Why are women first to pay for every crisis? In every society, capitalist, socialist, or transition? It's because the bodies of women are expendable.

I always noticed how women over eighty in Turin looked incredibly well, beautiful and loved and taken care of: desirable, because old and valuable. I connected this to Italy's long-established and sophisticated health care system. Italian hospitals were famous for methods which preserved the dignity of the patients, in tumor cures, especially breast cancer: the "invisible mastectomy" was invented in Milan. Rather than simply intervening in crisis, they were good at illness prevention and attentive follow-ups.

The economic crisis and financial harassment of Italy has reached this safe haven of health and dignity. In Turin, one of the best clinics for cure and prevention of breast cancer is about to be closed. The patients are on the streets, their appointments cannot be scheduled, they are paying for their urgent operations because their doctors cannot help them. The doctors are on the streets too.

Public health care in Italy was guaranteed as one of the basic human rights: without class race of gender discrimination. We are all equal in front of death.

The Valdesian hospital was founded by Italy's Protestant minority; it was about spirituality and charity rather than the global health market. However, the church passed the hospital to the state some years ago. They naturally assumed that it was in good hands, but as this tiny church is to the state, the state is to the market.

Although "Italy is not a brothel," as they said during the Berlusconi scandals, the flesh of women is negotiable by other means.

Protests, sit-ins and negotiations have failed to save the hospital. So last weekend, Turinese women decided to take action. They organized a public booth to photograph their breasts anonymously.

They plan to release an affresco of hundreds of their depersonalized female bodies, as a warning.

They are merely doing publicly what the hospital did less visibly.

Next step is the big demo planned for December first, to be followed by a sit-in for December 7th. On that day, the police are scheduled to shut physically the hospital.

It was a place of solace where women felt like respected human beings, and the attack on it has made them into Amazons with a cause.

]]> http://boingboing.net/2012/11/27/amazons-with-a-cause.html/feed 17 http://boingboing.net/2012/11/05/a-is-for-all-of-us-standing.html http://boingboing.net/2012/11/05/a-is-for-all-of-us-standing.html#comments Mon, 05 Nov 2012 21:45:05 +0000 Gina Loukareas and Maureen Herman http://boingboing.net/?p=192342

When we founded A Is For, we envisioned people from all walks of life: men, women, gay, straight, trans, religious, and atheist standing together to show the world that women’s rights are human rights. Now, just a few months later, we see that happening before our eyes in our A Is For launch video. People--both familiar and new--are wearing the scarlet A, standing up for reproductive rights, and telling the world what their A stands for. There’s some funny shit in there, too.

As each person tells the camera what their A stands for, the common bond between them becomes apparent: when the rights to one's own physical autonomy and self determination come under attack, everyone has an obligation to stand up and speak out. Because if you think it can’t happen to you, you’re sadly mistaken.

This project doesn’t end after Election Day; it will continue until women’s reproductive choices are no longer held hostage by the agendas of politicians and churches. We’re in this for long haul and we’d love for you to join us. To find out how to get your own A ribbon, and to become a part of this project, please visit A is For.

A is For all of us.

This Is My Body from Jason Stefaniak on Vimeo.

Kelsey Rowland says:

This Is My Body is a short film project that is a passionate, full-throated expression of the fundamental, inalienable, universal rights of women. The project is a response to the attacks on women's health and reproductive rights, and general bodily autonomy, that have occurred throughout this year.

What I think gives the film its added touch behind the powerful message is that the director, surprisingly enough, is a male. His name is Jason Stefaniak and is a thesis student in the NYU Grad Film program. His impetus for the project was the desire to see a country and world that respects and empowers women, such as his mother, grandmother, aunts, girlfriend, and sister.

The video was shot in one day in a studio in New York with about 5 crew members and borrowed equipment and was funded through a Facebook fundraising campaign. We've spent no real money on advertising and the entire distribution plan was created and executed by Jason, as well as a few volunteers.

Plimpton promptly founded A is For, an organization that unifies the diverse voices and issues in the new women’s movement under the reclaimed symbol of the red letter A --that instantly recognizable symbol of excoriation and shame that heroine Hester Prynne was forced to wear in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s classic novel The Scarlet Letter. Used by Prynne’s Puritan Boston community to brand and shun both her and the baby girl she had out of wedlock, the A stood for Adultery -- and the double standard to which women were held. The group A is For takes back the A by re-appropriating its meaning to one of dignity, defiance, and autonomy, and encourages others to reclaim the A to define what it means to them. A is For Awareness, A is For Affordable Health Care. A is For Ass-kicking. You get the idea.

Immediately, Plimpton proposed starting an “A” ribbon campaign in direct response to the shaming of Sandra Fluke in the attempts to silence her. The group agreed that the new movement needed an ongoing unifying symbol, the red letter A, to serve as a bold historical reminder that women will not be shamed into silence. One major goal would be to distribute the A to every person and organization fighting for women’s human rights in this country and around the world to wear proudly in solidarity. As for immediate change on the ground, within a month of starting the organization, A is For partnered with The Center for Reproductive Rights to be their direct action partner. Money raised via donations for the ribbons would go to CRR to fulfill their mission of “advancing reproductive freedom as a fundamental human right that all governments are legally obligated to protect, respect, and fulfill.” Now A is For had found a way to have a real impact (besides the Facebook “like” button). CRR is currently winning one major battle in their fight at the front lines to keep the one abortion clinic left in the state of Mississippi open.

By now, everyone has heard the “War on Women” stories: Susan G. Komen vs. Planned Parenthood; Rush Limbaugh vs. Sandra Fluke; state-sanctioned rape in Texas with mandatory and medically unnecessary transvaginal ultrasounds; a Walgreens pharmacist in Albuquerque refusing to fill a woman’s birth control Rx due to his “religious beliefs”; comedian Tosh.0 proposing that a female audience member offended by his rape jokes be gang-raped by male audience members. The list --unfortunately -- goes on and on.

What gets lost in the relentless headlines are the personal experiences that inform the passion behind these issues. Personal stories unify and connect women in a way that those without the experiences or the same body parts may never truly understand until they’re awakened by directly hearing them. These experiences are the bond that constitutes the mighty heft of the social media muscle behind the new women’s movement, which I watched executed with glee during the Komen flap, and with pride during the Limbaugh boycott.

Many of the issues are experiences I’ve personally had. Though you probably couldn’t tell by looking at me, I’m kind of the Forrest Gump of social ills and sexual abuse. I’ve survived child molestation, rape, and mental illness. I’ve recovered from alcoholism and crack addiction. I’ve been gang-raped, was impregnated by it, carried the baby to term, and am now a single white mother raising a lovely girl with caramel-colored skin in a still-racist and sexist America. I’ve been on public assistance more than once. I’ve been homeless in New York. And Nashville. I’ve done a lot of things to be ashamed of, but have worked hard not to live in shame. Incarnating the problems of society, then recovering from them may not be as exciting as it looks on TV, but it has kept me busy.

My first conscious memory is at 5 years old, being molested (the first time) by a distant adult cousin with cerebral palsy whose name was -- wait for it -- Uncle Dick. It’s not a good way to start the mind off in a life, to live with a weird secret right off the bat. But I eventually told, and will continue to tell. Having survived that, and other weirdness and creepiness, and then gang rape, hearing about something like the Tosh.0 incident hits me differently than, say, a person who feels that you should check your political correctness at the door when you go to see a comedy show. And truly, before I personally experienced gang-rape, and as someone who came from a controversy-loaded midwest punk scene, I am pretty sure I may have thought of it the same way. The thinking was along the lines of the fake 60 Minutes Point/Counterpoint pundit in the disaster spoof “Airplane,” who declares, in pure Hannity forefathering, “They bought their tickets, they knew what they were getting into. I say, ‘Let ‘em crash!’”

I’ve come to find that my abuse was not unique or uncommon, even in my own family. In fact, I have many friends and family with heartbreaking stories. One friend agreed to let me anonymously share her story here for the first time, in the hopes it might help other girls come forward and get help. My friend was first molested by a relative at age 7, then she was repeatedly raped by the same relative for many years until she was finally old enough to find a way to ward off the attacks. Her abuse started at such a young age and went on for so long that she is now unable to have children. She is trying to have her eggs harvested so she can have children via a surrogate. So when someone tells a rape joke, these are the experiences and tragedies that jump to her mind. When she hears a news story about a law being passed that won’t let you get an abortion even in cases of incest or rape, that is the trauma she remembers and feels. Put yourself there. In her shoes. Just for a minute. See? Having someone take that choice away from you violates you all over again.

I’ve had two abortions. I was married then, and we weren’t ready to have children. The journey I made to carry out the rape pregnancy and raise my baby alone was a different choice, and not done for wholly valiant reasons. But it was what I ultimately chose this time, and I am so grateful every single day to have my incredible daughter in my life. I love her to pieces. But what I chose is in no way the right choice for everyone. I don’t know that most people could take it -- I almost couldn’t sometimes. It was often physically and mentally brutal and almost destroyed me and my family. It certainly would have been an unthinkable choice for my friend. Oh, and fuck you Rick Santorum.

My daughter is thriving, gifted, beautiful, and funny. I just hope that should this happen to her -- and there’s a 1 in 6 chance that it will -- that she will have the same legal right as I had to choose what is best for her. Because I wouldn’t wish the struggle it’s been on anyone. And for the child of a rapist, first of all, it isn’t easy growing up not knowing who your dad is. But it’s even harder growing up knowing what kind of guy he was.

Having someone or some entity take over control of what’s going on “down there” or threatening to block or take away the human right to decide who or what is going on inside of your body, is a very personal, very visceral violation. It brings up the same primal feelings of humiliation, powerlessness, and abusiveness as rape does -- just in varying intensities. And this is true whether you’re 7 years old or 90. That is why you hear this unified outcry when a male governor signs into law a mandatory transvaginal ultrasound (aka penetration with a 10 inch shaming wand) to punish Texan women for daring to choose a legal abortion in the case of an unwanted pregnancy -- for any reason. I guess it’s more humane than being stoned to death, but at least no one in those societies pretends that being smashed with rocks is a medical procedure.

The “War on Women” isn’t just being fought in Washington, and on the steps of state capitals. It’s being fought in bedrooms, hospitals, comedy clubs -- everywhere girls and women go. The wounded from this war walk among us.They are our sisters and our aunts, our mothers and our daughters, our girlfriends and our frenemies, our bosses and our co-workers. And men are increasingly a part of both the narrative and the movement --and they should be, because reproductive rights are not just women’s rights, they are human rights.

So when we see a backlash at the next thinly veiled legislative attempt at weakening women’s constitutionally-protected right and access to an abortion, those voices are speaking from experience. It isn’t about someone being right, it’s about respecting the validity of individual experience, and how understanding that person’s experience can awaken you from ignorance and transform you to illuminated. So maybe you didn’t know that 1 in 6 women in your audience, maybe in your own family, and certainly in the United States, has been raped, and that 15% of them were under 12 years of age. But now you know. Now you are aware, and so now you are responsible.

I was lucky enough to be at that original A is For dinner party, invited based on my obvious interest reflected in my relentless Facebook “likes” to Martha Plimpton’s withering commentary and brilliant observations. She gave shocking clarity to issues like the ludicrous Republican view of a woman’s body in the personhood amendment debates. She stated, “They may not like the fact of my biology. They may think it’s dirty or shameful or that I should keep it to myself. Or even that I should be tied to it, like a prisoner, as if my biology made me less worthy of respect. But my biology is part of what makes me a human being. And whether they like it or not, I am a person.” At the time I was painfully aware of the need for a unifying umbrella we could all get under and Martha’s passion, dedication, and comprehensive knowledge, made that possible. By the end of the dinner party that night, we had an “A” design done and I had volunteered to have my nonprofit, Project Noise, officially support the campaign.

Soon, Sarah Silverman was wearing the A while speaking at a rally in Los Angeles. Within days, comedian and Daily Show creator Lizz Winstead had joined us. She proudly wore the A on the Rachel Maddow show. She wore it as she toured the U.S. with the release of her new book, “Lizz Free or Die.” In one of her stories, Lizz tells of getting pregnant at 17 - -the very first time she ever had sex. Abortion was safe and legal -- and like me, Lizz exercised the right to choose what was best for her. She has been an avid defender and supporter of Planned Parenthood for many years. Her raw courage in telling her story in her new book opens the door for more women to share the crucial, life-altering importance of having had that choice, and to support Planned Parenthood for being there for whichever option they decided. And really, if Lizz had instead raised a baby at 17 and gone a different life path, The Daily Show would never have been created, and then where in the hell would I get my news? So no, we’re not going to get rid of that.

You don’t know what someone has gone through, unless you ask. I once asked my friend if she ever saw her childhood abuser again. It turns out she had. She was in her mid-20’s. She was going to confront him as an adult. She did. She asked him why. He denied it, then admitted it but claimed it was her fault. She screamed at him. He slammed her head into the wall, and she got knocked out. And raped. Again. She never did tell her family. Silenced. And sadly, like most rape victims, including myself, she partially blames herself for the attack. “Maybe if I hadn’t gone there, maybe if I’d been sober I could have fought back.” Meanwhile our attackers walk free. 97% of rapists never spend a day in jail and 54% of rapes never get reported. Some of those rapes last minutes, some last decades, but the victims are all around you in ways you might never imagine, with lifelong scars both external and internal. Experiences inform us. Listening to someone’s experience informs us. Pointedly asking women in your life about their experiences will inform you.

The members and supporters of A is For proudly wear the A pin to say to the world, “I’m here and I won’t shut up.” We wear it for each other to say, “I’m here for you and I get it.” We hope you’ll join us in fighting for reproductive rights and wear one, too. You’ll look fucking Awesome.

To get your own “A” ribbon to support A is For and Center for Reproductive Rights, just click here. To be a part of the video project “What Does Your A Mean to You?” featuring Sarah Silverman, Martha Plimpton, Tom Morello, Lizz Winstead, and people like you, please send a short video (iPhone video is fine) to aisfor@projectnoise.org to tell us what your A means to you. For questions, contact info@projectnoise.org. All donations made to A is For are tax deductible. A is For is a project of Project Noise, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. To donate via PayPal: donate@projectnoise.org

To learn more about what you can do to help sexual abuse and rape survivors, go to this amazing org, The Rape and Incest National Network, aka RAINN

Video Link.

The recently-launched Women Under Siege website is a new project of the NYC-based Women’s Media Center, and features a number of powerful essays and features by women, about sexual violence against women. There's an account by CBS News correspondent Lara Logan, who survived a sexual assault while covering uprisings in the Middle East; another about covering sexualized war in Congo by Lynsey Addario, who survived the same.

In this post, I'd like to draw special attention to a feature on the site about a subject with which I have personal familiarity: violence against indigenous women in Guatemala. Though the country's long civil war is over, the femicidio is not. Snip:

More than 100,000 women were raped in the 36 years of the Guatemalan genocide in which at least 200,000 people died. In this video, photojournalists Ofelia de Pablo and Javier Zurita interview survivors and document the ongoing forensic and legal investigation that has just indicted former Guatemalan President Efraín Ríos Montt.

There are so many powerful stories on the Women Under Siege website. Below, a photo by Ms. Addario, from Congo: "Lwange, 51, with her daughter, Florida, who had been raped the week before this photo was taken in 2008. The child had screamed at the time, then bled. With her vagina and her young psyche damaged, Florida would no longer speak."

]]> http://boingboing.net/2012/02/14/the-invisible-genocide-of-wome.html/feed 10 http://boingboing.net/2012/02/13/anatomy-of-an-unsafe-abortion.html http://boingboing.net/2012/02/13/anatomy-of-an-unsafe-abortion.html#comments Tue, 14 Feb 2012 06:52:59 +0000 Xeni Jardin http://boingboing.net/?p=143827

Dr. Jen Gunter, who is an OB/GYN and a pain medicine physician, writes a harrowing account of receiving a patient who has undergone an unsafe abortion, and is bleeding to death:

On the gurney lay a young woman the color of white marble. The red pool between her legs, ominously free of clots, offered a silent explanation.

“She arrived a few minutes ago. Not even a note.” My resident was breathless with anger, adrenaline, and panic.

I had an idea who she went to. The same one the others did. The same one many more would visit. A doctor, but considering what I had seen he could’t have any formal gynecology training. The only thing he offered that the well-trained provers didn’t was a cut-rate price. If you don’t know to ask, well, a doctor is a doctor. That’s assuming you are empowered enough to have such a discussion. I was also pretty sure his office didn’t offer interpreters.

I needed equipment not available in an emergency room. I looked at the emergency room attending. “Call the OR and tell them we need a room. Now.” And then I turned to my resident. I was going to tell him to physically make sure a room, any room, was ready when we arrived, but he had already sprinted towards the stairs. He knew.

Read the entire account here: Anatomy of an unsafe abortion.

Required reading in this year of presidential elections in America, in which so many candidates would have us return to the dark era in which abortion was illegal. Outlawing abortion doesn't end abortion, it just makes scenes like this more common.

And here's a follow-up post worth reading, by Dr. Gunter.

(thanks, @Scanman / image: Shutterstock)

]]> http://boingboing.net/2012/02/13/anatomy-of-an-unsafe-abortion.html/feed 73 http://boingboing.net/2012/01/30/va-state-senator-attaches-rect.html http://boingboing.net/2012/01/30/va-state-senator-attaches-rect.html#comments Mon, 30 Jan 2012 23:29:52 +0000 Xeni Jardin http://boingboing.net/?p=141441 attached an amendment that would require men to have a rectal exam and a cardiac stress test before obtaining a prescription for erectile dysfunction medication." (thanks, Antinous!)]]> http://boingboing.net/2012/01/30/va-state-senator-attaches-rect.html/feed 40