What Cosmetic Companies Use Foreskin?

What Cosmetic Companies Use Foreskin
When I read that New York City-based celebrity facialist Georgia Louise gave Sandra Bullock and Cate Blanchett a “penis facial”—and that it costs $650 per treatment—I did not flinch. I didn’t even flinch when I read further that the serum used for the treatment is made from stem cells derived from the removed foreskins of newborn babies in South Korea.

It might seem extreme.
But you can actually find the same protein Louise uses in her penis facial— epidermal growth factor (EGF)—in a variety of skincare products, including the ones on your bathroom counter right now.
I use them.
Even Oprah endorsed a cream with foreskin-related compounds in them.
If baby foreskins make you nervous, take note: the science here is a bit more complicated.

Rita Levi-Montalcini and Stanley Cohen’s discovery of EGF earned them Nobel Prize in 1986. EGF has been shown to promote wound healing in clinical studies. And this is where the foreskins come in. EGF is derived from human tissues, including skin, kidneys, and male genitalia (in some cases, foreskins).

It can stimulate cell proliferation, and a 2016 clinical study found that twice-daily applications of EGF serum for three months can significantly improve “brown spotting, skin texture, pore size, red spotting, and wrinkles versus baseline.” (Although that study was funded by the manufacturer of the product tested.) You can find EGF in a variety of skincare products: DHC EGF Cream, Mizon Bee Venom Calming Fresh Cream, DNARenewal Regeneration Serum, Bioeffect EGF Serum, and Peter Thomas Roth FIRMx Growth Factor Extreme Neuropeptide Serum,

EGFs are just one of several beauty products rooted in foreskins. The SkinMedica cream beloved by Oprah, for example, contains “human fibroblast conditioned media,” which are essentially stem cells that have been grown in a lab, but which the company says were cultivated originally from the stem cells of a single baby foreskin 20 years ago.

Foreskin-derived lotions and potions—which certainly different—actually have some serious competition for the most unusual beauty products on the market.
Urine, in the form of urea, is a common ingredient.
Former orthopedic surgeon Barbara Sturm makes a custom cream reportedly derived from your blood after it’s been stimulated to mimic its healing process after injury.

(She is also a pioneer of the vampire facial, which similarly uses cell platelets to stimulate cell turnover.) Perfume, meanwhile, has traditionally contained ambergris, made in the digestive system of blue whales, and musk, secretions from the anal glands of animals like the musk deer and muskrat.

Cochineal beetles have long been crushed up for their red pigment for lipsticks.
Fish scales are used for their iridescent quality for shimmer-based cosmetics.
Snail secretion is ubiquitous in k-beauty products.
Or you might not care about the specific ingredients in your products, though, as long as they work.

“I am always very mindful to explain radical serums and potions that I carry in my back bar so I always explain that EGF is derived from newborn baby foreskin, from which cells were taken and then cloned in a laboratory,” Louise told People, “I remember the time when I used placenta from a pig on a client that was vegan and that didn’t end so well.”

Is foreskin used in cosmetics?

Read all about the latest gym openings, healthy events, and fitness trends in our twice weekly Wellness newsletter. – What Cosmetic Companies Use Foreskin Hydrafacial machine image provided The billion dollar beauty industry keeps coming up with new, innovative facial treatments that promise to banish fine lines, smooth out wrinkles, and even out skin tone. From stem cell face creams to prescription strength retinoids, the possibilities are endless.

That’s why we found it funny last month when numerous publications were writing about the “baby foreskin facial.” New York, Refinery 29, and the Huffington Post are just three publications that wrote about the procedure in the past month. But “baby foreskin” being used in beauty products is nothing new.

In fact, the active ingredient in an Oprah-touted skin cream from SkinMedica uses ” foreskin fibroblasts ” that are used to grow and cultivate new cells. Just one foreskin is said to be able to grow these cells for decades. But it’s not just skin creams that use the ingredient.

Foreskin fibroblasts are also used to help treat burn victims, help cover diabetic ulcers, and more.
Now, you can get those same properties in a facial.
The HydraFacial, which has been around for some time and offered at nearly every spa up and down Newbury Street, has changed up its serums to incorporate the fibroblasts in its procedure.

First, the five step facial system uses high-pressure water to cleanse, exfoliate, extract impurities, and hydrate. Then, the same machine is used to push “antioxidants” deep into the skin. LED lights are then used to enhance the treatment by fighting acne-causing bacteria and to stimulate collagen production.

The light helps with skin resurfacing to diminish the appearance of fine lines, wrinkles, enlarged pores, and dark spots, but without using a harsh laser. But what exactly is in the “antioxidants?” And where does the foreskin come in? “It’s growth hormone,” says Jane Aransky owner and aesthetician at La Residencia Spa in Newton, which is celebrating its 40th anniversary this year.

“We put it in an ampule. It’s an extra $75 add on to the basic Hydrafacial.” The HydraFacial machine blasts the growth hormone into the skin, she says. Dr. Gail Naughton, an expert in regenerative science told New York : growth factors captured from the donated foreskin of a baby (just one can generate over a million treatments) are at their peak ability in promoting rapid cell turnover.

What do hospitals use foreskin for?

Foreskins removed during hospital circumcisions are sometimes sold to biotech labs, since young skin is ideal for researching skin for burn vitamins, insulin manufacture, and also making skin creams for ladies.

Is it necessary to pull back your foreskin?

How to keep your skin looking young – skincare over 50! Dermatologist recommendations

Care of the Uncircumcised Penis The penis, the outer reproductive organ of the male, consists of two parts — the shaft and the head (called the glans). All boys are born with a foreskin, a layer of skin that covers the shaft and the glans. Some boys are, and the skin covering the glans is removed.

Other boys are not circumcised, leaving skin that covers the tip of the penis.
In an uncircumcised boy, the foreskin will gradually begin to separate from the glans of the penis.
As this occurs you may notice a white, cheesy material called smegma (consisting of skin cells that are shed throughout life) release between the layers of skin.

You also may see white “pearls” develop under the fused layers of the foreskin and the glans. These are not signs of an infection or a cyst. When the foreskin separates from the glans of the penis it can be pulled back (retracted) to expose the glans. Foreskin retraction may happen immediately after birth, or it may take several years.

Some boys can retract their foreskin as early as age 5, but some may not be able to do this until their teenage years. Retraction of the foreskin should not be forced. This may cause pain and bleeding and can lead to scarring and adhesions (where skin is stuck to skin). As your son begins to toilet train, teach him how to retract his foreskin, this will get him used to this necessary step during urination.

Eventually, the foreskin should be retracted far enough during urination to see the meatus (the hole where the urine comes from). This prevents urine from building up beneath the foreskin and possibly causing an infection. As long as the foreskin doesn’t easily retract, only the outside needs to be cleaned.

If the foreskin retracts a little, just clean the exposed area of the glans with water.
Don’t use soap on this area, as it can irritate the skin.
After cleaning, always gently pull the foreskin back over the glans of the penis.
As your child gets older and the foreskin has completely separated and retracts easily, begin to teach him to clean underneath it as he bathes.

At puberty, your son should be taught the importance of cleaning beneath the foreskin as part of his daily hygiene routine. If the foreskin becomes red, inflamed or painful, or if the hole where the urine comes from is narrowing and your child’s foreskin “balloons” when he urinates, notify your child’s doctor.

How rare is tight foreskin?

How common is phimosis? – Phimosis is found in virtually all newborns, and then the foreskin changes gradually so that it can be pulled back. It’s estimated that only 1% of people still have phimosis when they’re 16 years old.

Is cut foreskin good?

Medical reasons for circumcision – Recent research suggests that circumcision may bring medical benefits such as:

a 10 times lower risk of a baby getting a urinary tract infection (UTI) in his first year of life (remembering that only one per cent of babies are at risk of a UTI, so 1,000 circumcisions are needed to prevent one UTI) no risk of infants and children getting infections under the foreskin easier genital hygiene much lower risk of getting cancer of the penis (although this is a very rare condition and good genital hygiene also seems to reduce the risk. More than 10,000 circumcisions are needed to prevent one case of penile cancer) a possibly lower risk of men getting sexually transmissible infections (STIs) than men who are not circumcised (although these studies have not been scientifically confirmed and safe sex practices are far more effective in preventing these infections).

For more information see,

Who started cutting off foreskin?

Circumcision likely has ancient roots among several ethnic groups in sub-equatorial Africa, Egypt, and Arabia, though the specific form and extent of circumcision has varied. Ritual male circumcision is known to have been practiced by South Sea Islanders, Aboriginal peoples of Australia, Sumatrans, Incas, Aztecs, Mayans and Ancient Egyptians.

Today it is still practiced by Jews, Muslims, Coptic Christians, Ethiopian Orthodox, Eritrean Orthodox, Druze, and some tribes in East and Southern Africa, as well as in the United States and Philippines,
There are four types of circumcision.
As practiced in Judaism and in the United States, the foreskin is completely removed.

However, in ancient Egypt and elsewhere in Africa, only part of the foreskin was removed. In the Pacific Islands, the frenulum was snipped but the foreskin was left unmodified. Circumcision and/or subincision, often as part of an intricate coming of age ritual, was a common practice among the Aboriginal peoples of Australia and Pacific islanders at first contact with Western travellers.

It is still practiced in the traditional way by a proportion of the population. In Judaism, circumcision has traditionally been practised on males on the eighth day after birth (after the First Temple era). The Book of Genesis records circumcision as part of the Abrahamic covenant with Yahweh (God). Herodotus, writing in the 5th century BCE, lists first of all the Egyptians being the oldest people practicing circumcision, then Colchians, Ethiopians, Phoenicians, and Syrians as circumcising cultures.

In the aftermath of the conquests of Alexander the Great, however, Greek dislike of circumcision (they regarded a man as truly “naked” only if his prepuce was retracted) led to a decline in its incidence among many peoples that had previously practiced it.

The writer of 1 Maccabees wrote that under the Seleucids, many Jewish men attempted to hide or reverse their circumcision so they could exercise in Greek gymnasia, where nudity was the norm. First Maccabees also relates that the Seleucids forbade the practice of brit milah (Jewish circumcision), and punished those who performed it, as well as the infants who underwent it, with death.

(See I Maccabbees 1:60)

How much skin can a foreskin make?

Lab-created skin helps wounds heal The idea behind a collagen graft is to create a sort of scaffolding upon which a patient’s cells can attach and grow. STORY HIGHLIGHTS

Companies are manufacturing collagen grafts – or patches – to help with wound healingSometimes wound is too big, too deep, too infected to heal on its ownPatch goes into wound, spurs growth and creates scaffold for cells to grow onTechnology could help wounded soldiers, burn victims, diabetics, elderly

PHILADELPHIA, Pennsylvania (CNN) – Adell Tomas, who lives outside Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, admits she has a weight problem: Ten years ago, she tipped the scales at more than 300 pounds. Because of her obesity, she developed high blood pressure, arthritis and type 2 diabetes.

She says she just didn’t take care of herself. And then one day, she noticed a huge sore on the bottom of her foot. Like many diabetics, she has little feeling in her feet, so she had no idea what had caused the sore or even how long it had been there. “It was huge and looked terribly infected,” she recalled.

“Dark red, almost black.”

A few weeks later, Tomas’ foot was amputated; the wound was so large, her doctors couldn’t repair it. “Doctors said at that time there was nothing they could do,” the 51-year-old said.That was then.

Now, doctors who specialize in wound management are growing skin to help people like Tomas save their limbs and extremities. Pharmaceutical and biotech companies are extracting collagen – a protein that makes up 75 percent of skin – from donated skin and creating grafts, or patches, that can induce a patient’s own skin to grow. What Cosmetic Companies Use Foreskin Video: Healing wounds In some cases, we can get four football fields of skin out of one baby foreskin. -Dr. James McGuire RELATED TOPICS “In some cases, we can get four football fields of skin out of one baby foreskin,” said Dr. James McGuire, head of wound management at the Foot and Ankle Institute at the School of Podiatric Medicine at, in Philadelphia. “If taken care of, skin can grow and grow.” In most cases, a scrape or cut mends itself or can be helped along with a Band-Aid and some antibiotic cream.

These injuries heal because our is designed to repair itself.
Yet in the case of large or deep wounds, like Tomas’, the skin doesn’t heal because it has become so infected, it turns gangrenous and can’t grow new cells.
The idea behind these collagen grafts is to create a sort of scaffolding into the wound, upon which a patient’s cells can attach and grow.

“Once you take all the cells out of there and strip it down to the collagen level, the body says, ‘This is great; this is what we make our bodies out of,’ ” McGuire said. “And tissues will grow around it.” Although these collagen patches can be used to treat the wounds of soldiers and burn patients, they are more commonly prescribed for people who suffer from peripheral artery disease, pressure ulcers and,

The patient can’t feel anything, so when they step on a tack or get a blister or a penetrating wound to the skin, it just gets infected and keeps festering.
And a lot of elderly who are bedridden in nursing homes develop these horrible bed sores,” McGuire said.
These patches can help them.” The patches come from different sources and can contain additional ingredients.

Some patches are created from animal organs, such as cow intestines, and even from the skin of some reptiles. A New Zealand company has developed a patch that contains honey, which is a natural antiseptic. Other patches contain elements such as silver, which has been shown in studies to be an excellent antibacterial agent.

Whether a patient needs a patch from a bovine or a boa is determined by the injury. Depending on its origin, a graft can differ in size, thickness and how fast it generates tissue. “Although all of these patches can help mend wounds, it really depends on the wound itself as to which patch you should use,” McGuire said.

“How much is it infected, how long it’s been infected, what the infection is, that sort of thing.” For Tomas, it’s too late. She is managing the loss of her foot and has dropped almost 70 pounds since she first noticed the wound. “It’s great they can do all these things with fixing injuries,” she said.

Can I get my foreskin back after surgery?

What To Know About Foreskin Restoration Medically Reviewed by on April 30, 2021 Foreskin restoration is something that you can do if you were as a child. It is a method or practice to regrow your foreskin. There are a few different options for foreskin restoration including surgery and skin stretching tools.

You may want to restore your foreskin for several reasons. Each person’s reason is different. Improvement of sex life. Some men believe that the foreskin makes the head of the, also called the glans, more sensitive. So, they restore their foreskin in the hopes that it will make sex more pleasurable. Emotional satisfaction.

Some people with penises feel that circumcision, a procedure that many get as a baby, was done without their consent. They wish to get their foreskin back because they never had the chance to decide for themselves if they wanted it or not. Throughout history, the practice of foreskin restoration was primarily used to avoid persecution.

Circumcision is an important religious practice for many people of the Jewish faith.
Therefore, in some places and times, if someone could see that you were circumcised, they would know you were Jewish.
Circumcised people of those eras sought out foreskin restoration so they could participate in public life.

In ancient times, people often played sports nude and public communal bathing was popular. So, foreskin restoration allowed circumcised people to take part in these activities without fear of persecution. One report mentions a similar trend during the time that the Nazi party was in power in Europe.

During this time, circumcised people would sometimes do foreskin restoration whether or not they were Jewish. That way, no one would suspect them of being Jewish. The first mention of surgery for foreskin restoration is from around the year 50 AD. Today this is still an option, but some people prefer skin stretching instead due to the possible outcomes from surgery.

Surgery. Foreskin restoration surgery usually involves several procedures to stretch and then move the skin from a different area of your body to create a new foreskin. However, the results are sometimes less than satisfactory. The color may be different from the rest of the penis and the skin graft may require electrolysis for hair removal.

Your handsTapeA combination of specially designed weights and tapeCommercially available devices

Foreskin restoration is not a widely studied procedure. Some people try homemade devices that can damage the penis. For example, some people use rubber O-rings to help stretch the foreskin. However, if you get the wrong size, it can get stuck behind the head of your penis and restrict blood flow.

Allergic reaction to Excess Infections

According to some medical experts, there are many benefits to removing the foreskin. Scientific evidence shows circumcised people get fewer sexually transmitted infections (STIs), and pass on fewer STIs to their partners. They also get fewer urinary tract infections and have fewer skin problems on the penis.

Some people who have been circumcised report that their glans are less sensitive and get less sensitive over time, but scientific research does not support this claim. Some doctors believe that the increased sensitivity from foreskin stretching is actually caused by the new foreskin rubbing against the glans.

Many doctors still support the idea of circumcision when your child is a baby. They say it is the best time because healing is quicker than with older children and adults, and the procedure requires only local anesthesia. © 2020 WebMD, LLC. All rights reserved. : What To Know About Foreskin Restoration

What religions do not believe in circumcision?

References –

^ Jump up to: a b c Glass, J.M. (January 1999). “Religious circumcision: a Jewish view”. BJU International, Wiley-Blackwell,83 (Supplement 1): 17–21. doi : 10.1046/j.1464-410x.1999.0830s1017.x, PMID 10349410, S2CID 2888024,
^ Goodman, J. (January 1999). “Jewish circumcision: an alternative perspective”. BJU International, Wiley-Blackwell,83 (Supplement 1): 22–27. doi : 10.1046/j.1464-410x.1999.0830s1022.x, PMID 10349411, S2CID 29022100,
^ Jump up to: a b Moses Maimonides (2012). “Hilkhot M’lakhim (Laws of Kings and Wars)”, Mishneh Torah, Translated by Brauner, Reuven. Sefaria,p.10:7–9, Retrieved 20 August 2020,
^ Singer, Isidore ; Greenstone, Julius H. (1906). “Noachian Laws”, Jewish Encyclopedia, Kopelman Foundation, Retrieved 13 July 2020, The Seven Laws. Laws which were supposed by the Rabbis to have been binding upon mankind at large even before the revelation at Sinai, and which are still binding upon non-Jews. The term Noachian indicates the universality of these ordinances, since the whole human race was supposed to be descended from the three sons of Noah, who alone survived the Flood, Thus, the Talmud frequently speaks of “the seven laws of the sons of Noah,” which were regarded as obligatory upon all mankind, in contradistinction to those that were binding upon Israelites only (Tosef., ‘Ab. Zarah, ix.4; Sanh.56a et seq.).
^ Judges 14:3, 15:8, Samuel I 14:6, 17:26,36, 31:14, Samuel II 1:20
^ Samuel I 13:6 commentary, The Rubin Edition, ISBN 1-57819-333-8, p.83
^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g Kohler, Kaufmann ; Hirsch, Emil G. ; Jacobs, Joseph ; Friedenwald, Aaron; Broydé, Isaac, “Circumcision: In Apocryphal and Rabbinical Literature”, Jewish Encyclopedia, Kopelman Foundation, Retrieved 13 February 2020, Contact with Grecian life, especially at the games of the arena, made this distinction obnoxious to the Hellenists, or antinationalists; and the consequence was their attempt to appear like the Greeks by epispasm (“making themselves foreskins”; I Macc.i.15; Josephus, “Ant.” xii.5, § 1; Assumptio Mosis, viii.; I Cor. vii.18; Tosef., Shab. xv.9; Yeb.72a, b; Yer. Peah i.16b; Yeb. viii.9a). All the more did the law-observing Jews defy the edict of Antiochus Epiphanes prohibiting circumcision (I Macc.i.48, 60; ii.46); and the Jewish women showed their loyalty to the Law, even at the risk of their lives, by themselves circumcising their sons.
^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g h i j Fredriksen, Paula (2018). When Christians Were Jews: The First Generation, London : Yale University Press, pp.10–11. ISBN 978-0-300-19051-9,
^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g h i j k Hodges, Frederick M. (2001). “The Ideal Prepuce in Ancient Greece and Rome: Male Genital Aesthetics and Their Relation to Lipodermos, Circumcision, Foreskin Restoration, and the Kynodesme” (PDF), Bulletin of the History of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University Press,75 (Fall 2001): 375–405. doi : 10.1353/bhm.2001.0119, PMID 11568485, S2CID 29580193, Retrieved 13 February 2020,
^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g h i j k l m Rubin, Jody P. (July 1980). “Celsus’ Decircumcision Operation: Medical and Historical Implications”, Urology, Elsevier,16 (1): 121–124. doi : 10.1016/0090-4295(80)90354-4, PMID 6994325, Retrieved 13 February 2020,
^ Jump up to: a b Neusner, Jacob (1993). Approaches to Ancient Judaism, New Series: Religious and Theological Studies, Scholars Press,p.149. Circumcised barbarians, along with any others who revealed the glans penis, were the butt of ribald humour. For Greek art portrays the foreskin, often drawn in meticulous detail, as an emblem of male beauty; and children with congenitally short foreskins were sometimes subjected to a treatment, known as epispasm, that was aimed at elongation.
^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g Schultheiss, Dirk; Truss, Michael C.; Stief, Christian G.; Jonas, Udo (1998). “Uncircumcision: A Historical Review of Preputial Restoration”, Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Lippincott Williams & Wilkins,101 (7): 1990–8. doi : 10.1097/00006534-199806000-00037, PMID 9623850, Retrieved 13 February 2020,
^ Jump up to: a b Schäfer, Peter (2003). The History of the Jews in the Greco-Roman World: The Jews of Palestine from Alexander the Great to the Arab Conquest, Routledge,p.146. ISBN 1-134-40316-X,
^ “GENTILE – JewishEncyclopedia.com”, jewishencyclopedia.com,
^ Hirsch, Emil G. ; Price, Ira Maurice; Bacher, Wilhelm ; Seligsohn, Max, “Shem”, Jewish Encyclopedia, Kopelman Foundation, Retrieved 30 May 2020,
^ Amin Ud, Din M. (2012). “Aposthia-a motive of circumcision origin”, Iran.J. Public Health,41 (9): 84. PMC 3494220, PMID 23193511,
^ Jump up to: a b This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain : Singer, Isidore ; et al., eds. (1901–1906). “Morbidity”, The Jewish Encyclopedia, New York: Funk & Wagnalls.
^ Gollaher, David (February 2001). “1, The Jewish Tradition “, Circumcision: A History Of The World’s Most Controversial Surgery, Basic Books. pp.1–30. ISBN 978-0-465-02653-1,
^ Berenbaum, Michael ; Skolnik, Fred, eds. (2007). “Circumcision”, Encyclopaedia Judaica, Vol.4 (2nd ed.). Detroit: Macmillan Reference.p.732. ISBN 978-0-02-866097-4,
^ Circumcision Policy Statement of The American Academy of Pediatrics notes that “There are three methods of circumcision that are commonly used in the newborn male”, and that all three include “bluntly freeing the inner preputial epithelium from the epithelium of the glans”, to be later amputated with the foreskin.
^ Talmud Bavli, Tractate Yebamoth, 71b: Rabbah b. Isaac stated in the name of Rab: The commandment of uncovering the corona at circumcision was not given to Abraham; for it is said, At that time the Lord said unto Joshua: ‘Make thee knives of flint etc.’ But is it not possible those who were not previously circumcised; for it is written, For all the people that came out were circumcised, but all the people that were born etc.? — If so, why the expression. ‘Again!’ Consequently it must apply to the uncovering of the corona.
^ Mishnah, Tractate Shabbos, 19:6, and The Jerusalem Talmud there.
^ Werblowsky, R.J. Zwi & Wigoder, Geoffrey (1997) The Oxford Dictionary of the Jewish Religion, Oxford: Oxford University Press.
^ Shulchan Aruch, Yoreh Deah, 265:10.
^ Lamm, Maurice (2000), “6: Special Situations”. The Jewish way in death and mourning, Middle Village, New York: Jonathan David Publishers, Inc. pp.215–216. ISBN 978-0-8246-0423-3, LCCN 99088942, The custom is to circumcise male infants who have not undergone circumcision until then, usually during taharah,
^ adapted from Shamash (2007). “The Origins of Reform Judaism”, Jewish Virtual Library, Retrieved 2007-11-03,
^ Berit Mila Program of Reform Judaism Archived 2012-05-20 at the Wayback Machine, Union for Reform Judaism website. Retrieved January 23, 2010.
^ Hilary Leila Kreiger (21 November 2002). “A cut above the rest”, The Jerusalem Post, Archived from the original on 23 September 2010, Retrieved 5 September 2012,
^ Shaye J.D. Cohen (2005). Why Aren’t Jewish Women Circumcised? Gender and Covenant In Judaism, University of California Press. pp.283–. ISBN 978-0-520-92049-1,
^ Circumcision | title=A History Of The World’s Most Controversial Surgery | author= David Gollaher | publisher =Basic Books 2000 | pg =pg 17
^ The Fathers According to Rabbi Nathan, Translated from the Hebrew by Judah Goldin, Yale Judaica Series 10, Chapter 2, p 23.
^ Jump up to: a b c d e f In the first half of the nineteenth century, various European governments considered regulating, if not banning, berit milah on the grounds that it posed potential medical dangers. In the 1840s, radical Jewish reformers in Frankfurt asserted that circumcision should no longer be compulsory. This controversy reached Russia in the 1880s. Russian Jewish physicians expressed concern over two central issues: the competence of those carrying out the procedure and the method used for metsitsah, Many Jewish physicians supported the idea of procedural and hygienic reforms in the practice, and they debated the question of physician supervision during the ceremony. Most significantly, many advocated carrying out metsitsah by pipette, not by mouth. In 1889, a committee on circumcision convened by the Russian Society for the Protection of Health, which included leading Jewish figures, recommended educating the Jewish public about the concerns connected with circumcision, in particular, the possible transmission of diseases such as tuberculosis and syphilis through the custom of metsitsah by mouth. Veniamin Portugalov, who—alone among Russian Jewish physicians—called for the abolition of circumcision, set off these discussions. Portugalov not only denied all medical claims regarding the sanitary advantages of circumcision but disparaged the practice as barbaric, likening it to pagan ritual mutilation. Ritual circumcision, he claimed, stood as a self-imposed obstacle to the Jews’ attainment of true equality with the other peoples of Europe,
^ Jump up to: a b c d Gollaher, David (February 2001). “1, The Jewish Tradition “, Circumcision: A History Of The World’s Most Controversial Surgery, New York City: Basic Books. pp.1–30. ISBN 978-0-465-02653-1,
^ Proselytes ad God-fearers. -Many scholars see a parallel between the “God-fearers” in rabbinic literature and the “God-fearers” in the NT, In rabbinic literature the ger toshab was a Gentile who observed the Noachian commandments but was not considered a convert to Judaism because he did not agree to circumcision. some scholars have made the mistake of calling the ger toshab a “proselyte” or “semiproselyte.” But the ger toshab was really a resident alien in Israel. Some scholars have claimed that the term “those who fear God” ( yir᾿ei Elohim / Shamayim ) was used in rabbinic literature to denote Gentiles who were on the fringe of the synagogue. They were not converts to Judaism, although they were attracted to the Jewish religion and observed part of the law,
^ Louis H. Feldman (1992). ” “Sympathizers” with Judaism”, In Attridge, Harold W.; Hata, Gohei (eds.). Eusebius, Christianity, and Judaism, Detroit : Wayne State University Press, pp.389–395. ISBN 0-8143-2361-8,
^ Sim, David C. & MacLaren, James S. (2013). “Chapter 1, Paragraph 3: God-Fearers”, Attitudes to Gentiles in Ancient Judaism and Early Christianity, Bloomsbury Publishing, pp.15–23. ISBN 978-0-56763-766-6,
^ Glickman, Mark (November 12, 2005). “B’rit Milah: A Jewish Answer to Modernity”, Union for Reform Judaism, Archived from the original on October 15, 2007, Retrieved 2007-11-03,
^ Cohen, Rabbi Howard (May 20, 2002). “Bo: Defining Boundaries”, Jewish Reconstructionist Federation. Archived from the original on November 13, 2007, Retrieved 2007-11-03,
^ Epstein, Lawrence (2007). “The Conversion Process”, Calgary Jewish Community Council. Archived from the original on December 27, 2008, Retrieved 2007-11-03,
^ Tractate Shabbat. xix.1.
^ Talmud Shabbat 137a.
^ Talmud Kid.29a.
^ Talmud Avodah Zarah 27a; Menachot 42a; Maimonides’ Mishneh Torah, Milah, ii.1; Shulkhan Arukh, Yoreh De’ah, 264:1
^ Berit Mila Program of Reform Judaism Retrieved 2 February 2015
^ Jump up to: a b Kohler, Kaufmann; Hirsch, Emil G.; Jacobs, Joseph; Friedenwald, Aaron; Broydé, Isaac (1906). “Circumcision”, Jewish Encyclopedia, Kopelman Foundation, Retrieved 4 January 2020, Unlike Christian baptism, circumcision, however important it may be, is not a sacrament which gives the Jew his religious character as a Jew. An uncircumcised Jew is a full Jew by birth (Ḥul.4b; ‘Ab. Zarah 27a; Shulḥan ‘Aruk, Yoreh De’ah, 264, 1). In 1847 Einhorn, as chief rabbi of Mecklenburg, became involved in a controversy with Franz Delitzsch of Rostock, who denounced him for acting contrary to Jewish law in naming and consecrating an uncircumcised child in the synagogue. Einhorn, in an “opinion” published a second time in his “Sinai”, 1857, pp.736 et seq., declared, with references to ancient and modern rabbinical authorities, that a child of Jewish parents was a Jew even if uncircumcised, and retained all the privileges, as well as all the obligations, of a Jew. This view he also expressed in his catechism, his prayer-book, and his sermons, emphasizing the spiritual character of the Abrahamic covenant —”the seal of Abraham placed upon the spirit of Israel as God’s covenant people.”
^ Talmud Hul.4b; Avodah Zarah 27a; Shulkhan Arukh, Yoreh De’ah, 264, 1.
^ Jump up to: a b Bokenkotter, Thomas (2004). A Concise History of the Catholic Church (Revised and expanded ed.). Doubleday. pp.19–21. ISBN 0-385-50584-1,
^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g h i j Acts 15:1–2, 15:6–10 ; Galatians 5:2–3, 5:6–12, 6:12–15 ; Philippians 3:2–3 ; 1 Corinthians 7:17–21 ; Romans 2:17–29, 3:9–28, 5:1–11 ; Titus 1:10–16,
^ Clark, R. Scott (17 September 2012). “Baptism and Circumcision According to Colossians 2:11–12”, The Heidelblog, Retrieved 24 December 2020,
^ Crowther, Jonathan (1815). A Portraiture of Methodism,p.224.
^ Jump up to: a b c Marie, André (26 December 2016). “Circumcision: An Acceptable Practice?”, The Catholic Thing, Retrieved 23 December 2020,
^ Sicard, Sigvard von (1970). The Lutheran Church on the Coast of Tanzania 1887-1914: With Special Reference to the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tanzania, Synod of Uzaramo-Uluguru, Gleerup.p.157.
^ Jump up to: a b c d e Slosar, J.P.; D. O’Brien (2003). “The Ethics of Neonatal Male Circumcision: A Catholic Perspective”. American Journal of Bioethics,3 (2): 62–64. doi : 10.1162/152651603766436306, PMID 12859824, S2CID 38064474,
^ Jump up to: a b Customary in some Coptic and other churches:
- “The Coptic Christians in Egypt and the Ethiopian Orthodox Christians—two of the oldest surviving forms of Christianity—retain many of the features of early Christianity, including circumcision. Circumcision is not prescribed in other forms of Christianity. Some Christian churches in South Africa oppose the practice, viewing it as a pagan ritual, while others, including the Nomiya church in Kenya, require circumcision for membership and participants in focus group discussions in Zambia and Malawi mentioned similar beliefs that Christians should practice circumcision since Jesus was circumcised and the Bible teaches the practice.”
- “The decision that Christians need not practice circumcision is recorded in Acts 15 ; there was never, however, a prohibition of circumcision, and it is still practiced by Coptic Christians.” “circumcision” Archived 2007-08-08 at the Wayback Machine, The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition, 2001-05.
^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g h i “Male circumcision: Global trends and determinants of prevalence, safety and acceptability” (PDF), World Health Organization.2007.
^ Mattson, CL; Bailey, RC; Muga, R; Poulussen, R; Onyango, T (2005). “Acceptability of male circumcision and predictors of circumcision preference among men and women in Nyanza province Kenya”. AIDS Care,17 (2): 182–194. doi : 10.1080/09540120512331325671, PMID 15763713, S2CID 22917530,
^ Pitts-Taylor, Victoria (2008). Cultural Encyclopedia of the Body, ABC-CLIO.p.394. ISBN 9781567206913, For most part, Christianity does not require circumcision of its followers. Yet, some Orthodox and African Christian groups do require circumcision. These circumcisions take place at any point between birth and puberty.
^ Meyer, Barbara U. (12 March 2020). Jesus the Jew in Christian Memory: Theological and Philosophical Explorations, Cambridge University Press.p.117. ISBN 978-1-108-49889-0, In his cultural accounts of circumcision, Boyarin clearly presupposes an alienated attitude to circumcision in Western countries. They show that the Christian memory of Jesus’ circumcision is significantly weaker than the growing awareness of his Jewishness. In contemporary political debates – as in Canada or in North-European countries and especially in Germany – circumcision is typically described as an “archaic” rite, with those practicing it presented as forced to do so by some “ancient” law or custom.
^ Gruenbaum, Ellen (2015). The Female Circumcision Controversy: An Anthropological Perspective, University of Pennsylvania Press.p.61. ISBN 9780812292510, Christian theology generally interprets male circumcision to be an Old Testament rule that is no longer an obligation, though in many countries (especially the United States and Sub-Saharan Africa, but not so much in Europe) it is widely practiced among Christians
^ Hunting, Katherine (2012). Essential Case Studies in Public Health: Putting Public Health Into Practice, Jones & Bartlett Publishers.p.23-24. ISBN 9781449648756, Neonatal circumcision is the general practice among Jews, Christians, and many, but not all Muslims.
^ R. Wylie, Kevan (2015). ABC of Sexual Health, John Wiley & Sons.p.101. ISBN 9781118665695, Although it is mostly common and required in male newborns with Moslem or Jewish backgrounds, certain Christian-dominant countries such as the United States also practice it commonly.
^ R. Peteet, John (2017). Spirituality and Religion Within the Culture of Medicine: From Evidence to Practice, Oxford University Press.p.97-101. ISBN 9780190272432, male circumcision is still observed among Ethiopian and Coptic Christians, and circumcision rates are also high today in the Philippines and the US.
^ “Circumcision protest brought to Florence”, Associated Press, March 30, 2008. However, the practice is still common among Christians in the United States, Oceania, South Korea, the Philippines, the Middle East and Africa. Some Middle Eastern Christians actually view the procedure as a rite of passage.
^ Owings, Maria. “Products – Health E Stats – Trends in Circumcision Among Male Newborns Born in U.S. Hospitals: 1979–2010”, www.cdc.gov, The Centers for Disease Control, Retrieved 1 May 2019,
^ “Why are Australian men no longer getting circumcised?”, Australian Broadcasting Corporation, ABC.4 October 2018, Retrieved 1 May 2019,
^ McCrae, Niall. “The case that could end ritual male circumcision in the UK”, The Conversation, Retrieved 1 May 2019,
^ Jump up to: a b “Circumcision amongst the Dogon”, The Non-European Components of European Patrimony (NECEP) Database.2006. Archived from the original on 2006-01-16, Retrieved 2006-09-03,
^ Thomas Riggs (2006). “Christianity: Coptic Christianity”, Worldmark Encyclopedia of Religious Practices: Religions and denominations, Thomson Gale. ISBN 978-0-7876-6612-5,
^ Jewish Encyclopedia: Baptism : “According to rabbinical teachings, which dominated even during the existence of the Temple (Pes. viii.8), Baptism, next to circumcision and sacrifice, was an absolutely necessary condition to be fulfilled by a proselyte to Judaism (Yeb.46b, 47b; Ker.9a; ‘Ab. Zarah 57a; Shab.135a; Yer. Kid. iii.14, 64d). Circumcision, however, was much more important, and, like baptism, was called a ‘seal’ (Schlatter, “Die Kirche Jerusalems,” 1898, p.70). But as circumcision was discarded by Christianity, and the sacrifices had ceased, Baptism remained the sole condition for initiation into religious life. The next ceremony, adopted shortly after the others, was the imposition of hands, which, it is known, was the usage of the Jews at the ordination of a rabbi. Anointing with oil, which at first also accompanied the act of Baptism, and was analogous to the anointment of priests among the Jews, was not a necessary condition.”
^ Jump up to: a b c d Adams, Gregory; Adams, Kristina (2012). “Circumcision in the Early Christian Church: The Controversy That Shaped a Continent”, In Bolnick, David A.; Koyle, Martin; Yosha, Assaf (eds.). Surgical Guide to Circumcision, London : Springer-Verlag, pp.291–298. doi : 10.1007/978-1-4471-2858-8_26, ISBN 978-1-4471-2857-1,
^ Black, C. Clifton; Smith, D. Moody; Spivey, Robert A., eds. (2019), “Paul: Apostle to the Gentiles”, Anatomy of the New Testament (8th ed.). Minneapolis : Fortress Press, pp.187–226. doi : 10.2307/j.ctvcb5b9q.17, ISBN 978-1-5064-5711-6, OCLC 1082543536, S2CID 242771713,
^ Galatians 1:15–16, 2:7–9 ; Romans 11:13 ; 1 Timothy 2:7 ; 2 Timothy 1:11,
^ McGarvey on Acts 16 : “Yet we see him in the case before us, circumcising Timothy with his own hand, and this ‘on account of certain Jews who were in those quarters.'”
^ Bechtel, Florentine. Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). “Judaizers”, Catholic Encyclopedia, New York: Robert Appleton Company.
^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g h i Dunn, James D.G., ed. (2007). ” ‘Neither circumcision nor uncircumcision, but.’ “, The New Perspective on Paul: Collected Essays, Wissenschaftliche Untersuchungen zum Neuen Testament. Vol.185. Tübingen : Mohr Siebeck, pp.314–330. ISBN 978-3-16-149518-2,
^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g Thiessen, Matthew (2016). “Gentile Sons and Seed of Abraham”, Paul and the Gentile Problem, New York : Oxford University Press, pp.105–115. ISBN 978-0-19-027175-6,
^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g h Bisschops, Ralph (January 2017). “Metaphor in Religious Transformation: ‘Circumcision of the Heart’ in Paul of Tarsus” (PDF), In Chilton, Paul; Kopytowska, Monika (eds.). Language, Religion and the Human Mind, New York : Oxford University Press, pp.1–30. doi : 10.1093/oso/9780190636647.003.0012, ISBN 978-0-19-063664-7, Retrieved 13 February 2020,
^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g Fredriksen 2018, pp.157-160.
^ Catholic Encyclopedia: Circumcision : “To this epispastic operation performed on the athletes to conceal the marks of circumcision St. Paul alludes, me epispastho ( 1 Cor 7:18 ).”
^ Jump up to: a b Dunn, James D.G. (Autumn 1993). Reinhartz, Adele (ed.). “Echoes of Intra-Jewish Polemic in Paul’s Letter to the Galatians”. Journal of Biblical Literature, Society of Biblical Literature,112 (3): 459–477. doi : 10.2307/3267745, ISSN 0021-9231, JSTOR 3267745,
^ Thiessen, Matthew (September 2014). Breytenbach, Cilliers; Thom, Johan (eds.). “Paul’s Argument against Gentile Circumcision in Romans 2:17-29”. Novum Testamentum, Leiden : Brill Publishers,56 (4): 373–391. doi : 10.1163/15685365-12341488, eISSN 1568-5365, ISSN 0048-1009, JSTOR 24735868,
^ “April 2020”, www.goarch.org, Archived from the original on February 13, 2008.
^ “The Circumcision (Obrezanie) of the Lord”, www.holytrinityorthodox.com,
^ “The Online Book of Common Prayer”, www.bcponline.org,
^ “Year A 2019/2020” (PDF), Evangelical Lutheran Church in America,p.5, Retrieved 24 December 2020,
^ Eugenius IV, Pope (1990), “Ecumenical Council of Florence (1438–1445): Session 11—4 February 1442; Bull of union with the Copts”, In Norman P. Tanner (ed.). Decrees of the ecumenical councils,2 volumes (in Greek and Latin). Washington, D.C. : Georgetown University Press, ISBN 978-0-87840-490-2, LCCN 90003209, Archived from the original on 2009-04-25, Retrieved 2007-04-25, firmly believes, professes and teaches that the legal prescriptions of the Old Testament or the Mosaic law, which are divided into ceremonies, holy sacrifices and sacraments, because they were instituted to signify something in the future, although they were adequate for the divine cult of that age, once our Lord Jesus Christ who was signified by them had come, came to an end and the sacraments of the new Testament had their beginning. Whoever, after the Passion, places his hope in the legal prescriptions and submits himself to them as necessary for salvation and as if faith in Christ without them could not save, sins mortally. It does not deny that from Christ’s passion until the promulgation of the Gospel they could have been retained, provided they were in no way believed to be necessary for salvation. But it asserts that after the promulgation of the gospel they cannot be observed without loss of eternal salvation. Therefore it denounces all who after that time observe circumcision, the sabbath and other legal prescriptions as strangers to the faith of Christ and unable to share in eternal salvation, unless they recoil at some time from these errors. Therefore it strictly orders all who glory in the name of Christian, not to practise circumcision either before or after baptism, since whether or not they place their hope in it, it cannot possibly be observed without loss of eternal salvation.
^ “CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: Circumcision”, www.newadvent.org,
^ Jones, David Albert (2018). “Infant Male Circumcision”, The Linacre Quarterly, National Institutes of Health Search database Search term Clear input.85 (1): 49–62. doi : 10.1177/0024363918761714, PMC 6027118, PMID 29970937,
^ Origen. “XXII”. Contra Celsum (Against Celus),
^ Pope Pius XII, Discorsi e messaggi radiodiffusi, t. XIV, Rome 1952, s.328-329
^ Pope Pius XII, “The Intangibility of the Human Person,” September 14, 1952, in The Human Body: Papal Teachings, pp.199-207.
^ “Frequently Asked Questions: The Catholic Church and Circumcision”,
^ Father John J. Dietzen. The Morality of Circumcision. The Tablet, Brooklyn, N.Y., 30 October 2004, p.33.
^ “Ethical and Religious Directives for Catholic Health Care Services” (Fourth ed.).U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.2001, Retrieved 2008-04-11, Directive 29 All persons served by Catholic health care have the right and duty to protect and preserve their bodily and functional integrity. The functional integrity of the person may be sacrificed to maintain the health or life of the person when no other morally permissible means is available. Directive 33 The well-being of the whole person must be taken into account in deciding about any therapeutic intervention or use of technology. Therapeutic procedures that are likely to cause harm or undesirable side-effects can be justified only by a proportionate benefit to the patient.
^ Fadel, P. (2003). “Respect for bodily integrity: a Catholic perspective on circumcision in Catholic hospitals”. American Journal of Bioethics,3 (2): 23–25. doi : 10.1162/152651603766436379, PMID 12859800, S2CID 41776096,
^ Benedict XVI, General Audience, Wednesday, 31, January 2007.
^ Translated by Robert Ernest Wallis. From Ante-Nicene Fathers, Vol.5. Edited by Alexander Roberts, James Donaldson, and A. Cleveland Coxe. Epistle 58, Buffalo, NY: Christian Literature Publishing Co., 1886. Revised and edited for New Advent by Kevin Knight.
^ Book of Moroni 8:8 and Doctrine and Covenants Section 74
^ Book of Mormon Student Manual, (2009), 395–400
^ Ubayd, Anis (2006). The Druze and Their Faith in Tawhid, Syracuse University Press.p.150. ISBN 9780815630975, Male circumcision is standard practice, by tradition, among the Druze
^ Jacobs, Daniel (1998). Israel and the Palestinian Territories: The Rough Guide, Rough Guides.p.147. ISBN 9781858282480, Circumcision is not compulsory and has no religious significance.
^ Dana, Nissim (2003). The Druze in the Middle East: Their Faith, Leadership, Identity and Status, University of Michigan Press.p.56. ISBN 9781903900369,
^ Dana, Nissim (2003). The Druze in the Middle East: Their Faith, Leadership, Identity and Status, University of Michigan Press.p.56. ISBN 9781903900369,
^ Brenton Betts, Robert (2013). The Sunni-Shi’a Divide: Islam’s Internal Divisions and Their Global Consequences, Potomac Books, Inc.p.56. ISBN 9781612345239, There are many references to the Druze refusal to observe this common Muslim practice, one of the earliest being the rediscoverer of the ruins of Petra, John Burckhardt. “The Druses do not circumcise their children
^ Jump up to: a b c Aldeeb Abu-Sahlieh, Sami A. (1994). “To Mutilate in the Name of Jehovah or Allah: Legitimization of Male and Female Circumcision”. Medicine and Law, World Association for Medical Law,13 (7–8): 575–622. PMID 7731348, ; Aldeeb Abu-Sahlieh, Sami A. (1995). “Islamic Law and the Issue of Male and Female Circumcision”, Third World Legal Studies, Valparaiso University School of Law,13 : 73–101, Retrieved 13 February 2020,
^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g h Kueny, Kathryn (2004). “Abraham’s Test: Islamic Male Circumcision as Anti/Ante-Covenantal Practice”, In Reeves, John C. (ed.). Bible and Qurʼān: Essays in Scriptural Intertextuality, Symposium Series (Society of Biblical Literature), Vol.24. Leiden : Brill Publishers, pp.161–2, 169–173. ISBN 90-04-12726-7,
^ Jump up to: a b c d Bosworth, C.E. ; van Donzel, E.J. ; Lewis, B.; Pellat, Ch., eds. (1986). “Khitan”, Encyclopaedia of Islam, Vol.5. Leiden : Brill Publishers, pp.20–22. ISBN 90-04-07819-3,
^ Jump up to: a b c d e Šakūrzāda, Ebrāhīm; Omidsalar, Mahmoud (October 2011). “Circumcision”, Encyclopædia Iranica, Vol. V/6. New York : Columbia University, pp.596–600, Retrieved 13 February 2020,
^ Gauvain, Richard (2013). Salafi Ritual Purity: In the Presence of God, Routledge Islamic studies series. Abingdon, Oxfordshire : Routledge,p.335. ISBN 978-0-7103-1356-0,
^ Jump up to: a b c d e f Anwer, Abdul Wahid; Samad, Lubna; Baig-Ansari, Naila; Iftikhar, Sundus (January 2017). “Reported Male Circumcision Practices in a Muslim-Majority Setting”, BioMed Research International, Hindawi Publishing Corporation,2017 : 4957348. doi : 10.1155/2017/4957348, PMC 5282422, PMID 28194416,
^ Jump up to: a b “Islam: Circumcision of boys”, Religion & ethics—Islam, Bbc.co.uk,13 August 2009, Retrieved 13 February 2020,
^ Clark M (10 March 2011). Islam For Dummies, John Wiley & Sons.p.170. ISBN 978-1-118-05396-6, Archived from the original on 18 January 2016.
^ Tandavan, Doctor (February 1989). “Routine Circumcision is Unnecessary”, Hinduism Today. Archived from the original on 2003-07-07, Retrieved 2010-08-02,
^ London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine ; WHO ; UNAIDS (2007). “Male circumcision: Global trends and determinants of prevalence, safety and acceptability” (PDF),p.4.
^ Clarence-Smith 2008, pp.14–22.
^ “Routine Circumcision is Unnecessary”, Hinduism Today, Archived from the original on 2003-07-07, Retrieved 2021-08-24,
^ “Is self harming/suicide a sin in Hinduism?”, worldhindunews,19 August 2014, Retrieved 2021-08-24,
^ “Guidelines for health Care Providers Interacting with Patients of the Sikh Religion and their Families” (PDF), Metropolitan Chicago Healthcare Council. November 2000. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 16, 2007, Retrieved 2007-05-01,
^ Devinder Chahal (2013). John Peppin; et al. (eds.). Religious Perspectives on Bioethics, Taylor & Francis.p.213. ISBN 978-9026519673,
^ “Sri Granth: Sri Guru Granth Sahib”, www.srigranth.org,
^ Ajuwon et al., “Indigenous surgical practices in rural southwestern Nigeria: Implications for disease,” Health Educ. Res.1995; 10: 379-384 Health Educ. Res.1995; 10: 379-384. Retrieved 3 October 2006
^ Agberia, John Tokpabere (2006). “Aesthetics and Rituals of the Opha Ceremony among the Urhobo People”. Journal of Asian and African Studies,41 (3): 249–260. doi : 10.1177/0021909606063880, S2CID 144983114,
^ “Masai of Kenya”, Retrieved 2007-04-06,
^ “Eastern Cape – The Abakwetha Circumcision Ceremony – Xhosa”, Archived from the original on 2013-06-02, Retrieved 2013-05-31,
^ Mandela, Nelson (1995). The Long Walk To Freedom, MacDonald Purnell. pp.3–36, ISBN 978-0-316-87496-0,
^ Smith, David (2012-07-27). “South Africa urged to end silence on dangerous circumcision rituals”, The Guardian, Retrieved 20 July 2014,
^ Vincent, Louise (March 2008). “Cutting Tradition: the Political Regulationof Traditional Circumcision Rites in South Africa’s Liberal Democratic Order”, Journal of Southern African Studies,34 : 77–91. doi : 10.1080/03057070701832890, S2CID 144451029, Retrieved 20 July 2014,
^ Gollaher, p.2.
^ Cf. the old Hebrew classic, Midrash Rabba (Exodus Rabba 30:9), where Aquila of Sinope said to Hadrian the king, “I wish to become a proselyte.” When the king retorted, “Go and study their Divine Law, but do not be circumcised.” Aquila then said to him,”Even the wisest man in your kingdom, and an elder who is aged one-hundred, cannot study their Divine Law if he isn’t circumcised, for thus is it written: ‘He makes known his words unto Jacob, even his precepts and judgments unto Israel. He has not done the like of which to any other nation’ (Ps.147:19-20). Unto whom, then, ? Unto the sons of Israel!”
^ Gollaher, p.3.
^ Häberl, Charles (2009). The Neo-Mandaic Dialect of Khorramshahr, Otto Harrassowitz Verlag.p.4. ISBN 9783447058742,
^ Parry, O.H. (Oswald Hutton) (1895). “Six months in a Syrian monastery; being the record of a visit to the head quarters of the Syrian church in Mesopotamia, with some account of the Yazidis or devil worshippers of Mosul and El Jilwah, their sacred book”, London : H. Cox.
^ Drower, Ethel Stefana (1937). The Mandaeans of Iraq and Iran, Oxford At The Clarendon Press.
^ Schmidinger, Thomas (2019). Beyond ISIS: History and Future of Religious Minorities in Iraq, Transnational Press London.p.82. ISBN 9781912997152,
^ Deutsch, Nathaniel (1999). Guardians of the Gate: Angelic Vice-regency in the Late Antiquity, BRILL.p.105. ISBN 9789004109094,
^ Rebollido, Rommel G. (March 21, 2005). “Passage to manhood”, General Santos, Sun Star Publishing, Inc. Archived from the original on March 22, 2005, Retrieved 2006-07-01,
^ de Morga, Antonio (1907), “11”, History of the Philippine Islands, Translated by Alfonso de Salvio; Norman F. Hall; James Alexander Robertson. ISBN 978-0-527-65000-1, LCCN unk82042869, Archived from the original on 2006-10-10, Retrieved 2006-07-01, These Borneans are Mahometans, and were already introducing their religion among the natives of Luzon, and were giving them instructions, ceremonies, and the form of observing their religion.and those the chiefest men, were commencing, although by piecemeal, to become Moros, and were being circumcised and taking the names of Moros.
^ Hassall, Graham (2022). “Ch.48: Oceania”. In Stockman, Robert H. (ed.). The World of the Bahá’í Faith, Oxfordshire, UK: Routledge, pp.591–602. doi : 10.4324/9780429027772-55, ISBN 978-1-138-36772-2, S2CID 244697166,
^ Aaron David Samuel Corn (2001). “Ngukurr Crying: Male Youth in a Remote Indigenous Community” (PDF), Working Paper Series No.2. University of Wollongong, Archived from the original (PDF) on 2004-06-23, Retrieved 2006-10-18,
^ “Migration and Trade”, Green Turtle Dreaming. Archived from the original on 2006-08-19, Retrieved 2006-10-18, In exchange for turtles and trepang the Makassans introduced tobacco, the practice of circumcision and knowledge to build sea-going canoes.
^ Jones, IH (June 1969). “Subincision among Australian western desert Aborigines”. British Journal of Medical Psychology,42 (2): 183–190. doi : 10.1111/j.2044-8341.1969.tb02069.x, ISSN 0007-1129, PMID 5783777,
^ “Recent Guest Speaker, March 15, Professor Roger Short”, Australian AIDS Fund Incorporated.2006. Archived from the original on 2006-08-20, Retrieved 2006-07-01,

Works cited: Clarence-Smith, William G. (2008). “Islam and Female Genital Cutting in Southeast Asia: The Weight of the Past” (PDF), Finnish Journal of Ethnicity and Migration,3 (2). Archived from the original on 2009-03-06. } : CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown ( link )

Glick, Leonard B. Marked in Your Flesh: Circumcision from Ancient Judea to Modern America. New York: Oxford University Press, 2005. ( ISBN 0-19-517674-X )

This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain : Singer, Isidore ; et al., eds. (1901–1906). The Jewish Encyclopedia, New York: Funk & Wagnalls. The rabbinic literature and Converts to Judaism are sections are an evolution of the corresponding article which gives the following Bibliography:

Pocock, Specimen Historiœ Arabum, pp.319 et seq.;
Millo, Histoire du Mahométisme, p.350;
Hoffmann, Beschneidung, in Ersch and Gruber, Encyc.;
Steinschneider, Die Beschneidung der Araber und Muhammedaner, in Glassberg, Die Beschneidung;
Jolly, Etude Critique du Manuel Opératoire des Musulmans et des Israélites, Paris, 1899.

What percentage of men are circumcised?

Introduction – Male circumcision is the removal of the prepuce, It is one of the most common procedures performed in the world and makes up over 10% of pediatric urology cases, An estimated 58.3% of male newborns and 80.5% of males aged 14-59 years in the United States are circumcised,

In 2012, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) Task Force on Circumcision, endorsed by the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, released their collective position on circumcision,
The AAP found that preventative health benefits of elective circumcision of male newborns outweigh the risk of the procedure.

Male newborns who undergo circumcision benefit from significant reductions in the risk of urinary tract infections in the first year of life and penile cancer and risk of transmission of HIV and other sexually transmitted infections later in life. The task force found that the benefits of circumcision were enough to justify access to all families and warrant third-party payment,

However, the AAP found that the health benefits were not great enough to recommend routine circumcision for all male newborns and that circumcision remains at the discretion of the guardian.
Lastly, they state it is the physician’s responsibility to counsel guardians on the health benefits and risk of newborn circumcision in a fair and unbiased manner,

Despite the aforementioned benefits, newborn circumcision rates in the United States have declined significantly over the past few decades. Guardians ultimately face the dilemma of deciding whether circumcision is in the best interest of their son. This dilemma extends beyond simply the health of the newborn, encompassing religious, ethical, and cultural beliefs and practices.

Is it better to be circumcised or uncircumcised?

Medical Reasons Parents Might Choose Circumcision – Research suggests that there may be some medical benefits to circumcision, including:

A slightly lower risk of urinary tract infection (UTI). A circumcised boy has about one in 1,000 chance of getting a UTI in the first year of life. A baby who is not circumcised has a one in 100 chance of getting a UTI in the first year of life. A slightly lower risk of getting sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), including HIV. A lower risk of cancer of the penis. However, this is very rare in both circumcised and uncircumcised men. Prevention of foreskin infections. Prevention of phimosis, a condition in which it is impossible to pull back the foreskin.

Do they use foreskin for microneedling?

Foreskin facial: What you need to know F rom Vampire to snail slime sheet masks, the list of strange things we are prepared to put on our faces in the search of a youthful glow seems to get weirder and weirder. And this week revealed her that her glowing skin is thanks to perhaps the weirdest treatment of all; a ‘foreskin facial.’

The 45-year-old actress has revealed she tried a £465 ($650) facial for the first time which uses serum containing the “liquefied foreskins” of South Korean baby boys to maintain her youthful looks.
No, really.
Taking to, the star posted a fresh-faced snap with the caption: “After a long flight I do like to lie down and be covered in a mask of liquified cloned foreskins – frankly who doesn’t?”
She then thanked British-born beautician Georgia Louise, who has a salon in New York, for the “amazing facial”, adding: “I especially liked you reassuring me it would be ‘light on penis’ as it was my first time.”
So what is it?
Professionally known as an EGF (epidermal growth factor), the £465 ‘penis facial’ uses a serum containing epidermal growth factor proteins, which are taken from the dermal fibroblasts – skin cells responsible for generating connective tissue – of circumcised baby boys.

These stem cells, which produce collagen and other fibres, work to encourage skin cells to turn over rapidly and regenerate, so they’re often used for brightening, exfoliating, and healing the skin – similarly to enzyme facials.
And how does it work?
Once the stem cells are harvested from foreskins, they’re infused into the skin using a microneedling technique to stimulate regeneration and collagen production.

‘The facial includes a cleanse, followed by an intensive TCA peel, micro-needling machine and an electrifying mask to calm the skin, followed by her ‘secret box’ of EGF serum (Epidermal Growth Factor),’ Georgia Louise explains on her treatment menu. ‘EGF is derived from the progenitor cells of the human fibroblast taken from Korean newborn baby foreskin – which helps to generate collagen and elastin.

FDA approved stem cells and peptides are penetrated deep into the skin using a special electric micro-needling wand. ‘This process allows the active ingredients to be transported deep in the skin by creating temporary micro-channel.’ Getty Images Which celebs have got it? The treatment first came onto our radar earlier this year when Cate Blanchett revealed to Vogue Australia that she and Sandra Bullock had also been to visit Georgia Louise to get the facial done while filming Ocean’s 8.

” saw this facialist in New York, Georgia Louise, and she gives what we call the penis facial,” Blanchett admitted. “It’s something — I don’t know what it is, or whether it’s just cause it smells a bit like sperm — there’s some enzyme in it so Sandy refers to it as the penis facial.” Georgia Louise’s website also has glowing testimonials from Emma Stone and Katy Perry.

Is it OK to put cream on foreskin?

Treatment of foreskin problems Treatment depends on the condition but may include: Inflammation – avoid irritants such as bubble bath lotion or harsh soaps. Wash gently under the foreskin. Nappy rash cream or hydrocortisone ointment may be recommended.

What do you do with the foreskin after circumcision?

Circumcision ranks among the world’s most common surgeries (and one of the oldest ). After its removal, most foreskin is tossed as biological waste — but when they’re kept around, the leftover cells have proven a vital asset to medical research. Foreskin-owners or not, most people may not know that the cells have been used since the 1970s to heal stubborn wounds.