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America’s history is riddled with a combined offense, simultaneity of sexism and racism toward Latinx women. Entrenched in ideology that not only objectifies, but pathologizes their bodies, Latinx women often lose autonomy to their own fertility: forced sterilization. In the multi-authored book Undivided Rights, Elena R. Gutiérrez highlights the organization of Puerto Rican feminists in the 1960s and 70s against forced sterilization within the American context.

There seems to be a similar air in the struggles around addressing reproductive justice from an intersectional standpoint today, as it was in the past. Putting forth this historical lesson of the 60s-70s pro-reproductive justice movement in the Latinx context serves as not only pertinent in understanding the discourse today, but also remembering the struggles of women of color and most particularly within this portion of the text, Latinx. Latinx, pro-reproductive rights activists have and continue to face an important crossroads: supporting legal and safe abortion, while also fighting against the continued nonconsensual sterilization at the hands of a medical system run on racial bias and the state.

The reading points to a Puerto Rican nationalist group called the Young Lords Party (Gutiérrez 2004) . After the death of Carmen Rodriguez, the group took to not only condemning the systems and practices which allowed for the first death post-the New York State abortion law to be that of a Puerto Rican woman, but took action in opening clinics operated by Puerto Rican communities (Gutiérrez 2004 ). The medical world is riddled with the same racism and misogyny that is present in every institution. By creating services for women outside of the dominant medical sphere, the Young Lords are able to in a way, take back the autonomy which was lost from their bodies in some respect and I believe that to be crucial.

The conversation around forced sterilization I see within this piece, most particularly this portion reminds me greatly of similar conversation we are having today not about the past, but the present. Up until recently, the California Prison System had been sterilizing inmates. After a woman had given birth within the system, they were signed to be permanently sterilized (Ohlheiser 2013). Most prison spaces are highly occupied by people of color. In California, there is a particularly high number of occupants who identify as Latinx. The California Prison System’s inherent targeting of Latinx women is apparent. Thus why, now more than ever, we must acknowledge a more inclusive model of pro-reproductive justice. We can’t just let the public conversation revolve around the wants and needs of a certain sector of women adorned in hideous, pink hats. Now more than ever, we need to listen to women of color, particularly Latinx women, as well as other marginalized sectors in their struggle and solutions in fighting against anti-reproductive rights rhetoric.

I choose a photo of one of the prisons, wherein these events have taken place as a reminder that there is still far more that needs to be done. We do not live in an era that is post-race or post-feminism if only a few years earlier, women of color were sought out and targeted in a mass sterilization effort. I also linked the Atlantic article I read with this information. QUESTION: How do we create an all-inclusive model for pro-reproductive rights that is not only anti-racist and anti-sexist, but anti-all systems of power? LINK: https://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2013/07/california-prisons-were-illegally-sterilizing-female-inmates/313591/

Brenda Ramirez on Undivided Rights

In Undivided Rights, an incredible point was made regarding African American women and their struggle in trying to attain reproductive justice. However, in order to do so, it’s imperative that we know the origins of reproductive exploitation and its roots in rape, forced marriages, sterilization abuse, etc.

Reading about the ways in which African American women were exploited made me think about just how common these narratives are among women of color. The text goes on to say that not only were they exploited, but they were seen as breeders and sexually promiscuous. Their sense of humanity was literally stripped from them and they were equated to animals. I think this ideology of black women and other women of color are being depicted as only sexual objects remains relevant to our society today. We know that this objectification of black women’s bodies continues to exist in the way our society actively portrays and treats them.

Although our society continues to sexualize and glorify black women’s bodies, they do nothing for the well-being of black women. Our society has consistently permitted a misogynist and racist rhetoric of black women to avoid being held accountable for their lack of action regarding reproductive rights. In turn, the lack of reproductive justice and overall medical treatment of black women have intersected with factors such as poverty to create a window which puts black women at higher risk of sexually transmitted diseases, heart disease, etc. I think many people who don’t see or understand why this is such an important issue completely grasp the fact that this isn’t just about the amount of black women’s bodies who are disproportionately suffering the consequences of these narratives. This issue is much bigger in a sense that it also directly affects, black women’s entire communities.

As I previously mentioned, the objectification of black women as sexual objects and not human beings is prevalent in our society. Corporations, for instance, have used the bodies of black women to advertise their products as being “exotic”. In this way, companies use black women’s body to make their products more desirable. These kinds of marketing techniques serve as a way to continue to exploit women as sexual objects while also using racist ideals to justify this objectification. However, these same companies profiting from using black women’s bodies as marketing techniques have no involvement in movements to support black women’s struggle for reproductive justice or anything else for that matter.

How you think that racist and misogynist narratives have affected black women today? After all of these years, why do you think this continues to occur?

Dom Rosario on Undivided Rights

   When reading the chapters in Undivided Rights, some of the topics were not entirely new to me, as many GWS classes have covered this topic in a variety of different ways. As always, what stuck out to me the most and angered me the most is the "pro-choice" negligence of women of color's struggles. To me, the most compelling point in the entire reading was the lack of consideration of Latinas' ideas on reproductive freedom, maybe because it hits a personal cord with me.
      Focusing on the first chapter and chapter 12, where Latinas are talked about in detail, it brought me back to previous talks about this issue. I recall in one of my Gender and Women's Studies classes, not sure which one exactly, watching a documentary on Latin women, many were immigrants from Central America, who were sterilized without their consent, which is also something that is brought up in Undivided Rights. In my head, I cannot help but think of how awful this is and how anyone could do that to another person, to take away their choice of having children or having more children. I was also confused on why more people weren't discussing the issue and how nothing had really been done to end or solve the issue at hand.
     In the reading, there are many "reasons" why women of color are not really included or discussed within the "pro choice" movement. In particular, their reasoning for not discussing the issues of Latinas in regards to reproductive freedom was "As Latinas are predominantly catholic, it is assumed that they are all against abortion, do not use birth control, and are not active participants in political struggles for reproductive freedom. These ideas persist not only among the general public but in the pro-choice movement and feminist scholarship as well," (221). To me, this is both hilarious and infuriating. It is the most basic, ignorant excuse to not discuss a large issue that effects so many people. It is just a way for people to lessen their concerns with a group they don't identify with and lessen their responsibility to people they claim to be fighting for while not actually talking about their issues.
    The idea that because of perceived religion (because not all Latin people are catholic or even Christian) that Latinas couldn't possibly want what the "pro-choice" movement is fighting for is true. Latinas don't simply want the right to have abortions and birth control. Latinas want greater social change, which the "pro choice" movement isn't fighting for because that means dismantling the system that they are trying to work within. As chapter 12 says, "Grounded in the realities of their communities, Latinas insist that broader issues, such as racism and classism, influence their reproductive lives, and that true reproductive freedom necessitates an end to all forms of social inequality," (221). Latinas are fighting for more than just the right to choice, but the right to live better lives without serious oppressions pushing them down.



    As the images above show, there are plenty of current organizations created specifically for Latin Women fighting for reproductive freedom. The idea that the mainstream movement doesn't consider Latinas because they don't want the same things is proven false by one quick Google search, where hundreds of organizations regarding the reproductive freedom and justice for Latinas pop up. I don't think it has anything to do with Latinas being too religious to believe in the ideas of reproductive freedom. I think it's the racism and superiority within the mainstream movement that stops them from considering other women's issues that all fall under reproductive freedom.

Question: My vision is that all women of color come together to fight both society and the mainstream "pro-choice" movement. What ways would bring all women of color together?Are the commonalities in struggles between different groups of women of color enough to create a large scale movement of all women of color? If not, what do you think it would take to unite the different groups? 

Undivided Rights

The first chapter of Undivided Rights presents a number of definitions centered on various and ever-growing definitions around reproductive justice. It is in this chapter where the author mentions what these definitions look like in the lives of women of color vs those of white women. One of the points Jael Silliman makes on this issue is on page 12 where she states, “‘Choice’ implies a marketplace of options in which women’s right to determine what happens to their bodies is legally protected, ignoring the fact that for women of color, economic and institutional constraints often restrict their ‘choices’” (Silliman, 12).

           

            For white women, the fight for “choice” has focused on abortion, a woman’s decision to terminate a pregnancy when she chooses. However due to history of population control, women of color’s fight for “choice” and other areas of reproductive justice has focused largely on resisting population control through unknown/unwanted sterilization, the right to contraception, and the ability to have abortions when they choose. Resisting sterilization can often be difficult when the government wrongly bribes these women with government aid, housing, etc. if they go through the process of sterilization (a tool used to limit the growing population of people of color), thus putting these women at a crossroad. How is that right? Why can’t these women obtain these public benefits without giving up their freedom of reproduction? The government constantly attempts to keep these women of marginalized communities at the bottom of the totem pole by supplying these benefits in return for sterilization. Unfortunately for many women of color, they have no other choice but to follow through with this procedure because not only do they simply have no other means of obtaining health care, food stamps, etc., but also the very government promising these benefits is the same one doing NOTHING to fix the systematic issues that place these women in poverty to begin with. In her piece, Silliman includes that about 23% of African American women and 42% of Latina women don’t have access to adequate health care, compared to the 13% of white women, thus leaving these women stuck between choosing reproduction or health benefits, food stamps, etc.

            As mentioned in the reading, even when these women were given access to contraceptives such as the Depo-Provera, a shot containing progestin, the contraceptive was not tested on any women of color prior to the administration, which is EXTREMELY PROBLEMATIC! The health of these women are once again put at risk, and more likely than not, these women don’t have the health care or resources to go talk to a doctor for a follow-up appointment. Once again, this just shows that “choice” for women of color extends way further than simply an individual’s decision to terminate a pregnancy…

            After our class discussion on Tuesday, I wanted to uncover some cases of black women forced into unwanted sterilization. The article I found on NBC’s website (http://rockcenter.nbcnews.com/_news/2011/11/07/8640744-victims-speak-out-about-north-carolina-sterilization-program-which-targeted-women-young-girls-and-blacks) describes the story of Elaine Riddick, who was only thirteen the time of her sterilization. In 1967, Elaine’s neighbor raped her in the town of Winfall, North Carolina. After she gave birth to her baby, the state ordered an immediate sterilization. Like many women of color in these situations, Elaine was unaware that the doctor was cutting/ tying her fallopian tubes, leaving her unable to bear children if she chooses later in life. Up to five doctors were aware of this procedure, with each of them labeling (and wrongfully stereotyping) Elaine as “promiscuous” and “feebleminded”. This is not surprising, considering the negative ideals of Elaine were commonly shared with the thousands of other women who were worked on in this time. Also in this article, the author includes that “of those who were sterilized, 85% of the victims were female and 40% were non-white”, reminding the readers that government institutions utilized sterilization wrongfully to promote the theory of Eugenics. This article does an excellent job of providing a real example of how Eugenics and population control have been utilized to prevent women of color from reproducing, thus denying them of their reproductive freedom that extends way further than white women’s agenda surrounding “choice”.

Question: How often do you see women of color being unknowingly sterilized in 2018? Better yet, how many women who are being sterilized won’t come out to the public about it due to the fear that the government will revoke public aid they received?

Bella Pizzo - Undivided Rights

On page 20 of Chapter 1 of Undivided Rights, there is a quote by Dorothy Roberts about Identity-Based Organizing, stating that reproductive rights and justice have long been thought of in all-encompassing terms that have excluded the most marginalized communities from the discourse. The paragraph then goes on to say that identity-based organizing is the way to successfully work at combatting these inequalities in the structure of fighting for reproductive justice.

The authors discuss the authenticity of experience here, arguing that there needs to be a complete and total range of every kind of experience of women of color in order to truly understand the differing fights for reproductive justice. This idea reminds me of some works from another class about "authentic Blackness" surrounding the work of Marlon Riggs in his film, "Black Is...Black Ain't," where Riggs grapples with the complexity of what having a Black identity means in the United States across class, sexuality, and gender presentation. Is there a "true" way to have a Black experience? This is one of the questions that Riggs asks that I believe can be answered by this piece from Undivided Rights.

Framing reproductive justice through the lens of identity-based organizing and the authenticity of each woman's experience is absolutely crucial to understanding the ways that different institutions and interactions can shape the inequality that affects everyone differently. By looking at the range of Black women's experiences, Latina women's experiences, Native American women's experiences, and so on, the organization around fighting for reproductive justice can comprehend that there is no one single experience of being a woman or a woman of color, or any identity for that matter. Tailoring advocacy, empowerment, and activist strategies based on stereotypes and small views of identities can only lead to more oppression.

Outside of our classroom, this kind of pigeonholing is happening all over the place, interfering with the work that could be done to help so many different kinds of people. Assuming that every woman of color has had the same experience with her gender, sexuality, race, etc... shuts down any discussion on the complexities of systemic injustice. In Orange is the New Black, they discuss that issue with Soso and Poussey. Poussey is a Black lesbian woman, and her girlfriend is a queer Asian woman, Soso. Soso assumes that because Poussey is Black, that she grew up "in the hood" with her parents doing drugs. In reality, Poussey led a very privileged life from a class standpoint and is more educated than Soso. These assumptions are seen as benevolent, only trying to give someone credit, but they are actually really harmful and racist. I was glad to see this kind of problem being spotlighted in a television show that is popular.

I want to then discuss more in class what experiences people of color have had that are similar to this. What are the results of these problematic interactions?

Stamps_Marla_Undivided Justice_Blog 3

For this week’s reading by Jael Silliman, Undivided Rights, Silliman dedicated a book to women of color who are fighting for reproductive justice. The chapter that chose to focus on was chapter three, the African American Women Seed a Movement. One of Silliman’s arguments in this chapter was that the efforts to control black women’s fertility is rooted in racism.

Silliman provides some context about black women’s fertility during slavery. Slaves were a commodity. Because of the cotton industry, many plantation owners were in need of more slaves. So, black women were often needed to reproduce. Slave owners would force slaves to have sex so that they can produce more slaves. Since slaves were a commodity, it cut down the spending for a slave owner. The owner would not have to constantly purchase slaves because they have slaves reproducing more for them.

Later in history, the efforts to control black women’s fertility was happening through birth control. Birth control was heavily pushed onto black communities so that black women would have children. During that time, there was a push to make society whiter. White people believed that the reproduction of black people and people with disabilities tainted the pureness of human kind. However, white men were encouraged to not use birth control. White women were responsible for producing soldiers for the country.

Recently, we were talking about examples of leaflets for the class campaigns. One of the example was from the INCITE website and it was about the birth control shot called Depo. At the time, I was using Depo as my method of birth control. I only had one injection and was planning to switch methods after my 3 months were done. But, the leaflet provided history about Depo. It was used on disenfranchised communities, without the women knowing what it contained. Its purpose was to sterilize them so that they could reproduce. After I read that, I freaked out. The method of birth control is still offered to women. Why? The doctor informed me that I would stop having a menstrual cycle and that was all. Later, I learned that many women after stopping Depo have not had the menstrual cycle return. So, are they sterilized?

Thinking about contraceptives for women, should women be concerned about using birth control. How do we educate women more about birth control?

http://www.incite-national.org/sites/default/files/incite_files/resource_docs/2490_depo-flyer.pdf