What brings you to this circumcision forum?

My case is similar to @EusebiJ : I was circumcised for phimosis in a country where, apart from Jews and Muslims, circumcised men are a small minority and where "routine" circumcision as practiced in the United States is very rare (I've heard very rarely of parents having it done for hygiene without a religious / cultural or medical reason). My mother made it clear that she had never heard about anything like this (phimosis or surgery to cure it) in her family or acquaintances. I therefore felt very strange, and somewhat ashamed.

My mother did not even use the word "circumcision", I think due to religious connotations. It was just "phimosis surgery" (she even believed that what she had made me undergo was different and milder than circumcision). I had to make the connection myself between what I could see on myself and things I read about in books. For instance, I realized about Jewish circumcision I think by reading a book on Jewish kids during WWII (they get examined and lie and say they were cut for medical reasons).

I felt uncomfortable about this surgery because to me it seemed like fixing what was not broken ­— phimosis had caused no inconvenience to me. I felt maybe, if I had been allowed some more time, it would have cured itself. Instead, I had been made to undergo painful stretching procedures and then a surgery that had not even been properly explained to me.

Contrary to @EusebiJ I avoided discussion of this topic with friends throughout childhood and teen age. I hid myself when disrobing.

Topics of sexuality greatly interested myself as I was growing up. This was pre-home Internet era, so information had to be gathered by reading e.g. medical books, encyclopedias etc. I was very interested in genital anatomy.

As I said, I was a bit ashamed and felt it necessary to point out the thing to girls I dated. They did not care, but still I recognized they did not know how to deal with it — they would rub me raw by attempting to masturbate me in the way they would do an intact male (or the way they believed was nice on an intact male).

I visited the US and learned a bit by accident about routine circumcision there. That aroused my curiosity. I had Internet access and read more about the origins of routine circumcision, the fight against "onanism" and so on. I also later became curious about the surgical methods.

Thanks @Jacana for this excellent summary. I wonder if it is only a minority of men who have been circumcised in similar circumstances who are interested in this subject, or if it is the majority, but few consider it important enough to discuss on a forum. I don't know if this is your case, but I think that circumcision can be traumatic, even if it remains unconscious.

To put the question another way, are there men for whom non-consensual circumcision has never been a concern and who fully accept their situation?

@Woyzeck Many men here who were circumcised as newborns or infants, in cultures where this is routinely done, seem not to have concerns about it. I think this is because 1) they did not witness the act 2) it is "normal" in their culture. Very different from being made to undergo it in childhood.

For me its because I'm one of the few uncircumcised people in my region. I can't remember ever learning about circumcision, I've just always known that my penis was different. So circumcision became part of my sexuality. I have no particular desire to get circumcised, but I enjoy watching circumcision related videos and suchlike.

For me its because I'm one of the few uncircumcised people in my region.

Are you sure about that? I don't know how I would go about trying to establish such a fact.

@agracier Circumcision rates in predominantly Muslim countries can reach almost 100%. See this table:

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4772313/pdf/12963_2016_Article_73.pdf

Morocco is at 99.9%. I would not be surprised if in societies like this where almost everybody is a Muslim except for some Jews and rare Christians, Christians would also circumcise boys. It would be interesting to check this.

I feel for the foreskin that gets cut and thrown away. The foreskin contains highly concentrated set of sensory nerves that provide different sensations than those of penis head and penis shaft and together provide a full sexual experience. When cut, these unique sensations are gone forever.

if you cut or disable any sensory nerves you will get a different sensation. Eliminate hearing nerves and music will effectively sound different. Eliminate some tongue nerves and you will taste differently. Not that any of this is a major compromise to your communication or food consumption. You still are aware of sounds and tastes but it's different and you have lost something. It's not like getting your hair cut. The unique sensations experienced as provided by these nerves are gone forever. Of course you adapt and your body adjusts to the loss. But the sensations are different. You will get used to it just doesn't ring right to me as an explanation.

Circumcision rates in predominantly Muslim countries can reach almost 100%. See this table:

Oh sure, obviously in Muslim countries. But I didn't really have those in mind. And I doubt there many members here from those countries.,

Growing up in the US, I've always felt very insecure about being uncircumcised. Hearing people make negative comments about foreskin growing up made me heavily interested in getting cut. I wanted to "fit in" and look like everyone else. Im still uncut and don't know if I'll ever go through with it or not but the desire is still there. It's definitely my top fetish.

...together provide a full sexual experience. When cut, these unique sensations are gone forever.

I hear you, and I don't disagree that certain sensations are sacrificed, but the overall experience can be subjectively better. I understand this might be a bit difficult to understand, I have had conversations where I was accused of being a shill because the other individual was so unwilling to see it from my perspective that this was the only explanation that made sense to them. In my case while I acknowledge that the ridged band at the tip was very sensitive, it was not particularly pleasurable. I didn't like the feeling of the foreskin rolling back and forth. I very much preferred direct glans stimulation and I was annoyed that retracting the foreskin was limited by the frenulum. Removing these parts made my sexual experience better, and having an exposed glans even in nonsexual context is genuinely enjoyable for me.

But the sensations are different. You will get used to it just doesn't ring right to me as an explanation.

Yes, the sensations are different and it wasn't just a matter of getting used to it, that was exactly what I wanted. Perhaps it would make more sense to think of it like this: some people don't eat the skin on their apples. Sure, they may be 'missing out' on the full apple experience, and as long as they get to make the choice, that's an improved experience for them. 😃