The Great Foreskin Debate: Circumcised vs Uncircumcised

Argument #1 Hygiene: For quite some time I believed that men were cut because boys are somehow less hygienic so they cut them to make the penis easier to clean. While this may be true in some cases, my textbook Our Sexuality by Crooks and Baur says that our sex organs are self-cleaning. The vagina, eyes and the head of the penis clean themselves. Sure we all get infections there from time to time but that doesn't mean you should cut out your eye because you might get an infection or that a woman should cut off her labia because it harbors bacteria (some bacteria is necessary to human life!). It is important to understand that the head of a man's penis is equivalent to the clitoris. In the womb before sexual organs become male or female, we all have the same kind of parts. The infamous clitoris as we know can be very sensitive to touch. Well imagine if we cut off the hood protecting it and let it rub on our underwear and tight skinny jeans as we walk and ran around. What do you think would happen? The skin would get tougher due to friction and sensitivity would surely be lost; the same happens with a man.

Argument #2 Helps Prevent STDs: On the TV show The Doctors, a worried mother said, "I would hate hate hate for my child to be in pain because of an infection because of an STD and be afraid to tell his mother." This may be a good reason for circumcision for some parents; I do believe parents should have the choice as much as I disagree with the practice. However there is a lack of knowledge from parents about how to take care of a natural uncircumcised penis. I have two major issues with this argument though. First, you should teach your child safe sex practices because yes having foreskin holds in moisture (it's what makes the head of the penis extra sensitive). Your child will get an STD anyway if he is not careful. Second, children should feel comfortable talking to their parents. It's up to the mother to make sure the child feels safe enough to tell her or another adult.

Argument #3 A religious right: If it is a religious practice, I have a hard time saying no because I would hate for someone to tell me that I couldn’t practice my religion to the fullest. I understand that some religious practices may be barbaric but it is so difficult for me not to respect other cultures. It is a fine line to cross and maybe one day it will have to be completely illegal to remove foreskin as a child. As much as I would like that, I just feel that it would be an invasion of rights for some.

Argument #4 It looks better: Most of the world is not circumcised. It is okay to not like the way someone looks naturally, sometimes it is just human nature. Plastic surgery is big business these days and is nothing new. Personally the only reason why a circumcised penis looks better to me is it is what I am used to. If my boyfriend wants to regrow his foreskin (I will talk about this more in my next article), I will love him and his penis even more because I know he will get an extreme amount of satisfaction. When it gets down to it and a penis is erect and ready for sex, the foreskin retracts anyway, so really there is no difference.