It may be time for San Francisco’s mohels to, ahem, cut and run from the City by the Bay. I’ve been reading the various, uh, clips and snippets on the proposed circumcision ban and criminalization and I am outraged! (not really)
OK, silly puns aside (promise, I fulfilled my prurient adolescent urges), I am feeling a little ambivalent on this one. Seems the Jewish establishment in California is out in force against it though (the proposed measure intentionally excludes a provision for religious practice).
My inner lefty is crying out. I somewhat buy the idea that children should have a choice in whether they want to have part of their body permanently modified.
But, on the other hand, I’ve never had a problem with being circumcised. Being circumcised doesn’t even necessarily mark me as uniquely Jewish anymore.
More importantly, the science backs it up. In 2003, scientists found that circumcision does not have adverse effects on male sexual functionality. And in the last few years, researchers found that circumcision can drastically reduce the transmission of HIV and other STIs to circumcised men (note that it has no effect on the transmission of HIV and STIs to the man’s sexual partners. Don’t get the wrong idea; circumcision is by no means an excuse not to wear a condom).
Yes, I know the argument. In places like the United States where we supposedly have stricter mores on hygiene, it’s less of an issue. But, HIV hasn’t gone away (in this country or globally) by a long shot. We need any risk prevention we can get. I don’t quite see circumcision as “pointless.”
As much as proponents of such a ban like to draw parallels between male circumcision and so-called “female circumcision,” which truly is a (gendered) form of violation and mutilation, you can’t equate the two. To do so is offensive: It marginalizes and minimizes legitimate violence aimed at young girls.
I won’t get into the aesthetics, Jewcy ran a couple columns debating the issue two years ago.
Let’s face it: I’m not exactly the poster boy of Jewish tradition. So, I probably wouldn’t put up much of a fight if one day when I have children there is dissension in the ranks on the issue of circumcision.
But, there you have it! Choice. That’s the issue. Choice of the parents and the proposed choice of the child.
Whether a family should allow their children a choice in their body modification is certainly an issue for social debate (both within Jewish communities and without). Parents should discuss pros and cons before making the decision. At the end of the day, it won’t be the last time the parents make a decision permanently affecting the child’s future without consent and they shouldn’t take it lightly.
But, ultimately, the state criminalizing circumcision of infant boys is infringing on the rights of the people. It infringes on the rights of Jews, Muslims and others to their cultural heritage (whether they choose to embrace the brit milah or not).
It’s mostly in the states that circumcision is popular (If you don’t believe me, go to Europe and do some … research). But, even here, the practice’s commonality has been on the decline for decades.
Social transformation is doing its work. Those who choose to have their children circumcised? Let them be.
If you don’t want your son circumcised, mazel tov. That’s your prerogative. Go with God.
