Recently the atheosphere has been a buzz with this news item: Gay Bashing and Leviticus Tattoo . It is a sad state of affairs when a person gets beaten for a perfectly healthy sexual orientation (or gender, race, ethnicity etc.) and I hate to say it, but I can't help but smirk at the irony of that tattooed lunk head. He is typical of certain bigoted, gay hating Christians. They like to cherry pick their bible (technically most if not all religious types cherry pick) . Yes the OT Leviticus verses prohibit homosexuality. But do you know what else it prohibits? Tattoos . Yes this moron has committed a sin, in the eyes of his god, on par with being gay. And while in the mind of certain anti gay bigots homosexuality is a choice, a tattoo is relatively permanent. It can only be removed by methods that require more voluntary mutilation, which according to the OT is a no-no.
There is a reason that body mods, save for involuntary male infant mutilation, are forbidden. Pagan cultures at the time and in that area of the world were very heavily into ritual body modification to honor or become more like the gods they worshiped. In order to distinguish themselves from the Pagans at the time and to eschew any heathen practices, the Hebrews of the OT made a point to include body mods in their list of "abominations". But apparently the ancient Hebrews had no qualms about ritually mutilating 8 day old infants as stated various times in the bible and codified into law in Leviticus 12:3 . An adult getting a tattoo or piecing bad, causing pain and nigh irreparable damage to a boy's best friend when they are not old enough to feed them self, let alone consent to a barbaric medical procedure, that's perfectly fine.
I myself am a practitioner of voluntary body modification. I have several tattoos and a couple piercings. I like the "ritual" of getting a tat, the pain releases endorphins and adrenaline which can be a hell of a rush, and I like the idea of having a personal symbol or work of art permanently etched into my skin. What I do NOT like is the fact that as a child of (relatively secular Jews) I was mutilated on my genitals, without my consent, scarred for life and stuck with nerve damage on an area of my body that has, since middle school, been my best friend. My penis was given severe nerve damage, something like 50,000 fine touch nerve cells destroyed, and I had no say in the matter whatsoever! Why?!?!
We all cringe at the thought of female circumcision, why is it we are ok with male circumcision? I am not one to scream reverse sexism, mainly because males have had the upper hand for thousands of years of human culture. But this is a classic case of sexism. Why is there not the same outrage for the mutilation of a male child as there is for a female? Several reasons are given and not one is any justification for this brutal practice. I won't even touch the religio-cultural reasons, because they are silly, there are a great many religious traditions and laws we have eschewed in the name of progress, the practice of legal slavery is one. How about this one: males are sexual beasts, and if left unchecked they will focus on that area of their bodies. This was used by Maimonedes as a justification for circumcision. Now granted I will admit, I am a horny motherfucker, most of the time. But I have learned self fucking control! I do not pressure women into sex, I do not rape, I do not play pocket pool in public (in private yes there are times when i can get into a total wank fest, but that is between me, interweb pron and the ever stiffening gym sock). OK but I am circumcised one may say, yes true, but desire stems from my brain not from the sensitivity in my dick. The worst of the worst reason is "it looks nice", "it's aesthetically pleasing", or "I want my son to look like his father" (and these are the NUMBER ONE reasons given for having a non Jewish child circumcised). It's aesthetically pleasing, or it looks good? Really? So was, according to the Chinese, foot binding, I don't see an across the board acceptance of that. And because he should look like his father? Yeah the facial and other structural characteristics aren't enough, we have to chop off the head of his penis. And finally the out and out lie reasons: it cuts down on AIDS transmission and prevents penile cancer. Oy Vey. First off are there any reliable stats on these claims? And prey tell how does it cut down on AIDS transmission? Is that like the belief that raping a young virgin will cure a man of HIV?
The only good thing about my circumcision is that it makes a great excuse for my voluntary body mods. Whenever my mother laments a new tattoo, I remind her that well at least it was MY decision. Unlike the decision that was made for me when I was 8 days old.
Oh and a Post Script: I have been mulling over a tattoo of Lev. 19:28, just to be a smart ass. But then again much like how holy water, or religious texts and symbols burn my skin, it may burn me until I die or remove it.
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