[lbo-talk] The Rights of Baby Boys

[ravi]

On Dec 14, 2007, at 3:56 PM, John Thornton wrote:
> ravi wrote:
>> On Dec 13, 2007, at 4:08 PM, John Thornton wrote:
>>
>>> 100
>>> feathers down your back. Now if someone ran a duster with 60  
>>> feathers
>>> down your back would the orgasm be only 60% as intense?
>>> I can think of no reason to believe it would be yet this is in  
>>> essence
>>> the claim being made. Stimulate X number of fewer penile nerves and
>>> have an orgasm reduced by X%.
>>
>> I am not sure the argument is based only on a count of nerve endings.
>>
>
> At its heart it certainly is. If not this argument then what? The  
> claim
> is made that the tissue removed contains some percentage of the  
> overall
> nerve endings in the penis and that removing them decreases the  
> pleasure
> experienced during sex.
> The original claim made was:
>
> "Dr. Hinchley counters with a recent study that showed the
> uncircumcised adult penis is more sensitive than the circumcised
> penis, largely because the five most sensitive areas are removed
> during circumcision. "This implies a reduction in future sexual
> sensitivity for circumcised adults."
>

Does "sensitive area" equate to "count of nerve-endings"? I do not  
have the expertise to know that, but my point is that that does not  
seem to be the point of disagreement between the two doctors in the  
article, and on that basis I take that as the scientific consensus.  
The point of contention then is whether this constitutes "damage"...  
the shift of what "damage" means, into an entirely psychological  
realm, is what makes the counter-argument worth consideration, but as  
I responded to Miles, and to you, insofar as it is true that the  
physical stimulus contributes to the experience, the experience is  
diminished, all else constant, and the shift is inadequate. As I  
argued in response to you, we do not go about intentionally burning  
our hands (even under anaesthesia), etc., and I believe one of the  
reasons is indeed that we are worried about losing sensitivity, etc.

	--ravi