Feminism, Abortion, Stickers

Those topics have all just collided in my mailbox. I got an order and on the front of the envelope is a sticker that says, “Women Do Regret Abortion.” Then on the back there’s another sticker that says, “As a Former Fetus I Oppose Abortion.”

I’d be angry seeing these stickers anywhere. But I’m extra troubled because they’re on an order for “This Insults Women” and “A feminist was here” stickers. There are countless uses for “This Insults Women” stickers, but anti-choice messages like those are something I’d use mine on.

This has all gotten me thinking about who calls themselves feminists, who doesn’t, what feminism means, and how reproductive rights fit in.

At the NOW conference last year I went to a workshop called “I’m Not a Feminist but…” There was a great discussion on why young people with feminist ideals are hesitant or resistant to identify as "feminist." Some see feminism as a movement made up of white women with class privilege. Others prefer Alice Walker’s term “womanist.”

W O M A N I S T
“A black feminist or feminist of color. From the black folk expression of mothers to female children, 'You acting womanish,' i.e., like a woman. Usually referring to outrageous, audacious, courageous or willful behavior. Wanting to know more and in greater depth than is considered 'good' for one. Interested in grown-up doings. Acting grown up. Being grown up."

“Womanist is to feminist as purple to lavender."

-Alice Walker
In Search of our Mother’s Gardens: Womanist ProseAnd then there are still those images of feminists (man-hating, bra-burning, hairy, militant, lesbian, the list goes on and on) that some people don’t want to be associated with. It’s funny, but I’ve identified as a feminist for as long as I can remember and for a little while I secretly hoped I wouldn’t be queer because I didn’t want to satisfy people’s assumptions about feminists. I thought it would be so revolutionary to be a straight feminist. Um yeah, glad I didn’t spend too much time working on that campaign. Don’t get me wrong, there are plenty of straight feminists that I admire. But I don’t find anything revolutionary about it. And the bigger lesson for me was that I was letting these stereotypes control me by trying so hard to be the opposite of them. Better to be a happy queer feminist and try to destroy the whole system of stereotypes.

Okay, but back to the whole anti-abortion feminist thing. I’m not one for wanting to exclude people or say someone isn’t really a feminist. But I don’t get people who call themselves feminists and are anti-choice, or anti-gay, or conservative. I don’t get it-- wow that was eloquent. Well bell hooks explains the conflict between feminism and anti-choice better than I can: “If feminism is a movement to end sexist oppression, and depriving females of reproductive rights is a form of sexist oppression, then one cannot be anti-choice and a feminist. A woman can insist she would never choose to have an abortion while affirming her support of the right of women to choose and still be an advocate of feminist politics. She cannot be anti-abortion and an advocate of feminism.”

What do you think?