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Male circumcision is one of the oldest known surgical procedures. It has been widely practiced as a religious rite since ancient times. An essential initiatory rite of Judaism and the Coptic branch of the Christian Church, male circumcision is also an obligation for Muslims, signifying cleanliness and purification. It has been, and often still is, a traditional practice of societies around the globe.

European cave paintings approximately 15,000 years old appear to show circumcised penises, but not the act of circumcision itself. Even older Australian cave art has been interpreted as indicating a circumcision site. However, the earliest direct evidence of the practice comes from ancient Egypt in the form of pictures and texts dating from 4,500 - 5,000 years ago. Egyptian circumcision had a religious significance; only circumcised men could perform some religious rites and study certain mysteries, but it seems to have been common among the general population.

More recently circumcision has also been carried out for its health and cleanliness benefits. In the English speaking countries circumcision became very popular for these reasons; it has now become routine in Korea and is gaining in popularity in China. There are large-scale circumcision projects to combat the AIDS epidemic in those parts of Africa where circumcision is not traditional. Worldwide, approximately one in three men are circumcised. This makes male circumcision the most commonly performed surgical procedure on the planet.

Latest news about circumcision from around the world.

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.

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.

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.

The most recent changes to the website, not including the news page:
Date added	Item (click the link to access directly)
23rd Apr 2025	A new country, Peru, added to our Rites and Practices page. Peru is the site of the oldest civilizations in the Americas, and they had some interesting attitudes to sex. What's wrong with being free and easy about an essential function?
15th Apr 2025	New painting in our Modern Art page. A very realistic portrayal of Christ on the cross by contemporary American artist Amber Kobel. Just in time for Easter.
11th Apr 2025	A new Chinese all-in-one cut and staple device - the Huitai anastomat. Its distinguishing feature is that the the cut is made by turning a knob rather than moving levers. This is claimed to give a more even action. Read about it on our Instruments and Techniques page.
31st Mar 2025	First story of 2025 in our Preferences and Experiences page. Temporarily living overseas, a young English boy attended an international school and encountered circumcised boys. He immediately wanted to be like them, but it took him many years to get there.
30th Mar 2025	An interesting addition to our West Africa page. A very good-looking 17th-century Benin prince had to take a walk naked to prove that he was male. His accompamying page-boys were also nude and of course all were circumcised. Illustrated in classic Benin bronze relief sculptures.
8th Mar 2025	A European reader, resident in Taiwan, has sent us an account of the situation there. Read it in the Taiwan section of our China page.
7th Jan 2025	A new review in our Novels section. 'Reasons of the Heart', a 1994 novel by Bron Nicholls. Nice to have an Australian novel there for the first time. Reminder: if anyone has seen the recent art-house movie 'Circumcision' about a man who thinks his son is the Messiah, please review it for us.
30th Dec 2024	Our last addition to Preferences and Experiences for 2024. A Dutch boy was circumcised when his mother re-married to a Moroccan man. He found it had both advantages and disadvantages.