Feb

23

Anti-Choicers Target Women of Color: How Should Pro-Choicers Respond?

Filed Under abortion, activism, anti-choice extremism, class and economics, feminism, legislation, misogyny, paternalism, patriarchy, pregnancy, race and racism, reproductive justice, social conservatives, women’s health | 7 Comments

Earlier this month, Renee wrote a post about an Atlanta billboard targeting black women’s reproductive rights by pointing to the higher rates of abortion among black women, and claiming that abortion clinics are attempting to abort black children out of existence. It’s a great post, touching on many things that will come up here, and you should go read it.

It turns out this issue is about more than a billboard campaign — SisterSong Women of Color Reproductive Health Collective clues us in to the fact that it’s also turning into an issue of legislation and public policy. Anti-choice legislators in Georgia have introduced HB 1155 – The Sex and Race Selection Bill, and while it sounds warm and fuzzy on the outside, SisterSong assures us that it’s not (pdf):

This bill seeks to ban the solicitation and targeting of women of color by abortion providers throughout the state.

This misleading issue of abortions for sex- and race-selection in Georgia means that we have to use facts and science to stand up for women of color without undermining our support for abortion rights or without enforcing racial stereotypes about women of color. Intent on driving a wedge between reproductive justice and racial justice organizations, and pro-choice advocates, the bill reflects the false assumption that abortion providers throughout the state “solicit” women of color. If implemented, this bill will adversely impact abortion providers by requiring them to prove that they are not targeting women of a certain race or ethnicity. This burden could result in delayed medical services, particularly for women of color. Additionally, this legislation would alter the racketeering laws of the Georgia Code to include abortion providers. This is unacceptable as abortion is legal in the State of Georgia, and the alleged abuses of this medical procedure are unfounded. Such a bill would have a terrible effect on women’s ability to access reproductive health care services throughout the state.

While explicitly targeting women of color and attempting to coerce them into abortions would obviously be a horrific, racist thing, as the press release states, there’s no indication that it’s an issue requiring legislation. Further, the legislation is not a benign preventative measure, but an effort to restrict abortion access further than it is already restricted. The women who would be impacted, as is always the case, are those who are already marginalized. It’s clear that proponents of this bill, and those behind the billboard, do not have black women or children’s best interests in mind. They are rather simply opposed to any and all abortions, and find that non-white targets are easy to hit, for a myriad of reasons.

For all of the above reasons, and because I always trust people on the ground to know what is best for their communities much better than I ever could, I strongly support SisterSong in their campaign to defeat HB 1155. As of yesterday, the bill was approved through sub-committee, but the full Judiciary Committee has suspended consideration and not yet voted. SisterSong is urging Georgia residents to call Chairman Rich Golick of the Non-Civil Judiciary Committee TODAY and urge him to VOTE NO TO HB 1155. His office number is 404.656.5943, and his email address is rich.golick@house.ga.gov. If you are someone who can take action, SisterSong has also prepared a list of talking points for your email or phone call (pdf).

But while we are on the topic, I’d also like to discuss the subject of these types of anti-choice attacks a little more closely.

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Jan

18

Remembering Dr. King

Filed Under activism, bigotry, class and economics, human rights, race and racism | Leave a Comment

Martin Luther King, Jr. speaks in a church. He leans forward, eyes gleaming with intensity, a finger pointed with conviction out at his audience.

Some of us who have already begun to break the silence of the night have found that the calling to speak is often a vocation of agony, but we must speak. We must speak with all the humility that is appropriate to our limited vision, but we must speak. — Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Today is Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.

We still, I should hope it goes without saying on this particular blog, live in a world fueled by racism, white supremacy, and classism. With a lot of the reporting coming out of Haiti this past week alone, that much has been evident. We live in a world where Dr. King’s words are used and abused by those who like to tell us that race does not matter, and that we should all be “colorblind.” And we live still in a world where much of his work and activism — such as his anti-poverty and anti-war work — is ignored because it’s less simple to twist in a way that supports existing power structures, and where only the parts that make those with power and privilege feel good are typically remembered.

But it’s a much better world than it would have been, had it not been for Dr. King and the many, many other activists like him.

In the spirit of remembering that less publicized and less taught work, instead of posting I Have a Dream or I Have Been to the Mountaintop (two obviously phenomenal speeches), I’m posting the beginning of the less recognized speech Beyond Vietnam: A Time to Break Silence, a statement against war and about the interconnectedness of social justice struggles that still remains largely relevant, as well as moving and chilling.

The full text of Beyond Vietnam: A Time to Break Silence can be found here.

Also recommended are Jay Smooth’s video Ten OTHER Things Martin Luther King Said, and Renee’s post (already linked above) Dr. King: A Legacy Ignored.

cross-posted from Feministe

Oct

5

U.S. Fence Causes Increase in Border Crossing Deaths

Filed Under bigotry, human rights, immigration, legislation, politics, race and racism, violence against women and girls | 4 Comments

u.s./mexico border fence

A recently released study by the American Civil Liberties Union of San Diego and Imperial Counties and Mexico’s National Commission on Human Rights (h/t abbyjean) shows that there has been an increase in migrant deaths at the U.S.-Mexico border in the past year:

Marking the 15th anniversary of the misguided border strategy known as Operation Gatekeeper, the report makes visible the following:

  1. In the past 15 years, as many as 5,600 people have died.
  2. These deaths were anticipated in the design of the U.S. border strategy, which deliberately pushes migrants away from inhabited areas into harsh desert and mountainous terrains.
  3. The rate of deaths has increased despite the economic decline and a drop in migration.
  4. The number of rescues has decreased despite a massive increase in Border Patrol agents.

And of course this study is only looking at deaths, and therefore leaves out injuries that don’t result in a fatality, as well as the extraordinarily high rate of sexual assault committed against women crossing the border.

Though it’s important to have the numbers, both to be able to quote them and to be able to attract media attention, none of this should come as a surprise. In fact, advocates for immigrants rights have long warned that exactly this would happen in the event of “border security” being increased, and particularly in the event of the border fence being expanded. It’s only logical: people do not attempt to cross the U.S. border in hopes of finding work without documentation unless they’re facing some sort of desperation, and fences don’t make desperation go away, make the legal route to U.S. entry any less expensive or any more accessible, or put food on family’s tables. Build a fence, and many people will find another, more dangerous way — and those who authorized and built the fence knew that damn well at the time they did so.

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Sep

11

Pretending That Individual Choices Will Help Correct Structural Problems

Filed Under class and economics, pregnancy, race and racism, reproductive justice, women’s health | 17 Comments

The other day, I received a press release titled “It’s Riskier to Have a Baby in the U.S. Than in Cuba or the Czech Republic.”

This, actually, I knew. The U.S. has one of the worst infant mortality rates in the industrialized world — and one of the worst maternal mortality rates as well. And the black infant mortality rate is twice that of the white infant mortality rate, with Native American infant mortality rates and some Latino mortality rates being significantly higher than the rates among whites as well.

Given the current climate, when this press release arrived in my inbox, I expected that it was going to be a call from a women’s organization in favor of universal health care, and a comparison against other countries that do in fact have such systems. (The fact that countries we tend to look down on are so regularly used as the point of comparison, and what that suggests, is a whole other can of worms I’m not going to get into today.) Indeed, quick google searches indicate that every country listed in the press release has some sort of public health care system in place. There’d seem to be a pretty strong correlation, especially with so many up-to-date facilities in the United States, that we’re always hearing these countries with universal health care don’t have.

The press release, though, was actually promoting a book about pregnancy. And it provided “tips” — tips which use the acronym SMART — for how pregnant American women can “improve their chances of having a healthy baby”:

S = Seek prenatal care early. Tests for potential chromosome problems, including mental retardation and spina bifida (a condition that causes paralysis) can be conducted only in the first and second trimesters. A first trimester ultrasound is also the most accurate in terms of determining a due date.

M = Mention all risk factors such as a family history of diabetes, high blood pressure, Rh negative blood, premature labor, bleeding problems or genetic conditions to your healthcare professional as soon as possible. Do not omit information such as smoking or using “recreational” drugs because such activities can affect your baby.

A = Ask to have your cervix measured during your ultrasound if you have a history of premature contractions or delivery. A cervical length of 2.5 centimeters or less is a risk factor for preterm labor. If you are at risk for delivering before 37 weeks, ask your healthcare provider about receiving steroids to help your baby’s lungs develop.

R = Research your hospital and prospective physician or midwife carefully. Is the physician or midwife skilled in managing high-risk conditions? Will your care continue if you lose your insurance? Has the newborn nursery had any recent outbreaks of antibiotic-resistant infections? Is the hospital a level-three facility?

T = Test for potential problems such as gestational diabetes, sickle cell trait and cystic fibrosis, and check for appropriate fetal growth with an ultrasound.

I imagine that this might pretty solid advice (though I don’t actually know one way or the other) — if you’re actually able to follow it.

But considering the email’s opening, and the highly relevant fact that tens of millions of Americans do not have health care access, I was basically blown away by the “advice” and the necessary level of privilege that it involves — even if this kind of thing is an incredibly and increasingly common sight. And its frequency is a big part of the reason why it’s worth discussing.

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Aug

13

Man Destroys Rosa Parks Poster at Health Care Town Hall

Filed Under assholes, bigotry, misogyny, politics, race and racism | 4 Comments

It’s no big secret that the health care reform town halls are getting dramatically out of hand, and yet again displaying the erratic, borderline violent and frankly quite frightening behavior of extremist right-wingers. From the “Death to Obama” sign (h/t) and the man who brought a gun to an Obama town hall, there’s a lot of frightening, disgusting, and yes, racist, stuff going on.

From Tuesday, here’s yet another example:

At a Senator Claire McCaskill town hall, several black women brought a sign with them (and were apparently booed upon entering the room). They rolled the sign up, and set it aside. A photographer approached the woman sitting on the end of the aisle and asked to see the poster. As the woman unrolled the poster for the photographer, a white man got out of the bleachers, grabbed it from her, and attempted to destroy it. Audience members, who were overwhelmingly white, cheered. The woman got out of her seat to retrieve her poster. And something like four police officers grabbed her and escorted her out of the building. The audience cheered louder.

The hugely offensive sign that the man decided to rip up, by the way? It was of Rosa Parks.

It’s worth noting that the man who stole and vandalized the sign was arrested, and the woman who was the victim of this crime was let go. But we’ve still got police jumping to conclusions about who is to blame, and not instinctively choosing the white guy. And we’ve also got a mob mentality going on. Most of the audience members who cheered might not have even known what was on the sign. But if they did know what was on it, they cheered destruction of an image of a civil rights hero. And if they didn’t, they cheered the destruction of the sign simply based on who the woman holding it was. On what she looked like. Either way, I’m pretty damn sure that’s racism, and white entitlement. (I’m also willing to bet a whole lot that it was male entitlement, too — something tells me the guy would have been less likely to grab the same sign from another man.)

You see, fear-mongering never just stays fear-mongering for long. Call enough abortion providers murderers, and one’s going to end up getting shot. Say that the president is trying to instate “death panels” (on that subject, see here), and people are going to start publicly promoting violence against him. Convince white people that the tide is turning and not only will their undeserved privilege be revoked, but also that they’re the ones who are going to be racially oppressed now, and white people are going to start verbally and physically lashing out at people of color.

It’s not hard to add two and two together. And those who are hiding behind free speech and claiming there is no connection know it, too.

Jun

8

15-Year-Old Victim Will Not See Her Rapists Prosecuted

Filed Under misogyny, patriarchy, race and racism, rape and sexual assault, violence against women and girls | 19 Comments

Strong Trigger Warning

This is about as shameful, horrifying and unacceptable as things come.  In April, six adult men allegedly took turns raping a 15-year-old girl. She went to an apartment with one of the men, who she knew, only to have him demand “sex” with her.  When she refused, he allegedly pulled a gun on her, and the men then proceeded to orally and vaginally rape her.  Additionally, the men took photographs and video of the assault.  Police are said to have recovered such video and photographs from the crime scene.  And the two suspects who were taken into custody also have apparently confessed to “having sex” with the girl.  One man even allegedly said that he saw the girl crying, and stopped his oral rape of her only at that point.

The assault itself is about as awful as they come.  But leave it to law enforcement to find a way to make the situation even worse, and to devalue this girl’s right to bodily autonomy and safety even further.  The Boward State Attorney’s Office has decided to not file charges against James Hunte and Ryan Johnson, the two men who allegedly confessed to engaging in a “sex act” with the 15-year-old.

The Broward State Attorney’s Office has decided not to file criminal charges against two of the men accused of participating in the rape of a 15-year-old girl.

The state attorney’s office said the victim in the case has been uncooperative.

James Hunte and Ryan Johnson will not face charges, even though Plantation Police reports indicated that both men admitted receiving a sex act from the girl.

Prosecutors say they are still investigating two other men accused of participating in the attack.

[. . .]

According to a police report, Ryan Johnson told detectives he thought the girl was “18-19 years of age.” Johnson also told police during the sex act “he noticed the victim crying and discontinued receiving oral sex.”

Confessions, and video evidence.  And still, these men will walk free.

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May

11

Northern Territory Legislates Consensual Teen Sex

Filed Under Australia, International, assholes, bigotry, discrimination, human rights, legislation, race and racism, rape and sexual assault, reproductive justice, sex and sexuality, violence against women and girls, women’s health | 6 Comments

Via Queen Emily comes this story out of the Northern Territory, Australia.  The government has decided to enact a law that forces anyone — from doctors to parents — to report any any sexual activity taking place among those who are under the age of 16. Because that sex is always illegal.  Regardless of consent.  Emphasis mine:

The Northern Territory Government says its Care and Protection of Children Act is all about keeping kids safe.

But the AMA is warning the act’s mandatory reporting requirements go too far and Dr Paul Bauert from the AMA’s Northern Territory branch is deeply concerned.

Until now, NT laws were similar to what operates in the other states; it was mandatory to report suspected child sexual abuse.

But now health workers must report sexual activity among under-16s to a team that includes police and staff in the Territory’s department of health and families.

Failure to do so could result in a fine of up to around $20,000. And it is not just doctors who will have to report.

“This applies to everybody,” Dr Bauert said. “Parents, brothers and sisters, mates.”

The legislation has been in place for months but it was only late last week that the Northern Territory Health Department told staff to comply.

They were told to report anyone under 16 who is sexually active, even if that person’s sexual partner is also under 16 or of the same age, and regardless of consent.

“Any person who has sexual intercourse with someone under the age of 16 is guilty of a crime and liable to imprisonment for 16 years,” Dr Bauert said.

Yes, you read all of that correctly.  Teenagers who have sex with each other are now facing potential imprisonment of up to 16 years.  The thing is, we’re not even talking about where statutory rape laws ought to draw the line, and whether or not there should be “Romeo and Juliet” clauses, etc.

No, we’re talking about the possibility of two consenting 15-year-olds facing jail time for “raping” each other.  Way to trivialize actual fucking rape.  And we’re talking about parents facing huge fines if they know about that sexual activity and don’t report their own children.  And we’re talking doctors who can’t give out factual and needed sexual health care without having to report their patients to the police.

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Apr

29

Ruminations on a Song

Filed Under Gratuitous Beatles Blogging, feminism, misogyny, patriarchy, pop culture, race and racism | 12 Comments

In 1972, John Lennon, with a new and growing interest in women’s liberation, thanks primarily to his relationship with Yoko Ono, wrote and recorded a song called “Woman is the Nigger of the World.”  The phrase, it bears noting, was coined by Yoko Ono in 1969, and John later decided to write a strangely and infuriatingly catchy song around it.

(Lyrics)

It is, I think quite undeniably, John’s biggest attempt at an overt feminist statement in his music.  It is also his most “controversial” song by far (which is saying something), and with damn good reason.

Yesterday, Renee wrote a post about this song and called it out for its use of the word, the way that its use plays the oppression olympics, and the fact that it erases black women entirely.  You should read it. Further, all of these issues were addressed a few months ago in a thread on Racialicious with regards to a video that shows John on the Dick Cavett show, quite literally defending his use of the word by holding up a letter from an Official Black Person that declares it’s okay. 

Seeing as how I keep finding this song floating around, and since I have been asked on several occasions what I (as Feminist Beatles Fan Extraordinaire) think of it, I thought it was time to officially address it.

I want to state first of all that I absolutely, unequivocally agree with Renee’s take.  I also agree with a majority of the sentiments found in the Racialicious thread.  The song, to put it simply, is incredibly fucked. And his defense of it is one of the most ignorant, epic fails ever. I find it embarrassing as a fan and as a person.

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Apr

18

City Councilman Promoted Violent Anti-Immigrant Video Game

Filed Under assholes, bigotry, class and economics, immigration, misogyny, pop culture, pregnancy, race and racism, rape and sexual assault, reproductive justice, stereotypes, violence against women and girls | 14 Comments

borderpatrol

I just came across a post at Sociological Images about an outrageously racist flash video game called Border Patrol.  They note that in the game, “you try to keep three types of Mexicans from crossing the border: drug dealers, Mexican nationalists, and ‘breeders.’”  Video game site Kotaku — which thankfully also calls the video game racist — gives a highly similar description.  As you’ll notice in the image above, which is of a heavily pregnant and barefoot caricatured woman crossing the border, she is also on her way to the welfare office.

But you may also notice something else.  Looking at the image, there are bullet holes in the sign that says “Welcome to the United States” (with a picture of a flag that seems to indicate an anti-Semitic message that the country is run by Jews — am I missing something?).  The woman in the game also looks like her head is in the cross hairs of a gun.

That’s right, in this game we’re not “stopping” Mexican immigrants from crossing the border without documentation by, oh, calling the police.  Or by using another horrific and degrading option like catching them in a net to send them back over the border.

No, players are shooting them dead.

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Mar

20

When a Man is the Victim: A Second Study in Rape Apology

Filed Under media, paternalism, patriarchy, pop culture, race and racism, rape and sexual assault, violence against women and girls | 48 Comments

I’ve previously done an in depth analysis of victim-blaming and rape denial, and how it varies and how it stays the same, in a case of rape where a man was the victim of a female assailant.   After seeing this video at Sociological Images, along with the questions Lisa poses about the attitudes towards sexual violence it reveals, I’m compelled to do a second one.  The results are a bit long and wandering.

Below, rapper Lil’ Wayne appears on Jimmy Kimmel Live and (starting at about 2:40) is asked by the host whether or not it’s true that he “lost his virginity” at 11.  After looking shocked and attempting to laugh it off, Lil’ Wayne tells his story, and it may be triggering to some of you.

I do not know what Lil’ Wayne would call his own experience, but though he does not use the word, the admittedly few details he provides do indeed portray this quite clearly as rape, for reasons that I hope are obvious to most readers here, and which will be delved into in more detail below.  Lil’ Wayne seems to me to be uncomfortable with the line of questioning, and yet Jimmy Kimmel and the other man on the show continue to laugh and joke around about it, even after Lil’ Wayne says very clearly that the experience was harmful to him.

It seems like a reasonable question, to ask what the hell is wrong with Jimmy Kimmel.  But the problem is, while not excusing his actions for a single second, that he has a whole culture (and audience) backing him up.

In the majority of sexual assault cases, where a woman is the victim of a man’s violence, rape apology is rooted primarily not in the denial that male violence exists, but in the denial that male violence means something and needs to be stopped.  Conversely, in cases where a man is the victim of a woman’s violence, rape apologism is strongly rooted in the denial that women’s actions can count as violence at all — and especially that their actions can count as sexual violence against men, who are routinely construed as incapable of being victims.

In cases of both of these two types of sexual violence (though hardly the only two that exist), the victim is accused of “wanting it.”  But while the female victim is also, when that reasoning fails, accused of deserving it, this seems to not be the case with men.  No, they just always wanted it.  (Again, talking only about male victims of women — gay male victims of other men are routinely portrayed as “deserving” it as well as “wanting” it.)  There are no sneers about what he should and shouldn’t have been doing.  Just jokes about how awesome the assault must have been for him.  Like we see Jimmy Kimmel engaging in above.

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