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[everinbluejeans]

Circumcision has actual health benefits? I'm all about making informed choices for my children, and I absolutely don't want my emotional responses to get in the way of making the best/smartest/most logical choices, but this practice of cutting off part of my son really upsets me in a fundamental way. There are tons of studies of varying

Comments

[shaych_03]

honestly, it's a personal choice for the parents and the child. it can be a matter of faith, or a matter of health.

if you decide on au natural, teach the kid wash himself thoroughly... that usually takes care of any hygiene issues. :)

[everinbluejeans]

I think my problem with it is it's not an immediate health issue for most babies, and the way circumcision is done outside of traditional Jewish bris ceremonies is pretty horrific. Most of the time the babies are too young to be anesthetized and are given an oral analgesic like Motrin or Tylenol before the procedure, with the argument that it'll be over quickly and they won't remember it. It just...the whole thing strikes me as bizarre in a country that so villifies the mistreatment of children in any form.

[shaych_03]

what do you expect for a procedure that the only real use was to somehow prevent masturbation? hygiene my butt. teach the kid to wash his junk on a regular basis and the problem's solved.

[everinbluejeans]

Yeah, I do kind of wonder about the logic of the argument that having an open surgical wound on a diaper-wearing baby's genitals is somehow MORE hygienic than, y'know, NOT having one. 0.o

[llyfrgell]

I knew that about the health thing - because I remember Amanda's mom going on and on about it when we were in Italy and saw the statue of David (who obviously is not circumcised). That's an appropriate subject to explain to a bunch of 15-year-olds, right?

Obviously the majority of people, on both sides of the decision, live perfectly fine with whichever option they choose, so I have trouble understanding why it's so controversial. It's not like one choice is going to make some gigantic difference in the long run. I think the idea of doing it later when Ethan is old enough to know what's going on is maybe unrealistic, though - how many boys do you think would be eager to have surgery on that part of their body once they know what it is? Seems like he'd just be more likely to hold it against you if you decided for him that it would be done later.

[everinbluejeans]

Weirdly, there are a pretty significant number of men who are circumcised as adults. It doesn't sound like fun to me AT ALL, but then I don't have a penis, so maybe it's not that bad? They probably get really, really good drugs. The numbers of men who have their circumcisions reversed is much higher, though, and that procedure is much more painful and less reliable. I don't know, I just felt like it was his body and I didn't actually have the right to alter it for what are for us purely aesthetic reasons.

[spiffanda]

I didn't circumcise Eli. I just felt like it wasn't my choice to make. It is his.

[everinbluejeans]

That's exactly how I feel. I understand people who do it for religious reasons, though I'm not particularly religious myself, but it bugs me when people do it to make their kids "fit in" or "look the same" as their father/grandfather/classmates. Do little boys really see each other's genitals that often?! I don't remember ever seeing any of my classmates (or parents, for that matter) naked, let alone long enough to examine their parts and see if we matched!

[gluedupsidedown]

The article you're citing sources the same "Circumcision prevents AIDS!" argument. Yes, it does; in underprivileged countries that don't have access to the means for safe sex.

That said, I can't sit here and criticize female genital mutilation and agree that anyone, anywhere should be circumcised. (Although, it does amuse me that this may be the only thing out there where the patriarchal culture is reverse, and that we inflict more pain on the boys.)