Take time to explore the many interesting and educational areas of this web site. It contains a wide variety of information including personal experiences, medical facts, statistics, historical and anthropological information and recent medical news. Your needs may be immediate - considering circumcison for yourself or your son - or academic, or just general interest. As the buttons on the left show, all these aspects are covered. The site is updated frequently and we acknowledge the support from our worldwide network of correspondents in making this possible.
MISSION STATEMENT
Circlist is an information site, not an advocacy site. We totally respect that some people are opposed to circumcision. However, as an information site we will always correct false statements and alt-news which might discourage men from having a procedure which could benefit them or make circumcised men feel bad about their status.
What is male circumcision?
At birth, boys usually have a sleeve of skin that covers the end of the penis. This is called the foreskin or prepuce. During circumcision the foreskin is removed so that the knob of the penis (the glans), includinng the opening through which the boy urinates (the urethral meatus) is exposed. If circumcision is performed during infancy or childhood, it only takes a few minutes.
For Jewish families, a specially trained religious person called a Mohel does the circumcision as part of a ceremony called a Bris, held on the eighth day of life. Circumcision is also routinely performed on the sons of those of the Islamic faith, typically when a boy is between 5 and 10 years of age. In the United States non-religious circumcision is usually done by a doctor in the first few days of life; other countries also perform the procedure for non-religious reasons as a matter of social custom.
Circumcision can be performed on men and boys of all ages, using a wide variety of devices specially designed to make the task quick and accurate.
What is female circumcision?
The term female circumcision properly refers to a surgical procedure (also known as hoodectomy) in which the hood over the clitoris (the clitoral prepuce) is either removed or slit - and nothing more. It is performed in some Muslim countries by tradition. In the west it is done either for medical reasons or (often in conjunction with labioplasty - reduction of the inner lips) for cosmetic reasons and to enhance sexual pleasure.
However, the term is often incorrectly applied to drastic ritual procedures carried out in parts of North Africa which remove the entire clitoris. In parts of Somalia and Sudan this is combined with infibulation the labia to prevent intercourse. Such operations are properly termed Female Genital Mutilation (FGM).
It must be clearly understood that the owner, editor, artist and volunteer helpers who administer this web site are totally opposed to all forms of Female Genital Mutilation.
What’s new ?
The most recent changes to the website, not including the news page: |
Date added |
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17th Aug 2022 |
AWI, an Indonesian reader, has sent us a full and fascinating account of Muslim circumcision in Indonesia (the country with the world's largest Muslim population). It has been added to our Indonesia page, doubling its size. Check it out!
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12th Aug 2022 |
Update to our Resources on other Web sites page. Dead sites have been removed, new ones added and changed links corrected. Would you believe that the American Academy of Family Physicians have completely changed the link to the very same article? Many thanks to reader Lisa for tracking down these links.
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30th Jul 2022 |
A new section our Books & Reviews page - Comics! This is to accommodate 'Foreskin Man', a rather hilarious online comic about a superhero who saves foreskins from the knife. Seven issues were produced around 2016.
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6th Jul 2022 |
When a Romanian teenager's stepmother told him he needed to be circumcised he was resentful. Then he found that girls really preferred his 'skinless' penis. Now in his 30s he is reconciled to his state. Read his story in our Preferences and Experiences page.
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24th Jun 2022 |
A 17-year-old Chinese student tells how he refused to get circumcised at age 8 - then regretted it until he finally did get done at 16. Lots of information on the side about young people and circumcision in today's China. Read his story in our Preferences and Experiences page.
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30th May 2022 |
Major update of our Philippines page. Also a new contribution to Preferences and Experiences page from a young Dutch man who wants to spread the word.
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1st May 2022 |
3 more new links in our Recommended Websites page. Choosing Circumcision - another site for men who are considering adult circumcision - and two sites concerning Jewish circumcision in the UK, Milah UK and The Initiation Society. Two new paintings in the Modern section of our Art page. One from the rather patrician Donald Friend, the other from the Communist Noel Counihan (both born in the same year).
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15 million circumcisions per year, each taking about 20 minutes, means that approximately 500 males are being circumcised right now.