Will, 63 - Norwich
Where were you born?
Norfolk
When did you first become aware of circumcision?
At an early age. My father is circumcised and we had no false modesty at home, so I was accustomed seeing him naked. He had (maybe still has!) a very prominent glans, so there was no mistaking it. It was explained to us why. So far as I can make out, it was for a tight foreskin when he was in the RAF, aged 21.
Are any members of your immediate family circumcised?
Yes, my father (see above) and my younger brother - he had himself circumcised several years before I did. He managed to swing it on the NHS as he had had a recurrent infection under his foreskin, and just happened to see a very pro-circ doctor. So off it came! In the end I had to pay and go private. I think my father wanted us done at birth, but my mother said no.
Norfolk
When did you first become aware of circumcision?
At an early age. My father is circumcised and we had no false modesty at home, so I was accustomed seeing him naked. He had (maybe still has!) a very prominent glans, so there was no mistaking it. It was explained to us why. So far as I can make out, it was for a tight foreskin when he was in the RAF, aged 21.
Are any members of your immediate family circumcised?
Yes, my father (see above) and my younger brother - he had himself circumcised several years before I did. He managed to swing it on the NHS as he had had a recurrent infection under his foreskin, and just happened to see a very pro-circ doctor. So off it came! In the end I had to pay and go private. I think my father wanted us done at birth, but my mother said no.
"Many nudist men are circumcised. They see it as full nudity. Even those who aren't often pull their skins back."
At what age were you circumcised?
It nearly happened when I was 13 as I had a tight foreskin. It was threatened and I was told how painful it would be, but I managed to work on the skin and loosen it. But I think secretly I always wanted to be! So, I eventually had myself circumcised aged 57. Late, but still well worth it. I think the reason for waiting so long is that before the internet it was very difficult to find out anything reliable about elective circumcisions - just rather seedy ads in the back of porn mags! I did belong to the old Acorn Society for a time, but what I read there about the operation did not encourage me.
Also, the idea of stitches rather put me off. When I discovered from a fellow member of Cutting Club that Luton was offering surgical glue, that made my mind up. The glue gives a better end result too - a very thin, even scar line. The pain thing, of course, is a load of nonsense. It was uncomfortable at most while healing. I think the pain is felt by men done for phimosis who have never exposed their glans and so of course they are super-sensitive.
What is the main reason you were circumcised?
Purely because I wanted to be. I had always preferred the look ever since understanding about my father's. I also found it very erotic once I was of an age to do so, seeing the circumcised boys at grammar school. There were six of them in my class of 30, but all done before they were 11. PE twice and games once a week, so we were around each other naked a lot. Unlike what I have read on other stories, we did not tease them, but I think that was to do with a culture where even seeming to look at someone else's cock was to mark yourself as 'queer'!
My best mate at the time had a very large cock when soft - very much a shower - and by the time he was 16 his foreskin had pulled itself back so his glans was always exposed. I thought this was very cool and I was very envious! I always made sure my foreskin was pulled back if I knew I was going to be seen in the changing rooms. Eventually I kept it pulled back permanently for many years before getting it removed. Many guys assumed I was circumcised.
Are you happy about being circumcised?
Very much so and of course wish I had had it done sooner - possibly when I was 13. I thought keeping my foreskin pulled back was the answer, but there is no comparison to the real thing.
What is the best/worst thing about being circumcised?
The best bit is the appearance. I have always thought it looks more mature and masculine, and certainly far neater than a load of draggly foreskin. Sex is better, as I don't have to worry about the skin being pulled forward. Also more erotic: I do tend to lose interest in a sexual partner if he is not also circumcised.
Cleaner, of course, too. And there is an undefinable something about having a bared glans - maybe a sense of being freer? I think I am also more body confident: I never really liked having a foreskin.
Have you had any memorable conversations about circumcision with mates?
A few with sexual partners, both cut and not. Talking about circumcision is very erotic for me, and so it can form part of the experience. There's one guy I see every few months and I'd had the op between meets. He knew I liked to keep my foreskin pulled right back all the time and when I told him that there was no longer a foreskin to pull back, he said he thought it was very horny! (He has a foreskin that covers his glans even when hard, but has no plans to get circumcised.)
Also, I had a couple of late-night beer-fueled conversations at college with several mates - who was and why, who wasn't, etc. I also go to nudist events occasionally, and many nudist men are circumcised. They see it as full nudity. Even those who aren't often pull their skins back while naked.
My brother always wanted to be circumcised also. I forget quite how the topic came up one day, but I do recall we had a long talk about it. Possibly it was just after he had been done and he was telling me about it. He was the one who took me to Luton and back on The Day.
If you had a son, would you circumcise him?
That was never going to happen, being gay, and I've never wanted children anyway, but ... if I had had a son, then I'd have made him well aware of the arguments both ways and let him decide when he was of an age to do so.
It nearly happened when I was 13 as I had a tight foreskin. It was threatened and I was told how painful it would be, but I managed to work on the skin and loosen it. But I think secretly I always wanted to be! So, I eventually had myself circumcised aged 57. Late, but still well worth it. I think the reason for waiting so long is that before the internet it was very difficult to find out anything reliable about elective circumcisions - just rather seedy ads in the back of porn mags! I did belong to the old Acorn Society for a time, but what I read there about the operation did not encourage me.
Also, the idea of stitches rather put me off. When I discovered from a fellow member of Cutting Club that Luton was offering surgical glue, that made my mind up. The glue gives a better end result too - a very thin, even scar line. The pain thing, of course, is a load of nonsense. It was uncomfortable at most while healing. I think the pain is felt by men done for phimosis who have never exposed their glans and so of course they are super-sensitive.
What is the main reason you were circumcised?
Purely because I wanted to be. I had always preferred the look ever since understanding about my father's. I also found it very erotic once I was of an age to do so, seeing the circumcised boys at grammar school. There were six of them in my class of 30, but all done before they were 11. PE twice and games once a week, so we were around each other naked a lot. Unlike what I have read on other stories, we did not tease them, but I think that was to do with a culture where even seeming to look at someone else's cock was to mark yourself as 'queer'!
My best mate at the time had a very large cock when soft - very much a shower - and by the time he was 16 his foreskin had pulled itself back so his glans was always exposed. I thought this was very cool and I was very envious! I always made sure my foreskin was pulled back if I knew I was going to be seen in the changing rooms. Eventually I kept it pulled back permanently for many years before getting it removed. Many guys assumed I was circumcised.
Are you happy about being circumcised?
Very much so and of course wish I had had it done sooner - possibly when I was 13. I thought keeping my foreskin pulled back was the answer, but there is no comparison to the real thing.
What is the best/worst thing about being circumcised?
The best bit is the appearance. I have always thought it looks more mature and masculine, and certainly far neater than a load of draggly foreskin. Sex is better, as I don't have to worry about the skin being pulled forward. Also more erotic: I do tend to lose interest in a sexual partner if he is not also circumcised.
Cleaner, of course, too. And there is an undefinable something about having a bared glans - maybe a sense of being freer? I think I am also more body confident: I never really liked having a foreskin.
Have you had any memorable conversations about circumcision with mates?
A few with sexual partners, both cut and not. Talking about circumcision is very erotic for me, and so it can form part of the experience. There's one guy I see every few months and I'd had the op between meets. He knew I liked to keep my foreskin pulled right back all the time and when I told him that there was no longer a foreskin to pull back, he said he thought it was very horny! (He has a foreskin that covers his glans even when hard, but has no plans to get circumcised.)
Also, I had a couple of late-night beer-fueled conversations at college with several mates - who was and why, who wasn't, etc. I also go to nudist events occasionally, and many nudist men are circumcised. They see it as full nudity. Even those who aren't often pull their skins back while naked.
My brother always wanted to be circumcised also. I forget quite how the topic came up one day, but I do recall we had a long talk about it. Possibly it was just after he had been done and he was telling me about it. He was the one who took me to Luton and back on The Day.
If you had a son, would you circumcise him?
That was never going to happen, being gay, and I've never wanted children anyway, but ... if I had had a son, then I'd have made him well aware of the arguments both ways and let him decide when he was of an age to do so.