Do circumcised men have less sensitive penises?

Whether it’s for religious or hygiene reasons, around 30% of men in the world have been circumcised according to the World Health Organisation (WHO).

Less sensitivity?

However, the 30% in question is unhappy, since it's commonly believed that removing the foreskin causes the penis to become less sensitive than normal and therefore reduces the pleasure they experience from sexual intercourse. But we’re here to put those rumours to rest because a recent scientific study has just proved this common belief to be completely false.

Published in the Journal of Urology by researchers from Queen’s University in Ontario, Canada, the study concludes that there is actually no difference in penile sensitivity, and by the same extent, no difference in sexual satisfaction, between men who have been circumcised and those who haven’t. This is due to the fact that the head of the penis isn’t actually one of the most sensitive areas of the penis.

Being circumcised doesn’t stop you from enjoying yourself

To arrive at this conclusion, the authors of the study tested the sensitivity of 62 penises belonging to healthy men between the ages of 18 to 37. Among these participants, 30 were circumcised.

These men were subjected to a sensitivity test with 4 different stimuli: tactile stimulation, pain, warmth detection and heat pain thresholds. Several areas of the men’s sex organs were tested including their glans and midline shaft as well as a control area (the forearm).

Through their experiment, they proved that for men who had been circumcised, these areas were no less sensitive than they were for men who weren’t. And what’s more, when subjected to the four stimuli tested, the head of the penis was found to be less sensitive than the other areas they tested.

So it turns out that being circumcised is not a disadvantage when it comes to sexual pleasure. Moreover, in some cases, circumcision can actually be rather beneficial for men's health since it can reduce the chances of catching HIV by 60% and even limit the risks of developing prostate cancer.