Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
/\ Wow, that is really illogical. Since the child was a whopping neo-natal of three days when they lobbed his foreskin off, he really wouldn't know what it is like to have foreskin, now would he?
1. An older man will wish it had not been done. (the one I have found that states this opinion, was only because someone fed him a line about how he's being cheated on all his sexual experiences by only being half as sensitive now) and he was outraged that sex couldn't be better than it was now, because of it!! He says he was cheated out of life.
2. An older man will opt for it not to be done by the time he can logically consent to wanting the procedure, for the same reasons anyone else in their right mind would... because it is more painful when you are older, and who is willingly going to lay down under the knife for their most sensitive spot? They will find some other reason to justify avoiding the subject entirely. If it is to be done, it should be done in the infancy stages.
I had to have my inner ears operated on at a young age, so young that they did not use anethesia (which is the case with most circumsisions)
Do I hate my parents for it? Am I mentally and emotionally scarred for the rest of my life? ....no. But for the record, I'm still 80% deaf in my right ear
Actually, every man I know who is not circumsized is extraordinarily glad they are uncut.
Sure. But someone's making a market for those teenage circumcisions, so they can't all be happy about it.
Quote:
Originally Posted by MrsSteel
And I have known a few circumsized men who admitted that they wished they still had their foreskin. These circumsized men say that they try not to think about it, though, as it is sad and disturbing to imagine that a part of their genetalia was removed without their consent.
Well, I cannot imagine anyone wishing they had their foreskin back. How many men have you had this conversation with, anyhow, and under what circumstances?
Actually, I've talked to a few men about it - men I know personally, mainly, but some of them are members of another on-line forum I frequent where people speak rather openly. Most of the men don't want to even think about the subject and I don't blame them, but a few hesitantly told us of their deeper feelings. It's the sort of thing they didn't think about when they were younger because they didn't really know. But now? Now some of them feel violated & resentful. Most of them have just accepted it, though, and just try to forget it.
But the men who do have foreskins (admittedly, mostly Europeans) feel that circumsicion is barbaric mutilation. I honestly had no strong opinions about circumsicion until I met them.
If something is actually wrong with a person's body and requires surgery - like Artic Kitten's ear - then of course surgery is necessary. But you will notice that Artic Kitten's doctors worked to save her hearing. They did not remove one ear and then decide to remove the other one just in case it might get infected someday.
I simply see no logical reason why a foreskin should be removed. Are there some religious reasons? Yes and I respect those. But logically? Absolutely none.
And I am sorry if this hurts anyone's feelings. I'm sure that there are people out there reading this who have circumsized their sons without thinking the decision through. My aim is not to riddle you with guilt, but to get people thinking. This is a big decision that cannot be reversed. It's worth research and consideration.
I would much rather go the rest of my life with hairy armpits than to remove a piece of flesh from the most sensitive part of my son's body. Besides, even if I chose to shave my pits, hair grows back. A foreskin will not.
I'm happy to go against America's cultural norms if it means that my son is not mutilated. I would never forgive myself if I let someone take a knife to his genetalia just because he might get picked on for it maybe someday by a bunch of immature brats. If boys want to ridicule another boy for some reason, they'll come up with one ... even if he's circumsized.
Mutilated? You think circumcized men are... mutilated? Wow. That seems a little out there, eh?
Also, keep in mind, that if your son is lucky... one day someone else might see his member during intimate relations and in a society where circumcision is the norm... well, he might feel sheepish about being "different." I'm not a man so I don't know how men feel about such things but from a female perspective and knowing how women talk about the uncircumcized (in our country)... I would at least take that into consideration. It's more than just what YOU think... it's about what other women think - in the future. Of course, I would leave this decision up to my husband as he can relate to it more than I could.
It is more hygenic for them to be circumcised unless you plan on making sure yourself that the child pulls back his foreskin every time he bathes and cleans himself. My friend's 4 yr. old son was not cleaning himself the way he should and got an infection that was horribly painful for him. It took four adults to hold him down so she could put medicine on him.
Just pointing out that this is an assumption and an opinion, not a fact. Uncircumcised penises do not require any extra attention or cleaning. And you most certainly DO NOT retract the foreskin forcibly on a child. The skin is fused for several years with a very wide range for the average age of when the skin starts to become unfused and retractable (from 3 to 10). Forcing it (which we've seen many pediatricians try to do) WILL cause red raw, sore, possible infected skin.
Quote:
I think one of the things that is most important in a decision to circumcise or not is:
1. Is his father circumcised?
2. Will he have problems later on in high school when showering etc. if he looks different
It may sound trivial now but it does affect boys a lot if they look different than dad or if other guys tease them.
First and foremost, again these are arguments that don't hold much water for those that actually do not circumcise. Do your children have everything exactly as their father does? Same hair color? Eye color? Same type of teeth? What about a father who is missing an arm or is paralyzed in some manner? I find this argument a bit on the silly side to be honest. Our children are not exact replicas of their father and I wouldn't want it that way. They are their own individuals and we celebrate that.
My older son did notice the difference in his penis and his fathers (his father is circumcised) years ago. He asked about it casually. We told him that his father was circumcised when he was a baby and explained what that was. He breathed in relief and told us "I'm glad you didn't do that to me". He was 5 at the time. He's almost 9 now and still feels the same.
Circumcision rates in the US are dropping. It is estimated that by the time that my child is in a HS locker room, that half will be uncircumcised. And again truthfully, children really need a solid sense of self in this world. Only that will help them through...not a missing piece of foreskin.
I have 2 boys and neither are circumcised. We've not had any issues with infections (other than one time my older son yanked on his penis when he was a toddler and that was cleared in 2 days with a sitz bath) or emotional hang ups or the like.
As far as sexual relations with an uncircumsized man goes - I can tell you it was ....... the whole "look" of it, is one thing that is ENTIRELY subject to personal opinion.. but when you see him pull the foreskin back and wipe the crusties off it (from something hardening or crystalizing that was trapped during urination ..or something else, when the foreskin went back to it's original place.. it was just really gross. and made it smell...Needless to say, that didn't last long. And I'm sorry if that just got WAY too graphic, but please take everythign into consideration.
Just trying to present another grounding for my reasonings.
Maybe it was just a bad initial (and sole) run-in with an uncircumsised male. It does back up the whole physical hygiene and health/cleanliness aspect...
Actually, circumcision rates are going down in the U.S.
I didn't say they weren't going down.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Charles Wallace
And for what it's worth, the U.S. isn't the only country out there.
Yes I know, condescending much?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Charles Wallace
And let me add the ABSOLUTELY obvious: you can grow back your pubes. Last I heard, you can't grow back a foreskin.
It's analogy Charles about cultural norms. Do I have to explain that?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Charles Wallace
So, just curious -- what's your position on having a labiectomy? Once those labia are removed, it's a lot easier to keep clean. Think you'll call in the doc to take care of that if you're having a girl?
Let me explain the ABSOLUTE obvious Charles Wallace. Last time I checked, a man can still have a great sex life without the foreskin... having your labia removed can lead to infection and painful intercourse and/or worse.
More power to anyone who has a foreskin! Seriously, it doesn't matter in the scheme of life. I just think it's ridiculous to say one is absolutely better than the other and for a woman to have the exclusive rights to what happens to her sons penis is kind of weird since she doesn't even have one. Ask the father what they think... and you'll probably have your answer on what you should do.
As far as sexual relations with an uncircumsized man goes - I can tell you it was ....... the whole "look" of it, is one thing that is ENTIRELY subject to personal opinion.. but when you see him pull the foreskin back and wipe the crusties off it (from something hardening or crystalizing that was trapped during urination ..or something else, when the foreskin went back to it's original place.. it was just really gross. and made it smell...Needless to say, that didn't last long. And I'm sorry if that just got WAY too graphic, but please take everythign into consideration.
ROFL!!!!!! Oh, my, goodness, I can't believe you said that! Too funny!
Arctic Kitten, sounds like you just came across a guy who hadn't cleaned himself properly. But that's okay. I've heard some stories from guys about what they have found trapped within a woman's labia - bits of toilet paper and strange residues and lord knows what. Not always so pretty!
And yet, female circumcision is not an accepted practice in the USA. A strange contradiction, hmm?
Yes, mommabear2, I do think that circumsicion is mutilation. Any time you remove a heathy, normal, natural piece of flesh from a person's body, it is mutilation. It is especially grievous when it is done without consent. That's just my opinion, but it's an opinion that is growing in popularity.
And I still refuse to alter my son's body just because "that's what everyone else is doing" in the United States. I was under the impression that parents were supposed to teach children to think for themselves and make up their own minds, rather than caving to peer pressure. And secondly, it isn't what everyone is doing ... not anymore.
Mommabear2, it appears to me by your current reasoning, you would not circumsize your son if you were living in Europe right now. Is that true?
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
