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Pros and Cons to Circumcising

3K views 66 replies 35 participants last post by  newmama8824 
#1 ·
Dh and I are expecting our first child and I have been studying up on everything.

He's opposed to circumcising. I've never even thought of it. I understand this is an anti-circ board but I really would like both sides of the argument. Thanx all!
 
#53 ·
Thanks!

I haven't read a lot of the regrets posts - just a few random ones from random pages. My husband really wishes he wasn't circumcised although he knows his parents had no choice because of the hospital he was born in. Raised in this country a very large percentage of us never even think about circumcising - it is just something that's done. I always just assumed there was a good reason for it. If DH wasn't so opposed to it I probably never would have looked any deeper into it.
 
#54 ·
Hey, you are making a great choice when it comes to not circing. I am an intact guy, I would know. I posted not to long about this; so please feel free to read my thread. I am a little curious though and if this is too personal don't bother answering. Why is your husband so anti-circ? Did he research it a lot or what is something personal. The reason I'm asking is because most people either don't have an opinion or just believe the common myths until they actually look into it. I do have a friend who is circed. and is really pissed about it. He feels that he was robbed or something. I think it's all because he did a couple of sports and happened to see in the locker room other intact guys (this just totally kills the locker room argument). This made him look into the circ. topic, and now I'm pretty sure he is restoring. I have not talked to him much about it; so, I don't fully know. It's an akward subject, lol.
 
#55 ·
Quote:

Originally Posted by perspective View Post
Thats the problem, you dont realize your doing it. You think natural is a better choice for boys, pro-circers think modified is better. While I think it does not matter what either group thinks, the choice and the right should be the males alone.
See, I think it does matter. Yes I do think the notion that the natural, intact penis is superior is central to this issue. And the nice thing is it doesn't advocate doing anything to anyone. The benefit of being able to choose later is a nice byproduct. But that in and of itself is a pro-circ notion, that so many men would be interested and desirous of doing so.

Perspective, I'll discuss this all day with you by pm if you choose, but I don't see any further point in "arguing" like this. We are all on the same team here.
 
#56 ·
Quote:

Originally Posted by armychicmkm View Post
I must concede to the "no pros" part everybody has said. Even in other searches I have found very little to support it (religious beliefs).
And that is the thing. The whole train of benefits is really a flimsy house of cards and it doesn't take too much digging to realize it. And that is the most frustrating part the information is there if you choose to look and think about it critically. Your son is lucky to have such thoughtful parents.
Hope you'll stick around once in a while after researching, perhaps you'll be able to help others.
 
#57 ·
Quote:

Originally Posted by Bm31 View Post
See, I think it does matter. Yes I do think the notion that the natural, intact penis is superior is central to this issue. And the nice thing is it doesn't advocate doing anything to anyone. The benefit of being able to choose later is a nice byproduct. But that in and of itself is a pro-circ notion, that so many men would be interested and desirous of doing so.
I completely agree. I wouldn't expect my sons to want to cut off their foreskins anymore than their arms. I just don't think in pro-circ terms.
 
#58 ·
I think the confusion here is in what is not being stated explicitely. There are several ways to judge which is better. Personal preference, function, naturalness, etc.

Of course an individual may feel that cut is better for him, or even others. And using just personal preference, that is valid.

On the other hand, a person may argue that a penis with a foreskin functions better, and that is superior to a circ'd penis. And using that criteria, that is valid.

It is all in how you define the way you will measure which is "better" or "superior"

Regards
 
#59 ·
Perhaps a more appropriate word to use here would be "incomplete." Circumcision leaves the penis with something missing. It takes away what was intended to be there. It is minus a functioning part. It is not whole. Thus, a circumcised penis is incomplete.

"Inferior" is a word that implies some degree of personal preference. Since we are generally speaking of infants, it isn't a good word to use. Infants rarely have opinions based purely on aesthetics. What a 25 year old man chooses to do with his penis is his business. The key phrase there is "chooses to do."

A infant cannot choose. He is powerless. If he later finds his penis unattractive (or whatever other unfathomable reason he decides upon) and wishes to have it cosmetically altered, that is the man's choice, like a nose job or pectoral implants.
 
#60 ·
Quote:

Originally Posted by tennisdude23 View Post
Hey, you are making a great choice when it comes to not circing. I am an intact guy, I would know. I posted not to long about this; so please feel free to read my thread. I am a little curious though and if this is too personal don't bother answering. Why is your husband so anti-circ? Did he research it a lot or what is something personal. The reason I'm asking is because most people either don't have an opinion or just believe the common myths until they actually look into it. I do have a friend who is circed. and is really pissed about it. He feels that he was robbed or something. I think it's all because he did a couple of sports and happened to see in the locker room other intact guys (this just totally kills the locker room argument). This made him look into the circ. topic, and now I'm pretty sure he is restoring. I have not talked to him much about it; so, I don't fully know. It's an akward subject, lol.
His big reason that he gave me was lack of feeling. He feels when the doctor's cut away the foreskin they botched the job a little bit and as a result he has very little feeling. He also is completely opposed to sending anybody through the procedure without anesthesia let alone a newborn. His last big point was that it should not be a decision made by parents but by the child himself. I know he has also always believed that there are some medical benefits and cleanliness benefits but to him they never outweighed the bad parts.
 
#61 ·
Quote:

Originally Posted by Greg B View Post
I think the confusion here is in what is not being stated explicitely. There are several ways to judge which is better. Personal preference, function, naturalness, etc.

Of course an individual may feel that cut is better for him, or even others. And using just personal preference, that is valid.

On the other hand, a person may argue that a penis with a foreskin functions better, and that is superior to a circ'd penis. And using that criteria, that is valid.

It is all in how you define the way you will measure which is "better" or "superior"

Regards
EXACTLY! Wow, you said that so perfectly.
Bm31- This is not about your criteria of what a better penis is, or what mine is, its about the boy's himself.

Also, just one last point, thats important to make:

Quote:
Bm31: The benefit of being able to choose later is a nice byproduct.
A male having the right to control his own body isn't a "nice byproduct", but it is the central point to this whole issue and movement. This is one of the most basic, natural rights every person has, and it should not be taken away, and its importance should not be diminished.

(sorry if I came on too strong with all of this, but with many of us here, this is a issue thats very important to me)
 
#62 ·
Another part of waiting until the man is grown before circumcising is that the man has more control over his circumcision--he can tell the doctor how much or how little foreskin he wants the physician to remove, and he gets enough anesthesia so he doesn't have to endure extreme pain. His penis has reached its full size, so the doctor knows not to remove too much skin. With RIC, neither of these factors are true. Too many men endure pain with erection because they don't have enough skin left.


Of course, the vast majority of grown intact men will NOT want to part with their foreskins!
 
#64 ·
Quote:

Originally Posted by LavenderMae View Post
I completely agree. I wouldn't expect my sons to want to cut off their foreskins anymore than their arms. I just don't think in pro-circ terms.
Exactly. Until the faulty cultural thinking (pro-circ) is exposed they will continue to do it. Otherwise....if one = the other....what's the point in all this? Give your child the best...and if they chose to modify their body later....so be it, at least they had that choice and can assume their own risks.
 
#65 ·
Quote:

Originally Posted by Bm31 View Post
No, what you came off as is someone determined to have an argument.

Well I think I did get a bit irritated at you, but mostly because you often followed serious comments, with that little "wink", or you made that demeaning comment about my argument, by saying that I should "save that for the teen boards".

But I was very stubborn with my argument, because human rights is a very important issue for me, but at times you seemed to think, what YOU thought was best, was best. Not that the best decision, is no decision at all.
 
#66 ·
Quote:

Originally Posted by perspective View Post
Well I think I did get a bit irritated at you, but mostly because you often followed serious comments, with that little "wink", or you made that demeaning comment about my argument, by saying that I should "save that for the teen boards".

But I was very stubborn with my argument, because human rights is a very important issue for me, but at times you seemed to think, what YOU thought was best, was best. Not that the best decision, is no decision at all.
I nicely offered for you to take this to a pm to further discuss as it's no longer pertinent to this thread but is only splitting hairs over intactivist strategy. There is no "right" or "wrong." You responded in true, righteous teen fashion by looking to "win" a public argument. You're still talking in circles and proving nothing. And please don't assume tellling someone they are making "corruptive" arguments, or they are the same as a pro-circ, or that because they don't agree with YOUR reasoning or priorities they are not interested in human rights, that is not offensive...especially in the context of all our participation on this board.

Again, I offer my pm to you and would be quite open to discuss The Truth as you see it. We may both learn something. However, I don't find it constructive to continue this public flailing about.
 
#67 ·
Hello from a fellow Okie.

I have a 4mo. he's intact. I don't see it as a two-sides type of thing. It's his body, his genitals. Not mine!

Their is no reason to do it. So why do it? Most people do decide to do it for fear of their son being "different". Well, this really isn't a worry anymore as more and more boys each year are being left INTACT! Also, people do it out of stupidity. Which can be forgiven, but if you have he resources in front of you, use them. I'm sure you will quickly come to a decision!

I am a FTM and I remember when the question came up, I didn't know what I was going to do. Well, after reading and lurking on this board and some others and going to different websites I quickly made my mind up, and now I find it to be a an awful thing that so many infants go through every day. I first thought, I will just go in with him and comfort him while he's getting it done, so I watched a video of a circumcision. After that, I wanted to vomit, NO WAY was my sweet baby going through that and no way did I want to go see him go through it.

It made me realize, If I didn't want to SEE that happen then what in the world would make me think it was the right thing to do?
 
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