Theories on Foreskin

Last week, I attended a nice dinner party. If you had seen us from a distance, you would have thought, "What well-mannered, sophisticated young adults!" However, if you had overheard our conversation, you would have wondered, "Why are these people discussing circumcision so much?"

But circumcision is a legitimate social debate. Is it right to painfully cosmetically alter infants for mild and contested health benefits? I'm not even sure myself. I enjoy my circumcision, though I'm not sure I'd make the same snippy decision for my kid.

Dan offered his theory on the matter. Because circumcised men have sensitive skin clipped, the same skin that is designed to make contact with the female body, it dulls men's sensitivity to women overall. He speculates that for this reason, men have trouble emotionally bonding with women because their primary source of connection has been tampered with.

The best part of this monologue was before he could even punctuate this thought, Sarah, who had been skeptically but politely hearing him out, shouted louder than I've ever heard her, "BULLSHIT."

I'm inclined to agree with Sarah. That sounds like an all-too-convenient explanation for an emotionally distant guy to tell his partner. "Baby, I want to be attentive to your needs, but I'm circumcised!"

Yeah, pretty farfetched. But that doesn't mean I won't try to use the excuse in the future.