatrics August 1986">{{REFjournal
|last=Williamson
|first=Paul S.
|init=PS
|last2=Evans
|first2=Nolan Donovan
|init2=ND
|title=Neonatal Cortisol Response to Circumcision with Anesthesia
|journal=Clinical Pediatrics
|volume=25
|issue=8
|pages=412-6
|url=http://cpj.sagepub.com/content/25/8/412.abstract
|quote=The adrenal cortisol response to surgery was not significantly reduced by the administration of lidocaine.
|pubmedID=
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=
|date=1986-08
|accessdate=2011-04-08
}}</ref> During circumcision, somp physicians give children sugar pacifiers to "reduce the perception of pain", but in at least one study, data shows that giving sugar to a child doesn't help to reduce the perception of pain in the child.<ref name="Lancet, The 2010-10-09">{{REFjournal
|last=Slater
|first=Rebeccah
|init=R
|first2=Laura
|init2=L
|last2=Cornelissen
|first3=Lorenzo
|init3=L
|last3=Fabrizi
|first4=Debbie
|init4=D
|last4=Patten
|first5=Jan
|init5=J
|last5=Yoxen
|first6=Alan
|init6=A
|last6=Worley
|first7=Stewart
|init7=S
|last7=Boyd
|first8=Judith
|init8=J
|last8=Meek
|first9=Maria
|init9=M
|last9=Prof. Fitzgerald
|title=Oral sucrose as an analgesic drug for procedural pain in newborn infants: a randomised controlled trial
|journal=The Lancet
|volume=376
|issue=9748
|pages=1225-32
|url=http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736%2810%2961303-7/fulltext
|quote=Our data suggest that oral sucrose does not significantly affect activity in neonatal brain or spinal cord nociceptive circuits, and therefore might not be an effective analgesic drug. The ability of sucrose to reduce clinical observational scores after noxious events in newborn infants should not be interpreted as pain relief.
|pubmedID=
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=
|date=2010-10-09
|accessdate=2011-04-08
}}</ref> Post-operative pain and the pain the child must endure during recovery is hardly, if ever, addressed by professionals.<ref>The use of sweets reduces crying because the infant boy cannot cry and suck at the same time. It does not reduce the [[pain]] experienced.</ref> [[Circumcised]] boys will be very uncomfortable and fussy when compared with [[intact]] boys and girls.<ref>{{REFweb
|url=https://thewholetruth.data.blog/2025/06/25/fussy-boys-calm-girls-how-circumcision-distorts-our-view-of-gender-behavior/
|title=Fussy Boys & Calm Girls: How Circumcision Distorts Our View of Gender Behavior
|last=Barrett
|first=
|init=JL
|author-link=
|publisher=The Whole Truth
|date=2025-06-25
|accessdate=2025-06-26
}}</ref>

It has been shown that an infant's response to [[pain]] can be altered for years as a consequence of circumcision.<ref>{{TaddioA etal 1995}}</ref><ref>{{TaddioA KatzJ IlersichAL KorenG 1997}}</ref>

{{Box|Boxtext=<big>However, none of the above three procedures totally eliminate pain. A baby boy will still experience some pain despite any of those analgesic procedures. Prevention of [[pain]] requires protecting a boy from elective neonatal non-therapeutic circumcision. Only boys who are protected from the medically unnecessary circumcision surgery experience no [[pain]] or [[trauma]].</big>}}

== Risks and effects ==
Just like tonsil or appendix surgery, circumcision is a surgical intervention and brings the usual risks related to surgical operations, alongside several specific risks of complications and late effects.<ref name="garrett2024-01-09" /> Uberoi et al. (2022) report "some men are experiencing a complex negative constellation of psychological, physical, and sexual associations that lead to significant emotional distress directed both internally and externally. The posts also reveal a discovery phenomenon wherein men discover the physical and psychological manifestations of the decisions made by others to modify their genitals."<ref name ="uberoi2022">{{REFjournal
|last=Uberoi
|first=
|init=M
|author-link=
|last2=Abdulcadir
|first2=
|init2=J
|author2-link=
|last3=Ohi
|first3=
|init3=DA
|author3-link=
|last4=Santiago
|first4=
|init4=JE
|author4-link=
|last5=
|first5=
|init5=
|author5-link=
|last6=
|first6=
|init6=
|author6-link=
|last7=
|first7=
|init7=
|author7-link=
|last8=
|first8=
|init8=
|author8-link=
|last9=
|first9=
|init9=
|author9-link=
|etal=yes
|title=Potentially under-recognized late-stage physical and psychosexual complications of non-therapeutic neonatal penile circumcision: a qualitative and quantitative analysis of self-reports from an online community forum
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal=Int J Impot Res
|location=
|date=2022-10-23
|volume=
|issue=
|article=
|page=
|pages=
|url=https://www.nature.com/articles/s41443-022-00619-8
|archived=
|quote=
|pubmedID=36274189
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=10.1038/s41443-022-00619-8
|accessdate=2023-01-08
}}</ref>
=== Physical effects ===
* [[Bodily harm]]
* [[Circumcision scar]] is an invariable effect.
* [https://intactamerica.org/ask-marilyn-is-it-normal-to-have-hair-on-your-penis/ Hair on the penis] is a common effect because hair-bearing skin is dragged onto the shaft of the [[penis]].
* An unavoidable effect of any circumcision is the permanent loss of sexual sensitivity.<ref name="garrett2024-01-09" /> This is partly due to the removal of sensory tissue. The [[foreskin]] contains very many nerve endings and touch receptors, which account for the major part of male sexual sensation. If the [[foreskin]] is removed, they can no longer provide sexual stimulation. It is also partly due to the fact that the surface of the [[Glans penis|glans]] reacts to the missing protection from friction and drying out by developing a callus layer. This reduces the sensitivity of the remaining nerves in the [[Glans penis|glans]] gradually over the years. The study conducted by Sorrells et al.<ref>{{Sorrells etal 2007}}</ref> found a significant reduction of sensitivity to touch for [[circumcised]] compared to [[intact]] [[penis]]es in adult males. Other studies revealed that [[circumcised]] men use condoms significantly less often than [[intact]] men, since they further limit the sexual sensitivity (see above).

* Painful tension can occur when there is too little reserve [[skin]] left to support a full [[erection]]<ref name="taylor1996"/>. This risk is partly dependent on the anatomy of the [[penis]]. While some [[penis]]es already have the majority of their full size when flaccid ([[Flesh Penis]], or "[[shower]]"), others are rather short when flaccid and double or more their size during an [[erection]] ([[Blood Penis]], or "[[grower]]"). Especially in children's circumcision, where the [[penis]] is not yet fully developed, the amount of reserve [[skin]] needed in adulthood cannot be estimated.

* Erectile dysfunction: Both the damage inflicted to the blood vessels in the [[foreskin]] and the reduced sexual sensitivity can be causes for reduced erectile function with advancing age.<ref>{{REFjournal
|last=Money
|init=J
|last2=Davison
|init2=J
|title=Adult penile circumcision: Erotosexual and cosmetic sequelae
|journal=Journal of Sex Research
|date=1983
|volume=19
|issue=
|pages=289-92
|url=
|accessdate=
}}</ref>

* Orgasm problems: In the wake of reduced sexual sensitivity, due to the loss of erogenous sensory tissue and gradual [[keratinization]] of the surface of the [[Glans penis|glans]], orgasm problems may develop with increasing age. In this case, the sexual arousal created by intercourse or [[masturbation]] is not enough to achieve orgasm. A preliminary stage of this late effect is the prolonged time [[circumcised]]] men need to reach an orgasm. This is often fielded as the "cut men have more endurance" argument for circumcision.
* Vaginal dryness: Due to the loss of the natural [[gliding action]], which comes from the mobility of the [[foreskin]] and [[shaft skin]], a much increased friction between [[penis]] and [[vagina]] occurs during intercourse. This can make intercourse painful for both partners and lead to abrasions<ref>{{FrischM LindholmM GroenbaekM 2011}}</ref><ref>{{REFjournal
|last=Cortés-González
|init=J
|last2=Arratia-Maqueo
|init2=J
|last3=Gómez-Guerra
|init3=L
|title=Does circumcision has an effect on female's perception of sexual satisfaction?
|journal=Rev Invest Clin
|date=2008
|volume=60
|issue=3
|page=227
|url=
|pubmedID=18807735
|accessdate=
}}</ref> The prolonged time it takes [[circumcised]] men to reach orgasm, as well as the often longer and more vigorous thrusting movements — compared to [[intact]] men — play a part in this.<ref name="ColdCJ TaylorJR 1999">{{ColdCJ TaylorJR 1999}}</ref><ref>{{REFjournal
|last=Fink
|init=KS
|last2=Carson
|init2=CC
|last3=DeVellis
|init3=RF
|title=Adult Circumcision Outcomes Study: Effect on Erectile Function, Penile Sensitivity, Sexual Activity and Satisfaction
|journal=J Urol
|date=2002
|volume=167
|issue=5
|pages=2113-6
|url=
|accessdate=
}}</ref>

* [[Lymphoedema]] of the penis is a normal and expected complication of male circumcision.

* [[Meatal stenosis]], a pathological narrowing of the opening of the [[urethra]], which mostly occurs in infancy and early childhood. It is one of the most common complications of infant circumcision. A study from 2006 found meatal stenosis exclusively in previously [[circumcised]] boys. The incidence rate after a circumcision is approximately 10 to 20 percent.<ref name="vanhowe2006">{{REFjournal
|last=Van Howe
|init=RS
|author-link=Robert S. Van Howe
|title=Incidence of meatal stenosis following neonatal circumcision in a primary care setting
|journal=Clin Pediatr (Phila)
|note=Jan-Feb 2006
|date=2006-01
|volume=45
|issue=1
|pages=49-54
|url=https://www.academia.edu/6992015/Incidence_of_Meatal_Stenosis_following_Neonatal_Circumcision_in_a_Primary_Care_Setting
|accessdate=2019-12-15
}}</ref><ref>{{REFjournal
|last=Stenram
|init=A
|last2=Malmfors
|init2=G
|last3=Okmian
|init3=L
|title=Circumcision for [[phimosis]]: a follow-up study
|journal=Scandinavian journal of urology and nephrology
|date=1986
|volume=20
|issue=2
|page=89
|url=
|pubmedID=3749823
|accessdate=
}}</ref><ref>{{REFweb
|url=http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/1016016-overview
|title=Meatal Stenosis
|publisher=Medscape
|accessdate=2019-10-11
}}</ref>

* Shorter adult penile length was reported by Park et al. (2016) as a result of NMC (newborn male circumcision).
{{Citation
|Title=
|Text=In conclusion, second to fourth digit ratio, flaccid penile length, and age of circumcision were significant predictive factors for erectile penile length. Furthermore, the penile lengths of the NMC group were shorter than those of the non-NMC group.
|Author=Park et al.
|Source=
|ref=<ref>{{REFjournal
|last=Park
|first=
|init=JK
|author-link=
|last2=Doo
|first2=
|init2=AR
|author2-link=
|last3=Kim
|first3=
|init3=JH
|author3-link=
|last4=Park
|first4=
|init4=HS
|author4-link=
|etal=yes
|title=Prospective investigation of penile length with newborn male circumcision and second to fourth digit ratio.
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal=Can Urol Assoc J
|location=
|date=2016-09
|season=
|volume=10
|issue=9-10
|article=
|page=
|pages=
|url=https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5028213/
|archived=
|quote=
|pubmedID=27695583
|pubmedCID=5028213
|DOI=10.5489/cuaj.3590
|accessdate=2022-09-04
}}</ref>
}}
===Health effects===
The [[foreskin]] provides both [[Immunological and protective function of the foreskin| physical protection and protection from infection]], so [[foreskinned]] boys and men tend to have better health than [[circumcised]] boys and men.<ref name=fendereski2024" /> <ref name="bollinger2025-08-27" /> <ref name="vanhowe2006" />

=== Sexual effects ===
Cepeda-Emiliani et al (2023) cited six reports in the literature of detrimental effects of circumcision, including erectile function, sensation, masturbatory pleasure, orgasm, and sexual satisfaction. The authors also cited three studies of severe distress in [[circumcised]] men, due to their infant circumcision, with complaints of [[glans]] insensitivity, delayed [[ejaculation]], and unpleasant sensation.<ref name="cepeda2023">{{REFjournal
|last=Cepe da-Emiliani
|first=
|init=A
|author-link=Alfonso Cepeda-Emiliani
|last2=Gándara-Cortés
|first2=
|init2=M
|author2-link=
|last3=Otero-Alén
|first3=
|init3=M
|author3-link=
|last4=García
|first4=
|init4=H
|author4-link=
|last5=Suárez-Quintanilla
|first5=
|init5=J
|author5-link=
|last6=García-Caballero
|first6=
|init6=T
|author6-link=
|last7=Gallego
|first7=
|init7=R
|author7-link=
|last8=García-Caballero
|first8=
|init8=R
|author8-link=
|etal=no
|title=Immunohistological study of the density and distribution of human penile neural tissue: gradient hypothesis
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal= Int J Impot Res
|location=
|date=2023-05-02
|volume=35
|issue=3
|article=
|page=
|pages=286-305
|url=https://www.nature.com/articles/s41443-022-00561-9
|archived=
|quote=
|pubmedID=35501394
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=10.1038/s41443-022-00561-9
|accessdate=2023-11-26
}}</ref>

Circumcision and frenectomy remove tissues with heightened erogenous sensitivity.<ref name="garrett2024-01-09" /><ref name="cepeda2023" /> <ref name="winkleman1959">{{WinkelmannRK 1959}}</ref> They concluded, "Evidence has also started to accumulate that male circumcision may result in lifelong physical, sexual, and sometimes psychological harm as well."

The [[amputation]] of the prepuce results in the loss of the majority of fine-touch neuroreceptors found in the [[penis]], leaving only the uninhibited protopathic sensibility of the artificially externalized [[glans penis]]. The imbalance caused by not having the input from the now ablated fine-touch receptors may be a leading cause of the changes in sexual behavior noted in [[circumcised]] human males.<ref>{{REFjournal
|last=Van Howe
|init=RS
|author-link=Robert S. Van Howe
|last2=Cold
|init2=CJ
|title=Advantages and Disadvantages of Neonatal Circumcision
|journal=The Journal of the American Medical Association
|volume=277
|issue=13
|pages=1052-7
|url=http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9218663
|quote=
|pubmedID=9218663
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=
|date=1997-04-02
|accessdate=
}}</ref>

Histology of the male circumcision scar shows [[amputation]] neuromas, Schwann cell proliferation and the bulbous collection of variably sized neurites. [[Amputation]] neuromas do not mediate normal sensation and are notorious for generating pain.<ref name="ColdCJ TaylorJR 1999"/> Cepeda-Emiliani et al. (2023) commented:
<blockquote>
Taking the sleve technique as an example of surgical flexibility during circumcision, to the extent that this technique is of such versatility that it allows highly variable quantities of cutaneous and subcutaneous tissue to be excised directly from the penile body, and to the extent that the prepuce is still conceived by segments of the medical community as "just a small piece of skin", we are concerned that aggressive circumcisions are intentionally or unintentionally being performed in pediatric and adult patients in the belief that "redundant" or " extra" tissue is being excised, or in the belief that "excesive sensitivity" is being reduced to augment ejaculatory latency time.<ref name="cepeda2023" />
</blockquote>
The un-anesthetized and un-sedated newborn infant is restrained by being strapped to a special plastic board called the [[circumstraint]]. The procedure is most often an elective, non-therapeutic surgery without [[medical indication]] performed on neonates and children for religious and cultural reasons in violation of the child's [[human rights]] to [[physical integrity]], but in older patients may be rarely indicated for therapeutic reasons. It is a radical treatment option for pathological [[phimosis]], refractory [[balanoposthitis]] and chronic [[urinary tract infection]]s (UTIs); it is contraindicated in cases of certain genital structure abnormalities or poor general health.

See [[Sexual effects of circumcision]] for more information.

=== Psychological effects ===
[[Psychological_issues_of_male_circumcision#Circumcision_trauma_in_adults| Psychological late effects]] are also likely after a circumcision, especially if the operation was carried out in childhood.<ref name="garrett2024-01-09" /> On this occasion a variety of [[trauma]] may occur, which depend, among others, on age and circumstances of the circumcision. For example, whether the circumcision took place with or without sufficient anaesthesia, if the individual has been informed about the operation beforehand, if he was [[circumcised]] against his will or without his consent, and also, in the case of infant circumcision, if he was told about it during childhood or had to find it out coincidentally on his own.

The psychological late effects of circumcision are not yet fully researched, and many studies took place on rather a small scale. This situation needs to be rectified, because the available studies, as well as the histories of negatively affected men, suggest that these late effects may have more impact than previously assumed.

* It was observed that infants, following circumcision without [[pain]] control, had a disturbed bond with their mother<ref>{{REFjournal
|last=Marshall
|init=RE
|last2=Porter
|init2=FL
|last3=Rogers
|init3=AG
|etal=yes
|title=Circumcision: II effects upon mother-infant interaction
|journal=Early Hum Dev
|date=1982
|volume=7
|issue=4
|pages=367-74
|url=https://www.cirp.org/library/birth/marshall2/
|accessdate=2020-02-01
}}</ref>, as well as problems with nurturing, up to the point of refusal to be fed. The sleeping habits of these babies were also disturbed, with prolonged non-REM sleep and increased waking.

* In boys [[circumcised]] in childhood, [[post-traumatic stress disorder]] ([[PTSD]]) could be diagnosed. In a study on Philippine boys, in whom no [[PTSD]] was found prior to the operation, 69% of the boys [[circumcised]] in the traditional ritual and 51% of those [[circumcised]] by standard medical procedures (including anaesthesia) fulfilled the DSM-IV criteria for PTSD following the operation.<ref>{{REFbook
|last=Ramos
|init=S
|last2=Boyle
|init2=GJ
|year=2001
|title=Understanding circumcision: A Multi-Disciplinary Approach to a Multi-Dimensional Problem
|url=https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-1-4757-3351-8_14
|work=
|editors=[[George C. Denniston]], [[Frederick M. Hodges]], [[Marilyn Fayre Milos]]
|edition=
|volume=
|chapter=Ritual and medical circumcision among Filipino boys: evidence of post-traumatic stress disorder
|pages=253-70
|location=New York
|publisher=Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publishers
|isbn=
|quote=
|accessdate=
|note=
}}</ref>
* Circumcisions, especially those that happen without consent, can spark feelings of helplessness and alienation, which can persist as [[trauma]]. These feeling can also be triggered later, when someone [[circumcised]] as an infant becomes aware of his circumcision. In an online study, interviewed men stated they felt betrayed - 55% by the mother, 50% by the father, and 58% by the doctor, and 73% felt that their [[human rights]] had been violated.<ref name="GSoCH">{{REFweb
|url=http://www.circumcisionharm.org/
|title=Global Survey of Circumcision Harm
|accessdate=2019-10-12
}}</ref>
* It can frequently be found that the loss is denied, much as happens with the loss of other body parts. This denial can lead to fathers having their sons [[circumcised]] in order not to be reminded of their own loss. In this process, their own body is defined as "normal" and the [[foreskin]] redefined as a foreign object. Their own parents are seen as "good", so that this image is projected onto the circumcision their parents carried out as well, in order to keep the positive emotion intact. The father wants to be a "good" father later in life as well, and so, following an idealised image of his own parents, circumcision, which has been redefined as a "good thing", is passed on to his son by having him [[circumcised]] as well.<ref>{{VanderKolkBA 1989}}</ref><ref>{{REFjournal
|last=Goldman
|init=R
|author-link=Ronald Goldman
|url=https://www.cirp.org/library/psych/goldman1/
|title=The psychological impact of circumcision
|journal=BJU Int
|date=1999
|volume=83
|issue=Suppl. 1
|pages=93-103
|accessdate=2019-10-12
}}</ref>
* If the [[circumcised]] male feels incomplete, or due to the missing [[foreskin]] disadvantaged compared to [[intact]] males, an inferiority complex and [[depression]] may occur. This can be accompanied by conscious recognition of his own incompleteness, or the deficiency may remain completely subconscious<ref>{{REFjournal
|last=Rhinehart
|init=J
|url=https://www.cirp.org/library/psych/rhinehart1/
|title=Neonatal circumcision reconsidered
|journal=Transactional Analysis J
|date=1999
|volume=29
|issue=3
|pages=215-21
|accessdate=2019-10-12
}}</ref>. In an online study, 75% of those interviewed stated that they felt incomplete, and 66% said they felt inferior compared with [[intact]] males.<ref name="GSoCH"/>
* Cases in which children felt ill treated or punished have been documented as well. G. Cansever found in her study on 12 boys aged between 4 and 7 years, who had previously been prepared for their impending circumcision, that the children experienced the operation as an aggressive assault on their bodies.<ref>{{REFjournal
|last=Cansever
|init=G
|date=1965
|url=https://www.cirp.org/library/psych/cansever/
|title=Psychological effects of circumcision
|journal=Brit. J. Med. Psychol
|volume=38
|pages=321-31
|pubmedID=5322308
|DOI=10.1111/j.2044-8341.1965.tb01314.x
|accessdate=2019-10-12
}}</ref>
* Fear of being alone or darkness.<ref name="Levy1945">{{REFjournal
|last=Levy
|first=David M.
|init=DM
|url=https://www.cirp.org/library/psych/levy1/
|title=Psychic trauma of operations in children; and a note on combat neurosis
|journal=American Journal of Diseases of Children
|volume=69
|date=1945
|pages=7-25
|accessdate=2019-10-12
}}</ref>
* Fear of doctors, clinics, and also closed rooms.<ref name="Levy1945"/>
* Relapse into the state of bed-wetting, even if the child was already dry before.<ref name="Levy1945"/>
* [[Circumcised]] males who become fathers frequently manifest [[adamant father syndrome]].

[[Intact America]] (2019) called circumcision an [[Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs)| adverse childhood experience]],<ref name-"bollinger2019">{{REFdocument
|title=Child genital cutting as an adverse childhood experience
|url=http://adversechildhoodexperiences.net/CGC_as_an_ACE.pdf
|last=Bollinger
|first=Dan
|author-link=Dan Bollinger
|last2=Chapin
|first2=Georganne
|author2-link=Georganne Chapin
|publisher=Intact America
|location=Tarrytown
|format=PDF
|date=2019-08
|accessdate=2021-11-02
}}</ref>

== Complications ==
=== Possible operative and postoperative complications ===
Circumcision is surgery. Surgical complications of circumcision generally may be classified as [[Bleeding| hemorrhage]], [[infection]], or surgical misadventure up to and including loss of the penis and [[death]].<ref name="deacon2022" /><ref name="williams-kapilla1993">{{REFjournal
|last=Williams
|init=N
|author-link=
|last2=Kapilla
|init2=L
|author2-link=
|etal=no
|title=Complications of circumcision
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal=Brit J Surg
|location=
|date=1993-10
|volume=80
|issue=10
|pages=1231-6
|url=https://www.cirp.org/library/complications/williams-kapila/
|quote=
|pubmedID=8242285
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=10.1002/bjs.1800801005
|accessdate=2019-11-27
}}</ref>

* Intolerance or allergic reactions to the narcotics used.
* Especially in newborns, where the bodily pain reduction mechanisms are not yet fully developed, local anaesthesia is often insufficient for the operation. Even in conjunction with regional anaesthesia of the dorsal nerve of the [[penis]], the rate of failure to provide sufficient anaesthetic even for experienced anaesthetists is still 5-10%. The general anaesthesia that would be needed for newborns, however, poses significant risks for the child, and, therefore, is only likely to be used in emergencies. A surgical operation without proper [[pain]] control can lead to the development of a specific pain memory<ref>{{REFweb
|url=http://www.spiegel.de/spiegel/vorab/experte-warnt-rituelle-beschneidung-veraendert-das-gehirn-der-kinder-a-849534.html
|title=Kinderschmerz-Experte warnt: Rituelle Beschneidung verändert das Gehirn der Kinder
|trans-title=Children's pain expert warns: Ritual circumcision changes the brain of children
|language=German
|last=Prof. Dr. med. Boris Zernikow
|first=
|publisher=Spiegel Online
|website=
|date=2012-08-12
|accessdate=2019-10-11
|format=
|quote=
}}</ref>. In unsedated and partially sedated infants increased secretion of the stress hormone cortisol could be observed for months after the operation. Overall, their pain threshold was lower and the risk of chronic pain increased. Regardless of these findings, infant circumcisions with insufficient or no anaesthetic are still common practice<ref>{{REFjournal
|last=Garry
|init=T
|title=Circumcision: a survey of fees and practices
|journal=OBG Management
|date=1994
|volume=October
|issue=
|pages=34-6
|url=
|accessdate=
}}</ref><ref>{{REFjournal
|last=Howard
|init=CR
|last2=Howard
|init2=FM
|last3=Garfunkel
|init3=LC
|last4=de Blieck
|init4=EA
|last5=Weitzman
|init5=M
|title=Neonatal circumcision and pain relief: current training practices
|journal=Pediatrics
|date=1998
|volume=101
|issue=
|pages=423-8
|url=
|accessdate=
}}</ref><ref>{{REFjournal
|last=Stang
|init=HJ
|last2=Snellman
|init2=LW
|title=Circumcision practice patterns in the United States
|journal=Pediatrics
|date=1998
|volume=101
|issue=e5
|pages=
|url=
|accessdate=
|note=Link to [[AAP]] website
}}</ref>. During procedures which take several minutes, babies tend to fall into a state of stupor, which in the past was falsely interpreted as peaceful sleep, nurturing the belief that babies felt no pain. Measurements taken in those cases revealed a typically 3- to 4-fold increase in cortisol levels, which equals a state of severe [[shock]].<ref>{{REFjournal
|last=Gunnar
|init=MR
|last2=Fisch
|init2=RO
|last3=Korsvik
|init3=S
|last4=Donhowe
|init4=JM
|title=The effects of circumcision on serum cortisol and behavior
|journal=Psychoneuroendocrinology
|date=1981
|volume=6
|issue=3
|pages=269-75
|url=https://www.cirp.org/library/pain/gunnar/
|accessdate=2019-11-26
}}</ref>
* Postoperative wound pain, in the case of children's circumcisions conceivably worsened by the forceful breaking of the preputial adhesions.
* Postoperative pain from the exposure of the sensitive glans penis to clothing. This pain will endure for several weeks or even longer in some cases.
* Postoperative [[bleeding]] of the wound. This can have severe consequences especially for very young infants, if they are not treated promptly. Their blood volume is only about 85 ml per kilogram of body weight, and even moderate blood loss can lead to hypovolaemia, hypovolaemic [[shock]] and even death.<ref>{{REFbook
|last=
|first=
|year=2000
|title=Paediatric Handbook
|url=
|work=
|editors=Smart J, Nolan T.
|edition=6
|volume=
|chapter=
|page=82
|location={{AUSC|VIC}}, Australia
|publisher=Blackwell Science Asia
|isbn=
|quote=
|accessdate=
|note=
}}</ref><ref>{{REFdocument
|title=Autopsy of Demetrius Manker
|url=
|contribution=Case 93-1711
|last=Wetli
|first=CV
|publisher=Miami: Dade County Medical Examiner Department
|format=
|date=1993-06-23
|accessdate=
}}</ref> <ref>{{REFjournal
|last=Hiss
|init=J
|last2=Horowitz
|init2=A
|last3=Kahana
|init3=T
|title=Fatal haemorrhage following male ritual circumcision
|journal=J Clin Forensic Med
|date=2000
|volume=7
|issue=
|pages=32-4
|url=https://www.cirp.org/library/death/hiss1/
|accessdate=2019-11-06
}}</ref><ref>{{REFdocument
|title=Judgement of inquiry into the death of McWillis, Ryleigh Roman Bryan
|url=http://www.circumstitions.com/death-exsang.html
|contribution=
|last=Newell
|first=TEC
|publisher=Burnaby, B.C.: B.C. Coroner's Service
|format=
|date=2004-01-19
|accessdate=2019-11-26
}}</ref>
* Post operative [[lymphoedema]].
* Postoperative [[Infection| infections]]. This includes both local infections, which can be treated with local therapy, and systemic infections, requiring systemic antibiotic treatment.<ref>{{REFconference
|last=Dr. med. Hartmann
|first=Wolfgang
|url=
|place=Rechtsausschuss des Bundestages [Legal Committee of the Bundestag] (German)
|title=Stellungnahme zur Anhörung am 26. November 2012 [Opinion on the hearing on 26 November 2012] (German)
|date=2012-11-26
|accessdate=
}}</ref>
* [[Wound dehiscence]], meaning the separation of the edges of the wound or the tissue after suturing.
* Adhesion between the surface or rim of the [[Glans penis|glans]] with the neighbouring [[penile skin]], causing [[skin]] pockets and bridges, as well as visually unpleasant results like uneven scars, which make a re-circumcision necessary.
* Postoperative [[phimosis]]: a phimotic ring can develop during scarring, which makes a re-circumcision necessary. According to a study by Blalock et al.<ref>{{REFjournal
|last=Blalock
|init=HJ
|last2=Vemulakonda
|init2=V
|last3=Ritchey
|init3=ML
|last4=Ribbeck
|init4=M
|title=Outpatient management of [[phimosis]] Following newborn circumcision
|journal=J Urol
|date=2003
|volume=169
|issue=6
|pages=2332-4
|url=https://www.cirp.org/library/complications/blalock1/
|accessdate=2019-11-26
}}</ref>, the prevalence is 2.9%, according to Leitch<ref>{{REFjournal
|last=Leitch
|init=IOW
|title=Circumcision - a continuing enigma
|journal=Aust Paediatr J
|date=1970
|volume=6
|issue=
|pages=59-65
|url=https://www.cirp.org/library/general/leitch1/
|accessdate=2019-12-15
}}</ref> 5.5%.
* [[Sudden Infant Death Syndrome]] (SIDS).
* Knot formation of the veins. If the dorsal vein, which originates in the tip of the [[foreskin]], is cut during circumcision without being clamped and sutured at its origin separately, it starts to develop new branches over time, which can lead to the development of knots.
* Possible deformities due to circumcision include hypoplasia of the [[penis]] (micro-penis) and induratio [[penis]] plastica (skewed penis).
* Medical malpractice can also not be ruled out. Injuries, partly or entirely severing the [[Glans penis|glans]] or the [[penis]] can occur.
* In rare cases, [[necrosis]], gangrene, ischaemia, keloid formation, and circulatory problems may also occur.
* When the circumcision is followed by the ultra-orthodox Jewish ritual of Metzitzah B'Peh (which consists of sucking blood from the wound with the mouth), there is a risk of infection with [[herpes]] simplex type 1, which can lead to brain damage or [[death]].<ref>{{REFweb
|url=http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/08/nyregion/infants-death-renews-debate-over-a-circumcision-ritual.html?_r=0
|title=Baby’s Death Renews Debate Over a Circumcision Ritual
|last=Robbins
|first=Liz
|date=2012-03-07
|accessdate=2019-10-11
}}</ref>
=== Death ===
There is indeed a risk of [[death]] from non-therapeutic neonatal circumcision,<ref name="garrett2024-01-09" /> although the [[circumcision industry]] takes care to not reveal it.
A study in 2010 estimated approximately 117 neonatal circumcision-related [[Death| deaths]] occur annually in the [[United States]], about one out of every 77 male neonatal deaths, more than suffocation, auto accidents, or even [[SIDS]].<ref name="Bollinger 2010">{{REFjournal
|last=Bollinger
|first=Dan
|init=D
|author-link=Dan Bollinger
|last2=Boy's Health Advisory
|title=Lost Boys: An Estimate of U.S. Circumcision-Related Infant Deaths
|journal=Thymos: Journal of Boyhood Studies
|volume=4
|issue=1
|pages=78-90
|url=http://www.mensstudies.com/content/b64n267w47m333x0/?p=7ebbd6b446d940cbbd4274c095754b12π=5
|quote=
|pubmedID=
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=10.3149/thy.0401.78
|date=2010-04-26
|accessdate=2019-10-12
}}</ref><ref>{{REFweb
|url=http://www.icgi.org/2010/04/infant-circumcision-causes-100-deaths-each-year-in-us
|title=Infant circumcision causes 100 deaths each year in US
|last=
|first=
|publisher=ICGI
|website=[[International Coalition for Genital Integrity]]
|date=2010-04-26
|accessdate=
}}</ref> See also the list of [[fatalities]].

== Forced circumcision ==

=== Non-therapeutic circumcision of male children ===

Human babies, because they are not yet in possession of language, are incapable of giving or refusing consent to be [[circumcised]]. The element of force has led some scholars to view the circumcision of baby boys as a category of forced circumcision.<ref>For example, Frederick M. Hodges, a medical historian, writes: "In the late 1970s, as the Americans were growing increasingly aware of the abuses of power rampant throughout the nation's social institutions, influential grass-roots movements protesting the forced circumcision of American children sprang up nationwide." F. Hodges, "A Short History," p. 31; see also [[Leonard B. Glick|Glick]], ''Marked in Your Flesh'', pp. 273-281.</ref> There are, however, physicians in the United States who argue strongly for non-therapeutic circumcision of newborn babies; and circumcision is widely accepted as a postnatal procedure in American hospitals.<ref>{{REFbook
|last=Fletcher
|first=Christopher R.
|init=CR
|year=1999
|title=Circumcision in America in 1998: Attitudes, Beliefs, and Charges of American Physicians
|url=http://www.springerlink.com/content/h2150v731233m177/
|work=Male and Female Circumcision
|editors=[[George C. Denniston]], [[Frederick M. Hodges]], [[Marilyn Fayre Milos]]
|edition=
|volume=
|chapter=Section 5
|pages=259-71
|location=New York
|publisher=Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publishers
|isbn=
|quote=
|accessdate=2019-10-12
|note=ID 10.1007/978-0-585-39937-9_19
}}</ref> Parental consent is required.<ref>See, e.g., Shephard and Shephard, ''The Complete Guide'', p. 125.</ref> A statement published by the [[American Academy of Pediatrics]] in 1999 claimed that "parents should determine what is in the best interest of the child... It is legitimate for parents to take into account cultural, religious, and ethnic traditions, in additions to the medical factors, when making a decision."<ref>Lannon and Bailey, "Circumcision Policy Statement," p. 691.</ref> however surrogate consent for non-therapeutic circumcision is now viewed as unethical.<ref name-"myers2020">{{REFjournal
|last=Myers
|first=
|init=A
|author-link=Alex Myers
|last2=Earp
|first2=
|init2=BD
|author2-link=Brian D. Earp
|etal=no
|title=What is the best age to circumcise? A medical and ethical analysis
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal=Bioethics
|location=
|date=2020
|volume=34
|issue=7
|pages=645-63
|url=https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Brian-Earp-2/publication/337720859_What_Is_the_Best_Age_to_Circumcise_A_Medical_and_Ethical_Analysis/links/5f815f61a6fdccfd7b555395/What-Is-the-Best-Age-to-Circumcise-A-Medical-and-Ethical-Analysis.pdf
|archived=
|quote=Based on a careful consideration of the relevant evidence, arguments and counterarguments, we conclude that medically unnecessary penile circumcision-like other medically unnecessary genital procedures, such as 'cosmetic' labiaplasty-should not be performed on individuals who are too young (or otherwise unable) to provide meaningful consent to the procedure.
|pubmedID=32068898
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=
|doi=10.1111/bioe.12714
|format=PDF
|accessdate=2026-02-03
}}</ref>

In the [[United Kingdom]], where non-therapeutic circumcision has now become far less prevalent than in the [[United States]], the written consent of both parents is required, if a physician is to perform a non-therapeutic circumcision of a child.<ref>{{REFjournal
|last=
|first=
|title=Re J (child's religious upbringing and circumcision)
|journal=Family Court Reports
|date=2000
|volume=1
|issue=
|pages=307-14
|url=https://www.cirp.org/library/legal/Re_J/2000.html
|accessdate=2019-10-12
}}</ref> (The National Health Service does not provide non-therapeutic circumcision.)

In recent years, legal writers in several English-speaking countries have been questioning the practice of acceding to parental wishes.<ref>See, e.g., [[Margaret A. Somerville|Somerville]], "Therapeutic and Non-Therapeutic Medical Procedures"; Poulter, ''English Criminal Law''; [[Abbie Chessler|Chessler]], "Justifying the Unjustifiable"; Smith, "Male Circumcision."</ref> For example, critics have pointed out that, in the [[United States]], more than 1.3% of male neonatal deaths are attributable to the complications of non-therapeutic circumcision surgery.<ref name="Bollinger 2010"/>

==Recommendations of medical authorities==
* [[George Hill| Hill]] (2007) said:
<blockquote>
Male circumcision is harmful because it excises healthy tissue and permanently destroys beneﬁcial, protective, immunonological, sexual, and sensory physiological functions. Male circumcision also causes psychological problems that tend to perpetuate the cycle of abuse. Male circumcision is a costly diversion of medical resources away from beneﬁcial services. Male circumcision violates legal rights, [[human rights]], and ethical standards. Finally, we must remember that males are the more vulnerable and sensitive of the two genders and, therefore, deserve the greater degree of protection from traumatic, invasive, injurious,and unnecessary surgery. For all of these reasons the non-therapeutic circumcision of boys should not be performed and the [[genital integrity]] of all children should be respected and protected.<ref name="hill2007">{{REFjournal
|last=Hill
|first=George
|init=G
|author-link=George Hill
|title=The case against circumcision
|journal=Journal of Men's Health and Gender
|date=2007
|volume=4
|issue=3
|pages=318-23
|url=https://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/document?repid=rep1&type=pdf&doi=04ace5046cc27f01b8fbe4aa359c059778983912
|quote=
|pubmedID=
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=
|format=PDF
|accessdate=2025-04-22
}}</ref>
</blockquote>
* Andrew E. MacNeiiy, Head, Division of Pediatric Urology, Department of Urological Sciences, {{UNI|University of British Columbia|UBC}}, Vancouver, BC, (2008) said:
<blockquote>
Newborn circumcision remains an area of controversy. Social, cultural, aesthetic and religious pressures form the most common reasons for non-therapeutic circumcision. Although penile cancer and UTIs are reduced compared with uncircumcised males, the incidence of such illness is so low that circumcision cannot be justified as prophylaxis. The role of the foreskin in [[HIV]] transmission in developed countries is unclear, and safe sexual practice remains the cornerstone of prevention. There remains a lack of knowledge regarding what constitutes the normal foreskin both among parents and among primary care providers. This lack of knowledge results in a burden of costs to our health care system in the form of unnecessary urological referrals, expansion of wait times and circumcisions. Routine circumcision of all infants is not justified from a health or cost-benefit perspective.<ref>{{REFjournal
|last=MacNeily
|first=Andrew
|init=
|author-link=
|etal=no
|title=Routine circumcision: the opposing view
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal=Can Urol Assoc J
|location=
|date=2007-11
|volume=1
|issue=4
|article=
|page=
|pages=395-7
|url=http://europepmc.org/article/PMC/2422979
|pubmedID=18542825
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=10.5489/cuaj.455
|accessdate=2021-11-08
}}</ref>
</blockquote>

* The [[Royal Dutch Medical Association]] (KNMG) (2010) said:

<blockquote>
The official viewpoint of KNMG and other related medical/scientific organisations is that non-therapeutic circumcision of male minors is a violation of children’s rights to autonomy and physical integrity. Contrary to popular belief, circumcision can cause complications – [[bleeding]], infection, [[urethra]]l stricture and panic attacks are particularly common. KNMG is therefore urging a strong policy of deterrence. KNMG is calling upon doctors to actively and insistently inform parents who are considering the procedure of the absence of medical benefits and the danger of complications.<ref>{{REFdocument
|title=Non-therapeutic circumcision of male minors
|url=https://www.doctorsopposingcircumcision.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/knmg-non-therapeutic-circumcision-of-male-minors-27-05-2010.pdf
|contribution=
|last=
|first=
|publisher=Royal Dutch Medical Association
|format=PDF
|date=2010
|accessdate=2021-11-08
}}</ref>
</blockquote>

* The [[Royal Australasian College of Physicians]] (2010) said:

<blockquote>
Ethical and [[human rights]] concerns have been raised regarding elective infant male
circumcision because it is recognised that the foreskin has a functional role, the operation
is non-therapeutic and the infant is unable to consent.

After reviewing the currently available evidence, the RACP believes that the frequency of
diseases modifiable by circumcision, the level of protection offered by circumcision and the
complication rates of circumcision do not warrant routine infant circumcision in Australia
and New Zealand. However it is reasonable for parents to weigh the benefits and risks of
circumcision and to make the decision whether or not to circumcise their sons.<ref name="racp2010">{{REFdocument
|title=Circumcision of Infant Males
|url=https://www.racp.edu.au//docs/default-source/advocacy-library/circumcision-of-infant-males.pdf
|contribution=
|last=
|first=
|publisher=The Royal Australasian College of Physicians
|format=PDF
|date=2010-09-01
|accessdate=2021-11-08
}}</ref>
</blockquote>

* The [[American Academy of Pediatrics]] (AAP) has not re-affirmed its disastrous, failed 2012 Circumcision Policy Statement, which expired in 2017, so currently has no position on child circumcision.

* Medical historian [[Robert Darby]] (2014) wrote simply:
<blockquote>
"To avoid circumcision complications, avoid circumcision."<ref>{{REFjournal
|last=Darby
|first=
|init=R
|author-link=Robert Darby
|etal=no
|title=To avoid circumcision complications, avoid circumcision
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal=Can Urol Assoc J
|location=
|date=2014-08-14
|volume=8
|issue=7-8
|article=
|page=231
|pages=
|url=https://cuaj.ca/index.php/journal/article/view/1709/1823
|archived=
|quote=
|pubmedID=
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=10.5489/cuaj.1709
|accessdate=2022-12-16
}}</ref>
</blockquote>
* The [[Canadian Paediatric Society]] (CPS) (2015) said:

<blockquote>In most jurisdictions, authority is limited only to interventions deemed to be medically necessary. In cases in which medical necessity is not established or a proposed treatment is based on personal preference, interventions should be deferred until the individual concerned is able to make their own choices.<ref name="CPS2015">{{REFjournal
|last=Sorokin
|first=S. Todd
|init=ST
|author-link=
|last2=Finlay
|first2=JC
|author2-link=
|last3=Jeffries
|first3=AL
|author3-link=
|etal=yes
|title=Newborn male circumcision
|journal=Paediatr Child Health
|location=
|date=2015-08
|volume=20
|issue=6
|pages=311-20
|url=https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4578472/
|quote=
|pubmedID=26435672
|pubmedCID=4578472
|DOI=10.1093/pch/20.6.311
|accessdate=2019-10-27
}}
</ref></blockquote>

* The [[Canadian Urological Association]] (CUA) considered the matter of circumcision and issued a statement in February 2018. The CUA concluded:

<blockquote>"Given the socioeconomic, educational status, and health demographics of our population, universal neonatal circumcision cannot be justified based on the current evidence available.<ref name="cua2018">{{REFjournal
|last=Dave
|first=Sumit
|init=S
|author-link=
|etal=yes
|title=Canadian Urological Association guideline on the care of the normal foreskin and neonatal circumcision in Canadian infants (abridged version)
|journal=Can Urol Assoc J
|location=
|date=2018-02
|volume=12
|issue=2
|pages=18-28
|url=https://cuaj.ca/index.php/journal/article/view/5034/3470
|quote=
|pubmedID=
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=
|accessdate=2021-11-09
}}</ref></blockquote>

==British family court opinion==
The issue of non-therapeutic circumcision of male children came before the court in the case of ''[[Re B and G (children) (No 2) EWFC 3]] (2015)'' . In that case, Judge Sir James Munby ruled that circumcision of male children caused ''significant harm''.
== Rights and ethics ==

The [[Rights situation on circumcision|rights situation]] is discussed in a separate article.

[[Image:Intact vs circumcised.JPG |thumbnail|right|300px| The intact and circumcised human penis, side by side.]]

The term "circumcision" without a gender qualifier refers specifically to male circumcision. It means "to cut around," and it refers to the [[excision]] of the [[foreskin]] from the penis. The term is inaccurate and a euphemism because the operation actually cuts off or [[amputation| amputates]] the [[foreskin]], which in adults comprises about fifteen square inches of highly functional erogenous tissue.

Circumcision is most often performed in healthy males for [[Religion and Culture|religious or cultural]] reasons. The procedure may be performed on consenting adults, but it is most often performed on non-consenting minors, particularly newborn children, which is why the ritual is so controversial. Opponents of circumcision consider the circumcision of non-consenting minors to be unethical and a [[human rights]] violation, unless there is concrete [[medical indication]].
=== Consent by surrogates ===
Medical ethics has long recognized limitations on the power of consent by surrogates.<ref>{{REFjournal
|last=Committee on Bioethics, American Academy of Pediatrics
|etal=no
|title= Informed consent, parental permission, and assent in pediatric practice
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal=Pediatrics
|location=
|date=1995
|volume=95
|issue=2
|article=
|page=
|pages=314-17
|url=https://www.cirp.org/library/ethics/AAP/
|archived=
|quote=
|pubmedID=7478854
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=
|accessdate=2023-05-21
}}</ref> <ref>{{REFjournal
|last=Committee on Bioethics
|etal=no
|title=Informed Consent in Decision-Making in Pediatric Practice
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal=Pediatrics
|location=
|date=2016-08
|volume=138
|issue=2
|article=
|page=e20161485
|pages=
|url=https://watermark.silverchair.com/peds_20161485.pdf?token=AQECAHi208BE49Ooan9kkhW_Ercy7Dm3ZL_9Cf3qfKAc485ysgAAApwwggKYBgkqhkiG9w0BBwagggKJMIIChQIBADCCAn4GCSqGSIb3DQEHATAeBglghkgBZQMEAS4wEQQM8zYHFd0Ylu9Annq_AgEQgIICT24ikc839aJMYOiypqC2G9f7_yKGAGkAekzzbCtck5TElALWVCGNoVSOaA6rDA_dOkQ_LyJnxYlZ88J9-uk15tvlIBbE82_aNyYfq5e9xmEfqD2vh374q3Naz57dxZaUbgxUkKX4PqsiLmYHLvVrr7bQK2MZuuUOKiQU8JZy7lLjkp-PjJO1U9cyIplTAgs_EdvgK8MWWoIsj-X-ZUDImAG63-rlj_qLsy5dYwytmxfCuVa47RdZseLSr2_bdDpwKAKGhq_Ly9rlHZeW_f7fYktVfF_sFTgcJziAlvEQmdyWIw0qf-hlO31Qb3sH6kDdcvHAbm7llY5xa34XLYIt8QR0YFIimgDGFliN4-ce2vjvvrwS85WeeNFhpn-Ywn4Qjpy06hPuLDL-MtI2Z3BZbBsKq4dp8qGu1q9GlXaKw193riTFG9G5bF5GCKmxmt0nCQTthrb_CcK2UhKjZwPekC9zkIUHPZ9BXJt0SM03F_g-GgqbE0hTYKMqNdJ3sHDQu2luFrJ9JEiMzxtP28gJoYh20d2APA0xrRbXBYsFdAlr50gb1BSAbNJhTyx-Kh3geoSHsAYMjPaG7cIbh0jd42pWCUx30vjlAGK8zXTuf7-31oi81CLbHTAJLuzK3NT4Whi17jVq1SbXsIXlWpKc_d-HujCvlb74rkZQ6RG9wkxW7gAKaDqtKv5zTOTMBD9vLVxgp8lDmVA8PFB59Bqd6w-fi86tW132oWQM-mTfwdIBXFbUFXkeTUC5RYyqJQIXAEwLJSRm1RX-LRbKRzgaRQ
|archived=
|quote=
|pubmedID=27456510
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=10.1542/peds.2016-1485
|format=PDF
|accessdate=2023-05-21
}}</ref> <ref>{{REFjournal
|last=Committee on Bioethics
||etal=no
|title=Informed Consent in Decision-Making in Pediatric Practice
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal=Pediatrics
|location=
|date=2016-08
|volume=138
|issue=2
|article=
|page=e20161484
|pages=
|url=https://watermark.silverchair.com/peds_20161484.pdf?token=AQECAHi208BE49Ooan9kkhW_Ercy7Dm3ZL_9Cf3qfKAc485ysgAAApwwggKYBgkqhkiG9w0BBwagggKJMIIChQIBADCCAn4GCSqGSIb3DQEHATAeBglghkgBZQMEAS4wEQQMYv3coRY-UCYMgTaqAgEQgIICT4di03qn2Hbho3i8Li_78lod0lNMunch25nx1rKvaM_aeFerz5eN6_k8VVeNv-DLocZp28whQr1x4WYDVwSs4uF73vZpYZYuDphYQkwxV1HHgMbZAbHBFuE8QyCHyDvSY-fhQcUl-JrYxa3TbhYgd4bKiU9zfIyXUsCnItroCc9iNrMicPg0v_A0AJJlhxioOlAU-im6OPI06OcCBj78yqkPO0J4nMTN1FLochsOyvZZdtFQQzLhrnM_Gey8K75lFYIBJHA7uzMmP2o5KZ-FTGUkEA_eSpEIpwv2WI4SbtrA8WYk3cQqXOmLIWjkSs9CTELD7CQP29xarr1ANrF_id4CiCX7zIomC2Ciz9lHBEgz8EH2i9Woke_YuZeLax52_6JpdhH1qdMQyF1bByjP8mU98V5_B4BPPiBpKt4pVA_UgtaABRHL8oPv6SwOUQZ2Bc-0_E2tod0VIF1FJBwZRZJm2ZkJPgBSKUo8VBe5Pz_6Vpt2DqLzwqVUYscPsIJMvxl09mMtvJrsBa8yVoTRWj4Rd0OBTMV7zhZskDnYYyrAZ6sHMk0MzvbHilPNbNgU5o7mXmcbFGDgGgWbqrIdT6sVSSfPJm4TnR0HSWbc_EnHhhyye7tVlFGjAsR0R46_DSwEMz8M5DkSln8xfKtX_so9rjCvYeq45wqn09g8DqtV-WHEA9PIrcw5kTcz5I0JkNuW4-vKVU1Xz9XHiYi4Zqbq0vx9NWLdNSYHQSOGMZ1MCAxT152evQdipQB5wokR8Q4rICoJYII5bsmRMYd7JQ
|archived=
|quote=
|pubmedID=27456514
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=10.1542/peds.2016-1484
|format=PDF
|accessdate=2023-05-21
}}</ref>

Two ethicists, Myers & Earp (2020), have conducted a detailed review and analysis of the claimed medical benefits of ''non-therapeutic'' [[circumcision]]. They have determined than the alleged benefits are not material, so they do not support granting of consent by a surrogate. In other words, ''Non-therapeutic'' circumcision is not truly healthcare. Moreover, they comment that even the most perfectly executed surgery produces [[trauma]] and harm to the patient. Circumcision also produces tissue loss and loss of function, therefore, circumcision should be performed only after the individual reaches the age of consent. Consent by a surrogate for a ''non-therapeutic'' circumcision of a minor child is an unethical practice.<ref name="myers2020">{{REFjournal
|last=Myers
|first=
|init=A
|author-link=
|last2=Earp
|first2=
|init2=BD
|author2-link=Brian D. Earp
|etal=no
|title=What is the best age to circumcise? A medical and ethical analysis
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal=J Biosoc Sci
|location=
|date=2020-09
|volume=34
|issue=7
|pages=560-72
|url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/bioe.12714
|archived=
|quote=
|pubmedID=32068898
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=10.1111/bioe.12714
|accessdate=2023-05-18
}}</ref>
== Tipping point ==
[[Intact America]] (2024) points out the need for reform in the American media false portrayal of infant circumcision as a benign procedure.<ref>{{REFweb
|url=https://intactamerica.org/truth-about-circumcision-media/
|title=The Dark Side of Circumcision: Why the Media Needs to Speak Up
|last=Alissa
|first=Kristel
|init=
|author-link=
|publisher=Intact America
|date=2024-09-12
|accessdate=2024-09-13
}}</ref>

Jacobsen et al. (2021) used data from 2003 through 2016 from the Kid's Inpatient Database of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality to compare [[intact]] with [[circumcised]] boys in the first 28 days of life. The authors reported a gradual declining trend in the incidence of neonatal non-therapeutic [[circumcision]] throughout the study period. The overall incidence of circumcision decreased from 57.4 percent in 2003 to 52.1 percent in 2016 over the 13-year study period or 5.3 percentage points for an average decrease of 0.4 percentage point per year. The authors noted "neonatal circumcision rates decreased significantly over time."<ref name="jacobson2021">{{REFjournal
|last=Jacobson
|first=Deborah L.
|init=
|author-link=
|last2=Balmert
|first2=Lauren C.
|init2=
|author2-link=
|last3=Holl
|first3=Jane L.
|init3=
|author3-link=
|last4=Rosoklija
|first4=Ilina
|init4=
|author4-link=
|last5=Davis
|first5=Matthew M.
|init5=
|author5-link=
|last6=Johnson
|first6Emilie K.
|init6=
|author6-link=
|etal=no
|title=Nationwide Circumcision Trends: 2003 to 2016
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal=J Urol
|location=
|date=2021-01
|volume=205
|issue=1
|pages=257-63
|url=https://www.auajournals.org/doi/abs/10.1097/JU.0000000000001316
|pubmedID=32716676
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=10.1097/JU.0000000000001316
|accessdate=2025-10-02
}}</ref>

Yang et al. (2025) report a "significant" decline in the incidence of circumcision over a ten-year period and that only a minority of American boys are being [[circumcised]] in the newborn period since 2022. The authors reported a decline of 1/2 of one percent per year. <ref name="yang2025" /> Although the incidence of [[circumcision of the newborn]] has been gradually declining for decades, this is the first study to report an overall incidence of less than fifty percent. Based on this new information, we can now report that [[intactness]] is now the NORM among the newborn boys of America. The decline in circumcision popularity is expected to continue.

[[Intact America]] is tracking the opposition to [[circumcision]] in the [[United States]]. It reports [https://www.instagram.com/p/DKVZQGTRl77/ steadily increasing opposition] to [[child circumcision]].

We note that [[Australia]] reported a significant improvement in child health when the incidence of circumcision declined in that nation.<ref>{{REFweb
|url=https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/children-youth/australias-children-in-brief/summary
|title=Australia’s children: in brief
|last=Anonymous
|first=
|init=
|author-link=
|publisher=Australian Institute of Health and Welfare
|pubmedID=
ISBN=978-1-76054-659-5
|DOI=10.25816/5e152818d082c
|date=2019-12-17
|accessdate=2025-09-17
}}</ref>

==Video==
===This should be a crime.===
<youtube>v=ob4OADNIidc</youtube>
{{SEEALSO}}
* [[Circumcision bullet-points for parents]]
* [[Foreskin comment]]
* [[Fusions and adhesions]]
* [[Neurotomy]]
{{LINKS}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://www.prweb.com/releases/new-survey-parents-lack-basic-understanding-about-circumcision-dangers-skin-in-the-game-campaign-launches-to-raise-awareness-about-this-unnecessary-medical-practice-301987509.html
|title=New Survey: Parents Lack Basic Understanding About Circumcision Dangers; 'Skin in the Game' Campaign Launches to Raise Awareness About This Unnecessary Medical Practice
|last=Anonymous
|first=
|init=
|author-link=
|publisher=Intact America
|date=2023-11-14
|accessdate=2025-12-07
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://www.reddit.com/r/NewBorn/comments/u9c5og/questions_for_baby_boi_do_you_circumcised_your/
|title=Questions for baby boi do you circumcised your baby or leave it?
|last=Anonymous
|publisher=REDDIT
|date=2021
|accessdate=2025-11-22
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://www.reddit.com/r/self/comments/ljwpfe/why_i_hate_being_circumcised/
|title=Why I hate being circumcised
|last=Anonymous
|first=
|init=
|author-link=
|publisher=REDDIT
|date=2020
|accessdate=2025-11-01
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://www.reddit.com/r/foreskin_restoration/comments/1pjzoqz/circumcision_will_end_this_century/
|title=Circumcision will end this century
|last=Anonymous
|publisher=REDDIT
|date=2025-12-11
|accessdate=2025-12-11
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://www.reddit.com/r/intactinfo/comments/1qe1kkl/the_neurological_cost_of_circumcision_a_breakdown/
|title=The Neurological Cost of Circumcision, A Breakdown of What's Removed
|last=Anonymous
|first=
|init=
|author-link=
|publisher=REDDIT
|date=2026-01-15
|accessdate=2026-01-16
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://www.reddit.com/r/uncircumcised_talk/comments/1rawx5e/my_wife_and_i_agree_to_leave_our_son_intact/
|title=My wife and I agree - to leave our son intact
|last=Anonymous
|publisher=REDDIT
|date=2026-02-21
|accessdate=2026-02-21
}}
The following external link is of especial interest. Hundreds of contemporary parents have expressed their views in the comments regarding non-therapeutic circumcision of newborn infant boys:
* {{REFweb
|url=https://www.reddit.com/r/NewDads/comments/1u3wcun/circumcision/
|title=Circumcision
|last=Anonymous
|publisher=REDDIT
|date=2026-06-12
|accessdate=2026-06-17
}}
{{REF}}

[[Category:Body modification]]
[[Category:Circumcision]]
[[Category:Education]]
[[Category:Foreskin anatomy]]
[[Category:Parental information]]
[[Category:Sociology]]

Aggravated battery

2026-07-12T15:08:41Z

WikiModEn2:

'''{{FULLPAGENAME}}''' is the legal term for an [https://legaldictionary.net/battery/ act of battery], when it "is committed with intent to do serious harm or murder", or when it is done with a dangerous weapon. A weapon is considered dangerous whenever the purpose for using it is to cause death or serious harm. State statutes define aggravated battery in various ways—such as assault with intent to kill. Under such statutes, assault means both battery and assault. It is punishable as a [https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/felony felony] in all states."<ref>{{REFweb
|url=https://legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/Aggravated+battery
|title=Battery
|last=Anonymous
|first=
|init=
|publisher=The Free Dictionary by Farlex
|date=
|accessdate=2026-07-11
}}</ref>

Samantha-Rae Tuthil (2023) commented:
<blockquote>
"Aggravated battery This is a much more serious charge. Like a simple battery, the prosecution must prove that you intended to make contact with the victim, that the victim did not consent, and that the victim suffered some kind of harm. In addition, they will usually need to prove that you intended to cause harm. An even more serious degree of aggravated battery will require great bodily harm. Permanent disfigurement, serious bodily injury, permanent disability, or possible risk of death are some of the ways an injury is considered great bodily harm. Sometimes, if you use a dangerous weapon or a deadly weapon like a gun or a knife in the battery, it will automatically count as aggravated, even without grave bodily harm. If the circumstances are severe enough, you could face an attempted murder charge or a sentencing enhancement."<ref name="tuthil2023">{{REFweb
|url=https://www.lawinfo.com/resources/criminal-defense/aggravated-battery/
|title=Aggravated Battery
|last=Tuthil
|first=Samantha-Rae
|init=
|author-link=
|publisher=LawInfo
|website=https://www.lawinfo.com
|date=2023-12-21
|accessdate=2026-07-11
}}</ref>
</blockquote>
==Circumcision?==
Does the medically-not-indicated, non-therapeutic [[amputation]] of a healthy [[foreskin]] from the [[penis]] of a minor boy without his consent constitute aggravated battery?

Circumcision is the Biblical euphemism used by the [[circumcision industry]] to promote the harmful, irreversible surgical excision and [[amputation]] of the [[foreskin]] (AKA prepuce) of the [[penis]] of a human male. The harmful amputation causes [[MGM| genital mutilation]], permanent disfigurement, and permanent loss of function,<ref name="andersen2025">{{REFjournal
|last=Andersen-Giberson
|init=D
|author-link=Dale Andersen
|url=https://cdd.journals.yorku.ca/index.php/cdd/article/view/39786/36016
|title=Circumcision and forced disability: Routine male neonatal circumcision and the consequences of amputation within a critical disability studies framework
|journal=Critical Disability Discourses
|date=2025-12
|volume=10
|issue=2
|pages=1-37
|URL=https://cdd.journals.yorku.ca/index.php/cdd/article/view/39786/36016
|DOI=https://doi.org/10.25071/1918-6215.39786
|quote=In a critical disability studies framework, it is argued that the act of amputating healthy erogenous tissue and the consequences of that amputation cause disability, particularly from a counter-hegemonic lens.
|format=PDF
|accessdate=2026-07-12
}}</ref> which causes an increase in medical issues,<ref name="fendereski2024">{{REFjournal
|last=Fendereski
|first=
|init=K
|author-link=
|last2=Horns
|first2=
|init2=JJ
|author2-link=
|last3=Driggs
|first3=
|init3=N
|author3-link=
|last4=Lau
|first4=
|init4=G
|author4-link=
|last5=Shaeffer
|first5=
|init5=AJ
|author5-link=
|etal=no
|title=Comparing Penile Problems in Circumcised vs. Uncircumcised Boys: Insights From a Large Commercial Claims Database With a Focus on Provider Type Performing Circumcision
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal=J Pediatr Surg
|date=2024-11
|volume=59
|issue=11
|article=161614
|url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S002234682400407X
|archived=
|quote=
|pubmedID=39084960
|pubmedCID=11486584
|DOI=10.1016/j.jpedsurg.2024.06.022
|accessdate=2025-01-03
}}</reF> degrades normal physiological sexual function,<ref name="cepeda2025">{{REFjournal
|last=Cepeda-Emiliani
|first=
|init=A
|author-link=Alfonso Cepeda-Emiliani
|last2=Otero-Alén
|first2=
|init2=M
|author2-link=
|last3=Suárez-Quintanilla
|first3=
|init3=J
|author3-link=
|last4=Gándara-Cortés
|first4=
|init4=M
|author4-link=
|last5=García-Caballero
|first5=
|init5=T
|author5-link=
|last6=García-Caballero
|first6=
|init6=R
|author6-link=
|last7=García-Caballero
|first7=
|init7=L
|author7-link=
|etal=no
|title=The sensory penis: A comprehensive immunohistological and ontogenetic exploration of human penile innervation
|trans-title=
|journal=Andrology
|date=2025-09-19
|volume=
|issue=
|article=
|pages=1-41
|url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/andr.70118
|archived=
|quote=
|pubmedID=40970806
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=10.1111/andr.70118
|accessdate=2026-07-12
}}</ref> and causes psychological issues.<ref name="tye2022"> {{REFjournal
|last=Tye
|first=
|init=MC
|author-link=
|last2=Sardi
|first2=
|init2=LM
|author2-link=Lauren Sardi
|etal=no
|title=Psychological, psychosocial, and psychosexual aspects of penile circumcision
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal=Int J Impot Res
|date=2023-05
|volume=35
|issue=3
|pages=242-8
|url=https://www.galdef.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/Tye-Sardi-Psycho-Aspects-of-Penile-Circumcision-IJIR-2022.pdf
|archived=
|quote=
|pubmedID=35347302
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=10.1038/s41443-022-00553-9
|format=PDF
|accessdate=2026-07-12
}}</ref>

Since boys are too young to grant consent, the American [[circumcision industry]] has traditionally relied on [[surrogate consent]], granted by a parental surrogate, for [[circumcision]], not the actual child victim, however parents do not have the right to harm their children, since the Supreme Court of the United States of America (1944) ruled:
<blockquote>
Parents may be free to become martyrs themselves. But it does not follow they are free, in identical circumstances, to make martyrs of their children before they have reached the age of full and legal discretion when they can make that choice for themselves.<ref>[https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/321/158/ Prince v Massachusetts], 21 U.S. 158, 159-60 (1944).</ref>
</blockquote>
Parental surrogates are denied the right to make that harmful choice for their children. [[Surrogate consent]] cannot be used to legalize or excuse the harmful aggravated battery of foreskin amputation.

If a non-therapeutic circumcision is to be done, then it must wait until the child patient reaches the legal age at which he can grant consent for himself.

==European precedents==
* [[Cologne circumcision court judgment]] (2012)
* [[Re B and G (children) (No 2) EWFC 3]] (2015)
{{SEEALSO}}
* [[Informed consent]]
* [[William Stowell]]
* [[Wrongful circumcision]]
{{LINKS}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://uslawexplained.com/aggravated_battery
|title=Aggravated Battery: The Ultimate Guide to a Serious Violent Crime
|last=Anonymous
|publisher=US Law Explained
|website=https://uslawexplained.com/start
|accessdate=2026-07-11
}}
==Conclusion==
Circumcision of male children is a mutilation of genital tissue that permanently destroys the [[foreskin]] (prepuce) of a male child. It also irreversibly destroys the [[Foreskin#Physiological_functions_of_the_foreskin| protective, immunological, sensory, and sexual functions]] of the foreskin, leaving the male patient at increased risk of disease.<ref name="fendereski2024" /> It is mutilating and causes permanent disfigurement of the [[penis]]. Circumcision of male children clearly meets all tests for aggravated battery. It cannot be legalized or excused by patient or surrogate consent because no one has the legal capacity to grant consent for the aggravated battery of non-therapeutic child circumcision.<ref name="hill2003">{{REFjournal
|last=Hill
|first=George
|init=G
|author-link=George Hill
|title=Can anyone authorize the nontherapeutic permanent alteration of a child's body?
|journal=The American Journal of Bioethics
|date=2003
|season=Spring
|volume=3
|issue=2
|pages=16-8
|url=https://www.researchgate.net/profile/George-Hill-3/publication/371599857_Can_Anyone_Authorize_the_Nontherapeutic_Permanent_Alteration_of_a_Child's_Body/links/648b8819c41fb852dd0949be/Can-Anyone-Authorize-the-Nontherapeutic-Permanent-Alteration-of-a-Childs-Body.pdf
|quote=
|pubmedID=14635628
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=10.1162/152651603766436342
|accessdate=2026-07-11
}}</ref>
{{REF}}

[[Category:Law: USA]]
[[Category:Litigation over circumcision]]
[[Category:USA]]

Aggravated battery

2026-07-12T14:21:15Z

WikiModEn2: /* Circumcision? */ Add citation.

'''{{FULLPAGENAME}}''' is the legal term for an [https://legaldictionary.net/battery/ act of battery], when it "is committed with intent to do serious harm or murder", or when it is done with a dangerous weapon. A weapon is considered dangerous whenever the purpose for using it is to cause death or serious harm. State statutes define aggravated battery in various ways—such as assault with intent to kill. Under such statutes, assault means both battery and assault. It is punishable as a [https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/felony felony] in all states."<ref>{{REFweb
|url=https://legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/Aggravated+battery
|title=Battery
|last=Anonymous
|first=
|init=
|publisher=The Free Dictionary by Farlex
|date=
|accessdate=2026-07-11
}}</ref>

Samantha-Rae Tuthil (2023) commented:
<blockquote>
"Aggravated battery This is a much more serious charge. Like a simple battery, the prosecution must prove that you intended to make contact with the victim, that the victim did not consent, and that the victim suffered some kind of harm. In addition, they will usually need to prove that you intended to cause harm. An even more serious degree of aggravated battery will require great bodily harm. Permanent disfigurement, serious bodily injury, permanent disability, or possible risk of death are some of the ways an injury is considered great bodily harm. Sometimes, if you use a dangerous weapon or a deadly weapon like a gun or a knife in the battery, it will automatically count as aggravated, even without grave bodily harm. If the circumstances are severe enough, you could face an attempted murder charge or a sentencing enhancement."<ref name="tuthil2023">{{REFweb
|url=https://www.lawinfo.com/resources/criminal-defense/aggravated-battery/
|title=Aggravated Battery
|last=Tuthil
|first=Samantha-Rae
|init=
|author-link=
|publisher=LawInfo
|website=https://www.lawinfo.com
|date=2023-12-21
|accessdate=2026-07-11
}}</ref>
</blockquote>
==Circumcision?==
Does the medically-not-indicated, non-therapeutic [[amputation]] of a healthy [[foreskin]] from the [[penis]] of a minor boy without his consent constitute aggravated battery?

Circumcision is the Biblical euphemism used by the [[circumcision industry]] to promote the harmful, irreversible surgical excision and [[amputation]] of the [[foreskin]] (AKA prepuce) of the [[penis]] of a human male. The harmful amputation causes [[MGM| genital mutilation]], permanent disfigurement, and permanent loss of function,<ref name="andersen2025">{{REFjournal
|last=Andersen-Giberson
|init=D
|author-link=Dale Andersen
|url=https://cdd.journals.yorku.ca/index.php/cdd/article/view/39786/36016
|title=Circumcision and forced disability: Routine male neonatal circumcision and the consequences of amputation within a critical disability studies framework
|journal=Critical Disability Discourses
|date=2025-12
|volume=10
|issue=2
|pages=1-37
|URL=https://cdd.journals.yorku.ca/index.php/cdd/article/view/39786/36016
|DOI=https://doi.org/10.25071/1918-6215.39786
|quote=In a critical disability studies framework, it is argued that the act of amputating healthy erogenous tissue and the consequences of that amputation cause disability, particularly from a counter-hegemonic lens.
|format=PDF
|accessdate=2026-07-12
}}</ref> which causes an increase in medical issues, degrades normal physiological sexual function,<ref name="cepeda2025">{{REFjournal
|last=Cepeda-Emiliani
|first=
|init=A
|author-link=Alfonso Cepeda-Emiliani
|last2=Otero-Alén
|first2=
|init2=M
|author2-link=
|last3=Suárez-Quintanilla
|first3=
|init3=J
|author3-link=
|last4=Gándara-Cortés
|first4=
|init4=M
|author4-link=
|last5=García-Caballero
|first5=
|init5=T
|author5-link=
|last6=García-Caballero
|first6=
|init6=R
|author6-link=
|last7=García-Caballero
|first7=
|init7=L
|author7-link=
|etal=no
|title=The sensory penis: A comprehensive immunohistological and ontogenetic exploration of human penile innervation
|trans-title=
|journal=Andrology
|date=2025-09-19
|volume=
|issue=
|article=
|pages=1-41
|url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/andr.70118
|archived=
|quote=
|pubmedID=40970806
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=10.1111/andr.70118
|accessdate=2026-07-12
}}</ref> and causes psychological issues.<ref name="tye2022"> {{REFjournal
|last=Tye
|first=
|init=MC
|author-link=
|last2=Sardi
|first2=
|init2=LM
|author2-link=Lauren Sardi
|etal=no
|title=Psychological, psychosocial, and psychosexual aspects of penile circumcision
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal=Int J Impot Res
|date=2023-05
|volume=35
|issue=3
|pages=242-8
|url=https://www.galdef.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/Tye-Sardi-Psycho-Aspects-of-Penile-Circumcision-IJIR-2022.pdf
|archived=
|quote=
|pubmedID=35347302
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=10.1038/s41443-022-00553-9
|format=PDF
|accessdate=2026-07-12
}}</ref>

Since boys are too young to grant consent, the American [[circumcision industry]] has traditionally relied on [[surrogate consent]], granted by a parental surrogate, for [[circumcision]], not the actual child victim, however parents do not have the right to harm their children, since the Supreme Court of the United States of America (1944) ruled:
<blockquote>
Parents may be free to become martyrs themselves. But it does not follow they are free, in identical circumstances, to make martyrs of their children before they have reached the age of full and legal discretion when they can make that choice for themselves.<ref>[https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/321/158/ Prince v Massachusetts], 21 U.S. 158, 159-60 (1944)</ref>
</blockquote>
Parental surrogates are denied the right to make that harmful choice for their children. [[Surrogate consent]] cannot be used to legalize or excuse the harmful aggravated battery of foreskin amputation.

If a non-therapeutic circumcision is to be done, then it must wait until the child patient reaches the legal age at which he can grant consent for himself.

==European precedents==
* [[Cologne circumcision court judgment]] (2012)
* [[Re B and G (children) (No 2) EWFC 3]] (2015)
{{SEEALSO}}
* [[Informed consent]]
* [[William Stowell]]
* [[Wrongful circumcision]]
{{LINKS}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://uslawexplained.com/aggravated_battery
|title=Aggravated Battery: The Ultimate Guide to a Serious Violent Crime
|last=Anonymous
|publisher=US Law Explained
|website=https://uslawexplained.com/start
|accessdate=2026-07-11
}}
==Conclusion==
Circumcision of male children is a mutilation of genital tissue that permanently destroys the [[foreskin]] (prepuce) of a male child. It also irreversibly destroys the [[Foreskin#Physiological_functions_of_the_foreskin| protective, immunological, sensory, and sexual functions]] of the foreskin, leaving the male patient at increased risk of disease.<ref name="fendereski2024">{{REFjournal
|last=Fendereski
|first=
|init=K
|author-link=
|last2=Horns
|first2=
|init2=JJ
|author2-link=
|last3=Driggs
|first3=
|init3=N
|author3-link=
|last4=Lau
|first4=
|init4=G
|author4-link=
|last5=Shaeffer
|first5=
|init5=AJ
|author5-link=
|etal=no
|title=Comparing Penile Problems in Circumcised vs. Uncircumcised Boys: Insights From a Large Commercial Claims Database With a Focus on Provider Type Performing Circumcision
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal=J Pediatr Surg
|date=2024-11
|volume=59
|issue=11
|article=161614
|url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S002234682400407X
|archived=
|quote=
|pubmedID=39084960
|pubmedCID=11486584
|DOI=10.1016/j.jpedsurg.2024.06.022
|accessdate=2025-01-03
}}</reF> It is mutilating and causes permanent disfigurement of the [[penis]]. Circumcision of male children clearly meets all tests for aggravated battery. It cannot be legalized or excused by patient or surrogate consent because no one has the legal capacity to grant consent for the aggravated battery of non-therapeutic child circumcision.<ref name="hill2003">{{REFjournal
|last=Hill
|first=George
|init=G
|author-link=George Hill
|title=Can anyone authorize the nontherapeutic permanent alteration of a child's body?
|journal=The American Journal of Bioethics
|date=2003
|season=Spring
|volume=3
|issue=2
|pages=16-8
|url=https://www.researchgate.net/profile/George-Hill-3/publication/371599857_Can_Anyone_Authorize_the_Nontherapeutic_Permanent_Alteration_of_a_Child's_Body/links/648b8819c41fb852dd0949be/Can-Anyone-Authorize-the-Nontherapeutic-Permanent-Alteration-of-a-Childs-Body.pdf
|quote=
|pubmedID=14635628
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=10.1162/152651603766436342
|accessdate=2026-07-11
}}</ref>
{{REF}}

[[Category:Law: USA]]
[[Category:Litigation over circumcision]]
[[Category:USA]]

Aggravated battery

2026-07-12T13:57:19Z

WikiModEn2: Revise text.

Ethics of non-therapeutic child circumcision

2026-07-12T13:41:36Z

WikiModEn2: /* Is circumcision without valid consent battery? */ Add link in SEEALSO section.

Human dignity is the term given to the principle that humans and human life are entitled to respect. The United Nations has developed many [[human rights]] instruments that provide general guidance on protecting human dignity ."<ref>{{REFbook
|last=President's Council on Bioethics
|first=
|init=
|year=2008-03
|title=Human Dignity and Bioethics
|url=https://bioethicsarchive.georgetown.edu/pcbe/reports/human_dignity/
|scope=
|location=Washington, DC
|publisher=President's Council on Bioethics
|ISBN=
|accessdate=2025-06-28
}}</ref> Medical doctors have a general duty to respect the [[human rights]] of their patients.

Ethics is defined as "the principles of conduct governing an individual or a group". Medical ethics or bioethics provide guidance on protecting the human dignity of patients in medical treatment.

Male circumcisions are usually performed by medical doctors for profit, so the more specific principles of medical ethics or bioethics are applicable to the practice of [[circumcision]].
Male [[circumcision]] is the surgical removal of the [[foreskin]] (prepuce) from the human [[penis]].<ref name=sawyer_2011>{{REFbook
|last=Sawyer
|init=S
|title=Pediatric Physical Examination & Health Assessment
|pages=555-556
|date=2011-11
|publisher=Jones & Bartlett Publishers
|isbn=978-1-4496-7600-1
|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=W6eRUtlujbkC&pg=PA555
}}</ref> The foreskin has [[Foreskin#Physiological_functions| protective, immunological, sensory, and sexual functions]], which are irreversibly destroyed and cease to function after the [[amputation]] of the foreskin by circumcision, imposing a lifetime loss of functional tissue and loss of function upon the patient. The '''ethics of non-therapeutic child circumcision''' being imposed on unconsenting minors (babies and children) has been a source of ongoing controversy.<ref name="bma2006">Committee on Medical Ethics. [https://www.bma.org.uk/advice/employment/ethics/children-and-young-people/non-therapeutic-male-circumcision-of-children-ethics-toolkit The law and ethics of male circumcision: Guidance for doctors]. London: British Medical Association 2006.</ref>

The concern about the ongoing practice of [[child circumcision]] has spurred the publication of numerous articles in journals of medical ethics.

==Ethics journals ==

===Journal of Medical Ethics circumcision issue, July 2013===
The ''Journal of Medical Ethics'' devoted the entire July 2013 issue to the controversial issue of non-therapeutic circumcision of male children.<ref>{{REFjournal
|title=The issue of male circumcision
|journal=Journal of Medical Ethics
|date=2013
|volume=39
|issue=7
|url=http://jme.bmj.com/content/39/7.toc
}}</ref> The numerous articles represent a diverse variety of views.<ref>{{REFjournal
|last=Foddy
|init=B
|title=The concise argument: Medical, religious and social reasons for and against an ancient rite
|journal=Journal of Medical Ethics
|date=2013
|volume=39
|issue=7
|page=415
|url=http://jme.bmj.com/content/39/7/415.full
|DOI=10.1136/medethics-2013-101605
|pubmedID=23781076
}}</ref><ref>{{REFjournal
|last=Earp
|init=BD
|author-link=Brian D. Earp
|title=The ethics of infant male circumcision
|journal=Journal of Medical Ethics
|date=2013
|volume=39
|issue=7
|pages=418-420
|url=https://www.academia.edu/3430963/The_ethics_of_infant_male_circumcision
|DOI=10.1136/medethics-2013-101517
|pubmedID=23781078
}}</ref>
===American Medical Association Journal of Ethics===
In August 2017, the American Medical Association ''Journal of Ethics'' featured two separate articles challenging the morality of performing non-therapeutic infant circumcision.

[[J. Steven Svoboda| Svoboda]] (2017) argues against non-therapeutic circumcision.<ref name="svoboda2017">{{REFjournal
|date=2017-08-01
|title=Nontherapeutic Circumcision of Minors as an Ethically Problematic Form of Iatrogenic Injury
|journal=AMA Journal of Ethics
|language=en
|volume=19
|issue=8
|pages=815-24
|DOI=10.1001/journalofethics.2017.19.8.msoc2-1708
|pubmedID=28846521
|issn=2376-6980
|last1=Svoboda
|first1=J.S.
}}</ref> He states that this decision should be considered in the context of benefit vs risk of harm, rather than simply risk-benefit due to the non-therapeutic nature of the procedure.<ref name="svoboda2017"/> He states that benefits do not outweigh the risks, and also claims that foreskin removal should be considered a sexual harm.<ref name="svoboda2017"/> He also goes on to conclude that non-therapeutic circumcision largely violates the physician's duty to respect a patient's autonomy since many procedures take place before a patient is able to freely give consent himself.<ref name="svoboda2017"/>

Reis and Reis's article (2017) explore the role physicians play in neonatal circumcision.<ref name="reis-reis2017">{{REFjournal
|date=2017-08-01
|title=Are Physicians Blameworthy for Iatrogenic Harm Resulting from Unnecessary Genital Surgeries?
|journal=AMA Journal of Ethics
|language=en
|volume=19
|issue=8
|pages=825-833
|DOI=10.1001/journalofethics.2017.19.8.msoc3-1708
|pubmedID=28846522
|issn=2376-6980
|last=Reis-Dennis
|first=S.
|last2=Reis
|first2=E.
}}</ref> They state that if physicians outline all the currently known risks and benefits of the procedure to the parents and believes the procedure is indeed medically indicated, they cannot be held accountable for any harm from the procedure.<ref name="reis-reis2017"/> However, they still advise against physicians recommending unnecessary, irreversible surgeries, which is a category circumcision falls in frequently.<ref name="reis-reis2017"/>

==Principles of medical ethics==
===Cardinal principles===
The five cardinal principles of medical ethics are:
* Autonomy (respecting a patient's right to make their own decisions),
* Beneficence (acting in the best interest of the patient),
* Non-maleficence (avoiding harm to the patient), and
* Justice (ensuring fair treatment for all patients).<ref name="beautchamp1999">{{REFbook
|last=Beauchamp
|first=
|init=TL
|author-link=
|last2=
|first2=
|init2=
|author2-link=
|year=1999
|title=Contemporary Issues in Bioethics
|url=
|work=
|editor=Beauchamp TL, Walters L
|edition=
|volume=
|chapter=Chapter One
|scope=
|page=
|pages=18-22
|location=New York
|publisher=Wadsworth Publishing Company
|ISBN=0-534-50176-0
|quote=
|accessdate=2025-06-27
|note=
}}</ref>
* Proportionality. (having benefits that are proportionate to the risks and losses.)
These principles guide healthcare professionals in making ethical decisions in patient care.

===Secondary principles===
There are also a number of secondary principles of medical ethics that include:
* Provision of futile, ineffective, or unnecessary treatment.
* Misuse of medical resources.
* Surrogate consent. (See below.)
* Informed consent. Informed consent is required by law. See [[Informed consent]].
* Patient exploitation. (See below.)
* Duties to child-patients. The Committee on Bioethics of the American Academy of Pediatrics stated that pediatric health care providers 'have legal and ethical duties to their child patients to render competent medical care based on what the patient needs, not what someone else expresses. Although impasses regarding the interests of minors and the expressed wishes of their parents or guardians are rare, the pediatrician's responsibilities to his or her patient exist independent of parental desires or proxy consent."<ref name="aapcp1995">{{REFjournal
|last=American Academy of Pediatrics Committee on Bioethics
|first=
|init=
|author-link=
|etal=no
|title=Informed Consent, Parental Permission, and Assent in Pediatric Practice
|journal=Pediatrics
||date=1995-11
|volume=96
|issue=5 Pt 1
|pages=981-2
|url=https://www.cirp.org/library/ethics/AAP/
|archived=
|quote=
|pubmedID=7478854
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=
|doi=
|accessdate=2025-06-30
}}</ref>
* Preservation of the child’s right to an open future.<ref>{{REFweb
|url=https://www.doctorsopposingcircumcision.org/for-professionals/medical-ethics/
|title=Medical Ethics and the Non-therapeutic Circumcision of Male Children
|last=Anonymous
|first=
|init=
|author-link=
|publisher=Doctors Opposing Circumcision
|date=2020-08
|accessdate=2025-06-30
}}</ref>
Circumcision ([[MGM]]) of male minors violates every one of these principles of medical ethics.<ref>{{REFweb
|url=https://www.doctorsopposingcircumcision.org/for-professionals/medical-ethics/
|title=Medical Ethics and the Non-therapeutic Circumcision of Male Children
|last=Anonymous
|first=
|init=
|author-link=
|publisher=Doctors Opposing Circumcision
|date=2020-08
|accessdate=2025-06-29
}}
</ref>

There is no disease present in the newborn [[penis]] and no medical indication exists for [[circumcision of the newborn]].<ref>{{GairdnerDM 1949}}</ref> <ref>{{REFjournal
|last=Wright
|first=
|init=JE
|author-link=
|etal=no
|title=Non-therapeutic circumcision
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal=MJA
|date=1967-05-27
|volume=1
|issue=21
|pages=1083-6
|url=https://www.cirp.org/library/general/wright4/
|archived=
|quote=
|pubmedID=6028342
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=10.5694/j.1326-5377.1967.tb20877.x
|accessdate=2025-06-27
}}</ref> <ref>{{REFjournal
|last=Preston
|first=
|init=EN
|author-link=
|etal=no
|title=Whither The Foreskin?
|journal=JAMA
|date=1970-09-14
|volume=213
|issue=11
|pages=1853-8
|url=https://www.cirp.org/library/general/preston/
|archived=
|quote=
|pubmedID=5468911
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=10.1001/jama.213.11.1853
|accessdate=2025-06-27
}}</ref> <ref>{{REFbook
|last=Committee on Fetus and the Newborn
|first=
|init=
|year=1971
|title=Standards and Recommendation for Hospital Care of Newborn infants
|url=
|scope=
|location=Evanston, IL
|publisher=American Academy of Pediatrics
|ISBN=
|accessdate=2025-06-27
}}</ref>
<ref name="mansfield1995">{{REFjournal
|last=Mansfield
|first=
|init=CJ
|author-link=
|last2=Hueston
|first2=
|init2=WJ
|author2-link=
|last3=Rudy
|first3=
|init3=M
|author3-link=
|etal=no
|title=Neonatal Circumcision: Associated Factors and Length of Hospital Stay
|journal=J Fam Pract
|date=1995-10
|volume=41
|issue=4
|pages=370-6
|url=https://www.cirp.org/library/procedure/mansfield/
|archived=
|quote=
|pubmedID=7561711
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=
|doi=
|accessdate=2025-06-29
}}</ref>

==Autonomy==
Patient autonomy is the first principle of medical ethics.<ref>{{REFbook
|last=Beauchamp
|first=Tom L.
|init=TL
|last2=Childress
|first2=James F.
|init2=JF
|title=Principles of Biomedical Ethics
|publisher=New York: {{UNI|Oxford University|Oxon}} Press
|date=2001
}}</ref> Consent for a non-therapeutic operation offends the principle of autonomy, when granted by a surrogate.<ref name="myers2020">{{REFjournal
|last=Myers
|first=
|init=A
|author-link=Alex Myers
|last2=Earp
|first2=
|init2=BD
|author2-link=Brian D. Earp
|etal=no
|title=What is the best age to circumcise? A medical and ethical analysis
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal= Bioethics
|location=
|date=2020
|volume=34
|issue=7
|pages=645-63
|url=https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Brian-Earp-2/publication/337720859_What_Is_the_Best_Age_to_Circumcise_A_Medical_and_Ethical_Analysis/links/5f815f61a6fdccfd7b555395/What-Is-the-Best-Age-to-Circumcise-A-Medical-and-Ethical-Analysis.pdf
|quote=Based on a careful consideration of the relevant evidence, arguments and counterarguments, we conclude that medically unnecessary penile circumcision-like other medically unnecessary genital procedures, such as 'cosmetic' labiaplasty-should not be performed on individuals who are too young (or otherwise unable) to provide meaningful consent to the procedure.
|pubmedID=32068898
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=
|doi=10.1111/bioe.12714
|format=PDF
|accessdate=2025-06-28
}}</ref>

Since children, and especially infants, are legally incompetent to grant [[informed consent]] for medical or surgical treatment, that consent must be granted by a surrogate — someone designated to act on behalf of the child-patient, if treatment is to occur.<ref name="conundrum">{{REFjournal
|last=Svoboda
|first=J. Steven
|init=JS
|author-link=J. Steven Svoboda
|last2=Van Howe
|first2=Robert S.
|init2=RS
|author2-link=Robert S. Van Howe
|last3=Dwyer
|first3=James G.
|init3=JG
|author3-link=James G. Dwyer
|title=Informed Consent for Neonatal Circumcision: An Ethical and Legal Conundrum
|url=https://scholarship.law.wm.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1166&context=facpubs
|pages=60-133
|journal=J Contemp Health Law & Policy
|volume=17
|date=2000
}}</ref>

A surrogate's powers to grant consent are more circumscribed than the powers granted to a competent individual acting on his own behalf.<ref name="conundrum" /> <ref name="aapcp1995" /> A surrogate may only act in the best interests of the patient.<ref name="conundrum"/> A surrogate may not put a child at risk for religious reasons.<ref name="conundrum"/> A surrogate may grant consent for a medical procedure that has ''no'' [[medical indication]] ''only'' if it is the child's best interests.<ref name="conundrum"/>

The attending physician must provide the surrogate with all material information concerning the proposed benefits, risks, advantages, and drawbacks of the proposed treatment or procedure.<ref name="conundrum"/> <ref name="aapcp1995" />

The Committee on Bioethics of the AAP (1995) states that parents may only grant surrogate informed permission for ''diagnosis and treatment'' with the assent of the child whenever appropriate.<ref name="aapcp1995" />

There was an unresolved question whether surrogates may grant effective consent for non-therapeutic child circumcision.<ref name="povenmire">{{REFjournal
|last=Povenmire
|init=R
|authorlink=
|date=
|note=1998–1999
|title=Do Parents Have the Legal Authority to Consent to the Surgical Amputation of Normal, Healthy Tissue From Their Infant Children?: The Practice of Circumcision in the United States
|journal=Journal of Gender, Social Policy and the Law
|volume=7
|issue=1
|pages=87-123
|pubmedID=16526136
|url=http://www.cirp.org/library/legal/povenmire/
|accessdate=2013-11-25
}}</ref>

<ref name="conundrum"/> Richards (1996) argues that parents may only consent to medical care, so are not empowered to grant consent for non-therapeutic circumcision of a child because it is not medical care.<ref name="richards">{{REFjournal
|last=Richards
|init=D
|authorlink=
|date=1996-05
|title=Male Circumcision: Medical or Ritual?
|journal=Journal of Law and Medicine
|volume=3
|issue=4
|pages=371-376
|url=http://www.cirp.org/library/legal/richards/
|accessdate=2008-04-11
}}</ref> The [[Canadian Paediatric Society]] (2015) recommends that circumcisions done in the absence of a [[medical indication]] or for personal reasons "should be deferred until the individual concerned is able to make their own choices."<ref name="mayan2021">{{REFjournal
|last=Mayan
|first=Madhur
|init=
|author-link=
|last2=Hamilton
|first2=Robert J.
|init2=
|author2-link=
|last3=Juurlink
|first3=David N.
|init3=
|author3-link=
|last4=Austin
|first4=Peter C.
|init4=
|author4-link=
|last5=Jarvi
|first5=Keith A.
|init5=
|author5-link=
|etal=no
|title=Circumcision and Risk of HIV Among Males From Ontario, Canada
|journal=J Urol
|location=
|date=2023-06-08
|volume=
|issue=
|article=
|page=
|pages=
|url=https://www.auajournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1097/JU.0000000000002234
|quote=We found that circumcision was not independently associated with the risk of acquiring [[HIV]] among men from Ontario, Canada.
|pubmedID=34551593
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=10.1097/JU.0000000000002234
|accessdate=2025-06-29
}}</ref>

Regardless of these issues, the unethical general practice of the medical community in the [[United States]] is to receive surrogate informed consent or permission from parents or legal guardians for non-therapeutic circumcision of children.<ref name="povenmire"/><ref name="conundrum" />

=== The emerging consensus on surrogate consent for non-therapeutic newborn, infant, and child circumcision ===
The power of parents and other surrogates to grant consent is dependent upon the existence of a physical or medical condition in a minor child that requires diagnostic and/or treatment.<ref name="richards"/> <ref name="aapcp1995" /> The right to grant surrogate consent cannot exist in the absence of such a condition. The AAP Committee on Bioethics (2016) now states: "A parent’s authority is not absolute but constrained by respect for the child."<ref name="aviva2016">{{REFjournal
|last=Committee on Bioethics
|etal-no
|title=Informed Consent in Decision-Making in Pediatric Practice
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal=Pediatrics
|location=
|date=2016-08
|volume=138
|issue=2
|article=
|page=e20161484.
|pages=
|url=https://publications.aap.org/pediatrics/article/138/2/e20161484/52512/Informed-Consent-in-Decision-Making-in-Pediatric?autologincheck=redirected
|archived=
|quote=
|pubmedID=27456514
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=
|doi=10.1542/peds.2016-1484
|accessdate=2023-05-27
}}</ref> This may mean that the AAP now recognizes the child as a person with legal rights of his/her own.

Boys are born with a healthy [[foreskin]] that is free of disease. The [[medical trade association| medical trade associations]] and other promoters have put forward various alleged benefits from neonatal circumcision for decades to develop business for their physican-members, but they are not valid. There are no medical indications for a neonatal [[circumcision]].

The validity of surrogate consent for non-therapeutic circumcision of boys has been questioned for decades.<ref name="povenmire"/> <ref name="richards" /> <ref name="hill2003">{{REFjournal
|last=Hill
|first=
|init=G
|author-link=George Hill
|title=Can anyone authorize the nontherapeutic permanent alteration of a child's body?
|journal=The American Journal of Bioethics
|date=2003
|volume=3
|issue=2
|pages=16-8
|url=https://www.researchgate.net/profile/George-Hill-3/publication/371599857_Can_Anyone_Authorize_the_Nontherapeutic_Permanent_Alteration_of_a_Child's_Body/links/648b8819c41fb852dd0949be/Can-Anyone-Authorize-the-Nontherapeutic-Permanent-Alteration-of-a-Childs-Body.pdf
|quote=
|pubmedID=14635628
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=10.1162/152651603766436342
|format=PDF
|accessdate=2023-07-11
}}</ref>

Bioethicists Myers & Earp (2020) exhaustively reviewed the evidence for and against the alleged health benefits to a healthy person claimed for non-therapeutic circumcision of a neonate, infant or child. They balanced this against the [[pain]], [[trauma]], and loss of body tissue and function. They concluded the claimed health benefits are insufficient to support surrogate consent for non-therapeutic circumcision. Given this, only the subject can grant consent for a non-therapeutic circumcision, after he reaches the right age for circumcision, which does not occurs until a male reaches the age of consent in his jurisdiction, which may vary from 16 to 18 years of age. The present practice in the [[United States]] and elsewhere of parental consent for non-therapeutic circumcision is entirely unethical.<ref name-"myers2020">{{REFjournal
|last=Myers
|first=
|init=A
|author-link=Alex Myers
|last2=Earp
|first2=
|init2=BD
|author2-link=Brian D. Earp
|etal=no
|title=What is the best age to circumcise? A medical and ethical analysis
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal=Bioethics
|location=
|date=2020
|volume=34
|issue=7
|pages=645-63
|url=https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Brian-Earp-2/publication/337720859_What_Is_the_Best_Age_to_Circumcise_A_Medical_and_Ethical_Analysis/links/5f815f61a6fdccfd7b555395/What-Is-the-Best-Age-to-Circumcise-A-Medical-and-Ethical-Analysis.pdf
|archived=
|quote=Based on a careful consideration of the relevant evidence, arguments and counterarguments, we conclude that medically unnecessary penile circumcision-like other medically unnecessary genital procedures, such as 'cosmetic' labiaplasty-should not be performed on individuals who are too young (or otherwise unable) to provide meaningful consent to the procedure.
|pubmedID=32068898
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=
|doi=10.1111/bioe.12714
|format=PDF
|accessdate=2020-05-27
}}</ref>

Moreover, non-therapeutic circumcision of boys may also be unlawful,<ref name="Adler">{{REFjournal
|last=Adler
|first=Peter W.
|init=PW
|author-link=Peter W. Adler
|url=https://scholarship.richmond.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1265&context=jolpi
|title=Is Circumcision Legal?
|volume=16
|issue=3
|journal=Richmond J. L. & Pub. Int.
|page=439
|date=2013
}}</ref> if a court should accept Adler's arguments.


==Other views==
Povenmire (1988) argued that parents should not have the power to consent to neonatal non-therapeutic circumcision.<ref name="povenmire"/>

Richards (1996) argued that parents only have power to consent to therapeutic procedures.<ref name="richards"/>

[[Margaret A. Somerville|Somerville]] (2000) argues that the nature of the medical benefits cited as a justification for infant circumcision are such that the potential medical problems can be avoided or, if they occur, treated in far less invasive ways than circumcision. She states that the removal of healthy genital tissue from a minor should not be subject to parental discretion, or that physicians who perform the procedure are not acting in accordance with their ethical duties to the patient, regardless of parental consent.<ref name="Somerville2000">{{REFbook
|last=Somerville
|first=Margaret A.
|init=M
|author-link=Margaret A. Somerville
|title=The ethical canary: science, society, and the human spirit
|accessdate=2007-02-12
|date=2000-11
|publisher=Viking Press|Viking Penguin Canada
|location=New York, NY
|isbn=0-670-89302-1
|pages=202-219
|chapter=Altering Baby Boys’ Bodies: The Ethics of Infant Male Circumcision
|url=https://www.academia.edu/654017/Altering_baby_boys_bodies_the_ethics_of_infant_male_circumcision
|lccn=2001369341
}}</ref>

[[Margaret A. Somerville|Somerville]] argues that because of a lack of credible information about male circumcision in some societies, the ability for the caregiver to grant [[informed consent]] on behalf of their child is compromised. This may be especially true of caregivers from a religious or cultural tradition that is particularly biased towards or against circumcising infants.<ref name="Somerville2000"/>

Canning (2002) commented that "[i]f circumcision becomes less commonly performed in North America ... the legal system may no longer be able to ignore the conflict between the practice of circumcision and the legal and ethical duties of medical specialists."<ref name="Canning">{{REFjournal
|last=Canning
|init=DA
|title=Informed consent for neonatal circumcision: an ethical and legal conundrum
|journal=J Urol
|url=http://www.cirp.org/library/legal/canning1/
|date=2002
|volume=168
|issue=4 Pt 1
|pages=1650-1651
|DOI=10.1016/S0022-5347(05)64535-1
|pubmedID=12356070
}}</ref>

The Committee on Medical Ethics of the [[British Medical Association]] (2003) published a paper to guide doctors on the law and ethics of circumcision. It advises medical doctors to proceed on a case by case basis to determine the best interests of the child before deciding to perform a circumcision. The doctor must consider the child's legal and [[human rights]] in making his or her determination. It states that a physician has a right to refuse to perform a non-therapeutic circumcision.<ref name="bma2006"/> The College of Physicians and Surgeons of British Columbia took a similar position.<ref name="cpsbc">{{REFweb
|last=College of Physicians & Surgeons of British Columbia
|title=Circumcision (Infant Male)
|date=2007
|accessdate=2013-12-06
|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070928050441/https://www.cpsbc.ca/cps/physician_resources/publications/resource_manual/malecircum
}}</ref>

Fox and Thomson (2005) state that in the absence of "unequivocal evidence of medical benefit", it is "ethically inappropriate to subject a child to the acknowledged risks of infant male circumcision." Thus, they believe, "the emerging consensus, whereby parental choice holds sway, appears ethically indefensible".<ref name="fox-thomson">{{REFjournal
|last=Fox
|init=M
|last2=Thomson
|init2=M
|title=A covenant with the status quo? Male circumcision and the new BMA guidance to doctors
|journal=Journal of Medical Ethics
|date=2005
|volume=31
|issue=8
|pages=463-469
|url=http://jme.bmj.com/content/31/8/463.full
|DOI=10.1136/jme.2004.009340
|pubmedID=16076971
|pubmedCID=1734197
}}</ref>

The Belgian Consultative Committee for Bioethics (''[[:fr:Comité consultatif de Bioéthique de Belgique|Comité Consultatif de Bioéthique de Belgique]]'') (2017), after a three-year study, has ruled that circumcision of male children for non-therapeutic purposes is unethical in Belgium.<ref> {{REFweb
|last=Comité Consultif de Bioéthique de Belgique
|website=SPF Santé Publique
|title=Opinion no. 70 of 8 May 2017on the ethical aspects of nonmedical circumcision
|url=https://www.health.belgium.be/sites/default/files/uploads/fields/fpshealth_theme_file/opinion_70_web.pdf
|date=2017-05-08
|accessdate=2019-11-03
}}</ref><ref name="bulletin2017">{{REFnews
|title=Ethics committee rules against infant circumcision
|url=http://www.xpats.com/ethics-committee-rules-against-infant-circumcision
|work=The Bulletin
|date=2017
|quote=As circumcision is irreversible and therefore a radical operation, we find the physical integrity of the child takes precedence over the belief system of the parents.
}}</ref> The process is irreversible, has no medical justification in most cases, and is performed on minors unable to give their own permission, according to the committee. Paul Schotsmans of the {{UNI|University of Leuven|UCLouvain}}, on behalf of the committee, noted "the child’s right to physical integrity, which is protected by the Convention on the Rights of the Child, and in particular its protection from physical injury." The committee found that the child's right to physical integrity is greater than a parent's religious right to circumcise.<ref name="bulletin2017"/>

The Belgian minister of health replied that the Federal Institute for Health Insurance cannot check and know whether in (individual cases) a circumcision is medically justified or not and that she will continue to reimburse circumcision of minors as the safety of the child is her primary concern and she wants to avoid botched circumcisions by non-medical circumcisers.

== Patient exploitation ==

The non-therapeutic [[circumcision industry]] in the [[United States]] costs more than $3.6 billion annually.<ref name="bollinger2012">{{REFweb
|url=https://www.academia.edu/6442587/High_Cost_of_Circumcision_3.6_Billion_Annually
|title=High Cost of Circumcision: $3.6 Billion Annually
|last=Bollinger
|first=Dan
|author-link=Dan Bollinger
|publisher=Academia
|website=https://www.academia.edu
|date=2012
|accessdate=2021-11-12
|format=PDF
|quote=As the saying goes, follow the money.}}

Now you know why neither the [[American Academy of Pediatrics]], American Medical Association, [[American Academy of Family Physicians]], or the [[American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists| American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists]] haven’t condemned this unnecessary surgery, and why their physician members are quick to recommend the procedure to expectant parents.
}}</ref>

[[Third-party payment]] is a major support to the performance of this injurious medically-unnecessary surgery. If parents could not grant consent for non-therapeutic circumcision, then no one could grant consent for the non-therapeutic circumcision of a child, so the $3.6 billion annual business would collapse. The American [[Medical trade association| medical trade associations]], more than those of other nations, have been unwilling to recognize the child's [[human rights]] to [[physical integrity]], to security of the person, and the right to personal autonomy.

The performance of harmful, medically not indicated [[circumcision]] upon a child simply to collect a surgical fee must be regarded as patient exploitation.<ref>Principle 13, [https://www.cfpc.ca/CFPC/media/Resources/Education/CMA-Code-of-Ethics.pdf CMA Code of Ethics]. Ottawa: Canadian Medical Association; updated 2004.</ref>

==Is circumcision without valid consent battery?==
Boyle et al. (2004) argued that non-therapeutic circumcision of boys is "assault",<ref>{{BoyleGJ SvobodaJS PriceCP TurnerJN 2000}}</ref> but is it actually battery?
Simple battery is defined as:
<blockquote>
At common law, an intentional unpermitted act causing harmful or offensive contact with the "person" of another.<ref>{{REFweb
|url=https://legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/battery
|title=Battery
|last=Anonymous
|first=
|init=
|author-link=
|publisher=The Free Legal Dictionary
|date=
|accessdate=2025-06-20
}}</ref>
</blockquote>

Aggravated battery is defined as:
<blockquote>
[[Aggravated battery]] is one of the most serious forms of battery. It usually involves a physical act or contact with another person without that person's consent and with an intention to cause harm. Usually, this involves some form of serious injury. Aggravated battery can result in temporary disfigurement, permanent disfigurement, irreparable harm, greater bodily harm, serious risk of death, loss of a limb or body part requiring surgery.

When an individual uses a “deadly weapon” during an attack, this will usually be interpreted by most states as [[aggravated battery]]. Deadly weapons include guns, knives, rocks, bricks, and even boots. They refer to any weapons that are able to cause harm. A person who has committed an aggravated battery will be charged with a high level misdemeanor or felony.<ref>{{REFweb
|url=https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/aggravated_battery
|title=aggravated battery
|last=
|first=
|init=
|author-link=
|publisher=Legal Information Institute
|date=2025-02
|accessdate=2025-06-29
}}</ref>
</blockquote>
A scapel actually is a specialized knife, designed to cut human flesh, so a court may regard a scapel as a weapon.
{{SEEALSO}}
* [[Aggravated battery]]
* [[Brian D. Earp]]
* [[Brussels Collaboration on Bodily Integrity]]
* [[Human rights]]
* [[Informed consent]]
* [[Jurisprudence]]
* [[Surrogate consent]]
{{LINKS}}
* {{REFjournal
|last=Goodman
|init=J
|author-link=Jenny Goodman
|url=https://www.cirp.org/library/cultural/goodman1999/
|title=Jewish circumcision: an alternative perspective
|journal=BJU Int
|date=1999
|volume=83 Suppl. 1
|pages=22-7
|DOI=10.1046/j.1464-410x.1999.0830s1022.x
|pubmedID=10349411
|accessdate=2023-05-27
}}</ref>
* {{REFjournal
|last=Domashevskiy
|first=
|init=JA
|last2=Domashevskiy
|first2=
|init2=AV
|etal=no
|title=Ethics pertaining to the legalities of male routine infant circumcision and surrogate consent to non-therapeutic
surgery
|journal=J Clin Res Bioeth
|date=2016
|volume=7
|issue=4
|article=1000276
|url=https://academicworks.cuny.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1244&context=jj_pubs
|archived=
|quote=
|doi=10.4172/2155-9627.1000276
|accessdate=2026-06-23
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://www.reddit.com/r/bioethics/comments/1in2lv6/the_bioethics_of_infant_circumcision/
|title=The Bioethics of Infant Circumcision
|last=Anonymous
|publisher=REDDIT
|date=2025-02
|accessdate=2025-11-06
}}
The author of the following paper has improperly labelled surrogate consent as proxy consent.
* {{REFjournal
|last=Bonyai
|first=
|init=J
|author-link=
|etal=no
|title=Why Bioethics Matters in the Debate Over Routine Infant Circumcision
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal=Ethics Today
|location=
|date=2026-04-05
|volume=
|issue=
|article=
|page=
|pages=
|url=https://bioethicstoday.org/blog/why-bioethics-matters-in-the-debate-over-routine-infant-circumcision/#
|archived=
|quote=Circumcision is a surgical intervention, and like all surgeries, it carries inherent risks. These include pain, bleeding, infection, and, in rare cases, more serious complications. While many procedures occur without major incident, the ethical question is not simply whether harm is common, but whether the risk of harm is justified at all
|pubmedID=
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=
|doi=10.4172/2155-9627.1000276
|accessdate=2026-06-11
}}

{{REF}}

[[Category:Criminal circumcision]]
[[Category:Education]]
[[Category:Human rights]]
[[Category:Medical ethics]]
[[Category:Parental information]]

Informed consent

2026-07-12T13:37:01Z

WikiModEn2: /* Infant circumcision procedure */ Add link in SEEALSO section.

'''Informed consent''' is a legal and ethical prerequisite for surgery and other procedures in the [[United States]] and most other nations.

It is defined as:
<blockquote>
Assent to permit an occurrence, such as surgery, that is based on a complete disclosure of facts needed to make the decision intelligently, such as knowledge of the risks entailed or alternatives.

The name for a fundamental principle of law that a physician has a duty to reveal what a reasonably prudent physician in the medical community employing reasonable care would reveal to a patient as to whatever reasonably foreseeable risks of harm might result from a proposed course of treatment. This disclosure must be afforded so that a patient—exercising ordinary care for his or her own welfare and confronted with a choice of undergoing the proposed treatment, alternative treatment, or none at all—can intelligently exercise judgment by reasonably balancing the probable risks against the probable benefits.<ref>{{REFweb
|url=https://legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/Informed+Consent
|title=Informed consent
|last=
|first=
|accessdate=2020-06-27
}}</ref>
</blockquote>

==Information for parents regarding non-therapeutic circumcision of infant boys.==

This section is for all parents of boys, but is addressed primarily to parents of boys who are located in the [[United States of America]], who appear to be most uninformed or misinformed about the [[foreskin]] and [[circumcision]]. Information is not making it to parents. Studies have shown that doctors provide parents with almost no accurate or useful information about circumcision.<ref name="alissa2025-03-25A">{{REFdocument
|title=What Every Doctor Should Know About Circumcision: A Call for Better Medical Practices
|url=https://intactamerica.org/what-doctors-should-know-about-circumcision/
|contribution=
|last=Alissa
|first=Kristel
|publisher=Intact America
|format=
|date=2025-03-25
|accessdate=2025-03-28
}}</ref> After several generations of promotion of and near universal neonatal circumcision in the United States, most Americans are profoundly ignorant of a normal body part and its valuable functions.
=== Surrogate consent ===
Parents act as surrogates for their minor children who are too young to personally grant consent.<ref name="alissa2025-03-25A"/> [[Surrogate consent]] ethically is limited to the granting of consent for diagnosis and treatment of disease.<ref name="aap1995">{{REFjournal
|last=Committee on Bioethics
|etal=no
|title=Informed consent, parental permission, and assent in pediatric practice
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal=Pediatrics
|location=
|date=1995-02
|volume=95
|issue=2
|article=
|page=
|pages=314-7
|url=http://www.cirp.org/library/ethics/AAP/
|archived=
|quote=
|pubmedID=7838658
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=
|accessdate=2023-09-14
}}</ref> <ref name="aviva2016">{{REFjournal
|last=Committee on Bioethics
|etal-no
|title=Informed Consent in Decision-Making in Pediatric Practice
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal=Pediatrics
|location=
|date=2016-08
|volume=138
|issue=2
|article=
|page=e20161484.
|pages=
|url=https://publications.aap.org/pediatrics/article/138/2/e20161484/52512/Informed-Consent-in-Decision-Making-in-Pediatric?autologincheck=redirected
|archived=
|quote=Continuing limits on the widespread use of pediatric assent/refusal makes this review and restatement of AAP policy important.
|pubmedID=27456514
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=
|doi=10.1542/peds.2016-1484
|accessdate=2023-09-14
}}</ref> <ref>{{REFjournal
|last=Katz
|first=
|init=AL
|author-link=
|last2=Webb
|first2=
|init2=SA
|author2-link=
|last3=Macauley
|first3=
|init3=RC
|author3-link=
|last4=Mercurio
|first4=
|init4=MR
|author4-link=
|last5=Moon
|first5=
|init5=MR
|author5-link=
|last6=Okun
|first6=
|init6=AL
|author6-link=
|last7=Opel
|first7=
|init7=DJ
|author7-link=
|last8=Statter
|first8=
|init8=MB
|author8-link=
|etal=no
|title=Informed Consent in Decision-Making in Pediatric Practice Technical Report
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal=Pediatrics
|location=
|date=2016-08
|volume=138
|issue=2
|page=e20161485
|url=https://publications.aap.org/pediatrics/article/138/2/e20161485/52519/Informed-Consent-in-Decision-Making-in-Pediatric
|archived=
|quote=A formulation of Kant’s categorical imperative notes that we are obliged to act out of fundamental respect for other persons by virtue of their personal autonomy.
|pubmedID=27456510
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=10.1542/peds.2016-1485
|accessdate=2024-07-09
}}</ref>

===Provision of relevant information===

The [[medical trade association| medical trade associations]], such as the [[American Academy of Pediatrics]], the [[American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists| American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists]], the [[American Academy of Family Physicians]], and the [[American Urological Association]] have a primary responsibility to their fellows (members) of advancing the profitability of medical practice. Consequently their public statements regarding medically-unnecessary, non-therapeutic [[circumcision]] of boys are strongly biased in favor of promoting the practice, so that their fellows can earn more money for the additional service of [[circumcision]]. The public statements are silent on the [[human rights]] of the child-patient and the multiple physiological [http://www.intactaus.org/information/functionsoftheforeskin/ functions of the foreskin]. They describe "potential" benefits which are imagined benefits that cannot be proved to actually exist. They understate the risks of the surgical procedure, which can include loss of the penis and [[death]]. They are purposefully silent on the [[foreskin]]'s nature and functions, [[Sexual effects of circumcision| sexual]], and [[Psychological issues of male circumcision| psychological]] harms of having the most erogenous<ref name="winklemann1959">{{WinkelmannRK 1959}}</ref> part of the penis amputated. For all of these reasons, their public statements should not be used as a basis for informed consent.

[[J. Steven Svoboda| Svoboda]] et al. {2000) commented:
<blockquote>
Even more troubling in the common occurrence of parents being presented with the circumcision question for the first time when a mother is in labor at a hospital. Surgeon [[George W. Kaplan]] notes that "all too often the consent to circumcise is included in a sheaf of papers that the mother signs hurriedly on her way to the delivery room. No discussion has been held regarding the merits of the procedure or of the inherent risks." [[George W. Kaplan|Kaplan]] characterizes this practice as "inexcusable". Raising the circumcision issue for the first time upon the mother's arrival at the hospital to give birth amounts to manipulation and coercion. Because the physician and the hospital benefit financially from the parent's decision, such a practice raises grave concerns about unethical profiteering.<ref name="svoboda2002" />
</blockquote>

===Physician behavior===

One study showed that 40% of parents believed that their doctors failed to provide enough information, 46% reported that their doctors failed to give them any medical information at all, and 82.8% of parents regretted their decision they made within the first six months of their son’s life.<ref>{{REFjournal
|last=Adler
|init=R
|last2=Ottaway
|init2=S
|last3=Gould
|init3=S
|title=[https://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/107/2/e20.short Circumcision: We have heard from the experts; now let’s hear from the parents]
|journal=Pediatrics
|date=2001-02
|volume=107
|issue=2
|page=E20
}}</ref> Doctors commonly fail to provide information on the nature and functions of the [[foreskin]] which are lost when a person is [[circumcised]]. Doctors must be fully informed regarding the nature of the [[foreskin]] and [[circumcision]].<ref name="alissa2025-03-25>{{REFweb
|url=https://intactamerica.org/what-doctors-should-know-about-circumcision/
|title=What Every Doctor Should Know About Circumcision: A Call for Better Medical Practices
|last=Alissa
|first=
|init=K
|author-link=Kristel Alissa
|publisher=Intact America
|date=2025-03-25
|accessdate=2025-07-01
}}</ref>

Another study found that physicians were less likely to circumcise their own sons.<ref>{{REFjournal
|last=Topp
|init=S
|date=1978-01
|title=Why not to circumcise your baby boy
|journal=Mothering
|volume=6
|pages=69-77
}}</ref> This suggests that doctors are very well aware that [[circumcision]] is a harmful, [[Pain| painful]], [[Trauma| traumatic]] non-therapeutic surgery (in short, a ritual); but they do not appear to share this knowledge with parents. Doctors usually omit information on the nature of the [[foreskin]] and its functions.<ref name="alissa2025-03-25A"/>

A busy physician can supplement their income by as much as $60,000 per year from circumcision surgeries alone.<ref>{{REFbook
|last=Fleiss
|first=Paul M.
|init=PM
|author-link=Paul M. Fleiss
|title=What your Doctor May Not Tell You About Circumcision
|publisher=Warner books
|location=New York
|year=Sept 2002
}}</ref> This [[Financial Incentive| incentive]] can cloud a physician’s judgment when it comes to providing parents with information about circumcision.

Many [[circumcised]] men, some of whom are [[Circumcised doctors|doctors]], experience a strong denial of loss which in turn fuels an emotional compulsion to repeat the [[trauma]] to normalize their loss.<ref>{{VanderKolkBA 1989}}</ref><ref>{{REFjournal
|last=Goldman
|init=R
|author-link=Ronald Goldman
|url=https://bjui-journals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1046/j.1464-410x.1999.0830s1093.x
|title=The psychological impact of circumcision
|journal=BJU Int
|date=1999
|volume=83
|issue=Suppl. 1
|pages=93-103
}}</ref><ref>{{REFjournal
|last=Maguire
|init=P
|last2=Parks
|init2=CM
|url=http://www.cirp.org/library/psych/maguire/
|title=Coping with loss: surgery and loss of body parts
|journal=BMJ
|date=1998
|volume=316
|issue=7137
|pages=1086-1088
|accessdate=2011-03-18
}}</ref><ref>{{REFjournal
|last=Hill
|init=G
|author-link=George Hill
|url=http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.738.3612&rep=rep1&type=pd
|title=The case against circumcision
|journal=J Mens Health Gend
|date=2007-08-20
|volume=4
|issue=3
|pages=318-323
}}</ref> <ref>{{REFjournal
|last=Goldman
|init=R
|author-link=Ronald Goldman
|url=https://academic.oup.com/pch/article/9/9/630/2648566
|title=Circumcision policy: a psychosocial perspective
|journal=Paediatr Child Health
|date=2004
|volume=9
|issue=9
|pages=630-633
}}</ref>

===Pain and anesthesia===

[[Image:circumcision_screaming_baby.jpg|right|thumb|Horror of Circumcision.]]

Many parents are surprised to hear that anesthetics are used in only a minority of cases.<ref>{{REFjournal
|last=Stang
|init=MJ
|last2=Snellman
|init2=LW
|date=1998
|title=[https://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/101/6/e5.full Circumcision practice patterns in the United States]
|journal=Pediatrics
|volume=101
|issue=6
}}</ref>

The use of local anesthetics significantly drives up the costs of surgery and the time to execute a circumcision [[amputation]], so may not be used. When anesthetics are used, they can only reduce the [[pain]], not eliminate it. Infants can not be given general anesthesia because of the medical risks involved. In the recent past, anesthesia was rarely used, if ever. Because of this, circumcision has always been an extremely traumatizing experience causing an array of short and long term behavioral and developmental problems<ref>{{REFjournal
|last=Gunnar
|init=MR
|last2=Fisch
|init2=RO
|last3=Korsvik
|init3=S
|last4=Donhowe
|init4=JM
|title=[http://www.cirp.org/library/pain/gunnar/ The effects of circumcision on serum cortisol and behavior]
|journal=Psychoneuroendocrinolog
|date=1981
|volume=6
|issue=3
|pages=269-275
}}</ref><ref>{{REFjournal
|last=Porter
|init=FL
|last2=Miller
|init2=RH
|last3=Marshal
|init3=RE
|title=Neonatal pain cries: effect of circumcision on acoustic features and perceived urgency
|journal=Child Dev
|date=1986
|volume=57
|pages=790-802
}}</ref><ref>{{REFjournal
|last=Porter
|init=FL
|last2=Porges
|init2=SW
|last3=Marshall
|init3=RE
|url=http://www.cirp.org/library/pain/porter2/
|title=Newborn pain cries and vagal tone: parallel changes in response to circumcision
|journal=Child Dev
|date=1988
|volume=59
|pages=495-505
}}</ref><ref>{{REFjournal
|last=Emde
|init=RN
|last2=Harmon
|init2=RJ
|last3=Metcalf
|init3=D
|etal=yes
|url=http://www.cirp.org/library/birth/emde/
|title=Stress and neonatal sleep
|journal=Psychosom Med
|date=1971
|volume=33
|issue=6
|pages=491-497
}}</ref><ref>{{REFjournal
|last=Gunnar
|init=MR
|last2=Connors
|init2=J
|last3=Isensee
|init3=WL
|first3=Wall L.
|url=http://www.cirp.org/library/pain/gunnar1988/
|title=Adrenocortical activity and behavioral distress in human newborns
|journal=Dev Psychobiol
|date=1988
|volume=21
|issue=4
|pages=297-310
}}</ref><ref>{{REFjournal
|last=Anders
|init=TF
|last2=Chalemian
|init2=RJ
|url=http://www.cirp.org/library/birth/anders/
|title=The effects of circumcision on sleep-wake states in human neonates
|journal=Psychosom Med
|date=1974
|volume=36
|issue=2
|pages=174-179
}}</ref><ref>{{REFjournal
|last=Marshall
|init=RE
|last2=Stratton
|init2=WC
|last3=Moore
|init3=JA
|etal=yes
|url=http://www.cirp.org/library/birth/marshall1/
|title=Circumcision I: effects upon newborn behavior
|journal=Infant Behavior and Development
|date=1980
|volume=3
|pages=1-14
}}</ref><ref>{{REFjournal
|last=Marshall
|init=RE
|last2=Porter
|init2=FL
|last3=Rogers
|init3=AG
|etal=yes
|url=http://www.cirp.org/library/birth/marshall2/
|title=Circumcision: II: effects upon mother-infant interaction
|journal=Early Hum Dev
|date=1982
|volume=7
|issue=4
|pages=367-374
}}</ref><ref>{{REFjournal
|last=Lee
|init=N
|title=[http://www.cirp.org/library/birth/lee1/ Circumcision and breastfeeding]
|journal=J Hum Lact
|date=2000
|volume=16
|issue=4
|page=295
}}</ref><ref>{{REFjournal
|last=Anand
|init=KJS
|last2=Hickey
|init2=PR
|url=http://www.cirp.org/library/pain/anand/
|title=Pain and its effects in the human neonate and fetus
|journal=New Engl J Med
|date=1987
|volume=317
|issue=21
|pages=1321-1329
|accessdate=2011-03-21
}}</ref><ref>{{REFjournal
|last=Anand
|init=KJS
|last2=Scalzo
|init2=FM
|first2=Frank M.
|url=http://www.cirp.org/library/pain/anand4/
|title=Can Adverse Neonatal Experiences Alter Brain Development and Subsequent Behavior?
|journal=Biology of the Neonate
|volume=77
|issue=2
|pages=69-82
|date=2000-02
|accessdate=2011-03-21
}}</ref>, including altered perceptions of pain<ref>{{TaddioA etal 1995}}</ref><ref>{{TaddioA KatzJ IlersichAL KorenG 1997}}</ref><ref>{{REFjournal
|last=LaPrairie
|init=JL
|first=Jamie L.
|last2=Murphy
|init2=AZ
|first2=Anne Z.
|url=http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2766783/
|title=Neonatal Injury Alters Adult Pain Sensitivity by Increasing Opioid Tone in the Periaqueductal Gray
|journal=Front Behav Neurosci
|date=2009-09-30
|accessdate=2011-03-21
}}</ref>, [[post-traumatic stress disorder]] (PTSD)<ref>{{BoyleGJ GoldmanR SvobodaJS FernandezE 2002}}</ref><ref>{{REFjournal
|last=Rhinehart
|init=J
|url=http://www.cirp.org/library/psych/rhinehart1/
|title=Neonatal circumcision reconsidered
|journal=Transactional Analysis J
|date=1999
|volume=29
|issue=3
|pages=215-221
}}</ref><ref>{{REFbook
|last=Ramos
|first=S.
|init=S
|last2=Boyle
|first2=Gregory J.
|init2=GJ
|author2-link=Gregory J. Boyle
|url=https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-1-4757-3351-8_14
|chapter=Ritual and medical circumcision among Filipino boys: evidence of post-traumatic stress disorder
|editors:Denniston G.C., Hodges F.M., Milos M.F.
|title=Understanding circumcision: A Multi-Disciplinary Approach to a Multi-Dimensional Problem
|location=New York
|publisher=Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publishers
|year=2001
|pages=253-270
}}</ref><ref>{{REFjournal
|last=Menage
|init=J
|url=http://www.cirp.org/library/psych/menage/
|title=Post-traumatic stress disorder in women who have undergone obstetric and/or gynaecological procedures
|journal=J Reprod Infant Psychol
|date=1993
|volume=11
|pages=221-228
}}</ref>, and a possibly of adult self destructive behavior.<ref>{{REFjournal
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|author-link=Bessel van der Kolk
|last2=Perry
|init2=JC
|last3=Herman
|init3=JL
|url=http://www.cirp.org/library/psych/vanderkolk_1991/
|title=Childhood origins of self-destructive behavior
|journal=Am J Psychiatry
|date=1991
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}}</ref><ref>{{REFjournal
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|journal=BMJ
|date=1998
|volume=317
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}}</ref><ref>{{REFjournal
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|init=L
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|etal=yes
|url=http://www.cirp.org/library/psych/salk1/
|title=Relationship of maternal and perinatal conditions to eventual adolescent suicide
|journal=Lancet
|date=1985
|volume=i
|pages=624-627
}}</ref>

It appears that the major reason to administer analgesia to infants undergoing circumcision may be to minimize parents' feeling of guilt and to get their consent for a profitable [[amputation]].

==Informed consent for non-therapeutic circumcision of minor boys==

A treatment decision should be guided by the best interests of the child, and must balance the potential benefit over the potential harm or risk.<ref> {{REFjournal
|last=Bioethics Committee, Canadian Paediatric Society
|first=
|author-link=
|etal=no
|title=Treatment decisions for infants and children
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal=CMAJ
|location=
|date=1986-09-01
|volume=135
|issue=
|pages=447-8
|url=https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1491550/pdf/cmaj00125-0033.pdf
|archived=
|quote=
|pubmedID=3742387
|pubmedCID=1491550
|DOI=
|accessdate=2020-07-23
}}</ref>

A [[circumcision]] of a boy may be therapeutic or non-therapeutic. Therapeutic circumcision may be justified only in rare cases when the [[foreskin]] is deformed, diseased, or damaged by irreparable [[trauma]] and the apparent benefit to the patient exceeds the risks and harms.

However, the vast and overwhelming majority of circumcisions of children are performed to excise healthy, functional tissue from the body of a child who is too immature to grant consent.

The Bioethics Committee of the [[American Academy of Pediatrics]] (1995) considered the power granted to parents to grant surrogate consent for diagnosis and treatment of a child. The Committee says that a parent may give "informed permission" for investigation and treatment of disease. The difference between informed consent and informed permission is unclear. When a child is ill, it is the practice to allow a parent to grant informed permission for diagnostic tests and appropriate treatment.<ref name="aap1995" />

Infant boys are born with a healthy [[foreskin]]. No disease or deformity is present to be diagnosed or treated. [[Circumcision]] of an infant boy is neither a diagnostic procedure nor a treatment for disease. The limited parental surrogate powers to grant informed permission recognized by the Bioethics Committee do not extend to the granting of permission or consent for the non-therapeutic circumcision of a minor child.<ref name="aap1995" />

If the [[circumcision industry]] had actually followed this sound ethical guidance, then the [[circumcision]] of male infants would have ended abruptly. The medical industry has chosen to ignore this advice and allow parents to grant surrogate consent for non-therapeutic circumcision of male children, so that the physician income derived from circumcision may be maintained.<ref name="alissa2025-03-25B">{{REFweb
|url=https://intactamerica.org/ethical-debate-behind-circumcision/
|title=Are We Sacrificing Newborns for Tradition? The Ethical Debate Behind Circumcision
|last=Alissa
|first=
|init=K
|author-link=Kristel Alissa
|publisher=Intact America
|date=2025-03-25
|accessdate=2025-03-29
}}</ref>

Svoboda et al. (2000) examined the ethics and legality of informed consent for non-therapeutic neonatal circumcision. With regard to ethics, they concluded:
<blockquote>
Amputating a highly sensitive and functional part of the body is extremely intrusive and should be undertaken only in situations of extreme urgency. Neonatal circumcision as it is routinely performed in this country clearly does not satisfy this criterion. It is therefore unethical and unlawful, and no parental permission should be effective.<ref name="svoboda2002">{{REFjournal
|last=Svoboda
|first=J. Steven
|init=JS
|author-link=J. Steven Svoboda
|last2=Van Howe
|first2=Robert S.
|init2=RS
|author2-link=Robert S. Van Howe
|last3=Dwyer
|first3=James G.
|init3=JG
|author3-link=
|etal=no
|title=Informed Consent for Neonatal Circumcision: An Ethical and Legal Conundrum
|trans-title=
|language=English
|journal=J Contemp Health Law Policy
|location=
|date=2000-09
|volume=17
|issue=1
|pages=61-133
|url=https://scholarship.law.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1255&context=jchlp
|archived=
|quote=
|pubmedID=
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=
|accessdate=2020-07-22
}}</ref>
</blockquote>

Regarding legality, they concluded:
<blockquote>
Consent to neonatal circumcision has not been directly considered by the the courts; therefore our analysis, out of necessity, relies on established legal precedents of cases that share common elements with neonatal circumcision. With near uniformity, these precedents indicate that any consent given for neonatal circumcision would not be valid. Court decisions are in part influenced by the culture in which they occur. However, circumcision has been gradually falling out of favor in the last few decades. When the balance of public opinion shifts to opposing the practice, the legal system will become more accepting of lawsuits and lobbying for the protection of baby boys. Consequently, the legal system will no longer be able to ignore the conflict between the practice and the legal and ethical duties of medical professionals. In the meantime, the medical community should personally reexamine the ethics of the practice.<ref name="svoboda2002" />
</blockquote>

Adler (2013) considered the legality of non-therapeutic circumcision of boys. He concluded in part:
<blockquote>
This article has addressed whether circumcision is legal, and has shown that it is not. To summarize the law, boys, like girls and adults, have
absolute rights under the common law to personal security and bodily integrity, and to freedom or the autonomy to make important and irreversible decisions about their bodies that can be delayed, like circumcision, for themselves. …

… A physician's legal duty is to provide competent medical care to pediatric patients independent of their parents' desires. Thus, physicians cannot take orders from parents to operate on children for reasons having nothing to do with medicine. Parents' religious rights in turn are subordinate to their sons' absolute rights to [[genital integrity]] and autonomy, and parents cannot risk harming their children, let alone actually harm them for religious reasons. Furthermore, physicians and parents have a legal duty to ''protect'' boys from circumcision.<ref name="adler2013">{{REFjournal
|last=Adler
|first=Peter W.
|init=PW
|author-link=Peter W. Adler
|title=Is circumcision legal?
|journal=Richmond Journal of Law and the Public Interest
|date=2013
|volume=16
|issue=3
|pages=439-86
|url=https://scholarship.richmond.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1265&context=jolpi
|accessdate=2020-07-25
}}</ref>
</blockquote>

A court of appeals in Cologne, Germany [[Cologne circumcision court judgment]] ruled in 2012 that non-therapeutic male circumcision is an assault on the child, an injury to the child, and a violation of the child's rights under the [https://www.btg-bestellservice.de/pdf/80201000.pdf Basic Law of Germany]. No American court has so ruled. Until such time as an American court issues such a ruling, non-therapeutic circumcision of children in America, driven by the [[Financial Incentive| financial incentive]] is expected to continue.

At the present time, ethics and law notwithstanding, non-therapeutic circumcisions of boys are performed with parental consent.<ref name="alissa2025-03-25B" /> Parents will be offered medically-unnecessary, non-therapeutic circumcision and encouraged to grant consent, the sole beneficiary being the bank accounts of the hospital and the doctor. The information supplied below is intended to inform and assist parents of boys.

The Bioethics Committee (2016) of the [[American Academy of Pediatrics]] updated its guidance on informed consent in pediatric practice,<ref name="aap1995" /> however it still does not recognize the child as a human being with rights under domestic and international law.<ref>{{REFjournal
|last=Katz
|first=Aviva L.
|init=
|author-link=
|last2=Macauley
|first2=Robert C.
|init2=
|author2-link=
|last3=Mercurio
|first3=Mark C.
|init3=
|author3-link=
|etal=yes
|title=Informed consent in decision-making in pediatric practice
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal=Pediatrics
|location=
|date=2016-08
|volume=138
|issue=2
|article=
|page=e20161484
|pages=
|url=https://publications.aap.org/pediatrics/article/138/2/e20161484/52512/Informed-Consent-in-Decision-Making-in-Pediatric
|archived=
|quote= A parent’s authority is not absolute but constrained by respect for the child.
|pubmedID=27456510
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=10.1542/peds.2016-1484
|accessdate=2022-01-24
}}</ref>

Wasserman et al. (2019) recognized children as persons entitled to respect.
<blockquote>
Respect is something we owe to others to demonstrate that we recognize them as persons rather than objects. Patients (including children) are persons even if they do not reason well, particularly if have a kind of agency that is capable of expressing preferences. Once way to respect persons is to acknowledge that their preferences matter, something that may require soliciting those preferences, even in cases in which it would be ethically wrong to give them what they prefer. This is because it is disrespectful, and perhaps even dehumanizing to treat preference-expressing patients as mere bystanders or obstacles to their own care.<ref name="wasserman2019">{{REFjournal
|last=Wasserman
|first=Jason Adam
|init=JA
|author-link=
|last2=Navin
|first2=Mark Christopher
|init2=MC
|author2-link=
|last3=Vercier
|first3=Christian John
|init3=CJ
|author3-link=
|etal=yes
|title=Pediatric assent and treating children over objection
|journal=Pediatrics
|location=
|date=2019-11
|volume=114
|issue=5
|article=
|page=
|pages=e20190382
|url=https://publications.aap.org/pediatrics/article/144/5/e20190382/38213/Pediatric-Assent-and-Treating-Children-Over
|quote=
|pubmedID=1666301
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=10.1542/peds.2019-0382
|accessdate=2022-01-25
}}</ref>
</blockquote>

Although this may be a slight advance, Wasserman et al., speaking for the [[AAP]], still do not recognize the [[human rights]] of children.

== Correct age for circumcision ==
Hill (2003) asked if anyone can grant consent for medically not indicated, non-therapeutic circumcision of infants.<ref>{{REFjournal
|last=Hill
|first=George
|init=G
|author-link=George Hill
|title=Can anyone authorize the nontherapeutic permanent alteration of a child's body?
|journal=The American Journal of Bioethics
|date=2003
|season=Spring
|volume=3
|issue=2
|pages=16-8
|url=https://muse.jhu.edu/article/44133
|quote=The question is whether anyone, parents included, has the right to remove the extremely sensitive genital tissue from an infant for any reason other than unquestionably urgent medical necessity.
|pubmedID=14635628
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=10.1162/152651603766436342
|accessdate=2023-05-24
}}</ref>

Bioethicists Myers & Earp (2020) answered Hill's question. They exhaustively reviewed the evidence for and against the alleged health benefits to a healthy person claimed for non-therapeutic [[circumcision]] of a neonate, infant or child. They balanced this against the [[pain]], [[trauma]], and loss of body tissue and function. They concluded the claimed health benefits are insufficient to support surrogate consent for non-therapeutic circumcision. Given this, ''only'' the subject can grant consent for a non-therapeutic circumcision, and then ''only'' after he reaches the right age for circumcision, which does not occurs until a male reaches the age of consent in his jurisdiction which may vary from 16 to 18 years of age. No other person may grant consent for the non-therapeutic circumcision of a minor boy. The present practice in the [[United States]] and elsewhere of allowing parental surrogate consent for non-therapeutic circumcision is entirely unethical because it exceeds the powers granted to surrogates.<ref name="myers2020">{{REFjournal
|last=Myers
|first=
|init=A
|author-link=Alex Myers
|last2=Earp
|first2=
|init2=BD
|author2-link=Brian D. Earp
|etal=no
|title=What is the best age to circumcise? A medical and ethical analysis
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal= Bioethics
|location=
|date=2020
|volume=34
|issue=7
|pages=645-63
|url=https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Brian-Earp-2/publication/337720859_What_Is_the_Best_Age_to_Circumcise_A_Medical_and_Ethical_Analysis/links/5f815f61a6fdccfd7b555395/What-Is-the-Best-Age-to-Circumcise-A-Medical-and-Ethical-Analysis.pdf
|archived=
|quote=Based on a careful consideration of the relevant evidence, arguments and counterarguments, we conclude that medically unnecessary penile circumcision-like other medically unnecessary genital procedures, such as 'cosmetic' labiaplasty-should not be performed on individuals who are too young (or otherwise unable) to provide meaningful consent to the procedure.
|pubmedID=32068898
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=
|doi=10.1111/bioe.12714
|format=PDF
|accessdate=2023-09-17
}}</ref>
==Video==
===Circumcision — Your Legal Rights===
<youtube>v=8GT03orcHWM</youtube>
[[Intaction]] (2022) has provided an introductory video.
<youtube>v=DcfyCpRUlFY</youtube>
 
===[[15 Square]] has provided a video.===
<youtube>v=xjqxeTg7JUc</youtube>
===Infant circumcision operation===
(This video is age restricted, so one must be signed in to view it}
<youtube>v=W2PKdDOjooA&t=124s</youtube>
=== Infant circumcision procedure ===

This is a video of an actual infant [[circumcision]]. It has a sound tract so one can hear the comments of the doctor and the sounds made by the infant. The doctor gives an injection of local anesthetic that apparently does not stop any pain at all. The infant goes silent at about 6:15 on the video, so he may have gone into [[shock]] at that time. Not for the squeamish:

* {{REFweb
|url=https://www.reddit.com/r/Intactivism/comments/qbpzqr/trained_medical_professionals_restrain_infant_to/
|archived=
|title=Trained medical professionals restrain infant to amputate part of its body while baby kicks and screams in pain
|trans-title=
|language=
|last=
|first=
|author-link=
|publisher=
|website=
|date=
|accessdate=2022-03-11
|format=
|quote=
}}

*[https://www.reddit.com/r/Intactivism/comments/qbpzqr/trained_medical_professionals_restrain_infant_to/ Circumcision video]

{{SEEALSO}}
* [[Aggravated battery]]
* [[Ethics of non-therapeutic child circumcision]]
* [[Human rights]]
* [[Litigation over circumcision]]
* [[Pain]]
* [[Risks and complications]]
* [[Surrogate consent]]
* [[Wrongful circumcision]]
* [[Trauma]]

{{LINKS}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://www.emedicinehealth.com/informed_consent/article_em.htm#what_is_informed_consent
|title=Informed Consent
|last=Wagner
|first=Richard
|author-link=
|publisher=emedicinehealth
|accessdate=2020-06-22
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=http://www.cirp.org/library/ethics/
|title=The Bioethics of the Circumcision of Male Children
|last=
|first=
|date=2013-10-07
|accessdate=2020-07-21
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://avoiceformen.com/featured/is-circumcision-legal-does-it-matter/
|archived=
|title=Is circumcision legal? Does it matter?
|trans-title=
|language=English
|last=Costanza
|first=Gary
|author-link=Gary Costanza
|publisher=
|website=avoiceformen.com
|date=2016-02-28
|accessdate=2020-07-23
|format=
|quote=
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://www.homerbirthcenter.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/CIRCUMCISION-ARTICLE.pdf
|archived=
|title=The case against circumcision
|trans-title=
|language=English
|last=
|first=
|author-link=
|publisher=Mothering Magazine
|website=homebirthcenter.com
|date=
|accessdate=2020-07-24
|format=
|quote=
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=http://www.circumcisiondebate.org/ethics
|archived=
|title=The ethics of circumcision
|trans-title=
|language=
|last=
|first=
|author-link=
|publisher=The Circumcision Debate
|website=http://www.circumcisiondebate.org
|date=
|accessdate=2020-07-24
|format=
|quote=
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://physiciansforinformedconsent.org/
|title=Physicians for Informed Consent
|accessdate=2022-08-25
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://intactamerica.org/dyk-parental-consent/
|title=“Do You Know?” About the Limits of Parental Consent
|last=Chapin
|first=Georganne
|init=
|author-link=Georganne Chapin
|publisher=Intact America
|date=2023-02-01
|accessdate=2025-11-21
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://intactamerica.org/assent-vs-consent/
|title=Assent vs Consent (in Regards to Bodily Autonomy and Circumcision)
|last=Garrett
|first=Connor
|init=
|author-link=Connor Judson Garrett
|publisher=Intact America
|date=2024-03-03
|accessdate=2024-07-11
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://www.reddit.com/user/C4Charkey/comments/1jun080/the_accidental_intactivist_manifesto_v_the/
|title=The Betrayal of Informed Consent: The Architects of Compliance and the Conspiracy of Silence
|last=C4Charkey
|first=
|init=
|author-link=
|publisher=Reddit
|date=2025-04
|accessdate=2025-04-12
}}

{{REF}}

[[Category:Parental information]]
[[Category:Medical ethics]]

[[Category:From Intactipedia]]
[[Category:From IntactWiki]]

[[de:Einverständniserklärung]]