My wife and I are expecting our first child in June and last week we found out it's a boy (look for him on Coach Applewhite's national championship team in 2028). While we are at the appointment, the doctor asked us what we plan on doing about circumcision. Before last week, I had just assumed we would have him circumcised. After talking to my wife and looking into it, I'm not so sure. I know this is a personal topic, but I am trying to gather other opinions. For those of you with boys, what did you do? What went into your decision?
It has been in vogue lately for many to "teach" parents that circumcision has no medical indication. To the contrary, recent studies have suggested that circumcision likely reduces both a male's and his future partners' risks of contracting certain STDs, including HIV/AIDS. One definitely ought to ask in advance what technique a physician employs. Cultural and "looking like Daddy" factors are certainly worth weighing as well.
We didn't do it for either of our sons. Also, circumcision is obviously not nearly as effective as a condom in preventing HIV/AIDS transmission, so using that as a medical reason to cut off foreskin here in the US is pretty weak. This study was done in Africa, where using a condom is taboo, AIDS is running rampant, and they were looking for another solution.
and were off! for the record, i'm circumsized, and we had my boy circumsized as well. no big deal. honestly, i never understood the big deal about the whole topic. there's a lot of proselytizing about the whole thing. if you wanna have your kid circumsized - do it. if not, don't. pretty easy, after all.
I'm reminded of Elaine's line on Seinfeld when Jerry asked what "it" looked like, her response was "it had no face, no personality", pure greatness. I don't know how the hell it would prevent HIV/AIDS, probably wouldn't let that figure into your decision. All my kids got the procedure, and I guess if it came down to it, I would encourage it. It's shallow reasoning, but I just wouldn't want my kids to be different down there.
I admit, i don't have kids so maybe my opinion doesn't count. I've been circumcised but i really dont see the point. Is it better for health...no not really Is it a religious issue...im kind of Catholic so no not really Do I get more pleasure from sex...dont know so I guess not really Would it matter if when I have kids my 3 year old son wonders why he "doesn't look like daddy."...no not really (and if he sees me naked long enough to notice the difference past the age of 3 then I should be in jail.) Circumcision is a deeply personal issue, but at the end of the day it doesn't matter. No one will judge your son one way or another for being cut or uncut. Although if he is hung like a fly or hung like a donkey, then yes people will notice. Actually I have one event in my life that illustrates this. While I am cut I have a good deal of extra skin and I can "hide" the tip if I pull it forward. My ex at the time asked if I was cut or uncut (sometimes it isnt clear)...I told her I was cut and that was that. She never had any issue with it and she always enjoyed being intimate. Honestly it doesn't matter.
If the medical reasons are negligible and it doesn't really matter like you say, then ask a chick which she would rather look at. I think you'll find an overwhelming number of them prefer them cut.
When we made our decision I asked a lot of the women I know. They all said they'd rather circumcision. Then I asked all my gay friends they all said. No circumcision.
My son had it done. Walking out of that room and leaving him alone for the "procedure" was one of the hardest things I've ever done. I walked outside of the building and didn't go back in until they came and got me so I wouldn't hear anything. He recovered pretty quickly and was back to normal (well almost) on the drive home.
I bet if you asked the girls he is dating when is about 15-17 when he is about to get his first action if they want a hood on the cobra and they will tell you no. He will thank you for that.
I am circumcised and my wife and I are expecting in a couple of months. We do not know if we are having a boy or not, but if we are he will be circumcised. I think that not only are the health benefits negligible, they do appear to favour being cut v. no cut. This may be a very small health benefit, but no matter how small if there is one, I want my boy to have it. Also, it is easier to keep clean, and we all know how boys don't like to take baths anyway. There is also the 'look like daddy' aspect for me. I don't want to have a 4 year old ask, "Daddy why do I look different than you?" For me there is also a religious compontent. I don't think it is 'wrong' to be uncut, but I just can't see any advantages. The small advantages there are all seem to point to circumcision to me.
My parents decided against it and it is an interesting story. My dad is not as well (being from Europe where most men do not have it done) but he was the one who asked my mom if I should be circumcised for social reasons. There is really no reason for doing it and my mom felt it was purely child abuse. I would say personally that I was self conscious about it as a child but have grown to be proud that I am not. I would say that I am on the side of Kramer, that it is a barbaric ritual that is unnecessary in this day and age.
We had it done on all of our sons. Mainly just for cleanliness and "look like daddy" reasons. I think it is ultimately a deeply personal decision, and there are good arguments both for and against it on either side. If you decide to have it done, the child will generally heal within a few days. And speaking from personal experience, he will have no memory of the procedure when he gets older. And for what it's worth, it's never been an issue in any of the relationships I've been in. I honestly can't see how being cut or uncut would make much difference for a girl when it comes to sex.
Not circumcised (not done in Italy, really, unless your Jewish) so I figured we'd do the same for our son. Wasn't a big deal for me, though, really. Now, doesn't really matter what the girls think - once you've got a boner, the hood is a goner. If she's looking at your flaccid penis, then you've got bigger problems.
i've seen a penis with foreskin... i'm glad my dick doesn't look like that. cut it off, baby! some of you need thicker foreskin.
I'm not, never had any health problems, never got made fun of, never had any sex problems, never had any complaints. My mom felt like if it wasn't necessary and the rest is history. If you decide to do it, more power to you. If not, more power to you. In this day in age, it doesn't make a difference.
My dad had it done when he was nearly 40 (for health reasons) - Not something that you want to do at that age.
This was a very tough decision when we had our first boy. I really didn’t want to have it done. I didn’t buy the “look like everyone else theory.” Anything that kept their pants to themselves a little longer was a good thing in my book. I didn’t buy the “look like daddy theory.” That is easily explained. And uncut looks more “contiguous” anyways. I didn’t buy the health concern as most are statistically unlikely and most are solved with hygiene. I didn’t buy that the ladies might be turned off later in life because this generation of kids is passing on the snip in big percentages. My hospital said only 50% get the snip. So by the time my boy is active, it won’t be as “different” as it was ten years ago. What really made me mad, and sad and welled up all the emotion of parenthood before I was a parent was when they showed me the damn lethal-injection-looking chair they strapped the babies to for the procedure. The doctor tried to credibly tell me that the baby would feel no pain, yet I was not welcome to watch and they strapped the baby down like an animal. This, while not based on complete logic (babies squirm, gotta to keep them still when knives are around), it really made me question the procedure. I also wondered if the snip has an adverse affect on sensitivity. Without the ball cap, I wonder if over the years our exposed junk gets sort of calloused compared to the hoodies. I never found any credible proof of this, but it seems logical to me. This point sounds a bit odd to some but I was and am serious. If the Nazis ever reared their evil heads again or anything like it, I wanted solidarity with our Jewish brothers so that you couldn’t pick out a specific group for genocide or even ridicule based solely on a pants check. My reasons to do it at the time were essentially the flip side of all the same things I knocked down above. I oscillated back and forth. What finally convinced me to do so was a story from my mom, who works in a hospital, about a 9 year old boy who had to have it done and how amazingly stressful and painful it was on the boy and on the family. Apparently, in a small number of cases, the forejunk doesn’t grow as the junk grows and must be removed. Since I was on the fence, this story of the boy was enough to reluctantly say yes. And I didn’t want to even be in the hospital when they did the procedure. All our boys have the snip, but it was a tough decision and still is with hindsight.
