Anti-Choicers Get Real About Their Loathing of Female Sexuality

by Amanda Marcotte, RH Reality Check
February 24, 2013


Anti-choicers aren’t even trying to sound reasonable anymore.  Since the seventies, the anti-choice movement has gone to great lengths to try to spin their fear and loathing of female sexuality as anything but what it is.  Obviously, the most popular gambit has been to claim to have concern for fetal life, but there have been other popular variations: Pretending to have public health motivations for removing evidence-based information from sex education, pretending to believe condoms don’t work, pretending to be concerned about women’s mental health if they exert control over their own bodies.  While these derailing tactics are sadly not going anywhere soon, it does seem lately like there’s an uptick in anti-choicers just straight up admitting that they don’t think women should be having sex for any other reason but procreation.    

This past week have been a veritable buffet of incidents that demonstrate that anti-choicers simply have a problem with female sexuality and that everything else is noise.  

Example #1: Only virgins have a right to control their own bodies.  Indiana is looking at passing a mandatory trans-vaginal ultrasound law, which has the added bonus of requiring two if you use the abortion pill.  (I guess if you want to minimize your time with your feet in the stirrups and people sticking stuff in your vagina by opting for the pill over the surgical abortion, Indiana will just require you to get back into those stirrups, young lady.) Voters tend to have serious problems with the state requiring women to be penetrated against their will, but Indiana Right to Life legislative director Sue Swayze tried to calm those concerns by arguing that once a penis has been in your vagina, the rest of the world get an all-access pass: “I got pregnant vaginally,” she said, causing me to wonder if we’re expected to congratulate her.  “Something else could come in my vagina for a medical test that wouldn’t be that intrusive to me.  So I find that argument a little ridiculous.”  

One does wonder how far Swayze is willing to go with her contention that once you say yes to a penis, you can’t say no to anything else anyone would want to put in there.  Do we have to look forward to new anti-choice bills requiring that tennis balls and toothbrushes be shoved up in there?  One does hope that Swayze doesn’t learn what oral sex is, because new laws requiring unwieldy objects to be shoved in the sinner’s mouth could get downright dangerous.  

Example #2: Always be ovulating.  Oklahoma, presumably as a favor to Oklahoma-based Hobby Lobby—a surprisingly misogynist organization for having a mostly-female customer base—is considering an (illegal) law that allows employers to refuse to cover contraception.  The bill was brought forward at the request of Dr. Dominic Pedulla, because he believes birth control is “poison.” “Part of their identity is the potential to be a mother,” he argued, forgetting the part in medical school where they taught you that the pill does not actually render a woman permanently infertile.  “They are being asked to suppress and radically contradict part of their own identity,” he added, because he believes that if women can buy birth control, they must buy it, much in the same way he is required to buy a new car every time he drives by the lot.  “And if that wasn’t bad enough,” he continued, “they are being asked to poison their bodies,” stretching the definition of “poison” to include “safe drugs that improve your life,” a definition that encompasses everything from caffeine to aspirin.  Needless to say, I’m skeptical that Dr. Pedulla opposes ingesting other safe drugs for life improvement that don’t lead to scary, scary opportunities for women to have sex without worrying about getting pregnant.


Example #3: The female orgasm is unholy, unholy I tell you! As reported by Katie J.M. Baker at Jezebel, Allegheny College hosted a sex education seminar called “I Heart the Female Orgasm” in the Ford Memorial Chapel on campus.  Chapels are a popular place to hold all sorts of lectures and classes—even my atheist self has had the pleasure of giving talks inside their hallowed halls—for the obvious reason that you can hold a lot of people inside them.  In the grown-up world, no big deal.

In the wingnut world, however, it’s time to cue the outrage, because while you filthy feminists may “heart” the female orgasm, anti-choicers strongly believe that God does not.  (Which does make one wonder why, if God is so strongly anti-lady-orgasm, he didn’t just make women so they can’t have them in the first place?)  Conservative blog The College Fix claimed that open “hearting” of the shameful, shameful female orgasm turned the chapel into a “boudoir of sorts.” Clearly, better sex education is needed on Allegheny campus if students such as blogger Katie McHugh think that talking about sex in public is the same thing as having sex in public.  Fox News and The Daily Mail were equally disturbed.

As Baker notes at Jezebel, the only way the outrage makes sense is if you think it’s a given that female sexuality is depraved, unholy, and evil.  None of the outraged folks straight up said that, but mostly because they seemed to believe it was a given and that everyone “knows” that the female orgasm is too awful to be discussed in public, much less in the home of the deity they believe invented it.  But of course, the rest of us do not actually take it as a given that it’s terrible to be a fan of the female orgasm.  On the contrary, some of us actually think female orgasms are nifty and that women are 100 percent entitled to finding consensual, appropriate ways to have as many as they damn well please.

So there you have it, folks: Anti-choicers aren’t even pretending that this isn’t about sex anymore.  Which is fine by me! I’m a big fan of honesty, and believe that the debate over reproductive rights would be much more pleasant if the opposition was straightforward and honest about their beliefs.  Of course, honesty tends to hurt their cause’s popularity, but that’s a small price to pay in order to be honest, moral people, I’d think.

This article originally appeared at RealityCheck.org

Progressive Non-Reactionary Solutions and FREE Download

Today, human life is thrown into myriad tumults ranging from job security, food security, survivability and even the next meal for oneself and one's family.  Struggle seems to be a factor of life for all living beings, while circumstances -- whether caused, seemingly, by nature, or as a consequence of willful or unwitting results of human endeavors -- while some of that struggle seems exceedingly inequitably distributed and perpetrated through unconscionable [anti-]rationales, ideologies, treaties and laws perpetuating the compromise of others' livelihood and lives.  If each person was a cell in the body of humanity or of Earth itself, the current stasis would be very unhealthy, indeed an unsustainable stasis, a body riddled with a viciously malignant carcinoma.  


A proper homeostasis for humanity and for Earth at large is imperative for life on Earth to survive.  Many geophysical changes we are witnessing today are a force of nature, whereas some of these changes and many other changes are due to unbridled human morbidification of our planet and life upon it -- a gravely serious concern.  


Knowing what and how such concerning matters are happening are imperative for solving such calamitous events from happening, and bringing about shared participation in problem-solving will be an imperative part of solving what humanity faces today.  Rather than complex and unwieldy, the principles of reclaiming our planetary and personal homeostasis are quite simple, pervade the wellbeing of all and the planet as a whole.  Such involves both our dispositions towards each other and the rational utilization and distribution of all resources of self, society and the planet as a whole, with respect for all life forms, not just ourselves.  


PROUT offers fundamental principles that could just as easily describe homeostasis for our body and mind as it does for economic and political remediations that are not reactionary, rather they are homeostatic, optimally homeostatic for all life, well reflected in economic and socio-political realms of life.  Reactionary ideologies often reflect, though in cosmetically contrarian ways, the very same problems they may claim to move against.  


While Marx may, or may not, have been a humanitarian in search of solutions, his complaints about life as he knew them were legitimate in many ways, his reactionism constituted much misery for hundreds of millions of people over several decades.   Yet today, Marxism continues to constitute the bulk of people's efforts in fighting non-communist exploitation, in the hope that somewhere inside it may lead to a solution, despite that following Marxism strictly is both more materialistic than capitalism and denatures humanity further with its denial of subtler realms of human evolution and expression.  See PROUT Compared. 


To concisely illustrate the architecture of PROUT's solutions, we've created a free download of an alternative economic and political paradigm, as if people and all life matters, for your exploration and inclusion in discussions for remedial action in your environment and community which you can download HERE.  

Spiritual Humanism

Spiritual Humanism

PROUT is founded on the assumption that matter is not separate from consciousness but is rather a metamorphosed form of it.  Similarly, consciousness, is not the result of mental activity but rather thought is also a form of consciousness.  It is Consciousness that underlies psycho-physical reality and provides the inspiration for a rational view of life, moral integrity, and spiritual wisdom.

Spirituality and morality should not be equated with religious dogma and faith in God.  All religions are frankly dualist systems that separate humans from their creator and the creation.  The rationalist rebels against theology - Descartes, Leibnitz, and Kant - also failed to escape the vicious circle of dualism.  To offer security, religion impressed upon people the need to submit before the imaginary will of God or a theological ethical code, sanctioned by the scriptures and defined by religious institutions.  Morality in this sense, however, is the absence of freedom.

A philosophy based on spiritual and moral values, on the other hand, is able to explain human existence - including desire, emotion, instincts, intuition, will and reason - as an integrated framework and do so in a way that is accessible to human comprehension.  Such a philosophy is required to build the new social organism and political institutions capable of fostering not only the harmonious relations of all races and cultural groups, but also the harmonious relation of human beings with all animate and inanimate objects.

Human existence is physical, mental and spiritual, with progress as an evolutionary continuum into higher consciousness and ultimately to the state of absolute freedom.   Simultaneously, spiritual progress can only be attained on a firm physical and mental base.  This physical and intellectual base has to be progressively adjusted to changing conditions of time and space.  The natural human aspiration is to achieve freedom in all three spheres.

In our march towards freedom we cannot neglect other living beings.  We have to develop a social system where all living beings can live securely, and where people can move towards emancipation by freeing their minds from superstition and dogma.  This universalistic spirit is NeoHumanism or Spiritual Humanism.  Human history thus far is a story of ruling classes trying to enhance their own social and material wealth at the cost of human values.  This is why temples, churches, scriptures, laws, constitutions, corporations and international trade agreements have become more important than human beings.  To confront this, PROUT maintains that a fundamental human philosophy is required to cement a new social system and not the changing social values based on self-interest embodied in contemporary ruling institutions.

Human values find their root in transpersonal essence, spirituality.  Spirituality is not mystic speculation of life after death, but is realized in relation to the manifest universe.  The philosophy of monism, which postulates the self to be in union with the rest of the universe and responsible for its well-being, is the essence of spiritual humanism.  Sarkar wrote in his book Neo-Humanism in a Nutshell:  Part 1:  “What does the state stand for, what is the use of these regulations, and what is the march of civilization for, if human beings don't get a chance to build a good physical well-being, to invigorate their intelligence with knowledge, and to broaden their hearts with love and compassion?   Instead of leading humanity to the goal of life, if the State stands in the way, then it cannot command loyalty, because humanity is superior to the State.”  

You can always find this blog via http://PROUT.Shows.it/ and comment below each post.  To discuss further in our forum and explore the subtleties of the Progressive Utilization Theory with others, go here: http://ProgressiveSustainMeetUp.has.it/

Political Democracy can and will be fortuitous when Economic Democracy is established.   Explore this and other articles covering alternative economics, ethical leadership, economic democracy, and a society without the weal and woe of social and economic vicissitudes HERE   How does PROUT compare or contrast with capitalism or communism?  Explore the answers HERE What are essential ingredients assuring progressive sustainability bereft of the vicissitudes of economic or political predation, privation or disparity?  Learn more HERE  http://gplus.to/ProgressiveSustainability

What is PROUT?

PROUT is an acronym for Progressive Utilization Theory, a socio-economic philosophy synthesizing physical, mental and spiritual dimensions of human nature with a goal of providing guidance for the evolution of a truly progressively evolving human society.

PROUT presents an alternative to the outmoded capitalist and communist socio-economic paradigms, each having been tried in myriad ways yet proven false as ideologies for a full spectrum of life.  Neither of these approaches have adequately met the physical, mental, social, and spiritual needs of humanity. 

PROUT seeks a harmonious balance between economic growth, social development, environmental sustainability, and between individual and collective interests. Combining the wisdom of spirituality with a universal outlook and the struggle for self-reliance, proutist thinkers and activists are creating a new civilizational discourse and planting the seeds for a new way of living affecting every realm of life progressively. 


A few basic tenets of PROUT:

Spirituality and Progress

Human beings are on an evolutionary path toward realizing greater thresholds of subtler realms of consciousness. True progress is movement leading toward self-realization in personal evolution, spiritual qualities such as compassion and love for all beings, and societal development both encouraging and expressing such evolutionary excellencies.  Material or intellectual gains do not necessarily constitute progress unless they contribute to deeper realms of transpersonal well-being.

The progressive orientation of society is maintained by making continual adjustments in the use of physical resources and psychic and social potentialities in accordance with spiritual and NeoHumanistic values. Human beings are encouraged to construct economic and social institutions to facilitate the attainment of our greatest potentialities.

Economic Democracy

Political democracy and economic democracy are mutually inclusive. PROUT advocates economic democracy based on local economic planning, cooperatively managed businesses, local governmental control of natural resources and key industries, and socially agreed upon limits on the individual accumulation of wealth. By decentralizing the economy and making sure decision-making is in the hands of local people, we can ensure the adequate availability of food, shelter, clothing, health care and education for all.

A decentralized economy can better ensure that the ecological systems of Earth are not exploited beyond their capacity to renew themselves. Environmental stewardship is a requisite for people who are dependent upon these systems for their own survival and well-being.

Basic Necessities Guaranteed to All

The basic necessities of life must be á constitutional birth right of all members of society. People cannot attain their highest human potential if they lack food, shelter, clothing, health care and education. Meaningful employment with a living wage must be planned to ensure adequate purchasing capacity for all basic necessities. The standard of guaranteed minimum necessities should advance with increases in the economy's productive capacity.  

With more enterprises in the hands of their workers, people's earnings can increase, and often their work hours can gradually reduce while productivity and profitability progressively increase. 

Leadership

For a benevolent society, it is essential that leaders are morally principled and dedicated to serving society as part of their personal progress. Authority should not be centred in the hands of individuals, but should be expressed through collective leadership. The viability of political democracy rests on an electorate possessing three factors: 

 education,
 socio-economic consciousness,
 ethical integrity.

Freedom

Individuals should have complete freedom to acquire and express their ideas, creative potential and inner aspirations. Such intellectual and spiritual freedom will strengthen the collectivity. Restrictions should only be placed on actions clearly detrimental to the welfare of others. Constraints need to be placed on the accumulation of physical wealth, as excessive accumulation by a few results in the deprivation of many.  

Ideas and transpersonal excellence can be explored without compromising the wellbeing of others, whereas accumulating excess material wealth can have detrimental affects on others, especially in natural resources and basic necessities. 


Cultural Diversity

In the spirit of universal fellowship, PROUT encourages the protection and cultivation of local culture, language, history and tradition. For social justice and a healthy social order, individual and cultural diversity must be accepted and encouraged.  PROUT also encourages cultural synthesis through intercultural and community engagement. 

Women's Rights

PROUT encourages the struggle against all forms of violence and exploitation used to suppress women. PROUT's goal is coordinated cooperation, with equal rights between men and women. PROUT seeks the economic, social and spiritual empowerment of women throughout the world, in part through economic democracy. 

Science and Technology

Scientific knowledge and technology are potential assets to humanity. Through their proper use the physical hardships of life decreases, and knowledge is gained about life’s secrets.

Time is freed for cultural and spiritual pursuits. However, the development and utilization of scientific knowledge must come under the guidance of spiritual and NeoHumanist values and ethical leadership. Without this, technology is often abused by profiteers and the power-hungry, resulting in destruction and exploitation of life deserving of fulfillment. 

World Government

PROUT supports the creation of a world governance system having a global bill of rights, global constitution and common penal code in order to guarantee the fundamental rights of all individuals and nations, and to settle regional and international disputes. As the global economy becomes decentralized, it will be advantageous to also have a global political system through confederation of nations. 

Political Democracy can and will be fortuitous when Economic Democracy is established.   Explore this and other articles covering alternative economics, ethical leadership, economic democracy, and a society without the weal and woe of social and economic vicissitudes HERE   How does PROUT compare or contrast with capitalism or communism?  Explore the answers HERE What are essential ingredients assuring progressive sustainability bereft of the vicissitudes of economic or political predation, privation or disparity?  Learn more HERE