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Shall we wake up to some historical notions? Has history ever been kind to women? The short answer is no. Why?
Because, Patriarchy.
Today is not for learning about 101 level feminism. Today is calling down from pulpit the rage and the anger against the systematic oppression of women in our society. If you’re not “down” with Patriarchy and what it entails, I’m not here to explain it to your special snowflakyness (at least not today).
Today, friends, we address a structural question that I rarely see mentioned in the abortion debate. It is a relationship between the amount of freedom women possess in a society and said women’s access to reproductive health services – covering contraception, abortion and all shades of family planning. The correlation being that as women become full fledged members of society they gain the right to decide what is best for themselves and their families contrary to established patriarchal norms.
Women when not chained to strict reproductive roles gain freedom in society. When women can control their fertility they can choose to join the public sphere (or not) and contribute in more ways than just propagating the species. How bad was it, let’s look at what women were fighting for in 1922.
“WHEREAS, Women today, although enfranchised, are still in every way subordinate to men before the law, in government, in educational opportunities, in professions, in the church, in industry, and in the home:
“BE IT RESOLVED, That as a part of our campaign to remove all form of the subjection of women, we shall work for the following immediate objects:
“That women shall no longer be regarded and shall no longer regard themselves as inferior to men, but the equality of the sexes shall be recognized.
“That women shall no longer be the governed half of society, but shall participate equally with men in the direction of life.
“That women shall no longer be denied equal educational opportunities with men, but the same opportunities shall be given to both sexes in all schools, colleges, and universities which are supported in any way by public funds.
“That women shall no longer be barred from any occupation, but every occupation to men shall be open to women and restrictions upon the hours, conditions and remuneration of labor shall apply alike to both sexes.
“That women shall no longer be discriminated against in the legal, the medical, the teaching, or any other profession, but the same opportunities shall be given to women as to men in training for professions and in the practice of these professions.
[…]
“That women shall no longer receive less pay than men for the same work, but shall receive equal compensation for equal work in public and private employment.
“That women shall no longer be barred from the priesthood or ministry, or any position of authority in the church, but equally with men shall participate in ecclesiastical offices and dignites.
“That a double moral standard shall no longer exist, but one code shall obtain for both men and women.
“That exploitation of the sex of women shall no longer exist, but women shall have the same right to control of their persons as have men.
“That women shall no longer be discriminated against in treatment of sex diseases and in punishment of sex offenses, but men and women shall be treated in the same was for sex diseases and sex offenses.
“That women shall no longer be deprived of the right of trial by a jury of their peers, but jury service shall be open to women as to men.
“That women shall no longer be discriminated against in inheritance laws, but men and women shall have the same right to inherit property.
[…]
“In short – That women shall no longer be in any form of subjection to man in law to custom, but shall in every way be on an equal plane in rights, as she has always been and will continue to be, in responsibilities and obligations.
They understood back then what was required to be free, to be treated equally and fairly in society because women at the time (1922) they were NOT. Not legal persons under the law, but rather owned property of men, slavery all but in name, so to speak.. Look at our rape laws to see how women are viewed as property rather than as a person. Its chilling.
Enter the “pro-life” movement, more accurately, the forced-birth, anti-choice, anti-woman legion that is blithely serving the patriarchy attempting to remove women’s hard won bodily autonomy. Denuding women of their rights serves only to force them back down the ladder of equality where once again they can be solely defined by their biological fecundity. Our forced-birther friends know only one date from history, January 21st, 1973 Roe Vs. Wade. They fail, consistently, to see that women’s control of their bodies is the cornerstone of women’s rights as a whole. Chipping away at female personhoood is what these misguided fetus-worshipping individuals excel at. They pine for the days when women were at the mercy of their reproductive systems and enslaved by the patriarchal system surrounding them.
There is no “Golden Age” to aspire to when it comes to women and their rights, the time for action and activism is now, because the counter-revolution is pushing back with unparalleled ferocity. Fuelled by ignorance and religion (redundant I know.) the anti-choice contingent screams for justice for the unborn, ignoring the real living breathing women who do not want any more constraints on their autonomy. Ignoring women is a specialty of the patriarchy, make sure you are smiling while we remove your rights.
The pro-life platform is nothing more than a set of patriarchal shackles for women; why so many women want to get them fitted and locked on again is entirely beyond me.
Oh hey there. Nothing like rape statistics to darken your day. However if you don’t know, you can’t fix it. So read up and get cracking to make your little part of the world safer for everyone.
Women
1 out of every 6 American women has been the victim of an attempted or completed rape in her lifetime (14.8% completed rape; 2.8% attempted rape).1
17.7 million American women have been victims of attempted or completed rape.1
9 of every 10 rape victims were female in 2003.2
Lifetime rate of rape /attempted rape for women by race:1
- All women: 17.6%
- White women: 17.7%
- Black women: 18.8%
- Asian Pacific Islander women: 6.8%
- American Indian/Alaskan women: 34.1%
- Mixed race women: 24.4%
Men
About 3% of American men — or 1 in 33 — have experienced an attempted or completed rape in their lifetime.1
- In 2003, 1 in every ten rape victims were male.2
- 2.78 million men in the U.S. have been victims of sexual assault or rape.1
Children
15% of sexual assault and rape victims are under age 12.3
- 29% are age 12-17.
- 44% are under age 18.3
- 80% are under age 30.3
- 12-34 are the highest risk years.
- Girls ages 16-19 are 4 times more likely than the general population to be victims of rape, attempted rape, or sexual assault.
7% of girls in grades 5-8 and 12% of girls in grades 9-12 said they had been sexually abused.4
- 3% of boys grades 5-8 and 5% of boys in grades 9-12 said they had been sexually abused.
In 1995, local child protection service agencies identified 126,000 children who were victims of either substantiated or indicated sexual abuse.5
- Of these, 75% were girls.
- Nearly 30% of child victims were between the age of 4 and 7.
93% of juvenile sexual assault victims know their attacker.6
- 34.2% of attackers were family members.
- 58.7% were acquaintances.
- Only 7% of the perpetrators were strangers to the victim.
Effects of Rape
Victims of sexual assault are:7
3 times more likely to suffer from depression.
6 times more likely to suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder.
13 times more likely to abuse alcohol.
26 times more likely to abuse drugs.
4 times more likely to contemplate suicide.
Pregnancies Resulting from Rape
In 2004-2005, 64,080 women were raped.8 According to medical reports, the incidence of pregnancy for one-time unprotected sexual intercourse is 5%. By applying the pregnancy rate to 64,080 women, RAINN estimates that there were 3,204 pregnancies as a result of rape during that period.
This calculation does not account for the following factors which could lower the actual number of pregnancies:
- Rape, as defined by the NCVS, is forced sexual intercourse. Forced sexual intercourse means vaginal, oral, or anal penetration by offender(s). This category includes incidents where the penetration is from a foreign object such as a bottle. Certain types of rape under this definition cannot cause pregnancy.
- Some victims of rape may be utilizing birth control methods, such as the pill, which will prevent pregnancy.
- Some rapists may wear condoms in an effort to avoid DNA detection.
- Vicims of rape may not be able to become pregnant for medical or age-related reasons.
This calculation does not account for the following factors which could raise the actual number of pregnancies:
- Medical estimates of a 5% pregnancy rate are for one-time, unprotected sexual intercourse. Some victimizations may include multiple incidents of intercourse.
- Because of methodology, NCVS does not measure the victimization of Americans age 12 or younger. Rapes of these young people could results in pregnancies not accounted for in RAINN’s estimates.
References
- National Institute of Justice & Centers for Disease Control & Prevention. Prevalence, Incidence and Consequences of Violence Against Women Survey. 1998.
- U.S. Department of Justice. 2003 National Crime Victimization Survey. 2003.
- U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics, Sex Offenses and Offenders. 1997.
- 1998 Commonwealth Fund Survey of the Health of Adolescent Girls. 1998.
- U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, Administration for Children and Families. 1995 Child Maltreatment Survey. 1995.
- U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics. 2000 Sexual Assault of Young Children as Reported to Law Enforcement. 2000.
- World Health Organization. 2002.
- U.S. Department of Justice. 2005 National Crime Victimization Survey. 2005.
It doesn’t get made any simpler than this. Yes these are US stats, but do you think it’s really all that different here in Canada? Ya, neither did I.
This information is put together by Laura Bassett at The Enliven Project. Data was pulled by the FBI. Go over to their page of the details.
Not being able to add anything more to the raw power of this, I figured I’d add some tips on how to stop rape. They go as follows:
1. Dudes: Don’t rape
2. Seriously DON’T RAPE
3. Don’t joke about rape.
4. Don’t threaten rape.
5. Don’t defend rapists.
6. If your bro tells you he raped someone, report him to the police.
7. Don’t be friends with rapists. Make sure you tell the rapist that you won’t be friends with him because he is a rapist.
8. Teach your children not to rape.
9. Teach your friends not to rape.
10. DON’T RAPE
I think that about covers it.
But gosh and wow, all at once. There is a sociology paper to be written about this phenomena, the great mystery of why… oh why… ‘nice guys’ cannot get with women. Actually wait, it needs to be feminist paper…or actually a feminist sentence.
If women aren’t into you it is because they see something they don’t like about you.
There is nothing after that. No friend zone BS, no nice guys finish last BS, no projecting of insecurities BS. If you’re having problems with forming a relationship with women it is most likely because you are a douche-cake and have not taken steps to rectify the situation. The Tumblr called “nice guys of Okcupid” [ed. The tumblr was shutdown, I have no idea when or if it will back up// Online with new ownership] provides evidence of this phenomena. Pay special attention to the misogyny, racism and homophobia (no idea why these gems of people are not being snapped up, gals lets get in there!).
The words are Susan Brownmiller’s. Her noble goal, to end the exploitation of women –
“But my horror at the idea of legalize prostitution is not that it doesn’t work as a rape deterrent, but that it institutionalizes the concept that it is a man’s monetary right, if not his divine right, to gain access to the female body, and that sex is a female service that should not be denied the civilized male. Perpetuation of the concept that the “powerful male impulse” must be satisfied with immediacy by a cooperative class of women, set aside and expressly licensed for this purpose, is part and parcel of the mass psychology of rape. Indeed, until the day is reached when prostitution is totally eliminated (a millennium that will not arrive until men, who create the demand, and not the women who supply it, are fully prosecuted under the law), the false perception of sexual access as an adjunct of male power and privilege will continue to fuel the rapist mentality. ”
-Susan Brownmiller, Agianst our Will. p.392.
Interesting article over at alter.net on the contexts and subtext of the TV show The Walking Dead. I suggest you read it. As I was linking running I came across the comments section of a different article by the same author. The exchange that will be reproduced here is instructive to how the white narrative dominates our culture and how it shapes our lives.
For clarity – Don’t be this guy, ponder what this guy is saying.
“You are trying to find racism around every corner. Complaints that white people confide in black people. Complaints that black people are being written as entirely badass. Complains that blacks are being written as brutes, despite the fact that the show’s first and only real recurring super-brute is a white redneck.
I see what your game is and I reject it every bit as much as I do when Republicans do it. You’re the person seeing Tinkie Winkie as a gay icon and Sesame Street as socialist. Only you’re applying that kind of insinuation into minority politics. […]
I read diaries like yours and I’m always surprised to find out how evil, undermining, controlling, privileged, and world dominating I am just on the basis of my race. News to me. My family lived in an isolated mountain village for most of modern history, to the point of where people of my family’s native country can see I look different from most and guess the approximate area.
The simpler answer is that you just resent poorly written black characters. Fair, but not diary worthy. Guess what? White characters largely suck too. Watch an HBO show and see how long until a white person rapes someone, savagely beats an innocent, or goes all incestuous. TV characters thrive on extremity. Welcome to the club. Unless they’re going all Mammy, chill and stop looking for a reason to be outraged.”
—–
“Not seeing racism hiding under every surface is not racist. It’s just a rejection of race based politics no matter where it lies.”
That is a classic colorblind racism appeal. It minimizes the obvious that white supremacy and racism still structure outcomes and life chances in this society on a day to day basis and also structurally. How does it do this? By putting the responsibility on poc to “prove” to the satisfaction of Whites that racism is “real.” Hell of a trap, no? Proving to someone that a system they are invested in is real to their satisfaction?
“Race based politics” is also another nice rhetorical move in terms of post civil rights era racism. It falsely makes equivalent the justice claims of people of color regarding racism, with white people’s denials of racism and/or silly claims or “reverse racism” and “white victimhood.”
I can engage in any number and/or types of conversations on this matter. But, I call out racist foolishness, such as what you offered, when necessary.”
—–
–That is a classic colorblind racism appeal.–
Being colorblind is the goal, not racist. You’re reading racism into a shlocky television show. Nevermind kids being shot in the street. It’s the same thing as accusing Tinkie Winkie of being gay and Sesame of being socialist. You haven’t proven your point again. You’re just using the same circular reasoning fallacy.
[…]
All racism is equivalent. All bigotry is equivalent. Your misery doesn’t trump anyone’s on the basis of skin.
—–
–Being colorblind is the goal, not racist.–
Colorblindness is not the goal. An appreciation for human difference in all of its forms, and as part of our full personhood is the goal. Noticing racial differences is not the problem; it is the value that is placed on such judgments that is the problem. Conservative colorblindness is integral to post civil rights era racism. The racial identity of people of color is not a problem to be overlooked or ignored, a la the white privilege classic phrase, “you are my fried, I don’t see your color.”
–All racism is equivalent.–
More fictions. Racism is a relatively new invention. Racism is about color and or other social markers, i.e. what happens to Jews and others during WW2 as marginalized, exploited, and made subject to exclusion by Power and the Racial State.
In this society at this time racism is the social ill of white people. Only white people can be racist in this society because they have the most institutional, social, political, economic, and cultural power. Race is a fiction; it is also real. Other people can be bigoted and prejudiced. White people have the unique ability to be racist. Remember prejudice plus power equals racism.
The exchange goes on for bit, as Dude You Do Not Want To Be digs deeper and doubles down on his ignorance. This, unfortunately, is typical conversation featuring someone who lives comfortably within the dominant paradigm and someone who experiences the oppression firsthand each and everyday. Full marks for chaunceydevega for his explicative prowess.
I have done a few ‘Hero of the Day’ posts and I have a few more on the way. The recipients have done great work spreading important information, rallying against injustice, educating us masses, and have been generally awesome. But today’s hero is special. On top of those usual achievements, she’s done it all while personally facing off against one of the leading threats to civilization as we know it. Oh, and she’s only 15.
The Taliban, with its “all powerful god”, is threatened by literate females. So much so, it will use brutal violence, murder, torture, and arson to enforce its view that girls should not be allowed in schools. What else would you expect from the “religion of peace”?
Malala Yousafzai, from the Swat district of Pakistan, however, does not agree. With aspirations of becoming a doctor or a politician, Malala is a strong advocate for gender equality, especially for equal access to education. Like many other girls in Swat, Malala has risked her life to attend classes against the wishes of the Taliban. At the same time, she was also doing something extraordinary. Malala, using a pseudonym, started blogging for the BBC, reporting to the world what it was like to be an ordinary child under the Taliban as it destroyed schools and forbade girls from attending the ones they hadn’t destroyed yet.
Adam B. Ellick from the New York Times made a documentary called Class Dismissed profiling Malala, her activism, and the difficulties and dangers for girls wanting to go to school.
Since the documentary, Malala’s has kept on advocating for girl’s education, growing in influence and visibility. This earned her and her father numerous death threats from the Taliban. Undeterred, Malala kept working for equal education opportunities.
On October 9th, 2012, the Taliban tried to make good on its threats. To preserve the glory of Islam an Allah, Malala was shot in the head.
Now recovering in a UK hospital, Malala isn’t done yet. Her message and story are spreading and the world is taking note.
Tarek Fatah, from Toronto, started a petition on change.org to nominate Malala for a Nobel Peace Prize. The response has been tremendous. The Prime Minister and the leaders of all of our major parties have unanimously endorsed this petition. If you haven’t done so already, please sign as well.
In the west we’ve had huge media organizations cower and retreat when islamist extremists raised their hate filled voices. In Swat, a 15 year old girl stood directly against the guns, bombs, soldiers, and machetes wielded by the worst of brutal zealots, just outside her door.
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