Dear Utah

Dear Utah lawmakers,

I know you don't read a lot of blogs, and especially not mine. But perhaps you should read the previous post about trusting women with birth. I regret now that I didn't explicitly extend my post to include trusting a woman for the entire nine months of pregnancy leading up to it, because obviously there is some confusion on your part.

Let's face it, a seventeen year old paying to get herself beaten in an attempt to miscarry her baby is pretty unusual. The vast majority of pregnant women care enough about their future children to change their dietary and lifestyle habits in hopes of giving them the best start possible. So it seems a little weird to me that you even deemed it necessary to write H.B. 12- a bill with vague language which is intended to limit what constitutes a legal abortion- let alone pass it by such a wide margin. Your failure to define “knowing”, “reckless”, or “criminal intent” leaves this bill open to interpretation. The thing that bothers me most is that it really isn't clear where miscarriage will end and criminal homicide will begin.

Here are some facts that you might not know. According to the Mayo Clinic, 10-20 percent of pregnancies end in miscarriage. Most of those are due to chromosomal abnormalities, which is a five-dollar term meaning that something has naturally gone wrong in development. The Mayo Clinic also says that certain health conditions such as thyroid problems or uncontrolled diabetes could cause a miscarriage. I guess we could get into a debate about the affordability of health care, but that would be a long letter and I have a feeling I know where you all stand on that issue. Does a woman who can't afford medical treatment engage in knowing and reckless behavior? In fact, unless it's an exceptional case, how can you prove criminal intent in the majority of miscarriages given the information above?

Did you intend for this bill to be widely applied? What if a woman falls down the stairs and gets arrested? I'm sure you saw the headlines about the case in Iowa. Does it put a woman under suspicion if she expresses surprise or disappointment about finding herself pregnant? I imagine that in your haste to pass the bill, you didn't realize that you were being such jerks. Losing a child is a terrible thing. Making a woman prove her intentions after such a loss is despicable.

And just in case you think we missed it, we can all see that this is an attempt to bolster fetal rights and weaken the abortion laws. I hope you weren't trying to be subtle about that.

You could have written a bill to ensure that every pregnant woman in your state gets excellent prenatal care. You could have guaranteed that women have the financial support they need to raise their children. You could crack down on domestic abuse. You could have done any number of things to help a woman feel confident- rather than desperate- going into motherhood. Instead of helping families, you've passed a bill that blames and punishes women. That is a disgraceful thing to be remembered for.

Yours in frustration,

Astrid of Leda's Revenge

Birth Power

If you ever need proof of how strong and empowered a woman can be, watch a birth. I myself was fortunate enough to witness one, to reaffirm my belief in the powers of women.

All women have different experiences of birth. Some feel self-assured, some nervous, some are focused on the pain. Some have their children quickly, some slowly, some yell and moan, some are quiet. All of them should be admired, commended, respected. Giving birth is a test of physical and mental endurance for which there is no way to prepare. Yet no matter what the circumstances or how difficult the birth, women are able to tap into strength they may not have even known they had. Most female-bodied folks possess the superpower of bringing another human being into the world.

This is not to say that you must give birth to be a “real” woman or to feel confident and strong; there are just as many ways to tap into your own powers as there are women in the world. Likewise, we shouldn't devalue women who, for whatever reason, are unable to give birth despite their wishes to do so. However, as a society, we can respect the birthing process and, in doing so, respect the intrinsic power of women.

The predominant attitude in our culture is that birth is a strictly medical event where something could go wrong at any second. Birth is unique in that regard. While birth is a high-stakes event where medical interventions can certainly be necessary and life-saving, many other high-stakes events are not nearly as mistrusted. People do extreme (and extremely dangerous) sports without constant monitoring. Some people hold jobs that put them at risk for serious injury or even death and are rightly praised for their bravery and selflessness instead of being fretted over at every moment. So why do we assume the worst of birth? Do we still see women as too fragile? Women have been successfully giving birth for thousands of years, even before humans developed sophisticated birthing technology. Women are capable.

When a woman is in control of her own birth, she is empowered. This doesn't have to mean a natural birth; if a woman wants an epidural, she should have one. No matter what the particulars, being in control means being trusted, encouraged, and allowed space and time to labor in her own way. She must be the star of her own birth, for she- not her technological assistance- is responsible for the momentous occasion when another human being is brought into the world. If a woman loses that control, she will still end up with a healthy child, but something else is lost. An opportunity is missed. A woman leaves with a bad taste in her mouth, even though she has a beautiful baby. Birth is not just about the end result.

Women are capable. We can do this. Trust us. As Laura Stavoe Harm said, "we have a secret in our culture, and it's not that birth is painful; it's that women are strong."

Take That, Pop Culture

The first ad aired during the Superbowl. The second is a much-needed response.

Dodge Charger Manly Man Ad - watch more funny videos

In the Driver's Seat

With all the talk about the 38th anniversary of Title 9 earlier this month, I heard a lot of interesting anecdotes about women and sports. A quote from Susan B. Anthony that the bicycle “has done more to emancipate women than anything else in the world” really piqued my interest. Why the bicycle?

In the 1890s, a bicycling craze was sweeping the nation, and many of the purchasers of new bikes were female. Women hugely benefited from the increased freedoms the bike could bring. They were no longer dependent upon men for travel, and able to explore areas beyond their neighborhood. Additionally, increased athleticism required a change of clothes. Bicycling didn't lend itself to restrictive clothing such as corsets and hoop skirts, so in the name of exercise and mobility, women began to don bloomers (skirts cinched at the knee). This predictably sparked controversy about whether such garments were ladylike, but marked the beginning of practicality over fashion for many women. Bicycling also allowed women to be athletic, to have a little adventure in life, to experience nature- all things they were largely denied until the end of the 19th century. In short, the bicycle brought a lot of positive change for women in the span of a few years.

Today, only about a quarter of regular cyclists are women. It's time to reclaim the bike as liberated transportation! As Susan B. Anthony said, "It gives a woman a feeling of freedom and self-reliance. The moment she takes her seat she knows she can't get into harm unless she gets off her bicycle, and away she goes, the picture of free, untrammeled womanhood."

Shame On You, Johnny

[Sensitive stuff. Read with caution.]

Johnny Depp is the newest addition to a long list of Roman Polanski apologists. (For those who don't know, Polanski was arrested last year on 30-year-old charges of statutory rape. More info here: http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/polanskicover1.html) Here's what he had to say earlier this month: “Why now? Obviously there is something going on somewhere. Somebody has made a deal with someone. Maybe there was a little money involved, but why now? ... Roman is not a predator. He's 75 or 76 years old. He has got two beautiful kids, he has got a wife that he has been with for a long, long time. He is not out on the street."

Come on, Johnny. Not you, too.

First of all, a person's age, marital status or parental responsibilities have nothing to do with it. A married man is just as capable of committing a rape as a non-married man, a father equally as able as a childless man. As for age, most 43-year-old men aren't (and shouldn't be) interested in 13-year-old girls. Polanski has proven that age is not, and was never, a deterrent. Many men who rape seem safe to the victims beforehand. And then there's the obvious: just because he's seemingly mellowed out doesn't excuse him from having had sex with a minor in the first place.

Anyone making these claims would be spreading false information, but it becomes a much bigger issue when the person is famous. Celebrities are paid more attention than your average citizen. The media publicizes their statements. People look up to them. Perhaps, then, they should exercise a little responsibility. If you have the nation's ear, you had better say something thoughtful and accurate. You should not claim that what happened was not “rape-rape” (Whoopi Goldberg), or that rape is a “so-called crime” (Harvey Weinstein).

Polanski's victim has publicly stated that she has forgiven him and doesn't want him charged. Why? No one knows for sure, but a guess could be hazarded. Imagine having the worst experience you can think of, and then having it highly publicized for all the world to see. Imagine a throng of celebrities saying that your attacker is really a good guy, that he didn't mean anything by it, that what happened wasn't really all that bad, anyhow, so what's the problem. It is hard enough for any woman to stand up in this culture where being raped is wrongfully perceived as a shameful thing for the victim. Roman Polanski is an acclaimed film director, and no one has ever heard of Samantha Geimer. We should applaud her for having the nerve to press charges in the first place. Why aren't these folks standing up for victim instead of rapist? Unfortunately, these celebrities are echoing common sentiments in our society. In many sexual assault cases, even when the perpetrator is not famous, the victim is not believed or is blamed for what happened. At a time in her life when she needs support, she is criticized and distrusted. She'd likely get more sympathy if her purse had been stolen.

Even if we're not famous, our words have weight and we have to use them wisely. Let's not automatically assume that a victim is lying when she says she's been sexually assaulted. Let's not blame the crime on her. Let's choose words to describe the crime that accurately reflect its severity. Let's create a climate where it is safe for a woman to speak out rather than having to suffer through her trauma on her own.

Shame on you, Johnny Depp, and shame on your fellow apologists. You defended a rapist, and everyone listened.

Not Another Feminist Blog

[trigger warning]

Oh no. Not again. Isn't feminism all over, anyway?

Why do we need another feminist forum?
-We need a another forum because women are still raped and assaulted, and then told they were “asking for it”;
-because many women are not safe from violence, even in their own homes;
-because mothers and families are still not supported by our government or our society;
-because there is still a wage gap between men and women doing the same jobs;
-because female athletes and musicians are still considered “good for a girl”, even when they excel as much as or more than their male counterparts;
-because women are still judged on how beautiful they are rather than how talented they are;
-because women are so sexualized that they can't nurse their children in public without being called “obscene”;
-and because when we assign gender roles, everyone loses, not just women.

The list could go on, unfortunately.

We still need feminism. It's not over. In fact, it seems the message of equal rights, protections, and opportunities for women is getting lost somehow. It's important to keep mentioning that message over and over. The more these concepts make it into our culture, the more weight they will hold. If an inane YouTube video can “go viral”, why not feminist concepts? That is the idea behind creating yet another feminist blog. Hopefully, it will inspire other feminists to spread their vision of feminism far and wide.