Thank you!

[quelindo]

I just wanted to let you guys know that I've convinced DH not to circumcise our son, due in five weeks.

At first he was adamantly for it (he's circ'ed and so are his two teenage sons from his first marriage) and I was thinking, "Well, he's the guy, so I guess I'll just let him have his way."

But I'm the kind of person who has to research EVERYTHING, and since I knew nothing about circumcision or the uncircumcised penis, I started reading up. The more I read the more *I* was the one feeling strongly, in the other direction.

Luckily DH was open to discussion and reading any articles I gave him. I could see him loosening up on the issue.

Then last night before bed we had a talk about it, and I found myself explaining to HIM how a normal penis works (with my body pillow, no less). He had thought that when the foreskin retracted it revealed the glans, not that it was one continuous piece of skin covering the glans at all times. It kind of surprised me that he had no idea what had been done to his own penis.

He still has more to read and I just sent him some links to a circ video and some animated graphics of how an uncircumcised penis retracts, but we are NOT going to circumcise this baby.

I really have to thank you all for being such a great resource, and for showing me that there are lots of parents out there not circumcising.

[Red Sonja]

Good for you for standing up for your DS!!!!

[calngavinsmom]

OMGosh! I am so happy to hear this You just made my day Congratulations to you for doing the legwork, your dh for opening his mind and his heart, and to you little one who will be keeping what he is born with!

Enjoy the rest of your pregnancy and the birth!

Take care,
Tara

[Eman'smom]

Good for you and even better for your son

[feebeeglee]

That's great!

So he thought that once it retracted that it stayed retracted, forever?

[Guest*]

Yay! That's wonderful that you and DH educated yourselves with an open mind and your son will get to keep his foreskin.

You just gave me the courage to send some information to my friends who plan on circ'ing. I've been holding onto it because I fear they aren't open to the idea of leaving their son intact, but their baby boy is worth a try.

I'll send the packet today!

[quelindo]

Originally Posted by feebeeglee

So he thought that once it retracted that it stayed retracted, forever?

I think he thought that it wasn't attached to the head of the penis -- that it was only attached at the base -- so when it retracted it would be revealing what he sees as the shaft of his circumcised penis. He tried to use the analogy of a sausage casing :LOL , and the casing could slide back and forth.

[paminmi]

Originally Posted by Eman'smom

Good for you and even better for your son

:

Congrats!!

Pam

[Quirky]

That's great news!

Not that it should provide ammo to a dh who wants to circ, but my understanding (purely theoretical, sadly ) is that the foreskin in the adult is more like a sausage casing...all the pix I've seen, an erect intact penis looks pretty much like an erect circed penis, except for more skin around the shaft, and you do see the glans. It's attached when the baby/child is young, but releases over time.

[wagodog]

Originally Posted by Quirky

my understanding (purely theoretical, sadly ) is that the foreskin in the adult is more like a sausage casing...all the pix I've seen, an erect intact penis looks pretty much like an erect circed penis, except for more skin around the shaft, and you do see the glans.

Although it's somewhat true that circ'ed or intact, they can look pretty much the same when erect, I wouldn't describe foreskin as being analogous to a sausage casing. I'm just getting this vision of the foreskin as a sleeve that is totally separate from the shaft along the entire length of the penis. Please correct me if I'm envisioning the wrong thing.

Here's a, IMO, easy way of seeing how the foreskin functions. Grab a long sleeved shirt (ribbed cuff or long t-shirt might be better than button down). Put the hand through but don't pull the sleeve all the way up the arm. Instead, SLIDE (do not turn inside out) the sleeve back down the arm so that it rolls over on itself and fully covers the hand. This would represent the flaccid state and here, the hand would be analogous to the glans, the sleeve would represent both the foreskin and underlying shaft skin (since there is no separation between the two), and the end of the cuff would represent the point where the shaft meets the glans. Now, pull back on the sleeve, revealing the hand. This is more of how the foreskin behaves/functions in going from flaccid to erect. Now add to the mix, the skin's elasticity and you can see the protection that is provided when flaccid and why it is a mucosal membrane.

I sincerely HTH but I fear that that might've confused instead.

[boingo82]

http://www.orientaltrading.com/otcwe...768&sku=16/611
It always reminded me of one of these water tubes things. A continuous tube that rolls back on itself smoothly. Maybe you can buy one (they have them at a lot of toy stores) and use it for a visual aid?

[quelindo]

Using the sleeve analogy, my understanding is that in an uncircumcised penis one would never see the "arm" -- it would always be covered by the sleeve. It's just that in a non-erect penis the sleeve is doubled over onto itself on the "hand" end, and in an erect penis the sleeve stretches taut and pulls back toward the "forearm." It would be as if the sleeve is fused to the wrist.

Isn't that true?

Okay, umm, off to get dressed now...

[wendy1221]

Wow, I can't believe how many women have never seen an intact one! Let me tell ya, they're a lot of fun! (My dh is circ'd though, btw. )

Um, it does slide back and forth. On some men, the glans is completely uncovered when erect, on some the foreskin is longer and still partially covers the glans (I imagine there are some men w/ an extra long foreskin that covers the glans completely as well--just the natural range). The guy I was with would pull it the rest of the way back. Even on the men whose glans is completely uncovered, the foreskin is loose enough that you can slide it back over the glans, which I imagine is how intact men masturbate. It was a lot of fun for me anyway. LOL! It did have the same kind of feeling as one of those water slinky tube things--it kinda rolls through itself. But, really, I think the best part is how the glans isn't all dry and, well, skin-like. I mean, lick (or rub, I guess) the back of your hand and now lick the inside of your cheek. Which would you prefer? Nuff said.

[wagodog]

Originally Posted by New Mama

Using the sleeve analogy, my understanding is that in an uncircumcised penis one would never see the "arm" -- it would always be covered by the sleeve. It's just that in a non-erect penis the sleeve is doubled over onto itself on the "hand" end, and in an erect penis the sleeve stretches taut and pulls back toward the "forearm." It would be as if the sleeve is fused to the wrist.

Isn't that true?

Okay, umm, off to get dressed now...

That's exactly it! I thought about throwing in the "fused to the wrist" part but felt that painted a distorted view of things but yes, that's it. When pulled back, it's no different than a circ'ed penis except that you've still got the frenulum. (Well, as already mentioned by PP, it's not dry.) As for the arm not being revealed, that's why I said to slide and not turn the sleeve inside out. I was focusing merely on the tip end. Oh, this is also why I didn't like the sausage casing analogy.

I should've clarified that when pulling back the sleeve, you only pull back the part that had been extended over the hand. The cuff indeed stays put at the wrist. IRL, if the "cuff" was pulled back, better be heading to the ER!!!

I like the water tube thing. Explains very well how the foreskin covers and envelops what it's supposed to protect.

[Quirky]

:LOL Maybe we could get an owner of one of these intact penises to step in here. :LOL This is pretty funny!

[wagodog]

Originally Posted by Quirky

:LOL Maybe we could get an owner of one of these intact penises to step in here. :LOL This is pretty funny!

Um ... already done.

[Quirky]

Oh, are you a he and not a she? Oops, didn't realize!

[wagodog]

No problem. It's a bit hard to describe things when you're discussing your own body while also trying not to get too graphic or give TMI.