• ToastedPlanet
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    1 year ago

    I agree making the decision to circumcise based on appearance or ignorance about the benefits of having an intact foreskin is silly. I think there is an argument for circumcision at birth, in the US, where we don’t have free health care.

    https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK537143/#:~:text=It affects approximately 1 in,retract back over the penis

    I think the decreased risk of balanitis is worth the loss in nerve endings because it probably saves a decent number of uninsured families from having to pay expensive medical bills later. This national average is how much it can cost for adults apparently.

    https://www.mdsave.com/procedures/adult-circumcision/d781f9ce/california

    Just another reason for a single-payer healthcare system for the pile I guess.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gCSWbTv3hng

    Adam mostly convinced me with his video on why people get circumcised in the US, but I did have a friend who got this infection and had to be circumcised later in life, not as an adult. And no it wasn’t me, I had a separate infection in one of my balls, but thankfully there was a pill for that. And neither of us live in biblical times, relative to us anyway.

      • ToastedPlanet
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        1 year ago

        I agree the correct solution is socialized medicine. Unfortunately, we aren’t likely to get that in the US anytime soon. Getting slapped with a 6k medical bill could be the difference between a roof over someone’s head or living on the street. It comes off as a potential debt trap, where it is again somehow more expensive to be poor.

        I’m not completely convinced it’s the right solution, but we have perhaps collectively helped some people by doing this as a society. It seems like a choice between a better of quality of life for most people, but financial hardship for some or lower of quality of life for everyone, but helping some unlucky people who wouldn’t be able to the handle potential financial burden. No one plans to be poor, so no one knows if they are going to be one of the people who ends up having to pay later in life. I would like to see more numbers honestly, to really be able to weigh the costs and benefits. edit: typos

        • buckykat
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          1 year ago

          This is all nonsense post hoc justification. Circumcision in the US isn’t for disease prevention, it’s because a bunch of religious freaks a century ago thought it’d stop masturbation.

          • ToastedPlanet
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            1 year ago

            Disease prevention is the only thing circumcision actually does, and how beneficial that is is debatable, so it’s really the only thing worth discussing in relation to the topic.

            The fact that the guy who was pushing for circumcision thought it would stop masturbation really has nothing to do with what the benefits potentially were/are. I don’t see why the reason someone did something would matter in respect to whether or not the thing was/is beneficial.

            I don’t really consider myself pro-circumcision, but it seemed like to me whether or not circumcision is worth doing would solely come down to how many people benefited in reduced medical costs versus the cost in quality of life caused by mass circumcision. If not many people, who couldn’t afford treatment, actually had reduced medical bills then circumcision isn’t worth doing.

            I had thoughts on this topic, but not really strong opinions. I didn’t realize this was such a hot button issue for people. I thought it was a niche, weird thing we could talk about.

            • buckykat
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              1 year ago

              If circumcision wasn’t a thing, and somebody proposed cutting bits off baby dicks to maybe possibly save them from some obscure disease nobody ever heard of, everyone would rightly call them a creep. But since it’s a tradition, people like you will come up with all kinds of dumbass justifications to continue it.

              • ToastedPlanet
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                1 year ago

                I mean, that’s probably true of anything people have never heard of, but regardless, I couldn’t care less about tradition. I legit thought it would be an interesting topic of discussion. I’m not interested in defending circumcision. Is there someone who does I should know about? Is this like a right-wing talking point?

                • buckykat
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                  1 year ago

                  If you’re not interested in defending circumcision, why have you been doing it all day?

                  • ToastedPlanet
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                    1 year ago

                    I explained my thoughts on the topic. I made attempts to clarify what I was saying, so people understood. I wanted to know what other people thought, so I replied to other people’s comments in order to get their thoughts about it. I wouldn’t call that defending circumcision. This is the first time I’ve ever seen people display strong feelings about this topic at all.

    • Risk@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      Your argument here is that - based on one study suggesting that balanitis falls from 3-11% of males to 2-7.5% of genitally-mutilated males justifies the systemic mutilation of all males in the US?

      This is not a medically or scientifically sound argument.

      • ToastedPlanet
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        1 year ago

        I think that’s essentially the argument for vaccines. We all get the vaccines to lower the risk of infectious diseases. Cutting off part of a person’s genitals is more extreme than getting a needle jabbed in the shoulder, but I think it’s the same basic principal.

    • GrandmasterFrank
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      1 year ago

      is worth the loss in nerve endings because it probably saves a decent number of uninsured families from having to pay expensive medical bills later

      You’re disgusting, what the fuck is wrong with you.

        • GrandmasterFrank
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          1 year ago

          Being a virgin is no excuse, why the fuck would you ever say that only insured boys should have sexual/bodily autonomy.

          • ToastedPlanet
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            1 year ago

            I’m saying all people with penises getting circumcised in the US may have saved some people financial hardship later in life. I have no frame of reference to what I’m missing, so it probably isn’t as hard to think this for me. edit: typo

              • TheRealLinga@sh.itjust.works
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                1 year ago

                And cut off women’s breasts so they don’t get breast cancer! And cut off the criteria for some other reason!

                I’ll keep my foreskin and nerve endings thank you!

                • queermunist she/her@lemmy.ml
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                  1 year ago

                  Usually, balanitis is not too serious.

                  lol fuck off

                  EDIT Okay, imagine that if you cut off the tip of your tongue you can never get the stomach flu. Would you do it?

                  Would you do it to a baby?

                  • ToastedPlanet
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                    1 year ago

                    For reference, I’m circumcised. I don’t remember it. I doubt very few if any people actually remember their circumcision as a baby. Not saying circumcision is super great or something. But the US spent the last 100 years, and counting, doing it to people, so we might as well learn about it from a cost benefit angle with all the data we have. Whether or not anyone actually benefited from the practice seems like a worthwhile question to answer with data.

                    Stomach Flu is an interesting one. Here are some stats for Norovirus which causes stomach flu.

                    https://www.cdc.gov/norovirus/burden.html#:~:text=1 in 110%2C000 will die,go to the emergency department

                    Norovirus does kill some people every year. I’m not sure what the threshold is for us all to cut off the tips of our tongues, but I’m guessing it’s greater than 900 people dying per year. I think it stands to reason if the mortality rate was high enough and cutting off the tips of our tongues saved a sizable portion of those people who would otherwise die, then people might do that to themselves, even babies. I guess it comes down to how we value our bodies and what is worth giving up for the sake of other people.

            • GrandmasterFrank
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              1 year ago

              I’m saying all people with penises getting circumcised in the US may have saved some people financial hardship later in life

              Yeah wow, having a part of your body clipped away (often without anesthetics) is such a hardship saved. You’re a piece of shit.

    • TheFriendlyDickhead@lemm.ee
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      1 year ago

      And the risk to get it drasticly drops when you wash your dick. The fact that so many people get it, shows how few people wash their dick under the foreskin.

      • ToastedPlanet
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        1 year ago

        I was washing every night. And I assume my friend was too. Because we were kids, for better or worse, with helicopter parents. I assume people who live out on the street, don’t get regular showers.