The Circumcision Circus

Fight disinformation: Sign up for the free Mother Jones Daily newsletter and follow the news that matters.


“Much Ado About Cutting,” Nikhil Swaminathan’s piece from our March/April issue, is about the ongoing circumcision debate in the US. A lighthearted romp through a controversial subject, it features a couple trying to decide whether or not to have their new baby circumcised, adult men trying to restore their foreskins with the assistance of weights, and the professional opinions of both medical researchers and a porn star named the Italian Stallion. 

While fact-checking this article, I was struck by the passionate opinions people held on both sides of the debate, from the larger issues at stake (whether or not US health organizations should recommend circumcision as an HIV prevention measure, after trials in Africa found it to be beneficial in this regard) to the personal details (whether or not snipping male newborns dooms them to a life of diminished sexual pleasure). Everybody seems to have a strong opinion about this, so we’ll be expecting quite a few wily comments concerning the fate of the foreskin. 

Read Nikhil’s piece here.   

 

DONALD TRUMP & DEMOCRACY

Mother Jones was founded to do journalism differently. We stand for justice and democracy. We reject false equivalence. We go after stories others don’t. We’re a nonprofit newsroom, because the kind of truth-telling investigations we do doesn’t happen under corporate ownership.

And we need your support like never before, to fight back against the existential threats American democracy faces. Fundraising for nonprofit media is always a challenge, and we need all hands on deck right now. We have no cushion; we leave it all on the field.

It’s reader support that enables Mother Jones to report the facts that are too difficult, expensive, or inconvenient for other news outlets to uncover. Please help with a donation today if you can—even a few bucks will make a real difference. A monthly gift would be incredible.

payment methods

DONALD TRUMP & DEMOCRACY

Mother Jones was founded to do journalism differently. We stand for justice and democracy. We reject false equivalence. We go after stories others don’t. We’re a nonprofit newsroom, because the kind of truth-telling investigations we do doesn’t happen under corporate ownership.

And we need your support like never before, to fight back against the existential threats American democracy faces. Fundraising for nonprofit media is always a challenge, and we need all hands on deck right now. We have no cushion; we leave it all on the field.

It’s reader support that enables Mother Jones to report the facts that are too difficult, expensive, or inconvenient for other news outlets to uncover. Please help with a donation today if you can—even a few bucks will make a real difference. A monthly gift would be incredible.

payment methods

We Recommend

Latest

Sign up for our free newsletter

Subscribe to the Mother Jones Daily to have our top stories delivered directly to your inbox.

Get our award-winning magazine

Save big on a full year of investigations, ideas, and insights.

Subscribe

Support our journalism

Help Mother Jones' reporters dig deep with a tax-deductible donation.

Donate