That Feminist Dyke

oddlyclad:

simonedugal:

This is a call to arms.

Are you fed up with being pegged as a whore because you use birth control? Are you sick of the displaced misogynist abuse deterred towards women whom consensually have/ don’t have an avid sex life?Why are we treated as if we’re incapable of managing our own bodies?

As women, we’ve been sexually oppressed for years. Finally, within the last few decades, we’ve had the opportunity to embrace ourselves with access to contraceptives.

Then suddenly, a shit-storm of privileged, caucasian, heterosexual males are propositioning rules that are harmful to our well-being. Suddenly, we’re “whores” because we use contraception. Then we’re “prostitutes” because we want birth control to be covered by health insurance. We’re “frigid spinsters” because we choose to not have sex. Then, we’re the devil Himself because we need/ want access to safe abortions. Last but not least, if we do give birth, then we’re labeled as incompetent. 

The main fact that the GOP is ignoring is that a majority of us aren’t using birth control because we want to run rampant on the streets, exposing our “orchids” to any and all pedestrians.

Sure, some of us are merely using contraceptives because we don’t want children (yet or ever). However, brace yourself, this might come off as baffling, but some of us use birth control due to medical conditions.

For example, according to WebMD, birth control (OCs) can lower the risk of cancer, make periods lighter, PMS/PMDD relief, fewer periods, and ease the pain and symptoms caused by endometriosis and polycystic ovarian syndrome.

Krystal, a fellow organizer and the brains behind this project states that: “it shouldn’t matter if women are using contraceptives for preventative measures or due to any of the reasons stated above. The [GOP] cannot and will not condemn us for wanting to prevent an accidental pregnancy and then torture us for getting pregnant without a means of prevention. What they need to do is increase sex education and make access to birth control easier.”

Personally, I use birth control for two reasons:

1. I’m in college and I’m in a monogamous relationship. However, my partner and I are not ready for a child because we are not mature enough to take care of another human-being (puppies don’t count) and we are not financially stable.

2. I have PMDD that quite literally drives myself and everyone around me insane. Because I’ve had access to birth control, I was able to graduate with two AA degrees and transfer to a University.

Not because I didn’t have a child, but because my hormones and mood-swings were finally balanced. I wasn’t falling into depression anymore. I was finally able to focus on my goals after being completely lost and confused for a year. I literally thought that I was becoming clinically insane and it was time to check myself into an asylum.

If you take birth control for any reason, may it be because of PCOS or simply because you don’t plan on starting a family any time soon, and you’re enraged over the recent controversy revolving around women’s rights…. Then I have a proposition for you.

How would you feel about stylin’ a “Scarlett Letter”? If you personally take birth control (for ANY reason at all), just find a piece of fabric and make yourself a patch.

If your significant other would want to support the cause as well, I’m sure that they can pin one on for support!

If you have any splendid ideas for what the patch/ pin could be of- shoot it over in the comments! It would be better if all the materials are practical and handy because this is a DIY grass-roots movement that could potentially take the world by storm!

Boost this shit.

bemusedlybespectacled:

This is hormonal birth control.

As you can see on the box, you take exactly one pill per day. To make sure it works, you need to take one pill every day at the same time, or it stops working. You take only one pill, and you keep taking them regardless of what you are doing that day.

Hormonal birth control can be used to treat a lot of different diseases, like anemia caused by excessive menstruation. It is a prescription medication that can cost around $15-50 a month. Because it is a prescription medication, it should be covered by insurance, as it treats legitimate health problems.

This is Viagra.

It, too, can treat legitimate health problems like altitude sickness and pulmonary hypertension, but it is usually prescribed for erectile dysfunction. Unlike the Pill, Viagra is taken every time you want to have sex. A lot of health insurance companies cover Viagra, so it costs about as much as your co-pay.

This is a condom.

It is not a prescription medication, and has no health benefits (besides the prevention of STIs and pregnancy). Like Viagra, you must use one before you have sex: indeed, before each sex act. They cost about a dollar per condom.

This is Sandra Fluke.

She testified before a small, Democrat-led hearing after she was cut out of the actual birth control/insurance discussion. Her testimony was about a friend of hers who, because her insurance did not cover birth control, lost an ovary due to an ovarian cyst.

This somehow translates into “I, myself, personally, am having so much sex I can’t afford birth control, and so I want the government to pay for it.”

This is wrong for multiple reasons.

1. It was about a friend, not her. To say her testimony was about her personally is factually incorrect.
2. Sex had nothing to do with the testimony - her friend lost an ovary because of medical condition that was left untreated. A medical condition that was completely treatable, but wasn’t, because her insurance wouldn’t cover it. To say that her testimony was about her being “a slut” or “a prostitute” is factually incorrect.
3. Even if she was having loads of sex, she would still only have one pill a day, not one pill per sex act, so to say “I’m having so much sex I can’t afford birth control” is completely erroneous. The Pill is not Viagra or condoms. To say that she is such “a slut” that she constantly needs more pills is factually incorrect.
4. The current political debate is not “should the government pay for birth control?” The debate is “should insurance companies, that people and their employers pay for, on their own, be required to cover birth control?” To say that Sandra Fluke wants the government to pay for her birth control is factually incorrect.
5. Religious organizations do not want to have birth control covered by their insurance, even for employees not of their faith, even if their employees never actually use their insurance to cover birth control. By this logic, they should also not pay their employees, because they could use that money to pay for birth control out of pocket. To say that this issue is about religious freedom and not about women’s health is disingenuous, as Ms. Fluke’s testimony demonstrates.

Hopefully this makes things a little clearer.