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Avatar universal

dont know if i have a foreskin? :S

im not sure if i have a foreskin or not. im afraid to ask my parents though. im still able to do my thing but i cant pull anything back and im pretty sure ive reached puberty. im only 13 though.
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Avatar universal
Go to wikipedia and search for "penis" It shows you pictures of circumcised and non circumcised penises, just see which matches yours.
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Avatar universal
Sorry but my dads put on parental control on my laptop and that page is blocked. If you have another page id be very grateful.
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Avatar universal
Hi again. Well, most guys in the UK are not circumcised. It's not the cultural norm there as it is in the US. The easiest way to tell is, can you see the entire head when your penis is not erect? If you can, and there is no extra skin to pull over it, then you are circumcised.

If you go to this web page you'll see drawings of both. The uncircumcised one is Figure 1 and scroll down to Figure 4 for the circumcised one.

http***www.cirp.org/pages/anat/

If you still can't tell write back and we'll try something else.
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Avatar universal
Thanks for answering my question. But Im still not sure  because Im in the UK not the US. I dont think the head is exposed but I cant tell because there doesnt seem to be anything Im able to pull back. Thanks
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Avatar universal
Hey there. First, don't be afraid to ask your parents. There's nothing to be ashamed about. They can answer your question with a simple yes or no.

Most boys in the U.S. are circumcised. It's a cultural thing and either way is fine. Some circumcision procedures are more "complete" than others. That is, some boys who are circumsized still have a little bit of skin (foreskin) left that can slightly cover the head (glans) when their penis is not erect (flacid). Usually when a boy who is not circumsized has an erection the skin pulls all the way back and the head is completely exposed. For some it doesn't. So the easiest way to tell if you're circumcised is when you do not have an erection. Is the head fully exposed? Is there any skin behind it that you can pull over the head? If it is completely exposed and there is no excess skin, then you are circumcised. If there is enough skin to pull completely over the head when you are not erect, then you are not. If there's a little skin that can be pulled over you might be or you might not be.

For some boys, circumcision leaves a scar around the shaft of their penis. It appears as a ring, completely around it, that is darker in color than the skin of the rest of the penis. Not all circumcised boys develop a ring scar that is darker but many do. If you can see this ring, then you are circumcised.

As far as whether or not you've reached puberty, there are a few ways to tell. We estimate puberty development using something called the "Tanner Scale." (You can Google it and find all sorts of information about your development). It looks at your genital development and pubic hair development and then assigns a number 1-5 to both. A number 1 means you haven't started yet and a number 5 means you've completed it. Most boys your age are somewhere in between. But, a 13 year old can be a 1 or a 5 and still be "normal." Just like you and your friends grow in height at different ages and rates, you also go through puberty differently.

The first sign of puberty in boys is the enlarging of your balls (testicles). They begin to hang lower than they did before and most boys don't even notice the subtle change. Also, the skin of your sac (scrotum) gets darker in color.  When we see this change you are in Tanner Stage G-2, meaning that your genitals are in the second stage of development. The next thing that happens is your penis begins to get longer. Again, since the size of your soft (flacid) penis can even vary throughout the day, it is not very noticeable. When this happens you're G-3. The next stage your penis gets longer and thicker, G-4. Finally, it reaches its adult size, G-5.

At the same time you might start developing pubic hair. It begins right at the base of your penis. At first you might notice a few small dark hairs growing down there. When this happens you're in stage P-2. As you go through the rest of the stages you'll grow more and more hair, eventually covering your scrotum, growing out towards your legs, and up toward your belly button (P-5). This is what most boys use to determine whether or not they've started puberty because it's the most obvious to see. But, you don't necessarily go through the G stages and the P stages at the same time or rate. In other words it's possible to be a stage P-3 G-2, meaning that when you first notice pubic hair beginning to grow you're already 3 stages on your way to 5 in terms of your development.

This is why it's so important not to compare yourself to your friends or brothers to see if you're "normal", even though we all do it. You also say, "I'm only 13 though." Well, that doesn't mean a whole lot. Boys can begin puberty anywhere between the ages of 9 and 14, and be considered normal. Now, if you put that together with what I said above, you can see why I say that it's not fair to compare yourself to others. For example, Johnny started puberty at 9 and by 11 he's stage P-3 G-3. His best friend Bobby started at 11. Bobby hasn't even noticed that his testicles have grown and his penis has gotten longer. He doesn't have any pubic hair yet so he thinks he hasn't started puberty. In fact, he's stage P-1 G-2. (Remember, you're P-1 G-1 from the time you're born until puberty starts). The truth is, Bobby and Johnny are both perfectly normal, although I'm sure Bobby is worried he's "not normal" because he hasn't noticed any changes. You see why we warn boys against comparing themselves?

I know I've answered a lot more than you asked, but I feel it's very important for boys (and girls) to know what's normal and what to expect. If you have any other questions or would just like to talk some more about it, feel free to post here or you can email me.
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