My Journey to Intactivism.

This post in on INFANT CIRCUMCISION. You've been warned, this is a hot seat topic and this post is purely an insight step by step of my journey to Intactivism. I will write and list in order what I read and watched. This IS my journey. And I never saw this coming.



This blog is mainly for ME as a diary AND it's public so I hope to reach parents of unborn baby boys solely so they may be armed with as much information as possible before making this permanent decision for their baby. I don't care if you've already had ONE or more circumcised sons, if you are pregnant with another or seeking to add to your family... urge you to delve into this with an open mind.

If you already have boys and are done having childen, you can probably stop here.

First I can't and won't judge anyone else's decisions for their babies, they have reasons for why they do or do not circumcise. I also can say with about 99% certainty that you had not seen or read THIS information. Last September changed everything on this subject for me. I was adamant that if My husband and I were blessed with a boy that he would "absolutely" be circumcised, no question.

A friend of mine posted an article which of course sparked a discussion on the topic. I stated my view and opinion and was just about verbally attacked, I was said to be evil and that they couldn't believe I'd be the kind of parent to "mutilate" my sons penis. Yikes. Those were tough words. So of course I fired back and it didn't end well. I just had to walk away at that time. I didn't understand.

One day while on Facebook, one of the pages I follow posted an article called "Separated at birth" which I assumed was about siblings. Nope. It was about a man who felt he was separated from part of his own body after birth. I was intrigued and open-minded so I read the whole article. Certain excerpts boggled my mind and I had questions...lots of questions. So on my own without any bias (because I was on the side of circumcision is great) I set out to learn more about...well...PENIS.

I DID research all sides to this practice. All the debates about religious rituals as well. That's one reason I wanted my would be son circumcised. Because I am a Christian, I believe in God the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. I had believed we are called to fulfill a covenant with God by circumcising our boys. (why not our girls for those who never have boys, I don't know) Anyway the covenant between God and Abraham. I watched 2 circumcision procedures in their entirety and just cried, I had no idea. 75% of the time there is no anesthesia used. I decided I would NOT post those videos in this blog. I recommend if you haven't attended a circumcision that you look one up and watch it.

I discovered that 67.5% of American parents said "NO" to circumcision in 2009. I wanted to know WHY. That's a BIG trend change so of course nosey me wants to "know all". I chased after the answer. I was floored but what I found. I was overwhelmed BUT instantly I wanted MORE, I couldn't stop searching, they have to be mistaken about this, they are fanatics right?

This article made me think so at first. It's long, but worth the read. If I could research school, vaccines, child discipline, I can most definitely take the time now to read about circumcision.

http://www.noharmm.org/separated.htm

On the side of the website was a link to these videos by Penn & Teller. They were funny because of the mood of the show however it was very enlightening. Watch them, all of them, don't piece here, piece there it. That's where all the assumptions collect. The empty spaces that need to be filled with knowledge.






After watching these videos I wanted to track down a more scientific approach. What I learned about the penis is astounding, wonderful...








Wow, I'm thinking to myself and talking to the Lord...what do I do with all this information? Did we get lost in translation with Your word?
It hit me like a bolt of lightning!! GOD DOESN'T MAKE MISTAKES.

He knits us together in our mother's womb perfectly designed, and the way we should be. Something so drastic and religiously sacred should be left to the individual. I don't ever want my son coming back to me asking "Mom, Dad, WHY did you take this from me? I've learned what I've lost and I can never get it back." How would you take it? What would you say?

I had a dream about it... and that is weight I cannot bear. I will not take anything away from my sons body that later he may blame me for. God gave him his body.

MOST men are absolutely fine and happy with their penile status. So that's a relief. They know no different and all is well. But there is now a fast growing industry of "restoration" tools to help recreate a make shift "foreskin". It'll never have ridges or the erogenous tissues that the real foreskin did. But it will protect the glans from the outside environment. Some young men are angry. Some Colleges have support and protest groups fighting against infant circumcision, sueing their doctors (and winning) and trying to restore that part of the body. I think we should listen. I needed to listen. So I pulled up lots of video where men talk about their struggle to restore and "mourning" the loss of their foreskin. No joke. They put it out there for the world to see.

As a woman, I really mowed it over, and I'd be pissed today if I had something perfectly functional and natural surgically taken from me as soon as I entered the world. I'd really be angry. Maybe we should cut out some of the labia majora on little girls so the area is easier to clean. We have SMEGMA too. And more genital crevices and folds than any man does. Yet society in America is fine with that. When the baby is intact, cleaning it is like cleaning a finger. "Only clean what is seen". You cannot retract the foreskin of a pre-pubecent penis. So hygiene shouldn't be an issue if you know how to use wipes or soap and water. Jenn, you're nuts. You've been opened up to this whole other world you didn't know existed. I can't UNSEE or UNLearn what I now. No turning back.



Just recently there was a man I know that was complaining after a day of running around all over the place, the glans was chaffed pretty bad and sort of wore it raw. I felt so bad but part of me was like "protection was created for you, you just don't have it"

I mean hypothetically if you birthed a son, circumcised him and raised him in the ways of your spiritual, religious beliefs and after he leaves home and goes out into the world, becomes an athiest or agnostic for whatever reason...what good did the circumcision do HIM? It's not securing a parents place in heaven. Only YOU are accountably for YOUR actions in the eyes of God. (in my opinion) It's YOU and HIM.

I needed to know more of what the Bible says about this. It's the book of Life, a guide given the way we should lead our lives, the do's and donts. "Help me understand Lord", I prayed. "Show me what You want me to know" Amen.

I asked my mother-in-law why she circumcised her sons. I wanted to talk to moms, I needed more than science now, I needed humanized information. She thought on it a little and said it really wasn't a choice. She doesn't remember having consent papers to sign after their births. They took the babies to the nursery and at some point brought them back crying or snivelling to her and told to comfort the baby boy because he was just circumcised. It was just part of the routine, unquestioned.
Whoa, that's enlightening too. I couldn't imagine having that experience. I never did ask her if she would've had them circumcised anyway had she had to make the decision. I also have no idea if my "Sperm donor-in-law" whom I've never seen/met is circumcised or not.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religious_male_circumcision

I know it's Wikipedia BUT if you skip to your religion and read (mine being Christianity) you might find something you didn't know. I had to stay open minded here.

http://www.stopcirc.com/christian.html

Yes it's an intactivist post, however, I broke out the Bible and read the ENTIRE post and made reference to each conclusion the author came up with. My spirit shook inside me. HOW do we not know this?

My thinking on it was the Anti-masturbation movement that was backed by Kellogg and Graham. Good goin' guys. They realized that this method was a moot point. Circumcised Men who fought and died in wars for our country masturbated...because they had needs, and they were alone. They discovered the removal of the prepuce "foreskin" did NOTHING to stop masturbation. If anything it had the opposite effect. It just became mainstream so fast. And people kept finding reasons to continue the procedure routinely. They've pretty much ALL been debunked. What it boils down to is religion and beliefs. You can't fight someone's beliefs, they have that right! I support and respect it fully. Follow YOUR conviction and I'll follow mine.

On the other hand, we can stand up against removing perfectly healthy body parts from newborn baby boys. Why is it barbaric to circumcise our little girls but we don't even flinch at the thought of cutting the boys? Why can't they have the procedure done when they are grown, for religious purposes (if it is a legitimate sacrifice or covenant) it's HIS to give.... right.....????



Seriously? On this video I was blown away with the aspect that having the son "look like Daddy" down there was a big reason for circumcising. What if Daddy was missing a toe? Okay, but you get where I'm going. A little boy penis looks nothing like a grown man's penis first of all and second, by the time puberty changes things and the boy grows into a man, the last thing on his mind will be what his dad's dingle doo looks like. Do you know? Is it that important? Your children are going to look different because they are a combination of two people. Let them be who they are.

This Lady is sortof in my head. I love this post for the most part. And it definitely hits on my point of view. So if you'd like to get deeper in my head...read.

http://yourpalpoppy.wordpress.com/2011/05/20/circumcision-circumcision-circumcision-there-i-said-it/



Ladies! The foreskin was designed for US too! Did you know that condoms that are "Ribbed for Her Pleasure" are actually design to mimick the foreskin? Yup,yup!



I really like Laci Green, she's a pretty cool chick, and this is definitely a more laid back approach to finding information and starting discussion.

I have been changed, I'm not eating crow because of what I didn't know before. That's just wrong to blame people for how society has molded us. I am breaking the cycle with my family. Should I never have a son I will still educate my daughter on all aspects of circumcising infants should she have a baby boy someday. So she can make the best informed decision. In her Sex Education I'll be using curriculum that shows the penis in it's entirety. The way it was designed. I'm not sure what they use in schools nowadays.

Everytime I find out a friend is pregnant I pray I can slip this information in so at least they have it. Because I didn't. (Didn't matter b/c I had a girl)
And when they announce it's a girl I get an eerie sense of relief. That baby will go home uninjured and whole. What's done is done to all the boys already here, they will be just fine, we hope. Hopefully they won't be spending a bunch more money trying to fix what didn't need fixing in the first place. Foreskin is not a birth defect.

Thank you Lord Jesus for your blood and life sacrifice so we no longer have to sacrifice our flesh!!

Bottom line for me after all this....

Keep in mind these are MY views and MY perspective. I understand everyone is different. And you are a great parent!