‘Real Women Protect Babies’: Jewish Mothers and Anti-Circumcision Activism

• In Event: Graduate Student Lightning Session: Gender and Sexuality

Abstract

Throughout American Jewish history, Jewish women have often assumed a prominent role in protesting injustice from within and beyond the Jewish community. Women were on the frontlines of mobilizing and organizing kosher meat boycotts in early, protested rent increases and mistreatment in the garment industry, and were active in both the civil rights and women’s liberation movements. Jewish women were also the leaders in demanding for women’s inclusion in Jewish life by creating rituals to celebrate pivotal moments in women's lives that previously went unnoticed. In line with this historical trend, my study examines how mothers are extending their advocacy and fighting on behalf of their sons through their involvement in anti-circumcision activism. Demonstrably outnumbering the involvement of Jewish men, Jewish women are considerably more involved in advocating against circumcision. In fact, the majority of anti-circumcision groups are targeted towards and run by women. Jewish mothers are deeply troubled by circumcision and actively question the ritual – even if they ultimately choose to have their son circumcised. Furthermore, although there are organizations that are geared towards men, these organizations tend to focus on the men themselves; the pain THEY experienced through circumcision, and how THEIR lives were affected as a result. As such, women’s activism tends to be about their sons, while men’s activism tends to be about themselves. Through an examination of my interviews, fieldwork and attendance at anti-circumcision protests in San Francisco and Washington D.C., I argue the discrepancy between men and women’s involvement in anti-circumcision activism is rooted in stereotypical understanding of mothers as the sole protectors of their children and participation in such activism represents a “natural” extension of motherhood. Stereotypes of mothers as protectors and images of women cuddling their babies populate anti-circumcision posters and leaflets, and propagate the idea that “good mothers” and “real women” protect babies. Advocating on behalf of their sons is a “natural” extension of motherhood while reinforcing gender stereotypes and expectations of mothers as nurturers and protectors of their children.

Author

• Lindsey Jackson, Concordia University