[ ARC forum 2 ]
Written by Stef at 11 Jun 2005 18:23:29: Re: Programme about Circumcision on BBC Television
As an answer to: Re: Programme about Circumcision on BBC Television written by Ivan at 11 Jun 2005 15:53:14:
>>I thought that readers & contributors to these pages would like to know that BBC Documentaries are making a film which they say will be "looking at the pros & cons of circumcision", although the passage from their information page, which I have repeated below, sounds to me as if they are not intending to treat it too seriously as a necessary medical procedure, but perhaps more as a sexual freak show ?
>> They would like to talk to men who want to be circumcised "For aesthetic or sexual reasons. Whether you want to be circumcised for your partners sake, or because it looks better, or because one of you thinks sex will be better afterwards. If you would like more information, or would like to participate, call Mike on 020 8752 4975 or e-mail Michael.Ogden-bbc.co.uk"
>> I won't be contributing !! - Stef.
>"perhaps more as a sexual freak show?" - but of course, that is what circumcision is. Only perhaps one man in a million will ever have a therapeutic need for circumcision, although many more will convince themselves that they have to. As a preventive measure, it is worse than useless because the likelihood of complications combined with the nature of the complications, far outweighs the dangers sought to be avoided (and even the claims of protection for those are based on highly suspect statistics).
>If people want to get circumcised, it's fine with me, at least for adults (infant circumccision should be completely banned). But don't kid yourselves - if it's not for cancer or BXO resistant to other treatments (amputations should be the last recourse), it's just body modification, in a class with scarification, pieercing and all the other faddish abuses of the body.
Yes, thanks for your views Ivan! I realise I worded that wrongly. "perhaps more as a sexual freakshow" would have been better written as 'for sexual titillation', as that's what the media like to serve up. I know many men want circs for cosmetic reasons, & why not if that is their preference. I would have preferred it if the programme was from a medical healing viewpoint, but I certainly didn't mean to imply it was freaky, nor that I was against it. - Stef.