If you’ve been paying attention to comics in the past week then you likely know that Batman: Damned revealed a whole new side of the Dark Knight: his naked genitalia. Now, a genital rights organization is weighing in on this intimate look at the superhero and they aren’t happy.
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In an interview with The Blast, Genital Autonomy America founder and director Marilyn Milos spoke out about the appearance of Bruce Wayne/Batman’s penis not because of the nudity, but because he’s circumcised with Milos comparing circumcision to child sex abuse.
“Non-therapeutic amputation of the normal body part of a non-consenting minor is not only sexual child abuse and a violation of that child’s inherent right to bodily integrity and genital autonomy,” Milos said.
If you somehow missed it, in Batman: Damned #1 there is a scene which features Bruce Wayne returning to the Batcave after a particularly brutal night out fighting crime. As he walks deeper into the cave from his car he strips out of his suit until he’s naked. It’s then, in not one but two different panels, that Batman‘s penis is depicted — clearly circumcised.
It’s that depiction that is problematic for Milos and her group. Genital Autonomy America is a nonprofit advocacy group first founded by Milos in 1985 that opposes non-therapeutic child circumcision with a stated goal to secure “the birthright of male, female, and intersex children and babies to keep their sex organs intact.” Milos went on to compare Batman to the members of a male anti-circumcision group, the Bloodstained Men.
“They, like Batman, have goodness and right on their side, and my hope is that others who have experienced the unkindest cut also will stand up and protect the most vulnerable among us,” Milos said. “It’s their body, it’s their right!”
Milos went on to detail what she’d tell Bruce Wayne if she had the chance.
“I’d tell Batman about foreskin restoration to regain some of what was lost,” she said.
While talking to Batman about his circumcision isn’t exactly possible, DC is, in a sense, trying to step back a bit from the big reveal. Batman: Damned is the first release from its Black Label line aimed at mature readers, but since the issue’s release DC has decided to censor the scene both in digital and future print releases of the issue.
Batman: Damned #1 is written by Brian Azzarello and drawn by Lee Bermejo with a cover by Bermejo and a variant by Jim Lee. It is available in comic stores now.
What do you think about the concern over Batman being circumcised? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
