The finding makes awkward news for HIV prevention programmes promoting circumcision.
Circumcised or not, most men or their partners don’t report serious sexual problems, Frisch says. “The only thing that stuck out was orgasm difficulties.” The orgasm trouble is caused by the loss of nerve endings or sensitivity which happens when the foreskin is removed, Frisch reasons. Yet the lack of foreskin had no noticeable effect on premature ejaculation or problems getting an erection.
Better sex?
Many circumcised men may not agree with Frisch’s findings or his reasoning. Delayed orgasm or prolonged ejaculation may actually mean better sex both for them and their partners
A Kenyan study suggests just that. Men were asked to rate their penis sensitivity and ease of reaching an orgasm before and two years after being circumcised. Almost three quarters of the men said their penis was more sensitive. And 64 percent said it was actually easier for them to achieve an orgasm after being circumcised.
11 percent
But in the Kenyan study too, 11 percent of men did say it they found it harder to climax after the operation. And that’s exactly the same figure that Frisch found in his survey.
Although 11 percent may seem small, it’s not when you consider that there’s an estimated 660 million men circumcised in the world. This suggests that potentially tens of millions of men frequently suffer from the inability to climax because of circumcision.
HIV prevention
Nevertheless the number of circumcised men keeps growing. This is partly because in countries were HIV is endemic, circumcision has been shown to be an effect way to slow down the epidemic.
Being circumcised reduces a man’s chances of getting infected with HIV by up to 60 percent. And if made universal in sub-Saharan Africa, it could prevent 5.7 million new infections and 3 million AIDS-related deaths over the next 20 years, according to one World Health Organisation study.
So with the stakes being high, it’s not surprising that HIV prevention programs are keen to promote cultural beliefs that circumcised men enjoy sex more or women enjoy sex more with circumcised men.
Enjoy sex less
The problem is that Frisch’s findings don’t really support these beliefs.
Women with circumcised partners in particular seem to enjoy sex less. They were twice as likely to say their sexual needs weren’t fulfilled. Which is not surprising, since they also were three times more likely to have frequent orgasm difficulties and 8.5 times more likely to say they frequently experienced pain during sex.
In the end, Frisch’s findings do call into question the belief that circumcised men and their partners have better sex, because for a significant number of them this is untrue.
Is a circumcised penis better for sex? What do you think?