circumcision yes, no, maybe?

OMG that guy is Tails from Sonic his name is Myles Power. xD
Okay a bit different spelling but still...

 

hu? *is confuzzled*

 

That guy in the video is named Myles Power the character from Sonic is called Miles Tails Prower.

 

Same with me when I was 5- got cut, probably because my dad is also circumcised for the same reason (plus I had other issues that required surgery at the same time).

On the other hand, I'm pretty sure nobody had properly checked to see if it was really an issue, and even at the age of five, it would have been nice to have had some explanation as to why I was being shuttled off to an operating theatre beyond 'You need to get this done for when you're older'.

So yeah- I don't think it should be done for anything other than medical reasons and even then, unless there's an urgent medical need, at least hold off until the child is able to comprehend why it needs to be done (parental squeamishness at having to explain the facts of life isn't an excuse).

 

It is mostly a cosmetic surgery. I never had it done and don't plan on it

 

Its the latest craze! Just nip the tip.

I don't see any reason for it, doctors are still practicing so what do they know.

 

oh its a boy i snipped it for you as is standers for baby's born in my hospital
but why?
*slaps the mother* i know whats best!
but doctor?
SHUT UP NURSE!
I'M THE DOCTOR I KNOW WHATS BEST!

Doctor, Nurse, Mother.

 

Why do I have to get it cut, Mommy?
Cause the stork hates foreskin and will peck you to death if it's not removed.

Avoiding the facts a life.

 

Can't say I have a very strong opinion on this one. Outside of extenuating circumstances aka health risks, I'm always in favor of choice. I see no reason to circumcise a boy unless that is what he wants. I'm actually a bit surprised that this one is much of an issue. I can understand people not realizing that they should have foreskin since they were circumcised at birth, have no memory of it, and just assume every penis looks like theirs. That seems a difficult thing to be ignorant of in this day in age, but I could buy it. However once someone knows what circumcision is, I don't see why they'd advocate forcing it on young children outside of religious reasons. It just seems silly to me that people would oppose it. It'd be like if it were ear piercing instead of foreskin snipping. Once you learned that your ears weren't created this way and that they have a hole in them because a doctor put it there, wouldn't it seem like common sense to let people choose instead?

All that said, I'm also not sure how important of an issue it really is. No doubt there are men out there who feel mutilated and I feel sympathize with them; I really do, but I do think they are being a bit dramatic. I know I don't feel mutilated because of it and I'd wager most guys don't either. They probably, like me, don't really care. So, yeah, I say giving someone a choice is always best, but really this one's only on principle cause I'm not sure how big of a difference it makes either way.

 

I'm hesitant to post, but I feel like I'd like to contribute to this conversation now that it's quieted down from the original post on BD.

Yes, I would most likely circumcise my sons. I'm apparently part of a religious minority here. My boyfriend and I are devout and there's a long tradition for circumcision in Christianity, stemming from Judaism. I think it's great that you guys are all for choice and there is a lot of love in your hearts for the kiddos. I don't think that my faith tradition necessarily means that I, conversely, hate my kids and am forcing them to be cut just for the sake of it.

As far as I understand it, circumcision has to do with devoting the child to God and living by the law of the Covenant. It wouldn't be faith if it were easy, and the struggle is something I have to deal with. I'm not 100% set in what I would do, and their father also has a voice and I want to respect that. I'm not sure how Old Testament vs New Testament law works here, especially since it's hard to find serious theological debate for both sides. It is, however, something that I want to honor as being important in my faith.

I don't have a penis, so I can't comprehend what the difference would be like. I know that cut or uncut, they would still be able to experience pleasure and have a fulfilling sex life- to what extent one being more important than the other, again, I can't tell you, since both sides seem to be pretty content with what they have. It may be a rather weak argument, but if the majority of American men are circumcised and we aren't currently seeing major uprisings and bills being lobbied for right-o'-penis, I think it isn't a debilitating choice.

If my sons don't want to be Christian, I will still love them. If they aren't heterosexual, I will still love them. If they want to be my daughters because they don't feel like sons, I will still love them. My religious tradition has fucked up, and I am truly sorry for the pain we have given you in ignorance and in hate. I just hope you can be willing to be accepting of me as well.

 

I was raised catholic, and currently have a strong disagreement on how people follow faith.
But, the structure and morals are great.

There are far worse things that can be done to a child, and you summed it up in your last paragraph.

Thanks for posting, its nice to see other views on the topic.

 

@Jasmine
That was beautiful.
Too many people have forgotten that Christianity is supposed to be rooted in love and acceptance rather than swinging around to shame and condemn people.

 

@Jasmine I can understand where you're coming from, but I don't think that cutting someone's penis for tradition is a good enough reason.

 

I think it's neat that people are religious and it's even more awesome when they are accepting of people. However, I don't really agree with doing things to your children for the sake of your religion. :< Mostly because if you can accept them outside of the "norm" (ex. being straight, wanting a sex change and especially if they don't want to be Christian), then I think a person can let their children decide if they want to be religious and have their circumcision later in life. Idunno, if you can accept them for not choosing to be a Christian, why choose to have their foreskin removed because of your religious traditions if they may or may not want to be apart of that in the future?

JUST MY TWO CENTS. I hope I didn't come off as a douche or something. I have the worst time explaining things. :I I'm just a huge stupid.

 

The problem I see is if female circumcision was practiced in your religion, for the same reasons as male circumcision, would you insist on that even though most of the world is vehemently opposed to it? If not, what makes it okay to mutilate a male and not a female?

 

Also, the reason you don't hear people complaining is because they don't know the difference. I guarantee that most men would not have chosen to do it if they were given the option later in life. If carving a pentagram on a child's forehead at birth was a tradition of satanism, nobody would be okay with it, so I don't see why its ok to cut off a boy's penis for the same reason.

 

There are religious groups that do practice female circumcision, which I believe stem out of Africa. I'm sorry that I don't have sources, this is all anecdotal from a lecture from one of my professors. There are women who are happy with it, there are women who are upset with it- but in the end, they're all still alive and capable of having sex, otherwise they wouldn't have daughters to pass on the tradition. From our outside perspective, it makes sense that we're outraged with it. If I'm going to be consistent, though, I would side with the rights of the religious.

Most of the passages in the NT (1 Corinthians 7:19 and Galatians 5, for example) written by Paul have to do with adult circumcision and a legalistic faction that was calling for Gentile converts (people who do not have Jewish ancestry) to "become Jewish" before they could be Christian. Paul counters by saying that being circumcised doesn't make you any holier than anyone else and that strict legalism will make Christ's sacrifice meaningless.

On the other hand, though, Jesus was circumcised on the eighth day (as all Jewish boys are), and there was no angel or other heavenly decree to stop it from happening. If God took on flesh and was willing to go through with circumcision, well, I'm not sure where that puts things.

I don't expect any of you to roll over and accept my stance. If you're not religious, I can understand why it would seem stupid to be following morals and guidance from antiquity. Like I said before, I'm still not 100% sure I would go through with circumcising my children.

 

Spoiler: Just me being an asshole. Sorry, I got worked up.

But it reduces how PLEASANT sex is. It makes it less enjoyable. Would you really want to doom your son to a life of half-good sex for the sake of a god he has no concept of, and may not ever believe in? One YOU may not believe in, at some future time?

If I thought there was a god, I'd think he'd be understanding enough to let it slide. If not, he wouldn't be a very good god.

 

Please don't start with that again. Doomed? Half-good? Honestly? Keep this a friendly debate.