Wow, I just saw a CIRC video

[Lovemy3babies]

Someone posted one here, I just watched it. Horrific. Most disgusting, horrible thing I have ever seen. I want to puke.

I am showing this to dh when he gets home, he may throw up. But I dont care, I cant do that to my baby. I just emailed it to my sister too, who has a boy who is done, and told her I am not doing it anymore.

While I wont go as far to say I consider it sexual abuse, I will say it is heartbreaking to watch that happen to a tiny baby. Ive never looked at what they cut off. Both of mine were csections, so I didnt do much diaper changing in the hospital, so I saw them only after it was done. My second son was in a far hospital transferred to the NICU and in oxygen tents all the time, so I couldnt change him whenever I wanted. I wanna puke.

That is sick. IM sorry I was so rotten to people. I am SURE my husband would not circ if I showed him this video.

I am not going to circ ONLY because of this, it hurts, I can see it hurts, and its terrible. I am still not convinced on sexual abuse issues, or even the sexual pleasure issue, and still think it could have health benefits, but it absolutly makes me sick to see that poor baby with that happening to him.

[carriebft]

You have a lot of courage, momma.

There are a lot of parents who might feel it is better one way or the other yet they decide to leave the decision to the owner of the penis.

[pdx.mothernurture]

Erika,

Good for you for being so openminded, compassionate, and convicted.

Another good link to share with others is:
http://www.foreskin.org/3zones-c.htm

BTW, calling it "sexual abuse" doesn't mean any of us think the average parent circumcises out of malice or is motivated by erotic desires. We call it that because an infant's penis is a future man's primary sex organ, and circumcision is violating, painful, unnecessary, and sexually damaging.

There's definately a difference between "parental choice" and "personal choice".

Glad you found us & I hope you stick around,

Jen

[l_olive]

You just made me cry. Thank you for being open to learning more. And good luck with your dh -- there are some that are still reluctant to change their minds, but you'll find plenty of support and information here.

You made my day, Erika!

--Olive

[Jillie]

Seeing what is done and how much skin is taken in truly horrifing. I'm glad you have changed your mind. A normal penis is nothing to be afraid of. And by itself does not cause any more health problems than any other body part.

[Lovemy3babies]

My sister was in the tub when I sent her the link, and she just called me. She said that after she had her son done, she felt bad after cause he would cry if she touched it, and couldnt watch the rest of the video and said she will see what she does when she has another boy. She is delivering a girl in just 2 1/2 weeks. So it wont be for a while....

I told her I wasnt though, no matter what she does

[Papai]

I'm glad you were able to see why so many of us are against RIC.

[LavenderMae]

Thank you so much for being willing to learn. People like you give me hope that circumcision will end. You should be proud of yourself!

Your post has moved me to tears as well, happy ones.

[Mackenzie]

I am so glad that you actually took the time to learn. So many people don't.

[kldliam]

OP: I am still not convinced on sexual abuse issues, or even the sexual pleasure issue, and still think it could have health benefits, but it absolutly makes me sick to see that poor baby with that happening to him.

Thankfully, many people now agree that strapping a helpless infant down and amputating part of HIS body is an "abuse" of power at the very least...

"Sexual" simply referes to his sex organs. While I agree that "Sexual abuse" is a loaded phrase; it certainly can be used to describe any misuse of power over another within a sexual context. Cutting off parts of another persons sex organs is clearly within that context.

There are many kinds of body amputations we could do to prevent illness and disease...the biggest one I can think of is to amputate all female breasts to prevent breast cancer.

The question is, where do you draw the line?

Personal Consent. That's where.

[Nathan1097]

: Hello from Ypsilanti!

[Lovemy3babies]

HI there Nathan! Ive been to Yp a bunch, mostly in the fall for the nice cider mill Wiards you have there!!! I love it!

[calngavinsmom]

Hello there and welcome to MDC. I saw from your other post that you are Christian, so I thought you might like this article:
http://www.udonet.com/circumcision/christian.html

And yes, when you see circumcision for how it happens, it is quite disturbing

Good luck to you!
Tara

[Mommiska]

Lovemy3babies - to you. And hats off to you as well. You have amazing amounts of both courage and kindness in your heart!

[Blu Razzberri]

...she will see what she does when she has another boy...

Please forward my comment to your sister about that statement. When I first learned that circ was not good (as I previously thought it was); I wondered strongly about having another boy. I would have to have him done too, right? This answer made me feel better about standing behind my choice not to have any future children done:

-----------------
What about expecting parents who have already circumcised their first son(s)?
Some parents, even those who have newfound doubts about the ethics of circumcision, are tempted to circumcise their new baby boy if their other sons are already circumcised. They may worry that the older boys will resent them for allowing their penises to be cut while leaving their younger brother's penis intact. But continuing the cycle of genital mutilation will not make things better. The best thing for these parents to do is to leave their new son intact and explain to the older sons that when they were born, many people believed that circumcision was a harmless or even beneficial procedure. Now that more is known about circumcision, however, it is no longer routinely done and that is why their younger brother is intact.
-----------------

She's also welcome to explore my blog about circumcision. I walk in both your shoes, having thought that circ was a good parenting choice; but now I know I was grossly misinformed. Please...PLEASE don't ever let another doctor circumcise your future babies. EVER.

FYI: If you want to, you can send her this link:
http://www.mothering.com/discussions...3&postcount=15
and it will pull up this post so she can read it.
.

[myfairbabies]

Did you used to post on BZ? I don't go there anymore, glad to see you here!

[Quirky]

You're a very strong mama for having the courage to examine your past beliefs and actions.

[Fi.]

Ask any man with a tight circumcision or one that was "messed up" (all are messed up but I think you know what I mean) if he thinks there'd be a difference in his sexual pleasure.

Or talk to a restoring man. He will tell you about the leaps and bounds in increases in his sexual pleasure as he restored and how much better sex is post restoration (or even during). Or just look at the studies that prove it. Or ask women who have tightly cut partners how much less intact sex hurts and how much better it feels.

As far as health benefits? They're minimal, at best. But you wouldn't remove the breast buds at birth to prevent cancer or the female foreskin to prevent yeast infections so why the male foreskin ya know?

I know it's a lot and hard to swallow, trust me, I do but congratulations on getting there.

[drnmd1216]

*HUG*I think if everyone watched that video prior to circumcizing, a TON of people would change their mind. My friend is pretty much convinced to circumcize a son just bc "daddy wants it" (i.e. daddy demands it) and she doesn't want a fight. I sent her the link to the video and said both her and her boyfriend NEEDED to watch it before they made a final decision. I just hope and pray they really do watch it before they would subject a child to it.

Its sad how everyone is led to believe its just a tiny snip-just a little flap of skin removed. Its horrifying to watch that video and see just how invasive/painful the whole thing really is. My husband felt SOOOOO sick after watching the video (he is circ'ed) and he said he would never believe it was like that if he had not seen the video.

It takes a smart mommy to open her eyes to the whole thing after the fact. *HUG*

[QueenOfThePride]

: You are a testament to the power of knowledge. I wish everyone had to watch a circumcision video before being able to give consent for doctors to do this to their baby. My guess is the circ rate would drop to nearly zero.