Changes

Many Americans are surprised to hear that [[circumcision]] (the surgical removal of the [[foreskin]]) is uncommon in the western world. Foreigners are often shocked when they first hear that the practice of circumcision even exists in the United States. Circumcision was first introduced in the [[United States ]] by an anti-sexual Victorian initiative which began during the 1830’s. Numerous publications from the 1830’s to times even as late as the 1970’s had advocated for circumcision as a means to prevent [[masturbation]], and to permanently desensitize, denude, and immobilize the penis.<ref name="Lallemand">{{Lallemand1836}}</ref><ref name="Dixon">{{Dixon1845}}</ref><ref name="Moses1871">{{Moses1871}}</ref><ref name="Kellogg1888">{{Kellogg1888}}</ref><ref name="Hutchinson1891">{{REFjournal

* 1997 [[Janice Lander]] discovers that '''circumcision without anesthesia is traumatic for babies'''.<br>(Note: Before this, almost all infant circumcisions were done without anesthetic due to the prevalent belief among circumcisers that babies are not capable of feeling significant pain and if they could it doesn't matter since they won't be able to remember it.)<ref>{{REFjournal |last=Lander |first=Janice |init=J |author-link=Janice Lander |title=Comparison of ring block, dorsal penile nerve block, and topical anesthesia for neonatal circumcision |journal=Journal of the American Medical Association |date=LanderJ etal 1997-12 |volume=274 |issue=24 |pages=2157-2162 |url=http://www.cirp.org/library/pain/lander/}}</ref>

* 2003 [[Edgar J. Schoen]] steps up pressure on [[American Academy of Pediatrics]] to reverse its policy on circumcision, falsely claiming that circumcision prevents [[AIDS]].<ref>{{REFjournal

* 2007 [[Robert C. Bailey]] ends his study early with the conclusion '''touting circumcision as a 'vaccine' that prevents [[HIV]] infection'''.<br>(Note: This and other similar studies were widely reported throughout the American media.)<ref>{{REFjournal |last=RCT Bailey |first=Robert C. |init=RC |author-link=Robert C. Bailey |title=Male circumcision for HIV prevention for young men in Kisumu, Kenya |journal=Lancet |date=et al 2007 |volume=369 |issue=9562 |pages=643-656}}</ref>

* 2007 [[L. Lot de Witte]] finds that '''[[Langerhans cells]] found in the foreskin are a natural barrier to [[HIV]] infection'''.<br>(Note: This and other similar studies were widely ignored throughout the American media.)<ref>{{REFjournal |last=de Witte |init=L |author-link=L. de Witte |title=Langerin is a natural barrier to HIV-1 transmission by Langerhans cells |journal=Nature Medicine |issue=13 |pages=367-371 |url=http://icgi.org/Downloads/IAS/de_Witte.pd |date=DeWitte etal 2007 |accessdate=2019-09-24}}</ref>

* 2007 [[Morris L. Sorrells]] ''et al.'' tests the relative sensitivity of the [[penis ]] and finds that the '''[[foreskin ]] is the most sensitive part of the [[penis ]] and the [[glans ]] is the least'''.<ref>{{Sorrells etal 2007}}</ref>