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If you did that to a dog or cat the SPCA would have you prosecuted for cruelty Well, it's not that you have changed my mind. I just wanted to say GOOD WORK!!! Keep it up. As the mother of 7 year old girl/boy twins I would NEVER have considered mutilating my son! He was born intact and can see no reason why anyone would wish to hack bits of a perfectly formed human being. It's disgusting, and inhumane. If you did that to a dog or cat the SPCA would have you prosecuted for cruelty, and rightly too. ... my husband is intact, and as a woman, I do not understand the repulsion displayed by some women. What is the cause of this? It's just a foreskin, baby boys are born with them, so they are meant to be there! Provided a man maintains basic personal hygiene, there is nothing revolting about them, they DO NOT spread disease if kept clean! I don't know where this wrong-headed notion came from. Any body part will spread disease if not kept clean (how much illness is caused by unwashed hands?), so why pick on an innocuous piece of skin? And a good thing they are too! So many nerve endings. I cannot imagine depriving my son of the sexual pleasure that is his by right. My first husband was snipped (poor thing), so I've experienced both and must say I greatly prefer intact men. The extra skin provides more internal movement and thus more pleasure for the female partner also. While I was in labour with the twins the midwife asked if I wanted my son circumcised, I was horrified! However, she then explained that while hospitals in New Zealand will do it for you, they do their best to talk parents out of it. ... only [supporting it] where the is some malformation of the foreskin. This is what you would expect from educated people, and I find it incomprehensible that medical personnel would continue with this outdated and frankly nasty practise. Keep fighting the good fight. - Kathryn in New Zealand October 7, 2008

I discovered I was the norm Thank you, The most complete and especially done site on the subject. In 1950 in my high school of a thousand students I was the only uncut boy. It was simply a matter of economics $20. As a young adult I had to listen to comments about lace curtains, head cheese, permanently smelly and a cancer cause. Becoming a sexual being is complicated enough without the extra burden of an unpopular penis. At 30 I spent some time in Italy and discovered I was the norm. Now that my nephews are having children I have provided what information I could and my own personal experience. Unfortunately although they are well educated their response has been "I want my boy to be like I am". Maybe the next time with your plethora of enlightened information they will see reason. Thank you again, - Michael in Northen California June 26, 2008

It was then when the living hell broke loose. I live in Finland. I am male to female transsexual. ... I was born to some extent intergendered: underdeveloped penis, undescended testicles, chromosomal karyotype 46-XY/47-XXY mosaic. In other words, completely screwed up. Since I resembled more a boy than a girl, I was patched up as a boy. ... But the real change came at age of eight. It was time to surgically dig up my testicles lest they had become cancereous. The doctors decided at the same time to circumcise me. I was too young to really understand what it would mean - that came only later. It was then when the living hell broke loose. I remember spending a week or so in the hospital. I just remember I was awfully sick and sore, and my penis seemed to be mutilated. Gone was the prepuce and the glans penis was bare and naked now. I just remember it felt awfully sore and sensitive until it keratinized within a month or so. At that date I finally KNEW I was now different. For good. In Finland, circumcision is extremely rare. ... it was the gym classes in the school when I got to know I was different - mutilated, incomplete, unnatural. ... Not too soon someone noticed "Hey! Look! [Male name] is circumcised!" "Jewboy! Jewboy!" Some of the kids then dug a cigarette lighter and flickered it around me. Holocaust. Burn that jewboy alive .... Many a day I went crying to home, complaining about the schoolmates to my mom. "Oh, [Male name], just don't mind. They are so silly. Just be like you didn't even notice them." ... That would be like giving an open invitation "look, I'm helpless, come and bully me, come and tear me apart into small pieces!" While my father said "there is nothing to be ashamed on being circumcised, in the United States they circumcise just about everyone", I just thought to myself: "Yeah, go and get me then some American to defend me from those bloodthirsty Finns". ... I KNEW I was inferior - mutilated, incomplete. I decided to compensate that with success in other sectors of life. ... While my gender identity was confused in the childhood, it became screwed up for good in my teenage. The biological clock began to tick - the testicles, which were unable to produce semen, were able enough to produce testosterone and start male puberty on me. Given to the normal teenage anxiety, sexual confusion and bubbling under, the fact that I knew that I was different and sexually inferior from the intact boys, made my teenage a living hell. ... Wanking? Hah. No foreskin to jerk about. Circumcision makes masturbation neigh impossible. Was I gay? No - I thought myself more a bisexual. I never cross-dressed as a teenager (I didn't want to get beaten up or killed), but I dressed as androgyneously and gender-neutrally as possible. ... I got my first sexual experience when I was 20. ... After ejaculation (that miserable little squirt) I thought: "Was that all? Sex? Quite overappreciated, if that was all." I didn't have any yardstick on what it could have been with intact penis, not to say if I ever had gotten chance to use it anyway. The pain, frustration and agony inside grew until I was ready for suicide at 24. ... I then decided to try to live as a girl. Sex change operation? Hell, what does it matter - I am mutilated already, ... I had had it tough enough as a child, being apparently the only circumcised kid in the whole country. Knowing I am inferior from other boys, mutilated, incomplete - and I sublimated all that inferiority in intellectual pursuits, becoming a nerd. But no matter how much I tried, I was still inferior to the other boys and I knew it. ... But the circumcision had again a backlash on my gender issue. When I finally went for gender reassignment surgery, I needed skin graft. There simply is no material enough on a circumcized penis to construct fully the female genitalia and plumbing. Likewise, I would never experience the same sexual pleasure of sex as a woman than a transsexual who had had intact gear. ... What do I have to say? If I am to be asked, male circumcision should be outlawed, just like female. The nature knows what is best - it has been formed by evolution and anything produced by evolution is the most efficient and most functional around - and it is not a matter of humans to go mutilating it - especially the defenseless, helpless children. Sincerely yours, - S. V. in Finland June 14, 2008

The faster this cruel practice disappears the better I just saw the 'it's a boy' page of your circumsititions website and really wanted to congratulate you on a job well-done. As the mother of two intact boys (as well as one intact girl) I cannot IMAGINE why anyone would even consider mutilating their baby's genitals. The faster this cruel practice disappears the better. My brothers were circumcised, sadly, but if either one of them ever has a son, I will definitely pass on a link to your website. It's all so rational and so with so much common sense it would be hard to argue against it. Especially the 'look like daddy' one was great! And needed, since it's the most common argument I've heard. Thanks again, - Kristine M in Texas June 13, 2008

It was cool ... realising I wasn't the only one in the world! You say "Jonathan Rhys-Meyers appears nude in Tangled" He also appears nude in "The Governess". My parents are originally from Sardinia where circumcision is not practiced so they were not in favor of the idea when they came to the US, even though it was the common thing to do at the time in the 1970's. I live in ... where about 90-95% of the guys are cut. "The Governess" came out about 10 years ago back when I was in high school. JRM was practically the first uncut guy I saw apart from my Dad and my other Italian relatives back in Italy, so I remember it well. I thought it was cool to see that being uncut was normal, and realizing I wasn't the only one in the world! - Marco R in Pennsylvania May 6, 2007

I see that as the equivalent of saying, "Sorry, I only date guys with 9 toes" Hi. I looked through your site, and I'm impressed by the time and effort you seem to have put into it. I am a 20 year old female student. I think it's really depressing that it's necessary to have a website devoted to this (not because it's bad), but just because circumcision isn't an issue in other countries. It seems Americans just don't get it! I overheard a conversation my aunt was having and some of the things she said were off the wall about circumcision. She was outraged that most insurance companies don't provide coverage for it anymore because she thinks it's a health issue, not cosmetic. If it were any other issue, she would have been fine with it. I think it's pretty stupid and barbaric to circumcise. I'm ashamed that my brothers are, and to be blunt I think my whole family has their heads too far up their asses to understand anything about the issue. My parents didn't want them to get UTI's; however, my brother got one anyway (because he doesn't eat and drink properly.) Even some of my girlfriends have the wrong idea. They think intact men are gross or disgusting. I see that as the equivalent of saying, "Sorry, I only date guys with 9 toes, not 10." It doesn't make sense. Anyways, I really like the page on religion. I really admire the Sikh perspective, seeing the body as naturally beautiful. I don't like the fact that we consider intact men "uncircumcised," because it makes it seem like they are supposed to be. If I do become a parent, I'm not sure that I'd have much leverage not to circumcise my sons...so I guess I can only pray for daughters. - Nicole in Arizona March 18, 2007

Differences between circumcised and intact penises are obvious Hello! First let me congratulate you for this website. It's an amazing tool for providing fact-based education on the topic for people living in "circumcising countries" as well as an information source about what happens there for people living outside of them. I'm a 43 y.o. European. As mentioned, circumcision is as hot a practice here as forced neck-stretching I do not include here the religious minorities. Therefore, we badly ignore the topic and websites like yours are a useful reminder of what is still practiced in some parts of the civilized world in this 21st century. Before reading your site, I thought circumcision was "just" an oldfashioned medical automatism resulting from biased theories about hygienc concerns. But the more I read, the more I figure out how much it is based on cultural (and religious) grounds. It goes as far as discriminating against intact young boys (making them fear the common shower). It is beyond understanding. Since there is no solid medical justification for circumcision, I have been amazed to read the defense of circumcision promoters: "it doesn't hurt", "foreskin is not necessary", "it's been like this for generations", "how ugly an uncut penis looks", "that's for their good", "it's God will"... and worst of all: "this boy is mine" (!?) No need to debate about this last one considering his son as livestock. But the other statements made me think about the following: Imagine an island where people worship a bird as god and decided generations ago that ears on babies should be chopped at birth to mimic the bird-god. You would hear the same groundless justifications: "you don't really need all this skin to hear" (actually, it's just like with the penis: you don't need all this skin to make babies - but it works better and gives more pleasure), "it's cleaner", etc... And logically since earless people would have become the norm, any intact sailor landing there with intact ears would be seen as a monster by the islanders! Now, imagine some of these islanders moving to live in the US. A couple has a baby there and looks for a surgeon to get his ears amputated on religious grounds. Will they find anyone agreeing to perform the surgery? Of course not! Won't the surgeon most likely be sued by the son when he has grown up in this country where HE is seen as a monster by his peers? Most probably - as the parents will - and condemned to pay for reconstructive surgery. Why should the case be different about circumcision? The only differences between this tale and circumcision in the US is: It is performed (I'd rather say "commited") by the majority. It maims an organ providing physical pleasure. Both points lead to the use of false medical pretexts to justify sexual mutilation of boys. I'm an intact 43 yo man. I certainly prefer this word to "uncircumcised" since the "un-" defines you out of "normality". Since European boys are traditionnally left "intact", It took me a while before I could see a circumcised sex. Actually, when I started to be sexually active, I could face quite a sample of circumcised guys (I'm gay and enjoyed travelling to the US among other places.). I have an average penis both in size and shape and I am 100% happy with it. As for me, even if I've never been "disgusted" by circumcised penises, I must admit that the first question to come to my mind at each encounter was: "What a scar!.. why that?" while I had a feeling mixed of pity for the owner and some reluctance to manipulate this wounded organ. Differences between circumcised and intact penises are obvious: dryness of the glans (contact and appearence: mostly the rugged surface), reduced sensitivity (needing harder play to reach the same pleasure), absence of an original part that offers multiple arousing options during foreplay and intercourse... The discussions I had with American friends about the topic led them to emphasise the growing number of gay American males looking for foreskin reconstructive surgery [and non-surgical restoration] in order to restore the original penis sensitivity and thus achieve increased pleasure (or let's just call it the original undiminished pleasure). I remember the testimony of an American boy feeling ashamed to be the only intact one in his college and fearing being bullied in the locker room for that, so that now he was considering circumcision in order to feel accepted. It is totally shocking! Let's just call it the earless islanders syndrome: the ones missing something exclude the one with intact appearance and faculties. I would never blame boys or men for being circumcised (I do blame their parents) but it is totally unacceptable for them to exclude the few lucky ones who escaped the mutilation. It reminds me of the German occupation in Europe during WWII: it happened that boys would have to lower their pants during a Nazi raid in the classrooms to allow an easy catch and deportation of Jews (about the only ones to be circumcised). Of course, we are nowhere close to those dramatic circumstances, but the exclusion scheme is similar even if working in the opposite way. To put it straight: many American parents are still seeking surgeons to perform the ritual practice of circumcision inherited from generations of deep religious discomfort with sex and pleasure. As a son of religious parents, I have no problem with religious faiths as long as their rules are to affect only their adult believers' souls and lifestyles. I do totally disagree with religious concepts and practices being imposed to any unwilling/unaware/underage person or made into a public norm. While it is expected to be the norm in radical comunities, like Muslims or Jews, where open discussion on any sensitive topic (espeically sex) is unacceptable and where religious diktats rule public and private lives alike, we are here talking about the average American citizen, in a country where science, professionalism and freedom of speech enjoy due consideration. I'm not personnally a believer and I thank my parents for never having tried to impose their convictions on me. They merely suggested theirs to me and never mentioned any disagreement with me for not following the same path. How far we are from these parents who consider they have the right to mutilate a newborn just because they have personal trouble with their own sexuality! The newborn has no problem at all and didn't need it. A penis is a beautiful organ and a source of personal fulfillment. A foreskin is a natural part of it. It is the owner's property like any other part of his body. Circumcision imposed on non-adult males should be strictly banned by law except in cases of real (documented) medical necessity. - V.D. in Paris, France March 19, 2008

It fundamentally contradicts the Qur'an Salam, I am a revert to Islam of just over 2 month from a Christian family. I must say it is wonderful to see people promoting the idea that circumcision is not required in our beautiful faith of Submission. I personally believe and always have that is a very risky procedure that deprives thousands if not millions of men and boys of the right to their own human body which Allah (S.W.T) gave us. And that it fundamentally contradicts the Qur'an which states God perfected his creation and that it's the devils wish to have you deface nature and His creation by giving us false desires. There are numerous risks involved with the procedure and I found it hard to believe from the beginning that Allah the all mighty would require me to mutilate my body and that of my sons if I had any. Just wanted to congratulate your website for having the guts to stand up and promote this idea Masha'Allah to all of you there keep up the good work! - J in New South Wales, Australia January 17, 2008

It is mine until he is old enough to make his decisions In regards to the below statment. I have never in my life ever read such a one sided comment filled full a crappy facts about how great a UGLY uncurrimsized penis vs have a pretty nicely shaved head. In regards to whose penis is it? It is mine until he is old enough to make his decisions. Or should I let my son do what ever he wants, like drink liquor when he wants smoke cigs do drugs. According to your BS statments. It is his body right let him but [put] what he wants in it. - Brandon buckley January 16, 2008

[So will you give him his foreskin back when he is old enough to make his decisions? Liquor, smoke and drugs - newborn babies don't use them unless forced by adults - rather like circumcision.]

Keep up the good work I would like to express my whole hearted support for your excellent website. What I cannot understand is the civilised world is coming to totally condemn female circumsion but in some countries and especially the USA they still support male genital mutilation and child abuse. Are you aware that the great tennis player Roger Federer is uncircumcised? Of course a huge number of tennis players from all over Europe are uncircumcised. I once heard a comment which to me was amusing. Discussing the Pros and cons of circumcision the question was asked "If you were buying a car would you not rather have a convertible than one where the hood was permanently removed". It is my very definite opinion that the people who make comments like "I felt sick" or "I could vomit" writing about foreskins really are secretly resentful ... and somewhat mentally disturbed. Tell me which normal person could look at the great works of art with the intact penis on prominent display and "feel sick". I arrived on this earth as God intended me to be in the genital area and I will certainly leave that way. Keep up the good work. - Barry in the Czech Republic January 15, 2008

You may have saved my future grandmotherhood Thanks for your page on Paraphimosis, you may have saved my future grandmotherhood My eleven year old has phimosis and has been working on correcting it (with an ointment from his urologist). Tonight in the bath he worked a bit too hard and couldn't get things right again. His dad was working late and I had NO idea what to do - your page on it really, really saved the day. I was able to help him get his foreskin back in its proper position and avoided the major problems you outlined. Thank you SO much. - no name no location please, wouldn't want to embarrass the kid December 14, 2007 (PS - I told him how important it was to be careful with his body, saying he was probably looking forward to a healthy sex life one day and he was the one who said he was looking forward to babies. He's a real sweetie.)

He has come to resent his circumcision I am a gay South African male (intact) and my long time partner was circumcised as a child according to Muslim tradition. What I write, though candid, is done to make parents aware of the problematic effects of circumcising their baby boys in the crusade to having this barbaric practice abolished. In the past I have had circumcised as well as intact lovers and can write perhaps with a little more authority than the average man. Also, the fact that we are on different sides of the penile debate gives me a little more insight on the issue. Although my partner's childhood circumcision is neat and one of the better I have seen, without evident scarring, no adhesions or tags - there are noticeable differences between his and my penis and functioning. When we met I discovered amongst other things, that he was completely unaware that an uncut penis requires a more delicate touch and that I did not need lubrication to masturbate. He had of course bought in to all the usual and pernicious anti-intact propaganda before we met, and I believe was a little dismayed at my wholeness. These prejudices were soon dropped when he noticed the advantages to being intact. Over the years he has become more aware of these differences and has come to resent his circumcision, claiming psychological as well as physical scarring. He has in candid moments expressed that he is aware that something is missing, "a hollow or an emptiness". Any talk of circumcision leaves him disturbed and recently he castigated his sister severely for having had her new baby circumcised even after he advised her not to. I have never made an issue of our physical differences and we enjoy great sex, and for many years now - however, I must confess that a certain part of me does miss sex with an intact male. I miss the sensitivity of sex with an uncut man, miss that velvety skin and the free-motion of the penis, miss the incredible sheen and smoothness of a normal glans. Some might think this strange, but the two things I miss the most are the natural, warm and sexually-charging male smell of an intact penis; and the sense of surprise of a slowly retracting foreskin. Probably, most damaging to gay sex (perhaps less to straight sex) is that it creates a disconnect, both physical and psychological. A disconnect in appearance, personal experience, sensitivity, action etcetera. One is always making accommodations for each other that are perhaps not always bridged. I have to often remind him to be more gentle during sex so as not to hurt me and he in turn asks me to be rougher and more direct. All told, the disconnect is a direct result of circumcision, and I must express my absolute dismay that it is still practiced. It is a violation and without question the abuse of male children (intentional or not). Here is a few things that I have noticed about circumcised men... Penis is far less sensitive and responsive to touch. Masturbation without lubrication is painful and difficult. Penile sensitivity after sex. Slower recovery after sex because of this sensitivity. Masturbation is more vigorous and hands-on to achieve orgasm. Lack of sensitivity can lead to over-protracted sex. Masturbation and sex in a less flowing, more staccato-like and thrusting in action. To achieve climax requires the direct stimulation of the head of the penis, unlike the intact penis that is stimulated by the movement of the whole shaft and foreskin, especially the frenulum. Sex is more uncomfortable with a circumcised man than with an intact man. - Guy in Durban, South Africa December 8, 2007 [Many gay men report similar differences.]

I enjoy my foreskin I found your website very interesting. I was uncut while my older brother was circumcised. I was always conscious bout showering with men because most were cut. Now, I enjoy my thick, full foreskin and find a lot of circumcised guys tell me how great it looks. It completely retracts when I am hard, and makes masturbation more pleasurable. Thanks for your website and pics. - RJ in Winnipeg, Canada December 7, 2007

It is INSANE Hello My name is Ivan. I am 30. My operation was done 29 y ago, so I have NO idea what it means to be intact. No religion involved. And I am COMPLETELY AGAINST circumcision. I've learnt a lot about it and I know it is INSANE. U should know that your pro-intactness mission DOES have my support. It is important that you get support from cut men. I do feel very strongly about cut men who insist they are better off cut. It is a LIE. That is why those men are cowards. I'm from and live in Europe. Men here are intact. I never had any kind of problems with my cut dick. But circumcision is wrong - it is self-evident. Sites like yours deserve some sort of award from Human right organisations. Is there a way I can do something useful for your site? I used to hide that my penis is cut but my anger against circumcision overtook my shame to admit my "status". I am not a Jew, neither a Muslim, so it is hard to explain why I was cut. They told me I got cut to "help!!!" me avoid masturbation but it did not work whatsoever! So, the only way to take my revenge is to do my best to tell the world that circumcision is a HARMFUL and [should be] abandoned. Botched circumcision photos on your site made me speechless. I'm glad my cock did not suffer the same. And it could have happened to me as well! My best wishes, - Ivan Man in Europe November 8, 2007 To support Intactivism, join a group or mailing list near you. Add comments to news stories about circumcision (use Google alerts to find them).

My father told me what a favour he'd done me I have just read your excellent site debunking many of the myths and the mystique about infant circumcison. I am an Australian man,born during the peak of the circumcision period in the 1950's. By some sort of fluke the doctor who circumcised all my brothers omitted to do me despite both my parents being very pro circumcision. I was however particularly stuck by your comments in relation to the correspondent, Andrew, regarding the Terrifying Threat, "it will have to be cut off. " This is exactly what happened to me. Firstly when I was 9 I learnt from a friend what circumcision was. I was shocked and said to him, "No one would do that to their children." He suggested that I ask my mother. When I did, I was told off, asked if I wanted to be circumcised. When I said no, I was told that I'd better be careful or I'd be circumcised whether I liked it or not. My foreskin was perfectly clean, It had been religiously washed since birth, as my mother later told me and was loose and probably what you call an average foreskin, i.e. reaching the end of the glans, but not overhanging. About a year later my father, speaking to me privately when I was getting ready for bed, told me, "You should get that thing [foreskin] off, It looks disgusting." I said that I did not want to. He then said, "Either it's kept off, or it's cut off ." I asked what he meant and he said that I had to keep the foreskin pulled back at all times. I realised I had no real choice but to comply, which I reluctanly did,with the same result as Andrew. By the time I was 12, it stayed back all the time and atrophied as I grew during adolescence, until by the time I was about 14, I looked to be circumcised, which effectively I was. My father was proud of his handiwork and told me in my teens what a favour he'd done me. Otherwise he was a good enough and supportive father. At first I was angry and my penis certainly uncomfortable, but as I could do nothing about the situation, I stopped even thinking about it. Besides, I'd became interested in girls, rather than my own appearance. However I never became a supporter of circumcision and ensured that my own sons were not subjected to it, or the "Terrifyng Threat", to which I had been. The matter of being circumcised was raised on several other occasions; on one occasion when I declined, I said, "You had your chance when I was born, if you like it so much, why didn't you do it then?" On another, I recall saying, "I can't decide, I'm only a boy." When I was about 25, on the occasion of the birth of my eldest nephew, whose father I'd helped to persuade not to have him circumcised, I decided to speak again to my mother about circumcision. I found out that by some oversight I'd been overlooked in the hospital, but our doctor, told my mother this when we were going home and that she was to bring me in 2 weeks to his surgery to be circumcised. I was duly taken on the date, prepared for circumcision by a nurse, but that the doctor after fiddlling around for a bit announced that I did not need to be circumcised and proceeded instead to detach the foreskin [from the glans], stretch it as much as possible, place petroleum jelly on the glans to prevent it resticking and pull it forward again. [This was unnecessary and potentially harmful.] My mother was told to do this at each nappy change for a week and then to fully draw back the foreskin at each bath and carefully wash and dry the area. She said that she disliked doing this and always left the foreskin back in the hope that it would stay back and that she very much regretted that she had not insisted that he circumcise me. My father had been in the tropics during the war and seemed to have part of his enthusiasm from experiences there, although most of his generation were very keen on it. Despite what happened to me I'm glad that I was not circumcised and regard my state as preferable to having had my foreskin removed .I gather from your comments to Andrew that what happened to me has happened to others. I thought I'd probably been the only one. - Frank in Melbourne, Australia October 25, 2007 [Not all the victims of circumcision are circumcised.]

Neither boy has asked why one is intact and the other is not In 1997 I gave birth to a healthy little boy that was born with hypospadias. His father and myself had made the decision before his birth that if we had a boy he was to remain intact. After his birth we were told of the birth defect. When he was 7 months old he underwent surgery to repair the birth defect. At the beginning of the surgery we told the surgeon about our wishes for him to remain intact. The surgeon called us in the waiting room to tell us that the forskin would be very distorted. It would be in a horseshoe shape due to the defect and his recommendation would be to remove the foreskin so at least it would resemble a normal looking circumcised penis, instead of having only a partial foreskin. The opening to his urethra is distorted due to the repair but other than that his penis looks like a normal circumcised penis. His father and I were disappointed in the fact that he could not remain intact. Scar tissue could cause him discomfort when urinating as he ages but so far all is good. In 2001 we had another son and he has been as God has made him, intact. We did ask the pediatrician that saw him at birth about circumcision and her feelings on having one son intact and one not. She said that she would not have the baby circumsised because she had a mixed set herself. Neither boy has asked why one is intact and the other is not but we have discussed the older boy's surgery with him. He knows why he does not have a foreskin. On another note, my husband, after having many problems with small tears and a lot of pain after sex, sought out a urologist - the same urologist that did our son's surgery at 7 months of age - who said that he had a botched circumcision and recommended a repair. He needed two procedures to correct the problem. He is now pain free. - Deanna W. in Michigan October 10, 2007

I could not help my crying. Hello! Some months ago I wrote you to help me convince my teenage son not to circumcise his penis.And you replied my mail, then you mailed each other, he visited your site and changed his mind. I know he was absolutely determined to get rid of his foreskin and I could hardly believe it that he gave up his stupid idea so suddenly. It would have been very sad if he had mutiliated himself. If a teenage boy is able to understand the simple truth that circumcision is harmful, mutiliating, unjustifiable, reckless thing to do, then adult people in countries with circumcision practices should be able to understand that as well. I saw pictures of baby boys being circumcised - I could not help my crying. What kind of mother would agree to have this done to her baby? Madness! I just cannot believe that this happens in a civilised normal country like the USA! Keep running your site - lots of people should check it out. I admire the work you do! Many thanks! I hope that one day circumcision will be completely abandoned evrywhere. Best wishes - Jacky Brawn in the Netherlands August 4, 2007

If only I had known what was going to happen. Hello, My poor son unfortunately has "buried" penis due to his circ. I find little mention of it anywhere, but it is undoubtably due to his circ, because before his procedure he hung completely out. His penis was normal before his circumcision. The penis is completely inside his body, all you see is a "hole". It takes pressure to make his penis pop out...and he hates this, he doesn't want anyone touching his penis, ever! I want more people to know that this could happen to their son if they choose to circ. The picture on your site is the first time I have seen an example of buried penis, besides my own son. Both of my sons were circumcised in Phoenix, AZ. It is very upsetting to me now to know how much we DID NOT KNOW a few years ago, and how no one in any medical establishment discussed with us the risks, potential complications, the reasons why or why not do it, how the procedure would be performed, or even the option to leave them intact. If I had known half of what I know now, I never would have consented. If I had watched my first son's circumcision being performed, I never would have circumcised my 2nd son. We were present for his and I constantly replay the scene in my mind. I think about all the opportunities I had to step in and stop it... if only I had known what was going to happen. - Jennifer Vaughn in Corvallis, Oregon August 3, 2007

We still wanted to have a Jewish ceremony I just wanted to let you know that I enjoyed looking at your site. The information is very true. It's not exactly balanced, but it's effective. I was born into a Jewish family, however, I was not circumcised. (I have a form of hemophillia.) I'm really glad that I wasn't, although I don't enjoy my disorder. And the whole locker room thing is pretty much untrue. Most guys have better things to do than to insult somebody's appearance. Before my son was born, we were sure we weren't going to circumcise him. We still wanted to have a Jewish ceremony, for traditional purposes. We had a ceremony (loosely translated) called the covenant of the drop of blood. Which traditionally, when circumcision became a Jewish practice, the circumcision was essentially that (because the covenant is completed when there is blood). There wasn't much difference between Jews and non-Jews, until later, when some radical rabbis decided that it wasn't enough to distinguish between the two. In addition to that, Jews don't believe in altering the body from its original form. (Hence, no tattoos...piercings, and whatnot.) Not only that, but Jews do not have to be circumcised to be considered Jewish. (You're Jewish if your mother is Jewish.) The only difficult part of the ceremony was finding a rabbi that would perform it. It's just really sad how a lot of Jews believe circumcision is the essence of Jewish identity. Anyways, I'm glad that I came across your site. There was a lot of information that I didn't know or was misinformed about. - Ben in Arizona June 9, 2007

Everyone keeps telling us we have to do extra cleaning I have two sons who were both left intact. Everyone keeps telling us we have to do extra cleaning, but out doc says just to leave them alone. They are young, two years and four months, and we've been doing what the doc said. However, we have friends who have left their sons intact that do elaborate cleaning procedures . . . and are always getting infections. Neither of our boys has had anything like that happen. Where does this thought of cleaning come from? Were people told they had to do this? I'm just trying better to understand. (And to defend myself when people act like I am dooming my sons by not circumcising or drastically cleaning my sons.) And thank you for your website. It is nice to see people who are willing to stand up against the genital mutilation of boys, especially in the US. - Amy Kieran in St. Louis, MO February 20, 2007

It's just a dick Language advisory: this post uses the f-word. Click to skip. Scroll down to read.                                               Give me a fuckin' break.   Don't you have anything better to do?   This has got to be the most ridiculous site I have ever seen.   Who...The Fuck....Gives a Shit.   I can't believe someone would spend this amount of time on this crap.   You are a waste. What women fucked this idiots head up?   Damn..it's just a dick...relax.   Later .....Dumbass!   - thomas Canty in Philadelphia January 28, 2007

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