We, Women, the People

"When a man is homophobic or effemiphobic he is reminding us, in no uncertain terms, where he places..."

Sun, 13 May 2012 14:42:09 -0400

“When a man is homophobic or effemiphobic he is reminding us, in no uncertain terms, where he places women on the spectrum of power.”

- Son of Baldwin (via sonofbaldwin)

seriouslyamerica: god-is-prochoice: alimarko: higgitusfiggitus...

Sun, 13 May 2012 14:42:02 -0400

seriouslyamerica:

god-is-prochoice:

alimarko:

higgitusfiggitus:

sonneillonv:

autumn-and-eve:

erinsmomma:

How can someone stand behind abortion, when you have a life inside of you that God created for you? How can you say that this life isn’t worth it? If you can’t take care of the baby for whatever circumstances than there is always adoption available to couples who can’t conceive, but still want the joy of being parents. OPEN YOUR EYES! God has bigger plans for us all that we don’t even realize the picture.

Excuse me but it appears your baby is actually upside down
Did you take Sex Ed freshman year because babies come out headfirst

Hi, OP! As someone who was given up for adoption, allow me to call bullshit on your little post there! You see, when I was adopted, I was a white-skinned, healthy, neurotypical infant, which basically put me at the top of the list, right underneath white-skinned, healthy, neurotypical MALE infants! There’s only one kind of infant people wanted to adopt more than me! I was SOOO lucky! But if you actually bothered to look at the information readily available on the interwebs, you would be aware that the majority of people who are forced to rely on abortion for family planning are poor people and people of color. Of course, those two demographics intersect, thanks to the institutionalized racism of our society! Neat huh?!

Of course, even babies of color are not in high demand with couples looking to adopt. Many who do want to adopt outside their race choose to go outside the country, where laws are less strict and the process is often less expensive. Of course, most of the infants adopted this way are obtained in unscrupulous fashion, but who cares about that when you’re saving a little Korean or African baby from the horrible fate of growing up in Korea or Africa??? And all those children who have birth defects, are born with diseases or disabilities, or have other issues… WELL. Who wants to invest that kind of expense and time? Why would you adopt someone broken, LOLOL?!

Granted, there are some wonderful people who understand the system a little better, and make it a point to try and give POC and disabled children a good home. But they make up a very small fraction of potential adopters! This difference in supply and demand leaves a lot of children stuck in the foster system, where their chances of being adopted diminish with every passing year, and their chances of being physically or sexually abused INCREASE! Isn’t that wonderful?

And of course, we haven’t even talked about the person who is giving birth to the baby! I know you probably think pregnancy is a wonderful, happy time, and for some people it is, but it is also one of the greatest health risks a person can take. I love my son very much, and from the day I found out I was pregnant with him, I wanted him! But I also nearly died giving birth to him. You see, I had pre-eclampsia, the most commonly fatal birth complication in the world. My blood pressure was 180 over 130! At twenty-two years old, I was actually headed for a stroke, hah hah! How funny is that? And all it took was missing a single pre-natal appointment during which my blood pressure rose to dangerous levels and my body tried to kill both me and my son. Those seizures sure were fun, as was the emergency c-section performed without anesthetic! And being chained down while the operation was performed, because I was delirious and wouldn’t stop trying to fight off the doctors, that was a BLAST! It was great for my husband too, since he almost lost his wife and child in just forty-five minutes. You can imagine how thrilled he is at the prospect of me ever getting pregnant again. Babies are certainly cute, but pregnancy can have massive health complications, and I know it’s such a bummer, but they are PERMANENT. :( My abdominal muscles never recovered from being hacked through with a scalpel, and the flood of hormones caused by late pregnancy have changed things from heartburn (never used to have it, now, all the time!) to my emotional reactions (I cry when I see pictures of kittens now. I used to be tough). These are changes I did not ask for, cannot control, and cannot fix! And many people go through worse! I know, right? Unbelievable, but go look up the word ‘episiotomy’ and then look up ‘birth rape’ and I’m afraid you’ll find some stuff that just isn’t very shiny. Plus, the studies actually show that people who carry a baby to term, give birth, then give it up for adoption suffer HIGHER rates of post-pregnancy complications like post-partum depression and post-partum psychosis, general depression, and other mental health issues. Adoption actually isn’t good for the person giving birth at all!

I’m afraid the picture you chose to use there is also pretty disingenuous. I know, I know, it seems like nitpicking. I’m not trying to be mean! :( But that picture shows a fully developed, viable infant, and most abortions are performed when the fetus isn’t even a fetus - it’s a blastocyst. That’s just a clump of cells. Seriously! You can totally find pictures on the interwebs and they’re not even gross, LOLOL! Later-term abortions are usually performed because of health complications, though some of our intrepid state legislators are trying to change all that! They care so much about people who are pregnant, you see, that they want to force them to carry dead or dying fetuses inside them until their body either becomes infected while it rots in their tummies (this is called sepsis, and it makes people very sick, and can even kill them!), or forces it out naturally in a gush of blood and fluids! Isn’t that so caring of them? I’m so glad they’re around to make those decisions for me! And if a pregnant person is not allowed to terminate an unviable fetus, in some states, they have to carry the child to term, give birth to it, and then watch it die in their arms because its lungs weren’t developed, or its brain formed outside its skull, or any of a million possible birth defects that will kill you just as quick as lickity-split! Isn’t that wild?! Of course, these people go through terrible grief, and as I mentioned, some of them may get sick and die from not being able to abort dead or dying fetuses. But I guess that’s just A-okay with you, huh?

Basically, I think before you suggest adoption as a universal alternative, you should actually go do some research on adoption. And before you condemn abortion, you should do some research on abortions - not the stuff your church is giving you, the stuff the real doctors are saying. Go to Planned Parenthood (if they haven’t all been closed down, ROFLMAO!) and request whatever information they have on the process, the statistics of who has abortions and why… and actually, all of that is on the interwebs! Isn’t technology AMAZING?

And in closing, since I’ve been asked this question many times and I know it’s coming? Yes, I realize I am here talking to you because I was not aborted. But the thing is, if my mother had chosen abortion, I wouldn’t know the difference, so it wouldn’t matter to me. And if she decided that choice was best for her, then that choice would have been best for her, and I would never want to take that choice away from her. As it is, since I was given up for adoption, and since I have seen the statistics on how badly people who give their children up for adoption suffer, I have spent much of my adult life worrying about her, whether she’s healthy, whether she’s okay, and feeling that if she did suffer from any of the common post-birth symptoms, it is at least partially my fault, even though she made that decision on her own. Which is silly, I know, but at some point, all children have to stare down the consequences of their parents’ having them. For some, that’s poverty. For others, a life-time of their parents struggling to treat and care for a severe illness or disability. For others, it’s wondering if their mother ever got over giving them away, and wishing you could reach out and assure her that it’s okay, she doesn’t have to be haunted.

May your birth control never fail!

that is the greatest fucking thing I’ve ever read.

fuck you, OP.

BLESS THIS POST

BLESS THIS POST & SONNEILLONV!

The best post of ALL TIME. ALL OF THE AWARDS!

"I’m not going to censor myself to comfort your ignorance."

Sun, 13 May 2012 14:36:09 -0400

“I’m not going to censor myself to comfort your ignorance.”

- Jon Stewart (via housewifeswag)

euclase: Here’s a visual aid. In illustration, women get...

Sat, 12 May 2012 13:25:39 -0400

euclase:

Here’s a visual aid.

In illustration, women get reduced down to their eyes, lips, and hair. Most often, especially in comic books or pinups, you’re basically only drawing her makeup. A man, on the other hand, has bones in his face. He has structure and substance. You don’t even need to draw his eyes.

In the media, an “attractive” man ranges in age from 16 to 90. That’s why Hugh Laurie, at 52, can be seen as a sex symbol. That’s why Clint Eastwood, at 81, is still considered handsome. The allowance for men is much greater. Age, character, and experience is seen as part of their attractiveness. It’s not the same for a woman. A woman’s attractiveness is not measure by her age, character, and experience but by how prettily she decorates the scenery (or men). In Hollywood, an “attractive” woman runs out of steam around the age of 35, with a few exceptions that I can count on one hand.

And basically that sucks. And it makes me angry. So I stick to drawing what I can relate to and what makes me feel comfortable.

"Many men who harass women say their intent is to compliment them, but why do they usually not..."

Tue, 08 May 2012 02:17:36 -0400

“Many men who harass women say their intent is to compliment them, but why do they usually not “compliment” women who are accompanied by other men and often only do it when a woman is alone? Why do they tend to object to other men “complimenting” their female significant other (if applicable), female friends, or female family members? Why do some men grow hostile and violent when women do not thank them and act flattered? Why do they feel compelled to compliment women at all? Rarely are they expecting a date. Many times they do not even wait to see a woman’s reaction as they fly by in their car or as they turn to start harassing the next woman. They are doing it to exert their power, to entertain their friends, to relieve boredom, or do demonstrate that they can evaluate a complete stranger to her face, just because she is a woman.”

- Stop Street Harassment: Holly Kearl (via completelymoribund)

YES! SPOT ON!

(via yellow-dress)

afternoonsnoozebutton: (roman-numerals)

Tue, 08 May 2012 02:14:42 -0400

afternoonsnoozebutton:

(roman-numerals)

rhrealitycheck: This is what a feminist looks like.

Sun, 06 May 2012 12:58:02 -0400

rhrealitycheck:

This is what a feminist looks like.

lianamaris: It is time to slut out the vote. According to the...

Sun, 06 May 2012 12:55:40 -0400

lianamaris:

It is time to slut out the vote.

According to the 2010 Census, 26% of 18+ women who have never been married reported they are not registered to vote. 50.6% of those registered reported not voting. This needs to change so that women’s rights are protected. (I found this info on the Census website.)

stfuconservatives: Republicans, Get In My Vagina! from Kate...

Sun, 06 May 2012 12:44:44 -0400

stfuconservatives:

Republicans, Get In My Vagina! from Kate Beckinsale

Photo

Sun, 06 May 2012 12:41:35 -0400

feminist-space: stfuhypocrisy: “I don’t read” Well, that goes...

Tue, 24 Apr 2012 12:25:23 -0400

feminist-space:

stfuhypocrisy:

“I don’t read”

Well, that goes without saying….

Oh my.

Photo

Tue, 24 Apr 2012 12:24:38 -0400

feministblackboard: Hey, I’d love if some of you sent in your...

Tue, 24 Apr 2012 12:21:57 -0400

feministblackboard:

Hey, I’d love if some of you sent in your reactions to that statement that Mitt’s wife made in regards to work. The whole working mother thing that is. I know there are diverse opinions on that one due to the knowledge that she had 5 paid nannies.

If this book were a person, it would be old enough to drive this...

Sun, 22 Apr 2012 23:37:03 -0400

If this book were a person, it would be old enough to drive this year.

I’m not even kidding, check it out:
http://www.amazon.com/The-Republican-War-Against-Women/dp/B000O688DQ/ref=pd_sim_sbs_b_2

Photo

Sun, 22 Apr 2012 12:39:47 -0400

feministproblemz: Critical Feminist Corgi is great!

Sun, 22 Apr 2012 12:39:12 -0400

feministproblemz:

Critical Feminist Corgi is great!

Photo

Sun, 22 Apr 2012 12:38:15 -0400

"We talk about employment or staying home as a matter of choice, which obscures what it takes to make..."

Sat, 21 Apr 2012 13:02:25 -0400

“We talk about employment or staying home as a matter of choice, which obscures what it takes to make that choice: money and a mate. Do books praising the stay-home life ever suggest that if it’s really best for children, the government, which supposedly cares about their well-being, should make that possible for every family? The extraordinary hostility aimed at low-income and single mothers shows that what’s at issue is not children—who can thrive under many different arrangements as long as they have love, safety, respect, a reasonable standard of living. It’s women. Rich ones like Ann Romney are lauded for staying home. Poor ones need the “dignity of work”—ideally “from day one.””

- Katha Pollitt in the Nation

Whenever a woman says, "I hate girls; they're catty bitches," a patriarchy fairy gets its wings.

Fri, 20 Apr 2012 22:45:36 -0400

thepausebutton: “You’re bad at this, Rush Limbaugh. You don’t...

Fri, 20 Apr 2012 22:25:53 -0400

thepausebutton: “You’re bad at this, Rush Limbaugh. You don’t even understand how babies are made, let alone how people can have sex without making a baby, and you would like the government to take over decision-making on these issues on your say-so. And you don’t get it. You biologically don’t get it. You just don’t understand it. You were absent that day.” - Rachel Maddow