What Are The Top Feminist Issues?

[Almighty Colin]

Dianna asked me what I thought about feminism in general. What are the top issues?

I am pro abortion though I don't like the argument "a woman should be able to do what she wants with her body". "Doing what you want with your body" is NOT a right afforded to anyone in society. The same argument would say that I should be able to do heroine because it's my body. LIFE is something that is defined and science will never be able to answer the question of whether a fetus is alive or not and when it should be consider alive. It's an arbitrary point no matter where you place it. I am pro-abortion anyway.

I believe in a right to birth control.

I'm undecided on Title IX and probably never will be. It is both good and bad.

I don't think having to wear a burka in Afghanistan is any more wrong than having to wear a shirt or pants in say, the US. I think some of us are a little hypoctrical and should move for the right to public nudity in the western world first. It is arbitrary what we should cover - is it not? Are tits more sexual than the face or hair? I don't think so.

I think there should be much stiffer penalties for sex crimes. Such crimes are omni-present in our society and are having a negative effect on many women for their entire lives.

The language issue. "Snowman" is quite alright with me. We don't have to say "snowperson" though if I'm in your house or around you, I will try and oblige by using such terms but will not carry them back to the world.

I like Barbie. I think trying to argue that certain body images are "just as attractive" as others is pretty pointless. There are enough people in the world that people with many tastes exist. I think it is an insult to women that do fit or like the traditional beauty stereotype/image to argue against it. Barbie is not vacuous. You can do anything you want with Barbie - make her be a corporate executive, a surfer, or even a (gasp!) secretary.

I'm pro breast enhancements. Is that an issue?

I think feminists groups are important and that they have had a positive effect on society.

What other issues are there?

[Almighty Colin]

I think women should have the right to bear arms.

See http://www.oprano.com/msgboard/index.php?a...ct=ST&f=1&t=968 (http://www.oprano.com/msgboard/index.php?act=ST&f=1&t=968)

[cj]

I am pro abortion though I don't like the argument "a woman should be able to do what she wants with her body". "Doing what you want with your body" is NOT a right afforded to anyone in society. The same argument would say that I should be able to do heroine because it's my body. LIFE is something that is defined and science will never be able to answer the question of whether a fetus is alive or not and when it should be consider alive. It's an arbitrary point no matter where you place it. I am pro-abortion anyway.

I believe in a right to birth control.


Colin, purve piece from a while ago ...

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Babies, Abortion and the Cycle of Life

I've always said that if I fell pregnant right now, I wouldn't have the baby. Its an easy thing to say when not faced with the choice between a new life and your old one.

I recently fell pregnant and miscarried before I knew I was even pregnant. Some doctors claim that many women have several miscarriages before they carry a baby to full term. A miscarriage can come in the form of a very heavy period in the early weeks and this was the case with me. Probably around 3 weeks. The egg has been fertilized, starts to move to the right spot, gets comfortable and is evicted for whatever reason.

My emotions around this time were strange. I was very hormonal and cried a lot ... usually for reasons like 'I'm out of milk' or 'I forgot to buy stamps'. I'm not sure if the overdose of estrogen in my body was making me think extra intently on the subject of pregnancy and surrounding issues, but it sure gave me an opportunity to do some great research for a story.

I think now, my decision to have or not to have would be thought out much more seriously. I've always believed in a woman's right to choose, especially in cases of rape or extremely young girls. I'm certainly against abortion as an easy way out of a difficult situation.

My understanding of abortion was something like this. Girl goes to doctor, doctor waves a wand, baby disappears in some blood. So my horror when reading up on abortion techniques is truly making me change my mind on the whole abortion issue. I still believe in the right to choose, but surely in the age of modern science we can come up with some less barbaric ways to perform the procedure.

In a D&C abortion, usually performed between seven and twelve weeks of pregnancy, the doctor inserts a curette, a loop-shaped steel knife, into the womb through the dilated cervix. As the curette scrapes the wall of the uterus, the baby is cut into pieces. - from prochoice.com

Cut into pieces??!!

"Salting out" is the second most common method of inducing abortion and is usually used after sixteen weeks. The doctor inserts a long needle through the mother's abdomen and injects a saline solution into the sac of amnionic fluid surrounding the baby. The baby is poisoned by swallowing the salt and his skin is completely burned away. It takes about an hour to kill the baby. After the child dies, the mother goes into labor and expels the dead baby. Saline injections have been outlawed in some countries because of the risks to the mother, which can include lung and kidney damage if the salt finds its way into her bloodstream. In spite of the horrible burning effect, some babies have survived "salting out" and been born alive. - from prochoice.com

Now, no matter how strongly I feel about a woman's right to choose, I couldn't imagine being able to carry out this procedure without creating major emotional problems for the Mother. The guilt and shame of this must be so overpowering for a 14 year old rape victim who has already had to go through the initial act. How does one rebuild their life after firstly being raped, then dealing with being a murderer?

To make the choices even harder for girls in this situation, they have to go through the crowds of protestors out the front of clinics - most of these having never been involved in an incident where they have been forced to make the choice.

My sister came home yesterday and was telling me a story of abortion protestors in our home town. There was 2 young men holding up a big banner saying 'abortion is murder'. Under what circumstances does a man have the right to place this label on women trying to make this already difficult decision? Don't get me wrong, I believe men have a right to be involved in the decision process of their partner, friend or relative - but to label the general pro-choice female population as murderers is surely out of the range of rights of young men with nothing better to do with their time?

That brings me to another point in the abortion argument - the rights of the male involved to choose. If a couple falls pregnant or a woman falls pregnant after a one night stand, where does the choice of the man come in? I believe that even though the woman is carrying the child, the choice and responsibility needs to lie half with the male no matter what the relationship. When you enter into the physical agreement of sex, both parties are taking the chance of her becoming pregnant.

However, if both can't agree on the answer, where do you go from there? Its much easier for the male to suggest the easy way out or to back out of responsibility due to the fact that ... well ... he has the penis, not the womb.

I spoke to a few male friends and got their opinions on this and what they'd do in a difficult choice situation.

When asked about conception during a one night stand, one of the men joked "Well that is a funny thing, because if she decideds to keep the baby, then the man is liable for support and a man cannot tell a woman to either keep a child or abort. So as a man, i would say that false identities are always in order."

As silly as this sounds, a man's right to choose is often neglected. Because he isn't involved in the physical carrying of the child for the first 9 months, he is not accepted as being a part of the process. All men that I asked said they would definately want to know even if they weren't asked to be involved in the procedures.

"I feel that men get screwed in these situations. We are legally liable, regardless of our choices. So it doesn't really matter how we feel."

This is a common comment from men who have been involved in a child support battle, or a situation over the rights of both parties.

Personally, I think that both parties are equally responsible, expected to support the child equally financially and therefore should be equally involved in the choices. In this day of casual sex, we've forgotten how to communicate with a partner before taking on the responsibility of sex, and really, this is where the responsibilities should be made clear to both partners, before the act of intercourse.

"The problem is the same here as with all male/female relations. There isn't really any real communication or understanding. If people form a "partnership" even for just a few hours, they should be equally responsible for the benefits and liabilities."

[Dianna Vesta]

I'm really tired.... but wow CJ. Good article.

I have mixed feelings about it. I wish there wasn't abortion. It makes me sad because at the same time there are so many people who want kids. Birth control needs to be easier for women and I wish they put brith control implants in every girl on her 11th birthday and wouldn't let her remove it until she was 21. I also think that women on welfare who already have kids should be required to do the same thing if thye wanted to get benefits instead of giving them even more money for each kid.

Abortion is ok, I guess in cased of rape or a health risk.

I think I'm somewhat of a feminist but I have to agree with Colin that it's not just about your right of choice and what you do with your body. I don't think aboration should be used as birth control.

Tired- pushing too many deadlines.

[cj]

there are so many issues to consider in each individual case ...

the age of the girl, the financial status, the support of family/father/friends, the emotional and physical ability to cope etc ... i've debated the issue too much, confused myself on what's right wrong and in between

[Almighty Colin]

CJ - great article. I've known women that really struggled with their decision after getting an abortion - even those that were sure they wouldn't. None of them said they made a wrong decision though. Some will say they made a right decision. Some won't. Same as with everything in life.

As far as the man being involved in the decision - well, that is doubly complicated. What if a man wants the baby and the woman doesn't? Should the man be able to force her by law to have the baby?

Then, could we possibly say a man is not responsible financially and otherwise if he decides he doesn't want the child and she does? Again complicated.

There is no real answer. I am pro-abortion with the mother having the final say and the father having to be responsible either way.

I don't think it's possible to be consistent as regards the abortion issue. It's a matter of where to draw the line between responsibility and choice of one's future life. Moving one moves the other and for this reason, the debates rage on - and people hide behind catch-phrases and rhetoric. "Pro-choice" - that's brilliant marketing. "Pro-life' is too.

[Almighty Colin]

CJ - I don't think there are right and wrong answers. We just draw the line somewhere and let everyone be miserable ;-)

[wig]

CJ, that was a great article. Colin, you also make some great points.

I think that men must take responsibility. I do not believe they should be able to force a woman to do one or the other. Men just need to think about the potential consequences.

I also think that this is not a role for the Gov't to decide (big surprise there, huh?).

[cj]

yeah this argument is kinda beat LOL


there's different issues in feminism for my generation than previous ... its now 'almost' accepted by everyone that a woman can hold an important role within a company, or be the boss ... or even own it!

a hot issue here in australia right now is paid maternity leave ... we have one of the lowest birth rates in the world and the government is scared we won't have enough people!! oh no!!

there's lots of political issues surrounding this such as cost, making women want to produce more babies etc ... currently, some companies have paid maternity leave, such as universities, and private owned companies like banks etc ... the new law that is being argued is compulsory keeping of a job for a period of 12 months for the woman to return to work, with 3 months of paid maternity leave ... paid by the employer

some feminists argue this will stop women from being employed
others argue it is a womans right to be given equal rights and the opportunity to produce a baby and stay at home with it for a year.

some reference ...

Business rejects proposal (http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2002/10/28/1035683358784.html)

Australian Council of Trade Unions - request for paid maternity leave (http://www.actu.asn.au/public/campaigns/maternity.html)

Equal Opportunity for Women in the workplace (http://www.eowa.gov.au/About_Equal_Opportunity/Key_Agenda_Items/Work_Life_Balance/Paid_Maternity_Leave.asp)