Grab The Popcorn: 2014’s Most Intense Circumcision Debates

(Our Grab The Popcorn posts look back at the biggest Mommyish stories of 2014. Read them all here.) 

Nothing gets some people riled up quite like a circumcision debate. There were no new studies in 2014, but there were a plethora of stories about different people endorsing the practice that inspired our writers to weigh in. Here’s a sampling of the most popular, debated circumcision posts — in case you feel like revisiting the most active comment sections of the year.

1. Leave The Circumcision Decision To The One With The Junk

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Bethany Ramos wrote, “Circumcision isn’t technically my business because I don’t have man parts to make it so. But based on my observations, I back my husband’s decision to circumcise both of our sons. There are no more kids in our future, but I fully endorse the tip snip.”

2. 10 Reasons I Will Always Be A Pro Circumcision Mom

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Bethany revisited the topic citing reasons like it reduces the risks of UTI’s, penile inflammation and penile cancer and her pediatrician recommended it versus a more painful procedure later in life — along with eight other reasons that brought all of the anti-circumcision commenters out of the woodworks. 750 comments deep, Bethany certainly needed a drink after that post.

3. Oh Snap, A Big, Important Medical Study Says Circumcision Benefits Outweigh Risks 100 to 1

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Circumcision advocate Brian J. Morris wrote a paper recommending mandatory circumcision for male infants — and the Mayo Clinic cited his research in backing that recommendation. Morris is not a doctor, so that once again caused quite a stir in the comment section.

4. Don’t Be Ridiculous, Not Circumcising Your Son Is Nothing Like Not Vaccinating Him

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I wrote a rebuttal to the Mayo Study piece, because Brian J. Morris is not a doctor — and I have no idea why the Mayo Clinic would take his word about anything. He’s kind of a wack-job.

5. Circumcision Could Stop The Spread Of HIV. Still Against It?

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This one brought many more anti-circ commenters to the site. The reasonable dissenters pointed out that there were no new findings to back up the claim, the more “spirited” — well, just count the number of times the word “mutilation” was used.

6. CDC Report Says Circumcisions Have Health Benefits, So Maybe Stop Telling Parents We Mutilated Our Sons

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Meredith Bland brings up the wonderful point that maybe telling parents that they are “abusing” their children by consenting to a routinely recommended procedure isn’t quite the right way to go about things if you are anti-circumcision. She also pens one of my favorite sentences written on this site all year: “I’ve never had a particularly strong feeling about circumcision one way or the other, though I do hang slightly to the pro-circumcision side, which I believe is to the left.”

7. Men Holding Bloody Crotch Anti-Circumcision Protests Need To Let Go Of Their Phantom Foreskin

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Aimee Ogden pointed out that some inactivists are taking a page from the anti-choice playbook, with their shocking displays of “blood” splattered crotches:

“Look, I don’t have a lot of skin in this game, and yes, pun absolutely intended. My son was circumcised, but it was a close call, and I see a lot of good points on both sides of the issue (especially the ”˜don’t circumcise a three-year-old’ side). I have never yet been involved in a reasonable discussion that started with faux-blood-spattered crotches being waved around.”

8. Circumcising Your Child Because You Think An Intact Penis ”˜Looks Funny’ Is Absurd

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This one was my opinion – that making surgical decisions for infants based on aesthetic reasons is odd. There was a lot of very reasonable back-and-forth in this comment section, until someone started making the inevitable “female genital mutilation” comparison. This is why we can’t have nice things.

Kudos to our regular commenter CMJ, for always posting the best popcorn gifs.

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