There’s a thread about getting your daughter’s ear’s pierced as an infant, and there’s a discussion in another thread debating not continuing with a practice merely because of tradition.
Circumcision is a religious tradition in some faiths. Many years ago it was also recommended by physicians to have baby boys circumcised to prevent the spread of germs and infection. In the US, circumcision rates got as high as 85% in the mid 60’s. Recent studies indicate that circumcision rates in the US are still above 50%, although the reason is now more for “concerns about the attitudes of peers and their sons’ self concept in the future”.
So if you had an infant son today, would you have him circumcised? And if yes, then why?
No way. I’ve seen videos of babies getting circumcised and the poor things are screaming bloody murder. I can’t imagine willfully subjecting my own child to such pain. What a way to welcome the poor things to this world :\
No. I’m a girl. Do I really have a right to do such a thing anyway? It’s not even about the pain, the pain passes - it’s about doing something to a helpless baby that is not medically necessary and is permanent.
Both my newborn grandsons were circumcised this past month, one on day one and one on day ten. And my son was circumcised when he was born. In all cases the daddies were in favor of the procedure. If they had any bad feelings about their own experiences, it sure wasn’t apparent. And the babies sailed through without any excessive drama or trauma.
my dad born at home and wasn’t circumcised. He had a lot of irritation, rashes etc. finally got circumcised when he was in his thirties because his doctor recommended it. Very, very painful for an adult and a significant recovery time.
I left the decision to his father. I figured, as an owner-operator of the same sort of equipment, he’d have a more informed opinion than I. He opted for no circumcision.
I had some discomfort with sex in my 20’s due to a slightly tight foreskin, and decided to get circumcised at 26. Yes, it was very painful and took at least 2 months to get back to completely normal (even if the doctor said I’d be fine in a week or 2).
But this situation is so rare that I would never advocate it at birth. In fact, when my son was born, I was strongly against it even if his mother wanted to have it done just “so he wouldn’t get laughed at” in the locker room. At the time, almost every adult male born in the US or Canada was circumcised. But I knew the trends were changing. Luckily for my son, the hospital where he was born did not perform them without special prior doctor’s orders.
ETA: How can one possibly know how much pain the kid is feeling after getting snipped after birth? They’re crying for a reason.
I blame the continued trend on infant circumcision on porn. Most male porn actors are circumcised and as such it is viewed as the norm. A lot of people don’t want their little Johnny to appear abnormal when he grows up, so might as well get it snipped now.
My son was circumcised 17 years ago (perinatal). I was present (Our Ob-Gyn and pediatrician were friends of mine). Local anesthesia was used and follow up was very straight forward.
ETA: And, as Omar points out, having inherited my incredible length and girth, a career in films awaits!
Nope. Neither of my sons is cut. MrWhatsit and I both feel like circumcision is a ridiculously outdated practice that carries more potential harm than potential benefit.
I had both of my sons circumcised at birth. At the time the reasons seemed adequate. There are some very slight health advantages. And both of my boys had apparently very effective local anesthetics; neither cried and I was present for the procedure for both. And neither I nor they seem to have had any problems. So I don’t really regret it.
But if I was just having my first son now, I wouldn’t choose to circumcise.
Since when does it cause loss of sensitivity? And if it’s done by a competent professional there shouldn’t be any scarring. And pain is completely irrelevant - I am circumcised and I have no memory of it whatsoever, because it was done when I was an infant. And I’m glad as hell that it was done then and got it over with, because there’s no way I’d want that kind of pain as an adult.
… and as far as being “necessary”, no it’s not “necessary” - but I think uncut dicks are gross and weird-looking. So there’s that.
My father also had his foreskin strangle him as a teen, and famously did the job himself with a jackknife, because this.was apparently.easier than talking to his parents about his penis.
Still, we opted not to have the boy circumsized. (He is three weeks old now.)
If I ever start booking unnecessary elective surgeries for.my family based on the advice of people that think god’s talking to them, i’ll pick one more proximate in time and space. “Hey, Mad Jimmy says splenectomies for everyone!”
Okay, so because they’re screaming this is a problem? Don’t babies do that anyway?
The problem with modern circumcision is that it’s often done right away in the first couple days or so, when the Scripture specifically says to do it on the eighth day. No one cares to even realize why (mostly out of defiance I’d say). On the eighth day the blood is much thicker in the child, causing far less bleeding and I’d imagine not as painful. Sure there are mistakes made quite often, but mostly due to the fact that the person performing it is a total moron. A friend of mine had one that was slightly botched, too much extra skin was taken, and even in his mid 40’s he still has some issue with it, but even he still made sure his son was circumcised (he went back and forth on the decision, but then realized that not only were the benefits too great to not do it, but he also couldn’t justify not obeying the commandment to do so).
On top of the health reasons (which is why it’s commanded in Torah, BTW,…what, do you think the creator’s stupid? There’s a good reason for everything in Torah if you take the time to think about it), have you ever seen one that’s not? It’s by far the most horrendous thing ever to be attached to a persons body, I’ve heard of women totally freaking out and running away screaming when they see it for the first time (granted that’s slightly exaggerated, but not much). Not circumcising the boy is much worse in the long run, you’ve got to weigh the pros and cons, and believe me, from hearing both sides of the argument, the pros win by a very long shot.
(Just my opinion gathered from several individuals from either side of the fence, I even know of guys who’ve gone to get it done merely because they felt it to be necessary on many levels, and believe me, 30 to 50 year old men don’t make that decision lightly.)
FTR, I am circumcised. I was asked if I wanted my son to be. My decision was yes, partially because I was, it was the ‘norm’ at the time and because of the prevailing thoughts on hygiene and health. This was 1990. If I had to decide again, I would still opt for circumcision.
