43: Let’s Talk About Rights

01/22/20 • 44 min

The progress of obtaining and maintaining women’s rights is not linear. Reproductive rights in the United States are focused on efforts to get and defend the legal right to abortion, and these efforts are led by predominantly white women.

What little information is provided about women of color with regard to reproductive rights tends to center on the abuses they have suffered and represents only a partial history. Most of the reproductive health organizing done by women of color in the United States has been undocumented, unanalyzed, and unacknowledged.

They will be unpacking the book, Undivided Rights: Women of Color Organize for Reproductive Justice, which highlights the role of women of color in advocating for their own interests, largely because they face very different and specific issues regarding reproductive rights that are not faced by white women.

In this second part about women’s rights, Sara and Misasha are here today to challenge the narratives!

Show Highlights:

As regards reproductive rights, white women tend to focus on abortion, whereas women of color tend to look at it more broadly.
Sterilization in exchange for benefits and forced abortion are very real experiences in the lives of women of color.
Choice plays a big role in rights. Choice includes “the choice to determine whether or not to have children, the choice to terminate a pregnancy, and the ability to making informed choices about contraceptive and reproductive technologies”, according to book co-author, Jael Silliman.
Choice implies options and that a woman’s right to determine what happens to her body is legally protected. For women of color, this ignores the fact that economic and institutional constraints often restrict their choices.
It’s important for health providers to have a cultural competency, which is an understanding and respect for the cultures, traditions, and practices of a community.
Opposition to welfare and commitment to reduce welfare roles by supplying free birth control services to poor women were joined in a race and class direct social policy.
The link between coercive birth control and racism was overtly expressed by Louisiana judge, Leander Perez, in 1965 when he stated that the best way to hate a black man is to hate him before he is born.
Sara and Misasha provide some horrendous statistics regarding forced sterilizations against women of color in the 20th century.
Sara offers an exercise for white women to help them understand the differences in experience.
Stereotypes and myths: harmful and still working against women of color.
Cisgender white people have not recognized themselves as an identity group because they assume their identity to be the universal norm.
Many white women organizing for reproductive rights assume that their agenda includes all women because of their own white women experience.
In 2000 the Institute for Women & Ethnic Studies in New Orleans put forth a “Reproductive Health Bill of Rights” which, in part, reads: “All people are born free and equal with dignity and rights set forth in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Historically, women of color across nations, cultures, and different religious and ethnic groups have been subject to racist exploitation, discrimination, and abuse. Manipulative, coercive, and punitive health policies and practices deprive women of color of their fundamental human rights and dignity.”

Resources / Links:

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Listen to The First Part of Sara & Misasha’s Talk About Rights Here!

https://www.dearwhitewomen.com/episodes/women-rights

Books Mentioned:

Undivided Rights: Women of Color Organize for Reproductive Justice by Jael Silliman, Marlene Gerber Fried, Loretta Ross, and Elena Gutierrez

Who Are We? The Challenges to America’s National Identity by Samuel P. Huntington

In this second part about women’s rights, Sara and Misasha are here today to challenge the narratives!

Show Highlights:

As regards reproductive rights, white women tend to focus on abortion, whereas women of color tend to look at it more broadly.
Sterilization in exchange for benefits and forced abortion are very real experiences in the lives of women of color.
Choice plays a big role in rights. Choice includes “the choice to determine whether or not to have children, the choice to terminate a pregnancy, and the ability to making informed choices about contraceptive and reproductive technologies”, according to book co-author, Jael Silliman.
Choice implies options and that a woman’s right to determine what happens to her body is legally protected. For women of color, this ignores the fact that economic and institutional constraints often restrict their choices.
It’s important for health providers to have a cultural competency, which is an understanding and respect for the cultures, traditions, and practices of a community.
Opposition to welfare and commitment to reduce welfare roles by supplying free birth control services to poor women were joined in a race and class direct social policy.
The link between coercive birth control and racism was overtly expressed by Louisiana judge, Leander Perez, in 1965 when he stated that the best way to hate a black man is to hate him before he is born.
Sara and Misasha provide some horrendous statistics regarding forced sterilizations against women of color in the 20th century.
Sara offers an exercise for white women to help them understand the differences in experience.
Stereotypes and myths: harmful and still working against women of color.
Cisgender white people have not recognized themselves as an identity group because they assume their identity to be the universal norm.
Many white women organizing for reproductive rights assume that their agenda includes all women because of their own white women experience.
In 2000 the Institute for Women & Ethnic Studies in New Orleans put forth a “Reproductive Health Bill of Rights” which, in part, reads: “All people are born free and equal with dignity and rights set forth in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Historically, women of color across nations, cultures, and different religious and ethnic groups have been subject to racist exploitation, discrimination, and abuse. Manipulative, coercive, and punitive health policies and practices deprive women of color of their fundamental human rights and dignity.”

Resources / Links:

PLEASE SUBSCRIBE, RATE & REVIEW US!

Dear White Women Podcast

GET ON OUR INSIDER’S LIST! Sign up for our weekly emails!

Dear White Women Website

Email: [email protected]

Please Give Us a Like on Facebook!

Instagram Follow Us!

Twitter Follow Us!

Listen to The First Part of Sara & Misasha’s Talk About Rights Here!

https://www.dearwhitewomen.com/episodes/women-rights

Books Mentioned:

Undivided Rights: Women of Color Organize for Reproductive Justice by Jael Silliman, Marlene Gerber Fried, Loretta Ross, and Elena Gutierrez

Who Are We? The Challenges to America’s National Identity by Samuel P. Huntington

Previous Episode

42: Presidential Powers and Women’s Rights

Particularly relevant now that we’re in the 2020 election year is the subject of rights, namely reproductive ones and others that directly affect women.

That’s what Sara and Misasha will be diving into on this episode, along with a brief coda to their recent 3-part series on the Criminal Justice System, and that is what the President has the power to change with regard to criminal justice versus what he or she needs Congress to help with.

You’ll definitely want to listen in to this food-for-thought as you reflect on the upcoming election.

Finally, this coming weekend, Sara and Misasha will be in Denver recording a live episode at the 2020 Womxn’s March! Join them, if you can!

Show Highlights:

Misasha presents a brief primer on what the President “can” do, and includes topics such as solitary confinement, police use-of-force, reinstating voting rights to felons, and immigration law.
What’s the problem with private prisons, anyway?
Sara discusses the current cash bail system, the No Money Bail Act of 2018, and the long-standing correlation between skin color and incarceration.
Whoever becomes President in this upcoming election has a direct impact on a woman’s right to control her own body.
The United States Supreme Court has been asked to consider overturning Roe v. Wade, the landmark 1973 ruling that found that criminalizing abortion violates Constitutionally-protected privacy rights.
Recently, over 200 members of Congress filed an amicus brief in support of Louisiana’s so-called “Unsafe Abortion Protection Act”, which will be going before the Supreme Court in March.
If the Court rules in support of the Louisiana law restricting abortion access, it could effectively overturn abortion protection nationwide.
Misasha outlines the impact it could have on those in Louisiana and surrounding states who might need an abortion.
Misasha notes an amicus brief from major medical and legal groups in support of abortions.
In order to understand the impact and the arc of reproductive rights in this country, as well as the difference in rights when it comes to white women versus women of color, Sara provides some key milestones and highlights from 1916 and moving forward.
Misasha quotes from the book The Doctors’ Case Against The Pill by Barbara Seaman and the issue of safety.
The TRAP law and why it matters.
In the next two episodes, Sara and Misasha will explore certain ways in which white women and women of color are not similarly situated when it comes to reproductive rights and control over their own bodies. The next episode will look at the history of this divide and the impact of sterilization and abortion on both groups. We hope you join us!

Resources / Links:

PLEASE SUBSCRIBE, RATE & REVIEW US!

Dear White Women Podcast

GET ON OUR INSIDER’S LIST! Sign up for our weekly emails!

Dear White Women Website

Email: [email protected]

Please Give Us a Like on Facebook!

Instagram Follow Us!

Twitter Follow Us!

THE 2020 WOMXN'S MARCH

Saturday, January 18

Denver, CO

Sara & Misasha will be recording LIVE!

Did You Miss the 3-Part Series on The Criminal Justice System?

Listen to Part 1 Here - Criminal Justice: Jaw-Dropping Stats You Should Know About

Listen to Part 2 Here - Criminal Justice: 15 Going on 28

Listen to Part 3 Here - Understanding and Navigating the Juvenile Legal System with Ji Seon Song

To Keep Up With News Regarding the Criminal Justice System

The Marshall Project

Book Mentioned

The Doctors’ Case Against The Pill by Barbara Seaman

Next Episode

44: Recorded Live: The 2020 Womxn’s March Denver

Women are often dismissed or silenced when coming forward in the public eye with their pain, particularly women of color. We’ve adopted this matriarchal mindset that women’s trauma, experiences, and emotions are invalid, but we need to come together as women to break that perception, now more than ever.

Sara and Misasha dissect how the justice system has wrongfully unacknowledged women of color, along with special guest, domestic violence, sexual assault, and sexual abuse survivor, Mary Ryan. Mary reveals her personal experiences as a trauma survivor, and how the justice system has consistently dismissed her case.

Tune into this conversation for unique insight on how we can shift the division between women to not only embrace one another’s pain, no matter how personal it may be, and how we can start to break down the barriers that isolated women from the beginning.

This recorded-live episode from the 2020’s Womxn’s March Denver is full of insightful and enlightening thoughts that you can reflect on and apply to your own life!

Show Highlights:

We need to align as women before anything else in order to create a safer society for women and children.
Sara and Misasha address the issues with idealizing whiteness and dismissing women of color as victims
What inhibits women of color from coming forward as victims of rape and why white women should care
There are various factors that mediate sexism and race should be acknowledged when talking about gender equality
Women’s rights are under attack and women need to create an alliance by listening to each-others pain openly
Mary Ryan shares her experiences as a domestic violence, sexual assault, and sexual abuse survivor
Mary discusses how the justice system has blatantly ignored her and her families’ trauma
Mary endured multiple break-in encounters and restraining order violations from her abuser, who is a white male and has still been unacknowledged in her case
Indigenous people have been consistently dismissed in assault cases and there are barriers we need to break down and dissect in order to improve how we address these issues
In order for healing to happen as a society, we have to open ourselves up to listen to others experiences, no matter how painful it may be
Challenging public binaries and embracing women’s defiance