Health, Medicine, Nursing Essay: Traditional Male Circumcision: My Personal Opinion

Running head: TRADITIONAL MALE CIRCUMCISION1
Traditional Male Circumcision: My Personal Opinion
Student Name
College/University Affiliation
TRADITIONAL MALE CIRCUMCISION

2

Traditional Male Circumcision: My Personal Opinion
The question of male circumcision seems eerie, if not disgusting to ears and eyes not accustomed to such practices. In reality, however, male circumcision, just as any given cultural practice, is not only "common" in certain world regions yet also "mandatory" as a certain rite of passage from one phase into the next one. In "Traditional male circumcision in eastern and southern Africa: A systematic review of prevalence and complications," Wilcken, Keil, and Dick (2010) examine extant literature on male circumcision in the east and south Africa. In essence, Wilcken, Keil, and Dick show that male circumcision is a predominant cultural practice in Kenya, Tanzania, Namibia, and South Africa. The specifics of male circumcision vary, however, considerably from one country – in fact, from one district – to another, such as to render non-generalizable findings reported in one country/district. For example, whilst Namibia only reports nationwide on male circumcision, statistics and practices employed in performing male circumcision in Kenya, Tanzania, and South Africa are applicable to districts only and, as such, cannot be extrapolated nationwide. Moreover, studied journals, databases, and articles show great variance overage. Specifically, studied samples show male circumcision as a cultural practice performed for boys from as young as 13 to as old as 21. This variation problematizes what counts as "manhood" and "adulthood" in each country/district. Then again, one most salient conclusion in Wilcken, Keil, and Dick is that male circumcision is, ultimately, a cultural practice which, albeit shown to have serious and far-reaching physical and health complications and effects, is still practiced under powerful influences of culture, peer pressure, and shaming. In short, male circumcision faces a considerable cultural barrier making it practically ineffective
TRADITIONAL MALE CIRCUMCISION

3

clinical...