Last week marked the creation of the African Circumcision Advisory Committee, or ACAC, who’s sole purpose is to make aware to the press, public and key government officials the circumcision campaign currently underway in Sub Saharan Africa.
This program, headed by the World Health Organization and supported by UNAIDS, PEPFAIR and several other non governmental organizations, is an effort to circumcise nearly twenty eight million men, boys and infants within the next five years, ostensibly to curb the spread of HIV AIDS. The rationale for this program is based on two studies performed in Eastern Africa called the Orange Farm Studies which purported that circumcised men have a 60% reduction in the likelihood of contracting HIV. These studies, however, have critical flaws and there is a growing chorus of medical research organizations, individual epidemiologists and medical doctors who decry these studies as being misleading.
As reported by A Voice for Men in three crucial articles (article 1, article 2, article 3) over the past year, it is clear that the motivations for this program are more political, monetary and ideological than humanitarian. Over a billion dollars are earmarked for this program and recipients include medical supply corporations and gender ideologues who honestly believe that the spread of AIDS is intimately tied in with the patriarchal oppression of women and aim to further spread their ideology in that part of the world. Many epidemiologists believe that if these people get their way the resultant deaths would number in the millions as a consequence of misinformation on how HIV is spread.
Nearly a million have been circumcised thus far and in Zimbabwe we are already seeing an increase of HIV infections among circumcised men as a result of their compensatory behavior. Clearly something needs to be done, but the news media in North America and the rest of the developed world refuses to do any investigation of the matter.
Furthermore, local government officials in Africa are more than happy to take the money and look the other way while these NGOs and ideologues gain more and more political and social influence.
In order to address the current dearth in reporting on this extremely important issue a committee has been formed. The African Circumcision Advisory Committee has, as its ultimate goal, the exposure and cessation of this abhorrent program. The committee’s members include Robert O’Hara (Chairman) Kristina Hansen, Joe Mendez and anonymous MHRA Iron John. The Committee is interested in recruiting members from the African Press Corps and any medical professionals interested in the topic. AVFM readers are also encouraged to answer the call for volunteers the committee will be posting from time to time on the AVFM forum and in formal posts. Inquires can be sent to avfmnews@avoiceformen.com.
This is the first time since the WHO’s program began that an entity has been formed in order to directly oppose it’s policies. The committee surely has it’s work cut out for it. While involuntary infant circumcision is definitely a serious men’s rights issue demanding its own solutions, this particular effort is, first and foremost, about saving lives- potentially millions of them. We are confident that if pressure is applied in the right places and awareness is extended to key people that we can help bring this monstrosity to a halt.
Robert O’Hara
Director, AVFM News
ACAC Committee Chairman
56 Posts in Total
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Theseus:
onca747:
OneHundredPercentCotton:
Dean Esmay:
This is great news.
I think we can start asking the WHO (UN) few clarifications regarding the coherence between their stances on female genital mutilation and the policy adopted for the circumcision of African boys.
Their contact details:
WHO Media centre
Telephone: +41 22 791 2222
E-mail: mediainquiries@who.int
I am so sick of this being a part of our culture. Any society that thinks that chopping off a part of the human body is a pretty good idea has gone insane. Is our idea for the model of the human body superior to what was selected over the past several million years?
Some scientists exclaim that female genital mutilation contributes to the spread of HIV because it incorporates a lot of blood into sexual intercourse. That actually makes more sense to me than the theory that male circumcision is the cause.
Why not avoid genital mutilation of the women in Africa? Wouldn’t THAT be a much better idea than incorporating MORE genital mutilation into that society? Isn’t it much more plausible that the already existing genital cutting and sewing due to religious and cultural reasons, or to curb masturbation, which is already in place in that region — FGM — is contributing to the spread of AIDS than it is that the absence of genital mutilation of men is contributing to the spread of AIDS?
Here’s an idea: Let’s stop cutting on the sex organs of ALL human beings and see if THAT helps slow the spread of AIDS first of all. How is it that we don’t even stop to consider that something that human beings are responsible for could be the cause rather than immediately believing that even more human intervention into mother nature is needed? The arrogance of mankind seems to be infinite.
Isn’t it strange that the areas of the globe that have the most FGM are the areas with the AIDS epidemics? Am I the only one seeing this? The World Health Organization can’t even entertain that hypothesis? You know, adding more cutting to more people in order to curb what was probably caused by people cutting on each other sort of reminds me of the story of Burr Rabbit and the Tar Baby.
Correction: The second sentence in the second paragraph should read, “. . . theory that the lack of male circumcision is the cause.”
Feminism is built on the fundamental belief system that if something isn’t working, you just got to have more of it, Ben.
They’ve proven that time and again.
Ha! Great line!
I can’t think of a more worthy topic for activism. High praise to the members of the new committee…. I hope you raise some hell for the agents of mutilation.
This was exactly what I needed for my debate,,,wow, perfect timing thank you !!!!
You have a debating event coming up? Do share with us perhaps you could get it on video and we could publish it here.
Hello
I need to reply to this thread. My comments are not intended to be funny and are medical and personal fact. I provide the information because I hope proper activism results in the proper use of the procedure rather than its complete illegality ( aka – insurance won’t pay for it in the USA )
I am a male WASP and I was born with a liver condition in Baton Rouge Louisiana in 1971. The complication prevented my circumcision. That changed when I was 36. Catastrophically!
Let me preface this by stating that I worked as a Paramedic in the US Army and started a Same Day Surgery Unit for the hospital in which I was stationed. I have assisted with hundreds of these procedures. They are not “benign” to say the least. I do not support them as a required medical procedure.
This is very personal.
One night, as I was entering my wife, my foreskin suffered “catastrophic failure.” Have you ever peeled a banana? Yeah!
After the emergency surgery to repair the damage, I met my urologist. According to him, the tissue is unique. It actually has the ability (common) to lose its elasticity. This can happen gradually or catastrophically.
According to him, this is not an uncommon occurrence in the uncircumcised. News to me!
He obviously has a lot of experience with this problem. I now respect the claim that medicine is an ART and a science. Well done, doc!
The surgery, a standard circumcision, repaired the damage. There are no scars other than that which most mutilated men already have.
The point that I am trying to make with this is that the foreskin may NEED to be removed – at times – for adult males.
Conversing with my doctor, we covered the issue of 8-day old circumcision. We agreed – definitely not! There is just too much pain and anyone can see it on the face of the little boys when they experience it. They seem to intuitively know what that little plastic cap is for. And the scream – wow – well, only a female nurse could laugh! (seen it often!)
Further, my doc and I discussed doing the procedure as soon as the child can be anesthetized. The earliest would be around 1 year of age. A general – knock out totally for a couple of hours – anesthesia is required.
Recent studies show that the use of anesthesia on young children actually causes a discernible delay in mental development. I do not think the research is strong enough to use the word “retardation” – yet.
So
8 days old no anesthesia = no way
1 year old with anesthesia = no way
36 years old = definitely! ( in my case )
What would my quality of life be like if circumcision were illegal?
There are side effects to the procedure which I personally endured as an adult recipient.
Happily, I’m longer, wider, more enduring etc. Wife very happy.
The worst part of the ordeal was not actually the way the skin tore. The month following was very painful.
Has anyone ever nicked their thumb with an engaged rotary sander?
Every step I took for a month!
You see, when that skin is removed, everything beneath it – which has always been protected by an exosuit – is suddenly in direct contact with a whole new world. Every step rubs that ridge against the fabric. Boy does it hurt! Even through the pain killers!
I spent a month, naked and in bed. I was actually happy the first day I could walk to the kitchen to get a glass of water! [ why have women always complained about this? barefoot etc ]
The strangest side effect was that my tongue went numb. Yeah, I know, my wife did not complain about that either!
Seriously though, look at the first three fingers of a hand. See the line made by the first joint on the first and third fingers? From there to the tip of the middle finger is how much of my tongue that went numb – for a month! ( tongue tip back that far )
I told the doctor about this issue. He looked at me funny.
Later, I was reading a book about traditional Chinese medicine. Under the entry Circumcision it lists possible side effects. One of them was “Numb Tongue.”
[ All African men shutting down for a month with numb tongue - hmmm - what would the feminists say about that shift of momentum? ]
In summary:
I fully agree that children should not endure this procedure unless it is medically required. Aesthetics and maybes are not requirements. Blood loss is a requirement.
I believe this procedure should be legal and covered by medical insurance. If an adult wants or needs to endure this procedure, it should be covered the same as any cosmetic thing for a woman.
I can see how elasticity issues could cause tears which could make the transmission of HIV and other viruses easier. I support the use of the treatment on behalf of ADULTS who ELECT to endure the procedure after being FULLY informed of what they will endure. There should not be ANY form of economic incentive or punishment associated with this choice.
Also, I think the money being spent for circumcisions could and should be better spent building libraries, medical schools, hospitals and other necessary infrastructure which is so lacking in Africa and most of the world.
Tanks
I think everyone here would agree to it being performed as a medical necessity (or as desired by the adult being circumcised). It’s the routine practice on infants and the lies being spread to convince adults to do it needlessly that is driving this campaign.
Right now, it’s as if they’re removing ears to prevent ear infections. I’m sure there’s a valid reason to remove an ear (and you can probably pay to have it done if you want), but that’s not what’s occurring here. They’re effectively saying “If we don’t cut this ear off, you’ll die for reasons you don’t understand. Bring your kids too.” It’s disturbingly unethical and it shouldn’t be something that needs to be pointed out as wrong, but here we are.
Thank you for sharing the details of this difficult ordeal with us. The honesty and courage of men, particularly when discussing painful experiences, is always worthy of recognition. Well done.
I think it’s necessary to keep in mind that circumcision can be medically indicated. And I mean *really* indicated, as in your case, and not hand-waved with a faulty study so that almost thirty million men are forced into that procedure *without* medical indication.By the by, 30 million men – that would be most of the male population of Germany, just to put that into perspective of the sheer numbers.
And we’re talking about societies where a lot of people believe that sex with a virgin cures AIDS. What do you think will happen if you tell them that cutting off the foreskin prevents it?
I think that even men who don’t want to be mutilated will be made to – if necessary by force, and if necessary (or just convenient) right there and then. Why spend the time and effort to go to a doctor if you have a sharp knife right here (not to mention that the ‘receiver’ of the mutilation may not be cooperative)?
At any rate: This program to circumcise near on 30 million men is medieval, barbaric, reeks of colonization and just. Needs. To. Be. Stopped.
I don’t mean to dismiss your experience outright, but for many reasons, your story here is a non-sequitur.
No one is alleging that circumcision as a medically indicated procedure should be made illegal.
What is being contested here are the circumcision campaigns to circumcise 20 million men and boys, or so, under the guise of disease prevention.
It is being contested because not only is the research shown to be methodologically flawed, many boys and men will be circumcised against their wishes.
Even *if* circumcision could be proven to have some sort of protection, some men may not see the value of it, especially men who are married and do not plan on being promiscuous.
Circumcising children is right out; would there ever be enough “research” that would justify the cutting of underage girls?
We all agree that FGM is horrible and barbaric when performed in non-consenting women. But sometimes women suffer problems to which female genital cutting is a solution. I have read of many women who had labia so long it irritated them and caused them discomfort. A labiaplasty solved their problem.
When campaigning against the forced mutilation of girls and women, I think most would agree there should be an exception for when and if it is medically indicated.
The same applies here.
You suffered a problem, a doctor gave you a surgical solution. There are some questions I would ask, such as whether or not you were offered conservative alternatives (usually, surgery is reserved for when all other manner of treatment has been exhausted).
But see, this is true for any other surgical procedure you name.
Name one surgical procedure that doesn’t cause pain in an adult. Name one surgical procedure for which there is no recovery period.
Now name one surgical procedure that is performed in non-consenting minors for which there is no medical necessity. I’m afraid circumcision is the only one on that list.
You posit an interesting hypothesis; the possibility of other men suffering the problem that you did, tearing of the foreskin, the transference of the blood borne AIDS virus being a very real risk.
The question arises; how common is this problem in men?
Of the men in the trials, how many if them acquired HIV through a tear in their foreskins similar to yours? As far as I know, the very researchers themselves aren’t too certain that the men who got HIV got it sexually, let alone due to torn foreskins. Then there is the question of how it is the circumcised group of men acquired the virus.
The bottom line is, no one is arguing that circumcision, or any other surgical procedure that is valid medical treatment for that matter, should be outlawed.
The problems are a) marketing a procedure to men based on the dubious premise that it protects against HIV transmission, when this is shown to be false and misleading, and may actually result in reckless behavior due to a false sense of security, and b) using “research” to justify the forced genital mutilation of healthy minors.
Data exists that shows a correlation between FGM and a reduced HIV transmission rate in women, and there is actually data that shows FGM is not as sexually debilitating as popularly believed. (Google Johnsdotter and Catania). But such data would never be used to instate “mass female medical circumcision campaigns” in Africa.
They would be opposed by feminist groups, no matter how wrapped in “research” and “evidence,” and rightly so.
Hello
I agree with your statements.
1. The tearing of the foreskin required an immediate surgery ( circumcision ) to correct. There were no other options. The best image of the damage is literally a peeled banana peel. Only the foreskin tore.
2. Activism could actually have an effect on this issue. I offered my experience to remind other men that there can be a medical necessity for this procedure. It could be too easy to enter an “all or nothing” mindset and make it as illegal as female circumcision is. This absolutism would have a very direct and negative effect upon any man encountering this issue in the future.
3. We do not know how much of a problem this would be because so few boys make it to adulthood as unmutilated men.
4. Any claims about men’s health are absurd! Any doctor discussing the issue is undereducated regarding it!
Obstetricians and Gynecologists both study women’s health. Both specialties require advanced post-medical school education and a board certification process. A medical specialist is ALWAYS better and more reliable than a generalist when treating any medical issue.
What is the title given to a doctor who specializes in men’s health?
There isn’t one!
Women live to be about 85 years old – men 75. The ten year difference is directly because doctors do not specialize in the advanced health care of men and boys. This fact is killing us!
There is no board certification process. There are no courses offered for men’s health in medical school. There are no graduate-level educated doctors specializing in men’s health. There are a few generalists who accept only male patients.
Would a women go to a generalist for the best available care regarding her health? No
Would a man go to a generalist for the best available care regarding his health? He has no other choice.
The process whereby doctors could most effectively research issues such as circumcision, male STDs, why men die from the top 15 causes of death more and earlier than women etc simply does not exist.
5. Instead of going to Africa to collect foreskins – the WHO should be constructing a men’s health specialty, building hospitals in Africa, updating the education level of the populace etc.
6. HIV is transmittable to anyone. A partially torn foreskin might make it a little easier, but if the well is polluted – the dipper is still going to be nasty when it comes up.
7. Forced mutilation is not the answer to this problem. Education, improved medical infrastructure and temporary quarantine of the afflicted are. ( unpopular as that may be )
Tanks
“3. We do not know how much of a problem this would be because so few boys make it to adulthood as unmutilated men.”
no, the world is not full of mutilated men. only some countries (USA being one) have gone in for this shit on this scale.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prevalence_of_circumcision
there’s no lack of proof how intact men get along medically. we are fine thanks for asking.
Not had a UTI in 4+ decades of life (nor have any of my male mates, only my female ones).
Never heard of your claimed medical issue before. It may well exist in a tiny minority of cases, but that’s it – nature would not evolve a penis with the habit of peeling itself and killing their owners on any scale. And when we were scampering around in the trees / roaming the savannah that is what would have happened.
Hello
Thanks for the link.
I have another long response – sorry.
My response is this:
1. I doubt there was ever an event – in all of human history – where someone woke up one morning, looked at the penises in the village, and said: “guys, I need to cut part of that off.” Only to have them reply: “Ah, ok, butter up!” And then – “Dude, let’s make that a habit!”
The procedure is practiced worldwide. At different rates, but world wide. Why did it start?
There had to be a reason – perhaps the men were enduring tears and infections?
2. I too was “intact” for 36 years. I am very happy that the surgery was legal on the day that I really needed it. I am elated that I did not have to endure it when I was a child – but am happy I did as an adult. ( Greater sensitivity, endurance etc. ) As an adult, I know the difference.
STATISTICS
1. I acknowledge that Wikipedia is not the most reliable source of information.
2. The article states:
“91% of men born in the 1970s, and 83% of boys born in the 1980s were circumcised” [context = in the USA ]
We do not know what the margin of error was for the studies. We do not know how the studies were conducted.
According to the data, around 9% of the USA population who are entering their 40′s are intact. Considering the possible range of statistical error due to self reporting and such – I think I can safely say that only a few ( relatively ) American men have made it to their 40th birthday intact. Was the procedure more common in a more theological USA pre 1970?
Also, only about 17% of the USA men in their 30′s are uncircumcised.
Obviously, as we age, our skin does as well. I was 36 when that part of me changed. Too few men have gone uncircumcised in the USA – and have reached the time of their life when testosterone levels begin to shift – to really make any substantive statements about the rarity of the need for the procedure in America.
I do not endorse it as a required event – I do believe the procedure should be available and paid for by Medicaid and insurance if we want or need it as adults. If the government allows her to murder our unborn children with state funded abortions and make insurances cover her permanent makeup and butt tucks etc – our insurance can cover men as well.
3. Other issues I have with the Wikipedia article include the use of old data ( eg 1970s from Canada ), what appears to be a wide diversity and unfocused methodology of the data, and a lack of reliability in the methods of data collection.
How reliable is data from Africa and Asia? They barely have roads. The infrastructure they do have is limited to the dense urban areas. How reliable does that make the data? Also, both of those areas have been in a near constant state of war since decolonization after WW2. Additionally, they have a young population.
There are not as many doctors in the former third world as there are in the USA. Do they even have the ability to practice public health and properly survey the population for the side effects of not being circumcised?
The first line of the article is a disclaimer:
“The prevalence of circumcision refers to the proportion of males in a given population who have been circumcised. It does not refer to the proportion of newborn males that are being circumcised today.”
How many adult men were circumcised as adults due to tearing, complications or simple choice? We don’t know. Even in Europe – We don’t know.
CONCLUSION
A specialist is always better than a generalist. Women have TWO specialists to help them with their healthcare. Men do not have even one.
Doctors do not know enough about male anatomy, our foreskin or anything else regarding our health to make truly informed medical decisions. Certainly, they DO NOT have the ability to claim circumcisions are a necessity – or that they are unnecessary – until the medical system develops a specialized, board certified, 10 year post Med School educated, branch of medicine to study our needs. They have this twice for women – not even once for men.
Tanks
manandwife you are brim full of shit and you appear to have some deep comprehension issues.
the operation is a disgrace. I do not give a fuck why some retards in the far distant past started chopping bits off of infants bodies (male or female). those people believed in all kinds of bollocks that we laugh at today.
it is not necessary for normal men. it isn’t necessary in Europe, it isn’t necessary in Africa, it isn’t necessary in the USA. there are billions of uncut men not having any problems.
“3. We do not know how much of a problem this would be because so few boys make it to adulthood as unmutilated men.”
Wrong. It’s only in North America that routine infant circumcision is almost fetishised and done for non-religious and non-medical reasons. For the rest of the world it’s almost only Muslims and Jews that do it.
Often, American doctors haven’t got a bloody clue how the foreskin even works – there have been numerous cases where an uncircumcised boy has been damaged by his doctor trying to force a reluctant foreskin to pull back, which then can only be fixed by getting the knives out.
In Europe, the same kids would have spent a week with a tube of steroid ointment – foreskin unstuck and still undamaged and intact!
Hello
Most of my reply is located above.
However, your post acknowledges that the foreskin can become problematic due to a loss of elasticity.
“there have been numerous cases where an uncircumcised boy has been damaged by his doctor trying to force a reluctant foreskin to pull back”
The problem with steroid cream is that it is steroid cream. Doctors have learned to use that stuff as little as possible because it has side effects. Also, if the intrinsic character of the tissue has changed ( lost elasticity ) a cream will not restore it. Besides, who wants to go through life with a tube of cream in their pocket?
I am against forcing people to have this done to them. I fully support the availability of the procedure to those who need or want to endure it. Not everyone will. Those who do should have access to it after being properly informed. ( Please see my concluding statements above.)
Tanks
Your story is interesting. I’m curious though – I’ve heard of pathalogical changes to the skin of the penis leading to the kind of problems you describe but I’ve always interpreted their actual frequency as very low. How that data gets presented by the pro circumcision lobby e.g. 1/2 rate of urinary infection is not a lie, but the cost benefit analysis does not stack up if the rate is decreased from 2 in 1,000 to 1 in 1,000
Medically necessary on adults – yes that’s a reason, but my question would be why did you get to the point where the foreskin tore?
Hello
I didn’t know it could or would do so. As it wasn’t at the fore of my mentality – just rather ignored it. I mean, it had always worked before. Why wouldn’t it continue?
It didn’t pay attention and I had to endure an emergency surgery to correct it.
Notice that STRANGE mentions “numerous cases” of “reluctant foreskin” problems.
According to my Urologist, the condition is rather common in adult uncircumcised men.
Skin, as we know can change from being “normal” to being “abnormal.” Scar tissue is basically “abnormal” skin with a change in elasticity.
More in a minute.
Tanks
More
I really can not put much weight into the numbers associated with this issue. There is just too little evidence of anything regarding men’s health to know if the data are indicative of anything or even reliable.
Consider: A woman can go into a doctor in the USA and be diagnosed with breast cancer. If so, she WILL walk out of the office with bags of information about her illness. She should.
A man walks into the same doctor’s office and is diagnosed with prostate cancer – he is lucky if he walks out with a single page flyer about his condition.
That’s wrong!
Before we spend billions of dollars traveling the world to collect parts of people’s dicks – we should spend that money developing the mechanisms to study whether or not they should be collected.
If the procedure needs to be done as it was in my case, then it should be done and paid for just as it would be if a woman needed a surgery.
If a woman can use Medicaid to pay for plastic breasts, then money should available for male cosmetics and emergencies as well. ( My wife sees the Medicaid breast, or other such, every day as an OB/GYN nurse. )
As for why I let it go to the point of tearing – I was never taught that it could tear. I mean, there are reasons men die ten years earlier than women. Were we ever taught what they are? Girls are – we are not.
This is why I wrote about it. Someone else may not know.
I will write a bit more about this at the bottom of the thread.
Tanks
Tanks
the driving forces for male genital mutilation:
http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/739112
Quote:
“Conclusions: Communities, and especially women, may benefit much more from circumcision interventions than had previously been predicted, and these results provide an even greater imperative to increase scale-up of safe male circumcision services.”
A must read for the committee:
http://www.salem-news.com/fms/pdf/2011-12_JLM-Boyle-Hill.pdf
http://www.circumcision.org/hiv.htm
http://blog.practicalethics.ox.ac.uk/2012/05/when-bad-science-kills-or-how-to-spread-aids/
.. and for all
Thank you so much for these resources! They will definitely be put to good use.
WHO: Curing AIDS with surgical placebo since 2013.
http://www.academia.edu/2098232/Circumcision_against_AIDS_between_lie_sexism_and_apartheid
Interesting work
“Demand creation.” Funded by UKAid and Bill and Melinda Gates.
http://www.3ieimpact.org/en/funding/thematic-window/thematic-window-3-voluntary-male-medical-circumcision/
Hello
First, I apologize if my posts sound a bit “loud.” Its just that I am a former Paramedic. I know and have seen the numbers. Men die earlier, we die because of the top 15 causes of death more often……. And we do not even have a medical specialist to ask questions of when we are ill. And women wonder why we don’t go to the doctor! Show me one who knows anything about what we need!
After 40 years of listening to feminists bitch about “gender inequality in healthcare” – I realize that there IS gender inequality in healthcare – and it is killing me.
Tanks
Hello
Second, a bit of a public awareness message for other men.
The foreskin CAN lose elasticity. This does not happen all the time.
Creams and other chemical treatments CAN NOT return permanent normal function after this change occurs. The ONLY treatment is a circumcision. Ask a Urologist.
What I experienced, so that you may know the signs, was:
[ This process took a year or two before the circumcision. ]
The foreskin began to feel a little tight whenever I was enlarged. It hesitated the pull back and got locked under the ridge.
I ignored it.
Eventually, parts of the foreskin began to feel more like scar tissue rather than normal skin. This was not caused by any form of trauma. It simply began to change. ( Or, it was enduring unseen tears whenever I was enlarged and I just had other things on my mind at the time.)
I ignored it.
Then, one night, with my wife, the foreskin popped. It had a few linear tears which made the foreskin ( not the whole penis ) look similar to a peeled banana peel.
I could not ignore that.
There was, at no time, ANY threat of excessive bleeding. I am not a hemophiliac. I was never really in any great danger from the tears.
There was not really any excessive pain associated with the tears. They burned, but not much else. Stubbing a toe hurts more than this did.
The foreskin does not have major arteries. I don’t think it even has a vein. It is capillary tissue. Clotting cells in our adult blood are very quick to react. I think it only bled for maybe a minute after the tearing. I have seen women bleed much longer from tearing during child delivery than I experienced with this.
Total blood loss was less than the amount of ketchup we put on a hot dog.
The real problem associated with this was psychological.
All of who we are as men in this culture is based on our dick! Even the phrase “man up” is used to tell someone to get a little thicker, stiffer and harder skinned. When women want to hurt us where they think it will be most felt – what do they do? – go for the groin!
So, there I was with everything about my place in this society – bloody, burning, changed! In front of my wife!
Instead of entering early stages of shock, changing skin color and filling my mind with weird thoughts of what the doctor was going to do to me – I should have just stayed cool.
The bleeding had already stopped. All I had to do was go to the doctor for a circumcision.
My wife, a nurse, kissed me, said something coy, and pulled me out of the psycho-trauma I was beginning to enter.
We got dressed, went to the Emergency Room, and told the tech what had happened. She laughed.
Finally, the doctor in the ER did an exam and sent me up for an emergency circumcision. When I woke up, I met my Urologist.
After hitting my doctor with a barrage of questions about what had just happened to me – I was released from the hospital. [ antibiotics and painkillers aplenty ]
Recovery required about a month. As I said elsewhere on AVFM – the hardest part was walking. Having had that exosuit removed changed the dynamics completely. Now, that ridge was in direct contact with everything. Rub sandpaper up your arm. That is how it felt with every single movement. The pain killers helped, but it was still noticeable. I spent the month in bed and naked.
The weirdest part was that my tongue went numb. The Urologist had not heard of it before. While reading a book on traditional Chinese medicine, I found an entry for circumcision. It states clearly that numb tongue can be a side effect in adults.
Other than that, recovery was very easy.
Today, everything is functional. More endurance, the right sensitivities – everything. The scarring is the same as any other circumcised man has.
The images that popped into my mind were completely unnecessary.
Having been both intact and circumcised – I really don’t know which was “better.” There really is no change in the way sex feels between having or not having that cap.
I don’t miss it.
As for the UTIs, if you’re stupid and put your wick in bad water – its going to get infected! Play safe with others.
One thing my doctor said that I found interesting was that if I had Herpes before, that it would be gone after. I don’t really understand that, but he said that the virus expressing itself as clusters on the foreskin would go away with the foreskin.
SUMMATION
If you are uncircumcised – pay attention to yourself. There is no shame associated with women self checking their breasts. Do not neglect your self. Get it taken care of before it tears. It is not necessary for everyone to do so. Just remember, if it does tear, it is NOT life changing. It really isn’t even “serious.” Letting yourself freak out over it and slipping into shock would do much more harm.
If it happens to you – stay calm, go to the ER, spend a month in bed, and have fun going through the Kama Sutra AGAIN as a “New Man.”
Tanks
PS – I still do not think anyone should be forced to endure a circumcision.
Hello
A response to Laddition above.
Where is the difficulty here?
Men should be able to do what they want with their bodies.
I personally do not feel tattoos and piercings are appropriate ways to treat one’s body. I have not done so to myself. I would NEVER attempt to keep anyone else from doing so to themselves – of their own adult choice – after being fully informed.
Some people NEED a circumcision. They should have the choice and availability of the procedure when they need or want it.
Men should have the choice to do what they want to themselves.
As for the past – there is a reason so many cultures have independently adopted the practice. Perhaps, as others have written, they were having problems with pull back etc.
Again, I have not endorsed the act of forcing anyone to endure this at any time.
I simply do not want to see a future where a procedure which might be necessary for some men is completely illegal.
Do you have additional statistics?
Tanks