Did you and your partner decide to have your son circumcised? What was the reason why or why not? Was it a difficult decision? Did dad get to take the lead on this one? Did you feel good about your final decision? There will be lots of videos on this topic in the next two weeks. I'll add links shortly.

We did and are contemplating the issue once again with another boy on the way in July. I now know all of the reasons for and against and this is helping us make our decision based on facts, not just blind tradition. However, I will admit it is difficult to change course with # 3.

So glad that y'all decided to do some shows on this. I have a strong suspicion that Ms. Quagmire and I will be having a boy.<br><br>A friend of mine who had a boy recently told me about how they basically cut it off. He said that after the fact, he found about that there is a different way to circumcise, that basically (from what he described) sounded like a mini c**k ring that clamps the foreskin off, and eventually it just kind of falls away--much less traumatic. He said he wished he had known about this ahead of time, as he would have preferred to use this method for his son instead. Has anyone else heard of this? If this is true, it certainly sounds much more humane.

There was an episode of Dirty Jobs (which was actually part of a presentation featured on Ted.com) that covered the mini c**k ring procedure, except the context was sheep, not humans. Apparently the c**k ring is far more painful for the sheep than just using a knife and getting it over with. (Needless to say, this reality was lost on PETA).<br><br>In any case, the knife is better for sheep. Don't know if that applies for humans.<br><br>I wonder how many times I can write c**k ring before getting the boot off DadLabs???

You are grandfathered in to unlimited c**k ring mentions. There is a sliding scale for newer members.

Ooooh. Maybe I shouldn't have brought it up then...sorry DC!

No matter how you slice it, the boy's bloodstream still gets exposed to potential infection. It's known that MRSA affects circumcised boys more than any other group.<br><br>Then consider what remains of his foreskin: an open wound trying to heal in a diaper full of feces and urine.<br><br>I posted a write-up on the long-term effects (and history) of circumcision here. The damage endures long after the scar tissue forms.

Michael, are you the dude in the video?

No sense denying it.

We had Indy circ'd. Blind tradition is not quite a fair assessment, we did ask our doc(s) about it. They gave us no indication at all as to which was better/worse. ie: You are cutting off skin, but it is a medical procedure. (It's not done with safety scissors.) It is easier to keep clean in the long run, but there is a healing period during which is very important to watch closely (and it looks really scary during that time, let me tell ya). All is normal now and cleaning is easy. Thumbs up for cutting in our household.<br><br>It is what we are used to, and being cut myself (you needed to know that right), I figured it will be easier for me to relate whenever equipment issues/questions are at hand, so to speak.<br><br>The most amusing answer I've ever heard for NOT doing it... Who wants LESS penis!? Fair enough.

This was an easy decision since my wife & I were always in agreement. We have, however, caught a fair bit of grief over this from friends since we opted to not circumcise our adopted 2 year old son.<br><br>The most compelling argument I have against circumcision is that every part of your body has a purpose. Consider the appendix, for example; for years, doctors casually cut out children's appendixes because they felt the organ had no purpose. Now they're learning that it's involved in antibody production and plays an important role in helping to prevent infection. Tonsils, which were likewise considered useless and haphazardly chopped out, are now regarded as a key protector of the body's immune defense system at the portal of easiest entry for germs. So, just because we may lack a full understanding of what the foreskin's purpose is - although there's much more information about its function than parents are ever led to believe - that certainly isn't reason enough to simply lop it off. Doesn't it seem arrogant to disregard the elegance and efficiency with which our bodies were designed and arbitrarily remove misunderstood portions of it?<br><br>And to address the I want my son to look like me argument, how many of you guys recall ever standing around comparing your junk with that of your Dad's? Maybe I'm odd, but that never happened in our house. And I'm similarly unaware of my brother, who is 6 years my elder, and the status of his foreskin. For all I know, I might be the only guy in the family who doesn't have a polka-dotted penis... (And if that's true, I don't want to know.)<br><br>It may also be worth mentioning that if we had not adopted our son, and he had instead grown up in Russian, he would not have been circumcised. As is the case with most of Europe, circumcision is not a common practice there.

I completly agree here. I am open to opinion, and people have the right to do as they see fit. But for me 'god' made us they way we are, and for a reason. I would feel uncomfordabe with something like this, changing something he is naturally born with. This is something I would let him decide for himself when he is older.<br><br>On the other hand with adoption I think it could be different, especially for religious/cultral reasons. If I adopted a child and traditionally part of his religion/culture was to be circumcised then this was push us more to doing it, as we would not like to make him feel different to his religious/cultural peers.<br><br>Very interesting topic.

I'm not saying I'm gonna compare or that he needs to look like me (not taking offense, or being aggressively defensive - just clarifying my position)... It's just that with the same junk, I am comfortable speaking first hand. Not just researching. 'Tis like that for any discussion really. I hope I can offer good advice from experience, rather than speculating on what I've read/heard. ie: I have a boy, so I'm totally prepared for just about anything he can throw at me. With a girl, I'd be kinda lost and relying heavily on the wife, on so many levels, including biological issues.<br><br>There are many different factors to consider with either decision.

Man, this is refreshing. It's obvious that the most important thing the dads here are passing on to their kids isn't a circumcision tradition or a break from tradition. It's the ability to talk about a currently controversial subject (maybe one day it won't be, as in other countries) with humor, respect and an open mind. That's worth more than any style of junk.

I've never had to make the decision my self, but I will give you my two cents of experience. My parents did not have me circumcized and so far there doesn't seem to have been any major problems. I was in high school before I realized there was anything different, though I do wish my parents had given me more of a heads up that I may be different (weird that the person who didn't have a medical procedure would be in the minority). Just with any other part of the body, cleanliness and hygiene is important, beyond that, I really don't know what the difference is.

The NYTimes is reporting that the CDC is considering coming out in favor of male circumcision. Uncle Sam wants your foreskin!

Oh no! The foreskin panels are going to force us to mutilate our newborns' junk! It's gonna be like Nazi Germany, I tell ya!

I have to share my strong opinion that no boy should be circumcised. I understand it is an emotional issue, but there just isn't any medical reason to do so.

If you are planning on doing it, besides doing the research of the facts, it should be required you actually view a procedure.

Watching a circ would certainly be a powerful dissuasion, but even seeing a recently circed boy is pretty bad. As far as health benefits, the studies I have read are showing *some* benefit in the catching and spreading of sexually transmitted diseases. What kind of impact this would have in the US is debatable and hardly seems worthy of the CDC action that is being considered.

I am circumsized and I had never really had strong opinions on it. Until my wife and I watched an episode of "Penn and Teller's Bullsh*t" that featured circumsison.

After that episode and following a lot of research that she did my wife became strongly opposed to circ's. As a circumsized man who has had no issues throughout my life I still had trouble developing strong opinions on the matter, even though logically I could see and agree with all of the arguments against it.

More and more though I have become convinced that not circumsizing is the right thing to do. I still don't have that passion that my wife does, but I cannot deny that it's in essense cutting stuff off of your baby for little to no reason. And I'm self aware enough to acknowledge that my emotions on the matter have little relevance compared to the facts.

*I have heard and seen testimonials from adult males who deeply resented their parents circumsizing them.

*As far as cleanliness goes there are lots of things on our bodies that we have to make sure to clean. But we don't jump to "Maybe we should just cut it off." as the answer.

*When it comes to acceptance by peers and women; it's even more of a non-issue. I remember when I was a youngin' showering in the locker room with the rest of the guys. And sure there were some guys that weren't circumsized, but if there was ONE thing we did not do; it was to talk about penises. As far as women are concerned, again it's essentially a fashion issue and I'm not cutting something off my son in the name of fashion.

And I guess what it really comes down to is that it's a serious decision that should be made by him and him alone. It's his penis and he has all of the time in the world to get it circumsized if that's what he wants. It may hurt, but so have all of my tattoos and piercings and I got most of those on a whim.

There may be arguments back and forth but I chose to err in the side of not cutting things off of my son.

Just before my son was born we went to a friends Bris. It seemed more traumatic for me and the other men than it did for the baby. He never cried at all. I think they might have used some sort of local anesthetic. I wouldn't know for sure because I was all the way in the back of the room. The whole thing just kinda skeeves me out. Afterwards my wife and I thought "Oh, It's probably not thaaat bad." Well when it came time to have my son circumcised they don't use any local anesthetic and lets just say he wasn't quiet about it. He seemed ok shortly after but that is one of worst moments that will forever be burned into my brain. Now I have a new problem. If I have another son, do I have him circumcised too? IDK

This just floors me - I had no idea that female circumcisions were so prevalent:

CNN - Pressure for female genital cutting linger in the U.S.

But I'm perhaps just as much stunned by the incredible double standard. We're (rightfully) appalled over genital mutillation as applied to girls, but think nothing of doing similar, needless procedures to boys? We consider cultures who mandate female genital cutting to be primitive and barbaric, yet we apply no such stigmas to cultures who insist that male babies be butchered upon?

I totally agree that male circumcision is essentially unnecessary. My wife and I have decided not to circumcise our son. But I have to say that there is a profound difference between male circumcision and female circumcision. The main impetus behind male circumcision is religious covenant and in modern times hygienic and aesthetic reasons, while the purpose for female circumcision, while often religiously based, has to do entirely with controlling a woman's sexuality. Male circumcision, at least in virtually every case, has little to no effect on a man's sexual function. For women it has a drastic effect. That is why I would say that there is much less outrage about male circumcision, and I would say rightly so. But I don't want to under-emphasize the horror of female circumcision by under-emphasizing male circumcision.

I should clarify that in using the term "double standard," I didn't mean to imply that I believe that male & female circumcisions are equal. No, I fully understand that female circumcision is far more invasive and barbaric.

For many parents, I'll bet that the deed is done before they can even think straight - much like the needle prick in the heel or any of a half dozen other routine post-birth procedures. I just wish that more parents-to-be - or perhaps their doctors - would be more mindful of the decision rather than just defaulting to circumcision.

I will not circumcise my boy (if I have one) I'll just say I'm not myself and from my experience it keeps a very sensitive part of your body sensitive. The reports of infections and other stuff is highly exaggerated.