April 14, 2010

Last Tuesday at the Law School, Professor Reva Siegel and famed legal journalist Linda Greenhouse presented on their latest collaboration, a collected history of pre-Roe politics and materials. Addressing the two major popular narratives surrounding ...]]>

Photo: ARTstor

By ALICE BUTTRICK

April 14, 2010

Last Tuesday at the Law School, Professor Reva Siegel and famed legal journalist Linda Greenhouse presented on their latest collaboration, a collected history of pre-Roe politics and materials. Addressing the two major popular narratives surrounding the Roe decision—depicted as a total legal bombshell on the one hand, or as the culmination of sweeping reforms on the other—their project looks mainly at the decade leading up to the Roe decision and finds both narratives to be ‘hysterically false.’ Instead, this book, a work of historical record rather than advocacy although both authors are adamantly pro-choice, shows a picture of a nation in conversation. Greenhouse herself remembered writing about the debate in 1970, still unsure of what was at stake.

Siegel and Greenhouse drew attention to some of the key fallacies surrounding the decision both in their introduction and during a slightly pointed question and answer session (the event, jointly sponsored by Yale Law Students for Choice and Yale Law Students for Life, had a mixed crowd). Crucially, the language of Roe argues for the rights of doctors to perform a procedure, not of women to choose it; this medical right arises from the fact that abortion access was not initially seen as a feminist issue but rather one of class. The impetus for national abortion reform, according to the authors’ research, originated with public health advocates who recognized that poor women were disproportionately harmed by barriers to access. Rich women could always drive, fly, or simply pay for services, but poor ones were dying in the back alleys of lore. The Roe decision was part of a push to repeal criminal laws so that doctors could prevent the injury and death often resulting from illegal abortions.

When the feminist movement took up the cause, it was under an umbrella of general concerns around equal employment opportunities; in particular, NOW added the right to an abortion to a litany of concerns around salary, workplace treatment, and child care provision after the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission failed to address sexual harassment law in the late sixties. The feminists reframed abortion access as a sign of women’s social standing writ large.

Simultaneously, Siegel and Greenhouse’s collection traces the origins of anti-abortion rhetoric, from religious communities adopting human rights frames, to a later attack on the ‘selfishness’ of the feminist movement. Trends such as the ‘woman-protective’ arguments advocating for the end of abortion as a means of ‘saving’ women from its harms, a favorite subject for Siegel, were not yet present. Instead, the anti-abortion community wished to minimize the role of religion in their reasoning in an effort to universalize their reasoning. In public debates over state reform, we can see the seeds of discussions about fetal viability and doctrinal framing. And the public, squeamish on the issue, made sure that even when abortion was permitted, publically discussing it certainly was not.

I had the unique pleasure of proofreading a section of the manuscript this past January. My portion included population controllers, religious figures and, surprisingly, Yale College (very small spoiler ahead). Apparently, when Yale went co-ed forty years ago, they the college administrators realized that they had in place a medical system aimed to serve a large body of young men. There were limited ob-gyn services and little else related to the working parts of female biology. So in response, Yale began a comprehensive sex and intimacy overhaul—they Yale bulked up its health department, instituted a Sex Counseling Service within the Mental Hygiene Department, and offered lectures that were oversubscribed even with 500 available slots. The culmination of this work was the ‘Sex and the Yale Student’ booklet (yes, the precursor to the sex@yale initiative currently underway at the Dean’s Office).

Unlike any material I have seen since arriving here, the booklet dealt frankly with pregnancy and its consequences. Printed before the Roe decision, ‘Sex and the Yale Student’ addressed the problems surrounding abortion head on. “YOU DO NOT HAVE TO HAVE AN ILLEGAL ABORTION. Repeat. YOU DO NOT HAVE TO LOOK FOR A CRIMINAL ABORTIONIST,” the pamphlet cried. There was no question of counseling the woman out of her choice. There was no pretension that abortions were illegal and therefore did not occur. Yale, like many other institutions, was worried about the safety, comfort, and well-being of its students more than it was concerned about the political implications of openly admitting to illegal activities, or of picking a side in the abortion debate. Looking realistically at the concerns their student body, Yale was able to recognize that the health of women was of the utmost importance.

Few people know that Roe was actually argued twice. The first set of presentations centered on public health concerns, and the second around cultural and civil rights. This transformation mirrored how the abortion debate would change after it left the courts. People on the far ends of the spectrum on this issue generally do not predicate their arguments on abortion as a medical procedure—pro-choice activists demand the control over their bodies while anti-abortion groups wave a moral/religious flag. Today, after a decade of legislation slowly prying abortion access from our hands, we recognize ugly symmetry at work. The first to lose access are those who were the last to gain it—poor women, unable to muster the resources to overcome even the smallest obstacles. The Hyde Amendment in 1997, which curtailed use of federal funds for abortion, laid the groundwork for the Stupak Amendment looming over today’s health care debate, and both aim squarely at low-income women’s right to make choices without constraint. Anti-abortion groups have gone back to their human rights frame, albeit now in theory aimed at the well-being of mother and fetus alike Medical opinion, once used to support the increased autonomy of women, is now being used to suggest that women don’t have the expertise to merit this freedom.

But here at Yale, we know our rights are safe no matter what CLAY threatens on the op-ed pages. The University, and our future elite status, will always provide a way for us to make whatever choices we desire. Close to the end of the discussion, Siegel questioned whether democratizing the abortion struggle was harmful to the movement at large. In so doing, those voices most able to push for their rights—those in a position of social power—were assuaged and quieted down without making sure that more disadvantaged perspectives were properly addressed. Few people at Yale worry about their access, even though we live amongst women in New Haven who are losing valuable resources all the time. Instead, those who are still agitating for secure rights are written off for beating what many view to be a dead horse. Judging from the tepid collaboration between the Women’s Center and CLAY, we will not be seeing our reproductive rights championed in all-caps on this campus any time soon.

By ALICE BUTTRICK

April 5, 2010

Spring is in the air, and that means flowery new ad campaigns blooming anew. Some are selling the seasonal sales, others are touting new public service concerns, and one is aiming just slightly below ...]]>

By ALICE BUTTRICK

April 5, 2010

Spring is in the air, and that means flowery new ad campaigns blooming anew. Some are selling the seasonal sales, others are touting new public service concerns, and one is aiming just slightly below the belt. On loveyourvagina.com, the “Mooncup Menstrual Cup”– a British version of the US’s well-known “Divacup”– is encouraging women to share their favorite nicknames for the vagina.

The campaign caught my eye for several reasons. First and foremost, it looks great. Each slang term for my genitals has its own pretty poster— ribbons flow down from some terms, while lace and flowers burst from others. Doting on its dirty language, the aesthetic is a typographer’s dream. Plus, celebrities like Amy Winehouse have been promoting the project by sharing their nickname of choice (Ms. Winehouse unfortunately chose “VaJew Jew”), and a large poster campaign is being planned for the London Underground.

I’ve always been sort of curious about the Divacup (and this foreign iteration is no exception). It seems like a great, albeit potentially gross, idea—who doesn’t feel a little guilty watching tampons pile up in the trashcan once a month? But a quick Google search tells me that Divacups are largely sold at Whole Foods, which means, according to common stereotype, they mostly sell to ‘green’ obsessed yuppies. The British Mooncup, on the other hand, is aimed at a much wider audience.

At Mooncup’s promotional site, you can look through the extensive list of euphemisms that women have shared along with their ranking. To be contrarian, I submitted “cunt,” currently ranked third, although a number of colorful variations on the phrase have also made the list. Comfortingly, “vagina” has clocked in at 9th place, with the more explicit “I call it my vagina because that is what it is” ranked at 127th. “Coochie Snorcher”– presumably a nod to the Vagina Monologues– has even gotten two votes and, inexplicably to me, “Moot” is the overwhelming champion of the moment.

It’s fun to consider how much censoring would go on if this were an American campaign. Jezebel recently published an article on a tampon ad forbidden to use the word “vagina” on three major TV networks, and even the ludicrously tame “down-there” on two. The British makers of Mooncup, however, are free to let their language go public. Sure, a lot of it is probably satirical, and a few of the entries make me worry about the presumably adult women who have filled out the survey. But for the most part, the vagina on loveyourvagina.com is a pretty empowered place. For a long time (for all of art history, some might argue), slang and innuendo surrounding the penis have been dominating the conversation, while the vagina sits back in its secret, interior language. Female genitalia had to be introduced aggressively to the public—Eve Ensler made that more than clear. Her vagina was angry, not her “wee-wee,” her “pussy,” or her “secret garden.” But today, this silly promotional campaign swaddled in feminine embellishments is doing something surprisingly revolutionary—letting women name themselves.

Alice Buttrick is a senior in Yale College. She is an associate editor for Broad Recognition.

December 2009

Pro-choice leaders across campus are protesting the Stupak amendment included in the health care bill which recently passed through the House. The amendment threatens to end abortion access for low-income women included in the proposed public option. ...]]> by ALICE BUTTRICK

December 2009

Pro-choice leaders across campus are protesting the Stupak amendment included in the health care bill which recently passed through the House. The amendment threatens to end abortion access for low-income women included in the proposed public option. Members of Yale Coalition for Reproductive Justice have begun drafting a statement of protest to be co-signed by the pro-choice community.

Several groups are hosting lobby days at the Capitol. The National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health is putting together a bus to DC on December 2 to rally and meet with representatives and has invited any and all interested activists to join them. To sign up for this trip, please contact Liza@latinainstitute.org. Planned Parenthood of Southern New England will also be headed to DC for a National Lobby Day on December 2nd in Washington, DC.  One bus–will be leaving New Haven early December 2nd and returning late that night.  For more information or to reserve your spot contact Gretchen Raffa at organizing@ppsne.org.

December 1^st is World AIDS Day. The Connecticut AIDS Resource Coalition is celebrating a recent legislative victory: President Obama has approved the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Treatment Extension Act of 2009, which will continue to provide crucial funding for low-income sufferers of AIDS across the country. On Yale’s campus, World AIDS Day will be commemorated at several different events: the Global Development Alliance, Amnesty International, and Davenport College will host a Master’s Tea with Aziza Ahmen on the plight of women living with HIV/AIDS internationally; Catherine Nichols will visit campus to discuss the intersection of family planning and HIV clinics; and the Yale University Center for Interdisciplinary Research on AIDS will host a lecture on HIV awareness at Yale as well as a memorial service at United Church on the Green. Event details are available at gdayale.wordpress.com/calendar and cira.med.yale.edu.

The Women Faculty Forum released yet another report on sexual misconduct at Yale. The report comes as part of an increasing push from faculty and student groups to reform university policy and education surrounding this issue. The WFF report recommended, among other things, increased transparency, consolidated locations for sexual assault resources, and anonymous and third-party reporting mechanisms. The full 75-page report can be found at www.yale.edu/wff/documents/WFFReportonSexualMisconductatYale.pdf.

In an effort to continue discussions about sexual culture on campus, the Women’s Center will host a talk at Toad’s Place, of all places. The unusual location was proposed at the Center’s forum on Yale’s sexual culture held earlier this semester in response to the ‘Pre-Season Scouting Report.’ The Center has stated the belief that the sexual hub of Toad’s should be handled on-site. In an effort to present a diversity of perspectives, members of the Greek and athletic communities, groups often portrayed in opposition to the Center, have been invited to co-plan and run the event. The Women’s Center Board is also soliciting “Toad’s Testimonials” to facilitate exploration of the subject. Following the event, the Women’s Center will sponsor the Wednesday night dance-party. For more information on this event, please contact dounia.bredes@yale.edu.

Alice Buttrick is a senior in Yale College. She is the Sex & Health Editor for Broad Recognition.

October 2009

Adrienne Wallace, a junior fellow in the Sociology Department, is forming an all-University Reproductive Justice Coalition with the aim of uniting pro-choice minds across the campus towards actionable issues on Yale’s campus. Her agenda currently includes consent ...]]> by ALICE BUTTRICK

October 2009

Adrienne Wallace, a junior fellow in the Sociology Department, is forming an all-University Reproductive Justice Coalition with the aim of uniting pro-choice minds across the campus towards actionable issues on Yale’s campus. Her agenda currently includes consent education, issues of access and the publicizing of resources, and initiating a much-needed escorting program at the Planned Parenthood of Connecticut on Edwards and Whitney.  Ms. Wallace is also exploring the possibility for a Doula project (inspired by the New York group, abortiondoula.org) on our campus. The Doula project trains people to follow women through their pregnancies, whether to birth or to early termination, ensuring that all women understand their options and have support every step of the way. The Coalition’s goals will evolve to include input from all levels of University life. We applaud this collaborative effort to improve the health and reproductive options of women on and around Yale’s campus. If you have suggestions for the goals of the Reproductive Justice Coalition or would like to find out how to get involved, please email Ms. Wallace at adrienne.wallace@yale.edu.

Planned Parenthood of Connecticut and Planned Parenthood of Rhode Island are combining to become Planned Parenthood of New England in the upcoming months.

A disturbing new anti-choice campaign has sprung up on campus. Images of an embryo labeled “Baby Lucy” appear each week in progressive stages of development, in an effort to portray a fetus as a baby and thereby discourage abortions. It appears to be based on a similar campaign run a few years ago at Harvard. In that effort, new posters every week showed the progression of a fertilized egg through a full pregnancy. The embryo was named and given a future as a feminist race-car driver. The success of that campaign has driven anti-choice movements to revolutionize their material strategies. “Baby Lucy” is sponsored by Choose Life at Yale, a group with predominantly male membership.

Alice Buttrick is a senior in Yale College. She is the Sex & Health Editor for Broad Recognition.