Circumcision

[Persnickety Polecat]

(07-19-2012 03:44 PM)HazelEyed Wrote:  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.

My husband was neutral on the topic until we started researching. When he saw what the procedure entailed, he was pretty upset about it having been done to him. Now, at this point in time, he doesn't sit and dwell on it or complain about it, but it is something that we are both glad we had the option to do differently with our boys. They can make their own choices about their own bodies. I wouldn't choose to have my daughter's breasts augmented, and I wouldn't give a kid a nose job just to "match dad," so I can't think of any reason to have my kid circumcised either.

If they want to when they are adults, that's their business.

[squiz]

The book "Marked in your flesh" by Leonard B. Glick seems interesting. I haven't read it yet, but have looked at the preview in Amazon and might actually buy it. There is some fascinating information about the ancient origins of the practice and its modern spread. Especially interesting was the emphasis of the covenant with Abraham on fruitfulness and the analogy to pruning an olive tree to make it more fruitful.

Looking back at this thread it seems that most people who continue with this practice do so out of inertia. It is interesting that there are some preachers who encourage it because it is in the bible. I am surprised that there aren't more who preach against it though, as a work and symbol of the old covenant.

[myotch]

http://www.cnn.com/2012/08/27/health/aap...index.html

American Academy of Pediatrics: A move closer to outright endorsement?

[LMcC]

When my sister was pregnant, I was nine years old and reading all the baby books. (I read at an adult level at about 6 or 7, so this isn't as big of a deal as it seems.) I learned the circumcision arguments very early on, and I can't say I'm persuaded to do unnecessary surgery on a sensitive body part. That said, I am in the US and of a certain generation, so I've never even seen an uncut adult.

If we had ever had kids, Hubby would have been very pro-circ for all the "medical" reasons (read: preventing STDs and other diseases). Um... wouldn't it work just as well to teach the kid stuff like basic hygiene and a practical form of sexual responsibility? Good thing we didn't have kids. This is but one of many topics we'd be fighting tooth-and-nail over.