Debunking the Myths Regarding the Benefits of Circumcision

If you were to Google the question “Are there any benefits to male circumcision?” you would come across several articles featuring pros and cons lists, medical statistics regarding a decreased rate of infection, and several titles indicating that there is no loss in sexual pleasure later in life. However, if you were to Google the similar question “Are there any benefits to female circumcision?” all you would see are several compassionate articles discussing genital mutilation, international politics regarding the eradication of the practice, and links to iterations of the Geneva convention. The appalling gap in human rights as discriminated by a mere difference of sex notwithstanding, there are no compelling benefits to male circumcision.

So, if my assertion is correct, then why is the practice so widely adopted in America? As with most nonsensical, American traditions, Puritanical values are pervasive and enduring. The practice was first lent scientific merit by Dr. Lewis Sayre in the year 1870. He was treating a boy with a medical condition directly related to his foreskin that affects less than 1% of children. “The child was suffering from phimosis — a narrowing of the opening of the foreskin that prevents retraction. The condition is rare. It affects less than one percent of teenagers today. And it only causes paralysis in severe cases…