As the mother of just one, a daughter, circumcision is not a topic that steadily occupies your mind. You read about it, you are dismayed at the act, you research it in case you must defend intactivism, but perhaps you don't champion it as passionately if you'd had a son. This was true in my case. I knew that if I have sons in the future, none of them would ever be touched by a blade to their foreskin. However, I guess I never felt personally inclined about little boys' penises until that day at pre-school.
I couldn't get it out of my mind. Every little boy that I had ever taken care of, or seen, had a normal looking penis. So when I caught a glimpse of this altered one, I was taken back. I felt hurt when I imagined how he must have screamed for help during this elective cosmetic surgery. I grew angrier at it, resolving in my heart that if I have a son, or many sons, I would never let anyone mutilate his penis. I resolved to speak out against MGM more often and to educate myself more. Let us all, mothers of girls and boys alike, be determined to advocate and educate so that parents of baby boys wake up and realize and avoid having to apologize...later on
What a great post! I feel the same way. Beautifully written!
ReplyDeleteit is a very sad thing, and many parents are still having their babies circumcised because they believe it's more "hygienic" , God gave them that "extra" skin for a REASON, your not supposed to just cut a body part off for nothing, that's just sad.... Dr. Kellog (who invented the cereal) promoted it very much to "lower" the kids sex drives and by having people eat cornflakes lol it's just crazy...
ReplyDeleteI felt the same way before having children, and then having a son myself only solidified my feelings about the wrongness of genital mutilation. I don't think a person needs to have a son to advocate for their rights. Just like I don't need to be a battered wife myself for me to stick up for other women.
ReplyDeleteBravo Rockabeach and Wolfmother! Very well said!
ReplyDeleteI am circumcised, of course, have no memory of it and for the most part I appreciate the shape, size and look to it, but I've heard the other sides to remaining 'un-cut'. I've heard there can me more sensitivity, that hygiene (once the boy is TAUGHT how to retract the foreskin regularly - so if you are gonna' back this you better be ready to make up some privacy rules regarding self-pleasure - so this will not go over well with many conservative Christians who do not believe in masturbation, no matter the age). I have seen more cut than un-cut and also happen to be gay, neither bother me although I am, Americanized to be more comfy with the cut look, but it wouldn't bother me if someone I loved were un-cut. I do know that the procedure can be done later in life, by the child or young adult's choice. The ONLY backlash I will offer up is our boys are bullied far too much for far too many reasons and expect this to be just another one and it will be in the locker room, shower, etc., when Mommy isn't around to protect ego or body at that time. So it is a tough choice to make for our children at birth, and even tougher to let them go thru half their life and then present the option. I really agree there is definitely some unconscious issues probably, even though I do not remember my circumcision....but I'm not really aware of what they may be. I am more on the look out for these doctors who are STILL to this VERY day selecting your child's gender if their penis isn't large enough or their clitoris is too large and they do it without telling parents far too often. Sorry to digress so much. Good topic, great opinions. In a perfect world, I would let my boy choose once he had any issues with it and just deal with the healing. I want him to be happy with his body, no matter my opinions. Blessings!
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