Jack, 56 - Glasgow
Where were you born?
Edinburgh. When did you first become aware of circumcision? At school we had those big open communal showers, and at the local swimming pool too, so I saw a lot of penises when I was growing up but I didn’t see any cut ones. My Dad left home when I was 6, and when I hit puberty my Mum instead of doing the facts-of-life talk gave me a book to read about it. I remember it had a drawing of a cut penis in it and I remember being curious about it as I couldn’t picture the skin on the end of my own penis being cut off. I’d heard about circumcision in class as a religious practice, but I didn’t know what a cut penis looked like until I left school and worked as a nurse. At that time we used external catheters on the male patients as well as the internal ones more common now. The external catheters were like a condom that we attached to the base of the man’s shaft with double-sided clinical tape and at the other end it had an opening into the leg bag. They weren’t very effective, especially on a guy with a small penis. I found it easier to fit them to the occasional cut penis I came across as there was less skin moving about. I also found it much easier to clean a cut penis as some men didn’t bother with hygiene at all under their foreskin!
After a few years I got married and we moved to a rural area in southern Africa on a three year teaching contract. I was nursing at the local clinic too. In the region where we were, circumcision was the norm for men, so I saw a lot of cut penises here. Circumcision is the main rite of passage into manhood at mid-teens and was a big event for the whole community. We took part in the village celebrations though we were never told what happened at the ceremony itself. I noticed from male patients at the clinic that their circumcision scars were not in the neat lines I’d seen before, and years later I read Nelson Mandela’s autobiography and learnt how he’d been cut in this traditional way. After reading that I had no desire whatever to be circumcised myself! Are any members of your family circumcised? No one in my family is circumcised, as far as I know. At what age were you circumcised? I was 40 when I was circumcised. "My partner, who’s never had a cut partner before, prefers the feeling of my flared rim inside her." What is the main reason you were circumcised?
At the end of my 30s I developed a problem with my foreskin. When I had an erection, the inside of my foreskin was torn slightly in several places. As the tears healed, they tightened the skin, and so the process went round in circles. Eventually I went to my GP and he recommended a topical cream I could use, and mentioned circumcision in passing. I went away to think about it (not wanting to apply cream to my foreskin for the rest of my days) but then discovered, weirdly, that the surgeon who’d be doing the circumcision was a personal friend to my wife and me, and I knew how embarrassed I’d be when we met up socially afterwards. So I found online a Jewish surgeon who specialised in circumcising adults. He was offering the op at a very reasonable price and he had good reviews, so we met up for an appointment. He said that adults getting circumcised have options: he talked about high and low cuts and loose and tight styles – all things I’d never heard of. I had a long foreskin so he recommended a high cut to make the most of the large area of sensitive skin that would be turned back onto the shaft. As I’m a grower, he suggested a loose style so my scrotum and balls didn’t ride up my shaft when I have a full erection. So I went for a high and loose cut – and that’s worked very well for me. The operation itself was quite weird: it took place in his family home front room, he began the operation with a prayer, and at one point I was giving him a hand as he did the final stitching… but that’s another story. Are you happy about being circumcised? I’m very happy being circumcised. I much prefer it. What is the best and worst thing about being circumcised? There are a few things not so good about being circumcised. After the initial six months or so, I did have a loss of sensitivity in my head. That’s more than made up for in other ways in my sex life, including the more sensitive rim of my head, taking longer to climax and enjoying the extra pleasure that brings - and using oil instead of the dry hand approach for wanking. |
Also, when my penis shrinks because of the cold the loose skin bunches up behind my head like an undeveloped acorn, and my penis is now multi-coloured: the first part of my shaft skin is dark, the area of turned back foreskin on the shaft is a light pink, and my exposed head is purple-pink.
But these are just small issues, and there are plenty of very good things about being circumcised. First, I really like the overall appearance: a cut thick cock hanging down over the balls – it looks good! That’s changed my self-image, and it’s not a coincidence that a few years after the op once I’d got used to how I look naked, I started going to naturist events and clubs. I enjoy the naturist lifestyle – the mutual acceptance and the feeling of liberation and the sensation of air and sun on the skin. That’s always been around for me, but I only had the confidence to be a naturist socially with other people after I was circumcised. To begin with when I get naked at a naturist event I’m self-conscious because it’s unusual to see a cut penis so I know people are clocking that about me. But I soon get over that and enjoy the social nakedness. Another positive is my head has flared more since I was cut and the rim is now very sensitive. In all kinds of sex, that’s very pleasurable. The shape of my head is now more obvious through clothing, my thing about foreskin hygiene is never an issue, and as peeing is hands-free, I can now multi-task as I take a piss! My wife died several years ago, and after a while I started dating again. With new partners my cut cock was a curiosity and we had a lot of fun experimenting. Luckily my current partner, who’s never had a cut partner before, now prefers it, especially the look and the feeling of my flared rim inside her. Have you had any memorable conversations about circumcision with mates?
I’m not nursing now, but as a naturist I still see a lot of penises. The difference is, now a lot of people see mine too. Being cut is occasionally a conversation opener. I guess in the naturist context it’s a natural topic and easy to illustrate. Sometimes people are curious and once they discover it’s not for religious reasons and I won’t be offended if they ask, they want to know why I’m cut and what it feels like, and when they find out I was cut as an adult they want to know how the sex compares. I agree with others here that being circumcised has made me more interested in other men’s penises. For me too it’s become part of my sexuality, and that’s led to some interesting conversations too. I have now and again met other naturists who are circumcised, and we always make a comment about it to each other. That has sometimes led on to talking about being cut, getting cut, life before and after, our penises generally – the kind of things we talk about at THUK as it happens… If you had a son would you circumcise him? For me getting cut and being cut has been very positive. If I had a son, would I circumcise him? No, I’d let him choose. I’d tell him the positives I’ve experienced (well, most of them) but I’d leave the decision to him. |