Circumcision reduces risk of contracting HIV by 70%...

[u2bonogirl]

This makes me very glad I dont have a penis

 

[Angela Harlem]

Irvine said something which made me wonder. It has nothing to do with willies though...Is the practice of having a shower every day, using deodorant, and washing yourself regularly....RARE in the rest of the world????

I'm never travelling, lol..

 

[MissMoo]

Melon, I have to say how much I appreciate your posts. I totally agree that choice (in so many things) is the operative word. And to Angela, I have to say that, yes the rest of the word is not as worried about smell as we in the US are. In fact, my French teacher pointed out that it is better for your hair and skin if you don't shower every day. Of course that's assuming you are not doing some extremely athletic thing on a daily basis. But, I also think it's good to remember that most kids don't like to bathe and they are fine for a few days without a shower.

 

[anitram]

Irvine said something which made me wonder. It has nothing to do with willies though...Is the practice of having a shower every day, using deodorant, and washing yourself regularly....RARE in the rest of the world????

I'm never travelling, lol..

I don't know about showering but I can tell you for sure that this obsession about washing your hair every morning is most definitely absent in probably the majority of the world.

 

[Moonlit_Angel]

This makes me very glad I dont have a penis

Heh, really, no kidding.

I feel so out of the loop here...I've never known anyone who's had to deal with this issue. I guess I'd just agree with the idea that it should be the guy's choice if he wants that done. I'm not gonna make him decide that sort of thing, it's his body, whatever he wants to do with any aspect of it is up to him.

Angela

 

[melon]

I don't know about showering but I can tell you for sure that this obsession about washing your hair every morning is most definitely absent in probably the majority of the world.

Well, on the "washing hair" front, do most of these other nations put tons of crap in their hair (hairspray, gel, mousse, styling paste, etc.) and not wash it for a few days?

It's an earnest question...lol.

Melon

 

[80sU2isBest]

What puzzles me is why Christians do it, considering much of the New Testament is frankly preoccupied with the subject and St. Paul's rather persistent and strong language against circumcision. So much for Biblical fundamentalism.

Melon

Melon, Paul didn't preach against circumcision for circumcision's sake. It was not the circumcision he was against. He was against the Christians who taught a return to strict adherence to the Mosaic law and who said that circumcision was necessary for being a Christian. Paul said that neither circumcision or non-circumcision were of any consequence whatsoever.

 

[melon]

Melon, Paul didn't preach against circumcision for circumcision's sake. It was not the circumcision he was against. He was against the Christians who taught a return to strict adherence to the Mosaic law and who said that circumcision was necessary for being a Christian. Paul said that neither circumcision or non-circumcision were of any consequence whatsoever.

He did, yet he didn't:

"For freedom, Christ has set us free; stand fast therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery. Now I, Paul, say to you that if you receive circumcision, Christ will be of no advantage to you. I testify again to every man who receives circumcision that he is bound to keep the whole law. You are severed from Christ, you who would be justified by the law; you have fallen away from grace. For through the Spirit, by faith, we can wait for the hope of righteousness. For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision is of any avail, but faith working through love." Galatians 5:1-6

"It is those who want to make a good showing in the flesh that would compel you to be circumcised, and only in order that they may not be persecuted for the cross of Christ. For even those who receive circumcision do not themselves keep the law, but they desire to have you circumcised that they may glory in your flesh. But far be it from me to glory except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. For neither circumcision counts for anything, nor uncircumcision, but a new creation. Peace and mercy be upon all who walk by this rule, upon the Israel of God." Galatians 6:12-16.

"Look out for the dogs, look out for the evil-workers, look out for those who mutilate the flesh. For we are the true circumcision, who worship God in spirit, and glory in Christ Jesus, and put no confidence in the flesh." Philippians 3:2-3

It should be noted that Paul's "Roman" tendencies probably made him revolted by this practice. Greco-Roman culture is noted to have referred to the Jews as "barbarians" for practicing circumcision, which they found to be backwards.

Either way, my point was that there is absolutely no religious compulsion to practice circumcision. None at all. And Paul is clearly against the practice, while not exactly explicitly condemning those who do it anyway.

Melon

 

[80sU2isBest]

Either way, my point was that there is absolutely no religious compulsion to practice circumcision. None at all. And Paul is clearly against the practice, while not exactly explicitly condemning those who do it anyway.

Melon

Yes, you are right about it. My point was that he was against circumcision because of how the Judaizers were using it to bring Christians back into the legalism of the law. But like you said, people weren't running around getting circumcised for any reason other than religious back then.

One of my favorite things about Paul is that he often had harsh words for those who sought to bring Christians into the legalism associated with the Mosaic law.

I particularly liked when he said he wished they'd "go the whole way and emasculate themselves".

 

[Angela Harlem]

I think Austalia is right with the US on showering. But it's more a necessity than choice here. If you dont, you can guarantee, everyone is going to notice that you pong rather badly and you will end up socially handicapped. People thinking of visiting, do yourselves a favour and shower every day. Please. The heat will ripen you quicker than a prawn left out in the sun.
I think I feel ill. People are going to wank on now about the body's natural oils and all this other shit. Please. It's about how you bloody well smell. If you do not shower frequently, you are going to smell like shit. End of story.

I think I'll depart before I go into an equivilent melon rant about hygiene, lol.

 

[A_Wanderer]

It is what seperates the colonials from the mother countries.

 

[Angela Harlem]

I dont care. They are grotty.

 

[Angela Harlem]

back up a minute
we're only 240 odd years old mate. How civilised have we become? Obviously enough to stay clean..No, I swear, I'm leaving. I dont want to experience someone telling me this is just fine and dandy.

 

[anitram]

Well, there are African tribes who don't bathe at all. The Himba people of Namibia (which I would guess is as hot as Australia) are one example. They do not wash their hair either but have an interesting habit of rubbing red clay over it and their entire bodies instead.

 

[Irvine511]

Irvine said something which made me wonder. It has nothing to do with willies though...Is the practice of having a shower every day, using deodorant, and washing yourself regularly....RARE in the rest of the world????

I'm never travelling, lol..

purely anecdotal!!!

though anyone who's been on a subway in, say, Paris in July will attest to the lack of regular deodorant use.

i'm also not going to say if this is good or bad ... i think it could be argued that Americans (and, from what you imply, Australians) are obsessed with hygene, and that it might be excessive to shower each and every day and to never leave the house without deodorant. to each their own.

however, i shower every day (twice in summer ... it's waaay humid here in DC) and always use deodorant as this is the minimum expectation.

 

[anitram]

Anti-perspirant is common courtesy, really. Now if we could only get men to shave their armpits, I'm betting the subway smell would be far more favourable.

On that note, North Americans are somewhat obsessed about hygiene. Case in point: Purell and other anti-bacterial hand lotions. People, please do not use these. Not only are they relatively useless (99.9% eliminated only means a 3 log scale elimination which you can calculate what it means when you have 100,000 bacteria, for example), but they are killing your commensal bacterial. I can't believe stuff like this is on the market outside of hospitals, I really can't.

One of the major theories for the incredible spread of allergies in the first world is that we do not have parasites to drive the opposite response. Another is that our children are kept in way too sterile an environment where allergens and various other foreign antigens are kept away from them while kids in the third world are digging and eating dirt at a young age.

It's something to consider, anyway.

 

[BVS]

Why was it done ? None of your business

Why do I recommend it ? Cleaner , more hygienic, more "endurance", my wife also prefers it.

I didn't ask you, but maybe I can assume you're an alter. I didn't ask why. I asked why you would recommend it. To each it's own.

 

[u2bonogirl]

Anti-perspirant is common courtesy, really. Now if we could only get men to shave their armpits, I'm betting the subway smell would be far more favourable.

On that note, North Americans are somewhat obsessed about hygiene. Case in point: Purell and other anti-bacterial hand lotions. People, please do not use these. Not only are they relatively useless (99.9% eliminated only means a 3 log scale elimination which you can calculate what it means when you have 100,000 bacteria, for example), but they are killing your commensal bacterial. I can't believe stuff like this is on the market outside of hospitals, I really can't.

One of the major theories for the incredible spread of allergies in the first world is that we do not have parasites to drive the opposite response. Another is that our children are kept in way too sterile an environment where allergens and various other foreign antigens are kept away from them while kids in the third world are digging and eating dirt at a young age.

It's something to consider, anyway.

Im actually thankful that my parents kicked me out of the house to be outside all the time.
I've got no allergies
But I was sick just about every other month...
Ive always been grossed out about the hand sanitizer.
It never seemed like I felt clean after using it

 

[Sevikins]

Anti-perspirant is common courtesy, really. Now if we could only get men to shave their armpits, I'm betting the subway smell would be far more favourable.

If only... but for some reason, they just don't want to... does shaving your armpits make you less of a man (same thing with leg hairs but that's another thread and topic to be discussed in )? Just wondering since I'm a girl.

On that note, North Americans are somewhat obsessed about hygiene. Case in point: Purell and other anti-bacterial hand lotions. People, please do not use these. Not only are they relatively useless (99.9% eliminated only means a 3 log scale elimination which you can calculate what it means when you have 100,000 bacteria, for example), but they are killing your commensal bacterial. I can't believe stuff like this is on the market outside of hospitals, I really can't.

I guess it's somewhat of a comfort zone for people... I speak from experience of course. I use Purell and I keep a bottle in my bookbag, just never know what you'll touch by accident or whatever but I don't know... for me, I get grossed out whenever I touch something gross and there's no faucet around so a few drops of purell would do. It makes you believe you're clean lol. Plus isn't it sorta good for outside of hospital uses? I was at a PetCo and they had many dispensers (same as in an animal shelter) of Purell for people to clean their hands with.

But being on topic... I've never really encountered anyone who's been circumsized but then again, I've only known one guy really who I could ask so. Sounds painful though... do men who has been circumsized when they were little suffer through any mental anguish? Just wondering though.

 

[Moonlit_Angel]

Heh, my sister thinks seeing armpit hair on guys is so gross.... I wonder about that too, Sevikins.

Men? Any answers? .

Angela