Tony Smith and Mzwakhe Jabanga are aged 19, while Solomon is 21. The young men are different in many ways, but what has brought them together today is one common goal ‘€“ to circumcise. And they are at the right place. The Bophelo Medical Male Circumcision Centre, which started operating in 2008, offers free circumcision services to men in Orange Farm, south of Johannesburg. But are these young men circumcising for the right reasons? All three have heard from friends who have already been under the knife at Bophelo about the benefits of having a circumcised penis.

‘€œThey talk about sex mostly. They say ‘€˜if you’€™re circumcised you’€™ll be powerful in sex. You’€™ll go non-stop’€™,’€ says Mzwakhe Jabanga, with a boyish laugh.

‘€œSo, you also want that’€? I ask him.

‘€œYes’€, he says.

Sitting beside Mzwakhe is Solomon. He has also heard that sex is better after circumcision.  

‘€œMy friends told me that that when you’€™re circumcised you feel comfortable when you have sex. You feel good when you’€™re circumcised’€, he says.  

Tony Smith has heard another incentive.

He laughs before he could tell. ‘€œThey (my friends) talk. It (the penis) gets bigger’€, he says of what he knows from his friends.

Word of mouth has boosted the numbers of young men who go to Bophelo Medical Male Circumcision Centre requesting to have the procedure.

‘€œYes’€¦ They show each other and say they envy. ‘€˜Yho, your operation is beautiful , you know. Where did you do it’€? They tend to buy in easily if ever they’€™ve seen something that is safe and nicer to, maybe what they are familiar with’€, says centre manager, a former social worker, Lulu Hlongwane.

Project community outreach co-ordinator, Tsietsi Mbuso, cautions that stories of how circumcision can boost a man’€™s sex life are nothing but myths.          

‘€œThose are myths around circumcision. Some men would come with the perception that circumcision would actually enlarge the size of his penis; some would think that circumcision would reduce the size of the penis; some would think that it would enhance their sexual behavior or it would actually improve their erection’€, he says.

Responding to the reasons that young men give as to why they come in for circumcision, Mbuso is adamant that the youths are given all the facts about medical circumcision and what it can or cannot do for their health.

‘€œWe explain to them that circumcision is only the cutting of the foreskin. It has got nothing to do with the enlargement of the penis or the decreasing of the penis or the enhancement of the sexual performance.

We do get those questions. Most of the time we get them when we conduct community workshops where we invite the community or even if we are doing our local radio slots people would call in and ask those questions. Sometimes we cannot answer them on air because there might be children that might be listening, so we would encourage them to say, ‘€˜if you want more information, our centre is available and we will be at outreach in this particular area, if you want to know more personal information please come to our site or come to outreach so that you can have a one-on-one discussion with a counselor’€, he explains.

The young men themselves confirm that they have been informed of the benefits of circumcision.    

‘€œThe kind of information they gave me is that by circumcising there are 60% less chances of having HIV and STI’€™s, but doesn’€™t mean that you are protected by doing it’€, Tony Smith admits.    

‘€œThey said when you are not circumcised you will have some disease’€¦ you will (be) sick. That’€™s why I’€™m here today’€, offers Mzwakhe Jabanga.

‘€œIt’€™s that your penis will be easily cleaned; you won’€™t get diseases easily; but you must protect yourself. Don’€™t just say because I’€™m circumcised, I don’€™t use a condom. You must use it’€, Solomon says.

But even after counselors at the centre had given them facts about circumcision, the power of myths still holds sway with the youngsters. Medical male circumcision started becoming popular following results of three scientific studies conducted in Kenya, Uganda and Orange Farm in South Africa between 2002 and 2005. The studies showed that in addition to consistent and regular use of the condom and having less sexual partners, circumcision provides another protection rate of 60% to prevent men from contracting HIV. The Health Department is now working to make medical male circumcision part of the national prevention programme in South Africa. At the Bophelo Medical Male Circumcision Centre about 16 000 young men, mostly in their late teens and early 20s, have been circumcised over the last two years and the centre is aiming to circumcise about 1000 young men per month this year.