When a Savvy Miss member had the following question, we turned to Cathy Winks for her expert opinion. It turns out my boyfriend isn’t circumcised. I’ve never been with an uncircumcised man before, but have heard that they need to take much better care of their penises or they’re more prone to diseases, etc. Is that true? Second, I hate giving him oral sex because there’s a lot going on down there, and I worry that he’s not clean. Any tips? I’m sure you have heard that uncircumcised men are more likely to be at risk for sexually transmitted infections (STIs) because that’s been the received wisdom in American medicine for decades. We’ve been so attached to the notion that an uncircumcised penis is somehow cootie-central that the United States is the only Western country still routinely circumcising infant boys. The only trouble is that there’s no scientific evidence to support this practice, which is why the American Academy of Pediatrics finally dropped their recommendation that all infant boys be circumcised in 1999. So you can rest assured that uncircumcised men are the wave of the future!

As for hygiene, here’s the deal: Uncircumcised men need to clean their genitals just as thoroughly and lovingly as anybody else—especially if oral sex is on the menu. Are you worried about “smegma,” the substance that can collect between the foreskin and the glans of the penis? Basically, smegma is a natural lubricant, made up of skin oils, sweat and shed skin cells. And—hello!—it’s just as common in the nooks and crannies of your labia as those of your boyfriend’s penis. So take a nice leisurely shower together and then get down to exploring each other’s nooks and crannies.