The one where I talk about penises

The parents of this child were
charged with  child cruelty

The parents of this child
suffered no ramifications

I am adamantly against genital mutilation. And that includes parents circumcising their sons.

I caused some controversy on the Internet (specifically Twitter) when I tweeted this.

I am against circumcision. For both men and women. There, I said it.

I was retweeted and favourited so many times (even as I type this, I'm still being retweeted around the internet) and the responses I got back were overwhelmingly supportive of my stance and agreeing with me.

@BenHarkin Yeah, I never could get excited about the prospect of circumcision

@Greyko Whenever a woman says she'll circumcise her son cos it looks better, I ask her if she plans on f***ing her son.

@DomSlashRyan Seconded. Especially for women, but even with men, there's no medical reason for it whatsoever

@cosmicjester I agree, I think routine circumcision for non medical purposes is barbaric

I followed this up with another tweet:

If a guy has a circumcised penis, that's fine & I definitely won't judge or think it looks weird, but let the man choose later for himself...

That prompted these responses.

@RockStar_Matt Lol who the f*** would choose it.

@CJ_Politics Sadly, most women I know look at this from the opposite perspective. I think circumcision is cruel, and a waste of money.

@jasoncodes That's it right there. It should be up to the individual to decide once they're capable of informed consent.

@natsukigirl I pretty much feel ill anytime someone tries to justify circumcision.

@CaBaNa_Dread I agree, I think routine circumcision for non medical purposes is barbaric

Some people found some wiggle room on my stance, such as for medical reasons. I knew a guy who had to be circumcised for medical reasons. His foreskin did not pull back and was fused to the head of the penis. Of course I support the decision his parents made. Where there is a medical necessity, what other choice is there?

But allow me to clarify, I am against circumcision that is not the express wish of the owner of the genitals.

If I had a child and I tattooed some meaningful family crest on his shoulder, I would be charged.

This is my choice and means a lot to my family but it's still wrong. It is irreversible and the child did not choose or agree to be part of this.

But if I had a child and I snipped off the foreskin of his penis, I would not be charged.

This is my choice and means a lot to my family but it's still wrong. It is irreversible and the child did not choose or agree to be part of this.

If the child wants to grow up and tattoo our family crest on his shoulder, after the age of 18 he's most welcome to.

So why is circumcision any different? If the child wants to grow up and snip off the foreskin of his penis, after the age of 18 he's most welcome to. What right does anybody have to take this choice away from their child? With all the outcry over and campaigning against female genital mutilation, I can't understand how some people cannot make the leap and connect it to male circumcision.

A child who is circumcised at a young age cannot change his mind. A child who is not circumcised, can. Don't deny your child this very important choice. The man he becomes may not be happy with what you decided for him.

Many people argue in favour of circumcision, citing health and hygienic reasons. Teach your son proper hygiene. Simple. Many, many men go through their younger lives uncircumcised without suffering infections or any problems. Remember when it was standard procedure to dock the tails of a rottweiler? Now it's illegal. Why do you suppose this unnecessary medical procedure was banned?

As I've stated, this should be a choice for the owner of the penis to make later in life. Out of medical necessity, it becomes a different story - but that should be seen as a similar (albeit less serious) situation to parents of a child suffering from meningitis who needs to decide whether to allow doctors to amputate a limb.

But I'll leave the final word to Corey James.

@CJ_Politics That said, I am myself - not by choice.

Miss SAMawdsley xx