Acroposthion.com

One of the main reasons why there can be such an adverse reaction to the foreskin is due to the issue of smegma (Greek = soap), which is the secretion that can accumulate in the preputial space if allowed. Smegma is common to all mammals both male and female and is probably the most misunderstood and most unjustifiably maligned substance in nature. It is only in male humans however that smegma seems to be so offensive as to warrant circumcision to prevent it from existing. It is made up of a combination of exfoliated epithelial cells, discharged skin oils and moisture. Smegma is an emollient which is benign, beneficial and necessary because it moisturizes the glans and keeps it smooth, soft, and supple. It has antibacterial and antiviral properties which keep the penis clean and healthy.

Smegma if allowed to grow stale can have a pungent aroma (commonly compared to cheese in males or fish in females). It is moist in its texture until it is allowed to accumulate, when it takes on its characteristic appearance, which can be best described as ‘cheesy’. Washing regularly with soap and water is the obvious solution to this natural occurrence. Surely humanity as a species cannot be so disconnected from the natural functions of the body that there is a need to permanently cut off a male’s foreskin to deal with the issue of smegma. Does anyone cut off the ears because they produce wax? Does anyone cut off noses because they produce nasal mucus? Is it not utterly ridiculous and preposterous then that male humans in 21^st century North America continue to have their foreskins cut off because of a natural and normal bodily function which produces a substance which can easily be washed off?

There does not seem to have been much research on the subject as such to definitively place the significance and purpose of human smegma into context. However, researchers at the University of Manchester have found that the human foreskin has apocrine glands which are specialized glands that produce pheromones, nature's chemical messengers. Even though many people find smegma offensive, there are some who are actually turned on by its pheromonal (sexual attractant) properties present in the secretions. After all, mammals are known to communicate with their scent and are humans not mammals? The propaganda that smegma caused cervical cancer had been one reason used to advocate circumcision, but this argument was invalidated when in the 1970’s it was discovered that the Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) was most likely to be the cause of cervical cancers.