(June 12, 2016 at 9:21 am)robvalue Wrote: You could make a (weak) case for the removal of a huge number of body parts, with the argument that the removed part can no longer go bad in any way.

Of course, you then have to balance the likely damage such a removal causes.

If the medical community as a whole considered every single modification you could make as a general rule, and decided that it's foreskins and nothing else, I'd be surprised and suspicious. It just happens to correlate with what people have been doing for a long time for other reasons, mainly religious, or primitive hygiene.

I agree. And I don't see overwhelming evidence for recommending universal circumcision thus far. Penile cancer would probably be the only risk that might cause me to reconsider, but the study cited by the AAP did not take into account other risk factors for that particular type of cancer.

(June 12, 2016 at 9:30 am)Irrational Wrote:

(June 12, 2016 at 9:25 am)Tiberius Wrote: It gets much more loose over time though, and the more you retract it (especially when you pee / masturbate) the easier it will become.

In fact, this is the kind of advice that should be given by parents and doctors to all boys (for peeing at least), to reduce the likelihood of ending up with phimosis.

Yup, but I peed for years without retracting my foreskin, no problem. Its not an issue if the foreskin can't retract, because that means its still attached to the glans, so there's nowhere for bacteria to grow.

Now, if the boy / man is having issues peeing, i.e. the foreskin is so tight it hurts to pee, then circumcision might be the only option.

Parents should educate their kids instead of avoiding any sex related discussions as "too embarrassing". It is one of the major reasons why young kids, trying to figure out things for themselves, make a lot of mistakes.

As for fitting in goes, if fitting in matters that much, why raise the kid to have rational thinking capabilities when most of the other kids could be religious minded and would shun and seclude the atheist kid?

It's the parent's responsibility that a child can get through those years with proper knowledge about his or her body, instead of getting misinformation from "friends" who don't know any better themselves.

(June 12, 2016 at 9:28 am)robvalue Wrote: Okay, fair enough.

I would still consider this a very inadequate reason, but clearly you value it much higher.

How far would you take this to make your child fit in with other fads? What if other weird unecessary surgeries became common?

I think now your using "slippery slope" on me, and to me it's not weird, leaving the foreskin on seems weird to me. If my child was born with anything abnormal and it could be removed with a simple procedure I would probably do it.

(June 12, 2016 at 9:44 am)Mr.wizard Wrote: I think now your using "slippery slope" on me, and to me it's not weird, leaving the foreskin on seems weird to me. If my child was born with anything abnormal and it could be removed with a simple procedure I would probably do it.

Why? and how is your opinion about another person more important than that person's opinion of himself?

(June 12, 2016 at 9:44 am)Mr.wizard Wrote:

(June 12, 2016 at 9:28 am)robvalue Wrote: Okay, fair enough.

I would still consider this a very inadequate reason, but clearly you value it much higher.

How far would you take this to make your child fit in with other fads? What if other weird unecessary surgeries became common?

I think now your using "slippery slope" on me, and to me it's not weird, leaving the foreskin on seems weird to me. If my child was born with anything abnormal and it could be removed with a simple procedure I would probably do it.

A foreskin is not abnormal. And doesn't matter if it's your own child, it's not right to dictate what body part should be removed from a child just because an adult says so.

Foreskin is "abnormal"???



How can something virtually every single male is born with possibly be "abnormal"? That's like saying "having hair is abnormal".

(June 12, 2016 at 9:49 am)Aoi Magi Wrote:

(June 12, 2016 at 9:44 am)Mr.wizard Wrote: I think now your using "slippery slope" on me, and to me it's not weird, leaving the foreskin on seems weird to me. If my child was born with anything abnormal and it could be removed with a simple procedure I would probably do it.

Why? and how is your opinion about another person more important than that person's opinion of himself?

What? I never said my opinion was more important than anyone else's. Where I'm from everyone was circumcised and circumcising their children, it was completely normal.

(June 12, 2016 at 9:51 am)Irrational Wrote:

(June 12, 2016 at 9:44 am)Mr.wizard Wrote: I think now your using "slippery slope" on me, and to me it's not weird, leaving the foreskin on seems weird to me. If my child was born with anything abnormal and it could be removed with a simple procedure I would probably do it.

A foreskin is not abnormal. And doesn't matter if it's your own child, it's not right to dictate what body part should be removed from a child just because an adult says so.

I wasn't saying the foreskin is abnormal, I was referencing his question about my take on other unnecessary surgeries I would be ok with, I should of separated  the answer.

(June 12, 2016 at 9:44 am)Mr.wizard Wrote:

(June 12, 2016 at 9:28 am)robvalue Wrote: Okay, fair enough.

I would still consider this a very inadequate reason, but clearly you value it much higher.

How far would you take this to make your child fit in with other fads? What if other weird unecessary surgeries became common?

I think now your using "slippery slope" on me, and to me it's not weird, leaving the foreskin on seems weird to me. If my child was born with anything abnormal and it could be removed with a simple procedure I would probably do it.

I don't believe Rob is committing a slippery slope fallacy in his argumentation; he is merely asking where YOU, personally would draw the line, which I think is a question relevant to the discussion.