Routine Circumcision of Baby Boys

Some people want to routinely cut off part of helpless baby boys’ penises just in case they should grow up to be sexually promiscuous and/or fail to keep themselves clean. Not as bad as some Africans’ custom of “circumcising” (more like mutilating) young girls by cutting off their clitoris lest they grow up and want to enjoy sex. Not as bad, but close.

Those who advocate routine circumcision of all baby boys are obviously circumcised males and females who don’t know any better. They are the least qualified to claim a right to assume power over baby boys’ future sex life.

Circumcision is a religious sacrifice. It indicates total submission to God. The circumcised man has forfeited some sexual enjoyment for life. A family’s religion is the only justification of routine circumcision of every baby boy.

Routine circumcision has nothing to do with religion but rather with vogue, utility and big-brother-knows-best. I knew young soldiers who underwent circumcision only because they wanted to be like the other guys: the majority who were circumcised.

The idea behind routine circumcision is that circumcised men are less likely to contract the HIV virus.
It’s not like we were facing an AIDS epidemic by leaving all those foreskins intact. The increased vulnerability for the uncircumcised is minuscule at best and non-existent if he practices monogamy and/or cleanliness.

Explaining the difference in sexual satisfaction to a circumcised man is like trying to explain a rainbow to a person born color blind. He doesn’t know what he missed because he never had it.

The foreskin not only is a protective sheath, but sensitive nerves in the foreskin provide much of the pleasure of sexual intercourse. Because the tip of the foreskin is so sensitive, the aroused man can find the correct place of entry “with no hands.” The foreskin keeps the male’s natural lubricant where it needs to be. The lubricant works its way within the foreskin and prepares the head for entry. As entry is achieved the sheath slides down the shaft. Those sensitive nerves in the foreskin now form a ring around the shaft enhancing sexual pleasure.

To remove the protective sheath from the sensitive penis head is like turning a woman’s vagina inside out and exposing it to the drying air and irritants. It would lessen sensitivity and necessitate artificial lubricants; the same results of male circumcision.

Rather than routinely circumcising baby boys, I suggest a less drastic approach to the HIV problem. Teach them the old adage, “Be good. If you can’t be good, be careful.” Or you might paraphrase it, “If you can’t keep that thing in your pants, at least keep it clean.”
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Joe B. Hewitt is a retired pastor who did marriage
and family counseling during his 39 years of ministry.