22,335
edits
Changes
Jump to navigation
Jump to search
m
wikify genital autonomy
[http://fsrinc.org/users/katharina-von-kellenbach '''Katharina von Kellenbach'''] is Professor of Religious Studies at St. Mary’s College of Maryland. A native of West Germany, she studied Evangelical Theology in Berlin and Göttingen (1979-1982) and received her {{PhD}} in 1990 at {{UNI|Temple University|TU}}. She became active in Jewish-Christian dialogue and Holocaust Studies while studying in Philadelphia and completed her dissertation on Anti‑Judaism in Feminist Religious Writings (Scholars Press, 1994). Her areas of expertise include feminist theology and Jewish-Christian relations, the ordination, life and work of the first female Rabbi Regina Jonas of Berlin (1902-1944), who was murdered in Auschwitz, as well as the theological, ethical, personal and political issues raised by the Holocaust.
== Article: What's wrong with the movement for [[genital autonomy ]] ==
On July 9th of 2014, Katharina von Kellenbach published an article on [http://fsrinc.org/ Feminist Studies on Religion], titled [http://fsrinc.org/blog/whats-wrong-genital-autonomy "What's wrong with the movement for genital autonomy"]. In this article, Katharina attributes the creation of the Genital Autonomy [[genital autonomy]] to the [http://newsfeed.time.com/2012/06/29/german-court-bans-male-circumcision/ Cologne case of 2012] which led to temporary age restriction of circumcision in Germany. In this regard, Katharina is wrong, as the [[genital autonomy ]] movement can be formally traced at least to 1970 in Florida ([http://www.arclaw.org/newsletter/vol-9/no-1/van-lewis-memoriam/mens-lib-picketers-arrested Van and Benjamin Lewis]), although there are individual books and articles (mostly by physicians but also by humanists) prior to this time, mostly in the countries where secular circumcision had become a custom (United Kingdom - [http://www.cirp.org/library/general/gairdner/ [[Douglas Gairdner|Gairdner]], 1949], United States - [http://books.google.com/books?id=5qQhAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA1487&lpg=PA1487&dq=ap+morgan+vance+surgical+fanaticism+circumcision&source=bl&ots=wo34pR-cMz&sig=Lf_xf5Pt8H69E8al4hMgo7MfBlk&hl=en&sa=X&ei=21O_U6-JDs6yyATvoYCYCQ&ved=0CDUQ6AEwBA#v=onepage&q=ap%20morgan%20vance%20surgical%20fanaticism%20circumcision&f=false AP Morgan Vance, 1900], and [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_L._Lewis Joseph Lewis, 1949]), some as old as 1894 ([[Elizabeth Blackwell]]).
Katharina uses double quotes when the descriptions do not match her ideal view of reality. For example in reference to the Cologne case, she uses double quotes when she writes the words "grievous bodily harm". These were the words used by the local judge in Cologne to describe the condition of the Muslim child, who had to be put under general anesthesia and operated as a result of the injuries sustained during and as a consequence of his circumcision.
}}</ref> however required a physician or trained practitioner to perform the surgery and limited the maximum age for the surgery (which could be a problem for some Muslim communities). The law allows non-physicians to perform the procedure until the 6th month (something definitively oriented to allow Jewish religious practitioners to perform the procedure). The Bundestag ignored the [http://circumstitionsnews.blogspot.com/2012/12/berlin-paediatric-association-condemns.html opinions of the German Academy for Child and Youth Medicine (DAKJ)], the umbrella organization of all pediatric associations in Germany (German Society for Child and youth medicine DGKJ, Professional Association of the Child and Youth doctors, German Society for social pediatrics and youth medicine DGSPJ) and relied on the recently released statement of the American Academy of Pediatrics, in spite of the harsh critique by most European medical associations.
Von Kellenback then writes: "''This spurred a movement across Europe that demanded the protection of boys’ bodily integrity in the name of gender equality. Their declarations and websites use gender-neutral language and declare “genital autonomy” “[[genital autonomy]]” a “fundamental right of each human being,” which includes “personal control of their own genital and reproductive organs; and protection from medically unnecessary genital modification and other irreversible reproductive interve.''"
In this paragraph we can see again the use of double quotes around the words "''[[genital autonomy]]''" and "''a fundamental right of each human being"'' which seems to denote her disagreement with those expressions.
=== [[Ayaan Hirsi Ali]] ===
=== Ironies ===
In ironic terms, Von Kellenbach assumes that the Genital Autonomy [[genital autonomy]] movement "''aims to outman the political battle against FGM''" and seems to mock the movement by saying that "''suddenly, men must be rescued from marginalization and traumatization''". In this she ignores that the Genital Autonomy [[genital autonomy]] movement aims to protect all children, not adult men (or women for the matter). The Genital Autonomy [[genital autonomy]] movement also aims to protect intersex children, often the victims of horrific medical experiments. In fact, in the United States, the Genital Autonomy [[genital autonomy]] movement represented in Intact America, was [http://www.intactamerica.org/aap_fgm one of the first organizations to oppose] the [http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/07/health/policy/07cuts.html?_r=0 Policy Statement on Ritual Genital Cutting of Female Minors] of the American Academy of Pediatrics in 2010, one statement that tried to argue for allowing American pediatricians to perform a ritual nick on the genitals of female minors to appease parents from regions where female genital mutilation is practiced.
Von Kellenbach commits a logical fallacy frequently repeated by critics of the Genital Autonomy [[genital autonomy]] movement, in misrepresenting that male circumcision is considered by intactivists to be '''biologically''' equivalent to female genital mutilation. The intactivist argument is explained to be on an '''ethical''' level: non-medically indicated procedures that remove part of the external genitalia of a minor who has no need for the procedure, did not consent to it and cannot remove himself or herself from the situation, performed mostly to appease the cultural or religious traditions of the parents, in spite of real existent risks and harms.
=== Feminism? ===
Von Kellenbach goes on to say that "''The gender-neutral code of “genital autonomy” “[[genital autonomy]]” serves to conceal the “seamless garment” of coercive violence that aims to control women’s sexual and reproductive bodies.''". In this she ignores that historically secular circumcision and secular female genital mutilation were implemented in English speaking countries during the 19th century to [http://circleaks.org/index.php?title=Category:Victorian_Doctors punish children for touching their genitals] (control of their sexual bodies) and that it was known, even to ancient Jewish philosophers and physicians, that circumcision [http://circleaks.org/index.php?title=Philo "excised the superfluous pleasure"] and [http://circleaks.org/index.php?title=Moses_Maimonides "weakened the organ of generation"].
She then takes a skewed point of view in writing that "''The '''religious''' reasons for men’s “mutilation” are fundamentally different from the arguments that drive the wounding of women. Women are cut for '''aesthetic reasons''' in order to purify and protect men from promiscuous female sexual pleasure. Women’s pleasure and agency is the target of the knife and it serves no religious signification. Men’s circumcision, on the other hand, does not aim at sensation and potency. On the contrary, men’s virility is '''enhanced''' by circumcision and loaded with religious meaning.''"
In stating that "''God seals the covenant with Abraham promising him progeny, land, and everlasting life''" von Kellenbach seems to ignore that not all the world ascribes to the Judeo Christian tradition and that babies are not aware of these dogmas when they are subjected to such "covenant".
Von Kellenbach then compares "''The sacrifice of (fore)skin''" to "''the pain and blood of '''breaking the hymen'''''", comparison that ignores that women have a right to choose '''if''', '''when''' and '''with whom''' they will break their hymen, a right to '''[[genital autonomy]]''' not granted to baby boys who unwillingly undertake their "''sacrifice''".
Strange for a feminist, von Kellenbach then writes that "''Male circumcision and '''the penetration of women''' constitute the basis of the “covenant between me and you, and your offspring after you throughout their generations as an everlasting covenant.”''". In this statement women are sexually objectified and conceptualized as valuable only for their reproductive power.