more reproductive rights/justice stuff
i have to say that loretta ross is effing amazing. i went to hear her speak a couple years ago and i was seriously moved to tears by the things she said. very rarely do i get to see/hear/interact with women who understand and approach feminism from the context of the south and the issues that most affect the women living here. and from someone who has stayed to work in the south instead of just running away to the west coast or north (which is really difficult not to do sometimes in the face of the hardships specific to the region).
i believe it was ms. ross who coined the term reproductive justice, as an extension of the concept of reproductive rights.
she also speaks out on sterilization abuse and its effects primarily on women of color. she was sterilized with the dalkon shield at age 23 and works within a framework of not just fighting for safe, legal abortion, but a range of reproductive health options that seem to be missing (or highly underrepresented) from most mainstream pro-choice groups. though i think some of the organizations have gotten better about making reproductive rights an issue as opposed to simply abortion, this still needs to be pushed further into the mainstream, culminating in a wider understanding of the complexities that women face regarding healthcare, parenting, birth control, and autonomy among other issues. as we all know, these issues are bound together and are directly related to state control of women's bodies, fertility, and sexuality and thus their citizenship and personal freedoms.
today, she's quoted in an article on alternet about the anti-choice movement using tactics borrowed from the kkk for their anti-choice activism. some important things she says:
"There is an unholy alliance between the legislators who oppose civil rights and the legislators who oppose reproductive rights," Ross says. "As long as we look at reproductive rights only as the politics of gender, we will be missing the guiding script."
also:
"Stopping at the right to terminate a pregnancy is woefully inadequate when it comes to the realities of people of color," Ross says. "We have to fight for three different dimensions of the struggle: We join our pro-choice sisters to fight for the right not to have a child; but as women of color, we have been subjected to various strategies of population control, like forced sterilization, so we also have to fight for the right to have a child, especially in the context of people accusing us of having babies to get on welfare or to stay in the country. And we have to fight for the right to parent the children we already have, thanks to a criminal justice system that's trying to capture them earlier and earlier."
the above quote alone is illustrative of how interlocking oppressions work to keep all people deprived of their civil rights. one of the most important lessons that grassroots movements are currently learning is that of alliance building. many of us see how interrelated our causes are, and how building coalitions for support is a smart way to acheive broad-based movements for change. and i can't stress enough that oppression is oppression is oppression. single issue politics are myopic and fail to take into account the complexities of these problems and their deep roots' stranglehold on the institutions we have to navigate.
you don't have to attend every march or rally to be an activist. you don't have to even be directly involved with some kind of collective group. other important ways to be an activist:
1. write. write for yourself. write a zine. write a letter to the editor. write your legislators. write your friends. just keep up a dialogue.
2. educate yourself.
3. educate others.
4. volunteer.
5. speak out and speak loudly. the more you speak out, the more comfortable you'll feel speaking out.
6. take care of yourself and your friends. this means protecting each other and understanding that it's important not to burn out. just because someone wants to stay home and watch tv or make art does not mean they are betraying the cause.
7. listen to others. listen to what people say and learn from what they say. don't just wait for your turn to talk. everyone's experiences are valid.
8. THINK CRITICALLY.
i don't know what else to say, most of this stuff seems like common sense. but back to ms. ross. she is truly an inspiration and you should check out some of the books she's co-authored. i recommend undivided rights: women of color organize for reproductive justice.
for more on reproductive justice:
1. SisterSong's paper on understanding reproductive justice.
2. Asian Communities for Reproductive Justice and their paper on reproductive justice.
3. National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health.
4. A factsheet on Immigration Policy and Reproductive Justice
i believe it was ms. ross who coined the term reproductive justice, as an extension of the concept of reproductive rights.
she also speaks out on sterilization abuse and its effects primarily on women of color. she was sterilized with the dalkon shield at age 23 and works within a framework of not just fighting for safe, legal abortion, but a range of reproductive health options that seem to be missing (or highly underrepresented) from most mainstream pro-choice groups. though i think some of the organizations have gotten better about making reproductive rights an issue as opposed to simply abortion, this still needs to be pushed further into the mainstream, culminating in a wider understanding of the complexities that women face regarding healthcare, parenting, birth control, and autonomy among other issues. as we all know, these issues are bound together and are directly related to state control of women's bodies, fertility, and sexuality and thus their citizenship and personal freedoms.
today, she's quoted in an article on alternet about the anti-choice movement using tactics borrowed from the kkk for their anti-choice activism. some important things she says:
"There is an unholy alliance between the legislators who oppose civil rights and the legislators who oppose reproductive rights," Ross says. "As long as we look at reproductive rights only as the politics of gender, we will be missing the guiding script."
also:
"Stopping at the right to terminate a pregnancy is woefully inadequate when it comes to the realities of people of color," Ross says. "We have to fight for three different dimensions of the struggle: We join our pro-choice sisters to fight for the right not to have a child; but as women of color, we have been subjected to various strategies of population control, like forced sterilization, so we also have to fight for the right to have a child, especially in the context of people accusing us of having babies to get on welfare or to stay in the country. And we have to fight for the right to parent the children we already have, thanks to a criminal justice system that's trying to capture them earlier and earlier."
the above quote alone is illustrative of how interlocking oppressions work to keep all people deprived of their civil rights. one of the most important lessons that grassroots movements are currently learning is that of alliance building. many of us see how interrelated our causes are, and how building coalitions for support is a smart way to acheive broad-based movements for change. and i can't stress enough that oppression is oppression is oppression. single issue politics are myopic and fail to take into account the complexities of these problems and their deep roots' stranglehold on the institutions we have to navigate.
you don't have to attend every march or rally to be an activist. you don't have to even be directly involved with some kind of collective group. other important ways to be an activist:
1. write. write for yourself. write a zine. write a letter to the editor. write your legislators. write your friends. just keep up a dialogue.
2. educate yourself.
3. educate others.
4. volunteer.
5. speak out and speak loudly. the more you speak out, the more comfortable you'll feel speaking out.
6. take care of yourself and your friends. this means protecting each other and understanding that it's important not to burn out. just because someone wants to stay home and watch tv or make art does not mean they are betraying the cause.
7. listen to others. listen to what people say and learn from what they say. don't just wait for your turn to talk. everyone's experiences are valid.
8. THINK CRITICALLY.
i don't know what else to say, most of this stuff seems like common sense. but back to ms. ross. she is truly an inspiration and you should check out some of the books she's co-authored. i recommend undivided rights: women of color organize for reproductive justice.
for more on reproductive justice:
1. SisterSong's paper on understanding reproductive justice.
2. Asian Communities for Reproductive Justice and their paper on reproductive justice.
3. National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health.
4. A factsheet on Immigration Policy and Reproductive Justice