I was at a bachelorette party on the weekend, and at some point a book about sex was being passed around and the conversation touched on circumcision. I was the only mother there, and volunteered that we had left DS intact. The general reaction was surprise (which caught me off guard, because to me it is a given that you wouldn't even consider it) and curiosity. One person asked about the HIV-protection argument, but then we both agreed that just teaching safe sex was better. Another person seemed undecided about it and brought up the cleanliness issue but ultimately agreed with me that "it must have evolved that way for a reason."
They asked how I had convinced my DH to go this route, and said I just asked him "Do you really feel the need to affirm your covenant with God by cutting of part of your baby's body?" and of course my atheist husband decided he would reconsider.
Finally someone was talking about how much more difficult it is to take care of, how you have to retract the baby's foreskin and clean underneath every day. I jumped in and said not only do you not have to, you shouldn't! (And explained why.) I was grateful to have a chance to dispel the misconceptions. And I could see that they were interested in what I was saying. I hope that I planted a few seeds and that these women will be encouraged to look into the issue more before they have kids of their own!
They asked how I had convinced my DH to go this route, and said I just asked him "Do you really feel the need to affirm your covenant with God by cutting of part of your baby's body?" and of course my atheist husband decided he would reconsider.
Finally someone was talking about how much more difficult it is to take care of, how you have to retract the baby's foreskin and clean underneath every day. I jumped in and said not only do you not have to, you shouldn't! (And explained why.) I was grateful to have a chance to dispel the misconceptions. And I could see that they were interested in what I was saying. I hope that I planted a few seeds and that these women will be encouraged to look into the issue more before they have kids of their own!
