I've had ongoing debates with my Asian friends all throughout life about the idea of circumcision. As per my experience, I'd have to say half of the men I talk openly with about guy stuff are circumcised, the other half isn't. Now I'm talking just Asian men, not anyone else. This topic is quite sensitive so I'd have to scale back on some of the jokes for and against circumcision so I don't piss any dudes off, or the girlfriends and wives of any of them.
Speaking from a personal standpoint, for me at least, I grew up uncircumcised until my late teens. I'd have to say that many countries in Asia nowadays promote circumcision. I believe it's more prevalent now in South Korea, Japan, and industrialized China. With Filipinos, I understand that they wait until the men are around twelve or thirteen years of age before they get their foreskin snipped. I think it has a lot to do with Spanish influence. With other cultures in Asia that are Muslim, it's pretty much mandatory for them to get circumcised according to religious teachings. But the rest, I can't speak to because I just don't know.
As an Asian man growing up in a Western culture, I really did find myself an oddball for the most part. Circumcision is recommended if your were born here and parents usually give the doctors the okay to snip it. For Asian parents -- I don't have any proof or stats -- but they usually go with it so the kids will fit in with the others. Usually the argument that's given is that it's easier to manage and clean. So I guess it would be a sanitary issue than anything else. According the a NYTIMES article last year, New York has been promoting circumcision to reduce the likelihood of HIV/AIDS.
Bric Bernas, manager of information and counseling for the Asian and Pacific Islander Coalition on H.I.V./AIDS, said his organization wanted to see studies done in the United States and among gay men before taking a position on the issue.
Circumcision is not common among Asian men, except those from Muslim countries and the Philippines, Mr. Bernas said, “and there might be cultural sensitivities around it.”
But when you throw women in the mix, it gets pretty complicated. This is just me, but I believe that most women here would prefer their men to be circumcised because it's the norm for American culture. It's embedded in the TV programs, movies, and education we receive in school. I think many of women do feel that it makes the sex feel better because you don't have that extra piece of skin getting in the way when you're having intercourse. However, I guess the counter argument would be that it takes a lot of feeling out for the guy. Plus, why would anyone want to get their private parts mutilated in the first place? And for the sake of fitting in with the rest of the people?
As for me, I felt it was a personal issue that I wanted taken care of while I was still only nineteen. Granted, I had it done for free while I was still serving in the navy, so it wasn't much of a financial issue for me. My reasons for wanting to get circumcised really was a choice that revolved around the women I dated and the sanitary issue involved with having an uncircumcised penis. I know there are a lot of nerve endings around the tip of the penis that had been compromised from mutilating my foreskin -- though not much that I can tell so far. So I'm not sure if I would recommend it from a sexual pleasure standpoint. I think it's an issue that's pretty much a personal one rather than a cultural one. But it's definitely easier to clean.
The uncircumcised Asian men I know are pretty much happy with themselves from what I can tell. Just wanted to bring this issue up and see where the women stand as well -- with regard to the men in their lives. And if you've recently had a baby boy, do you elect to get him circumcised or do you leave the foreskin? Do you have problems debating it with your significant other when it's time to make that decision? Is the sex better or not? That's all.
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7 comments:
Like so many guys born in the UK I was not circumcised at birth though by the time I was sexually active the idea was already in the back of my mind. I could see advantages to not having a foreskin.
In my early 20's I moved out to Sydney Australia where I was surprised to see that around 90% of Australian born men were circumcised and women not surprisingly showed a preference for cut men, especially when it came to oral sex.
Eventually the opportunity, time and place came together in 2002 and I said goodbye to my foreskin and hello to a permanently and proudly exposed glans and to this day I have absolutely no regrets beyond not having got it done years ago. I love how it looks, how it feels and so do my partners and oral sex is always on the menu.
Sydney has a relatively high Asian population these days and I have been also surprised by the large percentage of Asian men that are circumcised and having discussed it with a number of asian women they certainly think it's a good idea.
We won't be circumcising our son. I haven't seen any compelling health reasons for it that can't be accomplished by basic healthful practices -like making sure he has baths. A lot of people see it as a kind of archaic practice. You mentioned that "Circumcision is recommended if your were born here". This may have been the case before the 1970s, but doctors have not recommended infant circumcision for at least a couple decades now and more parents are deciding to skip it these days. In most of the Western world outside of the U.S. I think infant circumcision is not done. If you're happy with it all the power to you:)
It's only hard to clean if you can't/don't shower daily. I've been with both cut and uncut and I don't see why someone wouldn't give a foreskinned penis a BJ as long as it's clean. My husband isn't cut and we won't be cutting off our kids foreskin. As for HPV/HIV/penile cancer risk, I think that only applies with spotty hygeine. I plan to raise clean little boys who was their "little birds" everyday.
circumcisedaussie,
i stopped by your site and all you have are postings of naked men with circumcised penises. thanks for sharing your story.
Kas,
my nephew was born a couple years ago and it was recommended that he got snipped. i also have lots of friends that can attest to the doctor making those recommendations. do what you feel is best. in my case, if i had a son, i would definitely get it done for him. but that's just me. as long as you're happy and your woman is happy with you the way you are.
zoopath,
i've heard of women having a problem with BJ's on uncircumcised men as well. as you state, and i can attest, you just gotta keep it clean down there and you won't get any complaints. i think the women have more influence on whether their men get circumcised than the men do. preciate your two-cents as always.
I live in California and I'm still natural. Wouldn't consider mutilating myself - especially, when having a foreskin gives me so much pleasure.
My girlfriend says there's so much more to play with when your natural.
For those who bring up hygiene, you must be lame or just lazy if you can't wash yourself.
My friend said that during anal sex, there is less pain for the catcher because the uncut penis is essentially going in and out of it's own skin as opposed to causing painful friction against the anus.
I don't how valid this argument is... but it's just a thought.
Asian guy here. American born, but not circumcised at birth. I was the *only* guy in my high school who was uncircumcised. No one ever mentioned it, but I was self-conscious about it. I believe it sort of messed up my identity and my sense of masculinity. Specifically, as a boy is growing up, the penis is the symbol of his manhood -- what separates him from the girls and makes him like the other guys. Since what made me male didn't look like a normal male appendage, I tried to justify my uncircumcised state by becoming an activist against circumcision -- basically saying I was "glad" to be uncircumcised. I thought, "how horrifying it would have been to have had my foreskin cut off as a baby. It would have hurt so much and I am so glad to have been left with it. I am so glad I was NOT treated the same way as most other males. In fact, not being lumped in with other males helped save my foreskin. I see many other problems with being lumped in as male. Perhaps I don't need to embrace masculinity, if part of that involves having your foreskin cut off." Since I never fit in much being one of the few Asians in my high school, having a different style dick just amplified these feelings of rebelling against traditional notions of masculinity, femininity, and heterosexuality. But, underlying it all throughout the years, was a secret desire to fit in. No matter how much I claimed to be opposed to circumcision, the reality was that I wanted to be circumcised.
After some mild infections underneath my foreskin, I finally decided at the age of 39 to be circumcised (I know! Pretty late in life, huh?) I cannot begin to tell you how happy I am to have had it done. The physical benefits aside -- cleaner, no more urine trapped underneath, no more smell, no more irritation -- I also overcame my fear. When I realized that the circumcision was pretty much a non-issue -- it didn't hurt, my sex life actually improved, I could still walk LOL -- I then realized that if I HAD been circumcised at birth, it wouldn't have been a big deal at all. In fact, it probably would have been a benefit to me. I realized it wouldn't have been so bad to have been treated as a "regular" male and I started feeling more comfortable in being seen as, and acting as, a male. I feel more confident in myself and, for the first time in my life, am confident and interested in pursuing women.
This is all pretty embarrassing and I'd never have posted it if it had my name attached to it, but, hah, I can do it anonymously so I can be honest.
And, yeah, if I ever do have a son, I'm definitely having him circumcised. It's done with anesthetic now (that photo in the article above is from the 1970s, before they had modern local anesthetics that were safe for babies.) My nephew was done a couple years ago with a local anesthetic and he definitely was NOT crying or showing any signs of pain, unlike the baby in the photo above.
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