“F you, Taylor Swift!” shouted Megyn Kelly, “and f all of the people who want to see these children have body parts chopped off.”
For those not fluent in Republican crazy-speak, Kelly’s meltdown was triggered by Taylor Swift’s endorsement of Kamala Harris the night before, barely one hour after Trump all but face-planted on the debate stage. Kelly was especially triggered by Swift highlighting her appreciation for vice presidential nominee Tim Walz’s support of LGBTQ+ rights.
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Other right-wing commentators, like Ben Shapiro, took another approach: making fun of Swifties. “Note: if you vote for a particular candidate because your favorite singer is doing so, please don’t vote. You are too stupid to vote,” wrote Shapiro on X. Meanwhile, Elon Musk, the richest man on the planet, threatened to impregnate her.
There’s some truth in this, but I think we should be mindful of nuance. Some parents do need to make decisions for medical reasons. Those reasons are often still exaggerated, and many parents aren’t making an informed decision. I’ve had friends that required the procedure after puberty, but I’m pretty sure they’ve said there was no way they could have known prior to puberty anyway. I don’t know anyone that needed it as a baby, but it can happen when obstructions develop in utero.
Circumcision as medical treatment is fine, as long as it’s legitimate; though I also have a strong suspicion that most medical circumcision — due to phimosis — is actually due to the sexual shame of religious “cultures”, and simply wouldn’t be necessary if parents actually washed their babies/infants penises properly (by pulling back the foreskin) and teaching them to do the same. Obviously the foreskin stiffens and fuses shut when it’s not stretched for years — no different to any other body part. I remember it took weeks to masturbate because I rarely pulled the skin back, and trying to do so took time to stretch it out. I could have easily ended up with phimosis in slightly different circumstances… I could barely touch my toes 3 months ago; now, after stretching a few times a week, I can stand on my palms.
It’s not like a significant number of other ape species experience this disorder. If the foreskin wasn’t beneficial then we wouldn’t have it. We don’t cut our ears off because it’s easier to clean the area without them, either.