Steve ANW or others: I never knew that most (?) european men are uncircumcised, whereas apparently most (?) U.S. men are circumcised. Given that a lot of us Yankees have european roots, what are the possible reasons for this difference? I'm quite happy with my circumcised state and never gave it a thought. 

I've considered getting circumcised several times over the years for hygiene reasons, but each time I've brought the subject up I've had a "don't you dare!" from my then partner. 

Here is a map of percentages of circumcised around the world what is really interesting is that the USA seems almost alone among the "Western Countries" in the high percentages (being over 70%), though Australia, Canada and New Zealand do score into the 20s and early 30s. 

Interesting topic, I was circumcised at birth and in Ireland as you can see from Anna's map it is very uncommon. For me growing up it was a cause of extreme embarrassment which is, I think part of the reason that I ended up drawn to naturism so I could reclaim my body. Up till then I would go to extreme lengths to hide the fact that I was circumcised including never learning to swim. I did eventually learn to swim in my 40s so I could keep up with my kids swimming. I think that in Naturism the great thing is that we accept that we are different and it doesn't matter and no-one judges. I think naturism actually gave me a little more confidence in general. On the physical impact of being circumcised I do think it reduces sensation and can be uncomfortable even though I was circumcised as a baby. A few years ago I did try stretching what was left of my foreskin to help cover my glans at least while wearing underwear, this worked to some extent. I suppose the other advantage of swimming naked is there is no clothes rubbing...

That map is quite amazing to me. Nice bit of research, Anna ANW. It confirms casual observations during my life, from school gym and showers, sports, health club locker rooms, etc.

Way back when I was in university, freshmen were required to take two semesters of "physical education", or "PE" as it was called. I signed up for a Red Cross lifesaving certification class (swimmer). All male. The first class meeting, the instructor suggested we do the whole class nude and everyone agreed. So that lasted the whole semester. I vaguely remember that the "norm"  in the class was circumcised or so it seemed. Everyone got comfortable in a matter of minutes. I guess that was my first exposure to nudism. I was probably 18 or 19 years old.