Circumcision and the foreskin

How many men are circumcised?

In the UK, only a small minority of boys are routinely circumcised at birth (probably around 1%). The same is true in Australia and most other enlightened Western countries. Most circumcisions are performed because an ignorant health care practitioner has misdiagnosed phimosis. Note: a ballooning foreskin when a baby urinates does not indicate phimosis - it is normal!

The functions of the foreskin

It is full of touch receptors which are necessary for full sexual pleasure.

It protects the sensitive glans penis.

It moves smoothly during sexual intercourse or masturbation and there is evidence that it provides both partners with more sexual pleasure than the would otherwise experience. (This comes from a study of women who had had sexual partners with and without foreskins. There was a preference among these sexually experienced women for sexual partners whose penis was natural. The reason seems to be that a circumcised penis acts to remove natural vaginal lubrication, whereas the movement of the foreskin in the vagina keeps sex lubricated and therefore more satisfying for both partners.)

This is the structure of the foreskin

 Copyright Intactivism. Used by permission.

So what's the problem with circumcision?

Well, we have no right to take away the sexual pleasure of babies, as happens with routine post-natal circumcision. If you have been circumcised and you're saying, "But I get plenty of sexual pleasure!" the rather obvious answer is - do you have any idea how it would feel to be uncircumcised? Try this post circumcision sensitivity test.

As far as the question of vaginal lubrication, to which we referred above, is concerned, consider the following research findings by two scientists.

Among 138 sexually experienced women 86% said they preferred a non-circumcised sexual partner.

These women said that circumcised men were more likely to experience premature ejaculation and less likely to make them come during intercourse through vaginal thrusting. These are major differences, and if they really represent the pleasure and success of sex for women, then circumcised men and their partners are at a serious disadvantage.

The women also claimed that their vaginal secretions dissipated more quickly during sex with the circumcised men and that they found intercourse less pleasurable, with more friction. Although you might say that the addition of lube would solve this problem, that's not quite the point. The point is that men who are circumcised have a number of problems in making intercourse pleasurable for their partners.

Another major difference reported by these women was the style of thrusting employed by circumcised and uncircumcised men. Over three quarters of the women said that circumcised men used longer, harder and faster thrusts, while men with a complete penis used more gentle strokes, thrust more shallowly, and were in contact with the clitoris and pubic mound more. The implication here is that the removal of the touch sensors in the foreskin of the circumcised men left them unable to gauge the depth and power of their thrusts, or that they needed to engage in more vigorous intercourse to achieve the same level of pleasure, and perhaps also that they lacked feedback on when they were approaching orgasm - thereby meaning they came sooner, and experienced more premature ejaculation.

The authors concluded that the near universal preference for uncircumcised men as sexual partners was because the mechanism of movement of the complete penis is very different to the way the uncircumcised penis moves in the vagina.

In an intact penis, the corpus cavernosa and corpus spongiosum slide within the penile skin, while the skin next to the vaginal wall moves very little. This means the penis is thrusting within its own sheath of skin, with very little friction and very little loss of vaginal lube.

Taking this further, when the penis is withdrawn slightly from the vagina, the foreskin bunches up behind the coronal ridge, so that the tip of the foreskin (with its high density of sensitive nerve endings) is in contact with the coronal ridge of the glans (which also has a high density of nerve endings). This produces high levels of nerve activity, so much so that the man stops his outward stroke, and therefore his thrusting style is shorter and more sensitive than that of the circumcised man.

When there is no moveable sheath of skin, as in the circumcised penis, there is friction of skin against skin in the vagina, with abrasion and even the need for artificial lube. The coronal ridge of the penis does exactly what it is supposed not to do - it acts as a one-way valve, expelling the woman's natural lubrication as the man thrusts.

As the circumcised man withdraws his penis form his partner's vagina, he does not have the neural feedback from the missing nerve receptors of his foreskin. He also lacks an ejaculatory trigger, since these nerve cells are part of the mechanism of ejaculation.

To reach orgasm, the man who has a circumcised penis must add extra stimulation to his glans and the internal structures of his penis by thrusting harder. He has both less control and reaches orgasm quicker than the uncircumcised men. In doing so he removes a lot of the natural lube from his partner's vagina.

The women also observed that uncircumcised men appeared to enjoy intercourse more than circumcised men, so that the men whose penis had been mutilated sought more oral sex than the uncircumcised men.

The overall conclusion was that sex with a man whose penis is still intact is a better experience for both the man and the woman. Obviously, this needs to form part of the thought process parents go through when they give so-called "informed consent" the the mutilation of their baby boy's genitals.

The source of the information above. Sex with an uncut penis 

Statement from the American Academy of Pediatrics (who say "Don't circumcise baby boys"!)  No small piece of skin

Foreskin restoration National organization of restoring men

Historical context of circumcision and the biology, mechanism and medical and social aspects of it today Circumstitions

How the foreskin moves on the penis shaft How the foreskin works

Information for men with a foreskin on  How To Use A Condom

Shows how the penis skin sheath and foreskin interact How The Foreskin Works

The scientific view of the prepuce (also known as the foreskin)

Could the psychological and physical pain of circumcision explain adult male psychology? Functions Of The Foreskin