Vibe: An Investigative Report On Reverse Circumcision

Article here. Excerpt:

'Society puts great importance on the male genitalia. But at birth, the penis faces its first true test: to circumcise or not to circumcise. For generations, the question was a no-brainer because most fathers want their sons to “look like them.” At the peak of its practice in the 1970s, an estimated 80 percent of American parents circumcised their newborn sons, removing what would be nearly four inches in adult foreskin and 20,000 nerve endings.

Like the man in the video, Eddy, 38, is also restoring. He said he suffered from a “growing lack of sensitivity” after being “modified” as a child. ... The men who opt to restore do so because, like women who were circumcised, they didn’t have a choice and feel their bodies have been altered for the worse.

OVER THE YEARS, the procedure has declined in popularity in the U.S. In 2011, an estimated 54 percent of American boys were circumcised at birth (down from 80 percent in 1970). Parents are deciding to break from tradition. Medical research has proven that the foreskin is more than just an extra flap of skin. It’s a natural shield, lubricant and erogenous zone. “Since 1979 there has been a lot of research done that has established the actual value of the male foreskin,” explains Richard Russell director of communications for Doctors Opposing Circumcision (DOC). “And the costs of its loss, in terms of sexual sensing and performance.”'