# Explain male circumcision **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 25, 2009, 8:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-male-circumcision/482903 "2009-01-25T08:09:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Snnipe\_70E](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5a626/32.png) [@Snnipe\_70E](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snnipe_70E)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2009, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-male-circumcision/482903/21 "2009-01-25T19:19:26Z")
Also when it is done don’t they carterise it at the same time. I also do not see the need and think it should mostly be discontinued. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2009, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-male-circumcision/482903/22 "2009-01-25T19:54:27Z")
> [@](#): > > If the foreskin is removed beyond the point where this “cuff” attaches to the base of the glans, then how does the foreskin on an uncircumcised penis virtually disappear into one long continuous skin covering when erect? I’m not sure what you’re saying, here. If the foreskin is retracted past the head, then it’s kind of bunched up below that point. If it’s not, then it covers the head, just like it does when flaccid. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2009, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-male-circumcision/482903/23 "2009-01-25T20:38:44Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > I’m not sure what you’re saying, here. If the foreskin is retracted past the head, then it’s kind of bunched up below that point. If it’s not, then it covers the head, just like it does when flaccid. But it doesn’t just “bunch up,” it combines with the rest of the skin, which would be impossible if it couldn’t separate. When retracted, the two surfaces of the foreskin, inner and outer, both join the outer skin of the penis. This couldn’t happen if they were still together. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2009, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-male-circumcision/482903/24 "2009-01-25T20:47:20Z")
Getting back to **nyctea scandiaca** ’s drawing: The only inaccuracy is that the cut is made closer to the shaft. The gap between the blue arrows is not closed, but heals as new skin. That’s why, on a circumcized penis, the skin immediately below the head is of a different texture, and thinner, that the skin covering the rest of the shaft. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2009, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-male-circumcision/482903/25 "2009-01-26T00:18:18Z")
> [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](#): > > What’s inaccurate about **Chief** ’s description? It describes accurately many of the hundreds I’ve examined on adult males in my career. Well, I can only claim to have examined one, but probably more closely. When retracted, the foreskin becomes just more of the skin on the shaft of the penis - in fact, it can be retracted by pulling backwards on the skin of the shaft - if the in-facing and out-facing surfaces were inseparable, how would this be possible? ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2009, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-male-circumcision/482903/26 "2009-01-26T00:25:29Z")
Here is a diagram I found that demonstrates what I’m talking about: [![](https://www.circinfo.net/images/aids-diagram-2.jpg) ](https://www.circinfo.net/images/aids-diagram-2.jpg) In the lower (aroused) diagram, the outer and inner prepuce are no longer doubled back against each other, they’re pulled out flat, inline. ---
**Author:** ![Walloon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/fbc32d/32.png) [@Walloon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walloon)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2009, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-male-circumcision/482903/27 "2009-01-26T00:31:15Z")
So the question is: Is the foreskin single-ply or double-ply? If it’s single ply, how is it possible to pull the foreskin back until it’s flat along the shaft of the penis? If it’s double-ply, why doesn’t cutting it off cause the skin of the penis to become separated from the head? ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2009, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-male-circumcision/482903/28 "2009-01-26T00:33:47Z")
It has to be double-ply, or it wouldn’t be able to retract flat, at least in adults, at least _this one_. In infants, I believe it’s often still attached to the glans somewhat, so the configuration might not be the same. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2009, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-male-circumcision/482903/29 "2009-01-26T01:53:01Z")
It’s double-ply, and the “gap” becomes, after circumcision, the thinner skin right below the head. In my experience, nobody who has been circumcised has continuous same-textured skin all the way to the head; there is always that area where the skin is thinner and more sensitive. That is the area that had been the gap between the inner and outer surfaces of the foreskin. ---
**Author:** ![Sapo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ec9cab/32.png) [@Sapo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sapo)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2009, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-male-circumcision/482903/30 "2009-01-26T02:01:32Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > Here is a diagram I found that demonstrates what I’m talking about: > > [http://www.circinfo.net/images/aids-diagram-2.jpg](http://www.circinfo.net/images/aids-diagram-2.jpg) > > In the lower (aroused) diagram, the outer and inner prepuce are no longer doubled back against each other, they’re pulled out flat, inline. Hijack: Do I understand from that diagram that circumcised men cannot get HIV through contact with the penis? ---
**Author:** ![sailor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a587f6/32.png) [@sailor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sailor)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2009, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-male-circumcision/482903/31 "2009-01-26T02:01:35Z")
> [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](#): > > What’s inaccurate about **Chief** ’s description? It describes accurately many of the hundreds I’ve examined on adult males in my career. > > Or do you agree with him that the drawing is not accurate? > > 😕 > > BTW, I’ve also done a few hundred infant circs, and probably a dozen adult ones in my career. My best analogy is converting a turtleneck sweater (with a really small opening for the head) into a standard sweater with a small oval collar. In infants, it’ll heal just fine without suturing, but in adults sutures are needed to minimize scarring. I believe there is a misunderstanding and you are both saying the same thing. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2009, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-male-circumcision/482903/32 "2009-01-26T02:08:27Z")
> [@sailor](#): > > I believe there is a misunderstanding and you are both saying the same thing. I don’t think so. I’m disagreeing with **Chief Pedant**. I’m saying the inner and outer surfaces of the foreskin do not appear to be fused ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2009, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-male-circumcision/482903/33 "2009-01-26T02:09:55Z")
> [@Sapo](#): > > Hijack: > > Do I understand from that diagram that circumcised men cannot get HIV through contact with the penis? I think it’s actually claiming that uncircumcised men can get it more easily, not that circumcised men are invulnerable ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2009, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-male-circumcision/482903/34 "2009-01-26T02:11:02Z")
> [@Sapo](#): > > Hijack: > > Do I understand from that diagram that circumcised men cannot get HIV through contact with the penis? Apparently you can get it through the “inner prepuce” skin, which is very thin, but not through the skin of the glans. And of course you can get it through the urethra. ---
**Author:** ![kidchameleon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/898d66/32.png) [@kidchameleon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kidchameleon)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2009, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-male-circumcision/482903/35 "2009-01-26T02:13:32Z")
> [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](#): > > BTW, I’ve also done a few hundred infant circs, and probably a dozen adult ones in my career. My best analogy is converting a turtleneck sweater (with a really small opening for the head) into a standard sweater with a small oval collar. What about a V-neck? So much more stylish. ---
**Author:** ![jovan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/0ea827/32.png) [@jovan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jovan)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2009, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-male-circumcision/482903/36 "2009-01-26T02:16:11Z")
I think this [animated gif](http://www.circumstitions.com/Works.html) is the clearest demonstration of what happens during retraction. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2009, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-male-circumcision/482903/37 "2009-01-26T02:36:25Z")
> [@](#): > > Here is a diagram I found that demonstrates what I’m talking about: > > [http://www.circinfo.net/images/aids-diagram-2.jpg](http://www.circinfo.net/images/aids-diagram-2.jpg) > > In the lower (aroused) diagram, the outer and inner prepuce are no longer doubled back against each other, they’re pulled out flat, inline. I wouldn’t trust that diagram or its source at all, since anyone who thinks that “aroused” implies “retracted” can’t know all that much about the uncircumcised penis. ---
**Author:** ![sailor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a587f6/32.png) [@sailor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sailor)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2009, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-male-circumcision/482903/38 "2009-01-26T02:52:17Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > I don’t think so. I’m disagreeing with **Chief Pedant**. I’m saying the inner and outer surfaces of the foreskin do not appear to be fused And I think \*\*Qadgop the Mercotan \*\* agrees with you. ---
**Author:** ![lobotomyboy63](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobotomyboy63/32/2900_2.png) [@lobotomyboy63](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lobotomyboy63)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2009, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-male-circumcision/482903/39 "2009-01-26T03:03:11Z")
[old joke] A rabbi saves all the foreskins he’s removed over the years. When he retires he takes them to a leatherworker to have some sort of memento made. He tells the guy to make whatever he can from them. When he returns the leatherworker hands him a wallet. “This is all it would make, huh?” “Yes, but you rub it and it turns into a suitcase.” [/old joke] ---
**Author:** ![BellRungBookShut-CandleSnuffed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bcef8e/32.png) [@BellRungBookShut-CandleSnuffed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BellRungBookShut-CandleSnuffed)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2009, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-male-circumcision/482903/40 "2009-01-26T03:29:10Z")
> [@panache45](#): > > An uncircumsized penis, when erect, can have looser skin than an uncircumsized one, if the foreskin is pulled back onto the shaft. But it can also remain covering the head when erect. Some people have so much skin that it remains covering the head when erect?? _boggle_ [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-male-circumcision/482903.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-male-circumcision/482903.md?page=3)