South Korea's Circumcision Phenomenon

South Korea's Circumcision Phenomenon

Every so often I learn some new peculiar thing about Korea. My latest discovery (let me assure you, it was through word-of-mouth and reading) is the strange case of South Korea’s circumcision phenomenon. In its over 4000 year history, the male Korean was never circumcised. Circumcision is not part of their historic religions, or their culture. But since the Korean War, and exposure to America soldiers, Korea started a strange circumcision craze. While very few men over 70 years in Korea are circumcised, over 95% of Korean men between the ages of 12-20 are circumcised. Recent research says that the male circumcision rate has overtook the birth rate. Unlike in America where circumcision happens mostly as a neonatal (baby) procedure, circumcision in Korea happens around the age of twelve. Now while it is a myth that baby boys feel little pain and are not traumatized by circumcision, I’m sure it is at a psychological level better to be circumcised as a baby than later in life. In a communal society like Korea, the power of group-pressure is exceptional and pre-teen Korean boys are forced into something that is unnecessary.Let me expand on why I believe circumcision is unnecessary in general and particularly in Korea. Korean men are made to believe that circumcision is a universal occurrence and necessity. In other words, they believe that is necessary to be circumcised (for hygienic or other reasons) and that all men around the world get circumcised. This is simply not true. Many cultures do not circumcise. It is not a health requirement [see this YouTube-video].We don’t circumcise girls to be more hygienic. We teach them the importance of personal hygiene. Shouldn’t the same go for boys? There is no reason for intact men to be “dirty”. If it is dirty, wash it, don’t cut it off! Daily hygiene routines requires brushing your teeth, not pulling them.The inside of the foreskin is made of the same kind of skin you find on the inside of your lips and the inside of your eyelids. We all agree that these surfaces have important functions. Why should we think any less if the foreskin? These surfaces are also highly sensitive and in the case of the penis considerably adds to pleasure during sex. When erect the inside of the foreskin unfolds over the penis shaft adding substantially to the overall sensitivity of the penis structure. Another myth is that circumcised and intact men gain equal pleasure. This is just not possible. When circumcised this highly sensitive zone just isn’t there anymore. Take a pencil and lightly scratch it over the back of your hand. Now lightly scratch it over the palm of your hand. The circumcised man feels the former (back of the hand). The intact man feels the latter (palm). Actually, because circumcision leaves scar tissue, the circumcised man might even feel less! Furthermore, a primary function of the foreskin is to cover and protect the glans penis (the front “head”-part of the penis), like the eyelids that protect the eyeball. With the circumcised penis the glans penis is continually exposed, becomes calloused, dry, dull in appearance and further loses sensitivity. The foreskin is not just a “flap of skin”, it is highly artery rich, highly nerve rich, and has multiple functions.Other reasons Koreans are encouraged to be circumcised is that it supposedly prevents premature ejaculation and improves the size of the penis. Really?! So the assumption is that most men in Denmark should suffer from premature ejaculation, as circumcision in Denmark is most uncommon. Even if this was the case for Korean men in particular (and I don't know why it should be different for Koreans and not for other men), surely a surgical procedure in which you cut off parts of the male anatomy is not the best solution to prevent premature ejaculation. And far from increasing penis size it actually decreases penis girth, as the outer covering of the penis is stripped away. It may even hamper full erection (read this guys testimony). Circumcision does not improve penis size, probably the inverse.A different silliness is the idea that circumcision is Christian. Circumcision done for religious reasons by the “Christian” is probably one of the most unchristian things you can do. For ancient Israel the circumcision was a covenant sign of the Messiah that was to come. Christians believe that the Messiah, i.e. Jesus the Christ, did come. Christians continuing the practice of circumcision for religious reasons are in fact proclaiming that the Messiah did not come, hence St. Paul’s rebuke that if you still want to circumcise, why don’t you just go ahead and cut the whole thing off! [Galatians chapter 5 & 6.] Christianity is not against circumcision, it is just against it for religious reasons. St. Paul said that we need not circumcision of the literal penis, but of the figurative heart. The Biblical covenant sacraments for the Christian are the Baptism, the Communion and the Sabbath, not circumcision. In any case, religious circumcision in Korea is unknown, except where done so by ignorant Christians. There are practically no Koreans that participate in the Jewish or Islamic faiths.So, getting back to peer pressure: Some parents have their sons circumcised so that they would look “like like other men”. What a strange reason if there ever was one. Imagine for a moment a country where it is customary for people to have their left eye poked out. Should parents do that to their children so that they can look the same as everyone else?Another outrageous (supposedly scientific) claim is that circumcision reduces the infections of HIV/AIDS. What these so-called scientific studies don’t emphasize is that their case studies are given thorough education about HIV/AIDS, which obviously influence their sexual habits. This is not the case for the average “control groups”. Also, such emphasis on “circumcision will lesson your chances of getting AIDS”, may in fact increase licentiousness, causing thinking along the lines of: “I’m circumcised so now I can have lots of unprotected sex.” Circumcision is not a vaccine.For some short rebuttals against the typical pro-circumcision arguments read the following. And if you can stomach Penn & Tiller's "Bullshit"-series, see this segment on circumcisions, on YouTube.

Male circumcision could be outlawed in Denmark

Male circumcision could be outlawed in Denmark
By Erlingur on Dec 2, 2008 in Culture, Music and the Arts, Denmark, MBL, Politics, Society

The Kristeligt Dagblad newspaper has reported that several parties in the Danish Parliament are considering legislation that would ban circumcision on boys as well as girls. After an intense week of discussions by MPs, it appears that the proposal for a ban covering both genders is gaining traction.
Although the Social Democrats, the Liberal Alliance, and the Red-Green Alliance have already gone public with their support for the ban, the Danish People’s Party is calling it a “tyranny.”
“It’s completely ridiculous to compare the circumcision of girls - which is a barbaric mutilation - with that of boys, where it’s just the removal of a skin flap,” said Jesper Langballe of the Danish People’s Party.
However The Copenhagen Post reports that the party’s own health spokesperson, Liselott Brixt, says she supports the circumcision ban, stating “a lot of parents want it done to their children because they themselves had it done. But we’re living in the present and it isn’t fair to expose healthy children to religious circumcision.”
At the centre of the debate is the question of religious freedom. Female circumcision was outlawed in Denmark because it was deemed a too-common practice among some Muslim immigrants. But Jewish tradition demands that boys be circumcised, and many Christians and Muslims support the practice as well. Denmark’s Ethics Council has criticised the practice, suggesting boys should wait until 15 to decide for themselves, the age at which a child has sole legal control over his or her body in Denmark.
http://www.icenews.is/index.php/2008/12/02/male-circumcision-could-be-outlawed-in-denmark/

Supreme Court rejects Oregon circumcision case

The Associated Press

PORTLAND — The U.S. Supreme Court has rejected an Oregon dispute between a father who wants to circumcise his 13-year-old son against the wishes of the boy's mother.
The case now goes back to an Oregon trial judge to determine whether the boy wants to undergo the procedure.
James Boldt converted to Judaism and says his son wants to be circumcised for religious reasons.
But his ex-wife, Lia Boldt, claims that her son is afraid to tell his father that he does not want to undergo the procedure.
The Boldts married in the early 1990s. Lia Boldt filed for divorce in 1998 and initially had custody of their son before James Boldt gained custody.
source: http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2008232347_webcircumcise06m.html
__._,_.___

Children's Rights Group calls for Genital Integrity Policy

Doctors Opposing Circumcision announces publication of its new Genital Integrity Policy for America's Children.

Our new statement provides conclusive evidence that genital integrity provides the highest level of health and well-being for America's children

Seattle, WA (PRWEB) May 31, 2008 -- Doctors Opposing Circumcision, a member of Child Rights Information Network, today announced publication of its new Genital Integrity Policy, said George C. Denniston, MD, MPH, president. "Our new statement provides conclusive evidence that genital integrity provides the highest level of health and well-being for America's children," Denniston explained.

"Our organization is the world's leading authority on genital integrity." Denniston said. "We have been developing this evidence-based policy for two years. We discuss the lack of any real preventive benefits of male circumcision, the risks, complications, and disadvantages that occur both immediately after circumcision and throughout life. Since we lack the conflict-of-interest that troubles other medical organizations, we can tell the whole truth."

"Moreover, this statement includes chapters on human rights, law, and medical ethics," John Geisheker, J.D., general counsel for DOC, added. "There are many reasons to believe that non-therapeutic circumcision of children may be unlawful and no reason to believe that it is lawful. Non-therapeutic circumcision fails every medical ethics test."

Denniston commented, "We call for all segments of society to protect the health, well-being, and human rights of America's children by supporting and defending their genital integrity."

"Non-therapeutic male circumcision was introduced as a medical practice in the nineteenth century," Denniston said. "It has no rationale in twenty-first century medical practice. The amputative operation is harmful both to normal sexual function and emotional well-being. Our twelve-chapter policy statement makes absolutely clear that genital integrity advances the health, well-being, and best interests of the child."

"International human rights law has profoundly changed medical ethics. Injurious non-therapeutic circumcision cannot comply with contemporary ethical standards and must yield in favor of protecting the genital and bodily integrity of children," George Hill, DOC's vice-president for bioethics and medical science, commented."

Hill said, "We are making our policy available both online in HTML and as a downloadable PDF file to facilitate maximum distribution. One may view the policy at:

http://www.doctorsopposingcircumcision.org/DOC

Male Circumcision Ineffective in HIV Battle According to New Future HIV Therapy Report

Promoting male circumcision in Africa is risky and dangerous and could lead to more HIV infections, warns a new paper published today in the May issue of Future HIV Therapy. Promoting circumcision will drain millions, possibly billions, of dollars away from more effective prevention strategies, and cause tens of thousands of infections and other surgical complications.

West Lafayette, IN (PRWEB) May 6, 2008 -- Promoting male circumcision in Africa is risky and dangerous and could lead to more HIV infections, warns a new paper published in the May issue of Future HIV Therapy. Lead author Dr. Lawrence Green says, "Having served on both the US Preventive Services Task Force and the Community Preventive Services Task Force, which do systematic reviews of research to arrive at government-supported evidence-based guidelines for practice, I believe the African studies on the basis of which some are promoting circumcision as HIV prevention would be classified at best as 'insufficient evidence’ by both panels." "Promoting circumcision will drain millions, possibly billions, of dollars away from more effective prevention strategies," cautions co-author John Travis, MD, "and cause tens of thousands of infections and other surgical complications, further straining an already overwhelmed healthcare system and undermining the current ABC (abstinence, be faithful, and use condoms) campaigns by creating a false sense of immunity and increasing risk-taking behaviors. African males are already lining up to be circumcised, believing that they will no longer need to wear condoms, and this is a serious concern." Travis says, "The African studies were conducted in atypically sanitary clinics with highly skilled operators and cannot be extrapolated to the general population. The studies have been criticized for their poor science including: the men were paid to be circumcised, received free condoms and extensive education, and the studies were halted after only 21 to 24 month periods." During the course of these studies, 77 fewer circumcised than uncircumcised males contracted HIV, however, the circumcised group needed to refrain from sex to recoup from surgery, and they were receiving extensive monitoring and counseling about sexual behavior. Also, hundreds of study participants were lost to follow-up. "There is not enough evidence to conclude circumcision would offer any real long-term benefit in the HIV battle. Even if circumcision did reduce the risk of HIV infections, condoms and safe-sex practices are still far more effective. If an individual is engaging in high-risk behavior, he and his partner are at risk, regardless of whether he is circumcised or not." The paper also cautions against neonatal circumcision for HIV prevention, stating it is unethical to circumcise an infant for a possible benefit 15–20 years later, if at all, to reduce the risk of contracting an adult-acquired disease for which there are far more effective prevention strategies available. Circumcision proponents, hailing from English-speaking countries, have been intensely lobbying world health agencies to adopt male circumcision as an additional HIV-prevention tool based on the release of three African randomized clinical trials reporting reduced HIV infections during their study periods. Many sources of data contradict the claim that circumcision protects against HIV. The United States has one of the highest rates of circumcision and HIV infection in the developed world. European nations, which rarely practice circumcision, have very low rates of HIV. Numerous regions in Africa show higher rates of HIV in circumcised populations compared to uncircumcised populations. For example, 2004 data from Lesotho show HIV infection of 15 percent for uncircumcised males and 23 percent for circumcised males. A 2007 study showed that, once commercial sex worker patterns were taken into consideration, circumcision status was irrelevant in HIV infection rates

.

Class suit against circumcisers

If you were 'routinely' circumcised as an infant, you may
now join the CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT against the doctor
and hospital that circumcised you by clicking the following
link:

http://www.sueeasy.com/litigants.php?class_action_case_detail=258

Alex of Pinoy Big Brother admitted on cam that he is supot

Filipino-Italian housemate of Pinoy Big Brother Teen Edition admitted on camera that he is "supot" or uncircumcised. He said it is because, they do not circumcise in Italy. He said it after having been given a task to say some number of Filipino words that he know.

Alex seem to know that supot is being teased in the Philippines that he said he wanted to get circumcised. Big Brother then, invited adolescent males for a scheduled circumcision in the Big Brother House.

After the admission, many Filipinos reacted in the internet that they admired the courage of Alex in admitting on television that he is supot.

Circumcision is not a 'cure' for HIV

Having recently read Male Circumcision and HIV Prevention - The Great Controversy by Dr. Joseph Matare, the HIV/AIDS Medical Officer for Namibia published on the 29th Jan 2007, I have to endorse his sentiments that Circumcision is being heralded around the world as the 'cure' for HIV without sufficient thought being given to other factors some of which I will outline.

Laurie Milner

HIV and Malaria The fact that Malaria increases the HIV viral load never gets a mention in the popular media. T he interaction between Malaria and HIV, the co-infection factor, is widely written about and many sources such as UNICEF, WHO, and articles in the Lancet and other Professional Medical Journals support the thesis that there is an increase in the HIV viral load in people infected with Malaria. Dry Sex Beksinska et al, Sex Transm, Inf. 1999;75;178-180, indicated that dry sex is practised by 61% of men and 40% of women in the Gauteng Province of South Africa, the very area where Auvert conducted his research and made the first claim that circumcision reduced the incidence of transmission by 61%. Having studied his research paper – PLOS Medicine, Vol. 2 Issue 11 Nov. 2005 - I cannot see any evidence that he took dry sex into account in his analysis. As dry sex removes all or most of the lubrication between the penis, especially the glans penis, and the vaginal wall, there is an increase in the abrasion, raw friction, discomfort, soreness, and probably tiny tears in the vaginal wall which represent entry points for the HIV virus to enter the blood stream. The penis is likely to be similarly affected. There is a wide range of research and articles in the Medical Journals that say the same sort of thing. One example is Baleta ‘Concern over “dry sex” practices is South Africa - The Lancet, Vol. 352, P1292, Oct 17 1999. Circumcised Sex The foreskin contains between 10,000 and 20,000 nerves that are specifically designed to give pleasure to the male during sexual activity. These nerves are removed along with the foreskin during circumcision, leaving only the nerves in the glans penis which are much sparser than the ones in the foreskin and nowhere as sensitive. The outcome is that a circumcised man is left with a relative blunt instrument with reduced sensation and the more years that pass the duller the glans becomes because without the foreskin to cover and protect it, it becomes dulled and toughened (keratanized) as do the soles of the feet when a man walks about bare footed. The foreskin also plays a role in stimulating the glans and so its loss coupled with the loss of the thousands of fine receptors leave a circumcised man unable to feel the intense feelings from the wide range of gentle movements possible in the act of intercourse. Although he may well be able to prolong intercourse for longer than a natural man he is unlikely to experience the range and intensity of feelings until just before and during orgasm, something which makes orgasm control difficult. As age takes its toll he will feel even less and will find more and more difficulty in achieving orgasm at all. Furthermore, circumcision frequently removes some of the shaft skin as well as the foreskin which causes the skin on the shaft of an erect penis to be at worst tight like a drum skin or at best lacking in lose mobile skin compared to one with a foreskin. From a mechanical point of view a penis modified in this way becomes akin to a piston which ‘pumps’ vaginal fluids out of the vagina creating the conditions that cause abrasion and soreness to both the man and woman. On the outstroke the shaft exits the vagina and takes with it vaginal fluids which evaporate while the rim of the glans acts in a similar way to a washer in a water pump - removing even more vaginal fluids, fluids that nature put there for good reason. All in all a man who has lost his fine sensory receptors has to engage in harder and more vigorous thrusting in order to achieve orgasm and in so doing accelerates vaginal dryness and causes abrasions to the vaginal wall through which the HIV virus can pass into the blood stream. The combined affect of circumcision and dry sex is going to cause even more abrasion to the vaginal walls than either dry sex or circumcised sex alone and thus increase transmission of the HIV virus. It is also less pleasurable for the women. Furthermore, it may not be generally known but in approximately 96% of children up to the age about 4 years, the foreskin is joined to the glans in much the same way as a fingernail is joined to the finger. Its removal at an early age means that it has to be torn away from the glans which leaves the surface of the glans red and raw. The process is rather like pulling a fingernail off a finger. This sounds horrendous but is true and can be checked out in the medical literature. The resulting raw surface of the glans is of course prone to infection and all sorts of complications, even when done in a UK hospital. What is more, no one knows what neurological damage this does or whether the tissue that grows over the glans in the healing process is the same or different to the natural surface that was removed during circumcision. Uncircumcised Sex A penis with a foreskin has moveable skin which pulls back into its own sheath on the outstroke in the same way as the neck and head of a turtle or tortoise moves back into the surplus moveable skin on its neck. This surplus moveable skin is gripped by the pubococcygeal (PC) muscles which are just inside the vagina and is more or less held in place there as the body of the penis moves back into it on the outstroke, thus the part of the penis within the vagina doesn’t actually pull out during intercourse and so doesn’t remove vaginal secretions. Intercourse with a foreskin is a much more variable, sensuous and pleasurable experience for both the man and the woman and doesn’t cause damage to the vagina and therefore doesn’t increase the risk of transmission of the HIV virus. Conclusion It is said that Langerhan’s cells in the foreskin are susceptible to the HIV virus and that is the reason for advocating circumcision. Langerhan cells are infact on other parts of the penis as well as on other parts of the body and as such are part of the human immune system. It is also said that removing them along with the foreskin reduces the risk of HIV transmission by 60% which means that the risk of getting infected is 4 times out of ten; not really a good insurance policy for highly charged sexually active young men! Furthermore, human nature is such that men will soon start to think that they are protected against AIDS if they are circumcised, which definitely isn’t the case. Nature put the Langerhan’s cells there for reasons of her own and my instinct says that nature knows best; we may not yet understand why they are there or what other functions they may have, but nature doesn’t seem to have got anything else wrong! Discounting this thought, it is surely a case of weighing up the advantages of the foreskin. It is my opinion that outwardly generated pressure to circumcise Africa will cause an increase in HIV/AIDS in the long term rather than a reduction. I feel it would be better to work towards eliminating Malaria, and all the other indigenous diseases that lower the immune system. Surely it would be advantageous to cut out promiscuity and to educate against dry sex which is already being abandoned by the younger and more educated members of African society. Multiple partners and inheriting the brother’s wife, who may well have died from AIDS, are obviously traditions that help rather than hinder the epidemic. I also agree with Dr. Joseph Matare that microbicides may well have an important role to play if people can be persuaded to use them. Fine words, however, are one thing but changing attitudes is another. One also needs to look at the United States which has both the highest rate of HIV transmission in the Western World and the highest percentage (90%) of sexually active circumcised men. If circumcision really does prevent HIV/AIDS than why does America not have the lowest rates in the world? There is strong rumour and much on the internet claiming that the biotech industries in the United States harvest foreskins which they use in the production of off the shelf skin grafts. Typing ‘foreskins for sale’ in Google or any other search engine certainly brings up some interesting reading. How much truth there is in these claims I am not in a position to say. Finally, I am one of the few researchers who is qualified to talk about the differences between circumcised and uncircumcised sex as I was circumcised at 3 years of age and remained so until my fifties. I then grew a replacement foreskin using standard medical procedures and now have a foreskin that could, and has, fooled the medical profession. It is easy to do and makes use of standard skin expansion techniques as used on a daily basis in hospitals around the world and doesn’t involve surgery. If anyone is interested in this then simply type the words, ‘foreskin restoration’ into Google or any other search engine on your computer. The cost of restoring is virtually nothing, doesn’t require medical supervision and no one need know that you’re doing it. It is, however, a slow process that takes from 3 to 6 years to complete. Laurie Milner, (UK). Independent Researcher of the role, function and health of the foreskin.

http://zimdaily.com/news/117/ARTICLE/1291/2007-02-03.html

Musoveni Cautions Youth on Circumcision

Museveni cautions youth on circumcision Wednesday,

7th November, 2007

By Fortunate Ahimbisibwe

PRESIDENT Yoweri Museveni has said circumcision should not be promoted in the fight against HIV/AIDS, as it will encourage recklessness among the youth.

Addressing over 500 youth delegates who attended the Youth Activist Forum on Tuesday at Hotel Africana in Kampala, Museveni said he would continue advocating for the ABC strategy (Abstinence, Faithfulness and Condoms.)

"Some NGO's have been saying rubbish about circumcision but I will continue encouraging the youth to abstain, and use condoms only if they must. How many Bagisu have died of AIDS and yet all of them are circumcised?" he asked. "You would rather use a condom as a fall-back position but not rely on circumcision."

Museveni warned the youth against contracting HIV/AIDS and encouraged them to get married immediately after school.

"By the time you get your first degree when you are 24, you should find a responsible partner and enjoy the rest of your lives together. Getting a partner should be a process but not meeting in the bus park and getting married." He added that Uganda's population growth rate was not a problem.

"At 30 million, we should not be worried. Japan, which is about the same age as Uganda, has over 120m but it's a fast-developing country. Population is not the problem here, the problem is underdevelopment and this is what we are trying to address."

On the controversial land give-aways to investors, Museveni said this was part of an effort to create employment for the youth.

"Your enemies are the people who are delaying these industries and fighting for small pieces of land, therefore delaying employment for you."

He warned that the Government would attach the property of people who get money through SACCOs and fail to pay it back.

"This is not going to be like the Entandikwa. If you fail to pay back, your property will be attached."

The forum, a precursor to the Commonwealth Youth Forum to take place in Kampala later this month, was organised by the Global Forum for International Cooperation.