Anti-Circ Study Proving Circumcision is “Mutilation� Published in Urology Journal
If you look at what drives the bizarre controversy of the religious Jewish Left, of demands for “parallel� ceremonies of circumcision, whether a simchat bat, the Tzipporah precedent for the mohelet movement, or the incessant babbling about how circumcision makes sense as an Aids prophylactic when we have condoms which do that better, and still, the feigned shock that the procedure continues to drop among the U.S. general population. It is the elephant in the room, and direct contact with its trunk is often assiduously avoided.
And that will now be harder to do. Assuming that the findings presented by this anti-circ group in the British Journal of Urology is accurate, the practice and eventually the legality of circumcision are going to come under siege like we couldn’t imagine, and this attack will come from very reasonable people.
According to the International Coalition for Genital Integrity the study proves that,
“men with normal, intact penises enjoy more sexual sensitivity — as much as four times more — than those who have been circumcised. Circumcising slices off more of a male’s sensitivity than is normally present in all ten fingertips.â€?
The study itself concludes that,
“The glans of the circumcised penis is less sensitive to fine touch than the glans of the uncircumcised penis. The transitional region from the external to the internal prepuce is the most sensitive region of the uncircumcised penis and more sensitive than the most sensitive region of the circumcised penis. Circumcision ablates the most sensitive parts of the penis.�
Link to study is here.
To be clear, this study was initiated by those with an anti-circ bias, including Marilyn Milos. Who is Ms. Milos? A former nurse who is the founder of Nocirc, who was nurse fired for showing parents a video of the actual circumcision procedure in 1985. But 1985 was a long time ago in American anti-circ years, and she received an award for patient advocacy from Nurseweek in 2001.
Who do you think will win this battle over time in the general U.S. population? And how will the liberal Jewish community not follow suit?
But if the traditional community offered a less radical option for circ considered in line with Torah (though at its most moderate, not in-line with Rabbinic law) law according to no less than the Rambam, some of the intense bitterness that will grow towards this ritual could be conceivably mitigated a bit, even though this would require changing tradition, something that is not advocated by the Rambam. A deal of sorts could be cut.
But that won’t happen on a massive level, and possibly – at least publicly – may not happen at all.
Instead, all aspects of a radical bris including brit periah, will be defended with fantasies and legends of martyrdom in the recent and ancient past. And all who seek a compromise will be denounced as Hellenists.
But this is not expansively declaring various foods “chometz.” This is cutting babies. And while those of us in the secular community who lean traditional may want to continue circumcising our boys in some literal manner, we would prefer not to do so radically.
Fortunately, we have a crucial partner in promoting a less radical circumcision. That partner is within the haredi community — those factions which insist that sucking baby-penis blood by mouth (well, that’s what it is, isn’t it?) is an integral aspect of tradition that cannot be tampered with, as well as those who defend their position.
That’s a really compromised position for laying down the law, and opens the issue up to allow for reconsidering other stringencies and traditions never referenced or discussed in the Torah itself.
22 comments
David, how exactly does the Torah “reference and specify” how to do a bris?
Well, it doesn’t mention “brit priah” nor our very favorite minhag ever, metziza b’peh.
Are not these two aspects of Jewish circ referred to differently than milah in our own traditional?
Cloudlessly bright & erudite elucidations on stuff.
The fun fact that radical rules/procedures and regulations often become part of the mandatory mantras for daily living and loving… within certain sub-groups is distinctly disconcerting to say the least.
On a less scared level, how do you mesure how much “sexual pleasure?” I don’t really get it.
While I am personally fine with my Jewish “nose” I don’t know what the “big” deal is…Ok I am sorry but really how can you have a post about circ without a penis joke?
Thanks for the like Mr. K.
Tongue-in-cheek response: this is how you know that G-d is looking out for the daughters of Israel. He makes sure that men have “reduced sensitivity” so that they can last longer and please their wives/girlfriends/concubines.
Annie, as we both know, that is not the reality, but additionally, a man’s foreskin is important for satisfying his female partner, not just himself. See last section on gliding mechanism: http://www.cirp.org/pages/anat/
Maybe this website would be an interesting read for you.
http://www.jewishcircumcision.org
My point of course, DK, is that there is nothing, not a thing, in the torah sh’b'k’sav about how to do a bris. Nothing is referenced and specified. So you may, in the splendor of your mastery of the Bavli and the Yerushalmi, know that the those who insist that metziza b’peh is not halachically correct, or necessary or whatever, and shlug up those who disagree. (I can’t. I have no freaking idea.)
But you didn’t say that. Your implication was that we know it’s narishkeit because the Torah doesn’t “reference and specify” it. The problem DK is that you are too well educated on the basics of where Jewish law comes from to think that this is a valid criticism, and you also know that those who criticize any Jewish practice using this formulation — hm, mechitzos, let’s say — are usually less interested in the legitimacy or not of a practice than their own view of what they think the world should look like.
Which you and they have a right to do, but when you do, admit it, and ackowledge that — how shall we put it? — maybe, you’re wrestling to find Jewish meaning in your negotiations with secularism and liberalism?
Maybe you can try on this website JRomances.com, Here you can get support from jews!
Chloe Jones
JRomances.com
you dont need a study to “prove” that circumcision is mutilation.
it is quite obvious to anybody with any degree of intelligence.
socially acceptable mutilation, perhaps, but still mutilation.
if i ever met my mohel, i could not guarantee that i wouldnt smash his face in.
dan
why blame the mohel and not your parents?
Ron,
We know historically that brit milah became more stringent over the course of the generations. How do we know that? Because people used to uncircumcise themselves to some degree with weights and measures. But that stopped until modern times. Why? We have tape now. But without tape, you need some skin to start with. They clearly had that back then.
Annie, I’m glad you find mutilating boys against their will, and harming them for life by reducing their sexual pleasure, a laughing matter. Do you find mutilating little girls equally hilarious?
I am not even Orthodox, although technically I should be since I am Sephardic. However, I think if a large minority of Jews stop circumcising their sons, it’s the beginning of the end of Judaism. People, this is a Torah-mandated law, practiced by the Samaritans, Karaites, Sadducees, Pharisees, rabbinic Jews, All normative streams of Israelites and Jews. I am truly sorry that anyone would seriously consider doing away with circumcision. If we do so, it’s really the end.
It’s not necessarily the end. Do Orthodox Jews still perform animal sacrifice? This news just reinforces that circumcision is sacrificial, but also means it’s at odds with our modern notion of ethics. The worst that would happen would be that parents will no longer be able to do this on their newborns. They will have to delay from the 8th day of life until the 18th birthday, to get informed consent from the true owner of the penis.
I don’t know why you give this excuse for a study the exposure? Funded and conducted by NOCIRC means it can’t pass any “conflict of interest’ test and should be tossed into the garbage can. Read this one instead: http://tinyurl.com/2w78wp
DK, Can you help me understand why some men are so angry and defensive whenever I mention that I am anti-circumcision? I find it shocking - I consider being anti-circ to be a pro-male, and pro-baby, stance. Do you think there will considerable change in the percent of jews who circumcize as the years go on? (And for those who are convinced that circumcision is hugely protective against HIV, consider the fact that most US males in the 1980s were circumcized and that was when the huge AIDS epidemic took place. Safer sex is required regardless.)Thanks for keeping some attention on this issue. I think it’s worthy of debate and discussion.
Rebecca Stern,
You wrote,
Can you help me understand why some men are so angry and defensive whenever I mention that I am anti-circumcision?
They do not want to face what was done to them; that their sexuality was diminished through physical amputation.
I consider being anti-circ to be a pro-male, and pro-baby, stance.
I can’t disagree with you.
Do you think there will considerable change in the percent of jews who circumcize as the years go on?
It will increase in the religiously liberal wing of the Jewish community paralleling (but always less than) the increase of intact gentile whites and an acceptance of anti-circ arguments.
The Reform Movement in Germany included anti-circ sentiments, and the Reconstructionist Movement was founded by an anti-circ thinker.
I think you should do more work and writing around circumcision issues. I didn’t know, for instance, that Mordechai Kaplan was anti circ. Are you writing/researching on these issues? I truly don’t understand why this issue isn’t becoming more central in contemporary jewish debate. I have yet to meet a single jewish man involved in religious life who has problems with cirucumsion. It’s shocking to me. And there are only a handful of women who question it, to my knowledge. I think it’s just a taboo, body-centered subject, and thus not the object of much attention. Truly sad.
Rebecca Stern, you wrote
“I have yet to meet a single jewish man involved in religious life who has problems with circumcision.”
You should take a look at this website if you haven’t seen it: http://www.jewishcircumcision.org/
excellent site - thanks David. Do you meet in day to day life any other jewish men who are religiously involved (or even secular ones) who agree with you position on circ? I find it shocking that I haven’t met any… maybe I need to broaden my social circles.
Becca,
You asked, “Do you meet in day to day life any other jewish men who are religiously involved (or even secular ones) who agree with you position on circ?”
Not many, but more than I used to. It used to just be me. Many find my sudden lurch left on this specific issue confusing and even upsetting. I used to take it personally, and grow quite frustrated, but that was when I was in more religious circles that talked about “gender issues” all the time, and couldn’t see this one was the most important “gender issue” in Judaism. I found it maddening.
But yeah — broadening my social circle was helpful in that at least I don’t have to talk about “gender issues” in Judaism and NOT circumcision.
And remember, Rambam validated all anti-circ concerns centuries ago. Not just the Rambam either — many important commentaries, but the Rambam is serious backing.
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