Man explains why Sex and the City 'ruined his penis'

A man has expressed his regret at getting a circumcision after watching an episode of Sex and the City where the characters berated uncircumcised penises.

In a post to the show's subreddit page, the 44-year-old Australian man described how "the mere mention of the show sends a shiver down my spine." So much so, that he said he will never watch the comedy-drama again, nor its new spin-off series And Just Like That.

He wrote: "Just over 20 years ago that show led to the biggest mistake I have ever made: getting circumcised."

He explained how he felt "different" because the majority of men from his father's generation were circumcised and as had the men in the porn he had seen and heard "uncomplimentary references" in American media.

Circumcision is more common in America than in other industrialised countries, with approximately 80.5 per cent of American men getting the procedure.

Research also shows there are health benefits to getting this done, such as reducing the risk of getting sexually transmitted diseases such as HIV but the evidence to date has been inconclusive and conflicting, according to the NHS.

The procedure is commonly performed on babies when they are born which some doctors and activists believe to be "unethical."

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It was the Sex and The City second season episode: "Old Dogs, New Dicks" that would prove to have a life changing impact on the then-21-year-old, where the character Charlotte was disgusted by a man she was dating because he wasn't circumcised.

"To sit and watch a show tell me that my body was revolting is something I will never forget. The women casually sat around the table body shaming men and their penises," he said.

"I remember Charlotte screwing up her nose and saying, “There was so much skin, it was like a shar-pei," and feeling disgusted in my own body.

"Then Miranda added: 'I'm sorry, it is not normal.' I felt like I was screaming on the inside.

"I had an ugly penis that people would forever judge me for."

In the end, Charlotte pressures her boyfriend Mike into getting the surgery, but after noticing how his circumcised penis made him more attractive, he ends up breaking things off with Charlotte.

"After watching the show I knew I had to do one thing: get circumcised," he said and thought that women he had been sexually active with over the years were just being "polite."

Fast forward and after getting the circumcision, the man was initially glad he went under the knife.

"I remember looking at it the first time. Bruised and stitched and sorry. I actually felt relieved. I felt so happy! I thought I was 'normal' now."

Though he described the recovery as "painful" with his penis becoming "much less sensitive" and has a "big scar" from the operation, all of which bring "tears to [his] eyes" when thinking about this.

"As time went on I discovered my new penis didn’t actually solve any of my problems," the man explained. "When I eventually told friends what I had done, they all asked why. So did the women I told."

"I didn’t get circumcised because there was anything wrong with my penis - I did it because I felt shamed by American media and their immorally untrue message that foreskins are dirty and ugly."

"I literally had myself mutilated because of these messages, hoping that it would make me fit in. I cry for that 21 year-old kid."

The man then had advice for any men who at some point felt the same as him and want a circumcision.

"If you’re considering circumcision for yourself: please don't do it for the reasons I did."

"I will not be watching And Just Like That, and I will never forgive its predecessor for its treatment of male bodies," he concluded.

Fair enough.

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