We are strongly in favour of circumcision for all boys. It has huge medical benefits, protecting against urinary tract infections, infections of the glans and foreskin, genital warts, cancer and AIDS (though AIDS, one hopes, will not be an issue for a committed Christian). It also helps with hygiene – for all boys, but especially for a boy who wears a Boyguard™ all day. If you are considering circumcision for your boy, make sure it is done properly, with the foreskin completely removed. The glans (knob) should be completely uncovered and there should be no surplus skin on the shaft of the penis. Otherwise the hygiene benefits may not be fully realized.

Some doctors are reluctant to perform a complete circumcision, arguing that some surplus skin is necessary to allow for erections. The fallacy of this is immediately obvious if you have an uncircumcised son – just take hold of his foreskin and tug. You will be amazed at what a length it will stretch to, and the boy won’t find it uncomfortable – in fact he’ll probably enjoy it so much that you should not do it too often!

So the skin will stretch to allow for the firmest erection, and this is the desired outcome – the skin should be stretched tight when the penis is erect. Australian circumcisions have usually been done this way, and so are most Jewish ones. The has benefits beyond the hygienic aspects. While we do not subscribe to the 19th century notion that circumcision prevents masturbation, there is no doubt that this type of circumcision makes it more difficult, and so if a boy does get access to his penis in an unguarded moment he is less able to succumb to temptation. In particular, if he has seen an uncircumcised or partly-circumcised boy abusing himself, he will be quite unable to mimic what he has seen.

A properly performed infant circumcision, with no surplus skin.



Photograph by D. Tomlinson, MD, from 'Surgical Guide to Circumcision' by Bolnick, Koyle and Yosha, with permission.

In spite of these benefits (which our Jewish and Muslim readers will regard as obvious) there are some Christians who remain opposed to circumcision. What should they do? First of all, if the boy’s foreskin will retract, pull it back before putting on the Boyguard™. The snug fit of a correctly sized Boyguard™ should ensure that it remains retracted, and that in turn will ensure that it gets washed when he showers. If he is wearing a type P it will also ensure that no urine is trapped when he urinates.

The case of a boy whose foreskin will not retract is more problematic. Many people advocate gentle and repeated attempts at retraction over some time. We see two problems with this approach. It accustoms a boy to having his penis handled, and in a way which resembles masturbation. It also in most cases doesn’t work! So we are training a boy to enjoy having his penis manipulated while not (in most cases) solving his problem. An alternative approach is to forcibly retract his foreskin, judging that the pain involved will be enough to discourage him from playing with himself. This will work if the foreskin is then left retracted, and this is in fact a ‘rite of passage’ which many Asian boys go through between ages 10 and 12. However, there is a risk of paraphimosis – strangulation of the penis from the tight foreskin – so the situation needs to be closely monitored in the days following retraction. To avoid this the foreskin is sometimes moved forwards again, after applying Vaseline to the exposed glans. This is then repeated day by day, thus naturally becoming more and more pleasurable to the boy, with disastrous results.

Faced with these alternatives, many parents and advisors suggest leaving it alone and ‘let nature take its course’. The thinking is that if the foreskin has not become retractable by the time the boy leaves parental supervision, at least it will make premarital sex impossible. This is the worst possible alternative. Not only is it extremely easy to masturbate such a penis, the irritation from accumulated smegma virtually ensures that self-abuse will occur. The perception that normal intercourse is impossible may force an otherwise normal boy into homosexuality. Even if the boy escapes all these pitfalls, the problem is then shifted to the marital bed, where it is scarcely a good start to married life.

The benefits of circumcision must by now be clear, but the message for parents who are opposed to circumcision is to make your son’s foreskin retractable, by force if necessary, at an early age, long before he starts experiencing any sexual feelings. A school doctor or nurse, encountering a boy where this has been neglected, should forcibly and painfully retract the foreskin, leaving it retracted, and then monitor the situation closely, only taking further action if the foreskin moves forward again, or if there are signs of paraphimosis.