April 2, 2010

The Circumcision Circus

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“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.   

 

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It is astonishingly hard keeping a newsroom afloat these days, and we need to raise $253,000 in online donations quickly, by October 7.

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Readers also told us to just give it to you straight when we need to ask for your support, and seeing how matter-of-factly explaining our inner workings, our challenges and finances, can bring more of you in has been a real silver lining. So our online membership lead, Brian, lays it all out for you in his personal, insider account (that literally puts his skin in the game!) of how urgent things are right now.

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