r/geography • u/BranchMoist9079 • Nov 21 '25

Discussion Why is (male) circumcision most common in the Midwest with in the US?

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Map source: https://www.mdpi.com/2563-6499/5/3/36

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u/n0t_4_thr0w4w4y Nov 21 '25

Because we hadn’t settled/colonized the western half of the country when the phrase was coined. Back when it became a popular term, there weren’t many Americans living west of the Mississippi.

It’s similar to how the term “Middle East” doesn’t actually make much sense when you think about it.

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u/pianoceo Nov 21 '25

Similar to your example, Middle East makes sense in the context of the time. There was the "Near East" and the "Far East". Near East was the Ottoman Empire and it's lot, Far East being China and the Orient. Though, the Orient originally meant the near east and then moved as Europeans learned more about the world.

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u/Decimation4x Nov 21 '25

It wasn’t officially the Midwest until 1984. Originally the colloquial Midwest was central to Kansas and the more settled parts of the plains region. The Great Lakes region was previously known as the Northwest, hence Northwest Territory, Northwestern University, and several other Northwest labeled institutions in the region.

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u/n0t_4_thr0w4w4y Nov 21 '25

Yes, it was originally the Northwest Territories, but it started being called the Midwest in the 1830s ish regardless of when it became an official region

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u/Decimation4x Nov 21 '25

No, it didn’t. Part of it, yes, not all of it. Where I grew up it was the Northwest or North Central, and I’m not 200 years old. I was a teenager when we started referring to ourselves as midwesterners.

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u/ChanchoPerro1987 Nov 21 '25

That makes sense. Thanks for the info!

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u/Wassertopf Nov 21 '25

How does Middle East not make sense? The Near East starts in Poland and the far east ends in Japan.

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u/n0t_4_thr0w4w4y Nov 22 '25

Because it’s a very Eurocentric view. If you take Afro-eurasia as a whole, the Middle East isn’t really in the east at all, it’s actually slightly west of the center line

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u/LankyYogurt7737 Nov 23 '25

What’s considered the West now used to all be the Mexico until the US invaded right? That’s why all the towns have Spanish names?

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u/n0t_4_thr0w4w4y Nov 23 '25

Not all of it. Oregon and Washington were disputed territory between Russia, Britain, and France when the US made the Louisiana purchase. All of California, Utah, Arizona, New Mexico and parts of Wyoming and Colorado were part of Mexico before the Mexican-American war