Should there be gender equity in genital cutting? In Germany (and much of Europe), the native inhabitants tend to argue there is moral equivalence between customary male circumcision and customary female circumcision and both should be proscribed. In Sierra Leone (and several other countries in Africa), the native inhabitants tend to argue there is moral equivalence between customary male circumcision and customary female circumcision and both should be permitted. In the United States, the native inhabitants tend to argue against moral equivalence, permitting customary circumci- sions for boys while proscribing them for girls. Who has the better of the argument? And what are the implications of the argument for Jews and other circumcising ethnic groups living in Europe, Africa, and North America? It is rumored that when God issued the command, Abraham looked up at the heavens and said 'Youwantustodowhat?'According to legend Sarah was not party to the conversation and was notincluded inthe deal. Suchstoriesdon't surprise me.I hesitated toowhen myson was born,at least until the absentee ballots came flooding infrom generations of ancestors; for the dead had a vote, including Abraham. And when my daughter was born the thought 'why aren' tJ ewish women circumcised?' never occurred to my wife. Not once did she look up at the heavens and say 'What kind of justice is this? Shouldn't there be gender equity in genital cutting?' That however is the question fully considered by Shaye Cohen in WhyAren't Jewish Women Circumcised? 1 His book is an exegesis of medieval rabbinic understandings of the genital cutting required of Jewish males in Genesis 17. It is also an eye-opening account of Jewish attempts to respond to early anti-Semitic Christian accusations that neonatal male circumcision is not only gender biased, patriarchal, and exclusionary (of the female half of the Jewish population) but also morally inferior to the ecumenical and gender inclusive practice of Christian baptism. The author, who is a Professor of Hebrew Literature and Philosophy at Harvard University, then brings us up to date by observing that contemporary opponents of Jewish male circumcision 'assume (moral) parity between male circumcision, which is toler- ated, and female circumcision, which is proscribed,' with the aim of expanding existing legal prohibitions of female genital mutilation (FGM) to include the male circumcision of minors. 2 What's good for the goose is good for the gander. Or so argue today's opponents of childhood male circumcision.

中文翻译：

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鹅和雄鹿：生殖器战争

生殖器切割应该有性别平等吗？在德国（以及欧洲大部分地区），当地居民倾向于争辩说，传统的男性割礼和传统的女性割礼在道德上是等同的，两者都应该被禁止。在塞拉利昂（以及非洲的其他几个国家），当地居民倾向于争辩说，传统的男性割礼和女性的割礼在道德上是等同的，两者都应该被允许。在美国，当地居民倾向于反对道德对等，允许男孩进行传统的割礼，而禁止女孩进行割礼。谁有更好的论点？这个论点对生活在欧洲、非洲和北美的犹太人和其他接受割礼的族群有何影响？有传言说，当上帝发出命令时，亚伯拉罕抬头望天说：“你想做什么？”据传说，莎拉不是谈话的当事人，也不包括在交易中。这样的故事并不让我感到惊讶。我儿子出生时我也犹豫过，至少直到几代祖先的缺席选票如潮水般涌来；因为死者有投票权，包括亚伯拉罕。当我女儿出生时，我想“为什么”犹太妇女不接受割礼？从来没有想过我的妻子。她一次也没有抬头看天说：这是什么正义？生殖器切割不应该有性别平等吗？然而，Shaye Cohen 在《为什么犹太妇女不接受割礼》中充分考虑了这个问题？1 他的书是对中世纪拉比对创世记第 17 章中要求切割犹太男性生殖器的理解的诠释。这也是犹太人试图回应早期反犹太基督教指控的令人大开眼界的描述，即新生儿男性割礼不仅具有性别偏见、重男轻女和排他性（占犹太人口的女性一半），而且在道德上也低于基督教洗礼的普世性和性别包容性实践。作者是哈佛大学希伯来文学和哲学教授，然后通过观察当代反对犹太男性割礼的人“假设男性割礼和女性割礼之间的（道德）平等”，让我们了解最新情况。 ，这是被禁止的，目的是扩大现有的女性生殖器切割（FGM）的法律禁令，以包括对未成年人进行男性割礼。2 对鹅有益的，对雄鹿也有益。