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So we see that [[circumcision]] has long been used to effect behavior change.== Profound lack of understanding of psychological issues ==
== Profound lack There was little awareness of understanding emotional and/or psychological issues when child [[circumcision]] was being promoted in the late 19th century and early 20th century. For example, [[Douglas Gairdner]] (1949) made no mention at all of [[pain]], [[trauma]], behavior changes, or psychological issues in his landmark 1949 paper.<ref name=="fate1949">{{GairdnerDM 1949}}</ref>
There was little awareness of emotional and psychological issues when child circumcision was being promoted in the late 19th century and early 20th century. For example, [[Douglas GairdnerIntact America]] made no mention at all of (2023) reported that [[painintact]], behavior changes, or psychological issues in his landmark 1949 papermales were shamed.<ref name="fate1949">{{GairdnerDM 1949REFweb |url=https://intactamerica.org/foreskin-phobia-intact-penis-shamed/ |title=Foreskin Phobia: How The Intact Penis Has Been Shamed |last=Anonymous |first= |init= |publisher= |date=2023-12-21 |accessdate=2023-12-31}}</ref>
British Turkish child psychologist [[Gocke Cansever ]] tested twelve Turkish boys before and after [[circumcision]]. Cansever (1965) confirmed the conclusions of Anna Freud (1952) and reported:
[[Lindsay R. Watson|Watson]] & Golden (2017) recommend that [[Ronald Goldman|Goldmancircumcised]] recommend that 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" />
==Video==
The following poignant video expresses the emotional pain that many men who were circumcised in infancy feel. There is a short NSFW section:
* <youtube>v=3AulRgBt6ls&feature=youtu.be</youtube>
* <youtube>tNCJ7AL_ThY</youtube>
→Sources of help: Add text and citation.
Male [[circumcision]] is a surgical [[amputation]] of the [[foreskin]], which contains more than one-half of the erogenous epithelium of the [[penis]]. The [[amputation]] is most frequently carried out on infants and small boys who cannot and do not give consent for the loss of so much of their [[penis]]. There are many '''psychological issues of male circumcision''' that arise from the painful, traumatic, involuntary loss of the part of the [[penis ]] with the erogenous tissue that provides much sexual sensation.<ref name ="uberoi2022">{{REFjournal
|last=Uberoi
|first=
|DOI=10.1038/s41443-022-00619-8
|accessdate=2023-02-19
}}</ref> [[Dan_Bollinger| Bollinger]] (2023) identifed child genital cutting (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> [[Foreskinned]] men derive comfort from their [[foreskin]] that is not available to [[circumcised]] men.<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>
==History==
[[Circumcision]] has long been used to effect behavior change.
[[Moses Maimonides]] wrote in the 12th century:
</blockquote>
==Increasing awareness==
* Hysteria.
Levy saw a relationships to what was then called ''combat neurosis '' and now known as postraumatic post traumatic stress disorder ([[PTSD]]).<ref name="levy1945">{{REFjournal
|last=Levy
|first=David
}}</ref>
[[Anna Freud]], daughter of [[Sigmund Freud]], and a pioneer child psychologist read Levy's paper. She wrote (1952):
<blockquote>
Ever since the discovery of the castration complex analysts have had ample opportunity in their therapeutic work to study the impact of surgical operations. on normal and abnormal development. By now it is common knowledge that surgical interference with the child's body may serve as the focal point for the activation, reactivation, grouping and rationalization of ideas of being attacked, overwhelmed and (or) castrated.<ref name="freud1952">{{REFjournal
|last=Freud
|first=Anna
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
The results of the tests showed that [[circumcision]], performed around the phallic stage is perceived by the child as an act of aggression and castration. It has detrimental effects on the child's functioning and adaptation, particularly on his ego strength. By weakening the controlling and defensive mechanisms of the ego, and initiating regression, it loosens the previously hidden fears, anxieties, and instinctual impulses, and renders a feeling of reality to them. What is expressed following the operation is primitive, archaic and unsocialized in character. As a defensive control and protection against the surge of the instinctual forces coming from within and the threats coming from outside, the ego of the child seeks safety in total withdrawal, this isolates and insulates itself from disturbing stimuli.<ref name="cansever1965">{{REFjournal
|last=Cansever
|first=Gocke
|pubmedID=5322308
|pubmedCID=
|DOI= https://doi.org/10.1111/j.2044-8341.1965.tb01314.x
|accessdate=2019-12-05
}}</ref></blockquote>
Emde et al. (1971) being curious about changes in infant behavior after painful heel sticking, decided to test baby boys before and after routine (non-therapeutic) [[circumcision]] performed without anesthesia. Not surprisingly, they found that circumcision changed behavior. They concluded:
<blockquote>
Routine hospital circumcision, done without anesthesia, was chosen as a potential stressor which might be expected to produce prolonged bombardment of pain pathways. Two studies, one without polygraphic manipulation and one with EEG and polygraphic manipulation and one with EEG and polygraphic recording, resulted in similar findings. Circumcision was usually followed by prolonged, non-REM sleep. Effects of circumcision were demonstrable in terms of an increase in the amount of non-REM sleep (p<0.01) and a decrease in latency to the onset of non-REM sleep (P<0.05). Infants were used as their own controls and were compared with non-circumcised males for statistical analysis. Postcircumcision Post circumcision increase in non-REM sleep was also reflected in an increased total number of non-REM sleep periods and an increased number of extremely long non-REM sleep periods.<ref name=emde1971">{{REFjournal
|last=Emde
|first=Robert M.
Grimes (1978) also expressed concern, writing:
<blockquote>
In contrast to the sometimes dramatic somatic responses of the neonate to operation without anesthesia, the psychological consequences of this trauma are conjectural. Psychoanalyst Erik Erickson has described the first of eight stages of man as the development of basic trust versus basic mistrust. For the baby to be plucked from his bed, [[Circumstraint|strapped in a spread eagle position]], and doused with chilling antiseptic is perhaps consistent with other new-found discomforts of extrauterine extra-uterine existence. The application of crushing clamps and [[excision]] of penile tissue, however, probably do little to engender a trusting, congenial, relationship with the infants infant's new surroundings.<ref name="grimes1978">{{REFjournal
|last=Grimes
|first=David A.
}}</ref> so they blamed the observed effects on "stress", not pain.
Luther, Kraybill & Potter (1976) tested cortisol and cortisone in the blood of newborn infants before and after [[circumcision]]. Dramatic increases in cortisol and a lesser increase in cortisone was recorded.<ref name="luther1976">{{REFjournal
|last=Talbot
|init=LM
}}</ref>
Rawlins, Miller & Engel (1980) investigated the blood oxygen content after [https://www.thefreedictionary.com/unanesthetized unanesthetized] non-therapeutic [[circumcision]]. They reported that blood oxygen content decreased during non-therapeutic neonatal circumcision, although it returned to baseline or above later.<ref name="rawlins-miller-engel1980">{{REFjournal
|last=Rawlins
|init=DJ
|author3-link=
|etal=yes
|title=Circumcision I: effects Effects upon newborn behavior
|journal=Infant Behavior and Development
|location=
}}</ref>
Marshall et al. (1982) studied the effect of [[circumcision ]] on mother-child interaction (primarily breastmilk substitute feeding behavior) in a hospital setting. They reported: "The experimental group exhibited fewer intervals of uninterrupted feeding than did the control group."<ref name="marshall1982">{{REFjournal
|last=Marshall
|init=RE
}}</ref>
Gunnar et al. (1984) tested the effects of a pacifier during [[circumcision]]. They reported:
<blockquote>
The results showed that stimulating the newborn with the pacifier reduced crying by about 40%. Reducing crying, however, had no significant effect on adrenocortical response. Elevations of serum cortisol predicted average behavioral state following circumcision, whereas crying during circumcision did not. Furthermore, there was evidence that the neonatal adrenocortical system was sensitive in variations in surgical procedures. The results indicate the importance of obtaining data on both behavioral and hormonal systems in studies of stress and coping in human newborns.<ref name="gunnar1984">{{REFjournal
}}</ref></blockquote>
Porter et al. (1986) recorded the [[pain ]] cries of boys undergoing [[circumcision]]. They reported that "Subjective judgments and objective quantitative data converge to demonstrate that infants' cries are perceived as varying and objectively, do systematically vary with respect to the the intensity of the painful stimuli."<ref name="porter1986">{{REFjournal
|last=Porter
|first=Fran Lang
}}</ref>
Porter et al. (1988) recorded the cries of boys undergoing non-therapeutic child [[circumcision]]. They found that the pitch of the cries increased as stress ([[euphemism]] for [[pain]]) increases.<ref name="porter1988">{{REFjournal
|last=Porter
|first=Fran Lang
}}</ref>
The research reported in this section clearly establish the the distress shown by male infants during unanesthetized circumcision does not come from being restrained, that infants feel extreme [[pain]], that sucking on a pacifier does not reduce pain, although it may reduce crying, and that neonatal non-therapeutic [[circumcision ]] is traumatic for the child.
==Trauma of circumcision==
The [[trauma]] of [[circumcision]] has been little recognized and has been characterized as "the invisible elephant in the room". It is, however, very real and affects most [[circumcised]] men.<ref name="garrett2023-12-17">{{REFweb |url=https://intactamerica.org/circumcision-trauma/ |title=Circumcision Trauma: The Invisible Elephant in the Room |last=Garrett |first=Connor |init= |author-link=Connor Judson Garrett |publisher=Intact America |date=2023-12-17 |accessdate=2024-06-02}}</ref> [[Dan Bollinger | Bollinger]] & [[Georganne Chapin| Chapin ]] (1999) documented the extremely painful and traumatic nature of infant [[circumcision]].<ref name="bollinger2019">{{REFdocument
|title=Child Genital Cutting as an Adverse Childhood Experience
|trans-title=
|date=2019-08-01
|accessdate=2021-06-30
}}</ref> Ramos & [[Gregory J. Boyle| Boyle ]] (2001) studied the psychological effects of [[circumcision]] ([[tuli]]) on Philippine boys. They reported that sixty-nine percent of traditionally [[circumcised]] boys and fifty-one percent of medically circumcised boys met the criteria for a diagnosis of post-traumatic stress disorder ([[PTSD]]).<ref name="ramos-boyle2001">{{REFbook
|last=Ramos
|first=Samuel
}}</ref>
[[Anna Taddio | Taddio]] et al. (1995) (1997) studied the behavior of [[circumcised]] boys in comparison to the behavior of [[intact]] boys at the time of routine vaccination. Taddio et al. (1995) reported:
<blockquote>
Male circumcision is the most common neonatal surgical procedure. It causes intense pain and measurable changes in behaviour that last up to 1 day. We found that circumcision status was associated with increased infant pain response to routine vaccination at 4-6 months. [[Circumcised]] boys had significantly longer crying bouts and higher pain scores. That both outcome measures, pain index, and cry duration, were influenced by circumcision lends credibility to our observations. During the second (HIB) vaccination, circumcision status was more clearly associated with the observed pain response than after DPT. The DPT injection might have had a priming effect in [[circumcised]] infants which led them to exhibit even more pain after the HIB injection. The effects of memory and reinforcement on later nocioceptive experience in neonates are not known. Because memory of pain is believed to be important in subsequent pain perception, and the main structures for memory are functional in the neonatal period, it is conceivable that pain from circumcision may have long-lasting effects on pain response and/or perception.<ref name="taddio1995">{{TaddioA etal 1995}}</ref>
}}</ref>
Male circumcision (called ''[[tuli]]'') is part of the culture of the Philippine Islands. Boys usually are not neonatally circumcised. Instead, [[Tuli| circumcision]] is done when they are somewhat older. Some are medically circumcised while others are [[circumcised]] in a traditional manner. Ramos & Boyle (2001) studied the psychological effects of [[circumcision]] on Philippine boys. They reported that sixty-nine percent of traditionally circumcised boys and fifty-one percent of medically circumcised boys met the criteria for a diagnosis of post-traumatic stress disorder ([[PTSD]]).<ref name="ramos-boyle2001">{{REFbook
|last=Ramos
|first=Samuel
}}</ref>
Rhinehart (1999) was a practicing psychiatrist who had patients with later life problems stemming from their neonatal [[circumcision]]. He listed some possibilities:
* a sense of personal powerlessness
}}</ref>
</blockquote>
Recognition of the effects of circumcision [[trauma]] is vital to the health and well-being of [[circumcised]] men.<ref name="garrett2023-12-17" />
===Feelings and behavior of circumcised men===
[[Foreskinned]] men [[Foreskin play| derive "body pleasure", comfort, and satisfaction]] from their [[foreskin]] that is not available to [[circumcised]] men.<ref name="prescott1975" /> <ref>{{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
}}</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> <ref>{{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
|first=
|init=
|author-link=
|publisher=REDDIT
|date=2026-08-25
|accessdate=2025-08-26
}} </ref>
[[Intact America]] (2024) reported that [[circumcised]] men have feelings of loss, grief, and anger toward their family.<ref name="kristel2024-12-22">{{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=
|publisher=Intact America
|date=2024-12-22
|accessdate=2024-12-23
}}</ref>
[[Ronald Goldman|Goldman]] (1999) described the long-term psychological effects of [[circumcision]] as "anger, sense of loss, shame, sense of having been victimized and violated, feal, distrust, grief, and jealousy of [[intact]] men.<ref name="goldman1999">{{REFjournal
===Circumcised medical doctors===
Most [[Circumcised doctors| male doctors in the [[United States ]] are men who were [[circumcised]] as infants]]. Consequently, despite being medical doctors , they have no personal knowledge of or appreciation for the human [[foreskin]]. These men male doctors share the [[trauma]] and attitudes of other [[circumcised]] men and are just as likely to want to repeat the [[trauma]]. [[Eleanor LeBourdais | LeBourdais]] (1995) pointed out that the "age of the attending physician, sex and circumcision status" were important factors in determining the likelihood of a baby boy being [[circumcised]].<ref>{{REFjournal
|last=LeBourdais
|first=Eleanor
==Depression, rage, and grief in circumcised men==
''Denial of loss'' is the first stage of grief.<ref name="kr1969">{{REFbook |last=Kübler-Ross |first=Elisabeth |init= |year=1969 |title=On Death and Dying |url= |scope= |ISBN=0-415-04015-9. |accessdate=2023-07-27 }}</ref> <ref name="cc2022">{{REFweb |url=https://health.clevelandclinic.org/5-stages-of-grief/ |title=The 5 Stages of Grief After a Loss |last= |first= |init= |publisher=Cleveland Clinic |date=2022-03-31 |accessdate=2023-07-29}}</ref> [[Circumcised]] men historically have protected their feelings by ''denying that they have lost anything''.<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=Psychological factors related to infant circumcision. |scope= |page=92 |pages= |location=Aptos |publisher=Hourglass |ISBN=0-934061-22-X |quote= |accessdate=2023-08-13 |note=}}</ref> Trivialization of the loss is a frequent defense mechanism. Another is the production of fantasies about the alleged horrors of [[smegma]], [[Pheromone| aroma]], and [[Acroposthion| appearance]].
[[Circumcised]] men are increasingly experiencing anger and rage regarding their harmful involuntary [[circumcision]].<ref name="garner2024">{{REFweb |url=https://intactamerica.org/author/bryan-garner/ |title=The Circumcision Decision: Unpackaging Anger and Resentment |last=Garner |first=Bryan |init= |author-link= |publisher=Intact America |date=2024-08-26 |accessdate=2024-09-05}}</ref>'' Research done since the 1960's forward to the present day has elucidated the nature, functions, and purpose of the [[foreskin]]. Circumcised men are learning what they have lost from the Internet, so they are less able to maintain the ego defense of ''denial of loss'',<ref name="watson2017">{{REFjournal
|last=Watson
|first=Lindsay R.
|DOI=
|accessdate=2019-12-14
}}</ref> so they increasingly responding with feelings of anxiety, [[Suicide| suicidal thoughts]], depression, rage, [[PTSD]] and grief.<ref name="watson2017"/> Anger'' is the second stage of grief.<ref name="kr1969"/> <ref name="cc2022"/>
Uberoi et al. {2022) collected the sentiments of [[circumcised]] men regarding their involuntary, unnecessary [[circumcision]].<ref name="uberoi2022 /> They published a supplement to their article on line in a 67-page Microsoft Word file with statements by 135 men. In many cases, resentment and anger is directed against the parents who failed to protect the [[physical integrity]] of a son.<ref>{{REFweb
|url=https://static-content.springer.com/esm/art%3A10.1038%2Fs41443-022-00619-8/MediaObjects/41443_2022_619_MOESM1_ESM.docx
|title=Complete list of all "I" statements analyzed
}}</ref>
''[[Depression]]'' is the fourth stage of grief.<ref name="kr1969"/> <ref name="cc2022"/> Several cases of [[suicide]] have been reported.<ref name="lowbridge2019">{{REFnews
|title=My son killed himself after circumcision
|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-47292307
|isbn=978-1495266577
|accessdate=2021-08-13
}}</ref> DeMause (1996) reported that early [[trauma]] results in war and social violence.<ref name="demause1996" />
Healing requires grieving the loss of a body part.<ref>{{REFjournal
|DOI=10.1136/bmj.316.7137.1086
|accessdate=2019-12-10
}}</ref> ==Psychological value of foreskin restoration==Unfortunately, Watson & Golden (2017) report:
<blockquote>
We found that therapists were reluctant to accept that the grief was real, were unaware of foreskin functions, denied circumcision had physical or psychological sequelae and minimized patient grief using humor, cultural aesthetics, controversial
health benefits, sexism and an erroneous understanding of penile anatomy and sexual function. Male therapists were more likely to deny that circumcision is harmful and to be less empathetic than female therapists.<ref name="watson2017" />
</blockquote>
Surgical foreskin restoration has been reported as having beneficial emotional results for [[circumcised]] men.<ref name="penn1963">{{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=2024-06-18
}}</ref> <ref name="greer1982">{{REFjournal
|last=Greer
|first=
|init=DM
|author-link=
|last2=Mohl
|first2=
|init2=PC
|author2-link=
|last3=Sheley
|first3=
|init3=KA
|author3-link=
|etal=no
|title=A Technique for Foreskin Reconstruction and Some Preliminary Results
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal=The Journal of Sex Research
|location=
|date=1982-11
|volume=18
|issue=4
|pages=324-30
|url=https://www.cirp.org/library/restoration/greer1/
|archived=
|quote=Every patient has reported the results of the operation to be pleasing and gratifying. Most have reported increased glanular sensitivity.
|accessdate=2024-06-13
}}</ref> <ref>{{REFjournal
|last=Goodwin
|first=
|init=WE
|author-link=
|etal=no
|title=Uncircumcision: a technique for plastic reconstruction of a prepuce after circumcision
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal=J Urol
|location=
|date=1990-11
|volume=144
|issue=5
|pages=1203-05
|url=https://www.cirp.org/library/restoration/goodwin1/
|archived=
|quote=The patient was delighted with the results.
|pubmedID=2231896
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=10.1016/s0022-5347(17)39693-3
|accessdate=2024-06-13
}}</ref>
</blockquote>
}}</ref>
There is a new blog at Reddit, where grieving [[circumcised ]] men discuss their feelings of grief.<ref>{{REFweb
|url=https://www.reddit.com/r/CircumcisionGrief/
|title=Circumcision Grief
|last=
|first=
|Publisher=Reddit
|accessdate=2019-12-10
}}</ref>
|last=
|first=
|Publisher=Reddit
|accessdate=2019-12-10
}}</ref>
[[15 Square]], the British charity, has established the [https://15square.org.uk/talking-therapies-circumcision-and-mental-health/ Talking Therapies – Circumcision and Mental Health]. The service is only available to persons in the [[United Kingdom]] due to legislative reasons. 15 Square advises there is an alternative available for persons outside of the United Kingdom through their Discord server.
[[Intact America]] now has a team of therapists.<ref>{{REFweb
|url=https://intactamerica.org/therapy/
|title=Therapy Partners
|last=
|first=
|init=
|author-link=
|publisher=Intact America
|date=
|accessdate=2025-11-20
}}</ref>
==Autism spectrum disorder==
[[Rosemary Romberg]] (2021) observed that autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in the [[United States]] occurs four times more frequently in boys than in girls.<ref name="romberg2021">{{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=A possible link between infant circumcision and autism
|scope=
|page=420
|pages=
|location=
|publisher=Kindle
|ISBN=23: 979-8683021252
|quote=
|accessdate=2023-08-31
|note=
}}</ref>
</blockquote>
After the medical community belatedly learned that infants actually feel [[pain]], <ref name="anand1987">{{REFjournal |last=Anand |init=KJS |author-link=Kanwaljeet J. Singh Anand |last2=Hickey |init2=PR |author2-link= |etal=no |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/ |archived= |quote= |pubmedID=3317037 |pubmedCID= |DOI=10.1056/NEJM198711193172105 |accessdate=2025-09-23}}</ref> Howard, Howard, & Weitzman (1994) tested the use of acetaminophen (paracetamol) for post-surgical pain following neonatal non-therapeutic circumcision.<ref name="howard1994">{{REFjournal
|last=Howard
|first=Cynthia R.
|issue=4
|pages=641-6
|url=https://www.i2researchhubcirp.org/articleslibrary/acetaminophen-analgesia-in-neonatal-circumcisionpain/howard/ |archived=
|quote=
|pubmedID=8134222
Morten & Simonsen (2015) associated neonatal non-therapeutic circumcision with autism spectrum disorder.<ref>{{REFjournal
|last=Frisch
|first=Morten
|init=M
|author-link=
|last2=Simonsen
|first2=Jacob
|init2=J
|author2-link=
}}</ref>
Hirota & King (2023) report reported the incidence of autism spectrum disorder was 3.7% in males as compared to 0.9 % in females.<ref name="hirota2023">{{REFjournal
|last=Hirota
|first=
|url=https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2800182?guestAccessKey=ed7c3ab4-13c4-4e61-b07d-9450c0aa0221
|archived=
|quote=This study confirms that circumcision of the newborn causes severe and persistent pain. Acetaminophen was not found to ameliorate either the intraoperative or the immediate postoperative pain of circumcision, although it seems that it may provide some benefit after the immediate postoperative period.
|pubmedID=36625807
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=10.1001/jama.2022.23661
|accessdate=2023-01-13
}}</ref>
Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., the US Secretary of Health and Human Services, (2025) has claimed that boys who are [[circumcised]] early have twice the rate of autism.<ref>{{REFnews
|title=Circumcised boys more likely to be autistic, RFK Jr claims
|url=https://archive.is/OKBsv#selection-2265.4-2265.65
|last=Anonymous
|first=
|init=
|author-link=
|publisher=The Telegraph
|website=
|date=2025-10-09
|accessdate=2025-10-10
|format=
|quote=
}}</ref>
==Alexithymia==
[[Dan Bollinger | Bollinger]] and [[Robert S. Van Howe|Van Howe]] (2011) associated [[Alexithemia| alexithymia]] with the [[trauma ]] of [[circumcision]].<ref name="bollinger2011">{{REFjournal
|last=Bollinger
|first=Dan
|DOI=10.3149/jmh.1002.184
|accessdate=2019-12-12
}}</ref> Psychiatrists call this phenomenon alexithymia — Greek for not having words for feelings.<ref>{{REFbook
|last=Van der Kolk
|first=Bessel
|init=
|author-link=Bessel van der Kolk
|year=2014
|title=The Body Keeps the Score
|url=
|work=
|editor=
|edition=
|volume=
|chapter=Chapter Six
|scope=
|page=100
|pages=
|location=
|publisher=Penguin Books
|ISBN=978-9-14312774-1
|quote=
|accessdate=2023-07-16
|note=
}}</ref>[[Bessel van der Kolk| Van der Kolk]] (2014) said, "People with alexithemia can get better only by learning to recognize the relations between their physical sensations and their emotions, much as colorblind people can only enter the world of color by learning
to distinguish and appreciate shades of gray."<ref>{{REFbook
|last=Van der Kolk
|first=Bessel
|init=
|author-link=Bessel van der Kolk
|year=2014
|title=The Body Keeps the Score
|url=
|work=
|editor=
|edition=
|volume=
|chapter=Chapter Six
|scope=
|page=101
|pages=
|location=
|publisher=Penguin Books
|ISBN=978-9-14312774-1
|quote=
|accessdate=2023-07-16
|note=
}}</ref>
Bollinger & [[Georganne Chapin | Chapin]] (2019) reported that [https://simplyhealth.today/16-common-triggers-of-adverse-childhood-experiences/?msclkid=a663823c1fa01a8515b9e0f09aaad3bd adverse childhood experiences], which includes [[circumcision]], is a cause of alexithemiaalexithymia.<ref name="bolinger2019">{{REFdocument
|title=Child genital cutting as an adverse childhood experience
|trans-title=
To test the theory, they surveyed American men. They studied "408 men [[circumcised]] within the first month of life and 211 non-circumcised men and measured socio-affective behaviors and stress."<ref name="miani2020" />
The authors reported their "analysis shows differences between early [[circumcised]] and non-circumcised men in psychological measures of socio-affectivity and provides initial support for the hypothesis that this alteration stems from the most crucial neurodevelopmentally plastic period of an individual's life. " They called for "replication of the current study with a larger sample size and better ability to control for socioeconomic variables."<ref name="miani2020" /> == Videos == === Voices of those affected De drabbades röst ===The following poignant video expresses the emotional pain that many men who were [[circumcised]] in infancy feel. There is a short {{NSFW}} section: <youtube>v=3AulRgBt6ls&feature=youtu.be</youtube> === A Therapist on Men's Hidden Circumcision Grief === <youtube>tNCJ7AL_ThY</youtube><br>=== Gregory Becker voices a personal memoir on his circumcision experience ===<youtube>https://youtu.be/02K_76WjOds</youtube>
=== Men's mental health ===
<youtube>3bxg5pLrbc</youtube>
===They made the cut - The Physical and Psychological Impacts of Non-Theraputic Penile Circumcision===
<youtube>v=tY_PnvXnArA</youtube>
===WWDOGA 2024 - Leeanne Morris===
<youtube>v=StW1sDP7fQs</youtube>
{{SEEALSO}}
* [[Adamant father syndrome]]
* [[Association of male circumcision with homosexuality]]
* [[Circumcision coma]]
* [[Circumcision and violence]]
* [[Psychosexual Effects of Circumcision]]
* [[Psychiatrist Discusses the Lasting Trauma of Circumcision]]
* [[Posttraumatic Post-traumatic stress disorder]]
* [[Suicide]]
* [[Trauma]]
{{LINKS}}
* {{REFweb
|format=
|quote=
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=http://www.cirp.org/library/psych/#n39
|title=Psychological impacts of male circumcision
|last=
|first=
|init=
|publisher=Circumcision Reference Library
|date=2012-05-26
|accessdate=2023-02-22
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=http://acroposthion.com/psychological-implications/
|title=Psychological implications of circumcision
|last=Anonymous
|first=
|publisher=Acroposthion.com
|date=
|accessdate=2022-08-19
|accessdate=2022-02-18
}}
* {{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= |publisher=Intact America |date=2024-12-22 |accessdate=2024-12-30}}* {{REFweb |url=https://docs.google.com/document/d/1WS4pmFCoHkq3UloORfSWi4VgnM11m_5-/edit |title=Unwarranted Presumption |last=Anonymous |first= |init= |publisher=Google |date=2022-12-10 |accessdate=2025-02-20}}* {{REFweb |url=https://intactamerica.org/mens-therapy-group-circumcision-trauma/ |title=Healing After Forced Genital Cutting: A Therapist’s Perspective on Men’s Recovery and Resistance |last=Andersen |first=Dale |init= |author-link=Dale Andersen |publisher=Intact America |date=2025-11-10 |accessdate=2025-11-20}}
{{ABBR}}
{{REF}}