The cock

The cock is made up of three inflatable cylinders of a honey-combed spongy tissue, two on upper side (as you look down at it) and one on the underneath. When your cock is soft the cylinders are like long flat balloons. The vein that you can see running down the top of your cock pumps blood into these balloons when you get an erection. Down the centre of the cock is the urethra, the tube through which we piss; more of this later. The foreskin The end of the cock is covered by a sleeve of stretchy skin called the foreskin. It protects the cock while soft keeping it moist and sensitive. When we are born, the foreskin is usually stuck to it until we are about 3-4 years old when it starts to peel back by itself. By the time we are in our teens it can be pulled back and forwards without any problems. Smelly white stuff smegma Stale piss, bacteria, yeasts and discarded skin cells accumulate under the foreskin to form a white, smelly, cheese-like substance. This is called smegma. If it's allowed to build up, it can cause irritation and soreness which is why you should clean beneath the foreskin (gently but thoroughly) at least once a day. As a child, you may remember bath times where we were taught to clean beneath the foreskin as part of our personal hygiene regime (together with potty training). Having said that, Mummy didn't tell us that some guys are turned on by smegma and will leave it to ferment for days, even weeks before finding a willing partner to lick it out. Tight foreskin phimosis Some guys are unable to pull the foreskin back over the head of the cock without discomfort of pain. This is caused by a condition called phimosis and is usually accompanied by balantitis, a swelling and tenderness of the head of the cock. Treatment for balantitis usually involves antibiotics but in some cases circumcision is required. A related condition, paraphimosis is when the foreskin gets stuck in the pulled-back position causing pain and swelling. Again, circumcision is often required. Some larger foreskins catch piss as it comes out of the urethra where it can then remain trapped and lead to dribbling when you think you've finished. Getting into the habit if pulling the foreskin right back every time you piss followed by a thorough shake and squeeze is the obvious solution but occasionally circumcision is required. Circumcision When men are circumcised (usually as new born babies) the foreskin is surgically removed. While the principle reasons for this are religious grounds and to improve personal hygiene, as was mentioned earlier, men with excessively large or tight foreskins are often treated by circumcision. Although the vast majority of American men are circumcised, more recently, circumcision has decreased in popularity and, in the UK, circumcised men are in the minority. After circumcision, the head of the cock loses its soft moist texture and becomes darker, tougher and dry becoming more like normal skin. Understandably, men can lose some sensitivity and it can take a long time to cum (not that it's necessarily a problem). If required, techniques can re-develop a circumcised foreskin particularly if the foreskin has been mutilated by poor circumcision. A specially shaped plaster will encourage the skin to re-grow (over several years) and skin grafts can also restore the foreskin. Cock size Well let's be honest, we're obsessed with cock size. Cocks come in all shapes and sizes, although they vary less in size than we would like to believe. When measured from the base to the tip (along the top or upper side) the average erect cock is 16cm (6.3 in). But, contrary to popular belief, the high majority of men fall between 14.5cm (5.6 in) and 17.5cm (7 in). Given that only the first two to three inches of the arsehole are touch-sensitive, a shorter or thicker cock can be just as good at stimulating those nerve endings as anything larger. While big long cocks can have your arse poked skywards in seconds, they can knock into the rectum wall and sphincter muscles causing discomfort and pain. So the moral of this tale is quite simple: don't ignore smaller cocks and beware of bigger ones in the hands of dickheads who think they know what they're doing. Later on in the book describes how you can reduce the risk of pain and potential damage - and how to order him a taxi! This online advice guide is an extract from the book TOGETHER, by kind permission of Patriic Gayle and Gay Times Books. The book itself is over 300 pages long and contains:

several chapters more useful advice and information

more in-depth information in some chapters

more pictures and tables

further contacts at the end of each chapter

a comprehensive listing of gay and health organisations Described by Qx magazine as a 'Gay Bible', Together Book is a practical reference work no bookshelf should be without.

Available from Prowler Stores and all good bookshops, or click the link below for price and ordering details.

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