We were at our 12 week ultrasound and surprisingly got the penis nod. The ultrasound tech pointed to the pointy part on the baby image and said that she was 80% sure it was a penis. Of course, it was too early to tell for sure but that was enough for us. We jumped on the penis train and started planning for a boy. First, came the name game. Junior was mentioned and quickly vetoed. As the weeks went by, I suggested that it could still be a girl and didn’t want my husband to get his hopes up. It was too late for that as he was counting on a boy. He responded quite seriously saying “Don’t say that it could be a girl! I’m sure it’s a boy.” I agreed and jumped back on board with the penis train.
Next came the penis talk. About a month after our ultrasound, I happily announced to my husband that he was a man so he should choose whether or not to circumcise our baby boy. Secretly, I thought circumcision was a sure thing. He’s a man’s man from Chicago and was raised somewhat traditionally with religion and all. He quickly nodded and said “we won’t be circumcising our son.” I was speechless and couldn’t believe what I was hearing. I knew nothing about an uncircumcised penis. He explained that he was circumcised but wished he wasn’t. Like many others, he thinks that male circumcision is cruel and unnecessary. He also believes that clipping extra penile skin can potentially limit sexual gratification later in life. In addition, he asked if I’d like to clip a clitoris on a baby girl? Some argue that male circumcision is similar to female genital cutting. The thought of trimming the clitoris makes me shudder.
On the flip side, others believe that male circumcision is more attractive, easier to clean may help prevent STDs and other diseases. I began questioning why I preferred a circumcised penis and thought if it functions the same, what’s the difference? Why would I be interested in clipping the penis and so against the clitoris? Was it because that’s what I was familiar with? Sadly, the answer was yes. At this point, all I knew was that a circumcised penis “seemed” more “tidy” looking to me.
I immediately got online and googled uncircumcised penises. That brought up a whole slew of scary penis photos. In all honesty, I’ve never seen an uncircumcised penis so was a little horrified to see those gigantic anteater looking penises online. I called my girlfriends and started asking important questions. Who’s seen an uncircumcised penis? Who’s test drove an uncircumcised penis? And, what’d you think? It was almost unanimous that they didn’t notice a viewing or riding difference. Which made me think, what’s the big deal, why do I care?
First, I didn’t want my son to be ostracized in the locker room for having a penis that looked like an “anteater.” Second, I didn’t want him to be sexually insecure because women rejected his “natural penis.” Through my research I was reminded that ignorance is bliss. And I’ve been pretty ignorant about penile circumcision. Admittedly, I like the familiar and sometimes have a hard time imagining something different.
Circumcision is still a touchy subject for most people. The United States has the highest rate of male circumcision. It was hard to find current statistics but about 50-60% of males are still circumcised in the United States. I believe that religion and tradition drive these high numbers. However, the worldwide average seems closer to 30-40% for male circumcision. The moms that I spoke with were pretty evenly divided with whether or not to circumcise. Honestly, the moms that were against circumcision seemed more informed and educated to me. All in all, I think it’s a personal choice and imagine that no matter whether you clip or keep their foreskin-boys will always love their penis!
After my online research, and asking lots of moms and girlfriends about circumcision I feel very confident with my husband’s decision to keep it…All of it!
Tags: circumcision, penis, pregnancy