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Miami New Times

Children=20 of Ali

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The=20 Spy Who Didn't Love Me

Newly unclassified documents suggest that two infamous Cold War = homosexuals=20 weren't gay after all.
By Rick Anderson
Cleveland Scene

Ou= r=20 Town

An Ohio hamlet wonders: Who'd be left if the illegal aliens were = kicked=20 out?
By Jared Klaus

write=20 to the editor | email=20 a friend | print=20 article | show = comments=20 (12)

The Fantastic Foreskin

Circumcised men are employing weights and pulleys to cover = themselves back=20 up

By Craig=20 Malisow

Published: July 12, = 2007

"I'm wearing it right now," John Long says. "But I didn't wear it = most of the=20 day yesterday."

=20
Circumcised men are employing weights and pulleys = to cover=20 themselves back up
=20
The TLC Tugger hopes to improve the world, one = penis at a=20 time.

Subject(s): foreskin=20 restoration, circumcision=20

The 27-year-old bookstore employee is talking about the device = attached to=20 his circumcised penis, beneath his clothes. Picture a miniature silicone = lampshade with a handle on the wide end. It's cupping the head of his = johnson,=20 and the skin of the shaft is pulled forward over it. An elastic band = runs from=20 the handle to a knee brace, applying constant tension to the skin on the = penis,=20 stretching it forward, coaxing it to grow.=20

The device can pinch or get bunched up at times, but overall, it's an = effective vehicle for Long's mission, which is to create a faux-foreskin = out of=20 existing shaft skin. The device is called the TLC Tugger, and Long = bought it=20 online from its inventor, an engineer in suburban Chicago. The Tugger's = motto=20 is: Improving the world, one penis at a time.=20

Long's wife, Melissa, discovered the site after the subject of = circumcision=20 came up on an online parenting forum. When one guy introduced himself by = saying=20 he was restoring his foreskin, Melissa was intrigued. She did some = research on=20 her own, finding that there were many different contraptions out there. = The TLC=20 Tugger Web site jumped out at her for one simple reason: It features an=20 instructional video, with the inventor stuffing his junk into the lamp = shades.=20 (Melissa's initial reaction describes it best: "I cannot believe this = guy is=20 putting this thing on his thing.")=20

But what started out as an amusement for the couple soon turned = serious. They=20 felt their eyes opening to the allegations on the anti-circumcision Web = sites:=20 Decreased sensitivity among cut men; "mutilation" in general; sexual = partners of=20 uncircumcised men raving about the superiority of "intact" guys.=20

"I got kind of pissed off," John says. "The more I learned, the more = angry I=20 got."=20

His anger is shared by quite a few. Since there is virtually no = effective=20 procedure to surgically restore foreskin (see "The=20 Fantastic Foreskin: Under the Knife"), Long and others have had to = find=20 alternatives =97 which ultimately don't restore foreskin at all, but = give some=20 "restorers" the feeling they are making themselves whole.=20

Since the dawn of the modern restoring movement in the early '80s, = thousands=20 of men have attached what look like Inquisition-era torture devices to = their=20 privates in order to reclaim what they feel was butchered at birth. = Progress is=20 slow and the equipment is embarrassingly cumbersome, but proponents say = it is=20 worth it.=20

3D""=20 =20

The anti-circ community got the sad news February 13: Clifford = Spooner, a=20 pioneer in the restoration movement, died of cancer in Washington state. = According to the obit on the International Coalition for Genital = Integrity's Web=20 site, Spooner cofounded Brothers United for Future Foreskin (BUFF) in = 1982.=20

Spooner's disdain for circumcision sparked when his mother had him=20 circumcised at age ten, according to the obit =97 which does not state = the reason=20 for the delayed procedure.=20

Spooner would grow up to advocate, along with his compatriots at = BUFF, a=20 restoration method whereby the skin of the shaft is stretched over the = head and=20 taped in place. (In cases where the tape wouldn't stick, BUFF suggested, = you=20 could "paint the skin with tincture of benzoin, which is also known as = friar's=20 balsam").=20

Ten years later, BUFF was eclipsed by the San Francisco-based = National=20 Organization for the Restoration of Men and other anti-circ sites, = perhaps due=20 in part to BUFF's debunking the importance of penile hygiene: "Contrary = to the=20 old wives' tale, it is not necessary to wash the penis every day."=20

But the term "foreskin restoration" is misleading, since all these = men are=20 doing is stretching existing shaft skin.=20

A quick aside for Foreskin 101 (in a nutshell): The foreskin is an = elastic=20 sheath consisting of an outer layer of "regular" skin and an inner layer = of=20 mucous membrane, like the underside of the eyelid. The foreskin keeps = the glans=20 covered and lubricated, and retracts when the penis is erect. = "Intactivists"=20 believe the foreskin is rich in nerve endings that are severed upon=20 circumcision. The debate over the merits of circumcision doesn't exist = only=20 among the general public =97 many doctors are divided on the subject, = battling=20 each other with studies that take opposing views on circumcision's = protection=20 against HIV, cancer, urinary tract infections and other problems.=20

In 1999, the American Academy of Pediatrics issued a policy statement = on=20 circumcision that was also adopted by the American Medical Association:=20 "Existing scientific evidence demonstrates potential medical benefits of = newborn=20 male circumcision; however, these data are not sufficient to recommend = routine=20 neonatal circumcision. In circumstances in which there are potential = benefits=20 and risks, yet the procedure is not essential to the child's current = well-being,=20 parents should determine what is in the best interest of the child." = (Because of=20 doctors' general lack of interest in foreskin restoration, there do not = appear=20 to be any studies on the efficacy of restored foreskin warding off = disease).=20

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Write=20 Your Comment show = comments=20 (12)=20

Wow, could the writer of this article be anymore obvious that he = believes=20 circumcision is wonderful and those who are against it are loonies, = making up=20 evidence in their heads? Funny how America is the only industrialized = nation=20 that circs its baby boys at the high rate we do. Other countries seem = to see=20 the value of the foreskin. But not in America. No, no way.

Comment by SunkenShip =97 July 12, 2007 @ = 05:56AM
The reason that the medical community has not addressed this issue = is=20 because it is a non-issue. In order for the medical community to = consider such=20 a surgery there has to be a medical need. In addition to this they = would have=20 to take skin from a donor site on the person's body, which does carry = certain=20 risk of infection as well as bleeding from the surgical site in = question. I=20 would also like to see some literature from a medical source that = states that=20 a circumcised male's penis calcifies. Conclusively these men that are = using=20 these devices should seek their physician's opinions on the safety of = using=20 them.

Comment by Cary Edwards =97 July 12, 2007 @ = 05:52PM
There is no medical reason to perform circumcision, except in rare = cases of=20 frostbite, cancer or gangrene...yet the medical community has taken a = great=20 interest in the procedure. Hundreds of thousands of adults choose = cosmetic=20 surgery for themselves every year. Doctors take an interest in them = because of=20 the financial benefits. I am certain that once doctors realize they = can make=20 money on both ends of the circumcision debacle, surgical foreskin = restoration=20 will be advertised as something every man should do while infant = circumcision=20 will still be promoted as a way to prevent STDs.

Comment by Christi L. =97 July 12, 2007 @ = 07:44PM
The foreskin is a natural body part. Every normal natural male has = one.=20 Some men have committed suicide because of their loss. Restoration of = the=20 foreskin is a medical necessity, at least as much as breast = reconstruction for=20 which many states mandate insurance coverage. It is not "cosmetic", = there is a=20 functional purpose. If you study the science of tissue regeneration = you will=20 find that new cells are grown in a process called mitosis, and yes the = new=20 tissue is very sensitive. There is also a gliding action during = intercourse,=20 which helps with dry conditions or irritations some couples suffer = from. It is=20 unfortunate that restoration is mixed up with circumcision debates. = Keep them=20 separate. It makes no sense to explain road rage to the owner of a = vandalized=20 car.

Comment by Dan P. =97 July 13, 2007 @ 07:01AM
Having had both,I prefer circumsized! The other feels mushy and = looks gunky=20 at the tip.Yuck!The guys that are trying put back a foreskin probably = think=20 its going to help with their sexual performance.

Comment by Punim =97 July 13, 2007 @ 07:16AM
The comparison of sex with cut men to uncut men is slightly skewed = as sex=20 is more of an acquired art/skill; a circumcised virgin wouldn't be = able to=20 compare accurately to a well seasoned uncircumcised man in his 30s for = example. That said, my little black book is split almost equally = between cut=20 and uncut. In my personal experience, the uncircumcised men have been = better=20 in bed, though I have no experience with men who have "restored" their = foreskin.

Circumcision involves the removal of part of the skin = on the=20 penis. Fact: size matters!! (Sorry guys. Any woman who told you it = didn't was=20 just being polite.) However small the removed foreskin might have = been, the=20 removal of it reduces the size of the penis.

Not to mention, = it's a=20 rather barbaric way to welcome a child into the world. Team = Foreskin!!

Comment by Ms. Pants =97 July 13, 2007 @ 10:44AM
I don't think the pleasure of sex with circumcised versus = uncircumcised men=20 can be accurately measured scientifically, as sex is an evolving = art/skill. An=20 experienced man will almost always be better than a virgin, foreskin = or no.=20 That said, the last 16 years of my own individual research with a = relatively=20 equal ratio of cut to uncut men (all in the name of science, of = course) have=20 led me to the personal conclusion that uncircumcised men are better in = the=20 sack.

Aside from being a rather barbaric way to welcome a child = into=20 the world, the removal of the foreskin reduces the size of the penis. = Fact:=20 size matters!!! (Any woman who says differently is merely being = polite; sorry=20 guys.) However small that piece of skin might be, it still diminishes = the size=20 of the penis.

Team Foreskin!!

Comment by Ms. Pants =97 July 13, 2007 @ 11:08AM
I was circ'd at 12 years of age. Always had painful erections, to = the point=20 of skin tears and bleeding. Circumcision shortens the penis since some = length=20 is held back during erection. A cut penis has to pull up hair-bearing = scrotal=20 skin to make up for the loss of skin. Result is a very tight, immobile = shaft=20 skin. No gliding action at all.

So many benefits to the natural = foreskin. Did you know that most intact men's partners do not need to = use=20 artificial lube during sex? KY and Astroglide, etc. is a large = business in the=20 US, not in UK, or other countries that do not circumcise. If I have a = son, he=20 will be left alone.

Comment by David =97 July 14, 2007 @ 10:47AM
I have a TLC Tugger and a TugaHoy. They are similar devices, but I = have=20 found the TugaHoy much easier to get on (10 sec) and off (2-3 sec). I = am=20 persuaded that I would not have had the commitment if I'd been limited = to=20 taping. I am a naturist, so I simply loop the elastic around my neck = and=20 stretch upward; it can also be done stretching the elastic around the = waist. I=20 sometimes wear it under clothing, and if it becomes uncomfortable it = can be=20 easily and inconspicuously removed. I know that true foreskin can not = be=20 recovered, but I do think sensitivity is increasing as the glans = remains=20 increasingly covered. I agree that circumcision is genital mutilation = as=20 routinely practiced, and am seriously offended that it was done to me, = and=20 that I allowed it, in my ignorance, to be done to four sons. The = practice may=20 have limited application, but should not be done routinely.

Comment by James =97 July 15, 2007 @ 02:09PM
The foreskin AND frenulum hold ALL of the nerves of FINE sensation. = Intactivists do NOT merely "believe" - as your otherwise well written = article=20 states - that the foreskin is more sensitive. The Jack Tayler study = done in=20 the mid-eighties was the first histological study done in North = America to=20 show this. Please read the studies and correct the error(s). Otherwise = thank=20 you for broaching a matter about which most of anglo North America is = in=20 denial. Skincerely Yours, ********Cosmoloca***

Comment by cosmoloca =97 July 16, 2007 @ 04:43PM
Generally, I found this article to be one of the fairest I've read = on the=20 subject of foreskin restoration. I wasn't even offended by Mr. = Malisow's=20 occasional editorial 'barbs'. Perhaps, I've grown 'acclimated' to such = disguised commentary over the years. I was, however, most offended by = the=20 comment left by reader Cary Edwards, who said, "The reason that the = medical=20 community has not addressed this issue is because it is a non-issue. = In order=20 for the medical community to consider such a surgery there has to be a = medical=20 need." To that I reply with the question, "And just what MEDICAL NEED = did the=20 medical community find in removing my 5-day-old foreskin?" Their = tired,=20 antiquated (even in 1955) excuses of PREVENTION are NOT medical need. = And a=20 diagnosis of Phimosis in an infant is impossible since the prepuce and = the=20 glans are bonded naturally, usually until the puberty when the penis = begins to=20 develop for it's sexual/reproductive function. As another reader = suggested,=20 READ the RESEARCH. Particularly the collaberative works of Drs. J.R. = Taylor=20 and Christopher Cold. It will do much to change one's beliefs that the = foreskin is just a flap of skin and prove to the Doubting Thomases = that the=20 prepuce is specialized, highly innervated tissue that has a definite = purpose=20 throughout the life of the individual.

Comment by Don Kettle =97 July 19, 2007 @ = 05:30AM
What John Long's son is more likely to say, when he gets to be in = school,=20 or about puberty, is "You sick bastard!"
This very vocal but still = tiny=20 bunch of anti-circ nuts are doing nothing but recruiting perfectly = ordinary,=20 normal and happy guys into a cult of victimhood leading down a path to = sure=20 disappointment, if not all the very problems they never had because of = circumcision.
And what does this invitation to STD's have in store = for the=20 rest of us in the vicinity of these sickos? Shouldn't they have to = wear a=20 warning sign ("Foreskin Alert -- Maintain safe distance")?

Comment by Charles II =97 July 19, 2007 @ = 09:28AM

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