circumcision became common in the united states in 1925.
when did circumcision become common in the united states?
1925
infant circumcision was taken up in the united kingdom, the united states, australia, new zealand, and the english-speaking parts of canada. although it is difficult to determine historical circumcision rates, one estimate of infant circumcision rates in the united states holds that 30% of newborn american boys were being circumcised in 1900, 55% in 1925, and 72% in 1950.
history of circumcision
circumcision is largely a modern-day phenomenon in south korea. while the rate in the twentieth century has been nearing 80%, virtually no circumcision was performed just a century ago, as it was against korea's long and strong tradition of preserving the body as a gift from parents. a 2001 study of 20-year-old south korean men found that 78% were circumcised. at the time, the authors commented that "south korea has possibly the largest absolute number of teenage or adult circumcisions anywhere in the world. because circumcision started through contact with the american military during the korean war, south korea has an unusual history of circumcision." according to a 2002 study, 86.3% of south korean males aged 14–29 were circumcised. in 2012, it's the case of 75.8% of the same age group. only after 1999 has some information against circumcision become available (at the time of the 2012 study, only 3% of korean internet sites, using the most popular korean search engine naver, are against indiscriminate circumcision and 97% are for). the authors of the study speculate "that the very existence of information about the history of korean circumcision, its contrary nature relative to a longstanding tradition, its introduction by the us military, etc., has been extremely influential on the decision-making process regarding circumcision."
prevalence of circumcision