Will a boy suffer socially (be teased a lot) if he goes to school uncircumcised?

Question

My husband and I are hoping to have a baby in the near future, and we are discussing whether or not to have the baby cirmcumcised if it's a boy. I've researched it on WebMD, and most experts seem to agree the slight medical benefits are not worth the pain and possible complications of circumcision.

My husband's argument is that he'll be teased when other boys see him in the locker room or bathroom. He doesn't want to subject our son to that kind of embarrassment. I disagree, because almost all children are teased at some point and kids will tease about anything and everything--hair, clothes, height, weight, etc--just to make themselves seem powerful.

If you have not been circumcised or have not had your son circumcised, please tell me if my husband is right or if I am. Will everyone notice the difference and tease him? Do you regret your (or your parents') decision?

Answer 1

I wouldn't be so worried about the teasing, but there are some good health reasons to have it done.

Try listening to the September 9, 2006 show

http://www.cbc.ca/quirks/podcast.html

new medical news about circumcision.

Circumcision is definately an earlier the better sort of thing! I would ask around, but I would expect it won't be hard to find a doctor to do the circumcison; and the longer you leave him uncircumcised the more likey he is to get a foreskin problem, and the more difficult a circumcision may become.

I had my sons circumcised after my youngest brother had tons of problems with his foreskin and needed to be circumcised!

It is much easier on a baby and its a good preventative step to future problems!

Lots of love,

Sara
[e-mail]

I've done a lot of research so feel free to email me if you need anyone needs some advice.

Answer 2

My husband and I agree that if we have a son that we will not have him circumcised. The "health" benefits are minimal at best- My husband said that the kids he went to school with who weren't circumcised didn't get any crap from the other guys... They all knew what circumcision was and it didn't really matter.

Unless it's for religious reasons I don't think it should be done. We're born with all our parts they way they are for a reason... Also I had an X who had a bad circumcision and it left a scar around the head of his penis and he had problems with is penis retracting because they'd taken too much skin when he was a baby- it could get pretty uncomfortable sometimes and he was generally unhappy about it. I think that's much worse than having someone point out that you have everything you were born with intact!

Answer 3

He will be just fine, he may even be part of the uncut majority in some parts of the country.

I doubt you will find the wide open showers we had in the schools when we were kids, because of the homo-phobic atmosphere much more privacy is now provided. If any comments are made tell him to ask, What are do doing checking my package anyway? And you are the one missing something.

The opinions of others is no reason to mutilate your son's penis, he will have his whole life to suffer with it if you do.

I was a victim of childhood circumcision 50 years ago, I have endured a lacerated glans(hurts like hell), I often am sore from the friction of my clothing, and I suffer from reduced sensitivity during sex, sometimes I cannot reach orgasm.

No boy should be circumcised before age 18.

His body. His choice.

Answer 4

That is the same reason my husband has used to justify circumcision. I don't buy it, even for a second. We have girls so I haven't had to deal with circumcision, however. You are right, kids will tease other kids. That's life. There are no medical benefits to circumcision (if there are, the risks of the procedure outweigh the benefits). And fewer and fewer boys are being circumsized each year.

Besides, it's not your body you're messing with when you circumsize. It's your son's. I'm not against circumcision, I just believe that the owner of the penis needs to make that decision for himself when he has reached maturity.

Answer 5

I believe it is actually the opposite. Very few boys are actually being done these days. Of all my friends who have little boys, none of them had their boys circumcised. It's the norm to be natural now. If fact, in my city there is only one doctor that will even perform the procedure anymore. Hope this helps.

There is nothing unclean about being uncircumcised. I get so frustrated when people say that. It's like saying that a woman is unclean. It's perfectly natural. I absolutely refused to have my son circumcised. I have never nor would ever regret the decision.

Answer 6

My son is not circumcised. He's 17 months old. We keep him clean and he is fine. I have worried about the same thing, will people notice and tease him? But you know what? Why would they be looking at him there anyway? It's a personal decision you have to make.

Answer 7

My husband is uncirced, and he never had anyone say a word about his penis at school. He says jokingly that if anyone had, he would have questioned them as to why they were even *looking* at his penis. :)

For the record, he also finds the "so he'll look like daddy" argument laughable- the only times he's really seen his dad's (circed) penis were when he was very young, and there were far more important differences between his and his dad's at the time. He didn't even notice.

Good luck on making your decision. We don't have a boy yet, but have agreed that if we ever do, we will definitely *not* be circing.

Answer 8

I have two sons, aged 23 and 17. Both of my sons were circumcised two days after birth. As well, I am a registered nurse and have worked on the post-partum unit and newborn nursery where the circumcisions are routinely done. The method of circumcision is done very humanely, and is usually done by your obstetrician the day before you leave the hospital. The complications arising from circumcision are minimal.
There have been medical and scientific research that has shown that there is an increased risk of female cancer of the cervix in women who have uncircumcised male sexual partners. In addition, there is a higher risk of sexually transmitted disease and a higher risk of contracting HIV in males who are uncircumcised.
As for your husband's concerns about being teased, I can't comment on this one way or the other, other than, why would a boy be exposing his penis to his peers in such a way as to risk being ridiculed anyhow?
It is a personal preference, however, and it has been my experience that it is much easier to teach personal hygiene to a boy who is circumcised than not. Failure to pull the foreskin back all the way to expose the glans during bathing, can result in an accumulation of secretions behind the foreskin, and can result in an overgrowth of tissue causing a crooked penis on erection.
I don not regret my decision to circumcise my sons, and my son's are greatful that I made that choice.

Answer 9

Heres a question to pose to your husband. . . If it were a daughter instead of a boy, would he opt to have her genitals circumsized so she wouldn't get teased? (hypothetically here if we practiced female genital mutilation in this country)

Seriuosly - circumsicion is mutilation. Would you really want to subject your child to useless - cosmetic procedures for the sake of peer acceptance?? There are a larger number of boys who are not circumsized. The argument that their cleaner is completely false. People can make the same argument saying women should have their clitoris cut off because its cleaner. Its bull!

It is an outdated religious practice. It started because they thought it would give men a head start in life to resist the temptations of the flesh - so they cut off the sensitive part of the penis - which is the foreskin - where all the nerve endings are.

Circumcision for boys is no less horifying then the genital mutilation they do to females in other countries. I agree with you - leave your child the way he is born - -he will appreciate it when he's older.

Please read this link for more information to present to your husband: http://www.mothersagainstcirc.org/

Answer 10

Well I can see your husbands point..My boyfriend and I have had the same conversation..He said the same thing, young boys can be really cruel..and the complications are not that great for a child under the age of 1 the risk goes up as the age goes up....I have decided to have any future sons of mine circumcised because of hygiene and the fact that I know personally that I would never let one that was uncircumcised around me and I would want my son to get rejected by potential girlfriend for that reason