Letters to the Editor
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Or actually, it's the sad tale of how one family tore a foreskin apart.
How terrible it is for his wife to have compromised her morals and, some would say, disfigure her son for the sake of someone else's outmoded "traditions", and more specifically just for the grandparents approval. If they couldn't stand by their decision, mabye they should have just lied or never brought it up in the first place.
PS. my jewish son has his.
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KStone ...
Maybe tomorrow us conflict junkies will get a Cary Tennis letter from a woman (who turns out to be Anne Lamont) who converted to Islam and wonders if she should have the child circumcized to appease her Jewish parents, raised as an atheist in accord with the wishes of her Objectivist in-laws, or if she should follow her transsexual lesbian lover's advice to get a Brazillian wax and raise the child as a Dominionist Christian. To which Tennis replies, after quoting extensively from Hegel, Freud, and his 12-step manual, that she should follow her heart. I bet we'd bust 300 by 9AM.
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Religion and cowardice
So I read the article, and I couldn't help but think, what the hell is this guy doing? As a woman, I acknowledge that I have to no personal circumcision experience to speak from, but I was overwhelmed with rage at the thought of a parent who would allow his newborn son's body to be cut with a knife (or a strap) rather than stand up to his parents....whether you as a reader think circumcision is a good idea, the author and his wife did not. What kind of a parent allows someone to remove a part of their child's body against their wishes rather than suffering some emotional discomfort... a bad parent and a morally weak and cowardly individual, that's who. And all this talk of religious tradition makes me want to vomit. This child is not a jewish child, he is a child of jewish parentage (and not strong jewish parentage at that!) If he decides he wants to follow the jewish faith, that is his decision and his decision alone, and his circumcision will be all the more meaninful because he chose it. The idea that we as a people have no right to object to this procedure because it is "religious tradition" is stupid and backward. Religion does not occupy some pedestal outside the realm of personal responsibility, and forcing religious dogma(aka "tradition") upon a child or a society is wrong to the point of abuse, especially when that dogma leads to bloodshed. Look at the world around you and think what it would be if we could all stop hurting each other in the name of God and tradition.
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not happy here
i am a nonjew married to a jew and with sons who had the procedure for health reasons. i do regret this as i read about it. i have become even angry here because the practice is barbaric yet if one voices anything about it you are called antisemitic. but i do feel that certain jewish practices are just too disturbing, including the kosher handling of meat, which is absolutely forbidden in this house. the article brings up too many painful feelings for me beeing married to a jew including the grandparents, who are just so demanding in this case. today, i would take my sons and leave. the practice should be outlawd as others are concerning female circumsicion. it is appaling to me that the jews can get away with this procedure especially reading about the death of a child that involved some sort of blood sucking by a rabbi. good god and then you talk about blood libel. these people are different. my jewish husband is also embarrassed by these practices and says they will eventually pass and agrees with me that we would not have anything done today. what kind of grandparents are these anyway? there is no respect for the mother and her traditions either. this article told with such humor underscored so much about present day jews and their flailing around as to their jewishness. i would not marry a jew today.
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yes and no
This extensive tempest in a foreskin is perhaps the silliest and most trivial thing ever recorded on Salon.com. ... This dick fixation is amazing, in a bad way. -- tom payne
Yes it's silly but OTOH it's a culturally symbolic issue.
Dare I say it... the toddler's penis is symbolically a tiny fulcrum on the great teeter totter of reason and tradition... i dare!
And we all seek to stand up and be counted, to pull back the veil from our consciousness, we must liberate our thoughts and emotions which can be restrained no longer, letting loose a torrent of emotions, a stream of consciousness, illustrating the great arc of humanity.... ahem.
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This is so not an issue if your babydaddy is European
It's fascinating that this piece has prompted this level of discussion - a level usually reserved for bondage and stay-at-home-mommery. So, of course, I want to weigh in, too.
I am American and never saw an "intact" penis until I went to the U.K., where very few men are circumcised. Erect, you can't tell. Flaccid, there's a wide range. As for usage, I noticed a difference in terms of the sensitivity of the head (less sensistive in the foreskinless, more sensitive in the uncut). The nice thing about the uncircumcised men is that there's a little sleeve for wanking with. Also, if they pull the foreskin back in the shower and wash themselves, it's squaeky clean. No problemo.
Before I went abroad I wouldn't have thought twice about having my male offspring cicumcised. It would just be the done thing.
But then I married a Brit. A Brit with a big ol' foreskin. Is there any way in hell he'd let anyone - doctor or mohle - nip at his son's penis for no solid medical reason? Hey-ell no! And, having been exposed (pardon the pun) to cocks on either side of the pond, neither would I.
As for the "want to look like the other boys" argument, I say this: How do you know what country your kids will end up showering in? Unless they close the borders of the US (and this includes to Canada, where most men aren't cut), there's a decent chance that You Jr will be peeing next to some foreskins somewhere along the line, and he will be as exotic to them as they are to him.
I imagine the non-Americans are shaking their heads over this one, guys.
But, really - is that so bad? I mean, there are many arguments for why it was "weird" of me not to change my name when I got married. "Oh, but it will be so confusing!" they said. "Yes," I said, "It'll be confusing for like 26 seconds until people learn his or my last name . . . "
As for the religious issue, I am not Jewish so it's not a problem for me. If I were, I might go the circumcision route but I would do a lot of research into compassionate, pain-relieving mohles. However, even if at this point I converted, I would probably not circmucise my child.
Just because something has "always" been done doesn't mean we need to keep doing it.