(stern look, points at word processing program)

vw, go right your paper RIGHT THIS INSTANT YOUNG LADY!!!

I'm so sorry, Nora. I didn't mean to impugn the numminess of Tom or your good taste in finding him utterly lovable and desirable (or anyone finding any uncut Buffista man utterly lovable and desirable, because they all are).

I chose my words incredibly poorly, and probably also clumsily misrepresented my friend's thoughts. I'm pretty certain she's had both great, fun frivolous sex and extremely unfrivolous, loving lovemaking with cut and uncut men; her decision to circumcise her son was based on the way one aesthetic and hygeinic element of the whole complicated package of gender and sexuality pinged her. All else being equal, she made that decision for her son, but she wouldn't withhold her own self, her love or her body from any man on the basis of that one element.

I'm really, really sorry. I feel terrible for having said all this in a way that made you feel defensive and angry and protective about your love for Tom. That was a shitty, un-friendful thing to do. I'll go back and delete everything if you want -- just say the word.

Get cracking VW, we're all counting on you!

Someone has to get something done today. It's clearly not going to be me, so I nominate vw.

That is fascinating, vw. Go write it so I can read it!

vw is pretty and nice.

I chose my words incredibly poorly,

Yeah, lot of that going around this morning.

So I'm all self-conscious about my user name now. Robert was Buff Diving, and commented "I just don't like seeing your name as Raquel." I was puzzled, and said, "But it's my name." He said, "No, your name is Rachel." "Yeah, but everybody calls me Raquel. Or Raq. YOU call me Raq." "Only when I'm writing your name. Think about it - I know when we met everyone else called you Raquel, but have I ever used that name?" (He hasn't....he doesn't use Rachel that much either.) "I just think Raquel's an extremely unlovely name, and Raq is unpleasant." "Uh, what about Rachel? Can I still be Rachel?" "Yes, Rachel's a nice name."

I'm not really sure how to take this. I mostly get that it's a measure of how much he doesn't think of me by my name, but...a little unsettling. Is this what a mid-life crisis looks like? Is this his way of wanting me to be someone else? Or is that my own paranoia/depression talking?

Anyway, I'm totally weirded out, so if you guys are tired of talking about circumcision, you can pick a new user name for me.

One example, I would think, is people who, as adults, have the attitude of "Yeah, I'm [insert religion here], because that's how I was raised, damn it!"

But isn't that more identity than faith? I mean, that's an entirely different statement than, "I believe [insert belief here] because I was raised to believe it."

you can pick a new user name for me.

Crash Bandicoot.

Sorry, I spun the mental Rolodex, and that flew out. Alternately, we have Zorababbel.

Didn't someone cite a kid who was circumcised as a pre-teen and thought wanking was more fun before?

That was me. Turkish born boyfriend circed at 13.

Doesn't condom use mitigate the bulk of the increase in HPV risk?

I've been with two uncircumcised men. Both, as all men ought, showered in a timely fashion before they had sex with me. Presumably, as all men ought, if they went pottie subsequently they performed a quick penie-tidy as well. Johns may not be as concerned, dunno personally.

I've read that instructions to pull back a baby's foreskin can be too vigorous which can cause irritation -- that it would be analagous to spreading similar bits on a baby girl and giving a good hard scrub on a regular basis. Just wipe boy bits clean and check for detrus like girl bits.

There are some Jews who knick the foreskin in a bris rather than the full peel in the name of preserving sensitivity. I wish I could find that link.