I am not sure which is worse - the smiley happy face baby on a newborn onesie that says "i survived the bris" (complete with two pairs of scissors on either side) for your freshly cut son to sport, or the description offered by Lil' Squirt Tees on CafePress:
Very funny kid's t-shirt! This I Survived The Bris t-shirt is adorable and funny and perfect for any little Jewish boy! Let the world know what a man you are and that you survived the bris!
There is nothing funny about this shirt. Nor is there anything 'adorable' about amputating healthy organs from a non-consenting minor. The babies who are subjected to these horrors are certainly not smiling. And boys born to Jewish parents have the same basic human rights to genital integrity that all other boys, born to parents of varying faiths, have as well. There are numerous Jewish men and women, strong in their faith, electing today to keep their sons intact. In fact, Dr. Ronald Goldman, Dr. Paul Fleiss, Miriam Pollack, and Eliyahu Ungar-Sargon are just a handful of the well known and influential Jewish parents who have pointed out that circumcision is not mandatory for a man to be a Jew. Many more are opting to have a Brit Shalom (a non-cutting ceremony) for their son.
Of course this all gets into a subject that reaches far deeper than the maker of this onesie likely ever meant to dig. Though, maybe it would do him/her some good to check out any number of the resources on Judaism and circumcision.
The last description line is especially sad. "Let the world know what a man you are..." This is a newborn baby we are talking about. He is not a man. Nor do we wish him to be at this point in his dependent, infant development. There is absolutely nothing "manly" about being held down against your will, only to have the most sacred of your body organs painfully sliced away - removing an important part of your penis you can never again get back. And there is certainly nothing "manly" about the adult who is subjecting a helpless baby to such trauma. A real man strives to protect his children against all undue harm.
I'd go one step further to suggest there is also nothing "manly" (or respectful) about designing or selling or describing such a onesie in this fashion. How terribly inconsiderate of the 100-300 who die each year in the U.S. alone as a result of circumcision surgery - those babies who didn't survive this unnecessary amputation. And so many more are left with negative consequences.
Yet, lest we forget this newborn baby, with his penis being cut apart, is just days old, having recently exited from the warm safety and security of his mother's womb, a maternity shirt is offered with the same design. It is strategically placed over the location where this tiny being is rapidly growing and preparing to enter his mother's loving arms - those same arms he will depend on to keep him safe once he has made his way there.
But, hey, why not announce to the world ahead of time "what a man" your newborn baby will be if he faces the blade and the blood... right?
Contact Lil' Squirt Tees at:
info@lilsquirttees.com
or by filling out this form
info@lilsquirttees.com
or by filling out this form
I emiled the company the following:
ReplyDelete"I just saw your 'I survived the bris' T-shirt for newborns and I was horrified and angry. How could non-consensual genital mutilation be seen as cute or funny? I am a 42 year old circumcised male. Like many circumcised men I resent my parents for this disrespectful act of cruelty against MY body. Is it not enough that you impose your religion on a non-cognizant baby; should you also be able to brand him for the rest of his life and punish him by removing sexual gratification? Let your sons chose their own ideologies and determine what happens to THEIR bodies - this is what a caring and respectful parent would do. It is NOT the parent's right to mutilate another person. "Would a parent be allowed to cut off a babies finger at birth? Of course not! I would gladly give up a finger to have MY foreskin back. Circumcision should be illegal and the parents and doctors that allow and perform this barbarism should be prosecuted and held responsible for their violation of basic human rights."
I followed this up with a second email:
"I'd also like to add that while you may think you are merely offering a product, you are actually condoning and making light of a serious human rights issue. Other parents will see this, parents who are on the fence about this issue, and think that it is not a big deal. I don't doubt that the sale of these items will result in the mutilation of more baby boys. By selling this item you are not taking a neutral stance, you are profiting from and encouraging the practice. I have noticed that you don't sell items promoting other violent and invasive acts on your website; I suspect you are a reasonable company. I sincerely hope that you will think responsibly and rethink your choice of selling these items.
Andrew"
Thank you for bringing this to the attention of reasonable people. I very much hope they are inundated with emails and make the responsible decision to remove these items.