[14]

Do you think we should get children’s consent for vaccinations? I guess my point is sometimes our parents make choices for us. Hopefully they make choices that better us not hurt us. And I know with circumcisions a lot of the time it is done for religious reasons. Your parents perhaps believed in god and were doing what they felt was spiritually needed within their religion. I am curious is this the case with your family?

[__blockcipher__]

Vaccinations: no.

Elective surgery that removes functional sexual tissue: yes.

To make it clear, do you think it’s okay to cut off a newborn girl’s clitoral hood (the analog of the male foreskin)? I would hope not.

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My parents were raised catholic, but are atheists. So largely it was done for the usual pseudo-reasons: to “look like my father”, because it’s “healthier” (completely false), etc. I’m a white american so it’s a very common practice unfortunately.

The foreskin is not a vestigial organ. Violating the bodily and sexual autonomy of a child is never okay.

[14]

See I was circumcised and it sounds much like the same reasons as you mainly because my dad had it done. They long dropped religion so it was more like how you describe. I guess, from my limited knowledge, not all female circumcisions are the same. Some involve more serious removal of not just skin but the actually clitoris. I am against removal of the clitoris as it probably would mean decreased feeling. I really can’t say how much feeling I supposedly lost with my circumcision but I always thought sex was very enjoyable. The whole idea of either seems bizarre and pointless to myself. But I also feel a part of me has spirituality (and not in any god). So if the clitoral circumcision was just a bit of the side skin and for religious reasons I could accept it. But I think a lot of these female circumcisions do not just take side skin they remove a sexual organ. Yes skin and therefore foreskin is an organ but I don’t feel like I am missing anything. Thank you for your thoughts it has made me think more on this subject. I honestly don’t have any good reason to defend male circumcisions over female. What a weird world we live in.