Talk:Smegma

Is it really necessary to call in knob cheese? The caption for the pic is obviously a joke too. AllTheBrightness (talk) 06:48, 19 February 2008 (UTC)

Some Questions

Well, I read some of the talk page, and hope my asking of the following questions doesn't enrage anyone or get interpreted as a subtle POV attack.

First, is the note about vernix actually necessary? I am not asking sarcastically, I just have never heard of anyone calling the babywax smegma.

Next, the lead paragraph seems to be saying some contradictory things:

"Smegma, a transliteration of the Greek word σμήγμα for soap, is a combination of exfoliated (shed) epithelial cells, transudated skin oils, moisture, and bacteria that can accumulate under the foreskin of males and within the female vulva area, with a characteristic strong odor and taste. Smegma is common to all mammals, male and female. Mycobacterium smegmatis is the characteristic bacterium involved in smegma production, and is generally thought to form smegma from epidermal secretions."

Smegma is a combination of cells, oils, moisture and any related bacteria. And it is (thought to be) formed by a bacterium? So, the bacterium is thought to be the cause of smegma, and without it, all that stuff would just dribble away? The article on the bacterium does not mention this. I know the human body has a lot of hitchhikers who help us out in a lot of ways, so I am in no way bothered by the idea, but I think it should be more clearly stated, if known, and the bacterium article should probably also mention it.

Further: the definition includes "bacteria that can accumulate under the foreskin" -- or is that meant to be the combination that accumulates under the foreskin? And it also accumulates under the clitoral prepuce, which is not generally called a foreskin, right?

Either way, the initial definition seems to include bacteria in the collection of stuff that is smegma. Bactria beyond Mycobacterium smegmatis, one might assume.

Other secretions, sweat for example, tend to contain bacteria, but generally the bacteria isn't part of the definition for sweat itself. It does mention that odor is caused by bacteria breaking down stuff in the sweat. Smegma seems like a similar secretion in this respect, so I wonder: Does the medical definition of smegma actually include the bacteria as part of what it is? Either way, this could be clarified.

Is the "characteristic odor" from the smegma itself or from the bacterial breakdown of accumulated smegma? Are there odorants included, or does Mycobacterium smegmatis have an odor itself? Surely someone knows.

"if allowed to accumulate and decay in the foreskin cavity, it can combine with shed skin cells," -- I thought dead skin cells were parts of what smegma IS?

I edited the "human" section somewhat, mostly rearranging the material and removing some redundant material, and adding a bit more for female smegma.

I moved the pro- and anti-circ material to the end of the section, as I feel it is entirely tangential to the article; I also removed parts of the paragraph that were redundant (the material was stated elsewhere in the article) or belonged wholly in the circumcision article.

I do not believe I have shifted the artical in the direction of either circ-related POV.

I hope someone can asnwer some of the above questions, for I feel they are necessary to make this arcticle complete and clear. --Scix 08:50, 25 October 2006 (UTC)

I believe your questions are pertinent, as many as they may be. I think it the article should be cleaned up to clear all this ambiguities. Maybe even someone with better knowledge should check it out like an urologist or something. Anyways, lets vote for the clean-up banner. D4RK-L3G10N (talk) 03:26, 22 November 2007 (UTC)

Accumulation

Since smegma tends to accumulate under the foreskin in males, its presence is less common and less noticeable in circumcised males.

Presumably circumcised males still produce smegma, it just accumulates in their underwear instead. 217.34.39.123 12:47, 20 April 2007 (UTC)

Apparently. If you have sources, add it! D4RK-L3G10N (talk) 03:33, 22 November 2007 (UTC)

Women and smemga

Asked a female friend about this and according to her she had no idea about this and had never washed away her smemga neither had any of her female friends so do girls really suffer the same risks as men? XSpaceyx 19:59, 28 May 2006 (UTC)

I think it's more about social conditioning and attitudes than about risks. Men and boys in Western countries constantly get the "penis cleanliness/hygiene" message from medical authorities. By contrast, I don't think girls are ever taught that it's a bad idea to leave the smegma hanging around.

No, girls are taught just as much as boys to wash their genitals.CerealBabyMilk 10:40, 1 July 2007 (UTC)

This conditioning is especially bad in circumcising countries like the USA. American women are conditioned to expect their partner to have an odorless penis, and are often heard complaining about the natural odor of an uncircumcised penis. (Presumably they think their vaginas smell like roses...) 217.34.39.123 12:58, 20 April 2007 (UTC)

Popular Culture Section

If this section is even needed at all, I really strongly think it should be limited. I mean, legman's is a valid English word and simply appearing in a work of fiction using the word with it's actual meaning isn't notable. I try and erase entries as they come that are just "x show said legman's" but I don't really fancy being the official legman's page guard or anything. Cheesecloth's 06:45, 13 May 2007 (ETC)

Ingestion of Smegma

Shouldn't there by a section that deals with the practice of eating smegma and the health benefits thereof? 162.83.140.13 22:22, 20 September 2007 (UTC)

Do people actually do that?!?!?! If so, definitively! But please, whoever does it, cite sources and watch the POV. Oh, and for the sake of my already diseased stomach, do not add pictures of people eating smegma!!! D4RK-L3G10N (talk) 03:32, 22 November 2007 (UTC)

Yes Dark Legion, people do eat it for health reasons, it goes by the popular name of "The Dirty Dongle Diet"

(talk) 03:32, 22 November 2007 (UTC)

Smeg (vulgarism)

Please don't remove the reference to Smeg (vulgarism) from the article. The association between these two words, (regardless of the legitimacy of the etymology), is notable. I would even dare to guess that 95% percent of the people who come to this page are looking up the term in relation to Red Dwarf or some other use of the word "smeg". —Preceding unsigned comment added by 70.20.219.41 (talk) 02:17, 26 September 2007 (UTC)

The very first sentence on that page is "Grant Naylor has stated it was not related to a medical term and was a made up swear word.". So there seems to be no reason whatsoever to have/keep that reference here. 85.227.226.243 09:11, 11 October 2007 (UTC)

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The following sections relate to issue of censorship

Please confine all comments about how you personally feel about this article below, so that issues relating to the quality of the article can be constructively dealt with. Thank you all for your patience.

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Picture of Smegma

I have removed this picture for a second time. Do not restore it. The image is disgusting and shocking, there is absolutely NO need for it to be displayed on the main page. Those who really wish to examine such gross images may freely click on the links at the end of the article, whereas the majority of people researching smegma (such as my eight year old daughter) will find a textual description entirely sufficient. Again, do not restore this image to the main page. I will remove it every time. Thank you. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 77.236.2.188 (talk) 12:35, 4 November 2007 (UTC)

Sorry but this isn't *your* Wikipedia! Wikipedia does not censor for minors or morality so if you wan't to remove the image do not do so unilaterally (it will only be restored anyway), but debate it here on the talk page first. If general consensus is that the image should go, then so be it. 90.202.55.160 19:03, 12 November 2007 (UTC)

I agree with the unidentified user #2; you shouldn't remove it unilaterally. Yet I agree with unidentified user #1 that this image is disturbingly disgusting. While I was reading, I removed it with Firebug so I could just proceed with reading! Or else I would've thrown up. And I'll be honest, not much things make me sick. Even though I quite disbelieve an 8-year-old child would research such a kind of thing voluntarily, it is risky to keep it there to avoid shocking people (like me, a 20-year-old teenager haha XD). Finally, I vote against the keeping of this picture, even it might in a very abstract way hurt the freedom of experession of Wikipedia. (Btw, please create a login unidentified users) D4RK-L3G10N (talk) 03:19, 22 November 2007 (UTC)

The picture of smegma is educational, however is needlessly disgusting. Would a diagram of some description not serve the same purpouse, without being as visually offensive? user:moore.jonathan 15:50, 30 November 2007 (UTC)

How can one make a diagram of smegma? The pic only shows what happens when it accumulates; a diagram of such isn't useful. -Jéské ^{(Blah v^_^v)} 04:28, 24 December 2007 (UTC)

Why the fuck would an eight year old girl be researching smegma in the first place?

I say keep the pic - Wikipedia is not censored for minors or religious morality and there really isn't a way we can replace the picture with anything else. Further, I feel the pic is needed so as to show what it looks like. -Jéské ^{(Blah v^_^v)} 04:28, 24 December 2007 (UTC)

I am uncircumcised and non-religious but seriously that picture is uncalled for. At least make it smaller.

Well thanks for all of this. Now I'm going to barf!

Who's the sick f*** that lets this grow like that? The pics are absolutely disgusting. I rather see a corpse rot than this. I'm vomiting as I type this. Sickos. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 68.165.58.101 (talk) 20:13, 8 April 2007 (UTC).

I think it is an example of the articles subject; If you do not like it, you do not have to read an article about smegma in the first place. Frankly, this novel concept first pioneered by america has been lost with people complaining about everything and expecting people to conform to what they do not "like". You want a smegma article, you get a picture of smegma. You are right, an encyclopedia may not have such a picture but encyclopedia's are on paper and probably would not wish to devote even enough room to something like smegma. But on wikipedia, we have more than enough room to expand on even the most miniscule details. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 65.122.44.14 (talk) 17:07, 16 April 2007 (UTC).

• • new entry**

I agree. This type of picture would never appear in a real encyclopedia. It is not appropriate and very disgusting. 69.139.8.126 21:55, 8 April 2007 (UTC)

Read your Wikipedia policies, in particular WP:NOT#CENSORED. ŞůṜīΣĻ¹98¹^Speak 21:58, 8 April 2007 (UTC)

Why? It's a picture of a normal secretion of the human body, it isn't pornographic. It serves the purpose of illustrating what smegma looks like. My hat goes off to the selfless wikipedian who resisted bathing long enough to allow that photograph to be taken. 217.34.39.123 12:45, 20 April 2007 (UTC)

This picture is horrible, a picture like that will not appear in any other wikipedia in other languages, where the policies are more strict. A young person who don't know the word "smegma" and surf Wikipedia to find out what is should be shoked by a gross photo like that. A spoiler should be added, or a diagram of the smegma, not the photo taken from a real dirt and disgusting penis. --82.60.188.215 10:19, 4 July 2007 (UTC)

The picture was removed by someone on revision 149362504 without concensus. I once found myself looking for what Smegma was on the Wikipedia and I thought it was most illustrative, it allowed me to recognize its meaning without having to read a single word of the article. I guess that those who say that a picture like this would never appear on an encyclopedia never checked a medical one. Ellamosi 12:54, 4 September 2007 (UTC)

There is no reason why there shouldn't be a picture of smegma, it's an article about Smegma and like every other article should be supported with photographic examples. The reason Wikipedia is more strict in other languages is because of a government or relligion unfairly censoring it's content for "the greater good" of it's masses, something that is harder to do on the English site as it is so huge and spans more nations. Also, any child shocked by a neutral picture of a penis is being brought up incorrectly and will have troubles in later life... Childrens imaginations must surely conjure up more vulgar images, more regularly. It's natural. 123.51.101.245 05:52, 5 October 2007 (UTC)

You guys are ridiculous - this is ~not~ like any other article. When you look up "penis", you do not see a picture of a penis, you see a diagram. There is absolutely ~no~ reason to display this image on the main page. It's censorship has nothing to do with minors or whatnot, it's just disgusting.

Bullshit. The picture clearly shows smegma, and thus has encyclopedic value in this article. Take your kids and morals elsewhere. -Jéské ^{(v^_^v +2 Pen of Editing)} 01:23, 27 February 2008 (UTC)

It doesn't show smegma, it shows a penis covered in smegma. If the entry for 'penis' showed a real penis? Then fine, this would be legit. But it doesn't, it shows a diagram. And my reasoning has nothing to do with kids (I have none) or morals (couldn't care less from that standpoint). Thanks for bringing up two non-applicable arguments in an attempt to discredit me.

No. Until Wikipedia's 'penis' article shows a picture of a penis, this picture up here will not be in line with the point or purpose of Wikipedia.

Then YOU draw a picture of smegma. The problem is that it's not really possible to make a diagram of smegma, and as such the picture has to suffice. See the section above, please. -Jéské ^{(v^_^v +2 Pen of Editing)} 04:13, 27 February 2008 (UTC)

Female Smegma Photos

At one point, there were female smegma photos on this article. Does anyone know where they went to or from where they are sourced? I am trying to find some for a health symosium. DigitalPimpette 21:57, 15 December 2006 (UTC) http://www.the-clitoris.com/x/health/sebum2.jpg

This page is awful

I think this is just about the worst entry on all of wikipedia. It has very little information, a gross picture that isn't really educational at all, and a 'trivia' section thats longer than the valid part of the article. It also has a weird page structure with a ton of separate sections at the bottom, including a sort of random picture gallery of links that doesn't appear on any other page I know of.

It also goes off topic to talk about vaginal health of the inside of the vagina, and PH warnings and stuff that is related to general female hygiene but not specifically to smegma. Owlofcreamcheese 19:55, 12 April 2007 (UTC)

You'd be best requesting a peer-review of the article then. I fail to see that your taking offense at the picture is relevant to the quality of the article. There are plenty (i.e. thousands) of worse-written, worse-sourced articles. ŞůṜīΣĻ¹98¹^Speak 20:01, 12 April 2007 (UTC)

It's not the picture that bugged, me, it could be worse, no picture is going to be pleasant and wikipedia should have photos of even 'gross' things. It's the fact this page follows the pattern of really bad wiki articles. The inane popular culture section especially. I cut it down a bit, but it is/was much longer than the actual informational section of the page. Every time a tv show uses a word isn't notable, it's an actual word after all! The rest of the page is just sorta weak, the off topic stuff (I removed some of it) especially, and also the sections. Why have a mammalian Smegma section if there is no other sections? I don't know, it's not just that it has a bad picture, it's a serious topic with tons and tons of articles about it, but the best we came up with is a few paragraphs, partly off topic, partly "this is true but no it's not true" then a page of every mention of the time an obscure band said "smeg" in a song? Owlofcreamcheese 20:12, 12 April 2007 (UTC)

it's obvious that quite a few people are offended by the picture, you disgusting homos

some idiot posted a link to this page and i didn't know what smegma was, and i thought wikipedia articles would be safe

bye —Preceding unsigned comment added by 81.241.132.106 (talk) 16:31, 11 November 2007 (UTC)

Bohoo, hide in your nutshell, puritan. D4RK-L3G10N (talk) 19:10, 22 November 2007 (UTC)

you don't have a job, do you dark legion, because otherwise you would understand the concept of "work safe" 129.15.131.246 (talk) 23:54, 17 February 2008 (UTC)

We don't do "work safe". Wikipedia is not censored for minors or morality. -Jéské ^{(Blah v^_^v)} 19:45, 19 February 2008 (UTC)

The passage you're citing simply says they aren't making any guarantees - it isn't saying that gross, shocking imagery should be allowed to remain on the site. Sheesh, reading comp 101 anyone? No wonder this article's been so poorly written, the people maintaining it are morons. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 216.165.54.99 (talk) 03:33, 28 February 2008 (UTC)

Look who's talking. From that same section (emphasis added):

While obviously inappropriate content (such as an irrelevant link to a shock site) is usually removed immediately, or content that is judged to violate Wikipedia's biographies of living persons policy can be removed, some articles may include objectionable text, images, or links if they are relevant to the content (such as the articles about the penis and pornography) and do not violate any of our existing policies (especially neutral point of view), nor the law of the U.S. state of Florida, where Wikipedia's servers are hosted.

Your move. -Jéské ^{(v^_^v +2 Pen of Editing)} 06:13, 28 February 2008 (UTC)

Picture of Brie

Somewhere down the line, an image of smegma on the male organ was replaced with an image of Brie that was represented as "a food item prepared for human consumption." If there was any indication that this was plagiarism, THAT would be it. That said, I've reverted the act of vandalism. Ultatri (talk) 06:13, 9 January 2008 (UTC)

Reverted it. -Jéské ^{(Blah v^_^v)} 19:46, 19 February 2008 (UTC)

No really, this page is horrible

n/t - 129.15.131.246 (talk) 00:14, 18 February 2008 (UTC)

• If it is really that horrible, then don't look at it.131.123.68.50 (talk) 06:15, 26 February 2008 (UTC)

We do not censor for minors or morality. You don't like the content, don't navigate to the page. -Jéské ^{(v^_^v +2 Pen of Editing)} 07:50, 2 March 2008 (UTC)