"Several researchers have tried to prove that smegma causes cancer; all have failed. Not only is smegma not harmful, it is actually beneficial, serving as a protective coating and lubricant for the glans." The Circumcision Decision, Edward Wallerstein, 1980)
Ah, smegma. Reviled and feared by many, used as a cheap insult by others, this entirely natural secretion is perfectly normal. Yet the majority of us wage a constant battle to remove it from our genitalia. Which includes females, actually. Although smegma is usually associated with men (for whom the stigma of owning a cheesy cock is a simple way to guarantee no horizontal action), both male and females produce smegma. Varying in colour according to skin tone, smegma is a waxy, thick mixture of shed skin cells and various oily secretions. It collects, if left, beneath the foreskin of males, and around the vulva area in females, including the nooks and crannies between the labia, and around the clitoral hood. It follows, therefore, that circumcised men are far less likely to notice its presence, and, in fact, those who choose to argue in favour of circumcision often cite the lack of smegma build-up as a positive side-effect.
And yet, strangely enough, we have notable medics, such as Paul Fleiss declaring smegma to be 'probably the most misunderstood, most unjustifiably maligned substance in nature. Smegma is clean, not dirty, and is beneficial and necessary. It moisturises the glans and keeps it smooth, soft and supple.' Smegma is, it seems, a kind of natural lubricant - a sort of built in moisturising ointment for the genitals.
It is, however, clear why smegma has attained such a stinker of a reputation. Left alone for only a short period, our mucosal membranes get to work producing a copious quantity of the stuff, evenly spread and doing a fine job. However, allowed to remain in place, to accumulate and decay, smegma becomes a malodorous, unhealthy substance. It's a little like sweat: we all know the fine job a sheen of sweat does on a hot summer's day, but leave it there for a day or so and bacteria get to work, causing an unpleasant and unholy stench.
Current medical recommendations are, therefore, to prevent such accumulation by rinsing the area with warm water. In males, the foreskin will need to be retracted; in females the clitoral hood can be gently pulled back. Soap tends to strip away the body's natural skin oils, and since this is a function of smegma that we want to keep, it's probably best to shy away from lathering yourself up with a bar of coal tar soap.
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