I was reading this post about circumcision from a little pregnant blog. It was spawned by another blog entry. Both posts were written by women. Each one decided differently on the issue. So I guess I would add some from “that could happen to me” point of view.
Short story: Hands off!
Long story: I have yet to see a good reason to do it.
I do respect the religional and traditional choices of others, but I am not in the scope of either of these two.
Personal hygiene is surely not a problem if done right. Maybe it was an issue a couple of centuries ago when clean water, soap, and a bathroom were all hard to find and expensive. But these days people can shower like three times a day if they want to.
“Looking like dad” argument is totally screwed. First of all, no matter what you do, adults and children have different penises. They look different, they shape different, they behave different. I remember the first time I saw my father’s penis, the last thing I could possible think of was if it was cut or uncut or whatever. I was all paralyzed by the damn thing. It was so different from mine that I couldn’t believe it. I spent the next few days looking for pictures of penises of all sizes, ages, shapes, and origins. That calmed me down a bit. I understood that these things differ and no matter how they look women still do like them. If you think I’m wrong on that show me a different set of pictures than.
Yet another argument for cutting off the bits is peer pressure or whatever it is. I think this is pretty localized to the area you are in. And the social group. And traditions. And religions. I’ve heard of people comparing there penises in the locker room. But I have never did it myself, nor I know of anyone who did it. Or maybe I am getting the comparison part wrong. Boys look at each other, true. But you don’t get this screaming and shouting with “Look at my thing” or “Check his wang out”. Everyone looks and everyone keeps it to themselves. Maybe to closest friends at best. This was the way when I was growing up.
With today’s youngsters I don’t think that there will be any peer pressure in that department anyway. Today’s children are more independent, open, and realistic. The subject of sex and “attributes” was always hot, true. But today there are more means to educate yourself. Internet, DVD clubs, National Geographic are all better than censored version of Emmanuel and communist newspapers.
So, to sum it all up, there are no good reasons to unleash a whole lot of pain and sufferring onto your newly born child. He has enough tough times as it is. Don’t give him some more. At the end of the day, cutting things off can be always done. It is the uncutting part which is difficult. Let your kid grow up. Let him decide if he wants it on or off. At least you will have few more years to think over your reasons and find a better doctor.