Circumcision Info I Would Share If I Wasn't Afraid to Hurt Your Feelings

Circumcision. It's not a popular topic. In fact, the first time I saw an uncircumcised penis I was confused and thought something was wrong with it. I was afraid to say anything (I was 17) but when I learned he was just uncut I was kinda lost. Was every other penis I had seen cut at birth? It took me until I was 29 to interact with my second uncut man. Why was it so rare? And what were the benefits and the reasons someone would cut a baby like this? It kind of baffled me. So, let's start with the history of circumcision, then I'll move to the impacts of cutting, and finally I'll bring some hope back with what you can do if you're already cut.

As early as 4000 years ago there was hieroglyph evidence of circumcision procedures in Egypt. It was also performed among some Semitic tribes in the Near East (Hebrews, Phoenicians, Arabs), and among some East African groups like the Nubians and Ethiopians. The practice appeared independently in a few places, including Australia and parts of the Pacific, which suggests it served a powerful social or ritual function rather than spreading from a single origin. Some early humans saw the foreskin as an animal aspect of our human bodies.

In many ancient societies (including Egypt and later Sub-Saharan and Aboriginal groups), circumcision was a puberty or initiation ritual marking the transition to manhood. It was about enduring pain, proving maturity, and belonging to the tribe, not hygiene or religion at first. And it was a choice by a mature boy, not on an unsuspecting baby.

Then, in Genesis 17, circumcision becomes a covenant between God and Abraham’s descendants, mandated on the eighth day after birth. This religious framing gave the practice endurance across millennia. In Islam it was not commanded in the Qur’an, but adopted through hadith (sayings of the Prophet Muhammad) as part of fitra (natural purity). It became a near-universal Muslim custom by around the 7th–10th centuries CE.

In the 19th century, Western doctors (particularly in the US and Britain) began promoting circumcision as: a cure for masturbation (believed to cause mental illness, epilepsy, and moral decline at the time), and a way to prevent infections or improve hygiene. By the early 20th century, U.S. hospitals routinely circumcised newborns, though most European nations did not. That medical rationale has since been largely discredited as pseudoscientific, yet the habit persists culturally.

So, the reasons why they were performed were religious (purity), cultural (especially in the US), medical (although the benefits in developed countries are very small), and conformity (your dad was cut so you are cut even if it's not for religious or medical reasons). I want to focus on this idea of purity for a little bit.

The foreskin was seen as an animal aspect of males, and in order to be worthy of God, to be seen as civilized, or to control male urges it was cut (often at birth). But did that actually lead to more purity and less masturbation? There is no concrete evidence of this, though it has been studied several different ways. Men who are uncut compared to men who are cut are seen to have the same tendencies towards self-pleasure and sex in general.

But there is evidence that men who are cut experience less pleasure or ease of masturbation after they are cut. This study was done on men who elected as adults to be cut and could compare both. Some in the study reported the opposite, although less so. Although, one important aspect of this is that they were fully mature when they were cut, so the procedure is quite different than on a newborn.

In a newborn, the penis is so small and hasn't developed enough. There's no way of knowing how much to take off so that the fully mature penis is not impacted. The complication rate of these neonatal circumcisions is about 1-2%, and that includes infection risk, adhesion risk, concerning swelling, urethral development issues, and rarely other penis injuries. But it's unknown what the long-term effects of neonatal cuts are.

There have been studies, and some suggest a minority of participants had decreased sensitivity or satisfaction with circumcision at birth. But that's really hard to study. How would you know if you had decreased pleasure if you never knew what it was like before? And what if you believe you have been made pure by this cut? Would you question the outcomes? What we do know is that there is a portion of males who say they feel they have altered negative experiences with circumcised penises.

And what I can say personally (I know this is anecdotal, but I talk to a lot of people about their sexuality) is that there are men who wish their parents hadn't taken this choice from them. There are men who would not have consented to this being done to them at birth. And there are men who wonder if the sexual problems they are experiencing today stem from this non-consensual procedure. And this is extremely hard to study.

So, what do I think as a Sex Coach? I believe in consent in all things. And I believe that if an adult man wants to be circumcised, that he has the right to do it. But with the potential complications (1-2% is actually a lot of babies in a country with 350 million), and with the unknown but suspected sensation and satisfaction decline that we need to seriously consider the outcomes here. For no upside benefit, why risk any of these complications?

And I want to mention one of the greatest lies here about the upside. Some pro-circumcision people say that there is a decreased risk of HIV infection with circumcision, and decreased risk of infections in general. But in a developed country with good hygiene practices that risk is completely negligible. The risk of complications from the procedure alone is higher than the lowered risk of infection later on in life. It is very possible to keep a clean foreskin with basic hygiene. And are you really going to make a life altering choice for a baby based on how much sex you think he's going to have with HIV positive people? That's kind of a wild assumption.

I know it's really difficult to think about your sweet little newborn baby boy and prioritize his sexual satisfaction, but you're making a huge choice when you choose to cut the healthy genitals of a baby. This practice has been completely outlawed for baby girls, so why are we so ok with infant genital mutilation for baby boys? That's what we call it when a baby girls clitoral hood is removed: infant genital mutilation. It's the same for boys in my mind.

So, let's look at this through the lens of my Neo Tantra and Tantra background. Tantra knows that the body is not something to be overcome, but a Divine aspect of our humanity. The body is sacred, the penis is sacred, sexuality is sacred. So, this thought that the foreskin must be impure because it is sexual is an afront to everything Tantra stands for. The body should be celebrated, and you should learn how to use your sexual energy to reach divine states of pleasure.

Tantra also sees the anatomy of the penis as incredible and part of what makes it so special is the foreskin. You see, Tantric sex is very different from traditional sex. Where traditional sex goes fast and hard all the time, Tantric sex focuses on the subtle movements and explores sexuality from an expansive lens. Not to say that Tantric sex can never be fast or hard, but it starts as soft and exploratory because that's how you create the most sensation and don't numb your nerves.

The foreskin plays a huge role in this, actually dulling the full force of the sensation a little, and it helps the vagina too by creating a softer and more pliable entry and exit that's not skin rubbing directly on skin. The socking effect of the foreskin also creates more of a suction in the vaginal canal because the glans can move in and out but the foreskin doesn't lose suction and creates more intense pleasure for the woman.

The penis itself is also protected from the rubbing sensation of skin directly on skin and may have fewer skin irritation issues after hours of sexual activity. Condoms may even feel better on an uncut penis because the penis can still move a bit in and out of the foreskin and not directly with the latex, while still maintaining the effectiveness of the condom.

But here's the real kicker from a sexuality standpoint. The frenulum is often damaged or partially damaged in the circumcision. The frenulum is on the underside of the penis and is where the foreskin attaches to the glans. It's a beautiful little part that is highly innervated and protected by the foreskin. Even when it's left mostly intact during circumcision, it's now no longer protected and can be highly sensitive during intercourse. Think about touching the clitoris before it's ready, that's kind of what an unprotected frenulum can feel like. This can lead to premature ejaculation, and actually less satisfaction because you may feel sex is too intense.

But the frenulum is often completely removed during the circumcision. And this is the point in Tantric texts that is referred to as the gateway of bliss in the male body. There is huge energetic significance of this point, and without it a man might not be so divinely connected to his penis.

So, when they said they wanted to remove the "animal" from man by removing the foreskin, when they said they wanted to make a man more civilized by removing the foreskin, when they said they wanted to tame the wild from a man by cutting him, they were right. Removing this crucial has been damaging to men and their connection to the Divine through their penis.

Although you might not want to think about your baby's sexuality when you are asked if you want to cut the foreskin, you already are. You're thinking about cutting him off from his greatest power. You're exposing him to potential complications from the procedure that could impact him long term. You're consenting to something that he may resent you for later in life. It's not just a little snip. It won't just help him fit in in the locker room (and you should know more and more people are electing to keep their babies uncut). It won't lead to lower infection rates or lower rates of infection of HIV if he's practicing basic hygiene (and if he's really worried about that with a partner there are much safer pills you can take nowadays to avoid HIV infection). It's not easier to keep clean when he's a kid, most little boys are very amused by their foreskin and it's probably the area they'll keep most clean because it's fun to play with.

Say no to infant circumcision, and if he wants to get that later on by his own choice he can!

So, you may be feeling rather down if you're a circumcised male who just read all this. But, there is hope! Through adjusted practices, you can reconnect to the energetic experience of the frenulum even if it's gone. Through learning about Tantric sex, you can resensitize your penis and have huge sexual fulfilment! Through acceptance of your penis exactly as it is you can create a brand-new relationship with him that honors his power and his autonomy now.

It may be easy to feel lost after reading all this, and I hope that we can save the next generation the trouble of going through this, but you are not lost. There is still hope for you, but if you're approaching sex and masturbation in the traditional way, then you may be missing some of the pleasure that is still available to you!

For anyone who wishes to work on these things and reclaim their power, sovereignty and sexual satisfaction after circumcision, I specialize in male sexuality in my 1-1 coaching. We work to reconnect you to the essential power of your penis, explore new ways of pleasure, and find the energy that's always been available to you in your cock. It goes beyond just the sexual practices too, and redefines what it means to be masculine to you so you can live in your unique expression of it.

This is whole-life liberation through your sexuality, and through your circumcision. It would be an honor to work with you in this. Let's get on a call together to see if we are a good fit: Bliss Blueprint Discovery Call | Lona Teaches Bliss

INSPIRED ACTION: Journal about how the impact of religious purity and culture on male sexuality has affected your life. Maybe it's had a greater impact that you think.