What Will Our Future Hold?

Many people have a lot to say in regards to the female body when it comes to reproduction. Many believe that abortions should be illegal and obsess over whether the mother is being “selfish” in her behaviors while carrying the child. These are often the same people who will do nothing to help insure the health of the baby after birth. Strangers in public have taken it upon themselves to tell pregnant women what they should and should not put into their bodies. Who are we to tell anyone what she should or should not do to her body? However, when it comes to a fetus, everyone feels that they should be able to express their opinions while the opinion of the mother often goes unheard or ignored.

When a woman gets pregnant, she is no longer seen as her own person. The pregnant woman is responsible for providing a safe environment for her fetus for nine months and then is expected to drop everything for the next 18 years to raise her child. Once a woman becomes pregnant, societal standards dictate that her life is no longer her own and to think of herself as independent would be selfish. By making sure the fetus is given the best chance at life despite what it may do to the mother provides the fetus with rights no other person has.

Access to reproductive rights has often been used as a weapon in order to threaten women into making choices that aren’t truly theirs. The case of Walker v. Pierce demonstrates how the doctor in question would not treat patients that were poor and pregnant with their third child unless they agreed to sterilization after giving birth. These women were likely desperate and needed medical attention and for the sake of their well-being and that of their child agreed to a procedure that they ordinarily would not have. Women, especially those with limited resources, are often coerced or forced into making certain decisions, regardless of how they feel. Depo-Provera was often used as a form of coercion and illustrates many issues regarding reproductive rights. Firstly, this drug was proven to be harmful to women and was not even approved to use on animals. Additionally, women were not educated on the side effects and access to any form of welfare was often threatened unless the woman agreed to receive the injection.

Given the most recent election and current political climate, reproductive rights are likely to be threatened and more precarious than they have been within the past few years. Many women fear how Donald Trump and Mike Pence will influence their future medical care and the options available in order to express reproductive freedom. In the final presidential debate, Donald Trump promised to abolish Roe v. Wade immediately, thus leaving the decision of whether abortion should be legal to individual states. Whether he is actually able to do this is another story, but it leaves many people panicking. If decisions regarding abortion were left up to the states, many women would be left without the option of abortion, resulting in women seeking unsafe options or traveling out of state, which is not feasible for everyone. With the abolishment of abortions, an influx of young, poor, pregnant women would likely ensue because this demographic would not have the resources available to take preventative actions or seek help after. These women would give birth to babies and likely not have the resources to care for the child, and the cycle continues.  

Donald Trump’s vice president Mike Pence is anti-abortion and has been a force behind the movement to defund Planned Parenthood. While abolishing Roe v. Wade could limit access to abortions, the defunding of Planned Parenthood would further reduce women’s access to important healthcare resources. Planned Parenthood provides women many services in addition to abortion to insure women receive the comprehensive reproductive care they are entitled to. Most of the care is preventative and educates those who come through the doors. It is estimated that Planned Parenthood manages to reach 1.5 million youth alone per year. Along with the centers spread across the country, the website can provide online users a lot of information in a private setting.

Under the Obama Administration, strides were made in order to insure that women have access to contraception regardless of whether their employer and the insurance company agrees and that Planned Parenthood receives reimbursements from Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act. These strides have declared that to do anything of this nature would be breaking federal law. While the Obama Administration has made leaps and bounds, these accomplishments will not necessarily be safe under the Trump Administration depending on who is appointed attorney general. On public forums, women have been advising other women to get the contraceptive IUD, which can be effective for up to 12 years. The IUD is a form of birth control that would not be influenced by policy if the patient chose to get the implant soon. However, this is yet another example of how women are strong-armed into making choices that are not entirely theirs. While personally an IUD sounds scary, if that is the best option in order for me to have access to effective and reliable contraceptives, I would probably make the choice to get an IUD. Women have also been recommended to stock up on Plan B and other emergency contraceptives incase Planned Parenthood and other purveyors of emergency contraceptives are defunded making these products hard to come by.

Ultimately, despite the opinions of politicians or of her next door neighbor, what a woman choses to do with her body should be a decision that is ultimately her choice. It is her body that will experience the aftermath of an abortion, it is her body that will carry a baby for 9 months and be encouraged to take vitamins and limit alcohol and caffeine, stop smoking and eat a well balanced diet. Her career will be affected at least by maternity leave or if she chooses to stay at home with her child could be challenging to continue years down the line. She will be taking care of the child for the next 18 years. And if her spouse chooses to stay home so she can work, that is their choice, but the mother will continue to be criticized for being selfish enough to choose her career over child rearing. Regardless of the decision made, it is likely not an easy one and not one that is made at the drop of a hat. Men often make the argument that they would love to carry a child, and while they say that, it is impossible. Until it is possible for men to carry their children, the woman should be the only one in charge of her body and in order to do so, we must have full access to our reproductive rights.

https://theintercept.com/2016/11/09/american-women-are-preparing-for-a-war-on-reproductive-rights-under-president-trump/

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/nov/29/tom-price-health-secretary-planned-parenthood-trump

http://nytlive.nytimes.com/womenintheworld/2016/11/15/what-will-happen-to-reproductive-rights-under-trump/

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/nov/21/donald-trump-presidency-women-rights-health-care-solutions

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/07/opinion/protecting-reproductive-rights-under-donald-trump.html?_r=0

Redefining Beauty and Health

Some of the more impactful documentaries I have watched over the years have been in regards to the food industry and how it is setting up our populations for failure when it comes to eating a well balanced diet and losing weight. More and more children are being considered overweight and because of how we view health, these children are encouraged to go on strict diets and intense exercise regimes. Despite the best efforts of parents and doctors, children are not losing weight. The associations that come along with being fat is that people are lazy and have no self control. However, the fat children in the documentary Fed Up are far from lazy and lacking self control. They take it upon themselves to try and take the necessary steps to lose the weight, but simply cannot. The kids featured in the film needed to change their diets and do a bit more exercise in order to obtain the important nutrients and increase cardiovascular health, however, most got frustrated when their hard work did not pay off. They viewed themselves as failures even though the odds were completely against them.

The lack of weight loss of the kids featured in the film is no fault of their own.  More and more we are learning that this lack of weight loss and continued prevalence of obesity is a result of the amount of processed food and the deception by major food companies. By false advertising or requiring consumers to read labels very carefully and truly understand the advised daily values of each component on the nutritional label, food companies lure consumers into buying products that might say “Low Fat” but in fact contain more of the highly addictive substance that is resulting in weight gain; sugar. 

While our society tells us that thin is healthy and fat is unhealthy, Health At Every Size aims to dissolve this belief. Many people pose the argument that fat is directly related to health and being thin can be equally as harmful. Many people do not realized that anyone who does not eat a well balanced diet can be malnourished whether they are over or underweight. We need a better way to measure health aside from focusing on weight and the BMI system. Health needs to encompass mental health, physical health, diet, exercise and sleep patterns. With an increase in malnutrition, which can lead to obesity, I think the Health at Every Size program will be incredibly helpful in improving the health of our children without putting the focus on weight. However, this program also needs to be in combination with education of what foods are healthy and which are contributing to fat. Along with education, we must work to send the message that all bodies are beautiful regardless of size.

With a better understanding of how health can truly occur at all sizes and that to be thin is not indicative of health, we can use this to promote healthier beliefs when it comes to our body. The Adipositivity Project and the FullyBeauty Project are online photo campaigns that strive to “broaden definitions of physical beauty” in which fat women pose often without clothes in a way that they feel comfortable. This allows everyone to gain an appreciation for the many different body types. Because fat is seen as ugly and unhealthy, it does not appear in the media, which perpetuates the taboo. These women show that they are comfortable in their own bodies, so others should be too regardless of size. This can help change the way our society views the physicality of bodies and help promote health instead of size. This is a complicated issue because it incorporates what it means to be healthy and not just what people look like, and because of this I believe it is important to tackle the issue from all angles.

In order to steer away from weight as a sign of health and beauty, we need to put an emphasis on healthy eating to nourish our bodies and attempt to undo the work of food companies, which make it even harder to eat well. By teaching people to eat well, this will prevent any issues that may arise from a poor diet, which can go hand in hand with malnutrition. We need to focus on health holistically and work towards a goal of feeling better as opposed to weighing a certain amount. While focusing on leading healthy lives and enjoying the lives we are living, we can do as the Adipositivity Project and the FullBeauty Project are trying to do and expand our beauty ideals to encompass women of all shapes and sizes. By focusing on these three components, critiques of each cannot argue against the movement as a whole because it addresses health, redefining health, weight and redefining beauty in regards to weight.
 

Women's Sexuality in the 1800s and Now

This past week, two of my classes have discussed women’s sexuality; the history behind it and where we are today. In “Beauty (re)discovers the male body,” Bordo brings to the attention of the audience how it took a designer to try and target gay men in order for men to be sexualized in the media. Never mind that this is something women might like to look at. Even in the present day, where waiting until marriage is not as common of a practice and sexual promiscuity is prevalent, particularly on college campuses, women’s sexuality is still taboo and unequal. The idea still remains that women are not and should not be as sexual as men. Bordo uses a few studies as examples to illustrate how men can be more “erotically aroused” when compared to women. Perhaps advertisers believe that because can be more readily aroused, they are an easier target for consumerism. Bordo mentions how she initially felt ashamed and concerned for how strong her feelings of attraction were for the partially naked man in the Calvin Klein ad that originally caught her attention. But after years of educating herself, she realized that she did not need to feel that way, however, I think this shame is something many women still feel.

            Particularly on college campuses where the hook-up culture is prominent, there is a double standard regarding the sexual activity of men versus women. If a guy has sex with lots of girls and actively seeks it, this is considered normal male behavior. However, if a girl seeks out sex and has a lot of it, with numerous partners she will be judged by males, as well as females. I know I judge other girls despite the fact that I know it is not fair to do, or right. This summer I frequently listened to “Guys We F**cked- The anti-slut shaming podcast." The hosts are two, twenty something female comedians who interview guys they have slept with, as well as sex workers and anyone with an open-minded perspective on sex and the issues surrounding sex those who identify as female often face. For me the podcast was pretty enlightening as well as entertaining. The two women have the taboo conversations so many people are afraid to have and provide the listeners with new vocabulary in order to start conversations of their own.

            Thankfully, women nowadays have more outlets to discuss the issues of sex including this podcast as well as classes that empower women to embrace their womanhood. However, we still have a long way to go before our sexual behavior can be considered equal to that of men. I am taking a history class, which focuses on medicine and illness, and we have spent the past week discussing the use of chloroform and ether as forms of anesthesia in childbirth during the 1800s. There was much debate surrounding the use of chloroform, which proved to be more effective than ether. In some cases, doctors refused to use chloroform because it seemed to turn laboring pains to sexual sensations and women would supposedly orgasm while in labor. This of course was shameful because the woman was not being modest and it brought into question to ability of the obstetrician. The other argument against the use of chloroform was that labor pains were punishment for Eve’s transgressions and this punishment should not be dulled. This notion that women must be punished for sexual curiosity is still present today. The DKNY advertisement, in which the woman was holding the apple, is perhaps an inadvertent reminder of what Genesis says about women being the weaker sex whom are incapable of showing restraint and therefore must be punished.

            All of the articles I read regarding laboring pains and female sexuality in the 1800s were written by males or told from the male perspective. This is not surprising because men were the ones collecting statistics, writing journals and were the doctors of the era. However, I did manage to find a recent article talking about sexual practices in the Victorian Era. A young woman, Clelia Mosher, in the late 1800s attended Stanford determined to prove that the weaknesses of women “chalked up to sex were really the effects of binding garments, insufficient exercise and mental conditioning.” Once Mosher became a doctor, she started to survey women regarding their knowledge and enjoyment of sex. Many women confessed that they did not know about sex until marriage and they learned from older women or from watching farm animals. Many talked about how they had orgasms and enjoyed it and for those who did not enjoy sex, they believed their husband was to blame. Some expressed concern for enjoying sex and admitted that they would sleep in separate rooms from their husbands to avoid temptation. The women interviewed understood that there was a lack of knowledge and education regarding sex for both the husband and wife. This article illustrates how women in the 1800s were aware of their sexual desires but did not have the language or the outlet to discuss it, kind of like women today. We have made a lot of progress in regards to sexual education, starting dialogues and embracing womanhood, however, there is still plenty of room for improvement. 

Guidance for Parents?

Guidance for Parents?

Blog #1

By Chloe Lattin

            Last summer, I shadowed a very accomplished pediatric surgeon, Dr. F., in Cleveland who specialized in sex surgeries among other things. He did a lot of great work to make sure the sex organs and urinary tracts functioned for these young patients. I really respected Dr. F. and valued how he treated his patients; however, there was one instance in which I had a hard time grappling with his beliefs. I met Patient 1 whom had been with Dr. F. since birth. He was probably around 6 years of age when I met him and was raised as a boy. The unique thing about Patient 1 was that he had been born without a penis or a clear vagina. He had what doctors refer to as a cloaca or a hole that passes both liquid and solid waste. At birth, doctors suggested that because this boy did not have a penis his parents should raise him as a girl because it would be “easier.” However, the boy had testes and had male chromosomes, so the family decided to raise him as a boy. When Dr. F. and I later discussed Patient 1, he admitted that he had thought that the family was making the wrong decision and while he valued the patient and the family, he still thought they had made the wrong decision.

            Later that summer, I encountered another patient, a boy who had a penis but his testicles had not descended. His father, who was a doctor at the hospital, was insistent on having the boy’s testicles surgically descended in order to make his genitalia look “normal.” The doctors were concerned that if they pulled the testicles down before the boy had stopped growing, then it could result in lasting damage and the testicles might ascend and cause scar tissue build up. Despite the fact that the father was a doctor, he was so set on what his son’s genitalia looked like, that he wanted a risky surgery to be performed. While this patient did have a penis, which corresponded to his sex chromosomes, it was interesting to see how Dr. F. refused to allow a surgery that could have caused physical harm, however, encouraged a surgery that could have caused emotional harm and confusion to Patient 1. A number of articles have discussed how sex assignment surgery can cause lasting damage when performed on the patient at too early of an age and the parents can make the wrong decision in the eyes of the patients.

            When I think back on these two patients and how I questioned what was happening and lacked the vocabulary to vocalize my opinions I have only grown more confused after reading Reis’s piece “Divergence or Disorder” which aims to shed light on how we define disorder of sex development (DSD). While I felt uneducated on Patient 1, I am sure the parents initially felt even more uneducated. The common term for people born outside of the clear binaries of sex is intersex. However, this term is being phased out because it “suggests a self-conscious alternative gender identity and sexuality” not for the patient, but for the patient’s parents (Reis, 535). Many of the concerns Reis makes in “Divergence or Disorder?” take into account how the parents feel, without thinking about the needs of the child. This is a difficult situation because these “issues” of intersex arise usually at birth and before the child is able to make decisions for him or herself. Reis continues to focus on the concern of the parent instead of the patient. Despite age, it seems like parents need to be better educated on what to do, without the pressure of doctors and society to make a quick decision in order to start raising their child the “right” way. When I researched ‘intersex parenting’ an article in Parents Magazine was the first to pop up. The article leads with how in Germany, a child can legally be neither male nor female on their birth certificate. I thought that this would set the tone and direction of the article perhaps trying to break down binaries, however, in the first step under “What should you do if your child is intersex?” the first recommendation is to assign a gender, based on “what the child is likely to feel as she or he grows up.” http://www.parents.com/parenting/intersex/

If parents wanted to wait until their child could express themselves regardless of their chromosomes or genitalia or sex organs, they would likely receive little to no guidance. They could not rely on the support of doctors, who encourage parents to immediately assign a gender to the child and the first website to appear online shares the same views as most doctors. Breaking down sex and gender binaries can be done by parents who often make the decisions for their young children, however, without the support of doctors and online resources this can be very challenging. I admired the mother and family of Patient 1 who chose to raise their child based on his chromosomes instead of his lack of genitalia. While maybe this family did not need to assign a sex to their child, the mother followed her instinct despite recommendations from the doctors and perhaps this is the first step.

           

When I googled cartoon children, these minions were the only image that did not contain children that were clearly male or female.

Reis, Elizabeth. “Divergence or Disorder?” Perspectives in Biology and Medicine 50.4 (2007): 535-41. Print.