One of the things that is hardest for new feminists to learn is that much of being active is giving your voice and writing your representatives. It's not as sexy as, say, marching down the streets taking back the night, but it is important.
There is a new proposed bill that is severely anti-choice, sexist, and classist. I speak about the "Stupack on Steroids" bill. It contains lots of hateful, misogynistic sentiments but the one I found to be the most heart breaking is that it seeks to redefine rape.The bill stipulates that low-income women who seek financial aid cannot receive an abortion unless there is incest involved or they were "forcibly raped".
Who gets to decide what constitutes "forcibly"? Privileged older white men who have never been roofied up. Men who have never been on the scary side of 14 and had a person use their authority to make them do things they knew were wrong but couldn't say no.
And worse yet, this sets a precedent that only victims need abortions. What about girls who had boyfriends who swore that they'd pull out? What about a woman who looks at her 5 children and knows in her heart that she can't feed another mouth, not on the welfare we provide them?
The cruelest irony is that only women suffer. We deny them support for children they do have and call them murderers when they take fate into their own hands.
So now is a chance for true activism. Speak now, sisters. Please, write your representative. I wrote mine. I'll share it with you now.
Dear Congressman Carson,
My grandmother was a supporter of your grandmother and has nothing but kind words to say about you. My grandmother speaks often of her fondness for your grandmother's passion and understanding of the common people. As a wise and open-hearted individual, I hope your grandmother's lessons have taken root inside of you, because a threat exists now that haunts our sisters, mothers, daughters, nieces, and our grandmothers.
I speak about HR 358. The "Stupak on Steroids" bill would limit availability of abortions to women on federal support only to cases of "forcible rape," a definition that does not currently exist in federal law. What, sir, is a forcible rape? Are we going to allow our government to tell a woman that her rape just doesn't count? Are we going to send a message that choice is only for the wealthy and the privileged? Is the message here that a woman who needs financial help has signed over her right to make personal medical decisions? I disagree wholeheartedly, and I hope you do too.
Congressman Carson, please do the right thing and vote no on 358. Thank you.Yours most sincerely~
This is terrific, and I agree, this law is self serving to white misogynistic men of a higher socioeconomic status who would never have to worry about working a bad neighborhood at night, walking on campus after a night class, mace in hand, fearing an attack. They don't worry if their sisters/wives/aunts/grandmothers/female friends/daughters will experience this because these people who make such attacks live a life of luxury and of ignorance. Ignorance not only to the plights of the remaining 80% of the women in the U.S., who don't have entitlement, but also to women of color and a lower socioeconomic status.
ReplyDeleteIf a man decides he doesn't want to financially, emotionally, or physically support his kid(s), he can pack up and move across state lines, free from any type of harassment in terms of child support, assistance, or the like, save for that hit on his credit report. A woman, on the other hand, is stuck in the middle, between caring for her kid(s) and wondering not only if her meager paycheck (which is still less than a man's pay) will cover the bills, but if she will qualify for assistance, as she is harassed at the state offices for not only working outside of the home, but for not having the father in her and her kid(s) lives, even if it was not by any choice of her own.
We live in a world of have and have not, the question is when will we, as women, have an opportunity at the safety, health care, and protection of hearth, home, and the workplace that we so rightly deserve?