I'd like to begin by clarifying what we're for and what we're against, since the name "Jews Against Circumcision" is actually a misnomer. It would be more accurate to call ourselves "Jews Against Forced Circumcision." While it's fair to say that we don't approve of any medically-unnecessary genital surgery, we recognize that the same principle that gives people the right not to have their genitals cut or surgically altered without their consent also gives them the right to choose elective genital surgery for any reason they might have, provided they're adults and capable of exercising informed consent.
There could be any number of reasons why people might willingly undergo cosmetic genital surgery. One of them is undoubtedly nothing more than internalized self-hatred, because the natural anatomy of human genitalia - whether female, male or intersex - is so often stigmatized. In the case of women, at least in the United States, this phenomenon, known as labiaplasty, actually seems to be increasing. Another reason closely related to this is the pressure to conform to cultural norms. Again, in the United States, several of the rationalizations for male genital cutting that are most frequently given fall into this category. "So he won't be made fun of in the locker room," we are often told. A man who has escaped forced circumcision at birth could still succumb to pressure like this in adulthood. It's even possible that, after serious and mature reflection, an adult might want to undergo circumcision as an expression of his deeply-felt religious convictions. What matters in all of these cases, though, is that in a society that respects fundamental, universal human rights, the decision to have part a person's genitals removed is a decision that belongs to that individual himself and no one else. It's his body - his choice.
So it is not genital surgery that
Jews Against Circumcision is against but forced genital
surgery. It is not circumcision that
we're against but forced circumcision.
We're against it because, as Jews, we believe that every human being
has a right to grow up with his genitals whole, intact, un-scarred and
unharmed. What we're against
is the genital cutting that is imposed on those unable to exercise
informed consent and unable to defend themselves from it: infants and
children. We oppose any and all medically-unnecessary genital surgery
for all children,
whether female, intersex or male. We believe
that the right of bodily self-ownership - which necessarily includes
the right of genital autonomy - is a universal and fundamental human
right that transcends every conceivable group identification. The right
not to have part of one's genitals cut off without
consent is a right that belongs to every infant and every child,
regardless of sex, race, ethnicity and nationality, and no matter what
religion that child is born into: whether Judaism, Christianity, Islam
or any other religion. As Jews, we believe that
the right of bodily self-ownership is the most basic and important
human right there is.
What's more, we're not just supporters of
the right of genital autonomy but believe that we have a moral obligation to defend that
right on behalf of those who can't defend it themselves. As we see
it, the moral obligation to actively oppose
genital cutting is intrinsic to our self-concept of who we are as Jews. This obligation comes from the principle of
tikkun olam, which is typically translated as "repairing the world." Although
tikkun olam is originally a religious concept, it is also deeply
ingrained in secular Jewish thought, philosophy, ethics and culture. It
is a moral imperative that impels followers of Judaism and secular Jews,
alike, to strive to leave the world better
than we found it. That is why the brit milah is increasingly being
replaced by the brit shalom among religious Jews. It is why so many
secular Jews are actively working to end all forced genital cutting.
Jews Against Circumcision is against all forced genital
cutting not in spite of
our being Jewish but because we
are Jewish.
As
many of you know, the Worldwide Day of Genital Autonomy commemorates
the 2012 Cologne court ruling that recognized that forced circumcision
constitutes a grievous bodily harm to the
child who is subjected to it. The notion that Genital Autonomy is a
universal right is reflected in the fact that this commemoration is
observed all over the world by those who value human rights and human
dignity above all else. It reflects the powerful
idea that every child - no matter where that child is born, no matter
who that child's parents are, no matter who or what that child's parents
worship or pray to, no matter what tribe, ethno-linguistic group, clan,
ethnicity, race, people, religion or nationality
that child is born into - that child is first and foremost a human
being: a member of the human race.
The fundamental rights that we recognize as human rights
aren't adjuncts to
being human but intrinsic to
being human. They aren't severable and they aren't conditional. They
don't belong to some but not to others. They don't belong to infants
and children of one sex
but not to infants and children of another or indeterminate sex.
They belong to every infant, every child, every human
being the world over.
Unfortunately,
as history all too often demonstrates, the existence of a right is no
guarantee that that right will be respected. At this moment, hundreds of
millions of girls and women
and a billion boys and men around the world are living with the scars
and the damage of forced genital cutting. Who knows how many intersex
individuals around the world are living with the trauma of having had
binary sexual-assignment-surgery imposed on them
without any need for it and without their wanting it. That is
why the Worldwide Day of Genital Autonomy exists. Not to encourage
parents, religious leaders, medical professionals and legislatures to grant the
right of genital autonomy to every child - for how can one grant to children a right they're born with? Rather, it's to demand respect for
the right of genital autonomy that, by virtue of being human, every child already has.
Here, again, in the worldwide campaign for genital autonomy, we see the same impulse as that of
tikkun olam - "repairing the world." This impulse, of course, isn't unique to Jews. It motivates people of all cultures
and religions and, of course, free-thinkers who recognize that freedom, dignity and
self-determination are universal values and who feel themselves called
to fight for universal human rights. The right of bodily self-ownership
and genital autonomy lies at the very heart of the ongoing
struggle for basic human rights the world over.
The worldwide effort to secure the
right of genital autonomy for every male, female and intersex
individual, no matter how old or how young, is what the Worldwide Day of
Genital Autonomy is all about. That is why
Jews Against Circumcision is proud to join our brothers, sisters
and non-binary siblings of all faiths, all ethnicities and all
nationalities in participating in this international event. And that is
why we encourage you, on this day - and
every day - to defend that most basic and essential human right: the right of Genital Autonomy.
Thank you.
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