So hello world that found me through Google, or some random fan of mine out there that regularly reads my posts - (I love you too).
Circumcision. Is it "sicion" or "cision"? Truthfully, I can't ever seem to get it right.
Just like the whole danged country of America. And no, I'm not talking about Trump vs Hillary. I'm not talking about big oil companies and the decision to make global warming a political issue, not a scientific one. I'm not talking about the Trail of Tears, or Area 51 faking the moon landing, or even Nicholas Cage. I'm talking about Circumcision. (The trick is, write it enough times, and you'll remember the spelling.)
In America we don't talk about it. We just do it.
Wife turns to husband, who is a boy, therefore the penis expert in the family, when the doctor pops the question. Husband scrunches up his face, thinks of what he looks like, and adamantly declares, "Cut it off! We don't want him looking like a damned ant-eater!"
And it is done.
Circumcision is perpetuated by tradition alone.
Over 80% of the world's men are "intact," meaning uncircumcised. Some cultures circumcise their sons due to their religious faiths. Jews and Muslims believe in circumcision. (Remember Abraham in the Bible?) I have a personal belief that if God tells you to do something, you should do it. So my circumcision argument is completely invalid for those belonging to religious faiths that would encourage them to do so. Power to you! Go with God, and keep believing! Disregard everything else I have said or will say! I, too, believe in obeying God.
As for the rest of you, though. I'm assuming you're Christian, atheist, agnostic, etc. (I don't believe I have an Eastern following, unfortunately.) Atheists and agnostics. We'll talk about science. Christians? 1 Corinthians, the Acts, Galatians, etc, etc. These books and scriptures are full of accounts of Gentiles choosing to follow Christ. (They make up the early Christian church.) They were directed that it didn't matter if they were circumcised or not! There was no reason to continue with circumcision, after that point.
(Just like they discontinued animal sacrifices, etc. The Old Testament is full of beautiful, symbolic covenants with God. You get Abraham cutting animals in half and walking between them, people rending their clothes in half, people cutting off the foreskins of their sons, etc. It was all very symbolic, and I would write about the religious concept of "cutting a covenant" which trends throughout the Law of Moses, but don't get me started, because I love it. The point is, we don't cut covenants anymore! Now we have Jesus!) (Screw it. Read THIS!)
Circumcision! Why are we still doing this?! WHO is doing it! Aside from religious persons, we have:
Americans.
And people in Africa, some who also do female genital mutilation, which we give them an extremely hard time about, without seeing the hypocrisy in our own actions... ("Boys and girls are DIFFERENT!") Yes. Their genitalia are different. Well spotted. You're still cutting 50% of the skin of it off. The tissue that forms your clitorus in utero is the same tissue that forms his foreskin. End of discussion.
Why am I talking about this? What the heck is my problem?
My problem is that I love children. I worked in Child Protection, and you'll have to forgive me, because there's a huge part of my heart that screams "Kill them now!" whenever I see adults hurting innocent children. Even the not so innocent children, too, I guess... Basically all children. I like them.
I have a son, and he is intact. My husband is intact. Did that have anything to do with our decision? Maybe his decision, but not mine.
Circumcision is a cosmetic procedure. It is optional. Frankly, my view on circumcision is the reason I chose the pediatrician I did, for my child. We were all lined up for another one, when this doctor came in to check him out as a newborn, and asked, "Are you planning on having him circumcised?" Was I too fast at replying "No!" (Did I clutch my newborn, perfect child to my bosom in feral rage, hissing, and kicking blankets at the doctor with venomous, protective fury?)
"That's great!" he replied, then doctor-ly added, "It's not a recommended procedure. Your son will be just fine without it. Science shows that there are no greater risks of infection or complications for uncircumcised boys." I fell for him right there. We changed doctors, and saw our new, pro-foreskin doctor again a few days later. (Another European pediatrician checked our son out the following day and asked the same question. She smiled when we told her we weren't planning on it. "Circumcision is really only an American thing. They don't do it anywhere in Europe.") We felt so posh.
So why do Americans do it?
Tradition. It's what Dad looks like. -Some dads look like Michael Jackson... Do you see my point?
Women who've never even seen a foreskin spreading lies that they're disgusting. Smegma. - Bull. Girls got gunk too. The purpose of the foreskin is to keep the penile glands moist. You've got some "moist-keeping" parts too. You clean 'em. Grow up.
They look "gross." - Women, seriously, the first time you saw a penis, did you honestly think it didn't look creepy? They're not supposed to be pretty. You pee with it. You get used to them, in all their varieties.
Lowers the risk of HIV! - Tell your son to get circumcised when he's an adult, if he's going to be sexually promiscuous. I, for one, plan on my child not being at risk of HIV, because I'm planning on him having a healthy sex life. I could also opt to have him circumcised because he might be a porn star, and he'll be more appealing that way... I'm just going to leave him intact, and let him make life choices like that on his own.
ETC. Seriously - there are a ton of reasons people are using, for why they circumcise their sons. So I thought I would share some reasons why NOT to do it.
1) Removing a Foreskin is Cosmetic.
There's no medical reason to do it. It would be like plucking your baby girl's eyebrows, because you wanted her to look more "girly," or giving her implants. There's no reason to do it. Do not perform surgery on someone else who has no say on the matter, when it's not needed. "Do no harm."
2) It's Inhumane.
"Babies don't feel any of it!" Again, I say, Bull. In 1997 a group of Canadian doctors were experimenting with anesthesia, to see which would be more effective in relieving the pain of circumcision. As with studies, they needed a control group, who didn't get any pain relief. They had to call off the study, because babies were in so much pain it was unethical to continue.
The foreskin is connected to the head of the penis with the same type of tissue that connects fingernails to the nail bed. A blunt probe is shoved between the head of the penis and foreskin, while the foreskin is then clamped to begin the clotting process - 10 minutes later they can cut it off. Remember that's how Sayid tortured Sawyer in LOST - shoving bamboo shoots under Sawyer's fingernails. Now your finger is a penis, and you might start to imagine.
Is it ever right to inflict pain on someone - even if they can't remember it later? (PS - studies how that it does still negatively effect them - with rates of Depression, PTSD, anger, and more sensitivity to pain later in life. 60% of circumcised men have difficulty identifying and expressing their feelings. They're 4.5 times more likely to be diagnosed with erectile dysfunction, etc, etc.)
3) Complications
Buried penis, infection, adhesions, meatal stenosis, etc. Ask moms.
I know I've had the privilege of looking at uncircumcised babies and circumcised babies, and I can tell you that the intact penises look, frankly, happier and healthier.
4) Circumcised Penises are Harder to Clean
Foreskins are beautiful things that keep the head of the penis lusciously and comfortably moist, secure, and safe. (No scratching of the head, no having to clean poop off, etc.) The foreskin is designed to let you clean a little baby penis like you would clean a finger - water. BAM. Done. (Foreskin doesn't retract until later in life. So if those fear-mongering, never seen a foreskin in their lives, mothers tell you foreskins are hard to clean, I say, stop cleaning your ten-year-old.)
5) Nerve Endings and Pleasure
A huge driver for circumcision in America in the first place was the fear of masturbation. I'm against masturbation, frankly, but I'd hate to cut a body part off to prevent something that MIGHT happen, and that you could easily just have some conversations about instead. Talk to your kids. Don't cut off their genitalia.
Like I briefly mentioned earlier, the foreskin is made from the same tissue that the clitorus is made from, in utero. We all know that the clitorus makes women very happy. So, too, the foreskin for men, and for the same reasons.
Turns out, though, the foreskin also makes women very happy. Without going into too much detail, it keeps things better lubed, and the foreskin male technique is more satisfying for women. 85% of women who have had sex with both intact and circumcised men prefer sex with an intact man. (My bias - the other 15% probably thought the foreskin was "gross" and that he had "cooties.")
It might make you slightly uncomfortable to think about your newborn son having sex, someday, but hey. I thought reasons number one and two would have been enough to stop you.
Stop cutting your babies. Stop cutting your sons. There is no good reason. The science is out. 80% of the world has been doing it for long enough that you should see it.
Yeah, definitely not posting this one to Facebook.
#mykidistheonlyonewithaforeskininthefamily
#noneofmyfriendsareonthesamepageandidontwanttobringitupbecauseimightkillthem
