Submitted by dazzlingupstairz t3_10nx5so in history
dazzlingupstairz OP t1_j6bdtdz wrote
I made this same post on /r/AskHistorians, but figured I'd put it here too.
I've probably seen this guy posted a dozen times on reddit as the guy who "popularized circumcision as masturbation prevention in America".
It doesn't seem to be the case, at all. Honestly, this is a fascinating read. It was published in 1877.
I'll add another source below.
>In the United States, France, and in England, there is a class which also observe circumcision as a hygienic precaution, where, from my personal observation, I have found that circumcision is thoroughly practiced in every male member of many of the families of the class,—this being the physician class. In general conversation with physicians on this subject, it has really been surprising to see the large number who have had themselves circumcised, either through the advice of some college professor while attending lectures or as a result of their [iv]own subsequent convictions when engaged in actual practice and daily coming in contact both with the benefits that are to be derived in the way of a better physical, mental, and moral health, as well as with the many dangers and disadvantages that follow the uncircumcised,—the latter being probably the most frequent incentive and determinator,—as in many of these latter examples the operation of circumcision, with its pains, annoyances, and possible and probable dangers, sink into the most trifling insignificance in comparison to some of the results that are daily observed as the tribute that is paid by the unlucky and unhappy wearer of a prepuce for the privilege of possessing such an appendage.
It was not uncontroversial at the time, either.
>By many surgeons the idea of circumcision, unless connected with an immediate demand for interference,—such as a phimosis unmanageable by any other means, an induced phimosis from gonorrhœa or other irritation, syphilis in its initiatory sore, cancer or some such cause,—is looked upon as an unwarrantable operation, a procedure not only barbarous, painful, and dangerous, but one that directly interferes with the intentions of nature. The prepuce is by many looked upon as a physiological necessity to health and the enjoyment of life, which, if removed, is liable to induce masturbation, excessive venereal desire, and a train of other evils.
It seems to me, circumcision in America arose mainly out of a belief that that there is a hygiene benefit to it. This belief spread among physicians, and became recommended for newborns. It was also used as a treatment for all sorts of diseases.
>Agnew believes in circumcision in the treatment of reflex troubles. He relates a case, in the second volume of his “Surgery,” of eczema extending over the abdomen, of over a year’s standing, cured in a child by circumcision; he operates by incision on the dorsum, in which he leaves nature to make away with the flaps, or he circumcises by the Bumstead method.
The thesis that the widespread adoption of circumcision in America was due to prude Christian influence to get their their offspring to stop masturbating doesn't seem to hold up when you look at the sources.
>There is one thing that must be admitted concerning circumcision: this being that, among medical men or men of ordinary intelligence who have had the operation performed, instead of being dissatisfied, they have extended the advantages they have themselves received, by having those in their charge likewise operated upon. The practice is now much more prevalent than is supposed, as there are many Christian families where males are regularly circumcised soon after birth, who simply do so as a hygienic measure.
ArkyBeagle t1_j6drsth wrote
Kellogg ( the Kellogg Brothers really ) invented corn flakes. One reason was because they thought that this food would reduce ... self abuse compared to traditional breakfasts of meat.
Kellogg also stood as a mentor/influence over the popular historian Will Durant.
dazzlingupstairz OP t1_j6iia4s wrote
Look at the sources used as evidence that the Kellogg Brothers developed Kellog's Cereal to reduce "self-abuse" i.e masturbation. Look at what they cite. Try and find any proof of this that isn't making strange and specious connections.
GSilky t1_j6etper wrote
Circumcision in America got it's big boost from WWII when the armed forces were concerned about what might develop under the foreskin in the tropical conditions of the South Pacific. Before then it was generally something for Jews.
dazzlingupstairz OP t1_j6iu1px wrote
Seems to be the case that it was popularized in the 1940s and 1950s. Not sure about the tropical conditions of the South Pacific thing, it's not like adults were going out and having it done.
> What I recommended to parents about circumcision in early editions of Baby and Child Care is quite different from what I recommend now. In the 1940s, I favored circumcision performed within a few days of birth for a couple of reasons. First, there was, at the time, a commonly held belief in medical circles that women married to uncircumcised men were more likely to develop cancer of the cervix. The second reason I favored routine circumcision was that if the operation were performed on a newborn, there would be no chance of a physician scaring the bejeebers out of a boy by performing the operation when he was older.
...
>In the 1940s and 1950s circumcision became quite common. By the 1960s, 90 percent of all male newborns in the United States were being circumcised as routine procedure. Ten years later, however, opinion among doctors swung away from the belief that certain groups of women developed cancer of the cervix because their husbands were uncircumcised.It was concluded that the cause was actually lack of good male hygiene - which is not as much of a problem in this country as it is in some other parts of the world. Also, by the early 1970s, more physicians - though not all - were aware of the psychological harm that could come from circumcision after infancy, and circumcision of an older child was not suggested as frequently as in the past.
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