Five years. 60 months. It seems like I have been restoring my foreskin for a long time. I have trouble remembering what it was like before I started restoring my foreskin. 

Like most other men, though, I wish I had started years before I did. That way I would have enjoyed the benefits of foreskin restoration for much longer.

After 5 years of tugging my foreskin, I am not yet done. I would have been, and I thought I was done, but I lost 45 pounds since early last year. 

The weight loss resulted in a reduction of my fat pad on my abdomen. That means my penis sticks out further. About 1 inch further. With a longer penis, my foreskin cannot cover it the same as before my weight loss. My coverage index went from full flaccid coverage with a bit of overhang, about CI-7 or CI-8, to not quite full flaccid coverage, about a CI-5. With continued tugging, I am back to about CI-6. I have full flaccid coverage most of the time, but my restored foreskin still occasionally spontaneously retracts. More length will fix that. I know because it used to be long enough to not spontaneously retract. Read more . . .

Parents, protect your babies. Support intactivism. The following list includes blogs, articles, and websites of interest to Intactivists that were published in the past month. This is a running tally of the ones I found interesting.

Unfortunately, I am getting busier and busier. That is why there is limited info about each post. Just click on them and read the original. Each one is worth the read.
 

Monday, July 1, 2013

Practical Ethics: Podcast: The Ethics of Infant Male Circumcision

Friday, July 5, 2013

Kevin Knauss: I don't own my son

Sunday, July 7, 2013

The Bilerico Project: Foreskin Restoration: Becoming Whole Again
An informative article about foreskin restoration on The Bilerico Project, one of the major LGBT politics & culture blogs. The author describes restoring and the changes he has noticed.
  Read more . . .

Parents, protect your babies. Support intactivism. The following list includes blogs, articles, and websites of interest to Intactivists that were published in the past month. This is a running tally of the ones I found interesting.

June saw a lot of pride parades across the United States. Many intactivists took advantage of these various events to help get the word out that the male foreskin is a valuable body part and it is wrong to circumcise baby boys to remove the foreskin. I applaud all these intactivists for their efforts. Through them, we will change the cutting culture in the United States.
 

YouTube Video: Circumcision: The Whole Story
Dr. Christopher Guest of CHHRP.org discusses the history of circumcision, medical myths surrounding it, and the function and anatomy of the intact penis. The video is a powerful resource tool for prenatal education. Intact America named Dr. Christopher Guest as their Intactivist of the Month for July 2013.

Read more . . .

Parents, protect your babies. Support intactivism. The following list includes blogs, articles, and websites of interest to Intactivists that were published in the past month. This is a running tally of the ones I found interesting.
 

Thursday, May 2, 2013

Guggie Daly: Jewish Anti-Circumcision and Intactivist Ads in Israel (Translations Provided)
Guggie translates Hebrew informational posters and brochures that provide intactivist messages. The Hebrew messages were produced by an Israeli Intactivist Group.
 

Friday, May 10, 2013

The WHOLE Network: Infant's Brush with Death After Routine Circumcision
A mother writes about her son's ill-fated circumcision. She and her husband took their son to a urologist for a circumcision. They thought they were doing the right thing and that it was only a routine procedure. They were wrong. The boy was cut and they were sent on their way. Unfortunately, the urologist botched the circumcision and the baby started bleeding. The frantic parents finally made it to the ER. The baby boy had to be transferred to another hospital where the urologist stitched up the cut blood vessel. They were sent home, only to have another ambulance trip to the hospital because the baby boy had lost so much blood. All because the parents went with the flow and did not question the need for an infant circumcision.
  Read more . . .

Intact America is preparing for a New Orleans protest outside the annual convention of the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG). Intact America will be sponsoring a sidewalk demonstration in New Orleans on Saturday, May 4, 2013, at the annual convention of the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. The image to the right is the Intact America logo for this protest and is being used by many on Facebook. The ACOG convention is the largest assemblage of baby-cutters under one roof. During this one-day event, intactivist will be protesting the role of obstetricians in perpetrating circumcision in American hospitals.

The picture below shows the mobile billboard that will traverse the streets of New Orleans on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. It is just one more way Intact America gets the word out that male infant circumcision is harmful. Baby boys need to be protected. It is, after all, his body and his rights.

Parents, protect your babies. Support intactivism. The following list includes blogs, articles, and websites of interest to Intactivists that were published in the past month. This is a running tally of the ones I found interesting.

Another year has gone by and I still have not made it to Genital Integrity Awareness Week in Washington, DC. *sigh*

Eventually, I need to get caught up with my work so I can have more time to more of the intactivist work I want, like go to one of the many intactivist events.

I still have not yet found time to provide weekly updates. The following list includes blogs, articles, and websites of interest to Intactivists that were published in the past month. This is a running tally of the ones I found interesting.
 

Your Tango: How Circumcision Affects Sexual Pleasure [EXPERT]
Mommy's Dirty Little Secret: Penis Talk: Circumcision, How And Why It Affects Sexual Pleasure
Acknowledgement from those in the sex education field, it is well-known that male circumcision reduces sexual pleasure for both the circumcised man and his partner. Not that sex is bad for circumcised guys, it is not. But it is not as good as it could be for most of them. The foreskin offers a lot for men. It is erogenous tissue that feels good. The gliding action of the foreskin changes the sexual dynamic and aids both the man and the woman.
  Read more . . .

I am so embarrassed. Foreskin restoration site RestoringForeskin.org had its 4th birthday last week and I missed it.

Four years ago (plus a week) the popular foreskin restoration site RestoreForeskin.org announced that it was shutting down in two weeks. Craig, the site admin, was not responding to anyone's request for information. Nor was he responding to any offers to take over the site. We were about to lose a great resource for restoring men.

I saw the need for a replacement site and quickly got to work. I posted a request for help in building a new site. We had two weeks. If a new site was to be built before RestoreForeskin.org shut down, it would require more than one person. QBMan, a Canadian restorer, stepped up and volunteered. Others volunteered to be beta testers.

We quickly got to work and in two weeks RestoringForeskin.org went live. It took a while longer to get the rough edges worked out. In fact, we are still working on making the site better. Read more . . .

Parents, protect your babies. Support intactivism. The following list includes blogs, articles, and websites of interest to Intactivists that were published in the past week. This is a running tally of the ones I found interesting.
 

January 30, 2013

Motherwise: My Journey to Understanding the Truth About Circumcision
What is it that drives mothers to have their baby boys circumcised, to allow surgery on a healthy infant? This mother tells why she had both of her sons circumcised. It was only when her second son had complications that she realized how harmful circumcision is to baby boys.
 

Tuesday, February 5, 2013

Kinda Crunchy: Why We Decided Not to Circumcise Our Son
A mother tells why she let her baby son remain intact and opted not to circumcise him. Her husband was intact and wanted his son to look like him. That was good enough of a reason for her. But she still researched infant circumcision. She was amazed at what she found. She particularly did not like the double standard: genital cutting of girls is horrible but genital cutting of boys is considered OK.
  Read more . . .

For more than three years I have been posting a weekly review of blogs and articles relating to circumcision and intactivism. At least, I was doing this until the end of last year.

Unfortunately, the holiday season proved too much for me. Work piled up. Other obligations came up. I ran out of time. Until I free up more time, my Week in Review series will be sporadic.

The following are recent posts that deserve to be widely read.
 

Sunday, December 23, 2012

Beyond the Bris: Questioning Jewish Circumcision: Third Year Brings Change for Beyond the Bris
Rebecca Wald, the Jewish mother behind the blog Beyond the Bris, writes about starting her third year of the website. She is bringing on another writer to help.
 

Wednesday, January 2, 2013

ICGI - International Coalition of Genital Integrity: ICGI closes first Intactivist blog
After ten years of keeping intactivists informed, ICGI announces that it is closing its blog. Dan Bollinger points out that there are many more blogs and information is much more accessible than when he started ICGI. I will miss Dan's voice through ICGI. But I am sure we will continue hearing from him.
 

Thursday, January 3, 2013

Awesatious: Foreskin is NOT gross!
Some people say foreskin is gross. It is not. It may be unfamiliar to many in America. But that does not make it gross. This blogger attacks many myths about foreskin, including how it looks.
 

Sunday, January 6, 2013

Lawn Cares: Recalling Congresswoman Kyrsten Sinema’s courageous stance against circumcision in 2001
Lawn recalls attending a play about a Jewish mother who resists having her son be circumcised. At the end, she succumbs to the pressure and the boy is cut. Lawn contacted the actress and the playwright . Both agreed that male infant circumcision should stop. The actress is now a member of Congress. The playwright reworked the ending and is hoping to have it performed again.
  Read more . . .

Parents, protect your babies. Support intactivism. The following list includes blogs, articles, and websites of interest to Intactivists that were published in the past week. This is a running tally of the ones I found interesting.

Monday, December 17, 2012

Lawn cares: On the road, educating the uninformed that circumcision has no place in a just world
He drives a car with intactivist bumper stickers. His license plate reads "NOCIRCM." He draws attention to fact that male infant circumcision is harmful and needs to stop. He says, “Circumcision is a violation of human rights.  It destroys an important body structure.  It’s cruel and denies the male infant the right to decide for himself.”

Modern Alternative Pregnancy: The Five Myths Of Circumcision
There are many myths about the male foreskin, most promulgated to justify male infant circumcision. The blog busts five of the myths. The foreskin is easy to clean. The removal of the foreskin during infant circumcision is painful, both during and after the surgery. Removing the foreskin by circumcision reduces sexual pleasure. Having a foreskin means the sensitive bits are protected, resulting in better confidence and comfort. The New Testament did away with the ancient rite of circumcision.

Men do Complain: Clitoraid
“Bodily harm is against the fundamental rights of all children, and we can’t understand when a so-called civilized country such as Germany would allow its male babies to be so readily mutilated legally!” said Nadine Gary, spokesperson for Clitoraid. “It’s been done for centuries under the pretense that a god requested it, but no religion should be allowed to harm infants or children who can’t give informed consent,” she said.

Saving our Sons: Bloodstained Men and Their Friends: 12.12.12 Berlin Performance
A group of German men, circumcised against their will at birth, along with several of their supportive intact friends, spent 12/12/12 demonstrating against the recent German ruling that legalizes the forced genital cutting of healthy baby boys.

The Guardian: Male circumcision: Let there be no more tragedies like baby Goodluck
Baby Goodluck did not live up to his name. He died from a botched circumcision when he was 27 days old. Yes, an unnecessary surgery cost the boy his life. Unfortunately, his case is not unique. Earlier this year another baby died from his circumcision. But unlike the killer of baby Goodluck, the rabbi was not charged with the baby's death.
  Read more . . .