***Read the Transcript***

Today we’re talking about nuts, cuts, and those infamous dick pics. This probably sounds like an unusual trio, but stick with me. Because beneath the surface, I believe there’s a fascinating thread that connects them and important for us to understand.

Let’s dive in.

Psychology of Disk Pics?

Initially, I was simply curious about the psychology of the dick pics. What was the underlying desire motivating these behaviors? And is there a symbolic story connected to this phenomenon? But this got me considering… simply the power of displaying and witnessing our genitals. And so let’s start with our testicles.

Testicles

The word testicle itself has origins in the Latin. Coming from the word testis, which originally referred to a witness or someone who gives testimony in a legal context. The same root word is where we get our other words such as testimony and testament still conveying this ideal of bearing witness or providing evidence.

Bearing Witness of Maleness

And so what is it that our balls, our testicles, are providing witness of?

On the one hand, that we feel are very existence as males. Whether with the butcher, the baker, or the candlestick maker, the presence of a nutsack is clear evidence that we’re participating together in this reality of what it means to be a male.

In the Old Testament, one of the requirements for priesthood and even entering into the worship assembly was to be free from physical defects, including not having crushed stones or damaged testicles. And so in some way, shape, form, or fashion, the men had to have their balls seen, exposed, examined, and verify in presence and health.

Bearing Witness of Virility

There’s also a sense in which our testicles provide witness of our virility and ability to procreate both literally…and symbolically. Of course, our testicles are where our sperm are produced, our seeds to be able to conceive new life biologically. But symbolically, the story of our testicles is that we have what it takes to be a source of life and goodness in the world around us. And on some level, we want our creative potential to be seen, witnessed, affirmed, even here as well.

Circumcision

While testicles provide witness on their own account, circumcision was an intentional mark to convey a larger story. It was a requirement given to Abraham and his decedents as a sign of God’s covenant with them.

Their very bodies were to bear the mark. Their very bodies were to communicate this sign, this story. Signs by their very nature are to be seen. The question then becomes seen by who? Who is supposed to see this mark in their manhood this cut into their very penises?

A sign in marriage

Some have suggested it would have been for his wife…that every time they had sex it would have been a reminder of the blood shed as they entered into this covenant relationship with God. I have no reason to doubt that this was part of the sign. But because males had to bear this mark from infancy, it seems the sign was not just to speak within the bonds of marriage.

A sign for the individual and the collective company of men

Certainly it would have been for the individual male, as he would have had an intimate reminder of God’s covenant every time he went to the bathroom. And on some level it also seemed to be a sign communicated within the company of men.

When Abraham was circumcised he did it with his son and with all the other men on that same day. And so collectively the men would have shared some mutual understanding of the pain and the significance of this mark in their bodies. And seeing this mark in each other would have reminded them that God’s covenant was not just with them individually, or even just between him and his wife in marriage, but was something that was shared collectively with all of God’s people.

It would have also communicated a masculine identity…that this is what we do as men. And to be in this fellowship as a man this is what is required of you.

Dick Pics

And this brings us to the infamous dick pics. This is often seen as a crude and even offensive form of exhibitionism. Leaving all the problems with this behavior for others to discuss. It became fascinating to me the language we often use around such exposures. “He exposed himself.” “I want to show myself off.”

Somehow there’s this connection being made between exposing the penis and revealing the essence of a man’s personhood. I think there’s more here than just convenient euphemisms. I believe on some level we want our true selves to be seen and the penis is to serve as a symbolic representation and witness of our manhood.

And so while dick pics on the surface might just be about some sexual buzz, I believe the deeper desire is for us to be fully seen and known, and when we don’t have opportunities to integrate this naturally in modern life, we’re more prone to exposing ourselves in illicit forms because I think part of us is still craving that validation that comes from being seen.

Identity and sense of connection comes from being seen

And so this is the common theme connecting nuts, cuts, and pics…that part of our identity and sense of connection comes from being seen. Yes, in our naked physical realities, but more than this, to have our very soul seen and accepted.

Next time we’ll flip the script and talk about the power of the male gaze. There’s a time to be seen and there’s a time to see. Both have their place. Till then, take care.