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On Male Circumcision

Introduction

    So I never thought I would have to write an article like this.  But far too often, I see people running around on Reddit and other social media with their hair on fire acting like male circumcision is the worst thing you could ever do to a male child, etc.  I am not a pediatrician, but I can more or less fact check, so here's my opinion piece on the concept.

     This article is in the context of people claiming that female genital mutilation (FGM), a horrible and barbaric practice, is equal to or the same as male circumcision.  These individuals will run around the internet claiming that those who circumcise their male children are horrible parents engaged in medieval barbarism.  They even call male circumcision "male genital mutilation," typical of those who would resort to illogical and underhanded methods to prove their point.  So here goes.

Comparison Chart

    Here is the easy comparison chart that does a good job making the concept brief and easy to understand (a TL;DR, if you will).

ASPECT	FEMALE GENITAL MUTILATION	MALE CIRCUMCISION
Pediatrician Recommendations	Not recommended by anyone of credibility.	American Pediatrics Association has said the benefits outweigh the risks.
Psychological trauma likelihood.	Always psychologically traumatic.  No credible research disputes this.	One study tried to suggest links between early neonatal male circumcision but found very low effects, if any, and had far too many limitations.  This means there is no proof.
Physical trauma likelihood.	Always, because of what it does.  It is considered a violation of human rights.	So far, 2-6 out of 1,000 risk of any adverse side effects, and no reports of actual physical trauma.
Religious rite.	It is not contained in any scripture of any religion, and thus the likelihood of anyone being able to claim it is a religious practice or right is highly suspect if not a complete lie.	Both Judaism and Islam contain commands in their scriptures to engage in male circumcision.
American Psychological Association treatment protocol.	Considered a human right violation and a trauma / assault, the general APA evidenced based practices for trauma therapy apply.	No protocol or mention in the APA in trauma therapy at all, so the claim would be highly suspect.
Evidence from drug counseling.	As a drug counselor, I can see someone claiming that FGM, especially since it is a persistent problem if you know the technical aspects of how it is done, using drugs to numb the pain of the procedure and the traumatic experience.	I've never met anyone or heard anyone who used drugs specifically because they were circumcised.
Age of the individual.	It is done when the individual is 5-9 years old but persists, so the likelihood of trauma is basically 100%.	I've never met anyone who received male circumcision who remembers the event, because it is done prior to 1 year of age.  I've also never heard of one.
The body region in question.	FGM causes many complications in genital functioning and makes infections and worse adverse consequences highly likely.	Male circumcision doesn't complicate or change the function of male genitalia, and arguably makes it easier to clean the genitalia in question.
Opinion of other countries.	No credible country disputes that it is a human rights violation.	Four European countries recommend against it, but that's out of 195 countries in the world.
CONCLUSION	HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATION	BENIGN MEDICAL PRACTICE