Myths and Realities: American Circumcision Tradition

Circumcision: A False American Tradition

Circumcision, a rather uncomfortable, and unspoken tradition in American society. Yet, every day thousands of parents are choosing to cut off a perfectly good part of their child's body for what reason exactly? No one really talks about it, so no one really knows, and from this silence has grown decades of myths based on ignorance and shame. Today, America has taken circumcision and turned it into such a popular tradition that nearly 85% of men are currently cut. There is no reason for this number to be so high though, as most of America is not Jewish, or Islamic, the two major religions that still practice circumcision, and most medical, and ethical communities frown on this practice. This tradition

Most Americans view circumcision as a solution to a problem which it is not. Circumcision has not been scientifically proven to prevent, solve, or improve any health condition or state. One of the most common reasons people circumcise infants is because they believe it will make cleaning babies easier. This is a common misconception. Parents for generations have been taught that uncircumcised babies need to have the underside of their foreskin cleaned, but this is physically impossible to do without permanently damaging the organ. When a baby is born the foreskin is fused to the head of the penis, thus no additional care is needed. The organ is very self-cleaning just like it’s female

The procedure was used as a deterrent that utilized both physical and emotional scarring. Doctors were advised to use no anesthetic so that the pain would act as a mental deterrent. The tradition of no pain prevention carried on well into the nineties, and even today, only 45% of doctors use any form of anesthetic at all. The procedure was also performed on children rather than infants so a lasting memory would be formed scaring the child for life. This pain still leaves a lasting impact children today, with studies showing that men who are circumcised have a 60% harder time expressing their emotions and being more likely to experience problems in their marriage. Not only was this a cruel and unusual medical procedure, it was also used as a form of punishment and abuse. The question is why would America continue to use circumcision even with though it is known to have a dark and twisted history in the world of genital mutilation and child abuse? Especially, when only 30% of the rest of the world continues to practice it. People may never know, but they can choose to