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How many more examples do we need of the lethal nature of the supposedly “pro-life” position? Let’s clear this up by naming them correctly, for the record, when you hear the term “Pro-life” you need to replace that with “anti-woman forced birth advocate”. Why? Because what forced birthers are about is stripping women of their rights and of their bodily autonomy. Beatriz, like Savita Halappanavar, is being put in mortal peril because where she lives the forced birth brigades ideas are reality, and women really do not have rights.
“The 22-year-old woman suffers from severe and complicated illnesses. Her doctors have told her that she will likely die giving birth, and the unborn child will most likely live only a few hours, but she is prevented by law from having an abortion. “They [the Supreme Court] were not convinced this is the way… they are saying Beatriz is not in danger and she must pursue the natural way of delivery and we must see what happens,” said Mata. “It isn’t just an abortion, it is a necessity,” said Mata, in an earlier interview with CBSNews.com”
Yeah. The all male supreme court has ruled that this woman is not in danger and must continue with birth. Their noble dedication to preserving life is noted.
Beatriz is carrying an anencephalic fetus, which means it has no brain and is only expected to survive at maximum a few hours after birth, even if she carries it to full term. Beatriz has lupus, worsened by a kidney malfunction, and it is very dangerous for her to be pregnant. “The doctors are saying it’s very critical because the lupus may be reactivated and if the lupus is reactivated it is very dangerous for her health,” he added. She is now 26-weeks pregnant, and every day it becomes more risky for her to be pregnant and have an abortion at such a late stage.
This is what happens when legislate against women. Women are endangered and their lives are at risk.
According to a 2012 report from the Central American Women’s Network, 628 women have been imprisoned in El Salvador since its anti-abortion law was enacted in 1998. Twenty-four of these women were indicted for “aggravated murder,” after an abortion, miscarriage, or stillbirth. “The only way now is to go to the international courts,” said Mata. Meanwhile, Beatriz awaits her fate in hospital, separated from her 14-month old son and her husband. “Everyday, the health of Beatriz is [getting] worse. If they wait another week or two weeks, she will be too feeble to endure the operation,” said Mata.
So because of the religiously inspired pro-life fuckwittery of the Roman Catholic Church (this is what a society where they have tangible influence looks like) it is most likely Beatriz will die.
No rant today – this is too outrageous and too cold for a rant. This is an tragic (because it is preventible) object lesson – women die and are dying because they are denied their reproductive rights and rights to bodily autonomy.
That is all.
Observe. :)
The base 10 anniversaries are always important. :) Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring debuted 100 years ago today. Enjoy his music visualized by Stephen Malinowski and the info from Wikipedia.
Part I: The Adoration of the Earth
The opening melody is played by a solo bassoon in a very high register, which renders the instrument almost unidentifiable;[116] gradually other woodwind instruments are sounded and are eventually joined by strings.[117] The sound builds up before stopping suddenly, Hill says, “just as it is bursting ecstatically into bloom”. There is then a reiteration of the opening bassoon solo, now played a semitone lower.[118]
The first dance, “Augurs of Spring”, is characterised by a repetitive stamping chord in the horns and strings, based on E-flat superimposed on an triad of E, G-sharp and B.[119] White suggests that this bitonal combination, which Stravinsky considered the focal point of the entire work, was devised on the piano, since the constituent chords are comfortable fits for the hands on a keyboard.[120] The rhythm of the stamping is disturbed by Stravinsky’s constant shifting of the accent, on and off the beat,[121] before the dance ends in a collapse, as if from exhaustion.[117] The “Ritual of Abduction” which follows is described by Hill as “the most terrifying of musical hunts”.[122] It concludes in a series of flute trills that usher in the “Spring Rounds”, in which a slow and laborious theme gradually rises to a dissonant fortissimo, a “ghastly caricature” of the episode’s main tune.[117]
Brass and percussion predominate as the “Ritual of the Rival Tribes” begins. A tune emerges on tenor and bass tubas, leading after much repetition to the entry of the Sage’s procession.[117] The music then comes to a virtual halt, “bleached free of colour” (Hill),[123] as the Sage blesses the earth. The “Dance of the Earth” then begins, bringing Part I to a close in a series of phrases of the utmost vigour which are abruptly terminated in what Hill describes as a “blunt, brutal amputation”.[124]
Part II: The Sacrifice
Part II has a greater cohesion than its predecessor. Hill describes the music as following an arc stretching from the beginning of the Introduction to the conclusion of the final dance.[124] Woodwind and muted trumpets are prominent throughout the Introduction, which ends with a number of rising cadences on strings and flutes. The transition into the “Mystic Circles” is almost imperceptible; the main theme of the section has been prefigured in the Introduction. A loud repeated chord, which Berger likens to a call to order, announces the moment for choosing the sacrificial victim. The “Glorification of the Chosen One” is brief and violent; in the “Evocation of the Ancestors” that follows, short phrases are interspersed with drum rolls. The “Ritual Action of the Ancestors” begins quietly, but slowly builds to a series of climaxes before subsiding suddenly into the quiet phrases that began the episode.[117]
The final transition introduces the “Sacrificial Dance”. This is written as a more disciplined ritual than the extravagant dance that ended Part I, though it contains some wild moments, with the large percussion section of the orchestra given full voice. Stravinsky had difficulties with this section, especially with the final bars that conclude the work. The abrupt ending displeased several critics, one of whom wrote that the music “suddenly falls over on its side”. Stravinsky himself referred to the final chord disparagingly as “a noise”, but in his various attempts to amend or rewrite the section, was unable to produce a more acceptable solution.[79]
| 1 | Introduction |
Introduction | |
| 2 | Les Augures printaniers | Augurs of Spring | The celebration of spring begins in the hills, with pipers piping and young men telling fortunes. |
| 3 | Jeu du rapt | Ritual of Abduction | An old woman enters and begins to foretell the future. Young girls arrive from the river, in single file. They begin the “Dance of the Abduction”. |
| 4 | Rondes printanières | Spring Rounds | The young girls dance the Khorovod, the “Spring Rounds”. |
| 5 | Jeux des cités rivales | Ritual of the Rival Tribes | The people divide into two groups in opposition to each other, and begin the “Ritual of the Rival Tribes”. |
| 6 | Cortège du sage: Le Sage | Procession of the Sage: The Sage | A holy procession leads to the entry of the wise elders, headed by the Sage who brings the games to a pause and blesses the earth. |
| 7 | Danse de la terre | Dance of the Earth | The people break into a passionate dance, sanctifying and becoming one with the earth. |
|
Part II: Le Sacrifice (The Sacrifice)[9] |
|||
|---|---|---|---|
| 8 | Introduction |
Introduction | |
| 9 | Cercles mystérieux des adolescentes | Mystic Circles of the Young Girls | The young girls engage in mysterious games, walking in circles. |
| 10 | Glorification de l’élue | Glorification of the Chosen One | One of the young girls is selected by fate, being twice caught in the perpetual circle, and is honoured as the “Chosen One” with a marital dance. |
| 11 | Evocation des ancêtres | Evocation of the Ancestors | In a brief dance, the young girls invoke the ancestors. |
| 12 | Action rituelle des ancêtres | Ritual Action of the Ancestors | The Chosen One is entrusted to the care of the old wise men. |
| 13 | Danse sacrale (L’Elue) | Sacrificial Dance | The Chosen One dances to death in the presence of the old men, in the great “Sacrificial Dance”. |
Like it is hard to find patriarchy on the Internets.
It’s easy to think that the misogyny is just a feature of the those who just don’t know better, or who espouse a certain set of values like the dear followers of the GOP in the US. But no, when you live within a patriarchal system, which we do (and I will repeat this fact forever my MRA friends), the misogyny is everywhere and it touches everybody. Go read the entire article on Rumpus.net, but I excerpt a section here that made me cheer. Thank you KMA Sullivan for writing such a great piece.
“It was exhausting. Exhausting to figure out how to respond to the relentless misogyny from men who are otherwise kind and educated, who would never think of themselves as chauvinist assholes. I have heard more than once from this crew, “Most of my favorite poets are women.” If I were to guess, I’d bet that the lot of them vote pro-choice, support the Violence Against Women Act, and consider women well capable of intelligent, complex thought. I certainly don’t assume that all men under 40 would engage in the kind of language and behavior described above; indeed, I know of many who would never do so. And yet, after the past several weeks, its frequency is far beyond what I thought possible.
What is up with all this dehumanizing language? Honestly, I have no idea. But I do know this. If “good guys” feel perfectly at ease using degrading language that objectifies women when talking not only to one another but also to women they purportedly respect, then the bullshit that came out of the GOP this past election cycle (vaginas that can tell the difference between consensual sex and rape, for example) can be explained. A big pile of reasonably aware and well-intentioned people doing thoughtless shit creates a solid set of stairs for unreasonable, ignorant assholes to say and do what most of us (men and women alike) would deem shockingly destructive.”
Oh BEDMASS my reliable guide, you were actually lying to me all this time.
It’s a simple test really, the omnipotent god of the universe who cherishes us so should use her mighty powers to have a limb regrow. Easy right?
But then again, miracles only happened 2000 years ago(ish) so we are fresh out luck.
*sigh* Like the gender binary needs more reinforcement…
Thanks to Dr. Lisa Wade over at Sociological Images for the pic and commentary.
“Dieting is for women.
I mean we all know that dieting and women go together like peas and carrots. We know this — collectively and together, even if we don’t agree that it should be this way – not because it’s inevitable or natural, but because we constantly get reminded that women should be on diets and dieting is a feminine activity.”
bleatmop
Mystro
Dead Wild Roses 
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