Thursday, December 08, 2005

To Snip, or Not to Snip?

Dr. SOB and I have recently had several conversations on the following topic: Do we have our boy circumcised? There are valid arguments for either side. Those opposed to circumcision say that it's an unnecessary surgical procedure, and that removing the foreskin can decrease sensitivity in the tip of the penis over time. Also, studies that say being circumcised helps to prevent UTI's have been found to be inaccurate. The whole cleaning thing isn't really an issue, either, because it's not like a circumcised penis has a self-cleaning cycle. You simply have to modify something that you should already be doing. Those in favor say that it's helpful if the young boy in question 'looks' like his father, and Dr. is circumcised (bet you were all dying to know that fun fact!) Would he feel funny if his junk looks different from the other boys in the locker room? That might not be an issue, either, because the national average now is about 60/40 circumcised/uncircumcised, and it's more like 50/50 in the northeast, where we'll probably land in a few years. Right now I'm definitely leaning toward not doing it. My only reservation is that if, as an adult, he decided he would rather be circumcised, I hear it's a pretty painful procedure, and he would probably blame me for having to go through it. We welcome any thought on the subject!

And as a follow-up, I was really underwhelmed with fontifier. I was having visions of sending all of my Christmas cards out with seemingly handwritten address, but had to settle for Batang.

More later...I have to go now and explode with rage at Mr. Fat Fuck Potato Head Boss.

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2 comments:

Anonymous said...

it's helpful if the young boy in question 'looks' like his father

The kind term for that is "psychobabble"; no study or survey has ever been done to prove or disprove it.

However, an entire generation of American sons did grow up circumcised with fathers who were not. There's no evidence of a national head case over that.

Would he feel funny if his junk looks different from the other boys in the locker room?

No way to know ahead of time.

My daughter (age 3) may turn out to have small breasts, like her mother. But the cruelty I've heard about in the girls' locker room is no justification for forcing her to get implants.

if, as an adult, he decided he would rather be circumcised, I hear it's a pretty painful procedure

So is getting a tattoo or a piercing. But thousands get those every year (for reasons I can't imagine). No way is it your fault if your son decides to have his body distorted.

cingulus.michael@att.net

Lora said...

i used to work with sex offenders, and many (most actually) of them under the age of 18 weren't circumcised and said that they would only have sex with very young girls who didn't know the difference because girls their age were totally weirded out and made fun of them and told everyone at school they were deformed. moral of the story- if you don't want your baby to be a rapist...cut! i am so kidding, but it is one of the reasons i am pro-circ.