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Why Most Circumcised Men Seem Satisfied
| Reports of negative reactions of men to
circumcision (see Psychological
Impact of Circumcision on Men) are surprising to those who assume
that
circumcision is a benign procedure. How can the existence of such
reports
be reconciled with the fact that the majority of circumcised men do not
express these feelings about their circumcision? The following factors
reduce the likelihood that circumcised men will express dissatisfaction
with their circumcision: |
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- Circumcised men do not know what they are missing.
They believe that
the
sexual sensitivity they have without a foreskin is "normal."
(Similarly,
a woman born in Somalia who had been subjected to a severe form of
female
circumcision insisted that it had no impact. "It's the same thing.
There
is nothing different about my sexuality.") (1)
According
to one man who was circumcised as an adult, sex without a foreskin is
like
sight without color. Those who have not seen in color cannot appreciate
what is lost. See Men Circumcised as Adults.
- Young circumcised men may not notice the negative
sexual effects of circumcision
until they are older, because of the progressive desensitization of the
exposed glans (head of the penis) from exposure and rubbing against
clothes.
See Functions of the Foreskin. It is
possible that circumcision is an unrecognized factor in the high rates
of impotence in older American men.
- Accepting circumcision beliefs and cultural
assumptions prevents men from recognizing and feeling their
dissatisfaction. A typical response is “When I was young I was told it
was necessary for health reasons. I guess I just didn’t question that.
I assumed that was so.”
- The emotions connected with circumcision that may
surface are very painful. Repressing them protects men from this pain.
A circumcised man recalled, “It was something I just didn’t examine. I
put it away in the back of my mind like a lot of guys do.” If the
feelings do become conscious, they can still be suppressed. After
learning about circumcision, another man said, “I don’t want to be
angry about this.”
- Those who have feelings about their circumcision are
generally afraid to express them because their feelings may be
dismissed or ridiculed. When asked why he had not revealed his
circumcision feelings before, one man said, “I would be looked upon as
strange or else people would toss it off lightly.” Another said, “It’s
not something that anyone talks about. If it is talked about, it’s in a
snickering, comical way which I find disturbing. People laugh about it
as if there is something funny going on.”
- Verbal expression of feelings requires conscious
awareness. Because early
traumas are generally unconscious, associated feelings are expressed
nonverbally
through behavioral, emotional, and physiological forms.(2)
Attitudes about people, life, and the future may also be affected. An
example
of an attitude resulting from childhood trauma is “You can’t count on
anything
or anyone to protect you.”(3)
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| Lack of
awareness and understanding of
circumcision, emotional
repression, fear of disclosure, and nonverbal expression help keep
circumcision
feelings a secret.
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NOTES
- Aasen,
S., producer, Day One,
Report on Female Genital Mutilation, New York: ABC News, 20 September
1993.
- Terr, L.,
“What Happens to Early
Memories of Trauma?” Journal
of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry 27
(1988):
96-104; van der Kolk, B., “The Compulsion to Repeat the Trauma:
Re-Enactment,
Revictimization, and Masochism,” Psychiatric Clinics of North
America 12 (1989): 389-411.
- Terr, L.,
“Childhood Traumas: An
Outline and Overview,” American
Journal of Psychiatry 148 (1991): 14.
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| © Circumcision Resource Center |
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