Running the numbers: relative vs. absolute satisfaction for the intact vs. circumcised

I lifted these numbers from the forums on Mothering.com. Thanks to the posting party, "jwhispers." The interesting point here is the absolute vs. relative values that lead to broad conclusions that may or may not in fact be instructive (or for that matter, misleading). The complexity of informed consent is really hard to fathom with these kinds of numbers.

Some 98.4% (2460) of the circumcised men reported satisfaction, compared to 99.9% (2498) in the control group.

Or rather 1.6% (40) of the circumcised men reported dissatisfaction and 0.1% (2) of the control group.

In terms of ability to penetrate, 98.6% (2465) of the circumcised group reported no problem, compared with 99.4 (2485) of the non-circumcised group.

Or rather in terms of ability to penetrate, 1.4% (35) of the circumcised group reported problems, compared with 0.6% (15) of the control group.

So what they're really saying is 20x more circumcised men reported dissatisfaction and more than 2x as many reported problems with respect to penetration.

To be fair, people who say circumcision does not provide a level of protection against HIV have sometimes stated their position in absolute numbers. But the point here is that people like Gray, Halperin, Klausner, and Bailey gloss over this counterpoint to their relative numbers, but then use absolute numbers in an attempt to persuade the skeptical that it's all ok to submit to a very serious surgery. In fact, their claim is that there is NO difference ("statistically insignificant") when in fact there IS a difference.

Comments

[Joe in CA]

Closer inspection reveals that this study really shoots pro-circumcisionists in the foot.

Regardless of what group is more satisfied (and clearly, even according to this rigged study [Seriously. Who believes self-reporting anymore? Would you have unprotected sex with someone who "told" you they were HIV negative?], it is the group with normal penises who report a higher level of satisfaction), circumcision does not prevent AIDS. "Level of satisfaction" is irrelevant.

"Level of satisfaction" is related to HIV prevention, kind of like how cheese is related to chalk.