The Normal Foreskin

Abstract

Puberty marks a time of significant transition in the life of a boy as he progresses toward adulthood—and a time of confusion and concern. Many questions are likely thought or asked by the boy as he approaches and lives with puberty. Sex education is taught formally and informally, in the home, on the schoolyard, in the media. Over the twentieth and into the twenty-first century, publishers have produced numerous books about puberty and its experience for young readers. In this article, I consider a specific debate that unfolds in these books, namely, circumcision. To these ends, I define the circumcision debate, briefly consider the genre of puberty books, and analyze the circumcision debate in these books. While these books recognize a circumcision debate, they ultimately frame the circumcised penis or intact penis as equally viable and normal.