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WOMAN MAKES BOOK OF ESSAYS ON MEN WITHOUT PENISES Admit it. You've wondered about it, especially if you are a man. Just what would it be like to live without a that all-important male organ of yours? It's the subject of crude, demeaning jokes. But at the heart of the question is a real curiosity among men. They love their penises; many define themselves by them. So what is life like without that round tube hanging down? How would your life change if you couldn't penetrate another person or urinate standing up? Leave it to a woman to ask. MaryAnn Smith interviewed 55 penisless men for her new book "A Different Manhood: Life Without a Penis." She spoke with men who had lost their male organs for a variety of reasons. Some through disease or accident. Others through lifestyle modification. Each wrote in one to four pages how the event and subsequent adaptation changed his life. "What I was most curious about was how men viewed their masculinity after the loss of their penises. What I found was that those who had voluntarily undergone penectomy usually had the fewest issues. It seems they were less likely to subscribe to traditional notions of masculinity. Many of them were male-to-female transsexuals. But those who had lost their organs from disease or accident went through the profoundest of changes." As documented in the 145-page book, these men went through emotional crises that were destructive and damaging. Many required years of therapy. But several eventually accepted life without a penis and went on to live happily. Some even married afterward. "As some of the men told me, you don't need your penis to be a man." The book includes 36 full-color photos of the men in all their glory. Some include the men's significant others with them. Smith is currently creating a Website that details the lives of these genitally altered men. Smith first became interested in the subject after her boyfriend of several years expressed a desire to have his own penis removed. "It didn't seem to affect his manhood at all," she said. "If I were to lose my vagina, I would suffer a lot of emotional trauma ... identity trauma. But he didn't seem fazed in the least." While he has not had it removed yet, Smith herself has become more accepting of the idea. "In some ways, I have to admit it excites me. But I can't say whether it excites me for good reasons or for prurient reasons. My boyfriend says I'm becoming more open to alternative views of maleness. And I've learned to love sex play that involves him tucking and hiding his penis." She adds, "He did warn that we will need to make some homemade dildos from his penis, because there will certainly be times when I will want penetration. But not often." MALE ORGAN SLEEVE NOT JUST FOR THOSE WHO WANT TO BE CUT It happens to a lot of products. Preparation H being used for the noses of coke addicts. Baking soda used not for cooking but to freshen refrigerators. So perhaps it's not a surprise to find out that a sensation-inhibiting penis sleeve designed for future penectomees has become popular among thousands of other males. A penectomy is the removal of a man's penis, usually done surgically, though frequently done by angry wives as well. The reasons are myriad, ranging from accidents to diseases to personal reasons. The Peni-Sleeve was invented in 1993 to be worn over the penis and prevent sensations from registering in the brain. It is made of a type of "smart" cyberskin that prevents sensations from contacting the skin. Its purpose was to be worn by men who were soon to have their own male organ removed, often as part of male-to-female sex reassignment surgery. "The purpose of the Peni-Sleeve was to train men to become used to not having a penis," said Kaitlin Manning, a physician and the inventor of the product, from her office in Minneapolis, Minnesota. "I created it because I happened to know a lot of men who just didn't want to have their penises anymore. These men were determined to get them cut off. What has happened, though, is that a lot of other men are buying them just to deal with their sex drives. They wear them throughout the day for that reason." The product retails for $18.95 and can be bought over the counter at many pharmacies, or on the Web, too. "You wouldn't believe how many women have bought these. I started to investigate this, and I found that they use them to control their men! One told me she could go a whole day without being bothered, since she put one on her husband. I've had gay couples come in and buy them for both men. What is it about penises that leads men to need this kind of restraint?" Over 100,000 Peni-Sleeves have been sold to date. Manning is busy at work creating a Clito-Sleeve for women, which she expects will be on the market by 2005. "I can't relate," she said. "But I've discovered that there is a market in these things for women, too." Manning confided that her husband frequently wears one, and he has seen them in locker rooms on more than one occasion. The Peni-Sleeve is waterproof and temperature resistant. According to surveys, a whopping 92 percent of men who wore the sleeve reported feeling happier and more in control of themselves. "Of course," said Manning. "If need be, I'm also trained to cut off penises myself." RatemyWHAT.com? You've probably seen (and participated in) exhibitionist-friendly Websites like floppydicks.com and ratemycameltoe.com. Perhaps you've checked out the many butt sites, too, or sites that rate people's clothing or pets. Get ready for the latest: ratemypenectomy.com. For those who don't know it, a penectomy is the removal of a man's penis, whether through surgery or a criminal act, whether clinically or self-performed, legal or illegal. No such distinctions exist on this Website. Instead, it offers viewer-donated photos of naked men, all minus their trademark body part. Some are quite hairy down there, others are smoothly shaved. Some have big testes, others look almost like women. A few show the men sitting on toilets, with a stream of urine coming from behind the scrotum. But most just show the men relaxing in their altered bodies. Reactions have been mixed, as the message boards show. Some people registered disgust. Others were curious. And many were charmed. "Hey, I happen to find this cute," said one young woman. "Men are so hung up on those dang things. I find these men here rather brave. But I'm still curious about how all these dinkies got whacked off, if you'll pardon the language." About two thirds of the voters are women, according to profile information. "I give them all nines or tens," said one woman. "Heck, I made one of these pictures into a screensaver." |