Coverage Index

When Soft When Hard CI-1 When soft there is no loose skin on the shaft of the penis When hard the shaft skin is very tight and on some men draws the scrotum up

CI-2 When soft there is some loose skin which wrinkles over the sulcus When hard the shaft skin is tight

CI-3 When soft foreskin covers the sulcus and just touches the corona When hard there may be very slight wrinkling of the shaft skin

CI-4 When soft foreskin covers the corona leaving most of the glans exposed When hard there is some wrinkling of the shaft shin behind the sulcus

CI-5 When soft a half to two-thirds of the glans is exposed When hard foreskin wrinkles over the sulcus

CI-6 When soft the foreskin covers most of the glans When hard the foreskin retracts behind the corona

CI-7 When soft the glans is completely covered with the glans visible through the opening When hard foreskin covers the corona and some of the glans

CI-8 When soft there is a small amount of overhanging foreskin When hard the foreskin covers over half of the glans

CI-9 When soft foreskin overhangs the end of the glans When hard the foreskin completely covers the glans but there is no overhang

CI-10 When soft there is a considerable amount of overhanging foreskin When hard the foreskin also overhangs the end of the glans

Coverage index courtesy of WWW.newforeskin.biz

THE ASHLEY MONTAGU RESOLUTION TO END THE GENITAL MUTILATION OF CHILDREN WORLDWIDE A Petition To The World Court, the Hague

Universal Declaration on Circumcision, Excision, and Incision

WHEREAS, the General Assembly of the United Nations on December 10, 1948 adopted and proclaimed the UNIVERSAL DECLARATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS; and

WHEREAS, said Declaration affirms to "strive by teaching and education to promote respect for these rights and freedoms and by progressive measures, national and international, to secure their universal and effective recognition and observance...;"

WHEREAS, Article 2 of said Declaration affirms that "Everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration without distinction of any kind, such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status;" and

WHEREAS, Article 5 of said Declaration affirmst that: "NO ONE SHALL BE SUBJECTED TO TORTURE OR TO CRUEL, INHUMAN OR DEGRADING TREATMENT OR PUNISHMENT;" and

WHEREAS, the practice of medically unnecessary surgical circumcisions, excisions and incisions on male and female genitalia that are conducted:

1. without anesthesia, inflicts incalculable pain and human suffering, constitutes and act of TORTURE within the terms of Article 5 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights; and
2. with anesthesia, constitutes and "act of cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment" within the terms of Article 5 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights; and

WHEREAS, other forms of male and female genital mutilation that are conducted as a matter of social and religious custom, e.g. as in "ritual rites of passage," constitute acts of "TORTURE (AND) CRUEL, INHUMAN OR DEGRADING TREATMENT OR PUNISHMENT" within the language of Article 5 of the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights; and

WHEREAS, the above violations of Articles 2 and 5 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights frequently involves helpless newborns and adolescents—religious and social customs notwithstanding;

Please click to sign the petition to the U.N

Here is The resolution

Personally Pt2

So after another 9 months of restoring
mainly with the DTR Tugger during the day


And Below the TLC Cone at Night
(tugging is too uncomfortable
and dangerous with Nocturnal Erections)



Now erect the skin is less visibly tight

than it was 9 months ago (Below)


and flaccid there is more bunching behind the 'Head' of foreskin


So Overall my observations are that while the regrowth of my foreskin has not been as rapid as desired there is still many improvements from a personal view point ;

Mobility (Aka Glide) : 4/10
Dekeratinization : 2/10 (no improvement)
Sensitivity : 3/10
Coverage Index : C3

Cat 2

Link to Website to research or Buy device



To Quote the designer :

"Constant Applied Tension" stretcher or the CAT Stretcher, which applies outer and inner adjustable tension. (The first CAT Stretcher used tape and the current CAT Stretcher has progressed to tapeless... the CAT II Q ... quick). There is a "pusher" to go against the glans, and a "puller" to grab the foreskin via an outer silicone cone. In between both, pusher and puller, is a rod, which the puller travels on for quickly adjusting the tension. It's much like the plug type foreskin stretcher, with the addition of the tensioner rod between the two halves (<<--->>). The features, which set the CAT II Q stretcher ahead of others, is the "Quick tensioning" method and price, which is lower than any of the similar restoration methods, without compromising quality. The "CAT II Q - daily stretcher" will tension the inner foreskin and outer skin, at the same rate.

Having not tried this device i can not comment or review it but the concept is 'Sound'

Missing frenulum

Missing frenulum The frenulum is a web of tissue connecting the foreskin to the underside of the glans (similar to the frenulum under the tongue or the upper lip). The penile frenulum is densely nerve-laden and is described as a male 'G-spot' — a very erogenous part of the penis. Circumcision often destroys the frenulum. Top Circumcised penis with no frenulum. Lower: Intact penis with retracted foreskin and an intact frenulum.

Reasons Against by TLC

You have no moral right to amputate healthy tissue from a minor. It's his choice to make as an adult. Based on experience in Sweden and other places where non-religious routine circumcision is unheard of, the actual likelihood that anything about an infant's foreskin will threaten him before he is 18 to the point that circumcision will improve things is one in 10,000. When he is an adult he will thank you for leaving him intact. Top Ten Reasons to Leave Your Son Intact:

10: Condoms prevent AIDS, surgery does not. Most deceased US victims of AIDS were circumcised at birth. See also CBC Article.

9: Adults who've had it both ways say the foreskin is highly erogenous tissue. Circumcision removes about 20,000 specialized pleasure-receptive nerve endings, destroys the highly sensitive frenulum, and removes the wonderful frictionless rolling/gliding action of the normal penile skin system.

8: UTIs are more common in girls than in any group of boys, and are treated by medicine, not amputation.

7: 43,000 boys are mutilated for life for every case of penile cancer in an old man with poor hygiene, which has no relationship with intactness (penile cancer is as rare in Denmark where almost no one is cut as it is in the US where the majority are mutilated). MALE breast cancer kills more men than penile cancer does - so, what... we should cut off baby boys' breasts?.

6: About 80% of the world's men are intact. They have no special health problems or lack of partners.

5: Only an informed adult can morally consent to his own cosmetic surgery. It's risky - see complications. Infancy is truly the worst time to circumcise due to the scale of things, challenges of effective anesthesia, healing in fouled diapers, risk of healing/recovery side effects that the patient can't report, and of course since he can't give informed consent any non-emergency amputation is a gross human rights violation.

4: Over 100,000 men are enduring a multi-year restoration process; don't make your child a recovering amputee.

3: The Israel Medical Association gives this article which makes plain that there is no evidence linking cervical cancer specifically to the status of a woman's partner. Besides, now that an HPV vaccine has been developed, this issue has no bearing on infant genital integrity.

2: No national medical organization in the world recommends routine circumcision for any medical reason.

1: Foreskin feels really good, and it's HIS !

circumcision-related damage

Other circumcision-related damage may include:

Meatal stenosis: The normal meatus (urinary opening) in an intact penis is a long slit. When the infant's penis is deprived of its protective foreskin, the meatus can become ulcerated (irritated) by urine, feces and abrasion from diapers. Ulceration can lead to stenosis (narrowing) of the meatus. If the stenosis is severe and impedes urination, a boy may need a meatotomy (surgical reopening of the meatus).

Bowing/curvature of the penis: Uneven removal of tissue during circumcision can cause skin to be tighter on one side of the penis than the other. Bowing or curvature during erection can result. Curvatures can also be congenital (from birth) or the result of Peyronie's Disease.

Skin tags: These are portions of the foreskin that remain after an uneven circumcision.

Hemorrhage, infection, penile amputation, gender reassignment and death are other self-evident forms of damage.

Gouges/missing portions of the glans

Gouges/missing portions of the glans

Separation of the foreskin from the glans occurs naturally between birth and age 18, which is why forcible separation is not required for adult circumcision. Infant circumcision involves the forced separation of these structures, which can tear portions of the glans that are tightly adhered to the foreskin. Also, some circumcision devices (e.g., Sheldon clamp) can sever all or part of the glans, or fail to shield the glans from the scalpel used to remove the foreskin.

Foreballs

• Enjoy the renewed sensual sensitivity of a covered glans.
• A reliable, proven method for successful non-surgical penile shaft tissue expansion.
• Let gravity do the work.
• Available without a prescription.
• Manufactured of hypo-allergenic stainless steel.
• Design allows for user-friendly, weighted stretching process.
• Chemical and bacteria resistant; easy to keep clean.
• Complete instructions provided.

FOREBALLS consists of two stainless steel bearings joined by a 1/4" diameter x 3/4 " long stainless steel rod. The rod and welding add a bit to the overall weight.

FOREBALLS requires some loose skin or a foreskin in which to insert the smaller ball and to tape the tissue between them. FOREBALLS must be removed to urinate.

The standard FOREBALLS set weighs about 7.5 oz (a 1" diameter ball and a 1-1/4" diameter ball). Some other popularly requested sets weigh about 10 oz (two 1-1/4" diameter balls); and another at about 12.5 oz (a 1-1/4" ball and a 1-1/2" ball). Sets can be made with most any combination of ball bearings (based on availabillity).

Personally : I have not tried this device and the P.U.D seems a better deal for your money!

No Skin Mobility

No skin mobility; Scarring

Below: This photograph shows the lack of skin mobility during erection of a circumcised penis. Note the dark scar where the foreskin was amputated.

This tightness and the unnatural dryness of the penile shaft and head causes some men (and their partners) pain, abrasion, and bleeding during sex. Breaks in the skin are an effective way to transmit and contract sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV

Below: These five photographs show how the shaft skin of
an intact (non-circumcised) penis moves during sexual activity.

Anonymous photo taken from usenet news.

Range of skin movement marked by point A is several inches back and forth.
Note how point B moves and the end of the foreskin widens to accommodate
the head of the penis. Notice the smooth texture of the head of the penis.
The moist mucosal surface of the foreskin and glans is similar to that
of the female labia and vagina.

Personally
Until i started restoring i had mo idea the skin could be mobile (slide freely on the Shaft)
it was only after 6 months i discovered the skin slid smoothly if only a little on the shaft and now after a year restoring the difference is massively obvious and i refer to it as "the Glide" .

"The Glide" alone is Reason to restore in my opinion
For Example "during masturbation the enjoyable feeling of a thin layer of skin gliding back and forth over the veiny shaft and rather than my hand rubbing against the frenum and head the exquisite feel of the "Foreskin" bunching and rolling over the head is personally preferable by a long margin"

Pigmentation variations

Pigmentation variations

The pigmentation of the epidermal tissue of the penile shaft is often different from that of the mucosal tissue of the glans and inner foreskin. In the intact penis, only the epidermal tissue of the penile shaft and outer foreskin are visible. The pigmentation of this tissue is usually consistent. Only when the foreskin is retracted, and the glans is exposed, does any pigmentation difference become noticeable

.

In a circumcised penis, any difference in pigmentation (between the epidermal tissue and that of the mucosal tissue of the glans and remaining inner foreskin) is readily and permanently visible. Stark contrasts in skin tone can be a source of embarrassment and self-esteem issues for some circumcised males.

P.U.D

Foreskin restoration is accomplished by taping shaft skin to this weighted product and letting gravity go to work. Some men see progress within two months and have their desired goal reached in approximately 12 to 24 months, depending on the weight and hours used per day and the amount of skin they have to start with.

While wearing the P.U.D. Tugger or P.U.D. GP, 2-4 inches are added to your perceived size. For a discreet appearance, loose fitting clothes are recommended.All of our products come with a urinary passage so removal during urination is not necessary. All P.U.D. Tuggers and GPs include a hook attachment to allow the use of additional weight in stretching the foreskin. P.U.D. products are not recommended for use while sleeping, doing heavy exercise, or in the presence of dangerous equipment. Personally i haven't tried this device and taping can be difficult defiantly for post t tape restorers.

Keratinization

Keratinization The glans (penile head) is normally an internal organ protected by the moist mucosal tissue of the prepuce (foreskin). Without the foreskin, the glans is exposed to the outer environment (air, soap, clothing, sun, etc.). The glans dries out and develops several extra layers of skin (keratinization).1 Compare the dry, cracked appearance of the glans of a circumcised penis (upper right) with the moist mucosal end of the glans of an intact penis (lower right). The unnatural dryness of the circumcised penis can cause abrasion and bleeding during sex, whereas the moistness of the intact penis makes sex more comfortable, especially during penetration. For women with circumcised male partners, the problem of 'vaginal dryness' during sex may also be partly attributable to the unnatural dryness of the circumcised penis. Besides removing the densely nerve-laden foreskin, circumcision removes 50% of the penile shaft skin and associated nerve endings.2 The exposed glans then keratinizes, causing further loss of sensation. Many circumcised men in the Awakenings survey3 reported that desensitization caused them to abandon or bypass the subtler pleasures of genital foreplay in favor of immediate intercourse, which would offer them greater stimulation. They often hurried through intercourse, however — often needing extraordinary and sometimes violent thrusting — to obtain sufficient stimulation for both pleasure and orgasm. Other men reported frequent reliance on behaviors offering more stimulation than vaginal sex (e.g., oral sex, anal sex or masturbation) or compensating for diminished quality of sexual response with quantity (sexual compulsivity). Eventually, keratinization occurs even after adult circumcision. It can also occur in intact men with short foreskins or those who habitually wear their foreskin in the retracted position. Imagine how different female sexual response would be if the clitoral hood (female foreskin) and the labia were removed. Exposure of the clitoris to the constant effects of the outer environment would approximate the effects of male circumcision.

Circumcised penis (top view)

Intact penis (end view)

A Glossary of the Foreskin, Circumcision

A Glossary of the Foreskin, Circumcision and the Movement to End It

Ar. = Arabic; Heb. = Hebrew; Gk = Greek; L. = Latin; pl. = plural In Ar. words a capital letter means a consonant has a dot under it, a vowel has a macron over it.

LISTS: Penile Anatomy; Skinonyms, Surgical Circumcision; Other Surgery; Ritual Circumcision; Restoration; Intactivism Abbreviations;

PENILE ANATOMY

(Highlighted entry-words link to a single picture.)

adhesion

1. False diagnosis of normal union between neonatal foreskin and glans as pathological. "Cured" by circumcision, as sleep in the eyes would be cured by beheading.
2. Iatrogenic joining of the foreskin to the glans caused by misguided attempts to separate them prematurely, with tearing and joining of raw wound-tissues. Can cause phimosis

anastomosis

Cross-connection, esp. of veins in the foreskin. (Gk. ana- = back, stomos = opening, pl. anastomoses)

aposthia

Condition of naturally having no foreskin. According to tradition, Mohammed was born without a foreskin (aposthetic) and Muslims practice circumcision to be like him. (Gk a- = not, posthe = foreskin, -ia = condition)

"ballooning"

Inflation of the foreskin with urine during urination. Perfectly normal in neonates unless it causes pain. Can then be treated without surgery.

bulla

The swelling of the urethra just inside the meatus. (L. = bubble)

cingulus levis

Anatomical Latin name suggested by Ken McGrath for the zone or band of smooth mucosa on the inner foreskin. (L. = smooth zone)

cingulus rugosus

Anatomical Latin name suggested by Ken McGrath for the ridged band (L. = corrugated zone)

corona (glandis)

The flange at the base of the glans penis. (L. = crown of the acorn)

corpus cavernosum

One of the two partially hollow columns forming the sides and dorsum of the shaft of the penis, that engorge with blood in erection. (L. = cavernous body, pl. corpora cavernosa)

corpus spongiosum

The spongy body running under the corpora cavernosa along the length of the penis, surrounding the urethra, that partially engorges with blood in erection. ( L. = spongy body, pl. corpora spongiosa)

dartos

A thin layer of muscle lying directly under the skin of the penis and scrotum (it causes the scrotum to retract when cold and writhe when hot). It runs around the tip of the foreskin, forming the preputial sphincter.

distal (to)

Farther from the body. (opp. proximal)

dorsal

Of the dorsum: in the case of the penis, on the upper side when its owner is standing upright and it is horizontal. (opp. ventral)

dorsum

the back part (L. = back)

FORESKIN

Surprisingly hard to define, and the outer layer of the foreskin does not exist as an entity distinct from the shaft-skin of the penis. (For that reason it is not specifically marked in the picture.) In general though, the foreskin is the tapered cylindrical double layer of tissue extending from behind the corona distally to about the end of the glans and returning, and generally considered to end at the same distance along the penis as it began (ie, it is defined by circumcision...). From the corona to the ridged band its surface is mucosa; the rest is skin, and it is lined with part of the dartos muscle. On erection for most men it becomes a single-layered cylinder, mucosa behind the corona, skin distally, enclosing about half of the shaft.

fossa navicularis

See bulla (L., fossa = channel, navicularis = boat-shaped)

frenar band

See ridged band. (A different structure from the frenulum.)

frenular band

See ridged band. (A different structure from the frenulum.)

frenulum

The membrane attaching the foreskin to the glans and shaft of the penis (at the ventral midline, just proximal to the meatus). It is richly endowed with nerves. Often only a remnant of the frenulum is left after circumcision, if it is not also removed. Many circumcised men consider it their "G-spot" - but only because their "G-area", the ridged band, has been removed. (L. fraenulum = little bridle pl. frenula) There are also frenula under the tongue and elsewhere.

frenulum breve

Strictly, having a short frenulum, but commonly, having a short ridged band, a cause of phimosis and an impressive-sounding excuse for circumcision. (L. brevis = short)

frenum

Sometimes used for frenulum. (L. fraenum = bridle)

epispadias

A condition in which the meatus points upward rather than forward. Does not require treatment if urinary flow is not obstructed. May also be iatrogenic, if the glans is included when the foreskin is first slit with scissors.

glans (penis)

The bulbous head of the penis. (L. = acorn (of the penis), pl. glandes (pen[i]um) The same word is the root of "gland")

hypospadias

A condition in which the meatus points downward rather than forward, either as a birth variation or iatrogenic, a consequence of circumcision.

meatal stenosis

Narrowing of the meatus, one of the possible consequences of circumcision.

meatus

The opening of the urethra. (pl meatus or meatuses, may be pronounced as three syllables, me-a-tus)

meatal lips

The tiny swellings on either side of the meatus. (may be pronounced me-ay-tal) Their conformation is very different after circumcision.

meatitis

Inflammation of the meatus, one of the possible consequences of circumcision.

mega-prepuce

A very large foreskin, i.e. bigger than someone else likes, sometimes used as justification for circumcision (Gk mega = large)

Meissner's corpuscles

Nerve-endings associated with the perception of fine variations of touch (and pleasure), very numerous in the ridged band and frenulum.

microposthia

Condition of having a very small foreskin, sometimes used as a justification for circumcision on the basis that nothing much is lost, ignoring the role of the ridged band (Gk micro = small)

mucosa

Skin-like membrane lining the foreskin and covering the glans (and lining the vagina, mouth and anus). It is normally always moist.

mucous membrane

See mucosa.

necrotizing fasciitis

"Galloping gangrene", a possible consequence of circumcision.

papilla coronis

Any of the small white points of hardened mucous membrane along the corona glandis in some intact men. In circumcised men they are lost among the general keratinization. (L= little nipple of the corona, pl. papillae coronis)

(In cats and rodents they are much more pointed, shocking the females into ovulation, and related to the much sharper ones on cats' tongues.)

paraphimosis

Condition where the ridged band is trapped behind the corona. May be relieved without surgery.

penes

L. plural of penis. Penises is clear; peni and penii would be the plurals of "penus" and "penius".

penile

Of the penis.

phimosis

Inability to retract the foreskin. Normal in all neonates (because the synechia attach the foreskin to the glans), many children and some adults (if the ridged band is short).It can be treated without surgery if painful or if the urinary flow is obstructed. (Gk = muzzling)

prepuce

See foreskin. (from L. prae, in front, and putium, penis)

pr[a]eputial sphincter

The "drawstring" of the foreskin, formed of the dartos muscle.

pr[a]eputial stenosis

Narrowing of the foreskin. Replacing "phimosis" to describe inability to retract the foreskin in adulthood. May be treated (if any treatment is needed) without surgery. (L. praeputium = foreskin, Gk stenosis = narrowing)

proximal (to)

Nearer to the body. (opp. distal)

raphe

The "seam" up the underside of the penis (actually running all the way from the anus to the urinary meatus), where the urethra closed up before birth.

ridged band

A zone of corrugated tissue running from the frenulum, around the inside of the foreskin close to the preputial sphincter (and therefore is largely removed by even minimal circumcision) and back to the frenulum. It lies between the outer skin and the smooth band.It is richly endowed with nerves. Meissners corpuscles are concentrated in the peaks of the ridges.

smegma

A natural secretion of skin cells and oils that collects under the foreskin in both males and females. It may have a pungent aroma (commonly compared to cheese [males] or fish [females]), and has lubricant, pheromonal (sexual attractant) and perhaps bacteriostatic (bacteria-killing) functions.

smooth band

The area of the foreskin between the ridged band and the sulcus.

smooth mucosa

The tissue of the surface of the smooth band (but the terms smooth mucosa and smooth band are often used interchangeably).

synechia

The membrane attaching the inner (mucosal) surface of the neonatal foreskin to the glans penis. It separates naturally (helped by masturbation) before adolescence.

sulcus

The groove in the penile shaft behind the glans penis.

superficial dorsal vein

A vein running up the dorsal surface of the penis directly under the skin, more prominent in circumcised men, indicating that circumcision modifies the penile circulation.

Tysons glands

Glands supposed to exist in the corona and secrete smegma. They were found in orang outangs; they have not been confirmed in humans.

urethra

The tube running the length of the penis carrying urine and semen. (cf. the tubes from the kidneys to the bladder, the ureters)

ventral

Of the belly: in the case of the penis, on the underside when its owner is standing upright and it is horizontal. (opp. dorsal)

SKINONYMS - SYNONYMS FOR "FORESKIN" etc

blaengroen

Welsh, blaen = first/foremost, croen -> groen = skin

Cavalier (intact male)

UK Opp.: Roundhead

forhud

Norwegian, for = front, hud = skin

förhud (o-diaresis)

Swedish, för = front, hud = skin

(lace) curtains

Mainly US

ngovi (= foreskin, or intact man)

Swahili

prepuce

from L. prae, in front, and putium, penis

snozzle

coined by HY, May 1997, as a friendlier, less clinical alternative

vorhaut

German, vor = fore / in front, haut = skin

whistle (= intact penis)

South Africa Opp.: cherry.

SURGICAL CIRCUMCISION

ablate

Remove. (ablation = removal) (L., = carry away)

CIRCUMCISION

A euphemism for MGM, but generally used to mean cutting off the whole of the foreskin. (L. circumcidere = to cut around) It may leave less or more of the inner mucosa and of the frenulum, at the whim of the circumcisor, to the greater or lesser detriment of the person circumcised.

Circumstraint (tm)

Torture-board with straps to hold down a baby sensibly struggling against being circumcised.

cornification

See keratinisation. (L. cornus = horn) A useful reminder that the circumcised glans hardens like a worker's hands (but beware of the double meaning of "horny").

fistula

A tubular complication of circumcision, as when a skin bridge is open underneath. (L. = pipe, flute, pl. fistulae)

Gomco clamp (tm)

A circumcision device invented in 1934, consisting of a metal bell placed over the glans (requiring a slit in the foreskin first) and a flat metal ring over both, to define the position of the cut. They are brought together by a screw to apply circular crushing and fusing force at the position of excision. Leaves a characteristic dark line at the excision scar. (from [Aaron] GOldstein Manufacturing COmpany, later Gomco Surgical Manufacturing Co.)

iatrogenic

(Damage) caused by a doctor (or nurse or parent) eg, phimosis caused by premature attempt to retract the foreskin. (Gk. iatros = physician)

infibulation

1. Installation of a sealed wire loop through holes in the foreskin to make erection painful in an attempt to prevent masturbation. (L. fibula = brooch)
2. Drastic scraping and removal of female genitalia, leaving only a small hole.

keratinisation

Hardening of the mucosa of the glans after circumcision, leading to reduced sensitivity. (Gk. keras = horn)

Mogen clamp (tm?)

One of a series of circumcision instruments made by this company, including probe, probe-tipped scissors, etc. Described as "the least painful method" and "able to be used without previous experience."

necrosis

Death of tissue. (adj. necrotic)

neonate

Newborn baby. (adj. neonatal)

PlastiBell (tm)

A grooved plastic dome placed under the divided foreskin. A ligature (thread) is tied tightly around the foreskin, crushing it into the groove, causing it to become necrotic (to die) and drop off.

posthectomy

Medical Gk for circumcision (posthe = foreskin, -ectomy = cutting off)

Sheldon clamp (tm)

A circumcision device with jaws. (more details needed)

skin bridge

A complication of circumcision in which the healing excision scar fuses to the damaged mucosa of the glans, usually at the corona.

suture-hole

A complication of circumcision in which a depression is left in the skin when a stitch is removed or dissolves.

Tara KLamp (tm)

A non-reusable circumcision device made of plastic. Works by cutting off circulation to the foreskin, using a plastic ring clamped in place over a tube (to allow urination). Available in sizes up to adult, recently developed in Malaysia. (Capital, Kuala Lumpur = K.L., hence KLamp)

OTHER SURGERY

dorsal slit

In the foreskin, a crude form of posthioplasty to relieve phimosis. Very similar to super[in]cision.

posthioplasty

Reshaping-surgery on the foreskin (including circumcision-reversal).

Z-plasty

Form of posthioplasty (eg to correct phimosis or to taper a non-surgically restored foreskin) involving a Z-shaped incision.

RITUAL CIRCUMCISION

Amidsha

Yugoslav Muslim circumcisor

arel

Intact male (Heb., pl = arelim)

barzel

Slotted plate used in Brit Milah to isolate the glans from the foreskin to be removed.(Heb., = iron, knife)

brit/bris/brith

Heb., = covenant, pl., Britot

Brit Mila[h]

Jewish circumcision ceremony, performed on the eighth day after birth. (Heb., = covenant of cutting, pl. Brit Milot)

Brit Shalom

Surgery-free Jewish naming ceremony. (Heb., = covenant of peace) NB The Brit Shalom Society had nothing to do with circumcision: it was an organisation of Jewish intellectuals in the 1920s-30s promoting Jewish-Arab reconciliation.

Encoumbee

Pygmy circumcision ceremony

Es-selkh

Bedouin circumcision ceremony

Eunoto

Maasai circumcision ceremony

Feast of the Circumcision

January 1 (the eighth day after Christmas), Christian festival of Jesus' circumcision (generally used to remember his human susceptibility to wounding, and his circumcision as a precursor of his crucifixion, rather than his Judaism).

khAfiDah

Woman who excises girls' genitalia (Arabic = she who lowers the clitoris)

khAtin

Circumcisor (Ar. fem. Khatinah)

khitAn

Circumcision (classical Ar.)

khitoum (khitOn?)

Islamic ritual circumcisors (from khitAn) The name is used in parts of Egypt, throughout the Levant, Iraq, the Arab Peninsula and the Gulf. Khitoum are barber-surgeons.

mezizah/metzitzah

The sucking of blood from the wound, nowadays done through a glass tube. (Heb., = sucking, not to be confused with Mezuzah, a holder for a scroll, nailed to a door-post)

muzayyeen

Barber. (pl. muzayyinUn -In.) The name used in Islamic North Africa from Morocco to Egypt. Barbers usually perform circumcisions.

mohel

Jewish ritual circumcisor. Need not be a rabbi. May be a doctor. (pl. Mohelim, fem. (Reform) mohelet)

moyle/moyil

Yiddish for mohel

muTahhar

Purified, circumcised (Ar., passive participle of TaThIr)

muTahhir

Islamic ritual circumcisor (Ar., = purifier)

perangan

Slotted board used in Malay ritual circumcision (cf barzel)

periah/priyah

The radical form of Jewish circumcision instituted (or formalised) in the second century CE to prevent concealment. (Heb., = complete)

peritomy

Anglicised Gk = circumcision. St Paul said repeatedly that it was not necessary for Christians. (peri = around, -tomia = cutting)

sply

Split the penis ("like a hotdog" - Glenn Epps), an even more extreme form of subincision.

subincision

A ventral slit in the penis through to the urethra, from the meatus some way along the shaft, customary among some Australian aboriginal peoples.

super[in]cision

A dorsal slit in the foreskin, used by/on the priestly and royal castes of ancient Egypt and still customary among some Pacific peoples. (If done pre-puberty, the outcome looks similar to circumcision and has the advantage over circumcision that no tissue is lost.)

tahara

Circumcision (Ar. = purification)

taThIr

Circumcise (Ar., = make pure)

Tok Mudim

(Malay) Ritual circumcisor

Urkwtha

Ritual circumcision in the Ciskei of Southern Africa (Xhosa)

RESTORATION

BUFF method

A restoration method promoted by BUFF, involving regular stretching.

decircumcise

See restore.

fore-ball

Dumbbell-shaped steel device for late stages of restoration. The skin is taped over one ball, the other used to attach weight or elastic.

J-tape

Restoration method developed by Johnny: <johnny.com@sympatico.ca> for details.

Point Of Equilibrium

The point (actually a line around the penis) where tension toward the glans and toward the base is equal when T-tape draws the skin forward.

Recap (tm)

Early name for the Restor-EZ

restore

Return penis to as near as possible to the way it would be if not circumcised, by a) using mild tension over time to encourage growth, b) surgery.

Restor-EZ

System of restoration involving a cylindical splint.

RS system

Restore Skin system. A kitset consisting of T-tape, suspender-like elastics, and a special oil to remove the tapes and their adhesive.

T-tape

Surgical tape made in a T-shaped cross-section, with the top of the crossbar adhesive, gripping both sides of the skin to be pulled forward, and the upright used to apply tension.

Tugger (tm)

A weight shaped to fit the front of the glans, to which the restoring foreskin may be taped, with a hole for urination. (Formerly P.U.D., Penis Uncircumcising Device)

uncircumcise

Restore foreskin. "Uncircumcised" is not generally used in Intactivist circles to describe intact penises or men.

INTACTIVISM

disendow

Reduce endowment. A word (adapted to this sense in 1996 by John Antonopoulis of Montreal) whose derivatives, disendowment, etc., usefully remind people that circumcision reduces the size of the penis - something some men are said to care about.

intact

Whole (of man or penis, with his or its original foreskin) (L. = not touched)

Intactivism

The movement to protect children from having healthy parts of their genitals cut off.

Intactivist

The highest form of human life, one who selflessly devotes him/herself to the cause of Intactivism. (Word coined by Richard De Seabra in 1995 - although not with this definition.)

Intactness Day

July 1, as far as possible from the Feast of the Circumcision, a yet-to-be-celebrated festival of intactness, whether achieved, wished for or worked for.

Intact Network

A group of intact and restoring men, and women, promoting Intactivism through the "Intact Network" newsletter.

"Intact Network"

A two-monthly newsletter promoting Intactivism, edited by Ken Derifield <intacnet@e-z.net>

Intact-Up

A yet-to-be-formed body that will retire Circumstraints (tm), rescue babies, spill mock-blood on hospital steps, disrupt meetings of circumcisors and (non-violently) bomb circumcision chambers.

Penis Day

(Date to be decided) A day set aside for celebrating the penis. (Some women will ask, "What day isn't?")

ABBREVIATIONS

ACOG

American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists

AHA

American Hospital Association

AMA

Albanian Medical Association; American Medical Association

AAP

American Academy of Pediatrics

BJU

British Journal of Urology

BMJ

British Medical Journal

BUFF

Brothers United for Future Foreskins, a restoration organisation ("mostly married heterosexuals" - Bud Berkeley)

c.

circumcise, circumcision. Many people try to avoid the words.

CF/IS

Circumcised Fathers of Intact Sons, a support group

circ[.]

circumcise, circumcision. Many Intactivists dislike this abbreviation because it trivialises (and - sounding like "dirk" - "masculinises? - HY) the operation.

CIRP

Circumcision Information and Resource Pages (http://www.cirp.org/CIRP/ )

CMA

Canadian Medical Association

CPA

Canadian Paediatric Society

FGM

Female Genital Mutilation (previously known as female circumcision)

FIG

Fear, Ignorance, Greed - three of the main motivations for circumcision.

FoF

Friends of Foreskin, an Intactivist umbrella group (New Zealand)

FR

Foreskin Restoration

FS

ForeSkin

HGM

Human Genital Mutilation (FGM + MGM)

HOW

Healing Our Wounds, a San Francisco support group for circumcised men. Contact Wayne Goodman <WGoodman@pacbell.net>.

JAMA

Journal of the American Medical Association

IMAC

Intact Men Against Circumcision, an Intactivist organisation

LC

Law Commission (UK)

MGM

Male Genital Mutilation

NOCIRC

National Organization of Circumcision Information Resource Centers

NOHARMM

National Organization to Halt the Abuse and Routine Mutilation of Males

NORM

National Organi[s/z]ation of Restoring Men, a restoration organisation. (s in NZ, z in US) The US one has the domain name NORM.ORG

NRC

Non-Religious Circumcision (coined by Don Morgan, not widely current)

OB/GYN

Obstetrician/Gyn[a]ecologist. A doctor specializing in childbirth/women, with no particular expertise in the genitalia of baby boys. (L = one who stands in front / Gk = one who discourses on women)

POE

Point Of Equilibrium

P.U.D.

See Tugger.

RIC

Routine Infant Circumcision (an in-house Intactivist expression)

RS

Restore Skin (system)

SMEGMA.

Stop Mutilating Every Goy Manchild Automatically, a transient three-member organisation on a Compuserve holistic health group, headed by John Chastain. See also smegma.

USA

(also) Uncircumcised Society of America, a club mainly for gay men with a foreskin fetish.

Thanks to

• • the late Glenn M. J. Epps
    Sami Aldeeb
    Rudy the Alphacub
    Mario I. Calderó [acute o]
    Peter Daniels
    John Erickson
    Geoffrey T. Falk
    Al Fields
    Nicholas Heer
    George Hill
    Jono Hoch
    Menahem Luz
    Ken McGrath
    Robert Meigs
    Mr Martin B Novoa
    Chris Price
    R. Wayne
    John Willcocks
    Miles Witt

for comments and corrections.

(c) Copyright 1998 by Hugh Young

May be freely republished in the cause of ending infant genital mutilation.

Thank You, Howard Stern

Howard Stern is the first -- and still the only -- mega-celebrity to publicly and repeatedly take an appropriately outraged, uncompromising, zero-tolerance stand against the sexual mutilation of children and babies.

His statements below were transcribed from his radio show by Tony Shale.

Thank you, Howard Stern. Thank you.


July 27, 1998

Parents should not be allowed to make this decision. It should not be up to parental consent. If somebody wants to get a circumcision, let them do it when they're an adult. Seriously. It should be stopped, it should be against the law. It’s as barbaric as what goes on in Africa. There is no reason for circumcision, PERIOD!

And I’ll tell you what it is. Most men want their sons to look like themselves. So this keeps going. It keeps going on and on and on. It is so barbaric. And they are saying now people are starting to take a second look at this. And they say that they believe in the future it will be more common to see uncircumcised men in gym class because people are really starting to wake up to this. It is probably the biggest form of child abuse going on in this country right now.

I tell you, if I had a son, I would never allow him to be circumcised. Never! Never! NEVER ALLOW IT! NEVER!

And these Jews who are doing it are wrong, and the goyem [non-Jews] that are doing it are wrong. Everyone’s wrong.

It is wrong. Stop the practice NOW! IMMEDIATELY!

Class action suit against doctors. This is the only way you’ll get them to stop ... no matter who gives consent. Parents have no right to say. PARENTS ARE OUT OF THEIR MINDS. They don’t think things through. They all just go along.

[To a mohel about the Bible] I’m telling you, Sir, this is a BARBARIC process. And everyone has been so BRAINWASHED. I don’t think a book is bad if it tells you not to kill someone. But a book is bad if it’s telling you to mutilate young boys and to cut off their penises ... That’s bad. You’re in the business of mutilating young boys, Sir. And I think you should be arrested!


September 14, 1998

Every thirty seconds in this country a baby is circumcised. It is absolutely retarded to mutilate. It’s retarded to mutilate young boys. If suddenly there was a law in this country passed, or some sort of ritual that everyone started doing about cutting women’s clitorises off -- it’s being done in Africa -- I mean could you imagine the absurdity? Somehow people bought into this.

I know my penis was mutilated. They hold you down and without any anesthesia whatsoever, they cut it off. And they say the kids go into shock.

It’s really the biggest crime being committed by parents against their children. And I know if I had a son, I would not even stop to think about it.

There’s nothing natural about it. You know, I had this revelation. I was standing there. I was reading stuff off the Internet. I said, "Oh, my God! I’ve been mutilated!"

We are used to seeing [circumcised penises]. But do you know that most of the world is uncircumcised? It’s just in this country, there’s some sort of weird hang-up about the look of it or something. But it’s totally natural to look that way. You know what I did this weekend? I watched porno with uncircumcised guys. They don’t look that weird. It was straight porno ... I was just sitting there watching, and the guy was uncircumcised.

What I’m saying is -- and I’m saying to all people out there -- we have to stop the butchering of our boys.

I don’t care what anyone says. I’m going to continue to speak out on this. I am completely pissed off that I’m circumcised. And they say that the penis is LONGER or at least gives the appearance of being longer, if you’re uncircumcised.

It is MUTILATION. There is no benefit whatsoever. I swear to you, it is wrong. Think about it. Really sit down and contemplate what I am saying. It is so wrong. There is a REASON for that foreskin being there.


October 21, 1998

Why do people circumcise their sons in this country? I have no clue. I am circumcised and I tell you something, I despise it. I despise it. I despise it.

I didn’t even become aware that I was hostile to the fact that my parents circumcised me until recently. I thought about it and I said, my God, they’re talking about all that skin tissue removed. It is all nerves, it all adds to your sexual pleasure, this is the way you are born for a reason. It cuts down on, not only sexually transmitted diseases, but other kinds of diseases. And its perfectly clean. We’ve been conditioned to think that men aren’t clean who are uncircumcised, and it’s wrong. And it’s wrong to put kids through this kind of pain. There’s no reason for it.

And then there are some Jews who say it is a covenant with God. Well you know what? Forget about it! What covenant with God?

It's absurd. The whole thing's absurd. It's disgusting. It's about time it stopped. It should be against the law. The same way you couldn't go cut off a boy's whole penis and decide to make him a girl. It's the same exact thing. Let me decide as an adult. If I want a circumcision, I'll go get one. It's barbaric. And they don't even give these kids any kind of anesthesia ... Some of them lock up and go into seizure ... and now this kid [Dustin Evans] is dead. The parents are completely devastated. For what? It was a healthy baby. It’s out of control.


December 4, 1998

A lot of women in Africa -- and I've been screaming about this -- are circumcised by their fathers because they don't want them to have sexuality ... I hate that men are circumcised in this country. I'm against that as well ... I'm against male or female circumcision. It's my issue.


January 8, 1999

Well this woman has no clitoris, everybody, because of the backward ways of Africa. And let me tell you something: this country is no better. They circumcise men all the time here and it’s wrong. It's f---ing wrong! When people hear that women have their clitorises cut off in Africa, they go, "Oh, how horrible." Meanwhile why are men mutilated here every day?


February 4, 1999

I am telling you -- America, pay attention to me -- stop these circumcisions. It is mutilation of boys. It is no different than what they do in Africa to women with these clitoridectomies. We are butchering our young.

The body is built a certain way to function. This idea that man created, circumcision, you KNOW is wrong! You KNOW it's wrong! What do you think? God -- Oh! -- If there was a God -- assume we're going to try to improve -- in other words he wants you -- he's sending us to doctors to -- Oh! -- Circumcision came about because men are so sexually active that somewhere along the line they tried to tame men's libido. That's how it got started. Well guess what. It doesn't stop. All it does is mutilate.


March 2, 1999

This is the mutilation of babies. And let me tell you something ... it should be against the law.

THIS IS AN OUTRAGE! IT'S NOT EVEN A JOKE! IT'S AN OUTRAGE! IF I HAD A SON I WOULDN’T LET ANYONE NEAR HIM WITH A KNIFE!

IT’S YOUR PENIS! IT’S WHAT YOU WERE BORN WITH. WHAT DO YOU THINK? GOD WANTED YOU TO CUT THAT OFF? WHERE’S GOD TELLING PEOPLE TO CUT THINGS OFF THEIR BODY? IT’S A SUPERSTITION!

And when I meet these Jews who tell me it's a covenant with God I want to take them and throw them out the window. Where's God and where's the covenant?

Of course, it's mutilation. That's like saying, "You know what? If you cut off your arm you'll never get an ingrown nail on your hand!" That's a great benefit!

It should be against the law. I'm telling you right now, if I was Governor Jesse Ventura or Governor Putaki or President Clinton I would put into a bill that it is against the law to mutilate children. They're all worried about protecting friggin' children except during this, because everyone is a big pussy.

Hey, let me ask you something. If I took your son, all right? I strap him to a table when he's first born. I mutilate him, I do experiments on him, mutilate him in some way. Now he is not going to remember this mutilation. You have no way of gauging their pain. But if you don't think that's a trauma to the nervous system and to the entire being ... You don't think that shapes your feelings toward people? To have that happen the first thing you come into this world ... that it's not trusting? Absolutely!


March 16, 1999

We have all been mutilated. Our penises have been mutilated at birth. They say that the uncircumcised penis, I mean there’s thousands of nerve endings that are cut off. You are literally, it’s like in Africa they mutilate women and we think that’s barbaric, but we’re doing the same thing to men!


March 26, 1999

It’s a barbaric practice and it should be stopped in this country and should be outlawed ... to me it’s a more serious crime that what’s going on in Kosovo or wherever the hell that is. We should be involved in the mutilation of young boys? I mean what kind of country are we? What kind of country is this? It’s backward. It’s barbaric.