Hey humans! Today, we’re talking about circumcision. Or as my grand-pappy calls it, penis choppin!
No, uh, my granddad doesn’t actually call it that. Wow, I’m glad my grandparents don’t know how to get on YouTube.
Anyway, so circumcision. Look, it’s hugely popular here in the US. Between 2005 and 2010, the CDC’s National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey found that about 80% of cisgender men in the US have been circumcised. However, worldwide, only about 30% of cisgender men are circumcised. [Note: Only cisgender men were surveyed, though people of other genders can have penises.] So it kinda looks like Americans have an obsession with circumcision – which I just don’t understand.
So, look, if you’re a parent or soon-to-be parent, here are some reasons you should consider not circumcising your child.
1. You Do Not Have the Consent of the Person Whose Body You’re Altering
This should seriously be the only point on this list. Like, the rest of the points pale in comparison to this one.
The child, the one with the penis you’re about the permanently cut up and scar, has no say in if they get circumcised or not. Babies can’t consent to that. Your baby’s body belongs to them and only them. As a parent, you do not own this small human and you do not have the right to cut off a perfectly functional part of their body. It’s as simple as that.
No matter the topic, consent and bodily autonomy are incredibly important. Want to get yourself circumcised? Go ahead. Do whatever you want with your own body. But you don’t get to make a decision that affects someone else’s body without their consent. You have all the rights to your own body and what happens to it — so does your baby.
[Playing a doctor] So, would you like us to cut off the tip of your penis today?
[Playing a baby, crying]
[Playing a doctor] So, I’m gonna take that as a yes.
2. It’s Not Dirtier Than a Circumcised Penis
Alright. One myth I hear all the time is that uncircumcised penises are so gross and dirty. You know what else is gross and dirty? Your whole freaking body if you don’t wash it. Bodies require washing — so do penises and foreskins. It’s super super friggin easy to clean a foreskin. It just takes soap and water, and you can do it in the shower with the rest of your body.
Mind-blowing, I know. This cleaning concept is a hard thing for me to wrap my mind around too. I only learned like a week ago that you’re supposed to use soap in the shower.
3. It Has a Biological Purpose: A Lot of Nerve Endings for Pleasure and Protects the Head
Okay, I’m not sure if you’re aware of this or not, but sometimes people use their penises for the sex. When that happens, they get pleasure from their penis, especially the head. The thing is, the head is meant to be kept behind a foreskin constantly, so without that protective shield, it grows tougher and less sensitive. Not to mention that the foreskin itselfs contains thousands of nerve endings and is a huge source of pleasure as well.
Basically, the foreskin was put there for a biological purpose. You’re not helping anything but cutting it off. Not to mention that fact that a circumcision that is done too tightly can make masturbation and sex uncomfortable or even painful. Foreskin helps with that whole up and down motion – and without it, you, uh, might have some trouble.
4. It Doesn’t Lower Chances of STIs
It just doesn’t. I’ll put links down in the description to various studies, but basically there’s been conflicting research on this for decades, and people are still arguing about it.
People make claims that it lowers your risk of STIs, of getting HIV, of getting penile cancer, or of getting a urinary tract infection — but none of that can be substantiated in the real world. Some countries with extremely low rates of circumcision have equally low rates of HIV, while other countries with high rates of circumcision have high rates of HIV. Circumcision isn’t a magical solution to our sexual health problems.
But even if this did work and circumcision really did lower your chance of getting an STI or HIV, it wouldn’t be worth it. Just because you can get a disease from a part of your body doesn’t mean you should just cut if off! Like skin cancer is a major problem, but we aren’t chopping off the limbs of our babies to lower their risk of skin cancer. Can you imagine that world?
You know you can avoid a whole lot of diseases if you just cut out the body parts before they can be affect. Pull out all your child’s teeth, no cavities. Extract all their bones, they can’t break any. It’s the perfect solution. A body part giving you trouble? Just cut it off!
5. The Baby Doesn’t Need to ‘Look Like the Father’
What. The.
I can’t deal. I’m out when people start bringing up their dad’s dicks.
Okay, who in the world is comparing their penis to their dad’s penis? Please stop. That can’t be healthy. Just stop worrying about your dad’s penis at all, okay? That’s the only advice I’ve got for you. Your kid isn’t going to be lost if their penis doesn’t look exactly like their dad’s. They might have a different hair color or eye color from their dad, and I don’t think that’ll be a huge deal.
Besides, what’s with the obsession with penises? Like, why is our culture so so focused on the penis having to look exactly like the dad’s? It’s like we have this bizarre dick-obsessed culture, and no one seems to think that’s weird.
Well I’m sorry to break it to you, but the kid’s penis isn’t going to look exactly like the dad’s! it might be bigger, smaller, more curved, less curved, whatever — the point is, you don’t need to be comparing the kid’s dick to the dad’s dick. Just let go of your dick obsession. I promise you’ll be okay without it.
***
Alright, well, that’s all the reasons I have for you today. Remember, if you’re having kids anytime soon, remember not to accidentally, you know, slice off a piece of the most sensitive part of their body.
And this video is actually part of a series for Everyday Feminism, a website that’s dedicated to helping you stand up to and break down everyday oppression. I’ll put some links in the description so you can find out more about them.
Feel free to leave me any questions you have down in the comments below and I’ll do my best to answer them. Thank you so so much for watching! I love you all! Bye!
