Up on my Soapbox

[saara687]

I was watching the new tv show, "The Doctors", today.  A wife asked a question about chordee (curved penis) and the Dr. went to great lengths to not mention circumcision.  Pissed me off so much that I had to sign up to the site & bring the subject up.  No matter how old my own kids get, this is one subject that continues to burn me.   The fact that

Comments

[vodgut]

My own story is a bit odd. Being born in the UK, the practice was uncommon, so I didn't have it done until well after I got back to the US. I was later told that I was spraying like a garden sprinkler when urinating and having other problems, don't really remember most of it, as I was 2 years old. As far as I know, I don't harbor any deep-seated emotional scars from the experience, and I'm not upset about it. From a cost-benefit analysis of the procedure, I couldn't say whether it's worth it, as I haven't examined the pros and cons.

No argument, though, about the prudish nature of our culture. I think the Pilgrims were only the beginning. Undue influence of religion and social conservatism has plagued the culture to varying degrees since then. At times I think it goes beyond prudishness into kind of a numb denial of sorts....

[saara687]

Nipple-gate.... What? lol

[joy_disaster]

It drives me nuts too. I know so many people that still think it is just an issue of personal preference, like coke or pepsi. Just the whole idea that if it done a lot it MUST be OK, right? Do health insurances in Canada cover it usually?

[saara687]

We don't have "health insurances", per se. Every province decides what they will & won't pay for. Up til a couple of years ago, Manitoba was the only hold-out, but they've stopped paying for it now, too. So, in Canada, if you want your boy circ'ed, you have to pay for it. So, circumcision rates are going down (at about 30% right now)....

[joy_disaster]

I think self-pay sends a strong message that this is not a medically indicated procedure. Rates are slowly declining here but it is still the norm - I know some states' health insurance no longer cover it.

[saara687]

You know - it did send that message, at first. People really thought twice about getting it done, but there are some pockets, with uber-conservative types, where the rates are really high, even still. I know it's the same, in the States.