Unit 3 News Commentary: Pregnancy or Not? // GWS 302–201
The choice of whether or not to become pregnant should be available to women globally, as it is a human right to have bodily autonomy. Unfortunately, this choice is not always available, particularly for certain bodies, for a vast mosaic of reasons. For example, non-consensual sexual intercourse resulting in pregnancy is one way the right to reproductive justice is violated by outside forces. This example is directly related to the power structures we see globally. Rape culture, hypermasculinity, and patriarchal capitalist white supremacy all inherently impact certain bodies differently than others, depending on socioeconomic identity. According to RAINN, Native Americans are twice as likely to be victims of sexual violence as compared to all other races (RAINN, 2020). Historical trauma, governmental regulation, and its long-lasting impact on this particular demographic are all factors tying in to the high violence rates. This could be said about other non-white populations as well. It is also important to think intersectionally here, considering the barriers and additional oppressors that come with intersecting identities (sexuality, religious identity, gender identity, etc.).
An example of political efforts to regulate women’s bodies is that seen in South Africa. According to the Commission of Gender Equality, HIV-positive women were forced to undergo sterilization, some even receiving said sterilization directly prior to cesarean sections (Africa News, 2020). Some women were lied to, and told that the contraceptive injection was merely a vaccine, similarly to what was seen in the forced sterilizations in Ethiopia (The Young Turks, 2013). Others were forced to comply under strict policy. It is important to recognize that forced sterilization is a threat often put onto bodies of color and other marginalized identities. It is also important to recognize this as a human right issue, as we see a continuous pattern of the violation of autonomy over one’s body, over one’s ability to have children, to choose how and when a child is conceived, etc. One’s entire identity is disregarded; From a socioeconomic standpoint, as well as that of governmental interference, women are often reduced down to their sexual organs and reproductive status. Family planning and reproductive justice are issues coming from the same source, a history of structural power and violence. As discussed by Richey in their work, Construction, Control and Family Planning in Tanzania: Some Bodies the Same and Some Bodies Different, women in Tanzania are faced with a dilemma when it comes to family planning and reproductive rights. “Tanzanian women who want to use modern family planning find themselves in a context of power imbalances that limit their choices.” (Richey, 2004). In terms of Africa’s relationship to the West, white colonial efforts of management and surveillance over the female body have been present historically. Over time, Tanzania’s government shifted its pro-natalist stance to a more modern one in terms of population growth and regulation. In this way, globalization has impacted Tanzania in an overall shift from more traditional methods of birth control — -” ‘periodic abstinence (rhythm method), mucus method, and withdrawal’ (Ngallaba, 1991/92: 31),” (Richey, 2004) — -to a more modern approach (oral contraceptive pills, IUD implant, injection, etc.). While the implementation of national policies regarding population control in Africa is centered mostly around providing options of more effective methods of contraceptives to the population, we still see some discrepancies in the way this care is administered. Considering the very nature of modernization, there is an implication that traditional methods are ineffective and therefore should be abandoned completely. This rhetoric has been adopted globally, and has resulted in a sense of “lost knowledge” (Richey, 2004) in communities that have utilized more traditional methods. The access to contraception is a human right and it is good that women have more options in terms of reproductive justice and autonomy over their own bodies, but when that autonomy is violated and regulated by outside forces, a web of moral issues arises. It is also problematic when traditional methods are deemed as lesser than, or less knowledgeable — -It is crucial to recognize that traditional methods of contraception existed in Tanzania, as well as many other African communities and communities around the globe, well before Western culture began to assimilate. While modern methods of birth control do often prove to be more effective when compared to more traditional methods, as seen statistically, it is important to realize that efforts to regulate reproduction is rooted in indigenous knowledge. A response originating within the community to benefit the overall community. Recognizing this is of utmost vitality, especially when providing reproductive and other health services to communities like the ones discussed above. Unfortunately, service providers and general Western culture surrounding the idea of traditional birth control methods continue to give off this notion of superior knowledge, as if this idea of regulating reproduction is a relatively new idea and its implementation within certain communities has been quite forceful at times due to this. According to a service provider in maternal health, women have been less eager to (and have been encouraged not to) have as many children as the previous generations due to the impact on bodily appearance. The patriarchal culture surrounding women’s bodies categorizes certain bodies into different positions in the social hierarchy. The avoidance or prevention of the ‘traditional’ body (one that doesn’t abide by the beauty standards forced upon it), and emphasis on idealization of a more modern body aesthetic within and outside of the healthcare setting have profound impact on women and their view of their own bodies as well as others. This results in the regulation of women by other women, in a sense, integrating the population of interest in its own control. This is often seen in dichotomous power struggles, in which the marginalized group is made to be the gatekeepers of their own oppression. The power structures and policies that keep women regulated and disciplined stem from a history of governmental control over certain bodies (Richey, 2004). That said, the response of globalization in Tanzania and other African countries under similar policies of population control has been one of variety. Many women are glad to have more options in terms of access to modern methods, but many still utilize traditional methods as well. While overall there is still choice, these choices are predetermined or pre-advised in a sense by outside forces, both within the community and stemming from larger sources and historical discourses.
This relates back to the issue of forced sterilization in the South African news story, in regard to the effect on globalization on reproductive justice for women around the planet; The issue of governmental forces, as well as societal (and sometimes even familial) forces acting upon and regulating the body of women is one that impacts women all over, although it may look different depending on the part of the world. Similarly to the issue in Tanzania, approaching it with a much broader lens, women are often encouraged to be hyper-aware of their appearances and pregnancy is often affiliated with the loss of worth in some sense, the degeneration of a once-beautiful and never-again-the-same post-pregnancy body. A consistent voice reminding half the population of their inadequacy, their unworthiness. Whether it be coming from government officials, service providers, physicians, family members, friends, absolute strangers — -The obsession over and systematic attempt to control women, particularly marginalized women, can be seen nearly everywhere, even if you’re not looking. From the biased billboards seen on highways to the issue of mass incarceration and the supervision of decisions African-American women made around reproduction, the control over women’s bodies and the normalization of such has itself rooted firmly in the very nature of our society. Realizing this and starting conversations about this is the first step towards intersectional reproductive justice.
References
Africa News, 2020. “Report finds pregnant HIV+ women sterilized in South Africa. Retrieved from https://www.africanews.com/2020/02/25/report-finds-pregnant-hiv-women-sterilized-in-south-africa/.
[Academic Writing] Richey, 2004. “Construction, Control and Family Planning in Tanzania: Some Bodies the Same and Some Bodies Different”
RAINN. (2020). Victims of Sexual Violence: Statistics. Retrieved from https://www.rainn.org/statistics/victims-sexual-violence
[YouTube Video] The Young Turks, 2013. Israel Admits Forcing Birth Control on Ethiopians:Israel Admits Forcing Birth Control on Ethiopians
