Is Circumcision an Abuse against Boys' Rights?
66This is an actual circumcision on a baby. Be advised it may be considered disturbing to some viewers!
I am glad to lend my answers on this topic. Both of my boys are circumcised. I never thought twice about it. I had been misinformed when having my first son that circumcision was essential to my child's health. This theory had been debunked in the 1940's, apparently, but to follow suit and as a personal decision, I had my second son circumcised as well.
You have to first consider your personal feelings on circumcision. You will be the one to clean it and take care of the circumcision during the healing process. So this is really your decision. Your baby has no idea what circumcision is and is frankly not concerned about it.
You should also consider the popularithy of this proceedure. I have a cousin who was not circumcised. The only reason my Aunt did not have him circumcised was that when she had his older brother done he cried, however, the pain is short lived. The point is, as an adult he had suffered so much ridicule in sports and had difficulties in personal relationships, whether it was self-esteem issues or being dumped because he looked different. He ended up having a circumcision when he was 20 years old. This was extremely painful for him and embarrassing considering it was a hard procedure to hide from anyone.
The down side to having the circumcision done is that it does actually decrease sensation. The skin that is removed, called the prepuce, is where the most pleasure responsive nerves are located. If you love your child and care about them you also care about their future health. That means being able to have healthy relationships. Circumcision won't prevent your child from having a healthy and pleasureable sexual experience but the advantages are greater without circumcision.
- History of Circumcision
This site is more concise and easier to read. It also touches on different countries for different perspectives on how culture can affect your decision.
- Some Text on Circumcision
To help you understand why circumcision was originally used and how the popularity of this procedure has changed.
So the facts are:
- Circumcision is not required for hygeine.
- It is, by all accounts, the most popular decision based on aesthetics.
- Circumcising can and will decrease sensation.
- The decision to have a circumcision can be left to your child considering it is a procedure that can be done at any time in life.
- A circumcision cannot be reversed.
Your options are vast here. I don't believe circumcision is an abuse to your child's rights, per se. It is, however, a decision you can wait on and leave up to your child. In history, it was a procedure originally to save your child from "sinful" pleasures so that he may enter the gates of Heaven. Now, it is just a procedure.
Do you regret your decision to circumcise?
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Comments
In Finland, where circumcision has never been customary, the lifetime rate is less than one in 6000. In the rest of the English-speaking world they used to circumcise, but they found it did no good and gave it up, and you know what, there hasn't been an outbreak of boys and men needing to be circumcised. In the US, doctors are not well informed about alternatives to circumcision, so many circumcisions are unnecessary. Bear in mind too, that anecdotes about problems with the foreskin stick in the memory better, and get told and retold more, than the many, many stories of men (seven out of ten in the world) who never have any problems with their whole penises.
One important but little-known fact is that retracting a boy's foreskin before it is ready actually causes problems (which are then used as excuses to circumcise). He will pull it back himself when it is ready. Until then, "only clean what is seen."
To answer the first question, yes it is: it would be a human rights abuse to cut off any other healthy, non-renewable part of a boy's body and any part at all of a girl's, so why is this one an exception?
"It is, by all accounts, the most popular decision based on aesthetics."
Not so sure about this one. Is circumcision a widespread practice because it's aesthetically pleasing or is it aesthetically pleasing because it's a widespread practice?
Mom says:
15 months ago
I got through about 20 seconds of the video. I couldn't tell if the baby was crying because he was mad about being strapped down, scared, or if it really did hurt. I did notice that the baby was crying before anyone even touched him. At any rate, I know someone who waited until he was 20 years old to get a circumcision. He kept having all kinds of infections, even though he tried his best to keep himself clean. According to him, it was a bummer to have to wait that long and be old enough to remember it.