random babble…

Haven’t done one of these in a while, but it is Thursday and I need to do some blogwhoring.

From Renee:

Dear white women, seriously get a clue.  More often than not your fight against sexism is about assuring that you have the same right to oppress as white males.  The whole “we’re all sisters” line is just a convenient ploy that is used to enlist the help of WOC.  Enough! Until feminism can clean up its act, it will continue to alienate women of colour

The whole post is great, and has sparked something of an explosive conversation, one that obviously needs to happen.  Until white feminists confront this head on we are going to find divides in feminism/womanism that are going to further hurt our cause.

Reacting to Renee’s post is whatsername, w/ this great piece, which she cross posted at Feministing.

This shit will probably keep happening, as new, young, white feminists keep coming to the movement. But we gotta spread the word. We have to do what we can to nip it in the bud. Because ignorant white women are hurting our sisters in movement, and making it more difficult for the rest of us to be trusted by them. Because this is our function as allies, to use our social position to point this shit out. Because at some point, it’d be nice for this movement to actually be realized. 

I admit that I am appalled by the response this got by the community at Feministing, but not surprised.  No matter how important and true the message there is always someone there to lecture about tone and to make it about them when it really isn’t.  It just further compounds whatsername’s point.  As far as her tone, IMNSFHO, people have been saying shit nicely for years, and nothing has been getting done about it.

Misty has some questions for North Dakota on their passing of this retrofuck bill. (h/t)

Speaking of harm, what about miscarriages? If an embryo/fetus has full legal standing as a genuine/individual person, the its ‘death’ will need to be investigated via autopsy. When I miscarried, I started bleeding on a Wednesday. I went in for my ultrasound on Thursday where it was confirmed. I couldn’t get into see my ob/gyn until very early Friday morning, which by then I had naturally passed everything (into the toilet). Should women who face the same situation straddle a bucket to bleed in? Keep her pads? Take the contents to the police? The contents of such will need to be investigated to make sure that there was no foul play involved, as again, an embryo/fetus is a full legal person whose death would warrant an investigation and, eventually, death certificate (which, btw, are not given for miscarriages now). How much more money will this cost?

Righteous anger is a beautiful thing.  I am also curious, too.  I have a copper IUD, which I have expressed never ending love for in the past, so were I to go to ND, does having it make me a serial killer, since nothing implants?  I mean, I am pretty sure I just had an unimplanted embryo pass (long story), so does that make me a murderer?

Cara also talks about this bill, and links back to this post by Jill, which is a favorite of mine on this issue of granting full personhood to embryos or blastocysts.

 Pro-lifers claim to value each and every human life, from the moment of conception. That’s why, they say, they want abortion to be illegal — because it kills a person. And there are indeed a lot of abortions. But the abortion rate pales in comparison to the rate of fertilized eggs that don’t implant and “die” by being naturally flushed out of the body. Yet there is not a single pro-life organization (at least that I can find) dedicated to finding a solution to this widespread, deadly epidemic. The “death rate” of unimplanted fertilized egg-persons almost certainly far exceeds the abortion rate and the death rate from AIDS combined. Why the silence? Why no mass protests or funding drives or pushes for research?* Where is the concern for the fertilized egg-people?

I personally feel we should start mailing our tampons and pads and diva cups to the authorities in ND post haste.  I am only kind of kidding.

Feel free to drop your own links in comments (my comments don’t seem to highlight links, so make the tagged portion say (link) if you possibly can).