Circumcision

As we discuss during the lecture on body modification some social parties and religions such as Judaism, Christianity and Islam have been strongly against body modification for ages. On the other hand, many of them also have adopted body modification in some extent as part of their social or religious customs and laws. A perfect example is circumcision, which except of certain cases due to medical reasons, is totally unnecessary and in fact it’s actually a brutal violation on one’s body, sexuality and individuality. For instance in Jewish law, men are always forced to take part in a religion ceremony, called Brit Milah (ritual circumcision) which is held during the eighth day after the child is born. In addition, some cultures and tribes in Africa and Middle East have practiced the entire or part removal of the women's external sexual organs, also known as female circumcision in order to prevent premarital sex and established public control. Despite those situations where, the women’s circumcisions as well as men’s’ took place for medical reasons, unless it was the person’s direct conscious decision, no man or a woman should be circumcised from my point of view. Moreover, a not circumcised man does not seem so tragic when the International journal of STDs and AIDS (1999) published that, “recommending routine circumcision…to prevent HIV…is scientifically unfounded”, logically because there is also safe sex and condoms. Presently, in U.S.A circumcision must have became a fashion when 77% of the men population is circumcised and 3300 infant boys are being circumcised every day. Many experts suggest that it’s a brutally painful procedure where the young infants, with their hyper-sensitive senses, are experiencing extreme pain. They also state that, by the removal of the foreskin which is assembled by millions of nerves, the man’s sexual satisfaction is highly decreased and limited after circumcision. Moreover, studies are showing that medical organisations and agencies in the U.S found a way to financially exploit this new movement. Apparently there is a multimillionaire industry where the foreskins are used without anyone’s permission in plastic surgery, laboratory experiments and to produced insulin and cosmetics. In America the profits today reach almost 400 million dollars a year.