[ ARC forum 2 ]
Still attached
As an answer to: that bit thats attached written by marlo at 28 Sep 2002 16:37:01:
> i recently found out i have phimosis, though im pretty sure i dont have the ring,
You misunderstand. The "ring" is not some pathological or abnormal structure that only occurs if you have phimosis, but rather the normal narrow (and elastic) part of the foreskin. In general, if you have phimosis, this "ring" is simply too small because it has not been encouraged to grow to match the shaft of the penis, and that simply because it has not been retracted since childhood.
It is a growth problem above anything else, though it may also tighten because of chronic irritation, generally "thrush" as you would see I have described here on more than one occasion.
> i havnt experienced pain, and am definatly noticing results,
This indicates that you are approaching the matter in a sensible fashion.
> anyway, just under the peehole is this sort of string of skin that attaches to the foreskin
Like this?
> i dont know what its called
English-speakers call it the "fraenulum", while the Americans spell it "frenulum".
> i noticed uncircumcised people dont have it
The picture above is of a normal uncircumcised penis. The rest of the set are here and whichever you wish to inspect in detail, you can find full size on this page.
> the wonders of porno!
Please take care never, ever to forget, that "porno" does not represent normal sexual behaviour. In particular, few women who have not been systematically sexually abused from childhood (and few of those in any case), exhibit the openness about sexuality that most pornography depicts. (You can tell this from the frequency of tattooes.)
Further, the vast majority of pornography relies on emphasis of genitals (no surprise there!), and therefore selects with favour the largest and most prominent features (for both sexes).
In particular, it will in general be difficult to determine from pornography, whether any detail is either common or has functional benefit - everything is acting. In particular, if you meant to say that circumcised men (in pornography) don't show a fraenulum, well, that might be true sometimes, but not always.
> i managed to get my foreskin behind the top of the glans (underside) and noticed that the stringy part almost appeared invisible, i think it sort have popped into a little position.
And if it was not painful - great! Do it again - and again - and again. It will become just a tiny bit easier each time, eventually it will work just fine.
> i just want to totally make sure that this is normal?
If it matches the picture(s) (and I am sure it does), it is fine. If it does not, tell us how?
> and also is there any risk of breaking this part?
Yes, but dependent on how hard you stretch, and how delicate it is. If it breaks, it breaks. Go do some research (could be difficult, given the amount of porn about) on a woman's "hymen" - it is reputed (traditionally, less so in modern times) to break during intercourse, and this is regarded as a Good Thing. The fraenulum is very much the same.
> i am going to continue stretching as it definatly seems to be effective,
Oh yes!
> if i use a condom during intercourse would that help in preventing paraphimosis?
A condom worn during intercourse is to minimise risk of exchanging STDs (Sexually Transmitted Diseases). You should use one every time. You should also ensure your partner is using effective contraception as you undoubtedly do not wish to wear the term "Daddy!" just yet.
Paraphimosis is an entirely separate and different matter, and if you have been reading here (it's back in the archives, you must read more than just the current page), you should understand it by now. Suffice it to say, that you are not at risk of it from your description.