Culture + Politics

The Five Reasons Why Men Should Control Women's Reproduction

By Michael Kaufman

February 21, 2012

This originally appeared on MichaelKaufman.com. Republished here with permission.

There are concerted efforts by the extremists who now run the Republican Party to push through draconian laws in the United States that not only make abortions unavailable under any circumstances but put huge barriers to women obtaining safe and effective forms of contraception.

In recent days, both the Republican presidential primaries, hearings in the U.S. Congress, and programs on Fox “News” have featured a parade of men stepping up to the microphone to tell women how to run their bodies.

There are those who wonder why men should be in charge of organizing women’s reproductive doings. But there are at least five strong reasons why this should be so:

1.) Father knows best. Enough said.

2) It’s tradition (and Lord knows, we don’t have enough good old traditions anymore.) Take the Pope. The Pope has long told half a billion Catholic women that having abortions or using birth control is a mortal sin. Now, it’s true that most of these women don’t listen to him (otherwise, there’d now be five billion Catholic women on the planet.) But at least the Pope tries.

3) Men really, really, really want to have control over life and death. Come on, cut us some slack here, girls. It’s always been tough on guys. I mean, you females pull off the ultimate magic trick in the universe. Feminist philosopher Mary O’Brien speculated that patriarchy emerged 8,000 or so years ago as a way for men to control women’s reproduction. That’s a lot of work for guys! You know, setting up a whole system of laws, beliefs, social structures, and religions, then forcing women into submission, and then going to war to conquer other groups of men. Shouldn’t men get a reward for all that hard work? Like controlling women for another 8,000 years?

4) Women shouldn’t have the right to control their own bodies and reproduction because they can’t be trusted to know what’s best for themselves. How do we know that? Because most women think they should have the right to choose to have an abortion if they wish and, overwhelmingly, that they should have the right to safe and effective forms of birth control. And since I, as a man, say they shouldn’t have that right, then, obviously, women don’t know what’s best for themselves. (Google “circular argument” if this point doesn’t make sense to you.)

5) Men are so much smarter than women. (Just look at the towering figures running for the Republican presidential nomination.) Men are more rational. (Just watch the crowd at Hooters or at any sports event.) Men are closer to God. (Just ask all those Christian, Jewish, Muslim, and Hindu fundamentalist guys who kill those people they disagree with.)

Michael Kaufman is a writer and speaker focused on engaging men and boys to promote gender equality and end violence against women. He has worked in 45 countries and is the co-founder of the White Ribbon Campaign. His latest books are The Guys Guide to Feminism and the novel The Possibility of Dreaming on a Night Without Stars. Twitter: @GenderEQ, and website: www.michaelkaufman.com.

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Posted in Abortion , Culture and Politics, nfti-home, Politics, Sex, Womanhood

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Jessica
02/27/12 at 07:16 PM #
“you offered the goods, knowing the possible consequence of your actions”

Sex is not a contract or agreement to sustain another human being’s life inside of your own. If pro-lifer’s really want to “protect” embryos and fetuses, they have to come up with a way for them to grow independently of the mother. Personhood doesn’t grant you the right to live inside someone else. Nice try.
commoncence
02/24/12 at 11:24 AM #
“extremists who now run the Republican Party " – wow. First, I am neither an extremist, nor do I play an active role in the Republican party other than sometimes voting for an individual whom I believe will do the most good for the MOST number of people. I disagree with you. You sound like a femi-Nazi – you must give women sole control over reproduction. Wrong answer buddy. I am a woman, and proud to be. My parents had some gender role ideas that passed down, like women cleaning the house and cooking, mostly, and the man working on the car. But my parents also taught me to be self sufficient, to let no one tell me that I CAN’T do something. So I’ve become very proficient at many things – I’m not afraid to tackle a car repair on my own, nor to ask for help when I need it. My husband loves to cook as much as I do, and helps with laundry. My point is – fertilizing an egg takes two people, a giver and a receiver, or a petri dish. The decision on the outcome of that joint venture should be equal. The “it’s my body” argument is bull – you offered the goods, knowing the possible consequence of your actions. Don’t use the stupid rape/incest argument with me either – individual circumstances may warrant the individual decision, I’m talking about the overwhelming majority of cases. For men and women to be equal, we need to take away these power struggles. We also need to protect embryos and fetuses, in order to acknowledge that personhood begins with fertilization, and responsibility begins even before that.