The Cutting Edge
The latest co-ed opinions on snipping.
By Olivia W. McCoy, University of Georgia
Inspired by Kristina Hrubo
The debate over circumcision has been a relevant topic for as long as the practice has existed.
Every few years or so, each side develops a new argument, scientific fact or moral ideology to justify their position, and this year, it seems to be the anti-circumcision attitude that has taken the lead with their protests at hospitals and radical transportation.
But everyone knows the pros and cons of getting snipped, so what’s new in this debate and how does it affect the average college student? Well, college is the place to learn and this article is as good of a way to do so as any. Except, I’m a girl, so what could I possibly have to say about an organ that I have never had the opportunity to possess? Well, I have an unbiased attitude for one.
Here are the good and the bad of circumcision in health, sex and pleasure as it relates to the female college student.
Health
Pro:
According to WebMD, circumcision leads to a decreased risk of urinary tract infections, STDs, penile cancer, balanitis, balanoposthitis and phimosis, along with a couple other very unappetizing sounding nouns and adjectives. All of this can be summed up to mean one thing: Circumcised penises are cleaner.
That’s not to say that uncircumcised dicks aren’t clean, it depends on the owner of the schlong, but, it’s college. When you live in a dorm and you have to share the grime-covered, hair infested, gonorrhea transferring community bathroom, and you spent all day in class, and then passed out at your desk after pulling a major procrastination episode, how often are you really showering?
Being honest, I didn’t shower for the first week and a half of college because I couldn’t tell if the white globs on the walls and floors were conditioner from a hair perfectionist, or something of a more venereal nature.
Shit happens—especially in college—and there isn’t always a will or a way to get clean, so you can’t really even blame the guys that don’t. But whereas with a circumcised penis you can just wipe it off with a paper towel, the folds and crevices of a foreskin act as a labyrinth breeding ground for unpalatable bacteria.
That’s one way to ruin the mood.
Con:
Believe it or not, most civilized people prefer to be clean and there’s no reason to expect that an uncircumcised male wouldn’t be—at least not any more than their circumcised counterparts.
And unless you’re dating the most incompetent self-hygienist of the collegiate world, the foreskin cleaning procedures include an easy under and out wipe, no more or less that what it takes to care for a vagina. Myth busted.
Sex
The arguments on each side are so mixed that it becomes difficult to separate the ideals. Some women (and men) say that uncircumcised is easier because the natural secretion (smegma) acts as a lubricant that takes some of the pressure off of the female partner, while others will disagree, asserting that the build-up only adds to the friction that naturally comes with sexual intercourse.
Both sides argue that their experiences have been more pleasurable because of the “ribbed” sensation of the foreskin/exposed head.
What do you do with that?!
The jury is still out as far as the women’s pleasure goes. When asked, the population is typically split close to 60/40, changing slightly ever once in a while as to who is in the lead. Currently, according to debate.org, uncircumcised dongs take the lead.
I would like to note though, that upon further inspection, several of the comments against the procedure are from the point of view of a man claiming that his girlfriend says that his penis is better than the others she’s had the distinct pleasure of knowing.
What, is she supposed to hand you a pair of scissors, smile and tell you she prefers it the other way around?
So, we resort to asking the opposite sex how they feel, as girls have no opinion—it’s like deciding on dinner all over again if you ask me—and guess what? All those altercations about how uncircumcised penises feel better during sex for the man are discredited because science shows no difference in sensitivity and pleasure at the glans or the shaft.
But then again, how could anyone really know? No one is volunteering to get a late-in-life circumcision to compare, now are they? Even if women wanted to be considerate to the male opinion in this debate, there really aren’t any clear lines of argument to follow.
Basically, it depends on the individual woman, just as it does for the individual man. Sex is sex, which is basically a synonym to great and overall orgasmic. There is no consensus to argue either way.
So where does the debate land? Each case is tactfully shut down every so often, and then they switch sides as to what they prefer—which explains why this debate has persisted as long as it has.
So the debate continues, and you can be sure to look forward to the next installment in the media of 2017.
“There is no consensus to argue either way.”
But… there’s literally no medical organization in the world that recommends routine infant genital cutting.
Literally none. And quite a few argue against it.
Only the AAP argued that “the benefits outweight the risks, but not enough to recommend [it]”, and later clarified that they were talking about the /cultural/ benefits of circumcision, not the health benefits (not surprisingly, the leader of this taskforce was Jewish and admitted to “be concerned about the international movement to ban this culturally important procedure”).
This is the same organization btw that used that cultural benefit argument to argue how parents should be allowed to practice FGM. Oh, and they released an article about how newborns in America undergo too much painful procedures because they can’t communicate pain well and people still think they don’t feel pain or won’t remember it.
I’d recommend you check out this review by the Royal Association of Doctors in the Netherlands by the way.
https://www.knmg.nl/circumcision/
This is not a controversy, I’m afraid. Consensus is pretty clear. And even if it wasn’t: there is such a thing as Primum non nocere.
I’d also just like to ask: If it was really really true circumcised penises are cleaner and that’s the reason why we do it (even though Europe and America have the exact same rates of UTI), what’s the reason we don’t circumcise dogs? It’s not as if they can clean their penises effectively if human males can’t.
This is going to ruffle some feathers, but I’d also urge you to read up on the African Women Are Free To Choose movement (http://www.fuambaisiaahmadu.com/academic-publications.html).
You’ll find the same sentiments about how it’s healthier, more aesthetically pleasing and how it doesn’t influence sexual satisfaction at all from the mouth of a woman who had the external part of her clitoris cut off in adulthood.
If your first reaction to that is shock and disbelief because you know it must influence sexual satisfaction because it’s the fricking clitoris, well, that’s my exact same reaction when somebody tells me you can cut off part of my penis without me missing anything afterwards.
But thanks anyway to take an interest in this issue! Too many people just do what their parents did, never questioning. At least you question 😛
Your “opinion” on this topic doesn’t matter, because despite you taking the time to point out you don’t have the genitalia being discussed, you have a “unbiased” opinion.
You can’t form an opinion and be taken seriously about something like this. Same reason why I, as a male, don’t start intrinsic discussions on issues that have to do with a women’s body, like… abortion, I don’t have a uterus, and pretty sure any opinion I had, pro or otherwise, wouldn’t matter because, I’m a guy and have a dick.
As you said in the first paragraph, your opinion on this issue simply doesn’t fucking matter.
I was not circumcised at birth. In my first marriage my wife and inlaws begged me to get circumcised. I was afraid of pain and did not act on their advice. My wife divorced me. Later, at age 65, my foreskin became itchey and uncomfortable. It was hard to maintain good personal hygiene while away from home. I got circumcised. It was the best thing I have ever done for myself. I wish I had been circumcised at birth or when suggested by my first wife.