Thanks for this! 😁 It really was just a joke for dramatic effect; don't take it too seriously. Please ignore it if you don't like it.
But if you want to discuss this issue academically, data and time periods don't always accurately reflect individual experiences, and we need to consider class and social background. During the 1880s and 90s, physicians began to use circumcision on infants as a preventive operation. So, Edward would most likely to be the only Cullen male circumcised?Middle and upper-class people were more open to circumcision due to medical recommendations as it became associated with upper/middle-class cleanliness and preventive health care. Edward was most likely born in a hospital and then circumcised for the purpose of pediatric care to prevent disease (one of the 30 percent in 1900s)
Now, let's consider the fact that Emmett was born into a Scotch-Irish family of hunters. He was most likely born at home in 1915 without easy access to physicians or regular professional medical care. Moreover, circumcision was not religiously necessary for him. According to the official guide: "He had what his parents considered a wild adolescence; never one to worry about consequences, Emmett ran with a wild crowd that drank, gambled, and womanized." His parents were not strict enough to care about the need to prevent him from masturbating, nor was the cost of circumcision a necessary expense.
Yes, Esme would likely not be surprised. For Esme, she probably heard about how many people were or were not circumcised. But compared to the numbers, the visual image determines whether or not she'd be curious to stare at Carlisle's genitals the first time around. The question then becomes: is Carlisle's similar to her ex-husband's? We don't know much about Charles Evenson's background, and it's unlikely that he was circumcised as an infant. What about undergoing the surgery as a young adult? Was it possible that he was stupid enough to think that being circumcised would reduce the risk of sexually transmitted infections or that he developed inflammation or infections of the penis? Other than that, he should be uncircumcised. Anyway, it's just an evil headcanon of mine that I kinda like: crazy Evenson who had penis problems and suffers from a crisis of masculinity got himself circumcised, and Esme stared at Carlisle's penis that is completely different from her ex-husband's in terms of shape, length, girth…😈
Haha, Carlisle certainly wouldn't bite off his foreskin! You're right he had no excuse to do so. Another joke/headcanon of mine is: when the trend emerged in the 1880s and 1890s, and into the 1920s when it started to become a common medical procedure, and when Carlisle frequently saw articles and advertisements recommending the procedure, would he have wondered what it would look like if he had been circumcised? How should this procedure be performed if a vampire has phimosis? It looks like teeth might be the only option…💀