Being a Boy by James Dawson Read Free Book Online Page A

extreme bend would affect your sex life, for instance a condition called Peyronie’s Disease in which scar tissue can cause severe bends. This can still be treated by a doctor.
    Whether a penis is cut – ‘circumcised’, or uncut was much debated amongst the research group. In the UK, less than 20 per cent of all men are cut, with much of this number down to cultural or religious reasons. In the US and Canada, this figure is much higher, with 56 per cent of all US baby boys being cut before they leave hospital. In the US, most parents opt for circumcision simply so their baby boys ‘fit in’ with the majority.
    Since time began doctors have been squabbling about the health benefits of circumcision, although if there are any they are minor. The NHS in Britain will NOT carry out ‘elective’ circumcisions without medical or cultural grounds. In truth it makes very little difference to you as a boy. The foreskin is very sensitive, so it is another thing that FEELS NICE. (Don’t try to chop it off at home.) The foreskin should not be too tight around the head, or ‘glans’ of the penis. It should be able to be stretched back fully over the glans. If you cannot do this, it might be worth a trip to your GP or GUM clinic. The state of your penis is of MUCH more importance to the women I interviewed. Repeat after me:
AN UNCLEAN PEEN MUST NEVER BE SEEN.
    That’s right. Your partner – male or female – will not care what it looks like as long as they cannot smell it. You may well cringe, but how clean is your peen right now? This is especially important for uncut guys. You really must get under that foreskin. SERIOUSLY.
    FUNCTION: So at this point, perhaps much more important than what your penis looks like is ‘is it doing its job?’ This is the root of more stress, I’m afraid. This is why we must get away from this idea of ‘manhood’ being all about your knob.
----
    What does semen look like?
    Cum, as it’s better known, is a gloopy, white-grey goo that shoots out of your penis. It’s warm and sticky when it comes out, but soon dries into a charming, flaky crust.
    The best comparison is that weird cornflower gunk you use to thicken gravy or glaze cakes.
    (DO NOT GLAZE CAKES WITH YOUR SPUNK.)
    Cartoons of white tadpoles have probably really confused you. Sperm cells DO look like tadpoles, but only many, many times magnified.
    A standard ‘emission’ will give approximately a dessert spoon of cum.

----
     
    Your testicles will start producing sperm cells and semen, the gunk they hang out in. And from then on, the rest of your time on Earth, previously dedicated to keeping your parents and teachers happy, is about to get a helluva lot more complicated as you continually fight off the desire to put your penis inside things.
    Semen MAY start to find its way out through WET DREAMS or ‘nocturnal emission’. This is when your subconsciously stimulated penis has a happy in the night and releases an amount of semen. Not everyone has wet dreams and you don’t actually have to be dreaming about sex to get one. In a US study 13 per cent of boys said their first ejaculation was a wet dream. It is thought masturbation is one way of minimising the chances of it occurring, see ‘The Art of the Crafty Wank’ in this chapter.
    Wet dreams are a cause of much tension as many boys fear the ‘evidence’ being discovered by their parent or grown up. Hopefully, you’ll be able to discuss it honestly with them. If not, don’t sweat it because now you know that having wet dreams is totally normal.
    Sometimes like any other part of a body, the penis might not do what it is supposed to. With so much pressure about size, shape, smell, name, it’s no wonder the poor little fella might get nervous. If you’re channelling your entire being into 5.9 inches of your body, it’s a miracle the thing doesn’t shrivel up and die entirely.
    ‘Erectile dysfunction’, ‘premature ejaculation’ and ‘delayed ejaculation’ are the