Friday, March 20, 2009

TAKE A LITTLE OFF THE TOP, WOULD YA?

Came across another interesting topic on the Momversation site, this one regarding the always controversial To Cut or Not To Cut debate over circumcision.

I was really disturbed by the harsh words many of the anti-circ camp flung at the pro-circs.  And yes, as you may have already guessed, chose to respond.  

Here's mine:

"And the Sneetches on beaches had no stars upon thars."

In the end, we chose not.

Weighed heavily the health and hygiene aspects. Considered briefly the locker room mocking. Have no father to match his member to. By definition, is elective mutilation, and had no medical or religious reason at the time for doing so. And ultimately were swayed most by the removal of his right to choose.

If he decides later that cosmetic surgery is necessary for his own reasons, then we'll revisit that, and likely this list of amazingly helpful advice, if/when that time comes.

But do I judge you for choosing to circumcise your own child? How could I?

I don't want to be judged for not being actively religious, for being gay, for choosing to raise children in a gay family, or for choosing to have children at all when there are so many that need to be adopted and the world is overpopulated as it is, or for not dressing my age, or for breastfeeding my twins til they were two -- in public sometimes, or for putting our kids in a private school, or for choosing not to slather their cupcakes with frosting, or for not volunteering in my community, or for not raising my children in a proper bilingual Spanish household, or for sometimes yelling at my kids, or for sometimes yelling at my partner in front of my kids, or for allowing them to still bathe together at 6, or for co-sleeping for the first 3 months of their lives and realizing I hated it, or for moving across the country to be as far away from my family as possible, or for soy versus 2%, or for brown eggs vs white, or organic vs affordable, or for carnivores vs vegetarians...

So, I guess what it came down to for me was just this:

My Sneetch. His Star. Our Business.

So, what's your feeling on this one?  I mean, besides the fact that we've now got the added future expense of the therapy sessions it's going to take to console the boy about the fact that the whole world now knows more about Chago's jalapeno than he does.

3 comments:

Taylor Taylor said...

http://www.mothering.com/discussions/forumdisplay.php?f=44

Circumcision is:

* 100% totally unnecessary
* Sexually damaging
* A human rights violation!!!

Jo Anna Guerra said...

Wow, Taylor Taylor, tell us how you REALLY feel. :)

CJ said...

I think it's up to each individual and their research. I don't look any differently at a mom who chooses than one that doesn't. It's not MY child, it's not MY choice. I chose NOT to have my son's done, then he ended up needing it at FIVE years old! I wish I would have just done it when he was an infant. To each his own! (No pun intended!)