Parenting Debate: To Snip or no?

[Caelia]

Re: Parenting Debate: To Snip or no?

I am against infant circumcision. I have been banned from forums before for expounding on my opinion, so I will just leave it at that.

Great, now I'm curious. I rarely get a chance to hear a male's view on circumcision

[Medusa]

Re: Parenting Debate: To Snip or no?

Me, as a single woman am neither for nor against it. Have had both. Didn't notice a difference.
Me, as a parent (that's not happening but..) it would be me and my spouse's choice. That's all. No one else's opinion matters.

[Maria de Luna]

Re: Parenting Debate: To Snip or no?

In the us it is odd to come across an un-cut one, art least in my and the last few generations, so I imagine it is lack of familiarity that is the real cause here... Or an imagined attitude, when I was in high school the idea was odd cause I had never seen one before, and we all were kinda vocal about how weird they were, but I think that was before any, *cough* practical experience...

[Clive]

Re: Parenting Debate: To Snip or no?

Great, now I'm curious. I rarely get a chance to hear a male's view on circumcision

Alright, I'll try to be nice about it. For one thing, almost no doctors recommend circumcision for infants because it's unnecessary. If it wasn't supposed to be there we wouldn't be born with it. It may not prevent masturbation but it does rob men of a fair number of nerve-endings, which in turn robs them of some of their potential sexual stimulation.

And the bottom line, really, is that it's a human rights issue. Infants have no say in the matter, an adult does. If a man wishes to be circumcised when he's older then that's his choice. Removing part of your son's penis should not be a parent's decision.

I think if parents do wish to have their sons circumcised, they should have to watch the procedure. I've seen it, it's not pretty. He may not remember it later on but for the time being he's possibly experiencing the worst pain he'll feel in his life within a week of being born.

Maybe a lot of men who were circumcised at birth don't care, but where does that leave those of us who do? There are a great deal of men who feel violated for having been circumcised.

[Tylluan Penry]

Re: Parenting Debate: To Snip or no?

Coming from a part of the world where hardly anyone is ever circumcised unless (a) for religious reasons or (b) for health reasons, I really don't understand why anyone feels it's so important to have it done. I appreciate others don't agree with this, and respect their views, but my own sons weren't cut and it would never have occurred to us or been suggested that we should do so.

As for cleanliness.... a dirty willy is a dirty willy. Cut or uncut. Circumcision is not a short cut (pardon the pun) for soap and water. Or carbolic for that matter.

Just to lower the tone of this debate considerably.... one of my favourite comedians, the late great Dave Allen, was once said to have told somebody 'If I had a head like yours I'd get it circumcised.'

Thought it could come in handy for future reference....

[Caelia]

Re: Parenting Debate: To Snip or no?

I've actually heard those medical reasons, so I agree with you there. And I also agree it should be up to the person having the circumcision whether or not they want it. We feel horrible about women forced to go through it, yet we don't give male circumcision the same consideration. True, most men aren't likely to face the same destruction that female circumcision can bring (e.g. birth complications, UTI's, etc.), but it can still cause some major damage (NSFW site covers some of it with studies, though some of their sources are from NOHARMM so there's a bias to consider) especially the risk of hemorrhaging during a newborn circumcision.

I really don't see why you've been banned over those views.

[Clive]

Re: Parenting Debate: To Snip or no?

I really don't see why you've been banned over those views.

Let's just say it was a number of years ago, when I was a tad younger, and I said something snippy to a moderator (how's that for a pun?). I admit, I get a little heated over this issue. I'm usually very open to other points of view but I just can't yield on this one.

[Caelia]

Re: Parenting Debate: To Snip or no?

Let's just say it was a number of years ago, when I was a tad younger, and I said something snippy to a moderator (how's that for a pun?). I admit, I get a little heated over this issue. I'm usually very open to other points of view but I just can't yield on this one.

Tee-hee puns!

I guess if you got super-heated and said the wrong thing I could see that. And, hey, we all have our passions, so no qualms from me

And Tylluan, lol! I love that joke. I may have to save it for later too.

[iflewoverthecuckoosnest]

Re: Parenting Debate: To Snip or no?

Me, as a single woman am neither for nor against it. Have had both. Didn't notice a difference.
Me, as a parent (that's not happening but..) it would be me and my spouse's choice. That's all. No one else's opinion matters.

I'm with you on this one. Although, I've never been up close and personal with a circumcised penis. Still, not much of an opinion either way. It's just a little flap of skin that doesn't seem to be pivotal to any particular function, but then again I don't have that equipment, so maybe I'm just missing something. As of now I'm pretty neutral no matter how you... slice it. Sorry, I couldn't resist that last bit

- - - Updated - - -

Alright, I'll try to be nice about it. For one thing, almost no doctors recommend circumcision for infants because it's unnecessary. If it wasn't supposed to be there we wouldn't be born with it. It may not prevent masturbation but it does rob men of a fair number of nerve-endings, which in turn robs them of some of their potential sexual stimulation.

And the bottom line, really, is that it's a human rights issue. Infants have no say in the matter, an adult does. If a man wishes to be circumcised when he's older then that's his choice. Removing part of your son's penis should not be a parent's decision.

I think if parents do wish to have their sons circumcised, they should have to watch the procedure. I've seen it, it's not pretty. He may not remember it later on but for the time being he's possibly experiencing the worst pain he'll feel in his life within a week of being born.

Maybe a lot of men who were circumcised at birth don't care, but where does that leave those of us who do? There are a great deal of men who feel violated for having been circumcised.

Hmm, I didn't think of that. Your arguments make quite a lot of sense, really. I'll have to take them into consideration and perhaps reassess my neutrality on the subject.

[DanieMarie]

Re: Parenting Debate: To Snip or no?

In the us it is odd to come across an un-cut one, art least in my and the last few generations, so I imagine it is lack of familiarity that is the real cause here... Or an imagined attitude, when I was in high school the idea was odd cause I had never seen one before, and we all were kinda vocal about how weird they were, but I think that was before any, *cough* practical experience...

Yeah my friend in Canada was like that, and it's only 50/50 with my age group in my region....but she hadn't been with that many guys, and the previous guys were cut, and I think she was also echoing something she saw in Sex and the City (we were like 19...still young enough to be that ridiculous).

- - - Updated - - -

Alright, I'll try to be nice about it. For one thing, almost no doctors recommend circumcision for infants because it's unnecessary. If it wasn't supposed to be there we wouldn't be born with it. It may not prevent masturbation but it does rob men of a fair number of nerve-endings, which in turn robs them of some of their potential sexual stimulation.

And the bottom line, really, is that it's a human rights issue. Infants have no say in the matter, an adult does. If a man wishes to be circumcised when he's older then that's his choice. Removing part of your son's penis should not be a parent's decision.

I think if parents do wish to have their sons circumcised, they should have to watch the procedure. I've seen it, it's not pretty. He may not remember it later on but for the time being he's possibly experiencing the worst pain he'll feel in his life within a week of being born.

Maybe a lot of men who were circumcised at birth don't care, but where does that leave those of us who do? There are a great deal of men who feel violated for having been circumcised.

It was actually banned here, and that's more or less why, along with the damage issues and risks that Caelia posted.. It was a HUGE controversy, because of the holocaust (in Germany, if ANYTHING is done that remotely violates Jewish religious practices, it's a big deal and the N word is used. Mostly, I think this is a good thing, but in this case...). I don't know though....I know it's not the most harmful thing ever, but it is removing part of the penis, and I don't think religion should allow you to do that to your child without his consent in a modern country.

[thalassa]

Re: Parenting Debate: To Snip or no?

And yet, if it was a parent deciding to have their infant child's extra toe removed...some how, I doubt it would be such a big deal.

[Medusa]

Re: Parenting Debate: To Snip or no?

And yet, if it was a parent deciding to have their infant child's extra toe removed...some how, I doubt it would be such a big deal.

Is there such a thing as too many peni?

[DanieMarie]

Re: Parenting Debate: To Snip or no?

I don't really think foreskin is the same as having an extra toe. Most people don't have an extra toe. All men are born with foreskin. It would be a better comparison if you picked a part of the body that everyone has.

Even if it's useless, we don't really remove most other useless parts of the body. The tonsils aren't really necessary most of the time, but we only take those out if they're seriously and continually infected. We're pretty sure the appendix doesn't have a function, but we don't take that out unless there are problems. Removing these things when there is no problem is understandably highly controversial.

[Shahaku]

[Clive]

Re: Parenting Debate: To Snip or no?

I don't really think foreskin is the same as having an extra toe. Most people don't have an extra toe. All men are born with foreskin. It would be a better comparison if you picked a part of the body that everyone has.

Even if it's useless, we don't really remove most other useless parts of the body. The tonsils aren't really necessary most of the time, but we only take those out if they're seriously and continually infected. We're pretty sure the appendix doesn't have a function, but we don't take that out unless there are problems. Removing these things when there is no problem is understandably highly controversial.

Agreed. An extra toe would be considered a mutation or birth defect, something that is genetically unusual. A foreskin is not a defect.

I'd like to point out that foreskins aren't functionless. They protect the glans penis (head) from friction and other forms of damage. While most modern men don't have to worry about scraping their glans on tree trunks and boulders, the foreskin does prevent the head of the penis from rubbing against underclothes day in and day out. This friction, over time, desensitizes the penis to a degree.

Its other function is keeping the penis clean. Believe it or not, smegma, the white substance that builds up under the foreskin, is actually nature's way of keeping the glans moist and clean, and therefore soft and sensitive. Smegma develops on circumcised penises and on the labia of vaginas but is rarely noticed in those circumstances because it is more easily washed away. True, to most people a buildup of smegma is unattractive, but as it has been said, nothing prevents an uncircumcised man from pulling back his foreskin and washing his penis in the shower the same as circumcised men do. It would seem to me that if it were that hard for intact men to wash their penises, a lot of people in Europe would be complaining about their men.