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October 21, 2005

"Feminists for life"..the ultimate contradiction in terms

I've spent a lot of time since Kev and I started this blog thinking about feminism.

For me, being a feminist means giving women choices about their lives and what they want to do with them. If a woman wants to get married, stay at home and raise a family..that option should be open to her. If a woman wants to go to college and expand herself intellectually that option should be hers as well. Feminism is inherently about choice.

Which is why Feminists for Life is a complete contradiction in terms. This post is a prime example:

The words that pro-choicers use now a days really upsets me. One phrase in particular. "Women should have the same reproductive freedoms as men." They make it sound like men can give birth, and kill their babies whenever they want, but women are these poor slaves shackled to a wall, forced to bear, and raise, these horrible monster children. They fail to realize that Women will *NEVER* have the same freedoms as men, because men can't, and won't ever be able to, give birth. Instead of trying to make themselves 'equal' to men, they need to seriously realize that, due to basic differences of our bodies, we will never be able to be equal. We will always be as good as each other, but we will never be equal.

What they *should* be saying, in my opinion, is "Women need to define themselves, and their bodies, as a species apart from men, and not treat treat them how men, and the male-dominated society says we should treat them, but as we feel our hearts tell us to."
Or something like that. I can't quite get the words in my head to reflect the words on the screen... but still, it just makes me so mad! Even the best-operated transexual will never be equal to women. Again, not better or worse, the same in quality, just not equal.

Gender equity IS about women having equal opportunities as men..not being equal to men. No, men can't bear children. But blathering on about how women "are killing their babies" diminishes the role and responsibility of men while guilting women into bearing an unwanted child. Not only is this the antithesis of feminism...it's degrading to both men and women.

And since when are we not the same species? Men and women are both Homo Sapiens. Women will never be the same as men. That isn't the point. But women must be afforded the same rights, responsibilities and opportunities. This is feminism.

It's not about children being "horrible monsters". It's about a woman taking responsibility and control of her own situation. It's about self-determination because we know what is right for ourselves. Forcing women to carry unwanted fetuses and bear unwanted children (who for the current crop of rightwing power brokers are worthless once they've passed the cervix) takes away the inherency of feminism.

Women must have the right to self determination. This is a basic civil right. Reproductive freedom is the doorway to the inalienable right to pursuit of happiness. Women must be allowed to take responsibility for their lives.

This group is against one of the cornerstones of feminism, in my view.

Posted by Carla at October 21, 2005 07:00 AM