My goodness how stupid am i?
 

I have finally worked it out.

Circumcision.

I never understood why it cropped up in so many different societies. It had always perplexed me and I never thought. Oh curse my puritanical victorian mindset!!! Why could I never put two and two together.

Every society needs control. Fine. So I obsess about this. But it doesn't make sense. Those in power are men why suffer pain on other men?

Then come the distracting health arguments. They are irrelevant because circumcision is older than the belief in 4 bodily humours.

What I forgot is what I ought to have learned from the divine Augustus' marriage laws. Every society also needs CHILDREN.

Circumcision inhibits masturbation.

Thus the sexual impulse is directed towards a positive societal benefit - babies.

It's so simple that I feel dim for not knowing.

Re: My goodness how stupid am i?
 

America's obsession with pornography implies that this isn't a particularly effective result.

Re: My goodness how stupid am i?
 

they can cure you now:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/6245742.stm

plus ancient solutions may not work in a modern setting

Re: My goodness how stupid am i?
 

That's a pretty interesting line of research.

Well, there's no great evidence that it was ever the case beyond your line of reasoning so to say it was an "ancient solution".

There may be an aspect of this involved in the historical decision, certainly; either way "not working" generally hasn't stopped people doing things before.

Re: My goodness how stupid am i?
 

Extremely

Re: My goodness how stupid am i?
 

I'd actually wondered the same thing on those long, lonely nights far away from home in the middle of Scotland. This explanation seems to satisfy and I'm gonna sleep well tonight.

Do you think lubrication is a relevant issue here?

Re: My goodness how stupid am i?
 

I think that should be "The world's obsession" It is literally stupid to pinpoint porn on Americans, especially when the French are notorious for extreme PDA.
Sometimes its a good thing that people like you express yourself here. At least it is contained.

Re: My goodness how stupid am i?
 

Yeah, but circumcision isn't widely practiced in France, thus rendering it irrelevant to the point being made :)

Re: My goodness how stupid am i?
 

hey! a yahwe-thread about penis.

surprising. :]

Re: My goodness how stupid am i?
 

As opposed to figuratively stupid?

Aside from that,

This. If someone made the claim that choosing ones president by the electoral college system made people ten feet tall, I would choose to use the United States as the counterexample there as well, rather than France.

This is not because I think the citizens of the United States are particularly short, but because refuting the statement "A implies B" generally requires actually paying attention to what A is.

For reference, the circumcision rate in the United States is above 90%. In France it is below 20%.

Re: My goodness how stupid am i?
 

I'm circumcised and it doesn't cause me any problems when I wank. Why would it? I must admit to ignorance as it's always something I have taken for granted really, except that it was considered a good thing while I was in the States.

Re: My goodness how stupid am i?
 

This thread is like evo psych but with worse methodology.

Re: My goodness how stupid am i?
 

you seem to have a methodology fixation lately

Re: My goodness how stupid am i?
 

I bet a fleslight will cannily let you slip off from this problem.

Why would they circumcise women, then?

Re: My goodness how stupid am i?
 

Female circumcision (if you want to call it that, it's not particularly analogous) is not and was never practiced to anywhere near the same degree as male circumcision. Judaism never got involved with it, for example.

Re: My goodness how stupid am i?
 

I'm just trying to look clever, ignore me.

Re: My goodness how stupid am i?
 

Re: My goodness how stupid am i?
 

I planned to use what you said to insinuate that you have sex with your daughter, but I couldn't think of a way to do it.

So I guess you're right :(

Re: My goodness how stupid am i?
 

It wouldn't matter, as I'm biggin it up to Chemical Brothers - Burst Generator in a too large stylie to care!

Thicko.

Re: My goodness how stupid am i?
 

I wasn't relating circumcision to France. Nor was I trying to stay in line with the thread topic. I think you did a little to much thinking on this one.
One Line:

I am happy that this shit is contained.

Re: My goodness how stupid am i?
 

So, in a thread about "historical american heroes" you'd get annoyed if I didn't mention Joan of Arc?

Contained to what? I didn't talk about this before because the argument it was predicated upon was so mindblowing poor, but as you seem to be ignoring another tiny little problem: GD is not a concentration camp, it doesn't have armed guards stopping you from getting away.

Re: My goodness how stupid am i?
 

I always thought is was for decoration.

Re: My goodness how stupid am i?
 

whether it is successful or not is of no interest to me.

I was only curious as to why such a seemingly odd mutilation of the human body came into being all those milenia ago

Re: My goodness how stupid am i?
 

i was told it stopped infections etc.

sounds sensible, its pretty grubby down there.

Re: My goodness how stupid am i?
 

yeah that's a modern myth.

Re: My goodness how stupid am i?
 

It's also a decent way to determine whether someone is a member of your group or the enemy.

Re: My goodness how stupid am i?
 

Your mum's a modern myth

Re: My goodness how stupid am i?
 

only if the prerequisite of the battle agreed by both sides is naked mud wrestling.

Re: My goodness how stupid am i?
 

Apparantly all of history was conducted in pitched battles, with interaction between groups forbidden otherwise.

Someone should edit that in on wikipedia, I presume it's information that only the very best history books mention.

Re: My goodness how stupid am i?
 

I'm lost as to why you'd need a foreskin to masturbate.
I was circumsized when I was little and haven't had any troubles masturbating.

I'm also of the opinion that it does help to stop infection and whatnot because you can get dirt and stuff under your foreskin >.<

Re: My goodness how stupid am i?
 

They used to cut the clitoris off, I do believe that affects female mastrubation quite a bit. Female circumcision is intended to keep females from cheating on their partner.


Does anyone know what they do with the foreskin after they've chopped it off?

Re: My goodness how stupid am i?
 

happily the rest of us don't **** large pots of soil.

Re: My goodness how stupid am i?
 

i think wanking while being circumsised is less fun....

Re: My goodness how stupid am i?
 

apparent to whom?

if i were you i should tread carefully while typing your inevitable reply.

"i am not in the giving vein today"

Re: My goodness how stupid am i?
 

Given you're always in the "ignorant or trolling" vein, and sometimes quite possibly both, I find your final sentence to be somewhat redundant.

Re: My goodness how stupid am i?
 

I keep hearing this as a reason to get circumsized, yet where is the evidence? Is this just something you heard once, or actually read in a medical/scientific journal?

I've actually read several articles online some saying that chopping it off helps prevent stds and infections, and others claiming it's bs.

Re: My goodness how stupid am i?
 

Er, the latter. And then I go for a shower.

Whereas people who use a condom are fine regardless.


Basically your argument seems to run along the lines of 'if you live in a cave and repeatedly put it in anything that moves, circumcision carries health and hygeine benefits'. This isn't a useful contribution to debate in terms of the West at the moment, and historically I tend to doubt the data has been widely available for the entire lifespan of the procedure.

Re: My goodness how stupid am i?
 

I need to read more history. Napoleon had his little drummer boys, Wellington had his pipers. Now your telling me Alexander won The Battle of Granicus because his cavalry slaughtered all those milling round the tomb of Achilles who wern't strumming their Banjo's.

Re: My goodness how stupid am i?
 

Apparantly all of history was conducted in pitched battles, with interaction between groups forbidden otherwise.

Someone should edit that in on wikipedia, I presume it's information that only the very best history books mention.

Re: My goodness how stupid am i?
 

I think that wanking WHILE BEING circumcised would be very tricky and unwise. It could lead to serious injury. Also, people ought not try this at home.

Re: My goodness how stupid am i?
 

I know, lets all ask our girlfriends what they think!!!!*



*Crickets

Re: My goodness how stupid am i?
 

I, for one, do not have a girlfriend. I'm married, which is so much worse.

Re: My goodness how stupid am i?
 

Grand.

Re: My goodness how stupid am i?
 

You're as bad as horn with this intellectual dissonance thing. I don't think horn does it deliberately though.

Re: My goodness how stupid am i?
 

No it isn't, it's easy.

Re: My goodness how stupid am i?
 

Prove it.

Re: My goodness how stupid am i?
 

I would have thought the scalpel and anaesthetic would have made it a little bit tricky

Re: My goodness how stupid am i?
 

Did anyone ask their girlfriends yet? Or are we waiting on word from kila?

PEACE

Re: My goodness how stupid am i?
 

I'm more confused than insulted, to be quite honest. Is this another case of the good old fashioned "Haha, I trolled you all by making you think I'm a complete idiot, look how clever I am"?

Re: My goodness how stupid am i?
 

The fact that you consider it an insult troubles me.

Saddens even!!