This weekend I marched against the War on Women. I put on my protest clothes, laced up my Doc.
Marten boots, and met up with the Occupy DC crew in Lafayette Park to march to
Upper Senate Park for the “Unite Against the War on Women Rally.” You’re probably asking yourself if this is a
joke. Don’t worry, it is a joke, but
it’s not on you. I wanted to march
undercover, as a woman warrior, to see what it was all about. I gained some new insight, confirmed some
personal suspicions, and learned an important lesson.
The Unite Against the War on Women Rally, held in several
cities across the country on Saturday, April 28th, was the work of a newly
founded group, UniteWomen.org. The group was founded by two women in response
to "the astonishing legislation and rhetoric taking place in our House of
Representatives, the media and many of the States across our country attacking
our rights…from reproductive rights to voting rights to human rights." In short, it was formed to counter the push
back from Catholics, and others concerned about religious freedom, to the birth
control mandate. The organizers stated
that "everyone is invited to join, plan, and rally as we unite to demand
that every person be granted equal opportunities, equal rights, and equal
representation." As I totally agree
with the stated platform, I didn't think they'd mind my attendance at the rally
or if I took photos and videos, or even wrote a story about it.
We started out at Lafayette Park in front of the White
House. I was a little concerned that I
may be recognized because I’d been discussing this very issue rather actively
on twitter with 2 users that, I had only discovered a few hours beforehand, were
going to be there. I calmed myself,
remembered the warrior’s code, called a friend to strengthen my resolve, and
then marched along with my head held high.
My fellow marchers were quite boisterous, occasionally crossing against
the light (they were Occupiers so I should have been expecting it) and
frequently chanting. It was actually
kind of fun; I even joined in on a few chants.
I was jolted back to myself and my mission when they started chanting
about abortion. It was rather
jarring. We’d been chanting about equal
pay, and the wrongness of sexual assault, themes that everyone can agree on,
but when they brought up abortion they lost me.
Treating women with respect and dignity is in no way compatible with
abortion…or contraception for that matter.
As I marched I noticed that very few pedestrians smiled at
us. There were a few who did, even a
group of high school students who cheered us, but the vast majority of the
pedestrians/tourists gave us dirty looks.
It may have had nothing to do with the content of the protest, it may
have been hostility toward the Occupy community, or disgust with the rude signs
that so frequently accompany these events, but it gave me further hope that the
public is not on their side. Their
pathetic turnout on a nice Saturday afternoon was really enough to show me
that, though.
When we reached Upper Senate Park for the rally I was
surprised, once again, by the low turnout.
I was not surprised, though, by who turned out. Pro-choice activists are remarkably
consistent in their appearance; you’ve got the punks/Occupy-kids, you’ve got
the older women, and you’ve got the women you’re not quite sure are women. There were normal people interspersed
throughout the crowd, a few “non-traditional” families, and several men as
well. There were not, though, large numbers
of average and even attractive young women, and women with families like were
present at the Stand up for Religious Freedom Rallies.
Shortly after we arrived the speeches began. Kemyta Terry, a PhD student at Howard and the
DC rally organizer, gave a speech welcoming us to the rally and explaining her
newfound political activism. Her Facebook
page features this quote from Margaret Sanger: “No woman can call herself free
who does not own and control her body.
No woman can call herself free until she can choose consciously whether
she will or will not be a mother.” I
find her admiration of Margaret Sanger disturbing, given that she is a woman of
color, but that is not entirely relevant.
What I find especially striking about this quote is the idea that a
woman is only able to control her body through the use of hormones that prevent
a woman’s body from exercising the perfectly healthy function of
ovulation. I consciously choose not to
become a mother by not having sex; the idea that I’m too stupid to understand
causality and too incompetent to take responsibility for my actions and
therefore must alter my biochemistry is insulting.
The speeches were, by and large, exactly what I expected to
hear. Calls to women’s unity, calls to
action, etc. There were a few things
that really struck me, though. Jennifer
Granholm, the former governor of Michigan and current host of The War Room with
Jennifer Granholm on Current TV, spoke for several minutes and focused on the
need for women to run for office. That’s
something I can get on board with; I think women can do a great job in elected
office. Unfortunately, that is the
extent of our agreement. Granholm argued
that all the “bad” legislation coming through was because of the lack of female
representation. According to Granholm,
“we have a major problem of representation.” She spoke of the lack of
Democratic/Progressive women legislators, confirming for me that she doesn’t
regard Republican women as real women. Republican
women are winning elections across the country, but Granholm didn’t see fit to
mention them. Apparently to be a real
woman, you must ingest carcinogenic hormones to suppress your ovulation and
support a doctor’s right to dismember unborn babies before they’re born. Needless to say, I was starting to get a bit
irritated.
The next speaker was Sarah Hutchinson from Catholics for
Choice. This is the speech that really
made my blood boil. Don’t take my word
for it, watch it yourself. Hutchinson, as was to be expected, argued
that Catholics don’t believe what the bishops teach so the bishops should
really just shut up. Her understanding
of the faith is laughable, but her public misrepresentation of it is
offensive. Her only arguments are
temporal, but our faith is not about the temporal. The function of the Church is to get her
believers to heaven, not ensure that they have a college savings account for
every child. Hutchinson, and I think
many of us, forgot that.
After Hutchinson’s speech I left. I couldn’t take it anymore. I’m a bit of a hot-head and had to keep
myself from heckling a few times, but I’m glad I went. It’s very important for us to go out into the
world and know what other people are saying.
It’s important for us to understand what it is that we’re really
fighting and what it is that they’re really fighting for. They are not fighting for access to
contraceptives, they’re fighting for free contraceptives and ultimately, free
abortions. Equal pay is a nice thing to
talk about, but don’t kid yourself, that’s only a side dish. So, women, I’m going to exhort you, like
Jennifer Granholm exhorted the women at her speech, to get involved. Speak up for your faith, protest the
violation of your conscience, and always know your real enemy.
