So, this US Supreme Court overturning of Roe vs Wade or rather the reactions to it has been a huge focus this past week. Social media is full. Bit of shock and horror at the ignorance that abounds. How can women, women!, say things like ‘just use a condom’!
I’m pro-choice. I’m pro life. As one friend recently said, ‘it depends on whose life we’re talking about!’ You cannot blanket ban abortions. What about ectopic pregnancies? pregnancies where the foetus is not developed, won’t survive, and the mother’s life at risk? a 12 year old raped? There are times where, to my mind, ethically and medically termination of a pregnancy is the right thing, no?! Abortion is healthcare.
At the end of the day, pro-life pro-choice aside, this is just a pretty basic, practical and critical healthcare issue. Reality. As a lot of big name feminists like Gloria Steinem are saying, banning abortions doesn’t do anything but make abortions unsafe again. yeah! It’s so obvious, isn’t it? Women have been getting abortions for centuries, since the beginning of time probably, and what the feminist movement has done and won over recent decades is the right to and availability of safe abortions. No more back alleys and coat hangers but a safe practice under healthcare systems. A fight hard won in the US and many other countries. Going back cannot be an option. Wake up.
What is surprising to me, but perhaps not, is that it’s women – mostly privileged white middle class – who are the most vitriolic and ignorant in their anti-abortionist stance on social media. Why are women so often women’s own worst enemy. They condone and support the worst conditions and practices on their own sex. I remember reading once that FGM is actually something perpetuated and perpetrated by women, one generation to the next. In the name of what? Where is the sisterhood?
Ok, rant over. Curious to see how it all plays out in the US. Hugely divisive of course and complex – religion, criminal law, government control, power… And a precursor to something worse I wonder? Love Margaret Atwood, have since I devoured her ‘Edible Woman’ as a young teen, but hope she is not a prophet with her ‘Handmaid’s Tale’!
In all of this, over the past week, with steam coming out of my ears at ridiculous comments on sm, I’ve been a bit obsessed with the female body – my body, my choice – and have been working on a series of nudes, exploring and experimenting with the female form. You can view them here on @F_ox.
Love and light people!
F ox