Having a Vagina Doesn't make You a Feminist

Having a Vagina doesn't make you a feminist, thought admittedly, it ought to.

The mere possession of a vagina goes a long way in determining what kind of life you are allowed to live in today's world.
First of all, if you have a vagina in the United States you will only earn 72 cents on every dollar persons possessing a penis will earn. Since the only jobs that actually require the use of a particular sex member are all illegal, its not at all clear how one's genitalia explains the unequal pay problem in the United States.

But it may make sense for those in possession of a a vagina to band together and fight for equal pay for equal work.

Obama and Biden, both lacking the essential female member ( and no doubt envying those of us who do possess it) will fight for equal pay for women.

Palin, though possessing a vagina, will not.

Having a vagina means that regardless of your politics, you are at risk for being raped, getting pregnant without intending to, and being forced to give birth to children you may not be physically, psychologically, or economically prepared to care for.

Sarah Palin's running mate, Mccain, voted against the Violence Against Women Act. Palin herself has dne nothing to address the epidemic rape and violence against women rates in this country

One in four women in the United States will be raped in their lifetime, regardless of age, color, class, size, religion, beauty, activities engaged in, clothing worn, amount of alcohol consumed.

Distinguishing features of your average rape victim? Possession of a vagina. Other distinguishing features? None.

Palin thinks that if you get raped you should be required by law to give birth to your rapist's child. But don't expect any help from a McCain/Palin government while you are struggling to afford your pregnancy. Palin voted against Alaska funding for teen mother housing just this year.

A person possessing a vagina can also count on a lifetime of having strange men and women in white coats probe the inner most regions of their body in the interest of health. Women are expected to get annual gynecological exams and can be subjected to gynecological exams anytime they go to the hospital. If you are a working class or poor woman (which includes the majority of women of color), and you have less than adequate health insurance you can count on fewer choices in whose hands end up in your vagina. You can also count on being subject to rushed, less qualified hands.

Number of times a person possessing a penis can expect to have his genitalia probed during his lifetime by a stranger? Zero times.


If you have a vagina, your vagina is not a private matter. It is a part of the public domain.

But, according to Sarah Palin, health care is a private matter and a capitalist concern. Let healthcare companies fight for your business in a fair market, she says. And besides, according to Palin, we are not women in need of compassionate medical care but are "consumers [who] should take more responsibility for their own health." (New York Times, 8/30)

A person possessing a vagina is also required to sacrifice her sexuality and to risk her life when her government deems it necessary. She does not have a right to use her vagina for pleasure without paying a price.

Chances that a person with a penis will be required to undergo excessive pain, give up his job, quit school, lose a scholarship, be kicked out of his home, or be labeled a whore, as a result of having sex? None.

If at any time in this person's life, a person with a vagina opts to have sexual relations with a member of the opposite sex, she is at risk of getting pregnant and in a no-choice world, being required to carry to term the fetus, despite the risks involved. Pregnancy can kill you, it can disable you for life, and it is one of the most intensely painful events the human body can go through.

Circumstances where a person with a penis will be forced to undergo excessive pain, risk to life and limb, and possible permanent disability without their consent? Only one: a draft.

Sarah Palin thinks no pregnancy should be terminated no matter the circumstances and no matter the risk to women's health.

Having a vagina doesn't make you a feminist but it ought to. Caring about the rights of people regardless of what genitalia they are born with may not make you a feminist either but it will make you a supporter of human rights.

Whether or not you possess a vagina, please remember to protect the rights of persons with vaginas when you vote in this election.

Election Deciding itself without Mixed Me?

As the race that many say wont end appears to be grinding to a necessary halt.......
it looks like my tallying of Clinton and Obama pros and cons must also come to a long overdue halt.....

Lets see where was I.....?

1. I dislike the fact that Obama renounced his own minister.
2. I dislike the familiar racism of the press in dealing with this issue more
3. I think Clinton should have stuck up for Obama in this (and thus dislike her for not doing so). Call me idealistic but I expected more from the wife of our first black president (ok, just kidding. Why DO people say Bill Clinton was black? Was it just the sax? Does nobody remember the welfare reform he instituted that has resulted in twice as many black children now being in foster care? Does nobody recall how he refused to apologize for slavery? Alas, I digress.....)
4. I like the fact that Obama appears to be forming a multigenerational coalition that it is interracial and includes feminists (Is this true or just really good PR?).
5. I like the fact Clinton is a woman (with at least some proto-feminist leanings). Even though I know biology is not destiny, I would like to think the sexism she has inevitably faced simply by living in this androcentric and sexist society with a vagina her whole life must have influenced her to take women''s issues more seriously than most men would.
6. I like the fact that Obama wants to "change Washington." Somebody needs to!
7. I dislike the fact that Clinton is in so tight with lobbyists and I like the fact that Obama is advocating election reform and has passed legislation in Illinois to limit the influence of lobbyists.
8. I like the fact that Obama is committed to renewable fuel sources
9. I dislike Obama's patriotic rhetoric (sounds far too bush-like to me. UGH. Stop the war already!) but am quite fond of his support of the new GI bill and his commitment to providing better health care (esp mental health care) for veterans.
10. I like the fact that Clinton has the support of many feminist organizations but I dislike the fact that they don't identify key feminist issues that she has un-equivocally supported (and no, claiming that health is a feminist issue and therefore her universal health care plan is a FEMINIST project does not cut it)
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BUT in the final analysis,
I think I have to vote for the MIXED MAN, despite his unfortunate possession of a male member. In the end, I found Clinton's campaign racism of the last few days unsettling and divisive.

I wanted to vote for a an anti-racist feminist candidate but alas, neither candidate appears to have proven they are both.

Still, Clinton has made it clear she has some work to do on race and I am still not clear on her feminism. Since Obama has yet to make any explicitly sexist or racist moves I am gonna have to go with him. I'll hedge my bets.

Of course my late decision may be mute if the numbers already indicate Obama has the nomination....but I believe in slow and careful deliberation.

Can I vote for Father Michael Pfleger?

Notes from a disenchanted election observer....

Today my dad sent me a link (click the title to access link) to an amazing video interview of a white priest being interviewed about Reverend Wright. His name is Michael Pfleger.

The man is articulate, knows his facts, and has a passion we so rarely see expressed by public figures in the media. All efforts by the reporter to trip him up failed. He was unflappable: talked about racism, Martin, the right of Americans to dissent, poverty, our shameful foreign policy, and white politician privilege, all without breaking into a sweat. Here is a man with convictions able to stand up for what he believes in. Why didn't Obama respond the way this guy did?

This whole endless debate about Jeremiah Wright is God-awful (pun intended) and needs to end. This man - Micheal Pleger-does a pretty good job of putting the discussion to bed. Unfortunately he does not appear to be running for office.

Why the heck not?

Barack, Hillary, and Mixed Me

My Brown and Black family and friends want me to vote for Obama. My feminist friends, white, black, yellow, and otherwise want me to vote for Clinton. One of my Black feminist colleagues stopped to accost me the other day with the opening line, "You're voting for Obama arent you? Or am I gonna have to write you off as a friend?"

I am not answering any queries regarding my voting decisions this year because as a mixed race, multiply-positioned, radical, anti-racist feminist poet, I know better. There is no right answer. Barack could be my black daddy, Hilary could be my white mama and I still wouldnt be able to choose the best candidate for the job. Why? Because as mixed me I am always lurking in the shadows-- I am always running back and forth across the battle lines with plates of food and flowers. I like them both. But I know neither side represents me.

I have one fist raised in the air in a Black Power salute and my other hand is holding the latest draft of the ERA. I don't think I am alone but there is no guarantee I won't be taken out by those who perceive me as a singular trecherous crazy zebra lady. I think I will keep moving.

I want a candidate who will withdraw the troops yesterday. I want a candidate who will pass gay marriage legislation the day s/he gets into office. I want a candidate who is not afraid to talk about race- someone who is ready and able to begin writing anti-racist legislation designed to pick up the slack where affrimative action failed. I want a president who will make a formal and unabashed apology for slavery, and hold nationwide conferences on reparations.

I want a presdient who will pass a bill for universal healthcare. I want a president who is not afraid to call him or herself a feminist and to confront anyone who calls a woman of stature, whether it is Dr. Rice or Senator Clinton, out of her name. I want an openly pro-choice, pro-emergency pill, pro-birth control president. I want a woman or man in office who considers the rape and murder of thousands of women yearly by their boyfriends and husbands a crisis worthy of being declared a state of emergency.

I want a president who is going to destroy all the nuclear plants, nuclear weapons, and coal-burning plants in the US and begin a government-sponsored green energy, solar power retrofitting project for the nation. I want a president who is going to end poverty during my lifetime, abolish the debt of all the third world countries, and make it his or her goal to bring world peace during his/her administration.

I want a president who is going to take medicine making out of the hands of pharmaceuticals and put it in the hands of people who care about healing the planet.

I want a woman of color in the Oval Office. A gay woman of color preferably. Lets get one who grew up poor while we are at it. She should be radical, a feminist, a womanist, a woman who speaks more than one langauge- a kick-ass woman. She should be angry. She should be passionate and loving- unafraid to cry or laugh or yell in public. She should be a woman-dientified woman. Someone who can appeal to as many of the disadvantaged, oppressed, and marginalized Americans as possible. Someone who believes justice is the greatest goal.

I think my sister should run for office. I think she is the only one qualified to address all the issues that matter to me.

My woman is not running for office....yet

In the meantime, I wish both Clinton and Obama the best.
ABB