To Snip or Not to Snip?? That is the Question

[CMJ 14869]

Hello Cerbites,

 

I posted a similar thread and poll on the "other board" and got a huge response so I thought I would post on here as well as it is a juicy topic with passionate and interesting opinions and perspectives.

 

I am pregnant with my first child, a baby boy to be exact, and one of the most important decisions I need to make is whether or not to circumcize my son.

 

Men, both cut and natural - what is your opinion and arguments? Pros and Cons?

 

Women, fans and foes of the extra skin - what are your opinions?

[Megan'sTouch 23875]

I have a pretty strong opinion that it is wrong to mutilate the body of a person, including a baby, without their consent unless there is a medical reason to do so.

 

This opinion is strongly entwined with my pro-choice and pro-sex-work opinions. A person's body belongs to him or herself to do with as he or she chooses.

 

Interestingly, statistics show that it is becoming less and less common to circumcize baby boys. I believe any boy today would be in the minority to be circumcized. From my experiences and the statistics, younger people are less and less likely to support circumcision.

[Seymour 3970]

I guess I don't have an opinion on the matter. As the legal parent and guardian of your child it is your decision for how you proceed with this and other important aspects of raising your child.

[Kate von Katz 49953]

The only medical risks involved with not circumcisizing are purely hygeinic. Ladies, we've all seen at least one uncut guy who really needs a lesson in cleanliness. But that's the only risk.

 

To cut also has no risk - it's a simple procedure with an enviable low margin of error.

 

The choice is yours to make, and none of us can (or should try) to make it for you. Do your own research on legitimite webpages and come to your own decision. As a mother-to-be (congrats, by the way :-) ) you are tasked with making the right choices for your wee one. With a little dedicated study you will be better equipped to make very informed choices.

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[NotchJohnson 214129]

I was circumcised as a baby and do not regret my parents for doing so except that it hurt when they did it(yes I cried) and I could not walk for about a year. LOL Another positive note on this is I know when to stop my hand while masturbating without looking down at it.

 

On a more serious note.

I believe in having baby boys circumcised, but this is my choice and you should make your own decision on this. Do not let anyone make that decision for you.

[antlerman 17064]

I agree with T'storm....on all his points......

it is a difficult choice I am sure for a parent..........

[GreekFreak 101]

I think if there is no medical need then the decision must be left up to the child. He should be left to grow and flourish then make that penis-altering decision down the road.

 

GF

[Jazzitup 5652]

In this day and age, I think it should be considered barbaric.

[PistolPete 61421]

I love my natural way, being born in the Netherlands, my father older brothers are all natural. Today my son is un-cut and he thanks me for it, as he is a clean as myself when it comes to personal hygiene care.

 

I can remember when he was potty trained, we both use to go for a piss,and I would stand beside show him how to pull back (and draw).....I'm mean piss:mrgreen:

 

It was all part of what a father and son would do together while he was a toddler..great times! Now I'm worried if he is keeping his dick in his pants..lol

 

Not being cut, I always feel a great sensitivity while making love to a lady,and it is a natural feeling. I'm very clean, never had a lady tell me otherwise..ever!

 

A friend of mine a doctor, here in town, also stands behind the natural way.As he has stated kids can be programmed to ensure pulling back the skin for cleaning daily,going pee it is all about raising your kid. He also says the myths about all diseases are BS.

 

It is your call,but the fact remains, the foreskin is there for a reason is it not??

 

There is some painful videos out there watching a newborn child having his foreskin snipped and it is not a nice to watch.

 

Again it is you and your partners decision, to make.

[Guest f***2f***]

I am the father of two boys. My partner was a nurse and she persuaded me not to have them circumsized (I was circumsized as a babe) as she thought it more natural and also didn't want to mutilate her babies.

My youngest (now in his 20s) thanked me the other day for that decision which I thought was kinda cool,

[GT500 100]

I am so glad that I wasn't cut. Sensitivity is fantastic and if you know to keep it clean it is no hassle whatsoever. Someone previous had a good point, it was put there for a reason so to just cut it off because you think it offers better hygiene, as the only benefit, well that just seems a tad excessive. Just because a procedure has been done in the past does not, for me anyway, seem like a strong or even valid reason to continue with it.

[Docb 111]

As someone who has had medical training, I can tell you factually that here is no medical reason to have this procedure done. I myself am uncut, and I don't find it an issue to keep myself clean. However it is your choice, and lots of people still do it for many and varied reasons (religious being the primary on that I can think of).

I know the OB-GYNs probably appreciate the extra that they can bill :)

[Naughty_Nadia 100]

Circumcision reduces enjoyment from sex and makes the penis less sensitive to pleasure. That's pretty much all I need to hear to know that I would never do it to my kids.

 

Knives and genitals just should avoid meeting.

[capitalman 3861]

You guys thanking your parents for NOT snipping you, but I've thanked mine for doing it....so who's right?

 

I agree it's barbaric and there's no reason for it except the social aspect. I believe it's becoming less fashionable to do however I still think it's more common in our society than uncut and when you're a little boy growing up there is nothing worse than feeling like you're different or don't fit in with the other kids. So on that basis I think it should be done.

 

 

Kids with foreskin will appear to be bigger and if you're cut you might feel smaller. Just things I've observed.

 

I've also read many accounts over the years of men with foreskins being overly sensitive and prone to premature ejaculation....HOWEVER the opposite can be said about circumsized people.

 

And there's a whole cult of people out there bent on stretching new foreskins with weights....look it up, you'll see.

[Megan'sTouch 23875]

I agree it's barbaric and there's no reason for it except the social aspect. I believe it's becoming less fashionable to do however I still think it's more common in our society than uncut and when you're a little boy growing up there is nothing worse than feeling like you're different or don't fit in with the other kids. So on that basis I think it should be done.

First, the majority of baby boys in Canada are not circumcized. In 2006/2007, 31.9% of all Canadian baby borns were cut. The rates are continuing to drop.

 

Second, I don't think it's good to teach children they have to conform. All children have things that are different about them. It might be something as obvious as being a racial minority, or having a disability, or it might be something minor like being the shortest kid in the class or having a birth mark.

 

I would rather raise a child who embraces and is proud of his differences and respects the differences of others, than a child I forced to conform and who is taught that different is bad.. But this isn't really related to this debate because to conform in Canada would be to be uncut.

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prevalence_of_circumcision

[jg24 3708]

We did not snip my son not really sure why it wasn't really discussed.I have had a few buddies who complained of the cost for the procedure and having to pay for it as it is not covered by OHIP anymore.

[omehgosh 736]

My understanding is that circumcision was purely religious (originally from the Hebrews).

 

My opinion is that it got turned into a "medical" reason for "cleanliness" as a result of religion as well (that's 100% purely, speculative).

 

My parents had me circumcised and I don't hold it against them in any way at all.

 

If I were given a choice now however, I would choose to remain uncircumcised. If I'm lucky enough to have a son, he won't be circumcised. I don't see any reason for it all.

 

I agree with Pete, I think it's a parent's responsibility to teach his/her child how to clean themselves properly... and I think that could easily be one of those great "just between the boys" moments between a father and son.

 

That being said, I agree with others and believe that it's a personal choice you have to make for your children yourself. I don't agree with circumcision, but I don't believe it will really have much impact on the child either way.

 

I certainly wouldn't think anything less of someone for having their son circumcised (at least not right now, in this day and age... it's still pretty common and socially normal).

[VedaSloan 119179]

Megan has already eloquently beat me to it.

 

IMO, male circumcision is basically equivalent to female circumcision and I can guarantee if this were a girl we were talking about, everyone and their mother would be up in arms about such an atrocity. Boys are no different.

 

Just teach your kid how to clean properly and you will have no problems.

 

Much like my irritation at people's imagined right to randomly touch someone else's child, you as a parent don't have the right to snip your kid's genitals. Let him make the decision when he's old enough, if he cares to.

[Old Dog 179138]

IMO, male circumcision is basically equivalent to female circumcision and I can guarantee if this were a girl we were talking about, everyone and their mother would be up in arms about such an atrocity. Boys are no different.

 

The two procedures are incongruous; it's like comparing apples and tractors.

 

Female circumcision is more aptly and generally accepted as genital mutilation. In the "least" extreme cases, only the clitoris is removed; in the more extreme, the clitoris and labia are removed and the vagina is sutured together to allow only urine and menstrual fluid to escape.

 

To compare that to having extra skin around the head of the penis removed is like comparing decapitation to a haircut.

 

Would I like to have been given a choice? Meh. I never thought about it. My penis has been a source of joy and fun to me and others for quite some time. I don't feel mutilated. I don't think my parents committed an atrocity. They did what most WASP parents in North America did when they had sons in the era that I was born.

 

Anyways... those are my thoughts...

[Loki318 1631]

I guess my nominations have spoke ,y views on this subject and it really pleases me to see the ladys come down on the side of pro choice on this matter

 

Of all the males I have known or known of in this life and ....I been around ;) ... only one has "Had" to go and have a medical snip done ...

Normally ...

1 it is not necessary

2 it is not right

3 it not a parents choice to make

 

OK guess I got my view across ....

 

Will leave you with this .... if your son had an extra finger would you have it amputated at birth?

 

L:oki318

[Old Dog 179138]

Circumcision reduces enjoyment from sex and makes the penis less sensitive to pleasure.

 

What???? I can tell ya Nadia... me and my circumcised penis, we enjoy sex... a lot.... and the sensitivity thing... absolutely NOT true.

 

I guess my nominations have spoke ,y views on this subject and it really pleases me to see the ladys come down on the side of pro choice on this matter

L:oki318

 

Loki... I am unsure about your science. Would that mean that men should be the only ones polled about the need for breast enhancement?

[Jazzitup 5652]

I am not sure where I heard about this, but it may have been from a doctor. This doctor just refused to perform circumcisions for other than religious reasons (only for jews) and pointed out that in the case where your eye lids get burned off in a fire, it would be possible to do a skin graft from there. Where else do you have some spare skin?

Any doctors in the house to comment on this?

[VedaSloan 119179]

I am not sure where I heard about this, but it may have been from a doctor. This doctor just refused to perform circumcisions for other than religious reasons (only for jews) and pointed out that in the case where your eye lids get burned off in a fire, it would be possible to do a skin graft from there. Where else do you have some spare skin?

Any doctors in the house to comment on this?

 

My lovers ear was grafted from skin from his stomach area, I forget where the cartiledge bits came from. He was born without one of his ears.

 

Additional Comments:

The two procedures are incongruous; it's like comparing apples and tractors.

 

Female circumcision is more aptly and generally accepted as genital mutilation. In the "least" extreme cases, only the clitoris is removed; in the more extreme, the clitoris and labia are removed and the vagina is sutured together to allow only urine and menstrual fluid to escape.

 

To compare that to having extra skin around the head of the penis removed is like comparing decapitation to a haircut.

 

Would I like to have been given a choice? Meh. I never thought about it. My penis has been a source of joy and fun to me and others for quite some time. I don't feel mutilated. I don't think my parents committed an atrocity. They did what most WASP parents in North America did when they had sons in the era that I was born.

 

Anyways... those are my thoughts...

 

 

Er, cutting off extraneous skin is still genital mutilation. You are cutting off a part of the genital, for purely aesthetic reasons. Just because one procedure is deemed less harmful than the other and is completely accepted socially, doesn't make it any less of an atrocity.

[Old Dog 179138]

... pointed out that in the case where your eye lids get burned off in a fire, it would be possible to do a skin graft from there. Where else do you have some spare skin?

...

 

Jazzi... that'd be kinda scary. If they did the transplant and you saw something really exciting, your eyelids would retract until you cried!!!

 

Additional Comments:

Er, cutting off extraneous skin is still genital mutilation. You are cutting off a part of the genital, for purely aesthetic reasons. Just because one procedure is deemed less harmful than the other and is completely accepted socially, doesn't make it any less of an atrocity.

 

mutilate [ˈmjuːtɪˌleɪt]vb (tr)1. (Medicine / Pathology) to deprive of a limb, essential part, etc.; maim; dismember

 

http://www.medterms.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=3508

 

Foreskin: The fold of skin which covers the head (the glans) of the penis. Also called the prepuce.

Only about 1 in every 20 boys is born with a retractable foreskin. This reflects the fact that the histologic (tissue) development of the foreskin is usually not complete at birth.

The foreskin is thus not fully separable from the glans in about 96% of newborn boys. By a year of 1 year, the foreskin can be retracted in 50% of boys and by 3 years, the foreskin can be retracted in 80% to 90% of uncircumcised boys.

 

 

 

Newborn circumcision diminishes the risk for cancer of the penis and lowers the risk for cancer of the cervix in sexual partners. It also decreases the risk of urinary tract infections and lowers the risk of sexually transmitted diseases, including especially HIV (from MedicineNet.com)

 

 

We will have to agree to disagree. As I stated before, I feel neither mutilated nor do I feel that my parents committed an atrocity; being the owner/operator of a circumcised penis makes me uniquely qualified to form that opinion.

[whatsup 11893]

I am very happy that I was born at a time when circumcision was the norm and that my parents had the minor operation performed.

 

I personally find the cut penis to be more appealing than an uncut one.