I hadn’t thought about it like that. Guess I got some queers to kill.
I know it’s (or was) extremely common in the US, but is the same true for Canada? I had the impression that it’s much less common here. As anecdotal evidence, neither I nor my father are circumcized. (And to answer the question, I probably wouldn’t have it done to an eventual son, unless it’s medically required.)
As a Jew, a son of mine will have his shmeckie snipped on the eighth day of his life.
Unless your faith demands it, or you have family history of phimosis or other foreskin trouble, I recommend against circumcision. Health wise, if you keep the penis clean there are minimal benefits to circumcision.
Re pain
I’ve shared this before. For years, I had a tiny scar on my right index finger. This was from the time I nearly sliced the tip off. A Swiss army knife folded back on the pad of my finger. At first, I thought it had made no cut. Then, I saw how amazingly deep the cut was and bled for about half an hour. Because the knife was so sharp and the cut made so cleanly, it didn’t hurt at all. Being held still during the circumcision will make a baby cry. Being cold during the circumcision will make a baby cry. The clamp/guide instrument used looks REALLY cold and uncomfortable. But the actual cut? I’d be surprised if babies feel that at all.
Not that again :rolleyes:.
The death sentence may only be imposed and carried out by a properly consecrated sanhedrin.
Animal sacrifices may only be made at the Temple.
Circumcision OTOH may be carried out anywhere by any qualified Jew.
I had to LOL on that one.
“Because the epithelium of a circumcised glans becomes cornified, and because some feel nerve over-stimulation leads to desensitization, many believe that the glans of a circumcised penis is less sensitive.”
Boyle et al. (2002) argued that circumcision and frenectomy remove tissues with “heightened erogenous sensitivity,” stating “the genitally intact male has thousands of fine touch receptors and other highly erogenous nerve endings—many of which are lost to circumcision.”
And if we were all great drivers, there wouldn’t be any car accidents.
So you can smack a newborn kid because they won’t remember it later?
There’s no way I’d want that kind of pain because it’s fucking unnecessary.
You consider the possibility you find them weird because you’re so familiar with your own?
So there’s that.
Wow. Every single statement is appallingly pat. I don’t know where to start.
Surgeons and obstetricians are morons? By what measure?
Please state the health reasons you refer to. Or are you assuming that parents won’t attend to their child’s hygiene until he is old enough to learn to take care of himself?
Every suggestion in the Torah? *All *of these are rational, reasonable, and necessary restrictions and directions?
Women run from a little loose skin? Persons familiar with vulva would never make such a statement.
And what are the stats you’ve informally gathered from circumcised men who have problems from scarring and loss of sensitivity?
Wait… this is IMHO, and this is just Your indefensible opinion, and not based on a decent sample size, peer-reviewed research, or any familiarity with a selection of penii, right? NM.
WTF is that even supposed to mean?
Bosstrain was saying: “There’s a good reason for everything in Torah if you take the time to think about it”, I was doing a reduction ad absurdum with the idea. Do you believe there’s a good reason for everything in the Torah which has for necessary implication that if it’s in the Torah, there’s a good reason for it?
The fact that death sentences and animal sacrifices require more procedural steps than circumcision are irrelevant to the “it’s in the Torah so there’s a good reason for it” argument.
This isn’t a normal I’m cold/hungry cry that a baby is expected to make. This is a highly intense, shrieking wail of pain that starts the moment the cutting begins. I think it’s ridiculous that we, as a culture, can be so adamantly against female circumcisions in third world countries as being barbaric and unnecessary and yet maintain that doing the same to a newborn boy is full of ‘health benefits’.
pe·nis (pns)
n. pl. pe·nis·es or pe·nes (-nz)
So your cite is Wikipedia quoting one guy + the vague weasel words “many believe”? “Many believe” a lot of shit, my friend. It doesn’t make it true.
ETA: from your very own cite:
“No valid evidence to date, however, supports the notion that being circumcised affects sexual sensation or satisfaction.” (which cites “Circumcision: Position Paper on Neonatal Circumcision”. American Academy of Family Physicians. 2007. Retrieved 2007-01-30.)
Apt username/post combo, I must say.
Ah I retract my roll eyes then
Whether every commandment has some solid scientific reason or benefit is naturally an ongoing debate in Judaism. The general consensus is that it’s irrelevant. G-d told us to do it. So we do it. Why He told us to do it doesn’t matter so much.
Are you shitting me with this?
I’ve seen both. They don’t look that different, for Christ’s sake. I somewhat prefer the uncut look from an aesthetic standpoint, personally.
I voted no, but my answer is closer to “don’t care.” I have no strong feeling either way (I’m circumcised and it’s been great, if I weren’t I think it’d still be great), so I’d probably leave it up to my partner to decide. If neither of us cared? I say leave the penis in peace and let the kid decide later in life.
Yeah, thanks. As far as the rest of my post: Nevermind. A quick search revealed deliberate chain-yanking behavior:
Bosstrain, I retract my questions. Please don’t bother enlightening me further with your bald shtick.
De nada. Really it isn’t hard to keep “penis” straight.
Given the nod towards it being medically more sound to cut than not to cut (should he ever come into contact with STD’s in the future) I would cut. Should the research change between now and when I get knocked up with a boy, I’d change positions immediately.
Nobody was cut by shaky old rabbi, sheesh. Now that is a terrible idea.
Don’t I know it 
My 23 yo son was not circumcised. I doubt if any future grandsons will be either. My nursing student daughter witnessed a circumcision recently, and she was quite upset to see the crucifix position of the infant and to hear his horrific screaming cries afterwards. Then, last week, she heard about a botched procedure in which part of an infant’s penis was cut off!
BTW, my son has never had any problems with infections. Neither has my 82 yo uncircumcised father.