Racialized Women and Feminism

I am a firm believer in getting more women into parliament. On the News last night they zeroed into Mr. Harper speaking. Behind and around him a bunch of mostly older white men is suits. When they zeroed into Dion there was I believe one woman to be seen and when they went into Layton there were several women.

Does this not speak to how important women are to our leaders?

An interesting book review on the topic of racialized women and reproductive rights struggles:

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Nelson's key thesis is that black and Latina women were essential to developing a feminist movement for reproductive freedom in the 1970s and early 1980s that extended beyond the fight for legalized abortion to encompass a broad right to reproductive control, including the right to bear children. As Nelson writes, "Black women seldom receive proper credit for the work they have done for reproductive rights. Nor have white feminists often acknowledged the extent to which black women shaped the feminist reproductive rights movement" (56). In the late 1960s feminist reproductive rights advocates centered on gaining fertility control for women by extending access to legal abortion and birth control. Nelson chronicles the dramatic transformation of this agenda over the course of the next two decades to include opposition to sterilization abuse and other forms of population control. Her first chapter describes the evolution of Redstockings, a radical feminist organization in New York City that was founded in 1967 and burst on the political scene by disrupting the first New York State legislative hearings on abortion law reform in 1969. Nelson explains how Redstockings shifted abortion activism from the movement for birth control to a central aspect of the feminist struggle for women's autonomy, including control over reproduction.

Although she criticizes Redstockings' "political blind spot" in failing to recognize the different experiences (and I would add political status) of women of color and poor women, Nelson helpfully elucidates the group's radical defense of abortion rights that distinguished it from mainstream liberal women's organizations such as NOW. In the process she brings the contentious period to life through fascinating details about Redstockings' rhetorical and organizing strategies as well as confrontations with its adversaries. Nelson's careful attention to political nuance among people who are often conveniently lumped together, from white women's liberationists and birth control advocates to black nationalist men, is a particular strength of this book.

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[url=http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/journal_of_the_history_of_sexuality/v013/13... of Color and the Reproductive Rights Movement[/url]

I've been reading a bit recently (just articles and some internet research, no huge scholarly tomes or anything) about how women of colour have felt alienated by a predominantly white pro-choice movement that focuses mostly on abortion and the right for a woman to restrict her own fertility through birth control and abortion.

Whereas women of colour have had to fight for the right to bear children and to fight against the racism they experience as a result if they have children, and stereotypes of themselves as overly fertile and their children as unwanted by society.

Another interesting historical note:

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First, she explicates black women's distinctive understanding of reproductive rights by chronicling their activism in relation to white feminists and to men in the black liberation movement. As Nelson puts it, "In listening to black women, one discovers that they offered a more complicated view of reproductive control than did either Black Nationalists or white women's liberationists" (56). Black women placed reproductive rights in a social context that made government provision of family planning contingent on improvements in general health and living conditions.

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[ 26 February 2008: Message edited by: Michelle ]

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and how WoC see abortions

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Many factors contribute in shaping women's views on abortion. The colour of their skin is not one of them.

Because there is no reliable and convincing scientific data that indicates any correlation between the two: skin colour and thought process.

Hi guys. Please respect the request at the beginning of this thread for a women-only discussion. Thanks.

My apologies, I should know better!

I just found this article on one of my favourite blogs. It refers to a few other blog discussions recently that have been deleted or shut down, but you can follow the arguments by the WOC in the comments, and actually see, reenacted, the issues that WOC struggle with against white feminists regarding reproductive health issues in general, and Planned Parenthood specifically.

There's also tons of info about Planned Parenthood, some of which I already knew, some of which I didn't.

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It’s dangerous to not know the history of an organization–even more dangerous to not know its present. Yes, PP has done some absolutely amazing and brilliant things. PP has also done some detestable and horrific things–and it is WRONG to let the detestable and horrific things pass because of the good things. It’s even worse to call a woman of color who has had a bad experience with her reproductive life “stupid” because there is no critical analysis of how a historically “population control” centered institute is currently conducting its business.

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[url=http://brownfemipower.com/?p=2365]La Chola: brownfemipower[/url]

RosaL, there are many connections between racism, disability and the historical eugenics movement, mostly involving enforced sterilization (that continues to this day). This has also historically (and currently) included poor women, of all racial backgrounds and abilities.

My daughter and some coleagues have been doing a study of the treatment of Native Women in BC by the medical system. I don't believe it is published yet but I read some of the stories and they are heart breaking. About Native Women going into immerg for treatment and being vertually ignored.
When this is published I will be happy to pass it on to anyone who wants to read it.

Rexdale, please do not post in threads where it is clearly specified that a women-only discussion is wanted.  You clearly noticed this request because you said so at the beginning of your post.  It's also clear that if you're asking a bunch of questions, then you're not simply posting one little thing and then "being gone".

Please respect this space.  Thanks.

maysie  "Hi guys. Please respect the request at the beginning of this thread for a women-only discussion. Thanks."

how can you tell?  and what if a transvestite shows up how do you decide? the concept of a public site where only one sex can have a conversation is an interesting one though, so i will give you that...

maysie, that makes the most amount of sense and of course is not something that is reliant on what sex one is either... when someone figures out what '''sex''' by brain is, let me know... thanks...

Spam!!!

That would be my doing remind.  Lately we've had a rash of commercial spammers.   I used to delete the content, leaving the post up with a note saying what I had done.  I still do that if the spam is not in the last post because to just delete can bugger things up.  If it's the last post though, I just delete the whole thing because it's easier.  It stays on the TAT though. 

FYI, Lately I'm probaly spending all my paid mod time and more dealing with commercial spam.  You never see most of it because I can catch a lot of it on the users list before they post, and when they do slip through I'm on it pretty fast.

Well now let's not rule that out...

This is the second time in two weeks this particular thread has been activated by the essay spammers. I find that way weird.

Thanks Caissa, i got rid of it.