The War on Birth Control | Laci Green

More and more it seems like ?Republican? is just a code word for ?religious?.

As a sex educator, this seriously alarms me. In examining oppression, culture, and discourse around sex, it comes up time and time again that religion is one of the most oppressive institutions around ? especially the Abrahamic religions (Islam, Christianity, Judaism).

What is most deeply insulting to me is the effect these religions have on the lives on their victims. Far too often, religion robs people of a powerful human experience by telling them what to do with their bodies, when to do it, how to do it, what reasons they should have for doing it, and with whom they should do it with (and if you don?t obey, you will burn forever in hell). Abrahamic religion makes its victims feel detached and resentful of their sexuality. It creates a culture of shame and guilt around sex. It stigmatizes ?virginity? and reduces women to baby-making factories. It encourages mass mutilation of mens? genitals. It is the sole force behind ?abstinence only education? ? a taxpayer funded program which keeps people ignorant about sexuality. It polices our expression of gender. It forces us into relationship structures that hurt us. It encourages poor, self-sabotaging behaviors in relationships. It apologizes for & even condones rape. It glorifies heterosexuality & men. It teaches people to be okay with discrimination and hatred. It punishes the innocent, from day 1, with a life of fear and unquestioning obedience where there should be discovery, bravery, and endless curiosity.

The latest in their never-ending assault on human beings is the Republicans/religious right?s war on birth control. I?ve got to say, they must be out of their minds if they really think this is the right battle for them. 99% of women who have ever had sexual intercourse have used at least one contraceptive method.

99%.

I?m in awe at the sheer stupidity. Whose bright idea was it to wage said ?war? on birth control when it affects the vast majority of the population? Politically speaking, do conservatives realize that women fought for the right to vote 90 years ago?and won? OHAI Romney, Santorum, Paul, and Gingrich?each of whom have laced their campaigns with sexism? just a reminder that women vote.

Many have criticized the GOP as committing political suicide with the contraception debate. Why won?t these guys give it up? Let?s use our majikal critical thinkin skillz.

(1) Controlling contraception is the key to controlling women?s sexuality. When contraception is widely available, it is much harder to keep women under the control of men. Power and control over women?s bodies is one of the most explicit manifestations of patriarchy, and this is no exception. For an example of this, I present to you Exhibit A: a picture of the panel to discuss birth control access on Capitol Hill.

A panel to discuss WOMEN?S BODIES AND HEALTH and the entire panel is male? WTF? The message here really couldn?t get any louder.

Looking into the story, you?ll learn that the only woman considered for the panel was turned away because she was ?unqualified?. Bullshit. It?s painfully bigoted for this panel to claim that women are not qualified to talk about their own experiences. What?s more is that this panel is just one particularly clear example of how the entire conversation around birth control access has been dominated by men.

The truth is, contraception levels the sexual playing field a little more between men and women. While men can freely explore their sexuality with few consequences either way, the same is not true for women if they do not have access to contraception. Contraception greatly diminishes our concerns with unplanned pregnancy which inspires sexual independence. Does this increase in women?s sexual agency & power pose a subtle threat to patriarchy? Why yes, yes it does.

(2) Contraception directly implies that people have sex for something other than babies. This is a reality that religion, and most explicitly Catholicism, vehemently tries to deny. Typically, of all the sex people have in their lives, only a few times are for the purpose of making a baby. What about all those other sexytiemz that didn?t make babies? Well, those act as a bonding experience and/or a way for us to feel pleasure. This is because sex serves an important social function ? not just a biological one. If the church were to accept this fact, it would be significantly harder for them to justify their distorted perspectives on ?virginity?, homosexuality, monogamy, celibacy, sexual identity, etc. Contraception, for the most oppressive of religions, opens the floodgate of lies and hypocrisy. And let?s get real here, they?ve got enough of that to deal with already.

Contraceptive access is one step toward the modern standards of a healthy, developed country. As an American woman, I am extremely grateful that Obama has taken a stand against these bullies to keep us moving toward a better society. It comes at a tremendous cost, particularly to women, to hold on to outdated, oppressive ideas about sexuality. And frankly? I am sooooo over the lies and manipulation. I?m so fed up with women being infantilized and devalued. I?m sick of scientific research being mocked in favor of superstitious drivel. I?m appalled at the repeated attempts of Republicans/the religious right to monitor my sex life while turning around and playing it off like they?re the victim. What a reprehensible crock of bullshit.

We?re the most intelligent species on the planet. I?m still waiting for the day that these fuckers start acting like it.

Source: http://lacigreen.tv/sexplus/sexuality/3597-thewaronbirthcontrol

jenna fischer ben bernanke anwar al awlaki amanda knox apple press conference apple press conference apple event