if mothers were required to carry out the routine infant male genital mutilations, would they still happen?

Question

so the mother gives birth to her baby boy and has to then cut off his foreskin without anaesthesia within 24hrs (usual procedure for what is strangely called 'circumcision' in the USA).

this must be done with his limbs tied down, he will be lying on his back on a cold plastic board in a cold brightly lit, bad smelling hospital room (potent chemical disinfectants). she will be dressed like a doctor including face mask. she will not offer any comfort to the baby and will carry out the surgery in an impersonal way. she will show no mercy in the face of the baby boy's screams of agony.

if it were only mothers, the primary caregivers and nurturers of babies, who had to mutilate their baby boys' penises in this way, would it happen so much?

kaiamatara that is a question u should ask on y1a

Answer 1

I don't think it would happen as often.

My son is 3 months old, uncirced and never had a problem.
My DH is 19yrs old, uncirced and never had a problem.
My brother in law is in his 30s, uncirced and never had a problem.
My DHs Grandfther is in his 80s, uncirced and never had problem.

I know many, many men who are uncirced and never had an infection, or any of the other problems that procircers claim are so common.

If a circumcision is done right, it's not barbaric. The hosptial that I gave birth at gave me several pages that explained everything they would do IF I choose to have my son circed. I refused. Not because I wanted him to look like his dad, not because I think it's barbaric, just because I feel it's unnessicary. If firmly believe that as long as a child is taught to care for himself properly, that it's just as easy to care for as a circumcised penis. It takes all of 10 seconds to pull back the skin, swish it in the bathwater and put the skin back. There is no special soap required, and really you shouldn't use soap on the head of the uncirced penis anways, just swish, or hold under the shower spray, and put the skin back forward. It add maybed 10 seconds on to the shower time.

Uncircumcised males aren't the reason women get STDs. Someone sleeping around is the reason most men and women get STDs. You have to sleep with someone that has an STD before you can get one. And cutting the foreskin off doesn't give you a free pass to sleep around.

The American Academy of Pediatrics says that there is no reason to recomend circumcision, but there is no reason to recomend against it either. It's a personal choice, and it's one that I believe should be made by the person getting the operation, not by the parent of the person.

My son has a malformed ear. It folds down at the top instead of standing up. It will be his choice when he's a teenager, and not before then, if he wants his ear fixed. If he's comfortable with it then he won't need the surgery. He hears perfectly with it, just as a penis works perfectly with the foreskin.

I have UTIs more frequently than any uncircumcised man that I know. There are many factors that lead to all of the illnesses that are attributed to noncircing. Diabetes raises the risk of a UTI or a yeast infection. Penile cancer is so rare, that even uncircumcised males don't even have a 0.5% chance of getting it.

Please, please people check your facts from a reputable source such as the American Academy of Pediatrics before you decide things like this for your child.

Answer 2

If you want to jump on that band wagon how about piercing a baby's ears or the mutilations that teens do by piercing their faces and parts of their bodies, or the tattooing all over their bodies. How about the cults that tortures and kills the helpless for an offering, for what????? How about the three kids that beat a helpless puppy to death and thought nothing of it, you know that puppy was a living, breathing, still innocent, and trusting of the human care and love it received from her family, I can't imagine the fear and pain that small pup was feeling as its life was taken away, and what kind of human children are being raised where a parent can say they did not realize what they were doing, come on give me a break I have a 3yr old grandson that knows right from wrong and not to intentionally harm or hurt another, what a cop out that answer was from the father. This is the old saying which is proven so many times you reap what you sow.. What about these people with all the piercings, where do you think there going to be at 70 or 80 yrs old, I tell you it 's not going to be pretty!!!!

Answer 3

Circumcision is not a mutilation. It is a medical procedure. It is done for both cosmetic and hygienic reasons.
I think doing it when the baby is newborn is much better than waiting until he is 14 years old and after being in a locker room with other males decides something is wrong with him (as most males in the U.S. are circumcised) and feels bad.
Would you rather offer this procedure to adult males?

My son was circumcised under general anaesthesia when he had corrective surgery for a birth defect. He is fine now. I don't think he thinks about it.

Ask any adult male if they remember being circumcised. I doubt you'll find anyone who remembers that. That is like saying that forceps deliveries are traumatic to a baby and will cause them to be a serial killer later in life. That is just silly.

Answer 4

It probably wouldn't happen as much...BUT..when my sons were circumcised they used anesthesia(a local). I know because I got the bill for it!! I think that a little pain while an infant, versus a lifetime of being more susceptible to diseases would be worth it to many men. I used to babysit these little boys that weren't circumcised. I don't care how clean we(the parents and I) kept it, they still got UTI's. One of their boys had to be circumcised when he was 8. Wouldn't it have been a lot easier on him emotionally and physically to do it when he was a baby. ANd by the way...its not mutilation like female genital mutilation. That is done so that women don't have sex...or don't feel pleasure during sex. That is NOT why males are circumcised!!!

Answer 5

My guess would be no, because most mothers aren't surgeons. Circumcisions are performed by experienced surgeons, not two-day post-op, hormone-ridden new mothers who would cry at Hallmark Card commercials, and could/would potentially cut off more than just a tiny bit of foreskin. This question is asinine, but I'm going to answer it with my opinion, anyway.

Where did you get your information about the child being strapped to a cold plastic table with no anesthesia and noone/nothing to comfort them? Do you remember your circumcision? Or are you a surgeon who performs that particular operation? Or are you just upset that your parents didn't have you circumcised, and now you suffer with recurring UTIs, STDs and are at greater risk of having penile cancer? Maybe this is what you do in YOUR country, but that's not the way it works in the great state of Michigan in the United States of America, where both of my boys were circumcised. I wasn't allowed to go to the OR to watch my sons' circs being performed (I wasn't scrubbed in, and risked breaking the sterile field if I watched), but from what my OB/GYN told me, they were both given a local numbing agent, pacifiers with a tiny bit of sucrose on them, and they slept through their respective surgeries. I think all this "spouting off at the mouth" that you're doing is ridiculous, and untrue in many cases. Do you live in a third world country where hack doctors use rusty knives or what?

I suggest that before you come back here and try to start an argument or pick fights with people by asking such a loaded question, you check your facts...

Oh, and FYI...babies are NOT affected by strong odors (perfume, disinfectants, and the like.)

Answer 6

You get a lot of mis-information about the health benefits of circumcision; they're either false or deliberately misleading.

There is no medical benefit to being circumcised. 80% of the world's male population is uncircumcised, the vast majority of us don't have harmful medical problems because we have foreskins. The foreskin actually protects and lubricates the penis for a lot of functions.

It was not introduced in America for health reason; it was introduced to prevent young boys from masturbating; that didn't work, obviously.

Answer 7

My niece decided not to have her son done. It basically had to do with cleanliness back in the old days. It was started back in the biblical days. Could you imagine back then the stink because of no good hygein? Could you imagine living where sand invaded every crack and crevice of your body? UGH. Anyways my nephew is 2 and has never had any problems. My father who is 70 never had it done either. I have 3 girls and never had to make that choice and I dont know if I could hurt my baby either.

Answer 8

Is someone bitter?

I have two boys ~ both circumcised ~ and both times the doctor offered to let me be there if I wanted to be. I did not, but the nurses who cared for me were with my boys and I know they held them and comforted them when it was over.

If your wanker is messed up from a botched circumcision, I feel sorry for you. But that's no reason to be critical of people who make what they believe to be a good choice for their own children. Get over it and see a doctor about your obvious mental anguish.

Answer 9

NO It wouldnt happen - that is why during a bris (male circ. in the jewish religion) women ARE NOT ALLOWED IN THE ROOM!! Only men can attend - if the women were there they would be screaming and crying to stop it! It's awful...Thank GOD I had a daughter...me and my husband would have a battle over this one!

Answer 10

Circumcision should only be performed on males who CHOOSE it, under anesthesia obviously. It is cruel to do this to newborns, especially without pain relief; a hideous act of ignorance and abuse and totally barbaric imo.