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Apart from the [[medical indication]] of pathological phimosis, there also are other reasons for circumcision.
=== Aesthetic reasons ===
The visual appearance of the [[penis]] is changed radically after circumcision. In this case, personal taste is decisive whether a [[foreskinned]] or a [[circumcised]] [[penis]] is more appealing. Since a circumcision cannot be undone, it is essential to be fully informed about the risks, losses, and possible later complications before embarking on an aesthetically motivated circumcision, to decide whether the appearance will justify such bodily modification.
It should be noted that every circumcision operation leaves a life-long [[circumcision scar]] that encircles the shaft of the [[penis]]. In addition, there frequently is a color change at the circumcision scar which results in a two-tone appearance.
Since this modification and its possible late effects will be the lifelong burden of the person who undertakes an aesthetically motivated circumcision to suit his personal preferences, a valid decision to proceed can only be made by the person to be [[circumcised]] himself, once he has reached the necessary age and level of maturity to make that decision. This should normally be the case when adulthood is reached.
===Financial reasons===
In the [[United States]], payment for non-therapeutic circumcision is made by most [[third-party payment| third-party payers]] without question of necessity. Doctors frequently perform medically-unnecessary, non-therapeutic circumcision of infants and children simply to collect a fee for the surgical operation. The only beneficiary of such surgery is the [[Financial Incentive| bank account of the medical doctor]].<ref name="garrett2024-05-15">{{REFweb
|url=https://intactamerica.org/economics-of-circumcision/
|title=The Economics of Circumcision: A Full Breakdown of This Penis Business
|last=Garrett
|first=Connor
|init=
|author-link=Connor Judson Garrett
|publisher=Intact America
|date=2023-12-21
|accessdate=2025-03-14
}}</ref>
=== Moral reasons ===
With the [[foreskin]], circumcision removes approximately 70% of the sensitive erogenous tissue of the [[penis]], lowering the potential for sexual stimulation accordingly. Due to the loss of around 50% of the entire [[penile skin]], the [[penis]] loses the reserve skin that provides cutaneous mobility in the erect [[penis]] and the [[gliding action]].
In the past, this circumstance was used to make it harder for boys to masturbate and [[masturbation]] less fun, as [[masturbation]] was viewed as immoral and was assumed to cause a variety of mental diseases, caused by the thinking of immoral thoughts! More on that can be found in the chapter "[[Circumcision#Historical_background|Historical background]]". Today, it is known that [[masturbation]] has no negative health effects, but can contribute positively to the child's sexual development. Sexuality is no longer a taboo topic nowadays, while [[masturbation]] is considered to be a natural part of human sexuality and is no longer seen as immoral. Therefore, circumcision for moral reasons — which would only affect boys too young to give [[informed consent]] — is no longer justifiable nowadays.
=== Hygiene reasons ===
''Hygiene'' refers to health and only secondarily to cleanliness.
One should note that the human [[foreskin]] is endowed by nature with [[Foreskin#Immunological_functions| immunological functions]] that serve to protect the human body from disease.<ref name="fleiss-hodges-vanhowe1998"/> The [[glans penis]] receives blood through the frenular artery to help wih [[erection]].<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=2019-11-26
}}</ref> These facts are generally overlooked in arguments for alleged hygienic benefits of circumcision.
A common reason stated for circumcision is the assumption of hygienic benefits. This argument has to be viewed in the context of the environment the person in question grows up in. It is commonly known that bad hygienic circumstances, especially insufficient access to clean drinking water, pose a serious problem. The situation in disaster areas or refugee camps in the so-called third world keep reminding us of that.
In western industrial nations, however, this problem does not exist, in view of the availability of clean water for daily personal hygiene. If the cleaning of the genitals is performed on a daily basis — and that may be assumed — no pathogens can accumulate under the [[foreskin]]. Cleaning of the [[Glans penis|glans]] and the [[preputial sac]] underneath the [[foreskin]] is easy — they are simply [[Preputial_sac#Washing| washed with warm water along with the rest of the body]], just like the areas between the toes.
In small boys, where the [[foreskin]] cannot be retracted yet, cleaning is not necessary, since the [[Synechia| membrane]] that fuses the [[foreskin]] to the [[Glans penis|glans]] prevents the accumulation of micro-organisms. The so-called "[[Ballooning of the foreskin| ballooning]]", where the [[foreskin]] inflates during urination, is normal and not a concern.
The opening of the [[foreskin]] in small boys is often quite narrow and serves as a one-way valve, allowing the [[urine]] to flow out, but preventing entry of microbes, for example from a dirty diaper. As long as the child is able to pass water, everything works as nature intended.
But even in areas where there are poorer hygienic conditions and insufficient access to medical care, the benefits of easier cleaning of a [[circumcised]] [[penis]] are to be viewed with a critical eye. Although even longer periods without personal hygiene will not result in an accumulation of germs under the [[foreskin]], circumcision itself is not without risk of complications. If the operation is carried out without proper sterility, there is a high risk of an [[infection]] of the wound. This also applies to the treatment of common complications like post-operative [[bleeding]].
The benefit of easier cleaning must be balanced against the risk of promoting serious infections — among others [[HIV]] — during the operation. In parts of Africa, several dozen of one tribe's boys die each year as a result of their circumcision.
→Non-medical indications for circumcision: Delete verbiage.
== Non-medical indications for circumcision ==
== Circumcision methods ==