A recent study published last January 2012 in the International Journal of Epidemiology shows that both men and women have more sexual satisfaction when the male is uncircumcised.
All over the world, only 30 percent of the male population is circumcised. In the Philippines, the numbers are very different—93 percent of Filipino men have gone under the knife.
In fact, the practice of circumcision in the Philippines dates back to the pre-Hispanic era. The Islamic culture of our datus prescribed circumcision as a rule. The ritual was observed in the southern islands of the Philippines all the way up to the north where, curiously, more Christians carried on with the same custom.
Myths of circumcision
For years it has been believed that circumcision protects the male from cancer and other infections. But, that may have been a myth.
Recent studies have proven that sexually transmitted infection and malignant tumors in the penis can be prevented just by proper hygiene combined with use of condoms and vaccination.
Current evidence does not support the role of circumcision in preventing the spread of HIV/AIDS. In fact, no professional medical organization, here or abroad, has endorsed routine circumcision to be the norm.
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Fewer orgasms reported
In the new study conducted in Denmark, 10,916 male and female participants were asked to fill up a questionnaire on sexual health.
Results showed that circumcised men had more episodes of orgasmic difficulties (11 percent) compared to uncircumcised males (4 percent).
On the other hand, there were more women who complained that their sexual needs were incompletely fulfilled when their partners were circumcised (38 percent) compared to only 28 percent for women with uncircumcised spouses.
Sexual function difficulties were also more frequent in women with circumcised spouses. Examples of these disorders were inability to achieve orgasm, lack of lubrication, painful intercourse and spasms of the vagina.
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Decreasing pleasure was deliberate?
Overall, circumcision seems to reduce sexual satisfaction in both male and the female. This suggests that the removal of the foreskin may have something to do with reduced penile sensitivity. It is this excess skin that contains all the sensory nerve endings that contributes to arousal and excitement.
This decreased sexual pleasure seems to be deliberate, the result which the rabbis, datus, and high priests of yesteryears were trying to achieve by having men circumcised.
Moses Maimonides a philosopher in the early 12th century said that "circumcision was required to cause man to be moderate, because it weakens the power of sexual excitement and lessens the natural enjoyment'."
Well, this bit of information might come a little too late for many of us, since almost all of our Filipino men have already lost their caps.
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Dr. Diana Sarmiento is a mother of three, part-time doctor, and a full-time wife and mother. The topics closest to her heart are women’s health, parenting, and any new information that she can get her hands on. Read more on her personal blog, Filipina M.D.
