Psychological Aspects of Circumcision

Man has never been satisfied with his physical body. Circumcision is one instance of those strange and varied ritual mutilations which express vividly his intense desire to conform the substantial flesh and blood to an ideal image; a desire which is one of the roots of his intellectual, cultural, artistic, and religious strivings. Incision or ablation of the foreskin was probably practised in paleolithic times and is now one of the most widely distributed human customs. According to Gray (1932), Ashley Montagu (1946), and others, only the Indo-Germanic peoples, the Mongols and the Finno-Ugric races are unacquainted with it, though the practice is now spreading to these under the influence of Mohammedanism and the magical slogans of surgical hygiene. Without doubt some diffusion has occurred, but the existence of circumcision in Africa, America, and Australia suggests that there has been an independent origin in various parts of the world (Gray, 1932, p. 667). This rite, whether performed by medicine man, priest, or surgeon, must reflect deep human needs, but its significance has only been touched upon in the relatively meagre contributions to the psychological literature.

The history and phenomenology of circumcision are fascinating but complex studies, owing to the bewildering variations in different places and at different times. The same rite can be used to cope with quite different psychological, social, and environmental problems and my negative conclusion is that, of the many theories advanced in explanation of the rite, no single one adequately covers all the facts. The aim of the present discussion is not to provide an inclusive theory but to discuss the significance of the major themes evident in the varying content of a young man's preoccupation with circumcision. The features of the preoccupation are described as they were revealed in analysis, a descriptive formulation of the main themes is made, these are amplified and further elucidated by suggesting an