Circumcision
To circumcise or not?
A lot of you may take it for granted since everyone else around you have their sons circumcised. However, if you live in a country (like Germany) where people look in horror at the mere thought of this minor operation, you would have to think twice.
See, we will be living here longer than planned. So that means my son may have to go to school here. And in Germany, where there are no issues about nudity, it is not strange to find people naked at the beach or in the saunas. If that happens and I had my son undergo circumcision, he may be a subject of ridicule just because he is, say… "different".
Are you as paranoid as I am?
If you are, let's try to weigh and pros and cons of our sons' future health and social connections together by reading what MSN has to say about this uhmmm- delicate issue.
June 30th, 2005 at 6:02 am
Yes, there’s a reason why anyone not in Israel, the middle east or the USA looks on circumcision with horror. We, in Europe, don’t condone damaging cosmetic surgery on small children, male or female.
Your little boy is fine as he is, don’t do it.
BTW even if you were still living in the States, the rate is about 50/50 now and dropping, so he still wouldn’t be “different”.
July 8th, 2005 at 3:08 pm
Rachael is right, in the states the rate is dropping and almost everyone in my playgroup has opted not to have it done. How I look at it, if when he get’s older he wants to have it done, then we can do it, but we can’t put it back…
There has also been some research done that implies that the foreskin may increase sexual pleasure in men.
July 9th, 2005 at 5:57 am
Good to know. I guess, I should just leave it up to my son if he wants to have himself circumcised later in his life.
September 9th, 2008 at 10:58 am
My friends had twin boys. They decided their sons would be raised as individuals as well as twins. They wanted a sure way to tell them apart when they were very young. They decided one boy would be circumcised and one not. This was chosen for them with love because they are still two different people. Now preteens, they still dress alike, and each is fine with the circ choice made for him. It makes them one of two, not half.
Still, these days many preteens and most teens have sex, often without a condom. You get your son vaccinated to protect him. He’s twice as likely to get STDs and aids without a circumcision. 1/3 of very young teen girls already have at least 1 (to 4) STDs, so boys have them too. Some of these STDs have no cure and are for life. Urinary tract infections are also very common. Guys with a foreskin also pass on a germ that causes vaginal cancer. It really is much easier to keep a circumcised penis clean. The slight risks of circumcision seem less than the dangers of not having one. A urologist told me that he typically does 1, 2 and even 3 school age circs a week in our small town. It costs more, hurts more, and the risk is greater to do it later. At least consider circumcision for your baby son, or perhaps your growing son. If you have decided that he should choose for himself, consider offering him that choice as a preteen and make it a right of passage as well as protection from possible poor choices.
Parents have the right to choose, and no one is harmed either way. Still, if you really want to give your son every advantage you can, choose the advantages of circumcision for your son.
September 16th, 2008 at 4:07 pm
Yes, the rates of circumcision in the U.S. are continuing to decline and are approaching 50/50. I know more and more parents who are opting not to circumcise their sons. There does not seem to be any guaranteed medical benefits to the procedure, only potential ones. There is an excellent debate about whether to circumcise your son or not at http://www.opposingviews.com/questions/should-boys-be-circumcised Experts from both sides debate the issue and make some interesting arguments. Really great read on the topic!
October 18th, 2008 at 7:54 pm
I find i amazing that the people who are most against circumcision are women, who have not actually had the procedure.
As a male who was circumcised as a baby I can honestly ay that if it hurt, I can’t remember it.
That is the good thing about infant circumcision, you don’t remember it.
People now-a-days get body peircings or tattoos as adults and nothing is said about that, so why all the fuss about (God ordained) circumcision.
January 14th, 2010 at 9:10 pm
I was circumcised at birth. I am now restoring my foreskin because I feel that I was robbed of my manhood. My wife and I both enjoy my restored foreskin. Let the owner of the penis decide.
January 15th, 2010 at 8:04 am
You wouldn’t cut a baby girl’s prepuce off, so why would you cut a boy’s off? It’s his body, so let him decide for himself. If you wait, it’s safer than an infant circumcision, it hurts less, and the results are cosmetically better. In England, only 1 in 140 males left intact ever needs to be circumcised for a medical reason, and it’s getting rarer.
If my son wants to be circumcised when he’s 18 (16 if he knows what he’s going), I’ll gladly pay for it, and help him find the best surgeon. Until then, no-one is cutting parts of his genitals off. His body, his decision.
It’s worth remembering that no-one except for Jewish people and Muslims would even be having this discussion if it weren’t for the fact that 19th century doctors thought that :
a) masturbation caused various physical and mental problems (including epilepsy, convulsions, paralysis, tuberculosis etc), and
b) circumcision stopped masturbation.
Both of those sound ridiculous today I know, but how that’s how they thought back then, and that’s how non-religious circumcision got started. If you don’t believe me, then google this: “A Short History of Circumcision in North America In the Physicians’ Own Words”. Heck, they even passed laws against “self-pollution” as it was called.
Over a hundred years later, circumcised men keep looking for new ways to defend the practice.
January 19th, 2010 at 2:34 pm
I had two boys in England. They looked at me in horror when I asked about circumcision. We now have lived back in the states for 15 years. Both boys elected to be circumcised at age 10. They played sports and wanted to be like most kids in the US. My husband talked to them about it and it was they’re decision. They are both now in college and are so glad they did it. I would advise to talk to your boys but it is very painful when you are older.
January 20th, 2010 at 10:07 am
My son was born in America, where he was circumcised, and we spent about three years in Austria – where this is also not common as in Germany. He had no problems — his best friend asked his mom why his penis is different, which lead to an intersting phone call between moms!
When my baby boy was born, at first I was against it. But my husband, who is not circumcised (and is Italian), made a convincing argument for doing it (cleanliness, ect.). Your husband has the equipment.. ask his opinion!!!
Also, if you decide to circumsise, my biggest concern would be to arrange for a doctor who has had plenty of experience and… ask to give him pain killer! In America, they did not do so. Finally, when breastfeeding.. beware of the tender area in the diaper – baby kept arching back and I couldn’t figure out why for the first few days.
Best of luck and enjoy your stay in Germany.
L