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Male circumcision is a well studied phenomenon. However, much of the published knowledge on circumcision is derived from highly industrialised Western countries, particularly the United States. 1 The non-Western context of circumcision is not well known despite being a universal practice in various countries. For example, in the Philippines, circumcision was common in the past as it is at present, being an integral aspect of the social organisation of the society. 2, 3 This report offers a Philippine perspective of male circumcision, particularly its adoption and complications. The study employed semistructured face to face interviews with 114 circumcised males conveniently recruited using a snowball technique from two communities. One fourth (22) of the clients were aged 13-18, while the rest were older, working in varied and low income occupations, and were single, married, or separated.
The majority of respondents (51.7%) were circumcised between ages 10 and 14. Others had the same experience before age 10 (42.1%) or between 15 and 18 (5.3%). Respondents gave several reasons for their circumcision: not wanting to be called "supot " or uncircumcised (66.7%); being at the right age (41.2%); and wanting to grow tall and physically fit (29.8%). Other reasons included the need to get rid of smegma in the penis...