OMG, it's a circumcision debate!

[conuly]

Man, I haven't seen a good one of these in ages, people are all too polite!

And already we've got some good comments. "I'm so happy I was circumcised!" leads to "That's great, good for you, but you didn't have a choice in the matter." leads to "YES HE DID! HE SAID HE'S HAPPY, DIDN'T HE????"

Apparently this guy never learned that babies can't consent for shit. Not for necessary things (appendectomies) nor optional things (circumcision).

But my favorite has to be the comment or two talking about how people with their penises in the natural state "risk" the horrors of smegma. (Gosh that's a fun word to type. Smegma, smegma, smegma.)

After my shocked and horrified comment that one should never ever ever ever EVER retract their darling baby's foreskin (EVER!) until their darling baby can do it himself (at which point you still shouldn't be doing that because, dude, let's not play with our kids' penises!) I wandered off and looked up "smegma" at Wikipedia.

Aside from confirming that it's not a guy-only thing (I knew that) this is what they have to say on the subject:

In males, smegma helps keep the glans moist and facilitates sexual intercourse by acting as a lubricant.

I am shocked and appalled that this happens. Shocked. And appalled! The horrors! We must never let anybody have this happen to them ever again. Because that sounds terrible.

Okay, I mean, it does in that bodily secretions always *do* sound kinda gross - but honestly, if you're wondering now whether or not you should circumcise your son or yourself, I suggest you don't lose too much sleep over the smegma issue.

Comments

[leora.livejournal.com]

Reading through comments... some thoughts...

There's actually a movement, although I think it's small, within Judaism to end circumcision. But the big thing that would influence Jews not to circumcise and make it religiously more okay (although it'd be a really tough sell and you'd have to move the cultural opinion first to make this work) would be making it illegal. Jews are supposed to follow the law of the land (with a few exceptions if the law of the land means actively worshiping other gods, denouncing their own, murdering innocents, or I think committing incest). You can get a lot of religious exceptions for legal necessity. So, if it became culturally desirable to not circumcise then a lot of Jews would want to not (although not the Orthodox and Chassidic), but they'd need a push, and the law would help them give them the motivation. Then get some rabbis telling them it's okay and that they can take a symbolic blood drop instead, and I think you could make it work religiously for most Jews in the US (and really upset a minority of them).

But the commenter is right, there are a lot of things that Jews don't do any more, and it's because Jews are great at finding interpretations. They could do it again.

As to penises look weird if they aren't circumcised... I hate to break this to guys, but penises look weird. You can cut them or not, and they will still look weird. I say this as a straight female who is fond of some males. Guys can be great. They still look weird. That's okay though. Just accept that it looks weird. Honestly, bodies generally look a bit weird, especially if you really focus on the details. I think knees look really weird. You can live with having some bits that look a bit weird. If this is a serious esteem issue, maybe we need more work on body acceptance for everyone. I doubt it'd be a bad thing to work on and promote.

Oh, and I object to piercing babies too. It's not as bad, because it can often heal, so it isn't necessarily permanent, but I think it's a bad idea. I may have mentioned this, but my sisters wanted me pierced as a baby, because they figured it'd save me the effort and I'd want it when I grew up anyway. I never did want it, and I was glad my mother refused and said I could get it done if I wanted it done when I was old enough to choose. I also don't see the difference between piercing ears and most other body parts that don't get in the way of things like belly buttons, eyebrows, and noses. It's all just extra holes to stick stuff into it. And I've always felt that I needed my ears pierced like I need another hole in my head. (Although I admit, some earrings are attractive, and I have seen some eyebrow rings that look nice. I just don't think any of it is nice enough to justify putting extra holes in my body.) But piercings, when done safely and cared for properly, don't tend to cause many problems or have much affect on any sort of functioning, so it's a much lesser issue. Although the same general principle of why make a potentially permanent decision that is so unnecessary when you can easily wait with little downside?