A “whole” boy
This just in: G gets to keep his foreskin!!! That’s right: you read it here folks. S and I have an agreement – no chop for little G! S’ also been doing his research and independently came to this conclusion. Our reasoning was:
- No religious need. Since neither S nor I are practicing anything, we don’t have any religious ties to ceremonies/rights of passage around circumcision
- No cultural demand. Living in CA which is a very diverse environment, just as many boys are intact as those who are circumcised. There’s also a chance (miniscule as it might be) that S and I might live abroad for awhile, and chances are we’ll be visiting cultures where being circumcised is considered “weird”. Besides, the argument “I don’t want our son to be different from his friends” has always been a little weak with me. I dare to ask how many guys actively look around in the bathroom/locker room and compare themselves to those around them.
- Hygiene. Yes cleanliness is next to godliness. A circumcised member is just as Ok as an intact one provided you’ve taught your kid to clean properly. Spending time educating your child in proper hygiene is important for any gender. Brushing teeth… shampooing… flossing… penis maintenance – it’s all par for the course.
- You can always remove it, but you can’t bring it back. Yes, it would hurt (and lemme tell you, I’m sure it hurts at age 0 or 40), but if G in his future comes across either personal religious preference or cultural need, he can make his own decision around this.
- Condoms are still more effective. The African HIV/circumcision study is interesting, and results aside, condom usage is still more effective at preventing HIV infection over circumcision. There are also inconsistencies with the study that you can find about at http://www.circumcision.org.
A few others too, but this is getting long so I’ll spare you.
So yeah. That’s it. No formal debate necessary and I get what I wanted 🙂
… So that means I win, right?
I’d say baby G’s the one who wins on that one 😉
I’m sure if he ever becomes aware of this debate at a point where he understands it, he’ll thank you both.