Posted by Nathan

Here’s a question for parents who promote circumcision: Would your son be angry with you if you did not have him circumcised?

He’d still have his foreskin, and odds would be low that he’d choose to be circumcised as an adult. But if he did decide to get circumcised, it would be his decision and at least you’d have the peace of mind knowing he wasn’t angry with you for forcing the decision onto him.

Anger is a common emotion when circumcised men come to terms with what happened to them. Every day, I read heart-wrenching true stories on blogs and forums, written by circumcised men who are now furious with their parents for cutting them without their consent. Some are so angry that they’ve stopped talking to their parents. They feel mutilated and violated because they didn’t get a choice with their own body.

It’s so sad because it’s completely preventable. If you don’t have your infant son circumcised, you don’t have to worry about the consequences of making a permanent alteration to his body. That’s a reasonable request: Let your son make the decision about his own body.

A new generation of angry young men

I’m really concerned about this new breed of parents who promote circumcision. They are active on Twitter, Facebook, and blogs. They adamantly insist it’s the parent’s choice for circumcision—not their child’s choice.

Men like me have dealt with our anger about being circumcised. I don’t hold it against my parents because things were different back then. They didn’t know circumcision was a choice. They didn’t even realize they had options. It was just common, so at least I can write it off as them being misinformed. I accept that they didn’t know any better.

But these new parents are fully aware of the option to not circumcise their son. Not only are they choosing to circumcise him, but they are actively encouraging other parents to do it too. They are purposely inflicting this on their sons.

When their sons grow up, they will learn about the damage circumcision causes, just as I did. But this new breed of young men will have to grapple with the fact that their parents actively pushed for this. There will be no excuses to fall back on. These young men are going to be furious with their parents!

I encourage parents to think twice

I know you love your son. I don’t doubt that for a minute. He is your world and the bond you have with him is magnificent; something bigger than words can express or describe.

Please consider the possibility that he does not want to be circumcised. Imagine your world crumbling some day when he realizes the choice you forced on him. Imagine all the stories out there from angry men who did not want to be circumcised, and now imagine your son being one of them some day.

Do not make a senseless choice that could tarnish your bond when he grows up. Leave your son intact and respect his body, please.

Let’s not breed an angry new generation of circumcised men. A world where sons don’t want to talk to their parents is a world no parent wants to live in.

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