In naturist culture the male foreskin is a topic for public discussion, an object for artistic expression and the presence or absence of, binding, piercing of, both a respected practice and controversy. Mainstream Western culture rarely confronts the foreskin as a cultural aspect beyond the practice of circumcision in new born boys. Once the decision is made to circumcise or not Western society denies any cultural significance to the foreskin because the expectation is that wearing clothes is the social norm and the nude figure is antithetical to a civilized society. Historical cultures and contemporary cultures where nudity is the social norm continue to place a cultural significance to the foreskin. These cultures developed aesthetic attitudes to the foreskin that present the penis as a non-sexual part of anatomy provided that the glans is not visible. Many of these cultures obscure the glans through tying the foreskin shut, covering the glans with a sheath, inverting the penis, or tying the glans to the penis shaft. Naturists as a group do not apply these practices but a few curious naturists have.
The ancient Greeks employed a leash around the foreskin then may have tied it to a waist band or tied the leash to the penis shaft, the kynodesme. Tying the penis to the waist has the added benefit of restraining the penis during physical activity such as sport. Naturists as a group do not restrain the penis in sport. Etiquette in a naturist setting discourages embarrassing the man with the unrestrained penis flopping around in sport. From my personal experience it is a distraction physically and emotionally to have your penis flopping around when playing a volleyball game for example. Restraining the penis with a kynodesme is an option only for an uncircumcised man but the circumcised penis could be tied to the waist loosely for a limited time without damaging the penis.
Mainstream society would not endorse the use of a kynodesme but the naturist culture is unconventional and if naturists are to distinguish their unique culture the kynodesme should become a characteristic of a naturist culture. Peter a naturist explains his adoption of the kynodseme:
The Kynodesme is such a simple device that I could not resist trying it out. It is a delightfully simple thing to wear. I found that a long shoelace would fulfil the same function as a Greek leather strip, in fact I suspect that a shoelace is probably better, as it is softer and more 'grippy' than leather as you can see from the photos.
My only concern was a possible problem tying the lace around the prepuce, but in fact it was very simple and effective. All I needed to do was to pull the prepuce forward, slightly stretching it, and then using a simple knot; the lace stayed in place and did not slip. The version that tied around the waist was the obvious first choice, as it was straightforward to get it into position, and tie the ends of the lace around the back of my waist.
 |  | Just a simple knot to hold it tight |
Wearing the Kynodesme in this way is quite comfortable, but it does feel slightly strange. Obviously hold the penis in an upright vertical position and it also lifts the balls slightly. The lace is quite secure and easily stays in place while walking around. The penis is completely out of the way, so it is missing from its usual location of resting or bouncing between your thighs. Your balls are pulled slightly upwards, so although they are still 'around', they are not quite in their normal location. I suspect that it is a similar sensation to somebody with long hair, who decides to 'wear it up'. It just feels a bit strange! One additional advantage to wearing it (in addition to those listed by the Greeks) is that it can expose the underside of the penis and the inner thighs, helping the sun to get to parts that it rarely sees!
Most of the ancient Greek photos show the Kynodesme attached in some way to the base of the penis. It is not immediately obvious how they attach the tied prepuce to the base of the penis. One possibility might be that the actually tie it to some strands of pubic hair. That option was not available to me, and the only way I could think of attaching it was to tie it around the balls. It does work, but it does not look like the old images. Any ideas?
The kynodesme has its uses even to todays world. I've used when running to stop my penis from flopping about, when wearing a 'marginally short' tee shirt.
