Dear Level

What Women Really Think About Circumcision

Cut. Uncut. We love them all. Most of us, anyway.

Update 6/7/22: Level has a new home. You can read this article and other new articles by visiting LEVELMAN.com.

My Facebook comments are in shambles. And it’s all your fault.

You see, as I sat down to write this week’s Dear Level column, I had a realization: I’ve never seen an uncircumcised penis. Sure, I’ve heard all about them, and I get the general gist. A penis with its head covered, yes? I’m struggling to create a mental image. I just know there’s some foreskin involved.

After a search on Google Images, I realized I have very likely seen an uncut penis — when at attention, there’s not much difference between that and one that is circumcised. I probably wouldn’t have noticed one way or another. (Flaccid is another story, though; there’s definitely a shar-pei-like quality to the hooded skin.)

Around the world, circumcision is vanishing. In fact, in many Caribbean countries, the numbers are close to zero.

This rabbit hole brought me to Facebook, my favorite way to crowdsource opinions on the love and sex topics covered in this column. (Think…