what's it like not having a foreskin?

[hatam_soferet]

Today at Hadar we were talking about covenant, and one of the gentlemen in the class, waxing lyrical, said something like "this covenant we inscribe in our flesh..."

Well, only when "we" means "we chaps," and it's yet another of those statements that means very little to most of those present, who have no covenant inscribed in their flesh on account of having ladybits. So I got to wondering.

If you've got the covenant inscribed in your flesh, in the form of a line of scar tissue proclaiming "foreskin woz ere," does it remind you of the covenant every time you see it? Or does it get so's you don't notice it?

I am seriously jolly interested in the answer, but if I know you IRL can you spare my feelings and comment anonymously?

Comments

[hatam_soferet]

You make me compare to Jews in Hellenism, you know, where they tried to reconstruct their foreskins so as to look like everyone else, and the rabbis were cheesed off - should the rabbis be equally cheesed off that American Jews still look like everyone else? (Slightly facetious, but not wholly.)

It would, however, likely be an incredibly painful, traumatic, and complicated episode.

I dunno - don't some sorts of Muslims circumcise at adolescence? Not really the kind of thing one can barge into a community and ask, though - o hai did having yore foreskin snipped at thirteen make you feel covenantal sort of thing.

[tig_b]

I know a Turkish family who come from an area where the boys are circumcised at puberty; usually in small groups of local boys, with big celebrations.

They bought us back the video - which includes a parade through the streets with the boys wearing fancy white satin, gold-trimmed suits. The op was on the video as well, but I closed my eyes for that bit as it seemed odd watching it with the boy, his parents and his sisters. It is all followed by an enormous family party.

Yes it hurt, but it is part of the 'I'm a man now' culture so they don't complain.