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| Women's Campaign Ad |
The goal of the legislations,
policies, and barriers that are imposed on policing women’s bodies varies
according to the enforcers. When the debates regarding the reproductive rights
of women were first introduced they varied according to gender, race, and
class. In the beginning the debate was mainly about abortion and later changed
to reproductive rights as a whole. “ For poor women and women of color, the
right to bare healthy children and to raise them out of poverty was equally
important (Nelson, 2).” In other words when it came to reproduction in context
to poor women and women of color the argument was the government did not want
to have babies running around with women who were considered financially
unstable and unfit to be produce off spring.
This is not the first time were colored women and women who were
considered poor have been penalized. “Many poor women of color lost their ability to bare children through involuntary sterilization, (Nelson, 1). For
white females of the upper class the idea was that they would later want
children so abortion should be disregarded. These are just a few of the
unrealistic commentary women’s movements received in response to their demands
from those who were policing their bodies. The goal that these enforcers really want in
policing is to attain power over their spectacles, the females, and their
subordinates. Why else would a male question the right of a female to terminate
an unwanted pregnancy?
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| Women's campaign Ad |
There are numerous messages that the
enforcers of the messages about the barriers for women are sending out.
“American culture is dedicated to male sexuality, (Steele).” It’s always to the
extent that the male can handle and still be seen the dominant. “Birth control
levels the playing field, (Steele).”
There have been many initiatives taking in effort to get women to change
their minds when it comes to abortions. “Waiting periods, counseling,
ultrasounds, transvaginal ultrasounds, sonogram storytelling- all of these
legislative moves are invasive, insulting, and condescending because they are
deeply misguided attempts to pressure women into changing their minds, to
pressure women into not terminating their pregnancies, as if women are so
easily swayed that such petty and cruel stall tactics will work, (Gay, 272).” These are some of the many tactics used in
gaining mind control over women in an attempt to police our bodies. There are
many individuals who are behind these tactics, mainly conservative white
America.
The media impacts the way we view
these issues and how they are legislated in a number of ways. “ Pregnancy is an
experience that invites public intervention and forces the female body into the
public discourse, (Gay, 269).” A lot of the times the media only portrays the
positive side of pregnancy and not the negative. “ Women are the only ones who can get
pregnant and women then have to survive the pregnancy which is not always as
easy as it seems, (Gay, 275). What many people feel to realize is that
pregnancy as a whole is dangerous. In regards to media we never see the dangers
of carrying but more so, the dangers of aborting. I cannot fathom how many times I have come
across ant abortion signs; the number is drastically high in comparison to the
number of pro-choice signs.
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| Women making a statement about their bodies. |
In an effort to combat negative views of
women’s bodies in the media, many social network sites have paved the way for free speech on these topics. There are many discussion forums, which create an
interactive way of letting everyone as a whole discuss the topic at hand. Many
shows, sites, and magazines use this commentary to offer and unbiased view on
touchy topics, especially in regards to female’s bodies/ sexuality. But more so the media has a tendency to hurt
how women’s bodies and sexuality are viewed. From the moment a women goes on birth control
or anything else of that nature she is in the public eye and put to judgment.
She is considered a whore and thought that she needs birth control because she
is sleeping around. Media portrays women who express a high volume of sexuality
or sexual activity badly. They get called every derogatory thing in the book.
If they show any revealing parts of their bodies whether for art or to make a
statement they are continually looked at in a bad way. For example the Calvin
Klein boxer add tends to put emphasis on what the male is working with down
below. But if a female is seen with her nipples being any type of see though
her shirt she is labeled a whore. This is just another way in which gender
binaries are inflicted in sexuality. Overall the policing of women’s bodies
shows just how unequal and unfairly we are treated in relations to men.
Works Cited:
Gay, Roxane. Bad Feminist: Essays. N.p.: n.p., n.d. Print.
Mcintosh, Peggy. "White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Backpack." (n.d.): n. pag. Web.
Nelson, Jennifer. Women of Color and the Reproductive Rights Movement. New York: New York UP, 2003. Print.
Steele, Tanya. "'Hobby Lobby,' and a Woman's Right to Sexual Exploration." RH Reality Check. N.p., 10 July 2014. Web. 13 Apr. 2015.
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