Should circumcision be the person's OWN choice?

[Deleted]

If my foreskin suddenly grew back I'd cut it again in a heartbeat.

[Purlina]

If my foreskin suddenly grew back I'd cut it again in a heartbeat.

Then what's the problem? You made your own choice to cut it off, so now everyone can be happy.

[Symphonic]

So, because you were glad you had it done to you, it should therefore be forced on everyone else? Huh?

That is not what people who are glad they had it done at birth are saying! I don't care what you decide with your children, but let parents who want to get it done to theirs do it, for whatever reason they believe: social, health/medical, or religious. I don't care. I'm circumcised, glad it was done as a baby, but I am not going to force ANY PARENT to get it done for their child.

[Funt Case]

That is not what people who are glad they had it done at birth are saying! I don't care what you decide with your children, but let parents who want to get it done to theirs do it, for whatever reason they believe: social, health/medical, or religious. I don't care. I'm circumcised, glad it was done as a baby, but I am not going to force ANY PARENT to get it done for their child.

You are glad you had it done and i dont feel any different about you having no foreskin. But if you didn't like it then you would have something you didn't like that you had no say in. There is nothing stopping someone getting it done at a later date if they feel its what they want.

[Purlina]

That is not what people who are glad they had it done at birth are saying! I don't care what you decide with your children, but let parents who want to get it done to theirs do it, for whatever reason they believe: social, health/medical, or religious. I don't care.

That's a slippery slope, if you apply it to more then just circumcision...

[capitano666]

You're acting like circumcision is a completely pointless procedure with absolutely no benefits. That's far from the case.

I beg to differ. I'm uncut and I, like most other people, have never had any issue about that. Saying that it brings many benefits is delusional, and even if it were true it is and not a sufficient reason for a non-reversible surgery, simply because...

Any modification to a human being's body which is not required to save one's life should be done on a voluntary basis and not forced by either religion or family.

...exactly that, in fact...

Yeah you like it, but what if you didn't? the choice got took away from you at birth, that's the whole point.
Lets make up 2 guys, lets call them Ben and Fred.
Ben got circumcised at birth he's 20 now and doesn't like it.
And now lets talk about fred. Fred wasn't circumcised but now at 20, he feels he wants it done.

...poor Ben is screwed while Fred still have the chance. Yes he have to go through the painful healing but it is still a far better situation than Ben's.

If I know at this age what I know now and wasn't circumcised then I'd want it done.

Please enlighten me on what you know as it seems like you have heard strange foreskin horror stories.

If my foreskin suddenly grew back I'd cut it again in a heartbeat.

Good for you, you have the choice!
I know people with huge piercings who had let the holes heal and then made them again, if it floats their boat good for them but I wouldn't support piercing kids.

[Symphonic]

*

Originally Posted by Whitey *
I've been circumcised in my adult age, so I've wanked around on both sides of the floppy foreskin, and proper hygiene in no way maintains the same level of cleanliness as circumcision does. Also your claims of hampering sexual performance is just pulled out of thin air.
I don't think you've been following this thread if you think I just made that up.

I don't think you've been following this thread if you think I just made that up.

Clearly the one who has experienced a lot of his life with foreskin, and as an adult was circumcised, knows less than the almighty Vuljatar, supreme wise-man about sexual performance of circumcised men.

[Cludo]

I believe it should be left, if the person wants it done at a later age then by all means chop it. But until the person is old enough to make that decision it should be left alone.

[Mnevis]

People keep talking about Children resenting their parents and not liking their circumcision. Can anyone actually provide even 1 example of this occurring? I just don't buy it.

I've had a "Why did you make that decision, mom and dad? It doesn't really seem like a thing you'd do, just agree to whatever the guy in the white coat says. I'd rather have had my entire penis, thank you very much." conversation with my parents.

I mentioned that conversation, and their reasoning (apparently, when I was born, the thing was to tell parents it might prevent cervical cancer in a future partner of mine) previously in this thread, as something that definitely can be prevented by forgoing infant circumcision.

I think there have been more posters opining that opposition is just America-hating Euros, and/or that everyone who's circumcised is pleased about it. Certainly, many are, and I'm happy for them, but it's not universally well-regarded among us cut Americans.

[Djuntas]

Why do these topics get 60+ pages, why other much more fun and interesting once not even ½?

People should really get over themselfs. Circumcision is an outdated thing, and not even needet for anything, unless you dont shower propor?. Its mostly just done by religiues beliefs by now.

Oh and also...since people are talking about the babaeric womens form of circumsion here you go: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ubwzb...ctr=1354899007 WARNING: DO NOT WATCH IF YOU LIKE YOU'RESELF. Please dont ever mention FGM, or compare it to this topic.

[Deleted]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Circumcision

I find it funny that the "good side" of circumcision, reducing std infections (only female to male), HPV, cancer are very rare. However, the risk to the baby seems large, with 1 in 500 babies suffering significant acute complications.

Putting 1 in 500 at risk for reducing a 1 in 100000 risk of cancer?

[Vuljatar]

I would have resented my parents if they made me wait till I was an adult and could remember the pain to get a circumcision. I certainly don't resent them for doing it when I was a child.

Why?

Just because you don't remember the pain doesn't mean that it was not painful. 20 years from now you won't remember something painful that happens to you today.

Clearly the one who has experienced a lot of his life with foreskin, and as an adult was circumcised, knows less than the almighty Vuljatar, supreme wise-man about sexual performance of circumcised men.

One personal account means next to nothing in the long run.

I never said that all cut men have sexual problems, nor that all women prefer uncut penises. Merely that they are proven trends.

[cloudpulse]

I guess it should be a choice. Personally, I don't care. Uncircumcised penises look better anyways.

[Symphonic]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Circumcision

I find it funny that the "good side" of circumcision, reducing std infections (only female to male), HPV, cancer are very rare. However, the risk to the baby seems large, with 1 in 500 babies suffering significant acute complications.

Putting 1 in 500 at risk for reducing a 1 in 100000 risk of cancer?

Hopefully people don't do a circumcision just for reduced STD rates. That would be a stupid reason to circumcise. Cancer, eh, rare enough. The only one that really made my wife and I decide to circumcise in the best interests of our baby was the UTI rates. ten times greater to get it if you're not circumcised, and those can be anything from a simple bladder infection to something really, REALLY severe. There is not a downside to not having foreskin if you're circumcised as a baby.

---------- Post added 2012-12-07 at 05:40 PM ----------

One personal account means next to nothing in the long run.

I never said that all cut men have sexual problems, nor that all women prefer uncut penises. Merely that they are proven trends.

I think people just have to agree that whether you choose to circumcise your son or not, the majority of circumcised people have no problems, the majority of uncircumcised people have no problems, and it's essentially just a choice that the parents should make because it's a lot easier when a baby, easier to treat with anesthetics, and when done properly will not feel painful. My son only had 3 doses of Tylenol after his procedure (1 mg every 4 hours) and he didn't cry at all. He didn't go into "shock" either. He was awake the whole time, sucking on his pacifier and holding my hand and looking at his mommy and me. He never got abnormally sleepy. Now, when he got his vaccines that made me mad because I don't like how many they give at once at 2 months old, but we decided it's better than not getting them these days. I felt worse getting him vaccinated than circumcised.

[Fahrenheit]

Why all the talk of loss of a slight bit of sensitivity?

I don't see the down side.

If you're circumsized it's slightly easier to keep you dick from smelling like a cheese factory in summer and you take a little bit longer to blow your load... how are either of those a bad thing, especially from a chick's point of view.

[Wells]

I think we don't put braces on infants. A teenager may not have the final say in a discussion with his parents about braces, but he's at least learned to speak. And also, there's the obvious difference that braces don't remove anything. If our cultural trajectory had led us to the practice of circumcising boys in puberty (as in some other countries), our debate would be different, because people (of both sexes) don't generally like having a knife taken to their genitalia. "Just strap him down, it's the parent's decision" would seem a bit less civilized.

You criticize the analogies that circumcision opponents come up with, you can think of some more analogous minor amputation we routinely perform on children, for their own good, right?

Yeah, my main objection is ethical. I get that the proponents logic is "well, if we get everyone circumcised, statistically, according to our studies, we reduce incidence of UTI by X cases, female to male HIV transmission by X cases (assuming no one uses circumcision as 'protection'), penile cancer by X cases, syphilis by X cases, etc, so it is imperative we promote this simple procedure." I believe those numbers are non-zero, I just don't think it justifies routine body modification.

Are there organizations of people objecting that society's approval of installing orthodontics on youth violates their bodily integrity?

Its a very valid question. Are you ok with parents forcing their kids to get braces. You're making permanent and painful alterations to their body for cosmetic reasons. I mean you don't even remember being circumcised. You won't even know what circumcision is for at least a decade probably unless you're jewish. So if we're talking about pain and trauma braces do trump that.

So why no outrage? I'm thinking its because you don't put braces on your wang.

[Funt Case]

Its a very valid question. Are you ok with parents forcing their kids to get braces. You're making permanent and painful alterations to their body for cosmetic reasons. I mean you don't even remember being circumcised. You won't even know what circumcision is for at least a decade probably unless you're jewish. So if we're talking about pain and trauma braces do trump that.

So why no outrage? I'm thinking its because you don't put braces on your wang.

Or maybe it's because children get braces WHEN the teeth start to be a problem not BEFORE the teeth start to be a problem.

You dont give braces to a child with healthy and straight teeth, the same way you shouldn't remove the foreskin when they have a completely normal, healthy penis.

[Mnevis]

Do parents actually have the right to force a fifteen-year old to get braces? The adults still have vastly more power in the relationship at that point, but if a teenager adamantly refuses, refuses to the orthodontist, calls a lawyer (lol), do the parents have the authority to say 'strap him down'? At that point it's not entirely free will or force (we don't approve of parents doing certain things to their daughters, even if the daughter assents), but persuasion.

There are so many ways that your analogy of braces to circumcision falls flat to me. One amputates a piece of something, one doesn't. One's performed on a completely helpless individual. One was and is a tribal ritual blood sacrifice. One only has 20% support from the responders to this poll, and the other is a hypothetical question about a non-controversy. And yeah, one is on a child's sex organs. That's relevant. At least I wish it was, but this is America, so lucky me. I might have avoided a UTI, and my dick is nice and sleek, but it's less fun*. Good trade, eh?

No. I am not OK with parents forcing their kids to get braces, assuming we're pretending this is analogous, the child has zero input, and the 'operation' is medically unnecessary but carried out by pure overpowering force.

*because every single person feels the need to point this out, of course it still works, for sex and for solo work. I got a fine circumcision, no botched job or anything. We all know your circumcised dick works great, poster below me. It just doesn't work quite the same as nature intended. I'm within my rights as a free human being to resent that fact, even though I realize accepting it is necessary.

[Fahrenheit]

I might have avoided a UTI, and my dick is nice and sleek, but it's less fun. Good trade, eh?

I think it is. I mean, it feels really good when I bust a nut from jerking off, getting a BJ or banging my wife, probably the same as it feels to an uncircumsized guy, it just takes me a few seconds or maybe a min or so longer.

Really, what are the major disadvantages of being circumsized? A loss of a little bit of sensitivity? I contend that's actually a good thing.

[Mifuyne]

Ofcourse it should.
end of discussion.

Especially cause it's a religious decision.