I have a problem with circumcision of babies as is. But if it must be, of the sucking the wound I have no problems with, I should imagine it is soothing. It was done for health reasons but in all other cultures not done until the children have reached an age of understanding. A recent study has proved that the harm done by such pain to a little causes irreversible damage to the brain.
But do they keep it shaved their whole life, or just until a certain age? Also, I have seen some Jews that shave their heads, and wear ringlets at the side. It just looks odd. They would be better of shaving all of it, than leaving the bits at the side. It must look murder when they let the ringlets flow down. Like an old bald man that is trying to cling on to a couple of remaining strands of long hair. - - - Updated - - - I am happy to give it a bash, so long as ... A) I can leave out the circumsion bit. B) Natalie Portman does the sucking.
I know. I often feel out of place when I am in a public shower, owing to the fact that my penis is as thick as a can of coke. You can imagine the pain I endure.
They stopped docking puppies tails here because it is cruel. It had been the practice for hundreds of years. Just stop, do it later when the child knows what is happening and do it with out pain. It is cruel and the damage done is irreversible. And what the Hell does it do to the bond between child and mother ? Dreadful.
Puberty is the natural time, Man Hood. Absolutely, I am against so many things we do to children ............we are so odd. All of us. On the one hand we do (*)(*)(*)(*) for childrens' own good which is just and only due to the Big Pharma brainwashing, money and power machine. And on the other hand children are given choices which they are not yet equiped to make, because they are still children. And such pressures are put on them to pass exams so as to stunt their growth and steal their childhood. We are almost all guilty of dis respecting the new born to some extent. Protecting and loving and enjoying innocents does not seem to be a priority, eh ?
I think it lasts for the entire life....dunno actually, Dont know about the shaving either, the rational behind those practices is they do things to the extreme so there will be 0% they are commit a sin, like in keeping the Sabbath, the demand in the Bibel is to rest and dont light a fire, electricity is defined as fire by them so they dont use ant electric devices on Sabbath even if it takes no effort to pull a switch.
In comparison, I could say that you are a European and should know all about the practices of Poles in Poland since they are European as well. New York is thousands of miles from me and there are no Orthodox Jews here where I live and only a handful of normal ones scattered about with surnames like Peterson and Jones, so of course one could live in the middle of the US and have never heard of such a thing.
Near as I can figure, it is legal, but that the rabbinical council and something called the Bris association(?) have denounced the practice. It also appears as though the ultra orthodox aren't listening. I beleive there is a pending ruling on whether our health insurance will cover the procedure. Damn hard getting info tho.
As an aside, in looking into the legal status of this ritual in canada I stumbled upon this little disgusting tidbit. apparentely as late as 2000 97% of married women suffered from female genital cutting. IN 2008 the incidence amongst school girls was "only 50%" http://www.canadiancrc.com/Female_Genital_Cutting-Mutilation_Circumcision_Egypt-Study-World_Health_Organization_2008.pdf Circumcision serves no purpose and in fact detracts fom genital sensitivity. It should be banned, period.
Really? So that means if you were married to such a Jewish women, she would have a shaved head + a wig. It's not sounding very sexy so far. It's a lot of tosh when you think about it, all these types of customs. People believe it somehow brings them 'closer to god', but I am pretty sure that in the grander scheme of things, a creator would have more on his platter than this. All of this kind of stuff was the invent of some lunatics from a long ago time, that relatively uneducated people were suckered into doing, and so on it went, over time. Customs like Christmas, Ramadan, Passover etc, nothing wrong with those. Nothing wrong with wearing a crucifix, Hijab or yamaka, if it floats yer boat. But I draw the line at cutting and such. Those things belong to another time.
To be honest, I could not lay claim to that. I would probably have to live among them for a number of years or have a special interest in their culture, and I don't. I've met a good few, and they were are decent people.
Here is something I have long found very odd. Let's leave Jews and Muslims out of the mixer. I have never known it to be customary for non Jews or non Muslims to have their kids done, unless there was actually something wrong with the foreskin - in Europe. I have checked this out, and the culture of it just isn't really here. Not so in the US (not sure about Canada). In the US, there are a very high % of non Jew/Muslims that were done at the behest of their parents, who were often cajoled or even tricked into it, by their GP. I can get my head around why Jews and Muslims have done this, I don't agree with it, but I see context there. I can see no context as to why such a high % of Americans who are not Jews, had this done to their kids, and where the influence came from? It clearly did not come from Europeans. It clearly did not stem from Muslims. Be honest - do you think it coincided with a Jewish influence?
For me, when all is said and done, there is no difference to male or female circ. Okay, one could argue differences if they so wish, but it basically amounts to a permanent violation. In the case of males, there is now decent evidence to suggest that it harms them, physically and even psychologcially. Not many that have been done would admit that, of course. A few do. A few parents have expressed their regret, but most would not be so candid, and it is clear to you why that would be, right?
What is male circumcision? Male circumcision is the surgical removal of the foreskin. In the United States today, all forms of child female circumcision are prohibited under Title 18 of the U.S. Code. Males are not included in that legislation, however, and as a result nearly 33% of American boys are still circumcised, with wide variations among individual states. What is the function of the male foreskin? The male foreskin performs a number of functions. First, it directly enhances sexual pleasure via specialized erogenous nerve endings such as the frenulum, the ridged band, and stretch receptors called Meissner's corpuscles. The foreskin also serves to protect the moist, mucous membrane of the glans (the "head" of the penis) and the inner foreskin from outside elements, similar to the way the female foreskin protects the clitoris. When the foreskin is removed, the penis is transformed from an internal organ into an external one, initiating a desensitizing process known as keratinization. Keratin is a tough, skin-like substance similar to a callus that forms on top of the nerve endings of the glans, resulting in significant loss of sexual sensitivity. The foreskin also provides a gliding mechanism during sexual intercourse that reduces friction and locks in moisture, acting as a natural lubricant. The foreskin provides a number of other important functions as well. Why would anyone cut off such a valuable body part? The world origins of circumcision are unknown. However, circumcision began in the United States in the late 1800's largely because some doctors thought that it prevented masturbation, which at the time was thought to be harmful. But once that and other myths were proven wrong, new reasons were created to perpetuate circumcision, most notably that a circumcised penis is more hygienic than an intact penis, that it makes boys look the same as their fathers or others in their community, and for religious reasons. Medicaid reimbursement for circumcision in thirty-two states and a lucrative market for infant foreskins also provides financial incentives for circumcision. Havent some newer studies shown that circumcised men are less likely to contract HIV and penile cancer? Although some new studies suggest that circumcision may reduce susceptibility to HIV and penile cancer later in life, those findings are not a valid reason to amputate a healthy, functioning body part of a child. Similar studies show that female circumcision may reduce HIV transmission, but nearly all physicians agree that any type of forced female genital cutting is unethical. Doctors don't cut off the breasts of baby girls to help prevent breast cancer, either, and medical ethicists believe that the male foreskin should be treated no differently. It is also important to note that proponents of female circumcision often use medical reasons to justify cutting off parts of girls' genitals, but those arguments are rightly condemned in most countries. Does circumcision cause psychological harm? Many men who are circumcised suffer the same psychological effects found in rape victims. A sense of great loss and feelings of anger, distrust, and grief are common among circumcised men who are aware of the functions that the foreskin performs. Problems with intimacy in adult life, long term post-traumatic stress disorder, and feelings of personal powerlessness are also reported by men when discussing their circumcisions. http://www.mgmbill.org/faq.htm
No, not at all. It became almost routine for circumcision in North America, although the practice has seen dramatic reduction to under 20%. Apparently there was a medical notion that circumcision was a good preventative measure against penile cancer, as well as, get this veneral diseases. Quackery at its finest that was adopted as medical routine! Being born in England I wasn't circumcised, but in Canada amongst my generation there was never more than a couple of guys in my class that weren't. It was kinda weird actually since I was "different". that is until I got a little older and found out that nature's way was in fact way way better for sex. My entire attitude changed.
The crazy old coot Abraham started this in the Old Testament. He was a world class murdering sexual deviant of the first magnitude. The early Christians got in a big fight because some wanted to continue to circumcise the Gentiles and others didn't. Imagine if it was part of the Christian religion today. Would they be so hard on homosexuals when they regularly have to put lip locks on bleeding converts? Even Paul did one or two. He said he couldn't remember how many. There are movements to ban the practice in certain cities. Of course you can guess who is trying to retain it.
Circumsision was originaly an offering to the gods (i use the plurals deliberatly here). This and other form of genetalia mutilations predate judaism and is present in ancient society all over the globe. For exemple, the Mayan ruler slithed is penis once a year and offered the blood to the sun god. Other tribes in Poked hole and tied strings and other adornment on the male sex organ. This is still practiced today.
