How Necessary Is It Today?
In the Philippine provinces, the summer months of March and April every year bring anxiety and apprehension to the hearts of young boys as this is the time when they get circumcised. Locally termed "tuli," Filipino boys (age 9 and above) are encouraged by their parents to get circumcised under the supervision of the town's foremost "albularyo" or "magtutule" who is usually an old man who uses a sharp bladed object to cut the penile foreskin. The boys are advised to chew on "bayabas" (guava) leaves which they will eventually spit on their male organs once the foreskin has been cut. This is the old-fashioned way of doing it. Those boys living in urban and suburban locations are circumcised by a doctor either in a clinic or a hospital setup.
These days, however, there is a voice of dissent heard against this practice. And it comes not from young Filipino boys but from a noted Filipino surgeon by the name of Dr. Reynaldo Joson, former head of the Department of Surgery of the Ospital ng Maynila Medical Center.
Check out his website against male circumcision and tell me what you think about it.
2 reactions:
This is an interesting subject, and apparently, an extremely controversial one in some places.
All of my adult sons were circumcised as newborns, and none have ever expressed their desire to have remained "uncut." My late husband, and my husband of 27 years, were both circumcised as infants, and neither of them rued it.
There is a movement in the US which would make circumcision illegal, and I feel that this would be a mistake. I believe that the choice should remain with the parents, especially when particular religions are concerned.
Also, I read that infant circumcision has been shown to prevent urinary tract infections by 90% in the first year of life. That's quite a statement.
All of that said, I feel very badly for the young men who feel forced to undergo such a procedure for cultural or masculine "image" reasons. Even more so since I've been told that it's far more painful later in life, and by then, unless there's a problem with infection, the possible medical benefit has passed.
I don't believe circumcision should be socially mandated, nor do I believe it should be legally banned. I believe it should be left up to the parents of newborns, and if they choose to forgo it, then later to the individual adults.
I do firmly believe, however, that at any age, it should never be performed without proper and adequate pain relief.
MOOF: As I said, most males here are circumcised and proud of it, too. Those who remain uncircumcised are the minority and are always the butt of jokes among peers. My stand is still --- respect the patient's decision --- if they want it, then have it, and if otherwise, it's ok, too.
DAN: Your arguing points are sound and I do believe them, but it will take probably years before you can change the mindset here. Tradition is culture-based and it has deep roots.
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