FEMALE GENITAL MUTILATION—THE NUMBERS KEEP RISING

[Warren DeMontague]

54. True, and it's astounding how "choice" gets blamed for fundamentalist authoritarian fuckwittery.

Actually, the framing of reproductive freedom under "choice" has been extremely successful and helpful, because the bottom line is most Americans support ideals like freedom and personal choice.

I've noticed it just happens to piss certain people off, say, when they're on about the imaginary "population problem" in countries where fertility rates already self-manage organically; they don't like the fact that the same logic what says a woman shouldn't be forced to have children against her will also says you can't force women NOT to have children--- just because you're annoyed by the strollers on the sidewalks in front of starbucks, or what have you.

Same deal with, say, consenting adults having sex in front of a camera. "Oh, god, choice again, ugh".. why did we have to call it choice, heavy sigh heavy sigh eyeroll gif etc etc

the same values which make most Americans support Roe v. Wade are also going to make it really hard for people to get the full frontal sex scenes off of HBO.

That's pretty much what that is about.

It seems pretty difficult to argue that, say, FGM or laws in fundametalist Islamic countries which dictate women wearing burqas, have anything to do with "choice", and generally it's authoritarian types- not consistently pro-choice people- who would be trying to make those arguments, anyway. So it's apples and oranges.

I don't think it should be illegal for a woman in France to wear a burkini, so in that instance maybe "choice" rhetoric might be applicable. But I do think that if a case can be made for others threatening or coercing her to wear it, throw the book at them.