Foreskin Man—real name Miles Hastwick—has all the trappings of the typical comic hero. His chiseled jaw is just too damn perfect, he attracts too many women, and he constantly wears his costume underneath his suit.
Here’s where it gets interesting: Foreskin Man’s duty is to protect the foreskins of baby boys from his arch-nemeses, Dr. Mutilator and Monster Mohel. When Hastwick is not Foreskin Man, he heads the “Museum of Genital Integrity” on a small island right near San Diego, promoting circumcision prevention.
Created by Matthew Hess, president of MGMbill.org, Foreskin Man is a product of Hess’ mission to prevent infant male circumcision. Like his character, Hess currently works in San Diego, but instead of donning a cape and plasma boots, he is pushing the Male Genital Mutilation (MGM) Bill to ensure government protection against forced male circumcision. Hess has even been restoring his own foreskin.
Through Foreskin Man, Hess hopes to promote the cause through a more popular and tangible medium. In an interview with PRWeb, Hess explained,
The Foreskin Man comic book uses popular art to shine a spotlight on the practice … Over the years there have been a lot of rationalizations and justifications to keep [circumcision] going, but the bottom line is that forced circumcision violates human rights. I hope this story will help convince some people of that in a way that words alone cannot.
I’m very happy with how [the comic] came out, and I hope readers enjoy it.
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Editor’s note: Obviously, Foreskin Man is intended to be more anti–child abuse than anti-Semitic, but I’m curious to hear the responses from the Anti-Defamation League and other Jewish groups, who, as shown by the above panel, will not take kindly to this kind of caricature. (Here’s another—note the claws.) To the artists’ credit, this is no Der Stürmer—the villains here don’t look particularly Semitic underneath the beards and payos—but it still makes me queasy.
Can there be Jewish villains without vilifying Jews? I’d like to think yes, but I don’t think Dr. Mutilator and Monster Mohel pull it off. —CF
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—Photos via Foreskinman.com
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I guess I shouldn’t be surprised, but I am surprised to see such blatant anti-Semitism in the US in 2011. – depiction of a religious Jewish mohel as a blood-thirsty fiend (“monster”) – depiction of circumcision as something forced against parents’ wishes, including the use of violence – conveys the idea that mohel rejoices in consuming infant’s blood – suggests that the above false depictions are part of Jewish religion (“Praised be Thou etc.”) This is nothing short of a renewed Medieval blood libel. As the comic’s creators well know – most circumcisions are not performed by religious mohelim –… Read more »
If you want to see a Jewish villain who isn’t anti-semitic just look at Magneto.
Calling a Jew “Jorah” (‘sewer’ in Hebrew) and caricaturing him as a villain with claws while and innocent baby is being saved by a Nordic hero is not antisemetic. It was not antisemetic 70 years ago in Der Sturmer, and it isn’t now. Really. It’s not. How could it be?
Except Jorah means first rain/ autumns rain. Its a good name
http://www.biblical-baby-names.com/meaning-of-jorah.html
Comic books have always used exaggerated heroes and villains, so I don’t see any problem with the antagonist being Jewish. And, its not like Jews aren’t critical of cutting upon the genitals of their boys (but not their girls like Muslims do). Jewish leadership has twice considered dropping the circumcision requirement for membership. And the pro-intact movement is over-represented by Jews. Calling this anti-Semitic to me is just overactive and over-reactive political correctness.
Correction, the Reform movement has considered it twice; Reform is hardly religious at all. Religion to them is just a cultural thing and should be discarded as soon as it needs to be in order for them to be accepted by society. The reason they haven’t dropped circumcision is because they know once they do that no other Jew will consider their children Jewish, because they broke the original covenant. A) The villain is evil eyed, big-nosed, dressed as a Rabbi and is shown to be “mutilating” a boy. B) The hero is the perfect Aryan man. C) The victims… Read more »
@Daddy Files: “where’s the criticism for trying to legislate what parents can and can’t do for their sons?” Since when was “what parents can and can’t do [to] their sons” above legislation? Children are rightly protected from harm done by anyone, including their parents. Cutting off any other normal, healthy, non-renewable, functional parts of their bodies is already outlawed, and the most nearly corresponding parts of girls’ bodies get special legal protection. The AAP flirted with relaxing the law last year to allow a token pin-prick of girls “much less invasive than male genital cutting” but had to back down,… Read more »
Hugh7, I’m well aware of what Metzitzah b’peh entails. I too know how to use wikipedia. The simple fact that the Hebrew phrase has a meaning proves it’s not babbling, no matter what Foreskin Man and Hess believe. Though you may not respect the act you cannot deny that labeling a sacred Jewish function as the ravings of a madman comes off as ignorant and offensive.
Sucking a baby’s wounded penis – “beautiful”? That IS babbling.
Sucking a baby’s wounded penis – “sacred”? THAT is offfensive.
Hess pulled his punch, neither translating the phrase nor showing the act.
There is no sucking a babies penis you retard. You aren’t one of those moron anti-semites who think Jews are bloodsuckers are you?
Man this world is just full of idiots.
Here is a Youtube of a Rabbi defending Metzitzah b’peh. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HCAsAEwe1EU Jewish anthropology professor Leonard Glick (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c4UEbsg-k5Y) suggests that it is the other way around – that it was brit milah and especially metzitzah b’peh that gave rise to the blood libel. Christians seeing Jews doing that to their own children could only guess what they might do to Christian children, and he shows an old antisemtic woodcut of Jews crucifying a boy – but they are drawing blood from his penis.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xJd9dUMRUL8&feature=related
So the mohel only pretends to put his mouth on the boys penis and suck?
So you’re (rightfully) worried about the suspect depiction of Jewish people, but where’s the criticism for trying to legislate what parents can and can’t do for their sons? Female Genital Mutilation has no health benefits whatsoever. But studies have shown male circumcision cuts down on penile cancer and reduces the chance of contracting HIV, among other benefits. I respect those who choose not to circumcise, but there’s a real problem when condescending zealots try to tell me I can’t make my own decisions about what’s best for my own kid. And as far as this comic book…well, I think it’s… Read more »
Comic books have been dealing with difficult issues and adult themes for decades now. Watchmen, Dark Knight, and The Invisibles, to name a few, all showed that wearing spandex did not preclude dealing with complex issues. Now there is Foreskin Man, a character that does his best to combat circumcision in California. At first glance the book seems to be a high-production-value spoof on generic hero types. The artwork reminded me of the much-maligned style that Todd McFarlane popularized in the ’90s with his comic Spawn. The hero’s insignia is the head of a penis with foreskin intact. Women dress… Read more »
I find this somewhat amusing, but it is pretty Anti-Semitic. Muslims also practice circumcision on their boys. I was brought up a Jew and was circumcised, I don’t resent it at all and I don’t honestly think pleasure can feel any better than it does. This dude really thinks this is such an important issue, what about real human right abuses maybe not domestic but clitoral mutilation is practiced in many parts of Africa and Middle East, secretly here..Snip snip!
1. just because you’re pro foreskin does not make you anti semitic 2. do a bit of research about what has been taken away from you with out your concent. you will find it’s not just a flap of skin. side note :(you wrote “I don’t honestly think pleasure can feel any better than it does.”) cut and pasted directly from your comment. you don’t honestly think that? would that be a freudian slip? 3. I am no more in favor of male genital mutilation then I am of female genital mutilation. both are wrong. if I could stop all… Read more »