Its time to talk about uncircumcised penises.
We here at SELF givevaginasa lot of attention, which makes sense.
But penisesincluding uncircumcised penises in particulardeserve their time in the sun, too.
Getty / Tom Eversley / EyeEm
Why the emphasis on the uncircumcised penis instead of, well, all of them?
So, its time to share some facts.
Circumcision involves surgically cutting off some or all of a peniss foreskin.
The foreskin is the protective shroud that covers the head (glans) of apenis,S.
Adam Ramin, M.D., urologic surgeon and medical director ofUrology Cancer Specialistsin Los Angeles, tells SELF.
According to theCleveland Clinic, other parts of the penis include:
2.
Circumcision typically happens soon after birth.
There are various reasons why people might decide to circumcise their babies.
For instance,Jewish and Muslim people often circumcise their babiesas a religious and cultural tradition.
Some uncircumcised men and people with penises decide to get circumcised as adults.
According to theMayo Clinic, medical needs can warrant circumcision when someone is no longer a baby.
After that, simply getting the hang of having different equipment can take some time.
Circumcision has gotten pretty popular in some parts of the world, including the United States.
The prevalence varies based on the exact area in question.
Countries with the highest rates included Morocco (99.9 percent) and Iran (99.7 percent).
Of course, these arent hard and fast numbers, but theyre interesting nonetheless.
But also, uncircumcised penises are completely normal.
Since babies are born with their foreskins intact, uncircumcised penises are actually the biological default.
That doesnt mean theres anything wrong with circumcised penisesjust that theres nothing wrong with uncircumcised penises, either.
Uncircumcised penises arent inherently dirtier than circumcised ones.
That all depends on the penis in question.
“As long as goodhygienepractices are followed, this shouldn’t be a problem,” says Dr. Ramin.
(Yes, even doctors say “smegma.")
“It becomes a natural thing,” says Dr. Brahmbhatt.
Buckle up, because this is a little complicated.
Beyond that, it seems as though circumcision lowers a persons chances of getting urinary tract infections.
The theory is that getting circumcised reduces penile cancer risk factors like…smegma.
Researchers are still determining how much of a difference circumcision really makes here.
Ask your partner what they like.
Uncircumcised penises are not terrifying sexual mysteries (at least, not any more than circumcised ones are).
A penis is typically an easy-to-just body part no matter its circumcision status, not a fleshy Rubix cube.
That said, there is an interesting debate around whether uncircumcised or circumcised penises happen to be moresensitive.
However, they note, more research is necessary.
Basically, ()/ .
Uncircumcised penises basically come prepared with their ownlubrication.
(This means you may not go through lube as quickly for things like handjobs.
There may even be some bonus feel-good action for you.
Its like the natural version of a [ribbed] condom,” he explains.
