Thursday, February 9, 2012

The Personal is Very Political

I'm noticing a trend. When women came out publicly and said that they had an affair with Herman Cain, he called them liars and couldn't understand why that might be seen as offensive. Newt Gingrich blamed the media for asking about his affairs. Congress wanted to pass a bill interfering with the FBI redefining rape in ways that would have let people such as Sandusky off at the federal level - it wanted to force them to use a more restrictive definition of rape.
Susan Komen wanted to stop giving grants to Planned Parenthood because it, in addition to all sorts of health care for women including providing manual breast screenings, provides abortions. Conservatives are upset because the Department of Health and Human Services says that institutions such as universities and hospitals that may have a religious affiliation must adopt insurance plans that cover birth control. And finally, one of the co-owners of Staples claims that allowing women to breastfeed their children on the job will kill jobs!

Let me make sure I'm understanding this: women never say no to sex, they lie when they assert extramarital sexual relationships, they should not be able to use contraception, and they are stuck with the consequences of unwanted pregnancies. Oh yeah, women are not entitled to basic health care to handle the manifestations of all of this sexual activity and are not permitted to take care of these newborn children.

Two words: male domination! Apparently men are the only parties in our society who should be making decisions about when people engage in sexual activity, regardless of their marital status. Men decide when women have kids. Men take no responsibility for women's health. Men are not responsible for the children born from their seed. Women who would challenge this order in any way, shape, or form are murderers and radical people who are hellbent on society's destruction. We're hellbent on the destruction of sexism. We're hellbent on being able to make decisions about our bodies that work not only for the pleasure of men, but so that we can create lives that are satisfying for all of us.

I understand that not every male feels this way. However, actions speak louder than words. How many times have you had unprotected sex with any woman knowing that she did not necessarily want to create life in that particular coupling? How many times did you take the initiative for birth control, be it abstinence in a particular situation or volunteering to wear a condom? How many times have you walked away from a woman who was pregnant and blamed her for sleeping with someone else and that it couldn't be your child? How many times did you walk away from your partner because she had to deal with the kids?


These are the consequences for forced sex, voluntary unprotected sex (I haven't even gotten to STDs), pregnancy, and childbirth. This is why I will continue to speak out against these draconian policies. Just sayin'.