January 17, 2019
Intactivists introduced this image to claim that circumcised men are missing important parts of the penis. Guest contributor Melanie Schaab explains that the image is incorrect, as it contains several inaccuracies.
The frenulum is not typically removed in circumcision according to both anti-circumcision and pro-circumcision researchers. So that's not necessarily correct.
The ridged band, the very tip of the foreskin, is a hypothesis that was presented by an anti-circumcision researcher. [1] One element of this alleged ridged band is a high density of fine touch nerves called Meissner's corpuscles. However research from China shows that the density of Meissner's corpuscles can be anywhere from highest in the tip to lowest in the tip, and a huge minority of adult foreskins don't have any Meissner's corpuscles at all. [2] [3] [4] [5] So any ridged band that does exist is not a standard feature of the foreskin and is completely absent from maybe a third of adult foreskins. So it's not accurate to imply that circumcision deprives a man of something that doesn't exist anyway. So that's not correct.
The outer foreskin is continuous with the shaft skin, whereas the inner foreskin is unique. Most circumcision methods remove more of the inner foreskin and less of the outer foreskin. So that's not correct.
On a side note, very limited research has been conducted on the effects of inner versus outer foreskin. But what the limited research has shown is that the higher the proportion of inner foreskin that is left behind, the higher the risk of sexual dysfunction. So it's better to have relatively more outer foreskin and less inner foreskin.
Also, not all circumcised males have a visible scar. So that's not necessarily correct.
It's also interesting that they made the uncircumcised penis twice as large as the circumcised penis - in order to give a certain impression.
We think this meme better explains the size difference between the two images.
[1] See our article The 16 Foreskin Functions - Function #1
[2] Jiang Haiyang et. al; "Observation of Meissner’s corpuscle in abundant prepuce and phimosis"; Chinese Journal of Urology; 2005: 4:219–224
[3] Jiang Haiyang et. al; "Observations on Meissner's corpuscle in prepuces of different ages."; Chinese Journal of Urology; 2006;27:707–709.
[4] Guo Dong, Xu, et. al; "Observation of Meissner’s corpuscle on fused phimosis."; J Guangdong Medical College. 2007;20:15–16.
[5] Also see our article Of all the nerves
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