Shrebly, ultimately you are the child's mother and you will do whatever you feel is best for your son REGARDLESS of others' experiences. I know this may seem trivial to some, but I can feel for you.
I have four daughters. We did not know the gender before birth. Before my first was born I just automatically assumed that there was a GOOD reason why children in this country were routinely circumcized (My parents are Europian so neither my father nor brother are circumcized.). After having given birth to my first with a near FULL episiotomy and hemoroid that burst during childbirth requiring several stitches....the pain that I suffered those first few days was JUST AWFUL. Granted, the trauma of giving birth is different than the trauma of having your foreskin removed, but there is cutting and stitches just the same.....and I did NOT have to sit in a dirty diaper!
Because of this there was added tension with each pregnancy because I swore that there was NO WAY in HELL that I would allow any newborn son of mine to be mutilated in this fashion. I am not Jewish and neither is my husband.
I became educated and discovered THERE WAS NO SOUND MEDICAL REASON TO HAVE THIS PROCEDURE PERFORMED! IT WAS PURELY COSMETIC!
Females by design are highly prone to UTI (urinary tract infection)....but we don't go around altering their anatomy, do we? Yes, there are cultures in the world who DO subject there young daughters to HORRIBLE torture, but not for medical reasons - it has to do with deep-rooted cultural taboos and tradition. It is done to insure that a woman's virginity will remain intact until her wedding night. Many girls DIE and those that survive suffer UNIMAGINABLE pain during the process and FOR THE REST OF THIER LIVES. All I have to say about this is, THANK GOD I WAS BORN HERE!!!!
But I digress.
My husband was HELL-BENT that any son of his would look like him (he is cut) and I said, "OVER MY DEAD BODY!" Needless to say, we had girls so we did not end up in divorce court over that issue.
In closing, my sister (whose husband IS CUT) has two sons ages 4 and 1 NEITHER of which has had this done. They are both healthy and normal and have no problems.
Also, how many of my daughters' nude bodies resemble mine? Hello?! That is a just plain RIDICULOUS arguement.
I asked my older brother many times if chicks gave him a hard time or if he was teased in the locker room for his appearance. His reply? A very fast confident - HELL NO.
If he doesn't get made fun of for his peepee, it'll be his name or his family sitch or the way he walks, or that he is too tall or too short - whatever....do you get where I am going with this?
I believe that a 6 year old is not old enough to fully understand the consequences of such a proceedure. If you told him, "We are going to make your winkie prettier, but it is GOING TO HURT LIKE A MOFO!"...what do you think he would say? If you told him, "You will look like a large % of the other men in this country and you may/may not experience more/less sexual pleasure when you are older if you have this done now." what do you think he will say?
It will be up to the parents and no one else. Whatever you decide to do, realize that your son will love you no matter what because you did what you thought was best for him at the time. Hindsight is 20/20. Don't let anybody tell YOU what is best for YOUR son.
Be well!
