Decided to Have My Son Circumcised at 13

Born into an anti circ family, my brothers and I were not circ'd at birth. After years of tight foreskin irritation and hygiene problems, I found a good urologist and was circ'd one year ago at age 66. The procedure and recovery were pain free. My quality of life is si much better now that I wish I had had it done decades ago! Am thankful for recent studies that suggest less chance of transmission of STDs by circ'd males.  

Well, those 'recent studies' are seriously flawed - and reality doesn't support the claims. The US - which has a high rate of cut men - has higher rates of STDs than other developed countries where children are not routinely mutilated. At any rate, you had the freedom and the choice to make this decision about your own body, which was as it SHOULD be. Kudos to your parents for that.

BTW, in case you didn't know, you received better pain management as an adult than babies do when their genitals are needlessly cut.

Are you an accomplished MD? If not, what qualifies you to say the recent studies are flawed. The recent acknowledgement of the US pediatric physicians' association stating that there are definate benefits to a boy being circumcised had to be based on conclusive evidence. And as far as being given a choice, knowing what I know from personal experience, I wish my parents would have had me circumcised at birth. This was a decision that I wish my parents had made for me when I was born.

August 27, 2012

Can you get any more recent than this?

From the American Academy of Pediatrics
Policy Statement
Circumcision Policy Statement
TASK FORCE ON CIRCUMCISION
Abstract
Male circumcision is a common procedure, generally performed during the newborn period in the United States. In 2007, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) formed a multidisciplinary task force of AAP members and other stakeholders to evaluate the recent evidence on male circumcision and update the Academy’s 1999 recommendations in this area. Evaluation of current evidence indicates that the health benefits of newborn male circumcision outweigh the risks and that the procedure’s benefits justify access to this procedure for families who choose it. Specific benefits identified included prevention of urinary tract infections, penile cancer, and transmission of some sexually transmitted infections, including HIV. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists has endorsed this statement.

I don't have to - their 'evaluation' is based on the flawed studies I already referred to upthread. Their release statement has many things wrong with it

 i Would have been super happy to have my parents let me get a tattoo at 13.

 It probably would have been of barney the dinosaur

But now that i'm older and a little less impulsive, i'm rather glad they didn't.And tattoos don't even destroy the most sensitive parts of your genitals either.

Any girl who says she doesn't like boys with a natural penis is a bimbo, and best avoided. And to those men who think circumcision is great, just wait until you get older, you may well find your penis is good for urination but not for intercourse due to lack of sensation.

Please please please dont ever circumcise your son unless theres an actual medical reason like his foreskin is so tight that he cant even piss or his foreskin causes him pain. PLEASE DONT CIRCUMCISE!! Im circumcised and i vow to murder the doctor who did it for 2 years ive been tracking down the sick f**k who did this to me and i will murder him. It has made me clinically depressed angry physcotic suicidal i have fits of rage where i slam doors non stop and just scream and break things and then afterwards i just lay down and ball my eyes out. Stop this sick procedure maybe someone ott to cut off part of your genitals without your consent see if you f*****g like it.

I happen to possess a penis too, and I'd pay a year's salary rather than be circumcised or have my son circumcised.

Circumcising to prevent HIV has to be one of the worst reasons. Are you expecting your son to have unprotected sex with HIV+ partners? Even if you are, it doesn't seem to work. In Europe, almost no-one circumcises unless they're Jewish or Muslim, and the HIV rate is roughly a third of that in the USA.

Even in Africa:
"There appears no clear pattern of association between male circumcision and HIV prevalence—in 8 of 18 countries with data, HIV prevalence is lower among circumcised men, while in the remaining 10 countries it is higher."


Did you see this study?
http://www.iasociety.org/Default.aspx?pageId=11&abstractId=2177677

Even if you did, I'm presuming you haven't been planning to bribe any daughters you might have into having genital surgery.

Dad's happy with it, Son's happy with it, what's the big deal? Good for you both! You did the right thing! Some points:

Girls DEFINITELY prefer circumcised boys. Any young man in his twenties who has had any experience at all with the opposite gender will tell you that, and it's true.

Dad referred to a study about HIV. These studies done in Africa have not been refuted, despite what opponents of circumcision say. They have been critiqued and the authors of the studies have duly responded.

The anti-circ posts here are just like the anti-circ posts on every other online discussion on the topic I've ever read. It's the same tired old arguments, and the same tactics, such as:

Opinion stated as fact: “Only your child can decide whether it's right for him.” Apparently this poster didn't notice that the kid wanted it too, and if he's underage, no Dad can decide for him, just like parents decide a lot of other things for per-adolescent boys.

Histrionics and emotionalism: “No, no, no, no...”

Abstruse religious-political arguments.

Name calling, “pedofile ...” (sic) (misspelled! ) Cicero said if you don't have a case attack your opponent's character. Calling or implying someone is a pedophile would get you sued for slander or libel in any other context unless you could prove it was true by legally accepted standards.

Personal experience, something like I wasn't circumcised, and I can't imagine life without my foreskin.
If you were circumcised as an infant, you couldn't imagine life with it, so what's the big deal? I recall reading a post some time ago by an uncircumcised man whose wife wanted to have their son circumcised, because everyone else wanted him to fit in. The man was shocked to learn that his wife didn't like his own uncircumcised penis, and had never said anything for fear of hurting him. He was equally shocked that everyone else he asked, male or female, said they didn't like uncircumcised penises. Reluctantly he agreed to have his son circumcised. If you're not circumcised, ask around. You, too may be be surprised, or find that your wife is too loving to want to hurt you.

And don't bring shrinks into the argument . If you look around you can find a shrink who will say anything if you pay them enough.

The experts who support circumcision are all wrong, and the opponents of circumcision, virtually none of whom are MD's are right.

And as for leaving the sensitive inner foreskin, well, some researchers believe the inner foreskin is the entry point for the AIDS virus, and the more you get rid of the better. This would mean a low and moderately “tight” circumcision. If you wanted to leave the inner foreskin anyway, you would want a high and tight circumcision. I don't know if doctors even ask about “style,” or if instead they just do what they think best, however, you may ask doctor about it (before the procedure, of course!)



Bottom line is this: Posts like this one always attract an enormous amount of verbal vitriol because making noise on the internet is all people who oppose circumcision can do. They've tried from time to time to ban circumcision, most recently in San Francisco, and in that case, not only did the state tell the city it had no standing to ban a medical procedure, the circ opponents got labeled anti-semitic and borderline crackpots.

Bottom line: You pays your money and you takes your choice. I think Dad did the right thing. Son thinks he did the right thing, too. Everything still works, and girls like it. Son, Dad, forget about it now, and get on with your lives, no regrets, no looking back. And please, don't take any of the replies to your post too seriously—including this one.

"The experts who support circumcision are all wrong, and the opponents of circumcision, virtually none of whom are MD's are right."

A lot of the experts who oppose circumcision are also MD's:

Canadian Paediatric Society
http://www.cps.ca/english/statements/fn/fn96-01.htm
"Recommendation: Circumcision of newborns should not be routinely performed."

http://www.caringforkids.cps.ca/pregnancy&babies/circumcision.htm
"Circumcision is a 'non-therapeutic' procedure, which means it is not medically necessary."
"After reviewing the scientific evidence for and against circumcision, the CPS does not recommend routine circumcision for newborn boys. Many paediatricians no longer perform circumcisions."

British Medical Association
http://bma.org.uk/-/media/Files/PDFs/Practical%20advice%20at%20work/Ethics/Circumcision.pdf
"to circumcise for therapeutic reasons where medical research has shown other techniques to be at least as effective and less invasive would be unethical and inappropriate."

The Royal Dutch Medical Association
http://knmg.artsennet.nl/Diensten/knmgpublicaties/KNMGpublicatie/Nontherapeutic-circumcision-of-male-minors-2010.htm
"The official viewpoint of KNMG and other related medical/scientific organisations is that non-therapeutic circumcision of male minors is a violation of children's rights to autonomy and physical integrity. Contrary to popular belief, circumcision can cause complications - bleeding, infection, urethral stricture and panic attacks are particularly common. KNMG is therefore urging a strong policy of deterrence. KNMG is calling upon doctors to actively and insistently inform parents who are considering the procedure of the absence of medical benefits and the danger of complications."

It's easy to find circumcised doctors who are against circumcision, but surprisingly difficult to find male doctors in favor who weren't circumcised themselves as children.

I've had sex with a lot more women in a lot more countries than most people (including in Australia and the USA where most men my age are circumcised, though the circ rate in Australia is now down to 12.4%), and I've been the first intact man for at least two of those, but I've never had any trouble. There are countries where the men prefer their women cut btw, but that doesn't make it acceptable to cut parts off girls down there. There are plenty of doctors in those countries that recommend cutting girls too and regard it as a "medical procedure" (doctors in the USA and the UK were doing the same until the 1960's). They think opponents of female circumcision are anti-religious and borderline crackpots too.

Why would any mother decide to genitally mutilate her son/s? Envy? Disgust? Conscious or unconscious dislike of the male sex, and their sexuallity? Too weak to stand up for his moral rights and against misinformed advisers? I was cut, in an age when little was known of the penis and the way it works. but I made damn sure my son would not suffer from a disabled penis.  He is fine, never had a problem with his penis.

A red flag goes up when the reasons given for doing something keeps changing. All you have to do is go online and you can see the various reasons given throughout the years to justify circumcision. The HIV study is just the latest reason given and its is wrong. If circumcision is so good at preventing AIDS then please tell me why the US has the highest rate of HIV in the industrialized world. America also has the highest circumcision rate in the industrialized world, hands down. Please tell me what circumcision has to do with AIDS. Parents need to quit being lazy and have a talk with their children. Yes, owning genitals does require some work and care. Safe sex is a much better solution to preventing STDs and pregnancy. Soon people will be stating that circumcision prevents unwanted pregnancy. LOL. Every human body is unique and so is every circumcision and so no two results will be the same. One man may be very satisfied while another may be very dissatisfied and left with no frenulum and no slack skin. You are the parent and so by law you have the right. You also have to live with the possibility that your son will despise you later. The majority of America will be natural and so the truth about the foreskin will be revealed in due time.

The reasons for circumcision are not changing, the list of the advantages is just growing as more research is done.  The study that showed the advantages for the prevention of AIDES was done in Africa which has a huge rate Of AIDES.  If research is not to believed then the rates of people dying from cancer would be rising and not falling.  I am glad for research.