Testicular Exams

@ILuvLadyDocs said

It's ironic that the area of the human body that provides the most pleasure also is the least attractive. I try to make mine a little better-looking with trimming and partial ( only partial ) shaving. I'll do the waxing thing one of these days.

I always find it hilarious how dedicated hippies, militant feminists, homophobes, and pedohysterics desperately cling to their untamed pubic bush like a starving mongrel with a rotting scrap of meat in its jaws. And they treat anyone who does pubic grooming as a weirdo, a sexual deviant, or possibly even a criminal.

@liquidsky said

Now please, I don't fit into any of those categories, and I like pubic hair! It's a matter of style....

I'm with liquidsky. I certainly don't wear any of those labels either, yet I find pubic hair on a woman to be an attractive feature. My wife has gorgeous pubic hair, while not quite 'untamed', it is the same as girls typically were during the 1980s. To me it is a sign of confidence and self assurance. She is certainly not a hippy, militant feminist, homophobe or 'pedohysteric', just a lovely young woman. I also fail to see the basis for your assertion that 'they' (whoever 'they' are) see pubic grooming as a sign of being a weirdo, sexual deviant or criminal. Who says this exactly?

On the subject at hand, I entrust my wife with checking my testicles every month, just as much as I in turn carefully check her breasts and genitals. If I had been a single man with no partner then I would do it myself, but I know I can trust my wife with this task.

@ DrZ-

I've watched waxing and shaving videos many times on Youtube, and read about the subject in online forums and magazine articles. I'm always taken aback by the intense and occasional over-the-top emotional reactions that so many people commenting have: "eeew that's fucking disgusting"..., "no, not that beautiful chest hair"..., "you guys are fucking pedophiles"...., "wow what a fucking sissy"...., "I want a man not a little boy"...., and on and on.

In my own personal life I have a couple of friends with these hysterical attitudes. One only half-jokingly called me a fag when I told him that I often shave off my scruffy, patchy, uneven chest hair because mine looks like crap. Another one likes huge fake boobs and heavily tattooed women, but is totally grossed out by a shaved vulva. When I told another male friend about my lady dancer / model friend waxes herself bare all over, he started cracking these lame Chris Hansen jokes.

It seems that for most of my adult life the doctors have done testicular checks during physical exams. At least until recently when I changed medical plans. The earliest testicular exam that I remember was when I was in my mid twenties. I was at an HMO getting a physical exam. All the routine tests had been done. I was put into an exam room and told to wait there. A couple minutes later two young ladies came in and one told me they were there to do the testicular exam. I was told to drop my shorts. One of the women examined my testicles while explaining to the other what she was doing. Then the women being trained repeated the exam, although not as thorough. I did not get erect, but could feel the blood flowing. If the exam had lasted longer then I may have gotten erect. After they were done. the left. I pulled up my shorts and left.

The way this HMO did things, is that about a week later, I had to return and see a doctor. The doctor had all the results from the tests and did his part of the exam.

And they treat anyone who does pubic grooming as a weirdo, a sexual deviant, or possibly even a criminal..... .

Sadly I have to agree with this.

The most prevalent put-down I often come across, is that those who like shaved genitals are displacing their desires for the under-aged, that they really have a desire for prepubescents, but since it is quite illegal, make do with shaved adult partners.

This is a rather nasty insinuation. I've seen it here on zity and I've read it numerous times in articles and magazines, both on-line and on real paper. One of Belgium's most well known media 'sexologists', Goedele Liekens, likes to tote that line, with a dismissive, condescending attitude that implies something very unsavory and emotionally immature is wrong with those who prefer to be shaved. Her implication being that real, mature people don't go in for that sort of borderline childish stuff.

And there are many others who use the same arguments. Which I think are quite insulting to say the least, as they imply a sexual pathology and difficulties with suppressing illegal and immoral desires.

Shaving is simply a culturally determined fashion. Fashions change and come and go, just as long-haired male hippies used to induce paroxysms of rage with certain people back in the 60s. That too was just a sub-cultural fashion and had nothing to do with hippies wanting to look like girls or come over as 'faggy'.

In other cultures genital shaving was often considered the norm. An interesting and also off-putting instance is the following. During the Algerian War of Independence in the early 1960s, it is known that some (overzealous) French troops at times checked female villagers in hostile regions to see if they were shaved or not. The reason? Because it indicated that husbands who had joined the insurgency as fedaheen in the field, had returned to their village to visit their wives. Muslim women in that part of the world at that time considered it normal to shave - for any number of reasons, but not because their husbands had a thing for under-aged girls.

I'd guess that the present fashion of shaving genitals has more to do with relaxed attitudes towards sexuality that started to become apparent in the 1970s-80s, but especially in the 1990s with the availability of sexual imagery on the Net. As it became considered to be less and less immoral to show genitals, the urge to groom and change their appearance became virtually irrepressible. People seem to have an urge to try to beautify and groom any and all conceivable body parts. And genital shaving is just one of those aspects.

Oh please, pubic grooming and exfoliation is so common now here that those who don't seem to be in the minority. No one, particularly me as a physician ever comments on it. My own personal preferences are just that. I never talk about them in situations other than this forum. Yes I have expressed my ideas about it, but often don't elsewhere. As I said, it's just a matter of style. Lighten up.

I've only had one testicle exam, by a female doctor at an induction examination for military service. It was a bit embarrassing but it did not last long.

Oh please, pubic grooming and exfoliation is so common now here that those who don't seem to be in the minority. No one, particularly me as a physician ever comments on it. My own personal preferences are just that. I never talk about them in situations other than this forum. Yes I have expressed my ideas about it, but often don't elsewhere. As I said, it's just a matter of style. Lighten up.

Unfortunately, this seems to be an issue with some doctors. I got a summary of notes from my urologist when I moved to a new town. My pubic hair status was clearly noted if it was anything other than natural. How does that have any bearing on health care?

That's unfortunate because of course it doesn't. The only time I have ever noted anything about this in the chart is when a patient presented with incredible cellulitis from shaving her mons. She'd used an old blade which was contaminated with staph bacteria. Where do you live that someone should make such comments?

When I had a physical by someone other than Doc about 4 years ago by Dr.John it was noted on my chart that I was clean shaved. I have them send over copies of all of my chart stuff to Doc a few days after every appointment so I have a complete copy of my chart.

He uses a program called I think, "Amazing Charts" and that is a standard question in that program.

Mashie

The most prevalent put-down I often come across, is that those who like shaved genitals are displacing their desires for the under-aged, that they really have a desire for prepubescents, but since it is quite illegal, make do with shaved adult partners.

This is a rather nasty insinuation. I've seen it here on zity and I've read it numerous times in articles and magazines, both on-line and on real paper. One of Belgium's most well known media 'sexologists', Goedele Liekens, likes to tote that line, with a dismissive, condescending attitude that implies something very unsavory and emotionally immature is wrong with those who prefer to be shaved. Her implication being that real, mature people don't go in for that sort of borderline childish stuff.

And there are many others who use the same arguments. Which I think are quite insulting to say the least, as they imply a sexual pathology and difficulties with suppressing illegal and immoral desires.

@agracier - I am reminded that many years ago, probably some time during the 1990s, I did see comments such as these - but that was at a time in Britain when pubic shaving was more of a novelty than now. I can't remember seeing this attitude expressed more recently, though I'm guessing some thought it without actually saying it. These days it seems pubic shaving, certainly for women, is more mainstream and is considered 'normal'. There seems to be much pressure on them to do so, but my wife has never paid any attention to this, and I'm glad about that.

Your comments re Goedele Liekens surprise me though. From the little I've seen of her, she made some quite sensible comments about porn misinforming teenage boys about sex, and that it encourages boys to judge unshaven women as having inadequate grooming.

@ILuvLadyDocs - It seems likely that this is yet another cultural difference between the USA and the UK (if not more widely) in that some over on your side of the Atlantic can be vociferous in making the kind of comment you mention.

Your comments re Goedele Liekens surprise me though. From the little I've seen of her, she made some quite sensible comments about porn misinforming teenage boys about sex, and that it encourages boys to judge unshaven women as having inadequate grooming.

She's quite the media darling and good looking and friends with other TV stars and comedians and always gets a good hearing. And there is the fact that there are not many well-known sexologists in Belgium ... ha ha. She also had her own lifestyle magazine for a while. It went broke last year I think. Might have been replaced with anther title.

She is on the whole indeed sensible, or common sensical, otherwise she wouldn't have made it so far. But her views on pubic shaving as opposed to modest grooming are something I never forgot. It was in an interview of her in Humo some years ago, big time magazine with a large circulation.

In that same interview she was asked what she disliked about a partner: her answer was having a partner who picked pubic hair out of their mouth after having oral sex with her. Which I really thought was her wanting to have her cake and eat it too. Against shaving but disliking an inevitable side-effect of not shaving ... ha ha.

Having a new tech do my testicular ultrasound was quite erotic, she was young, inexperienced and attractive

It's interesting to see so many whose first testicular exam occurred so late in life. As far back as I can remember, my doctor's visits have included at least a visual inspection of my genitalia, and at about age 14 or so, I received a detailed testicular exam along with instructions on how to perform regular self examinations. Considering that testicular cancer is most common in teens and young men (15-35), it's important... not to mention fun 😃

. . . .How could anyone look at our "junk" and get turned on by it?

Maybe your stuff is junk, but my husband's are jewels that get rewarded whatever their initial degree of inflation when I get my hands on them!

The only testicular exam I've ever had (I'm 40+ y.o.) was at the consultation I had with the urologist prior to my vasectomy. I've had a few hernia exams, but nothing more.

BenDover, this is totally off topic and I am sure I have told you this a time or two before but I just LOVE your name here. It makes me smile and chuckle every single time I read it. How clever of you, seriously, very clever. And while I am being honest here, I would have to also admit that it sorta turns me on as well, lol.

Mashie

Testicular is typically a young man's disease and I got my first exam at age 11. Now my first prostate exam was not until I was in my 30s. Our family doctor still does annual testicle exams on me and as others mentioned, the correct way to do it is using the finger tips to check for lumps and abnormalities which she does. In addition, she started checking our boys' testicles at age 6, and per her advice, my wife exams them herself every three months.

It's important to remember the incidence of testicular cancer. It's 5.6 per 100,000 with deaths .3 per 100,000. It is diagnosed most commonly in patients 20 to 34 years old. By contrast ovarian cancer affects 12 per 100,000. These are rare tumors. Breast cancer is diagnosed in one of eight women.

Mashie, thank you very much! I must admit, I'm rather pleased with myself getting a compliment from you... However, also must admit, the name is taken from the movie Fletch, with Chevy Chase.

It's important to remember the incidence of testicular cancer. It's 5.6 per 100,000 with deaths .3 per 100,000. It is diagnosed most commonly in patients 20 to 34 years old. By contrast ovarian cancer affects 12 per 100,000. These are rare tumors. Breast cancer is diagnosed in one of eight women.

It's odd how certain very rare occurrences can become an obsession and cause unnecessary scares in society or among certain kinds of people.

So perhaps checking for testicular cancer every 3 months in 6 year olds is a bit needlessly obsessive. There must be other psychological elements at work, certainly if a doctor recommends doing so, someone who should be better informed and knowledgeable about the statistical implications regarding the prevalence of certain diseases and conditions and what that implies in the real world.

Examining six year old boys every three months is definitely obsessive. There must be some other agenda.

It's odd how certain very rare occurrences can become an obsession and cause unnecessary scares in society or among certain kinds of people.

So perhaps checking for testicular cancer every 3 months in 6 year olds is a bit needlessly obsessive. There must be other psychological elements at work, certainly if a doctor recommends doing so, someone who should be better informed and knowledgeable about the statistical implications regarding the prevalence of certain diseases and conditions and what that implies in the real world.

Many people's ability to assess risk and threat is quite wide of the mark. They overestimate the likelihood of rare events (and things they shouldn't be overly worried about), sometimes obsessively, and underestimate the likelihood and the high impact of events that they should be worried about. They fail to question, to do their homework on what the situation is, and then misdirect their attention onto things that are marginal risks at best.

Examining six year old boys every three months is definitely obsessive. There must be some other agenda.

It does not sound like very smart medicine, and could be psychologically damaging to the boys. It cannot be justified by medical statistics, so it is either the result of some very unthinking doctors or yes, some other agenda is at work.

I enjoy thinking about the testicle exams after they happened.

@DrZ-

And now that I'm a full-grown adult, NOT having my balls examined by an attractive woman is what's psychologically damaging LOL.

My balls were first felt, at the age of 8, by a male doctor in school. Didn't really understand why, but at that age it didn't matter.

Balls felt many times since, all by male doctors.

Probably age 7 or 8, I had an undescended testicle which required regular doctor visits to check out. I was ordered to stand in front of the seated doctor, pull up my shirt and take down my pants and underpants (white briefs) so he could see and feel me closely. He spent a good deal of time touching and looking as I stood in front of him, my bare boy-butt clearly on display to Mother and anyone who might pass by the room.

Many years later, and thanks to DoctorExamKidFL here on Zity, there's a picture in the Schonfeld document (page 181) which clearly shows the exact examination for a missing testicle that I underwent. I watched the doctor very closely and now distinctly remember his fingers pushing the scrotum forward to conduct the examination.

Got to thinking back about how upset I got with the testicle exams. Not so much the exams themselves, but a conversation the doctor had at some point with my mother while I was present. Doctor advised mom that surgical intervention would be necessary if the testicle failed to descend on its own. No timetable, but "soon".

This really freaked me out! Probably because I had a hospital experience (tonsillectomy) only a couple years before, and really did not enjoy it....especially the idea of having to use a bedpan. I remember feeling so indignant about that: I'm a big boy now, and can go to the potty just like I'm supposed to. The experience of being asked if I needed to go, then being assisted with the placement of my body on the pan and a nurse holding my penis and cleaning my butt afterwards was over the top.

Fortunately for me, perhaps 6 months later nature finally took its course and my little right ball went to its proper place.

I had my first testicular exam when i was 14 by my male doctor which i hated having done i dreaded that part of the exam but now that i am older and have a female doctor i dont dread that part of the exam as much anymore

I've had numerous hernia checks but only one real testicular exam and that was before hernia surgery last year.

I've had plenty of hernia exams. My first one was my sports physical in 7th grade. And then every year through college. Some, twice a year.

I find testicles more attractive than the penis when it comes to medical stuff. I love having my balls examined and love thinking about other guys having it done to them.