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| Acorn's Newsletter has been published every year since 1988.
Back numbers are available to members if you download and print out the Adobe Acrobat* PDF Order Form. Complete the details and forward with your remittance to The Acorn Society at the address on the form. Below we reprint the contents list and a sample article from each edition.
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Acorn No.1 2003
Editorial Ivan
The Editor’s Column Ivan
Getting A Circumcision Dr C
Leicester Acorn Meeting Peter
Of Foreskins And Smegma YA
Military Cut Richard
Joke
Smooth, Naked And Cut John
Picasso’s Nude IG
Jack’s Story - Part 1 Jack
Doing It Yourself RW
Style Over Substance IW
Celebrity Circumcision Peter
Religious Circumcision
Editor’s Notes Ivan
| Smooth, Naked And Cut As you may know I am extremely PRO circumcision, especially when it is done on newborn boys (such as me over 50 years ago!) and I thoroughly agree with every word on the www.medicirc.com site mentioned on page 15, Issue 2/2002. There are so many advantages of circumcising the newborn: e.g. the organ is smaller; no remembered trauma; high level of antigens at that age; operation at this age results in little or no scar line and a much larger (flared) glans through unrestricted growth; no problems with post operative erections; no embarrassing explanations needed to colleagues or, if at school or college, other students and teachers for time off work, etc. I cannot thank my parents enough for making this important decision for me a decision resulting in an organ of which, especially as a naturist, I am particularly proud. Let us severely challenge the use of the emotive word ‘mutilation’, currently so popular with the anti-circ brigade! There is no place for this word in connection with circumcision any more than, for example, having a redundant tooth extracted. You may also be aware that for the past five years I have run an organisation called Smooth and Cut Naturists. As well as being circumcised, members of SCN enjoy the many advantages of having no body hair (sometimes other naturists call us ‘Smoothies’). Some of the advantages of both being smooth and ‘cut’ are shared for example hygiene, which is of paramount importance to us. Back in 1999 I started a web site for SCN. It has progressed over the past four years to become the leading site for smooth naturists world wide with over 450 pictures and other useful pages with topics such as Methods of Hair Removal and, on the second of our two Links pages, a number of relevant sites under the heading of ‘Circumcision’. There is also a Message Forum which currently has a subject ‘thread’ on foreskins (for or against) which may be of interest to readers. Why not pay us a visit at: http://www.smooth-naturists.co.uk ? You will be sure of an interesting and informative time there and add to more than one and a half million visitors we've had so far! John - Dorset john@smooth-naturists.co.uk |
Acorn No.2 2003
Editorial Ivan
The Editor’s Column Ivan
Observations TS
Getting A Circumcision Dr C
Celebrity Circumcisions Neville
Jack’s Story Part 2 Jack
Contacts Corner TS
My Muslim Son HF
Acorn Is Too Biased RBW
Foreskin Benefits FS
An Unexpected Friendship WEM
Media Watch
Live From Golgotha Matthew
Acorn Meeting - Advance Notice | An Unexpected Friendship At the beginning of September last year I had an appointment at the day surgical unit of our local hospital; I needed treatment for some troublesome piles. I was allocated a bed and before long a young man in his mid-twenties appeared, to occupy the adjacent bed. He was clearly nervous and upset. We began chatting and it soon transpired that he had come to be circumcised. He was planning to take a job in a primitive part of Kenya connected with woodland conservation, but before being offered the job it had been necessary for him to have a medical examination. The doctor had passed him generally fit but had told him by letter that he had a tight foreskin and that it would be foolish for him to travel before being circumcised. This had perplexed him as, although he had never been able to retract his foreskin, his penis had never given him any trouble and he had always been happy and satisfied with the ‘status quo’. He had a girlfriend and she had never made any comment about his penis. When I told him that I had been circumcised as an adult, his feeling of relief was clear to see that here was someone who had been in a similar situation. went on to explain that I had been troubled by periodic inflammation of the foreskin and knob which had been aggravated by a long foreskin and the doctor had recommended that I should be circumcised. I explained to him that I thought his doctor’s advice was one of precaution; if he developed inflammation or an infection under his foreskin which was quite likely in a hot climate and if he was unable to retract his foreskin then he would quickly be in trouble particularly if medical help was not readily available; he began to see the reasoning behind his doctor’s advice. I concluded by saying that for the first few weeks his exposed knob would be tender and very sensitive and to expect involuntary erections; he would almost certainly need stitches to help heal the wound. We wished each other all the very best. Six weeks later we happened to meet up again in out-patients and we quickly renewed our friendship. He said that things had worked out very much as I had said and that overall he was pleased with the result; in particular it had not been as painful as he had feared and his knob was now larger than previously. He and his girl friend had recently had oral sex together which had been highly satisfying for both of them but alas she was not planning to come to Kenya. If his arrangements worked out as he hoped, he would fly out to Nairobi early in the New Year. Finally he said that if we had not met up and chatted, he doubted very much if he would have had the courage to give his final consent for the operation. Looking back, it is amazing how, in the hospital situation we found ourselves, such a deep and personal friendship was established so quickly. W.E.M. - Sussex |
Acorn No.3 2003
Editor’s Interview Ivan
Preserving The Foreskin
Dr Cornell
Latest Onslaught On Circumcision From Acorn! JH
Reply To RBW’s Article
'Acorn Is Too Biased' Neville
Whining MS
The Acorn Concept David Acorn
Book Review RBW
Finding Sympathetic Doctor KG
Mostly A Complete Indifference Wm
A Female View Panda
Off Centre Mark
Time For The Cut? RM
Circumcision Does Not Harm Sexual Function Graham
Friends KG
A View On Nudism DA | A Female View Having just read the article in Issue 2/2003 submitted by 'RBW', after the magazine was shown to me by an Acorn member, I would just like to offer a few words from a woman’s point of view in favour of the circumcised penis. Having had experience of both varieties (from an 'end user’s' viewpoint!!), I have to say that in my opinion the circumcised penis is far preferable for many reasons.
For one thing, it looks better: much neater and not resembling an ugly elephant ’s trunk and I am not the only woman who thinks this. Secondly, it is much more hygienic. In my experience no matter how clean an uncircumcised man thinks he is there can still be a “fishy” smell when the foreskin is pulled back even only an hour after bathing. Not a lot of men realise this and seem to assume that it is only women who have an odour if they don’t keep themselves meticulously clean. Thirdly, with the reduced level of sensitivity in the glans,the circumcised male is able to prolong lovemaking to the satisfaction of both partners. Another very important aspect to consider is that medical research has shown that the uncircumcised penis is one of the factors responsible for women contracting cancer of the cervix. In his article, RBW complains of a 'complete failure' of his sex life 'due to a total loss of sensitivity' as he got older but who is to say that he would not have lost his sex drive anyway as he got older, for other reasons?In my experience uncircumcised men have been equally likely to lose their sex drive as they get older, but this is often due to other health and psychological factors which can affect the libido (such as heart problems,depression etc). I have heard from men who have chosen to be circumcised later in life, and they told me that they have never looked back.They felt that it looked better and 'performed' better, and their partners were also delighted with the end result! As for RBW ’s statistics and “recommended reading material” I would personally pay no heed to this, because anybody can come up with statistics and percentages to fit in with their own point of view and there are many websites, articles and books for and against circumcision. From a woman ’s perspective I am very much in favour of male circumcision and whilst I would not insist that an uncircumcised partner had this procedure performed, I would actively encourage him to do so if he expressed such a desire! Panda - Kent |
Acorn No.4 2003
Editorial Ivan Male Circumcision - New BMA Guidelines Ivan
The BMA Guidelines - A Summary
Book Review Tony
Turkish Circumcision Miss LL
Appearances Are Deceptive Anthony
Baring All? Peter
Cautionary Tale
Circumcision Without Pain Ivan
Acorn Meeting Cancelled
My Lifelong Interest
In Circumcision Neville
A Bargain Recut TS
First Cut Is The Deepest Peter
Childhood Circumcision DB
Family Ways | Appearances Are Deceptive The use of the term ‘penile transvestite’ (Editor’s column, Issue 2/2003) certainly added a hint of naughtiness to the retractor who has trained his foreskin to stay back, maintaining an exposed glans. Through choice he can display the ultimate nudity of an erection even when flaccid. What advantage he enjoys over a surgically circumcised man is that he retains all the erogenous tissue of his penis and the particularly sensitive frenum. There is a more appropriately named penile transvestite in the restorer who has ‘dressed’ a glans which had been bared by circumcision. He is a reluctant Roundhead who has restored glans cover through a programme of dedicated skin stretching, so can pass for a Cavalier when flaccid. Though having lost about half of his penile skin and possibly his frenum, his glans sensitivity becomes enhanced with the surface changing to being less rough, membranous, moist and smooth. In both cases appearances can be deceptive in the flaccid condition. With sufficient training the Cavalier becomes Roundhead and the Roundhead a Cavalier. It is the degree of persistence which separates the two transformations as I can testify. Whereas retraction to permanent glans exposure can be readily achieved, in many cases restoration can take 4-6 years, particularly if the penis had been radically circumcised. These cosmetic changes, far from being a feature of modern times, have been popular for nearly a thousand years, and are even practised on a nation-widebasis today. Retraction is undertaken by Japanese men in the following manner. After the foreskin is shoved back behind the glans, it is tied with a string until it remains in place permanently. ‘Kawakamuri’, the Japanese for ‘skin covered’, is a mark of exceedingly bad taste, and at the communal bath or medical examination, a Japanese would never present himself with a covered glans. He would quickly skin his glans so as not to offend against decency. Japanese art never shows the penis other than with the glans denuded. Restoration, like circumcision, is steeped in antiquity. Aurelius Cornelius Celsus (53BC - 7AD) devised a method of uncircumcision in which the penile skin could be stripped, with the penile tissue bound to the glans. Even as late as World War II (1935 - 1945), Polish doctors used techniques based on the Celsus method, often without anaesthetic, to save circumcised males from execution at the hands of the Nazis. In the second century AD, Greek manners and their gymnastic games had reached Palestine. Because contestants performed naked, in public, young Israelis eager to participate were ashamed of their circumcised state, and indulged in epispasmus, the formation of an artificial foreskin. Yes, with the penis cosmetically clothed or denuded, appearances are truly deceptive in the flaccid condition. Personal preference can overcome the dictates of parents, doctors or creeds. It is only in the erect condition that the deception becomes unmasked; there is no circumcision without cutting and every incision leaves a tell-tale scar, often revealing the technique used on careful inspection!! For any man dissatisfied with his penile status, this penile transvesticism can lead to him feeling happier with his body and more confident within himself; I strongly recommend it both as a cosmetic status change and as an achievement. Anthony |
Acorn No.5 2003
Editor’s Column Ivan
Better Late Than Never MET
Circumcision: A Covenant Of Grace
Acorn Meeting
Congratulations
In Praise Of The Penis MF
The Story Of Dave’s Dick Dave
The Cerne Abbas Giant HF
Literary Extract 12
More Celebrity Circumcisions IDK
Repairing David ES
Circumcision Russian Style IG
Circumcision Mishaps IG
Creating Head Room KG
More About Examinations KG
More Deadly Than The Male KG | More Celebrity Circumcisions Some thoughts on Celebrity circumcisions (Issue 1/2003). I’m pleased to note that Tim Henman is “one of us” I now watch him with more interest on TV and don’t fast forward. I have also wondered about the status of Seb Coe and Ian Botham. From biographies I did read that Paul McCartney and his brother were circumcised; and the late Lord Hailsham relates that although he’d been “done”, he remembered at about 5 years old being taken on to someone’s lap and cut again without any anaesthetic what a revision! The Royals I always believed that they were cut and a British Jew informed me that an eminent mohel visited soon after Edward VIII’s birth so that he would be “done” properly. A similar report on the current Prince of Wales (Charles) suggests his brothers Andrew and Edward were also circumcised. Yet I have read that Charles and Diana decided NOT to have William and Harry circumcised and accordingly were praised by the American BUFF which I think is Brothers United For Foreskins. Finally, referring back to the original article, I must be stupid but I am not sure why the author has no doubts about Errol Flynn is it that EF is circumcised and as an American that is likely anyway? The same article notes that Noel Coward asked Derek Jacobi whether he was circumcised this strongly suggests to me that Noel Coward was himself circumcised and so had a preference for the “cut” ones. I.D.K. - Southampton |
Acorn No.6 2003
Editorial Ivan
Editor’s Interview:
The Cutter Ivan
Why Was I Circumcised?
Second Time Around - Again Ivan
My Background And Three Circumcisions Cliff
Wartime Experiences WM
The Story Of Dave’s Dick Dave
No Taking The Michael Anthony Notes On Issue 5 DB
Like Father, Like Son, Like Grandson? Daniel 13
Welcome Back! GD
Yet More On Celebrity
Circumcisions Neville
And Finally... Anthony | Wartime Experiences On leaving school in the mid 50 ’s,I took a temporary job in a school and soon became friends with the caretaker who had been a medical orderly in the war, connected with a mobile field hospital in Northern France and Belgium. He was an incredible character; as a result of his wartime service he only ever slept for one hour per night spending the rest of his time renovating old cars.He had the ability, in a very few words, of painting his wartime experiences which he did without much persuasion. There were three ‘surgeons’ attached to the hospital..They had to deal not only with serious war wounds but also with numerous cases of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). In many cases, the surgeon had to amputate the penis and sometimes the testicles as well in order to save the patient ’s life. The drugs available were very primitive compared with today. Anaesthetics consisted of dripping ether onto a gauze face mask. The surgeons soon discovered that the majority of troops with STD were uncircumcised and agreed to carry out more circumcisions in an effort to control these infections. This policy did prove successful with a marked reduction in cases although it was difficult to eradicate completely.The surgeons would often carry out the circumcision when dealing with the war wounds. My friend was responsible for cremating the bits and pieces which he said was not a pretty sight. During October, the Daily Mail printed a number of articles on the steep increase of chlamydia in young girls but there was no comment on how they had become infected,which must have been from their male partners. With so few circumcisions now being carried out,i t would seem that the foreskin must at least be partly responsible for spreading the infection. There has already been considerable comment on the spread of AIDS and the foreskin;from tests carried out it would appear that the inner foreskin is particularly to blame.There was a TV programme sometime ago discussing the benefit of circumcision in combating AIDS. W.M. - East Sussex |
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