Should we circumcise?
My wife and I are trying to have a baby. One of the biggest concerns we have if it is a boy is circumcision. I am circumcised and my first reaction is to say "Well I wouldn't go back so it is the right choice". But unfortunately there is more to it than that. Circumcision started, in my mind, to remove sexual pleasure from the male because sex was the road to sin and only for reproduction and should not be enjoyed. Many nerves are removed from circumcision and I have heard sex is more pleasurable for males not circumcised, but unfortunately that is hard to know for sure.
Then there is the idea that it is a part of our culture now and completely acceptable. But what is it really other than male genital mutilation? They say that is is healthier, but I have also heard that the data for that claim is inconclusive.
Female circumcision disgust me and yet many cultures practice it. To them it is normal. I am sure that uncircumcised females in those cultures have "ugly" vaginas to them just as a lot of women have told me that an uncircumcised penis is "ugly".
I have seen a circumcision and it is horrifying. I dont know if I should do this to my future son. There is the part of me that thinks it is normal and I should. Then there is the part of me that sees it as another brutal religious act setup by an ancient brutal god to remove our sexuality that we, for some reason, still practice like idiots. Then we go through all this trouble to "prove" it is healthy to mutilate sex organs to justify the insane act.
What are some of your thoughts on this?
Tags: circumcision, mutilation
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by archaeopteryx on -
You are REALLY the poster child for circumcision, aren't you Unseen - is there some deep, dark psychological reason as to why you just can't seem to let this go?
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Permalink Reply by kOrsan on -
I know that comment must've hurt your feelings, but to be honest, you look like a poster child too. The whole thread is oddly filled with very passionate men trying to confirm their self worth. It's a little creepy of so many people to feel this passionate about some child's penis though.
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Permalink Reply by Unseen on -
So you can look right into our minds. Do you read tea leaves as well? Do you have a crystal ball?
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Permalink Reply by kOrsan on
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Can't see the future I'm afraid, just the obvious. But if you want you can still pay me and I can pretend.
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Permalink Reply by Lewal on -
I think the gist of it is:
A: "Don't mutilate the babies!"
B: "It's not a big deal. It's actually kinda nice."
I wouldn't say there's a great deal of fanaticism or internalizing.
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Permalink Reply by Dogly on -
It is not creepy that people care about, "some child's penis". If the part removed was an ear, we would be similarly concerned. I feel the same way about declawing cats and docking dog's tails and cropping dog's ears. It hurts, it doesn't belong to us, it is mutilation, it is not necessary. These procedures are not in the best interests of the baby boy, the cat, or dog whose parts are being cut off. If anyone wishing to promote, or defend these practices, please start a new thread, or post elsewhere, to avoid changing the subject from our friend's potential sons.
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Permalink Reply by Heather Spoonheim on -
Actually, Dogly, the others are right on topic, sharing their feelings about human male circumcision - this isn't about your animal rights diet and it's very distasteful of you to not only inject that, but to pretend that it is more on topic than the comment to which you (technically) replied.
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Permalink Reply by Karen Lollis on -
Having had partners of both varieties (not many, mind you, but enough to have an informed opinion) - there's really no difference as far as I'm concerned. The uncut guys seemed to have no more problem keeping clean than the cut. Two times in my life, I was on the receiving end of minor STDs - one from a circumcised partner, one non-circumcised.
The appearance issue I kind of relate to women's body hair - some guys don't mind unshaven armpits, some do. I shave - but I keep thinking one of these days, I'm gonna quit - it's just a little weird that the prevalent preference is for women to be as hairless as pre-adolescent girls. Some guys are grossed out by the hair - but, really, why? It's a learned preference, not natural. All over the world, men have perfectly fulfilling sexual relationships with hairy women, and women have perfectly fulfilling sexual relationships with uncut guys.
I'm with the folks who say if the guy wants to get cut when he's old enough to make an informed decision about appearance and the *very minimal* potential disease reduction benefit, let them do it then. There's *no* reason to do it when they are babies. (OK - there's no *good* reason.)
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Permalink Reply by archaeopteryx on
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RE: "Some guys are grossed out by the hair - but, really, why?" - It's really hard to get out of your teeth, and nothing looks less romantic than a fuzzy smile --
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Permalink Reply by Cara Coleen on -
I'm not a fan of body hair. I mean, my bf is pretty hairy, so it's not like it deters me... we just try to keep him trimmed. For myself, I don't like it. It's itchy and I don't like the way it looks or feels. It's definitely merely a preference, and I think generational. My age group and younger seems to like hairless. And, people can compare it to prepubescence if they like, but then they should to extend that logic to a shaved face on men. Supposedly it looks more "professional". That's subjective. As is the idea that not having body hair makes you look 12.
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