Cutting Ham: Why Do You Do This?



A tale to think about...

A woman was cutting both ends off of a ham to cook for a large family dinner.

Her husband looked at her curiously and asked, "Why do you do this?"

The woman replied, "Because my mother always did it."

Her mother soon arrived for the family dinner and the woman's husband asked his mother in law, "Why did you always cut off the ends of the ham when you cooked?"

His mother in law replied, "I did it because my mother always did this growing up..."

The woman's husband decided he simply must get to the bottom of this. What possibly was the reason for cutting the ends off of the dinner ham? So much waste, he thought. He called his wife's grandmother for the answer. "Why did you always cut the ends off the ham when cooking for the family?" he asked.

And Grandmother replied, "My oven is just so small, so my pan is small and it simply won't all fit into my oven."


Remember: Some actions begin for a reason, and some are actions repeated due to tradition that has lost its reason. Think about what you believe, what you've been taught, and where it comes from. Question. Research. You may just be surprised when you get to the bottom of it all.


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When Carding Hurts

By Xan Mej


Tonight I ordered intact information cards (below) for the first time.

It hurt.

Hurt to be reminded. Seeing the posts at Saving Our Sons hurts. Looking at the page hurts. It hurts because I have an 11 month old son who is near perfect. Near perfect because I sent him away to be cut. I sent him with the nurse because I thought it was my duty as a good Christian. I thought it was what God wanted... It hurts to be reminded of the unnecessary pain I caused him, the long term damage I allowed to be done to my own newborn baby.

But now I will go on and do my best to spread the knowledge that circumcision is not only unnecessary, but brutal.

My heart still burns and bleeds and I am still angry. Angry at my parents for being so ill informed. Angry at my church for supporting such things. But most of all angry at myself for not protecting my child. Me, his own MOTHER! His first line of defense! I have been so angry at myself for not questioning the church, for not doing my own Bible reading, for not listening to my heart telling me, 'This doesn't seem right...'

I was the one who sent him with the nurse less than 24 hrs after his beautiful and magical entrance into this world. He was whole and complete and perfect and innocent and trusting.

If only I was the one who suffered the consequences of my ignorance, and not my son!

This is what torture is: to wake up and realize you failed miserably, and then see your loved one suffer for it.

So today I go on and spread the word, in hopes that I will save another baby boy, and save his mother from the gnashing and burning that is in my heart, that I must forever endure.

Please, research circumcision.





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Happy Birthday Penn Jillette!



Today Penn Jillette, of Penn & Teller, celebrates his 58th birthday. Fitting, then, to take a moment to thank him for speaking up from a clear, research-based position on the subject of circumcision, and breaking down the ins and outs of the practice of genital cutting in America. You can view the entire Bullsh*t documentary on circumcision from Penn & Teller below. After many interviews (with pro-cutting and pro-intact physicians alike) as well as ample research for the show, in the end Penn concludes:
Let’s end this NOW. The first rule of medicine is do no harm. Cutting off the tip of the penis is at the very least ‘a harm.’ Quite possibly f---ing bad - and bad for f---ing! So to all you penis butchers out there: Put down the knife! Step away from the baby! And DO NO HARM.



Penn dishes on the "matching penis" myth:




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Dear Mothers

By Jennifer Moose, The Intact Network



Dear Mothers of Our Daughters’ Future Mates,

Please take a moment to think about this before you circumcise your son:

His penis may be used to have sex with a someone who is not you.

This person could be one of our daughters. You may enjoy having sex with your mate's circumcised penis, or you may not enjoy having sex with your mate's intact penis... but whatever your reason for wanting to circumcise your son, it is in no way relevant to the partner(s) your son will be engaging in intercourse with when he is old enough to do so.

When our straight daughters come to us to talk about the problems they may be experiencing during intercourse such as vaginal dryness, soreness, inability to orgasm, etc., the first thing we will ask will be, "Is he circumcised?" If the answer is, 'YES' we will have to enlighten them about what was stolen away from them when you chose to have this man circumcised at a time he was still unable to defend himself.

Both your son and his partner would be deprived, by YOU, of the ability to have sex as nature intended it. Neither would have any choice in a matter that is so personal to them. You would be choosing to invade their intimacy through unnecessary genital reduction surgery. Your decision to have your son circumcised is tantamount to controlling your son’s ability to give and receive pleasure, to being a part of his physical/emotional/spiritual relationship with another adult.

Perhaps that is what you want -- but it is not right to interject yourself between a couple in such an obtrusive way. Your son may never be with a partner who wishes he had foreskin. On the other hand, it is entirely possible that he will be - especially today as more men and women are becoming enlightened on the functions of the foreskin.

The children born today are the men and women of the future. They are growing up in a world where access to this information is readily available at their fingertips. Research on the impact of circumcision on sexuality is progressing at a rapidly accelerated rate. By the time your son is an adult man, he will know that you also had access to all this same information. You will not be able to hide your decision behind willful ignorance. You will have to answer to him.

What will you say when he tells you, "It wasn’t your choice to make, Mom."? You have a decision now to leave it up to him. You have the option now to defend your son and stand up for his rights. You may have to stand up to your spouse or your baby's father. This is what we sometimes have to do as mothers -- protect our cubs.

I could be the mother of your future daughter in law, and I respectfully request that you leave matters concerning your son’s sexual relationship with his partner up to the two of them. Please, stay out of their bedroom.

Thank you.



Related Resources at:  
Male Circumcision and Women's Sexual Health


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If Dr. Seuss were a genital autonomy advocate...


Theodor Seuss Geisel, commonly known as Dr. Seuss, was born March 2, 1904 and today is especially celebrated on his birthday each year - a date that was also chosen in his honor for national Read Across America day. Throughout his life, Seuss gave us much literary wit and nuggets of life's wisdom. Here, we reflect on some of his words through the framework of genital autonomy...









by Intact Iowa (Amanda's son pictured)





Have an image to share? Email SavingSons@gmail.com or post to the Saving Our Sons FB wall.



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