[GranteedEV]

Originally Posted by GullFoss

1) I have no memory of the pain of being circumcised

Intact men have no memory of the pain of being circumcised, and also never had the pain of being circumcised, period.

2) I never faced the risk of having to get circumcised as a teenager or adult for medical reasons (when I would remember the pain) because guess what? I'm was already circumcised!

And? You're still at risk for kidney disease, pneumonia, kyphosis, adult onset diabetes, testicular cancer, prostate cancer, tonsillitis, breast cancer, sports injuries, depression, glaucoma, etc, etc, etc. The list of painful surgeries and diseases is endless because being alive is inherently risky. You have the right to your perspective, but you do not know if the next generation will share that perspective with you on a risk that is virtually insignificant.

Honestly when I read your argument, this is my takeaway:

"If cutting off part of my dick had kept me from having to deal with chicken pox as a kid, I totally would... even if there was a chance I'd never get chicken pox... ever".

It's just... lacking perspective to me.

3) As someone who watched a lot of porn as a teenager (like a lot of teenagers), I felt normal.

In what world is anything in porn a reference for normality? There is so much wrong with this statement I'm just baffled.

As someone who had self-confidence issues (and confidence with girls issues) as a teenager (like lots of teenagers) the thought of having an uncircumcised penis being another factor working against me never crossed my mind. And I already hated a whole lot about my body growing up and I know I wouldnt have liked my uncircumcised penis.

This is a "you" issue you have hypothetically manufactured, which you are projecting onto a child. At the end of the day an intact penis can have a circumcision performed on it if there is a personal choice on the matter. A mutilated penis cannot be unmutilated.

4) I don't have to think about how to clean my foreskin and didn't have to worry about infections.

This is akin to saying you wish you had your fingers removed so you didn't have to think about cleaning them. You seem to be confusing common sense with some tedious task.

And really, you never had to worry about infections? That's rich. Either you never got laid or you always used a rubber or... you had to worry about infections. Three things that apply to every dude.

5) I prefer the look.

Well, for starters this is cringey, but anyways:

Your son may not. Just as your son may not enjoy the same hobbies as you and your son may challenge you on sociopolitical issues. The difference is, only one of these things requires permanent mutilation of the genitals of an infant.

Does anyone actually prefer the look of an uncircumcised penis? I figure you either don't care, or prefer a circumcised one. Given that, the way i see it, its basic risk management to get circumcised as a child. The upside is that you like the look. The downside is that you couldn't care less one way or another.

Again, you are projecting your personal preference to a future generation to justify robbing them of a personal choice. No, the downside is that your child is cognizant of the mutilation that's been applied to their dick and resentful of it. It is not unprecedented.

Originally Posted by GullFoss

Except not really. I'm somewhat superficial...it's why I wanted braces as a child. Why I go to the gym three times per week. And why I get hair cuts every 3 weeks. And why I get some of my body hair removed.

Why do you get your kid braces? Super high rate in North America and super low everywhere else.

A) bad for you child from a dental health perspective

B) is purely for cosmetic purposes

C) crazy expensive

Let's face it...you do it so your child is more attractive and has more self confidence when trying to find a life partner, get a job etc.

What part of the human body do braces permanently remove? Are braces applied to neonates or to adolescents who can indicate pain and be medicated for it? And while we're on that topic, are you suggesting that kids are not teased or worse for having braces in high school?

Why do females get some or all of their hair removed from their vaginas?

Post adolecscent females or month-old females? I'm not aware of any 3 week old taking a can of VEET to her vagina. And yes I'd object to any parent doing so.

It's cuz it's sexually preferable to a lot of their partners

How can you claim know what's actually "sexually preferable" to a partner? Every individual has preferences and there is no such thing as all-encompassing preference.What if your son's partner is a gorgeous European girl who is weirded the **** out by the circumcision? An adult can choose to be circumcised if their partner demands it (although that's a whole nother rabbit hole on healthy relationships). An adult cannot choose to undo a circumcision done to them as an infant. It is the removal of part of their penis. It's not a slight adjustment splint to make it tilt a different way (which btw, would be the parallel to your braces analogy - and pretty damn creepy for parents to do to their child in its own right because there is a difference between teeth and a penis).

While I really don't want to get into the whole sexual pleasure/sensitivity argument as my objection is to a child being mutilated rather than the choice of an adult to self-mutilate, I will leave you with a youtube video that argues intact men experience sexual pleasure in a different way, which is allegedly more pro-partner-pleasure:

and it makes them more confidence and less self conscious sexually.

Fewer than a third of Canadian newborn males' genitals were "circumcised" as of 2011, so I guess I fail to see how this is meaningfully valid. If anything, you're potentially (permanently) putting your child in a position of being a minority in this regard - the opposite of "less self-conscious".