I read a fabulous post today on keeping children intact- choosing NOT to circumcise. This is an upcoming topic for the radio show and in the meantime, readers can click here to read an especially important post on Dr. Momma’s Peaceful Parenting Blog.
Thanks for an educational post with information parents need to make decisions that support children. Because the choices we make for our kids DO matter, especially when the implications are life-long. And with solid information, it’s easier to stand apart from the crowd.
I was circumcised shortly after birth. I wish my parents had not chosen to alter my genitals.
As I entered my 40s I noticed that my sexual satisfaction was decreasing. I began restoring my foreskin and my sexual satisfaction is better than I ever remember it being. My wife and I both enjoy my restored foreskin. It saddens me to realize I spent most of life life with less than I could have.
There is no reason for parents to decide on circumcision. No other elective surgery is performed on infants based solely on the parents’ choice. It is my body, let me choose what to do with it.
Karen,
I am glad to hear that you are planning to record a show on this topic.
I hope you will include information for parents about how the foreskin is healthy, exquisitely sensitive, functional, erogenous genital tissue.
“Meissner’s corpuscles of the prepuce [foreskin] may be compared with similar nerve-endings in the finger-tips and lips, ”
The prepuce: Specialized mucosa of the penis and its loss to circumcision. BRITISH JOURNAL OF UROLOGY, February 1996.
http://www.cirp.org/library/anatomy/taylor/
“The glans of the circumcised penis is less
sensitive to fine touch than the glans of the
uncircumcised penis. The transitional region
from the external to the internal prepuce
is the most sensitive region of the
uncircumcised penis and more sensitive than
the most sensitive region of the circumcised
penis. Circumcision ablates the most sensitive
parts of the penis.”
Fine-touch pressure thresholds in the adult penis. British Journal of Urology International, 2007.
http://www.nocirc.org/touch-test/bju_6685.pdf
I also hope that you’ll educate new parents that they MUST NOT RETRACT their son’s foreskins. There is a lot of misinformation out there. the golden mantra is “Only Clean What is Seen”.. once the child is old enough, he can be taught to clean it himself. there is no specific age that a child must be retractable by. Premature retraction can cause issues, so parents must also make sure their care providers do not retract their children either. Clean a penis like a finger!
I am also very thankful to hear that you are using the word intact. I am personally offended when someone refers to my body (or me as a person) as ‘uncircumcised’. I am no more uncircumcised than the women in our culture are. I hate that many doctors still feel comfortable using such a word. I don’t think the natural state of the body should be referred to as “un” anything. and I certainly don’t want the word circumcision being connected with my body.. so I appreciate your commitment to not using the word ‘uncircumcised’. I do understand using ‘not circumcised’ though, especially around those not familiar with the word ‘intact’.
Lastly, i just want to say, the parental choice to not cut off the foreskin of a healthy infant is the same as the parental choice to not cut off the nose of a healthy infant. It is not making a choice at all, but rather, understanding that is not your choice to make. While I am thankful my parents never had it done to me, I don’t feel it was ever REALLY their choice to make… It is my body part. MINE. I wish that more people could understand that, because once you get that, this ‘hot topic’ becomes extremely simple.
Thanks for reading this message, despite its enormous length. I am excited for your show.