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Circumcision Non-therapeutic circumcision is seen as a rite of passage in many African tribal traditions.<ref>Schloss, Marc R. ''The Hatchet’s Blood: Separation, Power, and Gender in Ehing Social Life.'' Tucson: University of Arizona Press, 1988.</ref><ref>Heald, Suzette. ''Controlling Anger: The Sociology of Gisu Violence.'' Manchester: Manchester University Press, 1989.</ref><ref>Bloch, Maurice. ''From Blessing to Violence: History and Ideology in the Circumcision Ritual of the Merina of Madagascar.'' Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1986.</ref><ref>Beidelman, T. O. The Cool Knife: Imagery of Gender, Sexuality, and Moral Education in Kaguru Initiation Ritual.Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1997.</ref><ref>Turner, Victor. "Mukanda: The Rite of Circumcision." ''In The Forest of Symbols: Aspects of Ndembu Ritual.'' Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1967.</ref> In some African societies, a man who has not been circumcised is seen as a child, and unfit to take on the duties of a "man" (IE, someone who has been circumcised), such as positions of office and authority.
→Culture: Add Canada.
== Culture ==
In some cultures, non-therapeutic circumcision is a social norm, recommendation, or even a requirement. 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. In others, it is seen as "unclean" not to be circumcised, and consider the circumcised penis to be more aesthetically pleasing.
=== America ===
=== Africa ===
Boys and men are circumcised at different ages depending on the African society. Practices obviously vary. Among the Ehing of Senegal, the major idea of the ritual is to "spill sexual blood," and with the very young just the tip of the skin is considered sufficient for them to have entered the initiation. Children whose wounds have closed too completely were subjected to repeat operations, with the second cutting being much more extensive.<ref>Schloss, Marc R. The Hatchet’s Blood: Separation, Power, and Gender in Ehing Social Life. Tucson: University of Arizona Press, 1988. pp. 76-77.</ref> Among the Gisu of Uganda, only youths aged eighteen to twenty-four are eligible for circumcision, which is perceived as a crucial test of masculine bravery and endurance. The youth must stand absolutely still while first their foreskins are being cut and then stripped from around the glans penis. They are required to display total fortitude under the knife, betraying no signs of fear, not even involuntary twitching or blinking. The Gisu describe the pain as "fierce, bitter, and terrifying."<ref>Heald, Suzette. Controlling Anger: The Sociology of Gisu Violence. Manchester: Manchester University Press, 1989. pp. 60.</ref>
Subincision is practiced by native Australians. This involves slitting open the underside of the penis, revealing the urethra. The wound may be reopened and extended to cause renewed bloodletting, making this possibly the most dramatic of all male genital mutilations.<ref>Gould, Richard A. ''Yiwara: Foragers of the Australian Desert.'' New York: Scribner’s, 1969.</ref><ref>Ro´heim, Ge´za. ''The Eternal Ones of the Dream: A Psychoanalytic Interpretation of Australian Myth and Ritual.'' New York: International Universities Press, 1945.</ref> The incidence of circumcision in [[Australia]] has declined to about 4 percent of newborn boys. Intact males have been in the ever-increasing majority for many years.
===Canada===
The practice of non-therapeutic circumcision in [[Canada]] has been declining for decades.
== Religion ==