Perhaps but it is not very painful. Certainly much less painful than a run of the mill spanking. I remember once in junior high school when I was sent to the Dean's office for a paddling. Some of the other kids waiting their turns were sobbing and screaming as if they were facing a torture chamber. This got me nervous too. But when my turn came I barely felt that paddle. It was nothing compared to the spanikings (and whippings) that I got at home. Bottom line is that the hype about the pain of circumcision sounds like the hype I was given about the paddlings.