Circumcision has never been something I understood. Why is it the “norm”? The internet claims that infant circumcision is recommended due to medical benefits, but the only “benefit” I can find is that circumcision lessens the chance of infant urinary tract infections. As a woman, I can tell you UTI’s are not bad enough to justify what is realistically a cosmetic surgery, on an infant.

I was reading one of those forums where new mother’s discuss hot topics, and I came across some women talking about circumcision and whether or not they would choose to circumcise their sons. I have an issue with that. Even typing that sentence made me cringe. No one should be able to choose that for their children. If someone really wants to get circumcised as an adult, they can. There is nothing stopping them.

Sure, maybe circumcision began as a marker for the Jewish people to separate themselves from the rest of the world. However, infant circumcision is now as common as getting your nails done. It’s not even something that people give a second thought to. But my question is why? We’ve gotten in this vicious cycle where men who were circumcised want their sons to be circumcised because they were; it’s a cycle that never ends.

I don’t know if there is truly a clear answer to whether or not circumcision should happen to infants, or why it happens at all. I do believe that it is a choice that individuals should be able to make for themselves. Yeah, yeah, infants can’t make their own decisions. So don’t make them for them! I, personally, do not see how that could be ethical, but a lot of people don’t see anything wrong with it. I guess society will keep normalizing making choices for other people, and I will keep pushing back against it.

I have already mentioned that I grew up in a religious household, and that I am 100% a she. However, as I grew up, I began to make friends who were transgender. My mom didn’t teach me what it meant to be trans, if anything she tried to hide that side of the world from me as much as she could. The only information I had about the LGBTQ+ community was that they were going to hell.

I feel like growing up with these belief systems might be correlated with my frequent tendency to use the wrong pronouns when talking to/about trans people. Don’t get me wrong, I have no hate towards trans people nor do I align myself with my mother’s belief that they will be sent straight to hell. However, I strongly believe that growing up sheltered to the trans world is part of the reason I accidentally misgender people.

Sometimes, even if someone tells me which pronouns they prefer, I will mess up. It’s never intentional, it always just seems like that is the way my brain was programmed. This is definitely something I have been trying to work on, but rewiring something that you have been hearing since you were born is a long process that I have just barely started.

My mother was always very adamant about the fact that her first born child was going to be a male. She was so confident, in fact, that she had a Bible engraved with the name Joshua Glenn Sutton. Hi, hello, I’m her first born child and I am, very much, female.

My dad, however, was THRILLED to have a daughter. Growing up, my favorite toys were always stereotypical boy things. Lincoln logs were a big hit, so were hot wheels (that track that had the upside down loop was the best!), and most of all, transformers. As a kid, I didn’t even realize I was playing with “boy” toys, they were just toys to me. My dad and I would always watch Saturday morning cartoons together, and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles were the go-to, 100%.

When my sister was born, she was the most feminine little ball of energy that you could ever imagine. All of the sudden, I found myself constantly playing with dolls, and the play kitchen, and polly pocket makeup. Don’t get me wrong, I am not complaining. The role of “big sister” will always be one of my absolute favorite things.

Since my parents divorced when my sister and I were young, I feel as if I took more of a masculine role in the house, which gave my sister room to be as feminine as she could have ever wanted to be. I often found myself mowing the lawn, or fixing the shed, and repairing the fence after hurricanes. Even though I never really grew up abiding by one specific gender stereotype, and I wasn’t the gender my mother wanted me to be, I am very glad to know that I am female, without a doubt. Does that mean I would change what I was interested in and what roles I took on when I was growing up? Absolutely not.

P.S. I still have the “Joshua Glenn Sutton” Bible

I can not begin to explain the annoyance that washed over me once I realized we will not be finishing the Kinsey movie in class until after all of this hurricane hullabaloo is over. Naturally, Dr. Law left us on a cliffhanger, which is difficult as I am now invested in the characters and anxiously waiting to see how their story plays out. One character that interests me would be Mac, Dr. Kinsey’s wife. In this blog post, I will discuss when in the movie Mac surprised me.

Clara McMillen, or Mac, as her friends called her, was one of Alfred Kinsey’s students. They fell in love, were married, and suddenly hit a road block. After a minor surgery, Kinsey and Mac seemed to have a wonderful sex life, leading to three kids. Kinsey’s life was perfect, until he realized he wanted more than his wife could give. When Kinsey came to Mac to discuss the fact that he had cheated with a man, realized he was bisexual, and wanted to open up the relationship, I was anxious to hear what she would have to say.

As someone who had gotten used to her husband researching sex, and talking to others about their sex life, I assume the news did not come as a surprise. Mac’s choice to accept her husband’s request, however, surprised me. Considering the time period, this request was not common, or something that any woman would enter a marriage expecting. I wonder if Mac agreed to open the relationship because she had already committed so much, and she felt as if she couldn’t say no. After all, he had already started having sex with other people, so there was not much she could do. On the other hand, of course there is the fact that she loved him. Kinsey himself said, “Love is the answer, isn’t it? But sex raises a lot interesting questions.”

I hope that my questions are answered when we finally get to finish the movie and learn more about Kinsey and the rest of his life. Thanks, hurricane Dorian.

Growing up believing in Christianity I was taught that sex was only to be had between a man and a woman. I was also taught to never have sex until I was married. Even though Jesus never specifically addresses the topic of sex or sexuality at all, there seems to be very specific restrictions for followers of the faith. One of the ones that stood out to me was presented by Paul, talking about how believers should not engage in any kind of sexual behavior. When I  heard this it made me believe that I shouldn’t have sex at all. I was also taught and felt the same about sex with somone of the same sex. Since I was homeschooled until college I didn’t really have any formal sexual education. My mother was my sex education teacher growing up, which is why I would consider it as informal education. Since I didn’t have any formal education by a true unbiased sex education teacher, my mother was allowed to project her beliefs on me even more since she was the only source I heard this information from. Since I also wanted to learn information on my own on sex I looked up information on the internet as well. Being brought up Christian there were sexual beliefs that I was constantly reminded of. My parents were very strict on the way they presented there beliefs on sex. The idea of sex only being for reproduction came up again and again. The first time I had sex my perception of it was completely wasn’t what I was taught. I had learned that sex was not only for reproduction but it was for intimacy. Since discovering what sex is meant to be like I now know that it is meant for more than just reproduction.

Be yourself; Everyone else is already taken.

— Oscar Wilde.

This is the first post on my new blog. I’m just getting this new blog going, so stay tuned for more. Subscribe below to get notified when I post new updates.

This is an example post, originally published as part of Blogging University. Enroll in one of our ten programs, and start your blog right.

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