To circumcise or not to circumcise?

[Jenny A]

Actually adults can get anesthesia for it while babies cannot.

That's actually a pretty good point.

Still, this strong feeling expressed by my fellow atheists makes me wonder if it's more the religious nature of most circumcisions that makes atheists feel so strongly against it.

Not in my case. I'm if anything less bothered by Jewish circumcision because there is at least some reason for it. I think it looks better is not a reason worth discussing. I'm against binding feet too (not that it's done anymore), and that has no religious purpose.

[Edwardo Piet]

Yep. I think all infant circumcision is wrong if only because it's not consensual. It's an irreversible violation.

[Losty]

Umm...there's a huge difference between cutting hair which is painless and it grows back and cutting genitals which is not painless and is doesn't grow back. Also, it's understandable for your mother to want your hair to look however she thinks is nice...I don't understand why she would want your penis to look nice.

Can't answer for all the other mothers out there, but to me personally it's for the same reasons as everything else. 

If I lived in a country where no one got it done, I wouldn't get my son's done, either, because in that case it wouldn't matter. But it's much more common than not here in the US and I wouldn't want my son to feel insecure or embarrassed about his penis looking different from the other boys'. As I said, if I was a dude (assuming I'd be living in the US), I would hope my parents would do that for me while I was a baby. But to each their own. Not saying anyone is a bad mom for not doing it to their kid. We each do what we think is best for our own child.

Yes, I sat through several nurses and a doctor giving me this reasoning. My son is 6 as of now he's never noticed his penis being different. Generally in America boys don't hang out naked together. We don't even have locker room nudity anymore.

I don't think any parents circumcise their kids out of cruelty. I do think many do it out of ignorance. The pushing in Medical fields, that does piss me off. They literally lie to you and tell you all this bullshit about foreskin being unhygienic and causing cancer. It's not true. It's not supported by science. I can't figure out why the hell they're pushing it.

All that being said, circumcision is not nearly as common in the US as it used to be. Many insurance companies won't cover it. I hope is dies out altogether.

[Divinity]

Still, this strong feeling expressed by my fellow atheists makes me wonder if it's more the religious nature of most circumcisions that makes atheists feel so strongly against it.

Yeah, must be the religious aspect of it, and not the whole cutting skin (filled with many nerve endings) off a baby without their knowledge and consent.  Sure, it might be done during a time he can't remember the pain.  That doesn't mean he doesn't feel pain, and it could be a pain that lives with him for the rest of his life, deeply imbedded in the back of his mind.  Circumcised infants are known to be more sensitive to pain later in life.

[Minimalist]

There's creepy and then there is CREEPY.

http://pimppreacher.com/post/70121168276...suck-their

Two Babies Get Herpes After Rabbis Suck Their Penis During Jewish Ritual

Whenever a kid is molested it always seems as if there is some Holy Fuckface in a stupid hat around.

[Regina]

Absolutely not. Boy or girl (especially girl).

It's an individual decision. Despite not being religious I actually wouldn't rule it out for myself because of the potential health benefits, but if I was to go ahead and get it done it would be my own choice to do it. I don't necessarily see the "hygeine" argument, wash if you want to be clean, you don't need to cut your foreskin off.

You have to look at it like this; it's not reversible. If you cut your child's genitals and they later decide they don't like what you've done, there's no going back. If you leave your child natural and they later decide that circumcision is for them, well they can still do it. I don't get the rush to do it as children, they can wait until they're of an age to make their own mind up.

I feel very strongly about this. Child circumcision a violation of childrens' rights and it is violence. Children should be left with as much future body agency for when they're adults as possible. No child should be having any operation unless it's specifically to save their life or deal with a major life-limiting illness.

[Edwardo Piet]

If a male really doesn't like the look of his penis so much that he wants it circumcised he can have it done with anaesthetic as an adult. You know, when he's old enough to actually decide.

Making that decision for an infant by mutilating their genitals is a fucking immoral violation. Period.

[Losty]

There's creepy and then there is CREEPY.

http://pimppreacher.com/post/70121168276...suck-their

Two Babies Get Herpes After Rabbis Suck Their Penis During Jewish Ritual

[img]http://67.media.tumblr.com/ece0a0188d1fae5d61bb9b7f2c2ea645/tumblr_inline_mxvat6sR0h1ss6hjj.jpg[/im


Whenever a kid is molested it always seems as if there is some Holy Fuckface in a stupid hat around.

Jesus Christ on a Popsicle stick. Have you never heard of a hide tag?

[Jenny A]

Umm...there's a huge difference between cutting hair which is painless and it grows back and cutting genitals which is not painless and is doesn't grow back. Also, it's understandable for your mother to want your hair to look however she thinks is nice...I don't understand why she would want your penis to look nice.

Can't answer for all the other mothers out there, but to me personally it's for the same reasons as everything else. 

If I lived in a country where no one got it done, I wouldn't get my son's done, either, because in that case it wouldn't matter. But it's much more common than not here in the US and I wouldn't want my son to feel insecure or embarrassed about his penis looking different from the other boys'. As I said, if I was a dude (assuming I'd be living in the US), I would hope my parents would do that for me while I was a baby. But to each their own. Not saying anyone is a bad mom for not doing it to their kid. We each do what we think is best for our own child.

Actually the current US circumcision rate is 35%. For comparison, it reached a high of 85% in '62 and it's been declining ever since. https://www.care.com/a/to-circumcise-or-...1103091050

[Divinity]

Why is it ok to chop of the most sensitive part of a boys genitals, but not ok to chop of a girl's clitoris?

That's precisely it.  Imagine we lived in a world where Female Genital Mutilation had been acceptable for a long time. Instead of getting comments on how it's different and unjustifiable, we'd be getting comments that 'everyone does it' and 'it just looks better' and 'I'd rather have it done as a baby rather than as an adult!'

If it's really so acceptable, then why not wait until they're an adult to make the decision for themselves?  Surely what they think looks better is more important than what their parents think.  "Well it's painful..."  And you're doing this to a baby?  Because they won't remember (though who knows what it does to the brain...)

It's basically just forcing something on someone.  That it's common does not make it okay.  I thought we all learned this.  "If all your friends jumped off a bridge, would you?"