[ ARC forum 2 ]
Written by Geoff B at 26 Dec 2004 09:47:34: Re: My Circumcision Situation
As an answer to: My Circumcision Situation written by Josh B at 25 Dec 2004 02:50:19:
Dear Josh,
I read your message yesterday and it made me feel sad. I didn't have time to write back till now. You must be in the USA as you would not be in the minority at your age in any other english-speaking country on the planet. I suspect that you will find that some of the others hiding under towels are intact like you.
When I was growing up in Australia circumcision was the norm but now less than one in five boys is cut. I was circumcised at birth but happened to have uncut mates. When I was about 13 I had a wanking session with one of them. That is when I got an idea of why it might be more fun to have a foreskin. It was so much easier to wank him using all that skin. The fact is that every guy, cut or intact, uses what skin he has to masturbate with or he uses a lubricant or does it dry (though this can cause some damage to a cut penis). Circumcision was actually introduced into western countries as an anti-masturbation measure. (When they talked abot hygiene back in the 19th century in regard to circumcision they meant mental hygiene.) That gliding action of the foreskin can also act like extra lube during sex. You see this in European porn. The guy will actually pull his skin forward as he enters to make it easier to slide in.
I think Andrew B. has written you a good answer. As he says you have to be very sure about this. So please look into it very carefully. The USA is a very pro-circumcision culture and doctors there do not think there are any disadvantages to circumcision but many people now believe there are lots.
In a one on one situation with a girl she may not even realise that you are intact. Unless you know about foreskin anatomy an erect, intact penis looks much the same as a circumcised one, particularly in low light. In some surveys of married women a large proportion were wrong about whether their husband was circumcised or intact. I have a very close friend who is intact and during a discussion about circumcision I witnessed his wife ask him if he was circumcised or not! So I wouldn't be too worried about being intact with a girl. If she questions it she will probably just be curious. You can truthfully say that no medical organisation in the world now recommends routine circumcision and that you are careful to keep yourself clean. Smegma collects in the folds of girls' genitalia too and a foreskin is just as easy to clean or easier. Many girls actually find a foreskin a turn on and love playing with it once they get used to it.
If you are worried about the locker room why don't you see if you can train your foreskin to stay back? Quite a lot of guys in the US, worried about the appearence of their penis in a circumcised society manage to do this. There is a post titled "autocircumcision" about this just below your thread.
I came to really resent being circumcised and there is not much I can do about it. So be glad that you have been given the choice but be very careful it's what you really want. I had to seek counselling and found sites like Fathermag helpful.
In the course of trying to deal with my pain I have seen hundreds of posts on various boards. Some guys circumcised as adults seem to be happy and have an easy time adjusting. But some hate the result, missing their foreskin for masturbation and sex and some suffer with swelling or sensitivity for a couple of months. I think you could count on a week of bandages and a month or two before you can play sport or masturbate again.
I have also seen heaps of posts from guys who didn't like having a foreskin when they were young. But once they were grown up and had started having sex they became extremely grateful that they still had one.
Lastly I would like to say from my own experience and from past youth work that at your age it seems like school will go on forever. In fact you only have a year or two to go (I don't know what age school finishes in the US) and that will pass vey quickly. Once you are an adult you won't be in a situation where you have to change with a class of guys you know nearly as often and if you do nobody will have the guts to comment. It seems sad to me that you are thinking of getting 15 square inches of sensitive skin cut off your penis just to save a year or so of embarassment. If nobody has commented on you not showing your penis so far just keep hiding it and enjoy what you have in private.
This site makes the case for intactness very strongly http://www.circumstitions.com/index.html#information . It also lists famous intact men http://www.circumstitions.com/Famous-map.html . I can't get links to work on this site so highlight the link, press Ctrl c, then delete the address in your browser's address window, press Ctrl v and then press the enter key. That's on a PC I don't know how to do that on a Mac.
I hope what I have said is some help to you. I don't want to critise but really hope you think about it carefully first. This issue polarises opinion and some people have a sexual fetish for circumcised or intact states. There are some wierdos who seem to get sexual thrills about the actual surgery (circlist). So it is very hard to get unbiased information.
All the best,
Geoff>First of all I'd like to thank those that run and moderate this site, I know AJ mods it but other than that I'm not sure. I've read through alot of this forum, and if this has been adressed already I apologize. Here is my situation:
>I am merely 17 years old and am a captain of my swim team at school(I am in grade 11) In the locker rooms I will not fully undress in front of team mates, rather I will wrap a towel around my waist and dress like that. I guess I'm just embaressed. I'm not the only person who does this, but I dont think the other kids do it for the same reason as me, which is to merely avoid the comments about the fact that I am not circumcised. I have had 1 long term girlfriend in which I received Oral sex once, but didnt even get off simply because I was embaressed. I'm not going to go into details on the situation but I'm sure you get the picture, hehe. I am, not to sound like an ass, a pretty popular guy and theres nothing I'd like more that to have a great time fooling around with girls and what not. I was thinking that after swim season, I would look into getting an examination and quote for a circumcision. I have absolutely no medical problems whatsoever, this is more of a selfconcious thing. So i guess here are my questions, please do not flame me for my young age or extreme case of being selfconciousness. Thanks everyone! Here goes:
>1.) Will I be able to go about everyday life (going to class, etc.) without it being obvious that I have had this operation done?
>2.) Are the scars afterwards gross looking (after swelling has gone down and it is more in its "permanent" state)?
>3.) What kind of circumcision would I ask for if I want it to have the "I've had it circumcized since birth" kind of thing?
>4.)After the surgery how long will I have to sit out of sports, because I do participate in a spring Lacrosse team, but I'm willing to take time off for this?
>If i have anymore I'll be sure to post them. Thanks alot everyone I really appreciate this. Merry Christmas.