Value and Sensitivity of Intact Genitals
A physician's entire training is geared to distinguish what is normal and what is abnormal. Disease is a deviation from the normal, which one hopes to correct. The normal needs no correction.
The foreskin—or prepuce—is normal and natural. It is the flexible, double-layered sheath of specialized skin that covers and protects the glans of the penis. The foreskin is a uniquely specialized, sensitive and functional organ of touch, and an integral and important part of the skin system of the penis. Nature designed the glans to be an internal organ. In many ways, the foreskin is like the eyelid. It covers, protects, and preserves the sensitivity of the glans by maintaining optimal levels of moisture, warmth, pH balance, and cleanliness. Now scientifically proven, genitally intact males also know from experience that the foreskin is one of the most sensitive parts of the body.
The myth that circumcised men suffer no loss of sensitivity has persisted since 1966 when Masters and Johnson made such a claim in Human Sexual Response. Their drawings revealed that they knew very little about the foreskin, but their major error was to compare the glans (the least sensitive part of the penis) of circumcised men and intact men—which actually are similar in sensitivity. The first actual study of penile sensitivity showed enormous differences between intact and circumcised males.
Circumcised males have no idea what was taken from them. Most are surprised to learn that the glans penis is one of the least sensitive parts of the entire body. Circumcision is a disservice to both adult males and females, especially in later life. A circumcised male can never reach his full potential of genital pleasure. The woman can never be a recipient of her lover's full sexual response. As he ages and his nervous system becomes less sensitive, the problem is compounded through the original loss of the majority of his penile nerve endings.
Intact males can be more tender, gentle, relaxed, and loving during sex because the lightest and subtlest gesture or motion evokes deeply satisfying sensations. —Paul M. Fleiss, MD, and Frederick M. Hodges, DPhil