Craig, 40 - Merthyr Tydfil
Where were you born?
Merthyr Tydfil. When did you first become aware of circumcision? I first became aware at the age of 4, when I had to be circumcised due to phimosis and balanitis. I wasn't all too sure about what was going on, other than my mother telling me that I had to have a "little operation". Are any members of your family circumcised?
Yes. My father and my eldest son. Dad had phimosis and as teenager in the 1960s, the only option was to circumcise. My eldest lad was old enough, at six, to know why he was being circumcised and he did experience some teasing in school for being different. Since then, it's a subject which has come up a few times but as an 18 year old now and in a relationship, he is very positive about being cut. My younger lad is four years younger and is uncut. I had a conversation with him a few years back as to why he was different to his brother and he is of the opinion that he is happy being uncut. Each to their own! At what age were you circumcised? 4. What is the main reason you were circumcised? Phimosis and balanitis. Growing up, I was pretty self-conscious and would even get embarrassed at hearing the word "circumcised" on TV. That said, when I became a dad and my boy needed to be circumcised, my dad was to whom I turned for support and advice. We ended up having a very frank discussion about when I was circumcised and it was during that conversation that I discovered how ill I had been. My circumcision was performed as an emergency as I was unable to urinate, due to the tightness of my foreskin and it was damaging my kidneys. Are you happy about being circumcised? Yes. I wasn't at all happy until my late teens, as I was very self-conscious about being different to the other lads but when I lost my virginity (at age 16) it was to a girl two years older than me and whom had never seen a circumcised penis before. She loved it and that gave me an enormous boost of confidence. |
I have since learned that circumcision, amongst lads my age locally, was far more prevalent than I thought.
Every sexual partner I have had have commented on my circumcision status and such comments have always been positive. I've had quite a few weird remarks from different partners, but the best one was from the one whom became my wife. When we first hooked up, she remarked that she had never seen a circumcised penis before and her exact words were "Oh. That is so cute!" I admit to feeling a little offended, but she then went on to say that it was much cleaner and good that I last longer. "She had never seen a circumcised penis before and her exact words were, 'Oh that's so cute!'" What is the best and worst thing about being circumcised?
The best thing is definitely the aesthetics. My penis looks far more masculine than if it had a foreskin. It is also far cleaner and again through the feedback of sexual partners, I am told I "last" far longer than those they have had sex with whom are uncut. The worst thing is that I still have the occasional reluctance to use a urinal, lest someone saw that I was different. It's silly I know, but I'm not "quite there" yet. Have you had any memorable conversations about circumcision with mates? Yes. I was surprised to discover, after getting quite drunk with mates one evening, that three of the four lads (all of my age) were cut. Two were cut in childhood, due to phimosis and one was cut as a 18 year old due to injury with a zip. One of the uncut ones in our group told us that he had recently cut his foreskin by trapping it in the zip of his jeans. That then led on to the first of my mates stating that he didn't have that to worry about as he was cut and then the same was repeated by some of the others until I too told them about my status. Only one of them was negative about being cut, while the remainder were positive. Again, this made me feel much better about being cut. If you had a son would you circumcise him?
I have two sons and one was circumcised, at the age of 6, due to a really bad case of phimosis which was actually preventing him from being able to urinate. The other remains uncut. |