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The fact that some people still slice up the genitals of infants for religious or cosmetic reasons.
by Exofunctor 10y ago
The fact that some people still slice up the genitals of infants for religious or cosmetic reasons.
- weberc2 10y agoThat practice dates back thousands of years, and it's still largely normal in many parts of the world. I don't think it's very analogous to this example.
- paulddraper 10y agosometimes hygienic reasons too
- Exofunctor 10y ago> sometimes hygienic reasons too The idea that circumcision has substantive positive health effects has been thoroughly debunked in the presence of semi-regular washing, and the jury is out in third-world countries without sanitation. However, when you factor in the risk of infant mortality from infection or botched procedure in those same third-world countries, any (minor) health benefit that might exist disappears and goes negative. Hygiene also doesn't seem to be an accepted excuse for clitoral hood removal, even though it's anatomically identical (mutatis mutandis) to male circumcision and presumably has similar (minor) health benefits (dryer environments are harsher on bacteria). The one non-negligible semi-legitimate medical justification is in the case of severe phimosis, but that can almost always be treated with topical creams rather than surgery and doesn't manifest until adolescence anyway, so it's not an excuse to circumcise babies.
- paulddraper 10y agoI don't know if the reason is sound, just as IDK if the "religious" or "cosmetic" are sound. I just know that it's a reason.
- pareidolia 10y agoI for one appreciate not having a bare exposed urethra without defense against debris and contaminants.