Studies are conflicted on whether it reduces risk of diseases, but what’s definitely true is that removing the foreskin removes most of the nerves associated with pleasure for the penis.
Of course it doesn’t take away all sexual pleasure, but people who get circumcisions later in life report that their sexual pleasure from sex and masturbation is greatly reduced from before the circumcision. This likely also applies to babies, although there’s no conclusive evidence to support that since people who were circumcised at birth report “normal” amounts of sexual pleasure, though it’s unknown if they and uncircumcised people have the same “normal”.
The reason circumcision became popular in the Western world outside of Jewish and Muslim culture is because of John Harvey Kellogg, the inventor of Corn Flakes, founder of the Kellogg cereal company, and activity against “immoral” sexual activity like masturbation. He invented Corn Flakes as a food to deter masturbation, as he believed that a cause of “unnatural” sexual appetites was flavorful food, so he made a blander source of nutrition to combat the urge to masturbate. He also heavily advocated for circumcision for both children and adults because he believed that it would decrease sexual pleasure for the penis, which would also discourage masturbation.
Take it from a Jew who’s been jerking the gherkin since he was 12: It doesn’t work. Don’t circumcise your baby unless it’s for a religious reason, or if the baby is born with a condition that requires it.
Oh, and among people who both enjoy sex with people with penises and care about whether or not it’s circumcised, it’s pretty evenly split about which variety they actually prefer, with the biggest factor in the preference being that individual’s culture.
Edit: There are a lot of non-Jews criticizing the practice in Judaism. I completely understand, and your criticisms are valid. All I can speak for is my own experience and what I’ve been able to look into. In my case and the case of many Jewish men that I’ve talked to, both religious and non-religious, the rates of resentment for circumcision are much lower among them than among non-Jews who have been circumcised. I understand if you still believe it to be wrong, but do not put out hate speech in the comments. This includes name-calling and generalizations about any particular cultures. If you still believe that it’s wrong for Jews and Muslims to do it, and that religion doesn’t justify it, you are entitled to your opinion. Just please be respectful about it.
Another edit: To build on the first point, consent of the child is a big issue that many parents face when deciding whether or not to circumcise. All I can say about that is that it’s a lot less risky to health to do it in infancy rather than as an adult. Again, I can only speak for myself, but if I hadn’t been circumcised as an infant, I’d be saying a struggle today about whether or not to do it, and it would be painful, mentally traumatizing, and risky, even if done with anesthesia. Yes, it is medically unnecessary in the vast majority of cases, which is why I reiterate that NON-JEWS SHOULD NOT DO IT. Please talk to Jews and get their perspectives before you judge because I can guarantee that they had the same considerations that you’ve had.
Third edit: If you’re not Jewish, there will just be aspects of the Jewish experience that you won’t understand on an intrinsic and fundamental level, just like there are things that I’ll never understand about your culture because I don’t belong to it. It seems that so far, I’m the only Jew who’s given a perspective on this, so these debates on the morality of circumcision are missing a crucial element.
This is called generational trauma and you have the choice to break the cycle. Jews have suffered enough throughout history, there is no reason to add to it yourselves.
“I suffered so my kids should suffer” is never a reasonable opinion. It’s especially unreasonable when that suffering is permanent for the child
You’re choosing to interpret what I said as passing down suffering. This shows that you don’t actually want a Jewish perspective and want to assume that circumcision causes us to suffer and that we just want to pass that down. You don’t actually want to listen to what I have to say.
I’ll try anyway. Many Jews, both secular and religious, circumcise their children because they themselves did not experience suffering from the circumcision. Some do, sure, but the vast majority of circumcisions are without complications, and those done on Jews do not cause the same level of resentment on the same scale as when non-Jews do it because non-Jews don’t have the cultural context or connection that circumcision provides Jews. That’s what circumcision is for: It’s never to cause suffering. It’s to connect Jews to Judaism in a way that only we understand because there is an inherent, intrinsic, inextricable quality to being born a new that cannot be explained to someone who isn’t Jewish, just like there is with any other culture. If you’re black, there are things about the black experience that you understand but will never be able to get me to understand. Same with being a woman, or gay, or trans.
I’ll also add this: Ask your Jewish friends if they were traumatized by their circumcision. Then all your non-Jewish circumcised friends. I guarantee that there will be some differences in their answers. In the case that a Jew was, in fact, traumatized by their own circumcision, they’ll be much less likely to do it for their own kids.
I’m the modem day, you’ll find that among secular Jews, rates of circumcision are much closer to those of religious Jews than of non-Jews. Why do you think that is?
I didn’t know how else to describe it and figured the opposite of pleasure was suffering. Circumcision causes nerve damage in adults and infants alike which denies them the feeling they were born to experience. To be clear, I don’t believe the goal of circumcision is to cause harm. I believe that harm is the byproduct of circumcision. At the very least, can we agree that removing a piece of skin causes physical damage?
I understand that it helps some people connect with their culture but what about the others? It’s a permanent procedure regardless. If a Jew converts religions, becomes an agnostic/atheist, or even just stops practicing, they will never get full feeling back in their johnsons.
I have had this conversation COUNTLESS times with them over the years so I don’t feel the need to bring it up again. You’re right that Jewish people are less likely to be upset about it but that’s no surprise…They are more likely to have been raised in an environment where it’s commonplace.
It’s not just that it’s commonplace, it’s that they understand what it means. Also, a Jew will never not be a Jew even if they convert to another religion. They can stop identifying as religiously Jewish, but ethnically they’ll still be part of the tribe.
It means your parents branded you with a symbol of their religion before you were old enough to decide if you wanted to a permanent reminder of their religion. Not a big deal if you want to be reminded of their religion. Kind of a big deal if you don’t.
Do the people who don’t want a reminder not matter?
And that’s why I can’t in good conscience be for it. I just can’t be against it either because I also know what it’s like to be a circumcised Jewish male for whom it’s an important aspect of Jewish identity. It’s not for all Jews, and it’s a conversation to be had by the parents. It really sucks that the baby can’t consent, but it’s much better to do it as a baby than as an adult, because the latter is proven to be traumatic. And it’s not just a symbol of the religion, it’s the experience of being a Jew on a level beyond the religion, contextualized in a way those without it can’t know.