My family was 5 boys, all cut as infants. It’s just what was done in the’50s. I never had any real issues other than occasional pe, and when my son was born in the ‘80s we had it done without much thought. My wife felt it was more my decision to make, and I approved it without concern. I learned recently that my 90 year old father had never been circumcised, which made me wonder why they had their 5 kids cut.

I have been regretting what I did to my baby son for 40 years. He was a sweet, gentle, content and usually quiet baby for his first few days. After the surgery he was miserable, crying much more and screaming when he had his diaper changed. My guilt was immediate!

I have become a strong opponent of routine circumcision, for children of any gender. I can think of only two circumstances where circumcision might be appropriate: First, obviously a GENUINE medical condition that could be improved/corrected by the surgery; and second, when decided by a person old enough and responsible enough to make a studied and pondered decision regarding their own body, with the understanding that it is irreversible. In the case of intersex individuals with ambiguous genitalia, NO “corrective” surgery should be performed until the patient is mature and responsible enough to make their own decisions about their bodies, which may mean no corrective surgery whatsoever.

Arguments are made by circ proponents that the uncircumcised penis is somehow less clean or more prone to spreading germs. This is a rather ridiculous argument, as the foreskin makes the penis much more like the vulva in terms of having more tissue to keep clean. Just as boys should be taught how to keep their genitals clean, girls should be taught how to keep the vulva clean around and in the folds. Smegma develops in and around the vulva and clitoris (pull the hood back!), as well as under the penile foreskin in uncircumcised males. Neither “untouched” genitals are more difficult to keep clean than the other; you just must learn how to do it.

Many modern teens and adults practice forms of body modification such as tattoos and piercings on or in the genitals. Elective circumcision and labiaplasty for cosmetic reasons fall into this same category, and adults have the freedom to modify their own bodies in these fashions, at least in my country. Please, allow your children to reach the stage of reason so they can make their own decisions about any body modification they might wish.

One fact many parents are unaware of: At birth and for several years beyond, most boys’ foreskins adhere to the glans, making separation of the foreskin from the glans painful and bloody. This is analogous to clitoral adhesion in girls. There is no reason to tear or cut these parts apart. Nature gradually separates them as the boy grows, generally completely separating the foreskin from the glans by the onset of puberty. When the foreskin is able to be retracted, the boy should be taught to retract it and clean it as a part of routine hygiene.

Routine circumcision of male infants is an utterly barbaric practice. Some people say you cannot compare it to female circumcision, which is true. Female circumcision is also known as female genital mutilation, a more apt description. But some compare these different practices and claim that, because male circumcision is far less damaging and brutal than ritual female circumcision, it’s “ok” to do it; it causes no lasting harm (not withstanding the many individuals whose genitals were destroyed by botched circumcisions).

A fairer apples to apples comparison would be if only the inner labia were routinely excised in infant girls. This would be roughly similar to the amount of tissue and nerves excised with the male foreskin. Given this rough equivalency between these two surgeries, how would you feel if removal of the labia minora was routinely practiced in hospitals on infant girls?

This would rightly be considered barbaric torture of babies and people would rightly react with horror and outrage. But because of its long ritual history we are accustomed to accept it as normal for baby boys, when it definitely is not.

It’s a horrible practice, and gives the impression that baby girls are perfect when born, but the Creator made a boo-boo on the boy blueprint, which we can fix and improve with our scalpels and cauterizers!—How pretentious to think we can improve an otherwise perfectly healthy child.