PARENTS: what happens if you circumcise your son, and one day he wishes he still had a foreskin? (READ MORE)?

Question

just so you know, the AAP does not approve of circumcision. it's not healthy, and it's actually dangerous (because it's needless surgery). plus it reduces sexual pleasure by over 30%.

it's only done for religious and aesthetic reasons. but then that means that by doing it to someone else )like your son) that you're forcing religion or aesthetics on your child permanently.

i'm circumcised, and i wish i weren't. my mother made the decision for me and now it can never be undone. she of course regrets it now. but,,, she has to live with that regret, and so do i. and it's not as if i'm unusual. TONS of men wish that they weren't circumcised.

so if you circumcise your son, he might wish you hadn't. he might not,,,, but he might. so isn't it just smarter NOT to do it. that way he can make his OWN CHOICE???

oh, and just so no one answers that the surgery needs to be done at a young age,,,,, the procedure is actually less painful and less risky for an adult than for a baby.

go here for more info:

http://www.myspace.com/dontcircumcise

thanks for those of you with legitimate responses.

ERIC COASTER,

yeah, i've seen those studies. and i've seen the studies that say it makes no difference. i never know what to make of statistics for anything because they're so likely to be slanted. i wear condoms anyway though.

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LISATHEBESTONE,

good luck getting head???? did you even read my question?? i AM cut. let me guess,,, you're american, right? well,,, you're conditioned to a certain style. sad thing too, because foreskins actually have a lot of properties that make sex more enjoyable for women.

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CELINE8388,

right, my point exactly. it's a personal decision!! i'm glad your son doesn't regret it. that worked out well. but what if he DID regret it? then it'd be impossible to change.

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EBAY KING,

i don't know if the doctor took too much off. i'm missing a lot of my frenulum (the part at the bottom), which is supposedly ..........

......... supposedly a good part to have. i don't really have any feeling in that part though. but i don't know if it was a mistake. this is just the way that some doctors cut. but yeah, i wish i still had the frenulum and the other parts.

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REDPEACH_MI,

well,, i do tons of stuff, but this IS important. people get mad at child abuse, yet this is one of the most painful things that a person can feel.

now,, when a two day old baby feels a pain this great, without anesthetics (which is often the case), and a foreskin that's still attached to the head and must be ripped from it, and then lacks the capacity to make sense of this pain, make no mistake that it is causing psychological damage.

HUGH JWANG,,

uggh, you idiot. go back and re-read the question, you putz.

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WICCA333GIRL,

thank you for not mutilating your child. please don't back down though in the presence of others.

parents should NOT have the right to circumcise their sons anymore than they should have the right to circumcise their daughters. circumcision should be a choice that a person makes for his or her self. so please,, this side needs more fighters. there are babies who haven't been born yet who are facing this fate. they deserve a whole body. please help to make people think.

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MICHAEL L,

no, my mother doesn't regret having me. and she does regret cutting me. give me your phone number, and i'll have her call you up and tell you her self.

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BROCK C,

i know you're trying to help,,,, i guess,,, but your argument is awful.

you never miss what you don't remember in the first place?? ok,, listen to the logic you're using. by this logic you could remove a child's eyes. then later in life, if he says "hey, i'm really mad that i can't see", and you respond with, "well, what's the big deal. you don't know what you're missing", .......

..... will this really be a good argument. he'd probably say "yeah i know!! that's what makes it REALLY bad!!".

do you follow?? please don't say, "you can't compare the two",, because i am NOT comparing the two. i'm just showing you how your argument doesn't make any sense. things that we NEVER got to experience, are the ones whose losses hurt us the most.

as for "crying over spilt milk",,, that's another really bad argument. since when does the fact that we can't change something mean that we shouldn't be sad about it??? once again,,, these cases are the ones where we cry THE MOST. a better thing to say would be, "no sense crying over milk that you're able to salvage".

once again, let's apply your logic to something else and see how it holds up. (AGAIN,, I AM NOT MAKING A COMPARISON). if a person's child dies, would you ever say this to them?? no, because it's just a bad argument that doesn't make any sense.

you're trying to say that crying is pointless, but whoever said ........

.......... it has a point??? crying doesn't serve a purpose. it's just an inevitable out come.

on top of that, while i might not be able to fix MY OWN circumcision, it is still possible to prevent new born babies from becoming circumcised. and THAT is precisely why i'm doing this.

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GENE FREQUENCY,

yeah, supposedly about 1% of males will need to be circumcised one day anyway. actually,,, i think that's in the process of changing because medicine for treatment is getting so much better. and for all i know, i might've been one of those 1%, of course, the odds are 99 times greater that i would've been one of the other 99% and would've enjoyed my foreskin.

if your father had problems too, then i guess maybe it runs in your family. i really don't know if it runs in my family. even if it did though, i would've loved to have taken the chance.

also,, so you know,, it's a lot better that you cut your son at age 6 rather than 2 days old. ...............

.......... people say that a 6 year old will remember but a baby won't. that's just not true though. babies DO remember pain subconsciously. that's why it's so incredibly bad to abuse babies at that age. a 6 year old can at least make sense of the pain.

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CINNERY,

we know that the the parts of the penis that get removed have about 22,000 specialized nerves. other parts which are ordinarily protected by the foreskin also start to get damaged. this is how they know.

as for the AIDS survey, i've seen both sides. i don't know which one to trust. all i can tell you is that i haven't had sex with very many women and i use protection. so TO ME, it would definitely be worth it to NOT be circumcised and then use condoms and be careful (which is what i do anyway).

and that should be my decision. this is my whole point to asking this question. you want to do what's best for your son, but you might make a decision for him which he wouldn't have made himself. ..............

if he wants to, then when he's ready to start having sex, he can get cut then. it's SOOO much healthier for men to get circumcised at that age than when they're an infant (for reasons that are listed on the website, myspace.com/dontcircumcise). and at least that way he can choose either. if you cut him at birth, then he has NO CHOICE. that's really what i'm trying to stress here.,, that it should be up to the individual.

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SHMOE,

"sh** out of luck"??? wow,, glad to to know that you're actually thinking of what your son wants for his life and not treating him like a dog that you just bought.

i explained this to another poster, and now i'll explain it to you. i KNOW that i can't change the past. that's precisely why circumcision is not the sort of thing that you should just go inflicting on other people without their consent (meaning,,, your children).

i'm not on here talking to people to fix MY OWN penis. i'm on here trying to help prevent this from .............

........... from happening to other people.

you said:

"Look at the other side coin, by NOT circumsizing you are forcing your son into an equal situation. No sane man will let any sort of blade near his penis, so he's stuck un-cut for life."

ok,, if this were true, then you would have a good argument, but it's just not. lots of men DO go through with this procedure. now,, they might be mad that they have to do it at this age, rather than having it "already done", but any doctor will tell you that not only is the operation less painful for adults than for babies, but it's also easier for adults to understand the pain.

how do you think psychological trauma occurs? painful things are bad for anybody to experience, but they are especially bad for people who can not understand where the pain is coming from. this is why psychological trauma is often times rooted in childhood.

in short though, before you even argue about the equality of both sides, go educate yourself on it.

JIM T,

when i said "the AAP doesn't apporve of circumcision", what i meant was that it doesn't insist upon it., not that they don't condone it.

here's the conclusion of the paper you put up:

Conclusions.  Circumcision remains a relatively safe procedure. However, for some parents, the risks we report may outweigh the potential benefits. This information may help parents seeking guidance to make an informed decision.

this is what i mean. they're basically saying "do whatever you think is appropriate to your child".

all i was saying is that i don't think that parents should be the ones who make that decision, but that the individual should be. that's my entire argument.

this particular paper is a bit more wishy-washy than the one i remember reading a couple years ago, but their message remains the same. they are not anti-circumcision, but they're not pro-circumcision either.

circumcision DOES reduce UTI's. that's true. but is it worth it? well,, that's up to the individual.

i would like to make the choice to put up with the UTI's for the benefits of having a foreskin, but i can't.

as for the HIV studies, i've seen both sides. maybe it is true, but like i've been saying, i use condoms. we are really left to wonder though,, if circumcision really does prevent HIV, then why are the HIV rates so much higher here in america than they are in europe?

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VIVALA49RS,

god, you seem like an awful person. yeah, I DID READ THE PAPER, YOU SCHMUCK! DID YOU? read the response above.

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PROUD MATRIARCH,

let's hope that your sons agree with your decision. if they do, then everything is fine. -- i don't know if the thing with your dad is coincidence or not. i use to be more of an activist in this field, but i kinda got out of it for a while though and don't remember all the details. so i really can't remember the connections it has with prostate cancer. just remember though, there's a cost to what you did.

sexual pleasure is reduced in circumcised men. a lot of the nerves in the foreskin are specialized nerves that have specific functions and are found no where else in the body. so let's hope that your sons agree with you decision.

they might not though. when i was born, over 90% of babies got circumcised. now it's like 70% for the whole country, and as low as 30% in states out west. so depending on where you live, they might have to compete against other intact children.

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SCOTTSDALEBL...

cool, glad you're happy with your parents decision. it is your opinion that it looks better, but that's ok, because it belongs to YOU. it may or may not be healthier. we don't know what problems your foreskin would have seen if any. one thing's certain though, its senses are much duller now. you can not appreciate sex as much as you would've been able to with a foreskin. and it's only "an all around better way of doing things' if that's how YOU feel.

girls DO NOT hate foreskin. only american girls (or foreign girls who worship americans) do. even then,, not all american girls are like this. only shallow ones are. women who actually have sex with intact penises rather than judging them by their looks often report that the feelings are way better.

my girlfriend is colombian. (by the way, if you haven't already, get your self a hispanic lover. you won't know what hit you.) and she doesn't hate foreskin. she wishes i still had foreskin because she knows the benefits.

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FOR SKIN,

yeah, you know what sucks about that method though, is it doesn't put back any of the 22,000 specialized nerves, or the "ribbed for her pleasure" textures. but you're right. it would in fact soften my glans, which is good. and it would create a vaginal plug that will keep my girlfriend from getting dried out.

thanks for reminding me about it.

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TRAARAT,

what's done is done. yeah,, no kidding. why do people always say this. i'm not on here to DWELL. i'm on here to try to keep soon to be mothers from making the same mistake. it's too late for me, but not for a baby.

and DON'T EVER TELL ME TO GROW UP. A PIECE OF MY DICK IS MISSING YOU INSENSITIVE BRAT. you would not have this attitude if your clit had been removed. -- or uhh,,, actually,, you probably still would. you'd probably be just as blinded by society as a lot of the guys on here are. idiots.

Answer 1

He can get it restored.

watch this video: http://asp.noterik.com/video/michael/CIRCUMCISION.mov

and this video:
http://tlctugger.com/Media/Circumcision_WM7NTSC_256k_D.wmv

and watch the penn & teller circumcision episode.

basically, you stretch the skin covering the shaft of the penis behind the glans back over the glans.

this takes a while, but it is successful if you persist. this is done with weights or elastic. it is not painful, just requires patience.

the benefit is a functioning penis. the foreskin acts like a sleeve which allows the penis to slide inside itself, helping in the initial insertion into the vagina.

those with a foreskin should experiment with this when you are having sex. i did just today, and it is truly amazing to witness!

it seems like such an intelligent bit of design!

evolution is a wonderful thing.

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i would like to add that if my foreskin had been cut off, i would have done two things by now, at least. i would have gone back to the hospital where i was born, and asked for the contact details of the doctor. then i would go and educate him about the foreskin, as medical students only spend about half an hour on it, if that, in med school.

i would also talk to my parents about it, and say how sorry i felt that their protective instincts as parents were overcome by their obedience to an authoritarian medical system. we would hug, and they would apologise, and all would be well.

then i would go and restore mine.

luckily, it wasn't cut off though.

Answer 2

funny, just yesterday the MSN homepage had a story about how uncircumscised men were much more likely to become infected with the AIDS virus because the extra skin is the perfect host for it.
Dunno bout you, but I'd want to protect my son from odds like that, and how exactly can they tell if sexual pleasure is reduced? If someone has been circumcised their whole life they wouldn't know any difference.

Answer 3

The negative conclusions on newborn circumcision drawn by the recent American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) Task Force on Circumcision are misleading and contrary to the current medical evidence, including data in the body of the report itself1 and in the references cited therein. As professionals closely involved with clinical investigations on newborn circumcision,2-7 we are compelled to express our concern about this report. The Task Force states that newborn circumcision is not recommended and that the procedure is "not essential to the child's current well-being."1 The media and the public are now understandably convinced that the AAP has adopted an anticircumcision stance compared with its previous neutral position on newborn circumcision.2 This attitude has not only been taken by the activist anticircumcision forces but also by the respected media: eg, "Circumcision Loses a Key Endorsement" (Washington Post),8 "Circumcision Benefits Disputed" (Chicago Sun-Times),9 "Pediatricians Turn Away From Circumcision" (CNN),10 and "Circumcision Opponents Energized by About-Face of Academy of Pediatrics" (Forward).11 One would assume that in the decade since the 1989 report,2 new evidence must have appeared demonstrating substantial disadvantage of newborn circumcision. However, the opposite is true.

Considerable published data from the past 10 years (much of it cited in the current report) confirm and reinforce previous evidence on the medical benefits of newborn circumcision, particularly in protecting against urinary tract infection (UTI) and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection. Paina major disadvantage of the procedurehas been shown to be safely and effectively controlled by local anesthesia. With more proven advantages and fewer disadvantages, how could the Task Force issue a statement that could only be interpreted as reversing previous policy and discouraging newborn circumcision?
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The above is the beginning of the REAL opinion of the AAP (American Academy of Pediatrics). The information above and it's original form on MySpace is exactly the sort of misleading conclusions which this article speaks against.

If you are concerned, please check the facts at the legitimate website, that is www.aap.org, and not someone's biased recap of the information.

Answer 4

Hmm....

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/5165118.stm

Answer 5

answering your original question and ignoring the dibble afterwords, he's sh** out of luck. I'm so glad you and your mother had a heart to heart talk about your penis... you can't change the past so get over it.

Look at the other side coin, by NOT circumsizing you are forcing your son into an equal situation. No sane man will let any sort of blade near his penis, so he's stuck un-cut for life.

Answer 6

I would never mutilate my son. I had all girls but if I had a boy he would not have been mutilated. I have "been" with both cirumcised men and non...I personally prefer non...I know I will get some ridicule for this because North Americans have been brought up to think it's dirty when that is a total lie.

I'm sorry you are this way, I doubt you can change it. Thanks for educating people on the matter though...~d

Answer 7

sorry for your pain, bro. I thought about this alot for my son, did not get him circumcised...felt it was just a cultural thing, why bother with that? I also wanted him to be 'natural'-- to enjoy what was taken from me without choice...like you mentioned. But by about 5 or 6 he already had 2, maybe 3 infections about the foreskin. And we practice good hygiene in this family, bathe alot.

Finally surrendered and got him circumcised about age 6. No more infections...for about 10 years now.

So I guess it was not just a cultural thing after all. My dad was uncircumcised his whole life and suffered for it. He also urged me to get son circumcised and I put off his wishes. Until my son got the infections.

Answer 8

its foreskin get over it no use crying over spilled milk and you never miss what you dont remember having in the first place if you make the decision for your own kids to not have them circumcised then that is your decision but theres nothing you can do about your own situation now stop sweating the small stuff

Answer 9

It would be my son's decision. He's only 4 right now and I did not put him through that horrific situation when he was born because just as my mother asked my brother, I will ask his opinion when he's old enough to understand.

Answer 10

I circumcised both my boys and I am glad that I did. I think that they will be glad, too. Because I have lowered their risk of prostate cancer and some other conditions. And for those people that say that that is not true, I have personal experience with my dad and his prostate and he had to get snipped at 44years old! After that, he was fine. Coincidence, or not?