PREFACE (in 2006 to the original 1996 version).
A delightful little booklet, wonderfully naive in its mixture of personal experience and scientific facts, full of fascinating theories.

 

FORWORD
Our story takes place in Europe, a culture where the men are not routinely circumcised.
Around the 1850s, "Mental illness was blamed on tight foreskins, . . as was excessive masturbation" 1 . These phenomena have been misinterpreted and misunderstood, and even today, ideas which bear any resemblance are often considered to be deluded, or "complete nonsense" 2 . If you open your mind, I will attempt to lead you through a minefield of preconceptions.


Please read the Summary, (315 words).

21
Appendix b
AVAILABLE INFORMATION



The three conditions are rarely mentioned, Many books dont mention the subject, (e.g. The Kinsey Report "Sexual Behavior in the Human Male")17 . Talking with nine men was more informative than over a hundred publicly available books in Birmingham and Hamburg, (on male sexuality, child care, psychology, medicine, urology and surgery, even anatomy books). The following examples speak for themselves.

The Kinsey Institute New Report on Sex, says that phimosis and paraphimosis are infections18 . Desmond Morris tells us without any qualification in the best seller Bodywatching: "In fact circumcision has no medical advantages"19 .
Dr. Spock's long term best seller updated "For The Nineties" says "It may take . . some boys . . until adolescence, to have a fully retractable foreskin, but this is no cause for concern."20 .
Alex Comfort in The New Joy of Sex, is vague, but at least he appears to have heard something: "if you aren't circumcised, you need to retract the foreskin fully for cleaning purposes, and if it wont retract beyond the corona all round the glans except at the front, get it seen to . . If it . . is over-tight and gets stuck, get that seen to also. These are about the only things that are commonly wrong with a penis"21 .

In the books which were reviewed none (excepting Dr. Porst and the Kinsey New Report), mentioned the frenulum ripping.


 


 

 

In these latter cases it is not that the individual is consciously aware of any inability to retract the foreskin, he simply does not realise that retracting the foreskin is possible, normal or desirable. He grows accustomed to himself, never questioning nature, and he is unaware that he has any restriction. As a result of being unaware of them, these conditions influence the sexual behaviour in an irrational manner. Emotional responses become confused, and the social behaviour of an individual adapts to this unconscious anatomical restraint.

Note
If the summary is clear, obvious and common sense, you may wish to continue with "Prevention".

Intentions
This essay was inspired by personal experience. However uncomstructive such experiences might be, they belong to life, and omce one truly understands them, they automatoically resolve, and this brings wholeness. This essay was not written as a means of coming to terms with myself, writing scientific essays is an inefficient method of coming to terms with such experiences. I wrote this essay in order to come to terms with the scientific world
My intentions in writing are primarily, to prove the importance of routinely checking every uncircumcised boy, before puberty, for adhesions, phimosis, and the frenulum breve. A second reason is to record aspects of human nature and experience, which have never been scientifically acknowledged. Other reasons will unfold with the pages.

19
ROUTINE CIRCUMCISION ?


An important question for many people is whether routine male circumcision should be practiced or not. Apart from ethnological or religious reasons, I believe the routine practice on boys who have nothing wrong with them is pointless. In an information centred culture it would be much more sensible to routinely check all boys to determine whether a boy needed treatment, and if so, which sort of correction he required.

Anthropology
The text continues with a study of the unsolved mystery of the origin of the practice of routine male circumcision. The following theory has never been considered by anthropologists.

The Theory in Short
The human mind in the late Stone Age, was certainly very different to ours, however their bodies were similar. The possibility is that men in those days also had unpleasant experiences with these conditions. Such men could have had the personal conviction (or deluded fanaticism), to introduce this measure, in order to prevent similar experiences happening to any other member of their family.

The anthropology text is 2,150 words long. It is available on request or through internet.


  

CONTENTS

 

WELCOME

SUMMARY
Contents

(Medical, Anatomical)

THE CONDITIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

1
Adhesions
Phimosis
Frenulum Breve

(Central discussion)
BACKGROUND . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

5

Other men's experiences

THE PASSAGES TO MANHOOD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

7
Puberty Rituals
The Personal Taboo

INDIVIDUAL EXPERIENCES. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

14

PREVENTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

15
Adult Check

Contact . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

17

Routine Circumcision? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

19
Anthropology
Available Information

References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

22


17
2

CONTACT and COMMUNICATION


The Cultural Taboo
I don't wish to argue how high the statistics might be, even at one in a thousand, it is an enormous amount of men and boys who we're talking about . . . Why don't the men speak? . . .


Address to experts
Please consider this booklet before you ignore me or diagnose my case and ideas as a delusion.


General address
What is needed is a change of cultural consciousness about circumcision. If you understand the story so far, and find yourself agreeing with this first part, please spread the word about this essay. I am interested in any form of response. I'd particularly appreciate contact with anyone who can suggest how to express such matters, in a simpler or more efficient way. Do you know any doctors, psychologists, or medical authorities to send this to?


 





For the adolescent, the effect when erect, is similar to trying to take a T-shirt off by pulling it down. During intercourse, when the narrowness is extreme, (depending also on the degree of lubrication and openness of the vagina), the foreskin can ruffle up, to form a barrier.
If it is possible to retract the foreskin, with a partial phimosis, the passage over the coronal ridge of the glans may be painful, the abrasion may cause inflammations and as the process continues these may lead to infections. There is also the danger of a secondary condition called paraphimosis : when the foreskin is held trapped behind the glans, this is a medical emergency. There are also some mild degrees, which are unnoticeable when flaccid.

Statistics
If the statistics were only 1%, this would be too many.
Medical Studies
Medical attention is concentrated on phimosis, because with a phimosis cleaning is severely hindered, and the area between the foreskin and glans offers an ideal environment for disease and bacterial infection. In a study of "3,000 young men, mostly of an age between 18 and 22 . ." (all over 16) " . . A phimosis was found in 8.8%" 6. A second study was on schoolboys between the ages of 14 and 19. Examining if "the foreskin could be retracted only with difficulty or with pain", it was found among "229 youths that 20 had these problems. This corresponds to a frequency of 8.7%" 7.

Age Groups
In one study specifically on congenital phimosis, the operation was performed on 40 men at the following ages8.

age :
patients :
before 10
4
10-20
15
20-30
10
30-40
7
40-60
2
over 70
2

15
4

PREVENTION

It will be necessary to confirm this section with medical specialists, however until this happens, the following guide lines might be helpful for parents. A piece of advice which is sometimes given is not to force anything.

The Best Way to Check
Parents have asked me : If a boy is (unsexually) playing with his erect penis (e.g. during changing at two years old) does this mean that he's healthy? Yes. Simply look : Is the foreskin moving freely? Is the frenulum at all restictive?

Adhesions
Throughout the first three years of a boy's life the area between the foreskin and glans may be sealed by the natural adhesions. By the third year the adhesions should have released of their own accord. Forcing adhesions will cause pain, therefore they need attention from a urologist. Has anyone ever tried to devise a solvent for adhesions?

Phimosis
After the third year, the foreskin may be moveable, but if it still can not be pulled back, a degree of phimosis is indicated. Don't use any force, this can easily lead to secondary problems. A visit to the urologist is necessary.

Frenulum Breve
When flaccid or erect the frenulum breve pulls the glans downward, as the foreskin is retracted to its full extent16, (when flaccid this causes no pain, when erect force may cause the frenulum to rip). This condition calls for an incredibly simple operation, (in exactly the same place where it otherwise rips).


 




Though a circumcision cures the frenulum breve, leaving it little or nothing to pull on, the incision it is seen to require, is a specific one. The frenulum plastic (please confirm the English name) is a surgically insignificant operation, probably the smallest of all, it is generally performed as an out-patient. An Urologist said he operates "approximately once a month, . . basically the average age group is around 17 to 27 years old" 9.

WHEN THE FRENULUM RIPS
"Among a percentage of men" the frenulum is too short "so that on erection it tightens to its limit, and then can even rip. . . . a moment of great alarm follows for both participants at the resultant bleeding" 10. Such incidents are "not unusual"11 . Sometimes it rips on the first sexual encounter, often later, sometimes it rips partially, and sometimes twice. My research showed from three cases of ripping, that two had not informed their doctors, (it heals spontaneously). There is reason to believe that this is occurring at a far greater frequency than the medical profession realises.

General Notes
One woman described a man who was always soft inside her until ejaculation when it hurt him, he was aware that the frenulum caused this pain. One man who was aware of the frenulum being too tight, simply advised his girl-friends not to touch him there. It appears some of the men with this condition do have an awareness of it, problems being caused mostly by the lack of information about the possibility of an improvement.
When the frenulum breve is combined with a partial phimosis, this can lead to further complications. Some of these partial degrees of phimosis are impossible to check for when flaccid, this is the conclusive reason for the frenulum also being checked and treated before puberty.

13
6



When the fundamental anatomy involved in being a man is inhibited, this is bound to have consequences. The problems would combine with and exaggerate any other disturbances. At the very least, these conditions could never support and would always undermine fulfillment and sexual confirmation as a man.
The ability to share and satisfy himself and others is restricted. His intimacy with his own body reflects in any and every close relationship. When the magic of a man is unconsciously in a state of bondage, who can say exactly where this may lead his sexual energy?

Note
Though a little melodramatic, the only reported case history I have found comes from Bryk, an anthropologist. He writes "the whole schizoid inferiority complex of a young man, could be traced to his inability to manually uncover his glans." The young man "suffered from a congenital phimosis, which he unfortunately recognised too late,"15 .


CONCLUSION
It appears that in today's European culture, there are a percentage of men who experience an initiation ritual, which is definitely more ignorant and sometimes more bizarre than any of the ancient rituals which Stone Age man practised.
Among all the problems which people have, this must be one of the most ignored and the easiest to solve. These genital conditions must be very simply checked and prevented in childhood.


 


Urologists and surgeons are only aware of the practicalities: a man experiences pain difficulty or tension, and this requires a very small routine operation.

Psychological
Years previously I had consulted psychologists with a collection of anatomical, sexual, psychological and social symptoms. I was advised that to understand such problems would involve a long process of sorting out childhood difficulties.
I never thought about consulting a surgeon or urologist about these behavioural disturbances, because our cultural knowledge interprets such matters in terms of upbringing, environment and psychology.
Psychologists seem to have no awareness of the possibility that these anatomical conditions can lead to sexual, and thus psychological and social problems. A connection between psychology and this aspect of circumcision has apparently never been established.

OTHER MEN'S EXPERIENCES (My Sample Group)
At first I thought my situation must be a complete rarity. It was astonishing to question around fifty men over their experiences, six of these had personal experience of one or other of the congenital conditions at or after puberty. Altogether my direct sample group consists of nine men, I heard indirectly (mostly through women) of another fifteen cases. All the experiences are described, not one experience disagrees with my descriptions.
The experiences at puberty and the difficulties encountered by love making are fairly well documented. They are consciously anatomically painful for the sufferer and therefore easy to explain.
The more advanced behavioural experiences are not only difficult to describe, but also, here I have spoken with so few other cases. I cannot prove anything concerning these men, and therefore, I would argue that the conscious experiences at puberty and during love making, are occurring frequently enough, to make it worthwhile checking every child, previous to such problems occurring.
11
8



I have had about twenty intimate affairs. Melting in love by cuddling was an experience which often left me feeling confirmed as a person, however among many other funny feelings, confidence in my manhood was always lacking. I realise that psychology books have described many reasons for sexual inhibitions and the lack of confirmation in one's sexuality, however the effects of these conditions are mentioned nowhere.
At this point, my personal recommendation is to read the section on behavioural symptoms, (on page 14). Unfortunately these subjective functional difficulties scientifically prove very little, therefore, the following section offers an analysis.
The situation we will consider is a man who has only to a limited degree if ever, acknowledged his phallus. There is no suggestion that men should be arrogantly or obsessively phallic.

ANALYSIS
In cases of my kind an analysis is relatively simple. If an individual avoids pain or difficulty (at an unconscious level), this results in an anxiety or apprehensiveness (at an unconscious level). When his experience of masculinity is mixed with an unconscious anxiety how can he develop a realistic sense of confidence or pride as a sexually confirmed male?
The following attempt at a general analysis, in addition to further describing my own case, may also help to explain the effects on a man with an extreme phimosis.
When the foreskin is fastened, restrained or harnessed, its movement relative to the glans is inhibited. What could be a more direct inhibition of the sexuality than on the phallus itself? When this anatomical restriction is unrecognised and remains unconscious, it is bound to lead to sexual confusion and provide a basis for social and psychological problems.



 




THE PERSONAL TABOO
A great number of people have asked me "Why did it take you so long to discover?" To summarise an answer, it is normal and healthy for an individual to avoid pain and difficulty, and people develop habits. From an analytical point of view, this lack of awareness is probably stimulated by uncomfortable experiences previous to puberty, a learned experience of difficulty at puberty, this being reinforced after puberty.

ORIGINS
There are hundreds of different degrees and combinations of these three conditions, some are possibly psychologically harmless, while others are more dangerous. It seems that the imminence of pain from adhesions always leads to their discovery at puberty. The frenulum breve and phimosis are often discovered later. It may be an exaggeration, but one surgeon tells us "men between 20 and 30 years old" - with a frenulum breve or phimosis - "always complain that the operation was neglected in childhood"13 .
In my own case, at the age of eleven when I retracted the foreskin on the erect penis, it sprang forward again, it was uncomfortable, pointless and (when unlubricated) it was painful. I did not question this, I thought this was normal. At the age of twenty eight, after consulting literature on circumcision, I checked myself, I had forgotten the unlubricated sensation of pain at puberty, and on this occasion the foreskin retracted without any pain or difficulty, (and naturally sprang forward again). The idea that my condition was a normal and healthy one, was thus confirmed.
Men with an extreme phimosis apparently never notice any sensation of pain or difficulty, they simply find retraction impossible. In many cases, the individual is not consciously aware of any inability to retract the foreskin, it is simply not desirable.