The purpose of this web page is to help you understand why you should not circumcise your baby boy. Think about this: if you were able to ask your child if he wants to be circumcised, he would respond that he does not want the procedure performed.

Tradition: The Rite of Circumcision

Circumcision has been practiced for a long time, but our modern circumcision is very different from the way our ancestors practiced it. Formerly, it was completed around the age of 13, and it was actually a religious rite of passage. In ancient Jewish tradition, circumcision was a token… so only a small portion of the foreskin tip was taken off, not the entire foreskin.Mom's hand

Ancient Jewish writings detail how how the people could use a small tie or other holder on the remaining foreskin to conceal the circumcision. At the time, this was already a custom in Greek culture, because public nudity was normal in social interactions and baths. It is unclear of the exact age of circumcision, but it seems to have mimicked other native group customs, which was around the age of 13. Later religious traditions may have possibly changed the age of circumcision, because if it was done as an infant then the boy was not able to protest.

Today, routine medical circumcision is very different from the small token of foreskin taken for the rite of passage. Mordern circumcision removes the foreskin completely, which is male genital mutilation. It is hard to see how we progressed from a token offering to removing the entire foreskin of small babies who are only a few days old. In my opinion, this is a very cruel mistake that is made with newborn infants, regardless of the claimed reason. Some people suggest that it is a religious practice, but there is actually no biblical commandment that states, “Circumcise your newborn infant.” If there were, in fact, good ceremonial or religious reasons for boys in the United States to be circumcised, then we would need to wait until the boy was older in order to follow more traditional standards. At that age, the boy has already developed emotionally, sexually and physically, and the child is old enough to understand what is happening… plus, local anesthesia can be used for pain. Nature intended for the boy to develop a relationship to his genitals, and holding off circumcision will allow him to do that.

Your son needs to experience self-exploration in a natural form, and the foreskin facilitates this experience. It is also a protection through childhood, and acts as a guardian. Circumcision occurs for an infant, the erotic tip of his penis is prematurely exposed to his awareness. This procedures is excruciatingly painful and it leaves a negative imprint: one is punished for his masculinity, life is painful, that having a penis is a cause of pain. He may have deep-rooted beliefs that it is normal for men to be physically and sexually abused. The majority of the world (about 80%), males are left as Nature intended. Modern myths and propoganda would have you believe that circumcision is performed to prevent disease, but it is not true.

When the most sensitive area of the body is cut off, infants scream and may even go into traumatic shock. The first few days of life are essential for developing the mother-child bond, and circumcision can disrupt this bonding process because the child may act irritable. Side effects can be severe in some cases, and may include infection, hemorrhage, and in rare cases, even death.

Photo Credit: Serge Melki from Flickr