Prepuce (Foreskin) Restoration: It's good for men, good for women.
If you were cut at birth against your will, it may be something that is difficult to come to grips with. Maybe it is something that is even easier ignored. Circumcision: it is one of those areas that the more you know, the worse it is. The amputation of the prepuce robs a man of so much -- and it also robs his partner of a normal, natural, fully functioning sexual experience.
Thanks to the initial endeavors of a few, restoration is becoming more popular now in the United States (the only nation in the world where the majority of the adult male population is without a normal, intact penis). While a circumcised man will never be able to regrow the 70,000 nerve endings, core vessels, ridged band, complete frenulum, glands and mucus membranes, smooth muscle, and various aspects of the prepuce organ that were amputated, he CAN restore some aspects of normalcy to his glans (head) of the penis and his/his partner's experience of sexuality.
A small number of men who have restored refer to themselves as being uncircumcised. This is not the same as being intact (having never endured the amputation of circumcision). Restoring men report many aspects of *life* are improved. And their sexual partners report the same.
The National Organization of Restoring Men lists the following as reasons that men today are choosing to restore:
Pleasure. The new foreskin adds pleasure to the penis during sexual activity. For most men seeking restoration, this alone is reason enough to restore.
Protection. The foreskin protects the glans from the abrasiveness of clothing. When protected, the glans will regain much of its original sensitivity.
Privacy. Like the female clitoris, the glans (head) of the penis is intended to be an internal organ, visible only when aroused.
Aesthetics. 87% of the world's men are intact and feel an intact penis is normal, natural and attractive.
Wholeness. When seeing their circumcision scar, many men sense that part of their body is missing, which is very similar to women who have had a breast removed. Seeking physical and emotional wholeness is quite natural.
Emotional pain. When feeling hopeless over their unchosen circumcised state, men can be helped to manage anger by doing something about a condition which they had always believed was irreversible.
Resentment. A 1991 survey of 301 males seeking restoration information showed that 70% of those circumcised as infants or children resent their parents for their circumcision. Regaining power over their bodies reduces resentment.
Empowerment. Victims of rape, crime and child or spousal abuse typically report a deep sense of helplessness and vulnerability. Who is more helpless and vulnerable than a restrained newborn having part of his penis amputated? Men restore to take back control of their bodies from the damage done by parents, their physicians and our culture.
Restoration isn't sought only by those circumcised at birth. Some children are unwillingly circumcised. Others were pressured "for their own good" by friends, sex partners, or military. Some immigrants circumcised themselves or their sons "to be American." Afterward, most males note a significant decrease of sensitivity, among other side-effects, which lead some to restore.
Discover more about restoration and hear from men who have or are restoring:
Restoring Foreskin: http://www.RestoringForeskin.org
National Organization of Restoring Men: http://www.NORM.org
Restoring Tally: http://www.RestoringTally.com
Foreskin Restoration.net: http://Foreskin-Restoration.net/forum
My Foreskin Restoration Network: http://myfrn.org
Restoring Foreskin Beginner's Guide (by Tally): http://www.restoringforeskin.org/beginners-guide-foreskin-restoration
"Extra Features" on the DVD "CUT: Slicing Through the Myths of Circumcision"
Book: The Joy of Uncircumcising by Jim Bigelow (download an e-book copy here).
Tugging and Restoration Related Devices:
DTR Foreskin Restore: http://www.foreskinrestore.com/main.html
CAT II Q Stretcher: http://www.catstretcher.com/HomePage.html
TLC-X and TLC Tugger: http://www.TLCTugger.com
H.A.R.T.: http://www.happyaardvarkrestorationtools.com/
Manual Tugging: http://pages.suddenlink.net/manual_methods/
T-Tape: http://www.t-tapes.net
Foreballs (no longer in production): http://foreskinrestoration.info/foreballs.htm
PUD: http://foreskinrestoration.info/pud.htm
Foreskin Natural Restorer: http://www.4restore.com
Second Skin: http://www.art.net/Studios/Hackers/Hopkins/Don/text/second-skin.html
Foreskin Restoration Ring: http://hub.webring.org/hub/4skin
Related Items:
Tug n Wear: http://www.tugnwear.com/Products.php
Manhood: http://manhood.mb.ca
SenSlip: http://www.viafin-atlas.com
Related research on female sexuality for women who partner with men:
* Article: How Circumcision Hurts Women by Jocel Them
* Article: Improve Marital Sex: Keep the Foreskins by Dr. Dean Edell
* Article: How Male Circumcision Impacts Your Love Life by Dr. Christine Northrup
* Study: Effects of Male Circumcision on Female Arousal and Orgasm
* Article: A Change in How Intercourse Works by the National Org of Circ Info & Res, CO
* Video: Penis 101 (How Circumcision Changes Intercourse for Men & Women) by Marilyn Milos
* Crystallized Pathology: The Clitoris, the Penis, and Women's Sexual Health by Danelle Frisbie (email for pdf excerpt)
* Website: Sex As Nature Intended [graphic site]
* News Brief: Male Circumcision Increases HIV rates among Women in Africa
* Review above listed book excerpt on the Functions of the Foreskin by Dr. Fleiss & Dr. Hodges
* Facebook page: Women Affected By Circumcision
* Facebook group (women only): Partners of Restoring Men & Women Impacted by Male Genital Cutting
Restoration information cards available to share at:
You missed an important site:
ReplyDeleteRestoring Foreskin.org is the largest on-line social networking community supporting men who are restoring their foreskin. RestoringForeskin.org is a safe, private, member-only community where restoring men can discuss their restoration efforts with other restoring men, post progress pictures, and chat in a private chat room.
RestoringForeskin.org also has a public side with information for those who are beginning to restore, including information on how to start restoring, including illustrated guides to manual tugging and an illustrated guide to making t-tapes.
thanks so much for doing these posts on behalf of protecting the foreskin.
ReplyDeleteI'm so proud of you.
Gloria Lemay, Vancouver BC
Thank you so much for your support of the much overlooked plight of restoring men. The way I look at it, there is a big difference between being a victim of circumcision and a survivor of circumcision. I'm a survivor, and restoring has been a big part of that difference for me.
ReplyDeleteThanks for an excellent post on restoration, especially the benefits for women. I partially restored my "fauxskin" several years ago - it's a significant improvement (although I don't know any restored men who refer to it as "uncircumcised" - a loaded word). Your well-written and researched posts are helping to educate parents.
ReplyDeleteMy (cut at birth) husband has no "issues" with his state - but never knew an different.
ReplyDeleteHe had no problem accepting that keeping our sons intact was the proper thing. He is, indeed, a hero for breaking the cycle!
Thanks for this information....my husband and I are completely against circumcision for our children and have often regretted there was nothing we could do for him. It is great to know there are options!
ReplyDeleteDanelle, AWESOME article!! May I repost this on my blog Informed Parenting? (with the usual link back to your site of course)?
ReplyDeleteMy husband was circumcised immediately after birth and hasn't experienced anything different. He has been fully on board with keeping our 3 sons intact. I do wish I could approach him with restoring, but he does not seem interested at all, and I would never want to push him. I would never tell him that I miss the feel of an intact penis. I love my husband. I love his body. I do wish his mum had kept him intact for both my health and, more importantly, for my husband's health.
ReplyDeleteI have the book,The Joy Of Uncircumcising" and belonged to Norm and the mailing list but I never got anywhere with growing a new foreskin. I guess I couldn't get the tension right or something as my skin wouldn't grow. I kept this up for years but never had a lasting change. I just found more and more people who wanted my money for another device that was supposed to be the best. Any suggestions? I really wanted any kind of foreskin that doesn't involve surgery!
ReplyDeleteThanks to this site for presenting this article, I'll never really know what I'm missing having been circumsised as a newborn but I do know that I'd rather have been able to make the choice on my own as an adult. There are strange things that have resonated a feeling of comfort like tight fitting briefs or even a condom and while I didn't think much about it for a long time, I now know that my glans in particular would REALLY like something around it to keep it from bouncing off of clothing, etc., after 55 years it's tired of feeling like a baseball bat in the back of a moving pickup truck! Thanks for understanding.
ReplyDelete