Tom, a boy of 10 is chasing and teasing his slightly older sister through the lush winding growth of their grandmothers backyard garden. It’s a hot, muggy late Summer day. Wearing nothing but shorts, he teases his sister about having to wear a shirt. Barefoot and sun baked Julie swirled around putting up her hand just as it made contact with Toms bare chest, stopping him mid-step. She starts teasing him back “well tease me as much as you want, at least I’m not a boy and I don’t need to be fixed!!”
“What do you mean I don’t need anything fixed, I’m perfect! grandma tell Julie to stop lying!”
Their grandmother over by her roses simply asks the two to join her.
“Julie, you shouldn’t joke about this with Tommy, it’s a very sensitive thing boys need to go through.”
Go through what? Tommy asked.
Grandma sighed. Putting down her rose shears onto the rich, dark earth and picking up a garden knife.
“You see Tommy, all boys need to be pruned, kind of like my flowers here. If these flowers could grow wild, then they wouldn’t do what I need them to do.
Grandma pulled two mushrooms out of the ground. One was just an orb shape, the other a traditional mushroom with a flared head. With her garden knife she cut the orb mushroom in half and presented them to Tommy.
“You see how the head on this one is flared and this other one is more like your penis Tommy, with everything seamless inside.” When you prune a boy’s penis before puberty it causes the head of the penis to flare out into a defined ridge like the second mushroom. But if we leave it covered it will never get that definition.” It will be overgrown, and it’s growth restricted like a tree choking by its own roots.
Boys are special you see, if you prune them at the right age they grow up to be different, some would say better. It’s a surgery called circumcision where your foreskin is cut away. But it’s very important to cut as much of it away as possible that isn’t necessary for a penis’s main purpose.
Tommy stood barefoot, legs set widely apart. His mouth open, slightly surprised, mushrooms in his dirt dusted hands. Nervous, doubting, but curious. To his right stood Julie with a mischievous grin creeping across her face.
“And it will make your penis less sensitive!” Julie yelped out justified after an afternoon of teasing from her little brother.
“Julie! That’s enough!!” Grandmother wondering if Julie had been too young to have the purpose and methods of circumcision be fully explained to her.
Tommy’s mind went back to late night sessions where he pulled and twisted on his foreskin, and remember how good it felt.
“But what if I like my foreskin!”
“Tommy” grandma said warmly as she placed her hands on his bare chest to calm him.
“If you were any plant in my garden, your purpose would be to flower brightly for our enjoyment. Wouldn’t you want to be the best plant you could be?” Don’t you want to become the best kind of man for society?
Tommy looked up at a budding rose, it’s petals still twisted, spiraling inward, still light in hue. Nothing but the potential of what was to come. In its twisted rosy bud he was reminded of his own foreskin, and he felt this sudden yearning inside, to be able to see his penis bloom naturally like that rose will.
“...and that is why you will be circumcised.” missing part of his grandmothers statements in his own thoughts.
“I don’t want my penis to be less sensitive, I like the way it is.”
“I know, I know” as she ushered him towards her roses. “Look how beautiful they are, look how strong they are. Do you think they like it when I cut their leaves?”
Tommy shook his head slightly.
“You may not understand this now, but your penis isn’t for you. Just as these flowers beauty isn’t for them. They go through the pain and mutilation of pruning so we can appreciate their beauty. They sacrifice what they are to serve a different purpose. If you are a male, it’s always been seen as your role, and duty for you to serve society before yourself.
Tommy looked uncertain, so Grandma continued. Remember when you said last year you wanted to be a soldier for Halloween? Well men are made soldiers because it’s traditionally their role. But soldiers are made to do things they might not like, but they do it anyway because its honorable.
What you are, what you want is secondary. Yes it’s true women’s roles use to be about serving men, but thankfully we are moving beyond that side of things now. But not all traditions should change I don’t believe.
If your penis is less sensitive, and has a more flared head like those mushrooms you will make a girl very happy one day. These flowers are for you to appreciate their beauty, and your penis is for a woman’s pleasure, not yours. But that’s ok, when you are older you will understand why that’s important.”
Julie had already run off to woods behind grandmothers property, restricted by her shirt but free from the worry Tommy faced. Tommy had turned around to follow, not sure how he felt about all this. But he stopped, and asked “So when will you take away my foreskin?” When will I be pruned?”
The grandmother gave a soft laugh, “I don’t do that the doctor will. Don’t worry about when, just know it will happen when it’s time, and it will be for the best. She will cut you nice and tight and it will grow into a new shape. You will grow to like it very much, you will be proud of what it will do. But its also ok if you don't like it too, just know its important to do no matter what. Try not to think about it, and go off and play in the wildflowers with your sister while you still can.”
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