I see my previous post is turning into a fun little discussion of what some feminists think I might have meant by asking where the feminists are when we hear about stories of atrocious mistreatment of women in parts of the world that aren’t North America. This is great – I am thoroughly thrilled to get some traction on that important question. See, I have long been of the view that modern North American feminists (not all of them, but a great many) are in fact mostly concerned with promoting abortion as a ‘reproductive right’ issue and not much else. Perhaps I’m wrong. But here’s what I’d like to see: I would like to see famous and committed feminists in North America be at least half as strident denouncing so-called ‘honour killings’ and all manner of abuse women around the world suffer each and every day as they are decrying “a war on women” being waged from the White House to the nation’s statehouses.
So here’s my challenge: If you find examples of feminists (the more prominent the better, but I’ll take anybody) publicly denouncing anything closely related to “a war on women” that’s being waged by anyone that’s not the White House or the Conservative Party of Canada, please send them along. I will gladly help them spread the word.
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Received Feb. 6 from one reader: link one, link two, link three, link four, link five.
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Deborah says
This is really different but seems like it’s remotely related. An acquaintance of mine was pregnant but her baby has died and she has been trying to schedule a D&C because carrying the dead baby around inside her is really miserable, but no doctors will schedule her for it, not even at Planned Parenthood. Apparently choice doesn’t apply and the woman’s rights don’t matter when the baby is already dead. If her baby was still alive, she’d pretty much be able to get it the same day.
Cynthia M. says
Your challenge has been met by profound silence. So it would seem your stated view was pretty much on-the-mark. Todays’ feminists seem to be mostly concerned with promoting pro-abortion ideologies. Few, if any of them, vehemently speak out about anything else (at least, not on a regular basis).
If you had challenged and asked for postings defending the “right” to abortion, your blog site would have been overwhelmed with entries. Instead, you asked for postings involving feminists publicly denouncing affronts against women – that do NOT include the abortion issue. And the silence is deafening.
How long are you willing to wait?
Tick, tick, tick……
Matthew N says
For fairness, a Google search will find you sites of feminist organizations denouncing crimes against women abroad. The issue is not that feminists say nothing. The issue is not even with all feminists.
I agree with Brigitte’s distinction however, that the accusations that conservatives/Christians/whoever are conducting a “war on women” or are “anti-woman” are on a level of rhetoric that seems exclusively reserved for the abortion debate, or things like giving out $100 per child to families instead of spending it on daycare centres. In otherwords, for things that are, at the risk of using a broad-brush, mostly just an inconvenience to (some) women.
I can understand that people are more passionate about the things that affect them directly, but that kind of rhetoric fails to distinguish between what people merely don’t like and what is truly evil. In fact, for all its optics, it often treats something they don’t like as MORE severe. The result is Moral Equivalence, and the rhetoric consequently becomes just a means to a self-serving end. THAT is where some feminists have lost their way.
It’s this attitude that has largely alienated segments of the feminist community from other women. They are so focussed on certain issues that they can’t recognize friend from foe in the greater picture. That’s why some occasionally even lump us together with the “Taliban” or what-not. They really can’t tell the difference.
I’m so glad there are groups like this site, since the “anti-woman” accusation sounds rather hollow when confronted intelligently by a responsible and independent female voice.
Lea Singh says
This comment is completely unrelated to the post above, however, I thought that PWPL would be the place to post it. A recent story in the Buffalo News (http://www.buffalonews.com/260/story/570428.html) caught my eye (and raised my temperature). The title is: “Fla. doctor investigated in badly botched abortion”. There have been cases like this before, and there will be again: a 23-week pregnant woman came in for an abortion, was given medication to dilate, and then delivered a live baby girl before the abortionist had a chance to return and perform the abortion. Upon seeing the live baby (which had started to breathe on her own), another of the clinic’s owners allegedly cut the umbilical cord and then stuffed the baby and placenta into a red trash bag, and threw her out – the decomposing remains were later found by police.
The mother of the baby, who had apparently been conflicted about having an abortion, is now suing the clinic. Apparently, when she delivered her baby and came face-to-face with a little human being, “that changed everything.” What’s more, pro-abortion groups are apparently upset by this incident as well – the president of the local National Organization of Women (NOW) chapter says she was “really disturbed” by it.
The irony here is more painful than being hit over the head with a frying pan. Hell-OOOoo!! What else is abortion but this very same story, repeated over and over thousands of times a day – with only one small, technical difference – the baby is not fully seen until it is dead, and often dismembered. For the mother, seeing the baby apparently “changed everything”. Subjectively, her heart may have changed in that she now wanted her baby to live. But seeing the baby also changed nothing, nothing about the central fact of what abortion is and does. Whether seen or unseen, it’s still exactly the same thing.
For that reason, it strikes me as more than a little hypocritical and even unbelievable that our society can still appear to be so incredibly shocked that a live baby was stuffed into a garbage bag and thrown away. Talk about living in denial!! How is this story substantively different from killing the baby in the womb and throwing it away? The only difference is cosmetic – abortion happens unseen, to protect our delicate sensibilities. But the cruel crudeness is still there, the same vulturous callousness. The same doctor who is now facing disbarrment for throwing away one born baby would be applauded by NOW for throwing away thousands of babies that he had killed in the womb. Those were babies too!
Natalie F says
Whether the claim is true or not that many modern North American feminists focus their efforts on ‘reproductive rights,’ I don’t think that as pro-lifers we are in much of a position to criticize them. Surely you’ve all had people ask you “Why THIS issue? Why can’t you just pick up one of the many worthy causes that we can all agree on?” And while we assure them that we support working to end the suffering and senseless death of born persons, we feel that there is a severe need for voices defending the unborn, whose lives are at stake everyday in our own country. Likewise, if you asked a feminist, I’m sure she would express deep concern about the trials facing women around the world, but may still see a pressing need to defend women’s bodily sovereignty in her own country. There are many evils in the world that we would all like to eradicate, but we can’t expect any individual or group to attempt to tackle them all.
Brigitte Pellerin says
Re Lea’s comment, above: http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/feb/09020607.html.
Cynthia M. says
With respect to Natalie’s point – You are correct, there are a lot of worthy causes. I, in fact, support many of them. But that is exactly the point. Whenever I refer to myself as “Pro-Life”, I am publicly telling everyone that although I may support other issues, right now I am specifically dealing with THIS issue. This cause. Pro-Life. I think Brigitte’s challenge/post may have been in reference to the fact that whenever we see feminists marching in protest, the only issue they seem to march for is the issue of pro-abortion. So the more appropriate question may be: “Why don’t they refer to themselves and protest under the correct name?” They have chosen the moniker “Feminist”. If they called themselves “Pro-choice” or “Pro-abortion”, I would not take exception. Then they would have my blessing to focus on one issue (even if my opinion of the issue disagrees with theirs). But when they march on Washington (or wherever) and publicly decry the pro-life position, they don’t call themselves “pro-abortion”. They do it under the auspices of “Feminists”. But, by definition, “feminist” is a multi-issue doctrine (“the doctrine advocating economic, social, political, and all other rights of women equal to those of men”)
So part of what upsets me about many (certainly not all) feminists, is that they have hi-jacked the term. They’ve DECIDED on a single issue they think feminism stands for. And if you’re not with them (on this single issue), you’re against them.
Arguably one of the most publicly successful women in recent times is Sarah Palin. She certainly has achieved rights equal to those of men – economically, socially and politically. But she is not given credit for being a positive role model and a great face for feminism because her pro-life position makes her a pariah in most feminist circles. She is a strong woman. She has not been male-oppressed nor coerced by men to do anything she did not want or choose to do. She chose to be a mother of 5. She chose to give birth to a child with Down Syndrome. And she chooses to see the absolute worth and dignity in this child. She has formulated her own articulate and educated opinions about when life begins and the value of all life. Yet many self-proclaimed feminists deride her mercilessly and will give no credence to the term “Feminists for Life”. They cannot make allowance for being a feminist if you do not share their single-minded pro-abortion ideology.
So although, as Natalie says, we cannot “expect any individual or group to attempt to tackle” all of the issues, we can certainly expect them to refer to themselves correctly if they are only ever focusing on one issue. Whilst gathering in numbers and marching against the establishment (see Brigitte’s photo above), instead of wearing a t-shirt emblazoned with, “this is what a feminist looks like”, they might more correctly wear a t-shirt announcing, “this is what a pro-abortionist looks like”.
That, at least, would be honest.
A last note – the links sent to and posted by Brigitte yesterday were heart-breaking and horrible. Truly issues that ALL feminists can agree to abhor.
Jimbo says
Your challenge has been met by profound silence. So it would seem your stated view was pretty much on-the-mark.
I don’t imagine many people, especially ones who consider themselves feminists read this kind of blog, hence the silence.
grace says
virginity is something that has to be kept. it gives respect