I'm 16 yrs old and have just REALLY started watching porn. I am uncircumcised and in the videos the males can peel their skin back. But I can't. Is there something wrong with me or will this come with time / experience?

Dear Prime,

I'd like to preface this by saying I'm not a physician. So if you have concerns or questions after reading my answer, please consult your healthcare provider.

We have this totally incorrect notion that foreskins should retract from the time boys are very young. However, it isn't until the age of 10 years and five months that even half of all uncircumcised boys can retract their foreskins. As for boys who are your age (sixteen), somewhere between 8% and 20% still can't retract their foreskins, depending on whose study you quote.

I think the following from Doctors Opposing Circumcision states it pretty well: "Occasionally a male reaches adulthood with a non-retractile foreskin. Some men with a non-retractile foreskin happily go through life and father children. Other men, however, may want to make their foreskin retractile. The foreskin can be made retractable by: manual stretching, and/or application of topical steroid ointment. Male circumcision is outmoded as a treatment for non-retractile foreskin, but it is still recommended by many urologists because of lack of adequate information, and perhaps because of the fees associated with circumcision."

Unfortunately, we live in a circumcision-happy culture. As a result, many healthcare providers will give your foreskin a diagnosis of "Phimosis" and tell you that you need to have a circumcision. But unless there's information you are holding back, or a serious medical condition is hiding in your foreskin, I'm not so sure I'd want a surgical knife near the end of my penis. If you are interested in being able to retract your foreskin, search through the sites I list below on the subject of phimosis and see if any of their recommendations make sense for you.

I can't encourage you enough to educate yourself about your foreskin. I've listed below a group of resources I would spend time reading through. And just in case you encounter a physician who recommends you have a circumcision, the first question I'd ask is, "Are there any credible studies that show my foreskin is a health risk to me or to anyone else just because it won't retract?" (If they cite any, please get the specific journal information and forward it to me. I'd like to read it!)

http://www.cirp.org/library/treatment/phimosis/beauge2/
http://www.doctorsopposingcircumcision.org/
http://www.cirp.org/
http://www.nocirc.org/
http://www.noharmm.org/home.htm
http://www.circumstitions.com/

Best wishes,

Paul
author of "Guide To Getting It On!"

if you are interested in Paul's book:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1885535694/goofyfootpres