Fun Fact!
Did you know women pay obscene amounts of money to put baby foreskins on their faces!
That's right, baby-foreskin is an additive for beauty "facial treatment's that uses baby foreskin to fight acne, treat hyper-pigmentation and reduce wrinkles."
We Do it Out of Habit
My brother recently became a father! It was an amazing moment in his life, full of decisions, stress, wonder, and excitement. I was talking to him the other day as he casually mentioned he was about to take his boy to get circumcised. I asked him why.
He casually responded. "I don't know?"
That got us talking. By the end of this conversation he had decided to do more research on the topic and ultimately he decided to not circumcise his boy!
This is my attempt at helping other parents think a bit more before they snip!
What's Going on Here
"The World Health Organization (WHO) estimated that globally one-third of males aged 15 years and over are circumcised."
For those living in the good ol' U.S. of A. the "overall prevalence of male circumcision was 79%".
These are some awfully high numbers! Most of Europe sits at less than 20%... In fact, before we get started did you know:
Courts in Germany recently called circumcision "grievous bodily harm," and ruled that the "fundamental right of the child to bodily integrity outweighed the fundamental rights of the parents."
Hmmm, Imagine that. Cutting off part of someone's body causes harm... That's an odd thing to say.
Back to the good ole U.S. of A.
Well, that's quite the difference of opinion!
This is similar to suggesting, "removing the clitoris of a woman is likely to reduce sexual promiscuity leading to benefit of reduced sexually transmitted infections and disease!" -_-
Now, what would motivate them to use a study that took place in Africa (in impoverished places where hygiene and HIV are major issues...) to convince Americans to mutilate their children?
Baby Foreskin is Big Business!
(It's always about the money)
"One baby foreskin can be stretched to grow almost $100,000 worth of fibroblasts."
"Hospitals sell them to companies and institutions for a wide variety of uses.
Companies would pay thousands of dollars for a single foreskin.
According to the reports, some of the strangest purposes they are put to are:
Cosmetics — Foreskins are used to make high-end skin creams. The skin products contain fibroblasts grown on the foreskin and harvested from it. One foreskin can be used for decades to produce fancy face cream like the SkinMedica products hawked on Oprah.
Skin grafts — In addition to making products for skin, a baby’s foreskin can be turned into a skin graft for a burn victim. Because the cells are extremely flexible, they are less likely to be rejected.
Currently, this technology can be lifesaving in providing a real skin “band aid” to cover an open wound while a burn victim heals.
Researchers at Harvard and Tufts universities are working on advanced skin replacements that use human foreskins.
Cosmetic testing — All those cruelty-free cosmetics you buy? Some of them are tested on foreskins."
(https://www.newsday.co.zw/2014/04/26/foreskins-go/)
More uses if you're into that kind of thing...
I've never heard of a parent getting a check for the sale of their child's foreskin. In fact, you have to pay for the operation. "For patients not covered by health insurance, circumcision for an older child or adult male typically costs $800-$3,000 or more."
Let's Think About Our Children
Removing parts of our body has negative side effects... It's odd that I would even have to say that statement! As if there were only upsides to removing a part of our body (which most people seem to think about this).
This article goes on to discuss the decrease in sexual enjoyment and sexual fulfillment in adults after they decided to cut a part of their sexual organ off.
Those are the problems if the surgery goes right. But what about all the cases where the surgery doesn't go so well?
Here over 1000 men have written about problems and harm that they endured from circumcision.
That's just from a few people who have heard about such a site and have decided to share their pain.
In one case a failed circumcision surgery caused a babies penis to fall off, which (through more poor decisions) led the parents to attempt to sexually reassign the child, long story short he ended up taking his own life. An intense story...
It's not up to us to decide to mutilate another's body!
At the end of the day, any potential benefits or advantages of circumcision don't present themselves until well into adulthood. The choice to mutilate one's body should always be left up to the person being mutilated.
In all cases of self-mutilation, I would recommend one do research before making a decision and not haphazardly do so for cosmetic reasons.
But hey, people do crazy things for cosmetic purposes all the time!
But, it was their choice!
You're not doing your baby any favors! The increase in sexual pleasure and fully functioning organ will far outweigh the potential smirks in the locker room by his cut peers (though I have a feeling the tide is shifting, and it will be less common to be mutilated in the future.)
Besides ladies. An erect penis looks the same, circumcised or not!
Hopefully, this article encourages you to think before you snip!
Rieki
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