Are Male and Female Circumcision Morally Equivalent?

ALL THE STUDIES HAVE FLAWS, but taken whole there simply is no proof circumcision causes a meaningful loss of sensitivity and/or pleasure or sexual satisfaction. Which would be really odd if what the anti-circ crowd screams and shouts about were true.

All you really have to do is Google it. You will discover that the links alternate between "study: circumcision reduces sensitivity" and "study: it doesn't"

The studies that found the biggest differences were always flawed, but none-the-less found only a small difference. One of the links I randomly scooped up found an increase in sensitivity. Men who reported a decrease were often still happy as it increased their stamina and over all pleasure. The big numbers in that study however (the large numbers reporting increased sensitivity and the much smaller numbers reporting a decrease) are exaggerated because many of the men got a circumcision to correct penile issues. So technically the jury is still out, but obviously the difference is so small it's almost impossible to detect.

Also, sensitivity does not equal pleasure (something often not pointed out).

Anyway, random articles:

Compilation of studies discussed:

http://www.circinfo.net/circumcision_sensitivity_sensation_sexual_function.html

Other links:

http://www.cirp.org/library/sex_function/masood1/

http://www.livescience.com/27769-does-circumcision-reduce-sexual-pleasure.html

http://www.webmd.com/baby/news/20030430/circumcision-does-not-affect-sensitivity

http://abcnews.go.com/Health/Sex/story?id=3436936&page=1

http://sexuality.about.com/od/malesexualhealth/a/sexcircumcised1.htm

The take home from all this is, if you are anti-circ, the sensitivity/pleasure/satisfaction argument is a losing one.

I did this for the health benefits debate too a year ago and found that the intactivists were less than honest about that as well.

I'm sure you'll dismiss this with a "but what if...". I'm not really invested in this debate enough to care though.

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