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Despite Suggestion Circumcision May Reduce HIV Rate More Parents Reject The Practice
by The Associated Press
(San Francisco, California) On the eighth day of her son's life, Julia Query welcomed friends and family to celebrate his birth and honor their Jewish heritage.
But there was no crying, no scalpel, no blood, no "mohel" - the person who traditionally performs ritual circumcisions in the Jewish faith. In fact, Elijah Rose's "bris" differed markedly from the ceremony long used to initiate Jewish boys into a covenant with God: There was no circumcision.
"I knew before I was even pregnant that I would not circumcise," said Query, 39, a San Francisco filmmaker whose son was born in 2002. "It's not like you're just cutting a piece of paper off a pad - there's no `cut here' line. It's not made to be cut off, and I would never, ever do that to my baby."
Query is among a growing number of American parents refusing circumcision, in which the foreskin is removed from the penis.
According to a study by the National Health and Social Life Survey, the U.S. circumcision rate peaked at nearly 90 percent in the early 1960s but began dropping in the '70s. By 2004, the most recent year for which government figures are available, about 57 percent of all male newborns delivered in hospitals were circumcised. In some states, the rate is well below 50 percent.
Experts say immigration patterns play the biggest role in the decline, which is steepest in Western states with big populations from Asian and Latin American countries where circumcision is uncommon. The trend has also accompanied a change in Americans' attitudes toward medicine and their bodies.
"The rates of drug-free labor and breast-feeding all rose during the 1980s, while the initial declines in male circumcision rates began during the 1980s as well," said Katharine Barrett, an anthropology lecturer at Stanford University. "It may have been part and parcel of the wider effort to reclaim bodies - adult female and infant male - from unnecessary and potentially harmful medical interventions."
Circumcision remains the nation's most common surgery, and the United States is still one of the few developed countries where a majority of baby boys are circumcised. But circumcision is a heated issue and the subject of vehemently pro and anti Web sites.
"We were all circumcised when I was born," said R. Louis Schultz, a 79-year-old New Yorker and author of "Out in the Open: The Complete Male Pelvis." "People thought it could ward off masturbation or disease, and those funny attitudes have really changed. Now people are saying, `Why do it?'"
Many doctors still recommend circumcision because of some evidence that it reduces the risk of penile cancer, urinary tract infections, HIV and perhaps other sexual transmitted diseases. Many major insurance companies still cover it, and many hospitals offer it free for newborns.
But circumcision opponents say the medical benefits are dubious. Penile cancer, for example, is extremely rare. Since 1999, the American Academy of Pediatrics has not endorsed routine circumcision.
The debate escalated in February, when studies found that heterosexual men in Africa who were circumcised had HIV infection rates up to 60 percent lower than uncircumcised men. Because of those studies, the American Academy of Pediatrics is taking another look at its policy.
About one in three males worldwide is circumcised. In the United States, the rates vary widely by region.
It is most prevalent in the upper Midwest. In 2004, according to data compiled by the federal Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, more than 79 percent of newborn boys in the Midwest were circumcised before leaving the hospital. Michigan and Kentucky had the highest rates, at 85 percent.
In the fast-growing West, the rate declined dramatically - from 64 percent in 1979 to just under 32 percent in 2004.
In California, the rate of hospital circumcisions among newborns was 21 percent. California - which has more immigrants than any other state - had the lowest circumcision rate in the study, which had comprehensive data on only 27 states.
The decline coincides with rising immigration from Asia and Latin America.
"If you have a solid Victorian, American background, routine circumcision is not unusual," said Carol A. Miller, clinical professor of pediatrics at University of California at San Francisco.
Circumcision was uncommon in 35-year-old Usha Toland's family, which has roots in India, Sri Lanka and Malaysia. When her son, Reynick, was born in 2005 in San Francisco, her husband, Chris, a white man from Southern California, assumed his son would be circumcised. But after the couple read Web sites and medical literature, they decided against the surgery.
"Usha probably would have understood if I really wanted to have Reynick circumcised," said Chris, a 42-year-old advertising executive. "But ultimately I didn't want to bring pain to the child unnecessarily. We wanted to do things the way God or the universe meant them to be."
Many parents fear their boys would feel awkward in the locker room if they were not circumcised.
"I like the idea of him looking like his dad - that's the most important thing for me," said Denise Milito Stockwell, 40, an artist in Chicago who had her 15-month-old son, Harlan, circumcised. "It wasn't traumatic for him in any way. He came back from the event sleeping."
Circumcision is still common in many Jewish and Muslim communities.
Ruth Katz, 38, of San Francisco had both her sons circumcised at brises. She and her husband, Michael Rapaport, were astonished when the teacher in their birthing class described circumcision as "immoral" and "not consensual."
"The edict to have your son circumcised was the first covenant with God - the first challenge to being Jewish," said Katz, pursuing a master's degree in business administration. "I am a progressive person and think a lot about human rights issues, but I have never questioned this."
©365Gay.com 2007
(\\__/) And if you don't believe The sun will rise
(='.'=) Stand alone and greet The coming night
(")_(") In the last remaining light. (C. Cornell)
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timmy
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Has no life at all |
Location: UK, in Devon
Registered: February 2003
Messages: 13796
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It is about time that common sense started to prevail. Witchcraft has held sway for far too long.
Author of Queer Me! Halfway Between Flying and Crying - the true story of life for a gay boy in the Swinging Sixties in a British all male Public School
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saben
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On fire! |
Registered: May 2003
Messages: 1537
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I don't mind how I was circumcised and in fact I rather like how my penis looks. I think my penis really is close to "perfect" (a lot of men may think that?)
I was circumcised in a good way that still left me with a partial foreskin, although the glans is fully exposed when soft, the skin of my penis is always quite loose, even when fully erect. And I kept my frenulum.
Ryan, however, has a lot less penile sensitivity than me. It has helped me to understand how bad circumcision can be. And I don't even think he is a bad case.
If I ever had a son, I would never circumcise him. I like my penis being circumcised- but really it's an unnecessary change that basically comes down to cosmetics and tradition.
I wouldn't tattoo a baby out of tradition or cosmetics, though.
I wouldn't go so far as to call it barbaric- I think the majority of circumcisions probably aren't that bad. But it really is unnecessary. Especially when the loss of sensitivity can be quite high.
Look at this tree. I cannot make it blossom when it suits me nor make it bear fruit before its time [...] No matter what you do, that seed will grow to be a peach tree. You may wish for an apple or an orange, but you will get a peach.
Master Oogway
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marc
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Needs to get a life! |
Registered: March 2003
Messages: 4729
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i have never seen one i didnt like looking at..... cut ur uncut.....
as far as the "sensitivity" issue... i think that has alot to do with the experteese of the stimulator as well.
ive seen some that complain about not getting the full feeling but with a little sexperteese thay were usually pleasantly surprised to discover that their lack of feeling was more due to a lack of care by the giver than a problem with their dinks.
Life is great for me... Most of the time... But then I meet people online... Very few are real friends... Many say they are but know nothing of what it means... Some say they are, but are so shallow...
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Oh my gosh, Mark! I think you should write a "How To" book.  And when it's completed, email me a copy! 
Youth crisis hot-line 866-488-7386, 24 hr (U.S.A.)
There are people who want to help you cope with being you.
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marc
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Needs to get a life! |
Registered: March 2003
Messages: 4729
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It all bloils down to practice, practice, practice.....
and then get professional standing....
Life is great for me... Most of the time... But then I meet people online... Very few are real friends... Many say they are but know nothing of what it means... Some say they are, but are so shallow...
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jack
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Likes it here |
Location: England
Registered: September 2006
Messages: 304
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cut or uncut it does not make any difference.
yes to cut could be barbaric but if you are unlean and live in a hot country
one could understand the cut version.
which is where all the religious side comes from.
life is to enjoy.
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marc
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Needs to get a life! |
Registered: March 2003
Messages: 4729
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jack wrote:
> cut or uncut it does not make any difference.
What does not make a difference?
>
> yes to cut could be barbaric but if you are unlean and live in a hot country
Unlean..... well it must suck to be fat in the desert
> one could understand the cut version.
>
> which is where all the religious side comes from.
I dont get that sentence at all?
Life is great for me... Most of the time... But then I meet people online... Very few are real friends... Many say they are but know nothing of what it means... Some say they are, but are so shallow...
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timmy
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Has no life at all |
Location: UK, in Devon
Registered: February 2003
Messages: 13796
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Actually, no, one can not understand it at all. The prepuce and glans is a self cleansing unit
Author of Queer Me! Halfway Between Flying and Crying - the true story of life for a gay boy in the Swinging Sixties in a British all male Public School
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jack
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Likes it here |
Location: England
Registered: September 2006
Messages: 304
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are other people not allowed to comment on points.
or are only a chosen few allowed to comment.
it is not a competition.
You should be aware that other people do have an opinion not just graduates.
My point is that if you cannot clean yourself for whatever reason, then in that case you could well say that to be cut could be better.
I have not said that it apply s to fat people, but marc if the cap fits then bloody well put it on. since you seem determined to have only one slanted opinion.
have a nice day good buy.
life is to enjoy.
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timmy
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Has no life at all |
Location: UK, in Devon
Registered: February 2003
Messages: 13796
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Ok, that was plain unpleasant and rude.
Marc was commenting on the typo "unlean"
I was commenting on your comment.
What you need to understand is that no-one really minds who stays or goes. But they do tend to mind other things, such as demeanour.
I don't mind if you stay or go. I'd like to see more contributing and less provoking, but you are as you are.
Author of Queer Me! Halfway Between Flying and Crying - the true story of life for a gay boy in the Swinging Sixties in a British all male Public School
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jack
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Likes it here |
Location: England
Registered: September 2006
Messages: 304
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True though one sided for the chosen few.
life is to enjoy.
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timmy
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Has no life at all |
Location: UK, in Devon
Registered: February 2003
Messages: 13796
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That made no sense at all.
You may think you are making a point, but you are not. If you have something to say that is critical, be explicit, choose a new thread and come out and say it.
There are no chosen few. If you feel outside in some manner that is because you feel outside. The door has never closed on you leaving you outside, it just seems that you never stepped inside either. So why not step inside, tell us what you hope to gain from being here and then see if it is achievable?
If you are going to go, that's ok, too. But no-one is hugely worried either way about your staying or going. Even if I went this place would survive somewhere else. No-one matters that much, not "even" me.
Author of Queer Me! Halfway Between Flying and Crying - the true story of life for a gay boy in the Swinging Sixties in a British all male Public School
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