Posts tagged with feminism
Kira Cochrane on the apparent backlash against feminism
excellent article from the guardian. don’t let it happen!
don't you dare
i’m pissed off.
i buy locally made, i recycle, donate to charity and take public transport. i work hard and pay taxes and rates and every other damn bill that comes my way. i vote and i try to be a responsible member of my community.
but now, we’re facing a problem with the a word: ABORTION*.
i have always been proud of how much new zealand has supported women. we gave women suffrage. we are a country who struggles with tall poppy syndrome and glass ceilings and inequality but we TRY. however, now this country is trying to show me that the state and/or an external agencies (however that then manifests) are able to define and should be able to define matters of my - and the female population’s by extension - health and our autonomy over our own bodies.
this is a conversation which puts us back DECADES.
i sit at the very liberal end of the political spectrum. in terms of women’s health issues and child-bearing, i believe that i am the only person who should be able to dictate what happens to my body. i believe in birth control. i believe that men should stay home and look after children if they want to and it makes sense for the household. i believe that work in the home is hideously undervalued and places stress on the self-esteem of women who do it. this is only the tip of the iceberg, trust me. i believe that people should be able to do what they need to do and what works for their families so they can be happy and healthy and make the most of their lives.
when i was at uni, i used to jump into the fray wholeheartedly. i’d argue with the haters and pull out quotes from books and try and change people’s minds. there was also the times where i tried to define myself as an equalist (har) rather than a feminist because it seemed like the best way to state my exact position without assumptions from the other side about what i believe in or who i am or what i’m trying to do to ‘destroy the framework of our society’.
i now don’t believe that on these contentious issues it is possible to have respectful debate or for the vastly divided sides of the debate to see the other side of the coin. i also don’t believe that semantics about what my beliefs are called matter.
ultimately, although it is possible to examine the issues from every angle, there is no way you are ever going to be able to convince me that someone else should make decisions about what happens to me and my body or that i should support this happening to someone else (also see jess’ post yesterday on this also:http://eastlondongirl.livejournal.com/168327.html)
it’s at the point of being in those life-changing situations that bring all aspects into brilliant contrasting colours.
for those of you reading who know someone who has considered or had an abortion: do you think they found it to be a quick or easy decision? after all, pro-choice doesn’t mean that those who believe it adovcate pregnant women getting automatic abortions. it means realising that when a women (and/or her family) cannot support a child in the way it should be brought up and cared for there should be the option to do something about it. it means providing support and services to help them make that decision responsibly and without prejudice - and helping them once they have made that decision if they need it. it means literally allowing women to decide whether to have the baby or whether to terminate the pregnancy.
if i have to protest i will be on the street. i will sign petitions and knock on people’s doors. i will yell and yell and yell until other people yell with me because dammit, you are not in control of anything that happens inside my body. get away from me.
* i am not going to detail the current issue as it has now arisen, as it has been much better explained and eloquently discussed elsewhere. i’m also not going to examine all sides of the arguments as i think that that’s again, concluded better elsewhere. the links below are also a fantastic starting point:
http://greylynnsinglesclub.blogspot.com/2008/06/absence-does-not-make-heart-grow-fonder.html
http://www.thestandard.org.nz/?p=2159
