Circumcision controversies

Common card · No. 319975

Male circumcision has been a subject of controversy for a number of reasons including religious, ethical, sexual, legal and medical. During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, in a rapidly changing medical and surgical world, circumcision rose in popularity as a means of prophylaxis in the Anglosphere. Its primary justification was to promote cleanliness, as well as reducing and preventing the incidence of disease. Many medical professionals and advocates of the procedure also believed that it would reduce pleasure and the urge to masturbate, which was considered a social ill of the era, although their belief is considered false in modern times. Circumcision proponents say that circumcision reduces the risks of a range of infections and diseases and confers sexual benefits. By contrast, the majority of modern opponents, particularly of routine neonatal circumcision, question its preventive efficacy and object to subjecting non-consenting newborn males to a procedure that is potentially...

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