Dear Men,
Why are you still trying to take away our
right to decide how, when, and with whom to have babies or staying quiet while others try?
I see woman after woman making social
media posts about the rape and humiliation legislation in three
states that force probes into vaginas before having an abortion,
comments about women not being represented in the hearings,
personhood laws that take the right away from women altogether, and
endless posts about what the nearest Republican or theist man has said to
insult or demean women.
What I have not seen are the outraged
men who are concerned that choices are being taken from them, harm
may be done to their partners, daughters, mothers, and friends. I
see passive men who say they value equality and reproductive rights
but do nothing to protect either. Instead many men generally choose
to stay silent or only mention your outrage on videos, comments, and
links posted by women. Even worse, many of you lead the charge to
gain control of our freedom of choice, our future, and our lives.
Some men have decided to
publicly address abortion and reproductive rights, including writer
Joss Whedon in the comic Buffy.
“A woman's right to choose is under
attack as much as it's ever been, and that's a terrible and dangerous
thing for this country. I don't usually get soap box-y with this, but
the thing about Buffy is all she's going through is what women go
through, and what nobody making a speech, holding up a placard, or
making a movie is willing to say," Whedon
told Entertainment Weekly”
Staying quiet is not an act of courage,
it is a willingness to sacrifice women to spare men the discomfort of
speaking publicly about it. If you think this is wrong, say it is
wrong. Have the courage to confront other men and change the
discussion from one which pits women against men to one that pits
those who care about making sure reproductive choices are there for
everyone against those who would take away those choices.
Thank you,
LaRae
Representative of Women
Representative of Women
