Who Aren't Cut - and Who Are | |
| Intact Virtually all: Chinese, Japanese, North Koreans, Vietnamese, Laotians, Cambodians, Burmese, Thais Hindu, Sikh, Parsee and Christian Indians Scandinavians Zulus, Shona, certain other African nations most Melanesian and some Western Polynesian (Rennell, Bellona) peoples, The great majority of: Europeans men of the former Soviet Union Central and South Americans New Zealand Maori Younger men of Britain and the Commonwealth, especially New Zealand and Australia About half of: Malaysians (Hindu and Christian Tamils, Chinese and Orang Asli) A significant minority of: Americans, especially younger, Hispanic, and in the South West Bangladeshis (20% are Hindu) |
Cut About 500,000,000 Muslims More than 100,000,000 USAmericans About 25,000,000 Filipini Some tens of millions of older men of Britain and the Commonwealth Some tens of millions of African tribesmen About 14,000,000 South Koreans 7,000,000 Jews Some hundreds of thousands of Central and Eastern Polynesians (Samoa, Tahiti, Tonga, Niue, Tokelau) and Melanesians (Fiji, Vanuatu, parts of Solomon Islands and small parts of PNG) Some thousands of aboriginal Australians, mainly in the north and west |

Click on the map for a larger image.
Of necessity, this map generalises. In South Africa, for example, whites circumcised "medically" until recently, Xhosa circumcise tribally and Zulus have never circumcised. Even in Israel (barely visible even on the larger map), surprisingly many parents leave their sons intact. |
This decision is believed to be the first of its kind in any country. As an immediate result, the consent of both parents is now required. |

Click on the map for a larger image.
![]() (FGM is outlawed in countries marked with blue crosshatching but is still prevalent at the rate shown in the underlying shade of pink.) |
One striking conclusion from these two maps is that wherever Female Genital Mutilatin is prevalent, male circumcision is also (though the reverse is of course not the case).
People who object that there is no comparison between FGM and MGM should see the list of comparisons.
Updates and corrections welcome. You can email me.
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