We have yet to circumcise the baby. Originally, we agreed to leave it for two weeks and make a decision later. Mr A is consistantly vocal about getting it done but thus far hasnt even given the effort of actually calling the pediatrition about it. Im not going to call because I dont necessarily want someone chopping up what God gave him (although I acknowledge that its more of a "guy thing" and untimately the decision will be left up to Mr A). So here we are a month and a half later with foreskin still intact.
Whats your take on cut vs uncut? What would you do?
Just so you know that I know - there is absolutely no medical basis for Ikaika getting a circumcision so I wont accept any advice that includes such dated information. Interestingly enough, the circumcision rate in Oregon is only about 30%, which means we are in the norm over here.
"the circumcision rate in Oregon is only about 30%, which means we are in the norm over here."
ReplyDeleteThen you just might want to defend your son's right to his own body. He might thank you when he's 15 or 16. Just as a father can protect his daughter in a culture where his wife might be circumcised and it is regarded as a "woman thing", the father could say, well I'm a man and I know this isn't my business but that IS my daughter and I have to take a stand and say, sorry, no knives near her genitals, even if mom is happily cut. Maybe the daughter will be unhappy about it when she is older and feel her choice about the way her own body looks was taken from her. Just reverse the roles and you'll see what I mean. Good luck.
Hmm...this post has gotten a lot of feedback (offline). I think I was purposely coming off as passive when I said that its a "guy thing".
ReplyDeleteBefore I had a son I had no opinion about it one way or the other. I knew of uncut men because I studied art history but had never met a living breathing one (at least none that I knew of!). In fact, if it hadnt been for mothering.com and the to-do people there make about circ vs non-circ, I probably never would have given it a second thought.
The argument against circumcision is compelling and I have to admit that the idea of circumcision isnt exactly congruent with Mr A & my lifestyle (a fact he willingly admits).
But, again, my stand on this one isnt exactly what I would consider "strong" (its not supporting-gay-marriage-strong) so I made my opinion of it clear, said I wouldnt do anything to help the process, and left the ball in dads court. There are a lot of happily circumcised men (for example: every man in my life) and if Ikaika is anything like the other men in this family he probably wouldnt give the absence of his foreskin any significance. Conversely, Im sure he would understand if we left it where its at now.
As for now theres no circ or plan to circ anytime soon. Im fairly certain that by the time Mr A actually gets around to doing anything about this (like finding/calling a doctor or setting an appointment) Ika will be so old that they will have to do some sort of major surgical procedure to get that thing off there. Subsequently, because Mr A is so opposed to hospital stuff and protective of the boy, he will likely change his mind and learn to live with the lil "snake in a sweater".
This is just my prediction...