A family says their newborn son nearly bled to death and is fighting for his life after he was circumcised at a New York City hospital.
Tim and Gabrielle Groth said their son, Cole, underwent the circumcision at NewYork-Presbyterian Morgan Stanley Children’s Hospital in Manhattan, where he was born on March 31.
I’ve never heard a woman say they did or would have their baby boy circumcised because uncircumcised penises are gross, or any other version of aesthetic reasons. The religious reasons are rooted in the patriarchy, as is the “need” to look like one’s father and male relatives.
In the case of female circumcision, it’s a way of enforcing the position of women as property, making it more apparent if she’s ever had sex so her virginity can be sold to her husband. In its most extreme forms it can require she be cut open in order to give birth, and resewn each time. It can block clumps of menstrual blood and lead to infection and sepsis. In less extreme versions it can prevent her from feeling any pleasure during sex, in order to prevent her from having any except that imposed by her husband.
Aesthetics are the most often cited reason for male circumcision in the USA. It is rarely medically necessary, and only religiously motivated among Jewish people.
Fathers wanting their boy to look “like all the other little boys” is aesthetics
It would be aesthetics if fathers did it because they think it looks better. But that’s not what’s happening. They do it over fear that their sons will be ostracised for having different looking dicks. That’s a social reason, not an aesthetic one.
The social situation in which the other naked little boys ostracize the one with a different dick is patriarchal. Must conform to the “normal” masculine standard. Otherwise the fathers could just teach all the little boys to be more accepting.
As for women, I’ve been in plenty of women -only places where there was frank talk about men’s anatomy, and the general consensus has always been, we can love any and all penises as long as the owner isn’t a dick.
Anecdotally, I’ve known more mothers who fought for their child not to be circumcised than fathers. I fully encourage men to put their feet down on this issue too. This is very often a battle that the parent who cares more wins on.