To Circumsize Or Not To Circumsize?

I have read that it does slightly reduce the risk of HIV infection if a male is circumsized but I don't know if it was several studies supporting that notion or if it was a brand new idea.

I really do not know about it. On one hand, I can see the pointlessness in it and then on the other hand, I have heard some very painful stories about foreskin in sexual situations that nearly made me retch thinking about them...and I have a strong stomach.

I think I'll leave it up to my husband. He's more of an authority in that department.

I've heard the HIV argument as well- but if you're having sex with a person who is infected, would you really trust the circumcision to save you?

Personally if you have foreskin issues later in life, an adult circumcision is a lot cleaner, safer procedure with fewer risks of deforming the penis. The foreskin is already separated from the glans, and everything is big and easy to see.

Well said. Another risk of infant circ that is eliminated by waiting until the person is an adult is the risk of taking off too much skin. The doctor performing the circ gives the infant an erection in order to approximate how much skin to take off, but it's just an approximation. They have no way of knowing how big the baby boy's penis will be when he is an adult. Taking off too much skin can result in very painful erections, or "borrowing" of skin from the scrotum, i.e. the skin at the base of the penis is pulled up during erection.

Oh, and incase you missed that - yes, the doctor gives the baby an erection to approximate how much skin to cut off. That's right. That beautiful, trusting perfect little boy's first sexual experience is immediately followed by intense pain.

Circumcized women also have a slightly reduced chance of contracting HIV but noone's suggesting that cutting an unconsenting female is a good idea.

For anyone who's thinking well, my husband is the one with the penis, so he should decide. Well, you (the mom) are the one with the intact, whole genitals. How about you be the one to decide to protect your babies and keep them as beautiful and whole as they were meant to be.

I believe as mothers, we do what's best for our kids.

I'm not going to tell anyone that they should or shouldn't circumcise their sons, but to be well informed.

BTW, both my boys ARE circumcised.

All 3 of my boys are circumsized. I read the pros and cons.. and i decided for it.
My sons weren't grumpy when they got back. To each their own.

I just felt it was best to have it done. I didnt like the things that could happen if they weren't. Now as for the girls one.. i wouldnt do that if i would ever have a girl.....To me it is different. Then again i haven't heard very much about the female one. I guess its not done anymore. *shrug*

To me, the risks of what can happen if it IS done are too high for me to ever circumcise a child. It's completely unnatural.

Oh believe me, the female circumcision is done, and it is a horrific thing. It's not done in America, which is why you don't think it's acceptable (yet male genital mutilation is?!). The nicest thing that could happen to a girl during female circumcision would simply be the removal of the clitoral hood. Unfortunately, that almost never happens.

More likely, when the girl reaches puberty, the clitoral hood is chopped off, then the clitoris is excised manually, often with pieces of sharpened glass. By the way, this is done on a dirty floor inside someone's house with no anesthesia. I heard of women who would stick their finger into the wound where the clitoris was and feel around to make sure it was all gone. The girl is often held down to prevent squirming and writhing by her OWN MOTHER. She is often screaming and crying from the pain.

Moving on: If she's lucky, that's all they'll do. If not, the next step is to remove the inner labia with the same piece of broken glass. Then, the bleeding, open wound is sewn shut, leaving a hole the size of a straw. No consideration is made regarding the location of her urethra; I believe and actual straw is inserted to keep the hole open for the first few weeks.

In some cases, the girl then has her legs bound together for a few weeks to make sure she doesn't pull the stitches out. She cannot move or walk around. Again, there is no anesthesia.

Mothers do this to their daughters, despite going through it themselves. Girls are considered ugly and unmarriagable unless they are sewn shut. When they finally marry, the same women cut open some of the flesh, just large enough to allow a penis. When the girl is pregnant and ready to give birth, they cut it open larger. After birth, it is sewn back up... and is cut open again for every single child she has.

Eiri-- EEEK!! The girl one seems sooo ... ummmm... OUCHIE!!!!!
Im glad that this is not done here....
All what they have to go through is horrid.

holy

oh my freaking god.

As I was searching I actually found out it IS done in North America. Many states have it outlawed, but still 200,000 women a year will be circumcised... in America.

Futhermore, why would nature give men foreskin if it was meant to be removed?

Exactly. It's supposed to be there.

If you think about it your saying I don't want that done to my child.. He already has it done. He might feel like you are saying circumcision is wrong... therefor so Is his penis.

Just a suggestion

I AM saying circumcision is wrong, you're right. That doesn't make his penis "wrong" just like rape does not make the victim "wrong" because rape is wrong. However, it does make his penis incomplete and there's just no nice way to say that.

We'd have it done if we had a boy... I didn't care either way, but my fiance wanted it done. He's uncircumcised and he said that during sex it actually hurts him because his foreskin gets pulled weird or something.

As others have already said, circumcision is wrong on many levels. First and foremost, it denies a boy (who will be a sexual man one day) the right to chose what HE believes is best for his body. Most intact men are happy to be intact--why? Because there are about 20,000 nerve endings in the foreskin, and 240 feet of nerves. That's a LOT of sensation--but not "on" and "off" sensation, sensation that is sensitive to temperature, fine touch, and subtle changes of rhythm. The foreskin is a very important part of the penis otherwise it would not be there. If a man decides he doesn't want it when he's old enough to make an informed choice, so be it. At that age, he is able to choose his own style of circumcision, how much skin is removed, etc. It is much safer and the results are better than a circumcision done on a tiny penis which will grow and change so much over the years.

As for convincing your husband, have you shown him videos of circumcisions being performed? Many circumcised men are in denial at how much wrong was done to them. They try to defend their status from an emotional rather than rational point of view. Circumcision is indeed a major trauma which imprints itself in the nervous system. Doctor James Prescott (http://montagunocircpetition.org/) did research to see what kind of brain damage circumcision caused--the medical association would not let him research it further, most likely because they knew he would find something that would put them all out of business. I recommend showing your husband videos first. Here are some links:
This is an excellent mini documentary (part 1 of 4): http://www.youtube.co m/watch?v=5Jl0qL_3dUg
Show him the whole thing.

http://www.youtube. com/watch?v=DXal6eR8_NI&feature=PlayList&p =4108AA347E17A117&index=6 - This is excellent I couldn't watch it all but the beginning should even be enough!!!

http://www.youtub e.com/user/painfulquestioning -Many videos, including ones of a circumcision being performed. I recommend all of them.


If I were you I would research the anatomy of the natural penis with him. There are also some online workshops happening soon that discuss circumcision and care for the intact penis. I highly recommend them to you and your husband!!! http:// consciouswoman.org/2007/08/14/the-intact-n ewborn/
This professional, articulate advice might change his mind. The presenters are well-known.

I would show him many websites of organizations against circumcision, such as Mothers Against Circumcision, Doctors Opposing Circumcision, Attorneys for the Rights of the Child, Jews against Circumcision (if you can even go against an ancient rite, you can go against medical bullcrap), etc. It sounds like PTSD may be an issue for your husband, since he has obviously buried his wound and now wishes to re-enact it to make himself feel normal. If necessary, provide psychological support, perhaps with the help of a professional. ht tp://www.norm.org has a list of people who can help with men's circumcision issues, I believe.

Tell him also, that you want your son to have the choice whether to be circumcised or not when he's 18+. If you have a son, educate him on his penis and if the "he looks different than daddy" thing comes up, I have heard of men telling their sons that doctors cut off that part of their body because they thought it was good back then, but now they know better. Their sons usually look sad and tell their father they're sorry it happened. Children want to protect people from such things--they know every part of their body is special and meant to be there!! It's only adults that distort these issues.

You may also mention to him the sexual effects circumcision has on men AND their female partner, but only if this feels right to you: http://www.sexasnatureinte ndedit.com/


Hope it helps!!! Together we will end this unnecessary, harmful surgery on the most sensitive, pleasurable organs of unconsenting minors!

As a circumcized man, I can empathize with your husband's seemingly out-of-the-blue anger about circumcision. I feel strongly, yet every time I hear somebody talk about how terrible circumcision is, how it causes trauma for infants, how it affects mother-child bonding, how it affects intimacy, I get angry. Because it's all true, and because it was done to me when I had no power to stop it. These discussions remind me of my powerlessness, and as a man that's awful. Sometimes it gets to be too much for me, and I have to do something else.

But stay firm, please. My own father wanted me to be circumcised because he was, and my mother didn't want to cause trouble for their relationship. As a result I, the infant, was hurt. It is an unnecessary operation that hurts babies (oftentimes doctors can't use enough anesthetic because the baby is so small and sensitive, and babies either scream like crazy or go into a state of shock). Please be a strong mother for your son. You have so many of us supporting you.

im a filipina and married to white man.. since i had my baby deliver in philippines and was waiting to get approved to enter here in USA.. my son celebrated his second birthday in philippines before coming here.

now my worries is he will be 4 this december and still not circumsize..as in the philippines doctors dont circumsize a new born baby there..instead they waited untill ur child is 5 to 10 yrs old to be cricumsize.

i argue with my husband everytime i talk about having our son circumsize here in USA as he dont agree to have my son suffer the pain..

for me..i dont want my son to hate me or blame me when he grows old..and question me why we didnt have him circumsize before..coz im thinking maybe he will be shy to girls.

my husband dont want to have our son circumsize..coz he is too old to be circumsize here in USA..and if there will be a doctor he is sure that it will be expensive and we cannot afford it..

pls guys..give me some advice..

Hmmm let me see

I was against circumcision, well Cams daddy is filipino for some odd reason his culture prevailed.

Cam fell asleep on the way there and didnt wake up till we tried to put him back in his carseat, I was freaking out and well it actually wasn't that bad.

It healed really fast, you put gauze over top of the penis with load of vaseline for the few first day and its done, unless the rarity of an infection appears. I was expecting my son to scream all hell and to make a huge fuss, I didnt think I could watch but I stood outside the door.