During the March 2012 Women in the World summit at New York's Lincoln Center, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton delivered these candid remarks on patriarchy and women's rights:
"Why extremists always focus on women remains a mystery to me. But they all seem to. It doesn't matter what country they're in or what religion they claim, they all want to control women. They want to control how we dress, they want to control how we act, they even want to control the decisions we make about our own health and our own bodies. Yes, it is hard to believe, but even here at home we have to stand up for women's rights and reject efforts to marginalize any one of us because America needs to set an example for the entire world."
Women's reproductive rights have taken center stage. Debates that happened decades ago are resurfacing. Battles that have already been fought and won are somehow back on the table. Last year we saw Black women being attacked by anti-choice groups posting billboards claiming the most dangerous place to be is in a Black woman's womb. Now Planned Parenthood, an invaluable healthcare provider to millions of women who may not have access to the types of health insurance the one percent more than likely enjoys, has been facing threats of defunding by people who are using abortion as leverage, and a scare tactic, in their conservative political games. Not long ago, precarious GOP frontrunner Mitt Romney promised to get rid of Planned Parenthood as part of his battle for the soul of America. In reality, abortion accounts for a relatively small portion of the services performed by Planned Parenthood which also offers reproductive and preventative healthcare services, including cancer screenings.
We're all aware of the firestorm Rush Limbaugh brought upon himself by calling Sandra Fluke a slut for wanting birth control pills covered by insurance providers. Although his views may sound extreme, they probably aren't completely off the mark. Earlier this year, the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform convened an all male panel to discuss contraception coverage. Presidential hopefuls Romney, Santorum, Gingrich, and Paul all oppose President Obama's mandates surrounding contraception with Paul stating, "But sort of along the line of the [contraception] pills creating immorality, I don't see it that way. I think the immorality creates the problem of wanting to use the pills. So you don't blame the pills." Whatever the angle, conscious and unconscious attempts at legislating morality through persistent attacks on women have become the trend.
Of course debates about childbirth and marriage are also part of the fold. The New York Times recently reported that "more than half of births to American women under 30 occur outside marriage" which dovetails with other marriage related trends and Census data indicating women and men marrying later in life and single people representing the majority of American households. While many women may be choosing to have children despite their marital status, most research also points to the increased likelihood of poverty as well as other potential health, income, and educational inequities associated with single parenthood. But there are solutions. Steve Harvey has made his relationship mark by advising countless women to act like ladies while thinking like men in order to land relationships, Ralph Banks has offered women an "interracial fix" for marriage, and Bishop T.D. Jakes has a plethora of books and movies aimed at the faith, hope, and love trifecta.
The problem isn't that men are giving their opinions on women's issues, bodies, etc.; the problem is that men who are privileged are dominating discussions that are mainly about women who are often marginalized. When women are absent from important conversations about women, the stories are misshapen, distorted, and incomplete. Privilege normally doesn't allow for the clearest or fairest vision. Whether intentional or not, what we have now is a no-win situation that has been constructed for women where being unmarried, single motherhood, abortion, birth control, reproductive and preventative healthcare, and most social services are all problems and women are to blame. We have to stand up for women's rights, work to dismantle patriarchy, and not allow ourselves, our stories, or our voices to be misrepresented or marginalized.
We don't have a patriarchy. We do have more males in positions of power but that's not in and of itself a male ruled society when you consider that most voters are women and have just as much power as the average man to determine the fate of this nation. Men in power in recent decades have also proven to be far more interested in pleasing women than they were with the issues of men. There is no reason to assume men in power automatically or in our case generally show favoritism towards their own gender in policy making.
"Privilege normally doesn't allow for the clearest or fairest vision. "
Female privileged has it's own blinding effect. For one it would ignore that the most disadvantaged and at risk group are males, especially black males. It would also have you ignore the extensive efforts by feminist to control male behavior. The laundry list of rules and expectations feminist created for men to follow are still being created and promoted by women like yourself.
The gender issues of women are old news. Laws are about controlling human behavior and our majority female electorate elect our law makers to create them. Deal with the politics and win the real moral debates instead scapegoating males by blaming patriarchy.
Good post with points to mull over and remind us of what we thought we had accomplished. This is a "war" that has been going on for thousands of years and meant to put women in what the patriarchs think is our place. They haven't got the message yet that "every place" is a place for women.
For those who are paying attention it is obvious that there is no line between "black" issues and "women's" issues. We have the same adversaries, who feel threatened whenever we reach a minute pinnacle of success. Those of us who were bearing children during the 60s, who now have children of their own, see the current attempt to debilitate and demoralize all things female with eyes that might be a bit jaded. It is an ongoing battle, with skirmishes breaking out in the usual places, but we are most often surprised at the renewed venom expressed against us. We must find a way to make this current group of caterwauling accusers irrelevant. I read somewhere that what defeats our adversaries is laughter. Laughter at the size of their egos, effrontery, and yes, their penises. C'mon ladies, learn to laugh a little.
If you want a historic vision it would be the supported and protected women in a hostile world where men felt it was their duty in life to support and defend them. Men had no one to look out for themselves but themselves and whatever alliances they could form with other men. That is what gave birth to male rule not contempt for women.
The oppression of women directly correlates to the oppression of men in a society. You can't do one without the other because they are a family unit and regulating one prevents the other from being free to do whatever the women was prohibited from doing. For example a man can't be driven by a women where women can't drive. He can't go where he wants without his sister if he must follow her around all day. He can't date freely where dating is banned. He can't have a night out guy and girl friends if that is banned.
These invasive moral regulations don't stop at women and are meant to regulate both genders behavior.
Does that include black men? How do you defeat the "patriarchs" without harming black men whom you say there is no line?
Conservative men and women. You keep ignoring there are a lot of conservative women. Now that I made that point clear the real question is why you are you only attacking men? That is where the sexism starts. It seems feminists, have a real problem with taking out their rage on the opposite sex whenever things don't go their way. You don't have support from most women because less than a third are even willing to call themselves feminists. The anti male attitude goes too far.
We have faced these things and worse; had our children ripped from our arms, to name just one.
It may work for a limited length of time but everyone needs to be free, even women.
SO you support genital mutilation and sexual violence against men? Would you be ok with men making comments like that about women? I don't think you would. Try respect, it's what equals do for each other.
Men police women's bahavior...just like women police men's behavior...
I get so many emails from..."women only"..organizations and events...
It's time to tell the truth...
Singed,
NEETTA BLACK
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