Having a dinner party? Well let me tell you, if you really want to heat things up and add some tension to the atmosphere than you should talk circumcision.
It astounds me how passionate people are about this private topic and how "everyone" seems to know the "right and best" way. North Americans are fairly synonymous with this age old practice which dates back to the Bible when Abraham made a covenant with God to cut off his son Issac's foreskin.
Here in Peterborough the rate of circumcised penises versus uncircumcised is 50/50, and if you choose the "off with his head" method be prepared to shell out $350. Yes the procedure is considered purely cosmetic by Health Canada and is no longer covered by OHIP. I am sure if you are in my age bracket and you talk about this with your mom she'll probably tell you that a nurse came in shortly after her son was born, took him away and brought him back with a little less "packaging" and a lot more bandaging, no questions asked.
But like most parenting techniques, times are a changing. Yes the younger generation questions authority more and for the most part is making more informed decisions. When I was pregnant with my first son I would lie awake at night stressed about whether to keep or snip my baby's foreskin. In the end we made a decision to put him under the knife, I went into the room helped a nurse hold my newborn down while he was strapped onto a cold stainless steel table, I then proceeded to attempt to soothe my infant while he was cut and sliced to bits, gee it was fun! Oh and let's not forget the part where I handed the doctor his cash for what seemed like torturing my baby.
Fast forward two years and ten months later and voila I gave birth to yet another boy, oh could I do it again? After some serious debate I realized no I could not. Yes I have read all there is to read about infections and HIV, and heard all the horror stories about the man who had to loose his foreskin in a gruesome procedure in his teenage or even later years, but honestly I still don't buy it, if you get an ear infection do you cut off your ear?
Oh and this is my favourite, the shear shocked response I get when I tell people I have one son who is circumcised and one who isn't, "my gosh, what will you say when your boys see they're different"...well I'm pretty sure they already are. They're in two different bodies and possess two different personalities, and let's be honest, will my daughter's breasts ever look like mine?
I do not regret circumcising Giorgio, nor do I judge anyone who does or doesn't, it is a personal decision and whichever you and your partner choose, good for you.
MF