Circumcision

[lucrezaborgia]

(07-12-2012 08:40 PM)lillypie82 Wrote:  And pretty much the only reason I can come up for NOT keeping it intact is "But won't it look funny??"

Would you alter your female child's genitals to match what popular culture thinks they should look like?

[Persnickety Polecat]

(07-12-2012 09:20 PM)lucrezaborgia Wrote:  

(07-12-2012 08:40 PM)lillypie82 Wrote:  And pretty much the only reason I can come up for NOT keeping it intact is "But won't it look funny??"

Would you alter your female child's genitals to match what popular culture thinks they should look like?

It's also worth noting that 40 percent of boys in the U.S. today are intact, so any newborn boy whose parents opt to not circumcise him is not going to stand out any more than a boy who IS circumcised.

This is a cool little tool I found some time ago. It's got good information on it and can help you decide based on cultural, religious and health factors.

[lucrezaborgia]

I think the biggest issue today is the amount of doctors who have no idea how to deal with an intact penis. A lot of people have very damaging ideas on how an intact penis should be taken care of and will advise mothers to force a q-tip under the foreskin to clean out feces and other inane ideas.

[lillypie82]

(07-12-2012 09:20 PM)lucrezaborgia Wrote:  Would you alter your female child's genitals to match what popular culture thinks they should look like?

That reasoning is kind of what got me started thinking about not circumcising... I kept hearing about all my friends having baby boys and getting them done and I just kept thinking "But why?? We wouldn't cut off any other body part, WHY do we cut off part of the penis without thinking twice??"

I also did some *ahem* internet research last night and it really doesn't look as different as I thought it would... my reaction was less "that looks funny" and more "So THAT'S what it's supposed to look like"

[aisforazebra]

(07-12-2012 09:25 PM)Persnickety Polecat Wrote:  

(07-12-2012 09:20 PM)lucrezaborgia Wrote:  Would you alter your female child's genitals to match what popular culture thinks they should look like?

It's also worth noting that 40 percent of boys in the U.S. today are intact, so any newborn boy whose parents opt to not circumcise him is not going to stand out any more than a boy who IS circumcised.

aaaaand, if you are doing it for looks, then it is cosmetic. idk about the rest of y'all, but i find it pretty effed-up to be doing cosmetic surgery on a newborn.

[Mommy2Kids]

We had our son circumcised when he was born; I really didn't think about it being optional. I thought it was just what everyone did.

[aisforazebra]

^ I did the same thing. Actually, I let babydaddy decide because I figured it was a guy thing. I did zero research other than the very pro-circ blurb in What to Expect When You're Expecting. I didn't know how full of nerve endings the foreskin is, how it protects the head of the penis, etc. I didn't read anything questioning circumcision until the kidlet was about 6 months old. And then I cried for about 3 weeks straight, no joke. I kept thinking about when they took him away from me in the hospital to do it - he was only 2 days old - and how I could hear him screaming down the hall. I saw a video on youtube of a newborn being circ'd, and almost threw up.

That is pretty much my only regret as a parent. Any future sons will be left intact. I do believe that it generally amounts to cosmetic surgery, and that, above all, no one has the right to remove part of someone else's body without their consent (barring medical necessity, obv). Husband and I talked about this before we got married, and if he had been dead set on it for our theoretical son(s), that would have been a dealbreaker.

[bean]

Mommy2Kids, so did I.
Learning lots on this internet thing, I tell ya! Great points on why or why it is not necessary. My outlook has changed on this issue to be sure!

Now, at my point in life, there is little I will do with this new information but anyways...

(07-17-2012 09:45 AM)Mommy2Kids Wrote:  We had our son circumcised when he was born; I really didn't think about it being optional. I thought it was just what everyone did.

[HazelEyed]

I've actually wondered what we'll do if my husband and I have a son, as he has always been anti-circ (he wished it had never been done to him) and I've always been pro by default/for the conventional reasons of hygiene. This information is really helpful, actually, and it makes me feel better about going along with my husband's preferences if we have a boy. So thanks for sharing. I do wish my husband had been given the choice, because he has always been pretty unhappy that he got no say about whether or not anybody cut off part of his penis.

[aisforazebra]

^ that makes me all kinds of happy.