This survey of teenage boys' attitudes to circumcision has been compiled by regular correspondent JH from postings on the now defunct Teen Hut (teenhut.net) site. It was originally intended to be part of a much larger study of teenagers and circumcision. The boys surveyed here were predominantly aged 15 to 19, with a few as young as 12 and a few older than 19. Note that the survey participants were self-selected, so the results may not be accurate for the population as a whole.
| Total | 795 | |
| Circumcised | 405 | 51% |
| Uncircumcised | 376 | 47% |
| Don't know | 14 | 2% |
| Total US | 399 | 50% |
| Total non-US | 396 | 50% |
| US circumcised | 311 | 78% |
| US uncircumcised | 82 | 21% |
| US don't know | 6 | 1% |
| non-US circumcised | 94 | 24% |
| non-US uncircumcised | 294 | 74% |
| non-US don't know | 8 | 2% |
| Circumcised and happy | 254 | 63% |
| Circumcised, unhappy | 32 | 8% |
| Circumcised, indifferent | 104 | 26% |
| Circumcised, did not answer | 15 | 4% | Uncircumcised and happy | 198 | 53% |
| Uncircumcised, unhappy | 18 | 5% |
| Uncirc., indifferent | 75 | 20% |
| Uncirc., did not answer | 85 | 23% |
| US Boys | ||
|---|---|---|
| Circumcised, happy | 195 | 63% |
| Circumcised, unhappy | 21 | 5% |
| Circumcised, indifferent | 83 | 27% |
| Circ., did not answer | 12 | 4% |
| Uncircumcised, happy | 43 | 52% |
| Uncircumcised, unhappy | 5 | 6% |
| Uncirc., indifferent | 21 | 26% |
| Uncirc., did not answer | 13 | 16% |
| Boys outside the US | ||
|---|---|---|
| Circumcised, happy | 59 | 63% |
| Circumcised, unhappy | 11 | 12% |
| Circumcised, indifferent | 21 | 22% |
| Circ., did not answer | 3 | 3% |
| Uncircumcised, happy | 155 | 53% |
| Uncircumcised, unhappy | 13 | 4% |
| Uncirc., indifferent | 54 | 18% |
| Uncirc., did not answer | 72 | 24% |
It seems that many of the uncircumcised respondents did not see the satisfaction question as applying to them. Why?
What these results show us is that overall circumcision has a higher approval rating, both in the US (where it is in the majority) and in other countries where it is in a minority. Equally, the level of serious dissatisfaction is low, whichever sort of penis a boy has. Other surveys have suggested that the majority of teen boys are poorly informed about the rationale for infant circumcision. Parents should always explain the health and hygiene benefits to their circumcised sons.
This report was revised by JH in September 2019 when some inconsistencies were found in the previous version. The conclusions have not changed.
Picture from H&E magazine volume 78 number10, p52
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