I'm writing this blog because of an extensive facebook debate with three guys who are "friends of a friend" and didn't like their friend posting a blog about how circumcision hurts babies. Each of the guys attempted to make a point about why he felt the way he did but, interestingly enough, all 3 of them mentioned that they themselves were circumcised and did not think it was a big deal. I admitted that my own feelings of anger and loss about my circumcision came AFTER my wife and I decided to leave my son intact which basically forced me to think about what I was missing every time I changed the little lad's diaper! However, I think it's important to connect with guys who are not yet dads who think circumcision is "not a big deal." If you are one of those guys please read on and follow the instructions carefully so you can be absolutely SURE that you don't mind being circumcised. If you are not one of those guys please read on anyway as you can share this exercise with male friends who report to you that they do not mind being circumcised.
1) Take out your penis and look at it. You know that ring around your penis that is a little darker than the rest of the skin on your penis? Do you ever wonder about what that is? Sadly I used to think that was somehow part of the anatomy of a penis, that it was supposed to look that. Um no. That is a scar from where we were circumcised. Just like any part of you body, making a deep cut and removing tissue creates scar tissue. Don't know about you but I'm not a huge fan of having a scarred penis.
2) Now, grasp the loose skin just below your scar with your thumb and forefinger on either side of your shaft and gently pull the skin over your glans/head. How easy this is for you to do is closely related to how much skin the doctor or mohel cut off of you as an infant during your circumcision.
3) Still grasping the skin, use one of your middle fingers to gently press down on the glans. Again, depending on how much skin you have you may be able to almost completely cover your glans with skin.
4) Look down at your covered glans. This is how you were born. This is how your body was created by your DNA, or God if you are religious. It's not gross or weird though many people try to described intact penises this way. It's kind of like a sheathe for your mighty sword.
5) If you were intact and had that skin covering your glans, your glans would be MUCH more sensitive. Without that foreskin your glans is left to chafe on your diaper, pants, etc. your entire life until the poor thing has about as much sensation as your elbow. Touch your glans, erect or not doesn't matter. Now touch the middle of the arch on your bare foot. Doesn't it seem odd your foot is more sensitive than your sex organ? For intact men this is NOT the case.
6) Do you use lubricant, saliva, etc to masturbate? Most circumcised men do. If you were intact not only would your glans be more sensitive but your penis would secrete natural lubricant to help with sex and masturbation. Also, the extra skin would provide you with additional "rolling" stimulation of your glans. Unfortunately for us who are circumcised our glans only understands THRUST, REMOVE, now repeat. Most intact guys don't use/need lubricant for vaginal sex and masturbation.
If you've done/thought about all this and STILL feel like circumcision was a "good thing" for you, that's great (I guess) but before you go removing part of your son's body without his consent review the above list again and consider whether you are comfortable altering your son's anatomy and future sexual experiences for the sake of cultural tradition, to look like you, or to supposedly prevent diseases he will STILL need a condom to protect himself from.
If you've done these exercises and are now pissed this was done to you without your consent, don't dispair. You can, eventually, restore your foreskin if you want to. Stay tuned for future blogs or check out www.tlctugger.com
Speaking as a woman who has had both a circumcised penis and a restored penis. There is a huge difference in lubrication and sexual pleasure with the restored penis it's a lot more fun!
ReplyDeleteAnother test for circumcised men is to run a fingertip lightly across the back of one hand. Then run the fingertip lightly across the palm of the hand. Feel the difference.
ReplyDeleteLastly, run a fingertip lightly on the penis. Are there any spots as sensitive as the palm of your hand? If so good. Treasure it. If not, then you identified one of the harms of circumcision. The nerves in the palm are the same type of nerves that are in the foreskin. Those types of nerves are concentrated in the tip of the foreskin (which is always removed during a circumcision) and on the inner foreskin surface. Over time, the penis develops a tough layer to protect the sensitive tissue from rubbing against clothing.
I can confirm every word by restoringtally, whether the doctor who removed my foreskin knew what would happen to my penis and its performance, I don't know. If he did, he was evil, if he did not, he was ignorant. At the age of 65, my penis is only good for urinating with.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much. I have said to my friends many times before that I don't understand why the first generation circumcised in this country wasn't the last generation circumcised in this country. My experience growing up as a circumcised male has been so negative, I can't understand how you could wish this condition on your worst enemy, let alone your newborn child.
ReplyDeleteThe only thing the Uganda studies have proven is that having unprotected sex with prostitutes is a really bad idea, especially in Uganda.
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ReplyDeleteI'm a 20 year old male and I just found out I'm circumcised and by the way I never really knew what that word meant xD. I guess It was done at birth because I don't remember and most if not all who get it done as newborns probably wouldn't remember either but I just saw a uncircumcised penis or "penises" rather and they look like some kind of alien life form, I'm so glad I'm circumcised. I noticed a scar on my penis when I was around 12 I wasn't concerned but I think If I had some loose skin on my penis I would definitely be concerned. You can hardly notice the circumcision scar now, It does clear up It's really not that big of a deal.
DeleteBut if I do have children I might let them decide, but then again It really does look ugly and I would be even more afraid to talk to ladies If I was uncircumcised and I'm already shy as hell. I also read Its cleaner and healthier to be circumcised I think this discovery has made me more confident beyond measures.
While like everyone else you are entitled to your opinion about what is "ugly" I don't think anyone should have the right to remove a healthy, important part of a child's body to make that baby appear less "ugly" to them. I hope you do let your child decide how his genitalia should look. You certainly wouldn't give your daughter breast augmentation to make her more "beautiful" would you? All babies are born perfect and deserve to be protected from people who want to cut, mutilate, alter, or otherwise molest parts of their sexual anatomy.
DeleteThe only part that pisses me off is the new stigma starting (uncut is soooo much better than cut) so now I'm being punished for something I had no say in....I told my mom I'd my 2 cents didny get so much as an apology then told her I wanted to restor then she made a snide comment and laughed but like I said the ones that comment on how much better uncut is fail to realise the uncut ones have a choice good for them we don't so some of us feel like crap because we may not be able to "please" them
ReplyDeleteI can absolutely relate to what you're saying here speaking as a circumcised man myself. I've been very selective about who I talk to in my personal life about restoration because of the fear of such uninformed and hurtful comments. The thing to remember is the people who are part of mutilating a child's genitalia, be it the parents, the doctor, or the mohel, they don't what to admit what they're doing to that child. They don't want to face how circumcision hurts infants and the adults they become and their families. When they're confronted they typically resort to teasing and invalidation that's more akin to schoolyard bullying than a logical argument. I can promise you that you will find more support if you seek out other men who are restoring as well as men and women who support the fight against circumcision. The links at the right of my blog are a good start and there are also many great groups on Facebook devoted to providing support and a forum for restoring men to dialogue with others who understand what they're going through.
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