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Women and Girls’ Bodies Are Not Public Property
Even though many Americans believe they are
There is a disturbing, persistent belief among many Americans that women and girls’ bodies do not belong to ourselves as men’s bodies do. (With the exception of the draft years.) Or, more accurately, that bodies with uteruses are public property to be poked, prodded, invaded, debated, impregnated and regulated. (I did not mean to sound like Al Sharpton, I swear.)
When I say this, I’m not just talking about abortion bans and forced birth. I’m talking about pregnancy and rape and the guy who grabs your ass at the grocery store — all of it. All of it contributes to a false sense of entitlement to female bodies. When I was birthing my daughter, no fewer than a dozen people wandered in and out of the room all night long, as I lay there, spread eagle, with nothing more than a hospital gown sort of thrown over my midsection. Occasionally a boob would slip out and I’d try to cover it back up, but it didn’t matter. Once my daughter was born, the nurses would walk up to me, whip open my gown, grab a boob and stuff it in my daughter’s mouth. “Like this!” they’d say, as if I was the baby.
I got over my shyness pretty quick that night, and I understand medical people have seen the insides and outsides of all kinds of bodies. Still, the feeling that I…
