What is circumcision?

Why are boys circumcized?
Circumcision is the removal of the foreskin or loose sleeve of skin covering the end of the penis so as to permanently expose the glans (or knob). Ideally it should result in full exposure of the whole glans and what is named the 'coronal groove' behind it. In such examples there is no bunching of shaft skin in the groove, leaving it smooth and unable to trap 'smegma'. Smegma is a disagreeable smelly cheesy-white substance formed in damp folds of skin on the human body. It accumulates when such places are not cleaned in normal hygiene routines.
So circumcisions were performed to make it easier to keep the penis clean; so the son would resemble the father; so the boy would not look different from his friends in the locker room; and because some reports indicated it prevented some diseases of the penis. Current medical research does not support such findings. Today, no medical association in the world recommends circumcision.

What are the current circumcision rates?
The U.S. circumcision rate declined 11.4% over two years, according to figures just released in 2005 by the National Center for Health Statistics, from 63.1% in 2001 to 55.9% in 2003, following a steady, twenty-five year decline. At this rate, in just 12 years, the US will join other English-speaking countries in abandoning circumcision. Medicalized, mass circumcision of infants is a uniquely English -speaking phenomenon. Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom formerly circumcised the majority of infant boys, but have either abandoned the practice, or reduced the rate to about 1 in 10. It is the norm amongst most African tribes and a strict religious requirement for Jewish males, who are ritually done eight days after birth, and a custom amongst Muslims who have it performed at varying ages before puberty.

What is the foreskin like?
The foreskin (or prepuce) is a natural, retractile, protective covering for the glans (head) of the penis, and is the most erogenous area of the penis in terms of the quantity, concentration, and quality of the specialized nerve receptors that it is endowed with.

The foreskin contains over 240 feet of nerves and over 1,000 nerve endings making for a multitude of rich sensations.

The foreskin also plays a lubrication role. It serves as a gliding sheath during masturbation or sexual activity, rendering the quality of the friction between the man and his partner more gentle, less abrasive.  With circumcision, this natural gliding mechanism is lost.

Women have a foreskin as well, which covers and protects their clitoris. It is alternatively referred to as the clitoral foreskin, clitoral prepuce, or clitoral hood.