I usually try to be open-minded and listen to different points of view. But I have a very hard time listening to people's rationalizations when it comes to circumcision. I used to think that what parents did to their kids genitals is there business, but the more I learn about circumcision, the more I know it's dead wrong. People have lots of excuses to justify it, but really, it's an unnecessary and brutal thing to do to your newborn. You might worry that your kid will look different from other kids, but who cares. If a generation of parents would be brave enough to say no (and they are in certain parts of the country), then the next generation of boys would never have this dilemma to think about.
Last night when I was writing my post for Oh! Baby, I was so worked up about it. Father in Chief agrees with me on this issue, but there were some difficult core feelings in there as well because he (and pretty much everyone we know) is circumcised. I was going on about mutilation and how I don't understand why people do it--especially when they are nonchalant about it--and this hit some nerves. I don't mean to say that my husband is mutilated and I don't blame my parents' generation for doing this to their sons. At the time doctors thought it was a good thing to do.
But. Now. We. Know. Better. See my full rant here.
Hmmm...I see the point; I have always sen the point, but not actually having a menis, I admit that I let my husband make this call. And he called it based on his religious heritage.
ReplyDeleteOur compromise: local anesthetic. I was there, I watched it happen--and it's certainly much more involved than the word "snip" would have one believe--but the one thing I CAN say is that at least it didn't hurt. He cried more when the moyle took off his diaper.
I really meant to say penis.
ReplyDeleteFor a different perspective, I know in at least one Southeast Asian country circumsion is a rite of passage. Boys usually have it done in their teen years.
ReplyDeleteRight on! Circumcison is brutal, unecessary and just all around bad.
ReplyDeleteI hear what you are saying, don't have any boys, thankfully, so this never became an issue in our house. My husband is not circumsized, for his generation he was the odd man out. He still regularly thinks about getting it done because of the difference and as you get older you can get yeast infections more frequently. I also know 3 moms who had to do it because of medical reasons when their boys were 2-3 years old. At that age they had to use general anesthetic and took a longer time to heal. ya try to keep a 2-3 boy still for a week.... not going to happen.
ReplyDeletejust wanted to give a different prospective.
oops hope that that didn't sound like I don't like little boys!! I do like boys! wish I had one!
ReplyDeleteI just meant I was thankful that we never had to decide that cuz for us it would have been a tough one.