This is definitely extremely awesome news!:

legalizeforeskin:

Foregen, the international organization dedicated to foreskin regeneration, has received official standing as a charitable foundation in the United States. In layman’s terms this news means that donations to Foregen will be tax-exempt, and the foundation should see a boost in credibility — an important consideration given its lofty scientific and financial goals

Foregen’s mission is to set up a clinical trial of cutting edge organ regeneration technology specifically aimed at regenerating genital tissue lost to circumcision surgeries. If successful, this approach could lead to the possibility of a complete clinical reversal, where original penile sensitivity and function are restored. While this may sound like a lofty goal, this kind of effort can be fruitful even if short term results aren’t reached — by making the possibility of genital tissue regeneration possible for future generations.

The foundation was first announced 2 years ago, and is led by Vincenzo Aiello, a master artist based in Rome, Italy, along with several other individuals from Europe and the United States. Here’s the announcement e-mail that was sent to everyone on Foregen’s mailing list yesterday and today.

Dear Alex,

I have some exciting information to share with you.

We are pleased to tell you that after 10 months of paper work and communications with the IRS, Foregen has achieved the 501(C)(3) status effective April 11, 2012. You can see the approval letter by clicking here.

What does this mean for you? This means that Foregen is officially recognized as a legitimate non-profit organization in the United States and is exempt from federal and state taxes. Donations are now tax deductable. We expect this to be an encouragement for larger donations in a country like the US where genital cutting is common. We are very excited about the new possibilities that are now open to us!

More great news is the fact that we have found the right technology to regenerate the human foreskin and its nerves! We have a two step plan:

1) We are planning to start some preliminary tests this summer 2012

2) We will apply those results to human beings in a clinical trial by the beginning of 2013

We have consulted a number of leading doctors in the field of regenerative medicine, and we believe that the technology we need is already available. However, we have encountered much indifference from the clinical institutions in regards to foreskin regeneration; so, we have decided to fund the project ourselves. Luckily, we have found the researchers, the proper technology, and the university laboratory and are finally ready to start.

So far, we have been able to raise $25,800, but we need to raise a total of $35,000 by the end of July 2012. If we do not meet our goal in time, we will have to postpone the research again and we don’t want this to happen. This money will fund the first steps in research to the medical facility which has accepted to work on this project. 

I hope you understand how important your contribution will be to this project and how much you can make a difference by donating now. It is frustrating to be in a situation where we have the technology ready and waiting yet we are unable to get our foreskins back due to lack of funds. We strongly believe our goal can be reached, but it is up to each and every one of us who desires it to make this happen. We ask you to consider donating whatever you can to turn this dream into a reality within the next two months. Without your help, no foreskin regeneration will ever take place, and you will be one of the first to directly benefit from Foregen’s work. You can donate via our site with a PayPal account http://www.foregen.org/donate. If you want to donate anonymously, you can contact us via http://www.foregen.org/contact-us/ to discuss this in private and we will give you instructions on how to proceed.

Without your help, the goal of an intact foreskin will be unachievable. If you really want to turn foreskin regeneration from a dream into a reality, please, donate now!

Yours Sincerely,

 

     Vincenzo Aiello

But, do keep in mind that complete reversibility does NOT MEAN something was okay to do in the first place!

restoringtally:

Don’t Get Stuck With HIV: Have we ignored a very simple procedure that could significantly reduce the risk of sexual transmission of HIV to men from women?

Are we washing our penis too much? A recent study found that washing the penis less than 10 minutes after sex results in an increased number of HIV infections. The results are counter-intuitive. Who would have thought that delaying washing would result in significantly less cases of HIV? Who needs circumcision? Just learn better hygiene.

restoringtally:

Circumcision Insanity: BOY DIES after CIRCUMCISION in OSLO NORWAY

A report of another baby death from male infant circumcision. A 2-week old infant was circumcised by a doctor. The boy died of complications from his circumcision 2 days after being circumcised.

fuckyeahsexeducation:

Pass this around if you please!

onthesocialcosmos:

Highlight:

The creator of the next poster must seriously believe Ugandans are complete idiots:

Is Annette planning on having her husband cheat on her?

With an HIV+ partner? 

Without a condom?

Is that what she’s so “proud” of?

What chances of getting HIV do you have if you’re faithful and use condoms?


“Stand proud,” but get circumcised to please a woman that balks at your penis?

Because she can’t trust you to keep your penis in your pants, let alone use a condom? 

Really?

Way to tell a man to be proud of the man he is.

Way to tell him how much you trust him. 

Should a woman sleep with a circumcised man regardless of his HIV status?

What if the man is intact, but knows he is HIV negative?

Should the woman still negate sex with him and demand he be circumcised?

Every day, we are told that women’s bodies should be respected.

We hear that violence against women in Africa is a big problem.

So the solution is to encourage the disrespect, ridicule and genital mutilation of men? 

In very tiny letters, one can barely read the disclaimer of this poster which reads:

“Even with circumcision, having sex without a condom puts you at great risk for contracting HIV/AIDS.”

Even if you’re married and faithful, apparently…

restoringtally:

Memories of my infant circumcision

Infant circumcision hurts. And our bodies remember that pain, even if we do not always consciously remember having the most sensitive part of our bodies cut.

YES THANK YOU! I can’t believe how few people understand that your body remembers everything. It seriously fucking does. It doesn’t matter how immature your brain was - it, and your body, LOGS EVERYTHING. The link is a man’s recount of his - what it seems to me - PTSD and his trigger episode, all caused by his circumcision. Yes, you remember, even if you aren’t aware of it. I’ve experienced this sort of reliving many times over, although not with such a reaction because the traumas I’ve experienced haven’t been so hard and instantaneous.

Although honestly it’s idiotic to say anyone won’t remember a very alarming experience. I remember things from my babyhood that were unpleasant - the taste of cigarette ashes, the squeal a puppy makes when you pull its ears, and a nightmare about learning to walk, for example. These things happened while I was still in diapers, and at the absolute oldest I was exactly two when I stopped using diapers. I remember them, and they aren’t even traumatic, and so it’s idiotic to think I wouldn’t remember being circumcised (it was still legal when I was born).

uncutting:

The CI chart is one way of measuring one’s foreskin, whether it be an intact foreskin, a remnant from circumcision, or a restored/restoring-in-progress foreskin. Many people describe their initial circumcision and their restoration progress in terms of CI.

Personally, my circumcision left me with about a CI-3 flaccid, and a CI-4 erect. Now two years into restoring, I currently hover between CI-5 and CI-7 when flaccid, and CI-5 erect. My flaccid goal is about CI-8, and I don’t really have an erect goal. After all, many foreskins don’t naturally cover the glans when erect, so while I’m open to the idea, it’s not an immediate goal of mine.

Keep in mind each picture on the chart is just one example, and is simply representative of the amount of coverage for each level. The shape and general appearance of any person’s foreskin won’t necessarily look exactly like what is pictured here.

boysdeservebetter:

The oft-cited “potential benefits” rarely have anything to do with the child.

restoringtally:

Frenulum comparison: Intact versus circumcised.

Notice the shiny, pink tissue of the frenulum and how it connects to the foreskin, which is shown retracted.

uncutting:

(Let me know if you spot any errors or glaring omissions here!)

circa 5th century BC - Some ancient Greeks wear a “kynodesme,” a string tied around the foreskin to ensure the glans is not exposed during athletics.

circa 2nd century BC - To escape persecution, some Jews wear a “Pondus Judaeus,” a bronze weight/sheath worn to stretch and expand the foreskin remnant. This was easily possible because the earliest forms of Jewish circumcision only removed the foreskin extending beyond the tip of the glans. Although no specimens survive to this day, this is the first and only known restoration device prior to the 20th century.

circa 1st century AD - Surgeries are developed by Celsus to re-cover the glans for those who are either circumcised or have a naturally short foreskin, by making an incision around the remaining shaft skin and pulling it over the glans. Performed in ancient Greece and Rome, these surgical techniques are essentially a primitive form of foreskin restoration, though there was presumably a significant failure rate.

circa 140 AD - In an effort to strengthen Judaism during a time where many Jews were assimilating or hiding their religion, a group of rabbis standardize the periah form of circumcision, in which the foreskin is forcibly separated from the glans, and enough is removed to fully expose the glans. This prevented the then-existing forms of restoration from being performed, and is the form of circumcision that is routinely performed in non-religious contexts in hospitals today. Although some subsequent texts in following centuries reference ancient methods of restoration, foreskin restoration essentially dies out until the 20th century.

1930s through 1945 - To escape Nazi persecution, some circumcised men (both Jewish and non-Jewish) in Europe seek glans re-covering operations similar to those performed nearly two millennia earlier. Once again, not all of these surgeries are successful.

1962 - Dr. Jack Penn performs a similar surgery in South Africa, and his article reaches the United States. For the first time, interest in developing foreskin restoration techniques is piqued not for the purpose of avoiding persecution, but because some are simply just not happy with being circumcised.

1982 - Brothers United for Future Foreskins (BUFF) is formed, and revives non-surgical foreskin restoration in the form of taping methods.

1989 - The National Organization of Restoring Men (NORM) is formed in San Francisco by R. Wayne Griffiths and Tim Hammond. Today, NORM groups exist in several dozen locations across the world.

1989 - The PUD (Penile Uncircumcising Device) is introduced.

1991 - Dr. Jim Bigelow forms the Uncircumcising Information and Resources Center (UNCIRC), which merges into NORM into 1994.

1992 - Dr. Bigelow publishes “The Joy of Uncircumcising!” bringing foreskin restoration to a wider audience.

1994 - NORM-UK is formed by Dr. John Warren.

Mid-1990s - Interest in foreskin restoration spreads even further thanks to widespread Internet access. Variations on taping methods, including T-Taping and the pill tube/film canister methods, and retaining methods such as O-rings are widely discussed.

1998 - The DILE Insert restoration device is introduced.

Late 1990s - The Recap-EZ device is introduced.

Late 1990s - The Foreskin Restoration Mailing List comes into existence.

2000 - Dr. James A. Haughey introduces the Tug Ahoy device.

2002 - The Foreskin Natural Restorer device is introduced.

2002 - The CAT (now sold as CAT II Q) device is introduced.

2003 - Ron Low introduces the Your-Skin Cone and TLC Tugger device, perhaps the best-selling and most well-known restoration device on the market.

2005 - The DTR (Dual Tension Restorer) is introduced.

2005 - Penn and Teller address foreskin restoration in an episode of their TV show “Bullshit!” dealing with the myths of circumcision.

2006 - The Foreskin-Restoration.net message board goes online, bringing thousands of restorers, potential restorers, partners, and supporters together in one place.

2008 - Ron Low demonstrates the TLC-X (a strapless version of the TLC Tugger) on the Howard Stern Show, which has spoken out against circumcision on multiple occasions.

2009 - Dr. Haughey passes away at the age of 69, and the Tug Ahoy ceases production.

2010 - Foregen, a charitable association to fund research on foreskin restoration through regenerative medicine is founded.

Early 2010s - Foreskin restoration continues to gain popularity as various Internet bloggers discuss their own experience with it.

2011 - The TV show Strange Sex does a segment on foreskin restoration, featuring Ron Low and the TLC Tugger.