Reply #51: You can call it whatever you like

[hyphenate]

But I know that both my brothers were circumcised, and the prevailing attitude at the time (the 50s) was that there was nothing wrong with circumcision, and that it was actually healthy.

In many societies it is traditional, and it's up to the parents of an infant to decide whether to circumcised or not, whether they are doing it for religious or health reasons. You can blame your parents if it comes down to that for you, but you can't condemn all other parents of those who believe circumcision is fine.

As for being a "man hater" I don't know where you got that idea. I'm not--not even close. All the men I've dated and been with have been circumcised, and the subject of circumcision has never really came up (pun intended).

As far as female "circumcision" is concerned, though, it is still being practiced here in the U.S. even though it is illegal, and even were it not, it shouldn't concern me because I'm not living in one of the countries where it takes place? It is one of the human rights violations which affects my gender most dramatically, and is often overlooked because women are usually second class citizens in those countries where it is being performed.

When I was born, cigarettes were popular--now, we know the damage they create in many different ways. But we have gotten to a point in history where we are better off knowing the effect that cigarettes have on people. However,50 years ago, no one was considered a bad parent if they smoked in the house, or if a woman smoked while she was pregnant. We learn from research and we learn from experience. If circumcision on the vast majority of boy infants is now considered less desirable, then so be it, but nothing will have changed the fact that up until recently, it was considered normal.