Conservatives like to point at late term abortions as a morally unjustifiable, but the truth is that they are usually performed on women who were trying to carry to term. These women don’t “want” abortions, they NEED abortions.
My grandmother nearly died having a miscarriage. My teenaged mother had to take her to the hospital when she refused to take herself because she was in denial. She was literally bleeding out. She had a late stage abortion and it saved her life. The doctors told her that if she tried to carry another baby to term it would kill her. Not “could” kill her, it WOULD kill her.
I only got to know my grandmother because she had access to a safe and legal abortion. She never spoke about her loss. Ever. I know she remained sexually active, which means if she had gotten pregnant again she would have gotten another abortion. I dont know if that was ever neccessary as, again, she never spoke about any of this.
I only know the story because my mother shared it with me. My mother was the first woman in her family that didn’t miscarry at least once.
So yes, I support access to all abortions, even if not especially late term abortions.
in one of my high school english classes, we did a debate where the topic was hb2, which was a bill NC passed in 2016 that had a lot of anti-lgbt components but most specifically was the “bathroom bill” that forced people to use the bathroom of their birth gender. luckily, most people in my class agreed that it was horrible, but some people insisted that it was necessary to protect women. my biggest point against them was that it was never about protecting women. it was always about targeting trans people. if they cared about women being safe, there’s plenty of other things the government could do to be more efficient. like actually hold r*pists accountable.
i think the potential overturning of roe v wade proves that nothing the government has ever done has been to keep women safe (not that i didn’t know that already). if they actually cared about protecting women from r*pe in 2016, they wouldn’t be trying to take away our rights now.
Being pro-choice doesn’t necessarily mean you’re pro-abortion. On a personal level, I would not go through with an abortion. HOWEVER, I won’t get in the way if a friend of mine ever decides to get one.
Also, if people are so against abortions maybe have better sexual education and easier access to types of birth control. Oh and while we’re at it maybe make the cost of living cheaper because many people can’t even afford to raise a child.
Agree thank you for your statement. Abortion is just the consequence and banning it will not solve all these problems or even make abortion itself disappear.
I may not want it or support it but it is not my choice or my place to judge or decide.
He forced her to be his sex slave and abused her her whole life, raped her hundreds of times. Some of the pictures she found were of herself as a child, which caused her to snap.
How are we able to have victims to come forward with their sexual abuse stories and they are thrown in jail.
The people in the comments like “yeah but murder is bad :(“ hhhh. Like the point is that victims who kill their abusers shouldn’t be jailed.
She did nothing wrong
Women who kill abusive men should be rewarded, not thrown in jail.
She did absolutely nothing wrong.
Free my girl she ain’t do nothing wrong
her name is barbara coombes, she offed old dude in 2006, turned herself in in 2018, and was sentenced to 9 years. this all occurred in the greater manchester area of the UK, if anyone knows of orgs supporting incarcerated women there please share.
Any UK followers?? There are a lot of ways to support incarcerated women - writing letters, raising commissary funds, so on but not sure how prisoner support works in the UK
Celibacy is so powerful. Liberal feminism doesn’t want you to know this because it’s men pulling the strings behind the curtain, but it’s so powerful.
Having EXTREMELY high standards and being a perfectionist when it comes to partners is one of the most self empowering things you can do. Our bodily autonomy is threatened on a daily basis, you can take control back by not allowing anyone who is not up to your extreme standards to touch you.
I completely agree with this.
For thousands of years, women didn’t have the right to say no to men. Now we do. There is nothing more powerful, nothing that defies the status quo more, than a woman saying no to men.
Straight men see anal sex as inherently degrading and that’s why 1.) they hate gay men and 2.) they want to do it to women so bad
Not just men. I think overall a lot off people think being penetrated is in some way degrading or making someone inferior. Otherwise you won’t see the popularity of the getting pe*ged meme. But there is probably an additional component of misogyny or maybe the influence of porn due to which a lot of men want to do it to women.
I find it comical how some feminists are fighting against sex work. I’m sick of them painting all sex workers as victims because most go into the industry at their own volition. It’s hypocritical to say you’re all for women’s rights, but fight against women who are making their own decisions in regards to their bodies/careers.
If you’re at least 18 and not being coerced, you should be allowed to sell your services. This war against sex workers has got to stop!
It’s International Sexworkers (Whores) Day today! ☂️
“I used to think of my body as an instrument….an implement for the accomplishment of my will. Now the flesh arranges itself differently. I’m a cloud, congealed around a central object, the shape of a pear, which is hard and more real than I am..”
On This Day in Herstory, November 11th 1865, Dr. Mary Edwards Walker, an American abolitionist, prohibitionist, prisoner of war, doctor, and the first US Army female surgeon, was the first woman awarded the Medal of Honor. To date, she is the only woman to have been given the military decoration; 1 woman and 3,521 men have received this award.
Dr. Mary Edwards Walker was born November 26th 1832 in Oswego, New York; she and her siblings were raised in a very progressive manner for the time. She was very well educated, and from a young age she would read her father’s medical texts; this interest lead to her enrollment and graduation from Syracuse Medical College, she was the only woman in her class. She married a fellow medical student, Albert Miller, just before she turned 23. Her wedding defied tradition, she wore a short skirt with trousers underneath, would not include the word “obey” in her vows, and she retained her last name. The couple set up a medical practice in Rome, New York, but had little success, as female doctors were not trusted at the time. She and Miller later divorced due to his infidelity.
In 1861 with the start of the American Civil War, Walker volunteered as a nurse, working as the Patent Office Hospital in Washington, D.C.; she then began to work in the battlefields, in tent hospitals. In fall 1863 she was appointed assistant surgeon in the Army of the Cumberland. Unfortunately, not too long after, in April 1864 she was captured and imprisoned by the Confederate Army; and was released in August of that year. Shortly after her release she received a contract as an “acting assistant surgeon,” and began supervision a hospital for women prisoners and then an orphanage. She retired from her government service in June 1865, and on November 11th of that year she was awarded the Medal of Honor for Meritorious, in recognition of her courageous war efforts. Today, 153 years later, Walker remains the only female Medal of Honor recipient.
After the Civil War, Walker lectured on issues such as dress reforms and women’s suffrage. She became infamous for her objections to a traditional female wardrobe. She wrote in 1871, “The greatest sorrows from which women suffer to-day are those physical, moral, and mental ones, that are caused by their unhygienic manner of dressing!” She strongly disagreed with long skirts and petticoats, not just for their discomfort and the wearer’s limited mobility, but also for their collection and spreading of dust and dirt. By 1861 her regular ensemble was trousers with suspenders under a knee-length dress with a tight waist and a full skirt. She believed that women’s clothes should “protect the person, and allow freedom of motion and circulation, and not make the wearer a slave to it.” In February 1870 Walker was arrested in New Orleans and mocked by the police because she was dressed “like a man.” The arresting officer twisted her arm and asked her is she had ever had sex with a man. She was released from custody when she was recognized at Police Court.
Regrettably, in 1917 the U.S. government changed the criteria for the Medal of Honor and withdrew Walker’s medal, though she continued to wear it. She died two years later on February 21st 1919. 60 years after her death in 1977, Walker’s Medal of Honor was posthumously restored.
On This Day in Herstory, September 12th 1910, Alice Stebbins Wells was sworn in as the first female police officer; she was given the keys to the telephone box, a police rule book, a badge, full powers of arrest, but not a gun.
Wells graduated from the Hartford Theological Seminary, where she conducted a study that proved these was a genuine need for female police officer; and after a substantial amount of campaigning, Wells became the first policewoman, and was classified under civil service, “purity squad”, and not required to wear a uniform. Prior to this, police departments had only employed female officers to care for female prisoners. Wells, however, was a full police officer and was issued badge #398; when she attempted to used this badge for a free trolley ride she was accused of abusing her husbands powers, and so she was issued “Policewoman’s Badge Number One”.
Since she was considered by many to not be of the same caliber as typical officers, Wells was responsible for sewing her own uniforms, which were floor-length dresses and a jacket. Many considered Wells an officer in name only, and much of her duties were less urgent than other officers, like chaperoning dances and monitoring skating rinks. Finally, two years after Wells joined the force, women became more of a force to be reckoned with, as two additional woman joined the LAPD, and 16 other women became police officers across the United States.
Wells went on to found and be the first president of the International Policewomen’s Association. Throughout her life and career she advocated for the need for more female officers, so women would feel more comfortable using police services. Wells also went on to found, and be president of, the LA Social Hygiene Society that promoted sex education in LA.
On This Day in Herstory, August 31st 1869, Mary Ward, an Irish scientist, astronomer, author and artist, died at the age of 42; she is the first person known to have been killed by a motor vehicle.
Just like most girls at the time, Ward and her sisters were educated at home, however, she came from a family that was renowned for its scientific prowess; and as such, from a young age she developed an interest in the natural world. Ward dabbled in astronomy, her cousin was crucial in the construction of a reflecting telescope with a six-foot mirror; at every stage of construction Ward produced detailed sketches of the instrument, these sketches were essential in the recent restoration of the telescope.
Ward also enjoyed creating highly detailed sketches of insects, this interest led to her procurement of a microscope. She read everything she could find about microscopy and became a self taught expert. She even went as far as to make her own slides using ivory, as glass was not easy to secure at the time. Despite her passions and education, Universities and societies would not accept women into their ranks at this time. Ward pursued knowledge in every way that was in her means, frequently writing to scientists to ask about papers they had written.
In 1857 Ward decided to make her knowledge public, however found it difficult to find a publisher that accepted the scientific workings of women. She chose to publish her first book privately, and after some success the work was released again under a new publisher; this work was reprinted eight times due to its success. She published several articles and a few more books, with two of her publications being chosen to go on display at the international exhibition at the Crystal Palace in 1862.
Her death at such a young age was a tremendous loss to the scientific community, as she proved herself as one of the best known authors on the use of a microscope.
On This Day in Herstory, August 30th 1797, English novelist, and dramatist, Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley was born in Somers Town, London. Shelley is best known for her Gothic novel Frankenstein (1818), this novel was the first of its kind, and helped to create a new genre of literature, Science Fiction.
The daughter of political philosopher William Godwin, and philosopher and feminist Mary Wollstonecraft, Shelley was raised by Godwin alone, as Wollstonecraft died less than a month after giving birth. Her father raised her with his radical political ideas, and her mother’s feminist texts. She went on to marry a political poet, and was friends with many well known writers, these influences pushed her to pursue a career in writing.
Her most famous work came about as a result of a game. One summer in Geneva, her friend Lord Byron challenged her to wrote a ghost story, and thus Frankensteinwas born. The book was widely popular, but Shelley was not recognized for her work; many people thought her husband had written the book. Shelley had to publish the first edition of her book anonymously, her name was then added in the second printing.
Shelley’s work brought her much success, and she continued her career as a writer. She paved the way for women in literature, and proved that women were as capable as men, a revolutionary idea at the time.
Shelley died on February 1st 1851, at the age of 53. She was buried with the cremated remains of her husband’s heart, that she had carried with her for nearly 30 years.
On This Day in Herstory, August 28th 1929, Roxie Roker, an actress who portrayed Helen Willis on The Jeffersons, half of the first interracial couple regularly shown on TV, and mother of Lenny Kravitz and grandmother of Zoë Kravitz, was born in Miami, Florida.
Roxie Albertha Roker, was the daughter of Bessie Mitchell, a domestic worker, and Albert Roker, an immigrant from the Bahamas and a porter. She graduated from Howard University, where she was a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority, the first sorority founded by Black college women. She later moved to Brooklyn, New York to pursue a career as an actress. In 1962, she married television producer Sy Kravitz, a white Jewish man. Together the couple had a son, singer-songwriter and actor Lenny Kravitz; the pair divorced in 1985.
Roxie found her start in professional acting with the Negro Ensemble Company. During her time with the company, she established herself as a successful stage actress. She won an Obie Award in 1974 and was also nominated for a Tony Award. She had supporting and guest starring roles on many TV shows from the 1970s to the 1990s; these shows included Punky Brewster, Hangin’ with Mr. Cooper, A Different World, Murder, She Wrote, The Love Boat, and many others. She had roles in the television miniseries Roots and in the movie Claudine. However, she is best known for her portrayal of Helen Willis on The Jeffersons.
The Jeffersons first premiered on CBS in 1975. Straight away the show received a lot of attention because it portrayed a Black family that was upwardly mobile, additionally, the show featured one TVs first interracial couples, Tom and Helen Willis, the neighbors of the Jefferson family. Despite the show being a comedy, it also exemplified some of the bigotry and racism faced by interracial couples.
In addition to her acting, Roxie was a children’s advocate; and she was cited by Los Angeles for her community work. Roxie Roker died in Los Angeles, California, on December 2nd, 1995, as a result of breast cancer, she was 66 years old.
On This Day in Herstory, August 27th 1875, Katharine Dexter McCormick, an influential philanthropist, biologist, suffragist, heiress, and funder of the first birth control pill was born, in Dexter, Michigan.
McCormick attended the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and graduated with a degree in biology in 1904. This is where she really found her passion for gender equality; MIT mandated that all female undergraduates wear hats adorned with feathers, McCormick refused stating that it would be a tremendous fire hazard in laboratories; her passion and relentlessness made MIT’s administration change their policies.
After her graduation McCormick became involved with the Woman’s Suffrage Movement. In 1909 she spoke at the first outdoor rally for suffrage in Massachusetts, and became vice president of the National American Woman Suffrage Association. Through her activism McCormick met Margaret Sanger in 1917. Sanger is the mother of modern birth control, and she persuaded McCormick to join the Committee of 100, a group of influential women who worked to legalize birth control.
McCormick and Sanger worked together through the 20′s on birth control issues, McCormick smuggled in and distributed more than 1,000 diaphragms from Europe to New York City. By 1947 McCormick’s mother and husband had died, leaving her inheritor to more than $45 million (more than $500 million today). She used this money to fund the work of Gregory Goodwin Pincus who was working to develop hormonal birth control. She gave him $100,000-$180,000 a year of her own money from 1951 to 1967; the FDA approved the sale of the drug in 1957, but McCormick continued to invest in Pincus as he researched ways to improve birth control.
At the age of 92 McCormick died. In her will she gave $5 million to Stanford University School of Medicine to support the education of female physicians. She also gave $5 million to Planned Parenthood Federation of America.
On This Day in Herstory, August 23rd 1902, Fannie Farmer opened Miss Farmer’s School of Cookery in Boston;this school was established to train housewives in cooking as opposed to traditional cooking schools that only taught professional chefs, teachers, or servants.
Farmer is best known for being an American cooking expert, and author of the acclaimed Fannie Farmer Cookbook (originally titled Fannie Farmer’s Boston Cooking-School Cook Book). Her cookbook, is often considered to be the greatest American cookbook, it was written over 120 years ago and revolutionized cooking as we know it.
The idea was simple, and very innovative; standardizing the measuring tools used in the cooking process ensures that the recipes turn out great every time; whether you’re an amateur or a professional, the results will be the same. The cookbook gave very simple instructions but left nothing to the user’s devices, the cookbook included everything from boiling an egg, to dressing and cleaning poultry.
