Is it really Cambodian custom for a father to mouth his one-year-old boy's genitals?

[BrainGlutton]

This thread title probably inspires a WTF??? reaction even by Dope standards, but I’m serious, and the question has actual political relevance. This is a spinoff from here, in a GD thread on the Virginia Senate race. Nobody in that thread seems to be able to confirm or deny this, yet, so I’m presenting it for separate GQ treatment.

[Apos]

Unfortunately, it’s not particularly easy to search for “Cambodian penis in mouth” on the internet and get relevant results. We need someone that actually has cultural knowledge or has access to a library.

[Baron_Greenback]

Isn’t a related phenomenon (or myth?) for mothers or wet nurses to quieten noisy male children by doing something similar?

[John_Mace]

Good luck with this one… BTW, I’d like to nominate “Cambodian gential customs” as the most ridiculous issue ever raised in a US Senate campaign (or any other campaign, for that matter). Can grown men actually talk about that with a straight face?

[bibliophage]

This has been in the news not only because of Webb’s book, but also because a woman originally from Cambodia was recently arrested for doing this in Nevada. Apparently it’s not really common in Cambodia, but not unknown in rural areas Las Vegas News | Breaking News & Headlines | Las Vegas Review-Journal

Nonsexual mouth-to-penis contact with infants is not limited to Cambodians. Following Jewish circumcision, the mohel traditionally sucked the blood with his mouth, but more hygienic alternatives are more common today. Brit milah - Wikipedia

[Baron_Greenback]

I tried googling “wet nurse child penis stimulation myth”, and there were no relevant to my supposition links in the first few pages (and no prurient ones either). I do realise that I’m probably on a list at Google HQ now though, so I’m not inclined to refine the search.

[Boyo_Jim]

I searched for – Cambodiam custom father son penis – and got this,, which I can’t otherwise vouch for:

Thira Srey, office manager for the Southern California-based Cambodian Association of America, said it is acceptable for a mother or caretaker in Cambodia, especially those from rural areas, to kiss the penis of an infant or put it in her mouth as a sign of respect or love.

The child is usually 1 year old or younger, “but no more than 2 years old,” he said.

The act has nothing to do with sexual feelings, he said, noting that it can be viewed as a sign of high respect by a caretaker for a future “master.”

[Boyo_Jim]

I see biblihage and I ended up with the same quote through different links, and I have seen this one quote and only this one quote a number of times. T will look for another.

[Squink]

Different country, different custom, but the Elian Gonzalez case reveals what sort of strangeness can be considered culturally normal behavior towards young boys:

One of the grandmothers publicly announced that she had asked Elian about his penis size and bitten his tongue, two culturally normal things for a grandmother to do in Cuba, but obviously outrageous to Americans. The Miami family and Cuban exiles attacked the grandmother as a child abuser.

[Horatio_Hellpop]

I’ve heard of a similar practice in Pakistan, where the father kisses his infant son’s genitals as some sort of “Thank God I have a son!” gesture, leading to some culture clashes between Family Services and the immigrant community. I’m sure this odd practice is no respecter of national borders.